Handleless, self-opening drawer

Abstract

Device for opening a handleless drawer, characterized by that a spring is arranged which is connected at one end to the body and at the other end to the drawer and which is tensioned when the drawer is pushed in and relaxed when it is ejected, that the spring is blocked by a blocking device after insertion and release of the insertion pressure, that the blocking of the insertion spring is released by a second pressure and a second release of the pressure. that this blocking device is constructed and operates in a similar way to the mechanism for extending and retracting the refill of a ballpoint pen, which is controlled by pressure on the piston on the upper side opposite the refill; in this case, when pressure is applied and the pressure on the piston on the underside of the ballpoint pen is released, the refill emerges from the housing, tensioning and blocking a spring, and disappears again during the next cycle of pressure and release when the blocking and action of the spring is released.

Description

[0001] For design reasons, it is often desirable to avoid using handles on movable elements such as drawers or doors. However, this conflicts with the requirement to open and close the elements manually.

[0002] Large manufacturers are known for handleless, self-extending drawers that can be operated as follows: 1. Push the drawer in manually until it reaches the stop, push it in further with increased force, release: The drawer will automatically retract until it reaches the stop. 2. Manually push the drawer a few millimeters beyond the rest position: The drawer will automatically slide out a few centimeters.

[0003] However, this convenience of being able to close and open using only pressure, without handles and without using your hands, comes at the cost of three disadvantages: • The mechanics are very complicated and make the purchase more expensive • It is difficult to assemble and adjust • After some time it may no longer work and cannot be readjusted.

[0004] The aim of the invention is therefore a method which is just as convenient to use as the one described, but extremely simple and therefore not prone to errors, and which can be applied to drawers as well as to doors and similar devices.

[0005] From the utility model 20 2024 002 434.2 an arrangement is known which pursues a similar goal, but which, in the interest of a simplest construction, accepts the disadvantages that, in comparison to the drawers of large manufacturers as mentioned in 2. a) the drawer is not manually pushed in just a few millimeters beyond the rest position, but about 2cm, which is considered a disadvantage from a design point of view, b) pressing in requires a slightly greater force, c) it then slides out a smaller distance.

[0006] The reason for these three disadvantages is that when the drawer is pushed in, a spring is manually tensioned, which ejects the drawer when released. This is coupled with the fact that a) the energy for ejection must be applied through the cocking path, which is equal to the path beyond the rest position b) the energy for ejection has to be generated by the force during cocking, which is quite large with only 2cm cocking range and c) that despite the marginal dimensioning of path and force, the stored energy is only sufficient for a somewhat smaller ejection distance.

[0007] The aim of the invention presented is therefore to reduce the disadvantages a) to c) by a moderate increase in the design effort, which nevertheless remains significantly below that of the arrangements of the large manufacturers.

[0008] This is achieved by locking the tensioned spring, not manually held and then released as in 20 2024 002 434.2, but by a simple device. Then, by slightly increasing the tension, the locking is released, and the relaxing spring ejects the drawer.

[0009] According to the invention, the locking mechanism is implemented by a push-button ballpoint pen, which, as a disposable item, requires a very simple design. Two designs are common here: In the first, when a leaf spring is pressed with a thumb on the plunger on top of the ballpoint pen, it slides against the pressure of a coil spring above a normal level into a recess which it cannot leave in the opposite direction, i.e. in the direction of pressure of the coil spring, i.e. it is blocked there. In this position, the refill is extended and the writing pressure is absorbed by the blocking. To retract the refill, the piston is pressed in a little further and the leaf spring slides onto a slide which is at the same level as the normal level. If the pressure on the piston is released a little, the leaf spring and slide slide over the edge of the recess to the normal level. When the piston is released, the coil spring pushes the piston out of the ballpoint pen barrel as far as it will go, pulling the refill into the barrel.

[0010] This mechanism can be applied to a drawer as follows. When the hand pressure is released on the drawer front board, a leaf spring, which is significantly larger than a ballpoint pen, slides with its free end over a normal level into a recess in an arrangement attached to the drawer between the drawer and the body, against the pressure of a coil spring. When the hand pressure is released, the leaf spring cannot leave this recess despite the pressure of the coil spring in the opposite direction, i.e. it is blocked there. In this position, the drawer is retracted, and the pressure of the tensioned coil spring is absorbed by the block in this rest position. To eject the drawer, the front board is pushed in a little further, and the leaf spring slides onto a slider which is at the same level as the normal level. When the pressure on the piston is released slightly, the leaf spring and slider slide over the edge of the recess to the normal level.When the piston is released, the spiral spring throws the drawer out of the body housing.

[0011] In this way, limitations a) to c) of 20 2024 002 434.2 are lifted as follows: a) When pushing the drawer in, the front panel does not slide 2 cm beyond the rest position (above the level of the other drawers) into the cabinet to sufficiently tension the spring. Rather, a fraction of a millimeter is enough to press the leaf spring onto the slide. b) When the drawer is pushed in, the spiral spring is stretched over a long distance of about 10 cm, so that only a small force is necessary to store the energy required for ejection. c) Since, according to b), the travel and force for tensioning the spiral spring are hardly limited, sufficient energy can be provided for ejection.

[0012] The achievement of the invention lies in the non-obvious transfer of the mechanism from a ballpoint pen to a drawer.

[0013] The second common mechanism for extending and retracting a ballpoint pen refill works differently, but the transferability to the drawer and the resulting advantages are the same. With this mechanism, the piston presses against a specially shaped refill holder. This has a slanted surface when viewed from the side, so that when pressure is applied, a lug on the piston slides down, rotating the holder by, for example, 90°. When the pressure is released, a lug on the piston slides alternately into a shallow or deep recess in the rotated holder, so that the refill alternately protrudes from the barrel of the ballpoint pen and lies within it.

[0014] Claim 1 claims protection for all drawer designs based on the mechanism of a push-button ballpoint pen. Claim 2 cites, by way of example, the first design with a slider described above, and claim 3 cites the second design with rotating components. However, these are only examples; according to claim 1, protection is claimed for any drawer design based on the design of a push-button ballpoint pen.

[0015] The figures show exemplary embodiments according to the patent claims. Fig. Figure 1 shows a cabinet (1) with an inserted drawer (2) in horizontal section. Three-part devices are mounted on both sides between the cabinet and the drawer. These devices consist of (3) a device for fastening the device to the cabinet, (5) a device for blocking the spring according to the claims, which is attached to the drawer, and (4) a spring between (3) and (5). (6) designates the front panel, the only operating element. (8, dotted line) shows the position of all front panels of the cabinet, and (9, dashed line) shows the position of the front panel of the drawer according to the patent when pushed in as far as it will go. (8) and (9) lie very close together, which indicates the improvement according to the patent compared to 20 2024 002 434.2, where the difference is 2 cm.

[0016] Fig.Figure 2 shows the drawer in side view in five different phases of operation. (1) indicates the rear wall of the cabinet, (3) to (5) as above the lockable spring device and (7) an example of a support roller. The top part of the image shows the "closing" phase, in which manual force (strong arrow) is exerted on the front panel so that the drawer moves to the left (weak arrow) and the unlocked spring is compressed. In the second part of the image, the end position is reached; the spring is maximally compressed and locked, so that it is unable to open the drawer. The third image shows the permanent state between two opening processes. In the fourth, a brief push on the front panel (small arrow) releases the lock, and the drawer moves, driven by spring (4) into the open position, which is reached in the bottom image.

Claims

[1] Device for opening a handleless drawer, characterized by , that a spring is arranged which is connected at one end to the body and at the other end to the drawer and which is tensioned when the drawer is pushed in and relaxed when it is ejected, that the spring is blocked by a blocking device after insertion and release of the insertion pressure, that the blocking of the insertion spring is released by a second pressure and a second release of the pressure. that this blocking device is constructed and operates in a similar way to the mechanism for extending and retracting the refill of a ballpoint pen, which is controlled by pressure on the piston on the upper side opposite the refill; in this case, when pressure is applied and the pressure is subsequently released on the piston at the bottom of the ballpoint pen, the refill emerges from the housing, tensioning and blocking a spring, and disappears again during the next cycle of pressure and release when the blocking and action of the spring is released. [2] Device for opening a handleless drawer according to claim 1, characterized by that the ballpoint pen mechanism, which serves as a model, essentially consists of a leaf spring sliding backwards onto a slider to remove a blockage and then sliding forwards over the point of the blockage. [3] Device for opening a handleless drawer according to claim 1, characterized by , that the ballpoint pen mechanism, which serves as a model, essentially consists in the fact that a first component has an oblique toothing on the front side, that a nose on the front side of the second component engages in the toothing when the two components are pressed together and thus rotates the component axially by a certain angle, that the nose on the second component can alternately enter two recesses on the front side of the first component, of which the first recess is deep and the second recess is significantly less deep, so that due to the different depths, the refill is alternately pushed out of the barrel of the ballpoint pen or pulled into it.

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