Drawer with lateral frames and an adjustable front panel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wide drawers with heavy materials like stone or glass front panels experience difficulty in maintaining an adjustment position without user intervention due to weight, causing the panels to slide down when the clamping device is released.
Innovation Solution
A detachable holding device with an energy accumulator, such as a spring, is used to create a static friction or latching mechanism that allows the front panel to be adjusted manually and maintains its position relative to the side frame, utilizing an eccentrically running clamping cam or interconnected levers for clamping functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the clamping device is released to allow manual adjustment of the front panel, then the panel can be easily repositioned, but the panel slides down due to its weight and cannot maintain the adjustment position
Solution Approach 1:
The holding device transitions between two dynamic states: a released state allowing free movement for adjustment, and a latched state maintaining the adjusted position. The spring-loaded mechanism dynamically adapts between these states based on operational needs, enabling both ease of adjustment and position stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The holding device acts as an intermediary mechanism between the front panel and the drawer structure. It mediates the conflict between gravitational force pulling the panel down and the need for manual repositioning, providing controlled stability only when needed during the adjustment process.
2Reliability
If the front panel is tightly clamped to maintain position, then stability is achieved, but manual adjustment becomes difficult or impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustment process utilizes periodic action through the two-stage operation: first releasing the holding device to enable movement, then re-engaging it to secure the position. This periodic switching between free and constrained states facilitates both adjustment and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically transitions between constrained and unconstrained states. The spring-loaded holding device automatically adjusts its clamping force based on operational phase: fully engaged during positioning to prevent drift, and releasable during adjustment to allow movement.
3Ease of operation
If the front panel is spaced apart from the side frame to enable adjustment, then manual repositioning is possible, but the panel becomes unstable under its own weight
Solution Approach 1:
The holding device serves as an intermediary that provides stability only when and where needed - during the adjustment process. It temporarily compensates for the instability created by spacing the panel from the side frame, then releases to allow the spacing to facilitate movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically manages the spacing between panel and frame: the holding device engages to provide stability when spaced apart for adjustment, then disengages to allow the spacing to enable free movement. This dynamic response resolves the stability-mobility conflict.
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 easy manual adjustment of the front panel while maintaining its position without user intervention, even under the weight of the panel, allowing for precise alignment with adjacent furniture.
Implementation Method 1
an energy accumulator is provided in the detachable holding device, by means of which the front panel is fixed in the adjustment position in its position relative to the side frame by static friction and/or latching
Implementation Method 2
A detachable holding device with an energy accumulator, such as a spring, is used to create a static friction or latching mechanism
Implementation Method 3
utilizing an eccentrically running clamping cam or interconnected levers for clamping functionality
Implementation Method 4
utilizing an eccentrically running clamping cam or interconnected levers for clamping functionality
Implementation Method 5
utilizing an eccentrically running clamping cam or interconnected levers for clamping functionality
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 1c
AI summary
The invention relates to a drawer with lateral frames (1) and a front panel (5) which can be adjusted laterally and/or vertically and which is connected to at least one lateral frame (1) via at least one support element (20) that is guided into the lateral frame (1) in a movable manner in the longitudinal direction of the lateral frame (1). The support element (20) interacts with a clamping device (10) arranged in the lateral frame (1), whereby the front panel (5) can be pulled in order to fix the front panel against a head end (2) of the lateral frame (1), and the front panel (5) can be moved laterally and/or vertically relative to the lateral frame (1) in an adjusting position of the clamping device (10). The drawer is characterized in that the front panel (5) is at a distance from the lateral frame (1) in the adjusting position, and the front panel (5) can be adjusted by applying pressure onto the front panel (5) in the direction of the lateral frame (1). The invention further relates to a furniture fitting for such a drawer and to a method for adjusting the front panel of a drawer.