A Lift Up in Lid Stays - Introducing the AILERON

Storage boxes, trunks, chests, counter flaps, desk lids - they all share one obvious practical problem. Any kind of lid or flap that opens through a vertical plane needs to be supported to stay open. This raises issues of access, as well as the risk of damage or injury with lids suddenly slamming down. Lid stays are a common addition to all types of hinged covers to solve this problem. Nobody wants to have to hold a lid open while they search through the contents of a trunk or a large wooden toy box. Leaving an unsupported counter flap open on a shop floor, reception or bar area is an unacceptable safety risk. The traditional lid stay design is based around attaching a bar to the underside of the lid and to the main body of the desk or trunk to act as an additional hinge. They are usually deployed in pairs, one at each side of the lid. The bars allow motion by either folding in the middle, incorporating a sliding mechanism or allowing one section to telescope into the other. All stays include a locking mechanism which prevents the lid from closing until released. The most common way this is achieved is to have the bar lock in the open position running directly from the lid to the carcass mounting point, making it very visible from the side. These stays do the job in terms of holding a lid open until you want to shut it, but there are some drawbacks. The addition of an extra mechanical component to a box lid means that, if stays and conventional hinges are not well aligned, movement can become hampered and awkward. Having to release a catch to close a lid stay poses the danger of trapped fingers and bumped heads if the speed of motion on release is faster than expected. Plus, fitting two very visible arms to your chest or counter is not a particularly attractive look, aesthetically speaking. We therefore decided to look at the concept of lid stays with fresh eyes to see if we could create something more reliable, that offers pristine control and motion, that boosts safety and looks great. With our exemplary track record of designing and engineering innovative, premium quality components for the furniture and interiors trade, this is exactly the type of challenge we relish at Sugatsune. The result is the AILERON Olympia Stay - an integrated hinge and stay combined in a single compact unit. Based around our Olympia concealed hinge concept, the fact that the lid stay is also hidden away in a slimline, discreet unit makes for an exceptionally neat, uncluttered appearance, with no need for ungainly arms or additional mechanisms. But also like our Olympia hinges, the AILERON offers much more than just a tidy, clean aesthetic appearance. Drawing on our renowned expertise in component design and precision engineering, the AILERON delivers premium control that takes lid stay functionality to impressive new heights. The fact that the lid stay has been designed specifically for our Olympia hinge ensures smooth movement in all deployments, with any risk of sticking or uneven motion caused by having two different mechanisms working on the lid at once completely removed. The AILERON makes use of Sugatsune’s patented Lapcon soft close rotary hinge, an integral part of the Olympia, which brings the lid to a smooth, gentle close late on in the shutting arc. Unlike other soft close hinges where you have to adjust the start point of the controlled close depending on the size of the door, with the AILERON you can adjust the close speed, meaning the soft close catch point is uniform across all lid sizes. As well as soft close, the AILERON provides lift assist, invaluable for taking some of the weight with particularly large and heavy lids. Another essential feature is free stop, which holds the lid in an open position at any point above 30 degrees. The fact that the stay position is fully adjustable is very useful for installing lids in positions where they cannot be opened fully because of obstacles above. The AILERON is available in two orientations, one that attaches to the back of a unit to lift a horizontal lid, and one that attaches to the top of a lid and lifts an upward-opening door. This means the AILERON can also be used on overhead cabinet doors in kitchens and bathrooms, bringing the benefits of the list assist, free stop and soft close features to applications other than trunks and storage boxes. If you would like more information about the AILERON and how it can be used, we have a technical customer services team who can advise you on the correct product and configuration for your purposes by calculating the torque produced by your application and making recommendations accordingly.

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