Furniture element
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional furniture elements, such as shelves, face challenges in protecting stored objects from dirt while maintaining accessibility and require space away from side walls to rotate without obstruction, often involving complex mechanisms like guide grooves and doors that can impede access.
Innovation Solution
A furniture element with a base plate and a body that can move relative to the base plate through a combined translational-rotational movement, utilizing mirror-symmetric running grooves and rolling elements to allow for 45° rotary movement out of a corner, enabling easy access and concealment of contents without doors or flaps, and can be retrofitted into existing furniture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the furniture element is positioned against a wall or in a corner, then it saves space and maintains aesthetic appeal, but it becomes inaccessible and contents cannot be reached
Solution Approach 1:
The furniture element incorporates a dynamic positioning system that allows it to transition between a closed position (against the wall/corner) and an open position (rotated outward). The body can be moved from a starting position flush with the base plate to an open position rotated by 180°, enabling users to access contents while maintaining space-efficient positioning when not in use
Solution Approach 2:
The furniture element can be nested against the wall or corner in its closed position, similar to how a doll fits inside another. When not in use, the body is flush with the base plate, creating a compact nested arrangement that maximizes space utilization while maintaining aesthetic appeal
2Object-affected harmful factors
If doors or flaps are added to protect contents, then contents are protected from dirt, but access becomes obstructed and more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the need for doors or flaps by using the rotational movement mechanism itself to provide protection. The body's ability to rotate and return to a flush position inherently protects contents when closed, while allowing direct access when opened, removing the complexity of additional protective components
Solution Approach 2:
The furniture element's own rotational movement provides the protection function that would otherwise require separate doors or flaps. The body naturally returns to its closed, protective position when not in use, and opens for access when needed, making the system self-sufficient without additional protective components
3Ease of operation
If clearance from side walls is provided for rotation, then the furniture element can rotate freely, but space efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The furniture element uses a dynamic rotational mechanism that allows it to swing outward from its closed position against the wall or corner. The body can rotate freely through a wide arc (up to 180°) while the base plate remains fixed, providing rotational freedom without requiring permanent clearance space
4Ease of operation
If a combined translational-rotational mechanism is used, then accessibility is improved, but the mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the translational and rotational movements into a single integrated mechanism. The body is connected to the base plate in a way that allows it to perform both translational movement (moving away from the wall) and rotational movement (swinging outward) as a coordinated action, rather than requiring separate mechanisms for each type of motion
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
This solution provides unobstructed access to stored items while maintaining aesthetic appeal by allowing the furniture element to be rotated out of a corner, keeping contents concealed when not in use, and preventing tilting through balanced guidance of rolling elements over a large area.
Implementation Method 1
The bearing surfaces of the body and the base plate facing each other have respective running grooves in which rolling elements are guided
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a furniture element (2, 3, 12), in particular a shelf or shelving unit having at least one storage level, having a body (22, 32, 121) and a bottom plate (21, 31, 91), wherein storage surfaces of the body (22, 32, 121), which face each other, and the bottom plate (21, 31, 91) each have raceways (27, 28, 37, 38, 94), in which rolling elements (51) are guided, wherein the body (22, 32, 121) is movable relative to the bottom plate (21, 31, 91) from an initial position to an intermediate position and back, wherein, in the intermediate position, the body (22, 32, 121) is rotated relative to the bottom plate (21, 31, 91) in a rotation direction (R1, R2) and shifted in a predetermined direction (A), the raceways (28, 38, 94) of the bottom plate (21, 31, 91) being formed having mirror symmetry to an axis of symmetry extending at an oblique angle relative to a lateral edge of the bottom plate (21, 31, 91). The invention furthermore relates to a piece of furniture having at least one such furniture element.