A catch system for furniture doors and the like

Abstract: A catch system for bolting, on a piece of furniture, a door panel to a stationary frame by means of at least one hook (16) mounted to one of said two parts of the piece of furniture and engaging a corresponding peg (17) attached to the other of said two parts of the piece of furniture, has the peg (17) provided, in order to attenuate the frictional resistance between the hook (16) and the peg (17), with a freely rotatable outer cylinder surface (25) which contacts the hook (16) during its bolting/unbolting movements.

Description: This invention relates to a catch system for furniture doors and the like. Known is a catch system for furniture doors which comprises two hooks mounted to the top and bottom ends, respectively, of a door panel and co-operating with two corresponding pegs attached to the stationary frame of a piece of furniture. The hooks can be moved, e.g. through a suitable key-actuated mechanism, between a position of engagement with their respective pegs, wherein the door panel would be bolted to the stationary frame, and a turned-away or release position, wherein the door panel would be unbolted. Catches of this kind may be used on office and home furniture, such as closets, filing cabinets, etc. Each hook and its corresponding peg in the catch system must be mounted in exact alignment at their selected locations, if they are to engage each other smoothly. However, the required accuracy in the mutual positioning of the hook and peg is seldom complied with at the assembly stage due to unavoidable variations in the mounts of the catch operating mechanism and the catch itself, not to mention the hinges which secure the door panel to the stationary frame of a piece of furniture. Such unavoidable inaccuracies in the hook-to-peg alignment are a cause of frictional resistance therebetween during the bolting/unbolting movements. This frictional resistance between the hook and the peg may require the exertion of an extra effort on the operation mechanism and result in premature wear of the mechanism and the catch system, and ultimately in possible malfunction or jamming of same. The prior Swiss patent CH-A-314195 discloses a catch system for windows and doors comprising a couple of hooks mounted on the top and bottom ends of the window or door movable part and two corresponding pegs placed on the corresponding ends of the window or door stationary frame; the hooks are actuated by a lever through a suitable mechanism. In order to facilitate the opening or closing of the window or door, each peg is provided with a freely rotatable bushing which contacts the corresponding hook during bolting/unbolting movements. The prior French patent FR-A-1363595 discloses a peg for a catch system of a door or window, including a rotatable bushing. The position of the peg on the frame can be adjusted by an eccentric regulation. Object of the present invention is to provide a catch system comprising one or more peg, each including a rotatable bushing, and one or more corresponding hooks, wherein the bushing can be easily mounted and removed. This object is achieved by a catch system according to claim 1. To further illustrate the invention, a description of an exemplary embodiment thereof will be given herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a door-fitted closet module incorporating a catch system according to the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of two elements of the catch system shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an exploded view of one of the two elements in Figure 2; Figure 4 shows the element in Figure 3 in its assembled state; and Figure 5 is a sectional view, drawn to an enlarged scale, of the element in Figure 4 as fitted to the closet module. The closet module generally shown at 10 in Figure 1 comprises a stationary frame 11 and a door panel 12 which is hinged to the frame 11 for pivotal movement to close and open the module 10. Mounted on the inside face of the door panel 12 is a conventional operation mechanism 13 which can be actuated from outside using a key 14. Connected drivingly to the operation mechanism 13 are two rods 15 which extend vertically in opposite directions along a common axis X and are terminated at the top and bottom ends, respectively, of the door panel 12. Attached to the end sections of the two rods 15 are two respective hooks 16 identical with each other, and correspondingly attached to the frame 11 are two identical pegs 17, namely an upper and a lower one. To bolt the door panel 12 to the frame 11 in the closed condition of the module 10, the key 14 is turned such that the operation mechanism 13 will rotate the rods 15 about the axis X and bring the hooks 16 to engage the pegs 17. To unbolt the door panel 12, the key 14 is turned in the opposite direction, thereby the hooks 16 will be rotated in the opposite direction out of engagement with the pegs 17. Shown in Figure 2 are the upper hook 16 and peg 17, and specifically shown in full outline is the engaged position, and in broken outline the disengage or release position, of the hook 16. It will be appreciated that the movement of the lower hook 16 relative to the lower peg 17 is similar to that of the upper hook 16 with respect to the upper peg 17. Figures 3, 4 and 5 show the peg 17 in greater detail. This peg 17 comprises a stationary body 18 whence a cylindrical shank 19 extends which is formed integrally with the body 18 and has an offset axis Y from the axis Z of the body 18. The shank 19 is threaded partway and screw fitted into a sunk bush 20, as shown in Figure 5, in a hole 28 of the frame 11. Formed in the body 18 is a cylindrical seat 21 delimited by two opposite shoulders 22, 23. A bushing 24 is received in said seat 21 for free rotation about the seat 21 and retained axially by the two shoulders 22, 23. The axis of rotation of the bushing 24 is the axis Z of the body 18. The outer cylinder surface 25 of the bushing 24 is intended to contact the hook 16 during the bolt/unbolt movements thereof. Since the surface 25 will turn while in contact because of the bushing 24 being mounted for free rotation, the frictional resistance between the hook 16 and the surface 25 can be significantly reduced to thereby eliminate the drawbacks brought about by friction between the hook and the peg as mentioned in the introductory part. Advantageously, the bushing 24 is made of an antifriction material, such as nylon, in order to minimize the frictional resistance between the hook 16 and the surface 25. To allow the bushing 24 to be driven into the seat 21, the bushing 24 is made of a resilient material, such as the aforesaid nylon material, so that it is force fitted over the body 18 from a free end 26 of the latter, over and past the shoulder 23 by virtue of its resilient nature, and into the cylindrical seat 21. For greater convenience in driving the bushing 24, the end 26 is tapered and radiused to the shoulder 23. In case of failure of the bushing 24, it can be removed from the seat 21 and replaced with a new bushing to be force fitted over the body 18: in this way, replacement of the whole peg 17 can be avoided. The distance between the hook 16 and the peg 17 can be adjusted by turning the peg 17 about the axis Y of the shank 19. In fact, with the shank 19 offset from the body 18, this rotation will result in the surface 25 being moved toward or away from the hook 16. The end 26 of the body 18 is slotted at 27 to receive a screwdriver for more convenient rotation of the peg 17 in performing the adjustment. The bush 20 is formed on its outer surface with longitudinal and circumferential elevations in order for it to become firmly locked in the hole 28 of the frame 11. The bush 20 is also formed with longitudinal slots 29 allowing it to expand at the final stage of the shank 19 screwing into it, thereby the thread engagement will become a forced one at that stage. Thus, a dual objective is achived of permitting the hook-to-peg distance to be adjusted and, once the adjusting is made, causing the peg to retain its position setting. The bushing 24 may be made of any suitable material, e.g. a plastics material such as nylon, or a metal material; in the latter case, the elastic expansion of the bushing may be ensured by slotting the bushing throughout its length. The offset shank is, as mentioned above, specially advantageous, but a shank simply extending along the same axis as the peg body could be provided instead. The configurations of the hook and the peg may be other than those described and illustrated herein. The catch system of this invention may comprise one hook/peg combination, as in the embodiment just described, or any number of such hook/peg combinations. The hook(s) may be pivoted using any key-actuated operation mechanism, as in the embodiment just described, or one actuated by means of a knob or the like. The catch system of this invention may also be used, with obvious adaptations, for bolting drawers or other furniture components.

Claims: A catch system for furniture doors (12) and the like, adapted to bolt a door panel to a stationary frame (11) of a piece of furniture, comprising at least one hook (16) mounted onto one of said parts (11,12) of the piece of furniture and a corresponding peg (17) mounted onto the other of said two parts (11,12) of the piece of furniture, the hook (16) being movable between a position of engagement with the peg (17) and a release position away from the peg (17), the peg (17) comprising a stationary body (18) on which a bushing (24) is fitted for free rotation thereon, the bushing (24) being received in a cylindrical seat (21) of the peg body (18) delimited by two opposite shoulders (22,23) which have a cross section greater than the diameter of the bushing, and being contacted by the hook during the bolting/unbolting movements thereof, characterized in that the bushing (24) is made of a resilient material having a resiliency which allows a reversible expansion of the inner diameter of the bushing beyond the cross section of the shoulders (22),(23) for a force fit. A catch system according to claim 1, wherein a free end (26) of the body (18) is tapered and radiused to the adjacent shoulder (23) to facilitate the force fit of the bushing (24) in the seat (21). A catch system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said bushing (24) is made of an antifriction material. A catch system according to claim 3, wherein said bushing (24) is made of nylon. A catch system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the peg (17) includes a cylindrical shank (19) having an offset axis (Y) from the axis (Z) of rotation of said bushing (24), said shank (19) forming a means of securing the peg (17) on the stationary frame (11) of the piece of furniture. A catch system according to claim 5, wherein the shank (19) is driven rotatively into the stationary frame (11) to form a force fit therewith. A catch system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein a bush (20), which is inserted into and made fast with the frame (11), interposes between the shank (19) and the stationary frame (11).

Inventors: MERONI GERSAM, MERONI, GERSAM
Applicants: MERONI SERRATURE SAS, SERRATURE MERONI S.P.A.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: E05C9
IPC codes: E05C9