Raising-lowering extraction device, and piece of furniture or household appliance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing lifting-lowering devices for shelves in furniture or household appliances face challenges in providing stable movement, particularly when loaded with heavy or unevenly distributed objects.

Innovation Solution

A lifting-lowering pull-out device with a stabilizing unit comprising a carcass rail, storage rail, and middle rails, coupled via pivoting guide bars and guide slots, ensuring guided movement through guide elements and guide grooves, and optionally motor-driven for enhanced control.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Weight of moving object

If the shelf is loaded with heavy objects, then the lifting-lowering device can transport heavier loads, but the movement stability deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveload capacityVSAvoidmovement stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Weight of moving objectVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The guide element acts as an intermediary component between the storage rail and the stabilizing unit. It translates the lifting-lowering movement into guided motion along the guide slot, ensuring stable movement even under heavy loads by mediating the interaction between the moving storage rail and the fixed stabilizing structure

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The guide slot introduces a new dimensional constraint by guiding the guide element along a specific path. This converts the potentially unstable multi-degree-of-freedom movement into a controlled one-dimensional motion along the guide slot direction, stabilizing the lifting-lowering movement

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Adaptability or versatility

If the objects are unevenly distributed on the shelf, then the device can handle varied loading patterns, but the movement sequence becomes unstable

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveloading pattern adaptabilityVSAvoidmovement sequence stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The guide element serves as a mediator that decouples the loading distribution from the movement stability. By guiding the storage rail along a predetermined path in the guide slot, it ensures consistent movement sequence regardless of how weights are distributed on the shelf

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The stabilizing unit with guide slot provides preemptive guidance constraints before movement begins. This pre-established geometric constraint system prevents movement instability from developing, even when uneven loads are placed on the shelf

Inventive Principle:
Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

Data Source

PatentEP4258940B1Raising-lowering extraction device, and piece of furniture or household appliance
Publication Date: 2025.07.09 PAUL HETTICH GMBH & CO KG
  • EP4258940B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4258940B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4258940B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

Described is a raising-lowering extraction device (3) for a tray-type element (4) which is built into a carcass (2), in particular of a piece of furniture (1) or household appliance, the raising-lowering extraction device (3) comprising a carcass rail (5) that can be stationarily fastened to the carcass (2), a tray rail (6) which can be stationarily fastened to the tray-type element (4), and two central rails (7, 8) which are arranged to be slidable and pivotable with the carcass rail (5) and the tray rail (6) and which are coupled to one another so as to be mutually slidable in the direction of the longitudinal axis (L) thereof, the carcass rail (5) being coupled to a first central rail (7) via a first pivotable guiding link (10), and the tray rail (6) being coupled to a second central rail (8) via a second pivotable guiding link (11); a stabilizing unit (9) is arranged on the tray-type element (4) or the tray rail (6) and on the carcass (2) or the carcass rail (5), said stabilizing unit (9) comprising a guide slot (95, 95') which stabilizes the raising-lowering movement of the tray rail (6) and a guide element (92) which is guided in the guide slot (95, 95') at least in part of a raising-lowering movement of the tray rail (6). Also described is a piece of furniture (1) or household appliance comprising a raising-lowering mechanism of said type.