Furniture Door Guide Carrier With Integrated Drive for Defined Closure

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing guide systems for door wings in furniture allow undefined intermediate positions, leading to collisions with the furniture carcass and incomplete closure.

Innovation Solution

A drive device is integrated on the carrier to control the door wing's movement between defined positions, eliminating the need for furniture hinges with force storage members, allowing the door wing to be driven exclusively by the drive device.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If furniture hinges are equipped with own force storage members to drive the door wing, then the door wing can be moved between positions, but the production costs increase and the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedoor wing movement capabilityVSAvoidfurniture hinge structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The force storage member is extracted from the furniture hinge and placed in a separate drive device. The furniture hinge retains only its mechanical function of connecting the door wing to the carrier, while the drive device independently provides the driving force through its own force storage member.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system is segmented into two independent functional units: the furniture hinge for mechanical connection and positioning, and the drive device for providing driving force. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, reducing overall complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If multiple furniture hinges are equipped with own force storage members to support the door wing, then the door wing can be reliably driven, but the production costs increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedoor wing driving reliabilityVSAvoidproduction cost

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple furniture hinges share a common drive device with a single force storage member. The drive device is connected to all hinges through a coupling mechanism, allowing one force storage member to provide driving force to multiple hinges simultaneously, thereby reducing production costs while maintaining reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Ease of operation

If furniture hinges have own force storage members, then the door wing can be driven, but Touch-Latch applications require excessively powerful and expensive force storage members

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedoor wing driving functionVSAvoidforce storage member power requirement

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The force storage member is extracted from the furniture hinge and placed in a separate drive device, which can be optimally sized for the specific application. For Touch-Latch applications, this allows the use of a small, inexpensive force storage member in the drive device rather than requiring oversized force storage members in each hinge.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS12612816B2Guide system for guiding at least one door leaf relative to a furniture body

Publication Date: 2026.04.28 JULIUS BLUM GMBH

AI summary

A guide system for guiding a door wing relative to a furniture carcass, the guide system including a guide configured to guide the door wing along a sidewall of the furniture carcass, and a carrier movably supported along the guide, the door wing being supportable on the carrier over a pivoting path between a first position and a second position. A drive device is arranged on the carrier or on a mounting member to be fixed to the carrier, and the door wing connected to the carrier in a mounted condition can be driven at least in a partial section of the pivoting path into the first position and/or into the second position by the drive device.