Patent Application
20140042884
The present invention relates generally to slide assemblies used in connecting drawers to cabinets, and more particularly relates to a control mechanism to dampen the movement of a drawer slide assembly as it is closed within the cabinet housing.
Drawer slide assemblies are used in most drawer-cabinet settings to facilitate a smooth opening and closing of a drawer relative to the cabinet housing. The problem with such drawer slide assemblies, however, is that they lack means for providing any sort of control over the movement of the drawer as it closes in the cabinet housing. As such, the drawer, cabinet, or a facia cover associated with the front of the drawer, can be damaged as the drawer is forcibly closed into the cabinet housing.
Such forceful movement of the drawer relative to the cabinet housing can also cause loud slamming noises upon impact between the drawer and the cabinet interface, and there can be damage to the associated drawer slide assembly mechanisms and rails, or the contents of the drawers themselves. It is clear that such uncontrolled closing motion is undesirable, and it is equally clear that it would be desirable to prevent such uncontrolled forceful movement of the drawer upon closing and the damage associated therewith.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a control mechanism in conjunction with a drawer slide assembly having a wheeled rolling mechanism that inhibits such forceful movement of the drawer relative to the cabinet housing and effectively prevents the damage and undesirable noise associated with otherwise uncontrolled closing movement.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a drawer slide assembly control mechanism is provided, comprising a cabinet rail associated with a cabinet housing and a drawer rail associated with a drawer, and a control mechanism associated with the drawer. The control mechanism comprises a drawer latch bracket having an engagement member extending outwardly therefrom, and a shock-absorbing sub-assembly. The shock-absorbing sub-assembly comprises an elongate bracket member associated with the cabinet rail, a movable latch associated with the elongate bracket member and cooperating with the engagement member of the drawer latch bracket so as to move along with movement of the drawer over at least a portion of a length of the drawer rail, and a shock absorber unit associated with the elongate bracket member and cooperating with the movable latch for damping movement of the movable latch at least during a closing stroke of the drawer to reduce noise associated with closing the drawer.
Preferably, the drawer latch bracket is positioned on at least one of a side surface of the drawer and a bottom surface of the drawer.
It is also preferable that the drawer slide assembly control mechanism further comprises a stabilizing bracket fixedly attached to the cabinet rail and the elongate bracket member and extending therebetween in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to an extension direction of the cabinet rail. The elongate bracket member preferably comprises a groove extending in a direction that is substantially parallel with respect to an extension axis of the cabinet rail, and the movable latch comprises a first portion that resides in and rides along the groove of the elongate bracket member, and a catcher extending outwardly beyond the groove of the elongate bracket member from the first portion in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the extension axis of the cabinet rail. The catcher preferably has at least one portion for receiving, engaging and retaining at least one portion of the engagement member of the drawer latch bracket to prevent disengagement between the catcher and the engagement member of the drawer latch bracket during the closing stroke of the drawer.
The movable latch preferably further comprises a member for engaging the shock absorber within the elongate bracket member, and a member for engaging a drawer return spring within the elongate bracket member. When the drawer is closed during a closing stroke, the engagement member of the drawer latch bracket engages the receiving and engaging portion of the catcher, at which point the drawer return spring draws the movable latch in the closing stroke direction, and the shock absorber dampens the closing stroke to provide a smooth and gentle closing action of the drawer.
It is also preferable that the elongate bracket member comprises positioning means for determining a mounting location with respect to the cabinet rail and the drawer latch bracket.
According to one aspect, the drawer latch bracket is fixed to a front portion of a side panel of the drawer, and according to another aspect, the drawer latch bracket is fixed to a front portion of a bottom panel of the drawer.
In embodiments employing the stabilizing bracket, it is preferred that the stabilizing bracket comprises one or more protrusions having shapes that lockingly engage with corresponding portions of the elongate bracket member and the cabinet rail. According to another aspect, the stabilizing bracket comprises a plurality of snap-fit tabs that engage with corresponding portions of the elongate bracket member and the cabinet rail, and it is also preferred that the stabilizing bracket comprises at least one snap-fit dowel that engages with a corresponding opening of the elongate bracket member.
Preferably, at least one portion of the catcher for receiving and engaging at least one portion of the engagement member of the drawer latch bracket comprises a pocket portion, a lever portion having a lip horizontally opposed to the pocket portion, and a seat portion defined therebetween.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the engagement member of the drawer latch bracket preferably comprises a main body portion, and the main body portion of the engagement member of the drawer latch bracket comprises one or more posts extending outwardly from a surface thereof which engage a pocket portion of the catcher. The main body portion of the engagement member of the drawer latch bracket preferably engages a seat portion of the catcher and is sandwiched between a pocket portion of the catcher and a horizontally opposed lip portion thereof.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a drawer slide assembly control mechanism is provided, comprising a cabinet rail associated with a cabinet housing and a drawer rail associated with a drawer, and a control mechanism associated with the drawer. The control mechanism comprises a drawer latch bracket positioned on the drawer, the drawer latch bracket having an engagement tab extending outwardly therefrom, and a shock-absorbing sub-assembly. The shock-absorbing sub-assembly comprises an elongate bracket member associated with the cabinet rail and capable of limited linear movement along a portion of the cabinet rail. The elongate bracket member comprising a groove extending in a direction that is substantially parallel with respect to an extension axis of the cabinet rail, a movable latch associated with the elongate bracket member and cooperating with the engagement tab of the drawer latch bracket so as to move along with movement of the drawer over at least a portion of a length of the drawer rail, and a shock absorber unit associated with the elongate bracket member and cooperating with the movable latch for damping movement of the movable latch at least during a closing stroke of the drawer to reduce noise associated with closing the drawer.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a control mechanism for a drawer slide assembly including a cabinet rail and a drawer rail is provided. The control mechanism comprises a latch bracket being fixedly positioned on a portion of the drawer above or below the drawer rail and the cabinet rail, a moveable latch associated with the cabinet rail and adapted to engage the latch bracket, the moveable latch being configured to move along with movement of the drawer when in a latched state as engaged with the latch bracket, and a damping mechanism for clamping movement of the movable latch engaged with the latch bracket as the drawer moves from an open position to a closed position to reduce noise associated with closing the drawer.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a control mechanism for a drawer slide assembly including a cabinet rail and a drawer rail is provided. The control mechanism comprises a latch bracket positioned on a portion of a drawer and having a post extending therefrom, a movable latch associated with the cabinet rail and capable of limited linear movement along a portion of the cabinet rail, the movable latch cooperating and engaging with the post of the latch bracket so as to move along with movement of the drawer when engaged with the post, and a damping mechanism for damping movement of the movable latch at least when the drawer is moving from an open position to a closed position to reduce noise associated with closing the drawer.
The control mechanism according to the present invention is designed to function in a similar manner to that which is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/011,269, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. In particular, many of the details of the internal mechanisms and functions that are described in connection with the shock absorbing sub-assembly in the '269 Application are the same in the present invention, and repetitious details are omitted. There are, however, some clear structural differences between the drawer control mechanism of the present invention and that described in the '269 Application, which would be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art.
Like the drawer control mechanism of the '269 Application, the drawer control mechanisms according to the present invention are designed to work in concert with a conventional drawer slider assembly to control the movement of a drawer 2 relative to a cabinet housing 1 (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,861, for example). The conventional assembly includes slide rails, which include a cabinet rail that is fixed to the cabinet housing, and a drawer rail that is attached to the drawer, in any known manner. For example, the drawer rail can be a separate member that is affixed to the side surface of the drawer (e.g., such as a side-mount roller or slide rail system), or it be formed as an integral part of a metal or plastic side surface of the drawer itself, extending outwardly therefrom along the length thereof, rather than as a separate member affixed thereto. In any event, the essential structural components of the drawer rail remain the same regardless of whether it is separately mounted or an integral component with respect to the side surface of the drawer.
The control mechanism 5 shown in
The control mechanism 5 also includes a shock absorbing sub-assembly having an elongate bracket member 9 and a moveable latch 10 (see
As described in more detail in the '269 Application, the shock absorbing sub-assembly also includes a shock absorber having a piston rod that is pivotally connected to latch, by a pin, for example. The shock absorber can include any type of fluid, such as a gas or a liquid, like air or oil or any other suitable dampening means. A drawer return spring extends from a holding member fixed to a portion of the elongate bracket, and is attached to a portion 11 of the movable latch 10 (see, e.g.,
The elongate bracket member 9 is attached to a portion of cabinet panel 1 by at least one fastener through the fastener/fixation member opening 9c (see
As shown in
As shown in
The stabilization brackets 20, 30 each include one or more mechanical mating mechanisms to affix the stabilization brackets to both the elongate bracket member 9 of the shock absorbing sub-assembly and the cabinet rail 3. For example, as shown in
The main body portion 22 of the stabilization bracket 20 also includes a portion on which a double-sided adhesive member 22a can be affixed to achieve an adhesive relationship with a corresponding portion of a surface of the cabinet rail, as shown in
The stabilization bracket 30 shown in
This stabilization brackets are preferably made from a spring load memory material, as is the entire elongate bracket member 9, which enables the stabilization brackets 20, 30 (and 40, as described below with respect to
Means for attaching the stabilization brackets 20, 30, 40 to a surface of the cabinet rail 3 is not limited to the embodiments described above, however, and includes additional and/or alternative means such as welding, glue, adhesive tape, adhesive-backed or glue-hacked hook-and-loop type fasteners, or the like, to name a few. The snap-fit, locking mating means shown in
The operation of the drawer slide control mechanism 5 according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention will now be explained with reference to
The elongate brackets members 9 shown in
As the drawer 2 is closed, the post 12b of the engagement member 12 on the drawer latch bracket 7 first contacts and engages the pocket portion 13a of the catcher 13, and is received in a lower portion of the pocket 13a. The movable latch 10 rotates counter-clockwise with the force of the closing drawer as shown in
In the event that the engagement member 12 is dislodged from the temporary locking position provided within the catcher portion 13 of the movable latch 10, which would force the movable latch 10 back to a position as if the drawer were opened, it would still be possible to manually return the drawer 2 to its fully closed position. Specifically, the catcher portion 13 is resilient enough to allow the engagement tab 12 to deflect/rotate the lever portion 13b of the catcher 13 counter-clockwise upwardly to a sufficient extent for the engagement tab 12 to clear the lip portion 13b1 of the lever 13b of the catcher 13 to essentially reset the position of the engagement tab 12 in the space defining the seat portion 13c between the pocket portion 13a and the lever portion 13b of the catcher 13 of the movable latch 10. At this point, the drawer slide control mechanism 5 is reset and again ready for use in the manner described above.
Another embodiment of the present invention shown in
The drawer slide control mechanism 51 includes a drawer latch bracket 70 having a main plain 71 and an engagement member 712 extending outwardly from a perpendicular extension 711 at a first portion of the main plane 71. The latch bracket 70 also includes a second portion 72, extending perpendicularly upwards a distance at an opposed second portion of the main plane 71, in a direction that is perpendicular with respect to the extension direction of the engagement member 712. The second portion 72 includes, for example, openings 70a through which fixing means, examples of which include, but are not limited to a screw, bolt, nail, brad, solder, or other mechanical fixing member, can be inserted to affix the latch bracket 70 to the bottom panel of the drawer. In that manner, the drawer latch bracket 70 attaches directly to a portion of the bottom surface of the drawer via the attachment means 70a. Although it is not shown in
As shown in
The elongate bracket member 9 attaches to a surface of the cabinet panel 1, such as a side surface as shown, for example, or any other surface as dictated by the particular requirements associated with the design constraints of the drawer slide rail system. Means for attaching the elongate bracket member 9 to a surface of the cabinet panel 1 is not limited to the embodiment described above, however, and includes additional and/or alternative means such as welding, glue, adhesive tape, adhesive-backed or glue-backed hook-and-loop type fasteners, or the like, to name a few.
Each of the component parts described above can be made from any one of a variety of materials that are typically used in the construction of drawer and cabinet hardware assemblies, including, but not limited to plastic, metal, composite, or any other suitable material. If any of the parts are to be formed integrally as described above, the respective parts would likely be made of the same material, preferably plastic to reduce cost.
In a similar manner, there is no special requirement for the shock absorber, and a variety of linear-type shock absorbers are available in the market. The damping characteristics and stroke length of the shock absorber would, of course, have to be selected so as to meet the particular damping and stroke requirements for the drawer slide control mechanisms 5, 51 as described above. The shock absorber can contain a fluid such as a gas, like air or any other suitable gaseous damping fluid, or a liquid, such as an oil or any other suitable liquidous damping fluid.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred mode as illustrated in the drawings, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that various changes in detail may be effected therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims.
