Linear motion mechanism, drawer assembly, and storage cabinet

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12150549-B2
Application number	US-202117925013-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 29, 2021
Priority date	Mar 16, 2021
Publication date	Nov 26, 2024
Grant date	Nov 26, 2024

Abstract

A linear motion mechanism, a drawer assembly, and a storage cabinet, relating to the technical field of linear motion. The linear motion mechanism comprises a rotating wheel around which a flexible cable is wound, the flexible cable being suitable for moving along with rotation of the rotating wheel, and the flexible cable comprising flexible cable sections located on the two sides of the rotating wheel; a rotation driving member which is connected to the rotating wheel and suitable for driving the rotating wheel to rotate; a mounting member, the mounting member being provided with a guide rail, a first fixed pulley being mounted on the mounting member; and a first-stage sliding rail which is suitable for sliding relative to the guide rail.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A linear motion mechanism, comprising:
a rotating wheel, wrapped by a flexible cable, wherein the flexible cable is configured to move as the rotating wheel rotating, and the flexible cable comprises a flexible cable segment located on two sides of the rotating wheel;
a rotating driving member, connected with the rotating wheel, and configured to drive the rotating wheel to rotate;
an installation member, provided with a guiding rail, wherein a first fixed pulley is installed on the installation member;
a first-stage sliding rail, configured to slide relative to the guiding rail; and
a second-stage sliding rail installed on the guiding rail and configured to slide along the guiding rail, the second-stage sliding rail being provided with a first movable pulley and a second movable pulley; wherein
the flexible cable wraps the first fixed pulley, and the flexible cable segment of the flexible cable located on the two sides of the rotating wheel are connected to the first-stage sliding rail;
a number of intermediate sliding rails are provided between the first-stage sliding rail and the guiding rail, and the first-stage sliding rail is installed on the guiding rail through the intermediate sliding rails, the intermediate sliding rail is provided with a movable pulley, and the flexible cable wraps the first fixed pulley and the movable pulley in sequence;
the first-stage sliding rail is installed on the second-stage sliding rail and is configured to move relative to the second-stage sliding rail; and
the flexible cable wraps the first fixed pulley, the first movable pulley and the second movable pulley in sequence.

2. The linear motion mechanism according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a sliding block, fixed on the first-stage sliding rail and configured to perform linear motion along the second-stage sliding rail, and fixedly connected to the flexible cable segment on the two sides of the rotating wheel.

3. The linear motion mechanism according to claim 2 , wherein the sliding block is fixed at a back end of the first-stage sliding rail along an extension direction of the first-stage sliding rail relative to the second-stage sliding rail.

4. The linear motion mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the first movable pulley and the second movable pulley are respectively provided at two ends of the second-stage sliding rail.

5. The linear motion mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible cable comprises:
a first flexible cable segment, located between the first fixed pulley and the first movable pulley;
a second flexible cable segment, located between the first movable pulley and the second movable pulley; and
a third flexible cable segment, located between the second movable pulley and the first-stage sliding rail; and,
wherein the first flexible cable segment, the second flexible cable segment and the third flexible cable segment are parallel, or angles are provided between the first flexible cable segment and the second flexible cable segment, and between the second flexible cable segment and the third flexible cable segment.

6. The linear motion mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the rotating wheel is provided on the installation member.

7. The linear motion mechanism according to claim 6 , wherein when the linear motion mechanism further comprises a second-stage sliding rail and a first movable pulley and a second movable pulley provided on the second-stage sliding rail, the rotating wheel is provided correspondingly to the first fixed pulley, the first movable pulley and the second movable pulley, and a diameter of the rotating wheel is larger than diameters of the first fixed pulley, the first movable pulley and the second movable pulley.

8. The linear motion mechanism according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a second fixed pulley, provided on the installation member, wherein the flexible cable wraps the second fixed pulley and the first fixed pulley in sequence; and,
wherein the first fixed pulley is located at a first end of the guiding rail, and the second fixed pulley is located at a second end of the guiding rail, or the second fixed pulley is located on an extended path of the guiding rail and close to the second end of the guiding rail.

9. The linear motion mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the rotating wheel is a belt wheel, and the flexible cable is a belt matching with the belt wheel.

10. A drawer assembly, comprising a drawer body and the linear motion mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the drawer body is fixed on the first-stage sliding rail.

11. A storage cabinet, comprising a box body and a drawer body and/or a shelf provided in the box body, and the linear motion mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the linear motion mechanism is provided on at least one side of the drawer body and/or the shelf, the drawer body and/or the shelf are fixed on the first-stage sliding rail, and the installation member is fixed on the box body.

12. The storage cabinet according to claim 11 , wherein the first-stage sliding rail and the installation member are provided along a height direction of the storage cabinet in sequence, and the first-stage sliding rail is fixed with a side wall of the drawer body or a side wall of the shelf.

13. The storage cabinet according to claim 11 , wherein the first-stage sliding rail and the installation member are provided along a width direction of the storage cabinet in sequence, and the first-stage sliding rail is fixed with a bottom plate of the drawer body or a bottom plate of the shelf.

14. The storage cabinet according to claim 11 , wherein the rotating wheel is installed on an inner side of the storage cabinet.

15. The storage cabinet according to claim 11 , wherein the storage cabinet is a refrigerator, a retail cabinet or a display cabinet.

Assignees

• Hefei Midea Refrigerator Co
• Hefei Hualing Co Ltd
• Midea Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Xi Yongxue

Classifications

• A47B67/04

  Chests of drawers; Cabinets characterised by the arrangement of drawers (A47B67/02 takes precedence; drawers, guides for drawers, per se A47B88/00) · CPC title

• A47B88/40 Primary

  Sliding drawers; Slides or guides therefor · CPC title

• A47B88/447

  Simultaneous movement of rails within drawer slides, i.e. with a coordination of movement with all rail elements moving at the same time · CPC title

• A47B88/457 Primary

  operated by electrically-powered actuation means · CPC title

• F25D25/025

  Drawers · CPC title