U.S. patent number 3,901,564 [Application Number 05/410,431] was granted by the patent office on 1975-08-26 for drawer extensible slide chassis.
Invention is credited to Henry P. Armstrong.
United States Patent |
3,901,564 |
Armstrong |
August 26, 1975 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Drawer extensible slide chassis
Abstract
A drawer extensible slide chassis, of which opposite hand units
are adapted for attachment in mirror image to the interior of a
desk pedestal or a filing cabinet, and to the sides of a drawer.
The chassis comprises: a case attachment rail of channel profile, a
drawer attachment rail of channel profile, and a unitary extension
slide having first and second slide rails of channel profile
extending along and affixed to one side of a generally bar shaped
connecting member. The first rail of the extension slide is
partially telescoped into the case attachment rail and is slidably
correlated therewith on ball bearings. The drawer attachment rail
is partially telescoped over the extension slide second rail and is
slidably correlated therewith on ball bearings. The case and drawer
attachment rails are both disposed in greater part along one side
of a median vertical plane extending longitudinally between the
attachment rails and the unitary extension slide rails, and
intersecting the channel profiles of said rails.
Inventors: |
Armstrong; Henry P. (Islington,
Ontario, CA) |
Family
ID: |
23624704 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/410,431 |
Filed: |
October 29, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
384/18; 312/333;
312/332; 312/334.13 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B
88/493 (20170101); A47B 2210/0035 (20130101); A47B
2210/0059 (20130101); A47B 2210/0081 (20130101); A47B
2210/001 (20130101); A47B 2210/0032 (20130101); A47B
2210/007 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
88/10 (20060101); A47B 88/04 (20060101); F16c
017/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;308/3.8
;312/341,343,344,331,332,348,333,350 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Myhre; Charles J.
Assistant Examiner: Lazarus; R. H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wegner, Stellman, McCord, Wiles
& Wood
Claims
I claim:
1. A drawer extensible slide chassis comprising:
a case attachment rail;
a drawer attachment rail;
an extension slide including first and second rails disposed in
substantially parallel spaced relationship along one side of and
affixed to a generally bar shaped connecting member;
each of said rails being channel shaped in cross section including
a web and two laterally extending ball bearing raceway flanges;
the first rail of the extension slide being partially telescoped
into the case attachment rail and slidably correlated therewith on
ball bearings supported by the said rail ball bearing raceway
flanges,
the drawer attachment rail being partially telescoped over the
second rail of the extension slide and slidably correlated
therewith on ball bearings supported by the said respective rail
ball bearing raceway flanges;
a resilient and deformable propulsion roller carried by the
extension slide connecting member, disposed between opposed flanges
of the extension slide first and second rails, and located between
and tractionally contacting opposed flanges of the case attachment
rail and the drawer attachment rail;
a pair of ball bearing retainers for guiding said ball
bearings;
and plastic slide members engaged between said ball bearing
retainers and a raceway flange of each of said rails.
2. A drawer extensible slide chassis comprising;
a case attachment rail;
a drawer attachment rail;
and an extension slide including a generally planar connecting
member and first and second rails disposed in substantially
parallel vertically spaced relationship and extending outwardly
from the same side of said planar member;
each of said rails being channel shaped in cross section including
a web and two laterally extending ball bearing raceway flanges;
the first rail of the extension slide being partially telescoped
into the case attachment rail, a first set of ball bearings
supported between the said rail ball bearing raceway flanges and
the case attachment rail,
the drawer attachment rail being partially telescoped over the
second rail of the extension slide, a second set of ball bearings
supported between the said respective rail ball bearing raceway
flanges and the drawer attachment rail,
and a resilient and deformable propulsion roller carried by the
extension slide connecting member, disposed between opposed flanges
of the extension slide first and second rails, and located between
and tractionally contacting opposed flanges of the case attachment
rail and the drawer attachment rail, said ball bearings defining a
vertical plane with said propulsion roller in said plane, and said
case attachment rail and drawer attachment rail being positioned to
one side of the vertical plane and said planar connecting member
being at the other side of the vertical plane.
3. A drawer extensible slide chassis as defined in claim 2, wherein
a plurality of said propulsion rollers are carried by the unitary
extension slide, and are positioned between the case attachment
rail and the drawer attachment rail in peripheral contact
therewith, a raised boss in said flange of the case attachment rail
near an end thereof, and one of said propulsion rollers being
positioned to engage said boss and yieldably hold the slide chassis
in a retracted position.
4. A drawer extensible slide chassis as defined in claim 2 wherein
said first and second set of ball bearings each have a ball bearing
retainer for guiding of the ball bearings, and a plurality of
plastic slide members carried on each of the retainers and engaged
between said ball bearing retainers and a raceway flange of each of
said rails.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates specifically to a drawer extensible slide
chassis suitable for slidably supporting a file drawer of a desk or
filing cabinet.
The subject invention was developed following engineering
assessment and analysis of prior art United States Pats.,
including: Crossey, No. 1,045,523; Yawman, No. 1,109,812; Jones,
No. 1,705,571; Gussack, No. 2,320,276; Vignos, No. 2,671,699;
Bullock, No. 2,762,660; Bullock, No. 794,690; Bullock, No.
3,131,982; Jordan, No. 3,205,025; Fall, No. 3,488,097; Pipe, No.
3,449,033; Fall, No. 3,679,275.
Design and manufacturing detail of drawer slides now commercially
available in the United States is to a substantial measure
encompassed within the teachings of the aforesaid patents.
Attempts to meet the need of a free sliding, silent, durable and
maintenance free drawer extensible slide chassis of heavy load
carrying capacity, suitable for application to a desk or a filing
cabinet of conventional design, are to be found in the art.
Generally, the mechanisms are either inadequate or deficient, or
are too complex and expensive to satisfy all requirements of the
office furniture industry, and leave much to be desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention constitutes a drawer extensible slide chassis, of
which opposite hand units are adapted for attachment in mirror
image to the interior of a desk pedestal or a filing cabinet, and
to the sides of a drawer. This slide chassis was designed to
slidably support a heavily loaded drawer in such manner that it may
be slidably withdrawn in its entirety from its case enclosure, and
returned to closed position, with minimal expenditure of manual
effort.
In one preferred embodiment, the drawer extensible slide chassis
comprises: a case rail of channel profile adapted for attachment to
the interior of a desk or cabinet structure; a drawer rail of
channel profile adapted for attachment to a side of a drawer; and a
unitary extension slide assembly having first and second rails each
of channel profile, extending in parallelism along one side of and
affixed to a bar shaped connecting member. The first rail of the
extension slide assembly is slidably correlated with the case rail,
and the drawer rail is slidably correlated with the extension slide
assembly second rail. Accordingly, the first and second rails of
the unitary extension slide assembly extend along one side of a
medain longitudinal vertical plane, and the case and drawer rails
extend along the opposite side of the said plane, in confronting
relationship with the said slide rails. This rail arrangement
accomodates disposition of a plurality of propulsion rollers at one
side of and carried by the unitary extension slide bar shaped
connecting member, between the slide rails, and in peripheral
tractional contact with opposed flanges of the case attachment rail
and the drawer attachment rail.
Salient design aspects of the invention reside in:
a. The formation of the unitary extension slide assembly which
embodies first and second slide rails of channel profile extending
in spaced parallel relationship along one side of and affixed to a
generally bar shaped connecting member.
b. The slidable correlation with the aforesaid extension slide
assembly first and second slide rails, of a case attachment rail
and a drawer attachment rail, both disposed at one side of and in
confronting relationship with the aforesaid slide rails.
c. The combination with the extension slide assembly defined in
foregoing paragraph a, of a plurality of propulsion rollers located
at one side of and carried by the bar shaped connecting member.
d. The correlation between an attachment rail and a telescoped
slide rail, of a ball bearing retainer which is slidably supported
in close proximity to and separated from rail ball bearing raceway
flanges by anti-friction plastic means carried by the retainer.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a drawer extensible slide
chassis having uncommonly heavy load carrying capacity, in relation
to its cross section external proportions, and the total weight of
the steel forming its components.
Supplementing the foregoing objective, a further object of the
invention is to provide a slide chassis having a high order of
resistance to deflection in both vertical and horizontal
planes.
Another object of the invention is to provide a drawer extensible
slide chassis embodying a unitary extension slide assembly having
two slide rails affixed to a connecting member, to which a
plurality of propulsion rollers are attached; and wherein the said
rollers are not nested in clearance slots or apertures in the
unitary slide structure, so that the rigidity thereof is not
diminished by roller clearance openings.
A further object of the invention is to provide uncommonly simple,
positive acting and durable propulsion roller means for
progressively propelling the chassis unitary extension slide
assembly, so that the slide assemblies of a pair of chassis units
slidably attached to a drawer travel in unison, and drawer weight
forces are uniformly distributed.
A further novel aspect of the invention resides in the design of a
ball bearing steel retainer and its correlation in part between and
in close proximity to ball bearing raceway flanges of two
telescoped steel rails, whereby the retainer is separated from the
rail raceway flanges by anti-friction plastic means carried by the
retainer, so that scrubbing of the retainer against the rail
raceway flanges is prevented.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a drawer
extensible slide chassis which is well suited to modern production
methods, and wherein extremely close component tolerances are not
essential for smooth silent sliding movement of telescoped
components, uncommonly heavy load carrying capacity, and
durability.
The invention is further characterized by its simplicity of design
and suitability for economical component manufacture and rapid
assembly with minimum expenditure of labour.
To the accomplishment of these and related objects as shall become
apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the
formation, arrangement and combination of parts as shall be
hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying
drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereinto appended.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a magnified vertical transverse section through part of a
desk case structure, the related side of a drawer, and the
intermediate extensible slide chassis, the view being taken on the
plane indicated by the arrow line 1 -- 1 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 2 is a magnified vertical transverse section of the extensible
slide chassis, the view being taken on the offset arrow line 2 -- 2
of FIG. 5;
FIG. 3 is a partial sectional elevation showing one side of a
drawer in closed position in relation to part of a desk case
structure, the view being in reduced scale relative to the scale of
FIGS. 1 and 2, and taken on the arrow line 3 -- 3 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a view generally similar to FIG. 3, wherein part of the
drawer is shown in open and fully extended position,
FIG. 5 is a side and part sectional view of the extensible slide
chassis shown in FIG. 3 with parts broken away, separate from the
desk case structure and drawer, the said chassis being in partially
extended position;
FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the ectension slide
chassis, taken on the plane designated by the arrow line 6 -- 6 of
FIG. 5, and;
FIG. 7 is a further horizontal sectional view, taken on the plane
indicated by the arrow line 7 -- 7 of FIG. 5.
FIGS. 3 to 7 inclusive are drawn to a common scale, proportinately
about one third of the scale of FIGS. 1 and 2.
DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT
The drawings illustrate application of the extensible slide chassis
to the pedestal or case structure of an office type desk generally
designated by the numeral 10 and to a file drawer designated in its
entirety by the numeral 12. In such an application, a pair of
opposite hand chassis are affixed in mirror image to the inside of
the desk case structure, and the extension slides of the chassis
are preferably detachably attached to the respective exterior sides
of a drawer. The desk case structure includes wood frame components
10A, 10B, 10C and 10D. The drawer which is also formed of wood,
includes a front 12A, back 12B, two sides 12C one only of which is
shown, and a bottom 12D. This type of desk construction is common
in the office furniture industry. Wood desks are not usually
constructed with the precision of steel furniture. This disclosure
is based upon application and use of the extensible slide chassis
in and to a wood desk structure, to illustrate and define certain
of its versatile and flexible characteristics, which contribute to
durability and virtual elimination of mechanical maintenance. Such
disclosure is not intended to be limitative as to use application
or adaptability.
Referring in particular to FIG. 1, the chassis comprises a case
attachment rail 14, a drawer attachment rail 16, and a unitary
extension slide generally designated by the numeral 18, which
embodies first and second slide rails 20 and 22 affixed to a
connecting member 24. The slide first rail 20 is slidably
correlated with the case attachment rail 14, and the drawer
attachment rail 16 is slidably correlated with slide second rail
22. The case rail 14 and the drawer rail 16 are both disposed
adjacent to one side of the unitary extension slide, in spaced
relationship to its first and second rails. In other words, the
case and drawer attachment rails are both disposed in greater part
along one side of a vertical plane indicated by the vertical line
VP of FIG. 1, which plane extends longitudinally between and
intersects portions of the said attachment rails and the extension
slide rails.
Case attachment rail 14 is generally of channel profile and
embodies a vertical web 14A and laterally extending ball bearing
raceway flanges 14B and 14C, which respectively define internal
ball bearing raceways 14D and 14E. Drawer attachment rail 16, also
of channel profile but narrower than rail 14, embodies a vertical
web 16A and laterally extending ball bearing raceway flanges 16B
and 16C, which form internal ball bearing raceways 16D and 16E.
Slide rail 20, generally of channel formation, comprises a channel
profile offset web 20A and two ball bearing flanges 20B and 20C,
which respectively define external ball bearing raceways 20D and
20E. Slide rail 22, similiar in cross section to slide rail 20,
comprises a channel profile offset web 22A and ball bearing raceway
flanges 22B and 22C, which form external ball bearing raceways 22D
and 22E. The ball bearing raceways of each said rail have ball
bearing arcuate surfaces, the radial centers of which are on the
vertical plane line VP in FIG. 1. All the said rails may be press
or roll formed in precision sheet or strip cold rolled steel.
Slide rails 20 and 22 extend in vertical spaced relationship along
one side of and are attached to the generally bar shaped connecting
member 24, which may be of corresponding length. Member 24 may be
press or roll formed in precision sheet or strip cold rolled steel
and comprises a vertically central web 24A and extending flanges
24B and 24C which are laterally offset with respect to one side of
the web 24A. Flange 24B extends laterally into the channel profile
of slide rail 20 and is spot welded to the offset web 20A thereof.
Flange 24C extends laterally into the channel profile of slide rail
22 and is spot welded to the offset web 24A thereof. The points of
spot welding may be substantially vertically central of the said
webs and flanges and at about 2 inch longitudinal intervals, which
provides a rigid unitary extension slide.
A ball bearing retainer 26 is positioned between the case rail 14
and the telescoped slide rail 20, and comprises a web 26A and two
laterally extending flanges 26B and 26C. Flange 26B is disposed
between case rail flange 14B and slide rail flange 20B, and flange
26C is disposed between case rail flange 14C and slide rail flange
20C. The said flanges of the retainer 26 retain a plurality of ball
bearings 28 in spaced relationship longitudinally of and between
raceways 14D and 20D, and 14E and 20E. A ball bearing retainer 30
is positioned between the drawer rail 16 and the telescoped slide
rail 22, and comprises a web 30A and two laterally extending
flanges 30B and 30C. Flange 30B is disposed between drawer rail
flange 16B and slide rail flange 22B, and flange 30C is disposed
between drawer rail flange 16C and slide rail flange 22C. The said
flanges of the retainer 30 retain a plurality of ball bearings 28
in spaced relationship longitudinally of and between raceways 16D
and 22D, and 16E and 22E.
The ball bearings 28 of the retainer 26 slidably support the slide
rail 20 relative to the case rail 14. Ball bearings 28 of the
retainer 30 slidably support the drawer rail 16 relative to the
slide rail 22. The aforesaid flanges of the respective retainers
are perforated to provide from 0.003 inch to 0.007 inch ball
bearing clearance, wherefore the ball bearings are retained in
limited horizontal floating relationship between related raceways.
A longitudinal section of ball bearing retainer 30 is shown in FIG.
5, with the ball bearings 28 in rollable relationship to the
raceways of the drawer rail 16 and the slide rail 22. In practice,
it has been determined that 0.187 inch diameter ball bearings at
0.500 inch center spacing provide adequate load carrying capacity,
where the ball bearing retainer is of suitable length in proportion
to the length of the slide chassis, as exemplified in FIG. 5.
It is preferable to have minimum clearance of 0.015 inch between
all surfaces of the retainers 26 and 30, and related rail surfaces.
In that the ball bearings 28 are not restricted by said retainers
against floating movement in the vertical plane indicated by the
line VP in FIG. 1, each said retainer is substantially centralized
between adjacent rail flanges by anti-friction rigid plastic means
carried by the retainer and separating same from the said rail
flanges. This aspect of the invention is best shown in FIGS. 2 and
5. In the latter view, a slide member generally designated by the
numeral 32 is located near each end of each flange of the retainers
26 and 30. As is best shown in FIG. 2, each said slide member
comprises a semi-spherical body 32A of substantially the diameter
of a ball bearing 28, and an integral pin 32B, which extends
through a close fitting hole in each said retainer flange. The half
round body 32A of each said slide member is slidably related to a
ball bearing raceway, and a slide clearance of up to 0.010 inch may
be provided. Accordingly, each ball bearing retainer 26 and 30 is
slidably supported on the slide members 32 in limited floating
relationship to related rails 14 and 20, and 16 and 22,
respectively.
The cross sectional shape and general formation of the extension
slide 18, comprising the connecting member 24 and the two slide
rails 20 and 22 arranged in parallelism along one side of and
affixed to the connecting member 24, is an important aspect of this
invention. Such arrangement of parts accomodates simple, effective
and durable means for progressively propelling the extension slide,
which means include a plurality of propulsion rollers 34 and 34A
carried by and at one side of the connecting member 24, in
tractional contact with opposed flanges of the case rail 14 and the
drawer rail 16. These rollers are not nested in slots or apertures
in an extension slide as is common in the art. Accordingly, the
rigidity of the extension slide of this invention is not diminished
by a plurality of propulsion roller clearance openings.
Referring again to FIGS. 3 and 5, two propulsion rollers 34 are
located slightly rearward of the longitudinal center of the case
rail 14. A third and similar propulsion roller 34A which also
serves as a drawer retention roller, is located in rearward spaced
relationship to the said rollers 34, as is shown in FIGS. 3 and 5.
Each said roller may be in the form of a resilient and deformable
tire, tightly surrounding or affixied to a bushing 34B. The roller
tire may be moulded in elastomeric plastic or rubber in the 60 to
70 durometer range, and which is tough, durable and wear resisting.
Each said roller is rotatably mounted on an axle stud 36 which
extends from one side of and is riveted to the connecting member
web 24A at 36A, as is exemplified in FIG. 1. Each roller 34 and
roller 34A is substantially centralized on the vertical plane line
VP as is shown in FIG. 1, and is interposed between the outside
face of the flange 14C of the case rail 14, and the outside face of
the flange 16B of the drawer rail 16. The outside face of each said
flange is knurled longitudinally in ribbon formation, indicated at
38 in FIGS. 1 and 6, to augment tractional contact of the said
rollers with the rail flanges 14C and 16B. The outside diameter of
each said roller should be sufficiently greater than the space
between the opposed rail flanges 14C and 16B, to cause slight
compression and deformation of the roller tires and so minimize
tractional slippage.
The case attachment rail 14 may be attached to the member 10D of
the desk case structure 10 by a plurality of wood screws 40 which
extend through holes 14J in the web 14A of the said rail. The
drawer attachment rail 16 is preferably attached to the side 12C of
the drawer 12 by detachable means, so that the said drawer may be
removed with facility from the chassis extension slide, for
cleaning or other purposes. One suitable type or form of attachment
means may comprise an elongated attachment bar 42, the upright
portion 42A of which is affixed by a plurality of wood screws 44 to
the side 12C of the drawer. The horizontal portion 42B of the bar
42 overlies and extends along the top flange 16C of the rail 16,
which is centralized by the dependent ribs 42C and 42D extending
lengthwise of the said bar. An upstanding hook 46 extends from the
top flange 16C at the back end of the rail 16, and the back end 42E
of bar portion 42B fits into and is retained by the said hook. A
dependant hook 48 is affixed to the front end 42F of bar portion
42B, and extends forward of and fits under the front end 16F of the
flange 16C of the rail 16. A pawl 50 is pivoted on a stud 52
affixed to and extending from the upright portion 42A of the
attachment bar 42. The dependant end 50A of the pawl 50 extends
downwardly through a clearance slot 54 in the bar portion 42B, and
into an underlying notch 56 in the top rail 16C of the rail 16. The
end 50A of the pawl 50, the clearance slot 54, and the notch 56 are
substantially centralized on the vertical plane line VP of FIG.
1.
As is shown in FIG. 3, the drawer attachment bar 42 is
interconnected to the drawer attachment rail 16 of the slide
chassis by means of the hooks 46 and 48, and the pawl 50. The
drawer 12 and its attached bar 42 may be lifted from the rail 16 of
the slide chassis, upon tilting the pawl 50 upwardly by hand so
that its dependant end 50A clears the notch 56 in the drawer
attachment rail 16, and upon withdrawing the drawer and its
attached bar 42, so that the back end 42E of the latter clears the
hook 46 of the rail 16, and the hook 48 of the bar 42 clears the
front end 16F of the rail 16. The slide chassis to drawer
attachment means illustrated and described, although innovative in
part, is not broadly novel.
It is common knowledge in the art to provide means for limiting and
controlling relative sliding movement of telescoped slide rails and
ball bearing retainers. The pertinent description which follows and
related drawing detail is therefore concise; is provided solely for
purposes of general explanation; and is not to be construed as
limitative.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 7, a lug 14F extends laterally from
the back end of the web 14A of the case attachment rail 14, and
supports an attached resilient stop pad 60. A lug 20F extends
normal to the web 20A at the back end of the slide rail 20, and
abuts the said pad 60 when the drawer 12 is closed. A lug 14G
extends laterally from the front end of the web 14A of the case
attachment rail 14, and supports a resilient pad 62 retained in
place by a rectangular and tubular shaped impact stop member 64,
which overlies the pad 62 and the lug 14G. The impact stop member
64 is preferably moulded of rigid and durable plastic such as
nylon. It serves as a stop abutment for the forward end 26D of the
ball bearing retainer 26, when the drawer 12 is fully extended as
is shown in FIG. 4. In such position, the lug 20F of the slide rail
20 abuts the end 26E of the ball bearing retainer 26. A lug 16F
extends laterally from the web 16A at the front end of the drawer
attachment rail 16 and supports a rectangular and tubular shaped
resilient pad 66. This pad abuts the lug 22F extending laterally
from the web 22A at the front of the slide rail 22, when the drawer
12 is closed, as is shown in FIG. 3. A lug 16G extends laterally
from the web 16A at the back end of the drawer attachment rail 16.
This lug abuts the end 30E of the ball bearing retainer 30, the end
30D of which abuts the lug 22F at the front end of the slide rail
22, when the drawer 12 is fully extended. A stop boss 14H is lanced
inwardly from the web 14A of the case attachment rail 14, and the
end 26E of the ball bearing retainer 26 abuts the said boss when
the drawer 12 is closed. A stop boss 16H is lanced inwardly from
the web 16A of the drawer attachment rail 16, and abuts the end 30D
of the ball bearing retainer 30 when the drawer 12 is closed.
The roller 34A is located in the position shown in FIG. 3, so that
the said roller overlies and is in part rearward of the boss 68,
which is lanced upwardly from the top flange 14C of the case
attachment rail. The boss 68 is located adjacent the rearward end
26F of the ball bearing retainer 26 in the position thereof in FIG.
3, so that the die formation of the said boss does not mar or
impair the ball bearing raceway 14E. As the drawer is pushed
inwardly to its closed position, the roller 34A is slightly
deformed and rides over the boss 68 to the extent that the axis of
the said roller is rearward of, yet in close proximity to the said
boss. In this position the roller 34A serves as a brake means and
retains the said drawer in closed position. Slight manual drawer
opening force will cause the roller 34A to ride forwardly over the
boss 68 and so release the drawer for extended withdrawl.
DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION
Visualize the drawer 12 being supported on a pair of slide chassis,
one at each side thereof in mirror image. As the drawer 12 is
manually drawn forward from the desk enclosure structure 10, the
drawer attachment rail 16 of each slide chassis causes the rollers
34 and 34A to rotate and roll along each case attachment rail 14,
and each chassis extension slide 18 with its slide rails 20 and 22
is propelled forwardly at approximately one half the speed of
travel of the said drawer, and the ball bearing retainers 26 and 30
of each chassis travel forwardly at about one half the speed of
travel of each extension slide 18. The back 12B of the drawer may
be extended to a position forward and clear of the front of the
desk structure, which is designated by the vertical line 70 in
FIGS. 3 and 4. In such extended position, the rollers 34 and 34A
remain in tractional contact with each rail 14, and the back end of
each rail 16 is adjacent to the said rollers. The end 26D of the
retainer 26 of each extension slide 18 is in contact with the
related impact stop member 64, having been drawn into such position
by the lug 20F of the slide rail 20. The end 30D of the retainer 30
of each said extension slide is in contact with the lug 22F of the
slide rail 22, having been drawn into such position by the lug 16G
of the rail 16. As the drawer 12 is drawn forward from the desk,
the rollers 34 are tractionally rotated by the rail 16 of each
chassis, and the extension slides 18 of the two chassis which
support the said drawer slide forward substantially in
synchronism.
As the drawer 12 is closed into the desk structure, from the
extended drawer position illustrated in FIG. 4, the bevelled end 72
of the rail 16 of each extension slide 18 rides over the related
rollers 34, and tractionally contacts same. Continued inward
closing movement of the drawer 12 causes the extension slides of
the two chassis which support the said drawer to slide backwardly
substantially in synchronism, at approximately one half of the rate
of travel of the drawer, and the respective ball bearing retainers
26 and 30 slide backwardly at about one half the speed of travel of
the said extension slides. In the drawer closed position shown in
FIG. 3, the roller 34A is in part over and rearward of the boss 68
on rail 14, and retains the drawer against free outward sliding
movement under slight force of gravity, such as may occur if the
desk is not level. When the drawer is returned to closed position,
the lug 16H of each rail 16 of the pair of chassis which support
the drawer, contacts the end 30D of the retainer 30 and moves the
latter to the position shown in FIG. 3, and rearward movement of
the retainer 26 is restrained by the lug 14H of the rail 14.
SUMMARY OF CHASSIS DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS
It is conventional in the office furniture industry to provide
drawers wherein the horizontal depth dimensions range from 14
inches to 28 inches, in 1 inches increments. It is desirable to
slidably support a drawer in such wise that its back end may be
withdrawn clear of the front of the enclosure structure, so that
the entire interior of the drawer is extended, for convenient
placement or removal of files, papers, or otherwise. Accordingly,
such drawer extension is an important design aspect in determining
load forces, materials, and component proportions. Other design
criteria may involve the slide clearance space between the side of
a drawer and confronting surfaces of a drawer enclosure structure
such as a desk pedestal; the precision of manufacture of such
related furniture components; and the slide chassis attachment
means.
The cost of tooling and tool maintenance, and the cost of
production are also important aspects, wherein the total weight of
the steel input including waste is a dominant factor. In this slide
chassis, suitable for supporting a 28 inch depth file drawer,
compactly filled with paper files, and fully extendible from the
desk as above defined, the attachment rails 14 and 16, and the
slide rail connecting member 24, may be formed in 0.060 inch cold
rolled steel, and the slide rails 20 and 22 may be formed in 0.048
inch cold rolled steel; and wherein the vertical spacing of the
axis of 0.187 inch diameter ball bearings 28 between an attachment
rail and a slide rail is 1.060 inch. This proportion detail
provides an uncommonly rigid chassis structure in both vertical and
horizontal planes. The design detail of the extension slide,
comprised of the slide rails 20 and 22 attached to one side of the
connecting member 24, provides a vertically and horizontally rigid
structure, which slides freely when supporting a heavily loaded
drawer.
The easy sliding action of this chassis may in part be attributed
to the uniform distribution of drawer load forces, resulting from
synchronization of sliding movement of the extension slides, of the
two chassis which support a drawer. Heretofore, such
synchronization of extension slides has been achieved in slide
mechanisms wherein the drawer attachment rail and the extension
slide was supported on several disc shaped rollers, the peripheral
frictional contact of which induced positive extension slide
movement. Where ball bearings slidably support a rail slide
chassis, friction is so minimized that a lack of lubrication or
dust accumulation in the ball bearing raceways may cause drag of
one of the pair of extension slides. The drawer cantilever load
forces are accordingly imbalanced, and free and easy drawer sliding
motion is impaired. Attempts have been made to overcome this
problem by use of an oversized ball bearing or a single drive
roller in the extension slide, but such has proven to be inadequate
and unsatisfactory.
An important design aspect of this invention resides in the rigid
formation of the extension slide 18, wherein a plurality of
propulsion rollers 34 are rotatably mounted at one side of the
connecting member 24 on the axle studs 36 protruding therefrom. Any
number of propulsion rollers may be used, depending upon the
overall length of the chassis, since roller clearance openings in
the extension slide are not necessary. The propulsion rollers 34
are retained in slight compression or deformation between the
knurled flange surfaces 38 of the rails 14 and 16, to ensure
positive peripheral tractional contact and propulsion of the
extension slide 18. Accordingly, the extension slides of a pair of
chassis which carry a drawer move substantially in synchronism, and
drawer load cantilever forces are virtually balanced.
If there is a slight warp in the member 10D of the frame structure
of a desk, an applied case attachment rail 14 may be somewhat bowed
or twisted. It is therefore desirable to provide at least 0.015
inch slide clearance between all surfaces of the ball bearing
retainer 26 and adjacent surfaces of the rails 14 and 20. It is
also desirable to float the ball bearings 28 in the said retainer
to accomodate such deformation of the case attachment rail 14, and
so avoid binding of the said ball bearings in the said
retainer.
In that the ball bearing retainers 26 and 30 are slidably supported
by the rigid plastic slide members 32, and the ball bearings 28 are
free to centralize between opposed ball bearing raceways, it is
feasible to provide a tolerance variation of up to 0.005 inch
between the root spacing of the raceways of telescoped rails. Such
a tolerance range permits roll die formation of all of the rails of
the chassis structure, which method of manufacture is desirable
from the viewpoints of tooling costs and parts production
economy.
The disposition of the two slide rails 20 and 22 along one side of
and attached to the connecting member 24, in the cross sectional
profile hereinbefore described, and as is shown in detail in FIGS.
1 and 2, provides an extraordinarily rigid extension slide
structure, having regard for the gauge thickness of the components
thereof. This correlation of parts also provides for facility and
rapidity of automated assembly, with minimum expenditure of unit
labour time.
* * * * *