Patent Publication Number: US-11039688-B2

Title: Damper assemblies

Description:
This invention relates to damper assemblies and, in particular, though not exclusively, to damper assemblies for use in furniture. 
     The invention provides a device for controlling movement of a first member relative to a second member, e.g. in a piece of furniture, with said device comprising an actuator for imparting a biassing force to said first member in a first direction, a housing mountable on said second member for mounting said actuator for reciprocable movement in and opposite to said first direction, damper means operable on the actuator to impart a damping force thereto in a sense to resist its movement in said first direction, and a catch mountable on the first member for releasably engaging the actuator. The housing and catch comprise locating means for determining their relative positions on their respective members. 
    
    
     
       By way of example, embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a first embodiment of a damper assembly according to the invention, 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a second embodiment of a damper assembly according to the invention, 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a third embodiment of a damper assembly according to the invention, 
         FIG. 4  shows the damper assembly of  FIG. 1  in use on a first form of drawer cabinet, 
         FIG. 5  shows the damper assembly of  FIG. 2  in use on a second form of drawer cabinet, 
         FIG. 6  shows a drawer for the drawer cabinet of  FIG. 4 or 5 , 
         FIG. 7  shows the damper assembly of  FIG. 1  in use on a third form of drawer cabinet, and 
         FIG. 8  shows a drawer for the drawer cabinet of  FIG. 7 , 
     
    
    
     The form of damper assembly illustrated in  FIG. 1  is designed to impart a damped force to the closing movement of a drawer in a drawer cabinet. A tension spring  10  provides the force, and a linear piston and cylinder damper  21  provides the damping. The spring  10  and damper  21  are both connected to an actuator  12 , which is movably mounted in a housing  13  attached to the side wall or frame of the cabinet. The housing  13  is conveniently made of moulded plastics material. Movement of the actuator  12  is guided by a set of pins  14  engaging in tracks  15  in the housing  13 . 
     The actuator  12  can be set in a first end position where the extension spring  10  is loaded and the damper  21  is extended. The actuator  12  can be moved out of this position, upon which it will be pulled back to its other end position under the biassing action of the tension spring  10  and against the damping action provided by compression of the damper  21 . 
     The initial movement of the actuator  12  out of its first end position is triggered by its engagement with a catch  16  attached to the drawer. The housing  13  and catch  16  are positioned so that the catch will engage the actuator  12  during the closing movement of the drawer, with the actuator thereby imparting a damped force to assist its closure. The catch  16  and actuator  12  interact during the opening movement of the drawer to re-set the actuator in its first end position. During this movement, no damping action is provided by the damper  21 . 
     Drawer return mechanisms of this general nature are known in the art, and it is often the case that cabinets and drawers will be pre-drilled with a standard pattern of holes to assist with their mounting. This is not always the case, however, and in any event, it is helpful if this pre-drilling step is not required. 
     The housing  13  here is able to be attached to a cabinet by means which do not require pre-drilling, e.g. by using self-tapping screws, which are applied via holes  17  in the housing. The housing  13  is attachable in this manner either directly to the inner wall  18  of the cabinet, which will typically be made of wood or the like (as illustrated in  FIG. 5 ) or, where the cabinet includes framework, to the inner edge  19  of the frame  20 , which will again typically be made of wood or the like (as illustrated in  FIG. 4 ). 
     The catch  16  is also able to be attached to the drawer without need of pre-drilling, e.g. again by using self-tapping screws, which are applied via a hole  23 . The hole  23  is conveniently elongate to allow for a degree of adjustment. 
     It is essential that the housing  13  and catch  16  are located in the right positions in their attachment to their respective members, so that the catch will act on the actuator  12  during movement of the drawer. To this end, the housing  13  has a pair of legs  11  extending therefrom. As seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the legs  11  are designed to sit on the drawer slide rail S 1 , which acts as a datum reference and thereby determines the vertical position of the housing  13  relative to the cabinet. 
     The position of the housing  13  in the direction of drawer movement, ie its horizontal location, is determined by a locating flange  28  on the front edge of the housing. As will be seen in  FIG. 5 , the locating flange  28  is designed to abut the front edge of the innerwall  18  of the cabinet. 
     It will be noted that it may be possible to locate the housing  13  in its correct vertical position simply by means of the locating flange  28  and one of the legs  11 , in which case, the housing would not need a pair of legs, but only one. 
     Where the cabinet has a framework, a bracket  26  is provided to help mount the housing  13 . The bracket  26  is conveniently formed from sheet metal and may be of L-shaped cross-section (as seen in  FIG. 2 ) or U-shaped cross-section (as seen in  FIG. 1 ). In both cases, the bracket  26  is designed to partially envelop the housing  13  at the point where it attaches to the cabinet. For this purpose, the bracket  26  comprises holes  27  to match the holes  17  in the housing. In this case, the locating flange  28  may be provided on the bracket  26  instead of on the housing  13 . As will be seen in  FIG. 4 , the locating flange  28  is designed to abut the front face or edge F of the cabinet frame  20 . 
     Because of its material and cross-section, the bracket  26  lends rigidity to the mounting of the housing  13  in the case where the cabinet has a framework (as seen in  FIG. 4 ) and the housing is not otherwise laterally supported. In addition, it will be seen that the rear flange  29  of the bracket  26  is designed to extend above the level of the housing  13 . Where the housing  13  is to be attached to a cabinet with a framework (as seen in  FIG. 4 ), the extension piece of the rear flange  29  effectively provides the actuator  12  with a lateral support surface. In use, when the catch  16  strikes the actuator  12  as the drawer closes, the rear flange  29  of the bracket  26  helps to prevent the actuator and/or housing from being knocked sideways out of engagement with the catch. 
     The vertical location of the catch  16 , i.e. its position above the drawer slide rail S 2 , is determined by setting it against a land  24  on the housing  13 , which acts as a datum reference. The horizontal location of the catch  16  is determined by its abutment with a rear edge  25  of a drawer shown as the inner surface of the drawer front. in  FIG. 6 , the catch  16  is seen in position on a side panel  22  of a drawer, which in this case is made of panels of wood or the like. 
     The form of damper assembly seen in  FIG. 3  is essentially the same as the  FIGS. 1 and 2  assemblies in terms of the housing and bracket configurations, but is for use in cabinets that have drawers with metal side panels. The main difference is in the configuration of the catch  30 , which in this case is designed to be attached to the underside of the drawer, rather than the side panel, as seen in  FIG. 8  (the underside being a panel of wood or the like and the side panel being of metal). The means of attachment again does not require pre-drilling, e.g. by using self-tapping screws, which are inserted via holes  33  in the catch  30 . 
     Here, the catch  30  has a flange  32  to engage the side of the drawer and thus locate its lateral position. Its position in the direction of drawer movement is determined by the abutment of one end of its elongated mounting foot  34  with the inner surface of the drawer front  25 . 
     The other difference is that the housing  13  in this case is designed to be attached to the cabinet in an inverted orientation and below rather than above the slide rail S 1 , as will be seen in  FIG. 7 . Here, the precise vertical location of the housing  13  is determined by setting the catch  30  against a land  31  on the housing, which acts as a datum reference as the drawer is closed. This will ensure that the housing  13  is at the right level for the catch  30  to strike and engage the actuator  12  during movement of the drawer. The horizontal location of the housing  13  is determined by the abutment on the front face of the cabinet of the locating flange  28 , which may be provided either on the housing itself or on the bracket  26 . 
     The housing  13  is mounted to the cabinet via the bracket  26 , which helps to give the housing additional support and rigidity. In addition, the extension piece of the rear flange  29  again provides lateral support for the actuator  12  in use. 
     The damper assemblies described above have been designed for use in drawer cabinets. However, it will be appreciated that the technology can easily be adapted for use in other furniture applications and indeed, in other quite different applications, such as vehicles or buildings.