EP0046531B1 - Telescoping triple slide - Google Patents

Abstract

1. A three-part telescopic rail for a pullable element (5, 5', 5") comprising an inner rail (2) and two outer rails (1, 3), which are mounted on balls (28) on that inner rail (2) on both sides and are displaceable in the pulling direction (12), wherein the inner rail (2) consists of two component rails (24, 25), which are rigidly interconnected and have back faces facing in mutually opposite directions, and the sliding movements of the two outer rails (1, 3) relative to the inner rail (2) are synchronized by the provision of a roller (4), which is movably on the inner rail (2) on an axle (10) that is transverse to the pulling direction (12), which roller (4) is non-displaceable relative to the inner rail (2) and has a tread surface, which is in direct contact with the first of the two outer rails (3) and non-positively acts on the second outer rail (1), positively acts on the second outer rail (1), characterized in that the two component rails (24, 25) of the inner rail (2) are arranged one beside the other and their back faces face each other, the two component rails of the inner rail and also the two outer rails (1, 3) are offset and overlap in height, the roller (4) has a substantially horizontal axle (10) and is disposed in one of the two steps resulting from said offset arrangement, and the roller acts on the second outer rail (1) directly by means of a bearing rail (6, 7, 8), which is removable from the telescopic rail and conforms to the pullable element (5, 5', 5") and is non-displaceable relative to the pullable element (5, 5', 5").

Description

The invention relates to a telescopic rail with the features specified in the preamble of claim 1 and claim 7. A telescopic rail according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from DE-A-2 307 041, FIGS. 12 to 16. In this telescopic rail, the two pairs of rails are arranged at a distance above one another and connected to one another by a Z-shaped profiled sheet, the upstanding leg of which is firmly attached to one partial rail of the inner rail and the downwardly projecting leg of which is fixed to the other partial rail of the inner rail, and in whose web connecting these two legs, a roller with an approximately horizontal axis is mounted in a recess arranged in the middle of the profiled sheet, the running surface of which rolls on the underside of the upper outer rail and at the same time on the upper side of the lower outer rail and thereby synchronizes their movement. The advantages of this telescopic rail are associated with disadvantages in certain applications. The known rail is very narrow and therefore only requires a small installation width. However, this advantage is paid for by the large installation height of the telescopic rail. The Z-shaped profiled sheet of the known telescopic rail enables to a certain extent a compensation of lateral installation dimension tolerances, which are particularly a problem with wooden furniture, in that the two pairs of rails can be deflected a little elastically around the web of the profiled sheet. The associated loss in rigidity of the telescopic rail can have a disadvantageous effect in applications in which the telescopic rail is exposed to high weight loads; this case often occurs with steel furniture, which is usually quite accurate, so that the tolerance-compensating effect of the Z-shaped profile sheet can be dispensed with.

A telescopic rail with the features specified in the preamble of claim 7 is known from GB-A-783 826. In this telescopic rail, the four grooves of the inner rail and the four grooves of the two outer rails are arranged one above the other, the two grooves of one outer rail lying between the two inner grooves of the inner rail and the grooves of the second outer rail lying above and below the outer grooves of the inner rail . The sliding movements are synchronized by two rollers with a vertical axis of rotation, which are mounted on the inner rail between its outer and inner grooves. The roles run on the one hand on the connecting web of the channels of the one outer rail and on the other hand on a support bracket for a pull-out; this support bracket is attached to the other outer rail.

Although this known rail has a lower installation height and greater rigidity than the telescopic rail known from DE-A-2 307 041, it is disadvantageous in that the rollers provided for synchronization are provided inside the telescopic rail, where they are the inner ones Disrupt the structure of the telescopic rail. In addition, the channels for the balls are usually greased. It is unavoidable that the grease runs and the dirt on the running surface for the synchronizing roller becomes dirty, which means that perfect synchronization is no longer guaranteed. In addition, the contact pressure of the synchronous rollers depends on the installation conditions for the telescopic rail. In the case of unfavorable dimensional tolerances for the body and pull-out (drawer), the telescopic rail is pulled apart to the side, which inevitably reduces the contact pressure of the synchronous rollers, which is intended to ensure a slip-free run.

It is the object of the invention to create, with as little effort as possible, a sufficiently rigid and not too high, versatile, three-part telescopic rail in which a reliable synchronization of the two outer rails with respect to the inner rail, which is not influenced by dimensional tolerances of the cabinet and the pull-out is possible.

The invention solves this problem by a telescopic rail with the features specified in the characterizing part of claim 1 and in the characterizing part of claim 7.

A tension member is understood to mean an object that is to be pulled out and pushed in on telescopic rails, especially drawers in furniture, kitchens, archives and the like. Usually, the telescopic rail is fixed immovably with its one outer rail on the side wall of a cupboard, desk or other piece of furniture (generally also referred to as a cabinet) in which the tension member is to be accommodated; the second outer rail is then attached to the side of the tension member.

A running rail is understood to mean any sufficiently rigid structure which has a flat surface on which the role of the telescopic rail can roll. The running rail is otherwise adapted to the respective tension member that is to be attached to the telescopic rail.

Although it would also be possible to attach the outer rail on which the roll rolls directly with the tension member and the second outer rail indirectly via a running rail to the side wall of a cabinet in which the tension member is to be accommodated, the advantages of the invention would then be gained not fully used, ie there would be a poorer use of the invention. The cabinet wall is usually flat and does not require any adaptation to the outer rail to be fastened to it via an intermediate part, while on the other hand it is very often necessary to adapt the other outer rail to the tension member because of the diversity of the tension members. For example, the DE-A-2 307 041 a mounting bracket which is attached to a drawer with one leg and loosely rests on the upper outer rail with its other leg and is only secured against displacement and lifting off by a quick-action fastener. The invention advantageously uses a part as a running rail for the roller, which part also serves to adapt to the tension member.

By arranging the middle part rails and thus also the outer rails laterally next to each other, a step-shaped shoulder is formed, which offers space for the arrangement of a roller with a horizontal axis of rotation, which rolls directly on the outside of the channel of the one outer rail - preferably on its upper side , while the connection of the roller to the other, second outer rail necessary for synchronizing the two outer rails takes place indirectly via a separate running rail on which the roller also rolls and which is coupled to the tension member, which in turn is coupled to the second outer rail. However, the invention avoids a complex construction. In particular, the roll is easy and convenient to assemble and easily accessible at all times, because it is not placed inside the telescopic rail, but is located on the outside of the telescopic rail. If the channels are greased as usual, there is practically no risk that the grease runs to the outer raceways of the roller, so that the frictional connection between the roller and its raceways does not deteriorate.

The fact that the weight of the tension member loads the roller also has a favorable effect on the frictional connection between the roller and its two raceways. The arrangement of the roller in the step-shaped heel has the further advantage that it is arranged there in a protected manner despite its very good accessibility. In order to achieve a good frictional engagement, the roller preferably and in a manner known per se has a rubber-elastic tread and the rails on which the roller rolls expediently have a roughened, e.g. a corrugated surface. The contact with the running rail, which is coupled to the second outer rail, can be established in that this running rail rests under the weight of the tension member or in other ways under pressure on the roller, for which purpose it preferably projects above the second running rail arranged to the side, and although preferably only to such a small extent that the rubber-elastic support of the roller is compressed so far (claim 3) and / or the roller can be moved against spring force (claim 4) so that the running rail is still on the second outer rail lying to the side of the roller can come to rest, on the top of the second outer rail, while the roller rests on the top of the first outer rail (claim 2).

However, it would also be possible to mount the telescopic rail so that the roller rolls on the underside of one (if the inner part rails are offset on the underside of the upper) outer rail, which also carries the tension member, while the other (lower) outer rail and an angle rail, the laterally projecting leg of which rests on the underside of the roller, is fastened to the side wall of the cabinet. Such an assembly does not take full advantage of the invention, however, since a further part is required with the angle rail to be attached to the cabinet wall.

Preferably, the two inner part rails are attached to the two sides of a Z-shaped sheet metal strip, because the Z-shape increases the stability of the telescopic rail (claim 5), the two legs of the Z-shaped sheet metal strip neither in height nor laterally over the Area of the outer rails should protrude so as not to increase the installation height and width of the telescopic rail (claim 6). In this configuration of the profiled sheet metal strip, the roller is arranged in a recess - preferably in the middle - of one of the legs of the profiled sheet metal strip and is thereby additionally protected.

In the second solution according to claim 7, the outer rails and the two pairs of ball troughs of the inner rail are not arranged next to one another but in one another, the ball troughs of the inner and outer rails all being arranged one above the other, preferably lying in the same vertical plane. In the second solution variant, the roll rolls directly on one outer rail, namely on its upper side, and the connection to the other, second outer rail necessary for synchronizing the two outer rails takes place indirectly via a separate running rail, on which the roll also rolls and which one also the tension member is coupled, which in turn is coupled to the second outer rail. However, the invention avoids a complex construction. In particular, the roller is easy and convenient to assemble and easily accessible at all times, because - as in the first solution variant - it is not arranged inside the telescopic rail, but on its outside.

Advantageous developments of the invention according to the second variant of the solution are the subject of the claims dependent on claim 7.

The middle ball troughs of the inner rails expediently face one another with their concave sides and the upper and lower ball troughs of the inner rail point with their concave sides in opposite directions. With this arrangement, the structure of the rail is particularly simple. When using such an inner rail, the first outer rail has ball channels that face one another with their concave sides, while the second outer rail has ball channels, the concave sides of which point in opposite directions. The first outer rail overlaps the inner rail and the second, lower outer rail lies with its ball troughs inside the inner rail, so it is encompassed by it.

The inner rail can consist of two rigidly connected partial rails, the webs of which connect the ball troughs are arranged either next to one another or one above the other. However, a telescopic rail is particularly preferred in which the two central ball grooves of the inner rail are rigidly connected to one another by a web on the one hand and are continued in the upper or lower ball groove on the other hand, because such an inner rail can be produced in one piece from correspondingly shaped profile material.

In the sense of the invention, in order to achieve a low installation height, the distance between the ball grooves of the inner rail is chosen to be as small as possible, preferably such that the ball grooves rest against one another in pairs (claim 8).

The guide rail adapted to the tension member can preferably be removed from the telescopic rail; this allows a drawer or similar pulling element that the telescopic rail is to hold to be lifted off the telescopic rail conveniently; in addition, the weight of the tension member can be transferred to the roller particularly easily and reinforce its frictional engagement with its two raceways. In the simplest case, the running rail adapted to the tension member can be a two-leg angle rail which is attached to the side part of the tension member with one leg, while the other leg projects laterally in the manner of a support flange and rests on the roller (claim 13). The track can also be an integral part of the tension member; e.g. a drawer integrally formed from plastic can be formed on both sides with a laterally protruding support flange which rests on the roller (claim 12).

The attachment of the tension member is possible in a variety of ways. In the simplest case, the tension member is rigidly attached to the running rail and this is placed with its laterally projecting support flange on the roller and the second outer rail and secured on the latter against displacement, e.g. by known quick-release fasteners, which prevent sliding and lifting of the running rail from the outer rail, but also allow a certain amount of lateral play (claim 14).

• Fig. 1 zeigt in der Seitenansicht eine Schublade mit geringfügig ausgezogener Teleskopschiene,
• Fig. 2 zeigt eine Ansicht wie in Fig. 1, jedoch mit stärker ausgezogener Teleskopschiene,
• Fig. 3 zeigt die Ansicht 111-111 auf einen Randbereich der Rückseite der Schublade mit Teleskopschiene gemäss Fig. 1,
• Fig. 4 und 5 zeigen eine Ansicht wie in Fig. 3 jedoch mit anders gestalteten Schubladen,
• Fig. 6 zeigt eine Ansicht analog Fig. 2 mit einer Teleskopschiene aus ineinander angeordneten Gliedern und
• Fig. 7 zeigt die Ansicht VII-VII auf die Rückseite der Schublade mit Teleskopschiene aus Fig. 6.

Embodiments of the invention are shown schematically in the accompanying drawings.

• 1 shows a side view of a drawer with the telescopic rail slightly extended,
• FIG. 2 shows a view as in FIG. 1, but with the telescopic rail extended more,
• 3 shows the view 111-111 on an edge region of the rear of the drawer with telescopic rail according to FIG. 1,
• 4 and 5 show a view as in Fig. 3 but with differently designed drawers,
• FIG. 6 shows a view analogous to FIG. 2 with a telescopic rail made up of links and
• FIG. 7 shows the view VII-VII on the back of the drawer with the telescopic rail from FIG. 6.

In the various figures, parts that are the same or correspond to one another are identified by corresponding reference numbers.

The Telskopschiene shown in Fig. 1 to 3 consists of a composite inner rail 2 and two outer rails 1 and 3. The inner rail 2 consists of an elongated, cross-sectionally Z-shaped profiled sheet metal strip 20, on the web on each side a partial rail 24, 25, the with their backs facing each other, fastened, preferably welded on, namely the two partial rails 24 and 25 are not arranged at the same height, but offset by a distance. The offset is slightly smaller than the diameter of the roller 4. The partial rails 24 and 25 consist, in a known manner, of a metal profile strip with a flat web and ball grooves 26 projecting therefrom, the concave sides of which are arranged pointing upwards and downwards from one another.

Each of the inner part rails 24 and 25 carries one of the outer rails 1 and 3, which also each consist of a metal profile strip with a flat web and adjoining ball grooves 27; the spherical grooves 27 face each other with their concave sides and the spherical grooves 26 of the partial rail 24 or 25 which surround them. In the spaces between the ball grooves 26 and 27, balls 28, which are held in a ball cage (not shown), cause the outer rails 1 and 3 to be precisely and smoothly supported and guided on the inner rail 2.

Flanges 29, 30 on the end edges of the outer rails 1 and 3, which are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, have not been drawn in FIGS. 3 to 5 for reasons of clarity.

In a recess 9 in the middle of the upper horizontal leg 22 of the Z-shaped sheet metal strip 20, the roll 4 is provided with a horizontal axis of rotation 10, the axis of rotation 10 of which is immovably mounted on the web 21 of the sheet metal strip 20.

The roller 4 has a jacket (tread) made of rubber and lies with slight pressure directly on the top of the first (lower) outer rail 3.

The drawer 5 is formed in one piece from plastic and its shape is adapted to the telescopic rail, namely it has a recess 11 in its side wall in which it receives the second, upper outer rail 1 with play. The upper end of the recess 11 is formed by a support flange 6, which rests on the top of the roller 4 and as a barrel rail for the role 4 is used. The drawer 5 is connected to the upper, second outer rail 1, for example by screwing or snapping onto the outer rail 1 or by means of quick-release fasteners; it is sufficient that the drawer 5 is secured against sliding on the outer rail 1 in the pulling direction 12.

When the drawer 5 is not loaded, the support flange 6 is at a short distance from the top of the upper outer rail 1. When the drawer is loaded, the rubber jacket of the roller 4 can be compressed until the support flange 6 rests on the top of the outer rail 1, as a result of which the load on the roller 4 remains limited.

The lower (first) outer rail 3 is to be attached to the side wall of a cabinet, not shown, in which the drawer 5 is to be accommodated. The lower outer rail 3 is therefore the immovable member of the telescopic rail.

1 and 2 show that the relative movements of the outer rails 1 and 3 with respect to the position of the inner rail 2 are synchronized by the roller 4, that is to say at the instantaneous extension length S ₃ = S, + S ₂ with S ₁ as the extension length between the inner rail 2 and the lower outer rail 3 and with S ₂ as the extension length between the inner rail 2 and the upper outer rail 1 is always S ₁ = S ₂ , so that the three links 1, 2, 3 of the telescopic rail always reach their end stops simultaneously.

The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 differs from the previous exemplary embodiment in that the drawer 5 'is designed differently and is not suitable for direct support on the telescopic rail. Rather, this is done by means of a cross-sectionally Z-shaped angle rail 13, which is laterally attached to the drawer 5 ', abuts there with its web 14 and engages with its lower leg 15 in a groove 16 in the drawer bottom which is open to the side, while the upper leg 7 of the angle rail 13 protrudes laterally in the manner of a support flange and rests on the roller 4 and the top of the upper outer rail 1 and is secured there against displacement in the direction of pull.

The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 5 differs from the first exemplary embodiment in that a sheet metal drawer 5 "is provided as a drawer, which has a welded-on simple angle rail 17 on its generally flat side surface to form a laterally protruding support flange 8 which rests on the roller 4 and the top of the upper outer rail 1 rests and is secured there against displacement in the direction of pull.

The telescopic rail shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 differs from the one described above in that the three members of the telescopic rail are not arranged next to one another but in one another. The inner rail 2a consists of a flat web 41, which connects two facing, central ball grooves 35 and 36, which continue up and down into an upper ball groove 31 and a lower ball groove 32, which face in opposite directions. In the upper and lower ball grooves 33 and 34, the first outer rail 3a runs on balls 28, which consists of a flat web 39 and two ball grooves 31 and 32 which face one another and which hold the inner rail 2a between them. In the middle ball grooves 35 and 36 of the inner rail 2a, the second, lower outer rail 1a runs on balls 28, which consists of a flat web 40 and two ball grooves 37 and 38 facing in opposite directions and facing the middle ball grooves 35 and 36. The inner rail 2a and the two outer rails 1a and 3a are formed in one piece from profile material.

The two webs 39 and 40 of the outer rails 1a and 3a lie on the two outer sides of the telescopic rail. The web 39 of the first outer rail 3a is fastened to a cabinet wall (not shown), while the web 40 of the second outer rail 1a bears against the side of a drawer 5a or the like. The drawer 5a is secured in the usual way against displacement in the pulling direction 12 relative to the second outer rail 1a.

To synchronize the movement of the two outer rails 1a and 3a relative to the inner rail 2a, an arm 42, for example an arm 42, is located on the side of the inner rail 2a at the transition between the upper ball groove 33 and the adjacent central ball groove 35. a sheet metal strip attached, which protrudes vertically upwards and with a horizontal axis of rotation 10 carries a roller 4, which preferably also has a rubber-elastic tread and whose axis of rotation is also displaceably mounted in the vertical direction against spring force, which on the top of the first outer rail 3a, d. H. on the outside of the ball groove 31, rolls. On the roller 4, as in the example in FIG. 3, there is a support flange 6a which projects laterally from the drawer 5a and serves as a running rail. Instead of such a support flange 6a, e.g. angle rails are also used, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Claims (14)

1. A three-part telescopic rail for a pullable element (5, 5', 5") comprising an inner rail (2) and two outer rails (1, 3), which are mounted on balls (28) on that inner rail (2) on both sides and are displaceable in the pulling direction (12), wherein the inner rail (2) consists of two component rails (24, 25), which are rigidly interconnected and have back faces facing in mutually opposite directions, and the sliding movements of the two outer rails (1, 3) relative to the inner rail (2) are synchronized by the provision of a roller (4), which is movably on the inner rail (2) on an axle (10) that is transverse to the pulling direction (12), which roller (4) is non-displaceable relative to the inner rail (2) and has a tread surface, which is in direct contact with the first of the two outer rails (3) and non- positively acts on the second outer rail (1), characterized in that the two component rails (24, 25) of the inner rail (2) are arranged one beside the other and their back faces face each other, the two component rails of the inner rail and also the two outer rails (1, 3) are offset and overlap in height, the roller (4) has a substantially horizontal axle (10) and is disposed in one of the two steps resulting from said offset arrangement, and the roller acts on the second outer rail (1) directly by means of a bearing rail (6, 7, 8), which is removable from the telescopic rail and conforms to the pullable element (5, 5', 5") and is non-displaceable relative to the pullable element (5, 5', 5").

2. A telescopic rail according to claim 1, characterized in that the roller (4) rolls on the top surface of the first outer rail (3).

3. A telescopic rail according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the roller (4) has a rub- berelastic tread surface and is so arranged and dimensioned that it slightly protrudes in height from the laterally adjacent second outer rail (1).

4. A telescopic rail according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the axle (10) of the roller (4) is mounted to be vertically displaceable against spring force and in its relaxed end position slightly protrudes from the laterally adjacent second outer rail (1).

5. A telescopic rail according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the two component rails (24, 25) of the inner rail (2) are secured to the two mutually opposite sides of the web (21) of a profiled strip metal element (20) which is Z-shaped in cross-section and the roller (4) is disposed in an aperture (9) formed in one of the two short legs (22) of the profiled strip metal element (20).

6. A telescopic rail according to claim 5, characterized in that the legs (22, 23) of the profiled strip metal element (20) do not protrude from the associated outer rail (1, 3).

7. A three-part telescopic rail for pulling elements (5a) comprising an inner rail (2a) and two outer rails (3a, 1a) which are mounted on balls (28) on that inner rail (2a) and are displaceable in the pulling direction (12) to perform synchronized sliding movements relative to the inner rail (2a), wherein the inner rail (2a) comprises four superposed ball-guiding troughs (33, 34, 35, 36) faced each by two associated ball-guiding troughs (31, 32; 37, 38) of the two outer rails (3a, 1a), the first outer rail (3a) being movably mounted on the upper and lower ballguiding troughs (33, 34) of the inner rail (2a) and the second outer rail (1a) being movably mounted on the two intermediate ball- guiding troughs (35, 36) of the inner rail (2a), which intermediate ball-guiding troughs are disposed between the upper and lower ball-guiding troughs (33, 34), characterized in that a roller (4) is provided, which has a horizontal axle (10) that extends transversely to the pulling direction (12), and said roller rolls with a substantially horizontal axle (10) on the upper surface of the first outer rail (3a) and at the same time indirectly acts on the second outer rail (1a) via a bearing rail (6a), which is in rolling contact with the roller and conforms to the associated pullable element (5a) and is removable from the telescopic rail and non-displaceable relative to the pullable element.

8. A telescopic rail according to claim 7, characterized in that the upper (33) and lower (34) ball-guiding troughs of the inner rail (2a) have a convex side engaging the convex side of the respectively adjacent intermediate ball-guiding trough (35, 36) of the inner rail (2a).

9. A telescopic rail according to claim 8, characterized in that the roller (4) has a rubber- elastic tread surface.

10. A telescopic rail according to any of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the axle (10) of the roller (4) is mounted to be vertically displaceable against spring force.

11. A telescopic rail according to any of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that the roller (4) is movably mounted on an upwardly extending arm (42), which is laterally secured to the inner rail, and the roller (4) rolls on the upper surface of the first (upper) outer rail (3a).

12. A telescopic rail according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pullable element (5, 5', 5", 5a) is provided with a laterally protruding supporting flange (6, 6a, 7, 8) for bearing on the roller (4).

13. A telescopic rail according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bearing rail consists of an angle-section rail (13, 17) having a laterally protruding supporting flange (7, 8) for bearing on the roller (4).

14. A telescopic rail according to any of the predecing claims, characterized in that the bearing rail (6, 6a, 13, 17) is non-displaceably secured to the second outer rail (1, 1a).

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