The present invention relates to a slide rail mechanism, and more particularly, to a slide rail mechanism having an unlocking handle.
Patent number WO 2021/146355A1 discloses a rotational bar for drawer slide latch operation. A drawer slide comprises an outer member (such as an outer rail) and an inner member (such as an inner rail) movable relative to each other. A release leaver is pivotally mounted to the inner member, and the release lever has a tab for being engaged with a predetermined catch of the outer member, such that the inner member is held in a position relative to the outer member. An arm is connected to an end of a rotating bar, and the arm is positioned to engage the release lever. According to such arrangement, when a user applies a force to the rotating bar, the rotating bar is configured to drive the arm to unlock the tab of the release lever from the catch of the outer member.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,004,331 B2 discloses a drawer release mechanism, which comprises a handle extrusion. A side of the handle extrusion is provided with a first pin (or a second pin) which is engaged with a lever. The lever is pivotally mounted to an inner rail. When a user applies a force to the handle extrusion, the handle extrusion is configured to drive the first pin to move the lever, so as to unlock the inner rail from the outer rail.
The rotating bar and the handle extrusion respectively disclosed in the aforementioned two patents are configured to rotate when the user applies the force. However, there is no change in height when the rotating bar and the handle extrusion are rotated relative to the slide rail (or the drawer). In addition, the rotating bar is engaged with the release lever; similarly, the handle extrusion is also engaged with the lever through the first pin.
However, in order to meet diverse requirements of the market, sometimes it is not desirable to unlock the rail through the arrangement disclosed in the aforementioned patents. Therefore, it is important to develop various products.
The present invention relates to a slide rail mechanism having an unlocking handle, and a slide rail assembly thereof.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a slide rail mechanism comprises a first slide rail assembly, a second slide rail assembly and an unlocking handle. Each of the first and second slide rail assemblies comprises a first rail, a second rail and a locking member. The first rail and the second rail are movable relative to each other. The locking member is configured to lock the second rail relative to the first rail at a predetermined position. The unlocking handle is movably mounted between the first slide rail assembly and the second slide rail assembly. When the unlocking handle is moved from a first position to a second position, the unlocking handle is configured to drive the locking member to move in order to unlock the second rail relative to the first rail at the predetermined position.
Preferably, the unlocking handle is movably mounted between the second rail of the first slide rail assembly and the second rail of the second slide rail assembly.
Preferably, the unlocking handle is movably mounted on a carried object mounted between the second rail of the first slide rail assembly and the second rail of the second slide rail assembly.
Preferably, the unlocking handle is detachably connected between the second rail of the first slide rail assembly and the second rail of the second slide rail assembly.
Preferably, the unlocking handle comprises two working members and a linkage rod. The linkage rod is arranged between the two working members. The two working members are rotatably connected to the second rail of the first slide rail assembly and the second rail of the second slide rail assembly respectively.
Preferably, each of the working members comprises a first part and a second part. A predetermined distance is defined between the first part and the second part. The first part is pivotally connected to the second rail through a connecting member. The linkage rod is connected to the second part.
Preferably, each of the working members is arranged with a first limiting feature, and each of the second rails is arranged with a second limiting feature. The two working members are configured to rotate within a limited range through interaction between the first limiting feature and the second limiting feature.
Preferably, each of the first and second slide rail assemblies further comprises an operating member. When a force is applied to the linkage rod of the unlocking handle, each of the working members of the unlocking handle is rotated from the first position to the second position in order to drive the locking member to move through the operating member.
Preferably, the operating member is linearly movable relative to the second rail.
Preferably, when the unlocking handle is located at the first position, the linkage rod of the unlocking handle is located at a first height relative to each of the first and second slide rail assemblies. When the unlocking handle is located at the second position, the linkage rod of the unlocking handle is located at a second height different from the first height relative to each of the first and second slide rail assemblies.
Preferably, the unlocking handle is configured to be linearly moved from the first position to the second position.
According another embodiment of the present invention, a slide rail assembly comprises a first rail, a second rail, a locking member and an unlocking handle. The second rail is movable relative to the first rail. The locking member is configured to lock the second rail relative to the first rail at a retracted position. The unlocking handle is movable relative to the second rail. When the unlocking handle is moved from a first position to a second position, the unlocking handle is configured to drive the locking member to move in order to unlock the second rail relative to the first rail at the retracted position, such that the second rail is able to move away from the retracted position.
Preferably, the unlocking handle is detachably connected to the second rail.
Preferably, the unlocking handle comprises a working member and a linkage rod. The linkage rod is arranged on the working member. The working member is rotatably connected to the second rail.
Preferably, the working member comprises a first part and a second part. A predetermined distance is defined between the first part and the second part. The first part is pivotally connected to the second rail through a connecting member. The linkage rod is connected to the second part.
Preferably, the working member is arranged with a first limiting feature, and the second rail is arranged with a second limiting feature. The working member is configured to rotate within a limited range through interaction between the first limiting feature and the second limiting feature.
Preferably, the slide rail assembly further comprises an operating member. When a force is applied to the linkage rod of the unlocking handle, the working member of the unlocking handle is rotated from the first position to the second position in order to drive the locking member to move through the operating member.
Preferably, the operating member is linearly movable relative to the second rail.
Preferably, when the unlocking handle is located at the first position, the linkage rod of the unlocking handle is located at a first height relative to the slide rail assembly. When the unlocking handle is located at the second position, the linkage rod of the unlocking handle is located at a second height different from the first height relative to the slide rail assembly.
Preferably, the unlocking handle is configured to be linearly moved from the first position to the second position.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
As shown in
Preferably, the first rail 28 is configured to be fixed to a rack or a cabinet (not shown in figures), and the second rail 30 is configured to carry a carried object (not shown in figures).
Preferably, each of the slide rail assemblies 22, 24 further comprises a third rail 32 movably mounted between the first rail 28 and the second rail 30 and configured to extend an opening traveling distance of the second rail 30 relative to the first rail 28.
The unlocking handle 26 is movably mounted between the first slide rail assembly 22 and the second slide rail assembly 24. For example, the unlocking handle 26 is movable from a first position P1 (as shown in
Preferably, each of the second rails 30 has a front part 30a and a rear part 30b, and the unlocking handle 26 is arranged adjacent to the front parts 30a of the two second rails 30.
Preferably, the unlocking handle 26 comprises two working members (such as a first working member 34 and a second working member 36) and a linkage rod 38. The two working members 34, 36 have substantially identical structural configuration. The linkage rod 38 is arranged between the two working members 34, 36. The two working members 34, 36 are rotatably connected to the second rail 30 of the first slide rail assembly 22 and the second rail 30 of the second slide rail assembly 24 respectively. For example, a user can apply a force K along a predetermined direction (such as an upward direction) to the linkage rod 38 of the unlocking handle 26, such that the two working members 34, 36 of the unlocking handle 26 are rotated to move from the first position P1 (as shown in
Preferably, when the unlocking handle 26 is located at the first position P1, the linkage rod 38 of the unlocking handle 26 is at a first height H1 relative to each of the slide rail assemblies 22, 24 (as shown in
Preferably, each of the working members 34, 36 (such as the first working member 34) comprises a first part 40 and a second part 42 (as shown in
Preferably, the unlocking handle 26 is detachably connected between the second rail 30 of the first slide rail assembly 22 and the second rail 30 of the second slide rail assembly 24. For example, the connecting member 44 can be a screw, a bolt or the like, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, the unlocking handle 26 can be detachably connected between the second rail 30 of the first slide rail assembly 22 and the second rail 30 of the second slide rail assembly 24 through the connecting member 44.
Preferably, each of the working members 34, 36 (such as the first working member 34) is arranged with a first limiting feature 46, and each of the second rails 30 (such as the second rail 30 of first slide rail assembly 22) is arranged with a second limiting feature 48. The two working members 34, 36 are configured to rotate within a limited range through interaction between the first limiting feature 46 and the second limiting feature 48. For example, one of the first limiting feature 46 and the second limiting feature 48 is an arc hole (or an arc slot), and the other one of the first limiting feature 46 and the second limiting feature 48 is a protrusion part extended into a portion of the arc hole (or the arc slot), but the present invention is not limited thereto.
As shown in
Preferably, the locking member 31 is configured to block one edge S of a blocking structure 50 of the first rail 28. In the present embodiment, the blocking structure 50 is a protruded structure. However, in other alternative embodiments, the blocking structure 50 can be a recessed (or hole) structure, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Furthermore, the locking member 31 is movably mounted to the second rail 30. For example, the locking member 31 is pivotally connected to the second rail 30 through a shaft member 52.
Preferably, each of the slide rail assemblies (the first slide rail assembly 22 and the second slide rail assembly 24) further comprises an elastic member 54 attached to the second rail 30. The elastic member 54 comprises an elastic part 56 configured to provide an elastic force to the locking member 31, such that the locking member 31 can be held in a state of blocking the blocking structure 50 of the first rail 28.
Preferably, each of the slide rail assemblies 22, 24 further comprises an operating member 58 movably mounted to the second rail 30. For example, the operating member 58 is linearly movable relative to the second rail 30. A linearly moving direction of the operating member 58 is identical to a moving direction (such as a longitudinal direction) of the second rail 30.
As shown in
Furthermore, when the user applies the force K to the unlocking handle 26, each of the working members 34, 36 (such as the second working member 36) of the unlocking handle 26 is rotated and moved from the first position P1 (as shown in
Moreover, in other alternative embodiments, the operating member 58 can be omitted. Furthermore, when the unlocking handle 26 is operated to move from the first position P1 to the second position P2, each of the working members 34, 36 (such as the second working member 36) can directly drive the locking member 31 to move in order to unlock the second rail 30 relative to the first rail 28 at the predetermined position R.
Therefore, the user only needs to apply the force K to the linkage rod 38 of the unlocking handle 26 with one hand, such that the unlocking handle 26 can be moved from the first position P1 to the second position P2 in order to unlock the second rails 30 relative to the first rails 28 of the two opposite slide rail assemblies 22, 24 at the predetermined position R. It is convenient to the user since there is no need to operate with both hands. In addition, the predetermined distance M of each of the working members 34, 36 (such as the first working member 34) can be regarded as a length of a moment arm, such that a labor-saving effect can be achieved when the user applies the force K to the linkage rod 38 of the unlocking handle 26 to drive the locking member 31 to move.
As shown in
Furthermore, one of a second rail 204 and the unlocking handle 202 of each of the slide rail assemblies (a first slide rail assembly 203 and a second slide rail assembly 205) comprises a first predetermined feature 206 (such as a longitudinal groove or a longitudinal hole), and the other one of the second rail 204 and the unlocking handle 202 comprises a second predetermined feature 208 (such as a protrusion or an object similar to the connecting member 44, which can be inserted into a portion of the longitudinal slot or longitudinal hole). Through interaction between the first predetermined feature 206 and the second predetermined feature 208, the unlocking handle 202 can be linearly moved from the first position P1′ (as shown in
Furthermore, the first rail 312 of each of the slide rail assemblies 304, 308 can be fixed to a rack or a cabinet (not shown in figures), and the second rail 306 of each of the slide rail assemblies 304, 308 is configured to carry the carried object 310. Each of working members 314 comprises a first part and a second part. The first part is pivotally connected to the carried object 310 through a connecting member 320. The connecting member 320 can be a screw, a bolt or the like, but the present invention is not limited thereto. A linkage rod 322 is connected to the second parts of the working members 314.
According to such configuration, the user can also apply a force to drive the unlocking handle 302 to move (for example, rotate or pivot) from a first position P1″ to a second position P2″ in order to unlock the second rails 306 relative to the first rails 312 of the two opposite slide rail assemblies 304, 308 at a predetermined position R″.
In addition to the unlocking handle 202 of the slide rail mechanism 200 of the second embodiment being mounted to a slide rail in a linearly movable manner, it is also feasible to mount the unlocking handle to a carried object mounted between the second rail of the first slide rail assembly and the second rail of the second slide rail assembly in a linearly movable manner. According to such configuration, when the unlocking handle is linearly moved from the first position to the second position relative to the second rail (or the carried object), the locking member can be driven to move in order to unlock the second rail relative to the first rail at the predetermined position.
Therefore, the slide rail mechanism and the slide rail assemblies thereof according to the embodiments of the present invention have the following technical features:
1. The unlocking handle 26 (202) can be mounted to the slide rail; or the unlocking handle 302 can be mounted to the carried object 310.
2. The user only needs to apply the force to the unlocking handle 26, 202, 302 with one hand, such that the unlocking handle 26, 202, 302 can be moved from the first position to the second position in order to unlock the second rails relative to the first rails of the two opposite slide rail assemblies at the predetermined position R. It is convenient to the user since there is no need to operate with both hands.
3. The predetermined distance M of each of the working members (such as the first working member 34) can be regarded as a length of a moment arm, such that a labor-saving effect can be achieved when the user applies the force K to the linkage rod 38 of the unlocking handle 26 to drive the locking member 31 to move.
4. The unlocking handle 26, 202 can be detachably connected between the second rail 30, 204 of the first slide rail assembly 22, 203 and the second rail 30, 204 of the second slide rail assembly 24, 205 (or the unlocking handle 302 is detachably mounted to the carried object 310 mounted between the second rail 306 of the first slide rail assembly 304 and the second rail 306 of the second slide rail assembly 308). In other words, the user can install the unlocking handle 26, 202, 302 according to requirements.
5. When the second rail 30, 204, 306 is unlocked relative to the first rail 28, 214, 312 at the predetermined position, the user can easily move the second rail 30, 204, 306 (or the carried object 310) away from the predetermined position (such as the retracted position) by pulling the unlocking handle 26, 202, 302.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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111147682 | Dec 2022 | TW | national |