Wardrobe furniture with a locking mechanism

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a cabinet furniture with a locking arrangement having the features of the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Locking arrangements are already known from the prior art. For example, EP 1 635 023 A1 describes a locking arrangement for cabinet furniture. This locking arrangement, with a plurality of chain-like, lamellar door elements guided in a first guide, is designed such that the chain of lamellar door elements has a fitting that receives at least one of the door elements. This fitting is guided in both a first guide and a second guide that is substantially parallel to the first guide. A pivot / deflection area is provided in which the second guide has a path that deviates from the path parallel to the first guide and is directed towards it. The fitting has a guide element that is guided by the first guide, and the guides are designed as cam guides.The fitting itself is designed to have pins for engaging the first and second guides. The louvered door elements are designed as individual components and are fixed at their free ends within the fitting. The locking mechanism is further designed so that, when used as intended in cabinet furniture, a flush finish can be achieved in the closed position without the need for additional trim. A disadvantage of this locking mechanism is that its manufacturing costs are very high, particularly due to the complex fittings and the separately manufactured and assembled louvers. Additionally, the force required to open and close the door is relatively high when using this locking mechanism as intended.Another disadvantage is that, particularly at the free end of the locking mechanism, which is the last part to be moved or visible in the closed position, the fittings are very complex and, in particular, the individual slats of the locking mechanism have to be guided or fixed via a separate fitting element, which both increases the manufacturing costs and unpleasantly increases the effort required to open and close this locking mechanism.

[0003] Further state of the art is known from documents DE 11 42 432 B, DE 22 43 677 A1 and DE 295 03 154 U1.

[0004] The invention aims to provide a closure arrangement that successfully overcomes the disadvantages of the known prior art, is easy and economical to manufacture and assemble, and whose overall appearance is particularly appealing in the closed position.

[0005] According to the invention, this problem is solved by the features of claim 1. Further advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

[0006] It was surprisingly discovered that a closure device for cabinet furniture, comprising at least one closure element, in particular a blind, roller shutter, or the like, which is movable from a closed position (GP) to an open position (OP) and back in the area of ​​an opening of a cabinet furniture, and which has parallel slats, with at least one first guide element arranged at the opening of a cabinet furniture, and at least one second guide element, is characterized in that, in the closed position of the closure element, at least one slat is operatively connected via at least one spacer element to at least one second guide element arranged in the deflection area of ​​the closure element. The second guide element is spaced from the slat of the closure element via the spacer element and is operatively connected.This advantageously allows the locking element, consisting of several parallel slats, to be easily and simply movable when the locking mechanism is used as intended. In particular, in the closed position, all slats of the locking element of the inventive locking mechanism are arranged parallel to one another or side by side and flush with the opening of the cabinet. The inventive locking mechanism is further characterized by the fact that the slats of the locking element can be moved very easily and without much effort when moving from the closed position (GP) to the open position (OP) and back.

[0007] In an advantageous embodiment of the locking arrangement according to the invention, the spacer element and / or the second guide element is designed as a molded part. This significantly reduces both their manufacturing costs and the effort required for assembly, particularly in cabinet furniture. A further advantage of the locking arrangement according to the invention is that such spacer elements and / or second guide elements can also be retrofitted into existing cabinet furniture.

[0008] It has also proven advantageous in the locking arrangement according to the invention that the spacer element and / or the second guide element are designed as profile elements. This allows for simple manufacturing of the spacer element or the second guide element, for example, by extrusion. When used as intended, particularly with tall or large cabinet furniture, the locking arrangement is easy to operate without requiring much force, and the overall appearance, especially in the closed position, is extremely appealing.

[0009] It has also proven advantageous that the lamella on which a spacer element is positioned is arranged at a free end of the locking element. In particular, it has proven extremely advantageous that the last lamella of the locking element has at least one spacer element on its non-visible side.

[0010] However, it is also within the scope of the invention that at least one lamella is designed, at least partially, as a spacer element on its non-visible side.

[0011] A further advantage of the locking arrangement according to the invention is that the spacer element has at least one lamella arranged on the non-visible side. This makes assembly particularly flexible for new cabinet furniture as well as for retrofitting existing cabinet furniture, since both the last lamella of the locking element and one or two further lamellae can be provided with such spacer elements.

[0012] The locking arrangement according to the invention is advantageously further designed such that the spacer element is arranged at at least one free end of at least one lamella. This makes it possible, for example, to successfully and quickly install the locking arrangement on cabinet furniture, even in cases of limited space inside the cabinet.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the invention, the second guide element is arranged on at least one side wall of the cabinet. This advantageous embodiment is particularly beneficial for locking mechanisms that are horizontally movable. According to another embodiment of the invention, the second guide element is arranged on at least one intermediate wall of the cabinet. This configuration of the locking mechanism according to the invention is particularly advantageous for cabinets in which the locking mechanism is guided vertically and is housed in a space formed by an intermediate wall and, for example, a top panel of the cabinet.

[0014] According to the invention, in the closed position (GP) of the locking element, at least one lamella is operatively connected to a cover element of the cabinet furniture. This advantageous design results in a visually very appealing overall appearance of the cabinet furniture with the locking arrangement according to the invention, since the individual lamellae of the locking element are arranged parallel to each other or next to each other without any gaps, with the last or penultimate lamella of the locking element being arranged directly on the cover element, partially touching it.

[0015] It has also proven advantageous that at least one third guide element is arranged in the deflection area of ​​the locking element on at least one side wall and / or at least one base of the cabinet furniture. This third guide element of the locking arrangement according to the invention is designed such that it is operatively connected to the first guide element and has a first guide track in the deflection area of ​​the locking element for receiving the slats of the locking element. It further comprises a first limiting element and a second limiting element, which in particular guides the last slat of the locking element into the desired position.

[0016] It has also proven advantageous that, in the locking arrangement according to the invention, the second guide element is arranged on the third guide element. This makes both the production of the third guide element cost-effective and its assembly in a cabinet easier.

[0017] The locking arrangement according to the invention is further characterized in that at least one slider is arranged at at least one free end of at least one lamella. This slider is, on the one hand, inexpensive to manufacture and assemble, and on the other hand, results in the locking arrangement according to the invention being easily movable in the guide elements with minimal effort.

[0018] In a further advantageous embodiment, the locking arrangement according to the invention is designed such that at least one slider of at least one lamella of the locking element has a web which is advantageously designed to allow the locking arrangement according to the invention to move easily on the guide tracks of the guide elements. It is also advantageous in the locking arrangement according to the invention that the slider is designed and arranged at at least one free end of at least one lamella such that the web is arranged parallel to the non-visible side of the lamellae and spaced apart from the visible side of the lamellae.

[0019] In a further advantageous embodiment, the closure arrangement according to the invention is designed such that at least one slider of at least one lamella of the closure element has at least one sliding element, so that it can be moved or guided, in particular in the third guide element, easily via a second demarcation element arranged there.

[0020] The closure arrangement according to the invention is advantageously designed in such a way that the spacer element and / or the second guide element is made of polymeric and / or metallic and / or ceramic and / or thermosetting materials.

[0021] The invention will now be described in more detail using exemplary embodiments that do not restrict it.

[0022] They show: Fig. 1 Perspective view of the locking arrangement according to the invention for cabinet furniture; Fig. 2 Perspective view of another locking arrangement according to the invention for cabinet furniture; Fig. 3 Detailed sectional view of a locking arrangement according to the invention on a cabinet piece of furniture; Fig. 4 Detailed sectional view of another locking arrangement according to the invention on a cabinet piece of furniture.

[0023] In Fig. 1 Figure 1 shows a locking mechanism for cabinet furniture 1 with a horizontally guided locking element 2, which is designed as a roller shutter. The cabinet furniture 1 has a body consisting of side walls 11, 12, a top panel 14, a back panel 15, and a non-visible bottom 13. Opposite the side wall 12 is a handle element 18 attached to the locking element 2, by which the locking mechanism can be opened from the closed position GP, ​​as shown in Figure 1. Fig. 1 The locking element 2 is movable into an open position OP. In this embodiment, the locking element 2 is arranged such that, in the closed position GP, ​​it closes the concealed opening of the cabinet 1. The locking element 2 consists of a plurality of individual slats 20, which are rotatably connected to one another by connecting elements in a manner known per se. The locking element 2 is movable from the closed position GP to an open position OP and back in the first guide elements 3, 3', which are positioned on two opposing end faces of the base 13 and the top 14 of the cabinet 1. A cover element 17 is arranged on the side wall 11 of this cabinet 1.

[0024] In the Fig. 2 Figure 1 shows a cabinet 1 with a further locking arrangement according to the invention. The cabinet 1 has a side wall 11, 12, a base 13, a top panel 14, and a back panel 15. The cabinet 1 also has a locking arrangement with a locking element 2, which is formed from parallel lamellae 20. The cabinet 1 further has a first guide element 3, 3' on each of the end faces of the side wall 11, 12. In this embodiment, the locking element 2 is arranged vertically on the cabinet 1 and is movable from bottom to top or from top to bottom via a handle element 18, whereby the locking arrangement 2 is moved from the closed position GP to an open position OP. In this embodiment, a cover element 17 is arranged on the top panel 14 of the cabinet 1.

[0025] In the Fig. 3 Figure 1 shows a detailed sectional view of a locking arrangement according to the invention in the cabinet 1. In this embodiment, the cabinet 1 has a side wall 11, a top panel 14 arranged thereon, and an intermediate wall 16. In this embodiment, the intermediate wall 16 is spaced apart and attached to the side wall 11 parallel to the top panel 14. The first guide element 3 is arranged on the end face of the side wall 11, and in this embodiment, it has a guide track 31 located approximately centrally on the first guide element 3. The guide track 31 has an approximately rectangular cross-section and is spaced apart from, or projecting away from, the base 30 of the first guide element 3. The locking element 2, which in this embodiment is formed from a total of three lamellae 20, 20', is movably arranged in the first guide element 3.The additional lamellae 20 of the closure element 2 are not shown in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the closure element 2 is formed from two lamellae 20 and one lamella 20', with the lamellae 20 (not shown) closing the opening 10 of the cabinet 1. The lamellae 20 and 20' are designed and arranged such that a visible side 22 faces away from the cabinet 1 and a non-visible side 21 faces into the cabinet 1. The lamellae 20 and 20' are designed as hollow chamber profiles and made of a polymeric material such as polypropylene. In this embodiment, at least one spacer element 5 is arranged on the non-visible side 21 of the lamella 20'. The spacer element 5 is designed such that it is attached via a retaining element 51 in a groove of the lamella 20' and is fixed with the base 52 on the non-visible side 21 of the lamella 20' via a non-visible locking element in the hollow chamber of the lamella 20'.The spacer element 5 is further configured as comprising a lever element 52 formed from two adjacent legs 54, 55, which, viewed in cross-section, is approximately triangular in shape. The legs 54, 55 are connected to each other by a radius of approximately 1 to 8 mm. Leg 54 itself has a cross-sectional radius of approximately 33 mm, while leg 55 is straight and arranged at an acute angle to the base 52. In this embodiment, the spacer element 5 is formed as a molded part. The cabinet 1 further comprises an intermediate wall 16, on the end face of which the second guide element 4 is arranged. The second guide element 4 is configured as having a base 42, which is connected to the intermediate wall 16 of the cabinet 1 via a fastening element 19 and has a spring element 41 projecting from the base 42 at approximately a right angle.The free end of the spring element 41 opposite the base 42 has a radius approximately 5 to 20 mm. In this embodiment, the cabinet 1 is shown such that the locking element 2 is in the closed position GP, ​​with only three slats 20, 20' being depicted. In this embodiment, the slat 20' is operatively connected to the second guide element 4 via the spacer element 5 in the deflection area 9 of the locking element 2. The spacer element 5 is located on the non-visible side 21 of the slat 20'. The second guide element 4 rests against the spacer element 5. The visible side 22 of the slat 20' is located on the cover element 17. Thus, the second guide element 4 is spaced from and operatively connected to the slat 20' of the locking element 2 via the spacer element 5.In this embodiment, the lever element 53 of the spacer element 5 rests directly against the spring element 41 of the second guide element 4, with the radius of the lever element 53 being located directly at the free end of the spring element 41 of the second guide element 4. The cabinet 1 is further configured such that the third guide element 7 is arranged on the side wall 11. The third guide element 7 has a base surface 70 from which the guide track 71 extends, which is operatively connected to the guide track 31 of the first guide element 3. The third guide element 7 is configured such that it has a first delimitation element 72, which is spaced apart from and parallel to the guide track 71.The third guide element 7 is further configured such that it has a second limiting element 73, which is arranged at a distance from the guide track 71 and has a larger radius at one free end than the guide track 71 and the first limiting element 72. The second limiting element 73 of the third guide element 7 is configured such that one free end of it is located approximately at the cover element 17 of the cabinet 1. The cabinet 1 is further configured such that a fourth guide element 8 is arranged on the side wall 11 in operative connection with the third guide element 7. This guide element 8 has a guide track 81, which is connected to the guide track 71 of the third guide element 7.When the locking arrangement according to the invention is used as intended, the locking element 2, which consists of the lamellae 20, 20', is moved from the closed position GP via the guide track 31 of the first guide element 3 to the guide track 71 of the third guide element 7, whereby the spacer element 5 is spaced apart from the second guide element 4 and the locking element 2 can be moved via the guide track 71 of the third guide element 7 to the guide track 81 of the fourth guide element 8, so that the opening 10 of the cabinet 1 is visible and the locking element 2 is in the open position OP. When the locking arrangement according to the invention is moved from the open position OP to a closed position GP, ​​the locking element 2 is moved via the guide tracks 81, 71, 31 of the guide elements 8, 7, 3 until the concealed handle element is positioned on the concealed base 13.In this closed position GP, ​​the spacer element 5 arranged on the lamella 20' is located directly on the second guide element 4 in the deflection area 9 of the locking element 2, wherein the spring element 41 of the second guide element 4 positions the lamella 20' approximately opposite the cover element 17 of the cabinet furniture 1 via the spacer element 5.

[0026] In the Fig. 4Figure 1 shows a detailed sectional view of another locking arrangement according to the invention in a cabinet 1. The cabinet 1 is designed such that the locking element 2 is guided horizontally. In this embodiment, the locking element 2 is shown to have two slats 20 and one slat 20' which are rotatably connected to one another. In this embodiment, the locking element 2 is further shown to close the opening 10 of the cabinet 1 in the closed position GP, ​​with the other slats 20 and the remaining parts of the cabinet 1 not visible. The cabinet 1 has a side wall 11, from which an intermediate wall 16 is arranged at a distance. In this embodiment, the slats 20 are designed such that at their free end, the visible side 22 has a greater length than the non-visible side 21.In this embodiment, the lamellae 20 of the closure element 2 are further configured such that each of them has a slider 6 at its free end. The slider 6 is configured such that it is arranged in the non-visible hollow chamber of the lamella 20 and has at least one web 61. The web 61 of the slider 6 is configured such that its height corresponds to the difference between the visible side 22 and the non-visible side 21 of the lamella 20. A gap is formed between the web 61 of the slider 6 and the visible side 22 of the lamella 20. In this embodiment, the lamella 20' is arranged at the free end of the closure element 2 as the last lamella. The lamella 20' is configured such that it has a spacer element 5 along its entire length in the profile direction, wherein the spacer element 5 is arranged in a force-fit manner against the non-visible side 21 of the lamella 20' in this embodiment.

[0027] However, it is also within the scope of the invention that the spacer element 5 is integrally connected to at least one lamella 20, 20'. Thus, the lamella 20, 20' and the spacer element 5 can be manufactured in one piece, for example, by extrusion from a polymeric material such as polypropylene or polyvinyl chloride in a single manufacturing process. The spacer element 5 of the lamella 20' is operatively connected to the second guide element 4 arranged in the deflection area 9 of the closure element 2. In this embodiment, the second guide element 4 is designed such that its base 42 is fixed to the intermediate wall 16 via the fastening element 19. In this embodiment, the second guide element 4 further comprises a spring element 41 projecting away from the base 42, which is arranged approximately at right angles to the base 42.However, it is also within the scope of the invention that the spring element 41 is arranged at an acute angle to the base 42 of the second guide element 4. In this embodiment, the free end of the spring element 41 projecting from the base 42 of the second guide element 4 has a radius of approximately 12 mm. This radius of the spring element 41 serves to ensure that, during intended use of the locking arrangement according to the invention, the locking element 2 with the lamellae 20 can move past the second guide element 4 without them coming into operative contact with each other, and only the last lamella 20' with the spacer element 5 arranged on the non-visible side 21 comes into operative contact with the spring element 41 of the second guide element 4. Thus, this lamella 20' is moved with its visible side 22 against the cover element 17 of the cabinet 1.The spacer element 5 on the lamella 20' is designed such that it has two integrally connected legs 54, 55, which have a radius of approximately 5 mm at their contact surfaces, so that the movement of the lamella 20' of the locking element 2 towards the cover element 17 is smooth and quiet. It is also within the scope of the invention that the second guide element 4 is designed as a profile, arranged parallel to the lamella 20, 20' along its entire length, and fixed to the intermediate wall 16. It is further within the scope of the invention to arrange several spaced-apart second guide elements 4, depending on the width or height of the cabinet 1 and the locking elements 2. In this embodiment, the lamella 20' is designed such that it is longer on the visible side 22 than on the non-visible side 21. The slider 6' is inserted in the non-visible hollow chamber of the lamella 20'.The slider 6' of the lamella 20' is designed such that it has at least one sliding element 62. This sliding element 62 has an approximately semicircular or circular cross-section and is arranged approximately on the visible side 22 of the lamella 20'. When the closure arrangement according to the invention is used as intended, from the open position OP to the closed position GP, ​​the slider 6' of the lamella 20' is moved in the fourth guide element 8, and as soon as the slider 6' of the lamella 20' is in the third guide element 7 during further movement, the sliding element 62 of the slider 6' of the lamella 20' rests against the second limiting element 73 of the third guide element 7 and is guided further by it to the closed position GP.As soon as the spacer element 5 of the lamella 20' is in operative connection with the second guide element 4, the lamella 20' is positioned at the free end of the second boundary element 73, spaced apart from the cover element 17 of the cabinet furniture 1, in the closed position GP of the closure element 2 via the sliding element 62 of the slider 6'.

[0028] In the closed position GP of the locking element 2, when the spacer element 5 of the lamella 20' is in operative contact with the second guide element 4, the sliding element 62 of the slider 6' of the lamella 20' is positioned on the cover element 17 and / or the second limiting element 73 of the third guide element 7. If the locking element 2 is now moved from the closed position GP to an open position OP, the spacer element 5 on the lamella 20' is moved away from the second guide element 4, and the sliding element 62 of the slider 6' of the lamella 20' is guided on the second limiting element 73 of the third guide element 7 until the sliders 6 of the lamellae 20 are picked up by the guide track 71 of the second guide element 7 and moved along it to the fourth guide element 8.

Claims

1. Cabinet furniture (1) with a closure arrangement which has at least one closure element (2), in particular a blind, roller shutter and the like, wherein the closure arrangement is arranged in the region of an opening (10) of the cabinet furniture (1) so as to be movable from a closed position (GP) into an open position (OP) and back, wherein the closure arrangement has slats (20, 20') arranged parallel to one another, wherein the cabinet furniture (1) has side walls (11, 12), a top panel (14), a rear wall (15) and a bottom (13), and optionally a partition wall (16), wherein in the cabinet furniture (1) a cover element (17) is arranged on the side walls (11, 12) and / or on the top panel (14), with at least one first guide element (3, 3') arranged at the opening (10) of the cabinet furniture (1), and at least one second guide element (4), wherein, in the closed position (GP) of the closure element (2), at least one of the slats (20, 20') is operatively connected, via at least one spacer element (5) positioned on the slat, to the at least one second guide element (4) arranged in the deflection region (9) of the closure element (2), wherein the second guide element (4) is arranged on at least one side wall (11, 12) or on at least one partition wall (16) of the cabinet furniture (1), characterized in that, in the closed position (GP) of the closure element (2), the last or penultimate slat (20, 20') of the closure element (2) is arranged directly on the cover element (17), partially touching the latter, and in that this last or penultimate slat (20, 20') is arranged with its visible side (22) on the cover element (17).

2. Cabinet furniture according to claim 1, characterized in that the spacer element (5) and / or the second guide element (4) is designed as a molded part or as a profile element.

3. Cabinet furniture according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spacer element (5) is arranged on the non-visible side (21) of at least one slat (20, 20').

4. Cabinet furniture according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spacer element (5) is arranged on at least one free end of at least one slat (20, 20').

5. Cabinet furniture according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one third guide element (7) is arranged in the deflection region (9) of the closure element (2) on at least one side wall (11, 12) and / or on one bottom / top panel (13, 14).

6. Cabinet furniture according to claim 5, characterized in that the second guide element (4) is arranged on the third guide element (7).

7. Cabinet furniture according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one slider (6, 6') is arranged on at least one free end of at least one slat (20, 20').

8. Cabinet furniture according to claim 7, characterized in that at least one slider (6, 6') has at least one web (61).

9. Cabinet furniture according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that at least one slider (6, 6') has at least one sliding element (62).