Concealable Panel Joining System Using Deformable Pin and Chute
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing joining systems for furniture lack invisible and stable connections between panels, often resulting in visible milled openings, inadequate horizontal stability, and increased costs due to additional materials required for reinforcement.
Innovation Solution
A concealable joining system featuring a pin with a deformable main body and a chute, integrated into the edge of the shelf, which provides elastic force for pulling the shelf towards the upright, maintaining rigidity and allowing for reversible assembly without visible holes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a long milled channel is used to insert a blocking element, then the shelf can be assembled, but the edge of the shelf becomes weak and additional metal plates are required for reinforcement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the blocking element from a long milled channel and relocates it to the end of a short milled channel, eliminating the need for the channel to extend through the entire shelf thickness. This extraction resolves the weakening effect on the shelf edge while maintaining the assembly function.
Solution Approach 2:
The blocking element is designed with a specific geometry that segments the load path, allowing it to effectively block the pin at the end of a short channel rather than requiring a continuous long channel. This segmentation provides reinforcement without adding metal plates.
2Ease of manufacture
If the joining device is made visible, then assembly is simplified, but the aesthetic appearance of the furniture is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The joining device is nested within the shelf structure, with the blocking element positioned at the end of a short milled channel that is itself nested within the shelf thickness. This nesting allows the joining mechanism to be concealed within the shelf's existing structure, maintaining aesthetic appearance while enabling simple assembly.
3Strength
If additional metal plates are added for reinforcement, then the shelf structure is strengthened, but costs and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the reinforcement function from separate metal plates and integrates it into the blocking element itself. The blocking element's geometry and positioning at the end of the short channel provide the necessary reinforcement locally, eliminating the need for additional metal plates and reducing material quantity.
4Shape
If the pin head is made deformable, then the joining system becomes concealable, but the connection stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The pin head is designed with deformable parameters that allow it to change shape during assembly to engage the blocking element, then maintain a stable connection once engaged. The deformability is controlled through material selection and geometric design, ensuring that the parameter changes enable concealability while maintaining connection stability through the engagement mechanism.
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
The system achieves stable and invisible connections between panels, maintaining shelf rigidity and simplifying disassembly, while eliminating the need for visible milled openings and additional reinforcement materials, thus enhancing structural stability and reducing costs.
Implementation Method 1
a spring housed inside said cylinder and pushing the head of the pin outside the cylinder
Implementation Method 2
a main body at least partially deformable when in engagement with the head of the pin so as to flexibly draw together the shelf and the upright
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 4a~5B
Figure 6~8
AI summary
A joining system (100) for fastening together a shelf (H) and an upright (V) of a piece of furniture or the like is described, the joining system (100) comprising a joining device (10) configured so as to be recessed into the edge (H2) of the shelf and a pin (50) fixed to the upright, wherein said pin (50) comprises a cylinder (52) configured so as to be inserted into a hole (V1) of the upright and a head (56) flexibly protruding from said cylinder (52); wherein said joining device (10) comprises a main body (20) at least partially deformable when in engagement with the head (56) of the pin (50) so as to flexibly draw together the shelf and the upright; wherein said joining device (10) comprises a chute (29) configured so as to cooperate with the head (56) of the pin (50) when the shelf must be unhooked from the upright.