Abstract:
An end stop damper including a stop element, guided in an elongate damper body with an opened and a closed end as well as a receiving chamber, for receiving a sliding piece, joined to the stop element. The end of the sliding piece, which extends into the receiving chamber, forms a cavity with the inner contour of the receiving chamber. The cavity has at least one opening, for reducing the air pressure. The opening cooperates with a damping element which creates a flow resistance for the air, escaping through the opening.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to a door-closing damper, such as is used in the manufacture of furniture, and particularly for furniture doors and drawers.  
         [0003]     2. Discussion of Related Art  
         [0004]     Damping elements are known which are used to let the doors and drawers of furniture return gently into their closed end position. It is intended to prevent an abrupt and therefore annoying touching of parts of furniture, to limit wear and to obtain a noise-damping and shock-damping effect.  
         [0005]     The known damping elements substantially have an elastic stop element fixed in a blind bore cut into the furniture body. The stop element can also be glued on the furniture body. Such a stop element protrudes beyond the flat surface of the piece of furniture and, because of its elastic deformability, it lessens the impact of a further furniture element, such as a furniture door, for example.  
         [0006]     However, one problem arises with cabinets hung from a wall with cabinet doors seated in horizontally extending rotating hinges, and with lids which are hingedly connected with chests. Because of their inherent weight, the cabinet doors or covers of the chests impact with a large force on the damping elements applied in the conventional manner. In this case, the damping elements are not capable of damping such strong impacts in a satisfactory manner. It is thus necessary for the conventional damping elements to have disproportionally large dimensions, so that a complete closing of the cabinet door would not be possible.  
         [0007]     Such a door-closing damper is known from Patent Abstracts of Japan, Publication No. 2001 140530 A. The known door-closing damper comprises a stop element guided in an elongated damper body with an open end and a closed end. The damper body has a receiving chamber for receiving a sliding element, which is connected with the stop element and on whose exterior one or several sliding faces are arranged, which rest against a section of the interior wall of receiving chamber assigned to the open end of the damper body. A sealing device resting against the inner contour of the receiving chamber is arranged on the end of the sliding element projecting into the receiving chamber. The end of the sliding element projecting into the receiving chamber and the sealing device form a hollow space together with the inner contour of the receiving chamber in which, when the sliding element is charged with pressure, a counter-pressure is exerted on the sliding element as a result of the air pressure built up in the hollow space. The hollow space has at least one opening for the escape of the air for reducing the air pressure.  
         [0008]     In a door-closing damper the damping effect results from the fact that the opening is in the form of a bore in the closed end of the damper body and is chosen to be very narrow, so that the air slowly escapes from the hollow space for reducing the air pressure. The typical diameter of such a bore is approximately 0.1 mm. Because door-closing dampers are mostly produced in large quantities by injection-molding methods, and because it is very difficult to make such narrow bores by such a production method, the desired damping effect is not dependably provided. Moreover, in actual use problems occur regarding the dimensional accuracy of such narrow bores during continuous use. This leads to a widening of the bore diameter, and therefore to a worsening of the damping effect.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     It is one object of this invention to provide a door-closing damper of the type described above which, with simple construction, assures an effective damping effect even during continuous operation.  
         [0010]     This object and others of this invention can be accomplished with a door-closing damper having the characteristics described in this specification and in the claims.  
         [0011]     Accordingly, a damping member, which forms a flow resistance to the air escaping through the opening, works together with the opening. When employing such a damping member it is not necessary to choose the opening, or bore, to be especially small for letting the compressed volume of air escape slowly. Instead, the opening can be selected to be of any arbitrary size, because the air volume flows through the damping member and escapes damped. Openings of a diameter of greater than 0.1 mm can also be realized by an injection-molding process. In order to achieve the desired damping effect, an exactly predefined diameter of the opening is not as important as the damping member used.  
         [0012]     Thus, the damping member can have a porous material as the air flow resistant material. With such a material the air flows through a plurality of narrow flow channels, so that a desired flow resistance is achieved.  
         [0013]     In one embodiment, the damping member can have an element made of a sinter metal, a plastic foam, a textile material, a felt material or such material providing a resistance to air flow. An entire list of suitable materials is available, which differ with respect to their abilities to be processed, to resistability, to their tendency to be clogged by particles in the air, and other properties of the material. However, it is common for the materials used for a flow to take place through them and they provide a resistance to flow, which leads to damping in the door-closing damper.  
         [0014]     The opening through which flow occurs can be arranged at the closed end of the damper body. It is possible to form the opening in this area by a particularly simple manufacturing technology. It is thus possible to select the diameter of the opening to be from greater than 0.1 mm up to the interior diameter of the hollow space. The damping member can be arranged or fitted into a support area formed on the damper body, wherein the entire air flow passes through the damping member. If the interior diameter of the hollow space is selected as the diameter of the opening, the damping member can be directly pressed into the damper body and can define the closed end of the damper body. Alternatively or in addition, the opening can be arranged on the sliding element. Because the sliding element extends at least partially into the outer area of the door-closing damper, an opening made in the sliding element assures the particularly good escape of the compressed air from the hollow space. Thus it is possible to provide a bore applied in the direction of the extension of the sliding element, which extends as far as the hollow space. The damping member can be arranged or fitted into a support area formed in the damper body, wherein an entire air flow passes through the damping member. In this case the damping member can be directly pressed into the bore.  
         [0015]     It can be advantageous in view of manufacturing technology to arrange the damping member on the side of the opening facing away from the hollow space. If a support area can be formed on the side of the opening facing away from the hollow space, the damping member can be fitted there in a suitable manner.  
         [0016]     Alternatively or additionally, it is possible to arrange the damping member at the side of the opening facing the hollow space so that the support area is located on the same side. A dependable support in the support area is also assured by the preselected flow direction of the air.  
         [0017]     The damping member can also be fitted inside the opening. This arrangement is particularly advantageous if the opening has a diameter greater than 0.1 mm.  
         [0018]     So that in a state in which it is not charged the sliding element is substantially automatically extended, or remains in the extended position until it comes into contact with a piece of furniture, a spring is on the damper body, which is arranged in the receiving chamber. The spring pushes the sliding element at least partially out of the receiving chamber. The sliding element can be easily pushed into the receiving chamber against the spring force. The damping effect is primarily achieved by the air pressure being built up.  
         [0019]     In accordance with one embodiment, the sealing device has at least one elastic sealing lip. When air pressure is built up in the hollow space which is formed by the end of the sliding element with the sealing device extending into the receiving chamber and the inner contour of the receiving chamber, the sealing lip is pushed against the inner contour of the receiving chamber, so that a sliding connection is created which is air-tight, to a large extent.  
         [0020]     In one embodiment which is cost-effective, the elastic sealing lip is substantially inclined in the direction toward the closed end of the receiving chamber. In this case the sealing lip is arranged or spaced apart, at least partially, from the outer contour of the sliding element and at the end of the sliding element extending into the receiving chamber.  
         [0021]     So that the sliding element can be brought into a maximally extended position even with the underpressure created in the hollow space when pulled out or pushed out by the spring, the sealing lip permits the flow of air into the hollow space. During this, because of the underpressure being created in the hollow space, the elastic sealing lip of the sealing device in the space between the inner contour of the receiving chamber and the outer contour of the sliding element is spaced apart from the inner contour of the receiving chamber during the at least partial pulling-out of the sliding element from the receiving chamber. Thus air can flow through the space between the inner contour of the receiving chamber and the outer contour of the sliding element beyond the sealing lip into the hollow space. A particularly simply constructed and at the same time effective sliding guidance is created because at least one protrusion is formed on the inner wall section of the receiving chamber associated with the open end of the damper body, which is in contact with each sliding face of the sliding element. The sliding element is dependably guided in the receiving chamber, together with the sealing device, which forms a supporting and sealing sliding guidance on the inner wall of the receiving chamber.  
         [0022]     So that the sliding element cannot be completely pulled out of the receiving chamber or can be pushed out by the spring, at least one protrusion is formed between the outer contour of the sliding element and the inner contour of the receiving chamber. During the at least partial pull-out of the sliding element from the receiving chamber, the protrusion strikes the protrusion formed on the inner wall section of the receiving chamber associated with the open end of the damper body. Thus, an effective contact stop is easily formed.  
         [0023]     For a simple installation of the door-closing damper, the damper body can be inserted into a blind bore in, for example, a furniture body. For limiting the insertion depth of the damper body in the blind bore, the damper body has a shoulder which encircles it at least partially on an outer contour associated with the open end.  
         [0024]     For the dependable reception of the spring, the sliding body has an elongated recess which, at least partially, extends substantially in the direction of its longitudinal extension and is arranged at its end associated with the closed end of the receiving chamber, into which the spring arranged in the receiving chamber extends.  
         [0025]     So that the hollow chamber, between the end of the sliding element extending into the receiving chamber and the inner contour of the receiving chamber, which is extended by the elongated recess in the sliding element, is minimized in the pushed-in state of the sliding element, a pin, which extends in the longitudinal extension direction of the receiving chamber, is formed on the inner contour of the closed end of the receiving chamber. In the completely pushed-in state of the sliding element, the pin extends substantially completely into the recess of the element which runs in the direction of the longitudinal extension.  
         [0026]     In order to house the spring in a particularly space-saving manner while simultaneously minimizing the volume of the hollow chamber in the pushed-in state of the sliding element, the spring arranged in the receiving chamber can be conducted over the pin and movably arranged on the outer contour of the pin, so that there is no interference with the spring path. At the same time, it is possible to form a space between the pin and the recess extending in the longitudinal extension direction in the sliding element, so that the spring is movably arranged on the inner contour of the recess and so that its spring travel is not hampered.  
         [0027]     A particularly effective minimization of the volume of the hollow chamber is achieved if, with the sliding element substantially completely pushed-in, the spring is squared away or positioned in the space between the pin and the recess.  
         [0028]     The stop element can have a detent head which projects at least partially over the edge area of the opening at the open end of the damper body and which, with the substantially completely pushed-in sliding element, is stopped on the edge area and thus defines an additional limit of the insertion depth of the sliding element into the receiving chamber in the damper body.  
         [0029]     In one embodiment, which has simple manufacturing techniques, the sliding body can be designed in one piece with the sealing device.  
         [0030]     For example, in order to releasably maintain a cabinet door on the furniture body in the closed position, the stop element can have a magnetic snap-in arrangement or similar contact device for the releasable connection of the door-closing damper.  
         [0031]     In accordance with another embodiment of a door-closing damper of this invention, the door-closing element has a magnetic snap-in arrangement or similar contact device for the releasable connection of the door-closing damper with a connecting element. Under these cross-sectional conditions, it is possible to achieve a continuous pressure reduction with a sufficient damping effect. In this case, damping is just large enough so that the door-closing damper can be advantageously employed in furniture construction. In this case, the diameter of the opening can be less than 0.1 mm.  
         [0032]     Such opening cross sections are atypical in connection with this invention, and they are very difficult to manufacture. However, with such an embodiment, it is possible to definitely act on the varying flow conditions in the pressure release phase, so that good damping is achieved for a door-closing damper.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0033]     This invention is explained in greater detail in view of exemplary embodiments represented in the drawings, wherein:  
         [0034]      FIG. 1  shows a door-closing damper in a lateral and sectional view, in accordance with one embodiment, having a damping member arranged at the closed end of the damper body, and with the sliding element completely extended;  
         [0035]      FIG. 2  shows a door-closing damper in a lateral and sectional view in accordance with a further embodiment, having a damping member arranged at the sliding element, wherein the sliding element is shown completely extended;  
         [0036]      FIG. 3  shows a door-closing damper in a lateral and sectional view in accordance with a still further embodiment, having a damping member arranged at the closed end of the damper body, a pin arranged in the hollow chamber, and with the sliding element completely extended;  
         [0037]      FIG. 4  shows a door-closing damper in accordance with  FIG. 3 , in a lateral and sectional view, with the sliding element completely pushed in;  
         [0038]      FIG. 5  shows an enlarged partial lateral and sectional view of  FIG. 4 , which includes the lower closed area of the damper body with the sliding element completely pushed in, in accordance with one embodiment;  
         [0039]      FIG. 6  shows an enlarged partial lateral and sectional view of  FIG. 4 , which includes an area arranged at the outer contour of the damper body at the open end of the receiving chamber, in accordance with another embodiment;  
         [0040]      FIG. 7  shows a partial lateral and sectional view of an upper open area of the damper body with the sliding element completely pushed in, in accordance with an alternative embodiment; and  
         [0041]      FIG. 8  shows a schematic perspective view of a furniture body with a closing flap, which is damped by a door-closing damper. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0042]     In a lateral representation and in a sectional view,  FIG. 1  shows a door-closing damper  10  in accordance with a first embodiment, having a damping member  39   a  arranged at the closed end  18  of the damper body  14  and with the sliding element  12  completely extended. The door-closing damper  10  has an elongated cylinder-shaped damper body  14  with an upper open end  16  and a lower closed end  18 . The damper body  14  has a cylinder-shaped receiving chamber  20  for receiving the cylinder-shaped sliding element  12 , which is connected with a stop element  22 . The stop element  22  has a detent head  23 , which projects, at least partially, past or beyond the edge area  17  of the opening at the open end  16  of the damper body  14  and which, with the sliding element  12  substantially completely pushed in, engages the edge area  17 .  
         [0043]     The sliding element  12  has a sliding surface on its outer contour  24 , which rests against an inner wall section  26  of the receiving chamber  20  assigned to the open end  16  of the damper body  14 . A gap  30  is between the outer contour  24  of the sliding element  12  and the inner contour  28  of the receiving chamber  20  in the entire section arranged underneath the sliding guide  26 . A sealing lip  34  resting against the inner contour  28  of the receiving chamber  20  is arranged at the end  32  of the sliding element  12  extending into the receiving chamber  20 . The sealing lip  34  is produced in one piece with the sliding element  12  by a plastic injection process.  
         [0044]     The end  32  of the sliding element  12  protruding into the receiving chamber  20  forms a hollow chamber  36  together with the sealing lip  34  and with the inner edge  28  of the receiving chamber  20 . A counter-pressure in the direction A, generated by the air pressure built up in the hollow chamber  36 , is exerted in the hollow chamber  36  when the sliding element  12  is charged with pressure, for example by a cover of a chest, not shown.  
         [0045]     The elastic lip  34  is arranged on the end  32  of the sliding element  12  which projects into the receiving chamber  20 . The elastic sealing lip  34  is substantially inclined in the direction toward the closed end  18  of the receiving chamber  20 . Thus, the sealing lip  34  extends substantially in the longitudinal direction and parallel with the inner contour of the receiving chamber  20 . During this, in its area oriented in the direction to the closed end of the receiving chamber  20 , the sealing lip  34  forms a recess  40 , approximately ring-shaped in cross section, which is a part of the hollow chamber  20 . When air pressure is built up in the hollow chamber  20 , the air pressure within the ring-shaped recess  40  will also rise correspondingly, so that the sealing lip  34  is pressed against inner contour  28  of the receiving chamber  20  and a sliding connection is formed, which is air-tight to a large extent.  
         [0046]     When pulling the sliding element  12  at least partially out of the receiving chamber  20 , a definite underpressure with respect to the ambient pressure is created in the hollow chamber  36  because of the sealing effect of the sealing lip  34 . If the elastic sealing lip  34  is thus appropriately designed regarding its yielding ability, it can be lifted off the inner contour  28  of the receiving chamber  20  because of the higher air pressure in its surroundings and in the gap  30  contacting it. During this, air can flow past the sealing lip  34  through the gap  30  between the inner contour  28  of the receiving chamber  20  and the outer contour  24  of the sliding element  12 , into the hollow chamber  36  until a pressure equilibrium is achieved. The sealing lip  34  can be designed stiff enough so that the pressure equalization takes place only via the damping member  39   a.    
         [0047]     The damper body  14  has a helical spring  42  arranged in the receiving chamber  20 , which extends in the receiving chamber  20  from the closed end  18  to the lower end  32  of the sliding element  12 . The spring  42  pushes the sliding element  12  at least partially out of the receiving chamber  20 . The sliding element  12  can be pushed into the receiving chamber  20  against the spring force of the spring  42 .  
         [0048]     The sliding element  12  has a recess  44 , which extends in the direction of its longitudinal extension and is attached on its end  32  associated with the closed end  18  of the receiving chamber and into which the spring  42  arranged in the receiving chamber  20  extends.  
         [0049]     A bottom plate  19 , on which the spring  42  is supported and which delimits the hollow chamber  36 , is formed in one piece with the damper body  14  on the closed end  18 . An opening  38   a  in the form of a bore is cut approximately centered into the bottom plate  19 . A damping element  39   a  made of a porous material, for example a sinter material, is arranged on the side of the bore  38   a  facing away from the hollow chamber  36 . The damping element  39   a  is used as a flow resistance material for the air flowing out of the opening  38   a.    
         [0050]     A support area  43   a  for the damping element  39   a  is formed on the side of the bottom plate  19  facing away from the hollow chamber  36 . The support area  43   a  is formed as a continuation of the hollow chamber  36 , which is separated from the hollow chamber  36  by the bottom plate  19 . The damping element  39   a  is pressed into the support area  43   a  in order to avoid false flows bypassing the damping element  39   a.  Alternatively, the damping element  39   a  can also be glued in or firmly and sealingly connected in a similar manner with the support area  43   a.    
         [0051]      FIG. 2  shows in a lateral view and in section a door-closing damper  10  in accordance with a further embodiment, having a damping element  39   b  arranged on the sliding element  12 , wherein the sliding element  12  is shown fully extended. Now the distinguishing features of the further embodiment of the door-closing damper  10 , which are different from the distinguishing features already described by  FIG. 1 , is more accurately described by  FIG. 2 .  
         [0052]     A bottom plate  19  is formed as one piece with the damper body  14  at the closed end  18 , against which the spring  42  is supported and which delimits the hollow chamber  36 .  
         [0053]     A bore  13  as an extension of the elongated recess  44  is applied to the sliding element  12 . In accordance with manufacturing technology, the bore  13  and the recess  44  are designed as a continuous bore applied centered in the longitudinal extension direction of the sliding element  12 .  
         [0054]     The cross section of the bore  13  simultaneously defines the opening  35   b,  in which a damping element  39   b,  made of a porous material, for example a sinter material, is arranged. The damping element  39   a  is used as a flow resistance material for the air flowing out of the opening  38   a,  and by its position in the bore defines the extension of the recess  44 . The damping element  39   a  simultaneously is used as a support for the spring  42  within the recess  44 .  
         [0055]     The support area  43   b  is formed by the area of the inner wall of the bore  13  bordering the recess  44 . The damping element  39   b  is pressed into the support area  43   b  in order to avoid false flows bypassing the damping element  39   a.  Alternatively, the damping element  39   a  can also be glued in or firmly and sealingly connected in a similar manner with the support area  43   a.    
         [0056]      FIG. 3  shows in a lateral view and in section a still further embodiment of a door-closing damper  10 , having a damping member  39   a  arranged at the closed end  18  of the damper body  14 , a pin  46  arranged in the hollow chamber and a completely extended sliding element  12 . Now, the distinguishing features of this still further embodiment of the door-closing damper  10 , which are different from the distinguishing features already described by  FIG. 1 , are more accurately described by means of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0057]     The sliding body  12  has an elongated recess  44 , which extends in its longitudinal extension direction and is attached to its end  32  assigned to the closed end  18  of the receiving chamber and into which the spring  42  arranged in the receiving chamber  20  extends. At the same time, a pin  46  is formed on the inner contour of the closed end  18  of the receiving chamber  20  and extends in the longitudinal extension direction of the receiving chamber  20 . The pin  46  has approximately the same length as the elongated recess  44  in the sliding element  12  so that, in the completely pushed-in state of the sliding element  12 , the pin  46  extends substantially completely into its recess  44 . The spring  42  arranged in the receiving chamber  20  is conducted over the pin  46  and is movably arranged on its outer contour.  
         [0058]     A bottom plate  19  is formed on the closed end  18  and, arranged at right angles and centered thereto, the pin  46  is formed as one piece with the damper body  14 . The spring  42  is supported on the bottom plate  19 . An opening  38   a  in the form of a bore has been cut into the bottom plate  19  laterally next to the pin  46 , or the spring  42 . A damping element  39   a  made of a porous material, for example a sinter material, is arranged in a support area  43   a  on the side of the bore  38   a  facing away from the hollow chamber  36 . The damping element  39   a  is used as a flow resistance material for the air flowing out of the opening  38   a.    
         [0059]     In a lateral view and in section,  FIG. 4  shows the door-opening damper  10  in accordance with  FIG. 3  with the sliding element  12  completely pushed in. A gap  48  is formed in the sliding element  12  between the pin  46  and the recess  44  extending in the longitudinal extension direction, in which the spring  42  is movably arranged. With the sliding element  12  substantially completely pushed in, the spring  42  is squared away or compressed in the gap  48 .  
         [0060]     For the purpose of a further more detailed explanation, a circle V has been drawn in  FIG. 4  around the lower closed section of the damper body  14 , which marks the area represented in an enlarged partial lateral representation and in partial section in  FIG. 5 . Furthermore, a circle VI is drawn at the upper open section of the damper body  14  in  FIG. 4 , which marks the area represented in an enlarged partial lateral representation and in partial section in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0061]     In an enlarged partial lateral representation and in partial section of  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 5  shows the lower closed area of the damper body  14  with the completely pushed-in sliding element  12 . The hollow chamber  36  shown in  FIG. 3  is almost completely occupied by the pushed-in sliding element  12 , so that only the recess  40  forms a hollow chamber. Because of the compression action of the sliding element  12  provided with the sealing lip  34 , the volume of air from the hollow chamber  36  flows through the opening  38   a  into the damping member  39   a  and damped, i.e. with an increased flow resistance, through the latter.  
         [0062]      FIG. 6  shows in an enlarged partial lateral representation and in partial section of  FIG. 4  an area arranged on the outer contour of the damper body  14  at the open end  16  of the receiving chamber  20 .  
         [0063]     A protrusion  50 , which extends approximately ring-shaped on the inner contour of the receiving chamber  20 , is formed on the inner wall section of the receiving chamber  20 , which is assigned to the open end  16  of the damper body and is in contact with each sliding surface of the sliding element  12 . The protrusion can also be formed by a separate element, for example a retaining ring.  
         [0064]     A protrusion  52 , represented in  FIG. 3 , which encloses the sliding element  12  in a ring shape, is arranged on the sliding element  12  between the outer contour  24  of the sliding element  12  and the inner contour  28  of the receiving chamber  20 . When pulling the sliding element  12  at least partially out of the receiving chamber  20 , the protrusion  52  impacts on the protrusion  50 , which is formed on the inner wall section of the receiving chamber  20  associated with the open end  16  of the damper body  14 .  
         [0065]     In an alternative embodiment,  FIG. 7  shows, in an enlarged partial lateral representation and in partial section, the upper open area  16  of the damper body  14  with the sliding element  12  completely pushed in. In this case the sliding element  12  does not have a formed stop element  22 , but rather is flattened. With this embodiment, a cabinet door, not represented, can rest flush against the furniture body, not represented.  
         [0066]     In a schematically perspective representation,  FIG. 8  shows a furniture body  54  with a closing flap  56 , which is damped by a door-closing damper  10 , in accordance with the embodiment according to  FIG. 3 . In this case, the door-closing damper  10  is arranged on the furniture body  54  so that during the closing movement the closing flap  56  impacts on the door-closing damper  10 . The door-closing damper  10  can also have a magnetic snap-in arrangement  11  or similar contact device for the releasable connection of the door-closing damper  10  with the closing flap  56 . In addition, or alternatively, not represented, such contact or closing arrangements can be provided on the furniture body  54  or on the closing flap  56 .  
         [0067]     The door-closing damper  10  can be inserted into a blind bore in the furniture body  54 . In this case, the damper body  14  has a shoulder  60 , which circles it at least partially, on the outer contour assigned to its open end  16 , which limits the insertion depth of the damper body  14  into the blind bore. The shoulder  60  is shown, by way of example, in  FIG. 3 .