A few years ago, an inventor from the canton of Aargau came up with the idea of a bench that folds up automatically when not in use and is protected by a roof. From the outset, the inventor thought of using gas springs for the mechanism, which has since been patented.

In order to be able to offer a high-quality and durable solution at the same time, the team at ROBI AG from Switzerland searched the Internet for a suitable supplier. Project manager Heinz Zumsteg gives a brief insight into the decision-making process: "We very quickly came across ACE Stoßdämpfer GmbH. Their website was appealing for several reasons. Firstly, we were able to find the desired gas spring products in just a few clicks, and secondly, it was also possible to design them digitally.

https://www.ace-ace.de/de/berechnungen/geschwindigkeitsregulierung/gasfeder-berechnung-online.html

However, the decisive factor for us was that we had easy access to our personal contact at ACE very quickly after making contact online. Because the solution was new to us, we wanted to get advice from experts."

As a result, after a series of different individual designs by ACE, various gas springs were installed and tested in a prototype for the park bench, which has since been named "BANKOMAT". ACE GS-19-250-CA-100N industrial gas springs are used for the series, which has now been exclusively licensed by ROBI AG. Thanks to their infinitely variable extension force of 50 N to 700 N, the design of this type can also be easily implemented in other applications. In this specific case, the initial and opening angles determined as well as the mass of the seat surface resulted in a desired extension force of 100 N. As the industrial gas springs from ACE are equipped with a valve, they can be adapted precisely to the desired force values. And thanks to their small body diameter of 19 mm and a length of 564 mm when extended, the two installed gas springs can be easily integrated into the interior of the protective and decorative veneer of the park bench. A large number of attachments make installation even easier.

The ready-to-install, maintenance-free, self-contained systems are durable and filled with pressurized nitrogen gas.

The filling pressure determines the extension force and can always be regulated via the aforementioned valve, even after the process is complete. The tests have now been completed at ROBI AG. The positive results have led to the parking benches called "BANKOMAT" being marketed since 2020.