Ball bearing slide assembly

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to ball bearing slide assemblies, and particularly to a ball bearing slide assembly having a positioning device for positioning a slide-aiding member thereof.

2. Description of Related Art

A slide assembly is usually used to connect and guide two articles that may be moved relative to each other, such as a cabinet and a server or a cupboard and a drawer. A conventional three-section slide assembly generally includes an outer slide, an intermediate slide, and an inner slide. For example, the outer slide may be fixed in a cabinet, the inner slide may be fixed at a side of the drawer of the cabinet, and the intermediate slide is received in the outer slide to support the inner slide. The inner slide, the intermediate slide, and the outer slide may be coupled with each other, and the inner slide and the intermediate slide may be moved in the longitudinal axial direction of the outer slide. One or more slide-aiding members, each including ball bearings, may be assembled between the slides, for facilitating the sliding movement of the slides relative to each other. The slide-aiding member can slide between the corresponding slides. However, the inner slide is hard to be inserted into an unfixed slide-aiding member because the slide-aiding member may be pushed to slide along the intermediate slide by an end of the inner slide.

What is desired, therefore, is a slide assembly having a positioning device for its slide-aiding member.

An exemplary ball bearing slide assembly includes a first slide, a second slide, a slide-aiding member, and a positioning member. The first slide is slidably received in the second slide. The second slide defines a receiving hole. The slide-aiding member is sandwiched between the first slide and the second slide. The slide-aiding member defines a slot. The positioning member is pivotably mounted to the slide-aiding member and forms a positioning tab. The positioning tab extends through the slot of the slide-aiding member for engaging in the receiving hole of the second slide to lock the slide-aiding member with the second slide such that the first slide is slidable inward relative to the second slide without pushing the slide-aiding member inward. The first slide, when slid inward, is capable of pushing the positioning member to disengage the positioning tab from the receiving hole such that the slide-aiding member is slidable relative to the first and second slides.

Other advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of a ball bearing slide assembly with a slide-aiding member in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the slide-aiding member of FIG. 1 , but viewed from another aspect;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view in an enlarged scale taken along line III-III of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is an assembled view of FIG. 1 , showing the slide-aiding member at a locked position; and

FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 4 , but showing the slide-aiding member at an unlocked position.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 , a ball bearing slide assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The ball bearing slide assembly includes a slide-aiding member 20 , a first slide 40 , a second slide 60 receiving the first slide 40 , a third slide 70 receiving the second slide 60 , and a positioning member 80 for positioning the aiding member 20 relative to the second slide 60 .

The positioning member 80 includes a plate 81 . The plate 81 has an arcuate front side, a straight rear side, a sloping upper side, and an L-shaped lower side. A through hole 82 is defined in the plate 81 adjacent the front side thereof. A slim abutting tab 84 perpendicular to the plate 81 is formed on the upper side of the plate 81 . A rear end of the abutting tab 84 is arcuate. A spring clip 840 is formed on a front end of the abutting tab 84 , extending forward and downward. The spring clip 840 is generally thin, narrow, and long. A positioning tab 86 perpendicular to the plate 81 extends from the lower side of the plate 81 .

The slide-aiding member 20 is sandwiched between the first slide 40 and the second slide 60 . The slide-aiding member 20 has a substantially U-shaped cross-section, and includes a web 22 , and two arms 24 respectively extending from two lateral edges of the web 22 . The web 22 and the arms 24 cooperatively define a receiving space. The web 22 includes a longitudinal base plate 220 with upper and lower troughs 221 located at opposite sides thereof. A cantilevered sloping locking tab 222 is formed on the web 22 , adjacent a rear end of the base plate 220 . A fixing hole 224 is defined in the base plate 220 , between the locking tab 222 and the rear end of the base plate 220 , corresponding to the through hole 82 of the positioning member 80 . A stepped slot 226 is defined in the web 22 , with an upper portion thereof defined in the base plate 220 and a lower portion thereof defined in a junction of the base plate 220 and a lower one of the troughs 221 , adjacent the fixing hole 224 . The slot 226 corresponds to the positioning tab 86 of the positioning member 80 . A plurality of installing holes is defined in each arm 24 . A plurality of ball bearings 240 is respectively received in the installing holes, for facilitating the sliding movement of the first slide 40 relative to the second slide 60 .

The first slide 40 has a substantially U-shaped cross-section, and includes a web 42 , and two arms 44 respectively extending from two lateral edges of the web 42 . Each arm 44 is recessed to the opposite arm 44 , thereby forming a slide channel in an outer surface thereof, for the ball bearings 240 of the slide-aiding member 20 to slide therein.

The second slide 60 has a substantially U-shaped cross-section, and includes a web 62 , and two arms 64 respectively extending from two lateral edges of the web 62 . The web 62 and the arms 64 cooperatively define a receiving space for receiving the slide-aiding member 20 and the first slide 40 . The web 62 includes a longitudinal base plate 620 with upper and lower troughs 621 located at opposite sides thereof. A stepped receiving hole 622 is defined in the web 62 , with an upper portion thereof defined in the base plate 620 and a lower portion thereof defined in a junction of the base plate 620 and a lower one of the troughs 621 , at a proper distance from a front end of the web 62 . The receiving hole 622 corresponds to the slot 226 of the slide-aiding member 20 . Each arm 64 defines an inner channel 642 in an inner surface thereof, and an outer channel 644 in an outer surface thereof.

The third slide 70 has a substantially U-shaped cross-section, and includes a web 72 , and two arms 74 respectively extending from two lateral edges of the web 72 . The web 72 and the arms 74 cooperatively define a receiving space for receiving the second slide 60 . Two or more slide-aiding members 744 are slidably mounted between the third slide 70 and the second slide 60 , for facilitating the sliding movement of the second slide 60 relative to the third slide 70 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , in assembly, a rivet 90 extends through the through hole 82 of the positioning member 80 , and is inserted into the fixing hole 224 of the slide-aiding member 20 to engage with the slide-aiding member 20 , whereby the positioning member 80 is pivotably mounted to the rear end of the slide-aiding member 20 . The positioning tab 86 of the positioning member 80 extends through the slot 226 of the slide-aiding member 20 . The spring clip 840 of the positioning member 80 is deformed to be inserted under and abuts against the locking tab 222 . The rear end of the abutting tab 84 of the positioning member 80 abuts against one arm 24 of the slide-aiding member 20 . A rear end of the slide-aiding member 20 is inserted into a front end of the second slide 60 . The front end of the slide-aiding member 20 is pushed rearward, the slide-aiding member 20 is received in and slides forward along the second slide 60 . The ball bearings 240 of the slide-aiding member 20 are received in and slide along the inner channels 642 of the arms 64 of the second slide 60 . The positioning tab 86 of the positioning member 80 is received in the lower one of the troughs 621 and abuts against the bottom surface of the base plate 620 of the second slide 60 . When the slide-aiding member 20 is pushed to the forefront of the second slide 60 , the positioning tab 86 of the positioning member 80 aligns with the lower portion of the receiving hole 622 and is then urged into the upper portion of the receiving hole 622 by the spring clip 840 , the positioning tab 86 is locked into the receiving hole 622 of the second slide 60 and blocked by a portion of the base plate 620 adjacent the upper portion of the receiving hole 622 , so that the slide-aiding member 20 is positioned at the second slide 60 , and cannot be pulled back along the second slide 60 . The rear end of the second slide 60 is inserted into a front end of the third slide 70 , between the two arms 72 of the third slide 70 . A front end of the second slide 60 is pushed rearward, thereby the second slide 60 is received in and slides rearward along the third slide 70 . A rear end of the first slide 40 is inserted into the front end of the second slide 60 , between the two arms 64 of the second slide 60 . A front end of the first slide 40 is pushed rearward, the first slide 40 is received in and slides rearward along the second slide 60 . The slide channels of the arms 44 of the first side 40 contact the ball bearings 240 of the slide-aiding member 20 to facilitate the movement of the first side 40 .

Referring to FIG. 5 , in the rearward movement of the first side 40 along the second slide 60 , the rear end of one arm 44 of the first slide 40 pushes the rear end of the abutting tab 84 of the positioning member 80 . The positioning member 80 is driven to pivot around the rivet 90 , and the spring clip 840 is deformed. The positioning tab 86 of the positioning member 80 is disengaged from the receiving hole 622 of the second slide 60 , and is pushed into the lower one of the troughs 621 of the second slide 60 . The slide-aiding member 20 can slide rearward along the second slide 60 , together with the first slide 40 .

It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, 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 invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.