Furniture Hinge Centering Guide Tolerance Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hinges for furniture, such as cup hinges, face difficulties in mounting due to manufacturing-related tolerances, leading to significant friction and potential jamming during the joining movement of doors, requiring laborious reworking to align retaining parts correctly.
Innovation Solution
The use of centering guides, which allow the mounting element to be aligned relative to the retaining part in a transverse direction, compensating for tolerances and reducing friction, enabling easier mounting and dismantling by extending the guide region and providing alignment in multiple planes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If linear guides are used in the guide assembly, then the mounting element can be guided in the guide direction, but manufacturing-related tolerances cause significant friction and potential jamming during mounting
Solution Approach 1:
The guide assembly is changed from a linear guide to a centering guide, fundamentally changing the guiding parameter from axial alignment to radial centering. This allows the mounting element to be aligned in a mounting direction transverse to the guide direction during adjustment, compensating for manufacturing tolerances and eliminating the friction and jamming problems associated with linear guides
2Manufacturing precision
If all mounting elements are aligned to associated retaining parts before mounting, then precise positioning can be achieved, but this requires laborious reworking if tolerances are too large
Solution Approach 1:
The centering guide is designed with an extended guide region that performs the alignment function preliminarily during the mounting process itself. The mounting element is aligned relative to the retaining part when adjusted in the guide direction, so the alignment action is built into the mounting process rather than requiring separate preliminary alignment steps
Solution Approach 2:
The centering guide enables the mounting element to self-align with the retaining part during the mounting process. The guide assembly automatically compensates for manufacturing tolerances through its centering geometry, eliminating the need for manual alignment adjustments and reworking
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a hinge for an item of furniture, comprising a first and a second hinge part (100, 200) that are pivotably interconnected by means of a hinged connection, the second hinge part (200) carrying or comprising a mounting element (300), the mounting element (300) comprising at least one guide assembly comprising at least one guide (405) that extends in the direction of a longitudinal axis (L) of the mounting element (300), the mounting element (300) being connected to a retaining part (400) when in the mounting position, and the guide assembly acting between the mounting element (300) and the retaining part (400), by means of which guide assembly the mounting element (300) can be moved into a mounting position in a manner guided in the guide direction. A significant improvement in the ease of mounting is achieved in a hinge of this kind if the guide assembly comprises a first centering guide (406), by means of which the mounting element (300) is aligned in a first mounting direction when adjusted in the guide direction (L).