Patent ID: 7384108
Filing Date: 2008-06-10
Classification: A47B

Abstract:
1. A guide rail assembly for slidably opening and closing a drawer within an enclosure, the assembly comprising: a mounting bracket for fixing said assembly to the enclosure, said mounting bracket having a fixed rail for receiving an intermediate rail, an intermediate rail slidably engaging said fixed rail, an outer pull out guide for attachment to the drawer, slidably engaging said intermediate rail relative to said intermediate rail and said fixed rail, a protrusion on the bottom surface of the outer pull out guide, a damping device and a channel guide disposed along the mounting bracket adjacent said fixed rail, said damping device being resiliently compressible in a lengthwise direction and said channel guide having a sliding member, the sliding member including an inner portion that travels within the guide and an outer portion that extends outwardly from the guide so as to be contactable by said pull out guide protrusion, said inner portion locating an end of the damping device that can be pushed inwardly to provide damping, said fixed rail having a stopper defining a rear travel limit of the pull out guide, said stopper located such that it is forward relative to a rear travel limit position of the sliding member within the channel guide; whereby, during a closing action of the assembly, the outer pull out guide is caused to slide in a drawer-closing direction and when said protrusion reaches and contacts the sliding member outer portion, the sliding member travels within said channel guide against the resilience of said damping device and causes deceleration of the drawer-closing motion; and whereby, during a closing action of the assembly, the stopper engages and stops the pull out guide before the sliding member reaches the rear travel limit within the channel guide.