Drawer Rail Touch-Latch Mechanism for Stable Handle-Free Closing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drawer pull-out guides with roller or antifriction bearings allow easy drawer operation but result in unwanted opening due to momentum, requiring additional fittings for prevention, and separate touch-latch fittings require significant installation effort.
Innovation Solution
A touch-latch mechanism integrated into the drawer pull-out guide, featuring a pretensioned catch component and dog system that locks the drawer in place, allowing for easy opening without external handles by displacing the catch component and running rail, utilizing a cardioid-shaped cam and coupling rod mechanism for smooth operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If roller or antifriction bearing pull-out guides are used for easy drawer operation, then drawer movement smoothness is improved, but unwanted drawer opening due to momentum occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The catch component is pretensioned by a spring arrangement in a bistable manner into two end positions, creating a preliminary locking force that prevents the drawer from opening due to momentum. The dog engages with the seat to lock the catch component in the closed position, providing preliminary anti-action against unwanted opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring arrangement provides pretension that changes the force parameters of the catch component, enabling it to switch between two stable end positions. This parameter change allows the system to maintain reliable closure while still permitting easy opening when force is applied.
2Ease of operation
If separate touch-latch fittings are mounted on drawer and carcass, then handle-free opening is achieved, but installation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The touch-latch mechanism is merged with the pull-out guide by integrating the catch component into the catch housing disposed on one of the rails. This combination eliminates the need for separate touch-latch fittings on the drawer and carcass, reducing installation complexity while maintaining handle-free opening capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The pull-out guide is designed to perform multiple functions: guiding drawer movement, providing automatic retraction, and enabling touch-latch operation. The catch housing and catch component serve both as locking mechanisms and as part of the multi-functional integrated system, reducing the need for separate components.
3Reliability
If catch component is locked in closed position, then drawer closure stability is improved, but opening force requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The catch component is designed to be movable between two end positions rather than fixed, allowing dynamic response to applied forces. The spring arrangement enables the catch component to switch states easily when sufficient force is applied, balancing closure stability with ease of opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring arrangement automatically returns the catch component to its locked position in the closed state without requiring additional components or mechanisms. The system serves itself by using the spring's stored energy to maintain the locked state and enable easy transitions between states.
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
Enables secure closure and easy opening of drawers without external handles, reducing installation complexity and preventing unwanted drawer opening, while maintaining smooth operation and adjustable alignment with adjacent drawers.
Implementation Method 1
a spring arrangement which pretensions the catch component (24) in a bistable manner into two end positions spaced from one another in the direction of movement of the drawer
Implementation Method 2
utilizing a cardioid-shaped cam and coupling rod mechanism for smooth operation
Data Source
AI summary
Closing and opening device for drawer pull-out guides (10) with a guide rail (12) to be fixed on a carcass wall of a piece of furniture and a running rail (14) which is mounted so as to be displaceable relative to the guide rail—optionally with a central rail (11) interposed—and is to be fixed on the drawer. On a latch housing (22) disposed on one of the two aforementioned outer rails there is provided a movable catch component (24) which is pretensioned by a spring arrangement in a bistable manner into two end positions spaced from one another in the direction of movement of the drawer, and the catch component has a seat (36) for a dog (26) which is provided on the other rail and which moves into the seat during the relative displacement of the rails as the closed position is approached and pivots the pretensioned movable catch component (24) and thereby unlocks it from the associated end position. The catch component is moved under the action of the spring tension into the other end position and by way of the dog (26) held in the seat (36) it entrains the rail associated therewith in the direction of retraction of the drawer. An opening and closing device (20) which acts on the catch component (24) on the one hand and on or in the catch housing (22) on the other hand and which, when a pushing in movement in the direction of closing the drawer is exerted on the drawer which is retained in the closing position by the closing and opening device, displaces the catch component (24) and by way of the dog (26) engaging in the seat (36) of the catch component it displaces the running rail (14) and thus a drawer held on the running rail by a predetermined amount in the direction of opening the drawer.