Furniture element
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-05-24
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-08
AI Technical Summary
Furniture elements like shelves and room dividers face challenges in protecting stored objects from dirt while ensuring accessibility, and they must be placed away from side walls to rotate without hitting them, limiting their functionality and usability.
A furniture element with a carrier plate and a body that can move horizontally and rotate relative to each other via guide elements and running grooves, allowing for simultaneous rotational and translational movement, enabling offset positioning without moving the entire unit, and incorporating load-bearing sliding or rolling elements to relieve stress on the bearing system.
This design allows for effective protection of stored objects, easy accessibility, and versatile use as a room divider or seating furniture, enabling rotation and translation without hitting walls, while maintaining stability and ease of movement.
Smart Images
Figure EP2024064380_05122024_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001]Furniture element The present invention relates to a furniture element, in particular a piece of seating furniture, a room divider, a storage unit or a shelf, according to the preamble of claim 1. Furniture elements such as shelves or shelves, in which a shelf is arranged on a support plate and is guided on this plate and can be moved both rotationally and translationally, are known, for example, from JP 10318669 or DE 10 2017106 170 A1. In particular, the support plate described in the latter publication has proven itself in practice. With such shelves or shelves, there is often the problem of protecting the objects stored on them from dirt on the one hand and allowing good accessibility to the objects on the other. In addition, these shelves or shelves must always be set up at a distance from side walls in order to enable them to be rotated without hitting the side wall.The object of the present invention is to provide a furniture element that equally protects the objects stored on or in the furniture element and ensures good accessibility to the same. The furniture element is also to be further developed to enable even more extensive use in that the furniture element can be used, for example, as a room divider, seating furniture or the like to enable or prevent a passage between two room areas and to enable the furniture element to be rotated even when it is in contact with an interfering contour such as a wall or in a corner. This object is achieved by a furniture element with the features of claim 1. The furniture element according to the invention, in particular seating furniture, room divider, storage unit or shelf with at least one storage level, has a support plate and a body mounted on the support plate so as to be horizontally movable relative to the plate.The body and the support plate have mutually facing, flat bearing areas. The body can be rotated relative to the support plate in one of two possible opposite directions of rotation via guide elements guided in grooves and can be displaced in a plane parallel to the plane of the bearing areas. The bearing areas of the body and the support plate have both grooves and guide elements that project into the grooves of the other bearing area.The grooves are shaped in such a way that the body, in an at least partially forced, simultaneous rotational and translational movement, can move from an initial position via an intermediate position in which the body is rotated relative to the support plate in one direction of rotation and displaced in the plane parallel to the plane of the bearing areas, can be rotated further in one direction of rotation and displaced further in the plane parallel to the plane of the bearing areas and, when rotated by an angle of 90° or a multiple thereof, preferably by 180°, assumes a position offset by a distance in a translational direction. With a furniture element designed in this way, it is possible to enable an offset positioning of the body by superimposing the rotational and translational movements without having to displace the furniture element as a whole, i.e. with a support plate that can be fixed in place on a floor.Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the running grooves are embedded in the bearing areas of the body and the support plate. According to a further embodiment, a bearing plate is attached to an underside of the body facing the support plate, on which bearing plate the running grooves and the guide elements are arranged. In this case, the bearing area of the body is formed by the underside of the bearing plate facing the support plate. According to a preferred embodiment, the guide elements are designed as ball rollers with balls guided in them. Alternatively, it is also conceivable to design the guide elements as guide pins. According to a further advantageous embodiment, in each of the bearing areas, two guide elements positioned at a distance from one another and two running grooves are arranged.Preferably, at least one end of at least one of the running grooves is designed as an end stop limiting the movement of the body. According to a further advantageous embodiment, load-bearing sliding or rolling elements are attached to an underside of the body facing the support plate. This enables a simple relief of the translational-rotational bearing arranged between the support plate and the body and formed by the running grooves and the guide elements guided in them. The load-bearing sliding or rolling elements are preferably attached outside an overlap area with the bearing areas. According to a preferred variant designed as seating furniture with at least one seat and at least one partition wall framing the seat, the at least one partition wall encloses the seat at an angle of at least 90°.According to a further preferred embodiment, the at least one partition wall encloses the seat at an angle of 180°. According to a further embodiment of a furniture element designed as seating furniture, the at least one partition wall has a height of at least 160 cm and can therefore also be used as a room divider. Preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. They show: Figs. 1 and 2 schematic isometric views of a furniture element arranged between two fixed furniture elements and movable in translation and rotation in two different positions, Fig. 3 a representation corresponding to Figs. 1 and 2 with a movable furniture element in an intermediate position during the translation-rotation movement, Fig. 4 an isometric exploded view of the furniture element showing the running grooves and guide elements in the bearing areas, Fig.5 is a sectional view through the base area of the furniture element showing the guide elements guided in the grooves, Fig. 6a - 6d is a schematic plan view of the bearing areas of the furniture element to show a change in position from the position of the movable furniture element shown in Fig. 1 to the position of the furniture element shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 7 is a schematic isometric view of two pieces of seating with a seat arranged thereon and partition walls framing them on three sides in a first position facing each other, Fig. 8 is an isometric view of the pieces of seating shown in Fig. 7 with the pieces facing away from each other, Fig. 9 is an isometric view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 7 in a further positioning with the pieces facing away from each other, Fig. 10 is a plan view of the two pieces of seating in the position shown in Fig. 7,11 is a schematic isometric view of an alternatively designed piece of seating furniture with a seat arranged thereon and partition walls framing this on two sides in a first open position in a corner of a room, Fig. 12 is an isometric view of the seating furniture shown in Fig. 11 in a closed position moved out of the corner of the room, Fig. 13 is a plan view of the seating furniture in the position shown in Fig. 12, Fig. 14 is an isometric exploded view of the seating furniture according to Fig. 11 lying on one of the partition walls to show the running grooves and guide elements in the bearing areas of the support plate and the bearing plate, Fig. 15 is a detailed view of the underside of the seating furniture according to Fig. 14 to show the running grooves and guide elements in the bearing areas of the support plate and the bearing plate, and Fig. 16 is a detailed view of a further embodiment of a support plate.In the following description of the figures, terms such as top, bottom, left, right, front, back, etc. refer exclusively to the exemplary representation and position of the furniture element, the support plate, body, bearing plate, bearing areas, running grooves, guide elements, and the like chosen in the respective figures. These terms are not to be understood as limiting, i.e., these references can change due to different working positions or the mirror-symmetrical design or the like. In Figures 1 to 3, the reference numeral 1 denotes an embodiment variant of a furniture element according to the invention. The furniture element 1 is set up on a floor 12 and positioned at the rear close to a wall 13. To the right and left of the furniture element 1, two further pieces of furniture 11 are also set up at a distance from one another, by way of example.To illustrate the mobility of the furniture element 1 according to the invention, the distance between the two fixed pieces of furniture 11 is selected such that, when placed against a side wall of one of the fixed pieces of furniture 11, the furniture element 1 is positioned at a distance from the side wall of the other fixed piece of furniture 11, forming a gap 14. In the embodiment shown in Figures 1-3 and 4, the furniture element 1 is depicted as a shelf with multiple storage surfaces 21. It is also conceivable to design the furniture element 1, for example, as a furniture element that visually separates two areas of a room, for example in the form of a room divider or a furniture element 6 designed as seating furniture, as shown in Figures 7 or 11, wherein the gap 14 between the furniture element 1 and one of the fixed pieces of furniture 11 can be used as a passageway.The basic structure of the furniture element 1 according to the invention is shown in Figures 4 and 5. The furniture element 1 has a support plate 4 and a body 2 mounted on the support plate 4 so as to be horizontally movable relative to the support plate. The body 2 and the support plate 4 have mutually facing flat bearing areas 31, 41. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, the bearing area 31 of the body 2 is designed in the form of a separate bearing plate 3, which is fastened with its rear side facing away from the bearing area 31 to an underside 22 of the body 2, for example by screwing or gluing or the like. In this example, the body 2 has a circumferential, downwardly projecting edge 23 in the area of the underside 22, so that the bearing area 31 is not visible to a user, and elements that interfere with the translational-rotational movement, such asGlass marbles or children's toys, cannot get into the area between the carrier plate 4 and the bearing plate 3. As further shown in Figures 4 and 5, running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 and guide elements 34, 35, 44, 45 are arranged in the bearing areas 31, 41. The running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 are preferably embedded in the bearing areas 31, 41 of the body 2 or the bearing plate 3 and the carrier plate 4. In principle, it is also conceivable to provide the running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 as separate molded parts and to fasten these to the bearing areas 31, 41 of the body 2 or the bearing plate 3 and the carrier plate 4. With the help of the running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 and guide elements 34, 35, 44, 45, the body 2 can be rotated relative to the carrier plate 4 in one of two possible opposite directions of rotation R1, R2 via the guide elements 34, 35, 44, 45 guided in the running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 and can be displaced in a plane parallel to the plane of the bearing areas 31, 41.As can be further seen in Figures 4 and 5, both the bearing area 31 of the body 2 and the bearing area 41 of the carrier plate 4 have both running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 and guide elements 34, 35, 44, 45 projecting into the running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 of the other of the bearing areas 31, 41.The running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 are shaped in such a way that when a force is applied to the body 2, preferably in the translation direction x, the body 2 in an at least partially forced, simultaneous rotational and translational movement from an initial position via an intermediate position in which the body 2 is rotated relative to the carrier plate 4 in a direction of rotation R1, R2 and displaced in a plane parallel to the plane of the bearing areas 31, 41, is further rotatable in the one direction of rotation R1, R2 and further displaceable parallel to the plane of the bearing areas 31, 41 and when rotated by an angle of 90° or a multiple thereof, preferably by 180°, assumes a position offset by a distance d in a translation direction x, as a comparison of Figures 1 and 2 shows.Figures 6a to 6d show, for the purpose of clarification, the translational-rotational movement of the furniture element 1 made possible by the running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 and guide elements 34, 35, 44, 45 in four steps from the positioning of the furniture element 1 shown in Figure 1 to the positioning of the furniture element 1 shown in Figure 2. Figure 6a represents the position of the furniture element 1 shown in Figure 1. Figure 6b shows a first intermediate position of the furniture element 1 with the body 2 of the furniture element 1 rotated by approximately 30°. Figure 6c shows the position of the body 2 after a rotation of approximately 60°, while Figure 6d shows a position rotated by 180°, as also shown in Figure 2.As a comparison of Figures 6a and 6d shows, the carrier plate 4 remains stationary on the base 12 in an unchanged position during this translational-rotational movement, while the body 2 has covered a distance d in the translational direction x, as shown in Figure 6d, after completing the movement. As further shown in Figures 4 and 5, the guide elements 34, 35, 44, 45 are preferably designed as ball rollers with balls guided therein. Figure 5 shows the cylindrical housings of the ball rollers protruding into the raceways 32, 42, and 43, in which the balls are accommodated. Other designs of such guide elements are also conceivable, for example in the form of guide pins or the like. In the embodiments shown in Figures 4-6, exactly two guide elements 34, 35, 44, 45 are arranged in each of the bearing areas 31, 41, which are positioned at a distance from one another and are each guided in a running groove 32, 33, 42, 43.Alternatively, a different number of guide elements and running grooves can be present. The running grooves can also be designed so that more than one guide element is guided at least partially simultaneously in a running groove. Different depths of the running grooves are also conceivable. As an alternative to the design as a recessed groove, the running groove can also be designed as a protruding guide rail, in which case guide elements such as ball rollers are arranged on both sides of the guide rail. As can also be seen in Figure 4, at least one of the running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 is designed as an open running groove, here the running groove 42. However, it is also conceivable for all of the running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 to be designed as open or closed running grooves. If closed running grooves are designed, at least one of the ends can also be used as an end stop to limit the movement of the body 2.To relieve the guide elements 34, 35, 44, 45 and the running grooves 32, 33, 42, 43 in the event of a greater weight load from the body 2 or objects placed on the body 2, in the embodiment shown here, load-bearing sliding or rolling elements 5 are attached to an underside 22 of the body 2 facing the support plate 4. As can be seen in Figure 4, these load-bearing sliding or rolling elements 5 are preferably attached outside an overlap area with the bearing areas 31, 41. In this embodiment, the weight of the body 2 is transferred directly to the floor 12. Alternatively, the load-bearing sliding or rolling elements 5 can also be arranged on the bearing plate 3 and transfer the load relative to the support plate 4, or vice versa.The underside 22 of the body 2 facing the support plate 4, on which the bearing plate 3 is also arranged, is preferably dimensioned such that it covers the support plate 4 in every position, i.e. projects beyond the outer dimensions of the support plate 4, so that the user does not see the support plate 4 with the grooves 42, 43, both in the end positions of the body 2 and during the combined translational-rotational movement of the body 2 relative to the support plate 4. Figures 7 to 15 show two embodiments of furniture elements 6 designed as seating furniture. Each of the furniture elements 6 designed as seating furniture has at least one seat 62 and at least one partition 65, 66, 67 framing the seat 62. The at least one partition preferably has a height of at least 160 cm in order to create a space that is at least visually separated from the rest of the room.The at least one partition wall can thus also be used as a room divider. The bearing plate 3 and the support plate 4, which can be secured to a floor, are arranged on the underside of a base 61 of the furniture element 6, as shown by way of example in Figures 14 and 15. In the furniture elements 6 designed as seating furniture shown in Figures 7 to 10, a bench-like seat 62 is provided. Placed in front of a section of the seat 62 is a shelf 64, which is attached to a partition wall 65 arranged to the side of the seat 62 or protrudes from it. In this embodiment, a total of three partition wall sections 65, 66, 67 are provided, which shield the seating furniture from three sides.A first partition wall 65 is arranged parallel to a third partition wall 67, wherein the third partition wall 67 is shorter than the first partition wall 65 and thus enables access to the seating area 62 even when two such seating items are positioned as shown in Figures 7 and 10, in which the two seating items form a space partially shielded from the outside. It can be seen that the furniture elements 6 are arranged at a distance from a wall 13 to ensure good access. The furniture element 6 shown in Figures 11 to 13, which is also designed as a seating item, has a corner bench-like seating area 62. In front of a section of the seating area 62, a shelf 64 with a square work surface is placed. This shelf is supported by a support column fixed to the floor 61 or protruding from it. In this embodiment, a total of two partition wall sections 65, 66 are provided, which shield the seating item from two sides.The partition wall sections 65, 66 extend at right angles to one another here. By varying the arrangement and orientation of the furniture element 6 designed as seating relative to a corner of the room formed by two walls 13 or to a wall 13, different work, learning, or leisure activities can be easily implemented. As illustrated by the exemplary embodiment shown in Figures 11 to 15, the seating can also be moved from an open orientation in a corner of the room, shown by way of example in Figure 11, to a closed orientation spaced apart from a corner of the room, shown in Figures 12 and 13, whereby the partition walls 65, 66 create a separate individual workstation or reading area. The distance from the corner of the room or from the wall 13 enables easy access.With regard to the bearing plate 3 and the support plate 4 which can be fixed to a floor, in the embodiment shown in Figures 14 to 16, the bearing area 41 of the support plate 4 has a plurality of housing receptacles 47 in which rolling elements designed as ball rollers 46 with balls guided therein are received. The ball rollers 46 are fixedly received in roller housings 461 in the bearing area 41 of the support plate 4 and enable a further improved load distribution. The guide plate 36 is fastened here to the bearing surface 31 of the support plate 3. The guide plate 36 has outer control edges for partially guiding the ball rollers 46, which are formed by the outer edge of the guide plate 36. These control edges protrude from the bearing surface 31 of the support plate 3 in the direction of the bearing area 41 of the support plate 4.To facilitate sliding the body 2 onto the support plate 4, an inlet region 48 opening into the guide tracks 42 is arranged on the support plate 4, as shown by way of example in Figure 16. List of reference symbols 1 Furniture element 2 Body 21 Storage area 22 Underside 23 Edge 3 Bearing plate 31 Storage area 32 Running groove 33 Running groove 34 Guide element 35 Guide element 36 Guide plate 4 Carrier plate 41 Storage area 42 Running groove 43 Running groove 44 Guide element 45 Guide element 46 Ball roller 461 Roller housing 47 Housing holder 48 Inlet area 5 Sliding or rolling element 6 Furniture element 61 Floor 62 Seat 63 Backrest 64 Storage area 65 Partition wall 66 Partition wall 67 Partition wall 11 Furniture 12 Floor 13 Wall 14 Gap x Translation direction d Distance R1 Direction of rotation R2 Direction of rotation.
Claims
Claims 1. Furniture element (1, 6), in particular seating furniture, room divider, storage or shelving unit with at least one storage level, comprising ^ a support plate (4) and a body (2) mounted on the support plate (4) so as to be horizontally movable relative thereto, ^ wherein the body (2) and the support plate (4) have mutually facing flat storage areas (31, 41), ^ wherein the body (2) is rotatable relative to the support plate (4) in one of two possible opposite directions of rotation (R1, R2) via guide elements (34, 35, 44, 45) guided in grooves (32, 33, 42, 43) and is displaceable in a plane parallel to the plane of the storage areas (31, 41), characterized in that ^ the storage areas (31, 41) of the body (2) and the support plate (4) both have at least one groove (32, 33, 42, 43) and at least one guide element (34, 35, 44, 45) projecting into the raceway groove (32, 33, 42, 43) of the other of the bearing areas (31, 41), ^ the raceways (32, 33, 42,43) are shaped such that the body (2) in an at least partially forced, simultaneous rotational and translational movement from an initial position via an intermediate position in which the body (2) is rotated relative to the carrier plate (4) in a direction of rotation (R1, R2) and displaced in the plane parallel to the plane of the bearing areas (31, 41), is further rotatable in the one direction of rotation (R1, R2) and further displaceable in the plane parallel to the plane of the bearing areas (31, 41) and, when rotated by an angle of 90° or a multiple thereof, preferably by 180°, assumes a position offset by a distance (d) in a translational direction (x).
2. Furniture element (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the running grooves (32, 33, 42, 43) are recessed in the bearing areas (31, 41) of the body (2) and the support plate (4) or are designed as projecting elements from the bearing areas (31,41) projecting guide rails are formed.
3. Furniture element (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that a bearing plate (3) is attached to an underside of the body (2) facing the support plate (4), on which bearing plate the running grooves (32, 33) and the guide elements (34, 35) are arranged.
4. Furniture element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide elements (34, 35, 44, 45) are designed as ball rollers with balls guided therein.
5. Furniture element (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the guide elements (34, 35, 44, 45) are designed as guide pins.
6. Furniture element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in each of the bearing areas (31, 41) two guide elements (34, 35, 44, 45) are arranged at a distance from one another.
7. Furniture element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in each of the bearing areas (31, 41) two track grooves (32, 33, 42, 43) are arranged at a distance from one another. 8.Furniture element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one end of at least one of the running grooves (32, 33, 42, 43) is designed as an end stop limiting the movement of the body (2).
9. Furniture element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that load-bearing sliding or rolling elements (5) are fastened to an underside (22) of the body (2) facing the support plate (4).
10. Furniture element (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that the load-bearing sliding or rolling elements (5) are fastened directly to the underside (22) of the body (2) outside of an overlap area with the bearing regions (31, 41).
11. Furniture element (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that the load-bearing sliding or rolling elements (5) are fastened to the bearing plate (3). 12.Furniture element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the underside (22) of the body (2) facing the support plate (4), on which the bearing plate (3) is arranged, is dimensioned in such a way. is such that it completely covers the support plate (4) in every position passed through during the translational-rotational movement.
13. Seating furniture (6) according to one of the preceding claims, with at least one seat surface (62) and at least one partition wall (65, 66) framing the seat surface (62), characterized in that the at least one partition wall (65, 66) encloses the seat surface (62) at an angle of at least 90°.
14. Seating furniture (6) according to claim 13, characterized in that the at least one partition wall (65, 66) encloses the seat surface (62) at an angle of 180°.
15. Seating furniture (6) according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the at least one partition wall (65, 66) has a height of at least 160 cm.