Furniture Ejection Drive Locking Pin Damping to Reduce Noise and Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drive devices for moveable furniture parts face issues with secure locking during high closing forces or speeds, leading to unwanted unlocking and excessive noise and wear due to the latching pin passing through a cardioid-shaped guide path, which causes severe striking and locking noises.
Innovation Solution
A drive device with a locking pin placed in a braked or damped relationship within the latching recess, utilizing a damping device to reduce kinetic energy transmission to the locking pin before reaching the latching position, thereby preventing full force action and minimizing noise and wear, using mechanisms like travel transmission mechanisms, rotational dampers, or elastic surfaces for damping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the locking pin passes through a cardioid-shaped guide path to reach the latching region, then the locking device can be actuated by the ejection force storage means, but severe striking and locking noises occur due to full force action on the locking pin
Solution Approach 1:
A damping device is introduced that acts on the locking pin before it reaches the latching region, cushioning the impact and reducing the kinetic energy transmitted to the locking pin. This beforehand cushioning prevents the severe striking noises and wear that would otherwise occur when the locking pin engages with the latching region under full ejection force.
Solution Approach 2:
The damping device serves as an intermediary element between the ejection force storage means and the locking pin. It mediates the force transmission by absorbing and dissipating energy, thereby reducing the direct impact of full ejection force on the locking pin while still allowing the locking function to be achieved.
2Ease of operation
If a spring element yields in the latching recess to allow unlocking by pulling, then unlocking is possible with slight force, but secure locking is not guaranteed under strong closing forces or high closing speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The guide path is segmented into distinct regions: a stressing portion, a transitional region, and a latching engagement movement region. The locking pin moves through these segmented regions sequentially, with the damping device acting specifically in the transitional region to reduce noise and wear, while the latching region maintains secure locking capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The damping device applies partial damping action only in the transitional region before the latching engagement, rather than throughout the entire movement path. This partial action is sufficient to reduce noise and wear during the critical impact phase while maintaining full locking security when the locking pin reaches the latching region.
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 ensures quiet and secure locking with reduced component loading, preventing unwanted opening and minimizing noise and wear by controlling the energy transfer to the locking pin, maintaining the locking pin's position within the latching region without sudden force application.
Implementation Method 1
A drive device with a locking pin placed in a braked or damped relationship within the latching recess, utilizing a damping device to reduce kinetic energy transmission to the locking pin before reaching the latching position
Data Source
AI summary
A drive device for a moveable furniture part includes an ejection element, an ejection force accumulator, and a locking device for the ejection element. The locking device has a locking journal which is subjected to action of the ejection force accumulator, and can be locked in a locked position in a region of a catch on a guide rail. The catch area has a locking pin which is fixed with respect to the guide rail. The locking journal which is subjected to the force of the ejection force accumulator is arranged in the catch region such that it can be slowed down and/or dampened.