AU2011331389A1

AU2011331389A1 - Pull-out guide for a pull-out part of a piece of furniture

Info

Publication number: AU2011331389A1
Application number: AU2011331389A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Guido Babucke-Runte; Roman Herzog; Dirk Jostes; Andreas Kathler; Guido Limberg; Bernd Meyer
Original assignee: Paul Hettich GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Paul Hettich GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2010-11-16
Filing date: 2011-11-08
Publication date: 2013-05-30
Also published as: CN103220943A; WO2012065880A1; DE102010060583A1; KR20130121113A; EP2640228A1; RU2564609C2; TW201221088A; PL2640228T3; EP2640228B1; CN103220943B; RU2013126949A; JP2013542822A; ES2548167T3

Abstract

Pull-out guide (1) for a pull-out part of a piece of furniture, comprising a guide rail (2) which can be fastened on the basic structure of a piece of furniture, also comprising a running rail (3) which can be coupled to a pull-out part, and further comprising a central rail (4) which is arranged between the guide rail (2) and the running rail (3), increases the pull-out length, is guided in relation to the guide rail (2) and the running rail (3) by means of rolling bodies retained in rolling-body cages (5) and is synchronized by a cable pull control means (6), wherein the cable pull control means (6) consists of a cable (8) which is guided around two deflecting rollers (7), mounted on the central rail (4), and is fastened on the rolling-body cages (5) between the running rail (3) and the guide rail (2), on the one hand, and the central rail (4), on the other hand.

Description

A pull-out guide for a pull-out part of a piece of furniture The present invention relates to a pull-out guide for a pull-out part of a piece of furniture, comprising a guide rail which can be fastened to the body of a piece of furniture, a running rail which can be coupled to a pull-out part, and a central rail which is arranged between the guide rail and the running rail, extends the pull-out length, is guided in relation to the guide rail and the running rail by means of rolling bodies retained in rolling-body cages, and is synchronized by a cable pull control means. Pull-out guides of this kind are known, wherein the synchronization of the central rail by a cable pull control means fulfills the purpose of ensuring in any possible pull-out position the maximum overlap between the central rail on the one hand and the guide rail and the running rail on the other hand. In known constructions, the cable of the cable pull control means is connected to the front end of the guide rail and to the rear end of the central rail. This leads to the consequence that the entire length of the cable needs to be at least twice the length of the central rail. Furthermore, this leads to a high circumferential speed of the deflection rollers when pulling out or pushing in the running rail in addition to the central rail. The present invention is based on the object of providing a pull-out guide of the generic kind which can be produced at low cost and has a longer operational lifespan. This object is achieved in accordance with the invention in such a way that the cable pull control means consists of a cable which is guided around two deflection rollers mounted on the central rail and which is fastened to the rolling-body cages of the roller bearing between the running rail and the guide rail on the one hand and the central rail on the other hand. Since the central rail will be displaced in total only approximately half the path of displacement of the running rail, the cable pull control means only requires approximately half the length of the central rail, by means of which the entire cable length of the cable pull control means can accordingly be reduced by half as compared with previously known constructions. This leads to a far from inconsiderable reduction in the costs in the production of respective pull-out guides, and further to the advantage that the circumferential speeds of the deflection rollers are also reduced considerably in comparison with previously known constructions, which considerably increases the expected operational lifespan of a respectively arranged pull-out guide. Roller bearings arranged integrally or in several parts are known. Roller bearings arranged in several parts consist of a front and rear rolling-body cage which is connected by a distance bar. In the case of roller bearings arranged in several parts, the cable is preferably connected to the rolling-body cages situated at the front in the pull-out direction. In the case of integrally arranged roller bearings which are arranged without a distance bar, the cable is preferably connected to regions of the rolling-body cages situated at the front in the pull-out direction. An especially advantageous embodiment of the invention is that the cable is fastened to the rolling-body cages in a play-free way. It is provided that the cable is welded together with the rolling-body cages, preferably by ultrasonic welding. This ensures an absolutely play-free synchronization without any complex adjusting possibilities because the cable can be welded to the rolling-body cages or can be fixed in other ways in a play-free manner. The cable itself need not be prepared, thus leading to a further production advantage. It is also possible to introduce additional means for compensation in order to reduce the inevitably occurring slip between the roller bearing and the pull-out rails. Further features of the invention are the subject matter of further dependent claims.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the enclosed drawings and will be described below in closer detail, wherein: Fig. 1 shows a view of a pull-out guide in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the pull-out guide according to Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a front view of the pull-out guide according to Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 shows a central rail of a pull-out guide according to an embodiment of the invention as an individual part; Fig. 5 shows a view of a central rail with the rolling-body cages and a cable pull control means; Fig. 6 shows a view of a pull-out guide from a direction of view opposite of Fig. 1. A pull-out guide is shown with reference numeral 1 in all drawings, which guide is designated for a pull-out part of a piece of furniture, e.g. a drawer or the like. The pull-out guide 1 substantially comprises a guide rail 2, a running rail 3 and a central rail 4 which extends the pull-out length. The guide rail 2 can be fastened in the known manner with fixed location to the body of a piece of furniture. The running rail 3 is used for coupling with a pull-out part of a piece of furniture, e.g. a drawer. The central rail 4 which extends the pull-out length is arranged between the guide rail 2 and the running rail 3 and is guided in relation to the aforementioned rails 2 and 3 by rolling bodies retained in rolling-body cages 5, with preferably rolling body rollers (not shown in closer detail) being provided as rolling bodies. The upper and bottom roller bearings 11 consist of rolling-body cages 5 which are connected to each other by means of a distance bar 10.

Furthermore, the pull-out guide 1 is provided with a cable pull control means 6 for synchronizing the central rail 4. The cable pull control means 6 consists of a cable 8 which is guided about two deflection rollers 7 and which is fastened to the rolling-body cages 5 disposed at the front as seen in the pull-out direction. The deflection rollers 7 are arranged in the front region of the central rail 4 on the one hand and approximately in the middle of the central rail 4 on the other hand, which is especially shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5. In the case of this roller bearing 11 which is arranged in several parts, the cable 8 is connected to the rolling-body cages 5 in their front region as seen in the pull-out direction. This offers the advantage that low forces will act on the distance bar 10 when pulling out the drawer. The connection between the rolling-body cages 5 and the cable 8 is provided in a play free way, and it is preferable that the cable 8 is welded onto respectively arranged cable supports 5a. Ultrasonic welding is preferably used in this case. Since the cable pull control means 6 is completely integrated in the region of central rail 4, the total length of the required cable 8 corresponds approximately to the entire length of the central rail 4 and is therefore virtually only half as long as the cable 8 in a prior known construction, in which the cable 8 is connected at the end side to the guide rail 2 on the one hand and to the central rail 4 on the other hand. The consumption of material is accordingly low and considerable cost benefits are therefore achieved in production. It is also achieved by arranging the cable pull control means 6 in the manner as described above that the circumferential speeds of the deflection rollers 7 will be halved in comparison with prior known constructions, by means of which the expected operational lifespan of the pull-out guide 1 will be increased substantially. Since the total length of the cable pull control means 6 is approximately half the length of the pull-out guide 1, a self-retracting apparatus 9, optionally combined with a damping device, can be housed in the space of the pull-out guide 1 which is not required by the cable pull control means 6. Other functional parts can also be integrated in the space that is not required by the cable pull control means 6. As is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the central rail 4 consists of a section which is formed by means of a shaping technique and is approximately C-shaped in its cross-section. The side webs 4a of the central rail 4 are folded together in the manner of a roof for forming the running surfaces 4b for the rolling bodies, as is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This known and reliable construction, as used in the embodiment according to Figs. 1 to 3, can be improved in a simple way even further (as shown in Fig. 4) in that the respectively free longitudinal edges 4c of one of the formed running surfaces 4b are rigidly connected incidentally to the section outside of the used area of the running surfaces. The connection can occur by gluing, welding, spot welding, point-shaped interlocking pressing or other material, interlocking and/or frictional connecting techniques. As a result, the multiply formed entire profile is closed within itself and is thereby considerably strengthened and stiffened, by means of which the torsional stiffness of the C-shaped profile will be increased. It is also possible to use a starting material as a result of these measures whose thickness is lower than what is conventionally required for the production of central rails 4. The described measures and embodiments of the pull-out guide 1 lead in summary to a cost-effective material-saving production of a respective pull-out guide 1, which leads to the additional advantage of a presumably considerably increased operational lifespan due to lower loading, especially the deflection rollers 7 of the cable pull control means 6.

List of reference numerals 1 Pull-out guide 2 Guide rail 3 Running rail 4 Central rail 4a Lateral web 4b Running surface 4c Longitudinal edge 5a Cable support 6 Cable pull control means 7 Deflection roller 8 Cable 9 Self-retracting apparatus 10 Distance bar 11 Roller bearing

Claims

1. A pull-out guide (1) for a pull-out part of a piece of furniture, comprising a guide rail (2) which can be fastened to the body of a piece of furniture, a running rail (3) which can be coupled to a pull-out part, and a central rail (4) which is arranged between the guide rail (2) and the running rail (3), extends the pull-out length, is guided in relation to the guide rail (2) and the running rail (3) by means of rolling bodies retained in rolling-body cages (5), and is synchronized by a cable pull control means (6), characterized in that the cable pull control means (6) consists of a cable (8) which is guided around two deflection rollers (7) mounted on the central rail (4) and which is fastened to the rolling-body cages (5) between the running rail (4) and the guide rail (2) on the one hand and the central rail (3) on the other hand.

2. A pull-out guide according to claim 1, characterized in that in the case of roller bearings (11) arranged in several parts the cable (8) is preferably connected to the rolling-body cages (5) situated at the front in the pull-out direction.

3. A pull-out guide according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cable (8) is fastened to the rolling-body cages (5) in a play-free manner.

4. A pull-out guide according to claim 3, characterized in that the cable (8) is welded together with the rolling-body cages (5).

5. A pull-out guide according to claim 3, characterized in that the cable (8) is connected to the rolling-body cages (5) by ultrasonic welding.

6. A pull-out guide according to one of the preceding claims, wherein central rail (4) consists of a section which is formed by means of a shaping technique and is approximately C-shaped in its cross-section, the side webs (4a) of which are folded together in the manner of a roof for forming the running surfaces (4b) for the rolling bodies, characterized in that the respectively free longitudinal edges (4c) of one of the formed running surfaces (4b) are rigidly connected incidentally to the section outside of the running surfaces (4b).

7. A pull-out guide according to claim 6, characterized in that the longitudinal edges (4c) of the running surfaces (4b) are welded together incidentally with the section.

8. A pull-out guide according to claim 6, characterized in that the longitudinal edges (4c) of the running surfaces (4b) are connected incidentally by spot welding to the section.

9. A pull-out guide according to claim 6, characterized in that the longitudinal edges (4c) of the running surfaces (4b) are rigidly connected incidentally by gluing to the section.

10. A pull-out guide according to claim 6, characterized in that the longitudinal edges (4c) of the running surfaces (4b) are pressed together incidentally in an interlocking manner with the profile.