Hardware assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cabinet hardware systems struggle with installing knobs or pulls on non-standard thickness cabinets or drawers, as standard screws often fail to provide adequate thread engagement, leading to instability and risk of failure.
Innovation Solution
A hardware assembly featuring a threaded handle with an internally threaded aperture, an externally threaded rod that can be shortened using weakened regions such as transverse notches, and a threaded fastener like a nut for secure engagement with the cabinet or drawer, allowing for installation across a range of thicknesses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If standard screws are used for cabinet hardware, then installation is simple and device complexity is low, but thread engagement is insufficient for non-standard thickness cabinets leading to instability
Solution Approach 1:
The hardware assembly is divided into separate components: a handle with internal threading, an externally threaded rod, and a separate fastener. This segmentation allows the rod length to be adjusted for different cabinet thicknesses while maintaining simple individual components. The rod can be inserted through the handle and fastened at various positions along its length to accommodate non-standard thicknesses.
Solution Approach 2:
The threaded rod provides dynamic adjustability in length engagement with the cabinet body. By positioning the fastener at different locations along the rod's length, the effective engagement length can be dynamically adjusted to match various cabinet thicknesses, ensuring adequate thread engagement without requiring multiple fixed-length screw options.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the threaded rod is made longer to accommodate thicker cabinets, then adaptability increases, but the unused portion creates waste and increases material usage
Solution Approach 1:
The design accepts that portions of the threaded rod may remain unused after installation. Rather than attempting to utilize the entire rod length, the system allows the excess portion to be discarded. This is acceptable because the rod is a relatively simple component and the benefit of using a single rod design for multiple thicknesses outweighs the material waste from unused portions.
Solution Approach 2:
A single threaded rod design serves multiple functions across different cabinet thicknesses. The same rod can be used for thin, medium, and thick cabinets by simply adjusting where the fastener is positioned along its length, eliminating the need for multiple rod length variants and reducing overall material requirements in the product line.
3Ease of repair
If weakened regions are added to the threaded rod to permit separation, then ease of repair and adjustment improve, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The weakened regions are pre-formed during manufacturing at specific locations along the rod. These pre-positioned weak points guide where the rod should be trimmed or separated, ensuring consistent and accurate final lengths without requiring complex field measurements or calculations. The weakened regions act as predetermined break points that simplify the adjustment process.
Data Source
AI summary
A hardware assembly is provided with a threaded handle for a drawer or door. A threaded rod is provided for threaded engagement with the threaded handle, with a length to extend through the drawer or door. A threaded fastener is sized for threaded engagement with the threaded rod to engage the drawer or door spaced apart from the handle to fasten the handle to the drawer or door. At least one weakened region is formed in the threaded rod to permit separation of an unused portion of the rod from an installed portion of the rod.