The invention relates to a pull-out guide for drawers.
Drawers, for example in kitchen furniture, are usually guided in such a way that they can be pulled out fully. For this purpose, a drawer guide which comprises a carcass rail connected to the carcass or the cupboard wall and a pull-out rail which is or can be connected to the drawer is arranged on each side of the drawer. However, the adjustability of these two rails is not sufficient in order for it to be possible to pull the drawer out fully, so that a central rail is arranged between them. In order to ensure that the central rail does not lose its correct position over the course of time, control arrangements are present. Support rollers, which are not only to ensure easy displacement but also have to carry the weight of the drawer, are present on the one hand between the carcass rail and the central rail and on the other hand between the central rail and the pull-out rail.
An example of a control arrangement for a pull-out guide fitting (DE 203 07 757 U1) uses a control wheel designed as a gearwheel which meshes with a rack on the carcass rail and a rack on the pull-out rail. The control wheel can also be designed as a friction wheel. In this case, it is made from a flexible material and has a diameter which is larger than the distance between the running profiles of the carcass rail and pull-out rail.
As far as the support and running rollers carrying the weight of the drawer are concerned, it is known (AT 40 62 20 B; AT 40 50 10 B) to mount a projection made of a softer material, which is for example injected into a peripheral groove, in the running surface of the roller. With increasing load, this peripheral projection is deformed in such a way that the harder running surface of the roller is then brought into use.
Furthermore, a drawer opening with three rails is known, in which a control roller 18 which has a hub and a tire made of rubber is mounted on the central rail. The hub has two flanges designed in its end region, between which the tire made of rubber extends (U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,039).
The invention is based on the object of further improving a pull-out guide for drawers with regard to improved running characteristics, in particular also a reduction of the running noise.
To achieve this object, the invention proposes a pull-out guide with the features mentioned in claim 1. Developments of the invention form the subject matter of subclaims.
The carcass rail, also referred to as the support rail, is connected to the carcass of the cupboard. The load of the drawer is carried by the support rollers between carcass rail and central rail on the one hand and between central rail and pull-out rail on the other hand. The control roller mounted rotatably on the central rail serves exclusively for synchronizing the position and movement of the central rail with the pulling-out and pushing-in operation of the drawer.
In a development of the invention, the control roller comprises a bearing part in the form of a hard body and a soft body which at least in part projects in the radial direction in relation to t latter. This soft body preferably extends as a ring around the entire periphery of the control roller but is preferably present over only part of the axial extent of the hard body, as an annular projection as it were.
It has proved to be especially advantageous if the soft body is arranged in the region of only one axial end side of the control roller.
In a development of the invention, the control roller is designed as a two-component construction, in particular with the material pairing of plastic and metal, or as a combination of zinc and steel.
However, it is likewise possible and lies within the scope of the invention that the hard body and the soft body are two separate components which are assembled before mounting of the control roller. In this connection, the soft body can also be mounted loose on the hard body.
In particular, the soft body is arranged between a shoulder of the hard body and a bearing of the control roller. In this way, the combination of hard body and soft body can be produced very simply and cost-effectively.
It is likewise possible that the soft body is fixed between a shoulder of the hard body and a retaining washer.
In order at all events to make possible quiet rattle-free running, provision can be made according to the invention in a development that the spindle on which the control roller is mounted has a cross section which differs from circular with a larger diameter in the pull-out direction. This affords a certain possibility of compensating the position of the control roller in the direction between the two rails with which it is in engagement, without play being allowed in the pulling-out direction. It has been found that this possibility results in permanent quiet bearing.
In particular, the cross section of the bearing spindle is designed to be roughly elliptical with the major axis in the pulling-out direction.
The invention proposes arranging the spindle on a holding device, in particular designing it in one piece therewith, which can be connected to the central rail by simple possibilities, for example by snapping-in and/or catching-in.
Irrespective of whether it is a two-component part or consists of two parts, the control roller can also be fixed on the spindle by simple pushing-on and if appropriate snapping or by slight deformation.
Further features, details and advantages of the invention emerge from the patent claims, the wording of which, just as the wording of the abstract, is by reference included in the content of the description, the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention and the drawing, in which:
While the rollers 4 between the rails carry the load of the drawer, the control roller 6 serves for synchronizing the movement of the central rail during pulling-out and pushing-in of the drawer.
Now to
On the front side facing away from the central rail 3, the bearing plate 10 comprises, formed on in one piece, the spindle 13 for supporting the control roller 6. In the illustrative embodiment in
When the front ends 15 have been deformed inward, the control roller 6 can be pushed onto the spindle 13. It is then fixed by the contact shoulder 16. The control roller 6 comprises a hard body 17 with a cylindrical outer surface which has a certain beveling 18 in the front region. In the region of the opposite end side, the hard body 17 has a recess which has a contact shoulder 19 running parallel to the front side of the bearing plate 10. In the space thus formed between the contact shoulder 19 and the bearing plate 10, an all-round ring 20 is inserted, which has the form of an A ring in the example illustrated. The radial outer side of this ring 20 projects slightly beyond the cylindrical outer side 21 of the hard body 17. When insertion between the two flanges 7, 8 takes place, it is therefore first the outer side of the ring 20 which bears against the flanges 7, 8.
In the embodiment illustrated in
The hard body 17 can be made of metal, for example, and the ring 20 of plastic. However, it is also possible that the hard body 17 consists of a harder material and the ring 20 then of a softer material.
The holding plate 30 is fastened to the central rail 3 by projections which are inserted into openings. The bearing plate 30 is riveted to the central rail 3 from the rear side by a light hammer blow.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2004 002.822.2 | Jan 2004 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2004/014688 | 12/23/2004 | WO | 00 | 12/28/2006 |