WO2007046639A1

WO2007046639A1 - Slide with enhanced lateral stability

Info

Publication number: WO2007046639A1
Application number: PCT/KR2006/004253
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yoon Sik Park
Original assignee: Yoon Sik Park
Priority date: 2005-10-21
Filing date: 2006-10-19
Publication date: 2007-04-26
Also published as: KR20070043460A

Abstract

Disclosed is a slide with enhanced lateral stability, which is usable under a high load condition. The slide includes inner, intermediate, and outer members, and first and second ball retainers. The inner member includes a triangular raceway portion and a coupling portion extended from the raceway portion to be secured to a desk, cabinet, or the like. The intermediate member is located outside of the inner member and includes a W-shaped center portion and lateral extensions extended from ends of the center portion. The outer member is located outside of the intermediate member and has a C-shaped cross section having a center curved portion protruding toward the intermediate member. The first and second ball retainers are located, respectively, between the inner member and the intermediate member and between the intermediate member and the outer member. The slide having the above configuration operates in a triple telescopic manner.

Description

Description SLIDE WITH ENHANCED LATERAL STABILITY

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to slides, and more particularly, to a slide with enhanced lateral stability, which can be efficiently operated even when a high load is applied thereto. Background Art

[2] To install a drawer into an article of furniture, such as a desk, cabinet, or the like, generally, slides are attached to a body of the article, so as to allow the drawer to be slidably pulled out of and pushed into the body.

[3] Slides may be classified, on the basis of their attachment manners relative to drawers, into lateral attachment type slides and bottom attachment type slides. The lateral attachment type slide has one constituent member secured to a lateral portion of a drawer, whereas the bottom attachment type slide has one constituent member secured to a bottom portion of a drawer. Also, slides may be classified, on the basis of constituent members used therein, into double telescopic slides and triple telescopic slides. The double telescopic slide includes an outer slide member (stationary member) and an inner slide member (movable member), whereas the triple telescopic slide includes an outer slide member (stationary member), an inner slide member (first movable member), and an intermediate slide member (second movable member). In both the double and triple telescopic slides, sliding assistance members, for example, ball retainers, are arranged between the respective slide members, to guarantee smooth sliding movements of the movable slide members.

[4] U.S. Patent No. 6,132,020 discloses a slide 10, which includes a stationary member

17, a movable member 13, and an intermediate member 14 located between the stationary member 17 and the movable member 13, as shown in FIG. 1.

[5] The slide 10 is of the bottom attachment type in which the stationary member 17 is secured to a desk panel 16 through an extension 12 thereof, and the movable member 13 is secured to a lower surface of a drawer panel 11. Either end of the intermediate member 14 is formed with three raceways. A plurality of balls 15 are located between the stationary member 17 and the intermediate member 14 and between the movable member 13 and the intermediate member 14 and adapted to perform rolling movements along the raceways. With this configuration, the intermediate member 14 is able to perform sliding movements along the stationary member 17 and in turn, the movable member 13 is able to perform sliding movements along the intermediate member 14. As a result, the slide 10 is generally operable in a triple telescopic manner. [6] In the case of the slide 10 disclosed in the above U.S. Patent No. 6,132,020, if an external force is applied to the slide 10 from the left side of the slide 10, four raceways (i.e. two raceways formed at the right side of the intermediate member and two raceways formed at the left side of the stationary member) act to resist the applied external force. However, since the intermediate member 14 is supported by the stationary member 17, two raceways formed at the left side of the stationary member 17 are actually used to bear up the external force. Furthermore, if an external force is applied to the slide 10 from the right side of the slide 10, only one raceway formed at the right side of the stationary member 17 is used to bear up the external force. Judging from the illustration of FIG. 1, it can be said that the slide 10 has a weak point to an external force applied from the right side thereof. In the actual use, two slides are symmetrically attached to left and right sides of the drawer panel 11. Therefore, under the opposite situation of the illustration of FIG. 1, the slide will exhibit an insufficient stability against an external force applied from the right side of the slide. In conclusion, the above described conventional slide has poor lateral stability.

[7] Furthermore, in the conventional slide 10, the extension 12 of the stationary member 17, i.e. a shaft of the stationary member 17, is located to extend diagonally relative to an external force. Therefore, if a relatively high load is applied to the shaft of the stationary member 17, the shaft tends to be easily broken by a rotation moment concentrated thereon. Consequently, the conventional slide 10 has a difficulty in use under the high load condition.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[8] Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems through the provision of an improved novel slide having a unique configuration.

[9] It is an object of the present invention to provide a triple telescopic slide with enhanced lateral stability, which can be efficiently operated even when a high load is applied thereto. Technical Solution

[10] In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a slide comprising an inner member, an intermediate member, an outer member, a first ball retainer, and a second ball retainer.

[11] The inner member includes a raceway portion having a triangular cross section and a coupling portion extended from the raceway portion and configured to be secured to a body of an article of furniture, such as a desk, cabinet, or the like. The intermediate member is located at the outside of the inner member, and includes a center portion having a W-shaped cross section and a pair of lateral extensions extended from opposite ends of the center portion. The outer member is located at the outside of the intermediate member and has a C-shaped cross section formed with a center curved portion protruding toward the intermediate member. The first ball retainer is located between the inner member and the intermediate member and the second ball retainer is located between the intermediate member and the outer member. The slide having the above described configuration is operable in a triple telescopic manner.

[12] The raceway portion of the inner member comprises three raceways. The three raceways have a regular triangular arrangement and are formed to face the intermediate member.

[13] The center portion of the intermediate member comprises lateral raceway portions formed, respectively, at opposite lateral surfaces thereof and a center raceway portion formed at the center thereof. The lateral extensions of the intermediate member comprise two first raceway portions and two second raceway portions. The outer member comprises end raceway portions formed, respectively, at opposite ends thereof and first and second raceway portions formed at the center curved portion thereof. The center raceway portion and the two second raceway portions of the intermediate member are located to correspond to the raceway portion of the inner member. Also, the end raceway portions of the outer member are located to correspond to the two first raceway portions of the intermediate member. The first and second raceway portions of the outer member are located to correspond to the lateral raceway portions of the intermediate member. The slide having the above described configuration has a symmetrical structure in both left and right directions.

Advantageous Effects

[14] A slide having the above described configuration according to the present invention generally has a compact and symmetrical structure in left and right directions through the use of symmetrically arranged raceways. With this configuration, the slide can achieve enhanced lateral stability against an external force applied from the left or right side of the slide and can be efficiently operated even when a high load is applied thereto. Brief Description of the Drawings

[15] The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[16] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional slide;

[17] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a slide according to the present invention;

[18] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the slide according to the present invention;

[19] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an inner member included in the slide according to the present invention;

[20] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an intermediate member included in the slide according to the present invention;

[21] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an outer member included in the slide according to the present invention; and

[22] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of ball retainers included in the slide according to the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[23] The present invention has a technical feature in that a slide has a compact and symmetrical structure in the left and right directions. Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[24] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrating the slide according to the present invention in perspective view and sectional view, the slide 100 includes an inner member 110, an intermediate member 130 located at the outside of the inner member 110, an outer member 160 located at the outside of the intermediate member 130, a first ball retainer 170 located between the inner member 110 and the intermediate member 130, and a second ball retainer 180 located between the intermediate member 130 and the outer member 160.

[25] The inner member 110, as shown in FIG. 4, includes a raceway portion 120 and a coupling portion having an L-shaped cross section, the coupling portion being extended from one end of the raceway portion 120, more particularly, from an extension (shaft) 116 of the raceway portion 120.

[26] The coupling portion serves to secure the slide 100 to a sidewall panel (not shown) of a body of an article of furniture, such as a desk, cabinet, or the like. The coupling portion has a coupling plane 114 and an extension plane 112. The coupling plane 114 is perforated, at appropriate positions thereof, with fastening holes (not shown) for the fastening of screws, rivets, or the like. If necessary, the extension plane 112 of the coupling portion may be also perforated with fastening holes.

[27] The raceway portion 120 of the inner member 110 has a triangular cross section.

The raceway portion 120 has three raceways 122, 124, and 126. These raceways 122, 124, and 126 are arranged on the raceway portion 120 to define three sides of a triangle, respectively, and positioned to face the intermediate member 130.

[28] The intermediate member 130, as shown in FIG. 5, includes a center portion 140 having a W-shaped cross section and a pair of lateral extensions 150 integrally extended from opposite ends of the center portion 140. The intermediate member 130 having the above described configuration has a cross sectional shape similar to a mask used in a mask ball. The intermediate member 130 includes a total of seven raceway portions, and each raceway portion has a single raceway. Accordingly, the intermediate member 130 includes a total of seven raceways. Of the seven raceway portions of the intermediate member 130, the center portion 140 is provided with three raceway portions, and the remaining four raceway portions are provided at the lateral extensions 150.

[29] Specifically, the W-shaped center portion 140 of the intermediate member 130 is provided, near opposite ends thereof, with lateral raceway portions 146 and 148 and, at the center thereof, with a center raceway portion 142. The lateral raceway portions 146 and 148 are formed with raceways 145 and 147, respectively, so that the raceways 145 and 147 face the outer member 160. The center raceway portion 142 is formed with a raceway 141 so that the raceway 141 faces the inner member 110. The lateral extensions 150 are provided with two first raceway portions 154 and two second raceway portions 152 so that the two first raceway portions 154 are located at upper end portions of the two lateral extensions 150 meeting with the center portion 140 and the two second raceway portions 152 are located at lower end portions of the lateral extensions 150. Each of the two first raceway portions 154 has a raceway 153, and each of the two second raceway portions 152 has a raceway 151. The raceway 153 is located to face the outer member 160, and the raceway 151 is located to face the inner member 110.

[30] The outer member 160, as shown in FIG. 6, generally has a C-shaped cross section and is formed, at the center of the C-shaped cross section, with a center curved portion 168. The center curved portion 168 takes the form of a protrusion protruding toward the intermediate member 130. The outer member 160 includes a total of four raceway portions, and each raceway portion has a single raceway. Accordingly, the outer member 160 includes a total of four raceways.

[31] Of the raceway portions of the outer member 160, two end raceway portions 162 are formed at opposite end portions of the C-shaped cross section, and first and second raceway portions 164 and 166 are formed at opposite lateral sides of the center curved portion 168. Each end raceway portion 162 has a raceway 161, and the first and second raceway portions 164 and 166 have raceways 163 and 165, respectively. All the raceways 161, 163, and 165 are located to face the intermediate member 130.

[32] The intermediate member 130 is slidable over the inner member 110, and the outer member 160 is slidable over the intermediate member 130. The sliding movements are possible by the first ball retainer 170 located between the inner member 10 and the intermediate member 130 and the second ball retainer 180 located between the intermediate member 130 and the outer member 160.

[33] Referring to FIG. 7, the first ball retainer 170 generally has a C-shaped cross section, and similarly, the second ball retainer 180 generally has a C-shaped cross section. In particular, the second ball retainer 180 has a center web 185 formed at a position corresponding to the center curved portion 168 of the outer member 160. Each of the ball retainers 170 and 180 has a plurality of ball insertion holes spaced apart from one another by a predetermined distance so that balls 200 are inserted into the ball insertion holes, respectively. The balls 200 perform rolling movements along the raceways of the respective members 110, 130, and 160. The first and second ball retainers 170 and 180 according to the present invention have a feature of their unique shapes, and other general configurations, constituent materials, functions, and so on of the ball retainers 170 and 180 are equal to those of conventional ball retainers.

[34] The raceway 141 of the center raceway portion 142 and the raceways 151 of the two second raceway portions 152, which are provided at the intermediate member 130, are adapted to cooperate with the three raceways 122, 124, and 126 of the raceway portion 120 provided at the inner member 110, so as to guarantee smooth rolling movements of the balls 200 of the first ball retainer 170. Also, to guarantee smooth rolling movements of the balls 200 of the second ball retainer 180, the raceways 153 of the two first raceway portions 154 provided at the intermediate member 130 are adapted to cooperate with the raceways 163 and 165 of the first and second raceway portions 164 and 166 provided at the outer member 160, and the raceways 145 and 147 of the lateral raceway portions 146 and 148 provided at the intermediate member 130 are adapted to cooperate with the raceways 161 of the end raceway portions 162 provided at the outer member 160.

[35] Stoppers must be provided at opposite longitudinal ends of the inner member 110 for preventing the first ball retainer 170 from being separated from the inner member 110 in the course of sliding along the inner member 110. For example, the stoppers may take the form of protrusions, which are formed by punching certain portions of the raceway portion 120. Similar to the inner member 110, stoppers must be provided at opposite longitudinal ends of the intermediate member 130 for preventing the second ball retainer 180 from being separated from the intermediate member 130 in the course of sliding along the intermediate member 130. The provision of the stoppers is proper for the normal operation of the slide, and the appropriate shape and position of the stoppers will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In the accompanying drawings, for the convenience of illustration, no stoppers are illustrated. In addition, although not shown in the accompanying drawings, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other elements have to be appropriately formed at or attached to the slide for the purpose of ensuring the normal function of the slide. For example, the outer member 160 may be formed with fastening holes for allowing appropriate fasteners (rivets, screws, or the like) to be fastened therethrough for securing the outer member 160 to a lower surface of a drawer panel (not shown).

[36] Similar to the conventional slide previously described herein, the slide 100 according to the present invention is installed in such a manner that the inner member 110 is secured to the sidewall surface of a body of an article of furniture, such as a desk, cabinet, etc., and the outer member 160 is secured to the lower surface of a drawer panel. Considering an operation for pulling a drawer out of the article, first, the outer member 160 performs a sliding movement along the intermediate member 130 under the assistance of the second ball retainer 180 and subsequently, the intermediate member 130 performs a sliding movement along the inner member 110 under the assistance of the first ball retainer 170.

[37] Referring to FIG. 3, if an external force is applied from the left side of the drawing

(as represented by the arrow A), the two raceways 153 and 147 of the intermediate member 130 and the two raceways 122 and 124 of the inner member 110 provide a resistance force against the external force. On the other hand, if an external force is applied from the right side of the drawing (as represented by the arrow B), the two raceways 145 and 153 of the intermediate member 130 and the two raceways 124 and 126 of the inner member 110 provide a resistance force against the external force. In the slide 100 according to the present invention, consequently, a plurality of raceways can act to provide a resistance force against a lateral external force and in particular, the resistance force is a symmetrical resistance force in both left and right directions. Accordingly, it can be understood that the slide of the present invention can achieve considerably enhanced lateral stability through the use of the symmetrically arranged raceways.

[38] Moreover, the slide 100 according to the present invention can achieve a relatively great resistance force against an external force applied from the upper side of the slide 100 (as represented by the arrow C), as compared with the conventional slide 10 as previously described herein. This is because the shaft 116 of the raceway portion 120 of the inner member 110 is located to extend in the same direction as that of the external force. With this configuration, when being made of a material having the same strength as the conventional slide 10 in which the shaft is located diagonally relative to the external force, the shaft 116 of the slide 100 according to the present invention can achieve a higher resistance force than the conventional slide 10. In conclusion, the slide 100 according to the present invention, which is made of the same material as that of the conventional slide 10, can be efficiently operated even when a high load is applied thereto.

[39] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and sprit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. Industrial Applicability

[40] As apparent from the above description, a slide according to the present invention has a compact and symmetrical structure in left and right directions structure. Accordingly, the slide can achieve a considerable increase in the lateral stability thereof and be efficiently operated even when a high load is applied thereto.

Claims

[1] A slide with enhanced lateral stability comprising: an inner member including a raceway portion having a triangular cross section and a coupling portion extended from the raceway portion and configured to be secured to a body of an article of furniture, such as a desk or cabinet; an intermediate member including a center portion having a W-shaped cross section and a pair of lateral extensions extended from opposite ends of the center portion, the intermediate member being located at the outside of the inner member; an outer member having a C-shaped cross section formed with a center curved portion protruding toward the intermediate member, the outer member being located at the outside of the intermediate member; a first ball retainer having a plurality of ball insertion holes spaced apart from one another by a predetermined distance and a plurality of balls inserted into the ball insertion holes, the first ball retainer being located between the inner member and the intermediate member and adapted to perform slide movements along the inner member; and a second ball retainer having a plurality of ball insertion holes spaced apart from one another by a predetermined distance and a plurality of balls inserted into the ball insertion holes, the second ball retainer being located between the intermediate member and the outer member and adapted to perform slide movements along the intermediate member.

[2] The slide according to claim 1, wherein the raceway portion of the inner member comprises three raceways formed to face the intermediate member, the three raceways having a regular triangular arrangement.

[3] The slide according to claim 1, wherein the center portion of the intermediate member comprises lateral raceway portions formed near opposite ends thereof and a center raceway portion formed at the center thereof, wherein the lateral extensions of the intermediate member comprise two first raceway portions and two second raceway portions, and wherein the center raceway portion and the two second raceway portions comprise raceways, respectively, corresponding to three raceways formed at the raceway portion of the inner member, and the lateral raceway portions and the two first raceway portions comprise raceways, respectively, formed to face the outer member.

[4] The slide according to claim 1, wherein the C-shaped outer member comprises end raceway portions, respectively, formed at opposite end portions thereof and first and second raceway portions, respectively, formed at opposite lateral sides of the center curved portion thereof, and wherein the end raceway portions comprise raceways, respectively, corresponding to raceways formed at two first raceway portions of the intermediate member, and the first and second raceway portions comprise raceways, respectively, corresponding to raceways formed at lateral raceway portions of the intermediate member.

[5] The slide according to claim 1, wherein the first ball retainer has a C-shaped cross section, and the second ball retainer has a C-shaped cross section formed with a center web at a position corresponding to the center curved portion of the outer member.