SLIDING RAIL DEVICE

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001]This application claims priority to Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 112143801, filed on Nov. 14, 2023, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

[0002]The disclosure relates to a sliding rail device, and more particularly to a sliding rail device with supporting units.

BACKGROUND

[0003]A conventional supporting structure of a sliding rail device has a supporting unit fixed to a groove of a first rail, which prevents a second rail that engages the first rail from derailing. However, installing the supporting unit is not an easy task, and the supporting unit cannot fully and tightly abut against the second rail, causing the second rail to be unstable during movement relative to the first rail. Hence, there is room for improvement.

SUMMARY

[0004]Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a sliding rail device that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.

[0005]According to the disclosure, the sliding rail device includes a first rail, a second rail, and two supporting units. The first rail includes a first base wall and two first side walls. The two first side walls extend respectively and transversely from opposite sides of the first base wall and cooperate with the first base wall to define a first passage. Each of the first side walls has an engaging slot. The second rail engages the first passage, is movable relative to the first rail, and includes a second base wall and two second side walls. The two second side walls extend respectively and transversely from opposite sides of the second base wall. The two supporting units respectively and movably engage the engaging slots of the first side walls, and abut respectively and slidably against the second side walls. During movement of the second rail relative to the first rail, the supporting units are driven to respectively move along the engaging slots of the first side walls, and to move toward each other to tighten abutment of the supporting units against the second side walls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment(s) with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that various features may not be drawn to scale.

[0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a sliding rail device according to the disclosure in a closed state.

[0008]FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the embodiment in an open state.

[0009]FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment.

[0010]FIG. 4 is a side view of the embodiment.

[0011]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a supporting unit.

[0012]FIG. 6 is a fragmentary front view of the embodiment, illustrating positions of the supporting unit, an engaging slot, and a ball bearing strip when the embodiment is in the closed state.

[0013]FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top view of the embodiment, illustrating the positions of the supporting unit and the engaging slot when the embodiment is in the closed state.

[0014]FIG. 8 is a fragmentary front view of the embodiment, illustrating positions of the supporting unit, the engaging slot, and the ball bearing strip when the embodiment is in the open state.

[0015]FIG. 9 is a fragmentary top view of the embodiment, illustrating the positions of the supporting unit and the engaging slot when the embodiment is in the open state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016]Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.

[0017]It should be noted herein that for clarity of description, spatially relative terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “on,” “above,” “over,” “downwardly,” “upwardly” and the like may be used throughout the disclosure while making reference to the features as illustrated in the drawings. The features may be oriented differently (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative terms used herein may be interpreted accordingly.

[0018]Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, an embodiment of a sliding rail device 100 of the disclosure includes a first rail 1, a second rail 2, two supporting units 3, and two ball bearing strips 4.

[0019]The first rail 1 includes a first base wall 11, and two first side walls 12 extending respectively and transversely from opposite sides of the first base wall 11. The first side walls 12 cooperate with the first base wall 11 to define a first passage 13. Each of the first side walls 12 has opposite ends in a lengthwise direction of the first rail 1, and is formed with an engaging slot 121 proximate to one of the opposite ends. The second rail 2 engages the first passage 13, is movable relative to the first rail 1 along an axis that extends in the lengthwise direction of the first rail 1, and includes a second base wall 21 and two second side walls 22 extending respectively and transversely from opposite sides of the second base wall 21.

[0020]Referring further to FIGS. 4 to 6, the supporting units 3 respectively and movably engage the engaging slots 121 of the first side walls 12, and abut respectively and slidably against the second side walls 22. During movement of the second rail 2 relative to the first rail 1, the supporting units 3 are driven to respectively move along the engaging slots 121 of the first side walls 12, and to move towards each other to tighten abutment of the supporting units 3 against the second side walls 22. Each of the ball bearing strips 4 is movably disposed on a respective one of the first side walls 12, abuts against a respective one of the second side walls 22, and has a ball bearing strip slope 41 that is formed on one of opposite ends of the ball bearing strip 4 in the lengthwise direction of the first rail 1, and that is inclined relative to the lengthwise direction of the first rail 1. Each of the supporting units 3 includes a main body 31 and an engaging block 32. For each of the supporting units 3, the main body 31 extends in the lengthwise direction of the first rail 1, abuts against the respective one of the first side walls 12 and the respective one of the second side walls 22, and has a first supporting slope 311 and a second supporting slope 312. The engaging block 32 extends from the main body 31 into the respective one of the engaging slots 121. Specifically, the first supporting slope 311 is formed on an end of the main body 31 that faces the ball bearing strip slope 41 of the respective one of the ball bearing strips 4, extends from the respective one of the first side walls 12 to the respective one of the second side walls 22, and is inclined relative to the lengthwise direction of the first rail 1. The second supporting slope 312 extends towards the respective one of the second side walls 22, and abuts slidably against the respective one of the first side walls 12. Specifically, the second supporting slope 312 extends from a junction of the engaging block 32 and the main body 31 away from the first supporting slope 311, and is inclined towards the respective one of the second side walls 22.

[0021]Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the sliding rail device 100 may switch between a closed state and an open state by moving the second rail 2 along the first passage 13. When the sliding rail device 100 is in the closed state, the second rail 2 substantially overlaps with the first rail 1 (see FIG. 1), the engaging block 32 of each of the supporting units 3 is disposed at an end of the respective one of the engaging slots 121 (see FIGS. 6 and 7), and each of the ball bearing strips 4 is spaced apart from the respective one of the supporting units 3 (see FIG. 6). Referring to FIGS. 2, 8 and 9, when the sliding rail device 100 is in the open state, a majority of the second rail 2 is disposed outside of the first rail 1, and the engaging block 32 of each of the supporting units 3 is disposed at an opposite end of the respective one of the engaging slots 121. When the sliding rail device 100 converts from the closed state to the open state by moving the second rail 2 relative to the first rail 1, the ball bearing strips 4 are driven to move to respectively abut the ball bearing strip slopes 41 against the first supporting slopes 311 of the supporting units 3 (see FIG. 8), thereby driving the supporting units 3 to respectively move along the engaging slots 121 of the first side walls 12 and to move toward each other to tighten the abutment of the supporting units 3 against the second side walls 22. Additionally, the supporting units 3 are simultaneously driven to move towards each other by virtue of the abutment of the second supporting slopes 312 against the respective first side walls 12 to further tighten the abutment of the supporting units 3 against the second side walls 22. Hence, the supporting units 3 may fully and tightly abut against the first and second side walls 12, 22, suppressing rotating and shaking produced during the movement of the second rail 2 relative to the first rail 1, and allowing the second rail 2 to steadily move in the first passage 13. As such, the sliding rail device 100 has a steady movement when converting from the closed state to the open state, and is less affected by external forces.

[0022]In conclusion, the supporting units 3 are easily installed, and respectively and movably engage the engaging slots 121 of the first side walls 12, and abut respectively and slidably against the second side walls 22. When the sliding rail device 100 converts from the closed state to the open state by moving the second rail 2 relative to the first rail 1, by virtue of the abutment of the ball bearing strip slopes 41 against the first supporting slopes 311 of the supporting units 3, and the abutment of the second supporting slopes 312 of the supporting units 3 against the first side walls 12, the supporting units 3 are driven to respectively move along the engaging slots 121 of the first side walls 12 and to move towards each other to tighten the abutment of the supporting units 3 against the second side walls 22. Hence, the supporting units 3 may tightly and fully abut against the respective first and second side walls 12, 22, and allow the second rail 2 to steadily move relative to the first rail 1, thereby achieving the objective of the disclosure.

[0023]In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects; such does not mean that every one of these features needs to be practiced with the presence of all the other features. In other words, in any described embodiment, when implementation of one or more features or specific details does not affect implementation of another one or more features or specific details, said one or more features may be singled out and practiced alone without said another one or more features or specific details. It should be further noted that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.

[0024]While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is(are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.