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EP-4736711-A1 - SLIDE RAIL ASSEMBLY

EP4736711A1EP 4736711 A1EP4736711 A1EP 4736711A1EP-4736711-A1

Abstract

A slide rail assembly(20,200) is provided and includes a first rail(22,205) having a predetermined feature(34), a second rail(24,212), a resilient member(48,206) arranged on the second rail(24,212), and an operating member(50,202) movable relative to the second rail(24,212). The operating member(50,202) at a first operating position(K1,K1') is configured to abut against the resilient member(48,206) to prevent the resilient member(48,206) from being blocked by the predetermined feature(34), thereby allowing the resilient member(48,206) to pass over the predetermined feature(34) as the second rail(24,212) is displaced relative to the first rail(22,205) along a first direction(D1). The operating member(50,202) at a second operating position(K2,K2') is configured not to abut against the resilient member(48,206) to allow the resilient member(48,206) to be blocked by the predetermined feature(34), thereby stopping the second rail(24,212) at a working position(W) when the second rail(24,212) is displaced and reaches the working position(W) relative to the first rail(22,205) along the first direction(D1).

Inventors

  • CHEN, KEN-CHING
  • YANG, SHUN-HO
  • CHANG, WEI-CHEN
  • WANG, CHUN-CHIANG

Assignees

  • King Slide Works Co., Ltd.
  • King Slide Technology Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20250319

Claims (15)

  1. A slide rail assembly (20, 200) characterized by : a first rail (22, 205) comprising a predetermined feature (34); a second rail (24, 212) displaceable relative to the first rail (22, 205); a resilient member (48, 206) arranged on the second rail (24, 212); and an operating member (50, 202) movable relative to the second rail (24, 212) between a first operating position (K1, K1') and a second operating position (K2, K2'); wherein the operating member (50, 202) at the first operating position (K1, K1') is configured to abut against the resilient member (48, 206) to prevent the resilient member (48, 206) from being blocked by the predetermined feature (34), thereby allowing the resilient member (48, 206) to pass over the predetermined feature (34) as the second rail (24, 212) is displaced relative to the first rail (22, 205) along a first direction (D1) or a second direction (D2) opposite to the first direction (D1); wherein the operating member (50, 202) at the second operating position (K2, K2') is configured not to abut against the resilient member (48, 206) to allow the resilient member (48, 206) to be blocked by the predetermined feature (34), thereby stopping the second rail (24, 212) at a working position (W) when the second rail (24, 212) is displaced and reaches the working position (W) relative to the first rail (22, 205) along the first direction (D1) or the second direction (D2).
  2. The slide rail assembly (20, 200) of claim 1, characterized in that the operating member (50, 202) is movably mounted on the second rail (24, 212), the second rail (24, 212) is displaceable relative to the first rail (22, 205) from a first predetermined position (P1) to a second predetermined position (P2) along the first direction (D1) or from the second predetermined position (P2) to the first predetermined position (P1) along the second direction (D2), and the working position (W) is located between the first predetermined position (P1) and the second predetermined position (P2).
  3. The slide rail assembly (20, 200) of claim 2, characterized in that one of the first rail (22, 205) and the resilient member (48, 206) comprises a guiding portion (23, 59) configured to abut against another one of the first rail (22, 205) and the resilient member (48, 206) for driving the resilient member (48, 206) for allowing the second rail (24, 212) to displace from the second predetermined position (P2) along the second direction (D2) toward the working position (W).
  4. The slide rail assembly (20, 200) of claim 1, characterized in that the second rail (24, 212) comprises a corresponding hole (68), the resilient member (48, 206) comprises an auxiliary portion (58) aligned with the corresponding hole (68) along a direction perpendicular to the first direction (D1) and the second direction (D2), when the resilient member (48, 206) is in a first predetermined state (S1, S1'), the auxiliary portion (58) is partially located within the corresponding hole (68) and does not protrude out of the corresponding hole (68) for preventing the auxiliary portion (58) from being blocked by the predetermined feature (34), and when the second rail (24, 212) is displaced and reaches the working position (W) relative to the first rail (22, 205) along the first direction (D1) or the second direction (D2), the auxiliary portion (58) protrudes out of the corresponding hole (68) to stretch into the predetermined feature (34), so as to be blocked by the predetermined feature (34).
  5. The slide rail assembly (20, 200) of claim 4, characterized in that the predetermined feature (34) comprises a first wall section (104), and when the second rail (24, 212) is located at the working position (W) relative to the first rail (22, 205), the operating member (50, 202) at the second operating position (K2, K2') is configured not to abut against the resilient member (48, 206), such that the resilient member (48, 206) moves away from the predetermined state (S1, S1') in response to the resilient force (F1) to allow the auxiliary portion (58) to be blocked by the first wall section (104) of the predetermined feature (34), thereby preventing the second rail (24, 212) from displacing away from the working position (W) along the first direction (D1).
  6. The slide rail assembly (20, 200) of claim 5, characterized in that the predetermined feature (34) further comprises a second wall section (106) opposite to the first wall section (104), and when the second rail (24, 212) is located at the working position (W) relative to the first rail (22, 205), the operating member (50, 202) at the second operating position (K2, K2') is configured not to abut against the resilient member (48, 206), such that the resilient member (48, 206) moves away from the predetermined state (S1, S1') in response to the resilient force (F1) to allow the auxiliary portion (58) to be blocked by the second wall section (106) of the predetermined feature (34), thereby preventing the second rail (24, 212) from displacing away from the working position (W) along the second direction (D2).
  7. The slide rail assembly (20, 200) of claim 6, characterized in that when the second rail (24, 212) is located at the working position (W) relative to the first rail (22, 205), the operating member (50, 202) at the first operating position (K1, K1') is configured to abut against the resilient member (48, 206), such that the resilient member (48, 206) accumulates the resilient force (F1) in the predetermined state (S1, S1') to prevent the auxiliary portion (58) from being blocked by the first wall section (104) and the second wall section (106) of the predetermined feature (34), thereby allowing the second rail (24, 212) to displace away from the working position (W) along the first direction (D1) or the second direction (D2).
  8. The slide rail assembly (20, 200) of any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that each of the first rail (22, 205) and the second rail (24, 212) comprises a first end (22a, 24a) and a second end (22b, 24b) opposite to the first end (22a, 24a), when the second rail (24, 212) is located at the working position (W) relative to the first rail (22, 205), the first end (22a, 24a) of the second rail (24, 212) protrudes from the first end (22a, 24a) of the first end (22a, 24a) by a first predetermined distance (X1), and when the second rail (24, 212) is located at the second predetermined position (P2) relative to the first rail (22, 205), the first end (22a, 24a) of the second rail (24, 212) protrudes from the first end (22a, 24a) of the first rail (22, 205) by a second predetermined distance (X2) greater than the first predetermined distance (X1).
  9. The slide rail assembly (20, 200) of any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the operating member (50, 202) is movably mounted on the second rail (24, 212) and movable relative to the second rail (24, 212) along the first direction (D1) or the second direction (D2).
  10. The slide rail assembly (20) of any of claims 1 to 9, further characterized by a recovering resilient member (74), such that the operating member (50) moves from the second operating position (K2) to the first operating position (K1) in response to a recovering resilient force (F3) provided by the recovering resilient member (74).
  11. The slide rail assembly (20) of claim 10, further characterized by a button member (76) movably mounted on the second rail (24), the button member (76) being movable between a blocking state (B2) and a non-blocking state (B1), and when the operating member (50) is located at the second operating position (K2), the button member (76) in the blocking state (B2) being configured to block the operating member (50), such that the operating member (50) is maintained at the second operating position (K2) to keep the recovering resilient member (74) accumulating the recovering resilient force (F3).
  12. The slide rail assembly (20) of claim 11, characterized in that the operating member (50) at the first operating position (K1) is configured to hold the button member (76) in the non-blocking state (B1).
  13. The slide rail assembly (20) of any of claims 11 to 12, further characterized by an auxiliary resilient member (78) configured to provide a resilient force (F2) to the button member (76).
  14. The slide rail assembly (20) of any of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that a moving direction of the operating member (50) is parallel to the first direction (D1) and the second direction (D2), and a moving direction of the button member (76) is perpendicular to the first direction (D1) and the second direction (D2).
  15. The slide rail assembly (20) of any of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the operating member (50, 202) comprising a protruding portion (100, 204), one of the protruding portion (100, 204) of the operating member (50, 202) and the resilient member (48, 206) comprising a guiding section (102), and when the operating member (50, 202) moves from the second operating position (K2, K2') to the first operating position (K1, K1'), the operating member (50, 202) drives the resilient member (48, 206) by the guiding section (102) and supports the resilient member (48, 206) by the protruding portion (100, 204) to prevent the resilient member (48, 206) from being blocked by the predetermined feature (34).

Description

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a slide rail assembly according to the pre-characterizing clause of claim 1. Background of the Invention Generally, a slide rail assembly is a device adapted for a rack or a cabinet and configured to support a carried object, such as an electronic apparatus or a drawer. The slide rail assembly usually includes an outer rail and an inner rail displaceable relative to the outer rail between a retracted position and an extended position. Preferably, the slide rail assembly can further include a middle rail movably mounted between the outer rail and the inner rail for extending a travel distance of the inner rail relative to the outer rail. With development of the slide rail industry, it is becoming prevalent to use a blocking mechanism or a positioning mechanism for preventing a relative displacement of two slide rails, such as a relative displacement of the inner rail and the middle rail or a relative displacement of the middle rail and the outer rail, when one of the two slide rails is located at a predetermined position relative to the other one of the two slide rails. For example, in U.S. Patent No. 6,935,710 B2, it discloses a slide rail assembly including a first rail, e.g., an inner rail, a second rail, e.g., a middle rail, and a third rail, e.g., an outer rail. When the first rail is displaced and reaches an extended position relative to the second rail, the first rail is blocked and stopped at the extended position relative to the second rail by two retaining arms. However, such blocking mechanism or function is mandatory. In other words, when the first rail is displaced and reaches the extended position relative to the second rail, the first rail must always be blocked and stopped at the extended position. Furthermore, in U.S. Patent No. 10,743,660 B2, it discloses a first rail, e.g., a middle rail, a second rail, e.g., an inner rail, and a third rail, e.g., an outer rail. When the second rail is displaced and reaches a first extended position relative to the first rail, the second rail is blocked and stopped at the first extended position by two members, such as a first blocking member and a second blocking member. When the second rail is displaced and reaches a second extended position relative to the first rail, the second rail is blocked and stopped at the second extended position by another two members, such as a third blocking member and a fourth blocking member. However, such blocking mechanism or function is also mandatory. In other words, when the second rail is displaced and reaches the first extended position relative to the first rail, the second rail must always be blocked and stopped by the first blocking member and the second blocking member at the first extended position, and when the second rail is displaced and reaches the second extended position relative to the first rail, the second rail must always be blocked and stopped by the second blocking member and the third blocking member at the second extended position. The blocking mechanisms or functions of the aforementioned patents are mandatory and unavoidable. However, in order to meet various requirements, it becomes an important topic to provide a different slide rail product. Summary of the Invention This is achieved by a slide rail assembly according to claim 1. The dependent claims pertain to corresponding further developments and improvements. As will be seen more clearly from the detailed description following below, the claimed slide rail assembly includes a first rail, a second rail, a resilient member and an operating member. The first rail includes a predetermined feature. The second rail is displaceable relative to the first rail. The resilient member is arranged on the second rail. The operating member is movable relative to the second rail between a first operating position and a second operating position. The operating member at the first operating position is configured to abut against the resilient member to prevent the resilient member from being blocked by the predetermined feature, thereby allowing the resilient member to pass over the predetermined feature as the second rail is displaced relative to the first rail along a first direction or a second direction opposite to the first direction. The operating member at the second operating position is configured not to abut against the resilient member to allow the resilient member to be blocked by the predetermined feature, thereby stopping the second rail at a working position when the second rail is displaced and reaches the working position relative to the first rail along the first direction or the second direction. In summary, the slide rail assembly of the present invention is provided with the operating member configured to enable or disable a blocking function that stops the second rail at the working position relative to the first rail when the second rail is displaced and reaches a working position