WO2008072868A1

WO2008072868A1 - Locking mechanism and slide having the same

Info

Publication number: WO2008072868A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/006415
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yoon Sik Park
Original assignee: Yoon Sik Park
Priority date: 2006-12-14
Filing date: 2007-12-11
Publication date: 2008-06-19
Also published as: KR20080055647A; KR101106918B1

Abstract

A locking mechanism to temporarily stop sliding movements of a slide and a slide having the same are disclosed. The locking mechanism includes a pair of plate-shaped fixing portions, plate-shaped supporting portions extending from the respective fixing portions, a pair of lateral supporting portions formed at both sides of each plate-shaped supporting portion and having an upstanding plate shape, and a pair of elastic deformable portions extending from one side of each lateral supporting portion and having an upstanding plate shape. Preferably, the pair of elastic deformable portions have a V-shaped form, respectively, and are protruded outward in directions opposite to each other. The locking mechanism serves to temporarily stop sliding movements of the slide, resulting in a significant increase in the convenient use of the slide and consequently, expanding the use range of the slide.

Description

Description LOCKING MECHANISM AND SLIDE HAVING THE SAME

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a locking mechanism to temporarily stop sliding movements of a slide and a slide having the same. Background Art

[2] Slides are mainly used in furniture having drawers, such as desks, cabinets, and chests. Recently, the use range of slides has been expanded to vegetable boxes of large refrigerators, built-in receptacles in a kitchen, etc.

[3] With such an expansion in the use range of slides, a variety of devices have been developed and attached to slides, for the sake of the convenient use of slides. For example, U.S. Patents No. 5,484,209, No. 6,733,097 B2, No. 6,145,945, and No. 6,254,210 Bl disclose technologies related to a locking mechanism to keep a movable member of a slide at a fixed position when the movable member is completely pushed into an article of furniture.

[4] For example, when a slide is used in an oven, as shown in FIG. 9, the slide, which is designated as reference numeral 80, includes a stationary member 82 attached to either sidewall 71 of the oven 70, and a movable member 81 coupled to one side of a tray plate 73 that is used to support a container receiving food to be cooked. In the shown slide 80, the tray plate 73 is supported on a rack 72 made of stainless steel wires. Also, one side of the rack 72 is attached to a sidewall of the movable member 81. In use, as the rack 72 or the tray plate 73 is pushed into or pulled out of the oven 70, a user can easily put or pull the container, receiving food to be cooked, into or out of the oven 70. Conventionally, the slide 80 is mounted such that it is tilted downward toward the interior of the oven 70 by an almost incognizable inclination, and consequently, the tray plate 73 on the slide 80 is kept in a tilted state. Tilting of the oven plate 73 has an advantage of convenient use because, even if the user does not completely push the plate into the oven, the plate can be further moved into the oven by a weight thereof. However, when a container receiving food is put on the plate, the slow inward movement of the plate by the weight thereof puts the user to inconvenience, and in the worst case, may cause any accident.

[5] Whether the slide is tilted so as to be slowly moved into a completely inwardly- pushed position by the weight thereof as described above, or is not tilted so as not to cause the above described dangerous situation, it may often need to temporarily stop the inward or outward movement of the slide. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[6] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a locking mechanism, which can temporarily stop sliding movements of a slide and resume the sliding movements of the slide whenever it is desired.

[7] It is another object of the present invention to provide a slide having the above described locking mechanism.

[8] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a locking mechanism, which is attached to an inner surface of a movable member included in a slide, and can temporarily stop sliding movements of the slide and resume the sliding movements whenever it is desired, and a slide having the same.

Technical Solution

[9] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a locking mechanism comprising: a pair of plate-shaped fixing portions located opposite to each other; plate-shaped supporting portions extending from the respective fixing portions; and a pair of elastic deformable portions extending from both sides of each plate-shaped supporting portion. A space may be defined between the pair of elastic deformable portions, to allow the elastic deformable portions to be easily deformed into the space.

[10] The locking mechanism may further comprise: a pair of lateral supporting portions provided at both sides of each plate-shaped supporting portion and having an upstanding plate shape. The lateral supporting portions serve to reinforce the elastic deformable portions.

[11] Preferably, the pair of elastic deformable portions have an upstanding plate shape and are extended from the respective lateral supporting portions. In this case, preferably, the elastic deformable portions have the same height as that of the lateral supporting portions.

[12] Preferably, each plate-shaped supporting portion has a cutting hole opened toward the space. The cutting hole absorbs the elastic deformation of the plate-shaped supporting portions when the pair of elastic deformable portions are elastically deformed, so as to facilitate the elastic deformation of the elastic deformable portions.

[13] The pair of elastic deformable portions may have a V-shaped form, respectively, and may be protruded outward in directions opposite to each other.

[14] Preferably, the locking mechanism is made of stainless steel.

[15] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slide including a stationary member, a movable member, a ball retainer, and the above described locking mechanism according to the present invention, the locking mechanism being attached to an inner surface of the movable member. The stationary member of the slide has ball retainer stoppers provided at both ends thereof to prevent ball retainers from being separated from the slide. Also, at least one of the stoppers has a recess acting to allow the elastic deformable portions of the locking mechanism to be elastically deformed. When only one of the stoppers has therecess, it is necessary to pay attention to assemble the slide such that the stopper having the recess is located to meet the locking mechanism. However, when both the stoppers have the recesses, respectively, it is unnecessary to pay attention to assemble the slide as described above, and the slide can achieve a convenient assembling thereof.

[16] The recess has a width smaller than the maximum distance between the pair of elastic deformable portions. Accordingly, the movement of the movable member is stopped as soon as the recess meets the pair of elastic deformable portions. In such a state, if a user applies a force to the movable member, the movable member can pass the elastic deformable portion by causing the elastic deformation of the elastic deformable portions.

[17] According to the present invention, the sliding movements of the slide can be temporarily stopped, resulting in a significant increase in the convenient use of the slide. As a result, the use range of the slide can be expanded to various fields. Brief Description of the Drawings

[18] 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:

[19] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slide having a locking mechanism according to the present invention, when viewing from a movable member of the slide;

[20] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a stationary member of the slide shown in

FIG. 1;

[21] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the movable member of the slide shown in

FIG. 1, to which no locking mechanism is provided;

[22] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a locking mechanism attached to the slide shown in FIG. 1 ;

[23] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the locking mechanism shown in FIG. 4;

[24] FIGS. 6 to 8 are perspective views illustrating the operation of the locking mechanism; and

[25] FIG. 9 is a partially cut-away perspective view illustrating a conventional slide attached to an oven. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention [26] Hereinafter, detailed embodiments of the present invention will be described in brief with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[27] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a locking mechanism according to the present invention, which can temporarily stop sliding movements of a slide.

[28] The locking mechanism according to the present invention, which is designated as reference numeral 50, includes a pair of fixing portions 51, a pair of supporting portions 53, lateral supporting portions 55 provided at both sides of each supporting portion 53, and a pair of elastic deformable portions 57 extending from the lateral supporting portions 55. Although the shown embodiment includes the lateral supporting portions 55, note that the elastic deformable portions 57 can be directly extended from the supporting portions 53 without the lateral supporting portions 55. However, since the lateral supporting portions 55 serve to reinforce the elastic deformable portions 57, it is more preferable to form the lateral supporting portions 55.

[29] Each of the fixing portions 51 has a plate shape, and an appropriate fixing means is provided at the fixing portion 51. In the shown embodiment, the fixing means includes a fixing hole 52 for the insertion of a rivet, etc.

[30] Each of the supporting portions 53 takes the form of a plate extending from one end of the associated fixing portion 51.

[31] The lateral supporting portions 55 are formed at both the sides of each plate-shaped supporting portion 53, and have an upstanding plate shape as shown. Although the two lateral supporting portions 55 facing each other have a distance suitable to achieve the above described objects of the present invention, the maximum distance X must be smaller than a width W of a recess formed in a stopper 15 of a ball retainer included in the slide 10 (See FIG. 2). This will be described hereinafter in more detail.

[32] Each of the elastic deformable portions 57 is extended from one end of each lateral supporting portion 55, and has an upstanding plate shape similar to the lateral supporting portion 55. Although there is no special limit in a height of the upstanding plate-shaped elastic deformable portion 57, it is preferable that the elastic deformable portion 57 have the same height as that of the lateral supporting portion 55.

[33] In the present embodiment, a pair of elastic deformable portions 57 are provided such that a space 59 is defined between the elastic deformable portions 57, so as to allow the elastic deformable portions 57 to be elastically deformed into the space 59. The respective elastic deformable portions 57 are protruded outward in directions opposite to each other. Although the elastic deformable portions 57 have an U-shaped or V-shaped outwardly protruding contour, it is preferable, for the convenience of manufacture, that the elastic deformable portions 57 have a V-shaped bent shape.

[34] If an external force is applied to the elastic deformable portions 57 having the above described configuration, as shown in FIG. 4, the elastic deformable portions 57 can be elastically deformed into the space 59 in a direction designated by the arrows B. After being elastically deformed, the elastic deformable portions 57 can be returned to their original shapes.

[35] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an alternative embodiment of the locking mechanism according to the present invention, which is similar to FIG. 4.

[36] The locking mechanism 50' shown in FIG. 5 is identical to the locking mechanism

50 shown in FIG. 4 except for the fact that a cutting hole 53 is formed in the body of the plate-shaped supporting portion 53. Preferably, the cutting hole 53 is opened toward the space 59, and has a U-shaped form. The cutting hole 53 allows the supporting portion 53 to absorb the elastic deformation of the elastic deformable portions 57 when the pair of elastic deformable portions 57 are elastically deformed in the direction as designated by the arrows B by a predetermined distance, thereby facilitating the elastic deformation of the elastic deformable portions 57.

[37] The locking mechanism can be made of any one of various materials including plastics, metals, etc. so long as the material can assure the locking mechanism to achieve the above described objects of the present invention. In consideration of the fact that a slide having the locking mechanism is installed in an oven, the locking mechanism is preferably made of heat-resistance and corrosion-resistance materials to endure heat generated during cooking of food and other various components of gases discharged from the cooked food. Note that stainless steel is one of materials suitable for the above object.

[38] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slide 1 having the locking mechanism 50 according to the present invention, when viewing from a movable member 30 of the slide 1. The locking mechanism 50 is located at an inner surface of the movable member 30 and is not be seen from the direction of FIG. 1 illustrating the slide 1 in a perspective view.

[39] The slide 1 includes the movable member 30, a stationary member 10, and a ball retainer 20 located between the movable member 30 and the stationary member 10. These respective constituent members are identical to those of the previously described known slide, and thus, will be described hereinafter within a range required to understand the present invention.

[40] As shown in FIG. 2, the stationary member 10 includes a web 11, and a pair of flanges 12 formed at both sides of the web 11. The flange 12 is formed at an inner surface thereof with a raceway 13 on which balls 25 inserted in the ball retainer 20 (See FIG. 1) will perform rolling motions.

[41] The stationary member 10 has ball retainer stoppers 14 and 15 provided at both longitudinal ends thereof. The ball retainer stoppers 14 and 15 serve to prevent the ball retainer 20 from being separated from the stationary member 10 while being moved in a longitudinal direction of the stationary member 10. Although the ball retainer stoppers 14 and 15 can be configured to have any one of various shapes so long as the shape does not hinder the implementation of a role of the stopper, the ball retainer stopper 15 located at a leading end of the slide 1 in a pulling direction of the slide 1 has a recess defined by two vertical edges 16 and a single horizontal edge 17. A width W of the recess between the two vertical edges 16 must be larger than a distance X between the two lateral supporting portions 55 facing each other, but be smaller than the maximum distance Y between the pair of elastic deformable portions 57 having an outwardly protruding contour. Also, although the stopper 14, which is located at a leading end of the slide 1 in a pushing direction of the slide 1, i.e. located at an opposite side of the stopper 15, can be configured to have any one of various shapes so long as the shape does not hinder the implementation of a role of the stopper 14 for preventing the ball retainer 20 from being separated from the stationary member 10, it is preferable that the stopper 14 have the same shape as that of the stopper 15. When the stoppers 14 and 15 have the same shape as each other, it assures the convenient assembling of the slide 1 because it is unnecessary to pay attention to assemble the slide 1 such that the stoppers 14 and 15 having the recesses are located to meet the locking mechanism 50.

[42] The movable member 30 includes a web 31, and a pair of flanges 32 formed at both sides of the web 31. Each flange 32 is formed at an outer surface thereof with a raceway 33 at a position corresponding to the raceway 13 of the stationary member 10.

[43] The movable member 30 has a stopper 35 formed at one longitudinal end thereof.

The web 31 has fixing holes 37 perforated therein at appropriate positions. Preferably, the fixing holes 37 are located at positions close to a leading end of the movable member 30 in a pushing direction of the movable member 30, to keep the above described locking mechanism 50 at a fixed position upon installation of the slide 1. As rivets 39 are inserted through the fixing holes 37 and the fixing holes 52 of the locking mechanism 50, the locking mechanism 50 can be fixed to the inner surface of the movable member 30 of the slide 1 (See FIGS. 1 and 6).

[44] To install the slide 1, the stationary member 10 is attached to an inner surface of a body (not shown) of an oven, and the movable member 30 is attached to a side of a tray plate (not shown) that will be received into the oven. The ball retainer 20, located between the movable member 30 and the stationary member 10, includes a web 21 and a pair of flanges 23 formed at both sides of the web 21. Each of the flanges 23 has a ball insertion groove such that the balls 25 are inserted into the ball insertion groove (See FIG. 1). The balls 25 perform rolling motions along the raceways 13 and 33 of the stationary member 10 and the movable member 30. Accordingly, when a user pulls the tray plate out of the oven, the movable member 30 performs a sliding movement so as to be pulled out along the stationary member 10 by operation of the ball retainer 20. When the tray plate is pushed into the oven, the movable member 30 performs a sliding movement in an opposite direction so as to be pushed into the oven. Meanwhile, the ball retainer 20 and the movable member 30 have no risk of being separated from the stationary member 10, by virtue of the ball retainer stoppers 14 and 15 of the stationary member 10 and the stopper 35 of the movable member 30.

[45] Hereinafter, the operation of the locking mechanism 50 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. As described above, the slide 1 is installed as the stationary member 10 is attached to the inner surface of the oven body (not shown) and the movable member 30 is attached to the side of the tray plate (not shown) received in the oven. Accordingly, the locking mechanism 50 is not be seen from the outside. However, for the convenience of description, a surface of the slide 1 to which the locking mechanism 50 is attached is illustrated and described in FIGS. 6 to 8 in perspective views.

[46] If the tray plate is pushed deeply into the oven from an outwardly pulled-out position thereof, the movable member 30 attached to the tray plate slidably moves in a direction designated by the arrow P (See FIG. 6).

[47] During the sliding movement of the movable member 30 in the direction designated by the arrow P, if the locking mechanism 50 meets the ball retainer stopper 15 of the stationary member 10, and more particularly, if the elastic deformable portions 57 of the locking mechanism 50 meet the vertical edges 16 of the recess of the ball retainer stopper 15, the movement of the movable member 30 in the direction of the arrow P is stopped by a deformation resistance of the elastic deformable portions 57 (FIG. 7).

[48] However, the movement of the movable member 30 is only temporarily stopped because the elastic deformable portions 57 can be deformed elastically by overcoming the resistance. Specifically, if the user further pushes the tray plate, i.e. the movable member 30 in the direction of the arrow P by applying a slight force, the elastic deformable portions 57 are elastically deformed in the direction of the arrow B. In this case, the elastic deformable portions 57 of the locking mechanism 50 can be deformed into the recess of the ball retainer stopper 15. Thereby, as the elastic deformable portions 57 have a sufficient elastic deformation in the direction of the arrows B and pass the vertical edges 16 (See FIG. 8), the movable member 30 performs a sliding movement to a completely inwardly pushed position thereof without any resistance. In this case, although not shown in FIG. 8, it will be appreciated that the elastic deformable portions 57 can be elastically returned to their original shapes.

[49] If the user pulls out the tray plate in an opposite direction of the arrow P, the above described procedure will be performed in reverse order. More specifically, if the user applies a slight force to the movable member 30 such that the movable member 30 reaches a slightly pulled-out state as shown in FIG. 8, the elastic deformable portions 57 are elastically deformed in the direction of arrows B and pass the vertical edges 16 (FIG. 7), thereby allowing the movable member 30 to be further pulled out in an opposite direction of the arrow P.

[50] Once the user pulls the tray plate, in the opposite direction of the arrow P, out of the oven such that the movable member 30 reaches a pulled-out position as shown in FIG. 6, the elastic deformable portions 57 of the locking mechanism 50 meet the vertical edges 16 of the ball retainer stopper 15 as described above (FIG. 7) even when the tray plate is slowly pushed into the oven in the direction of the arrow P by the weight thereof without receiving an external force. Thereby, the movement of the movable member 30 is stopped by the deformation resistance of the elastic deformable portions 57. In this way, the user can conveniently put a container, receiving food to be cooked, on the pulled-out tray plate, and then, again slidably push the tray plate along the slide even by applying a slight force.

[51] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have 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 spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying drawings. For example, although the above described embodiments illustrates the locking mechanism used in a double-telescopic slide including a single stationary member and a single movable member, the present invention is also applicable similarly to a triple-telescopic slide including a single stationary member and two movable members. Also, as occasion demands, the locking mechanism may be installed to the stationary member, to have the same operation as the above description.

Claims

[1] A temporary locking mechanism comprising: a pair of plate-shaped fixing portions located opposite to each other; plate-shaped supporting portions extending from the respective fixing portions; and a pair of elastic deformable portions extending from both sides of each plate- shaped supporting portion, wherein a space is defined between the pair of elastic deformable portions, to allow the elastic deformable portions to be elastically deformed into the space.

[2] The temporary locking mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising: a pair of lateral supporting portions provided at both sides of each plate-shaped supporting portion and having an upstanding plate shape.

[3] The temporary locking mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the pair of elastic deformable portions have an upstanding plate shape and are extended from the respective lateral supporting portions, and the elastic deformable portions have the same height as that of the lateral supporting portions.

[4] The temporary locking mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each plate- shaped supporting portion has a cutting hole opened toward the space, to facilitate the deformation of the pair of elastic deformable portions.

[5] The temporary locking mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pair of elastic deformable portions have a V-shaped form, respectively, and are protruded outward in directions opposite to each other.

[6] The temporary locking mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the locking mechanism is made of stainless steel.

[7] A slide including a stationary member, a movable member, and a ball retainer, wherein the temporary locking mechanism according to claim 1 or 2 is attached to an inner surface of the movable member of the slide, and the stationary member has ball retainer stoppers provided at both ends thereof, and at least one of the stoppers has a recess acting to allow the elastic deformable portions of the temporary locking mechanism to be elastically deformed.

[8] The temporary locking mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the recess has a width smaller than the maximum distance between the pair of elastic deformable portions.