JP7741551B2 - Shock-absorbing slide rail - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a slide rail with a shock absorber for use in drawers, display shelves, copiers, etc.

Conventionally, there have been provided a variety of slide rails equipped with shock absorbers.
In such shock absorbers, there are some that produce a shock absorbing effect when the slide rail is extended, and others that produce a shock absorbing effect when the slide rail is retracted.
Typically, a shock absorber such as an air damper or an oil damper is used to reduce the speed at which the slide rail slides.
However, the buffer (brake) function of a slide rail equipped with a buffer device generally works only when the slide rail is extended or retracted (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Therefore, there has been a demand for a slide rail equipped with a shock absorber that operates whether the slide rail is extended or retracted.

Patent No. 4804946

The objective of the present invention is to provide a slide rail with a shock absorber that has a simple structure and operates whether the slide rail is extended or retracted.

In order to solve the above problem, the first aspect of the present invention is a bearing assembly comprising a first outer member, a second outer member, a first inner member slidably held by balls on the first outer member, a second inner member slidably held by balls on the second outer member, a first ball retainer that rotatably holds the balls on the first outer member, and a second ball retainer that rotatably holds the balls on the second outer member, the first inner member and the second inner member being integrally formed via a bracket, the inner member being slidable relative to the first outer member, and the inner In a slide rail in which the second outer member is slidable relative to the first member, a shock absorber is installed on the bracket which generates a shock-absorbing effect when compressed in the sliding direction of the slide rail, and operating pieces for compressing the shock absorber are provided on the second outer member, one on the contraction side and one on the extension side. When the slide rail is extended, the operating piece on the contraction side comes into contact with the shock absorber, and as the slide rail extends, the operating piece compresses the shock absorber. When the slide rail is retracted, the operating piece on the extension side comes into contact with the shock absorber, and as the slide rail retracts, the operating piece compresses the shock absorber, thereby mitigating impact when the slide rail is extended and retracted.

To solve the above problem, the second aspect of the present invention comprises, in addition to the first aspect, a shock absorber holding portion that protrudes from the bracket at a position opposite the side where the pair of upper and lower bent edges of the second inner member face each other and at a position opposite the side where the pair of upper and lower bent edges of the second outer member face each other; the shock absorber is held in the shock absorber holding portion, so that the shock absorber installed on the bracket moves with the sliding of the inner member; and the operating piece protrudes from a position opposite the side where the pair of upper and lower bent edges of the second outer member face each other and is positioned on the movement path of the shock absorber that moves with the sliding of the inner member.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the third aspect of the present invention is a slide rail having a first outer member, a second outer member, a first inner member slidably held by balls on the first outer member, a second inner member slidably held by balls on the second outer member, a first ball retainer that rotatably holds the balls on the first outer member, and a second ball retainer that rotatably holds the balls on the second outer member, the first inner member and the second inner member being integrally formed by a bracket, the inner member being slidable relative to the first outer member, and the second outer member being slidable relative to the inner member, At each position, a shock absorber is provided that generates a shock absorber effect when compressed in the sliding direction of the slide rail. One shock absorber is located at the position and on the retraction side in the sliding direction, and the other shock absorber is also located at the position and on the retraction side. Operating pieces for compressing the shock absorbers are located on the brackets of the inner member on the tracks of the compression direction of each shock absorber, with one operating piece located on the extension side and the other operating piece located on the retraction side. When the slide rail extends, the operating piece on the extension side comes into contact with the shock absorber, compressing the shock absorber as the slide rail extends. When the slide rail retracts, the operating piece on the retraction side comes into contact with the shock absorber, compressing the shock absorber as the slide rail retracts, thereby absorbing impact when the slide rail is extended and retracted.

According to the first means of the present invention, an operating piece for compressing the shock absorber is provided on both the contraction side and the extension side, so that with a simple configuration, the damping force of the shock absorber can be used to apply the brakes and mitigate impact when the slide rail is extended or retracted.
Furthermore, since the shock absorbing action that generates the damping force of the shock absorber is shared between extension and contraction, the durability of the shock absorber can be improved.

In the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first aspect, a shock absorber is provided at a position where it protrudes in the opposite direction from the pair of upper and lower bent edges of the second outer member, and the operating piece protrudes in the opposite direction from the pair of upper and lower bent edges of the second outer member and is positioned on the path of movement of the shock absorber, which moves as the inner member slides. This means that the overall length of the slide rail can be reduced by the amount of the shock absorber, and therefore there is no need to set the dimension of the item placed on the slide rail in the sliding direction of the slide rail unnecessarily long.

In the third aspect of the present invention, the shock absorber is provided separately on the retraction side and extension side, which allows for a simple configuration that not only reduces the impact when the slide rail is extended and retracted, but also improves the durability of the shock absorber, as the shock absorber's buffering action that generates the damping force is shared between extension and retraction.

A perspective view of the slide rail in the extended state A perspective view of the slide rail in the retracted state Exploded perspective view of the slide rail Basic cross section of a slide rail Side view of the slide rail in its fully retracted position Side view of the slide rail with the inner member fully extended A side view of the state in which the shock absorber begins to operate due to the extension operating piece when the slide rail is extended. Side view of the slide rail in its fully extended state A side view of the state in which the shock absorber begins to operate due to the contraction operating piece when the slide rail is contracted. FIG. 10 is a side view of the slide rail of the second embodiment in a state where the inner member is fully extended. 10 is a side view of the slide rail of the second embodiment in a fully contracted state.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. For convenience, the left-right direction in FIG. 7, i.e., the sliding direction of the slide rail, will be referred to as the extension direction, pull-out direction, and front-rear direction, and the up-down direction in FIG. 4 will be referred to as the height direction, and the left-right direction in FIG. 4 will be referred to as the horizontal direction. The extension direction of the slide rail will be referred to as the forward direction, and the retraction direction of the slide rail will be referred to as the rearward direction. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes the slide rail of the present invention. The slide rail 100 comprises a first outer member 1A, a lower first outer member 1B disposed below the upper first outer member 1A, and a first outer member base material 1C, which is a bracket that integrally connects the upper first outer member 1A and the lower first outer member 1B. Next, the second outer member 2 is composed of an upper second outer member 2A arranged horizontally apart from the upper first outer member 1A, a lower second outer member 2B arranged horizontally apart from the lower first outer member 1B, and a second outer member base material 2C, which is a bracket that integrally connects the upper second outer member 2A and the lower second outer member 2B.

The inner member 34 is made up of an upper first inner member 3A that is freely insertable into the upper first outer member 1A, a lower first inner member 3B that is freely insertable into the lower first outer member 1B, an upper second inner member 4A that is freely insertable into the upper second outer member 2A, an upper second inner member 4B that is freely insertable into the lower second outer member 2B, and an inner bracket 7 that integrally connects the upper first inner member 3A, the lower first inner member 3B, the upper second inner member 4A, and the upper second inner member 4B.

An upper first ball retainer 5A is provided between the upper first outer member 1A and the upper first inner member 3A, a lower first ball retainer 5B is provided between the lower first outer member 1B and the lower first inner member 3B, an upper second ball retainer 6A is provided between the upper second outer member 2A and the upper second inner member 4A, and a lower second ball retainer 6B is provided between the lower second outer member 2B and the lower second inner member 4B. A plurality of balls 500 are rotatably held in each of the upper first ball retainer 5A, lower first ball retainer 5B, upper second ball retainer 6A, and lower second ball retainer 6B.

The first upper outer member 1A, the second lower outer member 2A, and the first upper outer member 2B are formed to the same shape, so only the first upper outer member 1A will be described in detail.
The upper first outer member 1A is formed in an approximately channel shape from upper and lower bent edges 11A, 11A, which have ball guide grooves running along the inner surface longitudinal direction, formed by bending both short ends of a thin metal strip inward in an arc shape, and a base plate 12A connecting the upper and lower bent edges 11A, 11A.
Then, the extension (pull-out) side end and contraction (retraction) side end of the base plate 12A of the upper first outer member 1A are bent toward the inner rail 2 to form an extension side movement stopper 13A and a contraction side movement stopper 14A against which the pull-out side end of the upper first ball retainer 5A abuts.
The upper first outer members 1A, 2A, and 2B are formed to be identical, but the upper second outer members 2A and 2B are installed symmetrically in the sliding direction relative to the outer member 1A, so that the stoppers 23A, 24A, 23B, and 23B corresponding to the extension side movement stopper 13A and the extension side movement stopper 14A are formed such that the extension side movement stoppers 23A and 23B are formed on the contraction end side, and the contraction side movement stoppers 24A and 24B are formed on the extension end side.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first outer member base material 1C is configured by arranging the upper first outer member 1A and the lower first outer member 1B parallel to each other in the vertical direction and integrally connecting them together by the first outer member base material 1C.
The first outer member base material 1C is formed from a steel plate and is set to a length slightly shorter than the long length of the base plates 12A, 12B of the upper first outer member 1A and the lower first outer member 1B, and is formed by bending the upper and lower end surfaces of the connecting base 11C in the same direction as the upper and lower folded edges 11A of the upper first outer member 1A (lower first outer member 1B).The connecting base 11C is a rectangular plate-like connecting base 11C whose height is set to a height slightly shorter than the height when the upper first outer member 1A and the lower first outer member 1B are stacked together.

The second outer member base material 2C is formed from steel plate and is slightly shorter than the long length of the base plates 22A, 22B of the upper second outer member 2A and the lower second outer member 2B. Its height is slightly greater than the height when the upper second outer member 2A and the lower second outer member 2B are stacked together. It is made of a rectangular, plate-like connecting base 21C, and is formed with an extension operating piece 22C formed by bending the contraction side end of the slide rail at the upper end of the connecting base 21C in the direction of the upper and lower bent edges 21A, and a contraction operating piece 23C formed by bending the extension side end of the slide rail at the lower end of the connecting base 21C in the direction of the upper and lower bent edges 21A (21B).

The substrate 22A of the upper second outer member 2A is superimposed on the connecting base 21C of the second outer member base material 2C formed in this manner and is detachably fixed with screws, and the lower second outer member 2B is positioned below the upper second outer member 2A so that it is parallel to and of the same length as the upper second outer member 2A, and the connecting base 21C and substrate 22B are similarly superimposed on each other and are detachably fixed with screws.
In this state, the contraction side operating piece 22C is positioned above the upper bent edge 21A near the contraction side end of the upper second outer member 2A, and the extension side operating piece 23C is positioned below the lower bent edge 21B near the extension side end of the lower second outer member 2B.

Next, the inner members will be described in detail. The first upper inner member 3A, the second lower inner member 3B, 4A, and 4B are formed to the same shape, so only the first upper inner member 3A will be described in detail.
The upper first inner member 3A is formed to be slightly shorter in length than the upper first outer member 1A in the longitudinal direction, and is sized so that it can slide freely on the upper first outer member 1A via the balls 500... held in the upper first ball retainer 5A.It is formed by bending both short ends of a thin metal strip into an outward arc, and is formed into an approximately U-shaped cross section by upper and lower bent edges 31A, 31A having ball sliding grooves for the balls 500... in the longitudinal direction of the outer surface, and a base plate 32A.
An extension stopper 33A is provided in the vicinity of the contraction side end portion, cut and raised from the base plate 32A toward the U-shaped base plate 51A of the upper first ball retainer 5A, which will be described later.
The inner members 3A, 4A, and 4B are formed to be identical, but the inner members 4A and 4B are installed symmetrically in the sliding direction relative to the inner member 3A, so that the stoppers 43A and 43B corresponding to the extension stopper 33A are formed near the extension end.

As shown in Figure 4, the inner bracket 7 arranges the upper first inner member 3A and the lower first inner member 3B parallel to each other in the vertical direction, and also arranges the upper second inner member 4A and the lower second inner member 4B parallel to each other in the vertical direction, and integrally connects each inner member with the bracket 2.
The inner bracket 7 is formed from a steel plate and has a length approximately the same as the long length of the upper first inner member 3A. The height direction is slightly greater than the height when the upper first inner member 3A and the lower first inner member 3B are stacked in the height direction. The base portion 71 has a rectangular plate-like base portion 71, and an extension side shock absorber holding portion 72 that protrudes upward from the upper end of the base portion 71 at a position slightly on the contraction side of the extension side end of the slide rail. The base portion 71 also has a contraction side shock absorber holding portion 73 that protrudes downward from the lower end of the base portion 71 at a position slightly on the contraction side of the extension side end of the slide rail.
The extension-side shock absorber holding portion 72 and the contraction-side shock absorber holding portion 73 are respectively provided with a shock absorber 8 and an auxiliary shock absorber 9, which will be described later.

The substrate 32A of the upper first inner member 3A is superimposed and fixed on one side of the base 71 of the inner bracket 7 formed in this manner, and the lower first inner member 3B is positioned below the upper first inner member 3A so that it is parallel to and of the same length as the upper first inner member 3A, and the base 71 and substrate 32B are similarly superimposed and fixed.
As shown in Figure 4, an upper second inner member 4A is fixed to the other side of the base 71 so as to be back-to-back with the upper first inner member 3A, and a lower second inner member 4B is fixed so as to be back-to-back with the lower first inner member 3B.

Next, the ball cages will be described in detail. The first upper ball cage 5A, the second lower ball cage 5B, the upper ball cage 6A, and the second lower ball cage 6B are formed in the same shape, so only the first upper ball cage 5A will be described in detail.
The upper first ball retainer 5A is made of a strip-shaped metal plate and is approximately two-thirds the length of the upper first outer member 1A. It comprises a U-shaped base plate 51A that is thick enough to be inserted between the base plates 12A and 32A of the upper first outer member 1A and the upper first inner member 3A, and upper and lower protruding edges 52A, 52A that protrude in an L-shape from both the upper and lower ends of the U-shaped base plate 51A and are located between the upper and lower bent edges 11A, 11A, 31A, 31A of the upper first outer member 1A and the upper first inner member 3A, forming an approximately U-shaped cross section, and it rotatably holds a plurality of balls 500... in the sliding direction of the upper and lower protruding edges 52A, 52A.
An extension stopper 53A is provided near the longitudinal center of the upper first ball retainer 5A, protruding from the U-shaped base plate 51A toward the base plate 32A of the upper first inner member 3A.
When the slide rail is extended, the extension stopper 53A comes into contact with a stopper 54A provided at approximately the center of the first inner member 3A in the longitudinal direction, and functions as a stopper on the extension side.

The slide rail 100 is configured as described above, and the sliding of the inner member 34 in the pull-out (extension) direction relative to the first outer member 1, and the sliding of the second outer member 2 in the pull-out (extension) direction relative to the inner member 34 are as follows.
In normal use, the first outer member 1 is installed on a fixed body such as a housing, and the second outer member 2 is installed on a movable body such as a drawer.

As shown in Figure 2, the fully retracted state of the slide rail 100 is when the retracted end of the inner member 34 is close to the retracted end of the first outer member 1, and the retracted end of the second outer member 2 is close to the retracted end of the inner member 34. In this embodiment, the longitudinal lengths of the first outer member 1 and the second outer member 2 are set to the same, so in the fully retracted state, the extended ends of the first outer member 1 and the second outer member 2 are approximately aligned.

Next, when the second outer member 2 slides in the extension (pulling-out) direction relative to the inner member 34, the upper second ball retainer 6A and the lower second ball retainer 6B, which are inserted into the upper second outer member 2A and the lower second outer member 2B of the second outer member 2 by balls 500, move toward the extension (pulling-out) side by half the movement amount of the second outer member 2.
Eventually, the extension stoppers 61A, 61B of the upper second ball retainer 6A and the lower second ball retainer 6B abut against the extension stoppers 43A, 43B of the upper second inner member 4A and the lower second inner member 4B, and the sliding of the upper second ball retainer 6A and the lower second ball retainer 6B relative to the inner member 34 stops.
Then, when the second outer member 2 is pulled out in this state, the contraction side ends of the upper second ball retainer 6A and the lower second ball retainer 6B abut against the stoppers 23A and 23B when the upper second outer member 2A and the lower second outer member 2B move toward the extension side, and the sliding of the second outer member 2 relative to the inner member 34 stops.

Furthermore, when the second outer member 2 is pulled out in this state, the second outer member 2 and the second ball retainer come into contact, and the second ball retainer and the second inner member come into contact. Therefore, the inner member 34 slides in the extension direction relative to the first outer member 1, as if being pushed out by the upper second ball retainer 6A and the lower second ball retainer 6B via the second ball retainer.

When the inner member 34 slides in the extending direction, the upper first ball retainer 5A and the lower first ball retainer 5B move in the extending (pulling out) direction by half the movement of the inner member 34, as described above.
Eventually, the extension side ends of the upper first ball retainer 5A and the lower first ball retainer 5B abut against the extension side movement stoppers 23A and 23B of the upper first outer member 1A and the lower first outer member 1B, and the sliding of the upper first ball retainer 5A and the lower first ball retainer 5B relative to the first outer member 1A stops.
Then, when the second outer member 2 is pulled out in this state, the extension stoppers 51A, 51B of the upper first ball retainer 5A and the lower first ball retainer 5B abut against the extension stoppers 33A, 33B of the upper first inner member 3A and the lower second inner member 3B, and the sliding of the inner member 34 stops.
This state is the most extended state of the slide rail 100.
Note that the sliding of the outer member, inner member, and ball retainer during extension does not necessarily occur in the above order, and the timing of the sliding may vary slightly depending on the sliding resistance of each component, but ultimately the extension stoppers provided on each component come into contact and the sliding stops.

The movement of the slide rail 100 from the fully extended state to the fully retracted state is the opposite of the above-described extension operation.
As with extension, the sliding during contraction does not necessarily occur in the opposite direction in sequence, and the timing of the sliding may vary slightly depending on the sliding resistance of each component, but ultimately the contraction stoppers provided on each component come into contact and the sliding stops.

The basic structure of the slide rail 100 has been described above. Next, a case where a shock absorber is provided will be described.
The maximum extension and contraction of the slide rail 100 is restricted by the contact of each stopper, but a buffer device is installed mainly for the purpose of preventing loud noises from being generated when the stoppers come into contact and preventing deformation or damage to the stoppers.
In this embodiment, in addition to the shock absorbing device, an auxiliary shock absorbing material is provided to prevent damage to the shock absorbing device.

The shock absorber 8 is composed of a cylinder 81, a piston rod 82, a contact body attached to the tip of the piston rod 82, and a piston inside the cylinder 81. Oil is sealed inside the cylinder 81, and it is an oil damper that utilizes the viscosity of the oil, generating damping force by an adjustment valve of the piston connected to the piston rod 82 inside the cylinder 81, and is a widely known type.
The shock absorber 8 in this embodiment is provided with a coil spring inside the cylinder 81, which constantly biases the piston rod 82 in the direction of extension. Even if the piston rod 82 contracts due to an external force, when the external force is removed, the biasing force causes the piston rod 82 to extend to its original state.
The shock absorber 8 may be an air cylinder type that uses air flow instead of oil, if necessary.
In this embodiment, a compression coil spring is used as the auxiliary cushioning material 9. However, elastic materials such as rubber, sponge, or synthetic resin pieces may also be used depending on the specifications of the item using the slide rail.

Two shock absorbers 8 and two auxiliary shock absorbers 9 are prepared and installed in the extension-side shock absorber holding portion 72 and the contraction-side shock absorber holding portion 73 of the inner bracket 7 .
The extension side buffer device holding portion 72 consists of a buffer device holding portion 72a, an auxiliary buffer material abutment portion 724, and a vibration prevention portion 725. The buffer device holding portion 72a comprises an upper protruding piece 721 that protrudes upward from the upper end of the base portion 71 by a length slightly longer than the long length of the cylinder 81, an upper holding piece 722 that is formed by bending the end of the upper protruding piece 721 in the direction of the upper and lower bent edge 41A of the upper second inner member 4A, and a holding portion 723 that protrudes in the same direction, spaced apart from the upper holding piece 722, at the lower portion of the upper holding piece 722 and closer to the contraction side.
The auxiliary cushioning material abutment portion 724 is formed by protruding upward from the upper end of the base portion 71 at a position on the extension side and away from the upper protruding piece 721 to a height approximately half that of the upper protruding piece 721, being bent from the protruding end in the same direction as the upper holding piece 722, and then being bent upward from the bent tip.
The anti-vibration portion 725 is located on the contraction side of the upper protruding piece 721 and away from the upper protruding piece 721, protruding upward from the upper end of the base portion 71 to the same height as the upper protruding piece 721, and is formed by being bent from the protruding end in the same direction as the upper holding piece 722.
Between the shock absorber holding portion 72 a and the vibration prevention portion 725 , a movement restriction portion 726 is formed, which protrudes from the base portion 71 and is bent in the same direction as the upper holding piece 722 .

The contraction side shock absorber holding portion 73 is formed at the bottom of the base portion 71, symmetrically in the vertical and front-to-back directions with the extension side shock absorber holding portion 72, and consists of a shock absorber holding portion 73a, an auxiliary shock absorber abutment portion 734, and a vibration prevention portion 735.
The buffer device holding portion 73a comprises a lower protruding piece 731 that protrudes upward from the lower end of the base portion 71 by a length slightly longer than the long length of the cylinder 81, a lower holding piece 732 that is formed by bending the end of the lower protruding piece 731 in the direction of the upper and lower bent edge 41B of the lower second inner member 4B, and a holding portion 733 that protrudes in the same direction as the lower holding piece 732, spaced apart from it, at the lower part of the lower holding piece 732, closer to the contraction side.
The auxiliary cushioning material abutment portion 734 is formed by protruding downward from the lower end of the base portion 71 at a position on the contraction side and away from the lower protruding piece 731 to a height approximately half that of the lower protruding piece 731, being bent from the protruding end in the same direction as the lower holding piece 732, and then being bent upward from the bent tip.
The anti-vibration portion 735 is formed by protruding downward from the lower end of the base portion 71 to the same height as the lower protruding piece 731 at a position on the extension side and away from the lower protruding piece 731, and is bent from the protruding end in the same direction as the lower holding piece 732.
Between the shock absorber holding portion 73 a and the vibration prevention portion 735 , a movement restriction portion 736 is formed, which protrudes from the base portion 71 and is bent in the same direction as the lower holding piece 732 .

The extension side shock absorber holding portion 72 and the contraction side shock absorber holding portion 73 are formed as described above, and the shock absorber 8 and auxiliary shock absorber 9 are installed in the extension side shock absorber holding portion 72 and the contraction side shock absorber holding portion 73 as follows.
First, with the first outer member base material 1C not attached to the first or second outer member, the auxiliary cushioning material 9 is inserted from the substrate 12A side into the space formed by the upper protruding piece 721, upper holding piece 722, and holding portion 723 of the cushioning device holding portion 72a so that the compression direction is the sliding direction of the slide rail 100, and is positioned so that the extension side end face contacts the contraction side end face of the auxiliary cushioning material abutment portion 724.

Next, insert the buffer device 8 so that the piston rod 82 faces the contraction side, the end face of the cylinder on the extension side abuts the contraction side end face of the auxiliary buffer material 9, and the end face of the cylinder on the contraction side abuts the end face of the extension side of the movement restricting portion 726.
In this state, the shock absorber 8 is arranged so that the piston rod 82 is surrounded by the anti-vibration portion 725, and the cylinder 81 abuts against the movement restriction portion 726 on the contraction (piston rod 82) side, so it cannot move toward the contraction side, but on the extension side, the cylinder 81 only abuts against the auxiliary shock absorber 9, so it is attached so that it can slide in the sliding direction by the amount that the auxiliary shock absorber 9 can be compressed.

In this way, the shock absorber 8 is located on the opposite side of the upper and lower bent edges 41A, 41A of the upper second inner member 4A (the opposite side of the upper and lower bent edges 21A, 21A of the upper second outer member 2A), i.e., above the upper bent edge 41A as shown in Figure 4.The piston rod 82 is attached so that it can expand and contract parallel to the sliding direction of the slide rail when extended on the extension side, and is installed to generate a damping force when the piston rod 82 contracts from this state, thereby generating a cushioning effect when the slide rail 100 contracts.

Next, a method for attaching the shock absorber 8 that produces a shock absorbing effect when the shock absorber 8 is contracted will be described.
As described above, when the first outer member base material 1C is not attached to the first or second outer member, the auxiliary cushioning material 9 is inserted from the substrate 12B side into the space formed by the lower protruding piece 731, lower holding piece 732, and holding portion 733 of the cushioning device holding portion 73a so that the compression direction is the sliding direction of the slide rail 100, and is positioned so that the contraction side end face contacts the extension side end face of the auxiliary cushioning material abutment portion 734.

Next, insert the buffer device 8 so that the piston rod 82 faces the extension side, the end face of the cylinder on the contraction side abuts the extension side end face of the auxiliary buffer material 9, and the end face of the cylinder on the contraction side abuts the end face of the contraction side of the movement restricting portion 736.
In this state, the shock absorber 8 is positioned so that the piston rod 82 is surrounded by the anti-vibration portion 735, and the cylinder 81 abuts against the movement restriction portion 736 on the extension (piston rod 82) side, so it cannot move in the extension side, but on the contraction side, the cylinder 81 only abuts against the auxiliary cushioning material 9, so it is attached so that it can slide in the sliding direction by the amount that the auxiliary cushioning material 9 can be compressed.

In this way, the shock absorber 8 is located on the opposite side of the upper and lower bent edges 41B, 41B of the lower second inner member 4B (the opposite side of the upper and lower bent edges 21B, 21B of the lower second outer member 2B), i.e., below the lower bent edge 41B as shown in Figure 4.The piston rod 82 is attached so that it can expand and contract parallel to the sliding direction of the slide rail when extended on the extension side, and is installed to generate a damping force when the piston rod 82 contracts from this state, thereby generating a cushioning effect when the slide rail 100 contracts.

Next, the first outer member base material 1C is attached to the first and second outer members as described above. In this state, the upper end of the first outer member base material 1C protrudes upward from the upper bent edge 11A of the upper first outer member 1A, and the lower end of the first outer member base material 1C protrudes downward from the lower bent edge 11B of the lower first outer member 1B, each protruding enough to catch on the cylinder 81.
Therefore, the cylinder 81 is held at the upper and lower ends of the first outer member base material 1C so as not to come off toward the first outer member base material 1C side.
In addition, the upper holding piece 722 and the lower holding piece 732 are inclined downward and upward respectively toward the tip end of the bend, and the cylinder 81 is held at the inclined portion, and the cylinder 81 is held together with the protruding portion of the first outer member base material 1C.

A method for operating the shock absorbers 8, 8 thus installed will now be described.
The cushioning effect is produced when, during the sliding process of the slide rail 100, the extension operating piece 22C or the contraction operating piece 23C formed on the aforementioned connecting base 11C comes into contact with the abutment body 83, and the operating piece pushes the piston rod 82 in accordance with the sliding of the slide rail 100, utilizing the damping force of the buffer device 8.
Therefore, the extension operating piece 22C and the contraction operating piece 23C are disposed on the extension of the trajectory of the piston rod 82 of the shock absorber 8 in the compression and extension directions, respectively.

First, when the second outer member 2 is pulled out from the most contracted state of the slide rail shown in FIG. 5, the second outer member 2 slides together with the inner member 34 toward the extension side.
The second outer member 2 and the inner member 34 are configured to slide together using a known temporary fixing member made of resin or the like.
When the second outer member 2 is further pulled out, the inner member 34 reaches its maximum extension relative to the first outer member 1 as shown in FIG.
Next, the second outer member 2 is pulled out relative to the inner member 34, and as shown in Figure 7, the extension operating piece 22C of the connecting base 11C comes into contact with the abutment body 83 of the shock absorber 8 held by the shock absorber holding portion 72a.

When the second outer member 2 is extended in this state, the piston rod 82 is pushed into the cylinder 81 by the extension operating piece 22C, which generates a damping force at this time and causes the slide rail to extend so that the brakes can be applied. This not only prevents the slide rail from making a loud noise when it comes into contact with the stopper and the stoppers from being deformed or damaged, but also reduces the impact force on items attached to the slide rail.
Then, while the shock absorber 8 is applying the brake, the second outer member 2 is in a fully extended state relative to the inner member 34 as shown in FIG. 8, and the slide rail 100 is in a fully extended state.

The auxiliary shock absorber 9 is intended to increase the durability of the shock absorber 8 .
When the slide rail 100 is attached to an item such as a drawer and is forcefully extended, the extension operating piece 22C presses the piston rod 82 with force, applying a large impact (pressing force) to the buffer device 8, exceeding the capacity of the buffer device 8 and making it impossible to adjust the speed. In addition, excessive load is placed on the buffer device 8, making it susceptible to damage.
Therefore, when a large impact is applied to the buffer device 8, the buffer device 8 is installed so that it can move in the sliding direction, and the impact travels along the piston rod 82, causing the cylinder 81 to move in a manner that crushes the auxiliary buffer material 9, and the elastic force of the auxiliary buffer material 9 absorbs the impact force, and the crushed auxiliary buffer material 9 restores itself while absorbing the impact force and transitions to the buffering operation.

The operation of producing the cushioning effect when the slide rail 100 is retracted is the same as that described above. As shown in Figure 9, first, when the second outer member 2 slides toward the retracted side when the slide rail 100 is retracted, the retraction operating piece 23C of the connecting base 11C comes into contact with the abutment body 83 of the buffer device 8 held by the buffer device holding portion 73a.
When the second outer member 2 is then contracted, the piston rod 82 is pushed into the cylinder 81 by the contraction operating piece 23C, which generates a damping force at this time, causing the slide rail to contract so as to apply the brakes. This not only prevents the slide rail from making a loud noise when it comes into contact with the stopper and prevents the stoppers from being deformed or damaged, but also reduces the impact force on items attached to the slide rail.

Similarly, when a large impact is applied to the shock absorber 8, the auxiliary cushioning material 9 is mounted on the shock absorber 8 so that it can move in the sliding direction. The impact travels along the piston rod 82, causing the cylinder 81 to move and crush the auxiliary cushioning material 9. The elastic force of the auxiliary cushioning material 9 then absorbs the impact force, and the crushed auxiliary cushioning material 9 returns to its original shape and resumes its cushioning function.

The anti-vibration portions 725, 735 prevent the piston rods 82, 82 from bending more than necessary in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction when they are pushed into the extension operating piece 22C and the contraction operating piece 23C, and also have the effect of guarding to prevent unnecessary objects from coming into contact with the piston rod 82.
In this way, the present invention can produce a cushioning effect during expansion and contraction with a simple structure that simply requires providing brackets on the outer and inner members.
The above is the first embodiment of the slide rail with a shock absorber that produces a shock absorbing effect when extended and retracted.

Next, a second embodiment will be described.
The basic configuration of the slide rail is the same as that of the first embodiment, so only the differences in the configuration will be explained.
As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the extension side shock absorber holding portion 72 and the contraction side shock absorber holding portion 73 are formed near the contraction side of the second outer member base material 2C, and the extension operating piece 22C and the contraction operating piece 23C are formed on the inner bracket 7.
The piston rod 81 of the shock absorber 8 is installed in the extension side shock absorber holding portion 72 so as to protrude toward the extension side, and the piston rod 81 of the shock absorber 8 is installed in the contraction side shock absorber holding portion 73 so as to protrude toward the contraction side.
The extension operating piece 22C is disposed at the extension side end of the inner bracket 7 on the extension side of the shock absorber holding portion 72, on the extension path of the piston rod 82 of the shock absorber 8 in the compression and extension directions.
The contraction actuation piece 23C is disposed at the contraction side end of the inner bracket 7 on the extension of the trajectory of the piston rod 82 of the shock absorber 8 of the contraction side shock absorber holding portion 73 in the compression and extension directions.

In this way, in the second embodiment, the shock absorber is provided on the second outer member 2 side, and the operating piece for operating the shock absorber is provided on the inner member 34 side.
In the slide rail with shock absorber of the second embodiment formed in this manner, when the second outer member 2 extends relative to the inner member 34, the extension operating piece 22C arranged at the extension side end of the inner bracket 7 comes into contact with the abutment body 83 of the shock absorber 8 of the extension side shock absorber holding portion 72, and the piston rod 82 contracts in accordance with the extension of the second outer member 2, generating a damping force and applying the brakes as the slide rail extends.

As the second outer member 2 contracts relative to the inner member 34, the contraction operating piece 23C located at the contraction side end of the inner bracket 7 comes into contact with the abutment body 83 of the shock absorber 8 of the contraction side shock absorber holding portion 73, and the piston rod 82 contracts in accordance with the contraction of the second outer member 2, generating a damping force and applying the brakes, causing the slide rail to contract.
In this way, in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a buffering effect can be produced during expansion and contraction with a simple configuration in which brackets are provided on the outer member and inner member.

Although a method has been described in which the first outer member 1 is installed on a fixed body such as a housing and the second outer member 2 is installed on a movable body such as a drawer, in this embodiment, it is also possible to use the second outer member 2 in a fixed body and the first outer member 1 in a movable body.
In this case, the terms "extension side" and "contraction side" indicating the position and direction of each component described in the detailed description of the invention should be read as the opposite, "contraction side" and "extension side."
However, if the second outer member is on the moving side, it is easier to visually check the shock absorber when the slide rail is extended, and maintenance is easier.

In the above embodiment, the first outer member, inner member, and second outer member are each configured as two members arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, but this is an example of attaching a shock absorber to a slide rail that can accommodate heavy objects. Even if the first outer member, inner member, and second outer member are all slide rails made up of a single member, the same effect as the above embodiment can be achieved by attaching them to brackets on the second outer member and inner member, installing a shock absorber on the bracket, and installing an operating piece on the other bracket.
Of course, the number of members may be increased to three or four.

In structures such as this embodiment, in which the first outer member, inner member, and second outer member are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, a heavy object is generally fixed to the moving outer member and is slid open and closed.
In the case of heavy objects, without a shock absorber, the slide rail will collide with the object due to inertial force whether fully extended or fully retracted, and this collision force may cause the object to move or become misaligned. Therefore, the slide rail with a shock absorber of the present invention, which is effective both when opened and closed, is suitable for slide rails for heavy objects.

As described above, the slide rails of the present invention can be used in a wide range of applications, not just drawer-type storage furniture, such as grills on kitchen counters, paper trays in copiers that slide open and close heavy objects, and automated teller machines.

100 Slide rail 1A Upper first outer member 11A Upper and lower bent edges 12A Base plate 13A Extension side movement stopper 14A Contraction side movement stopper 1 First outer member 1B Lower first outer member 1C First outer member base material 11C Connecting base 2 Second outer member 2A Upper second outer member 2B Lower second outer member 2C Second outer member base material 22C Extension time operating piece 23C Contraction time operating piece 34 Inner member 3A Upper first inner member 31A Upper and lower bent edges 32A Base plate 33A Extension stopper 3B Lower first inner member 4A Upper second inner member 4B Lower second inner member
5A Upper first ball retainer 51A Base plate 52A Upper and lower protruding edges 53A Extension stopper 5B Lower first ball retainer 500 Ball 6A Upper second ball retainer 6B Lower second ball retainer 7 Inner bracket 71 Base portion 72 Extension side shock absorber holding portion 72a Shock absorber holding portion 721 Upper protruding piece 722 Upper holding piece 723 Holding portion 724 Auxiliary shock absorber abutment portion 725 Vibration prevention portion 726 Movement restriction portion 73 Contraction side shock absorber holding portion 73a Shock absorber holding portion 731 Lower protruding piece 732 Lower holding piece 733 Holding portion 734 Auxiliary shock absorber abutment portion 735 Vibration prevention portion 736 Movement restriction portion 8 Shock absorber 81 Cylinder 82 Piston rod 83 Abutment body 9 Auxiliary shock absorber

Claims (3)

It has a first outer member and a second outer member, a first inner member slidably held by balls on the first outer member, a second inner member slidably held by balls on the second outer member, a first ball retainer that rotatably holds the balls on the first outer member side, and a second ball retainer that rotatably holds the balls on the second outer member side, and the first inner member and the second inner member are integrally formed via a bracket, so that the inner member is slidable relative to the first outer member, and the second outer member is slidable relative to the inner member. In this slide rail, a shock absorber that generates a shock-absorbing effect when compressed in the sliding direction of the slide rail is installed on the bracket, and operating pieces for compressing the shock absorber are installed on the retracted and extended sides of the second outer member. When the slide rail is extended, the operating piece on the retracted side comes into contact with the shock absorber, and as the slide rail extends, the operating piece compresses the shock absorber. When the slide rail retracts, the operating piece on the extended side comes into contact with the shock absorber, and as the slide rail retracts, the operating piece compresses the shock absorber, thereby absorbing impact when the slide rail is extended and retracted. The slide rail with shock absorber described in claim 1, characterized in that the bracket is provided with a shock absorber holding portion that protrudes from a position opposite the side where the pair of upper and lower bent edges of the second inner member face each other and from a position opposite the side where the pair of upper and lower bent edges of the second outer member face each other; the shock absorber is held in the shock absorber holding portion, so that the shock absorber installed on the bracket moves with the sliding of the inner member; and the operating piece protrudes from a position opposite the side where the pair of upper and lower bent edges of the second outer member face each other and is positioned on the movement path of the shock absorber that moves with the sliding of the inner member. A slide rail having a first outer member and a second outer member, a first inner member slidably held by balls on the first outer member, a second inner member slidably held by balls on the second outer member, a first ball retainer that rotatably holds the balls on the first outer member, and a second ball retainer that rotatably holds the balls on the second outer member, the first inner member and the second inner member being integrally formed via a bracket to form an inner member, the inner member being slidable relative to the first outer member, and the second outer member being slidable relative to the inner member, by compressing a pair of upper and lower bent edges of the second outer member at positions on opposite sides of the opposing sides in the sliding direction of the slide rail. A shock absorber is provided on each side of the slide rail to generate a shock absorbing effect. One shock absorber is located at the aforementioned position on the retracted side in the sliding direction, and the other shock absorber is also located at the aforementioned position on the retracted side. Operating pieces for compressing the shock absorbers are located on the brackets of the inner member on the tracks of the compression direction of each shock absorber, with one operating piece located on the extension side and the other operating piece located on the retracted side. When the slide rail is extended, the operating piece on the extension side comes into contact with the shock absorber, compressing the shock absorber as the slide rail extends. When the slide rail is retracted, the operating piece on the retracted side comes into contact with the shock absorber, compressing the shock absorber as the slide rail retracts, thereby absorbing impact when the slide rail is extended and retracted.