U.S. patent application number 12/211099 was filed with the patent office on 2010-03-18 for heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide.
Invention is credited to Chirh-Siang Chang.
Application Number | 20100066225 12/211099 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42006587 |
Filed Date | 2010-03-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100066225 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chang; Chirh-Siang |
March 18, 2010 |
Heavy-Duty Automatic Return Buffering Slide
Abstract
A heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide comprising an
external slide, two sliding assemblies, an internal slide, a
limiting rail, a brake member and a pressure cylinder. The sliding
assemblies are combined to two sides of the external slide,
respectively, and the internal slide is provided with an engaging
hook. Both sides of the internal slide are slidably combined
between the sliding assemblies. The limiting rail is provided with
a sliding groove and a lower countersink, which is continuous with
and located lower than the sliding groove. The limiting rail is
combined to the external slide. The brake member has one end
pivoted to the pressure cylinder and a top provided with an
engaging groove for cooperating with the engaging hook. The brake
member is provided with two rollers movably disposed in the sliding
groove. The pressure cylinder includes a protruding rod to push the
brake member.
Inventors: |
Chang; Chirh-Siang; (Taipei
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Dr. BANGER SHIA
102 Lindencrest Ct.
Sugar Land
TX
77479-5201
US
|
Family ID: |
42006587 |
Appl. No.: |
12/211099 |
Filed: |
September 15, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/334.44 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 2210/0094 20130101;
A47B 88/467 20170101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/334.44 |
International
Class: |
A47B 88/16 20060101
A47B088/16 |
Claims
1. A heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide comprising: an
external slide being provided with a bottom and an opening; two
sliding assemblies being combined in the external slide; an
internal slide including an opening facing the bottom of the
external slide, two opposite sides at both sides of the opening,
and a top in alignment with the opening, the top being provided
with an engaging hook between the two opposite sides of the
internal slide, both the two opposite sides of the internal slide
being slidably combined between the two sliding assemblies; a
limiting rail being provided with a sliding groove, which is
continuous with a countersink lower than the sliding groove, the
limiting rail being combined on the bottom of the external slide; a
brake member being provided at one end thereof with a pivoting
portion and at a top thereof with an engaging groove for
cooperating with the engaging hook, the brake member being further
provided with two rollers, which are movably disposed in sliding
groove of the limiting rail; and a pressure cylinder including a
normally-protruding rod body having one end provided with a
pivoting portion, the pressure cylinder being pivoted to the bottom
of the external slide and combined to the brake member through the
pivoting portions of the brake member and the pressure
cylinder.
2. The heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the sliding assemblies each include an outer board
to be fixed in the external slide, the internal slide is slidably
disposed on the respective outer boards.
3. The heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the sliding assemblies each include an outer board
and an inner board, the outer boards of the sliding assemblies are
fixed the sliding assemblies in the external slide, the inner
boards of the sliding assemblies are slidably disposed on the outer
boards of the sliding assemblies, the internal slide is slidably
combined between the two inner boards.
4. The heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the external slide is provided with the bottom and
the two opposite sides, the two opposite sides define the opening
in alignment with the bottom, the sliding assemblies are combined
to the two opposite sides of the external side, respectively.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a drawer slide, and more
particularly to a heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Commonly, cabinets are widely used to store items and
generally provided with plural drawers. In order to make the
drawers move more smoothly and easily, the respective drawers are
generally provided with a slide at each of two opposite sides
thereof. However, this arrangement is only suitable for the
light-duty drawers but not for the heavy-duty drawers. The slides
which are applied to the heavy-duty drawers are normally arranged
on the bottom of the drawers to bear a heavy load, and since the
bottom of the drawer has a large space, the slide can be designed
to be much thicker and stronger.
[0005] As for the drawer with the heavy-duty slides, since closing
the drawer is more difficult than pulling open the drawer, a slide
capable of automatically closing the drawer has been developed on
the market, as shown in FIGS. 11-12, and it comprises an external
slide 80 which is provided with a swing block 82 including a swivel
shaft 83, a fastening groove 84 and a stop block 85. The swing
block 82 is pulled by a spring 86. The external slide 85 is
interiorly provided with an internal slide 90, and the internal
slide 90 is provided with an engaging hook 91 for cooperating with
the fastening groove 84. By such arrangements, when the drawer is
pulled open along the internal slide 90, the fastening groove 84 of
the swing block 82 is open toward the direction where the drawer is
pulled, and one end of the spring 86 swivels with the swing block
82 in such a manner that the spring 86 is extended. When the drawer
is pushed back, the engaging hook 91 touches the fastening groove
84 of the swing block 82 to make the swing block 82 swing a
predetermined angle, so that the spring 86 can pull the swing block
82 to rotate back immediately, thus driving the fastening groove 84
to push the engaging hook 91 of the internal rod 90 to close the
drawer. In such a structure, the automatically-return distance is
limited to the extending distance of the spring 86, so that the
automatic return travel is relatively shorter since the extending
distance of the spring 86 is too small, and when the spring 86 and
the swing block 82 are actuated, a loud noise will be caused, so
that if the above structure is applied to a wardrobe in a bedroom,
it is likely to wake up the sleeping person.
[0006] The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate
the afore-described disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The technical problems to be solved:
[0008] The existing heavy-duty automatic return buffering slides
each utilize a swing block and a spring to offer the automatic
return function, but they suffer the advantages such as: shorter
automatic return travel, and loud noise.
[0009] In order to solve the above problems, a heavy-duty automatic
return buffering slide in accordance with the present invention
comprises an external slide, two sliding assemblies, an internal
slide, a limiting rail, a brake member and a pressure cylinder. The
sliding assemblies are combined to two sides of the external slide,
respectively, and the top of the internal slide is provided with an
engaging hook. Both sides of the internal slide are slidably
combined between the sliding assemblies. The limiting rail is
provided with a sliding groove and a lower countersink, which is
continuous with and located lower than the sliding groove. The
limiting rail is combined to the external slide. The brake member
has one end pivoted to the pressure cylinder and a top provided
with an engaging groove for cooperating with the engaging hook. The
brake member is provided with two rollers movably disposed in the
sliding groove. The pressure cylinder includes a
normally-protruding rod to push the brake member.
[0010] As compared to the conventional slide, the present invention
has the following advantages:
[0011] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide
a heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide, whose travel depends
on the length of the rod body of the pressure cylinder, the length
of the rod body can be approximately half of the length of the
external slide, so that the automatic return travel is increased,
and the manual travel is resultantly reduced, thus saving
labor.
[0012] The secondary objective of the present invention is to
provide a heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide, which
utilizes the pressure cylinder to gradually release the pressure,
so that the external slid and the drawer can be pushed slowly
without causing any noise, thus avoiding of disturbing sleeping
persons.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heavy-duty automatic
return buffering slide in accordance with the present
invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the heavy-duty automatic
return buffering slide in accordance with the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a partial view illustrating that the heavy-duty
automatic return buffering slide in accordance with the present
invention is to be extended;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating that the
heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide in accordance with the
present invention is disposed on a drawer;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating that the
heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide in accordance with the
present invention is to be extended;
[0018] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the extending
process of the heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide in
accordance with the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a complete
extending state of the heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide
in accordance with the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the complete
extending state of the heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide
in accordance with the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the heavy-duty
automatic return buffering slide in accordance with the present
invention is to be pushed back;
[0022] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the push-back
process of the heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide in
accordance with the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 11 is an operational view of a conventional heavy-duty
automatic return buffering slide; and
[0024] FIG. 12 is another operational view of the conventional
heavy-duty automatic return buffering slide.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] The present invention will be clearer from the following
description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings,
which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred
embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
[0026] Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a heavy-duty automatic return
buffering slide in accordance with the present invention comprises
an external slide 10, two sliding assemblies 2, an internal slide
40, a limiting rail 50, a brake member 60, and a pressure cylinder
70.
[0027] The external slide 10 is provided with a bottom 11, and two
opposite sides 12. The two opposite sides 12 defines an opening 13
in alignment with the bottom 11.
[0028] The two sliding assemblies 2 are combined to the respective
sides 12 in the external slide 10 and each include an outer board
20 and an inner board 30.
[0029] One side of the respective outer boards 20 is fixed to the
respective sides 12 of the external slide 10, and the respective
inner boards 30 are movably mounted on the other side of the
respective outer boards 20.
[0030] The internal slide 40 includes an opening 41 facing the
bottom 11 of the external slide 10, two opposite sides 42 at both
sides of the opening 41, a top 43 in alignment with the bottom 11
The top 43 is provided with an engaging hook 44 between the two
opposite sides 42. Both sides 42 of the internal slide 40 are
combined between the two inner boards 30 of the two sliding
assemblies 2.
[0031] The limiting rail 50 is provided with a sliding groove 51
and a countersink 52, which is continuous with and located lower
than the sliding groove 51. The limiting rail 50 is combined on the
bottom 11 of the external slide 10 and located in the opening 41 of
the internal slide 40.
[0032] The brake member 60 is provided at one end thereof with a
pivoting portion 61 and at the top thereof with an engaging groove
62. The brake member 60 is further provided with two rollers 63,
which are movably disposed in sliding groove 51 of the limiting
rail 50. The engaging groove 62 is provided for cooperating with
the engaging hook 44.
[0033] The pressure cylinder 70 includes a normally-protruding rod
body 71 having one end provided with a pivoting portion 72. The
pressure cylinder 70 is pivoted to the bottom 11 of the external
slide 10 and combined to the brake member 60 through the pivoting
portions 61, 72. The pressure cylinder 70 can be a hydraulic or a
pneumatic cylinder.
[0034] Referring to FIG. 4 first, the external slide 10 is combined
on a cabinet A (normally on an inner bottom of the cabinet A), and
the internal slide 40 is combined to a drawer B. Opening or closing
the drawer B will make the sliding assembly 2, the internal slide
40, the brake member 60 and the pressure cylinder 70 act
synchronously. As shown in FIGS. 5-8, which illustrate how the
internal slide 40 is extended, the engaging hook 44 is originally
engaged in the engaging groove 62, so that when the internal slide
40 is pulled outwards, the brake member 60 will be synchronously
driven by the internal slide 40 to move along the sliding groove 51
and compress the rod body 71 of the pressure cylinder 70. At this
moment, the internal slide 40 will move out of the external slide
10 along with the inner boards 30 of the sliding assemblies 2. When
the brake member 60 arrives at the countersink 52, one of the
rollers 63 will sink in the countersink 52, thus causing an angular
deflection of the pressure cylinder 70. With the angular deflection
and countersink 52, the rod body 71 can be compressed and limited.
Meanwhile, when the one of the rollers 63 of the brake member 60
sink in the countersink 52, the brake member 60 will incline to
make the engaging groove 62 incline with respect to the moving
direction of the brake member 60, thus causing the disengagement of
the engaging hook 44 of the internal slide 40. Therefore, the
internal slide 40 can be continuously pulled outwards. While the
internal slide 40 is pulled outwards, with the cooperation of the
outer and the inner boards 20, 30, the extending length of the
internal slide 40 can be increased. As shown in FIGS. 9-10, which
illustrate how the internal slide 40 is retracted, the internal
slide 40 is pushed to move backwards along the sliding assemblies 2
until the engaging hook 44 touches the inclined engaging groove 62.
At this moment, a pushing force will be resultantly applied to the
engaging groove 62 to make the one of the rollers 63 disengage from
the countersink 52, meanwhile, the brake member 60 restores to its
original state to make the engaging hook 44 engage in the engaging
groove 62. Therefore, the rod body 71 of the pressure cylinder 70,
which is compressed, is free to release the stored energy to push
the brake member 60 and the internal slide 40 inwards, thus closing
the drawer B automatically.
[0035] The sliding assemblies 2 are each provided with the outer
board 20 and the inner board 30 to increase the travel of the
internal slide 40, or only provided with the outer board 20 to
assist the sliding operation of the internal slide 40.
[0036] With the above structures, the present invention can offer
the following advantages:
[0037] 1. The automatic return travel in accordance with the
present invention depends on the length of the rod body 71 of the
pressure cylinder 70, and the length of the rod body 71 can be
approximately half of the length of the external slide 10, so that
the automatic return travel is increased, the manual travel is
resultantly reduced, thus saving labor.
[0038] 2. With the pressure cylinder 70, the pressure is gradually
released, so that the external slide 10 and the drawer B can be
pushed slowly without causing any noise, thus avoiding of
disturbing sleeping persons.
[0039] While we have shown and described various embodiments in
accordance with the present invention, it is clear to those skilled
in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing
from the scope of the present invention.
* * * * *