Patent Publication Number: US-10758042-B2

Title: Universal drawer slide

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/883,193 filed Jan. 30, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a universal drawer slide. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Certain drawer slides used in cabinets and other storage systems include both a lock-in and a lock-out feature. The lock-in feature reduces accidental opening by requiring the user to unlatch the drawer slide before opening a drawer, tray, panel, or other sliding or storage member that is engaged or attached to the drawer slide. The lock-out feature maintains the drawer in the open position and also requires the user to further unlatch the drawer slide before closing the drawer. Drawer slides having both lock-in and lock-out features are often used in emergency and commercial vehicles where it is important to maintain drawers and storage members in a closed position during transit and to further maintain the drawers or storage members in an opened position once the drawers are opened. For example, the parking of emergency and commercial vehicles on an incline could cause the inadvertent closure of a drawer that does not lock-out. 
     Typical drawer slides that lock-in and lock-out require both a left hand drawer slide for a left side of a cabinet and a separate right hand drawer slide for a right side of the cabinet in order for release levers of each slide to operate in the same direction, e.g., in an upwards or in a downwards direction. This requirement for separate left and right drawer-slides increases inventory, stocking costs, labor, etc. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     A universal drawer slide is described. The universal drawer slide may be mounted on either a left side or a right side of a cabinet or other storage system, which provides the universal nature of the slide of the present disclosure. The universal drawer slide may include both lock-in and lock-out features. In order to switch usage between the right side and the left side, an operator needs to adjust an orientation of a cam which is mounted on the slide. The slide includes at least two different mounting positions for the cam. Thus, a pair of the same slides may be used for the left and rights sides of a drawer or other storage member with only the adjustment of the cam. For example, after installation of the right drawer slide, the left drawer slide is rotated approximately 180 degrees along it major axis relative to the right drawer slide, the cam position of the left drawer slide is adjusted to have the same angle as the right drawer slide, and the left drawer slide is installed. 
     The universal slide mechanism will allow both a lever of the right hand slide and a lever of the left hand slide to operate either up or down to release a lock-in mechanism to open the respective slide. Further, the same lever will release a further lock-out mechanism in order to allow the drawer to close. In order to use the slide on a second, opposite side, the position and/or orientation of the cam is moved to be the same as the first side. When installed, both levers of the left and right sides will operate in the same direction—for example either upwards or downwards. 
     In some storage applications, a lock-in/lock-out drawer slide is only used on one side of the cabinet or the storage system. The universal slide mechanism may be used on either side of the cabinet or the storage system in conjunction with a non-locking drawer slide on the opposite side. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the cabinet with drawers engaged to the cabinet via universal drawer slides. 
         FIG. 2  includes perspective views of the universal drawer slides in the opened position. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the universal drawer slide in the closed position. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the universal drawer slide in the closed position with the cover of the inner slide member removed. 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the universal drawer slide. 
         FIG. 6  is a view of the lever prior to moving in the downward direction. 
         FIG. 7  is a view of the lever to moving in the downward direction. 
         FIG. 8  is a view of the drawer slide of  FIGS. 6 and 7  moving to the open position. 
         FIG. 9  is a view of the lever prior to moving in the upward direction. 
         FIG. 10  is a view of the lever to moving in the upward direction. 
         FIG. 11  is a view of the drawer slide of  FIGS. 9 and 10  moving to the open position. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing the engagement of the lever to the cam. 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view showing the disengagement of the lever from the cam. 
         FIG. 14  is a view of the slide plate engaged to a locking mechanism of the drawer slide. 
         FIG. 15  is a view of lever moving downward to pull the slide plate to disengage the locking mechanism of the drawer slide. 
         FIG. 16  is a view of the disengaged locking mechanism of the drawer slide. 
         FIG. 17  is a view of the cam mounted to the drawer slide in a first direction. 
         FIG. 18  is a view of the cam mounted to the drawer slide in a second direction. 
         FIG. 19  is a view of the cam mounting to the outer slide member. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
     A universal slide  10  will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 1-19 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the universal drawer slide  10  is generally mounted to interior walls of or other mounting structures of a cabinet  20 . The universal drawer slide  10  provides for drawers  30  to slide in an out of the cabinet  20 . In the aspect shown in  FIG. 2 , the universal drawer slide  10  includes an outer slide member  40 , a middle slide member  50 , and an inner slide member  60  in a telescoping/extending arrangement that provides for the drawers  30  to move between open and closed positions. In other aspects, only an outer slide member and an inner slide member are employed. 
     Typically, the universal drawer slides  10  are mounted on both a right side  32  and a left side  34  of the drawer  30 . The universal drawer slides  10  mounted on the right side  32  and the left side  34  of the drawer  30  may be substantially identical except for a position of a cam  200 . Relative to each other, the universal drawer slides  10  mounted on the right side  32  and the left side  34  of the drawer  30  have been rotated approximately 180 degrees, which requires the herein described adjustment of the position of the cam  200 . In  FIGS. 1-19 , the universal drawer slide  10  is mounted in a vertical orientation. In other aspects, the universal drawer slide  10  may be rotated 90 degrees and mounted in a horizontal orientation 
     With respect to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an exterior surface  42  of the outer slide member  40  is affixed to an interior of a wall  22  of the cabinet  20 . An interior surface  62  of the inner slide member  60  is affixed to the side surface  32  or  34  of the drawer  30 . The universal drawer slides  10  provide for the drawer  30  to slide in and out of the cabinet  20 . Of course, the outer side member  40  may also be mounted to supports or structures other than cabinets, such as, for example, brackets, frames, racks, etc. Further, of course, the universal drawer slides  10  may be used with extending systems and storage systems other than cabinets. 
     The universal drawer slides  10  include bearings or other sliding mechanisms positioned between the outer slide member  40 , the middle slide member  50 , and the inner slide member  60  to provide for the drawer slides  10  to extend to an open position and to retract to a closed position. In the closed position, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the inner slide member  60  may nest at least partially within the middle slide member  50 , and the combination of the inner slide member  60  and the middle slide member  50  may nest at least partially within the outer slide member  40 . 
     With respect to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a front portion  62  of the inner slide member  60  includes a lever  100 . In  FIG. 5 , a cover portion  68  of the inner slide member  60  is removed in order to view internal features of the inner slide member  60 . The lever  100  is pivotally mounted to the inner slide member  60  by a pivot  110 . The lever  100  may rotate or pivotally move about the pivot  110 . The lever  100  includes a handle  112 , a knob  114 , and an engaging end  116 . The handle  112  is generally opposite of the engaging end  116 , with the knob  114  between the handle  112  and the engaging end  116 . 
     With respect to  FIG. 19 , the lever  100  may include an opening  102 . With respect to  FIG. 1 , handle ends  37  may attach or engage to the levers  100  at the opening  102 . The handle ends  37  may attach or engage to a handle  33 . The handle  33  spans a distance between opposite levers  100  on the drawer  30 . The user may simultaneously actuate both levers  100  by actuating the handle  33 . This provides convenient one-handed opening of the drawer  30 . 
     With respect to  FIGS. 12 and 13 , the engaging end  116  of the lever  100  engages and disengages with the cam  200 . The cam  200  is positioned on a front portion  45  of the outer slide member  40 . Thus, the lever  100  locks the inner slide member  60  to the outer slide member  40 . With respect to  FIGS. 17 and 18 , the cam  200  includes a first cam surface  210  and second cam surface  220  that interact with the engaging end  116  of the lever  100 . The cam  200  further includes a groove  230  between the first cam surface  210  and the second cam surface  220 . 
     With respect to  FIGS. 17 and 18 , the cam  200  further includes a first opening  236  and a second opening  238  that receive a fastener  202  to affix the cam  200  to the outer slide member  40 . The cam  200  may be rotated or pivoted relative to the front portion  45  of the outer slide member  40  and then affixed to the front portion  45  depending upon whether the handle  112  is moved in a downward or upward direction. The front portion  45  includes a first opening  46  and a second opening  48 . The operator may install the cam  200  to either of the first opening  46  or the second opening  48  depending upon whether the handle  112  is moved in a downward or upward direction. 
     With respect to  FIG. 8 , a slide plate  300  is movably mounted to the inner slide member  60 . With respect to  FIGS. 14-16 , the slide plate  300  includes a linear channel  310  to receive the pivot  110 . A spring  330  is held in an opening  335  of the slide plate  300 . The spring  330  biases against the pivot  110  to urge the slide plate  300  in an outward direction. The slide plate  300  further includes a curved channel  340  to receive the knob  114  of the lever  100 . The curved channel  340  limits a range of motion that the lever  100  may rotate. The curved channel  340  includes a first curved portion  342  and a second curved portion  344 . With respect to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a first end  382  of a control link  380  is fixedly engaged to the slide plate  300 . A second end  384  of the control link  380  engages to a locking mechanism  500  of the drawer slide  10 . 
     During opening, the actuation of the handle  112  of the lever  100  will move the engaging end  116  to release the engaging end  116  from the first cam surface  210  or the second cam surface  220  of the cam  200 . The cam  200  is affixed to the outer slide member  40 . Once the engaging end  116  is released from the cam  200 , the inner slide member  60  is free to move relative to the outer slide member  40  and the middle slide member  50 . 
       FIGS. 6-8  show the handle  112  moving downward to open the drawer  30 .  FIGS. 9-11  show the handle  112  moving upwards to open the drawer  30 . In either arrangement, the movement of the handle  112  disengages the engaging end  116  from the cam  200 . 
     The universal slide  10  may include a lock-out feature that maintains the drawer  30  in a fully open position until the locking mechanism  500  of the drawer slide  10  is released. With respect to  FIGS. 14-16 , during the closing of the drawer  30 , the actuation of the handle  112  of the lever  100  will move the slide plate  300  sufficiently outward to pull on the control link  380 , which releases the locking mechanism  500  of the drawer slide  10 —to permit the drawer slide  10  to close. As such, the movement or actuation of the levers  100  will disengage the engaging end  116  from the cam  200  during an opening of the drawer  20 , and, when the drawer  20  is opened, the further movement or actuation of the levers  100  will disengage the locking mechanism  500  of the drawer slide  10  in order for the drawer  20  to close. The locking mechanism  500  may hold the inner slide member  60  open relative to the outer slide member  40  and/or the middle slide member  50 . In other aspects, the slide plate  300  may be engaged to other locking mechanisms of the universal slide  10  or other locking features of the cabinet  20 . 
     The slide plate  300  may move laterally with respect to the inner slide member  60 . The slide plate  300  defines the curved channel  340 , which includes the first curved portion  342  and the second curved portion  344 . The curved channel  340  receives the knob  114  of the lever  100 . The curved channel  340  defines the range of rotation for the lever  100 . The movement of the lever  100 , with the knob  114  in the curved channel  340 , drives the movement of the slide plate  300 . Either upward or downward movement of the handle  112  will cause the slide plate  300  to move outward, i.e., away from an interior of the cabinet  10 . During the movement of the slide plate  300 , the linear channel  310  of the slide plate  300  moves against the pivot  100 . When the lever  100  is released by the operator, the lever  100  moves back to a neutral position by the bias of the spring  330 , i.e., the slide plate automatically  300  moves inward toward an interior of the cabinet  10 . 
     During the closing of the drawer  30 , the engaging end  116  of the lever  100  will be re-engaged to the respective first cam surface  210  or second cam surface  220 . As the drawer  30  is closed, the engaging end  116  will contact or rub against the respective first cam surface  210  or second cam surface  220  thus compressing the spring  330 . When the engaging end  116  passes an end of either the first cam surface  210  or the second cam surface  220 , the engaging end  116  will snap into the groove  230  under bias from the spring  330 . Thus, the inner slide member  60  is now latched or secured to outer slide member  40  and the drawer is maintained in the closed position. The engaging end  116  locks into the groove  230  regardless if the engaging end  116  is moving upwards or downwards. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1-18 , a pair of drawer slides  10  may be used on either side of the drawer  30  of the cabinet  10  by merely adjusting the position of the cam  200  on one of the drawer slides  10 . The drawer slide  10  is configured to be used on the left side of the drawer  30  or on the right side of the drawer  30  by mounting the cam  200  to the outer slide member  40  in either the first position or the second position. The engaging end  116  moves in a first direction, such as upwards, to engage with the cam  200  in the first position, and the engaging end  116  moves in a second direction, such as downwards, to engage with the cam  200  in the second position. 
     In order to adjust the drawer slide  10  between left side or right side usage, the fastener  202  is passed through either the first opening  236  or the second opening  238  of the cam  200  and into either the first opening  46  or the second opening  48  in the outer slide member  40 . The movement of the cam  200  to orientate the first opening  236  or the second opening  238  of the cam  200  with the first opening  46  or the second opening  48  in the outer slide member  40  provides for the cam  200  to be at same angle as the opposing cam  200 , which provides for both cams  200  to operate with upward or downward movement of the lever  100 . This provides an easy and efficient installation of the universal drawer slide  10 . 
     With respect to  FIGS. 17-19 , the front portion  45  includes the first opening  46  and the second opening  48 . The operator may install the cam  200  to either the first opening  46  (for upward movement of the engaging end  116 ) or the second opening  48  (for downward movement of engaging end  116 ) depending upon whether the handle  112  is moved in a downward or upward direction to engage the cam  200 . The difference between installing the cam  200  to either of the first opening  46  or the second opening  48  rotates the cam  200  by approximately 40 degrees to approximately 60 degrees. In  FIG. 17 , the fastener  202  is in the second opening  238  of the cam  200  and passes into the first opening  46 . The first opening  236  of the cam  200  is empty. In  FIG. 18 , the cam  200  has been rotated upward, and the fastener  202  is in the first opening  236  of the cam  200  and passes into the second opening  48 , and the second opening  238  of the cam  200  is empty. 
     With respect to  FIG. 19 , and as described above, the cam  200  may be rotated or pivoted relative to the front portion  45  of the outer slide member  40  and then affixed to the front portion  45  depending upon whether the handle  112  is moved in a downward or an upward direction. The cam  200  is rotatably or pivotally mounted at an opening  41  of the outer slide member  40 . A rear surface of the cam  200  includes a cam pivot  245  rotatably or pivotally engaged to the opening  41  of the outer slide member  40 . The rear surface of the cam  200  includes a cam positioner  240  that moves in a curved opening  49  in the outer slide member  40 . The curved opening  49  defines a range of motion for the cam positioner  240 . The curved opening  49  provides limits to the motion of the cam positioner  240 , and thus the cam  200 . The interaction of the cam positioner  240  with the curved opening  49  prevents over-rotation of the cam  200 . In a vertical installation, the force of gravity may move the cam  200  to a downward facing positioner, such as shown in  FIGS. 17 and 19 , and the fastener  202  is not required to maintain the cam  200  in the downward position. Of course, fastener  202  may be used anyway, such as shown in  FIGS. 17 and 19 . In  FIG. 18 , the cam  200  is in an upward facing position, and the fastener  202  is used to maintain the upward facing position. 
       FIGS. 17-19  show vertical installations of the drawer slide  10 . In horizontal installations (not shown), where the cam  200  is on an upward or lower facing surface of the drawer slide  10 , the fastener  202  may be needed to maintain proper position of the cam  200 . In such horizontal installations, the cam  200  may be fixed in either the first or second positions. 
     As such, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the particular aspects described herein, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this novel concept as defined by the following claims. Further, many other advantages of applicant&#39;s disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the above descriptions and the claims below.