Ball Bearing Slide Assembly With Pivot Lock for Inner Slide Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ball bearing slide assemblies face difficulties in inserting the inner slide into an unfixed slide-aiding member due to the slide-aiding member being pushed along the intermediate slide, making it hard to achieve proper alignment and positioning.
Innovation Solution
A positioning device with a pivotably mounted positioning member and a positioning tab that extends through a slot in the slide-aiding member to engage with a receiving hole in the second slide, allowing the first slide to slide inward without pushing the slide-aiding member inward, and can be disengaged to enable sliding relative to both the first and second slides.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the slide-aiding member is allowed to slide freely along the intermediate slide, then the sliding movement is facilitated, but the inner slide cannot be properly inserted into the unfixed slide-aiding member
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning member is pivotably mounted to the slide-aiding member and forms a positioning tab that extends through a slot to engage with the second slide before the inner slide is inserted. This preliminary positioning action prevents the slide-aiding member from moving during insertion, solving the contradiction by establishing stability before the assembly operation begins.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning member is designed to be pivotable rather than fixed, allowing it to transition between a locked position (during insertion) and an unlocked position (during sliding). This dynamic characteristic enables the system to adapt between requiring stability for insertion and requiring mobility for sliding operation.
2Ease of manufacture
If the positioning member is fixed to prevent slide-aiding member movement, then insertion is facilitated, but sliding movement is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning member is designed with pivotable mounting that allows it to be in a locked state during insertion and an unlocked state during sliding. The first slide, when slid inward, pushes the positioning member to disengage the positioning tab from the receiving hole, automatically transitioning from stable positioning to free sliding motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning member automatically disengages from the receiving hole when the first slide is pushed inward during normal operation. The sliding action itself triggers the release mechanism, eliminating the need for separate locking/unlocking operations and allowing the system to self-regulate between positioned and sliding states.
Data Source
AI summary
A ball bearing slide assembly includes a first slide, a second slide, a slide-aiding member, and a positioning member. The first slide is slidably received in the second slide. The second slide defines a receiving hole. The slide-aiding member is sandwiched between the first slide and the second slide. The slide-aiding member defines a slot. The positioning member is pivotably mounted to the slide-aiding member and forms a positioning tab. The positioning tab extends through the slot of the slide-aiding member for engaging in the receiving hole of the second slide to lock the slide-aiding member with the second slide such that the first slide is slidable inward relative to the second slide without pushing the slide-aiding member inward. The first slide, when slid inward, is capable of pushing the positioning member to disengage the positioning tab from the receiving hole such that the slide-aiding member is slidable relative to the first and second slides.