Self closing device for a slide and slide having this
Disclosed is a self-closing apparatus for a slide, which automatically moves a drawer to a completely closed position by tensile force of springs when the user moves the drawer toward the closed position. The self-closing apparatus includes a pair of springs, a moving pin, a moving pin guide, a plate-shaped movable member, and a fixed member. The moving pin includes a support pin portion, a support plate, and a guide protrusion. The moving pin guide includes a moving pin guide slot including a pin-receiving inlet portion and a pin engaging portion. The movable member includes a plate portion provided with a hole, a sliding rod formed integrally with the plate portion, and spring support portions. The fixed member includes a support base including spring support portions, an extension bar including movable member sliding portions and a moving pin guide portion, and a head.
This is a nationalization of PCT/KR04/003489 filed Dec. 29, 2004 and published in English.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates to a self-closing apparatus for a slide and a slide having this, and more particularly to a self-closing apparatus for a slide, which automatically moves a drawer to a completely closed position by means of elastic force of springs when the drawer moves toward the closed position, and a slide having the self-closing apparatus.
BACKGROUND ARTIn general, slides are mounted to an item, for example, a cabinet, in which a drawer is received, in such a manner that a pair of slides are symmetrically mounted to opposite side walls of the cabinet defining a space for receiving the drawer, in order to slidably move the drawer between a closed position and an open position. Such slides are mainly used in drawers of tables, clothes chests, and dressers, and may be used in any item, such as a Kimchi refrigerator, including a drawer or drawers slidable between a closed position and an open position with respect to the body of item.
Conventional slides have a problem in that force must be continuously applied to the drawer until the drawer is completely closed. Also, there is inconvenience in that, when the drawer is closed with excessive force, the drawer may slam against the cabinet, so that the drawer may be unintentionally re-opened due to the resultant repulsive force. In order to solve these problems, a proposal has been made in which the slides are mounted such that they are slightly downwardly inclined as they extend inwardly in the cabinet, thereby causing the drawer to be self-closed without being unintentionally opened. In this case, however, the drawer may slam against the cabinet due to the weights of the drawer and articles received in the drawer, thereby generating high impact force. As a result, the cabinet, the drawer, and rails of the slides supporting the drawer may be damaged.
In order to solve the above problem, the present applicant proposed an improved structure which is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0287996 entitled “SLIDER FIXING AND GUIDING APPARATUS FOR DRAWER”. However, this apparatus, which employs a single hooked spring, has a problem in that the apparatus cannot be used for a prolonged period of time when it is used at the drawer for receiving heavy articles because the hooked portions of the spring may be easily broken.
PCT Publication No. WO 2001-82749 discloses a mechanism for a self-closing slide which includes a guide pin, a spring, an actuator, and a housing. The spring and actuator of the mechanism are coupled to the guide pin such that the spring urges the actuator toward a rear wall of the housing. The spring is in a compressed state at an open position of the slide, and is in a normal state at a closed position of the slide. The spring is not stretched, and is thus not broken.
The housing of the above mechanism includes rear, front, upper and two opposite side walls, and has a structure for receiving all of the guide pin, spring, and actuator. That is, the housing has a box-shaped structure within which the guide pin, spring, and actuator are placed. However, such a box-shaped housing cannot be easily manufactured, and requires high production costs. In order to fix the housing to a fixed member (an outer member) of the slide, a plurality of legs are formed integrally with the housing. For this reason, there are problems of a more complex manufacturing process and an increase in manufacturing costs.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTIONTherefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a self-closing apparatus for a slide, which automatically moves a drawer to a completely closed position by tensile force of springs and prevents the spring from being early broken and has a simple structure.
In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a self-closing apparatus comprising: a pair of springs; a moving pin; a moving pin guide; a plate-shaped movable member; and a plate-shaped fixed member.
The moving pin comprises a support pin portion having a cylindrical shape, a support plate, and a guide protrusion. The moving pin guide comprises a moving pin guide slot and first coupling means. The moving pin guide slot is formed by a pin-receiving inlet portion defined by two inlet surfaces and a pin engaging portion defined by three engaging surfaces. The movable member comprises a plate portion centrally provided with a hole, sliding rods formed integrally with the plate portion, and spring support portions to which first ends of the springs are respectively coupled. The fixed member may comprises a support base comprising spring support portions, to which second ends of the springs are respectively coupled, an extension bar comprising movable member sliding portions formed at opposite longitudinal sides of the extension bar, and a moving pin guide portion formed at an intermediate portion of the extension bar, a head, and second coupling means.
Each sliding rod of the movable member comprises a protrusion and a sliding groove. The moving pin guide portion of the fixed member comprises a rectilinear guide portion and a curved guide portion. The moving pin guide may be fixed to a movable rail of the slide by the first coupling means such that the moving pin guide is moved together with the movable rail. The fixed member is fixed to a fixed rail of the slide by the second coupling means.
The moving pin is slidably coupled to the moving pin guide portion of the fixed member. The movable member sliding portions of the fixed member is slidably engaged with the sliding grooves of the movable member under a condition in which the support pin portion of the moving pin is inserted in the hole of the movable member, so that the moving pin moves integrally with the movable member along the moving pin guide portion of the fixed member when the movable member slides along the movable member sliding portions of the fixed member.
In accordance with the present invention, when the slide is in an extended state, the moving pin of the self-closing apparatus is located at the curved guide portion of the moving pin guide portion of the fixed member. When the slide is in a retracted state, the moving pin is located at an inner end of the rectilinear guide portion of the moving pin guide portion. When the moving pin moves from the location corresponding to the extended state of the slide to the location corresponding to the retraced state of the slide, this movement is automatically carried out by tensile force of the springs. Thus, the self-closing apparatus automatically closes the slide. The self-closing apparatus of the present invention prevents early breakage of springs, has a simple structure and low production costs, and is easily returned from an abnormal operating state to a normal operating state.
Preferably, an engagement groove is formed at one of three engaging surfaces of the pin engaging portion.
Further preferably, tapered portions are formed at a portion near the ends of the spring.
Further preferably, the extension bar of the fixed member comprises protrusions being parallel with the movable member sliding portions while being close to the movable member sliding portions.
Further preferably, a movable rail support is formed on a surface of the movable member to support and guide the movable rail.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGSThe above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Generally, slides may be two-member slides (including a fixed rail and a movable rail) or three-member slides (including a fixed rail and two movable rails). Referring to
The slide 10, as shown in
A self-closing apparatus 20 for a slide in accordance with the present invention is mounted to the rearmost end of the fixed rail 800. A rail groove 910 is formed at the rearmost end of the intermediate movable rail 900 to receive a part of the self-closing apparatus 20.
Referring to
The moving pin guide 300 includes first coupling means for coupling the moving pin guide 300 to the inner movable rail 700 (
Preferably, elastic blocks 340 are respectively formed at opposite longitudinal sides of the moving pin guide 300. The elastic blocks 340 are slightly diverged from each other in a state of being outwardly protruded from the associated longitudinal sides of the moving pin guide 300, respectively, as they extend rearward. A buffering groove 341 is formed around each elastic block 340. Since the elastic blocks 340 are diverged from each other in a state of outwardly protruded from the associated longitudinal sides of the moving pin guide 300,
Each sliding rod 220 includes a protrusion 221 and a U-shaped sliding groove 222. Movable member sliding portions 121 of the fixed member 100, which will be described later, are respectively engaged in the sliding grooves 222 of the sliding rod 220.
The spring support portions 212 are formed at an end of the plate portion 210 opposite to an engaging surface 223. In the present invention, any linear spring may be used as the springs. That is, any linear spring, both end portions of which have a hooked or tapered shape, may be used. Preferably, tapered linear springs which have the tapered portions respectively formed at a portion near the end of the spring are used. The tapered spring 500 (
A hole 211 is centrally formed through the plate portion 210. The support pin portion 430 of the moving pin 400 shown in
Stoppers 119 are formed where the support base 110 meets the extension bars 120 at the side of the support base 110 connected to the extension bars 120. Spring support portions 111 are formed both sides of the support base 110. Each spring support portion 111 receives the other end of an associated one of the springs 500. The spring support portions 111 have a structure corresponding to that of the spring support portions 212 of
The moving pin guide portion 123 is longitudinally formed in the extension bar 120. The moving pin guide portion 123 includes a rectilinear guide portion 124 and a curved guide portion 125. The moving pin 400 is inserted into the moving pin guide portion 123 to slide along the moving pin guide portion 123. Movable member sliding portions 121, which are inserted into respective sliding grooves 222 of the movable member 200, are formed at opposite sides of the extension bar 120. As shown in
Preferably, an impact buffering portion 132 is formed at the head 130 of the fixed member 100. When the fixed member 100 collides with another member of the slide (for example, the intermediate movable rail of the three-member slide), the impact buffering portion 132 serves to absorb impact. The above collision may be generated when the rail reaches a retracted position.
Second coupling means for coupling the fixed member 100 to the fixed rail 800 of the slide is provided at the support base 110 and head 130 of the fixed member 100. In the illustrated case, the second coupling means comprises coupling holes 112 and 131 for riveting.
Hereinafter, the connection and function of the above members will be described.
First, the moving pin 400 is engaged in the moving pin guide portion 123 of the fixed member 100.
As described above, the fixed member 100, to which the moving pin 400, movable member 200, and springs 500 are coupled, is coupled to the fixed rail 800 of the slide by the second coupling means, and the moving pin guide 300 is coupled to the inner movable rail 700 of the slide by the first coupling means.
Now, the function of the self-closing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13.
In FIGS. 11 to 13, the slide is a three-member slide including two movable rails (an intermediate movable rail and an inner movable rail) and one fixed rail. However, for simplification, the intermediate movable rail positioned between the inner movable rail 700 and the fixed rail 800 will be omitted. Also, for convenience, the drawer and the walls of the cabinet will be omitted, and only the slide will be described. Further, since the fixed member 100 is fixed to the fixed rail 800, and the moving pin guide 300 is fixed to the inside of the inner movable rail 700 such that the moving pin guide 300 faces the fixed member 100, the moving pin guide 300 is not shown, but, for convenience, is shown by a solid line.
According to the present invention, as described above, the engagement groove 328 is formed at the second rectilinear engaging surface 324. The engagement groove 328 is formed at a position, at which the support pin portion 430 of the moving pin 400 is engaged with the engagement groove 328 just when the moving pin 400 is separated from the curved guide portion 125. Accordingly, as soon as the moving pin 400 is separated from the curved guide portion 125, the support pin portion 430 of the moving pin 400 is safely engaged with the engagement groove 328, and is moved along the rectilinear guide portion 124.
The extension of the slide is performed in the reverse order of the above process. When the inner movable member 700 of the slide is extended (that is, the drawer is extended), the moving pin 400, which has been in the state of
When the inner movable rail 700 of the slide is located at the extended position as described above, the moving pin 400 is positioned at the curved guide portion 125 of the fixed member 100. When the inner movable rail 700 is moved to the retracted position, the pin engaging portion 320 of the moving pin guide 300 coupled to the inner movable rail 700 is coupled to the support pin portion 430 of the moving pin 400, and is then pulled by the tensile force of the springs 500 to move along the rectilinear guide portion 124 of the fixed member 100. The movement of the pin engaging portion 320 along the rectilinear guide portion 124 of the fixed member 100 is continued until the engaging surface 223 of the movable member 200 is engaged with the stoppers 119 of the fixed member 100. Thus, the drawer is automatically moved to the completely closed position.
As described above, the movable rails 700 and 900 are extended or retracted in a state of being operatively connected by the ball retainers 950. However, since the movable rails 700 and 900 are supported by the ball retainers 950 only, the front ends of the movable rails 700 and 900 may be rocked during the extension or retraction of the movable rains 700 and 900. Such vibration of the movable rails 700 and 900 causes a difficulty in coupling the moving pin guide 300 to the moving pin 400 when the state of
As shown in
Preferably, support flanges 274 are respectively formed at free ends of the support bars 272. The support flanges 274 serve to restrain vertical vibration of the inner movable rail 700. To this end, the protruded height of each bar 272 from the movable member 200′ corresponds to the height of the inner movable rail 700.
When the moving pin guide 300 moves toward the retracted position, the moving pin 400 is not in the state of being engaged with the curved guide portion 125 (the state of
When the moving pin guide 300 moves toward the retracted position in the above state, that is, the abnormal operating state in which the moving pin 400 completes the movement along the rectilinear guide portion 124, as shown in
Preferably, as described above, the twist preventing protrusion 128 for preventing the support protrusion 127 from twisting is formed at the support protrusion 127 on the rear surface of the fixed member 100 (
As described above, although the preferred embodiment of the present invention describes one slide, those skilled in the art will appreciate that two slides must be symmetrically installed. Since two slides must be symmetrically installed, two self-closing apparatuses of the present invention must also be manufactured to have symmetrical structures, respectively, such that a pair of the fixed members 100 and a pair of the moving pin guides 300 are manufactured to have symmetrical structures like a mirror image respectively.
Further, although the preferred embodiment of the present invention describes a self-closing apparatus applied to a three-member slide including two movable rails and one fixed rail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the self-closing apparatus of the present invention may be applied to a two-member slide including one movable rail and one fixed rail.
Preferably, the self-closing apparatus of the present invention is made of a plastic material having proper strength and elasticity, but is not limited thereto.
Further, although the moving pin guide of the self-closing apparatus of the present invention is separately manufactured, and is mounted to the end of the movable rail in the illustrated case, the moving pin guide may be formed at the end of the movable rail by means of punching.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITYAs apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a self-closing apparatus for a slide, which automatically closes a drawer without continuously applying force to the drawer until the drawer is completely closed, and prevents the drawer from being re-opened by repulsive force caused by impact generated when the drawer is slammed, thereby being conveniently used.
The self-closing apparatus of the present invention prevents early breakage of springs, has a simple structure and low production costs, and is easily returned from an abnormal operating state to a normal operating state.
The self-closing apparatus of the present invention restrains vibration of the front ends of the movable rails, thereby being smoothly operated.
Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
Claims
1. A self-closing apparatus for a slide comprising:
- a pair of springs;
- a moving pin comprising a support pin portion having a cylindrical shape, a support plate, and a guide protrusion;
- a moving pin guide comprising a moving pin guide slot and first coupling means, the moving pin guide slot comprising a pin-receiving inlet portion defined by two inlet surfaces, and a pin engaging portion defined by three engaging surfaces;
- a movable member including a plate portion centrally provided with a hole, sliding rods formed integrally with the plate portion, and spring support portions to which first ends of the springs are respectively coupled; and
- a plate-shaped fixed member comprising a support base comprising spring support portions, to which second ends of the springs are respectively coupled, an extension bar comprising movable member sliding portions respectively formed at opposite longitudinal sides of the extension bar, and a moving pin guide portion formed at an intermediate portion of the extension bar, a head, and second coupling means,
- wherein each sliding rod of the movable member comprises a protrusion and a sliding groove;
- wherein the moving pin guide portion of the fixed member comprises a rectilinear guide portion and a curved guide portion;
- wherein the moving pin is slidably coupled to the moving pin guide portion of the fixed member;
- the movable member sliding portions of the fixed member are slidably engaged with the sliding grooves of the movable member under a condition in which the support pin portion of the moving pin is inserted in the hole of the movable member, so that the moving pin moves integrally with the movable member along the moving pin guide portion of the fixed member when the movable member slides along the movable member sliding portions of the fixed member;
- wherein the moving pin guide is fixed to a movable rail of the slide by the first coupling means such that the moving pin guide is moved together with the movable rail; and
- wherein the fixed member is fixed to a fixed rail of the slide by the second coupling means.
2. The self-closing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the hole formed in the plate portion of the movable member has a length corresponding to a transversal length of the moving pin guide portion of the fixed member.
3. The self-closing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the movable pin guide slot further comprises an engagement groove formed at one of three engaging surfaces of the pin engaging portion.
4. The self-closing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the springs has the tapered portions respectively formed at a portion near the end of the spring.
5. The self-closing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first coupling means comprises a hole in which a coupling protrusion of the movable rail is fitted, and the second coupling means comprises riveting holes.
6. The self-closing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the extension bar of the fixed member further comprises a buffering space connected to the rectilinear guide portion of the moving pin guide portion while extending parallel with the rectilinear guide portion, a support protrusion formed between the moving pin guide portion and the buffering space, and a twist preventing protrusion formed at the support protrusion and adapted to prevent the support protrusion from twisting.
7. The self-closing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the moving pin guide further comprises elastic blocks respectively formed at opposite longitudinal sides of the moving pin guide, and buffering grooves respectively formed around the elastic blocks, the elastic blocks being diverged from each other to have elasticity.
8. The self-closing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the extension bar of the fixed member further comprises protrusions respectively arranged close to and in parallel with the movable member sliding portions.
9. The self-closing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the moving member further comprises a movable rail support formed on a surface of the movable member, and adapted to support the movable rail
10. The self-closing apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein the movable rail support comprises support bars formed integrally with the movable member, and support flanges respectively formed at free ends of the support bars.
11. A slide comprising:
- a fixed rail;
- two movable rails;
- ball retainers each located between adjacent ones of the rails, and adapted to operatively connect the adjacent rails such that the movable rails are slidable; and
- a self-closing apparatus as set forth in claim 1.
12. The slide as set forth in claim 11, wherein one of the movable rails comprises a rail groove for receiving a part of the self-closing apparatus.
13. The slide as set forth in claim 11, wherein the slide comprises a fixed rail, a movable rail, and a ball retainer located between the rails, and adapted to operatively connect the rails such that the movable rails are slidable.
14. The slide as set forth in claim 11, wherein the slide is a slide for a Kimchi refrigerator.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 29, 2004
Publication Date: Jan 4, 2007
Inventor: Yoon-Sik Park (Seoul)
Application Number: 10/553,401
International Classification: A47B 88/00 (20060101);