Abstract:
Furniture hardware device ( 20 ) which can be fastened to the wall of a piece of furniture because it has fastening means projecting from its surface facing the furniture wall, which can be introduced into bores in the wall of the furniture and can be secured against withdrawal from the bores. At least one of the fastening means is configured as a fastening stud which has at least one knife-edged projection ( 60 ) running substantially circumferentially. The fastening stud or studs can be shifted between a mounting position in which the at least one knife-edged projection is withdrawn into the interior of the associated bore, and a fastening position in which they cut into the wall of the fastening bore.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a furniture hardware device having a mounting piece to be applied to a furniture wall, which has a bearing surface from which fasteners for insertion into bores in the furniture wall project substantially at right angles at a distance apart. At least one of the fasteners is a separately made stud which has at its free end at least one circumferential sharp-edged projection and is mounted for displacement between two end positions such that in the one end position the sharpened projection or projections cut into the wall of the bore in the furniture wall, and in the other end position they are withdrawn within the interior of the bore. 
     A great number of different systems have been developed for installing furniture hardware and parts on doors made of wood material. In addition to those in which a hardware piece once installed can hardly be removed without damage to the wood material, systems have also been developed which allow easy and repeated installation and removal of the hardware. In addition to studs which can be expanded like expansion bolts and be positively locked in a bore in the furniture wall, systems have also been developed which permit a positive locking of pin-like or cup-shaped pieces in bores or mortises in the wall because in the actual installation procedure sharpened or pointed locking projections initially retracted within the wall of the pin-like or cup-shaped mounting means, are forced by external manipulation into the wall of the bore or milled recess in the furniture wall and thus produce a positive lock. By another manipulation in the reverse sense, however, the locking means can be withdrawn again from the wall of the bore, thus permitting easy removal of the hardware piece fastened in this manner. By the above-described manipulations an excentric component rotatably held in the mounting means can be turned by a given angular amount and shifted either indirectly through intermediate members or through locking means provided directly thereon into the positive locking position or out of the locking position. For such manipulation, suitable tools, such as screwdrivers or the like, are then usually necessary in order to apply a sufficient force to cause the locking means to penetrate into the wall of the associated bore or mortise. 
     In many cases, however, especially in the case of hardware for “do-it-yourself” installation, or knock-down furniture that is assembled by lay people, suitable tools are not available in every case. But proper assembly with inappropriate tools, i.e., tools that do not fit, is not assured. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention, however, is addressed to the problem of constructing furniture hardware of many different kinds such that they can be installed easily and quickly even by inexperienced persons without the use of special tools and without substantial application of force. 
     Setting out from a piece of furniture hardware of the kind mentioned above, this problem is solved according to the invention in that studs, each provided with at least one knife-edged projection, are slightly tapered towards their free end on about half of their periphery, while the other half of the periphery is somewhat semi-cylindrical, and the sharpened projection or projections protrude from the semi-cylindrical half of the stud; in that the stud or studs provided with the sharpened projections are disposed on a separate flat stud plate; in that the flat stud plate is mounted for pivoting at a given angle on its mounting; in that the semi-cylindrical half of the stud is inclined when in the first end position in the bore in the furniture wall such that the sharpened projection or projections are withdrawn within the bore in the furniture wall receiving the stud, but in the second end position they pierce the wall of the bore, and that a means engaging the stud plate on the one hand and the mounting plate on the other is provided for turning the stud plate from the one to the other position. The locking means formed by the sharpened projections are thus engaged in the surrounding wall of the bore or disengaged from it by pivoting the stud, while a lever is provided on the hardware it self for this pivoting movement. 
     The configuration is desirably made such that the mounting piece is in the form of an elongated mounting plate from whose bottom surface two studs project at a distance apart, each having a radially extending knife-edged projection. 
     The studs can then be held on the mounting plate such that their free ends are drawn toward one another in their first end position, while in the second end position they will be further apart; their knife-edged projections are provided on the half of the stud facing away from the other stud. 
     Alternatively, the studs can be held on the mounting plate such that their free ends have in the first end position a greater distance apart than in the second end position, in which case the knife-edged projections provided on each stud will be on the stud half facing the other stud. 
     It may be expedient also to provide on the mounting plate a stud-like or cup-like centering means projecting from the bearing surface into a bore in the furniture wall. 
     Alternatively, the configuration may also be made such that the mounting piece is in the form of an elongated plate on the bottom of which there are fastening studs spaced apart from one another and provided each with at least one knife-edged, radial projection, plus a holding stud rigidly disposed on the plate, the holding stud being likewise made to taper slightly toward its free end on half of its periphery, while the other half of its periphery is somewhat semi-cylindrical in section, and at least one radially extending projection running substantially in the circumferential direction reaches out from the semi-cylindrical half of the stud. When the device thus configured is installed, first the holding stud is introduced into the corresponding bore with the mounting piece held at an angle such that the wall of the bore will not be damaged by the projection. When the holding stud is then fully inserted into the bore and the mounting piece is lowered from its slanting position until its bottom is in contact with the furniture wall, sharpened projections provided on the holding stud penetrate into the wall of the bore. During this lowering operation the fastening stud must be in the appropriate angular end position so that it can be introduced without forcing into the associated mounting bore. After the device reaches the desired position for setting the hardware on the furniture wall, the fastening stud is brought by manipulating the lever to the other angular position and thus fixes the hardware piece on the furniture wall. 
     Each fastening stud can be provided on a separate, flat plate, in which case a lever engaging this stud plate on the one hand and the mounting plate on the other is provided for the purpose of turning the stud plate from the one end position to the other. 
     Expediently, the stud plate is biased resiliently to the first end position. 
     In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the stud plate is placed on a sloping section on the upper side of the mounting plate and the fastening stud is introduced through an opening in the mounting plate, the lever being held on a portion of the mounting plate at a distance from the stud, and the angle included between the sloping section of the mounting plate and the plane of the furniture wall being substantially equal to the angle between the first and second end positions of the stud. The lever then expediently engages the stud plate in an area thereof at a distance from the mounting area on the mounting plate. 
     The stud plate ought best to be a substantially flat plate with the studs projecting from its flat bottom. 
     The stud plate and the fastening stud can be made in one piece of metal. The substantially flat plate can be rectangular in shape and can be joined to the mounting plate near its margin facing the other stud or holding stud, while the lever then will engage the opposite marginal area of the flat plate facing away from the stud. 
     In that case an embodiment will be advantageous in which the lever will be linked to the marginal area of the flat plate remote from the other stud, for pivoting about an axis parallel to the pivot axis of the stud, and will have a lever-like handle for turning it from a position lowered onto the mounting plate to a raised position, and on the lever at least one cam, excentric or the like is provided which in the lowered position of the handle thrusts the flat plate, in an area facing away from the other stud, away from the mounting plate, and this cam or the like is turned to a position shifted away from contact with the mounting plate. 
     If the furniture hardware piece is designed as a door-related member of a hinge, it is expedient that the mounting plate be a flange integral with the upper rim of the cup of a cup-type hinge member. 
     The handle can then best have the shape, in plan, of a plate having at least in part an outline congruous with the mounting flange and placed over it. When in the proper fastening position, the handles will then be in line on the flange and will not appear to be separate components. 
     The bottom of the handle is then expediently provided with a recess accommodating the stud plate, this recess being created by means of a marginal strip projecting toward the mounting flange and running substantially around the edge of the handle. 
     The cam or cams or excentrics or the like are then expediently formed on a portion of the marginal strip of the handle facing away from the cup. 
     The handle can then be pivoted on the stud plate such that in the margin of the stud plate remote from the cup an indentation is provided which reaches slightly into the stud plate itself, and the edge of the stud plate is disposed in it; the stud plate has in its portion within the indentation a through-bore located above the flange and running parallel thereto, through which a pivot pin is passed, whose ends protruding from the plate are set in bores in the handle in its marginal lip. 
     In a door-hanging hardware device, the mounting flange is disposed substantially transversely to the longitudinal central plane of the cup device, so that it protrudes from both sides of the cup. It is then expedient to provide a stud in each of the two lateral wings of the mounting flange. The cup device, when set in its mortise, will then serve the function of the centering means referred to above. 
     The use of the principle of the invention is not limited to door-hanging hardware. Instead, the mounting plate can also be configured for the adjustable mounting of the door-related member of cabinet hinges. 
     Another possibility is to make it part of a joining device by providing on the upper side of the mounting plate means which can be brought into releasable engagement with an associated piece of hardware. It can be a so-called corner connector for furniture walls, or else a device by which drawer fronts can be joined to drawer sides. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention is further explained in the following description of a number of embodiments, in conjunction with the drawing wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a furniture hinge with a door-related mounting piece according to a first embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 a top plan view of the door-related cup-type hinge member stamped from sheet metal, without the mounting studs; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross section taken along the line indicated in FIG. 2 by the arrows  3 — 3 ; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross section seen in the direction of the arrows  4 — 4  in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a side view seen in the direction of arrow  5  in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view of one of the two levers provided in the embodiment according to FIG. 1, for operating the studs; 
     FIG. 7 is a cross section along line  7 — 7  in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a view seen in the direction of arrow  8  in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 9 is a side view of one of the two studs provided in the embodiment of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 10 is a view of the stud seen in the direction of arrow  10  in FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 11 is a view corresponding to the section shown in FIG.  3  through the cup-type hinge member with the studs installed and the lever with the hinge member in the mounted position; 
     FIG. 12 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 11, in which the stud is turned to the position for installation or removal; 
     FIG. 13 is a view corresponding to FIG. 11 but showing an alternative embodiment of a cup-shaped hinge member with the studs installed and the lever with the hinge member in the mounted position; 
     FIG. 14 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 13 in which the stud is turned to the position for installation or removal; 
     FIG. 15 is a partially cut-away side view of a second embodiment designed as part of a device for the removable attachment of a drawer front to a drawer, in the state in which it is mounted on the inner side of the drawer front; 
     FIG. 16 is a view corresponding to FIG. 15, in which the piece for fastening the drawer front is represented still lifted away from the drawer front prior to installation; 
     FIG. 17 is a partially cut-away side view of a third embodiment of drawer front mounting hardware as installed on the back of the drawer front, and 
     FIG. 18 is a view corresponding to FIG. 17 wherein the mounting hardware is shown in the partially installed state during the installation procedure. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In FIG. 1 a furniture hinge identified as a whole by  20  is represented schematically, in which a carcase-related member in the form of an elongated supporting arm  22  to be adjustably fastened to the side wall of a cabinet is coupled by an articulation formed by two links, of which only the one hinge link  24  is shown, to a door-related hinge member in the form of a cup-like device sunk into a mortise in the back of a door (not shown); this is the first embodiment of a furniture hardware device configured in the manner of the invention. The hinge member or cup  28  itself, made by stamping and drawing from sheet metal, can be configured in the manner described below in conjunction with FIGS. 2 to  5 , and is then held releasably in and on the door by means of two mounting devices to be further described in conjunction with FIGS. 6 to  8  and  9  and  10 . 
     The hinge cup  28  shown in FIGS. 2 to  5  without the said mounting devices is composed of the cup itself which can be sunk in the corresponding mortise in the door and a mounting flange  32  integral with its upper lip and projecting laterally on both sides; its bottom facing the door rests on the inside face of the door when the cup  26  is installed. Studs  34  spaced apart on the underside of the mounting flange  32  engage in associated bores in the door; they are separately made and will be described below in conjunction with FIGS. 9 and 10. The upper side of the mounting flange  32  is covered by two operating levers  36  each associated with one stud  34 ; these are of such shape that together they just cover the mounting flange  32 . One of these operating levers  36  is shown separately in FIGS. 6 and 8 and their configuration will be described in detail in connection with these drawing figures. 
     The actual cup  30  of the cup-like device, which is to be sunk in a mortise on the back of a door, is of the shape of a tub with flattened sides in which holes  38  and  40  are punched, in which the ends of the pivot pins  42 ,  44  (FIG.  1 ), which hold the links of the linkage, are fastened by riveting. The mounting flange  32  reaches laterally over the mortise in the door, the mortise being circular in plan, and thus it covers the space between the cup  30  and the wall of the mortise. At the front portion adjacent the edge of the door (at the bottom in FIG.  2 ), however, this space is covered by sections  46  depressed below the upper margin of the cup  30  from the sheet metal of the hinge cup  28  of circular outline corresponding to the diameter of the mortise, so that the mortise in the door is completely covered when the door-related hinge member  26  is installed. 
     The mounting flange  32  is embossed within an outer rim  48  which has outwardly sloping portions  32   a  provided symmetrically on opposite sides of the longitudinal central plane L of the cup  38 , in each of which two holes  50  of small diameter longitudinally spaced apart, and further out from them one larger opening  52 , are provided. 
     On each of the sloping portions  32   a  a stud holding means  54  is provided, in the form of a flat plate from the bottom of which, facing the sloping portion  32   a , the integrally joined stud  34  projects, and also two short studs  56  which can be fitted through the holes  50  in the mounting flange and then can be riveted from the bottom of the flange facing the door. The stud holding means is thus held against the sloping sections  32   a  on the mounting flange. In the outer marginal area opposite the stud  56 , the stud mounting means  54  configured as a flat plate is of thicker material and provided with a through-bore  58  running at a parallel distance above the mounting flange and parallel to the longitudinal central plane L of the cup. 
     The stud has the shape represented in FIGS. 9 and 10, i.e., on its side  34   a  it is semicylindrical, the central axis of the cylinder being at right angles to the bottom of the stud holding plate. At its bottom part two knife-edged projections  60  protrude from the semicylindrical side. 
     On the opposite side  34   b , i.e., the side facing the cup, the stud  34  is slightly tapered, to such a degree that, since the stud mounting means  54  is on the sloping section  32   a  of the mounting flange  32 , the stud as a whole will be within the walls of the corresponding mortise in the door. Not until the margin containing the bore  58  is lifted up by the sloping section  32   a  of the mounting flange does the stud  34  simultaneously perform a clockwise pivoting movement, so that the semicylindrical side  34   a  is placed against the wall of the mortise. Simultaneously, the sharpened projections  60  penetrate the wall of the mortise and thus lock the stud positively in the bore. 
     In order to force the stud mounting means  54  away from the sloping section  32   a  in the manner described above, the lever  36 , separately represented in FIGS. 6 to  8 , is provided, which is configured to the one half of the mounting flange in the manner shown in plan in FIG.  6 . In the area  36   a  lying above the stud holding means  54  the lever  36  is in the form of a flat body in whose bottom a recess is formed by a marginal strip  36   b  projecting toward the mounting flange  32 , in which the stud holding means  54  is accommodated. The circumferential marginal strip  36   b  is interrupted in the marginal part of the lever facing away from the cup part by an indentation  62  reaching in part into the area  36   a , in which lies the margin, provided with the through-bore  58 , of the stud holder  54  configured as a flat plate. The ends of a fulcrum pin, not shown, which protrude from the through-bore  58  are then journaled in bores  64  in the stud holder. The arms  36   c  of the lever  36 , adapted to the shape of the mounting flange  32 , simultaneously serve as handles by means of which the lever can be brought into the desired end positions. 
     Low, projecting cams  66  are formed at the free margins of the sections of the marginal strip  36   b  remaining laterally alongside the indentation  62 , and in the lowered state of the lever represented in FIG. 11 they are thrust against the planar outer circumferential margin  48  of the mounting flange  32 . Thus, the marginal portion of the stud holding means  54  provided with the through bore  58  and facing away from the cup is forced to the position, seen also in FIG. 11, in which it is lifted away from the sloping section  32   a , in which the stud  34  is in its intended locking position wherein the knife-edged projections  60  cut into the wall of the mortise in the door. 
     In FIG. 12, however, the lever  36  is raised up, so that the cams  66  are turned away from their position thrusting against flange  32  and the stud holding means  54  is lowered onto the associated sloping section  32   a  of the flange. Thus the stud  34  is swung back to the releasing position wherein the sharpened projections  60  come free of their engagement in the wall of the mortise. In this position, represented in FIG. 12, the cup member  28  can thus be removed from the door without the application of force. 
     In FIGS. 13 and 14, a modification of the arrangement shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is depicted. The modification lies in the arrangement of the fastening studs  34  on the fastening plate  32  such that their free ends are a greater distance apart in the first end position and closer together in the second end position. The knife-edged projections  60  provided on each of the fastening studs  34  are provided then on a half of each of the fastening studs facing toward the other fastening stud  34 . 
     A second embodiment of a hardware piece according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 in a manner comparable to FIGS. 11 and 12. The piece indicated in its entirety at  126  is in this case part of a drawer front mounting device, which is a hook member to be fastened to the inside of a drawer front  125 , and cooperating with a mounting piece installed on or in a side of the drawer, and it is not described further since it is known in itself. As it appears from a comparison of FIGS. 15 and 16 with FIGS. 11 and 12, the hardware pieces  26  and  126  are mounted in a comparable manner by studs  134  provided at opposite ends of an elongated mounting plate  132  corresponding to mounting plate  32 , which are made in basically the same manner as studs  34 , the pivoting of the studs  134  being performed by lever  136 . The way in which these levers  136  are pivoted on the stud holder  154  is likewise the same as in the previous embodiment, so that, to avoid repetition, it will suffice to refer to the previous description, inasmuch as functionally equal components of the two embodiments are given the same reference numbers in the drawings, preceded in the case of component  126  by a numeral 1. 
     It can be seen that the cylindrical stud  130  projecting centrally from the bottom facing the drawer-front serves here as a centering means, which sets or centers the member  126  lengthwise of the mounting plate  132 , even when the studs  134  are not both turned to the fastening position, i.e., the forces developing between the studs  134  and the wall of the mortise  135  in the drawer front  125  are applied not simultaneously but successively to the mounting plate  132 . 
     In FIGS. 17 and 18 there is shown a third example of a furniture hardware piece  226  which is a simplified embodiment of the hardware piece  126 . Since in FIGS. 15 and 16, functionally comparable components of the piece  226  are associated with the same references as in the hardware piece  126 , and a number 2 instead of the 1 is prefixed to the reference number, it will suffice hereinafter to explain only the relevant modifications and simplifications. 
     It can be seen that the plug forming the centering means protruding from the bottom of the mounting plate  232  is eliminated. Its function is combined with the second stud  231  shown in the drawing on the left side which protrudes fixedly from the bottom of the mounting plate  232 . The stud  231  has the same basic configuration as the stud  234  but, as stated, it is fixedly attached to the mounting plate  232 . The pivoting of the stud from the one to the other end position during the installation of device  226  is accordingly replaced by rocking the device  231  inserted into the bore  235  at an angle as shown in FIG.  18 . As soon as the stud  231  has been fully inserted into the bore  235  the device  226  is turned to bring the bottom of mounting plate  232  against the inside of the drawer front  225 . The stud  234  shown in the end position represented in FIG. 18 can thus enter into the bore without damaging the wall of the bore  235 . By turning the lever  236  down, the stud  234  is then shifted to the fastening position in which the sharp-edged projections  260  penetrate into the wall of the bore  235 . The result of the reaction force transmitted through the mounting plate  232  to the stud  231  is that the knife-edged projections  260  additionally penetrate into the wall of the bore  235  and fasten the hardware piece  226  to the drawer front  225  on the manner shown in FIG.  17 . 
     It can be seen that modifications and improvements of the embodiments described are practical within the scope of the idea of the invention and they also relate to the fact that furniture hardware designed for a different task, for example corner connection or other connecting devices, can be installed and removed quickly and simply without tools.