Furniture Flap Fitting With Integrated Closing Damper
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing furniture designs with flap fittings suffer from inefficient damping energy introduction, leading to harsh impact noises and potential deformation of the top panel during flap closure.
Innovation Solution
A flap fitting system with a support arm, a damper, and an actuating element that brakes the support arm's movement just before closure, optimizing damping energy introduction into the furniture while maintaining a compact design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate damping element is fixed to the top panel and interacts with a projection on the support arm, then damping function is achieved, but the fitting becomes very high and damping energy causes deformation of the top panel
Solution Approach 1:
The damper is integrated into the housing of the flap fitting, with the actuating element mounted inside the housing. This nested arrangement eliminates the need for separate external damping elements, significantly reducing the overall fitting height while maintaining the damping function.
Solution Approach 2:
An actuating element (rotary lever or guide) is introduced as an intermediary mechanism inside the housing to transmit the damping force from the damper to the support arm. This mediator allows the damper to be positioned away from the top panel, preventing direct transmission of damping energy to the panel and avoiding deformation.
2Reliability
If damping energy is introduced directly into the top panel, then flap closure is dampened, but the top panel deforms due to the dissipation of damping energy
Solution Approach 1:
The actuating element serves as an intermediary that transfers the damping force indirectly to the support arm rather than directly to the top panel. This intermediate transmission path isolates the top panel from the direct impact of damping energy dissipation, preventing panel deformation while maintaining effective flap closure damping.
Solution Approach 2:
The damping energy introduction point is extracted from the top panel and relocated to the support arm through the actuating element mechanism. This separation ensures that the top panel is not subjected to the harmful effects of direct damping energy dissipation, preserving its structural stability.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the support arm is braked shortly before reaching the closed position, then harsh impact noises are avoided, but the mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The damper with spring preload automatically engages and disengages based on the position of the support arm. As the support arm moves during flap closure, the actuating element naturally activates the damper only in the final closing phase, providing self-regulating noise reduction without requiring additional control mechanisms or increased system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The braking action is made dynamic and position-dependent rather than continuous. The damper is designed to engage only when the support arm is in the final closing position, automatically adapting to the motion phase. This dynamic operation reduces impact noise effectively while maintaining a simple mechanism structure.
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 system effectively dampens flap closure and opening movements, reducing noise and preventing top panel deformation, while allowing for a compact and adjustable flap fitting.
Implementation Method 1
a damper is provided via which a movement of the support arm in the closing direction can be braked shortly before reaching the closed position
Implementation Method 2
a force accumulator by means of which the support arm can be acted upon by a force
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The invention relates to an item of furniture comprising a furniture carcass having an upper base (4) and a flap (3, 3'), wherein at least one flap fitting (10) is mounted on the upper base (4) in order to hold the flap (3, 3') movably between a position that closes a storage space (80) of the furniture carcass and an opening position, wherein the flap fitting (10) has a housing (12) on which a supporting arm (11) is rotatably mounted, which arm comprises a holding element (13) for affixing the flap (3, 3'), and has an energy storage mechanism (30) by means of which a force can be applied to the supporting arm (11), and a damper (37) is provided by means of which a movement of the supporting arm (11) in the closing direction can be braked shortly before reaching the closed position. According to the invention, the damper (37) can be moved by means of an actuating element (40) mounted in the housing (12), and the supporting arm (11) can be braked by means of the actuating element (40) when the flap (3, 3') moves in the closing direction, shortly before reaching the closed position. This allows the damper (37) to brake the closing movement effectively and for the flap fitting to have a compact design.