Ball joint pinion for a drawer slide assembly

摘要

A drawer assembly for a consumer appliance is provided. The drawer assembly includes an anti-racking system for minimizing misalignment of an appliance drawer. More particularly, the present subject matter provides a drawer slide assembly for a drawer having some horizontal flexibility. The drawer slide assembly may have a pinion gear and connecting rod assembly that minimizes racking of the appliance drawer as it is moved into and out an appliance chamber. The appliance drawer may be attached to the appliance chamber by a ball and joint pinion gear configuration that adds another degree of freedom to the anti-racking system in order to reduce stress on the pinion gear. By adding an additional degree of freedom to the pinion gear and reducing the imposed stresses applied to the pinion gear, the performance and lifetime of the drawer assembly may be improved.

主权项

1. A drawer assembly for a consumer appliance, the consumer appliance defining a cabinet having a first sidewall and a second sidewall, the drawer assembly comprising:
a first support mounted to the first sidewall and comprising a first geared rack; a second support mounted to the second sidewall and comprising a second geared rack; a drawer door comprising a first drawer slide and a second drawer slide, a first end of each of the first drawer slide and the second drawer slide being attached to the drawer door; a first pinion base attached at a second end of the first drawer slide and defining a first pinion stud, and a second pinion base attached at a second end of the second drawer slide and defining a second pinion stud; a first pinion gear engaging the first geared rack and defining a first end and an opposing second end, the first pinion gear further defining a first socket that is positioned at the first end and is configured to receive the first pinion stud and rotatably mount the first pinion gear to the first pinion base, and a second pinion gear engaging the second geared rack and defining a first end and an opposing second end, the second pinion gear further defining a second socket that is positioned at the first end and is configured to receive the second pinion stud and rotatably mount the second pinion gear to the second pinion base; and a connecting rod connecting the second end of first pinion gear and the second end of second pinion gear, such that driving force generated at the first pinion gear from an off-center pulling force on the drawer door is transmitted through the connecting rod to the second pinion gear as the drawer door moves between an open and a closed position.