Guide device

Abstract

A guide device, with at least one guide unit which has a body rail and at least one pull-out rail which is mounted so as to be displaceable relative to the body rail and can be coupled to the pull-out. The body rail has a first retaining element arranged at its front end and a second retaining element arranged at its rear end, and the pull-out rail can be coupled to the pull-out.The body rail has a first retaining element arranged at its front region and a second retaining element arranged at its rear region, and the retaining elements serve to fasten the body rail to two bars of a grid structure on the body side. The retaining elements each have a locking device which can be inserted between the two lattice bars during assembly in a locking operation and which, when assembled, engages behind the two lattice bars.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a guide device for guiding a pull-out, with at least one guide unit which has a body rail and at least one pull-out rail which is mounted so as to be displaceable relative to the body rail can be coupled to the pull-out, wherein the body rail has a first retaining element arranged at its front end and a second retaining element arranged at its rear end, wherein the retaining elements serve to fasten the body rail to two lattice bars of a lattice structure on the body side, which are spaced apart from each other in the height direction.

[0002] Guide devices attached to lattice bar arrangements on furniture or household appliances, such as ovens, have been known for a long time.

[0003] For example, EP 1 982 122 B1 describes a guide rail that is attached to horizontally extending rods of a grid-like side part of an oven, which are bent at an angle at their ends.

[0004] The guide rail is fastened by means of a quick-fastening device which has retaining elements, each of which has a clamp-like retaining section partially surrounding a longitudinal extension region of the rod. To fasten the guide rail, the rear retaining element is first placed on two transverse struts of the lattice bar arrangement located one above the other, and then the guide rail is swung in, bringing the front retaining element into contact with the two transverse struts. The front and rear retaining elements are designed differently.

[0005] The object of the invention is to provide a guide device of the type mentioned above, with the aid of which the guide rail can be fastened to a lattice structure of a piece of furniture or household appliance in a simple, inexpensive and quick manner.

[0006] This object is achieved by a guide device with the features of independent claim 1. Further developments of the invention are described in the subclaims.

[0007] The guide device according to the invention is characterised in that the retaining elements each have a latching device which can be inserted between the two lattice bars for mounting in a latching operation and which, when mounted, engages behind the two lattice bars.

[0008] This allows the guide device to be mounted quickly and easily with the aid of the retaining elements. It is not necessary to attach one end of the guide device to the grid structure or lattice bar arrangement and swivelling it in, but thanks to the locking function of the retaining elements, it is possible to guide the guide rail laterally to the grid structure and to fasten the two retaining elements simultaneously to the two lattice bars by means of a fastening movement aligned essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the lattice bars.

[0009] In a further development of the invention, the locking device has two latching elements that can move relative to each other to grip an assigned lattice bar, at least one of which is designed as an elastically deformable latching element.

[0010] In a particularly preferred embodiment, both latching elements are designed as elastically deformable latching elements. Alternatively, it would be conceivable for one of the latching elements to be rigid and the other rear gripping element to be designed as an elastically deformable latching element.

[0011] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the at least one latching element, preferably both latching elements, has a hump-shaped curved section which snaps in behind the associated lattice bar after passing it and engages behind it.

[0012] This prevents the latching element, once locked in place, from accidentally disengaging against the direction of insertion.

[0013] In a further development of the invention, the at least one rear engagement element is tongue-shaped.

[0014] The retaining elements are advantageously made of metal, in particular steel.

[0015] The rear engagement element can therefore be designed as a relatively narrow tongue-shaped strip of metal.

[0016] In principle, however, it would also be conceivable to manufacture the retaining elements from plastic.

[0017] In a further development of the invention, the retaining elements are each designed as components separate from the associated body rail, which are fastened to the associated fastening interfaces on the body rail by means of fastening elements. It is expedient for the retaining elements to be non-detachable, i.e. they can only be removed by force, to the associated fastening interfaces with the body rail. However, it is also conceivable to attach the retaining elements to the associated fastening interfaces of the body rail in a removable manner by designing the fastening elements accordingly. For example, it is possible to weld the retaining elements to the body rail at the assigned fastening interfaces or to fasten them there in a non-detachable manner by means of a rivet connection. Latching or clip connections are again suitable for the detachable version In a further development of the invention, the retaining elements each have a base body from which the latching elements protrude.

[0018] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the retaining elements each have, in addition to the snap-in device, two retaining tongues spaced apart in the height direction and projecting between the lattice bars when assembled, which can be bent under plastic deformation for additional fastening of the retaining elements to the associated lattice bars.

[0019] This makes it possible to produce a ‘fixed version’ of the guide device from the ‘detachable version’ of the guide device, in which the guide device can be detached from the associated lattice bars again if necessary. If the retaining tongues are plastically deformed, the guide device can no longer be easily detached from the associated lattice bars. This requires further plastic deformation of the retaining tongues into their initial position.

[0020] In a further development of the invention, the retaining tongues protrude from the base body of the retaining element.

[0021] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the retaining elements each have a support element that prevents relative movement of the retaining elements and thus of the body rail along the lattice bars.

[0022] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the support element is designed as an angle piece which, when assembled, surrounds at least one angled end region of an associated lattice bar.

[0023] Conveniently, the support element, in particular the angle piece, has a height such that it supports both lattice bars spaced apart from each other in the height direction.

[0024] The invention also relates to a piece of furniture or household appliance with a guide device for guiding a pull-out, which is designed according to one of claims 1 to 12.

[0025] A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing and is explained in more detail below. The drawing shows:

[0026] FIG. 1 a perspective view of an oven in which a preferred embodiment of the guide device according to the invention is arranged,

[0027] FIG. 2 a perspective view of a partial section of a preferred embodiment of the guide device according to the invention, showing the front end of the guide device,

[0028] FIG. 3 a perspective view of the guide device from FIG. 2, showing the rear end of the guide device,

[0029] FIG. 4 a perspective view of one of the retaining elements used in the guide device according to the invention, and

[0030] FIG. 5 shows the retaining element from FIG. 4 in perspective, showing the fixed version after the retaining tabs have been bent.

[0031] FIGS. 1 to 5 show a preferred embodiment of the guide device 11 according to the invention.

[0032] The guide device 11 is used to guide a pull-out (not shown) which is movably mounted in a piece of furniture or household appliance via the guide device 11. In the example shown, this is a household appliance in the form of an oven 40, which is shown in FIG. 1. It is of course also possible to install the guide device 11 according to the invention in furniture in a pull-out compartment of a furniture body.

[0033] In the example shown, the household appliance, in particular the oven, has side walls 41a, 41b facing each other, to each of which a grid structure 12 is attached. A left and a right (not shown) grid structure 12 are therefore provided, which face each other. The grid structure 12 consists of a plurality of lattice bars 13.

[0034] The oven 40, which is rectangular in the example, also has a rear wall 42 opposite an opening 43 that can be closed by a door or flap (not shown).

[0035] The oven has a base 44 and a ceiling wall 45 at the top and bottom. The two side walls 41a, 41b, the rear wall 42, the door or flap, the base 44 and the ceiling wall 45 enclose an interior space 46, which could also be referred to as the baking or cooking chamber.

[0036] As shown in particular in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lattice bars 13 comprise vertical lattice bars 13a, which can also be referred to as vertical bars or vertical struts.

[0037] In the example shown, the vertical lattice bars 13a therefore run in a height direction 14. As a rule, several, in particular two, vertical lattice bars 13a are provided at a distance behind one another in a depth direction 15. Horizontal lattice bars extend between adjacent vertical lattice bars 13a, of which a first horizontal lattice bar 13b and a second horizontal lattice bar 13c form a pair of lattice bars.

[0038] As shown in particular by the combined view of FIGS. 1 and 2, the first and second horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c are connected at their ends to the vertical lattice bars 13a, for example by being welded there.

[0039] The lattice bars 13a-c of the lattice structure are usually made of metal, in particular steel material.

[0040] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, several pairs of lattice bars consisting of first and second horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c are arranged in the height direction along the vertical lattice bars 13a. The vertical distance between the two horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c of a pair of lattice bars is smaller than the distance between adjacent pairs of lattice bars.

[0041] As further shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c each have a base section 16 extending in the depth direction 15, which is connected at one end and the other end to angled end regions 17a, 17b. The end regions 17a, 17b extend essentially perpendicular to the orientation of the base section 16 and are advantageously connected to the associated base section 16 via a curved or arcuate section.

[0042] In the example shown, the guide device 11 comprises several guide units 18, which are assigned in pairs to the left and right side walls 41a, 41b. Furthermore, in the example shown, several pairs of guide units are arranged one above the other.

[0043] Of the pairs of guide units, only the left guide units 18 are shown in FIG. 1.

[0044] The left and right guide units are essentially identical in design, so that the description of one guide unit 18 also applies to the other guide unit.

[0045] The guide units 18 each have a body rail 19 and at least one running rail that is movably guided on the body rail 19 by means of guide means, for example guide slides.

[0046] It is conceivable that two running rails are provided, one of which is a centre rail (not shown) and the other an extension rail 20. The extension rail 20 can be connected to the pull-out by means of suitable coupling means, for example by means of a snap-in coupling.

[0047] The combination of the body rail 19, centre rail and pull-out rail 20 is also referred to as a full pull-out. However, it is also conceivable that the pull-out rail 20 is movably guided directly on the body rail 19 without the interposition of a centre rail, which is referred to as a partial pull-out.

[0048] An essential aspect of the invention is the fastening of the body rail 19 to the grid structure 12 of the furniture or household appliance.

[0049] For this purpose, a first retaining element 21a is arranged on the body rail 19 in a front area and a second retaining element 21b is arranged in the rear area.

[0050] The retaining elements 21a, 21b serve to fasten the body rail 19 to the two horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c of a pair of lattice bars.

[0051] The retaining elements 21a, 21b each have a locking device 22 which can be inserted between the two lattice bars 13b, 13c for mounting in a locking operation and which, when mounted, engages behind the two lattice bars 13b, 13c.

[0052] As shown in particular in FIGS. 4 and 5, the retaining elements 21a, 21b each have a relatively narrow base body 24 with an upper and a lower edge section 25a, 25b.

[0053] In the following, only a single retaining element 21a is described, whereby the description and function of the retaining element described also apply to the other retaining element.

[0054] In the example shown, the retaining elements 21a, 21b are designed as components separate from the associated body rail 19.

[0055] As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, two fastening interfaces 26a, 26b are provided on the body rail 19 in the longitudinal direction of the body rail 19 and in the depth direction 15 of the body rail 19, of which a first fastening interface 26a is assigned to the front region and a second fastening interface 26b is assigned to the rear region of the body rail. The retaining elements 21a, 21b are fastened to the fastening interfaces 26a, 26b, in particular to a side wall 27 of the body rail 19.

[0056] In the example shown, the retaining elements 21a, 21b are made of metal, in particular steel. In this case, the two retaining elements 21a, 21b are welded to the side wall 27 of the body rail 19 at the associated fastening interfaces 26a, 26b.

[0057] As already mentioned, the retaining element 21a, 21b has a relatively narrow base body 24 with upper and lower edge sections 25a, 25b.

[0058] The rear engagement elements 23a, 23b of the locking device 22, which have also already been mentioned, are arranged on the upper and lower edge sections 25a, 25b of the base body 24 and project from there, in particular in an oblique orientation.

[0059] In the example shown, the rear engagement elements 23a, 23b are both designed as elastically deformable latching elements.

[0060] It is advantageous for these latching elements to be connected in one piece to the base body 24. For example, the latching elements can be formed during the manufacture of the retaining element 21a, 21b by a suitable punching process from a blank of the retaining element 21a, 21b.

[0061] As shown in particular in FIGS. 4 and 5, each latching element has a latching element base section 28, which is connected in one piece to the upper or lower edge section 25a, 25b of the base body. The latching element base section 28 is followed by a hump-shaped curved section 29 in the direction of the free end of the latching element. The humps or curves of the curved section 29 point away from each other when the upper and lower latching elements are compared. A locking recess 30 is formed between the hump-shaped curved section 29 and the latching element base section 28, into which the associated lattice bar 13b, 13c can snap after passing through the hump-shaped curved section 29.

[0062] As shown in particular in FIG. 4, the retaining element 21a, 21b has, in addition to the locking device 22, two retaining tongues 31a, 31b spaced apart from each other in the height direction and projecting between the lattice bars in the assembled state, which can be bent under plastic deformation for additional fastening of the retaining elements 21a, 21b to the associated lattice bars 13b, 13c.

[0063] In the example shown, the retaining tongues 31a, 31b are approximately trapezoidal in shape.

[0064] One of the retaining tabs 31a is assigned to the upper edge section 25a of the base body 24 and extends substantially vertically from there. The other retaining tongue 31b is assigned to the lower edge section 25b and also extends substantially perpendicularly from there. FIG. 3 shows a state of the retaining tongues 31a, 31b in which the retaining tongues 31a, 31b are not plastically deformed, which corresponds to a ‘loose’ variant of the retaining elements 21a, 21b. This means that in this state, the body rail can be detached relatively easily from the associated lattice bars 13b, 13c of the grid structure 12.

[0065] FIG. 5 shows a variant in which the retaining tongues are plastically deformed, in each case outwards, i.e. the upper retaining tab 31a is bent upwards and the lower retaining tab 31b is bent downwards. The plastic deformation or bending of the retaining tabs takes place after the retaining tabs have been inserted into the space between the two lattice bars 13b, 13c of a pair of lattice bars. The plastic deformation can be carried out relatively easily, for example by crimping using crimping pliers.

[0066] As shown in particular in FIGS. 3 and 4, the retaining elements each have a support element 32 which prevents relative movement of the retaining elements 21a, 21b and thus of the body rail 19 along the lattice bars 13b, 13c.

[0067] In the example shown, the support element 32 is designed as an angle piece which, when assembled, surrounds the two end regions 17a, 17b of the horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c of the pair of lattice bars.

[0068] Conveniently, the support element 32 is located at one end of the base body and has a significantly greater height than the base body, which enables the aforementioned support at both end regions 17a, 17b of the associated horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c.

[0069] To fasten the body rail 19 and thus the guide unit 18 to the grid structure 12, the body rail 19 is first brought close to a pair of lattice bars, whereby the height is determined by selecting a pair of lattice bars located at the desired height. The side wall 27 of the body rail 19 extends essentially perpendicular to the base sections 25a, 25b of the horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c. The retaining elements 21a, 21b are initially not yet in contact with the associated lattice bars 13b, 13c. Next, the body rail 19 is guided towards the associated horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c by means of a fixing movement aligned with a width alignment 35 of the associated household appliance or oven, whereby this guiding can be carried out simultaneously with both retaining elements 21a, 21b without a specific retaining element 21a, 21b first having to come into contact with the lattice bars 13b, 13c.

[0070] During this locking process, the two hump-shaped curved sections 29 of the latching elements of the two retaining elements 21a, 21b are then inserted into the space 36 between the two lattice bars 13b, 13c lying one above the other in the height direction, whereby the latching elements are elastically deformed and pressed towards each other, since the hump-shaped curved sections have a greater dimension in the height direction than the space 36 between the two horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c.

[0071] The two hump-shaped curved sections 29 of a respective retaining element 21a, 21bsnap back automatically into their initial position after passing the associated horizontal lattice bars, i.e. the base sections 16 of the horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c, whereby the locking recess 30 located between the hump-shaped curved section 29 and the latching element base section 28 comes into contact with the associated lattice bar 13b, 13c. This means that the spring-elastic latching elements snap into the associated lattice bars 13b, 13c in the area of the latching recess 30 after passing the hump-shaped curved section 29.

[0072] In this state, the two retaining elements 21a, 21b and thus the body rail 19 are secured against unintentional release in a direction opposite to the fastening movement or the latching direction. The body rail can be detached from the grid structure 12 by proactively pressing together the two latching elements of the retaining element 21a, 21b, allowing the latching elements to snap out of the gap 36 again.

[0073] An essential aspect of the invention is that the latching process can take place simultaneously on both latching elements. Simultaneously with this locking process of the latching elements of the two retaining elements 21a, 21b, the support elements 32 bear against one and the other end region 17a, 17b of the horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c, thereby preventing relative movement of the body rail with respect to the longitudinal axis of the horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c.

[0074] As shown in particular by the combined view of FIGS. 2 and 3, the two retaining tongues 31a, 31b simultaneously pass through the space 36 between the two horizontal lattice bars 13b, 13c during the locking process of the respective retaining elements 21a, 21b.

[0075] The state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 corresponds to the state shown in FIG. 4, i.e. the ‘detachable version’ in which the retaining tongues 31a, 31b are not plastically deformed. Here, however, the retaining tongues 31a, 31b serve as additional securing or support for the relevant retaining elements 21a, 21b and thus for the body rail 19 in the height direction 14.

[0076] As the comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3 shows, the fixed version shown in FIG. 5 can be easily produced from this loose version by bending the retaining tabs 31a, 31b upwards and downwards, whereby they engage behind the two associated lattice bars 13b, 13c. In contrast to the two locking tongues, which are elastically deformable, the elastic yield of the plastically deformed retaining tongues 31a, 31b does not cause the retaining elements 21a, 21b to disengage. This variant is therefore also referred to as the ‘fixed variant’.

Claims

1-13. (canceled)14. A guide device for guiding a pull-out, with at least one guide unit which has a body rail and at least one pull-out rail which is mounted so as to be displaceable relative to the body rail and can be coupled to the pull-out, wherein the body rail has a first retaining element arranged at its front end and a second retaining element arranged at its rear end, wherein the retaining elements serve to fasten the body rail to two lattice bars of a lattice structure on the body side, which are spaced apart from each other in a height direction, wherein the retaining elements each have a locking device which can be inserted between the two lattice bars during assembly in a locking operation and, when assembled, engages behind the two lattice bars.

15. The guide device according to claim 14, wherein the locking device has rear engagement elements that are movable relative to each other for locking behind an associated lattice bar, at least one of which is designed as an elastically deformable latching element.

16. The guide device according to claim 15, wherein the two rear engagement elements are designed as elastically deformable latching elements.

17. The guide device according to claim 16, wherein the at least one latching element has a hump-shaped curved section which, after passing the associated lattice bar, snaps behind the lattice bar and engages behind it.

18. The guide device according to one of claims 17, wherein the at least one rear engagement element is tongue-shaped.

19. The guide device according to claim 14, wherein the retaining elements are each designed as components separate from the associated body rail and are fastened to the body rail at associated fastening interfaces by means of fastening elements.

20. The guide device according to claim 15, wherein the retaining elements each have a base body from which the rear engagement elements project.

21. The guide device according to claim 14, wherein the retaining elements each have, in addition to the locking device, two retaining tongues spaced apart from each other in the height direction and projecting between the lattice bars when mounted which can be bent under plastic deformation for additional fastening of the retaining elements to the associated lattice bars.

22. The guide device according to claims 21, wherein the retaining tongues project from the base body of the associated retaining element.

23. The guide device according to claim 14, wherein the retaining elements each have a support element which prevents relative movement of the retaining elements and thus of the body rail along the lattice bars.

24. The guide device according to claim 23, wherein the support element is designed as an angle piece which, when mounted, surrounds at least one angled end region of an associated lattice bar.

25. The guide device according to claim 24, wherein the support element has a height such that it is supported on both lattice bars spaced apart from each other in the height direction.

26. A furniture or household appliance with a guide device for guiding a pull-out, wherein the guide device is designed according to claim 14.

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