Elastic Drawer Hooking Coupling for Precise Lateral Centering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for laterally centering drawers on pull-out guides face issues with imprecise alignment due to dimensional tolerances and play, leading to potential jamming, breakage, and unstable engagement, especially during maximum extension and lateral adjustment.
Innovation Solution
A device with a centring mechanism featuring elastically yieldable coupling parts that engage to compensate for lateral play between the hooking device and the pull-out guide, ensuring precise alignment and stability through forced and/or shape engagement, utilizing a wedge-shaped centring element and an engagement seat with slanted surfaces to facilitate elastic deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional hooking devices with centring elements are used, then the drawer can be rapidly fixed to the pull-out guide, but lateral alignment imprecision occurs due to dimensional tolerances and plays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the coupling parts by making them elastically yieldable in the lateral direction. This allows the rigid dimensional parameters to be replaced with flexible elastic parameters that can adapt to tolerances while maintaining precise alignment during engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastically yieldable coupling parts serve as a preliminary cushioning mechanism that absorbs lateral plays and dimensional tolerance variations before the final engagement occurs. This prevents misalignment issues from affecting the mounting precision.
2Device complexity
If conventional centring elements are used, then the structure remains simple, but engagement stability deteriorates with risk of unhooking under stress
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the lateral directional property of the coupling parts to be elastically yieldable, the device maintains structural simplicity while significantly improving engagement stability. The elastic yieldability allows the coupling to accommodate stress variations without unhooking.
3Ease of manufacture
If rigid coupling parts are used, then manufacturing is easier, but jamming or breakage occurs during hooking due to interaxis differences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the rigidity parameter of the coupling parts in the lateral direction, making them elastically yieldable. This allows the parts to accommodate interaxis differences during mounting without causing jamming or breakage, while remaining relatively simple to manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic yieldability provides a cushioning effect that prevents the harmful impacts of interaxis mismatches before they can cause jamming or breakage during the hooking process.
4Manufacturing precision
If lateral adjustment mechanism is added, then positioning precision can be improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The elastically yieldable coupling parts enable the device to self-adjust laterally during engagement, automatically compensating for misalignments without requiring external adjustment mechanisms. This maintains simplicity while achieving precise positioning.
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 solution achieves precise lateral positioning and stable coupling of drawers, preventing jamming and breakage, while allowing for effective lateral adjustment and maintaining reliable engagement even under stress conditions.
Implementation Method 1
causing a forced and/or shape engagement between said first and second coupling part by subjecting at least one of them to an elastic deformation in a lateral direction
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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Figure 4
AI summary
The device (10) for laterally centring a drawer (13) or the like on a pull-out guide (11) comprises a first and a second coupling part (26, 27) respectively connectable to a hooking device (12) for fastening the drawer (13) and to the pull-out guide (11); at least one of the coupling parts (26, 27) is conformed with elastically yieldable means in a lateral direction for causing a forced engagement and/or a shape engagement between the coupling parts (26, 27) such as to compensate for any lateral play between the hooking device (12) and the pull-out guide (11).