Guiding and dampening device

Claim 1

In combination: a longitudinally extending guide rail; a movable support assembly movable along said guide rail; a plurality of levers pivotally mounted on said support assembly in peripherally spaced-apart relationship around a peripheral transverse portion of said guide rail for pivotal movement in a direction towards and away from said guide rail; means defining an aperture through eaCh said lever; a plurality of projections integral with said support assembly and each projecting through one of said apertures and cooperative therewith to permit pivotal movement of its associated lever; a roller rotatably mounted on each said lever to effect guidance of said support assembly along said guide rail; biasing means biasing each said lever towards said guide rail to effect pressure contact of corresponding ones of said rollers with said guide rail to guide said support assembly longitudinally along said guide rail while effectively dampening impulsive forces applied by said guide rail to said rollers during movement thereof along said guide rail to prevent such forces from being transmitted to said support assembly; and friction applying means for selectively applying friction between said projections and their related levers to selectively oppose pivotal movement of said rollers relative to said guide rail and including means coacting with said projections for progressively increasing the degree of friction between said projections and their related levers as said rollers move in a direction away from said guide rails.