Drawer slide and guide assembly

Claim 2

A sliding assembly for a drawer and the like comprising an elongated moving piece having a generally channel-shaped cross section and an elongated stationary piece having a generally Tshaped cross section on which the moving piece is slidingly mounted, a longitudinally extending slot in said stationary piece, a detent on said moving piece projecting into the channel cross section, and spring clip means in said stationary piece slot for resilient engagement with said detent.

Claim 3

The structure of claim 1 in which said detent is adjacent one end of said moving member, and said spring clip means is adjacent the other end of said stationary member whereby the said detent and stationary clip means serve to restrict withdrawal of a drawer from a dresser.

Claim 4

The structure of claim 1 in which said spring clip means includes an elongated, generally flat, resilient unitary element secured at one end to said stationary member, said spring clip means having a longitudinally arched portion intermediate the ends thereof.

Claim 5

The structure of claim 1 in which said spring clip has an angled projection intermediate the ends and integral and adjacent to said projecting portion an S-shaped portion whereby the portions cooperate to provide a resilient overcomeable stop for said detent.

Claim 6

The structure of claim 1 in which said spring clip means is constructed and arranged to have a steeper angle in the direction of drawer extraction than the angle encountered during drawer insertion.

Claim 7

The structure of claim 1 in which said moving piece is equipped with transversely extending ribbing adjacent said detent.

Claim 8

In a method of operating a drawer, the steps of interengaging slide and guide members, providing a detent on the slide member and a spring clip on the guide member, moving the slide and guide members relative to each other so as to engage the detent with said spring clip, and selectively moving said members further relative to each other to cause said detent to overcome bias in said spring clip.

Claim 9

In a method of operating a drawer, the steps of interengaging slide and guide members, providing a detent on the slide member and a spring clip on the guide member, moving the slide and guide members relative to each other so as to engage the detent with said spring clip, and selectively moving said members further relative to each other to cause said detent to overcome bias in said spring clip.

Claim 10

The method of claim 7 in which said detent is located at a predetermined position to fix the extent to which the drawer can be initially withdrawn.

Claim 11

The structure of claim 1 in which said spring clip means includes an elongated resilient strip having an end secured to the stationary piece, an unsecured end engageable with the stationary piece, and an intermediate raised portion comprising upwardly converging first and second portions extending, respectively, from the secured end and the unsecured end, the second portion of the intermediate portion being engageable by the detent as the drawer is withdrawn and the first portion of the intermediate portion being engageable by the detent as the drawer is inserted.

Claim 12

The structure of claim 9 in which the detent includes forward and rearward downwardly converging portions, the forward portion of the detent being engageable with the second portion of the intermediate portion of the spring clip as the drawer is withdrawn and the rearward portion of the detent being engageable with the first portion of the intermediate portion of the spring clip when the drawer is inserted.