GUIDE RAIL FOR A PULL-OUT GUIDE FOR A DRAWER

Abstract

A drawer pull-out guide includes at least one guide rail. The guide rail includes a longitudinally extending first limb and at least one longitudinally extending second limb angled from the first limb, the first limb and the second limb being connected to one another along their longitudinal direction by an angled region. The angled region includes at least one material diminution extending along the angled region and being formed by a recess.

Claims

1. A drawer pull-out guide comprising at least one guide rail, the guide rail including a longitudinally extending first limb and at least one longitudinally extending second limb angled from the first limb, the first limb and the second limb being connected to one another along their longitudinal direction by an angled region, wherein the angled region includes at least one material diminution extending along the angled region and being formed by a recess.

2. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the first limb and/or the second limb has or have a predetermined first material thickness, wherein the material diminution of the angled region formed by the recess has a reduced second material thickness in relation to the first material thickness.

3. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the at least one recess extends substantially over an entire length of the guide rail.

4. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the at least one recess is configured as a groove.

5. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the at least one recess, in a cross-section perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the guide rail, includes at least one concave portion.

6. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the first limb and the second limb are angled to one another by an angle of approximately 90 or approximately 180.

7. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the first limb and the second limb, in a region outside the at least one recess, at least partially bear against one another.

8. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein at least one rolling body is configured to run along the first limb and at least one rolling body is configured to run along the second limb of the guide rail.

9. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the guide rail includes a plurality of angled regions having material diminutions formed by recesses.

10. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the drawer pull-out guide includes a first guide rail configured to be fixed to a furniture carcass, and at least one second guide rail displaceably supported relative to the first guide rail.

11. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of rolling bodies is arranged between the first guide rail and the second guide rail, the rolling bodies being supported in or on a common running carriage.

12. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 11, wherein the rolling bodies have a vertically extending rotational axis in the mounted position and/or a horizontally extending rotational axis in the mounted position.

13. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the at least one guide rail includes a substantially vertically extending portion in a mounted position of the drawer pull-out guide, the first limb protruding transversely in a first direction from the vertically extending portion of the guide rail, and the second limb protruding transversely in a second direction, opposing the first direction, from the vertically extending portion of the guide rail.

14. The drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the first limb and the second limb of the at least one guide rail are configured so as to have a different length, wherein it is preferably provided that the second limb has a length being at least three times as long as a length of the first limb.

15. A method for producing a guide rail of the drawer pull-out guide according to claim 1, comprising the following steps: providing a longitudinally extending material strand, inserting at least one recess in the form of a material diminution in the material strand, preferably by a roll forming operation, the at least one recess extending in the longitudinal extension of the material strand, deforming or bending the material strand in a region of the recess, whereby a first limb and a second limb angled from the first limb are formed, and the recess is arranged in an angled region enclosed by the first limb and the second limb.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Further details and advantages of the invention will be explained in the following description of figures, in which:

[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an item of furniture comprising a furniture carcass and drawers displaceably supported relative thereto,

[0018] FIG. 2a, 2b show the drawer pull-out guide in an exploded view and in a cross-sectional view,

[0019] FIG. 3a, 3b show a comparison between a guide rail according to the prior art and a guide rail according to the invention,

[0020] FIG. 4a, 4b show a flat material strand with inserted recesses and the guide rail as a finished product.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] FIG. 1 shows an item of furniture 1 having a cupboard-shaped furniture carcass 2, and drawers 3 are displaceably supported relative to the furniture carcass 2 by drawer pull-out guides 4. Each of the drawers 3 includes a front panel 5, a drawer bottom 6, drawer sidewalls 7 and a rear wall 8. Each of the drawer pull-out guides 4 includes a first guide rail 9 (carcass rail) configured to be fixed to the furniture carcass 2 by fastening portions 12a, 12b, and a third guide rail 11 (drawer rail) displaceably supported relative to the first guide rail 9, the third guide rail 11 being connected or being configured to be connected to the drawer sidewall 7. Optionally, a second guide rail 10 (central rail) may be provided, the second rail 10 being displaceably supported between the first guide rail 9 and the third guide rail 11 so as to allow the drawer 3 to be fully extended.

[0022] FIG. 2a shows an exploded view of the drawer pull-out guide 4 with the first guide rail 9 (carcass rail) to be fixed to the furniture carcass 2, the third guide rail 11 (drawer rail) to be connected to the drawer 3, and with the second guide rail 10 (central rail) displaceably supported between the first guide rail 9 and the third guide rail 11. The first guide rail 9 includes two fastening portions 12a, 12b spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction (L), the first guide rail 9 being configured to be mounted to the furniture carcass 2 by the fastening portions 12a, 12b. At least one first running carriage 13 having a plurality of rolling bodies 14, 15 is displaceably supported between the first guide rail 9 and the second guide rail 10. The rolling bodies 14 are spaced from each other in the longitudinal direction (L), and each of the rolling bodies 14 has a rotational axis extending horizontally in the mounted position. On the contrary, each of the rolling bodies 15 has a vertically extending rotational axis in the mounted position. By a spring-assisted retraction device 16, the third guide rail 11 can be retracted into the closed end position at the end of the closing movement, and the spring-assisted closing movement can be decelerated by a damping device 17, for example in the form of a hydraulic piston-cylinder-unit.

[0023] FIG. 2b shows the drawer pull-out guide 4 in a cross-sectional view, in which the first running carriage 13 with the rolling bodies 14, 15 is supported between the first guide rail 9 and the second guide rail 10. At least one second running carriage 18 having rolling bodies 14a, 15a is displaceably supported between the second guide rail 10 and the third guide rail 11. Each of the rolling bodies 14a has a rotational axis extending horizontally in the mounted position, whereas the rolling bodies 15a are configured to be rotated about a vertically extending rotational axis in the mounted position.

[0024] Taking the example of the second guide rail 10, the invention will now be explained in greater detail. The second guide rail 10 includes a first limb 10a and at least one second limb 10b, the first limb 10a and the second limb 10b being connected to one another by an angled region 23. The angled region 23 includes a material diminution formed by a recess 21 extending along the angled region 23. Each of the first limb 10a and/or the second limb 10b can have a predetermined first material thickness, whereas the angled region 23 enclosed by the two limbs 10a, 10b is provided with at least one recess 21, so that the angled region 23 has a reduced second material thickness in relation to the limbs 10a, 10b. As shown in FIG. 2b, the limbs 10a, 10b, due to the presence of the recess 21, can be angled to one another to a larger extent, without substantial compressive stress occurring on the inside of the angled region 23 when the second guide rail 10 is machined. In the shown figure, the limbs 10a, 10b are angled to one another by 180. In a region outside the recess 21, the two limbs 10a, 10b at least partially bear against one another, preferably without the formation of a gap 19 (FIG. 3a). In this way, the constructional height of the second guide rail 10, in particular when a plurality of limbs 10a, 10b are arranged above one another, can be reduced. The guide rail 10 can also include two or more material diminutions formed by recesses 21, 21a, 21b. In the shown embodiment, the limbs arranged adjacent to the recesses 21a, 21b each adopt an angle of approximately 90 to one another.

[0025] FIG. 3a and FIG. 3b show a direct comparison between a guide rail 10 according to the prior art (FIG. 3a) and a guide rail 10 according to the invention (FIG. 3b). The guide rail 10 according to the prior art depicted in FIG. 3a has a constant material thickness M1, and the limbs 10a, 10bdue to the lacking recess 21are spaced from each other in a height direction under the formation of a gap 19. This also leads to an increase in the height (H) of the guide rail 10. In FIG. 3a, the angled region 23 has round-shaped configuration. Moreover, only running surfaces B, C having a relatively small width are available for the rolling bodies 14, 15, 14a, 15a.

[0026] FIG. 3b, on the contrary, shows an embodiment of the guide rail 10 according to the invention. Due to the recesses 21, 21a, 21b, the material thickness M2 is reduced in comparison to the material thickness M1, so that the limbs 10a, 10b can be angled to one another to a stronger extent. This leads to the fact that the height H1 according to FIG. 3b is smaller than the height H according to FIG. 3a. The smaller height H1 thus leads to a (desired) reduced constructional height of the guide rail 10. Moreover, it is visible that the flat running surfaces B1, C1 for the rolling bodies 14, 15, 14a, 15a, in comparison with the flat surfaces B, C according to FIG. 3a, are significantly enlarged. In this way, rolling bodies 14, 15, 14a, 15a with an increased nominal width can be utilized, so that an improved support of the guide rails 10, 11 can be provided and the forces can be distributed over a larger area. The recesses 21, 21a, 21b, in a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (L), can each include at least one concave portion 22. The sharp-edged angled regions 23 can be preferably produced by a roll forming operation. Roll forming (also known as roll profiling or cold rolling) is a continuous bending method in which a material strand 20 (FIG. 4a) of metal runs into a profiling machine, and the material strand 20 is reshaped in the profiling machine by numerous subsequent bending operations until the desired shape of cross-section is produced.

[0027] According to an embodiment, it can be provided that the at least one guide rail 10, in a mounted position of the drawer pull-out guide 4, includes a substantially vertically extending portion 24, and the first limb 10a protrudes transversely, preferably at a right angle, in a first direction from the vertically extending portion 24 of the guide rail 10. The second limb 10b protrudes transversely, preferably substantially at a right angle, from the vertically extending portion 24 in a second direction, opposing the first direction. Moreover, it can be provided that the first limb 10a and the second limb 10b of the at least one guide rail 10 are configured so as to have a different length. It can be preferably provided that the second limb 10b has a length being at least three times as long as a length of the first limb 10a.

[0028] Exemplary embodiments: [0029] the material thickness M1 lies between 0.5 mm and 3 mm, preferably between 1 mm and 2 mm, [0030] the reduced material thickness M2 lies between 0.3 mm and 2 mm, preferably between 0.7 mm and 1.5 mm, [0031] the reduced material thickness M2 is smaller than 0.75, preferably smaller than 0.5, multiplied with the material thickness M1, [0032] the width of the running surface B1 lies between 4 mm and 7 mm, preferably between 5 mm and 6 mm, [0033] the width of the running surface C1 lies between 2 mm and 5 mm, preferably between 3 mm and 4 mm.

[0034] FIG. 4a shows a longitudinally extending material strand 20, in which recesses 21, 21a, 21b are introduced in a first step, preferably by roll forming. Subsequently, the material strand 20 is deformed or bent in a region of the recesses 21, 21a, 21b, whereby at least one first limb 10a and at least one second limb 10b are formed, and the recesses 21, 21a, 21b are arranged in an angled region 23 enclosed by the first limb 10a and by the second limb 10b. In a further step, the limbs 10a, 10b can be profiled in a height direction such that the limbs 10a, 10b, in a region outside the recesses 21, 21a, 21b, at least partially bear against one another, until the guide rail 10 is eventually present as a finished product. If appropriate, each angled region 23 can also include two or more recesses 21, 21a, 21b.

[0035] The guide rail 10 can include a third limb 10c and a fourth limb 10d which are connected to one another by a second angled region 23a. The second angled region 23a can have a second material diminution formed by a second recess 21b. Likewise, the guide rail 10 can have a fifth limb 10e and a sixth limb 10f which are connected to one another by a third angled region 23b. The third angled region 23b can have a third material diminution formed by a third recess 21a. The limbs 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f arranged adjacent to one another can each be angled to one another by an angle of approximately 45, 90 or 180.