Slide rail assembly and locking device thereof

Abstract

A slide rail assembly includes first and second rails, a stop, a first engaging member, and a first releasing member. The second rail can be displaced between a retracted position and an extended position with respect to the first rail. The stop is located at the first rail. The first engaging member, movably connected to the second rail, is at an engaged position with respect to the stop when the second rail is at the retracted position with respect to the first rail. The first releasing member is configured to operatively drive the first engaging member away from the engaged position so that the second rail can be displaced from the retracted position toward the extended position with respect to the first rail.

Claims

1. A slide rail assembly, comprising: a first rail; a second rail displaceable between a retracted position and an extended position with respect to the first rail; a stop located at the first rail; a first engaging member movably connected to the second rail, the first engaging member being at an engaged position with respect to the stop when the second rail is at the retracted position with respect to the first rail; a first releasing member configured to operatively drive the first engaging member away from the engaged position, thereby allowing the second rail to be displaced from the retracted position toward the extended position with respect to the first rail; and a second releasing member connected to the second rail, wherein the first releasing member is vertically movably mounted above the second releasing member.

2. The slide rail assembly of claim 1, further comprising an elastic member for applying an elastic force to the first engaging member in order for the first engaging member to stay at the engaged position in response to the elastic force of the elastic member.

3. The slide rail assembly of claim 1, wherein the first engaging member is pivotally connected to the second rail.

4. The slide rail assembly of claim 1, further comprising a third rail movably connected between the first rail and the second rail.

5. The slide rail assembly of claim 1, further comprising a bracket and a second engaging member, wherein the bracket is connected to the first rail and has an opening, and the second engaging member is movably mounted on the bracket, has an engaging projection jutting out of the opening of the bracket, and is configured to be driven by the second releasing member.

6. A locking device of a slide rail assembly, wherein the slide rail assembly includes a first rail, a second rail displaceable between a retracted position and an extended position with respect to the first rail, a bracket connected to the first rail and having an opening, and a stop located at the bracket, the locking device comprising: a first engaging member pivotally connectable to the second rail; an elastic member for applying an elastic force to the first engaging member in order for the first engaging member to stay at an engaged position in response to the elastic force of the elastic member; a first releasing member; a second releasing member connectable to the second rail, wherein the first releasing member is movable with respect to the second releasing member; and a second engaging member movably mounted on the bracket; wherein the first releasing member is configured to operatively drive the first engaging member away from the engaged position, thereby allowing the second rail to be displaced from the retracted position toward the extended position with respect to the first rail; wherein once the second rail is displaced from the extended position toward the retracted position with respect to the first rail and reaches a predetermined position, the elastic member is pressed against the stop of the bracket such that the first engaging member returns to the engaged position due to the elastic force of the elastic member and thus displaces the first releasing member with respect to the second releasing member; and wherein the second engaging member has an engaging projection jutting out of the opening of the bracket, and wherein the second engaging member is configured to be driven by the second releasing member.

7. The locking device of claim 6, further comprising a third rail movably connected between the first rail and the second rail.

8. A slide rail assembly, to be mounted to a rack and a driven member movably mounted on the rack, the slide rail assembly comprising: a bracket connectable to the rack and having an opening; a first rail connected to the bracket; a second rail displaceable between a retracted position and an extended position with respect to the first rail; a stop located at the bracket; a first engaging member movably connected to the second rail, the first engaging member being at an engaged position with respect to the stop when the second rail is at the retracted position with respect to the first rail; a first releasing member configured to operatively drive the first engaging member away from the engaged position, thereby allowing the second rail to be displaced from the retracted position toward the extended position with respect to the first rail; a second releasing member connected to the second rail; and a second engaging member movably mounted on the bracket, wherein the second engaging member has an engaging projection jutting out of the opening of the bracket and is configured to be driven by the second releasing member so that the engaging projection of the second engaging member is displaced and drives the driven member into displacement.

9. The slide rail assembly of claim 8, further comprising a third rail movably connected between the first rail and the second rail.

10. The slide rail assembly of claim 8, further comprising an elastic member for applying an elastic force to the first engaging member in order for the first engaging member to stay at the engaged position in response to the elastic force of the elastic member.

11. The slide rail assembly of claim 8, wherein the first releasing member is vertically movably mounted above the second releasing member.

12. The slide rail assembly of claim 8, wherein the second releasing member has a first inclined guide portion, and the second engaging member has a second inclined guide portion matching the first inclined guide portion to facilitate displacement of the second engaging member by the second releasing member when the second releasing member is displaced with respect to the second engaging member.

13. The slide rail assembly of claim 8, wherein the first engaging member is pivotally connected to the second rail.

14. A slide rail assembly, comprising: a first rail; a second rail displaceable between a retracted position and an extended position with respect to the first rail; a stop located at the first rail; a first engaging member movably connected to the second rail, the first engaging member being at an engaged position with respect to the stop when the second rail is at the retracted position with respect to the first rail; a first releasing member configured to operatively drive the first engaging member away from the engaged position, thereby allowing the second rail to be displaced from the retracted position toward the extended position with respect to the first rail; a second releasing member connected to the second rail; a bracket connected to the first rail and having an opening; and a second engaging member movably mounted on the bracket, wherein the second engaging member has an engaging projection jutting out of the opening of the bracket and is configured to be driven by the second releasing member.

15. A locking device of a slide rail assembly, wherein the slide rail assembly includes a first rail, a second rail displaceable between a retracted position and an extended position with respect to the first rail, a bracket connected to the first rail, and a stop located at the bracket, the locking device comprising: a first engaging member pivotally connectable to the second rail; an elastic member for applying an elastic force to the first engaging member in order for the first engaging member to stay at an engaged position in response to the elastic force of the elastic member; a first releasing member; and a second releasing member connectable to the second rail, wherein the first releasing member is vertically movably mounted above the second releasing member; wherein the first releasing member is configured to operatively drive the first engaging member away from the engaged position, thereby allowing the second rail to be displaced from the retracted position toward the extended position with respect to the first rail; and wherein once the second rail is displaced from the extended position toward the retracted position with respect to the first rail and reaches a predetermined position, the elastic member is pressed against the stop of the bracket such that the first engaging member returns to the engaged position due to the elastic force of the elastic member and thus displaces the first releasing member with respect to the second releasing member.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing in which the slide rail assembly in an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a rack;

(2) FIG. 2 schematically shows how the locking device of the slide rail assembly in FIG. 1 locks the slide rail assembly;

(3) FIG. 3 schematically shows how the locking device in FIG. 2 is unlocked;

(4) FIG. 4 schematically shows how the slide rail assembly in FIG. 3 is pulled out to a certain position after the locking device is unlocked;

(5) FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing in particular the driven member mounted on the rack in FIG. 1;

(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing how the slide rail assembly in FIG. 5 is pulled out and thereby displaces the driven member after the locking device is unlocked;

(7) FIG. 7 schematically shows the driven member at a first position; and

(8) FIG. 8 is a schematic drawing in which the driven member in FIG. 7 is displaced from the first position to a second position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(9) Referring to FIG. 1, the slide rail assembly 10 in an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a rack 12. The slide rail assembly 10 includes a first rail 14, a second rail 16, a third rail 18, and a locking device 20. More specifically, the first rail 14 is the outer rail, the second rail 16 is the inner rail, and the third rail 18 is the intermediate rail. The third rail 18 is movably connected between the first rail 14 and the second rail 16 to increase the distance by which the second rail 16 can be displaced with respect to the first rail 14. The locking device 20 is configured to lock the second rail 16 in position with respect to the first rail 14 when the second rail 16 is retracted with respect to the first rail 14. This embodiment further includes a bracket 22 connected to the first rail 14, and the slide rail assembly 10 is mounted to the rack 12 via the bracket 22. Please note that in this embodiment the bracket 22 is connected to the first rail 14 and thus increases the length of the first rail 14. From the perspective of practical use and structural equivalence, therefore, the bracket 22 can be viewed as a portion of the first rail 14.

(10) Referring to FIG. 2, the bracket 22 includes a stop 24 and an opening 26. The locking device 20 includes a first engaging member 28 and an elastic member 30. The first engaging member 28 is movably, e.g., pivotally, connected to the second rail 16. The elastic member 30 applies an elastic force to the first engaging member 28, and in response to the elastic force of the elastic member 30, the first engaging member 28 stays at an engaged position L with respect to the stop 24. The elastic member 30, which can be a torsion spring for example, has an elastic portion 32 corresponding in position to the stop 24. In addition, the locking device 20 includes a first releasing member 34 and a second releasing member 36. The first releasing member 34 is movably mounted with respect to the second releasing member 36. For example, the first releasing member 34 is vertically movably mounted above the second releasing member 36 and corresponds to a portion of the first engaging member 28. The second releasing member 36 is connected to the second rail 16. The slide rail assembly 10 in this state is locked, meaning the second rail 16 is at a retracted position P1 with respect to the first rail 14 and cannot be pulled away from the retracted position P1.

(11) Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, when an external force F is applied to the first releasing member 34, the first releasing member 34 drives the first engaging member 28 away from the engaged position L such that the slide rail assembly 10 is released from the locked state, allowing the second rail 16 to be pulled in a direction D from the retracted position P1 to an extended position P2, or even farther, with respect to the first rail 14.

(12) Once the second rail 16 is pushed back, or retracted, from a pulled-out state with respect to the first rail 14 to a predetermined position, the elastic portion 32 of the elastic member 30 is pressed against the stop 24 of the bracket 22. Consequently, the first engaging member 28 is pivoted by the elastic force of the elastic member 30 and thus displaces the first releasing member 34 with respect to the second releasing member 36, bringing the first releasing member 34 back to the state in FIG. 2 with respect to the second releasing member 36, i.e., the state in which the first releasing member 34 is located above the second releasing member 36 and propped up by the first engaging member 28.

(13) Referring back to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, this embodiment further includes a second engaging member 38 movably mounted on the bracket 22. The second engaging member 38 has an engaging projection 40 jutting out of the opening 26 of the bracket 22, as shown in FIG. 5. In addition, the second releasing member 36 has a first inclined guide portion 42, and the second engaging member 38 has a second inclined guide portion 44 matching the first inclined guide portion 42 so that, when the second releasing member 36 is displaced with respect to the second engaging member 38, the second engaging member 38 can be displaced by the second releasing member 36 with ease.

(14) As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, this embodiment includes a driven member 46 movably mounted on the rack 12. While the second rail 16 is being pulled out with respect to the first rail 14, the second engaging member 38 is displaced by the second releasing member 36; as a result, the engaging projection 40 of the second engaging member 38 drives the driven member 46 into displacement. More specifically, the driven member 46 is displaced from a first position X1 to a second position X2, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

(15) The driven member 46 movably mounted on the rack 12 is configured to lock all the slide rail assemblies on the rack 12 other than the one pulled out. Therefore, when one of a plurality of slide rail assemblies mounted on the rack 12 is pulled out, the remaining slide rail assemblies on the rack 12 are locked and prevented from being pulled out. As the interlocking technique employed is well known in the art and has been described above in the Background of the Invention section, no further description is provided herein.

(16) According to the above, the present invention is so designed that unlocking precedes the interlocking operation, and this design effectively avoids problems associated with simultaneous unlocking and interlocking. The present invention thus enables safer and more reliable operation than the prior art.

(17) While the present invention has been disclosed by way of the embodiment described above, the embodiment is not intended to be restrictive of the scope of the invention. The scope of patent protection sought by the applicant is defined by the appended claims.