Rail assembly and sliding door fitting

Abstract

The invention relates to a rail assembly for a sliding door fitting, said rail assembly comprising a first rail part (10a) with at least two guide tracks (12, 15) for movable guide elements (13, 16, 13', 16') and a second rail part (10b) with at least two guide tracks (12, 15) for movable guide elements (13, 16, 13', 16'), wherein between the first and the second rail part (10a, 10b) there is arranged a connector (20) with two auxiliary running tracks (21, 22) which bridge a gap between the first and the second rail part (10a, 10b), wherein, between the two auxiliary running tracks (21, 22), an elastic spring element (24, 24') is provided, via which the distance between the auxiliary running tracks (21, 22) is changeable. Assembly tolerances are easily compensated for using the elastic spring element, and the auxiliary running tracks can be assembled, optionally with prestress.

Description

[0001] Rail arrangement and sliding door fitting

[0002] The present invention relates to a rail arrangement for a sliding door fitting with a first rail part with at least two guide tracks for movable guide elements and a second rail part with at least two guide tracks for movable guide elements, wherein a connector with two additional tracks is arranged between the first and the second rail part, which bridge a gap between the first and the second rail part.

[0003] DE 10 2019 101 334 A1 discloses a rail arrangement for a sliding door fitting, in which two rail parts are connected to one another in the joint area via a connecting element, wherein the connecting element forms additional tracks for the tracks on the rail parts.

[0004] This allows a roller to be guided along the additional track when crossing the joint area. A similar design is also shown in EP 3 653 821. A disadvantage of these rail arrangements is that the rail sections are fixed with a certain tolerance during assembly, which makes precise positioning of the connecting element difficult and thus complicates assembly. Furthermore, a slightly stepped arrangement of the rail sections can impose high mechanical stress on the connecting element.

[0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a rail arrangement for a sliding door fitting which provides an improved connection between two rail parts.

[0006] This object is achieved with a rail arrangement having the features of claim 1.

[0007] In the rail arrangement according to the invention, a connector with two additional tracks is arranged between two rail parts. These tracks bridge a gap between the first and second rail parts. An elastic spring element or a guide is provided between the two additional tracks, via which the distance between the additional tracks can be varied. This allows for optimized installation of the connector between the rail parts, since any assembly tolerances and tolerances in the rail parts themselves can be compensated for by the elastic spring element. A slightly offset installation of the rail parts can thus be compensated for by the elastic spring element or the guide of the connector.

[0008] The spring element preferably comprises at least one flexible spring bar. Preferably, several flexible spring bars are provided, which are arranged, for example, in a V-shape or meandering pattern to define a preferred direction of movement in which the additional tracks can be adjusted relative to one another. The adjustment range achievable via the spring element can be, for example, between 0.5 mm and 5 mm, in particular 1 mm to 3 mm.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, at least one additional track is clamped to the first and / or second rail part. This reliably prevents the additional track from being spaced apart from a track of a rail part. In an unassembled state, the at least one additional track can be designed as a curved bridge section, in particular as an upwardly curved bridge section, so that the connector has a certain prestress in these bridge sections. During assembly, i.e. by clamping the additional tracks to the tracks of the rail parts, the curvature of these curved bridge sections is reduced or eliminated, so that the additional tracks form a substantially flat surface in the working position and their free ends rest on the rail parts with a certain contact pressure. This prevents the formation of gaps in a vertical extension between bridge sections orAdditional tracks on the one hand and rail parts or tracks on the other hand are safely avoided.

[0010] Preferably, an insert part is formed on each additional track, which can be inserted on or into a receptacle of a rail part. The insert part can, for example, comprise a pin that is inserted into a hollow chamber of the rail part. Pins can be provided on opposite sides of each insert part, so that the pins can be inserted into a hollow chamber of one of the rail parts. The rail parts can be made from a bent metal sheet or from an extruded material. The insert part enables alignment of the connector and can also ensure that a protruding section of an additional track bears against a rail part with contact pressure.

[0011] The connector is preferably designed as a single-piece molded part, for example, as a plastic injection-molded part. Alternatively, it can also consist of several individual parts that can be assembled as required to form the finished connector. One or more spacers, for example, designed as wall elements, can be molded onto the connector to specify the spacing between the two rail parts in the joint area. The rail parts can be mounted, for example, at a distance of between 0.5 mm and 5 mm from each other.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the connector can be designed as a multi-piece molded part with an upper part and a lower part. At least one linear guide can be provided for adjusting the upper part relative to the lower part, preferably with a toothing on the upper part and with at least one toothing on the lower part, which can be locked in different positions. The linear guide can optionally also be used without locking or can be formed by a curved guide or a joint.

[0013] For a compact design, the two additional tracks on the connector can be arranged vertically one above the other. The two additional tracks can be arranged either exactly vertically one above the other, or horizontally offset and vertically one above the other. Alternatively, only a horizontal spacing of the additional tracks can be provided. Each additional track is preferably offset from a guide track on the rail part, so that a guide element contacts the additional track with a different contact surface than the guide tracks on the rail parts.

[0014] In a further embodiment, each additional track is connected to the spring element via a web. The web can be plate-shaped, with integral spring webs provided between the two webs. The rail arrangement is preferably used for a sliding door fitting to movably guide sliding elements, for example sliding doors or room dividers. The rail arrangement can be used both for suspended sliding elements for the running parts and in the lower area for the guide elements for lateral guidance. Furthermore, the corresponding sliding door fitting is preferably used for furniture, in particular cabinet furniture with one or more sliding elements.

[0015] The invention will be explained in more detail below using several exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. They show:

[0016] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a piece of furniture with a rail arrangement according to the invention;

[0017] Figure 2 is a detailed view of the furniture of Figure 1 with the rail arrangement;

[0018] Figure 3 shows a detailed view of a modified piece of furniture with the

[0019] rail arrangement;

[0020] Figures 4A to 4D show several views of the rail arrangement in the joint area;

[0021] Figures 5A to 5D show several views of the connector for the rail arrangement;

[0022] Figures 6A and 6B show two views of the connector of Figure 5 in different mounting positions;

[0023] Figure 7 is a perspective view of a modified connector for a rail assembly, and

[0024] Figures 8A to 8C show several views of a modified connector for a rail arrangement in different positions.

[0025] A piece of furniture 1 comprises a furniture body 2 on which two sliding elements 3 and 4 in the form of sliding doors are movably mounted, whereby the furniture 1 can optionally also have more than two sliding elements 3 and 4. A guide rail 5 is fixed to a top panel 8 of the furniture body 2, so that the front sliding element 3 is held movable via first guide parts 6 and the rear sliding element 4 via second guide parts 7.

[0026] Figure 2 shows a base 9 of the furniture body 2, to which a rail 10 is fixed for guiding the sliding elements 3 and 4. The base 9 is supported on a base 11, and the rail 10 is arranged on a front side of the base 9 and the base 11.

[0027] The rail 10 has a first upper guide track 12, on which a guide element 13 of the rear sliding element 4 is guided. The guide element 13 has a roller 14 that rolls along the guide track 12. The front sliding element 3 is guided via a guide element 16 and a roller 17 on a guide track 15, with the roller 17 rolling along the guide track 15. The guide tracks 12 and 15 and the rollers 14 and 17 are curved in cross-section, thus providing lateral guidance for the sliding elements 3 and 4. In the joint area and the adjacent area, the rollers 14 and 17 do not roll on the guide tracks 12 and 15, but rather on the additional tracks 21 and 22.

[0028] Figure 3 shows a modified embodiment in which a guide element 13' is fixed to the rear sliding element 4, in which a sliding element 14' is guided on the guide track 12 of the rail 10 instead of a roller. The front sliding element 3 is connected to a guide element 16', on which a sliding element 17' is provided for movement along the guide track 15 on the rail 10. The sliding elements 14' and 17' are U-shaped and engage around the guide tracks 12 and 15 for lateral guidance. However, the geometry of the guide elements can also be designed differently, for example hook-shaped, groove-shaped or with a different guide geometry. The guide tracks 12 and 15 are formed by the respective contact surface that comes into contact with the guide elements 13, 13', 16, 16' or the rollers 14 and 17 and / or sliding elements 14' and 17'.

[0029] Figures 4A to 4D show the rail arrangement for guiding the sliding elements 3 and 4, which is fixed to the base 9 and the base 11. Alternatively, the rail arrangement can also be secured to the top panel 8. The rail arrangement comprises a first rail part 10a and a second rail part 10b, which are connected to one another via a connector 20 that bridges a gap between the two rail parts 10a and 10b, which can, for example, have a length of between 0.5 mm and 5 mm. The rail parts 10a and 10b are fixed to the base 9 or the base 11 via screws 18, wherein in the mounted position the guide tracks 12 and 15 are arranged one above the other in the vertical direction.The guideways 12 and 15 are designed as hollow profiles that taper towards the abutment area, with a first wall element 23 of the connector 20 being arranged in the abutment area of ​​the guideway 12 and a second wall element 25 of the connector 20 being arranged in the abutment area between the guideways 15. The wall element 23 is adjacent to a first additional track 21 and the wall element 25 is adjacent to a second additional track 22. The two additional tracks 21 and 22 are contacted by the guide elements 13, 13', 16, 16' when traveling over them and have an extension in the longitudinal direction of the rail 10 of between 0.5 cm and 10 cm, in particular 1 cm to 5 cm.

[0030] Between the first additional track 21 and the second additional track 22, an elastic spring element 24 is provided, by means of which a distance between the additional tracks 21 and 22 can be changed.

[0031] Figures 5A to 5D show the connector 20 without the rail parts 10a and 10b. Elongated base parts 30 and 31 are formed at the top and bottom, which have a plate-like or cuboid shape and a spatial orientation inclined relative to a horizontal. The channel-shaped additional tracks 21 and 22 are arranged laterally on a front side of the base parts 30 and 31. The wall thickness of the base parts 30 and 31 is significantly greater than that of the additional tracks 21 and 22 in order to increase the stability of the connector 20 when placed on the rail parts 10a and 10b. Furthermore, it can be seen that the base parts 30 and 31 and the additional tracks 21 and 22 are designed as web-like, curved bridge sections, which have slightly downwardly curved free end sections. The upper additional track 21 is connected to the wall section 23, on which plug-in parts 27 in the form of pins are formed on opposite sides.The lower wall element 25 on the additional track 22 is also formed on opposite sides with plug-in parts 26 in the form of pins. Each plug-in part 26 and 27 can be inserted into a hollow chamber of a rail part 10a or 10b in order to align the connector 20 and the corresponding additional track 21 and 22 and to clamp them thereto. The upper base part 30 and the upper additional track 21 are connected to the spring element 24 via a plate-shaped web 28, which has two V-shaped, bendable webs. The lower base part 31 and the lower additional track 22 are also connected to the spring element 24 via a plate-shaped web 29. The connector 20 is manufactured as a one-piece molded part from plastic.

[0032] Figure 6A shows the connector 20 prior to assembly. It can be seen that the two additional tracks 21 and 22 form a curved bridge section. Figure 6B shows the assembled position of the connector 20, with the rail parts 10a and 10b not shown. By assembling the connector 20, the previously bent additional tracks 21 and 22 have been almost straightened. As a result, the free ends of the additional tracks 21 and 22 rest on the rail parts 10a and 10b with a certain contact pressure, which prevents the formation of gaps. In addition, assembly tolerances regarding the distance between the guide tracks 12 and 15 can be compensated for using the spring element 24.

[0033] Figure 7 shows a modified embodiment of the connector 20, which is configured as in Figure 6, but has a modified spring element 24'. The spring element 24' comprises two meander-shaped spring bars that are connected to each other at a junction point.

[0034] The geometry of the spring elements 24 and 24' can be modified depending on the application, preferably using several flexible spring bars so that the tracks 21 and 22 can be elastically adjusted within a certain adjustment range, for example, between 1 mm and 10 mm. The shape of the additional tracks 21 and 22 can also be adapted depending on which guide elements 13, 13', 16, 16' are used.

[0035] Figures 8A to 8C show a modified embodiment of the connector 20'. In contrast to the connector 20, the connector 20' is designed in two pieces and is composed of an upper part 33 and a lower part 34. A recess 32 which is open towards the top is formed on a web 29' of the lower part 34, with a profiling, in particular a toothing, being formed on each of the two opposite sides. A web 28' of the upper part 33 is adjoined by a web 35, on which two toothings are arranged on the outside. The respective toothings on the web 35 and the recess 32 form a linear guide which can be adjusted to different positions. The respective toothings on the web 35 and the recess 32 can be elastically deformed by insertion. As Figures 8A to 8C clearly show, the distance between the two additional tracks 21 and 22 can thus be changed.Optionally, the web 35 can also be linearly guided in the recess 32 without rusting to allow for adjustment. The linear guide can be clamped or with play. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a curved guide or a swivel joint instead of a linear guide to keep the upper part 33 movable relative to the lower part 34.

[0036] List of reference symbols

[0037] 1 furniture

[0038] 2 furniture body

[0039] 3 sliding element

[0040] 4 sliding element

[0041] 5 guide rail

[0042] 6 Running part

[0043] 7 Running part

[0044] 8 Topsoil

[0045] 9 Floor

[0046] 10 rail

[0047] 10a, 10b, rail section

[0048] 11 bases

[0049] 12 guideway

[0050] 13, 13' guide element

[0051] 14 rolls

[0052] 14' sliding element

[0053] 15 guideway

[0054] 16, 16' guide element

[0055] 17 roll

[0056] 17' sliding element

[0057] 18 Screw

[0058] 20, 20' connector

[0059] 21 Additional career

[0060] 22 Additional career

[0061] 23 Wall element

[0062] 24, 24' spring element

[0063] 25 wall elements

[0064] 26 Insert part

[0065] 27 Insert part

[0066] 28, 28' jetty

[0067] 29, 29' jetty

[0068] 30 base part

[0069] 31 Base part

[0070] Section 32

[0071] 33 top

[0072] 34 lower part

[0073] 35 jetty

Claims

Claims 1 . Rail arrangement for a sliding door fitting with a first rail part (10a) with at least two guide tracks (12, 15) for movable guide elements (13, 16, 13', 16') and a second rail part (10b) with at least two guide tracks (12, 15) for movable guide elements (13, 16, 13', 16'), wherein between the first and the second rail part (10a, 10b) there is arranged a connector (20, 20') with two additional tracks (21, 22) which bridge a gap between the first and the second rail part (10a, 10b), characterized in that between the two additional tracks (21, 22) there is provided an elastic spring element (24, 24') or a guide via which the distance between the additional tracks (21, 22) can be changed.

2. Rail arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the spring element (24, 24') has at least one flexible spring bar.

3. Rail arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one additional track (21, 22) is clamped to the first or second rail part (10a, 10b).

4. Rail arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the additional tracks (21, 22) is designed as a curved bridge section.

5. Rail arrangement according to claim 4, characterized in that the curved bridge section has a greater curvature before assembly than in the assembled position.

6. Rail arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an insert part (26, 27) is formed on each additional track (21, 22) and can be inserted on or into a receptacle of one of the rail parts (10a, 10b).

7. Rail arrangement according to claim 6, characterized in that the insertion part (26, 27) comprises a pin which is inserted into a hollow chamber of the first or second rail part (10a, 10b).

8. Rail arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connector (20) is designed as a one-piece molded part.

9. Rail arrangement according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the connector (20') is designed as a multi-piece molded part with an upper part (33) and a lower part (34).

10. Rail arrangement according to claim 9, characterized in that at least one linear guide with a toothing on the upper part (33) and with at least one toothing on the lower part (34) is provided, which can be locked in different positions.

11. Rail arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the two additional tracks (21, 22) are arranged one above the other in the vertical direction.

12. Rail arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each additional track (21, 22) is connected to the spring element (24) via a web (28, 29).

13. Sliding door fitting with a rail arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, on which at least two sliding elements (3, 4) are movably guided.

14. Furniture (1) with a sliding door fitting according to claim 13.

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