GB2100587A - Slides for drawers - Google Patents

Abstract

A runner (Figure 1) for a drawer slide mechanism is elongate and has as its centre line a plurality of struck out tongues 2,3,4, of progressively increasing width whereby it may be secured to a supporting surface, and a bridge piece 5 struck out to one side of the centre line for the same purpose. The runner is intended to be mounted on a drawer, for use with the roller carriage of Figures 4-6 (not shown) and the cabinet runner of Figures 7-9 (not shown). Lateral play may be reduced by an adjustable buffer (Figures 10 and 11, not shown). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Slides for drawers The present invention relates to slides for drawers.

It is a known fact to all persons experienced in this matter that the use of certain elements is necessary for the displacement of drawers, such as drawer supports, slides, displacement runners, support side guides, etc., all this aimed at providing the drawer with ease of movements in the opening and closing thereof, and eliminating at the same time possible jammings, which require exerting improper efforts resulting in wear and tear, thus limiting the life of the parts.

Among the aforementioned parts necessary for the displacement of the drawer, both the slides and runners which move in the interior thereof play an important role, since the ease of displacement depends on both, and therefore, the efficiency and overall performance of the set.

In this respect, the applicant has directed his research towards devising a slide that can be easily positioned insided its corresponding support when said support is housed on the sides of the drawer, without possibility of errors in regard to either side, and which is capable of admitting in its interior, for the displacement of the drawer, an adequate runner that can move between stops with maximum ease; that said slide be provided with the means for the interlocking of said runner when the drawer is removed from the housing in the furniture wherein it is contained; and that it can be capable of maintaining the runner in said interlocking position until the drawer is reinserted in its housing, without risks of falling from said runner even though the drawer is handled from the outside of the furniture.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a drawer slide of the type to lie within the side supports and to receive in its interior a displacement runner and comprising a rearwall having fixing tongues of different widths, with the widest one nearest to the insertion end of the slide in its corresponding support, and a transverse bridge offset from the longitudinal centre line of the slide near the end opposite to that of the drawer insertion, a notch in an upper wall of the slide at a predetermined distance from its end opposite to that of the drawer insertion, and facing pairs of rectangular orifices in both the upper and a lower wall of different lengths.

The invention further is provided with the means for the control of possible undesirable side movements of the drawer, which will adapt to the support side guides of the drawer, and which have been provided with a control eccentric part, so that when said eccentric makes a half turn (actuated by means of a screwdriver or the like), said means adopt all of their possible positions.

The slide of the invention has been formed starting from a "C" section, preferably steel, in the rear wall of which have been made longitudinal cuts, consisting ofgripperswhich become positioned in the back of said wall, of different widths, and which are used as a means of securing the corresponding support. A transverse cut has also been provided in the proximities of one of the ends, which form a bridge recess, sited sidewise in regard to the longitudinal shaft of said slide.

Rectangular orifices have been provided in the upper and lower walls thereof, in corresponding frontal positions, of different lengths, whereas in the upper wall and at a predetermined position it has been provided with an adequate undulation. Both the upper and lower walls have their ends bent inwardly, each facing the other.

The runner of the invention is made of preferably injectable material, and it is formed by a lower base of uneven section, in which two end orifices have been provided for the arrangement of vertical displacement rollers, as well as inner orifices for the arrangement of horizontal rollers, thus preventing frictions of the runner with the outer wall of the slide.

In its lower part, this base has been provided with sundry outer protrusions of different lengths and heights. Also, in the lower base and in a position corresponding to the protrusion of lesser length, said base has been provided with an elevation, as protection from the vertical roller of the corresponding end of the time that the guide is placed inside the runner.

On the other hand, the walls surrounding the end orifice farthest from said outer protrusions have been lengthened in the lower part thereof, so as to provide the runner with a support area in the securing and releasing movements thereof.

The upper base has an ample end area of even width, in which a vertical orifice has been provided for housing the displacement runner. The rest of said upper base has lesser height and an increasingly thick area, the upper plane of which is higher than the base itself and delimited in its lower part by a suitably curved line.

The following detailed description is to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is described, and in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a slide according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-section on the line I-I shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a cross-section on the line ll-ll shown in Figure 1, Figure 4 is an elevational view of a runner used in the present invention, and a cross-section on the line 111-111, Figure 5 is a plan view of the runner, Figure 6 is a rear elevational view of the runner, Figure 7 is an elevational view of a support side guide of the drawer, Figure 8 is a plan view of the guide shown in Figure 7, Figure 9 is a sectional view of the guide shown in Figure 7, Figure 10 illustrates elevational, partly crosssectioned and plan views of a control eccentric part, and Figure 11 illustrations elevational and sectional views of the control means of the side movement of the drawer, including the eccentric shown in Figure 10.

Referring initially to Figure 1 of the drawings, shown therein is a plan view of the slide of the present invention, which shows that it has been formed from a length of "C" section, preferably steel, in the rearwall 1 of which have been made cuts which define parts 2, 3, and 4, longitudinally aligned but of different widths, bent so as to become positioned parallel to said wall 1 in a rear plane thereof. Said parts 2 to 4 form tongues which are used in securing the slide to its corresponding support.

In the same rear wall 1 an end part 5 has been provided, forming a bridge displaced sideways in relation to the longitudinal centre line of the slide, and which is used to secure the slide in its proper position on the corresponding support thereof.

In the upper and lower walls 6 and 7 facing rectangular orifices 8 and 9 have been made whereas the upper wall 6 has been further provided with an undulation or notch 10 at a predetermined distance from one of its ends. Lastly, the ends 11 and 12 of both upper and lower walls have been bent inwardly, with their edges facing. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate, respectively, a longitudinal section and a cross section on the lines I-I and Il-Il shown in Figure 1. In said illustrations may be seen the proper positioning of the tongues 2 and 4 and the bridge 5, as well as the notch 10 and the ends 12 of both upper 6 and lower 7 walls bent inwardly.

In the inner space of the slide shown in Figure 1, a displacement runner is made to slide with the opening and closing movements of a drawer. The runner is also an aspect of the present invention, and it has been shown in front elevational and sectional views in Figure 4, an upper plan view in Figure 5 and a rear elevational view in Figure 6.

As shown in Figure 4, the runner of the invention is formed by a lower base 13 and an upper base 14, attached to a rear wall 15. In the lower base 13, end orifices 16 and 17 have been provided for the housing of vertical displacement rollers, as well as inner orifices 18 and 19 for housing horizontal anti-friction rollers. The lower part of said base 13 has been provided with protrusions 20 and 21, whereas the surrounding walls of the orifice 16 have been extended downwardly. In the lower base itself, an abutment 21' has been provided with an inclined leading edge, located in a position corresponding to the protrusion 21 and directly in front of the orifice 17.

The upper plane of the base 13 is not horizontal, but on the contrary forms a curvilinear section, so that the greatest height of the lower base 13 is in the area corresponding to the horizontal orifice 19.

The upper base 14 of the runner has an initial area of greater height, and it is provided with an orifice 22 for housing a vertical displacement roller, whereas the rest of said base has a lesser height except for an increasingly thick area 23, the upper part of which has a height greater than the rest of the base and delimited in its lower part by a suitably curved section. Between the thicker area 23 and the rear wall 15 of the runner, in its upper base 14 has been cut a longitudinal slot 25 which extends beyond both sides of the area 23 (see Figure 5). The rear wall 15 is elevated in an area in an area 23', with one of its edges beveled and longer than the area 23, and in itself the innermost end of the upper base is elevated 20' as shown in section Ill-Ill for the purpose of providing an effective stop for the runner.

Figure 5 illustrates an upper plan view of the runner, which shows the thickest area 23 and the longitudinal slot 25, extending on both sides thereof.

Through said longitudinal groove 25 may be seen a vertical beading 25' in the rear wall 15, similar in height to the thickest area 23. The positioning of the orifice 22 of the upper base is also shown. Figure 6 illustrates a rear elevational view of the displacement runner, in which may be seen the elevated area 23' of the rear wall corresponding to the area 23, as well as the provision of longitudinal protrusions 24 and 50, adjacent the upper and lower edges of the rear wall 15, which prevents friction between said wall 15 and the rear wall 1 of the slide.

Figures 7, 8 and 9 illustrate, respectively, front elevational, upper plan and side views of a support side guide, formed by a "U" section, preferably of steel, a front leg of which bends outwardly at a predetermined height, thus forming a horizontal front plane 29 which can be housed in the inner space of the displacement runner, resting on the vertical rollers housed in the orifices 16 and 17 of the lower base of the runner. One end of the horizontal plane 29 has been provided with a rib 32, whereas the opposite end 33 is bent downwardly.

Near both ends of the support guide and in the front wall 26 and the lower one 28, orifices 31 and 33 have been made to receive control parts of the side movement of the drawer.

Figure 10 illustrates elevatioal and partly sectioned views and a plan view of a control eccentric part, which is formed by a stem 34, and which has a contiguous intermediate area 35 offset from the stem and terminating in a head 37, centred in relation to the axis of the stem 34 in one plane and provided with an X groove. From the eccentric area 35 starts a longitudinal elongation 36, adjacent said stem 34, and of a narrow width.Figure 11 illustrates a side control part of the drawer, in the base 39 of which have been cut side grooves for the adaptation thereof to the orifices 56 of the support guide, said base also having been provided with a longitudinal orifice in which is housed the eccentric part shown in Figure 10, in such a way that a side piece 38 of the control part is thereby positioned by means of a step provided therein, against the intermediate area 35 of the aforementioned eccentric part.

As described hereinbefore, the runner shown in Figure 4 is housed inside the slide shown in Figure 1, and this assembly can be mounted on any suitable support, securing it by means of the tongues 2 and 4 and anchoring it in position by inserting the bridge 5 in a corresponding aperture in the support.

The slide of the present invention may be adapted to the right side, as well as the left one, of the drawer, only on condition that the notch 10 is carried out on the wall 6 (as shown in the drawing) for the right side or on the wall 7 for the left side. As a result, the bridge 5 may be shifted from one side to the other of the longitudinal centre line of the slide, whichever applies. In this manner, the continuous production of the slides is thereby attained, since the initial shaping deals with a single section for both sides, providing them later, in a second phase, with the notch 10 and the recess 5.

The displaced position of said recess 5 on one side or the other of the longitudinal centre line of the slide (depending on which side it has to be applied) prevents the possibility of fitting the slide erroneously, and if such error is caused and an attempt is made to insert on the right side a slide that is meant for the left side, or vice versa, the bridge 5 cannot then be inserted in the aperture of the support.

On the other hand, in the operation whereby the slide is secured to the support, there is no risk whatever of undesirable hookups of the tongues in the wrong orifices of the support. In effect, the tongue 4 nearest to the insertion end of the slide is the widest one, and on passing over the orifices of the support coresponding to the gripers 2 and 3, there is no possibility whatsoever of its insertion into them, since these are of lesser width than the gripper itself. For similar reasons, there is also no possibility whatsoever that the gripper 3 will insert itself in the housing of the support provided for the gripper 2.

In explaining the course and movements of the displacement runner, it is presupposed that the slide, which contains the runner, is positioned inside a side support of the drawer, that this assembly is supported by the corresponding support guides (as shown in Figure 7), which are attached to the furniture containing the drawer. With the opening and closing movements, extraction and insertion of the drawer, the runner will then be subjected to three different actions, namely displacement between stops, and locking and unlocking at its end position, respectively. The movement between stops will be limited by the ends 11 and 12 of the walls 6 and 7 of the slide. Under these conditions, the runner will shift freely, slide-wise, with the opening and closing movements of the drawer, with the raised end 20 of the runner constituting an effectiving limiting stop of its course.At maximum drawer opening, the thickest area 23 in the upper base of the runner will reach the notch 10 of the slide, thereby ceding elastically the area of the upper base 14 of the runner corresponding to the longitudinal aperture 25. The ridge 32 of the support guide is positioned under the first area of greater height of the upper base of the runner, thus preventing the runner from dropping lower, and the protrustions 20 and 21 will not be able to insert themselves in the apertures 8 and 9 of the lower wall 7 of the slide, even though these are positioned above the apertures. The area 23' is sited between the notch 10 of the slide and its rear wall 1 and, under these conditions, there is no possibility of the runner locking.With the closing movement of the drawer, the runner will then be shifted by the slide in the opposite direction, thereby recovering the flexed area in the upper base of the runner.

When the drawer is completely withdrawn, the aforementioned movement will be initially repeated, followed by the extraction of the drawer itself. Thus, since the material around the aperture 25 of the upper base of the runner is subjected to a bending stress, when the ridge 32 of the corresponding guide loses contact with the highest area of the upper base 14, the elasticity of the flexed area itself forces the runner lower, to rest on the surrounding walls of the orifice 16 of the lower base and the protrusions 20 and 21 are housed in the apertures 8 and 9 of the lower base 7 of the slide. The runner remains in this locking position until it is forced to abandon it through the movement caused by the insertion of the drawer.Furthermore, it will not have the possibility of detaching itself from the slide through the open front part, since the elevation 23' of the rear wall 15 will then have been housed in the space existing between the notch 10 and the outer wall 1 of the slide. The beading 25' limits the existing space between the rear wall 15 and the area 23, thus preventing undesirable side movement of the runner.

With the insertion movement of the drawer, the front horizontal plane of the support guide will be inserted gradually along the inner space of the runner. The ridge 32 of the guide will not be able to reach, at any time, the area of lesser height of the upper base 14, since with the flexing of the area corresponding to the longitudinal groove 25, the thickest area 23 is then below its normal position and, therefore, much closer to the lower base, so that the horizontal plane 29 of the said guide may rest only against the lowest can edge of the lower surface of said area 23, but without the possibility of reaching the upper base, thus preventing the runner from giving up its interlocking in this initial phase of the insertion of the drawer.

When the ridge 32 passes beyond the position of the roller housed in the orifice 22 of the upper base, there is now the possibility that the runner will unlock. In reality, this is in fact the moment when the unlocking ofthe runner is normally produced, and this is casued by the aforementioned ridge 32; after passing the position of the roller housed in 22, it will then exert an upward thrust on the highest area of the outer wall 14, forcing the runner to rise, whereby the protrusions 20 and 21 leave the orifices 8 and 9 of the lower wall of the slide in which these are housed.

In any case, assuming that in the insertion movement of the drawer this remains perfectly horizontal and the ridge 32 does not push against the upper base, there is a position of forced unlocking, which will be attained when the ridge 32 reaches the position of the roller housed in the orifice 17. In effect, when the runner is in a downward position, with its protrusions 20 and 21 inserted in the housings of the slide, the roller of the orifice 17 will then be very close to the highest area of the upper base, whereby when the ridge 32 reaches this position, in order to continue its forward movement, the runner must necessarily rise so that there is sufficient space between said roller and the upper base to allow the passage of the aforementioned ridge 32, assuring the unlocking of the runner.

On the assumption that the runner is unlocked when the ridge 32 of the guide reaches the position of the roller housed in the orifice 17, with said roller displaced upwardly, the guide end might then knock against said roller which would require several attempts to release the runner. However, this risk has been circumvented because of the elevation 21 of the lower base of the runner, since said elevation 21' leads the guide toward the proper position so that its end reaches the roller at a favourable height.

As described hereinbefore, the control part of Figure 11 will fit in the support guide shown in Figure 7, in the orifice 31 thereof, with the grooves of the base 39 engaging the sides of the narrowest area 56 of the orifice 31, with the side piece 38 facing the drawer. In this manner, with the eccentric part of Figure 10 inserted in the longitudinal orifice of the base 39 of said control part, the distance between the side piece 38 and the drawer can then be considerably shortened (and thereby control the side movement of said drawer), inasmuch as when the step of said side piece 38 rests on the eccentric area 35, with the rotation of the eccentric part the side piece 38 will then shift within the limits prescribed by the eccentricity of said area 35. The extension 36 limits the rotation of the eccentric to a half turn only so that the side piece 38 may pass through all of its possible positions. In the wall 27 of the support guide, orifices 30 have also been provided to allow the securing thereof to the furniture by means of screws or the like.

Claims (8)

1. A drawer slide of the type to lie within the side supports and to receive in its interior a displacement runner, and comprising a rear wall having fixing tongues of different widths, with the widest one nearest to the insertion end of the slide in its corresponding support, and offset from the longitudinal centre line of the slide near the end opposite to that of the drawer insertion, a notch in an upper wall of the slide at a predetermined distance from its end opposite to that of the drawer insertion, and facing pairs of rectangular orifices in both the upper and a lower wall of different lengths.

2. A slide, according to claim 1 wherein the offset position of the bridge is arranged to ensure that the slide is fitted to the correct side of the drawer.

3. A slide according to claim 2 having a runner housed therein constructed of castable material and comprising a lower and an upper base linked by a rear wall, in the lower base two end orifices for housing displacement vertical rollers and two intermediate orifices for housing horizontal anti-friction rollers and wherein the walls surrounding one end orifice are extended inwardly, under the lower base, in the lower surface of the said base longitudinal protrusions of different lengths and heights are provided and, in a position corresponding to the smaller protrusion, an abutment on said base is provided; the upper base has an area of increased height, provided with an orifice in which a further displacement vertical roller is housed, and has an elevated stop at one end, a thicker area is provided intermediate the ends of the upper base with a surface which is much higher than the remaining part of the upper base, and the lower surface of which is delimited by a curve, the rear wall being raised correspondingly with said thicker area to provide a level area, and in said upper base a longitudinal slot has been cut, adjacent to the rear wall of the runner, which extends on both sides of the thicker area and a vertical beading is formed in the rear wall of the runner of the same height as the thicker area.

4. A slide according to claim 3 such that once it has been assembled with the displacement runner and a support guide linked to the furniture containing the drawer has been housed between the displacement rollers, the runner can shift slide-wise between stops with the opening and closing movements of said drawer and when the drawer is fully open the thicker area will then contact the notch of the slide, forcing the whole of the upper base resiliently down respective of the longitudinal slot, although without the possibility that the longitudinal protrusions of the runner penetrate therein since a rib on the support guide abuts against the lower surface of the highest area of the upper base.

5. A slide according to claim 4 wherein when the drawer is completely removed the rib on the support guide disengages from the highest area of the upper base of the runner, the resilience of the flexed area near to the longitudinal slot forces the lower protrusions resting on the runner in the surrounding lower extension of the orifice to insert themselves in the orifices of the lower wall of the slide to lock the runner in position until the support guide is reinserted.

6. A slide according to claim 5 wherein on inserting a drawer the nb travels forward throughout the runner without touching the upper base due to the flexed position of the thicker area in such a way that upon passing the position of the displacement roller housed in the orifice of the upper base and being positioned against the lower curved surface of the higher area of the base, it can then force the runner to unlock, although said locking will be produced, in any case, when the rib reaches the position of a displacement roller housed in an orifice at the end of the lower base, forcing the runner to rise against the resilience of the thicker area of the upper base, due to the small distance existing between the upper edge of the roller and the lower plane of the highest area of the base.

7. A slide according to any of the preceding claims, including control means for side movement of the supported drawer to engage the support guide thereof, and which comprises a piece provided with grooves in its base for its mounting on the guide, with a longitudinal hole in the base in which a control eccentric part is inserted, the eccentric area of which rests against a step of the side piece in such a way that when it is made to rotate the said eccentric area shifts the said side piece with a half turn of the eccentric part sufficient enough to make the side piece go through all of its possible positions.

8. A drawer slide constructed and arranged sub stantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.