Touch-Latch Furniture Drive with Pre-Locking Against Mis-Triggering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drive devices for furniture, particularly those with touch-latch mechanisms, fail to prevent immediate unlocking or triggering when the movable furniture part is pushed too hard or incorrectly operated, leading to unsafe closing and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a pre-locking section and a guideway with a push-through avoidance section, where the locking element is initially held in a pre-locking section before reaching the actual locking section, and optionally using a damping element like a rotary damper to slow the locking element's movement, ensuring it deviates into a push-through avoidance section instead of the ejection section upon incorrect operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the locking element directly reaches the locking section during closing movement, then the ejection device can be triggered quickly, but the movable furniture part becomes vulnerable to incorrect operation and immediate unlocking
Solution Approach 1:
The guideway is segmented into multiple functional sections: a pre-locking section with a first deflection section, a locking section with a second deflection section, and an ejection section. This segmentation allows the locking element to follow different paths based on the closing speed, enabling both quick ejection during normal operation and protection against incorrect operation through the push-through avoidance section.
Solution Approach 2:
The pre-locking section is positioned before the locking section in the closing direction. When the movable furniture part is pushed through rapidly, the locking element is deflected into the push-through avoidance section before reaching the locking section, preventing immediate unlocking. This preliminary deflection action protects against incorrect operation while maintaining normal ejection functionality.
2Reliability
If a blocking element is added to prevent rapid closing movement, then incorrect operation is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guideway serves multiple functions: it guides the locking element during normal closing, provides a pre-locking section for controlled engagement, creates a push-through avoidance section to prevent incorrect operation, and enables ejection. This multi-functional design protects against incorrect operation without adding separate blocking elements or increasing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The guideway is designed with dynamic characteristics where the path of the locking element changes based on the closing speed. During normal closing, the locking element follows the standard path to the locking section. During rapid pushing, the locking element is dynamically deflected into the push-through avoidance section, providing protection only when needed without constant mechanical intervention.
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 design prevents immediate unlocking during incorrect operation, ensuring safe closing and preventing damage by maintaining the locking element in a pre-locking section until the correct closing position is reached, thus enhancing operational safety and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
an ejection force accumulator (4) that applies force to the ejection element (3)
Implementation Method 2
optionally using a damping element like a rotary damper to slow the locking element's movement
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a drive device (1) for a movable furniture part (2), comprising an ejecting element (3) for moving the movable furniture part (2) from a closed position (SS) to an open position (OS), an ejection force accumulator (4) that applies force to the ejecting element (3), and a locking device (5) for locking the ejecting element (3) by means of a locking element (6) in a locking section (V), wherein the locking device (5) can be unlocked by overpressing the movable furniture part (2) from the closed position (SS) to an overpressing position (ÜS) in the closing direction (SR), wherein the movable furniture part (2) can be moved in the opening direction (OR) by means of the ejection force accumulator (4) and the ejecting element (3), wherein the locking device (5) has a pre-locking section (VV) for the locking element (6), wherein the locking element (6) is moved from the pre-locking section (VV) into the locking section (V) via a push-through evasion section (D) by pushing the movable furniture part (2) through during closing into a push-through position (DS) lying behind the closing position (SS) in the closing direction (SR).