Invisible Connection Fitting With Slide Lock and Expanding Bushing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connection fittings for furniture panels, such as structural shelves, often protrude and are visible, making them unsuitable for storage and delivery with pre-installed fitting parts, and require screwing into sides for installation.
Innovation Solution
A connection fitting with a housing, a longitudinally movable slide with a bushing that can be spread apart, a bolt with a spreading head and undercut, and a rotatable control element that locks the slide and pulls the bolt inward to spread the bushing, creating an invisible connector.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a protruding fitting part is used to connect furniture panels, then the connection function is achieved, but the fitting part is visible and prevents storage and delivery with pre-installed fittings
Solution Approach 1:
The connection fitting is divided into two separate components: a housing that is installed in the furniture panel, and a protruding fitting part that connects to another panel. This segmentation allows the housing to remain invisible while the fitting part can be pre-installed and removed during delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The protruding fitting part is extracted as a separate removable component from the housing. This allows the fitting part to be pre-installed on panels for storage and delivery, then connected to the invisible housing during installation, eliminating the visibility problem.
2Ease of operation
If a protruding fitting part is used for connection, then connection functionality is achieved, but the fitting part cannot be stored and delivered with pre-installed components
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting system is segmented into a permanent housing (installed in the first panel) and a removable fitting part (connected to the second panel). This allows the fitting part to be pre-installed for storage and delivery, then connected to the housing during final installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The fitting part can be pre-installed on the second panel in advance for storage and delivery. The housing is pre-installed in the first panel. The actual connection is made later by bringing the panels together, eliminating the need for protruding fittings during storage.
3Ease of operation
If surface hole installation is used for structural shelves, then installation is simplified, but the connection fittings become visible
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is nested within a recess or hole in the furniture panel, with only minimal elements visible from the front. This nesting approach maintains installation simplicity while significantly reducing the visibility of the connection fitting.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is designed to be locally adapted to the panel surface, with the main body recessed into the panel and only necessary connection elements exposed. This local adaptation maintains simplicity while minimizing visibility.
4Strength
If screw-in bolts are used to secure structural shelves, then secure connection is achieved, but the necessity of screwing into sides increases complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The housing includes self-contained connection elements (such as expansion anchors or snap-fit mechanisms) that automatically secure the fitting part when panels are brought together. This eliminates the need for separate screw-in operations while maintaining strong connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection function and securing function are merged into a single automated process. When the fitting part is inserted into the housing, the connection and securing actions occur simultaneously, eliminating the need for separate screwing operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A connection fitting for connecting two components has a housing, slide, bolt and control element. The control element is mounted in the housing rotatable about an axis extending obliquely to the bolt axis. The control element has a guide slot having a radially inwardly facing tightening contour and a radially outwardly facing blocking contour. When the control element is rotated out of the initial position in a first portion of the installation rotation, the control element pushes the slide by a stud guided in the guide slot into the front slide end position. In a second portion of the rotation, the slide is locked in the front slide end position by the blocking contour and the bolt is pulled radially inward by the tightening contour engaging behind the undercut, until, at the latest in the end position, the bushing has been spread apart by the spreading head.