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EP-3790429-B2 - SUPPORT DEVICE FOR FURNITURE SHELVES

EP3790429B2EP 3790429 B2EP3790429 B2EP 3790429B2EP-3790429-B2

Inventors

  • CATTANEO, CARLO

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20200729

Claims (15)

  1. A supporting device (10,10') for furniture shelves for the reversible connection of a shelf (100) to the shoulders (200) of a piece of furniture, wherein the connection is obtained by means of a pin (11) associated with said shelf (100) and configured so as to protrude from the edge (B) of said shelf and be inserted into a corresponding receiving hole (201) formed on said shoulder (200) of said piece of furniture, the device (10,10') comprising a slide(15,15") with which the pin (11) is integrally associated and a main body (12) with which the slide (15,15'') is slidingly associated, said device (10,10') being configured for being inserted within the thickness of said shelf (100) and said slide (15,15'') being sliding with respect to said main body (12) along a sliding direction (Y) between a first non-operating position in which said pin (11) is not protruding from said main body (12) and intended not to protrude from said shelf (100), and a second operating position in which said pin (11) is intended to protrude from said shelf (100) outwardly, said supporting device (10,10') comprising actuation means (13) of said movable engagement means (15,15''), and movement-transmission means (13b,15c,15b,15c'') suitable for transforming the movement of said actuation means (13) into the translational movement along the sliding direction (Y) of said slide (15,15''), wherein - the actuation means comprise a cam (13) which is received in an outlet (15a) comprised in the slide; - the cam (13) comprising a substantially hollow cylindrical central body (13a), whose central hole (13c) is shaped for receiving a maneuvering tool, and having a shaped profile (13b) configured for interacting with a shaped internal profile (15b, 15c) of said outlet (15a)of the slide (15,15'') so as to transform the rotational motion of said cam (13) around an axis (X) coinciding with an axis of said shaped central hole (13c) of said hollow cylindrical body (13a), in the translational movement of said slide (15,15'') in the sliding direction (Y), characterized in that said cam (13) comprises an elongated body having said shaped profile (13b) and retention means being provided in form of a receiving groove (15d) provided on the rear straight internal wall (15c) of the shaped internal profile of said slide (15), and suitable for receiving the end of the elongated body (13b) of the cam (13) when the cam (13) is completely rotated clockwise to be arranged along the direction of the axis (Y) so that when the end of the elongated body (13b) is in the receiving groove (15d) the device remains blocked in a withdrawn pin position corresponding to the first non-operating position, even without the user acting on the cam (13) with the tool (U) and also in contrast to the action of any elastic means.
  2. The supporting device (10,10') for furniture shelves according to the previous claim, characterized in that said cam (13) can be rotated around an axis (X) substantially orthogonal with respect to the sliding direction (Y) of said slide (15,15'').
  3. The supporting device (10,10') for furniture shelves according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that said slide (15,15'') can be further moved in at least a third intermediate non-operating and non-blocked position in which said pin (11) is free to withdraw until it is completely retracted but wherein said retention means (15d) do not keep said slide (15,15'') blocked.
  4. The supporting device (10,10') for furniture shelves according to the claim 1, characterized in that said main body (12) comprises a seat for receiving said slide (14a, 14b) within which said slide (15) is slidingly housed.
  5. The supporting device (10,10') for furniture shelves according to the previous claim, characterized in that said main body (12) is composed of two half-shells (12a,12b) each of said half-shells (12a,12b) housing a respective portion of the receiving seat (14a,14b) of said slide (15), a receiving hole (16a,16b) being further provided on each of said half-shells (12a,12b) for receiving the central body (13a) of said cam (13), said receiving holes (16a,16b) being reciprocally aligned along the axis (X) when the device is assembled and providing access for a tool to said shaped central hole (13c) of said cam (13).
  6. The supporting device (10,10') for furniture shelves according to claim 1, characterized in that said shaped central hole (13c) of said cam (13) is pass-through, so that said cam (13) can be actuated in rotation by means of a tool, accessing both the top and the bottom of the main body (12) of the device (10,10').
  7. The supporting device (10,10') for furniture shelves according to one or more of the previous claims, characterized in that said sliding direction (Y) coincides with the symmetry axis of said pin (11) and of said main body (12).
  8. The supporting device (10,10') for furniture shelves according to one or more of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said central body (13a) of said cam (13) is positioned with its own cylindrical symmetry axis, coincident with its own rotation axis (X), arranged orthogonally with respect to the sliding direction (Y) of said slide (15), said central body (13a) of said cam (13) being positioned along the symmetry axis (Y) of the main body (12) which defines the sliding direction of said slide (15).
  9. The supporting device (10,10') for furniture shelves according to one or more of claims 1 to 6 and 8, characterized in that said cam (13) is rotatable around the rotation axis (X) passing through the shaped hole (13c) of its substantially cylindrical central body (13a) between a first non-operating position in which said cam (13) is arranged with its elongated shaped body (13b) along the symmetry axis (Y) and is completely contained within said outlet (15a) formed inside said slide (15) abutting against the internal wall of said outlet (15a) so as to keep said slide (15) in a withdrawn position so that said pin (11) does not protrude from said shelf (100), and a second operating position in which said cam (13) is arranged with its own shaped elongated body (13b) arranged substantially orthogonal to said symmetry axis (Y) and is abutted against the end of its elongated body (13b) within an abutment seat (17) formed on said main body (12) so as to keep said slide (15) in an advanced position so that said pin (11) protrudes from said shelf (100).
  10. The supporting device (10,10') for furniture shelves according to one or more of the previous claims, characterized in that said main body (12) of said device has a bilobed profile on a vertical transversal plane having two portions of rounded ends (12c, 12d), preferably with a circular section.
  11. The supporting device (10,10') for furniture shelves according to one or more of the previous claims, characterized in that said main body (12) of said device is configured for being assembled inside said shelf (100) flush with the transverse edge (B) of said shelf (100) from which said pin (11) protrudes and is designed for facing the shoulder (200) of the furniture for connecting the shelf (100) to the shoulder (200), and in that said slide (15) of said device (10) is configured so that when it is in said first non-operating position in which said slide (15) is in a withdrawn position, said pin (11) does not protrude from the edge of the main body (12) which is flush with the edge of said shelf (100) designed for facing the shoulder (200) of the furniture.
  12. The supporting device (10') for furniture shelves according to one or more of the previous claims, characterized in that it further comprises elastic means (19) interposed between an internal abutment surface of said main body (12) and said slide (15) and suitable for opposing a retraction movement of the slide (15) which causes the passage from the operating position in which said slide (15) is in an advanced position and said pin (11) extends outwardly from the shelf (100) to the non-operating position in which said slide (15) is in the withdrawn position and said pin (11) does not protrude from said shelf (100) when the device is assembled on a shelf (100).
  13. The supporting device (10') for furniture shelves according to the previous claim, characterized in that said slide further comprises, at the edge of said slide (15) opposite the transverse edge (B) from which said pin extends (11), a pin (18) having a longitudinal development and developing along said symmetry axis (Y) on which said elastic means (19) are positioned.
  14. The supporting device (10') for furniture shelves according to the previous claim, characterized in that said elastic means consist of a helical spring (19).
  15. The supporting device (10') for furniture shelves according to claim 1, characterized in that the shaped internal profile of said slide (15) comprises an internal wall (15b) on which the cam (13) pushes the slide towards the operating position, the cam (13 becoming abutted against said internal wall (15b) of said slide (15) when the cam (13) is rotated to move the slide (15) toward the second operating position.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a supporting device for furniture shelves for the reversible connection of a shelf to opposite shoulders of a piece of furniture. The device according to the present invention responds to the need, felt in the field, for being able to provide furniture shelves with increasingly miniaturized supporting devices which form a connection with the shoulders of a piece of furniture, so as to minimize the aesthetic impact and even completely disappear from sight when the shelf is assembled. STATE OF THE ART Devices of this type are commonly called shelf brackets in the field, and have the function of stably, but removably, supporting and fixing a horizontal element (shelf) of a piece of furniture between two vertical elements commonly called shoulders. Said shelves and said shoulders are arranged perpendicular to each other. Shelf brackets of this type are known in the state of the art, but are not without drawbacks. More specifically, one of the drawbacks that affect devices of the type known in the state of the art lies in the fact that they are not completely invisible when the device is assembled and consequently do not limit the aesthetic impact on the furniture. A further drawback that affects devices of the known type lies in the fact that generally, they cannot be indifferently actuated from above or from below, thus forcing the operator to predict, already in the assembly phase of the device on or within the shelf, how said shelf must be positioned inside the furniture. WO2015/158622 discloses a device for assembling/joining furniture parts having a pin with an enlarged head which is inserted into a bushing and retracted by a cam mechanism to lock the enlarged head within the bushing. EP3436710 discloses a joining device for furniture parts having opposing expandable ends expanded by a longitudinal movement of a slide acted by a cam mechanism. EP2609833 discloses a concealed shelf-support device with an anvil-shaped prong engaging an internal surface of a bushing. A vertical movement of the entire device is used to disengage the prong from the bushing. US5743670 and WO2008/076089 disclose fasteners having threaded studs rotated by gears for coupling of structural framing beams or panels in modular constructions. ES2313856 and SE430708 disclose locking devices for closures having a slide acted by a leverage mechanism or a cylindrical cog, respectively. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In light of the above, the undertaking of the present invention is to solve the drawbacks affecting supporting devices for shelves, also called shelf-bracket devices, of the type known in the state of the art. Within this undertaking, the objective of the present invention is to provide a supporting and fixing device for furniture shelves (shelf bracket), which has at the same time a minimal aesthetic impact and which allows an easy and rapid assembly and disassembly of the shelf with respect to the shoulders. An objective of the present invention is also to provide a supporting and fixing device for shelves that is more versatile in the design and installation phase of the furniture, in particular capable of minimizing, if not completely cancelling, the aesthetic impact, proving to be invisible both when used with shelves intended to be seen from above by the user, and with shelves intended to be seen from below, allowing all traces of the presence of the device to be completely eliminated from sight, together with the access holes for the maneuvering tools required for actuating the device. The above-mentioned undertaking, as also the objectives indicated above, and others that will appear more evident further on, are achieved by a supporting device for furniture shelves for the reversible connection of a shelf to the shoulders of a piece of furniture according to the enclosed claim 1. Further characteristics of the preferred embodiments of the device according to the present invention described in the present patent application are the subject of the dependent claims. LIST OF FIGURES Further characteristics and advantages will become more evident from the description of a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment of the supporting device for furniture shelves for the reversible connection of a shelf to the shoulders of a piece of furniture illustrated by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the enclosed drawings in which: figure 1A is a vertical sectional view illustrating a first exemplary and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, wherein a supporting device for shelves (shelf bracket) according to the present invention is incorporated inside a shelf and which is in assembly position with respect to a shoulder of a piece of furniture, the device being in a non-operating condition in which the pin is not inserted within the corresponding housing seat formed on the shoulder, the device being operable from below, a hole F having been produced for the access of the tool i