Drawer Rail Coupling With Resilient Latch for Zero-Play Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coupling devices for drawers and drawer slides often allow for relative movement between the drawer and the rail during normal use, disrupting ease of use due to play and tolerances, and lack effective solutions for tool-free assembly and disassembly.
Innovation Solution
A device with a flexible, resilient area between the holding and counter-holding parts, using a flexible piece of material like rubber-elastic plastic, compensates for longitudinal play and tolerances, ensuring a secure connection without play between the drawer and the rail, and includes a spring-elastic locking part for tool-free assembly and disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid coupling device is used to connect the drawer to the rail, then the connection is strong and stable, but longitudinal play and tolerances cannot be compensated, resulting in movement and disruption during use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a flexible element (resilient body) within the coupling device that can deform elastically to compensate for longitudinal play and tolerances between the drawer and rail. This flexible component maintains stable connection while allowing necessary adjustments, eliminating movement and disruption during drawer operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state of the coupling material from rigid to resilient, allowing it to exhibit elastic deformation under load. This parameter change enables the coupling device to adapt to dimensional variations and compensate for play, simultaneously achieving connection stability and smooth operation.
2Reliability
If a resilient area is added to compensate for play, then the connection becomes more stable without movement, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the resilient body with either the holding part or counter-holding part of the coupling device, creating an integrated component rather than a separate assembly. This integration compensates for play while minimizing additional complexity, as the resilient feature becomes part of the existing coupling structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite construction by combining rigid structural elements with a resilient material (such as elastomer or rubber) within the coupling device. This composite approach provides both the structural integrity needed for stable connection and the elasticity required to compensate for play, without significantly increasing overall device complexity.
3Ease of operation
If a latching part is used for tool-free assembly, then the ease of assembly is improved, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The latching part is designed to automatically engage and lock the drawer to the rail through a self-latching mechanism that requires no tools for assembly. The resilient body works in conjunction with the latching part to facilitate automatic engagement, allowing the device to assemble itself while maintaining relatively simple structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively compensates for tolerances and play, allowing the drawer to be securely connected to the rail without movement, enabling tool-free assembly and disassembly, and reducing impact noise during use.
Implementation Method 1
at least that area of the holding part which comes into contact with the counter-holding part is designed to be flexible, preferably by attaching a flexible piece of material, so that any longitudinal play of the drawer in relation to the rail can be compensated for
Implementation Method 2
a spring-elastic locking part for tool-free assembly and disassembly
Implementation Method 3
a latching part which can be locked in a detachable manner for detachably coupling the drawer to the rail
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
Apparatus (7) for releasably coupling a drawer (2) to a rail (5), which can be pulled out in a longitudinal direction, of a drawer pull-out guide (3), having a holding part (9) which interacts with a mating holding part (13) in the coupled state in order to establish the releasable connection, wherein at least that region (12) of the holding part (9) which comes into contact with the mating holding part (13) is made flexible, preferably by attaching a flexible piece of material, so that any longitudinal play of the drawer (2) which may occur in relation to the rail (5) can be compensated.