Accelerating or braking device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing acceleration or braking devices for furniture and household appliances face issues with reliable coupling and energy absorption during high impact forces, leading to potential malfunctions in sliding elements like doors and drawers.
Innovation Solution
The device features a driver moving along a guideway with an activator that pivots upon impact due to an inclined contact surface, preventing the activator from jumping out and absorbing impact energy, ensuring secure coupling and reliable operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a flexible lever activator is used in a pull-out guide, then the mechanism can be compact, but the activator can jump over when high impact forces occur during braking
Solution Approach 1:
The contact surface is changed from a vertical orientation to an inclined orientation at an angle of 5° to 15° relative to the perpendicular direction. This parameter change allows the activator to pivot upon impact rather than jump over, converting the harmful jumping motion into a controlled pivoting motion that maintains coupling between the activator and driver while still allowing the compact flexible lever design to function.
2Reliability
If a cover is added to guide track to prevent activator from moving out of receptacle, then coupling is secured, but additional space is required
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding a cover component, the contact surface orientation parameter is changed to inclined at 5° to 15°. This parameter modification enables the activator to pivot into the receptacle upon impact through force generation, securing the coupling without requiring any additional space or extra components.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover component proposed in the prior art is extracted/removed from the design. The function of preventing activator ejection is achieved not by a physical cover but by the inclined contact surface geometry that redirects impact forces to pivot the activator into the receptacle, maintaining coupling security without the additional space requirement.
3Device complexity
If the contact surface is aligned perpendicular to driver movement direction, then the structure is simple, but impact energy is not absorbed and activator may jump out
Solution Approach 1:
The contact surface orientation parameter is changed from perpendicular (90°) to inclined at 5° to 15° relative to the perpendicular direction. This parameter modification enables the contact surface to act as a sliding surface that generates pivoting forces on the activator during impact, allowing the activator to pivot into the receptacle and absorb impact energy through the pivoting motion, while maintaining relatively simple structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design effectively prevents skipping and ensures reliable coupling and energy absorption, particularly under high damping forces, enhancing the functionality and reliability of sliding elements.
Implementation Method 1
an activator resting against a contact surface of the driver when it hits the driver
Implementation Method 2
The inclined area of the contact surface forms a sliding surface in order to pivot the activator within a certain range
Implementation Method 3
This slight pivoting movement of the section of the activator can also absorb a certain amount of impact energy
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2~3
Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
The invention relates to an accelerating or braking device (10) for furniture (1) or household appliances, comprising a catch (14) that can be moved along a guide track (12) and has a receiving means (16) into which a section (23, 40) of an activator (21, 21') can be inserted, in order to move the catch (14) along the guide track (12) against the force of a damper (18, 19), wherein the activator (21, 21') is applied to a contact surface (24) of the catch (14) when impinging on the catch (14), wherein the contact surface (24) is oriented, in an inclined manner, in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the catch (14), and the section (23, 40) of the activator (21, 21') is swivelled into the receiving means (16) when impinging on the contact surface (24). In this way, a skipping of the activator on the catch (14) is reliably avoided.