U.S. patent application number 10/979337 was filed with the patent office on 2006-05-04 for sequential drawer slide.
Invention is credited to Steven Teskey.
Application Number | 20060091771 10/979337 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36261009 |
Filed Date | 2006-05-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060091771 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Teskey; Steven |
May 4, 2006 |
Sequential drawer slide
Abstract
A sequential drawer slide is disclosed having rails that extend
in a predetermined order, resulting in the weight of the drawer
initially carried by multiple slides concurrently to increase the
load rating of the assembly and prolong the life cycle of the
drawer slide. The sequential actuation of the slide rails as the
drawer is withdrawn from the cabinet is achieved by incorporating a
catch between the small slide rail and the intermediate slide rail
that resists extension of the small slide rail from the
intermediate slide rail up to a decoupling force. If the decoupling
force is greater than the force required to extend the intermediate
slide rail from the large slide rail, then the intermediate slide
rail and small slide rail nested therein will extend first, and the
small slide rail with extend from the intermediate slide rail only
after the intermediate slide rail is fully extended.
Inventors: |
Teskey; Steven; (Tustin
Ranch, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FULWIDER PATTON LEE & UTECHT, LLP
200 OCEANGATE, SUITE 1550
LONG BEACH
CA
90802
US
|
Family ID: |
36261009 |
Appl. No.: |
10/979337 |
Filed: |
November 2, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/334.44 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 88/49 20170101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/334.44 |
International
Class: |
A47B 88/04 20060101
A47B088/04 |
Claims
1. A multi-rail drawer slide with sequential extension comprising:
a first slide rail; a second slide rail moveable along said first
slide rail; a third slide moveable along said second slide; and an
interference between said second slide rail and said third slide
rail, coupling said second and third slide rails together, said
interference establishing a decoupling force and wherein the force
required to move said second slide rail along said first slide rail
is less than the force required to decouple said second slide rail
and said third slide rail.
2. The multi-rail drawer slide of claim 1 wherein said interference
comprises a projection on said third slide rail that interferes
with a path of the second slide rail when said third slide rail
moves along said second slide rail.
3. The multi-rail drawer slide of claim 2 wherein said projection
on said third slide rail comprises a V-shaped notch formed on a
surface thereof.
4. The multi-rail drawer slide of claim 1 wherein said second slide
rail includes a detent at a first end, said detent disposed to
resist movement of the third slide rail along said second slide
rail.
5. The multi-rail drawer slide of claim 4 wherein said detent
includes a stop having a flat surface oriented parallel to the
travel of the third slide rail, and said third slide rail has a
projection that frictionally engages said flat surface of the
detent to couple said second and third slide rails together.
6. The multi-rail drawer slide of claim 5 wherein said projection
on said third slide rail comprises a V-shaped notch that cooperates
with said flat surface on said detent to frictionally couple said
second and third slide rails.
7. The multi-rail drawer slide of claim 1 wherein said second slide
rail extends telescopically from within said first slide rail, and
said third slide rail extends telescopically from within said
second slide rail.
8. A multi-rail drawer slide with sequential extension having
outer, intermediate, and inner rails, comprising: means for sliding
said intermediate rail within said outer rail; means for sliding
said inner rail within said intermediate rail; and means for
sequentially sliding said intermediate rail within said outer rail
before sliding said inner rail within said intermediate rail.
9. A multi-rail drawer slide with sequential extension of rails
comprising: an outer rail; an inner rail including a V-shaped notch
projecting inwardly from a traverse edge; and an intermediate rail
including a detent at a first end cooperating with said V-shaped
notch of said inner rail to couple said inner rail to said
intermediate rail, and wherein said inner rail is disengaged from
said intermediate rail upon an extension of the intermediate rail
from within said outer rail.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates generally to drawer slides, and more
particularly to a drawer slide with a sequential opening
mechanism.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The use of drawer slides for file cabinets are well known.
The drawer slides support the shelves or drawers in the cabinet,
and extend horizontally to allow the shelves to be accessed
external to the cabinet, facilitating both the retrieval and return
of documents stored therein.
[0003] A typical drawer slide has a plurality of nested or stacked
rails that may slide against a set of bearings, especially ball
bearings. The bearings are located in raceways longitudinally
disposed along the slide rails. In a typical horizontal slide
configuration, a first large slide rail is mounted to each inner
side wall of the cabinet at the designated location for the shelf.
A second, smaller slide rail is rigidly affixed to the drawer such
that the drawer extends horizontally and is supported outside the
cabinet by the smaller slide rail. Each slide rail includes a
longitudinal track that runs parallel to the bearing raceway
substantially along the length of the rail. In a three-slide
configuration, an intermediate rail cooperates with the cabinet
slide rail and the drawer slide rail to further extend the drawer.
Although less common, additional slide members can be added to the
embodiment just described.
[0004] The arrangement of the slide rails can take various forms,
such as a vertical stacking of the slide rails or, more commonly, a
nesting of the slide rails in a telescoping arrangement. With a
telescoping slide arrangement, there is typically a small slide
rail (the "inner rail") connected to the drawer that fits into the
intermediate slide rail, which in turn fits into the large slide
rail (the "outer rail") affixed to the cabinet. These three rails
telescope in a known manner to extend the file drawer outward from
the cabinet. When the drawer is withdrawn from the cabinet, a user
applies a horizontal force to a handle on the face of the drawer
causing the drawer to extend outward from the cabinet in a
cantilever arrangement as the slide rails expand horizontally.
Because the smallest slide rail is connected to the drawer itself,
when the horizontal force is applied to the drawer the small slide
rail translates horizontally with respect to the intermediate
slide, causing the drawer to be supported substantially by the
small slide rail. During this initial movement of the drawer the
intermediate slide rail remains stationary within the larger slide
rail. When the small slide rail becomes fully extended within the
intermediate slide rail, usually defined by a stop on the
intermediate rail, the intermediate slide rail begins to translate
horizontally within the large slide. If there is only one
intermediate slide, then the drawer has reached its maximum
horizontal displacement from the cabinet when the intermediate
slide rail is fully extended from the large slide rail.
[0005] One shortcoming of the above-described slide arrangement is
that the smallest slide supports the entire file cabinet for the
initial movement of the drawer translation. Only after the small
slide is fully extended does the intermediate slide begin to extend
and support some of the load. Because often times the drawer need
only be partially withdrawn to retrieve a file or return a
document, the small slide will be subjected to a disproportionately
high percentage of total time supporting the shelve while the
shelve is extended from the cabinet. Placing the entire load on the
smallest slide has the effect of shortening the life cycle of the
slides and limited the load rating of the drawer itself. Premature
failure or wear of the slides results, necessitating replacement of
the slides and can lead to the entire cabinet being scrapped at
considerable cost to the user. What is needed in the art is a
system that prolongs the life cycle and increases the load rating
of a multi-slide arrangement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention provides a sequential extraction of
the drawer slide rails that results in the weight of the drawer
initially carried by both the combination of the intermediate and
small slide rails concurrently, thereby increasing the load rating
of the assembly and prolonging the life cycle of the drawer slides.
The sequential actuation of the slide rails as the drawer is
withdrawn from the cabinet is achieved by incorporating a catch or
other impediment between the small slide rail and the intermediate
slide rail that resists extension of the small slide rail from the
intermediate slide rail up to a separation force J. As long as
force J is greater than the force required to extend the
intermediate slide rail from the large slide rail, then the
intermediate slide rail (and small slide rail nested therein) will
extend first, and the small slide rail with extend from the
intermediate slide rail only after the intermediate slide rail is
fully extended. The catch between the small and intermediate rails
can be achieved by an interfering contact between the small and
intermediate slides where the frictional forces of the contact
resists separation of the two slide rails up to a separation force
J.sub.friction. Alternate catches may be based on the deflection of
an interfering member or other force generating mechanisms in
additional to the frictional force achieved by the embodiment
discussed below.
[0007] In a first embodiment, the impediment may be a V-shaped
notch formed in the channel of the small slide rail that interferes
with a detent block on the intermediate slide rail, resisting
extension of the small slide rail within the intermediate slide
rail. The frictional force needed to overcome the interference of
the V-shaped notch against the detent block need not be large,
rather it simply needs to be of sufficient magnitude that the
intermediate slide rail extends before extension of the small slide
rail. When the drawer is returned to the cabinet, the small slide
first retracts into the intermediate slide again following the
sequential expansion in reverse, once again ensuring that the shelf
is supported by the combination of the intermediate and small slide
rails for one half of the travel of the drawer. The insertion of
the drawer into the cabinet forces the V-shaped notch or other
protrusion over and past the detent or other frictional member
resetting the mechanism for the next sequential extraction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is front view, partially in shadow, of an embodiment
of the multiple rail slide of the present invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is an elevated perspective view of the small rail of
the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 3 is an elevated perspective view of a portion of the
small rail of the embodiment of FIG. 1 engaging the detent of the
intermediate rail;
[0011] FIG. 4a is a front view of the detent mechanism of FIG.
3;
[0012] FIG. 4b is a side view of the detent mechanism of FIG.
3;
[0013] FIG. 4c is an elevated, perspective view of the detent
mechanism of FIG. 3;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a magnified view of encircled portion of FIG.
1;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a front view, partially in shadow, of the
embodiment of FIG. 1 with the intermediate slide rail extended from
the outer slide rail; and
[0016] FIG. 7 is a front view, partially in shadow, of the
embodiment of FIG. 1 with the slide fully extended.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a three piece telescoping slide 10
comprising three rails, an outer rail 20, an intermediate rail 25,
and an inner rail 30. The slide is used to support a file shelf or
drawer in a file cabinet, and extend the drawer horizontally
outward from the cabinet to access files, documents, and the like.
The respective rails telescope from within each other in a well
known manner to support the drawer outside of the cabinet. A
cabinet will typically include three or more such drawers, with
slides on each side supporting each drawer. That is, each drawer
will typically have a left slide and a right slide mounting the
drawer to the inside walls of the cabinet. While this disclosure
may refer to the slide as singular in some references, it is to be
understood that the slides are usually used in pairs to provide the
support for each drawer.
[0018] The innermost rail 30 slides longitudinally within the
intermediate rail 25, which in turn slides longitudinally within
the outermost rail 20. The inner rail 30, as shown in FIG. 2, has a
planar front panel 35 extending longitudinally with upper traverse
edge 40 and lower traverse edge 45 extending perpendicular thereto
forming a substantially "C" shaped beam. On the outer surface 55 of
each traverse edge 40,45 of the inner rail 30 is a concave recess
50 extending substantially the longitudinal length of the inner
rail 30. Each concave recess 50 forms half of a ball bearing
raceway that cooperates with a complimentary concave recess on the
inner surface 60 of traverse upper and lower edges 65, 70 of the
intermediate rail 25 as shown in FIG. 7. The front panel 35
includes a plurality of apertures 75 for use with a bracket (not
shown) to secure the slide 10 to a retractable drawer, where
fasteners (not shown) pass through the apertures 75 and
corresponding holes in the bracket and drawer in a known manner. At
a distal end 72 of the inner rail 30 is a flap 80 that cooperates
with a detent 100 on the intermediate rail 25 to define the closed
or withdrawn position. That is, when the slide 10 is retracting
from its telescoped or extended position the inner rail 30 stops
translation with respect to the intermediate rail 25 when the flap
80 contacts with the arcuate bumper 85 of the detent 100 of the
intermediate rail 25. The arcuate bumper 85 has some resiliency to
absorb some of the energy of the moving drawer so that the drawer
does not bounce off the intermediate rail 25 with substantial
force.
[0019] Spaced a short distance from the distal end 72 of the inner
rail 30 is a "V" shaped notch 95 projecting inwardly from the upper
traverse edge 40 at an inner surface 54 (see FIG. 5). The "V"
shaped notch is adjacent and proximal to the longitudinal position
of the detent 100 of the intermediate rail 25 when the slide is
contracted so that the end flap 80 and "V" shaped notch 95 border
the detent 100. The "V" shaped notch 95 has a vertical dimension
such that the apex 97 extends into a path defined by the movement
of a bypass surface 105 of the detent 100 as the intermediate rail
25 moves with respect to the inner rail 30. In other words, the
movement of the inner rail 30 with respect to the intermediate rail
25 causes the V-shaped notch 95 to come in contact with the bypass
surface 105 of the detent 100 on the intermediate rail 25. The
frictional interference of the "V" shaped notch 95 with the by pass
surface 105 of the detent 100 can be overcome by a supplemental
horizontal force J corresponding to the frictional force resisting
the movement of the "V" shaped notch across the surface of the
bypass surface (see FIG. 3). After the "V" shaped notch of the
inner rail travels across the bypass surface 105, the supplemental
force J is eliminated and the inner rail 30 will move freely within
the intermediate rail 25.
[0020] The detent 100 of the intermediate rail 25 is shown in FIG.
4a-c. The energy absorbing arcuate bumper 85 extends from a
substantially planar base 110. Extending from the base 110 are
outwardly directed fingers 115 defining channels 120 for receiving
the respective traverse edges 40,45 of the inner rail 30. Thus,
when the inner rail 30 is in proximity with and parallel to the
intermediate rail 25, the upper edge 40 and lower edge 45 of the
inner rail 30 are disposed in the channels 120 defined by fingers
115a,b. The detent 100 further includes angled tabs 130 that locate
the detent 100 on the intermediate rail 25 by cooperating with
mating slots 145 on the intermediate rail.
[0021] Disposed on the detent 100 along on upper portion of the
base 110 is a substantially rectangular stop 150 that supplies the
bypass surface 105 for the sequential opening of the rails. The
stop 150 includes a preliminary contact surface 155 defined by a
proximal end surface that is adjacent to the V shaped notch 95
(FIG. 5) when the slide is fully retracted. When a force is applied
to the drawer to withdraw the drawer from the cabinet, the
horizontal force applied to the drawer is transferred to the small
rail(s) 30 to which it is attached. Unlike the prior art slides
that would allow the inner rail to fully extend before translation
of the intermediate rail would initiate, in the present invention
the initial movement of the inner slide 30 causes the V-shaped
notch 95 to bear against the contact surface 155 of the stop 150 on
the detent 100 of the intermediate rail 25. By orienting the bypass
surface 105 parallel to the direction of travel of the inner rail,
a predictable force to overcome the friction between the V-shaped
notch and the bypass surface is established. The force required to
overcome the interference of the V shaped notch 95 with the stop
150 (i.e., the initial deflection of the stop plus the friction
resisting the movement of the notch dragging across the bypass
surface 105 of the stop, referred herein as force J) is greater
than the ordinary force required to move the intermediate rail 25
within the outer rail 20. Accordingly, the horizontal force applied
to the drawer is transferred through the inner rail 30, across the
sequential release mechanism, to the intermediate rail 25, causing
it to slide within the fixed outer rail 20.
[0022] As the intermediate rail 25 extends in a cantilevered manner
away from the outer rail 20, the weight of the shelf is supported
by the combination of the inner rail 30 and the intermediate rail
25. The structural capacity of this combination is significantly
greater than the weight bearing capacity of the inner rail alone.
For a standard one hundred pound rated full extension slide, the
sequential extension of the intermediate and inner rails can
increase the load capacity to approximately one hundred forty to
one hundred fifty pounds, resulting in a fifty percent increase in
load capability. This also has a significant impact on the life
cycle of the slide 10, and particularly the wear of the inner slide
rail 30 which no longer bears the full weight of the drawer during
the initial stages of extraction. This increase in life cycle and
load capacity is a function of the sequential slide actuation and
is not found in the prior art.
[0023] Once the intermediate rail 25 is fully extended (FIG. 6), an
additional force J is necessary to further move the drawer away
from the file cabinet. The force J is defined as the amount of
force required to overcome the sequential actuator--in this case
the force required to overcome the interference of the V-shaped
notch 95 with the contact surface 105 of the stop 150. When this
incremental force J is applied, the further extraction of the
drawer is achieved as the V-shaped notch passes across the contact
surface, after which only the normal extracting force is required
to fully open the drawer (FIG. 7). The fully extended position is
set by the engagement of a wedge shaped detent (not shown) on the
front panel 35 of the inner rail at a proximal end 74 that engages
the beveled edge 175 of the detent 100 to arrest further extension
of the inner rail 30 from the intermediate rail 25.
[0024] The rails are preferably made of a metal such as steel to
support the loads of the cantilevered shelves. The detent 100 is
preferably formed of a hard polymer or plastic with some give, such
that the interference with the V-shaped notch will cause the detent
to yield and permit passage when the required force J is
applied.
[0025] The sequential opening of the slide 10 is shown in FIGS. 1,
6 and 7. Initially fully retracted, the inner rail 30 is seated
within the intermediate rail 25, which in turn is seated within
outer rail 20. Applying an outward horizontal force to the drawer
initially will tend to cause the attached inner rail 30 with move
within the intermediate rail 25. However, the movement of the inner
rail 30 is arrested by the interference of the V-shaped notch 95
with the stop 150 on the detent 100 of the intermediate rail 25. As
a result, as shown in FIG. 6 the inner rail 30 and intermediate
rail 25 initially extend together from within the outer rail 20.
Thus, up to and including the extended position of the slide 10 as
shown in FIG. 6, the drawer is supported by the combination of the
inner rail 30 and the intermediate rail 25. Further applied force J
will cause the V-shaped notch to deflect the detent 100 slightly
cause the notch to drag across the bypass surface 105 until it
separates from the detent 100. This permits the inner rail to then
extend unhindered from the intermediate rail until the slide is
fully extended as shown in FIG. 7. When the drawer is returned to
the cabinet, the V-shaped notch of the inner rail is forced back
across the bypass surface 105 of the detent to reset the mechanism
for the next use.
[0026] While the above described embodiments disclose a frictional
engagement of the detent with a protrusion of the cooperating rail,
it may be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the
above described embodiments for one of ordinary skill in the art
would recognize that the sequential slide can be achieved by
various mechanisms. For example, the force J required to overcome
the movement of the inner slide rail within the intermediate slide
rail can be prescribed by the deflection of one member on the inner
rail interfering with a member of the intermediate rail during
relative translation. Alternatively, the frictional force can be
developed in various ways besides that disclosed, and is not
limited to a V-shaped notch with a flat surface. The release of the
inner rail from the intermediate rail could also require a manual
actuation, such as depressing a button to eliminate an interfering
member. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not
limited to those embodiments described above, but rather is
includes all scope as defined by the claims appended hereto.
* * * * *