Durable drawer retainer apparatus and method of use

Abstract

A foil extension ball bearing drawer slide assembly comprised of a fixed member attached to a cabinet piece, a middle member slidingly engaged with the fixed member with a set of linear bearings, a drawer member attached to a drawer piece slidingly engaged with the middle member via a second set of linear bearings, and a drawer retainer mechanism attached to the drawer member and in adjustable contact with the drawer member. The drawer retainer mechanism is comprised of a housing attached to the drawer member, a piston slidingly fitted in the frame and biased by a biasing member. The piston, biased by the biasing member, is forced towards the housing by a raised indention in a race of the fixed member.

1 . A drawer slide assembly for mounting a drawer to a cabinet comprising:
 a cabinet slide member having a projection;   a drawer slide member telescopically engaged with the cabinet slide member;   a cavity and a guide member defined by a housing, the housing attached to the drawer slide assembly:   a piston resident in the cavity and adjacent the guide member and the projection;   a bias member, adjacent the housing and the piston, providing a bias between the piston and the projection; and,   whereby the projection moves the piston into the housing against the bias as the piston overrides the projection.   
     
     
         2 . The drawer slide assembly of  claim 1  wherein the piston further comprises a protrusion extending from a body wherein the protrusion projects through a slot in the housing. 
     
     
         3 . The drawer slide assembly of  claim 1  wherein the bias member further comprises a post having a threaded section engaged with a threaded hole in the housing. 
     
     
         4 . The drawer slide assembly of  claim 3  wherein the bias member further comprises a helical spring surrounding the post and abutting the threaded section and the piston. 
     
     
         5 . The drawer slide assembly of  claim 1  wherein the cabinet slide member further comprises a bumper. 
     
     
         6 . The drawer slide assembly of  claim 5  wherein the drawer slide member further comprises:
 an opposing first extension and second extension; and 
 wherein the bumper frictionally engages the first extension and the second extension. 
 
     
     
         7 . The drawer slide assembly of  claim 6  wherein the first extension and the second extension frictionally engage the bumper when the piston is adjacent the projection. 
     
     
         8 . The drawer slide assembly of  claim 6  where during a closing sequence, a force supplied in a closing direction causes the drawer slide to approach the cabinet slide, the bias of the bias member forces the piston out of the housing to engage the projection, the projection forces the piston towards the housing against the bias of the bias member until the piston bypasses the projection while the first arm and the second arm engage the bumper and prevent the inadvertent opening and rebound of the drawer. 
     
     
         9 . The drawer slide assembly of  claim 1  wherein the bias member further comprises:
 a threaded plug engaged with a threaded hole in the housing; and 
 a helical spring adjacent the threaded plug and the detent. 
 
     
     
         10 . The drawer slide assembly of  claim 1  wherein a middle slide member is telescopically engaged with the cabinet slide member and the drawer slide member. 
     
     
         11 . The drawer slide assembly of  claim 1  wherein the bias member is selected from the group consisting of a helical spring and a resilient shock absorbing material. 
     
     
         12 . The drawer slide assembly of  claim 1  wherein the piston is comprised of a body section and a rounded protrusion extending from the body section through a slot in the housing. 
     
     
         13 . A method for preventing the rebounding and inadvertent opening of a drawer attached to a drawer slide assembly, the method comprising:
 providing a drawer retainer mechanism comprised of a housing attached to the drawer slide assembly and a piston biased front the housing by a biasing member;   engaging a raised indention in the drawer slide assembly with the piston;   moving the piston towards the housing against a bias of the biasing member;   guiding linear movement of the piston with the housing:   bypassing the raised indention; and,   forcing the piston away from the housing with the bias of the biasing member to a rested position.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising:
 engaging a bumper on the drawer slide assembly with a pair of extensions on the drawer slide assembly. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  comprising:
 adjusting the bias of the biasing member. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the step of adjusting the bias of the biasing member further comprises:
 rotating a post a first direction to compress the biasing member; and 
 rotating the post a second direction to decompress the biasing member. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the step of adjusting the bias of the biasing member further comprises:
 rotating a post a first direction to move the post closer to the piston; and 
 rotating the post a second direction to move the post further from the piston. 
 
     
     
         18 . A drawer retainer mechanism for a drawer slide assembly comprising:
 a housing attached to the drawer slide assembly and defining an interior chamber;   a threaded hole and a slot leading into the interior chamber;   a threaded section on a plug and engaged with the threaded hole;   a piston seated in the interior chamber; and,   a biasing member adjacent the plug and the piston and biasing the piston out of the housing through the slot.   
     
     
         19 . The drawer retainer mechanism of  claim 18  wherein the threaded hole and the slot are axially aligned. 
     
     
         20 . The drawer retainer mechanism of  claim 18  wherein the piston is comprised of a body section and a rounded protrusion extending from the body section through the slot.