EP2491819A1

EP2491819A1 - Height adjusting mechanism for built-in home appliance

Info

Publication number: EP2491819A1
Application number: EP12154812A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ziya Arslankiray; Alper Erdem; Tolga Yegin
Original assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2011-02-28
Filing date: 2012-02-10
Publication date: 2012-08-29
Also published as: US20120217358A1; TR201101953A2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a built-in home appliance comprising an adjustment mechanism with a nut (32) whereon the leg rod (31) advances in vertical direction while the leg rod (31) rotates; and an adjustment shaft (45) which rotates the leg rod (31) of said rear leg group (30) and which extends with substantial rigidity and which extends substantially horizontally with respect to the ground, in order to adjust the height of a rear leg group (30) belonging to a built-in home appliance. Said built-in home appliance is characterized in that said adjustment mechanism comprises a movement transfer mechanism (40) which transfers the rotational movement of the adjustment shaft (45) to the leg rod (31) so that the leg rod (31) rotates around the own axis thereof.

Description

The present invention relates to a built-in home appliance comprising an adjustment mechanism with a nut whereon the leg rod advances in vertical direction while the leg rod rotates; and an adjustment shaft which rotates the leg rod of said rear leg group and which extends with substantial rigidity and which extends substantially horizontally with respect to the ground, in order to adjust the height of a rear leg group belonging to a built-in home appliance.

KNOWN STATE OF THE ART

Built-in home appliances become ready for use after being installed to the housings on the kitchen furniture. The built-in home appliance housings can have slightly different dimensions. Therefore, fine adjustment may have to be realized inside the housing of the built-in home appliance. The primary adjustment is the height adjustment of the home appliance. In the present arrangement, the height adjustments of the built-in home appliances are realized inside the housing by means of the rear legs thereof. A steel wire, which is in connection with the rear legs, is turned from the front side of the built-in home appliance and thereby the height adjustment of the built-in home appliance inside the housing is realized. The turning of the steel wire is realized by the muscle power of the user. A precise adjustment can not be realized in the adjustment of the height using steel wire.
Another drawback of steel wire usage is that as a result of the unbalanced loading formed during the installation of the built-in home appliance, the system may be damaged. As a result of the damages formed on the steel wire, the raising mechanism gives erroneous results and the height adjustment can not be realized. In order to eliminate the errors occurring in the steel wire embodiment, there is a patent application US3534430 . In said application, the problem is aimed to be solved by using a rigid rod passing through a fixed nut connected to the sheet to which the rear leg wheel is fixed. Height adjustment is aimed to be realized by rotating the rod which can be adjusted from the front side of the built-in home appliance. However, the leg realizes the height adjustment by rotating on a screw existing on the plate which is connected to the leg. In this case, load is applied to the leg from different angles and this load gives damage to the leg.
Because of the abovementioned drawbacks, an improvement is required in the raising mechanisms which provide the realization of the height adjustment of built-in home appliances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a raising mechanism which provides the adjusting of the heights of built-in home appliances, in order to eliminate the drawbacks of the present systems and in order to bring new advantages to the related technical field.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a more resistant raising mechanism which prevents the damages formed during the installation.
Under the light of said main object, another object of the present invention is to provide a raising mechanism which provides the raising process to be realized by applying less force and in a simpler manner.
Under the light of said main object, another object of the present invention is to provide a raising mechanism which provides the adjustment of the built-in home appliance height in a more precise manner.
In order to realize the abovementioned objects and the objects to be obtained from the detailed description below, the present invention relates to a built-in home appliance comprising an adjustment mechanism with a nut whereon the leg rod advances in vertical direction while the leg rod rotates; and an adjustment shaft which rotates the leg rod of said rear leg group and which extends with substantial rigidity and which extends substantially horizontally with respect to the ground, in order to adjust the height of a rear leg group belonging to a built-in home appliance. Said built-in home appliance is characterized in that said adjustment mechanism comprises a movement transfer mechanism which transfers the rotational movement of the adjustment shaft to the leg rod so that the leg rod rotates around the own axis thereof.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the movement transfer mechanism rotates the rotation plane of the adjustment shaft ninety degrees, and the movement transfer mechanism transfers this movement to the leg rod so that the leg rod realizes rotational movement.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said movement transfer mechanism comprises a worm screw through which the adjustment shaft passes and thus which rotates around the own axis thereof together with the adjustment shaft; a gear through which the leg rod passes and thus which rotates around the own axis thereof together with the leg rod; and a wheel which transfers the rotation movement of the worm screw to the gear and thus which provides the leg rod to rotate around the own axis thereof together with the gear.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is a housing which is embodied on the worm screw and there is a rotation end which is embodied on the adjustment shaft which is connected to said housing and which is designed so as to have shape coupling with the housing.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is a turning end embodied on the adjustment shaft, for facilitating the rotation of the adjustment shaft by means of a screwing apparatus.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is a connection piece whereon said wheel is positioned.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said leg rod comprises a leg screw and an adjustment extension which is embodied at the continuation thereof.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is a bearing through which said adjustment extension passes and which is embodied on the gear; and there is an opening which is embodied on the connection piece.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least one wheel is embodied on the connection piece, for transferring the movement of the worm screw to the gear.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is a seating surface which is embodied on the gear and whereon said wheel is placed.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the movement transfer mechanism comprises a mechanism body comprising at least one gear housing wherein the gear is placed; and at least one screw housing wherein the worm screw is placed.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is a connection housing which is embodied on said mechanism body and there is a connection housing which is embodied on the connection piece so as to correspond to said connection housing.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is at least one connection member for providing the connection of the connection piece to the mechanism body through the connection housing.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is at least one upper opening and at least one lower opening, embodied on the mechanism body.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is a lower extension placed to the lower opening embodied on the gear and there is an upper extension placed to the upper opening.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is at least one fixation plate for providing the connection of the movement transfer mechanism onto the panel.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is at least one connection extension which is embodied on the mechanism body and there is at least one connection opening which is embodied on the fixation plate corresponding to said connection extension.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said movement transfer mechanism comprises a conical gear through which the adjustment shaft passes and which thus rotates together with the adjustment shaft around the own axis thereof; and said movement transfer mechanism comprises another conical gear to which said conical gear transfers the movement thereof and through which the leg rod passes and thus which provides the leg rod to rotate around the own axis thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In Figure 1, the panel group view of the prior art is given.
In Figure 2, the rear wheel group view of the prior art is given.
In Figure 3, the panel group view of the novel design is given.
In Figure 4, the rear leg group view of the novel design is given.
In Figure 5, the view of the detail pieces of the adjustment mechanism is given.

THE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed explanation, the subject matter improvement is explained with references to the annexed figures without forming any restrictive effect in order to make the subject more understandable. Accordingly, in the detailed description below, a raising mechanism which provides the realization of the height adjustment of built-in home appliances and the structural members forming the raising mechanism are disclosed.
With reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2, a built-in home appliance panel (11) belonging to the prior art and the raising mechanism members existing on the panel (11) are illustrated. On the panel (11), there is a rear leg group (1); a casing pipe (2) which is in connection with the rear adjustment group (1); a fixation piece (3) for fixing the casing pipe (2) at the front side of the built-in home appliance; and a fixation extension (4) for fixing the position of the casing pipe (2) inside the panel (11). The rear leg group (1) comprises a wheel (9); a wheel casing (10) protecting the wheel (9); a centering extension (8) embodied on the wheel casing (10); and a leg screw (5) embodied on the wheel casing (10). There is a steel wire (6) which is in connection with the leg screw (5) and which is bedded inside the casing pipe (2). The steel wire (6) has a turning end (7) which extends from the point, where the fixation piece (3) exists, outwardly from the casing pipe (2). There is a casing chamber (12) which protects from the outer influences and which facilitates the positioning of the rear leg group (1) on the panel (11).
With reference to Figure 1, the raising mechanism functions as follows. The turning end (7), which exists at the front side of the built-in home appliance, is turned around the own axis thereof by means of human power using an auxiliary member like pincers. Meanwhile, the wire (6) desires to make a twisting-like movement and it rotates the leg screw (5) to which it is connected. The leg screw (5) provides the height adjustment to be realized on the rear leg group (1) by means of the affect of the movement applied by the wire (6). The casing pipe (2) facilitates the wire (6) to preserve the position thereof during the rotation around the own axis thereof. The casing pipe (2) provides the wire (6) to preserve the position thereof on the panel (11).
With reference to Figure 3, the novel panel (20) group which is designed for home appliances can be seen. On the panel (20), there is a rear leg group (30) and there is a movement transfer mechanism (40) which is in connection with the rear leg group (30). On the panel (20), there is a casing chamber (21) which facilitates the positioning of the rear leg group (30) and which protects the rear leg group (30) from the external influences. On said casing chamber (21), there is a centering opening (211) and a connection opening (212). On the front side of the panel (20), there is a fixed leg (22) and there is an adjustment screw (221) which is in connection with said fixed leg (22). On the panel (20), there is a fixation plate (46) which facilitates the positioning of the movement transfer mechanism (40). There is a connection opening (461) embodied on said fixation plate (46). There is an adjustment shaft (45) which is in connection with the movement transfer mechanism (40). Said adjustment shaft (45) has a substantially rigid structure and it is positioned substantially parallel to the ground.
With reference to Figure 4, the detailed view of the rear leg group (30) is given. Accordingly, the rear leg group (30) comprises a wheel (34) and a wheel casing (35) which facilitates the positioning of said wheel (34) and which protects the wheel from the external influences. There is a centering extension (33) and a leg rod (31) in connection with said wheel casing (35). Said leg rod (31) comprises a leg screw (311) which is in connection with the wheel casing (35); and an adjustment extension (312) which is embodied at the continuation of the leg screw (311). The rear leg group (30) has a nut (32) through which the leg rod (31) passes and which is positioned on the casing chamber (21).
With reference to Figure 5, the structural members forming the movement transfer mechanism (40) are illustrated. The members forming the movement transfer mechanism (40) are positioned inside a mechanism body (41). Inside said mechanism body (41), there is a gear (42), a worm screw (43) and a connection piece (44) which is connected onto the mechanism body (41). There is a screw housing (413) and a gear housing (416) embodied on the mechanism body (41). Said gear housing (416) extends vertically inside the mechanism body (41). The screw housing (413) extends in the horizontal direction. There are two openings on the gear housing (416), these openings are the upper opening (411) and the lower opening (412). On the mechanism body (41), there is a connection housing (415) which is embodied so as to be adjacent to the upper opening (411) and there is a connection extension (414) which is embodied on the outer surface of the gear housing (416) so as to be adjacent to the screw housing (413). The gear (42) has a cylindrical form and a bearing (421) is embodied thereon which passes through the center thereof. There are threads (422) which are embodied on the outer surface of the gear (42). There are extensions (423, 424) at both ends of the gear (42). Around the upper extension (423), there is a seating surface (425). The worm screw (43) is in the form of a cylinder and there is a housing (431) which is embodied on the center thereof. The worm screw (43) has threads (432) which are embodied on the outer surface thereof. The connection piece (44) is a plate with a shape which is the combination of a rectangle and a circle. There is a wheel (44) which is connected to the circular part and there is an opening (441) embodied thereon. Threads (443) are embodied on the threaded wheel (442). There is a connection housing (445) which is embodied on the rectangle part. There is a connection member (444) which is connected to said connection housing (445).
The formation of the movement transfer mechanism (40) is as follows. The housing (431) on the worm screw (43) is placed to the screw housing (413) so as to face outwardly from the mechanism body (41). The gear (42) is placed to the gear housing (416) on the mechanism body (41) so that the lower extension (424) corresponds to the lower opening (412) and the upper extension (423) corresponds to the upper opening (411). The connection housing (445) on the connection piece (44) is made concentric with the connection housing (415) on the mechanism body (41), and afterwards said connection housing (445) is connected to the mechanism body (41) so that the threaded wheel (442) is placed inside the upper opening (411). While the threaded wheel (442) is inside the upper opening (411), it is in contact with the seating surface (425) on the gear (42). By means of this, the gear (42), the worm screw (43) and the connection piece (44) are placed on the mechanism body (41). In this assembly of the movement transfer mechanism (40), the opening (441) on the connection piece (44) is concentric with the bearing (421) on the gear (42). The threads (443) on the threaded wheel (442) and the threads (432) on the worm screw (43) are in contact. After the movement transfer mechanism (40) is brought together, the movement transfer mechanism (40) is connected onto the panel (20) by means of the fixation plate (46).
With reference to Figure 3, the formation of the raising mechanism is as follows. The rear leg group (30) is placed inside the casing chamber (21) existing on the rear side of the panel (20) so that the centering extension (33) passes through the centering opening (211) and so that the leg rod (31) passes through the connection opening (212) and through the nut (32) existing thereon. The rear leg group's (30) adjustment extension (312) passes through the bearing (421) and through the opening (441), and it is connected to the movement transfer mechanism (40) so as to extend outwardly from the movement transfer mechanism (40). Moreover, the movement transfer mechanism (40) is thereby positioned in the same alignment with the rear leg group (30) in the vertical direction. The adjustment shaft (45) is connected to the movement transfer mechanism (40) through the housing (431). The adjustment shaft's (45) end which is connected to the housing (431) is called rotation end (452). The adjustment shaft's (45) turning end (451) is connected to the front part of the panel by means of a fixation piece (not illustrated in the figure). For providing the turning of the adjustment shaft (45) by means of a screwing apparatus, a particular form is provided to the turning end (451).
Under the light of the abovementioned information, the operation of the raising mechanism is as follows. The adjustment shaft (45) is turned from the turning end (451). The worm screw (43) takes the movement, transferred by the adjustment shaft (45), from the rotation end (452) and transfers this movement to the threaded wheel (442) and thus to the gear (42). The threaded wheel (442) and the gear (42) begin rotating inside the mechanism body (41) by means of the drive applied by the screw (43). Meanwhile, the adjustment extension (312), bedded inside the movement transfer mechanism (40), begins rotating together with the gear (42). The leg rod (31) moves inside the nut (32) in the vertical direction by means of the affect of the rotational movement applied by the adjustment extension (312). According to the rotation amount of the adjustment shaft (45), the leg rod (31) moves vertically inside the movement transfer mechanism (40). By means of the movement of the leg rod (31), the height adjustment of the built-in home appliance is realized through the rear leg group (30).
Depending on the rotation direction of the adjustment shaft (45), the leg rod (31) moves downwardly or upwardly in the vertical direction. Since the leg rod (31) moves inside the nut (32), the rear leg group (30) is prevented from being rotated inside the casing chamber (21).
The movement transfer mechanism (40) rotates the horizontal movement, applied by the adjustment shaft (45), ninety degrees; and the movement transfer mechanism (40) transfers said movement to the leg rod (31). Thus, the movement transfer mechanism (40) can be formed of conical gears which are positioned so as to provide a substantially orthogonal angle with respect to each other and which are in contact with each other. While the first conical gear is in connection with the adjustment shaft (45), the leg rod (31) is bedded inside the second gear and thereby the movement can be transferred.
The protection scope of the present invention is set forth in the annexed Claims and cannot be restricted to the illustrative disclosures given above, under the detailed description. It is because a person skilled in the relevant art can obviously produce similar embodiments under the light of the foregoing disclosures, without departing from the main principles of the present invention.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

1: Rear Leg Group
2: Casing Pipe
3: 3 Fixation Piece
4: Fixation Extension
5: Leg Screw
6: Wire
7: Turning End
8: Centering Extension
9: Wheel
10: Wheel Casing
11: Panel
12: Casing Chamber
20: Panel
21 Casing Chamber
211 Centering Opening
212 Connection Opening
22 Fixed Leg
221 Adjustment Screw 30
30: Rear Leg Group
31 Leg Rod
311 Leg Screw
321 Leg Extension
32 Nut
33 Centering Extension
34 Wheel
35 Wheel Casing 40
40: Movement Transfer Mechanism
41 Mechanism Body
411 Upper Opening
412 Lower Opening
413 Screw Housing
414 Connection Extension
415 Connection Housing
416 Gear Housing
42 Gear
421 Bearing
422 Thread
423 Upper Extension
424 Lower Extension
425 Seating Surface
43 Worm screw
431 Housing
432 Thread
44 Connection Piece
441 Opening
442 Threaded Wheel
443 Thread
444 Connection Member
445 Connection Housing
45 Adjustment shaft
451 Turning End
452 Rotation End
46 Fixation Plate
461 Connection Opening

Claims

A built-in home appliance comprising an adjustment mechanism with a nut (32) whereon the leg rod (31) advances in vertical direction while the leg rod (31) rotates; and an adjustment shaft (45) which rotates the leg rod (31) of said rear leg group (30) and which extends with substantial rigidity and which extends substantially horizontally with respect to the ground, in order to adjust the height of a rear leg group (30) belonging to a built-in home appliance, characterized in that said adjustment mechanism comprises a movement transfer mechanism (40) which transfers the rotational movement of the adjustment shaft (45) to the leg rod (31) so that the leg rod (31) rotates around the own axis thereof.
A built-in home appliance according to claim 1, wherein the movement transfer mechanism (40) rotates the rotation plane of the adjustment shaft (45) ninety degrees, and the movement transfer mechanism (40) transfers this movement to the leg rod (31) so that the leg rod (31) realizes rotational movement.
A built-in home appliance according to claim 1, wherein said movement transfer mechanism (40) comprises a worm screw (43) through which the adjustment shaft (45) passes and thus which rotates around the own axis thereof together with the adjustment shaft (45); a gear (42) through which the leg rod (31) passes and thus which rotates around the own axis thereof together with the leg rod (31); and a threaded wheel (442) which transfers the rotation movement of the worm screw (43) to the gear (42) and thus which provides the leg rod (31) to rotate around the own axis thereof together with the gear (42).
A built-in home appliance according to claim 1 or 3, wherein there is a housing (431) which is embodied on the worm screw (43) and there is a rotation end (452) which is embodied on the adjustment shaft (45) which is connected to said housing (431) and which is designed so as to have shape coupling with the housing (431).
A built-in home appliance according to claim 1, wherein there is a turning end (451) embodied on the adjustment shaft (45), for facilitating the rotation of the adjustment shaft (45) by means of a screwing apparatus.
A built-in home appliance according to claim 1 or 3, wherein there is a connection piece (44) whereon said threaded wheel (442) is positioned.
A built-in home appliance according to claim 1, wherein said leg rod (31) comprises a leg screw (311) and an adjustment extension (312) which is embodied at the continuation thereof.
A built-in home appliance according to claim 1 or 3, wherein there is a bearing (421) through which said adjustment extension (312) passes and which is embodied on the gear (42); and there is an opening (441) which is embodied on the connection piece (44).
A built-in home appliance according to claim 1 or 3, wherein at least one threaded wheel (442) is embodied on the connection piece (44), for transferring the movement of the worm screw (43) to the gear (42).
A built-in home appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is a seating surface (425) which is embodied on the gear (42) and whereon said threaded wheel (442) is placed.
A built-in home appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the movement transfer mechanism (40) comprises a mechanism body (41) comprising at least one gear housing (416) wherein the gear (42) is placed; and at least one screw housing (413) wherein the worm screw (43) is placed.
A built-in home appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is a connection housing (445) which is embodied on said mechanism body (41) and there is a connection housing (445) which is embodied on the connection piece (44) so as to correspond to said connection housing (415).
A built-in home appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is at least one connection member (444) for providing the connection of the connection piece (44) to the mechanism body (41) through the connection housing (445).
A built-in home appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is at least one upper opening (411) and at least one lower opening (412), embodied on the mechanism body (41).
A built-in home appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is a lower extension (424) placed to the lower opening (412) embodied on the gear (42) and there is an upper extension (423) placed to the upper opening (411).
A built-in home appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is at least one fixation plate (46) for providing the connection of the movement transfer mechanism (40) onto the panel (20).
A built-in home appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is at least one connection extension (414) which is embodied on the mechanism body (41) and there is at least one connection opening (461) which is embodied on the fixation plate (46) corresponding to said connection extension (414).
A built-in home appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said movement transfer mechanism (40) comprises a conical gear through which the adjustment shaft (45) passes and which thus rotates together with the adjustment shaft (45) around the own axis thereof; and said movement transfer mechanism (40) comprises another conical gear to which said conical gear transfers the movement thereof and through which the leg rod (31) passes and thus which provides the leg rod (31) to rotate around the own axis thereof.