SLIDING MECHANISM
A sliding mechanism includes an inner rail with a first protrusion and a second protrusion. An outer rail with a third protrusion and a stopping surface; a middle rail slidably mounted between the inner rail and the outer rail along a first direction, and having a resisting portion; a positioning member being slidably mounted on the middle rail in a second direction. The inner rail non-slidably latches with the middle rail when the inner rail slides a first predetermined distance. The resisting portion latches with the stopping surface to enable the middle rail to be non-slidably relative to outer rail after the inner rail together with the middle rail slides a second predetermined distance; and the positioning member slides relative to the second protrusion in the second direction to release the positioning member.
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This application is related to co-pending U.S. Patent Application (Attorney Docket No. US33047), entitled “SLIDING MECHANISM”, by Yu et al. This application has the same assignee as the present application and has been concurrently filed herewith. The above-identified applications are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to sliding mechanisms, particularly to sliding mechanisms used in servers.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical sliding mechanism of a server generally includes an inner rail, a middle rail, and an outer rail. The inner rail is mounted on the server, the outer rail is mounted to a support frame of the server, and the middle rail is mounted between the inner rail and the outer rail to extend the sliding distance of the sliding mechanism. However, in the conventional product configurations, the sliding mechanisms can be complicated and they tend to take up a lot of space.
Therefore, there is a room for improvement in the art.
Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the exemplary sliding mechanism for server. Moreover, in the drawings like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment.
An exemplary embodiment of a sliding mechanism is shown in
The inner rail 10 includes two sliding plates 14 respectively located at opposite sides thereof. The first protrusion 61 is substantially arcuate, including a first protrusion valley 611 and a first protrusion peak 613. The first protrusion 61, in this exemplary embodiment, is positioned at one side of the inner rail 10 facing the middle rail 30 and near one end of the inner rail 10. The second protrusion 62 has substantially the same shape as, but is larger than the first protrusion 61, and the second protrusion 62 is situated at the same side as the first protrusion 61. The second protrusion 62 is located at another end of the inner rail 10 and includes a second protrusion valley 621 and a second protrusion peak 623.
The middle rail 30 includes two sliding blocks 34 respectively positioned at opposite sides thereof. The sliding blocks 34 are for slidably engaging with the outer rail 50 so the outer rail 50 can slide relative to the middle rail 30. Each sliding block 34 defines a sliding groove 342 facing the other sliding block 34. Each sliding groove 342 slidably engages one of the sliding plates 14 to enable the middle rail 30 to slide relative to the inner rail 10. The middle rail 30 further includes a hook 323 for latching the elastic element 64 to the middle rail 30. An opening 322 is defined through the middle rail 30 and is used for allowing the elastic element 64 to pass through the middle rail 30.
Referring to
The resisting portion 655 protrudes from the middle rail 30 toward the outer rail 50. The resisting portion 655 is for resisting the outer rail 50 so the middle rail 30 and the outer rail 50 can slide together relative to the inner rail 10.
The outer rail 50 has two sliding slots 52 respectively defined at opposite sides thereof. Each sliding slot 52 slidably engages with one of the sliding blocks 34 so the outer rail 50 can slide relative to the middle rail 30.
Referring also to
Referring also to
The elastic element 64 is V-shaped and includes a latching portion 641 formed at the center thereof, an inserting portion 642 is formed at one end thereof and a retaining ring 645 is formed at another end thereof. The latching portion 641 latches with the hook 323 to hold the elastic element 64 to the middle rail 30. The inserting portion 642 is inserted in the opening 322 to assist the elastic element 64 to hold the middle rail 30. The retaining ring 645 wraps in the retaining slot 637 to latch the elastic element 64 to the roller 63.
Referring to
Each sliding plate 14 is slidably accommodated in one of the sliding grooves 342 so the inner rail 10 is slidably mounted to the middle rail 30. Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
It is to be further understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the exemplary embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of structures and functions of various embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the exemplary invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
Claims
1. A sliding mechanism, comprising:
- an outer rail;
- an inner rail;
- a middle rail between the outer rail and the inner rail, the middle rail having a resisting portion protruding therefrom, the middle rail slidably mounted to the outer rail in a first direction and the inner rail slidably mounted to the middle rail in the first direction;
- a latching assembly including a first protrusion positioned at the inner rail, a second protrusion positioned at the inner rail and spaced from the first protrusion, a third protrusion positioned at the outer rail, a roller being slidably mounted on the middle rail in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, a stopping surface formed near the third protrusion;
- wherein when the inner rail slides relative to the middle rail in the first direction, the roller slides to and latches the second protrusion to make the middle rail sliding with the inner rail; and then the roller slides to and along the third protrusion until the resisting portion resists the stopping surface to prevent the middle rail from sliding relative to the outer rail and the roller slides relative to the middle rail in the second direction to release the roller from the second protrusion such that the roller slides along the first protrusion to make the inner rail further extends relative to the middle rail.
2. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner rail includes two sliding plates respectively located at opposite sides thereof; the middle rail includes two sliding blocks respectively positioned at opposite sides thereof, each sliding block defines a sliding groove which slidably engages one of the sliding plates to enable the middle rail to slide relative to the inner rail.
3. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 2, wherein the outer rail has two sliding slots respectively defined at opposite sides thereof, each sliding slot slidably engages with one of the sliding blocks so the outer rail can slide relative to the middle rail.
4. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first protrusion and the second protrusion are both positioned at one side of the inner rail facing the middle rail.
5. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first protrusion includes a first protrusion valley and a first protrusion peak; the second protrusion includes a second protrusion valley and a second protrusion peak; the third protrusion includes a third protrusion valley and a third protrusion peak.
6. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 5, wherein the middle rail further defines a guiding groove to guide the roller to slide relative to the middle rail in the second direction.
7. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 6, wherein the roller includes a main body, a first pin protruding from one side of the main body, a second pin protruding from another side of the main body; the first pin slides along the first protrusion when the inner rail slides relative to the middle rail, and the second pin slides along the third protrusion when the middle rail slides together with the inner rail relative to the outer rail.
8. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 7, wherein the roller further defines a securing slot around the second pin near the main body, the securing slot slidably secures with the portions of the middle rail surrounding the guiding groove so the roller is slidably secured to the middle rail.
9. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 8, wherein the roller further defines a retaining slot defined around the first pin near the main body; the sliding mechanism further includes an elastic element including a retaining ring formed one end thereof and wrapping in the retaining slot to latch the roller to the elastic element.
10. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 9, wherein the elastic element further includes a latching portion formed at the center thereof; the middle rail further includes a hook latching the latching portion to hold the elastic element to the middle rail.
11. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 10, wherein the middle rail further includes a opening; the elastic element further includes a inserting portion formed another end thereof which is inserted in the opening to assist the elastic element to hold on the middle rail.
12. A sliding mechanism, comprising:
- an inner rail including a first protrusion and a second protrusion spaced from the first protrusion;
- an outer rail including a third protrusion and a stopping surface located near the third protrusion;
- a middle rail slidably mounted between the inner rail and the outer rail along a first direction, the middle rail having a resisting portion protruding toward the outer rail;
- a positioning member being slidably mounted on the middle rail in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction;
- wherein the positioning member latches with the second protrusion to enable the inner rail non-slidably latched with the middle rail when the inner rail slides a first predetermined distance relative to the middle rail in the first direction with the positioning member sliding along the first protrusion; the resisting portion is used to latch with the stopping surface to enable the middle rail non-slidably relative to outer rail after the inner rail together with the middle rail slides a second predetermined distance relative to the outer rail in the first direction with the positioning member sliding along the third protrusion; and the positioning member slides relative to the second protrusion in the second direction to release the positioning member from the second protrusion after the positioning member slides along the third protrusion so the inner rail can further slide relative to the middle rail in the first direction.
13. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 12, wherein the first protrusion and the second protrusion are both positioned at one side of the inner rail facing the middle rail, the first protrusion includes a first protrusion valley and a first protrusion peak; the second protrusion includes a second protrusion valley and a second protrusion peak; the third protrusion includes a third protrusion valley and a third protrusion peak.
14. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 13, wherein when the inner rail slides the first predetermined distance relative to the middle rail in the first direction, the positioning member slides from the first protrusion peak to the first protrusion valley.
15. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 14, wherein when the inner rail together with the middle rail slides the second predetermined distance relative to the outer rail in the first direction, the positioning member slides from the third protrusion valley to the third protrusion peak;
16. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 15, wherein after the positioning member releases from the second protrusion, the positioning member slides from the second protrusion peak to the second protrusion valley so the inner rail further slide relative to the middle rail in the first direction
17. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 16, wherein the sliding mechanism further includes an elastic element mounted between the middle rail and the positioning member; when the positioning member slides from the first protrusion peak to the first protrusion valley, the elastic element is expanded.
18. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 17, wherein when the positioning member slides from the third protrusion valley to the third protrusion peak, the elastic member is compressed.
19. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 17, wherein when the positioning member slides from the second protrusion peak to the second protrusion valley, the elastic member is expanded.
20. The sliding mechanism as claimed in claim 12, wherein the middle rail further defines a guiding groove to guide the positioning member to slide relative to the middle rail in the second direction.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 24, 2010
Publication Date: Oct 27, 2011
Applicants: HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD. (Tu-Cheng), HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD. (Shenzhen City)
Inventors: MO-MING YU (Shenzhen City), ZE-HONG CHEN (Shenzhen City)
Application Number: 12/861,900
International Classification: A47B 88/16 (20060101);