Pull-out guide for the guidance of a drawer

Abstract

A pull-out guide for the guidance of a drawer, including a cabinet rail for attachment to a furniture cabinet, a drawer rail for attachment to a drawer, and a roller unit having rollers that roll on guide surfaces of the respective rails during movement of the rails relative to one another. The cabinet rail has a vertically extending low-profile side element that does not extend upwardly above a support surface of the drawer rail over at least 75% of its total length. A vertically upwardly protruding flag-like element extends upwardly in the vertical direction to guide a drawer during assembly to the drawer rail.

Claims

1. A pull-out guide for the guidance of a drawer, comprising a cabinet rail for attachment to a furniture cabinet, a drawer rail for attachment to a drawer, and a roller unit having rollers that roll on guide surfaces of the respective rails during movement of the rails relative to one another, wherein the cabinet rail, which has a length, comprises a vertically oriented low-profile side element, the drawer rail comprises a support surface for the fitting of a drawer on the pull-out guide, the low-profile side element of the cabinet rail does not extend above the support surface of the drawer rail over at least 75% of the total length of the cabinet rail, and the low-profile side element comprises a protruding element that extends upwardly in the vertical direction from a region of the cabinet rail that defines a rearward one-third portion of the overall length of the cabinet rail, wherein the protruding element extends both longitudinally along the low-profile side element and vertically upward to a height that is above the support surface of the drawer rail, such that the protruding element has a flag-like shape, and wherein a remaining height of the low-profile side element is below the support surface of the drawer rail.

2. A drawer having a pull-out guide according to claim 1.

3. A furniture item having a drawer according to claim 1.

4. The pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the protruding element comprises a guide member that extends longitudinally toward a front end of the cabinet rail and is bent outwardly away from the cabinet rail at an acute angle.

5. The pull-out guide according to claim 4, wherein the cabinet rail further comprises a mounting member on a front end thereof, the mounting member extending vertically upwardly to an extent higher than that of the protruding element and extending longitudinally less than 25% of the total length of the cabinet rail.

6. The pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the low-profile side element includes a recess between the protruding element and a front end of the drawer rail, wherein the size of the recess corresponds to a size of the protruding element.

7. The pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet rail further comprises a support element extending perpendicularly to the low-profile side element, a first fastening member located on the low-profile side element, and a second fastening member located on the support element, whereby the cabinet rail can be fastened to a front region of the furniture cabinet by the first and second fastening members.

8. The pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet rail further comprises a downwardly extending tongue at a front end thereof and a fastening element on a bottom side of the cabinet rail spaced a distance rearwardly from the tongue, whereby the cabinet rail can be positioned on a frontal, horizontally running strut of the furniture cabinet by way of the tongue and fastening element.

9. The pull-out guide according to claim 8, wherein the distance is selected to correspond to a thickness of the strut.

10. The pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the drawer rail is a partial polygon in cross-section that includes four sides, and the pull-out guide further comprises a reinforcing clamp on a rear end region of the drawer rail, wherein the reinforcing clamp encloses at least part of at least three sides of the drawer rail.

11. The pull-out guide according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcing clamp encloses at least part of all four sides of the drawer rail.

12. The pull-out guide according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcing clamp is made of metal.

13. The pull-out guide according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcing clamp is fixed to the drawer rail without the use of tools.

14. The pull-out guide according to claim 13, wherein the reinforcing clamp is snapped onto the drawer rail by a latching member.

15. The pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the roller unit comprises cylindrical rollers, each of which has, on opposite flat end faces, toroidal, protruding bearing elements.

16. The pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the support surface of the drawer rail further comprises a suspension element for mating with a hole in a rear wall of the drawer.

17. The pull-out guide according to claim 16, wherein the suspension element comprises a bead.

18. The pull-out guide according to claim 16, wherein the suspension element comprises a damping element.

19. The pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the protruding element is formed as one piece with the cabinet rail.

20. The pull-out guide according to claim 1, wherein the protruding element is configured as a tab, which is a separate piece, that is snapped onto or plugged into the low-profile side element.

21. The pull-out guide according to claim 1, further comprising a middle rail between the cabinet rail and the drawer rail, and further comprising a second roller unit, wherein the rollers of each roller unit roll on guide surfaces of the respective rails during movement of the rails relative to one another.

22. A pull-out guide for the guidance of a drawer, comprising a cabinet rail for attachment to a furniture cabinet, a drawer rail for attachment to a drawer, and a roller unit having rollers that roll on guide surfaces of the respective rails during movement of the rails relative to one another, wherein the cabinet rail, which has a length, comprises a vertically oriented low-profile side element, the drawer rail comprises a support surface for fitting of a drawer on the pull-out guide and the drawer rail is a partial polygon in cross-section that includes four sides, and the pull-out guide further comprises a reinforcing clamp on a rear end region of the drawer rail, the reinforcing clamp encloses at least part of at least three sides of the drawer rail, the low-profile side element of the cabinet rail does not extend above the support surface of the drawer rail over at least 75% of the total length of the cabinet rail, and the low-profile side element comprises a protruding element that extends upwardly in the vertical direction from a region of the cabinet rail that defines a rearward one-third portion of the overall length of the cabinet rail, wherein the protruding element extends both longitudinally along the low-profile side element and vertically upward to a height that is above the support surface of the drawer rail, such that the protruding element has a flag-like shape, and wherein a remaining height of the low-profile side element is below the support surface of the drawer rail.

23. The pull-out guide according to claim 22, wherein the reinforcing clamp encloses at least part of all four sides of the drawer rail.

24. The pull-out guide according to claim 22, wherein the reinforcing clamp is made of steel.

25. The pull-out guide according to claim 22, wherein the reinforcing clamp is made of heat-treated steel.

26. The pull-out guide according to claim 22, further comprising a middle rail between the cabinet rail and the drawer rail, and further comprising a second roller unit, wherein the rollers of each roller unit roll on guide surfaces of the respective rails during movement of the rails relative to one another.

27. A pull-out guide for the guidance of a drawer, comprising a cabinet rail for attachment to a furniture cabinet, a drawer rail for attachment to a drawer, a roller unit having rollers that roll on guide surfaces of the respective rails during movement of the rails relative to one another, and a mounting member adapted to be fixed to an inner rear wall of the furniture cabinet, wherein the cabinet rail, which has a length, comprises a vertically oriented low-profile side element, the drawer rail comprises a support surface for the fitting of a drawer on the pull-out guide, the low-profile side element of the cabinet rail does not extend above the support surface of the drawer rail over at least 75% of the total length of the cabinet rail, the low-profile side element comprises a protruding element that extends upwardly in the vertical direction from a region of the cabinet rail that defines a rearward one-third portion of the overall length of the cabinet rail, wherein the protruding element extends both longitudinally along the low-profile side element and vertically upward to a height that is above the support surface of the drawer rail, such that the protruding element has a flag-like shape, and wherein a remaining height of the low-profile side element is below the support surface of the drawer rail, a rear end of the cabinet rail has a horizontally extending flange member, the mounting member has a horizontally extending elongated recess for receiving the flange member of the cabinet rail, and a lateral width of the flange member is less than a lateral width of the elongated recess to allow lateral movement of the flange member within the elongated recess.

28. The pull-out guide according to claim 27, wherein the flange member comprises a slot, and the mounting member includes a retention member that engages the slot to lock the cabinet rail to the mounting member.

29. The pull-out guide according to claim 28, wherein a lateral width of the retention member is less than a lateral width of the slot.

30. The pull-out guide according to claim 27, further comprising a middle rail between the cabinet rail and the drawer rail, and further comprising a second roller unit, wherein the rollers of each roller unit roll on guide surfaces of the respective rails during movement of the rails relative to one another.

31. A pull-out guide for the guidance of a drawer, comprising a cabinet rail for attachment to a furniture cabinet, a drawer rail for attachment to a drawer, and a roller unit having rollers that roll on guide surfaces of the respective rails during movement of the rails relative to one another, wherein the cabinet rail, which has a length, comprises a vertically oriented low-profile side element, the drawer rail comprises a support surface for the fitting of a drawer on the pull-out guide and a suspension element for mating with a hole in a rear wall of the drawer, the suspension element includes a damping member to accommodate for variations in the size of the hole in the drawer and for variations in an overall length of the drawer, the low-profile side element of the cabinet rail does not extend above the support surface of the drawer rail over at least 75% of the total length of the cabinet rail, and the low-profile side element comprises a protruding element that extends upwardly in the vertical direction from a region of the cabinet rail that defines a rearward one-third portion of the overall length of the cabinet rail, wherein the protruding element extends both longitudinally along the low-profile side element and vertically upward to a height that is above the support surface of the drawer rail, such that the protruding element has a flag-like shape, and wherein a remaining height of the low-profile side element is below the support surface of the drawer rail.

32. The pull-out guide according to claim 31, wherein the suspension member is welded to the support surface of the drawer rail.

33. The pull-out guide according to claim 31, wherein the suspension element has a bead.

34. The pull-out guide according to claim 31, further comprising a middle rail between the cabinet rail and the drawer rail, and further comprising a second roller unit, wherein the rollers of each roller unit roll on guide surfaces of the respective rails during movement of the rails relative to one another.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Several illustrative embodiments are explained more closely below, with mention of further advantages and details, on the basis of schematic drawings, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view from above, from laterally at the front, of a pull-out guide according to the present invention;

(3) FIGS. 2a, 2b and 3 show a lateral view of a rear end of the pull-out guide from FIG. 1, with a partial sectional view through a drawer rail, a clamp and a latching member of the pull-out guide;

(4) FIGS. 4a to 4c show a hook of the pull-out guide from FIG. 1 in different views;

(5) FIGS. 5a to 5c and 6a to 6c show further variants of a hook of a pull-out guide according to the present invention in different views;

(6) FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a further pull-out guide according to the present invention with mounting brackets for the lateral fitting;

(7) FIG. 8 shows a top view of the rear end of the pull-out guide from FIG. 7, without mounting brackets;

(8) FIGS. 9 and 10 show perspective views from above, from laterally at the front, of a roller unit of a pull-out guide in the extended state at a front end of a cabinet rail;

(9) FIGS. 11a, 11b and 12a, 12b show perspective sectional views from above, from laterally at the front, through a roller unit, and roller arranged thereon, in two different variants, wherein FIGS. 11b and 12b respectively show the section through the roller unit in FIGS. 11a and 12a in enlarged representation;

(10) FIGS. 13 to 15 show perspective views from above, from laterally at the front, of fitting variants of pull-out guides according to the present invention on a furniture cabinet;

(11) FIGS. 16a-16d show a further variant of a pull-out guide; and

(12) FIG. 17 shows a lateral sectional view, through a furniture cabinet, of a pull-out guide according to FIG. 1 in the fitted state on the furniture cabinet, with a drawer arranged thereon; and

(13) FIGS. 18a-18c show an exploded perspective view of a pull-out guide according to the present invention, which includes a middle rail and a second roller unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(14) In FIG. 1, a single extension pull-out guide 1 comprising a cabinet rail 2 and a drawer rail 3 is represented. At a frontal end 4 of the cabinet rail 2, for attachment to or for contact against a cabinet crossbeam 5 (FIG. 13), is configured a tongue 6, which is bent over downward through 90 at the forward end of support element 2, and a downwardly punched-out and angled-off fastening element 7, in the form of a lip spaced a distance rearwardly from tongue 6 (see also FIG. 17). The spacing distance matches the thickness of crossbeam 5. Moreover, bores 8 and 9 are provided for the insertion of a locating screw.

(15) The drawer rail 3 of the single extension pull-out guide 1 has an upper support surface 3 on which a drawer 52 consisting of at least a drawer bottom 50 and a drawer front 51 (FIG. 17) is secured.

(16) On the cabinet rail 2 is configured at the frontal end 4 a protrusion 17a bent out from the material of the cabinet rail 2, which slows down the roller unit 16 (FIG. 9), as described in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 9 and 10. A portion of the cabinet rail 2 forward of protrusion 17a is bent out to form a stop member 17b and forms a stop for the roller unit 16. As a result of the laterally projecting knob-like configuration of the protrusion 17a on a vertically running angled-off side element of the cabinet rail 2, a motion of the roller unit 16 as it passes over the protrusion 17a is braked. Moreover, the roller unit 16 cannot pass fully over the protrusion 17a, but rather, after a certain crossing distance, butts against stop member 17b, so that the roller unit cannot slide off the cabinet rail 2. There is also a stop (not shown) on the rear portion of the drawer rail 3 that engages the rear of the roller unit 16 to prevent the drawer rail 3 from sliding off the roller unit 16.

(17) FIG. 1 also shows a stop member 3 fixed to a side of drawer rail 3, which abuts against a stop surface 2 (FIG. 10) to limit the return distance of the drawer rail 3 when the drawer is closed.

(18) Moreover, at the rear end 12 on the drawer rail 3 is configured a suspension element in the form of a hook 10, as well as, at the frontal end 28 of the drawer rail 3, a latching block 11 for latch-locking to a drawer 52 (see, in this regard, FIG. 17). The latch-locking can be realized via a detent coupling which is configured on the drawer 52. Moreover, at the rear end 12 of the cabinet rail 2, a mounting slot 13 for a lateral adjustment of the single extension pull-out guide 1 is present. Over the drawer rail 3 is arranged, at the rear end 12, a reinforcing member in the form of a clamp 15, which encloses the drawer rail 3 at the top and side.

(19) Furthermore, on the cabinet rail 2 is fitted an automatic retraction mechanism 14 to enable a damped retraction of the drawer rail 3 into the fully retracted state on the furniture cabinet 42.

(20) On the low-profile side element 18 of the cabinet rail 2, a flag-like protruding element 19 integrally connected to the cabinet rail 2 is additionally present, protruding in the upward direction. A recess 55, corresponding to the flag-like protruding element 19, is shown in a front region of the side element 18 of the cabinet rail 2.

(21) As shown in FIG. 1, the height of the low-profile side element 18 is very low. As such, when a drawer having a side wall that extends below the upper support surface 3 of the drawer rail 3 is first positioned on the drawer rail 3, it is possible that the side wall of the drawer can move in a direction beyond the low-profile side element 18, in which case the holes in the back of the drawer will not align with the hook 10. The presence of the protruding element 19 acts as a guide for the side wall of the drawer to ensure that the holes in the back of the drawer properly align with the hook 10.

(22) In FIGS. 2a, 2b and 3, in a section through the drawer rail 3 and the clamp 15, is shown a, for instance, hook-like latching member 20, with which the clamp 15 is latched retentively in the fitted state on the drawer rail 3. The drawer rail 3 comprises the latching member 20, which is punched and/or bent, for example, out of the drawer rail 3.

(23) As shown in FIG. 3, the cross sectional shape of the drawer rail 3 is that of a partial polygon that includes first 3a and second 3b sides joined together by a top side 3c, which opposes a partial bottom side 3d. This shape allows the drawer rail 3 to be displaceably positioned around the upper guide surface 31 of the cabinet rail 2. When the drawer rail 3 is in the fully extended position and a substantial weight is placed in the drawer, the rearward end of the drawer rail 3 can actually expand in its lateral dimension and become disconnected from the cabinet rail 2. By positioning the reinforcing clamp 15 on the rear end portion of the cabinet rail 3 as shown in FIG. 3, the lateral expansion and separation problem was resolved, and the weight capacity of the drawer was increased substantially. Preferably, the reinforcing clamp 15 encloses at least part of at least three sides, more preferably four sides, of the drawer rail 3. Preferably, the reinforcing clamp 15 is formed from heat-treated steel.

(24) In FIGS. 4a to 4c, the hook 10, which has been punched out of the drawer rail 3 and is bent over, is shown in different perspective and enlargement. On the hook 10 is configured, on a middle region, a bead 21, which lends stability to the hook 10 reinforce it. The hook 10 fits into corresponding holes in the rear wall of the drawer 52 to trap the drawer 52 by the rear region of the drawer 52 and to fix it or hold it on the drawer rail 3.

(25) In FIGS. 5a to 5c, a further variant of a hook 10a is shown. On the perpendicularly protruding region 24 of the hook 10a can be provided a mounting opening 22, by means of which a damper 23 can be arranged on the hook 10a. The damper 23 is provided to damp or to prevent, in a closing operation of the drawer 52 which is fitted on the drawer rail 3, a noise, for instance, a clicking noise, which is caused by a collision of the rear side of the drawer with the hook 10a. More specifically, since the pull-out guide will be sold to a variety of furniture manufacturers, and since the holes in the rear wall of the drawer 52 will vary from manufacturer-to-manufacturer, it is necessary to provide the damper 23 to essentially make up the slack between the hook 10a and holes in the drawer. It is also common for the overall length of the drawer to vary among manufacturers, so the damper 23 can also make up for this variation to avoid movement of the drawer relative to the drawer rail.

(26) In FIGS. 6a to 6c is represented a further variant of a hook 10b, which is welded, glued, soldered or riveted onto a top side 25 of the drawer rail 3. All variants mentioned in relation to the embodiments of the hooks 10 or 10a, for example, a bead or damper, are also applicable to the hook 10b.

(27) In FIG. 7 is shown a variant of a single extension pull-out guide 26, which, by means of mounting brackets 27a and 27b, can be arranged on horizontally running cabinet supports (not shown) and/or on a cabinet side wall. The mounting brackets 27a, 27b are connected, at least on the bent-over side element 18 of the cabinet rail 2, to the cabinet rail 2. As a result, specifically at the front end 28 of the single extension pull-out guide 26, the cabinet rail 2 can be fastened directly on the cabinet crossbeam 5 (FIG. 17). In the rear region of the cabinet rail 2, it is possible for the cabinet rail 2 to rest on the mounting bracket 27b, which has a locking component that slides into the slot 12 formed in the rear end 12 of the cabinet rail 2 (FIG. 8). The cabinet rail 2 includes bores 8a, 8b, 8c and 9 for the insertion of locating screws. Bores 8a-8c allow the cabinet rail to be fixed directly to the bottom panel of a furniture cabinet, in which case the mounting brackets 27a, 27b would not be necessary.

(28) The flag-like element 19a in this embodiment extends vertically upwardly above the upper support surface 3 of the drawer rail 3, because the pull-out guide depicted in FIG. 7 is designed to work with a drawer that has side walls that do not extend below the upper support surface 3 of drawer rail 3.

(29) The flag-like element 19a is configured in such a way on the cabinet rail 2 that it comprises a boss 53, which protrudes forward in the fitted state in the direction of the furniture front, and which, for the easier fitting of a drawer 52, is bent outward away from the drawer rail 3 at an acute angle (FIG. 8). That inner face 54 of the boss 53 which points toward the drawer rail 3 hereby forms a guide for the sidewalls of the drawer 52 during a fitting operation of the drawer 52.

(30) FIGS. 9 and 10 show a roller unit 16, which is movably fitted by means of 15 rollers 30a to 30o on a upper guide surface 31 of the cabinet rail 2. In addition, the roller unit 16 comprises a carriage 29, which laterally embraces the cabinet rail 2 and by which the roller unit 16 is laterally guided and stabilized on the cabinet rail 2.

(31) The rollers 30a to 30i are mounted in a projecting supporting portion 32 of the roller unit 16, which extends in a cantilever-like manner beyond that part of the cabinet rail 2 which is embraced by the carriage 29 of the roller unit 16. Depending on the length of the single extension pull-out guide 1, 26, 43, 46, the complete length of the roller unit 16, inclusive of the projecting supporting portion 32 with its rollers 30a to 30i, can be used to support the drawer rail 3 arranged thereon, when the rollers 30j to 30o roll on the upper guide surface 31. The roller unit 16 thus has the function of a middle rail having, in the present case, 15 rollers with comparatively large supporting length. As such, the cost of a separate middle rail can be eliminated.

(32) If the drawer rail 3 is fully extended with a corresponding displacement of the roller unit 16 onto the frontal end 4 of the cabinet rail 2, the maximum extension position is then ended when a stop surface 29 of the carriage 29 of the roller unit 16 at the end of the cabinet rail 2 abuts the stop member 17b (see FIGS. 1 and 9). Due to the projecting supporting portion 32, the abutment does not take place at the rollers 30a to 30i, but only once the stop surface 29 of the carriage 29 engages the stop member 17b. The drawer rail 3 can hence be extended comparatively further in relation to the cabinet rail 2, because a comparatively large roller unit having more than 6 rollers, for example, 15 rollers, is available to provide support over a substantial region of the rail length during rolling on the upper guide surface 31.

(33) Just before the stop surface 29 abuts the stop member 17b, however, a resilient portion 29 (see FIG. 10) of the carriage 29 (which is made of plastic, for example) engages protrusion 17a, which causes resilient portion 29 to deflect outwardly toward the opposite side of the cabinet rail 2. This interaction of 17a and 29 acts as a brake before stop surface 29 abuts stop member 17b.

(34) Moreover, the projecting protective portion 32, in the region which overhangs in a cantilever-like manner, in the fully extended state according to FIGS. 9 and 10, can support the drawer rail 3 in a region where normally supporting of the above-situated rails does not take place, since the end of the underlying guiding upper guide surface 31, on which the rollers of the roller unit 16 roll, is reached.

(35) As a result of this measure, a drawer rail 3 with drawer 52 arranged thereon is not only able to be extended further, but it is also possible, given at least the same extension pull-out guide length, to fit the single extension pull-out guide 1, 26, 43, 46, 49 on the drawer 52 in somewhat set back arrangement, so that a drawer front 51 or an appropriately encompassing frame does not need to be unlatched.

(36) In FIGS. 11a, 11b and 12a, 12b, two different options for attaching rollers to the roller unit are shown. In FIG. 11b is represented a roller 34, which on one end face 35 has a toroidal, donut-like protruding bulge 36a, by means of which the roller 34 can be clicked onto mounting shafts 36b of the carriage 29 of the roller unit in a rotatable and positionally fixed manner. From a view perpendicular to an end face 35 of the roller 34, the toroidal bulge 36a is of annular design, having a ring center point which runs through a rotational axis of the roller 34. In FIG. 12b, on an end face 37 of a roller 38 is configured a pin-like bearing element 39, by means of which the roller 38 can be clipped onto the carriage 29 of the roller unit in a rotatable and positionally fixed manner.

(37) A further fastening variant of a single extension pull-out guide 1 is shown in FIG. 13. The single extension pull-out guide 1 is mounted at the frontal end on a cabinet crossbeam 5 and is fastened at the rear end, by means of a mounting member 40 formed of plastic or metal, to the rear wall 41 of a furniture cabinet 42. The mounting member 40 is here designed such that the single extension pull-out guide 1, at the rear region, can be laterally shifted or adjusted as explained below in more detail with respect to FIGS. 16a-16c.

(38) In FIGS. 14 and 15, further fitting variants of a single extension pull-out guide 43, 46 according to the present invention are shown. The single extension pull-out guides 43, 46 are fastened by means of mounting members 44, 45, 47, designed as metal brackets, to the front and rear end of the furniture cabinet 42. At the rear end of the furniture cabinet 42, the single extension pull-out guide 43 is fastened by the mounting member 45 to the rear wall 41. The single extension pull-out guide 46 is fitted, via the mounting member 47 at the rear end, on a side wall 48 of the furniture item 42.

(39) FIG. 14 also shows a front locking device 11 that is secured to a drawer, and which locks into latching block 11 fixed to the drawer rail 3 (see FIG. 13).

(40) FIG. 14 also shows a tab member 44 that extends outwardly from the mounting member 44 to assist an installer in aligning the mounting member correctly against the cabinet frame.

(41) FIG. 14 also shows metal mounting member 45, which has an upwardly extending locking component that slides into the slot 12 on the rear end 12 of the cabinet rail 2 (FIG. 8).

(42) By forming the cabinet rail 2 with only a single mounting member 44 at the front end thereof, a substantial cost-savings is realized, because two cabinet rails can be stamped out of a single piece of sheet metal having a size that was normally required to stamp out a single cabinet rail. The presence of the low-profile side element 18 accounts for at least 75% of the total length of the cabinet rail. The absence of metal of any appreciable height along the length of the cabinet rail 2 necessitated the addition of protruding element 19 to guide the side wall of the drawer 52 to ensure that, when the drawer 52 is assembled to the drawer rail 3, the holes (not shown) in the rear wall of the drawer 52 align with the hooks 10 on each drawer rail 3.

(43) The forward mounting member 44 extends vertically upwardly to an extent higher than that of the protruding element 19, and extends longitudinally less than 25% of the total length of the cabinet rail 2.

(44) FIGS. 16a-16d show another embodiment of a cabinet rail 2 and mounting member 40 connected to the rear wall 41 of the furniture cabinet. The rear end of the cabinet rail 2 includes a connection flange member 60 having a laterally extending slot 61 located between two support surfaces 62a, 62b. The mounting member 40, preferably made of injection-molded plastic, includes fastening members 71 (only one shown in FIG. 16c) that are inserted into corresponding holes formed in the inside rear wall 41 of the furniture cabinet. The mounting member 40 includes upper support surfaces 75a, 75b that align with the support surfaces 62a, 62b of flange member 60.

(45) The mounting member 40 also includes an elongated recess 72, which extends into the mounting member 40 over the majority of the width of the mounting member 40, for receiving the tip end of the flange member 60. When the tip end of the flange member 60 is inserted into recess 72, a flexible latch mechanism 73 bends down and then up again, and retention member 74 locks in slot 61 of flange member 60 to lock the cabinet rail 2 in the mounting member 40. If necessary, flange member 60 can be unlocked from mounting member 40 by pushing down on retention member 74 and sliding the cabinet rail back away from elongated recess 72.

(46) The width of flange member 60 is less than the width of elongated recess 42, and the width of retention member 44 is less than the width of slot 61. This arrangement allows for the rear end of cabinet rail 2 to move laterally and essentially self-adjust its position relative to the other cabinet rail as the drawer is being installed on the drawer rails, as well as during subsequent open/close cycles. This self-adjustment feature is very advantageous to make up for tolerances in the cabinet and drawer dimensions, as well as the accuracy by which the mounting members 40 are fixed to rear wall 41.

(47) In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 16a-16d, the length of the steel cabinet rail 2 extends almost to the very rear wall 41 of the cabinet, which allows the length of the plastic mounting member 40 to be as short as possible. Maximizing the length of the steel cabinet rail 2 and minimizing the length of the mounting member 40 reduces the twist or binding of the overall pull-out guide when there is weight in the drawer.

(48) In addition, in some instances the rigidity of the rear wall 41 of the furniture cabinet is sufficient that the slot 61 can be omitted from chair rail 2, and the flexible latch mechanism 73 and retention member 74 can also be omitted from the mounting member 40. Simply by fastening the cabinet rail 2 to the front end of the furniture cabinet is sufficient to prevent the cabinet rail 2 from becoming dislodged from the elongated recess 72 in the mounting member 40.

(49) FIGS. 18a-18c show an exploded perspective view of a pull-out guide according to the present invention, which includes a middle rail 80 and a second roller unit 81. The middle rail 80 is positioned between the cabinet rail 2 and drawer rail 3. The rollers of the first roller unit 16 roll on respective upper and lower guide surfaces (31, 82) of the cabinet rail 2 and middle rail 80, and the rollers of the second roller unit 81 roll on respective upper and lower guide surfaces (83, 84) of the middle rail 80 and drawer rail 3.

(50) Although not shown in the drawings, the rear portion of the drawer rail 3 includes a stop member that prevents the drawer rail 3 from extending beyond the carriage of the second roller unit 81. Similarly, and also not shown in the drawings, the rear portion of the middle rail 80 also includes a stop member that prevents the middle rail 80 from extending beyond the carriage of the first roller unit 16.

(51) As shown in FIG. 18b, the middle rail 80 has a stop member 85 that prevents the carriage of the second roller unit 81 from extending beyond the front end of the middle rail 80, other than the cantilever-extension as described above with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

(52) As shown in FIG. 18c, the cabinet rail 2 also includes a stop member 86 on the front end of the upper guide surface 31 that prevents the first roller unit 16 from extending beyond the front end of the cabinet rail beyond the extent shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

(53) There is also a stop surface 87 on the carriage of the second roller unit 81 that engages the stop member 85, and a stop surface 88 on the carriage of first roller unit 16 that engages stop member 86.

REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST

(54) 1 single extension pull-out guide 2 cabinet rail 2 support element 2 stop surface 3 drawer rail 3 upper support surface 3 stop member 3a, 3b first and second sides 3c, 3d top and bottom sides 4 end 5 cabinet crossbeam 6 tongue 7 fastening element 8 bore 8a, 8b, 8c bore 9 bore 10 hook 10a, 10b hook 11 latching block 11 front locking device 12 rear end 12 slot 13 mounting slot 14 automatic retraction mechanism 15 reinforcing clamp 16 roller unit 17a protrusion 17b stop member 18 low-profile side element 19, 19a element 20 latching member 21 bead 22 mounting opening 23 damper 24 region 25 top side 26 single extension pull-out guide 27a, 27b mounting bracket 28 end 29 carriage 29 stop surface 29 resilient portion 30a-30o rollers 31 upper guide surface 32 supporting portion 33 end 34 roller 35 end face 36a bulge 36b mounting shaft 37 end face 38 roller 39 bearing element 40 mounting member 41 rear wall 42 furniture cabinet 43 single extension pull-out guide 44 mounting member 44 tab member 45 mounting member 46 single extension pull-out guide 47 mounting member 48 side wall 49 full extension pull-out guide 50 drawer bottom 51 drawer front 52 drawer 53 boss 54 face 55 recess 60 flange member 61 slot 62a, 62b lower support surfaces 71 fastening member 72 elongated recess 73 flexible latch mechanism 74 retention member 75a, 75b upper support surfaces 80 middle rail 81 second roller unit 82 lower guide surface of 80 83 upper guide surface of 80 84 lower guide surface of 3 85 stop member for 80 86 stop member for 16 87 stop surface on 81 88 stop surface on 16