Furniture Sliding Door Fitting With Joint-Area Support Roller
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sliding door fittings for furniture suffer from complex assembly, bulky design, and issues with smooth guidance and soiling in the joint area between rail parts, particularly with upwardly open guide rails.
Innovation Solution
A sliding door fitting with a support roller rotatably mounted in the joint area between rail parts, supported by a guide track, which bridges unevenness and ensures smooth guidance, and a butt connector that secures rail parts as a unit for easy assembly and minimal installation space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a guide element is mounted on the joint area to prevent deflection of rail parts, then guidance in the joint area is improved, but the manufacture and assembly become complex due to recesses required in the rail parts
Solution Approach 1:
A support roller is introduced as an intermediary element between the guide part and the joint area of the guide rail. The support roller is rotatably mounted on the furniture body in the joint area, allowing the guide part to roll over the joint area smoothly without requiring complex recesses in the rail parts. This mediator absorbs the unevenness and potential deflection in the joint area while maintaining simple rail part geometry.
2Reliability
If two rollers are provided next to each other in the guide device, then guidance is provided, but the design becomes bulky and assembly complex
Solution Approach 1:
The guidance function is extracted from the joint area of the guide rail and transferred to a support roller mounted on the furniture body. Instead of having multiple rollers in the guide device, the support roller is positioned in the joint area to specifically handle the transition, while the main guide rollers continue to provide guidance along the smooth sections of the rail.
3Ease of manufacture
If upwardly open guide rails are used, then installation is simplified, but they become dirty over time which adversely affects smooth running
Solution Approach 1:
The support roller acts as an intermediary that contacts the guide part in the joint area, preventing direct contact between the guide part and any potentially soiled surfaces in the joint area. The support roller can be easily cleaned or replaced, and its rotation helps prevent accumulation of dirt, maintaining smooth operation over time.
4Ease of operation
If a support roller is rotatably mounted on the butt connector, then assembly is made easy and installation space is minimized, but the butt connector must bear additional functional requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The butt connector is designed to combine multiple functions: it connects the two rail parts together, provides structural support for the joint area, and serves as the mounting base for the support roller. By merging these functions into a single component, the overall assembly is simplified and installation space is minimized, as the support roller is integrated into the connector rather than requiring separate mounting structures.
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 solution provides smooth and durable guidance, minimizes installation space, and prevents soiling, ensuring efficient and compact operation of sliding doors over extended periods.
Implementation Method 1
at least one support roller is fixable and rotatably mounted on the furniture body in a joint area between the at least two rail parts, by means of which support roller the at least one guide part can be supported when traveling over the joint area
Implementation Method 2
a guide track is formed on the at least one guide part, which can roll on the support roller
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A sliding door fitting for furniture (1) comprises a guide rail (10) formed from at least two rail sections (10a, 10b), which can be fixed to a furniture body (2) and along which at least one guide section (13, 14) is guided. This guide section can be fixed to a sliding door (3, 4) to keep the sliding door movable and guided on the furniture body (2). In a joint area between the at least two rail sections (10a, 10b), at least one support roller (24, 26) is fixed to the furniture body (2) and rotatably mounted. This support roller provides support to the at least one guide section (13, 14) when the door traverses the joint area of the guide rail (10). This allows the joint area between the at least two rail sections (10a, 10b) to be traversed smoothly and without noise.