Precision Telescoping Ball Bearing Drawer Slide Suspension For Wood And Metal Furniture Production

Abstract

A progressive, full ball bearing, precision, telescoping slide mechanism for the suspension of drawers having means for accommodation to absorb variations of cabinet structure to which the two non-moving slide members are mounted and the two sides of drawer to which the moving members of the telescoping ball slide are secured. Also, the slide mechanism has other features combined with it such as progressive movement, and/or an adaptor attached to the drawer to provide simple attachment without tools to the drawer and to permit the drawer to be easily -- without tools -- removed from the slide when it is desired to do so, and readily reinserted, or interchanged with other drawers. Another feature is a combination of stops which will absorb any metal clicking noise at times of opening or closing of drawer, thus, contributing to the elimination of today's harmful "noise pollution" modern office ecology is exposed to.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

While the invention has particular utility embodied in slides for drawers of wood and metal furniture, file cabinets, desks, cabinets and the like, and is shown and described thus embodied, it is to be understood that its utility is not confined, thereto.

2. Description of the Prior Art

There are various types of drawer slides in the prior art of which we are aware. They either are bulky and have a considerable amount of play so they wobble and cause drawers to have a low quality dissatisfying "open and shut" condition. Also, due to variations of wood or sheet metal tolerance dimensions between the two parallel cabinet structure and also between the two drawer sides to which the two stationary members of slide (structure) and the two moving members (drawer sides) are mounted to, the drawers, when opening and shutting them, may jam, or skid or move difficult. Another problem is providing for easy and quick removal of the drawers from the desk or cabinet and easy and quick replacement, thereof, without the use of tools.

Even with precision ball bearing, telescoping drawer slides of the type disclosed and covered in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,205,025, problems were encountered in production applications such as wooden desks, wooden furniture, metal office furniture and similar consumer goods made out of metal, wood, plastics or other materials, due to the buildup of tolerance accumulations accruing in these structure assemblies. For instance, the drawer slide's stationary member would be mounted to the left hand and right hand side of a typical cabinet and the telescoping, moving, ball bearing slide member would be mounted to the left and right hand side of the drawer. Since the telescoping, ball bearing drawer slide of the type covered by U.S. Pat. No. 3,205,025 has no play or wobble and cannot absorb any of the uneven structural surfaces and especially could not possibly absorb the buildup of manufacturing tolerances of cabinets and drawers. The use of these mechanisms was prohibited and only the roller type of sloppy and wobbly drawer slide was usable in the past for such applications.

For example, if the dimension between two side walls of a cabinet have a variable .+-. tolerance of only 0.03 inches and the dimension between the two sides of the drawer carries a .+-. tolerance of the dimension of only 0.03 inches, the accumulations of these tolerances may stretch as far as .+-. 0.120, or 1/8inch. Most times the particular accumulation of tolerances is, of course, considerably higher. Any precision, ball bearing slide, such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,205,025 which has no built-in wobble cannot, and could not previously, absorb or accommodate to these variations, and thus could not operate.

Our invention comprises a "breathing" mounting feature for two member, telescoping, ball bearing slides, or the "breathing" absorbing intermediate member feature for a three-member, telescoping, ball bearing slide. The invention also includes unique secondary mounting and functional ball bearing slide features which, along with the "breathing" feature, make it possible, by their combinations, to become a part of the precision, telescoping, ball bearing slide, which absorb any such tolerances mentioned above when the drawer is opened and closed by moving it from rear to front and from front to rear. At the same time, the invention also eliminates what in offices is called today "noise pollution" caused by the noise and metallic clicking when drawers are moved back and forth in such units as file drawers, desk drawers, department store fixture drawers, etc. Thus, it contributes greatly to the improvement of office ecology.

It should be stated that in order to understand the importance of the invention that a precision, ball bearing slide is a linkage connecting a stationary structure with a moving structure, both being connected to this slide. Since the ball bearing action is a precision, straight forward linear action only, the ball races of the slides contain this precision, linear movement without allowing any side wobble or side slop. Whereever the ball bearings, which are spaced in ball retainers, sometimes to lengths of over 18 inches, traverse alongside the structure and the moving object, these ball bearings are practically representing a solid steel bar in their linearity of movement, and any tolerance which draws either structure or moving objects mounting surface away from such precise linearity, would practically "freeze" the movement of this ball bearing drawer slide. Thus, without the above invention, production use of ball bearing drawer slides was prohibitive and could only be accomplished prior to the above in small, very high-cost applicable operations when most costly and awkward shimmings had to be done in each case of application in order to accommodate the accruing tolerances. All of this type of shimming and adjustment is eliminated by the invention.

The invention covers the following areas of telescoping, ball bearing, precision drawer slides:

Breathing Mounting System of two-member slide;

Breathing Intermediate Member System of three-member slide;

It is an important feature and intent of the invention of the breathing features is that these precision, ball bearing drawer slides will accommodate, without impairment, the use of any applied furniture drawers, desk drawers and other utility drawers in materials such as wood which are subject to swelling and retraction in specific humid and/or opposite environments and, thus, accommodate these swellings and retractions of materials by the breathing features, without any impairment to the applied product's use and utility. It also applies to the initial production mounting of precision, ball bearing, telescoping slides to suspend wood or metal structured drawers from same type of structures without the use of costly shimming or other precision planing operations.

Another important feature comprises drawer mounting means. One such means is a mounting rail which is mounted on or attached to the drawer or moving object and which, in turn, will lock the drawer by connecting the rail to the ball bearing drawer slide, as shown on sketch below.

Still another object of the invention is to provide latch means for latching the drawer to the slides. One such arrangement automatically drops onto the slide and locks the drawer with slide. Also, this arrangement provides means for disconnecting the drawer rail from slide so that the total drawer may be lifted off the slide, without the use of tools.

In an alternative arrangement, a resilient compound material is employed which is fastened underneath the rail, and which drops into a notch provided therefor in the slide member, automatically locking the drawer to the slides and preventing any noise or clicking of the rails. Thus, noise is eliminated for the purpose of meeting ecology standards in offices and surroundings today. The elimination of the noise due to the resilient block stop in the rail is very important since metal type of locks would create clicking noises when the moving drawer comes to a stop, either in the open position or the closed drawer position. Thus, the latch or resilient compound block automatically and releasably locks the drawer to the slide, without creating any noise when drawer is moving.

Alternatively, a bayonet mounting may be used. There are a pair of these bayonets which face each other at a 90.degree. reversed position from front to rear and make an optional mounting from rail particularly applicable to metal structures, etc.

Another important feature and function of the drawer rail or bayonet mounting is that it permits the drawer to be lifted off from the slide without the use of tools. This is easily done, as well as the easy replacement of the drawer without the use of tools.

It is further part of the invention that the mounting techniques and the breathing feature technique makes it possible to interchange drawers without having to remove the ball bearing slide mechanism, as such, since the fit of the mounting rail and/or the bayonet mounting will again draw on the breathing feature technique, absorbing differing buildups of tolerances of various drawer vs. cabinet dimensions without having to shim for these deviations of tolerances or other means of costly production labor.

Another feature of the present invention is termed the progressive roller. The purpose of the progressive roller is to assure an even movement of one-half speed of the intermediate member to the full speed of the outer member, or drawer member, when opening or closing the drawer. The control of half speed to full speed of the two member relationship is highly important because it will eliminate any intermediate clicking noises when the drawer is pulled out or returned by the use of telescoping, precision, ball bearing slides, and thus importantly, contributes to eliminating noise pollution within today's ecology minded office surroundings.

The "progressive roller" is made of resilient material which can absorb small noise levels which accrue due to the multiple ball movement action within the ball bearing slide, as well as adjusting to the tolerance deviations of two moving slide members which are driven by this one progressive roller in a linear direction. This progressive roller is mounted to the intermediate member's "breathing" section feature in such a way that it is an equal distance from the upper moving slide member to the lower moving slide member and has enough contact with the two member surfaces, which are knurled to give a better grip to the resilient roller material, and also thus drive the intermediate member into the related speed of half of the moving drawer member.

Another part of the drawer rail, as well as the stop, for the resilient block underneath the drawer rail make it possible that a further pullout by friction of the drawer, after a two-member slide, for instance, has stopped on its extension, to achieve a full extension of the drawer itself by extending the drawer rail to the missing "full extension dimension." This feature again is part of the invention and makes a versatility of the two-member, as well as three-member slide, or in providing necessary full extension even though the slide itself can, at certain times, not provide it.

It also is part of the invention that it applies to an all-steel, ball bearing, precision, telescoping slide mechanism, which has been patented under U.S. Pat. No. 3,205,025.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention are further sufficiently referred to in connection with the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings which represent certain embodiments and arrangements. After considering these examples, skilled persons will understand that many variations may be made without departing from the principles disclosed, and I contemplate the employment of any structures, arrangements or modes of operation that are properly within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a slide mechanism embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a slide mechanism installed in a desk and embodying the rail and latch;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary top plan view thereof attached to a drawer, the latch being in the closed position;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the latch in the unlatched or released position;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side elevational view of a portion of the slide and rail with the latch in the closed position;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 9--9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 10--10 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the top edge of a slide member having a notch therein for reception of a resilient block;

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of a slide mechanism embodying the breathing feature of the present invention and also the progressive roller feature;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 13--13 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged side elevational view as seen from 14--14 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged sectional view of an alternative progressive roller arrangement;

FIG. 16 is a still further enlarged sectional view thereof;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a drawer and slide mechanism interconnected by bayonet means of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a side elevational view of a slide showing a bayonet type connection with a metal drawer of a cabinet or desk;

FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken on line 19--19 of FIG. 18; and

FIG. 20 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 20--20 of FIG. 18.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1 to 4, there is shown a slide mechanism embodying the present invention and indicated generally at 21. The mechanism includes an outer slide member indicated generally at 22, and an inner slide member indicated generally at 24.

The slide members 22 and 24 are generally channel shaped and formed of sheet metal by stamping, these parts being formed with great accuracy.

Outer member 22 has a longitudinally extending center portion or wall 26, FIG. 3, which may be termed the bottom of the channel and along each side edge of the bottom 26 is an outwardly and laterally extending ball race 28 which terminates in a longitudinally extending portion 30 that is concave-convex in cross section with the concave surfaces facing inwardly so that said surfaces are oppositely arranged relative to each other and are laterally spaced apart in parallel relationship relative to each other.

The inner slide member 24 also has a center portion or wall 34 termed the bottom wall of the inner member, along the longitudinally extending sides or side edges of which are laterally turned ball races 36 which are concave-convex in cross section with the concave surfaces facing outwardly and arranged oppositely with respect to the adjacent ball races 28 of the outer side member, said races 36 being spaced from the adjacent races 28 of the outer slide member.

There is a ball bearing retainer, indicated generally at 40, disposed between the inner and outer slide members, said retainer retaining a plurality of balls 42 in the ball races 28 of the outer slide member 24. The ball bearing retainer 40 is also generally channel shaped and has a bottom wall, indicated generally at 44, which includes a shallow reverse channel portion, indicated generally at 46, which extends longitudinally of the retainer. From the outer edges of the bottom wall are a series of ball retaining arms 48 which have ball receiving openings, not shown, of smaller size than the diameter of the balls, said arms being at right angles to the adjacent portions of the bottom wall 44 and being spaced apart longitudinally of the ball retainer. Thus the balls are operably held in the ball races 28 of the outer slide member 22.

At what is termed herein the forward end of the outer slide member 22 is an inturned flange 50 extending transversely of said slide member and there is a bumper pad 52 of felt or of plastic or other suitable noise muffling material that is secured by a suitable adhesive, such as in epoxy, to the inner side of the flange 50 of the outer slide member 24 adjacent what is termed herein the forward end thereof.

Engagement of the pad 52 by an inturned flange 53 of the inner slide member 24 at the adjacent end of said inner member limits telescoping movement of said slide members. When the slide members are extended a predetermined distance, the flange 53 engages the adjacent end of the reverse channel portion 46 of the bottom wall of the ball retainer and an inturned flange 55 of the outer slide member 22 engages the opposite end of the ball retainer and prevents further extension of said members. Thus, there is provided means limiting extension of the slide members as well as telescoping movement thereof. Because the pad is of noise muffling material engagement of the flange 53 with said pad noise is minimized.

The inner slide member 24 has a tongue 58 adjacent what is termed herein the rear end which may be termed a breather spring, said tongue being stamped from the bottom wall 34 of the inner slide member, one end of said tongue being integral with the bottom wall 34. Adjacent the opposite end of the inner slide member 24 is another breather spring indicated generally at 59. This spring is generally W-shaped with screw holes 61 adjacent the free ends of the outer arms 63, the central tongue 65 being secured adjacent its free end to the bottom wall 34 of the inner slide member by any suitable means such as for example, spot welding as at 67. The central tongue also has an ear 69 cut therefrom which is also secured to the bottom 34 of the inner slide member by spot welding 69a or by any other suitable means. These breather springs are inclined outwardly toward their free ends so that said free ends are spaced from the plane of the outer side of said bottom wall 34.

The tongue or spring 58 has a free end portion 62 that normally is parallel with the plane of the outer side of said bottom wall 34 and there is a screw hole 64 in said portion 62, the screw holes 61 and 64 being for reception of wood screws 66 for fastening the inner slide member to adjacent parts of the desk if the desk is of wood. Should the desk be of metal suitable metal securing screws are used.

The parts 65a of the central tongue 65 are inclined outwardly of the wall 34 and the part 59a and arms 63 are spaced from the plane of the outer side of wall 34 and parallel thereto. Thus, parts 62, 59a and arms 63 space the slides from the adjacent walls of the drawer or other part of the desk and said breather springs being resilient provide an automatic breathing tolerance of .+-. 1/16 inch.

The slide members are of suitable steel and the breather springs 58 and 59 are resilient or in the nature of springs so that the breather springs are sufficiently flexible and resilient to flex to accommodate or compensate for variations in the relationship of the desk parts and drawer to which the slides are secured.

Means for attaching the desk drawer to the slides comprises an adaptor or drawer attachment indicated generally at 70, which in cross section, is shaped like a Z lying on its side. This is, there is a horizontal portion 72, a vertical upstanding portion or flange 74 along one longitudinal edge of the horizontal portion, and a depending portion or flange 76 along the opposite longitudinal edge.

The longitudinally extending vertical portion or flange 74 has a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings 78 for screws 80 for attaching the adaptor 74 to a side 84 FIG. 6, of a drawer indicated generally at 86.

The longitudinally extending vertical portion or flange 74 also has a lever 92 generally attached by a rivet 93 or other suitable means so as to be movable freely upwardly and downwardly. The lever is so shaped so that a part 92a can extend through a notched opening 100 in the horizontal portion 72 of the adaptor. Attached to the portion or part 92a of the lever that extends through the notched opening 100 of the adaptor, is a silencing bumper 94 generally affixed by slipping over a flange 94a, perpendicular to the normal plane of the lever. The horizontal portion 72 of the adaptor has at the outer end of the adaptor, a hook 90 affixed to the upper surface of the adaptor by welding or other suitable means. The hook 90 is turned back under the horizontal portion 72 of the adaptor and in spaced relation thereto. The hook 90 slides under the outer member ball race, having the function of restraining vertical movement of the adaptor when in the inward position.

There is, of course, a slide mechanism for each side of the drawer 86 attached as above described. With the adaptors operably attached to the sides 84 of the drawer, the horizontal portion 72 of the adaptor floats or slidingly rests on the curved top of the portion 30 of the top races of the outer slide member 22. The depending flanges 76 of the adaptors depend alongside the free edges of said top races of the outer slide member to thereby aid in retaining the drawer in proper alignment with the slides.

At the upper side the center slide member has two notches 100 cut out of the ball race portions of the outer slide member. Notches of this character being clearly shown in FIG. 6. The rearward most notch is 20 positioned so that the notch aligns with the opening 100 of the adaptor 72. The lever 92 is therefore free to extend into the ball race of the outer member and restrict forward movement of the adaptor on the slide outer member. Lifting the lever and moving the drawer forward permits the drawer to extend a predetermined distance equal to the spacing of the notches on the outer member ball race, since the lever will fall into the second notch and restrict the adaptor from further forward movement.

In use, when the drawer is in its closed position, the inner and outer slide members 24 and 22 are fully telescoped and the adaptor is fully retracted, that is, said adaptor is at its furthest inward position on the top bearing races of the respective outer slide members.

When the drawer is pulled out, the outer slide members 22 of the respective slides, first move outwardly to their limit of movement, limited as above described. Up to the point at which the outer slide members are stopped by the limiting means, the adaptors remain at the position on the top races of the outer slide members, but, when the outer slide members are stopped, the drawer may be further pulled out with adaptors sliding on said top races of the outer slide members of the slides at opposite sides of the drawer by raising the tabs 93a of the latch lever 92, the drawers thus being released and adapted to be pulled to the fully extending position whereat the rear end of the drawer is clear or substantially clear of the desk at the drawer opening.

However, should it be desired to remove the drawer, it is pulled outwardly from the closed position to the fully extending position. It may then be lifted off the slides. To replace the drawer, the reverse procedure is followed.

Thus, it will be apparent that the drawer may be easily and quickly removed from the slides and the desk or cabinet and easily and quickly replaced. Further, it will be apparent that a drawer may be removed and replaced by another drawer.

The slides are also practically noiseless and extremely smooth in action. Opening and closing the drawers is practically effortless requiring but a light touch. Also, there is quick and easy drawer removal and replacement.

Further, there is what is termed herein automatic breathing to accommodate to variations in alignment of the drawer and the slides which is provided by the resilient breather springs 58 and 59. While there have been two breather springs shown for each slide, it is to be understood that there may be more of such springs depending on the requirements of a particular installation.

Referring to FIGS. 5 to 11, there is shown another arrangement having a different type of lock for operably connecting the rail to the outer slide member and also including a locking block.

There is shown in FIG. 5 a desk or cabinet 110 having a drawer 86, it being understood of course that there may be more than one drawer, the inner slide member 24 being hidden from view since it is fastened to an adjacent part of the desk or cabinet. As shown in FIG. 5, the drawer is in an outward or open position. The outer slide members of the slides at opposite sides of the drawer are free to slide into and out of the cabinet 86 and the lack of wobble permits it to freely telescope linearly and to be freely extended.

The outer slide member 22, FIG. 5, is shown to be in its extending position and it should be noted that the outer slide element is not affixed to the drawer side wall 84, but, rather 70a similar to the locking rail 70. Rail 70a is the same as the rail 70, except that the lock or latch is of different construction and there is a locking block 120 secured to the horizontal part 72 of the Z-shaped rail. The vertical part 74 of the rail 70a is secured to the side of the drawer by the screws or other suitable fastening means. Thus, the drawer is not secured or affixed to the sliding mechanism and may be moved and lifted out of the cabinet whenever this is desired.

Locking block 120 is affixed to the underside of the horizontal part 74 of the locking rail by a rivet 122 although other suitable fastening means may be used. The locking block 120 is adapted to fit into a locking slot 124 in the upper portion of the outer slide element 22.

While the locking block 120 may be formed of any suitable material, it has been found preferable to use a resilient material such as rubber, urethane or the like. The locking block 120 has a fairly snug fit into the locking slot 124 of the outer slide element but a limited amount of longitudinal movement may occur, and a resilient material is sound absorbing or muffling to substantially eliminate noise.

The drawer 86 is illustrated with its inner end positioned within the cabinet 10 and with the locking rail 70a resting on the top of the outer slide element 22. When installing the drawer, it is lowered onto the slide member 22, the lower surface of the horizontal part 72 of the rail coming to rest on the top of the outer slide element 22 so that the slide thus supports the weight of the drawer and its contents. Moreover, the locking block 120 of the locking rail 70a, enters the locking slot 124 of the outer slide element 22, so that their mutual engagement provides a longitudinal locking action that prevents the drawer from moving axially relative to the outer slide element 22. While it is not shown, there is a similar arrangement on the other side of the drawer 86, so that both sides of the drawer are longitudinally locked in place relative to the outer slide member of the slides and are supported thereby.

Now, the drawer may be pushed into or pulled out of the cabinet, the longitudinal locking arrangement between the locking block and the locking slot assuring that the slide mechanism operates as designed, and also assures that the drawer may be easily removed by lifting same from the slides whenever so desired.

Once the drawer and it's affixed locking rail 70a have been lowered onto the outer slide member 22, their relative cross sections appear as indicated in FIG. 10. It will be seen from this illustration that the drawer side wall 84 and it's affixed locking rail 70a now engage the upper portion of the outer slide member 22 in such a way that the outer slide member 22 is "pinched" between the drawer side wall 84 and the vertical part 74 with the upper portion of the outer slide member 22 supporting the weight of the drawer by means of the horizontal part 72. Thus, the engagement of the depending part 76 of the rail, co-acts with the upper ball race of the outer slide member to prevent transverse movement relative to each other, and thus produce transverse locking between the drawer and the slide mechanism.

With the drawer resting on the outer slide members due to the weight of the drawer and it's contents, there is nevertheless always the possibility that the drawer may be inadvertently lifted or jarred, and this might possibly disengage the locking-block/locking-slot, longitudinal locking engagement.

In order to avoid this possibility, a vertical locking or latching arrangement is provided, said clamp being indicated generally at 130. This clamp is shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 as being in the closed or locking position and is shown in FIG. 7 as being in the open position.

The locking clamp 130 comprises a lever 132 pivotally attached to the rail part 72 by a rivet 134 adjacent one end. Adjacent the opposite end is an upstanding ear 136 so that the lever may be easily actuated between locking and release position. Intermediate the ends of lever 132 there is a flange 138 depending at right angles from the outer edge of the lever and at the lower end of flange 138 is an inturned lip 140 normal to said flange 138. As shown, the locking lip 140 of the locking clamp 130 fits under, and engages, the engagement edge 142 of the outer slide member 22. This closed position of the locking clamp 130 now vertically locks together the locking rail 70a and the outer slide element 22, the engagement of the horizontal part 72 of the rail and the top of the outer slide member 22 contributing to the vertical locking action.

To release the rail from the outer slide member 22, the latch 130 is manually actuated to the release position shown in FIG. 7.

In the arrangements thus far described, the breather springs are incorporated in the combination or assembly of parts.

Referring to FIGS. 12 to 16 inclusive, there is shown an alternative breathing arrangement with which there is combined a progressive roller feature.

The embodiment of FIGS. 12 to 16 has a pair of two member slides or slide mechanisms arranged one above the other and indicated generally at 150 and 152 respectively. These slides are interconnected by an intermediate member, indicated generally at 154.

Each of the slide mechanisms 150 and 152 are similar to the two member slides or slide mechanisms, each having an outer slide member 22 and an inner slide member 24, parts of these slides or slide mechanisms are given the same reference numerals that are given to the corresponding or respective parts of the two slide member slides above described.

In the arrangement of FIGS. 12 to 16 the intermediate member 154 is in the general shape of a Z lying on its side. There is a central horizontal part 160 with upwardly and downwardly extending vertical arms 162 and 164 respectively from opposite side edges of said horizontal part 160, the arms 162 and 164 being substantially longer than the width of the horizontal part 160 and are in generally parallel planes. In this arrangement, the intermediate member 154 is sufficiently resilient to flex and function as a breather spring.

To each of the vertical arms there is secured a slide and to secure the slides to said arms of the intermediate member, the inner slide members 24 are secured to the arms of the intermediate member by spot welding or other suitable means. The slides are just above and below the horizontal part 160 of the intermediate member and in alignment with each other so that the mechanism of FIGS. 12 to 15 is relatively thin, occupying little more thickness than the two member slide hereinbefore described.

There is means for controlling the movements of the intermediate member so that it moves one-half the distance the outer slide members move. This is effected by notching the intermediate member at 170 at approximately its longitudinal center, the notch leaving an opening in the horizontal part 160 and extending somewhat into the adjacent arms 162 and 164 thereby leaving oppositely extending ears 172 and 174 which are spaced laterally apart and provided with aligned openings therein for reception of a rivet 176 on which a roller 178 is rotatably disposed, said roller being of resilient material such as rubber, natural or synthetic, plastic or the like. The roller tightly and frictionally engages the outside surface of the adjacent bearing races of the outer slide members so that when the drawer to which the mechanism is operably attached is pulled outwardly or pushed inwardly, the intermediate member 170 moves in the same direction as the drawer but half its distance.

Roller 178 has an axial opening 190 there-through in which a hollow rivet 192 is disposed and through which the rivet or axle 176 is received. The spacing of the ears 172 and 174 from each other is greater than the thickness of roller 178 and the inside diameter of the rivet 192 is greater than the diameter of the outside diameter of the axle 176. Consequently, the roller may shift longitudinally as the drawer is pulled outwardly or pushed inwardly. The notch 170 in the intermediate member must, of course, be long enough to permit such shifting of the roller without its binding on the ends of said notch 170.

With this arrangement, the resilient roller is permitted to automatically adjust to and apply equal pressure on each outer slide member.

With the arrangement of the hollow rivet 192 and the axle 176, friction between these parts is minimized and in order to increase the gripping of the roller 178 with the adjacent outer surfaces of the outer slide members said surfaces are knurled as at 196 and the roller is circumferentially knurled to provide further gripping action with the outer slide members.

In the alternative arrangement shown in FIG. 16, the roller 178a has an axle 200 on which said roller is secured. End portions 202 of the axle extend outwardly of the sides of the roller and are operably disposed in holes 204 in the ears 172 and 174 of the intermediate member 154. The holes 204 are of greater diameter than that of the axle and due to the roller being of resilient material, the position of the axle ends in the holes 204 will shift when the drawer is being pulled out or pushed inwardly so that said holes must be of sufficient size to permit shifting of the roller without its binding on the ends of the notch 170.

The rail arrangement hereinabove described may be used with the mechanism of FIGS. 12 to 16. An alternative means for attaching drawers to the slides is shown in FIGS. 17 to 20 and is termed a bayonet mounting. This arrangement is particularly for use with metal drawers and cabinets. In this embodiment of the invention, the drawer indicated at 206, has side walls 208, only one being shown as both side walls are similarly constructed. There is a rear opening 210 in the side wall 208 and a forward opening 214. A tongue 212 extends rearwardly from the front edge of the opening 210, its free end terminating intermediate the ends of said opening 210. A tongue 216 extends downwardly from the upper edge of the front opening 214 and its free end terminates intermediate the upper and lower edges of opening 214.

The bottom wall of the upper slide has rear and front loops 218 and 220 spaced longitudinally apart, the loop 218 being vertical while the loop 220 is horizontal. The loops are so spaced apart as to enter the openings 210 and 214 and receive the respective rear and front tongues 212 and 214.

When mounting the drawer to the upper slides, the rear tongues of the sides 208 of the drawer are inserted into the rear vertical loops 218. Movement of the drawer is limited by engagement of the rear edge of the rear opening. The front tongues 216 are then inserted into the front horizontal loops 220 and are downwardly limited by engagement of the upper edges of the front openings 214.

Thus, the drawer is accurately attached to the adjacent upper slides and held against inadvertent longitudinal movement as well as vertical displacement. In order to remove the drawer, the forward end is raised to remove the forward tongues 216 from the horizontal loops 220 and the drawer pulled outwardly to remove the rear tongues 212 from the vertical loops 218. The tongues 218 at the rear of the drawer hold the rear or inner end of the drawer against vertical movement relative to the slides, while the tongues 216 hold the drawer against longitudinal movement relative to the slides.

While the openings and tongues are shown and described as being in the side walls of the drawer, the parts could be arranged to connect or attach the slides to the metal walls or other metal parts of the cabinet. In either arrangement, the breathing function is present in combination with the bayonet mounting means.

The invention and its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts of the invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof or sacrificing its material advantages, the arrangement hereinbefore described being merely by way of example, and we do not wish to be restricted to the specific form shown or uses mentioned except as defined in the accompanying claims.

Claims

We claim:

1. A drawer slide mechanism, comprising:

an intermediate slide member having a horizontal part from the opposite free edges of which respective flanges extend upwardly and downwardly, said intermediate member being resilient to provide breather means;

a pair of slide mechanisms each having:

an outer slide member,

an inner slide member,

said slide members having cooperating ball races along their edges,

balls disposed between said cooperating races,

a ball retainer between the outer and inner slide members, said ball retainer having parts for reception of balls whereby the balls are retained in operative position in the races,

the inner slide member of one of said slide mechanisms being secured to the upward extending flange of the intermediate member, said slide mechanisms being above the horizontal part of the intermediate member, the inner slide member of the other slide mechanism being secured to the side of the downwardly extending flange of said intermediate slide member so that said other slide mechanism is below the horizontal part of the intermediate slide member and in alignment with the one slide mechanism, said slide mechanisms being spaced and aligned upwardly and downwardly respectively from said horizontal part of the intermediate slide member,

and interconnecting means engaging adjacent surfaces of the outer slide members for interconnecting the intermediate slide member with the adjacent outer slide members for controlling movements of the intermediate member relative to movements of the outer slide members of the slide mechanism;

the surfaces of the slide members engaged by the interconnecting means being knurled.

2. The invention defined by claim 1, wherein the means for interconnecting the intermediate slide member with the adjacent outer slide members comprises a pair of aligned ears on said intermediate slide member intermediate the ends thereof, said ears having aligned openings therein, a pivot pin secured in said openings in said ears, a roller disposed on said pivot pin, the periphery of said roller frictionally engaging the adjacent ball races of the outer slide members for controlling movements of the intermediate member relative to movements of said outer slide members, the surfaces of the ball races engaged by the roller being knurled.

3. A drawer slide mechanism, comprising:

an intermediate slide member having a horizontal part from the opposite free edges of which respective flanges extend upwardly and downwardly, said, said intermediate member being resilient to provide breather means;

a pair of slide mechanisms each having:

an outer slide member, an inner slide member,

said slide members having cooperating ball races along their edges,

balls disposed between said cooperating races,

a ball retainer between the outer and inner slide members, said ball retainer having parts for reception of balls whereby the balls are retained in operative position in the races,

the inner slide member of one of said slide mechanisms being secured to the upward extending flange of the intermediate member, said slide mechanisms being above the horizontal part of the intermediate member, the inner slide member of the other slide mechanism being secured to the side of the downwardly extending flange of said intermediate slide member so that said other slide mechanism is below the horizontal part of the intermediate slide member;

and interconnecting means engaging adjacent surfaces of the outer slide members for interconnecting the intermediate slide member with the adjacent outer slide members for controlling movements of the intermediate member relative to movements of the outer slide members of the slide mechanism;

the surfaces of the slide members engaged by the interconnecting means being knurled;

the means for interconnecting the intermediate slide member with the adjacent outer slide members comprises a pair of aligned ears on said intermediate slide member intermediate the ends thereof, said ears having aligned openings therein, a pivot pin secured in said openings in said ears, a roller disposed on said pivot pin, the periphery of said roller frictionally engaging the adjacent ball races of the outer slide members for controlling movements of the intermediate member relative to movements of said outer slide members, the surfaces of the ball races engaged by the roller being knurled;

said roller being mounted loosely enough for free and automatic accommodation to apply equal pressure on each of the outer slide members.

4. The invention defined by claim 3, wherein the roller is of resilient material and is tightly disposed between the adjacent ball races of the outer slide members and an axial metalic insert in said roller for low axle friction.

5. The invention defined by claim 4, wherein the insert is hollow and the inside diameter of said insert is substantially greater than the outside diameter of the pivot pin to permit the roller to automatically adjust to and apply equal pressure on each outer slide member.

6. The invention defined by claim 3, wherein the diameter of said pivot pin is smaller than the diameter of said openings and the roller is fixed on said pivot pin.

7. The invention defined by claim 2, wherein the periphery of the roller is knurled.