Patent Publication Number: US-2003222556-A1

Title: Drawer guide rail assembly with releaseably secured bumpers

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] The present invention relates to a guide rail assembly for use with a drawer and, more particularly, to an assembly to guide the movement of the drawer into and out of an article of furniture that includes the use of releaseably secured bumpers for controlling and partially absorbing the impact of the drawer opening and closing.  
       [0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art  
       [0004] Slidable drawer opening and closing devices are well known and conventionally utilize supporting and slidably connected guide rails and rail engaging slides to support the drawer within its frame and allow for openable and closeable movement therein. These devices are usually made of hard materials such as plastic which can cause excessive noise when the drawer is closed. Some devices have been developed to at least partially suppress such noise. Flexible buffers and yieldable stops are sometimes implemented in slide assemblies to soften the impact of the drawer closing. Sometimes shock absorbers are used to deal with the drawer closing noise. Even with such improvements, closure noise usually is directly related to the force used in the closing exercise and can still frequently occur unless the individual involved is very sensitive to the need to carefully and slowly close the drawer and avoid the noise.  
       [0005] Thus it is apparent that more controlled and effective drawer closure noise management is very desirable, and it is to that end that the present invention is directed.  
       SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] The present invention includes a guide rail assembly for use with a drawer to guide the movement of the drawer into and out of an article of furniture. The assembly is made up of a supporting rail mounted to a supporting surface such as a furniture side wall, a pull-out rail attached to the drawer and at least one carriage positioned between the supporting rail and the pull-out rail. The supporting rail and the pull-out rail have at least one stop for limiting movement of the pull-out rail and carriage with respect to the supporting rail. The at least one carriage is provided with one or more flexible bumpers to absorb the impact of drawer opening and closing and control the noise associated with that activity. The bumpers are removable and can be changed in size or capacity to adjust to changes in drawer or drawer content weight.  
       [0007] From the foregoing summary, it can be see seen that a primary objective of the present invention is to provide a rail guide assembly that has all of the advantages of prior art devices and more and none of the disadvantages.  
       [0008] Another primary objective of the present invention is to provide guide rail closing assembly that suppresses noise when the drawer on which it is mounted is opened or closed.  
       [0009] Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a rail guide assembly having interchangeable bumpers to reduce noise associated with drawer qpening and closure.  
       [0010] Thus there has been outlined the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. In that respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its arrangement of the components set forth in the following description and illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.  
       [0011] It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting in any respect. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of this development. It is important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent methods and products resulting therefrom that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The application is neither intended to define the invention, which is measured by its claims, nor to limit its scope in any way.  
       [0012] Thus, the objects of the invention set forth above, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are noted with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific results obtained by its use, reference should be made to the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views.  
       [0013] The drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. They illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with their description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0014]FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a fully opened drawer within a frame simulating an article of furniture incorporating the present invention;  
     [0015]FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of an intermediate rail in the drawer close position showing the location of two carriages embodying the present invention;  
     [0016]FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the rail shown in FIG. 2 in the drawer open position showing the location of two carriages embodying the present invention;  
     [0017]FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a carriage embodying the present invention showing roller cages, rollers, one releaseably secured bumper in place and one removed;  
     [0018]FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the carriage shown in FIG. 4;  
     [0019]FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the carriage shown in FIGS.  2 - 5 ;  
     [0020]FIG. 7 is an end elevational view of the carriage shown in FIGS.  2 - 6  mounted on the intermediate rail with the bumper engaging a stop formed in the rail; and  
     [0021]FIG. 8 is an end elevational view of the rails and carriages of the guide rail assembly of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0022] Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, drawer  10  is positioned within a frame  12  in the open position, the frame simulating a cabinet or chest. A guide rail assembly shown generally as  14  includes a supporting rail  16  fastened to a side wall  22 , a pull-out rail  18  fastened to the drawer  10 , and an intermediate rail  20  positioned between supporting rail  16  and pull out rail  18 . One or more carriages  34  are located between pull-out rail  18  and intermediate rail  20 , and intermediate rail  20  has at least one stop  28  for limiting movement of pull-out rail  18  and carriage with respect to supporting rail  16 .  
     [0023] The operating arrangement of the rails and carriages is shown in FIG. 8. Supporting rail  16  is attached to cabinet or frame wall  22 , and pull-out rail  18  is secured to drawer side  43 . Intermediate rail  20  is positioned between supporting rail  16  and pull-out rail  18 . One or more carriages  34  are positioned between pull-out rail  18  and intermediate rail  20 . One or more additional carriages  36  are positioned between the upper horizontal edge of intermediate rail  20  and the lower horizontal end of supporting rail  18 .  
     [0024] Pull-out rail  18  is secured to drawer  10 . When drawer  10  is opened, pull-out rail  18  and intermediate rail  20  move outwardly with the drawer until intermediate rail  20  is about halfway extended outside the drawer front opening. Here intermediate rail  20  engages a stop, and pull-out rail  18  then continues outwardly alone until it reaches its outermost position. When drawer  10  is closed, pull-out rail  10  moves inwardly alone, then engages intermediate rail  20  and the two rails move on together until engaging supporting rail  16  to fully close drawer  10 .  
     [0025]FIG. 2 shows the positioning of carriages  34  on intermediate rail  20  in the drawer close condition. When the drawer is opened, pull out rail  18  moves outside the drawer and carriages move to the positions on intermediate rail  20  shown in FIG. 3.  
     [0026] The details of the carriage  34  used in the present guide rail assembly are shown in FIGS.  4 - 7 . Carriage  34  is made up of three walls  44 ,  46 ,  48  that form a U-shaped member shown generally as  50 . At least one of the walls have one or more roller cages  52  formed therein and each cage houses one roller  54 . At least one of walls  44 ,  46 ,  48  carry one or more releaseably secured resilient bumpers.  
     [0027] The preferred structure of carriage  34  is shown in FIG. 5 wherein each wall  44 ,  46 ,  48  has two roller cages  52  with each cage supporting one roller  54 . The connecting wall  46  cooperatively receives bumpers  56 ,  58  in appropriately designed recesses  60 ,  62 . One bumper  56  is positioned in recess  60  on one edge  64  of wall  46 , and the other bumper  58  is positioned in recess  62  on the other edge  66  of wall  46 .  
     [0028] A cross sectional view of carriage  34  mounted on intermediate rail  20  is shown in FIG. 7. Walls  44 ,  46 ,  48  wrap snugly around three sides of intermediate rail  20  so that the rail-engaging rollers roll smoothly on the three surfaces of rail  20  and provide even and unwavering drawer movement.  
     [0029] The present invention is usually applied to each side of a drawer so that two units like that described are required for each drawer. However, a single unit of the present invention may be adapted for use on a single drawer, the unit being positioned midway of the drawer front and adjacent the lower part of the frame or cabinet.  
     [0030] From the proceeding description, it can be seen that a guide rail assembly has been provided that will posses all the advantages of prior art devices and offer additional advantages not heretofore achievable. With respect to the foregoing invention, the optimum dimensional relationship to the parts of the invention including variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, use and assembly are deemed readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed herein.  
     [0031] The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, and it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described. All suitable modifications and equivalents that fall within the scope of the appended claims are deemed within the present inventive concept.  
     [0032] What is claimed is: