Abstract:
An improved drawer glide for a drawer slide assembly provides drawer slide securement means taking the form of an internal recess with a ramped locking tab that lockingly secures a rear portion of an elongated metal drawer slide extending past a rear panel of a drawer. By providing the recess within the drawer glide as part of the drawer slide securement means, a range of lengths of drawer slides may be used for a given drawer length, significantly reducing the number of different sizes of drawer slides required to meet demands of the furniture industry. The ramped locking tab also facilitates furniture assembly by providing reliable securement of the drawer slide in the drawer guide prior to installation on in a furniture unit. External integral reinforcement means are also provided in the form of gussets.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/348,780, filed Jul. 7, 1999, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,706. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to furniture drawer slide assemblies and, more specifically, to an improved drawer glide that can be used with a variety of lengths of drawer slides, thereby reducing the number of different lengths of In drawer slides required for use with drawers of various lengths, and which ensures better securement between the drawer glide and the drawer slide. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In order to improve the ease of sliding of wood drawers, many furniture manufacturers have adopted the use of metal drawer slide assemblies, which utilize an elongated stationary lower metal drawer guide, also known as a case guide, secured to the inside structure of the furniture article, an elongated upper metal drawer slide secured to the bottom of a drawer at the front and rear ends of the drawer, and a plastic drawer glide mounted to the rear wall of a drawer to facilitate movement of the drawer along the lower metal drawer guide. In most conventional drawer slide assemblies, the lower metal drawer guide consists of a generally U-shaped (or T-shaped) metal rail in cross-section, having flanges projecting horizontally outwardly from the upper ends thereof. Each of these horizontally projecting flanges is typically folded over along its length, so that the effective thickness of each horizontal flange is twice the thickness of the metal used to fabricate the metal rail. The upper metal drawer slide found in the prior art, is generally C-shaped in cross-section and has an integral, upwardly-extending metal tab member at the rear end thereof that is secured to the rear wall of the drawer. A typical arrangement of such conventional drawer slide assemblies is shown in co-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 32,134 and 4,501,452. 
     A plastic stop member, referred to by many in the art as a case glide, is also provided at or near the front end of the elongated lower metal drawer guide that serves to prevent the drawer from being prematurely or inadvertently pulled out of the associated furniture unit. The plastic drawer glide is provided with a pair of opposing ways: or runners that provide plastic-to-metal, as opposed to metal-to-metal, bearing surface to facilitate movement of the drawer along the elongated lower drawer guide. The opposing ways receive and ride along the outwardly projecting horizontal flanges of the drawer guide. A gap in the drawer glide just above the opposing ways can desirably barely accommodate the horizontal projections of the plastic stop member with no interference, so that the drawer can be inserted in the furniture unit with the stop and the drawer glide already installed. This gap also allows the drawer to be removed from the furniture unit, but only upon the use of sufficient force to squeeze the horizontal projections of the stop member into the gap of the drawer glide. Thus, the stop provides a warning to a user that the drawer is about to be pulled out of the furniture unit, and application of additional force will cause the drawer glide to pass beyond the stop. 
     A major shortcoming of the conventional drawer slide assembly is the need to provide drawer length-specific sizes of drawer slides. One reason that drawer length-specific sizes of drawer slides are required is that the upwardly-extending tab member at the rear end of the drawer slide provides the primary means for securing the rear end of the drawer slide to the bottom of the drawer. As a result, the drawer slide could not have a length that would cause the tab member to extend past the rear wall of the drawer. 
     The drawer glide of many conventional drawer slide assemblies is a plastic part that utilizes an elongated integral plastic male extension that is received inside the rear end of the C-shaped drawer slide. The plastic extension of the drawer glide is inserted into the rear end of the C-shaped drawer slide until a front face of the drawer glide lies flush against the upwardly-extending tab member at the rear end of the drawer slide. Screws or other suitable fasteners are used to secure both the drawer glide and the upwardly-extending tab member to the rear wall of the drawer. While the plastic extension of the drawer glide may provide some incidental support to the drawer slide, the primary purpose of the plastic extension is to provide a plastic bearing surface to facilitate movement of the drawer along the drawer guide. 
     By only being able to match a specific length of drawer slide with a given drawer length, a large array of drawer slides having various lengths must be manufactured to meet the demands of the furniture industry. This increases the number of stock-keeping units (“SKU&#39;s”) that must be provided by the supplier of drawer slide assemblies. 
     The upwardly-extending tab portion at the rear of the drawer slide also requires additional working of the metal during manufacture of the drawer slide, which adds to production time and cost. Similarly, there are disadvantages of conventional metal drawer slides due to the cost of complicated tooling for stamping manufacturing processes, or alternatively, where the metal drawer slides are roll formed, not only is complicated tooling required, but also, production time is detrimentally slowed down. The present invention overcomes these shortcomings by eliminating the upwardly-extending tab portion of the metal drawer slide and changing the manner in which the drawer glide couples with the rear end of the drawer slide and the rear wall of the drawer. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a drawer slide assembly that can be used on a variety of lengths of drawers, so as to significantly reduce the number of SKU&#39;s, or different lengths of drawer slides, required to meet the demands of the furniture industry. Instead of having a drawer slide that terminates at an upwardly-extending tab member at the rear end of the metal drawer slide, the present invention requires the drawer slide to extend past the rear wall of the drawer. 
     This object of the present invention is achieved by means of an improved drawer glide., wherein instead of a male plastic forwardly-projecting extension of the drawer glide, the drawer glide is provided with a female recess in its front face. The metal drawer slide projects rearwardly beyond the rear wall of the drawer and is received in the female recess of the drawer glide. In a first embodiment of the improved drawer glide, the female recess is present instead of the male plastic extension. The female recess is of sufficient depth to accommodate a length of a drawer slide that extends as much as ¼ inch beyond the rear wall of the drawer. According to this embodiment, the drawer slides can thus be provided with a manufacturing tolerance of {fraction (1/16)}″, as opposed to needing more exact drawer-length specific drawer slides. 
     In a most preferred embodiment, the recess of the plastic drawer glide is elongated, having sufficient depth to accommodate a length of drawer slide that extends as much as ½ inch beyond the rear wall of the drawer, whereby a greater variety of lengths of drawers can be used with a given drawer slide. The drawer slides can vary in ¼″ increments, resulting in fewer drawer slide SKU&#39;s than the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     A need exists to reinforce the walls of the female recess and a wall member forming the main vertical body portion of the plastic drawer glide. This need arises from the fact that a rear-most portion of the drawer slide is received within the female recess of the drawer glide, and the drawer slide transfers internal stresses, direct forces, and torque, for example from the weight of the drawer and the weight of the contents of the drawer, to the drawer glide. The drawer slide receiving area of the female recess also may be slightly smaller than the cross-sectional dimension of the rear-most portion of the drawer slide, so the drawer slide may have a tendency to bias opposing ways of the drawer glide away from one another, tending to weaken or crack the drawer glide. Reinforcement of the drawer glide is therefore desirable to compensate for these factors. One form of such reinforcement is the use of a metal insert plate imbedded within the plastic drawer glide. The metal insert plate provides internal rigidity and strength to the drawer glide. 
     Another form of reinforcement, which has several benefits from a manufacturing standpoint, is the use of integral flanges or gussets between the outer walls defining the female recess and the wall member forming the main vertical body portion of the drawer glide. These integral flanges or gussets are preferably wedge-shaped, i.e. pie-shaped, and are spaced along the sidewalls and top wall forming the female recess of the drawer glide. 
     Another improvement incorporated into the drawer glide of the present invention is a locking mechanism to ensure securement of the rear-most end of the drawer slide within the female recess of the drawer glide. This locking mechanism preferably takes the form of a ramped locking tab extending downwardly from the upper wall of the female recess of the drawer glide. A complementary aperture spaced inwardly from the extreme rear end of the drawer slide receives the locking tab once the drawer slide has been inserted a sufficient distance into the drawer glide. 
     Advantageously, this locking mechanism allows for easy preassembly of the drawer slide and drawer glide prior to attachment to a drawer, which assists in obtaining proper perpendicular alignment of the drawer slide relative to the rear wall of the drawer once the drawer slide and drawer glide are attached to the drawer. By extending from the upper wall of the female recess of the drawer glide, the integral plastic locking tab also beneficially avoids the need for any metal back bent tabs along the length of the drawer slide, which allows for less difficult and less expensive roll-forming or stamping of the drawer slide. 
     The drawer glide also has opposing ways that extend forwardly of the main wall member of the drawer glide, resulting in a longer gliding surface, i.e. a longer region of sliding contact between the opposing ways of the drawer glide and the metal drawer slide. 
    
    
     Further features and benefits of the present invention will be appreciated by reference to the drawings and in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a fragmentary exploded front perspective view of a conventional prior art drawer glide and drawer slide combination; 
     FIG. 2 is a partially exploded rear perspective view, broken away, of a conventional prior art drawer slide assembly; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-section taken along lines  3 — 3  of FIG. 2 of the prior art drawer slide assembly shown in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view, broken away, of a drawer slide assembly incorporating a first embodiment of a drawer glide having an imbedded reinforcement member therein; 
     FIG. 5 is a rear plan view of the drawer glide shown in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the drawer glide shown in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of a metal insert plate used as the imbedded reinforcement member in the drawer glide shown in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of the metal insert plate shown in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-section taken along lines  9 — 9  of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-section, similar to the view shown in FIG. 9, but showing an alternate embodiment of the drawer glide shown in FIG. 5, taken along lines  10 — 10  of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 11 is an exploded view of a drawer slide Assembly using a drawer glide of the present invention; 
     FIG. 12 is a front cross-sectional view, taken along line  12 — 12  of FIG. 11; 
     FIG. 13 is a rear perspective view of the drawer glide of the present invention; 
     FIG. 14 is a front perspective view of the drawer glide shown in FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 15 is a rear plan view of the drawer glide shown in FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view, taken along lines  16 — 16  of FIG. 15; 
     FIG. 17 is a rear perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the drawer glide shown in FIGS. 13-16, wherein the female recess is deeper to accommodate a longer rear-most portion of the drawer slide; 
     FIG. 18 is a front perspective-view of the drawer glide shown in FIG. 17; 
     FIG. 19 is a rear plan view of the drawer glide shown in FIG. 17; 
     FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view, taken along lines  20 — 20  of FIG. 19; 
     FIG. 21 is an exploded view, with most of the drawer slide cut away, showing the drawer slide just before it is received within the drawer glide; and 
     FIG. 22 is an enlarged view, similar to FIG. 21, and showing the locking tab within the drawer glide. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Conventional Drawer Slide Assemblies 
     Referring first to FIGS. 1-3, a conventional drawer slide assembly  10  is shown to represent what exists in the prior art. The conventional drawer slide assembly  10  includes a stationary elongated lower metal drawer guide  12 , also known as a case guide, or as a case runner, that is comprised of a rail having a substantially U-shaped cross-section, with horizontal, outwardly projecting flanges  14 ,  16 . Although not shown in FIG. 1, the horizontal, outwardly-projecting flanges  14 ,  16  are preferably folded over along substantially their entire length, so that the flanges are essentially twice the thickness of the metal material used to form the metal drawer guide  12  (see, e.g., FIGS.  11  and  12 ). The drawer guide  12  is secured, for example by wood screws  18 ,  20 , to the front drawer aperture cross support  22 , and rear drawer aperture cross support  24 , of a furniture unit. An elongated metal drawer slide  26  is secured to the front wall  28  and rear wall  30  of a drawer  32  along the bottom wall  34  of the drawer  32 . The drawer slide  26  is C-shaped in cross-section, having vertical side walls  36 ,  38  and inwardly-directed horizontal flanges  40 ,  42 . 
     The prior art drawer slide  26  is also equipped with an integral flange or tab  44  that extends vertically up the rear wall panel  30  of the drawer  32 . A wood screw  46  or a similar fastening means is used to secure the drawer slide  26  to the front wall  28  of the drawer  32  at the corner of the front wall  28  and the bottom panel  34 . The rear end of the prior art drawer slide  26  is secured to the rear wall panel  30  by wood screws  46 ,  48 ,  50  (or similar fastening means) that pass through screw-receiving apertures  52 ,  54 ,  56  in the integral tab  44 . 
     In order to prevent direct, metal-to-metal contact of the drawer slide  26  along the drawer guide  12 , a plastic drawer glide  58  is provided in the prior art drawer slide assembly  10  at the rear wall panel  30  of the drawer  32 . The drawer glide  58  consists of a wall member  60 , a rearward integral extension  62 , and a pair of forwardly extending opposing ways  64 ,  66 . The opposing ways  64 ,  66  are essentially question mark shaped in cross section. The drawer glide  58  is secured to the rear wall  30  by wood screws  46 ,  48 ,  50  (or by similar fastening means). The wood screws  46 ,  48 ,  50  pass through screw receiving apertures  68 ,  70 ,  72  in the wall member  60 , with the screw receiving apertures  68 ,  70 ,  72  being axially aligned with the screw receiving apertures  52 ,  54 ,  56  in the integral tab  44  of the drawer slide  26 . 
     The opposing ways  64 ,  66  of the drawer glide  58  receive the horizontal flanges  14 ,  16  of the drawer guide  12  and ride along the drawer guide  12 . A gap or opening  74  in the drawer glide  58  located immediately above the opposing ways  64 ,  66  permits the drawer glide to pass over a plastic stop member (not shown), located near the front of the drawer guide  12 . A pair of opposing, inwardly-directed stops  75  are provided on the vertical side walls  36 ,  38  of the drawer slide  26 , which serve to temporarily stop the drawer glide  58 , so the user has some warning or resistance before the drawer  32  is completely removed from the furniture unit, but removal of the drawer is still possible by applying sufficient pulling force to the drawer  32  so as to pull the stop member through the gap  74 , and thus pull the drawer glide  58  and drawer slide  26  past the stop member. In other words, the stops  75  in the side walls  36 ,  38  the drawer slide  26  provide resistance to warn the user that the drawer  32  is approaching the front end of the drawer slide  26 . In order to provide some strength to conventional the drawer glide  58 , there are integral plastic rigidifying wall members, for example wall members  76 ,  78 , on the exterior thereof. 
     Because the drawer slide  26  incorporates an integral tab  44  fastened to the rear wall panel  30  as the primary means of securing the drawer slide  26  to the drawer  32 , conventional drawer slides have had to be drawer-length specific. Relatively high tolerances are required to ensure that the length of the drawer slide  26  corresponds to the length of the drawer  32  so that the tab  44  lies flush along the rear wall panel  30 . Although the forwardly-extending opposing ways  64 ,  66  of the plastic drawer glide  58  extend into a rear end of the drawer slide  26 , the opposing ways  64 ,  66  do not provide a substantial means of securing the rear end of the drawer slide  26  to the drawer  32 . Instead, wood screws  46 ,  48 ,  50  must be used. 
     Reinforced Drawer Glides for Drawer Slide Assemblies 
     Turning now to FIGS. 4-10, the drawer slide assembly  100  originally disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/348,934 can accommodate a range of lengths of drawer slides for a given drawer length, resulting in a significant reduction in SKU&#39;s for suppliers of drawer slide assemblies, in as much as the present invention permits the use of a single drawer slide length to fit drawers in an array of specific given drawer lengths. The drawer slide assembly utilizes an improved drawer glide  158 , and still utilizes an elongated U-shaped metal drawer guide  112  having horizontal outwardly-projecting flanges  114 ,  116 . A drawer slide  126  is also provided. 
     The drawer slide  126  is an elongated metal rail that is C-shaped in cross-section, having vertical side walls  136 ,  138  and inwardly projecting flanges  140 ,  142 . Notably, the drawer slide  126  lacks an integral upwardly-extending tab at the rear end thereof. Instead, the drawer slide  126  has a rear-most portion  127  that extends rearwardly past the rear wall panel  130  of the drawer  132 , as best shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The drawer glide  158  has screw-receiving apertures  168 ,  172  in a wall member  160 , through which wood screws  146 ,  150  (or similar fastening means) pass to secure the drawer glide  158  directly to the rear wall  130  of the drawer  132 . Counter-sunk screw-head receiving circular bores  171  in a rear side of the drawer glide  158  are provided immediately about the screw-receiving apertures  168 ,  172  to provide a more flush exterior surface to the drawer glide  158  when the wood screws  146 ,  150  are in place. There is no integral tab at the rear end of the drawer slide  126 , thus the front face  159  of the drawer glide  158  lies flush against the rear wall  130 , without any intermediate metal tab portion. 
     The front end of the drawer slide  126  is secured in a conventional manner by a screw  146  or similar fastening means to the bottom wall  134  of the drawer  132 , preferably at the corner of the bottom wall  134  and the front wall  128  of the drawer  132 . The improved drawer guide  158  advantageously provides a means for securing the rear-most portion  127  of the drawer slide  126  to the drawer  132  without the need for an integral tab on the drawer slide  126 . The securement means of the improved drawer glide  158  advantageously includes a C-shaped, downwardly-open aperture  165  that accommodates the rear-most portion  127  of the C-shaped drawer slide  126 , which extends past the rear wall  130  of the drawer  132 , thus solving the problem of the prior art wherein drawer slides had to be drawer-length specific. Most preferably, the entire cross-section of the drawer slide  126  extends past the rear wall  130  of the drawer  132 . 
     A recess R 1  (see FIG. 9) is provided within the drawer glide  158 . The recess R 1  extends rearwardly from the front face  159  and securely receives, preferably in a press fit, the portion  127  of the drawer slide  126  that extends rearwardly of the rear wall  130 . Advantageously, the recess R 1  is shaped to accommodate the rearmost portion  127  that is an extension of the entire cross-section of the drawer slide  126 . By so accommodating the entire C-shaped cross-section of the drawer slide  126 , the recess R 1  allows for the drawer slide  126  to be manufactured without special additional cutting, rolling, or stamping operations to form any rearwardly extending adapter or tab portion at the rear end of the drawer slide  126 . 
     The combination of the securement of this rear-most portion  127  of the drawer slide  126  in the recess R 1 , and the securement of the drawer glide  158  to the rear wall  130  via wood screws  146 ,  150  (or similar fastening means) effectively secures the rear of the drawer slide  126  to the bottom panel  134  of the drawer  132 . As a result, a given drawer slide  126  can be used on a variety of lengths of drawers. 
     Production time in the shaping of drawer slides  126  is also advantageously reduced, because there is no need to form the integral tab members found in the drawer slide assemblies of the prior art. By way of example only, a suitable depth for the recess R 1 , i.e. the distance from the forward wall  167  of the opposing ways  164 ,  166  and a front face  159  of the drawer glide  158 , is approximately ¼ inch. The maximum depth for the recess R 1  is limited by the depth of the space behind the drawer  132  in the associated furniture unit when the drawer  132  is completely closed. Thus, the longest the recess R 1  can suitably be in a particular drawer is a dimension such that the drawer glide  158  would not prevent complete closure of the drawer  132 . 
     The drawer glide  126  is also advantageously internally reinforced by a metal plate  180  imbedded within the drawer glide, shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The drawer glide  126  is preferably manufactured by overmolding of the plastic exterior directly over the metal plate  180 . The metal plate  180  is provided with apertures  169 ,  173  that align coaxially with screw-receiving apertures  168 ,  172 , so the screws  146 ,  150  do not have to pierce through the metal plate  180  to secure the drawer glide  158  to the rear wall  130 . The metal plate  180  is provided with a generally C-shaped, downwardly-open aperture  183  that serves to reinforce the generally C-shaped aperture  165  of the drawer glide  158 . Advantageously, the metal plate  180  eliminates the need for rigidifying wall members on the exterior of the drawer glide  158 . 
     The drawer glide  158  further includes opposing ways  164 ,  166  that are essentially question mark shaped in cross-section and extend inwardly from side walls of the C-shaped aperture  165 . The forward-most, vertical end wall  167  of each of the opposing ways  164 ,  166  terminates rearwardly of the front face  159  of the drawer glide  158 , and defines the rear end of the recess R 1 . Importantly, this means the rear-most portion  127  of the drawer slide  126  does not extend past the forward-most end wall  167  of the opposing ways  164 ,  166 . 
     The opposing ways  164 ,  166  prevent direct metal-to-metal contact between the drawer slide  126  and the drawer guide  112 . The opposing ways  164 ,  166  receive the horizontal, outwardly projecting flanges  114 ,  116  of the drawer guide  112 , providing plastic-to-metal contact with the drawer guide  112 , thereby facilitating movement of the drawer  132  along the drawer guide  112 . The metal plate  180  has lower portions  181 ,  182  that are S-shaped in cross-section, which provide internal reinforcement to the opposing ways  164 ,  166 . Advantageously, the lower portions  181 ,  182  also provide enhanced support to the drawer slide  126 , which is important to accommodate the weight of the contents of the drawer  132 . 
     A gap  174  in the drawer glide  158  immediately above the top surface of the opposing ways  164 ,  166  allows the drawer glide  158  to pass over a preferably plastic stop member (see FIG. 11) located near the front end of the drawer guide  112  without resistance. 
     In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 10, the recess R 2  is an elongated recess, to accept a greater variety of lengths of drawer slides. In this embodiment, the opposing ways  166   a  have a forward wall  167   a  that is more remote in a rearward direction from the rear wall panel  130  of the drawer  132  than in the previous embodiment. As a result, the drawer slide  126  can have a rear-most portion  127   a  that extends farther past the rear wall panel  130  than the previous embodiment. 
     Preferably, the depth of this elongated or deeper recess is at least ½ inch, which allows for use of ¼″ increments in the sizing of drawer slides. Again, the maximum suitable depth for the recess R 2  would be a depth such that the drawer glide  158  does not prevent complete closure of the drawer  132  in its associated furniture Unit. This embodiment results a significant reduction in the amount of SKU&#39;s, because the recess R 2  makes it unnecessary for the drawer slide to be drawer-length specific. 
     Externally Reinforced and Interlocking Drawer Glides 
     The embodiments of the drawer glide just described included internal reinforcement in the form of an imbedded metal plate  180 . While such a drawer glide has many advantages over drawer slide assemblies found in the prior art, there are still several disadvantages. There is additional cost and increased complexity involved in manufacturing a plastic drawer glide that is overmolded on the metal plate  180 . Also, while the recesses R 1  and R 2  in the drawer glides described above do provide a high level of securement of the drawer slide  126 , the drawer glide can still be fairly easily pulled off the end of the drawer slide  126  during assembly. As a result, those persons assembling a furniture article are not assured that the drawer slide  126  and drawer glide will remain together as a unit until the securement screws  150  are used to secure the drawer glide to the rear wall  130  of the drawer. 
     Thus, the latest embodiments of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 11-23, include locking means, discussed in greater detail below, for reliably securing the drawer slide  226  within the drawer glide  258 . Where possible, reference numbers in FIGS. 11-23 correspond to similar elements in the drawer slide assembly of FIGS. 4-10, with the reference numbers increased by a factor of  100 . For example, there is a drawer slide  126  in the drawer slide assembly of FIG. 4, and there is a drawer slide  226  in the drawer slide assembly of FIG.  11 . 
     The drawer glide  258  of the present invention has a main wall member  260  with a front face that abuts the rear wall  230  of the drawer  232 . A case runner, also called a drawer guide  212 , is secured by wood screws  213  to a front cross rail  215  and a rear cross rail  217  of the furniture article, preferably in such a manner that the drawer guide  212  is centrally disposed in the bottom of a drawer-receiving cavity within the furniture article. The drawer guide  212  is generally U-shaped in cross-section, with outwardly-projecting horizontal flanges  214 ,  216 , which are preferably folded over along substantially their entire length, so that the effective thickness of the flanges  214 ,  216  is twice the thickness of the material used to form the drawer guide  212 . 
     A plastic case glide or stop member  219 , having a generally rectangular integral base portion  221 , is securably seated between the sidewalls of the U-shaped drawer guide  212 , and has a pair of tapering horizontal flanges  223 ,  225  at the top thereof. The tapering horizontal flanges  223 ,  225  are spaced a short distance, preferably approximately 0.403 inch, from the tops of the outwardly-projecting horizontal flanges  214 ,  216  of the drawer guide  212 . Advantageously, this leaves gaps  227 ,  229  on either side of the rectangular integral base portion  221  between the two pairs of flanges. 
     Turning to FIGS. 13-16 and  22 - 23 , the drawer glide  258  includes a recess R 201  that accommodates a rear-most portion of the drawer guide  226  extending past the rear wall  230  of a drawer. The recess R 201  is delimited by a pair of sidewalls  284 ,  286  and a top wall  288 . There are also horizontal inwardly-projecting floors  287 ,  289  at the bottom of the recess R 201 . 
     The drawer glide  258  has opposing ways  264 ,  266  that are essentially question mark shaped in cross-section and extend inwardly from side walls  284 ,  286  of the recess R 201 . Supporting struts  300 ,  302  may be provided instead of having solid material between the opposing ways  264 ,  266  and the respective side walls  284 ,  286 , in-order to save material, without significantly detracting from the strength of the opposing ways  264 ,  266 . 
     As best shown in FIGS. 16 and 22, the drawer glide  258  advantageously is equipped with a securing mechanism in the form of a ramped tab member  290 , which is preferably centrally located on an underside of the top wall  288  of the recess R 201 . The ramped tab member  290  has an inclined or sloped portion  291 , and a generally vertical locking wall surface  292 . The rear most portion of the drawer slide  226  is provided with a corresponding aperture  293 , sized to accommodate the ramped tab member  290 . The dimensions of the C-shaped drawer slide  226  and the recess R 201  are such that the drawer slide  226  fits tightly within the recess R 201 , with the horizontal flanges  240 ,  242  of the drawer slide  226  seated on the floors  287 ,  289  of the drawer glide  258 . Thus, as the drawer slide  226  is inserted into the glide  258 , a portion  294  at a rear end of the aperture  293  is pressed downwardly as the portion  294  rides along the included portion of the ramped tab member  290  until the portion  294  clears the ramped tab member  290 , at which time an audible “snap” sound is detected as the portion  294  snaps into locking engagement behind the locking wall surface  292 . This beneficially achieves a secure engagement of the drawer slide  226  and drawer glide  258 , and ensures perpendicularity between the main wall member  260  of the drawer glide  258 , and the drawer slide  226 . 
     The snap locking mechanism also facilitates pre-assembly of the drawer slide  226  and drawer glide  258 , which can speed up the furniture assembly process. The ramped tab member  290  is spaced rearwardly of the main wall member  260  for greater securement of the drawer slide  226 . 
     Another advantage of the present invention is the extension of the opposing ways  264 ,  266  forwardly of the main wall member  260 . By extending the opposing ways  264 ,  266 , there is a greater gliding surface achieved between the drawer glide  258  and the horizontal flanges  214 ,  216  of the U-shaped drawer guide  212 . This results in added stability when sliding the drawer  232  along the drawer guide  212 , which reduces undesirable side-to-side play or movement of the drawer  232 . 
     When inserting the drawer  232  into a drawer-receiving cavity (not shown) of a furniture article, such that the drawer glide  258  will be in sliding engagement with the case runner  212 , the upper portion  304  of the opposing way  266  passes between the horizontal flange  216  of the case runner  212  and the tapering flange  225  of the stop member  219 , while the upper portion  306  of opposing way  264  passes between the horizontal flange  214  and the tapering flange  223 . 
     Because the C-shaped drawer slide  226  essentially surrounds the outer sides of the forwardly-projecting portions of the opposing ways  264 ,  266 , the drawer slide  226  provides additional reinforcement to the opposing ways  264 ,  266 . 
     Another feature of the drawer glide  258  is the use of gussets  333  that are generally pie-shaped, or web-shaped, between the top  288  and side walls  284 ,  286  of the recess R 201 , and the rear of the main wall member  260 . These integral gussets  333  avoid the need for internal, imbedded reinforcement, but still provide added strength and stability to the drawer glide  258 . 
     FIGS. 17-20 demonstrate an alternate embodiment of the drawer glide  458 . The drawer glide  458  is essentially the same as the drawer glide  258  of the previous embodiment, but with an elongated recess R 401 . This arrangement allows for a greater range of lengths of drawer slides that can be accommodated by the drawer glide, because the main wall member  460  can still lie flush against a rear wall  230  of a drawer  232  with a greater length of the drawer slide extending rearwardly of the rear wall  230 . As a result, the drawer manufacturer can produce fewer varieties of lengths of drawer slides, while still achieving the other benefits of the present invention. 
     While the present invention has been described with respect to various embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that modifications may be made thereto that are still within the scope of the appended claims.