Improved support device for furniture shelves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shelf-supporting devices require pin diameters of at least 4-5 mm for mechanical stability, limiting their miniaturization and versatility, and necessitate different models for various hole diameters, increasing production and management costs.
Innovation Solution
The shelf-supporting device features a pin and slide produced as distinct parts, allowing for interference or shape coupling, enabling the use of smaller diameters and different materials for enhanced mechanical resistance and modularity, with bushes providing internal diameter variations for accommodating various pin sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the pin diameter is reduced to minimize aesthetic impact, then the visual appearance is improved, but the mechanical stability and resistance are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite material construction where the pin is made of a first material (e.g., metal for strength) and the slide is made of a second material (e.g., polymer for aesthetics and damping). This allows the pin to have sufficient mechanical resistance even at reduced diameters while maintaining aesthetic appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The pin and slide are produced as distinct separate parts rather than a single integrated component. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each part's material properties and dimensions, enabling the pin to be smaller and more aesthetically pleasing while maintaining structural integrity through appropriate material selection.
2Adaptability or versatility
If different models are produced for various hole diameters, then the adaptability to different furniture configurations is improved, but the production complexity and management costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The slide is designed with a universal structure that can accommodate pins of different diameters through interchangeable bushings or adaptive mounting mechanisms. This allows a single slide design to serve multiple functions across different furniture configurations, reducing the need for multiple specialized models.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent allows for parameter variation (such as pin diameter and bushing dimensions) while maintaining the same fundamental design structure. This enables adaptation to different hole diameters through parameter adjustment rather than creating entirely different models, simplifying production and inventory management.
3Strength
If the pin and slide are produced as distinct parts, then the mechanical resistance and material optimization are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
While the pin and slide are produced as distinct parts for material optimization, the patent employs coupling mechanisms (such as interference fits, press fits, or snap fits) that effectively merge them into a unified assembly during installation. This maintains the benefits of separate production while presenting a simple, integrated final product.
Data Source
Figure 1A~2A
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a shelf-supporting device (1,1') suitable for effecting the reversible connection of a shelf (100) with the opposite shoulders (200) of a piece of furniture. According to the invention, the device (1, 1') comprises a main body (12) with which movable engagement means (15', 15 '') are slidingly associated to which a pin (11, 11', 11'') is connected. The movable engagement means (15', 15'') slide with respect to the main body (12) along a sliding direction (Y) between a first non-operating position wherein said pin (11) does not protrude from said shelf (100), and a second operating position in which said pin (11) protrudes outwardly from a transverse edge (B) of said shelf (100). The shelf-supporting device (1, 1') according to the invention is characterized in that said movable engagement means (15', 15''), comprising a slide, and said pin (11, 11', 11'') consist of two distinct parts, coupled together. The connection between said slide (15', 15'') and said pin (11, 11', 11'' ) can advantageously be an interference coupling, i.e. an interlocking, or a shape coupling, or another type of coupling. The advantages that the invention offers relate to both the possibility of miniaturizing the pin by drastically reducing its diameter, thus improving the aesthetic impact of the housing hole in the shoulders, and also the possibility of making the system modular with respect to the possibility of associating pins having different diameters and materials with the same device.