Pivotal Fitting Cam Control for Furniture Flap Balance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing swivel fittings for furniture flaps require manual guidance during pivoting, are prone to high friction and surface pressure, leading to component damage and increased production costs due to complex lever kinematics and high spring forces, which reduces service life and ease of use.
Innovation Solution
A simplified swivel fitting design utilizing a four-bar chain lever arrangement supported by a control element with a rotatable cam disk and flexible traction means, reducing the number of components and spring forces, allowing the flap to maintain balance in any pivoted position with adaptive torque support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a cam with spring loading is used to guide the flap during pivoting, then the flap can be held in position during pivoting, but the high spring forces cause high friction and surface pressure leading to component damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the spring force parameter from high to low by redesigning the cam geometry. The cam profile is specifically shaped to provide the necessary guiding force during pivoting while requiring minimal spring force, thereby reducing friction and surface pressure on components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional high-force spring-loaded cam mechanism with a low-force cam mechanism that uses geometric design rather than mechanical force to achieve flap guidance. The cam profile itself provides the guiding function through its shape rather than through high spring pressure.
2Ease of operation
If a complex lever kinematics system is used to achieve forced guidance of the flap, then the flap can be held in position, but the number of components increases leading to higher production costs and assembly difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary intermediate levers and guidance components from the traditional complex mechanism. By removing these redundant elements, the invention achieves forced guidance of the flap using only the essential cam and spring components, thereby reducing part count and simplifying assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam component performs multiple functions simultaneously: it provides the guiding force for flap pivoting, maintains the flap in position during movement, and controls the opening/closing sequence. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated components for each function.
3Ease of operation
If high spring forces are used to achieve forced guidance, then the flap can be held against the furniture body, but the system friction increases reducing service life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the spring force parameter from high to low while maintaining effective flap closing through optimized cam geometry. The cam profile is designed to convert the low spring force into effective closing action at the appropriate moment, reducing friction and wear throughout the system's operational life.
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 design enhances ease of use, increases service life, reduces production costs, and minimizes system friction, ensuring the flap remains unsupported in any position while maintaining functionality without the need for high spring forces.
Implementation Method 1
A force accumulator designed as a tension spring acts on a lever arrangement which is fastened on the one hand to a carcass wall and on the other hand to the flap, with the tension spring holding the flap both in a pivoted open position and pulling it against the furniture carcass in a closed position
Implementation Method 2
The control element has a rotatable cam disk, with a control contour against which a flexible traction means attached to the cam disk rests
Implementation Method 3
The lever arrangement is formed by a four-bar chain known per se, the movement of which is supported by the control element in correspondence with the energy store
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
A pivoting fitting for pivoting a flap (15) hinged on a furniture body, comprising an energy accumulator (2) fastened to a connecting part which can be connected to a body wall, and a lever arrangement (11) which is operatively connected to the energy accumulator (2) and has at least one articulated lever (12), is configured such that the energy accumulator (2) is connected to a control element (6) comprising a cam disc (7) which is fixed but rotatable with respect to the connecting part, which control element is connected in a movement-dependent manner to the articulated lever (12) which is held on the one side on the connecting part and can be held on the other side on the flap (15), and is rotated when the articulated lever (12) is pivoted, wherein in one pivoted end position, the energy accumulator (2) is clamped, and in the other end position is unclamped relative thereto, and wherein the cam disc (7) has a control contour (10) with varying radius of curvature, on which cam disc (7) the energy accumulator (2) is held.