The present invention relates to a slide rail product, and more specifically, to a slide rail mechanism capable of preventing two movable rails of two slide rail assemblies from being opened or extended simultaneously by a connecting member.
EP Patent No. 1441092 B1 discloses a blocking device adapted for a drawer cabinet. The drawer cabinet includes a cabinet body, a plurality of drawers and a plurality of slide rail assemblies. The blocking device includes a plurality of self-closing assemblies and a plurality of lifting members. Each of the plurality of self-closing assemblies is arranged on the corresponding drawer or the corresponding slide rail assembly and includes a driving member. When one of the plurality of drawers is opened with respect to the cabinet body, the one of the plurality of drawers drives an interlock mechanism formed by the plurality of lifting members by a blocking catch of a corresponding one of the plurality of driving members to block the other ones of the plurality of driving members for prevent the other ones of the plurality of drawers from being opened with respect to the cabinet body.
However, the aforementioned blocking device has complicated structure. To meet different requirements, it becomes an important topic to provide an improved slide rail product.
The present invention provides a slide rail mechanism capable of preventing two movable rails of two slide rail assemblies from being opened or extended simultaneously by a connecting member.
According to an aspect of the invention, a slide rail mechanism is adapted for a cabinet. The slide rail mechanism includes a first slide rail assembly, a second slide rail assembly and a connecting member. The first slide rail assembly is arranged on the cabinet. The first slide rail assembly includes a first rail and a second rail longitudinally displaceable with respect to the first rail. The second slide rail assembly is arranged on the cabinet. The second slide rail assembly includes a third rail and a fourth rail longitudinally displaceable with respect to the third rail. The connecting member is movably mounted on one of the cabinet and the first rail. The connecting member is moved for preventing the fourth rail from displacing with respect to the third rail along an opening direction when the second rail displaces with respect to the first rail along the opening direction.
According to another aspect of the invention, a slide rail mechanism includes a first slide rail assembly, a second slide rail assembly and a connecting member. The first slide rail assembly includes a first rail, a second rail longitudinally displaceable with respect to the first rail, and a self-closing device arranged on the first rail. The self-closing device includes a resilient member. The second slide rail assembly includes a third rail and a fourth rail longitudinally displaceable with respect to the third rail. The connecting member is moved for preventing the fourth rail from displacing with respect to the third rail along an opening direction and the resilient member is resiliently deformed during a displacement of the second rail with respect to the first rail from a retracted position to an extended position along the opening direction. The second rail is configured to be driven to the retracted position along a retracting direction by the resilient member during a displacement of the second rail with respect to the first rail from the extended position along the retracting direction.
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top”, “bottom”, “left”, “right”, “front”, “back”, etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure (s) being described. The members of the present invention can be positioned in a number of different orientations. As such, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive. Also, if not specified, the term “connect” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct mechanical connection. Thus, if a first device is connected to a second device, that connection may be through a direct mechanical connection, or through an indirect mechanical connection via other devices and connections.
As shown in
As shown in
Understandably, in another embodiment, the first middle rail and the second middle rail can be omitted. It should be noticed that, in this embodiment, by way of example, a longitudinal direction, i.e., a length direction or a displacing direction of a rail, can be parallel to an X axis. The transverse direction, i.e., a lateral direction of the rail or the lateral direction of the cabinet 22, can be parallel to a Y axis. The vertical direction, i.e., a height direction of the rail or the height direction of the cabinet 22, can be parallel to the Z axis.
The connecting member 30 is movably mounted between the first slide rail assembly 26 and the second slide rail assembly 28.
Preferably, the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26 and the third rail 36 of the second slide rail assembly 28 can have substantially identical structures, and the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 and the fourth rail 38 of the second slide rail assembly 28 can have substantially identical structures. Detailed description for the second slide rail assembly 28 is omitted for simplicity. In this embodiment, by way of example, the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26 can include a first vertical portion 44, a first supporting portion 46 and a first horizontal portion 48 connected between the first vertical portion 44 and the first supporting portion 46, and the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26 can be configured to be mounted on the wall W of the cabinet 22 by a plurality of mounting features 50 of the first vertical portion 44. The connecting member 30 is movably mounted on the first vertical portion 44 of the first rail 32, such that the connecting member 30 is movable along the height direction of the cabinet 22, e.g., the Z axis. Besides, the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 and the fourth rail 38 of the second slide rail assembly 28 can be configured to support the first drawer 24a and the second drawer 24b respectively.
Preferably, the first vertical portion 44 and the first supporting portion 46 are substantially perpendicularly connected to the first horizontal portion 48. The first vertical portion 44 has a first height K1, and the first supporting portion 46 has a second height K2 less than the first height K1. The first vertical portion 44 and the first supporting portion 46 are located at two opposite sides of the first horizontal portion 48.
Preferably, each of the first slide rail assembly 26 and the second slide rail assembly 28 includes a plurality of slide-aiding devices. For example, the first slide rail assembly 26 includes a first slide-aiding device and a second slide-aiding device. The first slide-aiding device is movably supported between the first rail 32 and the first middle rail 40 of the first slide rail assembly 26 for facilitating a smooth relative displacement of the first middle rail 40 and the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26. The second slide-aiding device is movably supported between the second rail 34 and the first middle rail 40 of the first slide rail assembly 26 for facilitating a smooth relative displacement of the second rail 34 and the first middle rail 40 of the first slide rail assembly 26.
Furthermore, the connecting member 30 includes a first extending portion 52, a second extending portion 54 and a middle portion 56 connected between the first extending portion 52 and the second extending portion 54. As shown in
Preferably, the connecting member 30 is a rod, and a longitudinal direction of the connecting member 30 is substantially parallel to the height direction of the cabinet 22.
Preferably, a first self-closing device 60 and a second self-closing device 62 are arranged on the first slide rail assembly 26 and the second slide rail assembly 28, respectively. The first self-closing device 60 and the second self-closing device 62 can have substantially identical structures. Detailed description for the second self-closing device 62 is omitted for simplicity. The first self-closing device 60 is arranged on the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26 and includes a first auxiliary member 64, and the second self-closing device 62 is arranged on the third rail 36 of the second slide rail assembly 28 and includes a third auxiliary member 70.
Preferably, a first working feature 66 is arranged on the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 and movable together with the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 when the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 displaces with respect to the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26, and a second working feature 68 is arranged on the fourth rail 38 of the second slide rail assembly 28 and movable together with the fourth rail 38 of the second slide rail assembly 28 when the fourth rail 38 of the second slide rail assembly 28 displaces with respect to the third rail 36 of the second slide rail assembly 28. In this embodiment, by way of example, each of the first working feature 66 and the second working feature 68 can be a protrusion, a pin or the like. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. As shown in
Preferably, the first self-closing device 60 further includes a second auxiliary member 72 located adjacent to the first auxiliary member 64, and the second self-closing device 62 further includes a fourth auxiliary member 74 located adjacent to the third auxiliary member 70.
Preferably, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Preferably, the first self-closing device 60 further includes a first base 88 configured to be connected, e.g., fixedly connected, to the first rail 32, e.g., the first horizontal portion 48 of the first rail 32, of the first slide rail assembly 26.
Preferably, the first resilient member 84 includes a first end portion 94a connected to the second auxiliary member 72 and a second end portion 94b connected to the first base 88.
Preferably, one of the first auxiliary member 64 and the second auxiliary member 72 includes a first guiding feature 96. In this embodiment, by way of example, the second auxiliary member 72 includes the first guiding feature 96. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. Besides, the connecting member 30, e.g., the first extending portion 52 of the connecting member 30, includes a second guiding feature 98 for cooperating with the first guiding feature 96 to allow the connecting member 30 to be moved in response to the second auxiliary member 72. In this embodiment, by way of example, as shown in
Preferably, the first slide rail assembly 26 further includes a first damping device 100, and the second slide rail assembly 28 further includes a second damping device. The first damping device 100 and the second damping device can have substantially identical structures. Detailed description for the second damping device is omitted for simplicity. The first damping device 100 includes a first object 102 and a second object 104 movable with respect to each other. One of the first object 102 and the second object 104 is a cylinder equipped with a buffering medium and/or an auxiliary spring therein, and the other one of the first object 102 and the second object 104 is a piston rod. As shown in
As shown in
Preferably, the first auxiliary member 64 includes a first supporting section 108, and the second auxiliary member 72 includes a second supporting section 110. The first supporting section 108 and the second supporting section 110 are configured to cooperate with the first base 88. In this embodiment, by way of example, each of the first supporting section 108 and the second supporting section 110 can be a protruding portion.
For illustration purpose,
When the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 displaces with respect to the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26 along an opening direction D1, the connecting member 30 is moved for preventing the fourth rail 38 of the second slide rail assembly 28 from displacing with respect to the third rail 36 of the second slide rail assembly 28 along the opening direction D1.
For example, when the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 displaces with respect to the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26 away from the first retracted position R as shown in
As shown in
When the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 displaces with respect to the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26 from a position as shown in
It should be noticed that, as shown in
Preferably, during a displacement of the second rail 34 driven by the resilient member 84 and displacing to the first retracted position R along the retracting direction D2, the first auxiliary member 64 abuts against the second object 104 of the first damping device 100 for driving the second object 104 of the first damping device 100 to move with respect to the first object 102 of the first damping device 100, such that the displacing speed of the second rail 34 is reduced.
It should be noticed that when the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 is retracted with respect to the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26 and the fourth rail 38 of the second slide rail assembly 28 is opened or extended with respect to the third rail 36 of the second slide rail assembly 28, the fourth auxiliary member 74 moves to a blocking position along the opening direction D1 for blocking the connecting member 30, such that the connecting member 30 cannot move along the height direction M, i.e., the connecting member 30 can be retained at the first predetermined height H1. The connecting member 30 retained at the first predetermined height H1 can block the second auxiliary member 72 for preventing the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 from displacing with respect to the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26 along the opening direction D1.
From the above, the slide rail mechanism includes the following characteristics.
1. The connecting member 30 is movably mounted on one of the cabinet 22, the first slide rail assembly 26 and the second slide rail assembly 28. When the connecting member 30 is movably mounted on the first slide rail assembly 26, e.g., the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26, the cabinet 22 does not need to be equipped with any additional structure for mounting the connecting member 30. Therefore, the slide rail mechanism has an advantage of easy assembly.
2. The connecting member 30 is configured to cooperate with the second auxiliary member 72 of the self-closing device 60 movably connected to the first auxiliary member 64. Therefore, the slide rail mechanism has advantages of simplified structure and improved operability.
3. When the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 is opened or extended with respect to the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26, the fourth rail 38 of the second slide rail assembly 28 cannot be extended with respect to the third rail 36 of the second slide rail assembly 28. When the fourth rail 38 of the second slide rail assembly 28 is opened or extended with respect to the third rail 36 of the second slide rail assembly 28, the second rail 34 of the first slide rail assembly 26 cannot be extended with respect to the first rail 32 of the first slide rail assembly 26. Accordingly, the first drawer 24a and the second drawer 24b cannot be opened with respect to the cabinet 22 at the same time, which prevents falling of the cabinet 22 caused by the opened first drawer 24a and the opened second drawer 24b. Therefore, the slide rail mechanism provides an enhanced using safety.
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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112105467 | Feb 2023 | TW | national |