U.S. patent application number 12/250793 was filed with the patent office on 2009-04-23 for slide rail locking device.
Invention is credited to Kuo-Chan WENG.
Application Number | 20090102339 12/250793 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40562786 |
Filed Date | 2009-04-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090102339 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
WENG; Kuo-Chan |
April 23, 2009 |
SLIDE RAIL LOCKING DEVICE
Abstract
A slide rail locking device includes a first and a second slide
rail assemblies and a first and a second activators. Each of the
first and second slide rail assemblies includes a stationary slide
rail and a telescopic slide rail assembly. The first activator is
disposed at one end of the telescopic slide rail assembly. The
second activator is disposed on the stationary slide rail
corresponding to the first activator. The second activator includes
a base seat, a swinging member and a bar member. The base seat is
arranged at one end of the stationary slide rail. The swinging
member is disposed on the base seat corresponding to the first
activator. Two ends of the bar member are respectively positioned
between the base seats and the swinging members of the first and
second slide rail assemblies. When the telescopic slide rail
assembly of one of the slide rail assemblies is extended out of the
stationary slide rail, the swinging member of this slide rail
assembly chucks the bar member and prevents the bar member from
sliding. At this time, the telescopic slide rail assembly of the
other slide rail assembly will be unable to extend out of the
stationary slide rail.
Inventors: |
WENG; Kuo-Chan; (Tuku Chen,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SINORICA, LLC
528 FALLSGROVE DRIVE
ROCKVILLE
MD
20850
US
|
Family ID: |
40562786 |
Appl. No.: |
12/250793 |
Filed: |
October 14, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/333 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E05B 65/463
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/333 |
International
Class: |
A47B 88/16 20060101
A47B088/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 18, 2007 |
TW |
096217460 |
Claims
1. A slide rail locking device disposed in a cabinet having at
least two drawers arranged from upper side to lower side, whereby
when one of the drawers is drawn out, the other drawer is prevented
from being drawn out, said slide rail locking device comprising: a
first slide rail assembly and a second slide rail assembly mounted
respectively for the drawers, the first slide rail assembly being
positioned above the second slide rail assembly corresponding
thereto, each of the first and second slide rail assemblies
including a stationary slide rail and a telescopic slide rail
assembly, the stationary slide rail being fixed on the cabinet, the
telescopic slide rail assembly being mounted on a corresponding
drawer and back and forth slidably positioned in the stationary
slide rail, the telescopic slide rail assembly being extendable out
from front end of the stationary slide rail; a first activator
disposed at one end of the telescopic slide rail assembly; and a
second activator disposed on the stationary slide rail
corresponding to the first activator, the second activator
including a base seat, a swinging member and a bar member, the base
seat being arranged at one end of the stationary slide rail, the
swinging member being disposed on the base seat corresponding to
the first activator, the swinging member being reciprocally movable
between a first position and a second position across the sliding
direction of the telescopic slide rail assembly, the swinging
member having at least one swinging guide slope for guiding the
first activator into the base seat, whereby the first activator
pushes the swinging member to move from the first position to the
second position, the bar member being reciprocally movably disposed
between the first and second slide rail assemblies, two ends of the
bar member being respectively fitted through the base seats of the
first and second slide rail assemblies and positioned between the
base seats and the swinging members, whereby when the swinging
members of the first and second slide rail assemblies are
positioned in the second position, none of the swinging members can
restrict the bar member from sliding, when the telescopic slide
rail assembly of one of the slide rail assemblies is extended, the
swinging member of this slide rail assembly moving from the second
position to the first position, whereby the swinging member abuts
against and chucks the bar member to prevent the bar member from
sliding and the telescopic slide rail assembly of the other slide
rail assembly will be unable to extend forward, the first activator
of the other slide rail assembly serving to push the bar member
when released from the swinging member.
2. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
telescopic slide rail assembly includes a drawer slide rail.
3. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
telescopic slide rail assembly further includes a middle slide
rail, the drawer slide rail being mounted on a corresponding drawer
and slidably positioned in the middle slide rail.
4. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
first activator is a tongue projecting toward the stationary slide
rail.
5. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
first activator is a tongue projecting toward the stationary slide
rail.
6. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
first activator is a tongue projecting toward the stationary slide
rail.
7. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein one
end of the swinging member is fixed on the base seat, while the
other end of the swinging member extends toward the telescopic
slide rail assembly and is bent to the stationary slide rail to
form the swinging guide slope.
8. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 2, wherein one
end of the swinging member is fixed on the base seat, while the
other end of the swinging member extends toward the telescopic
slide rail assembly and is bent to the stationary slide rail to
form the swinging guide slope.
9. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 3, wherein one
end of the swinging member is fixed on the base seat, while the
other end of the swinging member extends toward the telescopic
slide rail assembly and is bent to the stationary slide rail to
form the swinging guide slope.
10. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein
each end of the bar member is formed with a bar member guide slope
for the first activator to push the bar member.
11. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 2, wherein
each end of the bar member is formed with a bar member guide slope
for the first activator to push the bar member.
12. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 3, wherein
each end of the bar member is formed with a bar member guide slope
for the first activator to push the bar member.
13. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 10, wherein
the bar member is further formed with another bar member guide
slope opposite to the bar member guide slope.
14. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 11, wherein
the bar member is further formed with another bar member guide
slope opposite to the bar member guide slope.
15. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 12, wherein
the bar member is further formed with another bar member guide
slope opposite to the bar member guide slope.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is related to a locking device, and
more particularly to a slide rail locking device of a tool cabinet
or a file cabinet having several drawers.
[0002] A drawer and a cabinet are equipped with corresponding
rails. The rails are slidably fitted with each other for easily
pushing or drawing the drawer within the cabinet. The rails are
provided with stoppers such as projecting blocks or projecting
plates to prevent the drawer from detaching from the cabinet and
dropping.
[0003] The drawer is often designed with a considerable length for
receiving more articles. In order to fully draw the drawer out of
the cabinet without being derailed and immediately push the drawer
into the cabinet after taking articles, three rails are provided,
including a cabinet slide rail, a middle slide rail and a drawer
slide rail. Each slide rail has stop blocks on predetermined
portions of one end or two ends of the slide rail. The slide rails
are slidably assembled with each other and the stop blocks stop
each other, whereby the drawer can be fully drawn out of the
cabinet without derailing and dropping. Ball bearings are provided
between the slide rails to reduce frictional force therebetween and
noise.
[0004] The tool cabinet or file cabinet includes several drawers
arranged from upper side to lower side. After the drawers contain
tools or files, the drawers will have considerable weight. In the
case that the drawers are drawn too hard or in the case of
earthquake or collision by external force, the tool cabinet or file
cabinet will be tilted to make some drawers slip out. Under such
circumstance, the gravity center of the cabinet will change and the
cabinet may fall down.
[0005] In order to avoid tilting down of the cabinet when drawing
out too many drawers, a slide rail locking structure has been
developed by which only one drawer can be drawn at one time.
Substantially, a linking unit is disposed at one end of each slide
rail assembly. Once the drawer slide rail of one slide rail
assembly is pulled, the linking unit is activated to drive a link
disposed between the respective slide rail assemblies to stop the
drawer slide rails of other slider rail assemblies from being
pulled. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,030, a disc-like
activating block is disposed at rear end of the drawer slide rail.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,701, an activating block having a slope is
disposed at front end of one side of the drawer. In U.S. Pat. No.
5,988,778, an activating block is disposed at front end of the
drawer slide rail.
[0006] In U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,030, a hook body is disposed at rear
end of the drawer slide rail for hooking and pulling the disc-like
activating block. This is strength-consuming and the components are
likely to be worn. Therefore, the using life of the product is
shortened
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to
provide a slide rail locking device which is mounted in a narrow
space of a cabinet having several drawers. By means of the slide
rail locking device, after one of the drawers is drawn out, the
other drawers are locked and prevented from being drawn out.
[0008] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
the above slide rail locking device by which the drawers can be
still smoothly drawn out and pushed in without being hindered. This
prolongs the using life of the product.
[0009] According to the above objects, the slide rail locking
device of the present invention includes a first and a second slide
rail assemblies and a first and a second activators. Each of the
first and second slide rail assemblies includes a stationary slide
rail and a telescopic slide rail assembly. The first activator is
disposed at one end of the telescopic slide rail assembly. The
second activator is disposed on the stationary slide rail
corresponding to the first activator. The second activator includes
a base seat, a swinging member and a bar member.
[0010] The present invention can be best understood through the
following description and accompanying drawings wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of the slide rail
assembly of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention,
showing that the telescopic slide rail assembly is extended out of
the stationary slide rail;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the present invention, showing
that the swinging member is positioned in a first position where
the first activator is not moved into the base seat;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the present invention, showing
that the swinging member is positioned in a second position where
the first activator is moved into the base seat;
[0015] FIG. 5A shows the operation of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 5B shows the displacement of the bar member according
to FIG. 5A;
[0017] FIG. 6A also shows the operation of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 6B shows the displacement of the bar member according
to FIG. 6A;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of other embodiment of the
present invention, showing that the swinging member is positioned
in the second position where the first activator is moved into the
base seat;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a partially front view of another embodiment of
the present invention, showing that there is one end of other bar
member linking a locking section whereby the bar members are
confined to movement;
[0021] FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the locking section of FIG.
8.
[0022] FIG. 10 is a partially front view of another embodiment of
the present invention, showing that the locking section unlocks the
bar members; and
[0023] FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the locking section of FIG.
10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0024] Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 4, 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B. The slide
rail locking device 1 of the present invention includes a first
slide rail assembly 11, a second slide rail assembly 12, a first
activator 13 and a second activator 14 arranged on the first and
second slide rail assemblies 11, 12.
[0025] The first slide rail assembly 11 is positioned above the
second slide rail assembly 12 corresponding thereto. Each of the
first and second slide rail assemblies 11, 12 includes a stationary
slide rail 92 and a telescopic slide rail assembly 94.
[0026] The stationary slide rail 92 is a channeled body having a
bottom wall and two sidewalls. The outer face of the bottom wall of
the stationary slide rail 92 is fixed on an inner side of a
cabinet. The cabinet has an internal space in which at least two
drawers arranged from upper side to lower side.
[0027] The telescopic slide rail assembly 94 includes a drawer
slide rail 941 and a middle slide rail 942. Each of the drawer
slide rail 941 and middle slide rail 942 is a channeled body having
a bottom wall and two sidewalls. The outer face of the bottom wall
of the drawer slide rail 941 is fixed on a drawer. The two
sidewalls of the drawer slide rail 941 are slidably positioned in
the middle slide rail 942. The middle slide rail 942 of the
telescopic slide rail assembly 94 is slidably positioned in the
stationary slide rail 92. The middle slide rail 942 can extend out
from front end of the stationary slide rail 92.
[0028] The first activator 13 is disposed at one end of the drawer
slide rail 941 of the telescopic slide rail assembly 94. The first
activator 13 is a tongue projecting toward the stationary slide
rail 92.
[0029] The second activator 14 is disposed on the stationary slide
rail 92 corresponding to the first activator 13. The second
activator 14 includes a base seat 41, a swinging member 42 and a
bar member 43.
[0030] The base seat 41 is arranged at one end of the stationary
slide rail 92.
[0031] The swinging member 42 is disposed on the base seat 41
corresponding to the first activator 13. The swinging member 42 is
reciprocally movable between a first position and a second position
across the sliding direction of the telescopic slide rail assembly
94. The swinging member 42 has at least one swinging guide slope
421 for guiding the first activator 13 into the base seat 41. That
is, when the drawer is pushed into the cabinet, the first activator
13 abuts against and pushes the swinging member 42 to move from the
first position (referring to FIG. 3) to the second position
(referring to FIG. 4). One end of the swinging member 42 is fixed
on the base seat 41. The other end of the swinging member 42
extends toward the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 and is
clockwise bent once (according to FIGS. 3 and 4) to form the
swinging guide slope 421 for guiding the first activator 13 into
the base seat 41. The function of the bending section of the
swinging member 42 will be further described hereinafter.
[0032] The bar member 43 is reciprocally movably disposed between
the first and second slide rail assemblies 11, 12. Two ends of the
bar member 43 are respectively fitted through the base seats 41 of
the first and second slide rail assemblies 11, 12 and positioned
between the base seats 41 and the swinging members 42. Each end of
the bar member 43 is formed with a bar member guide slope 431 for
the first activator 1 3 to push the bar member 43. The function of
the bar member guide slope 431 will be further described
hereinafter.
[0033] According to the above arrangement, when the swinging
members 42 of the first and second slide rail assemblies 11, 12 are
positioned in the second position, none of the swinging members 42
can restrict the bar member 43 from sliding. In other words, one of
the telescopic slide rail assemblies 94 is slidable. Referring to
FIGS. 3 and 5A, when the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 of the
first slide rail assembly 11 is extended, the swinging member 42 of
the first slide rail assembly 11 moves from the second position to
the first position. Under such circumstance, the bending section of
the swinging member 42 abuts against the bar member 43, that is,
the swinging member 42 chucks the bar member 43 to prevent the bar
member 43 from sliding. In other words, the telescopic slide rail
assembly 94 of the second slide rail assembly 12 will be unable to
extend forward. Accordingly, after one of the drawers is drawn out,
the other drawer cannot be drawn out.
[0034] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6A, proceeding with the above
operation, after the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 of the first
slide rail assembly 11 is pushed in, the swinging member 42 of the
first slide rail assembly 11 moves from the first position to the
second position. Under such circumstance, the swinging member 42 no
longer abuts against the bar member 43, that is, the bar member 43
is slidable. At this time, via the bar member guide slope 431, the
first activator 13 of the second slide rail assembly 12 can push
the bar member 43. Accordingly, the telescopic slide rail assembly
94 of the second slide rail assembly 12 can be extended. At the
same time, the two ends of the bar member 43 respectively abut
against the swinging member 42 of the second slide rail assembly 12
and the first activator 13 of the first slide rail assembly 11 to
restrict the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 of the first slide
rail assembly 11 from sliding.
[0035] The guide slope 431 of the bar member 43 is designed for the
first activator 1 3 to push and move the bar member 43.
[0036] The slide rail locking device 1 of the present invention has
the following advantages: [0037] 1. The swinging member 42
reciprocally moves in a direction across the sliding direction of
the telescopic slide rail assembly 94. In addition, the swinging
member 42 is designed with a bending section. Therefore, the other
drawer can be easily and reliably locked or released. [0038] 2. The
first activator 13 is a projecting tongue and the bar member 43 is
formed with a guide slope 431 for the first activator 13 to easily
push the bar member 43.
[0039] Alternatively, the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 can
only has the drawer slide rail 941 without the middle slide rail
942. Two sidewalls of the drawer slide rail 941 are slidably fitted
in the stationary slide rail 92. This can also achieve the effect
of the present invention.
[0040] Referring to FIGS. 1, 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B, the bar member 43
is further formed with another bar member guide slope 432 opposite
to the bar member guide slope 431. In case that an error happens
during the assembling procedure of the present invention and the
bar member 43 stops the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 from
inward (backward) sliding, via the other bar member guide slope
432, the first activator 13 can push the bar member 43 to its true
position. This avoids disassembly of the components.
[0041] In addition, further referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, an outer end
of the first activator 13, that is, the tongue, is formed with an
arced face 1 31, whereby the first activator 13 can more smoothly
push the swinging member 42.
[0042] Furthermore, the present invention should be paid attention
to the relative structure of the first activator 13 and the
swinging member 42. The swinging member 42 should be in the first
position which the bending section of the swinging member 42 abuts
against the bar member 43 before the first activator 13 is out of
the base seat 41 and does not abut against the swinging member 42
in order to maintain the function of the present invention.
[0043] Referring to FIG. 7, wherein the first activator 13 can be
disposed at the middle section of the drawer slide rail 941. The
first activator 13 is a tongue extending from the outer face of the
bottom wall of the drawer slide rail 941, toward the sidewall of
the drawer slide rail 941 and across the sidewall of the stationary
slide rail 92 and projecting toward the stationary slide rail 92.
The second activator 14 is disposed on the middle section of the
stationary slide rail 92 corresponding to the first activator 13.
This can also achieve the effect of the present invention.
[0044] Referring to FIGS. 8 to 11, the present invention further
comprises other bar member 43' and a locking section 15. The
locking section 15 is firmly disposed above and next to the base
seat 41 of the first slide rail assemblies 11. The other bar member
43' is reciprocally movably disposed between the locking section 15
and the base seat 41 of the first slide rail assemblies 11.
[0045] The locking section 15 includes a locking seat 52, a block
54, a spring 56 and a cable 58. The spring 56 is disposed between
the locking seat 52 and the block 54. Two ends of the spring 56
respectively abut against the locking seat 52 and the middle
portion of block 54. One end of the cable 58 connects one end of
the block 54. The other end of the cable 58 connects a key device
(not shown). The block 54 can be reciprocally moved between a third
position (referring to FIG. 9) and a fourth position (referring to
FIG. 11) by the key device being turned and the elastic force of
the spring 56.
[0046] Two ends of the other bar member 43' are respectively fitted
through the locking section 15 and the base seat 41 of the first
slide rail assemblies 11. One end of the other bar member 43' is
positioned between the base seat 41 and the swinging member 42 of
the first slide rail assemblies 11. The other end of the other bar
member 43' is positioned between the locking seat 52 and the other
end of the block 54. The other end of the block 54 can abut against
the other bar member 43'. Each end of the other bar member 43' is
also formed with a bar member guide slope 431' like the bar member
guide slope 431 for the first activator 13 and the other end of the
block 54 to push the other bar member 43'. In other words, the
locking section 15 can lock (referring to FIG. 8) and unlock
(referring to FIG. 10) the two drawers.
[0047] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the
present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many
modifications of the above embodiments can be made without
departing from the spirit of the present invention.
* * * * *