Patent Publication Number: US-11375811-B2

Title: Rack system and slide rail mechanism thereof

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a slide rail and more particularly to a slide rail mechanism that has a buffering function and can be used in a rack system. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     U.S. Pat. No. 9,867,462 B2 discloses a slide rail device in which a slide rail includes a supporting part and a side part. The supporting part is substantially perpendicularly connected to the side part and is configured to support an object. As shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 accompanying the specification of this U.S. patent, the object can be pushed toward the slide rail in a certain direction (namely the second direction) and end up being supported by the supporting part of the slide rail. 
     Sometimes, however, the force applied by a user to the object in the aforesaid direction may be so large that the object is displaced too fast in that direction, and that in consequence the safety of use, if not the service life, of the slide rail or of the equipment mounted on the object is reduced. It is therefore important to develop a product different from the slide rail device disclosed in the afore-cited patent. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One objective of the present invention is to provide a slide rail mechanism that has a buffering function. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to provide a slide rail mechanism that has a buffering function and can be used in a rack system. 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, a slide rail mechanism includes a rail and a buffer device. The buffer device is provided on the rail and includes a base, a movable member, and a buffer member. The movable member can be longitudinally displaced with respect to the base. The buffer member is configured to produce a buffering effect in response to displacement of the movable member in a first direction. 
     Preferably, the rail includes a longitudinal wall and a supporting portion substantially perpendicularly connected to the longitudinal wall, and the longitudinal wall and the supporting portion jointly define a supporting path. 
     Preferably, the rail is provided with a front bracket adjacent to a front end thereof, and the front bracket is configured to mount the rail to a front post of a rack. 
     Preferably, the rail is provided with a rear bracket adjacent to a rear end thereof, and the rear bracket is configured to mount the rail to a rear post of the rack. 
     Preferably, the buffer device is provided adjacent to the rear end of the rail. 
     Preferably, the movable member includes a contact portion corresponding to the supporting path. 
     Preferably, the contact portion extends beyond the rear end of the rail 
     Preferably, the buffer member of the buffer device includes a first component and a second component that are movable with respect to each other. 
     Preferably, the slide rail mechanism further includes an auxiliary member connected to the rail. The auxiliary member has a connecting portion and an extension portion bent with respect to the connecting portion. The extension portion of the auxiliary member is substantially parallel to the supporting portion of the rail. 
     Preferably, the slide rail mechanism further includes an elastic member for applying an elastic force to the movable member, wherein the elastic force acts in a second direction. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a slide rail mechanism includes a rail, a movable member, a buffer member, and an elastic member. The movable member can be longitudinally displaced with respect to the rail. The buffer member is provided on one of the rail and the movable member and is configured to produce a buffering effect in response to displacement of the movable member in a first direction. The elastic member is configured to apply an elastic force to the movable member, wherein the elastic force acts in a second direction, which is the opposite direction of the first direction. 
     According to still another aspect of the present invention, a rack system includes a rack, a first rail, a second rail, and a buffer device. The rack has a first side and a second side. The first side of the rack is provided with a front post and a rear post. The second side of the rack corresponds to the first side of the rack and is also provided with a front post and a rear post. The first rail includes a front bracket and a rear bracket that are configured to be mounted on the front post and the rear post of the first side of the rack respectively. The second rail includes a front bracket and a rear bracket that are configured to be mounted on the front post and the rear post of the second side of the rack respectively. Each of the first rail and the second rail has a longitudinal wall and a supporting portion substantially perpendicularly connected to the longitudinal wall. The first rail and the second rail jointly define a supporting space therebetween for receiving an object. The buffer device is provided on at least one of the first rail and the second rail and includes a base, a movable member, and a buffer member. The movable member can be displaced with respect to the base and includes a contact portion corresponding to the supporting space. While the object is being pushed into the rack, the object is brought into contact with the contact portion of the movable member, and the buffer member produces a buffering effect in response to the movable member being displaced in a first direction, in order to decelerate displacement of the object in the first direction. 
     Preferably, the two buffer devices are provided adjacent to the rear end of the first rail and the rear end of the second rail respectively. 
     Preferably, the two buffer devices are provided adjacent to tops of the first rail and the second rail respectively, and the contact portions of the two movable members extend beyond the rear end of the first rail and the rear end of the second rail respectively. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the slide rail mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view showing that a contact portion of the buffer device of the slide rail mechanism corresponds to a supporting path according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the slide rail mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the buffer device of the slide rail mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the buffer member of the buffer device according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing that two slide rail mechanisms are mounted on a rack according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing that the two slide rail mechanisms mount an object on the rack according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view showing that the object is pushed into the rack in a first direction according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view showing that the object is further pushed into the rack in the first direction such that a movable member of the buffer device is displaced according to the embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic view showing that the movable member has returned to a predetermined position in response to an elastic member exerting an elastic force in a second direction according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3 , the slide rail mechanism  20  according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a rail  22  and a buffer device  24 . 
     The rail  22  includes a longitudinal wall  26  and a supporting portion  28 . The supporting portion  28  is substantially perpendicularly connected to the longitudinal wall  26 . The longitudinal wall  26  and the supporting portion  28  jointly define a supporting path L along which a bottom portion  74  and a side portion  78  of an object  72  can be supported (see  FIG. 7 ). The supporting path L extends along the longitudinal direction of the rail  22 . 
     The buffer device  24  is provided on the rail  22 . Preferably, the slide rail mechanism  20  further includes an auxiliary member  30  connected to the rail  22 . The auxiliary member  30  has a connecting portion  32  and an extension portion  34 . The connecting portion  32  is connected (e.g., fixedly connected) to the longitudinal wall  26  of the rail  22  by at least one first connecting feature  36 . The extension portion  34  is bent with respect to the connecting portion  32  and in this embodiment is substantially perpendicularly connected to the connecting portion  32  by way of example. The extension portion  34  of the auxiliary member  30  is substantially parallel to the supporting portion  28  of the rail  22 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4 , the buffer device  24  includes a base  38 , a movable member  40 , and a buffer member  42 . The base  38  is connected (e.g., fixedly connected) to the longitudinal wall  26  of the rail  22  by at least one second connecting feature  44  and can therefore be viewed as a part of the rail  22 . The movable member  40  can be longitudinally displaced with respect to the base  38 . Here, by way of example, the base  38  includes a plurality of walls that jointly define a longitudinal channel  45 , and the movable member  40  is movably mounted in the longitudinal channel  45  of the base  38 . In other embodiments, one of the movable member  40  and the base  38  may include a longitudinal feature (e.g., a longitudinal hole or groove), and the other of the movable member  40  and the base  38  may include a connecting member extending through a portion of the longitudinal feature so as to make the movable member  40  longitudinally displaceable with respect to the base  38 . The present invention has no limitation on the structural features used to enable such relative longitudinal displacement. 
     The movable member  40  includes a longitudinal main body  41  and a contact portion  46 . The contact portion  46  corresponds to the supporting path L (see  FIG. 2 ). Preferably, the contact portion  46  is perpendicularly bent with respect to the longitudinal main body  41 . Here, the contact portion  46  is integrated with a contact member  48 , and the contact member  48  is connected (e.g., fixedly connected) to the longitudinal main body  41  of the movable member  40  by at least one fixing feature  49  and can therefore be viewed as a part of the movable member  40 . 
     Preferably, the buffer device  24  is provided adjacent to the rear end  22   b  of the rail  22  (see  FIG. 1 ). 
     Preferably, the buffer device  24  is provided on top of and adjacent to the rail  22 , and the contact portion  46  of the movable member  40  extends beyond the rear end  22   b  of the rail  22  (see  FIG. 1 ). 
     Preferably, the buffer member  42  (see  FIG. 4 ) is provided on one of the base  38  and the movable member  40 . Here, the buffer member  42  is mounted on the base  38  by way of example; in other embodiments, the buffer member  42  may be mounted on the movable member  40  instead (not shown). The present invention has no limitation on whether the buffer member  42  is provided on the base  38  or the movable member  40 . 
     The buffer member  42  includes a first component  50  and a second component  52  that are movable with respect to each other (see  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 ). Here, by way of example, the first component  50  is a cylinder while the second component  52  is a piston. More specifically, the first component  50  contains a buffer medium (e.g., a liquid or oil) and/or an elastic structure (e.g., a spring or other elastic element), and the second component  52  has a portion disposed in the first component  50  in such a way that the remaining portion (hereinafter referred to as the second portion) of the second component  52  remains jutting out of the first component  50 , and hence in a buffer-ready state, in response to the force provided by the buffer medium. The principle of the buffering function of the buffer member  42  should be comprehensible to a person skilled in the art and, for the sake of brevity therefore, will not be detailed herein. 
     Preferably, referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , the buffer device  24  further includes a mounting base  54 . The mounting base  54  has a receiving space  55  for receiving the first component  50 , and the first component  50  is blocked (or limited in position) between a first blocking wall  53   a  and a second blocking wall  53   b  of the mounting base  54 . The second portion of the second component  52  is outside the receiving space  55  of the mounting base  54 . 
     Preferably, the mounting base  54  has at least one mounting feature  56  (e.g., projection) to be mounted to the at least one corresponding feature  58  (e.g., hole or groove) of the base  38 , so the buffer member  42  can be mounted on the base  38  through the mounting base  54 . 
     Preferably, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the second component  52  has an abutting portion  59  corresponding to a contact end  61  of the movable member  40  (e.g., an end portion of a wall of the movable member  40 ). Here, by way of example, the abutting portion  59  and the contact end  61  are on substantially the same longitudinal level. 
     Preferably, the slide rail mechanism  20  further includes an elastic member  60  for applying an elastic force to the movable member  40 . Here, by way of example, the elastic member  60  is a spring mounted between a first mounting portion  62  of the base  38  and a second mounting portion  64  of the movable member  40 . 
       FIG. 6  shows a rack system in which two slide rail mechanisms  20  having substantially the same structural configuration are provided on a first side and a second side (e.g., the opposite left and right sides) of a rack respectively. The rail  22  of each slide rail mechanism  20  is provided with a front bracket  66  adjacent to the front end  22   a  and a rear bracket  68  adjacent to the rear end  22   b . The front bracket  66  and the rear bracket  68  of each rail  22  are configured to mount the rail  22  to a front post  70   a  and a rear post  70   b  of the rack respectively. The rails  22  of the two slide rail mechanisms  20  (referred to in the appended claims as a first rail and a second rail) jointly define a supporting space S therebetween. The contact portion  46  of each movable member  40  corresponds to the corresponding supporting path L and therefore must correspond to the supporting space S. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , the object  72  can be received in the supporting space S and carried by the supporting portion  28  of the rail  22  of each slide rail mechanism  20 . Preferably, the bottom portion  74  of the object  72  is supported by the supporting portions  28  of the rails  22  (referred to in the appended claims as the first rail and the second rail), and the top portion  76  of the object  72  is supported by the extension portions  34  of the auxiliary members  30 . The side portions  78  of the object  72  may be supported by the longitudinal walls  26  of the rails  22  respectively. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , the rail  22  of the slide rail mechanism  20  is mounted on the front post  70   a  and the rear post  70   b  of the rack via the front bracket  66  and the rear bracket  68  respectively. There is a longitudinal distance X between a rear portion  80  of the object  72  and the contact portion  46  of the movable member  40 . It is worth mentioning that the auxiliary member  30  is left out in  FIG. 8 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 , the bottom portion  74  of the object  72  is supported by the supporting portion  28  of the rail  22 . When the object  72  is subjected to an external force acting in a first direction D 1  and is thereby pushed further into the rack, the rear portion  80  of the object  72  is brought into contact with the contact portion  46  of the movable member  40 , and the buffer member  42  produces a buffering effect F (see  FIG. 9 ) in response to the movable member  40  being displaced in the first direction D 1 . Consequently, the buffer member  42  reduces the speed at which the movable member  40  is displaced in the first direction D 1 , and thus effectively reduces the speed at which the object  72  is displaced in the first direction D 1 , too. While the movable member  40  is displaced from the first position P 1  in  FIG. 8  to the second position P 2  in  FIG. 9 , the elastic member  60  stores an elastic force in response to the displacement of the movable member  40  in the first direction D 1 , wherein the elastic force acts in a second direction D 2 , which is the opposite direction of the first direction D 1 . 
     More specifically, once the rear portion  80  of the object  72  is in contact with the contact portion  46  of the movable member  40 , the movable member  40  can be driven by the object  72  into displacement in the first direction D 1  toward the second position P 2 , and during the process, the abutting portion  59  of the second component  52  will be pushed by the contact end  61  of the movable member  40 , resulting in contraction of the second component  52  with respect to the first component  50 . This contraction produces the buffering effect F (see  FIG. 9 ), which decelerates the displacement of the object  72  in the first direction D 1  or helps reduce the noise caused by collision between the rear portion  80  of the object  72  and the contact portion  46  of the movable member  40 . 
     As soon as the object  72  is displaced away from the contact portion  46  of the movable member  40  as shown in  FIG. 10  (in which the object  72  has been detached from the rail  22  by way of example), the elastic member  60  releases the elastic force stored therein. The elastic force acts in the second direction D 2  and thereby displaces the movable member  40  in the second direction D 2 , helping to bring the movable member  40  back to the first position P 1  (see  FIG. 10 ). In one preferred embodiment, the elastic force of the elastic member  60 , which acts in the second direction D 2 , hardly produces any resistance to the force applied to displace the object  72  in the first direction D 1 ; the elastic member  60  serves mainly to move the movable member  40  from the second position P 2  back to the first position P 1 , i.e., the position where the buffer member  42  is ready for the next buffering operation. It should be pointed out that the buffer member  42  itself provides an elastic force that allows the second component  52  of the buffer member  42  to extend to the greatest extent with respect to the first component  50 , and that the elastic member  60  in the embodiment illustrated herein is merely a preferred means to return the buffer member  42  to its initial working position rapidly. The elastic member  60 , therefore, plays only an auxiliary role and is not essential. 
     In other words, when the object  72  is detached from the rail  22 , or when the object  72  is displaced from the position shown in  FIG. 9  in the second direction D 2  by a distance equal to or larger than the distance between the second position P 2  and the first position P 1 , the movable member  40  will return to the first position P 1 . It is worth mentioning that when the movable member  40  reaches the first position P 1 , the second portion of the second component  52  of the buffer member  42  protrudes as far from the first component  50  as in, and thus resumes, the buffer-ready state (see  FIG. 10  or  FIG. 8 ). 
     It can be known from the above that the technical feature of the slide rail mechanism  20  described herein consists in the buffer member  42  producing the buffering effect F when the movable member  40  is displaced in the first direction D 1 . The slide rail mechanism  20  is so designed that when displaced in the first direction D 1 , the object  72  carried by the rail  22  can push and displace the movable member  40  in the same direction, thus driving the buffer member  42  to exert the buffering effect F on the object  72 ; and that the elastic member  60  can apply to the movable member  40  an elastic force that acts in the second direction D 2  (which is the opposite direction of the first direction D 1 ) to help bring the movable member  40  from the second position P 2  back to the first position P 1 , where the buffer member  42  is ready for the next buffering operation. 
     While the present invention has been disclosed through the preferred embodiments described above, the embodiments are not intended to be restrictive of the scope of the invention. The scope of the patent protection sought by the applicant is defined by the appended claims.