Drawer slide rail system

Abstract

The invention provides a drawer sliding rail system and a drawer cabinet comprising the drawer sliding rail system. The drawer slide system includes a guide rail (40) having a mounting plate (45), a top engagement portion (43), and a bottom engagement portion (44). The top engagement portion (43) and the bottom engagement portion (44) extend in parallel along the guide rail (40). The drawer slide system further includes a slide member (50) having a top sliding surface (53) for sliding engagement with the top engagement portion (43) and a bottom sliding surface (54) for sliding engagement with the bottom engagement portion (44). A lateral width (LW1) of at least one of the top sliding surface (53) and the bottom sliding surface (54) is greater than a lateral width (LW2) of the associated top engagement portion (43) and bottom engagement portion (44).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a drawer slide system and to a drawer cabinet comprising such a drawer slide system. Background Art

[0002] Drawer slide systems are generally used to provide smooth movement when a drawer is pulled out of and pushed into an associated cabinet. Typical requirements for modern drawer slide systems include low friction, robustness, low complexity, and reasonable cost.

[0003] A particular type of drawer slide system comprises a guide rail fixed to the inner wall of the cabinet and a member fixed to the outer wall of the drawer at a rear portion. When the drawer is pulled out of the cabinet, the member is allowed to roll or slide against the guide rail, preferably in a low-friction manner, which also serves to limit the lateral movement of the drawer. This type of slide system is often referred to as a hidden slide system because the components of the slide system are usually not visible even when the drawer is pulled out to its maximum extent, i.e. when the member reaches the end position of the guide rail.

[0004] One disadvantage of these systems is the lateral space required between the inner cabinet wall and the outer drawer wall. This space is required to accommodate the rails and the brackets and fasteners used to mount the components to the outer drawer sides, including tolerances. If this lateral space is less than 14 mm, or even less than 10 mm, the solutions available today are difficult to use.

[0005] Especially for small furniture, a lateral space of 10 mm or more will significantly detract from the visual appearance of the furniture and reduce the usable volume of the drawer, as the overall width of the drawer needs to be significantly less than the interior width of the cabinet. Therefore, there is a need for an improved drawer slide system that can be used in concealed applications and that requires reduced lateral space to fit between the interior cabinet wall and the exterior drawer side. Summary of the invention

[0006] Therefore, the present invention preferably attempts to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-mentioned defects and disadvantages in the prior art, either alone or in any combination, and at least solve the above-mentioned problems by providing a drawer slide system that can be made more compact in the width direction while still providing the required functionality, robustness and cost-effectiveness.

[0007] According to a first aspect, a drawer slide system is provided. The drawer slide system comprises a guide rail having a mounting plate, a top engaging portion and a bottom engaging portion. The top engaging portion and the bottom engaging portion extend in parallel along the guide rail. The drawer slide system also comprises a slide rail member having a top sliding surface for sliding engagement with the top engaging portion and a bottom sliding surface for sliding engagement with the bottom engaging portion, wherein the lateral width of at least one of the top sliding surface and the bottom sliding surface is greater than the lateral width of the associated top engaging portion and the bottom engaging portion. Through this configuration, the guide rail can be made to have a significantly smaller size, particularly in the horizontal direction, compared with what the prior art has suggested. In particular, in the proposed solution, the guide rail does not need to completely enclose the entire lateral width of the slide rail member, but only provides a narrow sliding engagement, while still achieving a stable sliding engagement with low friction. In addition, the drawer slide system does not need to use any bearings, such as ball bearings or any rollers, while many slide rail systems known in the art require.

[0008] Preferably, the top engaging portion and the bottom engaging portion are vertically aligned.

[0009] The lateral width of each of the top sliding surface and the bottom sliding surface may be greater than the lateral width of the associated top engaging portion and the bottom engaging portion.

[0010] At least one of the top and bottom engaging portions may be provided with a radius. Preferably, the radius is in the range of 0.5mm to 5.0mm, such as 0.7mm to 4.0mm, preferably in the range of 0.8mm to 3.0mm, even more preferably in the range of 1.0mm to 2.5mm.

[0011] The lateral width of at least one of the top joining portion and the bottom joining portion may be in the range of 1 mm or less.

[0012] The guide rail may include a top flange inclined to extend downwardly, and an upper lip disposed outside the top flange and extending upwardly from the top flange, wherein a joint portion between the top flange and the upper lip forms a top joint portion.

[0013] The guide rail may include a bottom flange inclined to extend upward, and a bottom lip disposed outside the bottom flange and extending downward from the bottom flange, wherein a joint portion between the bottom flange and the bottom lip forms a bottom joint portion.

[0014] The mounting plate, top engaging portion and bottom engaging portion may be integrally formed.

[0015] The lateral distance between the mounting plate and the top and bottom engagement portions may be greater than half the lateral width of the rail member.

[0016] The slide rail member may be configured to be rotatable relative to the drawer side wall. Thus, the slide rail member may be arranged and adapted to rotate relative to the drawer side wall. The slide rail member may be designed so that it can rotate relative to the drawer side wall.

[0017] The guide rail component can be made of plastic. The guide rail can be made of metal, which is preferably coated with a coating, such as paint.

[0018] The rail member may have a polygonal shape or a cylindrical shape, and preferably, the rail member has a polygonal shape such as a rectangular shape or a hexagonal shape.

[0019] At least one of the top sliding surface and the bottom sliding surface may be at least partially concave.

[0020] At least one of the top sliding surface and the bottom sliding surface may include an outer end wing, optionally also an inner end wing, and include a central sliding portion extending from the outer end wing.

[0021] Preferably, the vertical distance between the outer edge of the top sliding surface and the outer edge of the bottom sliding surface is greater than the vertical opening distance between the top engaging portion and the bottom engaging portion. This prevents the slide rail member from moving laterally out of the guide rail.

[0022] At least one of the outer edge of the top sliding surface and the outer edge of the bottom sliding surface can preferably be defined by an outer end wing, so that the vertical distance between the outer edge of the top sliding surface and the outer edge of the bottom sliding surface is defined by the vertical distance between the outer edge of the outer end wing of one sliding surface and the central sliding part of the other sliding surface, or when each sliding surface is provided with a corresponding outer end wing, it is defined by the vertical distance between the outer edges of the outer end wings.

[0023] The central sliding portion may be at least partially provided with a radius.The radius of the central sliding portion of the top sliding surface and / or the bottom sliding surface may be equal to or greater than the radius of the top engaging portion and / or the bottom engaging portion.

[0024] The central sliding part may have a horizontal portion, preferably such a horizontal portion is arranged as a middle portion between the two portions provided with the radius.

[0025] The guide rail may include a horizontal front section, a vertically upwardly inclined intermediate delay section, and a vertically downwardly inclined rear section.

[0026] The total width of the drawer slide system may be less than 14 mm, for example, 3 mm to 14 mm, preferably in the range of 6 mm to 10 mm.

[0027] According to a second aspect, a drawer cabinet is provided. The drawer cabinet comprises a cabinet body, at least one drawer and at least one drawer slide rail system according to the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0029] FIG. 1a is an isometric view of a chest of drawers according to an embodiment;

[0030] Figure 1b is Figure 1a An isometric view of a chest of drawers is shown with one drawer pulled out.

[0031] Figure 2 is an exploded view of a drawer slide system according to an embodiment;

[0032] Figure 3 is an isometric view of the drawer slide system in its assembled state;

[0033] Figure 4 is an isometric view of a guide rail of a drawer slide system according to an embodiment;

[0034] Figure 5a is a cross-sectional view of a drawer slide system according to an embodiment;

[0035] Figure 5b is an isometric view of a slide member of a drawer slide system according to an embodiment;

[0036] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a drawer slide system shown in three different positions;

[0037] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of a slide member of a drawer slide system; and

[0038] Figures 8a to 8d 2 is a cross-sectional view of a guide rail of a drawer slide system according to various embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] Several embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can perform the present invention. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the scope of the present invention will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. The embodiments do not limit the present invention, and the present invention is only limited by the appended claims. In addition, the terms used in the detailed description of the specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0040] First in Figure 1a and Figure 1b A chest of drawers 1 is shown in FIG. The chest of drawers 1 represents one possible implementation for a drawer slide system, as will be described below, however there are other possible applications where one part is intended to move relative to another part.

[0041] The drawer cabinet 1 includes a cabinet body 10. The cabinet body 10 is provided with a plurality of drawers 20, and the plurality of drawers 20 are arranged so as to allow the drawers 20 to be Figure 1a The closed position shown in FIG. Figure 1b The drawer slide system 30 is connected to the cabinet body 10 in the manner of the open position shown in FIG. This movement is achieved by means of at least one drawer slide system 30. The drawer slide system 30 is Figure 1a and Figure 1b 10, because the drawer slide system 30 is designed as a hidden drawer slide system, which means that the components of the drawer slide system 30 are generally not visible to the user even when the drawer 20 is pulled out of the cabinet 10. However, it should be understood that the drawer slide system 30 described herein can also be used in other types of drawer slide systems that are visible or hidden and can be operated to pull the drawer out to a degree such as three-quarter extension, full extension and / or over-travel extension.

[0042] For the normal function of the drawer cabinet 1, the drawer slide system 30 forms a moving joint between the cabinet body 10 and the drawer 20. One part 40 of the drawer slide system 30 is fixedly attached to the cabinet body 10, while another part 50 of the drawer slide system 30 is fixedly attached to the drawer 20 (see Figure 1b ). Through the engagement between the components 40 , 50 of the drawer slide system 30 , the drawer 20 will be allowed to move into and out of the cabinet 10 .

[0043] Now go to Figure 2, the details of the drawer slide system 30 will be further described. The drawer slide system 30 includes a guide rail 40 and an associated slide member 50. The guide rail 40 is preferably firmly attached to the interior wall of the cabinet 10 in a generally horizontal configuration. The guide rail 40 extends from a front end 41F to a rear end 41R in a longitudinal direction L. A guide rail 40 is provided to allow the guide rail 40 to be attached to the cabinet 10 by means of screws, dowels, etc. Figure 1a to Figure 1b The internal fastening device 42 of the cabinet 10, such as a through hole, is arranged along the length of the guide rail 40, that is, it is arranged somewhere between the front end 41F and the rear end 41R.

[0044] The guide rail 40 provides guidance for the slide rail member 50. In operation, the slide rail member 50, which will be described in further detail below, is allowed to slide freely along the guide rail 40, but is prevented from unrestricted movement of the slide rail member 50 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L of the guide rail 40. The slide rail member 50 is firmly attached to the outer side of the drawer side panel 21. In the embodiment shown, the slide rail member 50 is pre-mounted to a bracket 51, which in turn can be attached to the outer side of the drawer side panel 21, for example by means of screws, dowels, etc. The slide rail member 50, which may be provided with a centrally aligned through hole, may be attached to the bracket 51, for example by means of a rivet 59, which also forms an axis for the slide rail member 50.

[0045] Preferably, the bracket 51 is designed so that the slide rail member 50 is positioned near the bottom rear corner of the drawer 20 when fastened to the drawer side panel 21 .

[0046] like Figure 2 As can be seen in the figure, the drawer slide system 30 can also include a bottom guide 60 mounted to the bottom side of the drawer side panel 21. Although not further described herein, the bottom guide 60 can be designed to slide relative to a fixed sliding member 70 arranged at the front end 4IF of the guide rail 40.

[0047] exist Figure 3 , however, the cabinet is excluded for ease of understanding. The guide rail 40, which is the right guide rail in this illustration, is shown from its rear side, which is preferably relatively flat to provide a secure contact when mounted to the cabinet wall. Figure 3 , a slide rail member 50 (not shown, but indicated by dashed lines) is received by the guide rail 40 at the bottom rear corner of the drawer side panel 21. Figure 3 The diagram corresponds to Figure 1a This means that the drawer is completely inside the cabinet. When the drawer is pulled out of the cabinet, Figure 1b In the case shown in the figure, the drawer side panel 21 and the slide rail member 50 will be Figure 3 .

[0048] exist Figure 4 The guide rail 40 is shown in more detail in FIG. 4 , in this illustration the left guide rail. Figure 2 and Figure 3 Compared with the embodiment shown in Figure 4 The details of the front end portion 41F are omitted. The guide rail 40 includes an upper engaging portion 43 and a bottom engaging portion 44. The upper engaging portion 43 and the bottom engaging portion 44 are connected by means of a mounting plate 45, and the upper engaging portion 43 and the bottom engaging portion 44 are vertically aligned and extend in parallel along the guide rail 40. Preferably, the entire guide rail 40 is formed of a single piece of material, that is, the mounting plate 45 is integrally formed with the upper engaging portion 43 and the bottom engaging portion 44. Suitable materials for the guide rail 40 include metals such as steel or aluminum, as well as polymer materials, plastics, alloys, composite materials, etc. The guide rail can be produced by bending, extruding, injection molding or other suitable manufacturing processes of metal sheets.

[0049] During operation, the slide rail member 50 ( Figure 4 The guide rail 40 is not shown in the figure and is received in the vertical space formed between the upper engaging portion 43 and the bottom engaging portion 44. Due to the parallelism of the upper engaging portion 43 and the bottom engaging portion 44, the vertical space is constant along the length of the guide rail 40.

[0050] The guide rail 40 preferably includes three sections. The front section FS has a generally horizontal extension, which means that the drawer 20 will move generally horizontally when the slide rail member 50 is guided by the front section FS. When pushed inward toward the closed position, the slide rail member 50 will travel along the front section FS that transitions to the middle section IS. The middle section is slightly inclined vertically upward, such as between 1° and 5°, thereby forming a delay area for the slide rail member 50 to travel along the middle section IS. At the rear end 41R of the guide rail 40, the middle section IS transitions to the rear section RS, which is slightly inclined vertically downward, such as between 3° and 10° to the same horizontal position as the front section FS. The rear section RS of the guide rail 40 forms a self-closing area for the slide rail member 50, which will be assisted by gravity in the final travel distance. In addition, the rear section RS ensures that the drawer 20 will remain in its closed position until the user applies a pulling force to the drawer 20 to pull it out. As Figure 4 As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the rear section RS is provided with a stop member 46 , which may be formed by a protrusion of the mounting plate 45 in a normal direction of the mounting plate 45 .

[0051] Now go to Figure 5a , shows a drawer slide system 30 in cross section, particularly illustrating details of the guide rail 40, which is shown with Figure 3 The same right side guide rail is used in the embodiment of the present invention, and the guide rail 40 is engaged with the slide rail member 50.

[0052] As previously described, the slide rail member 50 is arranged in the vertical space formed between the top engaging portion 43 and the bottom engaging portion 44 of the guide rail 40. The slide rail member 50 includes a top sliding surface 53 for the top engaging portion 43 and a bottom sliding surface 54 for the bottom engaging portion 44. Therefore, when the drawer 20 is moved into and out of the cabinet 10, the top sliding surface 53 of the slide rail member 50 will slide against the top engaging portion 43 of the guide rail 40, and the bottom sliding surface 54 of the slide rail member 50 will slide against the bottom engaging portion 44 of the guide rail 40.

[0053] Typically, the sliding engagement between the guide rail 40 and the slide rail member 50 is designed to provide low friction, and various techniques and adjustments can be used to achieve the desired level of static friction and dynamic friction. For example, the slide rail member 50 can be made of plastic material, and the guide rail 40, and in particular the top engagement portion 43 and the bottom engagement portion 44 can be made of metal. This metal can be coated with a coating, such as paint, such as a paint applied by an electrophoretic deposition process. Other suitable techniques known in the art include applying a paint containing a resin to the guide rail 40, spray coating the guide rail 40, etc. Optionally, a lipophilic composition coating, such as a lubricant, can be applied to the slide rail member 50 and / or applied to the guide rail 40-directly applied to the guide rail 40 or applied to a coating applied to the guide rail 40, such as paint. This guide rail 40 with paint applied thereto is preferably used together with a slide rail member 50 made of plastic.

[0054] As described above, the slide rail member 50 has a top sliding surface 53 and a bottom sliding surface 54. In addition, the slide rail member 50 has an outer surface 55a and an inner surface 55d. The inner surface 55d preferably faces the drawer side panel 21. Preferably, the outer surface 55a faces the guide rail 40. The outer surface 55a and the inner surface 55d are opposite to each other. In addition, the slide rail member 50 has an upper surface 55b and a bottom surface 55c. The upper surface 55b and the bottom surface 55c separate the outer surface 55a from the inner surface 55d.

[0055] In the illustrated embodiment, the rail member 50 has a rectangular shape, thereby defining the top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54 as being substantially horizontal and flat. Therefore, the outer surface 55a and the inner surface 55d are rectangular in shape. The outer surface 55a and the inner surface 55d are perpendicular to the top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54. However, as shown in FIG. Figure 5b As shown in FIG. 5 , the corners 50 c of the rectangular shape of the slide rail member 50 may be slightly rounded to achieve smooth movement between the different sections FS, IS, RS of the guide rail 40. Figure 5bAs shown in FIG. 5 , the outer surface 55a and the inner surface 55d may have slightly rounded corners. Since the slide rail member 50 is designed to have a substantially horizontal and flat top sliding surface 53 and a bottom sliding surface 54 and has a rectangular outer surface 55a and an inner surface 55d, the slide rail member 50 can rotate relative to the drawer side panel 21.

[0056] As described above, the slide rail member 50 can be a rectangular body fixed relative to the associated drawer 20, thereby providing a pure sliding engagement between the slide rail member 50 and the guide rail 40. The sliding rail member 50 can also be other shapes and not necessarily rectangular, such as hexagonal shapes and octagonal shapes. The outer surface 55a and the inner surface 55d of the slide rail member 50 can have other shapes and not necessarily rectangular, such as hexagonal shapes and octagonal shapes.

[0057] like Figure 5a As can be seen in the figure, the lateral width LW1 of the top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54 of the slide rail member 50 is significantly greater than the lateral width LW2 of the top engaging portion 43 and the bottom engaging portion 44 of the associated guide rail. Each of the top engaging portion 43 and the bottom engaging portion 44 provides a narrow contact point with the associated sliding surface 53, 54. This narrow contact point within a width range of 1 mm or less will form a limited contact area, thereby helping to provide the desired low friction between the slide rail member 50 and the guide rail 40.

[0058] Typically, the lateral width LW1 of the top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54 is defined as the section that engages with the corresponding top engaging portion 43 and the bottom engaging portion 44 during normal operation of the drawer slide system. The top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54 do not necessarily need to be completely flat. In some embodiments, the top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54 are provided with a curvature so that the top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54 are as shown in FIG. Figure 7 According to this definition, the slide rail member 50 can extend laterally beyond the top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54, as mentioned below with respect to the end wings 56, 57 (see Figure 6 ).

[0059] Similarly, the lateral width LW2 of the top and bottom engaging portions 43, 44 is defined as the section of the rail 40 that contacts the respective top and bottom sliding surfaces 53, 54 during normal operation of the drawer slide system. Preferably, the top and bottom engaging portions 43, 44 are each provided with a radius, and thus the exact lateral width LW2 during use may depend on pressure, material deformation, etc.

[0060] The guide rail 40 has a general shape of a C-shaped profile, wherein the effective portion of the guide rail 40 engaging with the slide rail member 50 is formed by a top engaging portion 43 and a bottom engaging portion 44 defining a vertical gap in which the slide rail member 50 is disposed. Figure 5a It can be clearly seen that the guide rail 40 does not extend to cover all sides of the slide rail member 50. The guide rail 40 extends along the outer surface 55a of the slide rail member 50 by means of the mounting plate 45, extends along a portion of the upper surface 55b forming the top sliding surface 53 by means of the top engaging portion 43, and extends along a portion of the bottom surface 55c forming the bottom sliding surface 54 by means of the bottom engaging portion 44, but does not extend along the inner surface 55d facing the drawer side panel 21.

[0061] like Figure 5a As shown in the figure, the rivets 59 used to fasten the slide rail member 50 do not protrude beyond the outer surface 55a of the slide rail member 50. The slide rail member 50 is fixed relative to the associated drawer 20, thereby providing a pure sliding engagement between the slide rail member 50 and the guide rail 40. Therefore, when the guide rail 40 slides along the top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54, the slide rail member 50 is stationary.

[0062] Leaving the inner portion 55d completely uncovered by the guide rail 40 may result in the risk of the guide rail losing engagement with the slide rail member 50 in the event that the guide rail 40 is laterally displaced relative to the drawer 20, for example due to expansion of the cabinet 10. Figure 6 and Figure 7 The configuration further illustrated in Figure 2 prevents this situation.

[0063] exist Figure 6 In FIG. 1 , the drawer slide system 30 is shown in three different positions, and in FIG. Figure 7 The slide rail member 50 is shown in more detail in FIG. Figure 6 In the rightmost and lowermost position of the drawer side panel 21 (at Figure 6 As schematically indicated in Figure 3 and Figure 5a 4 and 5. In this position, the distance between the slide rail member 50 and the guide rail 40 (i.e., the cabinet 10) is at its minimum. In this position, the outer surface 55a of the slide rail member 50 will contact the mounting plate 45 of the guide rail 40, which blocks any further lateral displacement of the slide rail member 50 in this direction.

[0064] In the intermediate position, the slide rail member 50 is centrally arranged within the guide rail 40 , ie the only contact between the guide rail 40 and the slide rail member 50 is the sliding engagement between the top and bottom engagement portions 43 , 44 and the respective top and bottom sliding surfaces 53 , 54 .

[0065] In the leftmost and topmost position, the lateral distance between the drawer side panel 21 and the guide rail 40 (i.e., the cabinet 10) increases to the maximum distance. For example, this may be caused by the expansion of the cabinet due to the excessive load in the drawer. This maximum distance is defined by the slide rail member 50 provided with the end wing 56. Therefore, the slide rail member 50 has a central sliding portion 58 defined by the outer end wing 56 and the optional inner end wing 57. These end wings 56, 57 preferably extend outward from the central sliding portion 58 at both the top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54. Preferably, each of the top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54 is a curved shape, so that the vertical height of each of the top sliding surface 53 and the bottom sliding surface 54 changes between the maximum value at the outer end of the slide rail member 50 corresponding to the outer end wing 56 to the minimum value at the central part of the slide rail member 50 corresponding to the central sliding portion 58 and the maximum value at the inner end corresponding to the inner end wing 57 of the slide rail member 50. Thus, the end wings 56, 57 form lateral end sections of the respective top and bottom sliding surfaces 53, 54, however the end wings 56 and 57 are not intended to be slidingly engaged with the top and bottom engaging portions 43, 44. The intended sliding engagement of the top and bottom sliding surfaces 53, 54 is defined by the central sliding portion 58 having a lateral width LW1 (see Figure 5a and Figure 7 ), the lateral width LW1 corresponds to the sections that contact the corresponding top engaging portion 43 and bottom engaging portion 44 of the guide rail 40 during normal use of the drawer slide system 30.

[0066] In the case where the end wings 56, 57 are provided, the slide rail member 50 attached at the rear portion of the drawer 20 is inserted into the front end portion 4IF ( Figure 2 ) and then pushing the drawer inward to install the drawer 20 to the cabinet 10.

[0067] like Figure 6 As can be seen in the leftmost position, the lateral distance LD between the mounting plate 45 and the top engaging portion 43 and the bottom engaging portion 44 is greater than half of the lateral width LW of the rail member 50, i.e., greater than 0.5 times of the lateral width LW. Half of the lateral width LW is Figure 6 The leftmost position is indicated by the reference symbol HLW.

[0068] The minimum vertical height at the central portion 58 of the slide rail member 50 is slightly less than the vertical distance between the top engagement portion 43 and the bottom engagement portion 44 of the guide rail 40. The maximum vertical height at the outer ends of the slide rail member 50, i.e., the vertical height of the outer end wings 56, is greater than the vertical distance between the top engagement portion 43 and the bottom engagement portion 44 of the guide rail 40. This means that the slide rail member 50 will fit together with the guide rail 40, but will not be allowed to move beyond the guide rail because the outer end wings 56 will be blocked by the corresponding engagement portions 43, 44 of the guide rail 40. Thus, as Figure 6 As shown on the left side of the drawing, the outer wing 56 will prevent the slide rail member 50 from being disengaged from the guide rail 40 in the lateral direction. Thus, the outer wing 56 will prevent the excessive expansion of the cabinet and will prevent the drawer from falling.

[0069] exist Figure 7 , specifically indicating the vertical height H1 of the slide rail member 50 at the location of the outer wing end 56, the vertical height H2 of the slide rail member 50 at the central portion, and the vertical height H3 of the slide rail member 50 at the location of the inner wing end 57. Preferably, but not necessarily, H1 ≥ H3. In addition, H2

[0070] like Figure 7 As indicated in , the central portion 58 is formed by a completely horizontal flat portion that transitions to the wing ends 56, 57 at two opposite ends by curved sections. However, in other embodiments, the central portion 58 is provided with a radius R so that the entire central portion 58 is concave. This concave configuration is Figure 7 , where the dotted line indicates the top sliding surface 54 for this embodiment.

[0071] Now go to Figures 8a to 8d , showing different embodiments of the guide rail 40. First, Figure 8a In the embodiment of the present invention, the guide rail 40 includes a top flange 46a that is inclined downward and an upper lip 47a that extends outwardly and completely vertically upward from the top flange 46a. The joint between the top flange 46a and the upper lip 47a forms a top joint portion 43. The top flange 46a is preferably formed integrally with the upper lip 47b, whereby the different orientations of the top flange 46a and the upper lip 47a are formed by bending a piece of material, such as a metal plate. To this end, the top joint portion 43 will be provided with a radius R2. Alternatively, a similar radius can be obtained by producing the guide rail 40 using other equipment such as an extruder or similar equipment.

[0072] ​The guide rail 40 also includes an upwardly inclined bottom flange 46b and a bottom lip 47b extending outwardly and completely vertically downwardly from the bottom flange 46b. The joint between the bottom flange 46b and the bottom lip 47b forms a bottom joint portion 44. The bottom flange 46b is preferably formed integrally with the bottom lip 47b, whereby the different orientations of the bottom flange 46b and the bottom lip 47b are formed by bending a piece of material, such as a metal plate, or by other suitable manufacturing techniques. To this end, the bottom joint portion 44 will be provided with a radius R3. Preferably, the guide rail 40 is symmetrical so that the top joint portion 43 has the same size as the bottom joint portion 44, i.e. R2=R3. The radii R2, R3 may be in the range of 0.5mm to 5.0mm, such as 0.7mm to 4.0mm, or even in the range of 0.8mm to 3.0mm. Most preferably, the radii R2, R3 are in the range of 1.0mm to 2.5mm.

[0073] For embodiments in which the slide rail member 50 is provided with one or more end wings 56, 57, the central portion 58 of the slide rail member 58 is preferably designed to transition to the end wings 56, 57 via a corresponding radius, which is preferably selected to match the radius R2 of the top joint portion 43 and the radius R3 of the bottom joint portion 44, or the transition portion has a radius slightly larger than the radius R2, R2.

[0074] For embodiments where the central portion 58 of the slide rail member 50 is concave at a radius R, the radius R is preferably greater than the radii R2, R3 so that the lateral width of the central portion 58 is greater than the lateral width LW2 of the top and bottom engaging portions 43, 44 of the associated guide rail.

[0075] Figure 8b The guide rail 40 and Figure 8a The guide rail 40 is the same as the guide rail 40 of FIG. 1 , except that the mounting plate 45 is provided with a protrusion 48. The protrusion 48, which preferably extends along the entire guide rail 40 or at least along the portion of the guide rail 40 that slides against the slide rail member 50, will be when the drawer 20 is at its minimum distance relative to the cabinet 10 - as described above with reference to FIG. Figure 6 Explained on the right side thereof - a limited contact area is provided between the slide rail member 50 and the mounting plate 45 .

[0076] Figure 8c The guide rail 40 is similar to Figure 8b4. However, in this embodiment, the upper lip 47a and the bottom lip 47b do not extend completely vertically upward. Instead, the upper lip 47a and the bottom lip 47b are oriented to extend parallel to the corresponding top flange 46a and the bottom flange 46b, that is, the transition between the top flange 46a and the bottom flange 46b and the corresponding upper lip 47a and the bottom lip 47b is formed by a 180° fold, which forms the corresponding top joint portion 43 and the bottom joint portion 44. In order to keep the radii R2 and R3 small, the parallel distance between the top flange 46a and the upper lip 47a can be kept at a minimum. Correspondingly, the parallel distance between the bottom flange 46b and the bottom lip 47b can also be kept at a minimum.

[0077] Figure 8d Another possible configuration of the guide rail 40 is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the mounting plate 45 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 48. In addition, the guide rail 40 has a top joint portion 43 and a bottom joint portion 44 of slightly different configurations. In this embodiment, the top flange 46a and the bottom flange 46b are L-shaped, and the top flange 46a and the bottom flange 46b extend horizontally from the mounting plate 45 and transition to a vertical extension, that is, the top flange 46a and the bottom flange 46b are folded at 90°. Each flange 46a, 46b transitions to a corresponding lip 47a, 47b by forming a 180° fold of the corresponding joint portion 43, 44. Each lip 47a, 47b is also generally L-shaped, and each lip 47a, 47b extends vertically from the corresponding joint portion 43, 44, and then transitions to a horizontal extension by a 90° fold. While this embodiment has a slightly more complex shape than the previous embodiment, it does allow for a more unique configuration of the end wings 56 , 57 of the rail member 50 .

[0078] It is worth noting that in Figures 8a to 8d In all of the embodiments shown in FIG. 4 , the mounting plate 45 , the top engaging portion 43 , and the bottom engaging portion 44 are integrally formed.

[0079] Furthermore, where the top sliding surface 53 and / or the bottom sliding surface 54 of the rail member 50 is concave and thus exhibits a radius R, preferably, the radius R is greater than the radius R2 of the top engaging portion 43 and / or the radius R3 of the bottom engaging portion 44 .

Claims

1. A drawer slide rail system, comprising a guide rail (40) and a slide rail member (50), wherein the guide rail (40) has a mounting plate (45), a top engaging portion (43) and a bottom engaging portion (44), wherein the top engaging portion (43) and the bottom engaging portion (44) extend in parallel along the guide rail (40), and the slide rail member (50) has a top sliding surface (53) for sliding engagement with the top engaging portion (43) and a bottom sliding surface (54) for sliding engagement with the bottom engaging portion (44), wherein: At least one of the top sliding surface (53) and the bottom sliding surface (54) has a lateral width (LW1) that is greater than a lateral width (LW2) of the associated top engaging portion (43) and the bottom engaging portion (44).

2. The drawer slide system according to claim 1, wherein: The top engaging portion (43) and the bottom engaging portion (44) are vertically aligned.

3. The drawer slide system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: Each of the top sliding surface (53) and the bottom sliding surface (54) has a lateral width (LW1) that is greater than a lateral width (LW2) of the associated top engaging portion (43) and the bottom engaging portion (44).

4. The drawer slide system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: At least one of the top joining portion (43) and the bottom joining portion (44) is provided with a radius (R2, R3), preferably, the radius (R2, R3) is in the range of 0.5 mm to 5.0 mm, such as 0.7 mm to 4.0 mm, preferably in the range of 0.8 mm to 3.0 mm, even more preferably in the range of 1.0 mm to 2.5 mm.

5. A drawer slide system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: A lateral width (LW2) of at least one of the top joining portion (43) and the bottom joining portion (44) is in the range of 1 mm or less.

6. The drawer slide system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The guide rail (40) includes a top flange (46a) extending downwardly and an upper lip (47a) extending upwardly from the top flange (46a), wherein a joint between the top flange (46a) and the upper lip (47a) forms the top joint portion (43).

7. The drawer slide system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The guide rail (40) includes a bottom flange (46b) extending upward and a bottom lip (47b) extending downward from the bottom flange (46b), wherein the joint between the bottom flange (46b) and the bottom lip (47b) forms the bottom joint portion (44).

8. A drawer slide system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The mounting plate (45), the top engaging portion (43) and the bottom engaging portion (44) are integrally formed.

9. A drawer slide system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: A lateral distance (LD) between the mounting plate (45) and the top engaging portion (43) and the bottom engaging portion (44) is greater than 0.5 times a lateral width (LW) of the rail member (50).

10. A drawer slide system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The slide rail component (50) is rotatable relative to the drawer side wall (21).

11. A drawer slide system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The slide rail component (50) is made of plastic.

12. A drawer slide system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The guide rail (40) is made of metal, which is preferably provided with a coating, such as paint.

13. A drawer slide system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The slide rail member (50) has a polygonal shape or a cylindrical shape. Preferably, the slide rail member has a polygonal shape, such as a rectangular shape or a hexagonal shape.

14. A drawer slide system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: At least one of the top sliding surface (53) and the bottom sliding surface (54) is at least partially concave.

15. A drawer slide system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: At least one of the top sliding surface (53) and the bottom sliding surface (54) includes an outer end wing (56), optionally also includes an inner end wing (57), and includes a central sliding portion (58) extending from the outer end wing (56), preferably, the vertical distance (VD) between the outer edge of the top sliding surface (53) and the outer edge of the bottom sliding surface (54) is greater than the vertical opening distance (VO) between the top engaging portion (43) and the bottom engaging portion (44), thereby preventing the slide rail member (50) from moving laterally out of the guide rail (40).

16. The drawer slide system of claim 15, wherein: The central sliding portion (58) is at least partially provided with a radius (R).

17. The drawer slide system of claims 4 and 16, wherein: The radius (R) of the central sliding portion (58) of the top sliding surface (53) and / or the bottom sliding surface (54) is equal to or greater than the radius (R2) of the top engaging portion (43) and / or the radius (R3) of the bottom engaging portion (44).

18. The drawer slide system according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein: The central sliding portion (58) has a horizontal portion, preferably, the horizontal portion is arranged as a middle portion between two portions provided with a radius (R).

19. A drawer slide system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The guide rail (40) comprises a horizontal front section (FS), a vertically upwardly inclined intermediate delay section (IS), and a vertically downwardly inclined rear section (RS).

20. A drawer slide system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The total width (TW) of the drawer slide system is less than 14 mm, for example, 3 mm to 14 mm, preferably in the range of 6 mm to 10 mm.

21. A drawer cabinet (1) comprising a cabinet body (10), at least one drawer (20) and at least one drawer slide system (30) according to any one of the preceding claims.

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