Improved track means for drawers

Abstract

 A track assembly for drawers includes a pair of spaced stationary tracks (10) securely mounted to longitudinal walls of a piece of furniture which define a space for accommodating a drawer (40) and a pair of sliding members (30) securely mounted to outer longitudinal surfaces (42) of the drawer (40) which face the stationary tracks (10). Each stationary track (40) includes a strip (19) having an upper flange (16) and a lower flange (17) respectively protruding from an upper edge and a lower edge thereof and extending along a length thereof, thereby defining a sliding track (15) for the sliding member (30). The sliding members (30) are mounted to both outer longitudinal surfaces (42) of the drawer (40) adjacent to a rear end thereof. A roller (31) rotatably mounted on each of the sliding members (30) is received and rotatable in the track (15), providing a smooth operation of the drawer (40). A block (20) is mounted to a front end of the stationary track (10) and has a smooth upper surface (20a) to support an underside of the drawer (40), thereby providing a smooth supporting point for the drawer (40) during operation. A rear stop and a front stop are respectively mounted to a rear end and a front end of the stationary tracks (10) for preventing the drawer (40) from moving out of the stationary tracks (10).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an improved track means for drawers.

[0002] There are several well-known types of track means for drawers. However, theses conventional track means have one or more following disadvantages due to their structure: (1) the drawer easily slides too far outward beyond the compartment for the drawer when pulling out the drawer, (2) assembly which is too involved, (3) difficult processing, and (4) a high cost in manufacturing.

[0003] The present invention intends to provide an improved track means to mitigate and/or obviate the above-mentioned drawbacks.

[0004] A track means for drawers generally includes a pair of spaced stationary tracks securely mounted to longitudinal walls of a furniture, such as a desk, which define a space for accommodating a drawer and a pair of sliding members securely mounted to outer longitudinal surfaces of the drawer which face the stationary tracks. According to one aspect of the present invention, the track means is characterised by that:
   each stationary track includes a strip having an upper flange and a lower flange respectively protruding from an upper edge and a lower edge thereof and extending along a length thereof, thereby defining a sliding track for the sliding member,
   the sliding members are mounted to both outer longitudinal surfaces of the drawer adjacent to a rear end thereof, a roller rotatably mounted on each of the sliding members is received and rotatable in the track, providing a smooth operation of the drawer, a block is mounted to a front end of the stationary track and has a smooth upper surface to support an underside of the drawer, thereby providing a smooth supporting point for the drawer during operation, and
   a rear stop is mounted to a rear end of the stationary tracks for preventing the drawer from moving out of the stationary tracks, a front stop is mounted to a front portion of the stationary tracks for limiting a distance of which the drawer is pulled out.

[0005] According to another aspect of the present invention, a contact strip is provided to a front end of the sliding member so as to contact and to be stopped by the front stop of the stationary track when pulling out the drawer.

[0006] According to still another aspect of the present invention, the upper flange extends from a rear end of the strip and terminates at a position before the front stop, leaving a passage located in front of the upper flange to allow the removal of the drawer by the contact strip and the roller passing through the passage in front of the upper flange.

[0007] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, each rear end of the lower flange is slanted downward to insure the drawer in its closed position.

[0008] According to still another aspect of the present invention, a mounting standard tab extends downward from a rear end of the stationary track, providing a mounting standard for mounting the stationary track to the walls of the desk.

[0009] Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of an improved track means for drawers in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic side view of a drawer equipped with the improved track means in accordance the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic fragmentary side view showing the removal of the drawer from its accommodating space; and

Fig. 4 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the present invention for a wooden drawer.

[0010] Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a track means for drawers according to the present invention comprises a pair of spaced stationary tracks 10 securely mounted to longitudinal walls of a furniture (such as a desk) which define a space for accommodating a drawer 40 and a pair of sliding members 30 securely mounted to outer longitudinal surfaces 42 of the drawer 40 which face the stationary tracks 10.

[0011] Each stationary track 10 includes a strip 19 having an upper flange 16 and a lower flange 17 respectively protruding from an upper edge and a lower edge thereof, thereby defining a sliding track 15 for the sliding member 30. The lower flange 17 extends over a length of the strip 19. The upper flange 16 extends from a rear end of the strip 19 and terminates at a position before a front stop 14, leaving a passage located in front of the upper flange 17, whose purpose will be explained hereinafter.

[0012] The sliding members 30 are mounted to both outer longitudinal surfaces of the drawer 40 adjacent to a rear end thereof. A roller 31 rotatably mounted on each of the sliding members 30 is received and rotatable in the track 15, providing a smooth operation of the drawer 40. A block 20 is mounted to a front end of the stationary track 10 and has a smooth upper surface 20a to support an underside of the drawer 40, thereby providing a smooth supporting point for the drawer 40 during operation.

[0013] A rear stop 13 is mounted to a rear end of the stationary tracks 10 for preventing the drawer 40 from moving out of the stationary tracks 10. The front stop 14 is mounted to a front portion of the stationary tracks 10 for limiting a distance of which the drawer 40 is pulled out. This is achieved by a contact strip 32 provided on a front end of the sliding member 30 so as to contact and to be stopped by the front stop 13 of the stationary track 10 when pulling out the drawer 40.

[0014] When the user wishes to completely remove the drawer 40 from the desk, he may first pull out the drawer until the roller moves to a position shown in the phantom lines in Fig. 3, and then lift the drawer upward as clearly shown in Fig. 3 to allow the removal of the drawer 40 by the contact strip 32 and the roller 31 passing through the passage in front of the upper flange 17.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 2, the rear ends of the stationary tracks 10 are slanted downward to insure the drawer 40 in its closed position. Furthermore, a mounting standard tab 11 extends downward from a rear end of the stationary track 10, providing a mounting standard for mounting the stationary track to the walls of the desk. For example, the person installing the drawer may draw a horizontal line on the wall and then mount the track on the wall with a lowest point of the front end thereof located on the line and the lowest point of the strip 11. By this way, the track slants downward from the front end thereof to the rear end thereof, preventing the drawer from unintentionally sliding out from its closed position.

[0016] Referring to Fig. 4, for a wooden drawer, a claw 33 and a screw 34 can be used to further secure the sliding members 30 to both side walls 41 and 42 of the wooden drawer 40.

[0017] Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims

1. An improved track means for drawers comprising a pair of spaced stationary tracks (10) securely mounted to longitudinal walls of a piece of furniture which define a space for accommodating a drawer (40) and a pair of sliding members (30) securely mounted to outer longitudinal surfaces (42) of the drawer (40) which face the stationary tracks (10), characterised in that:
   each stationary track (40) includes a strip (19) having an upper flange (16) and a lower flange (17) respectively protruding from an upper edge and a lower edge thereof and extending along a length thereof, thereby defining a sliding track (15) for the sliding member (30),
   said sliding members (30) are mounted to both outer longitudinal surfaces (42) of said drawer (40) adjacent to a rear end thereof, a roller (31) rotatably mounted on each of said sliding members (30) is received and rotatable in said track (15), providing a smooth operation of said drawer (40), a block (20) is mounted to a front end of said stationary track (10) and has a smooth upper surface (20a) to support an underside of said drawer (40), thereby providing a smooth supporting point for said drawer during operation, and
   a rear stop (13) is mounted to a rear end of said stationary tracks (10) for preventing said drawer from moving out of said stationary tracks, a front stop (14) is mounted to a front portion of said stationary tracks for limiting a distance of which said drawer is pulled out.

2. The improved track means for drawers as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that a contact strip (32) is provided to a front end of said sliding member so as to contact and to be stopped by said front stop of said stationary track when pulling out said drawer.

3. The improved track means for drawers as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that said upper flange (16) extends from a rear end of said strip (19) and terminates at a position before said front stop (14), leaving a passage located in front of said upper flange (16) to allow the removal of said drawer by said contact strip and said roller passing through said passage in front of said upper flange.

4. An improved track means for drawers as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that each said rear end of said stationary tracks is slanted downward to insure said drawer in its closed position.

5. An improved track means for drawers as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that a mounting standard tab (11) extends downward from a rear end of said stationary track, providing a mounting standard for mounting said stationary track to the walls of the furniture.

Drawing