# US 2014/0191645 A1 · Slide rail, paper feeder, and image forming apparatus

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- Number: US 2014/0191645 A1
- Document ID: US20140191645A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/140,868
- Filed: 2013-12-26
- Published: 2014-07-10
- Earliest claimed: 2013-01-07
- Assignees: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
- Inventors: Yasuhiro KUBA; Yasutomo IDE; Tsuyoshi HASHIYADA; Toshiki YOKOYAMA; Kouhei OKAMOTO
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140191645A1

## CPC

- A47B 88/437: Rollers for slides or guides
- A47B 88/487: with rollers, ball bearings, wheels, or the like
- B65H 1/266: {Support fully or partially removable from the handling machine, e.g. cassette, drawer (B65H1/027 takes precedence)}
- A47B 2210/0037: Rollers
- B65H 2402/30: Supports; Subassemblies; Mountings thereof
- B65H 2801/06: Office-type machines, e.g. photocopiers
- A47B: TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE (furniture jointing F16B)
- B65H: HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES

## Abstract

A slide rail comprises a fixed rail; a movable rail slidably attached to the fixed rail; and a roller that is attached to at least one of the fixed rail and the movable rail and runs on the other one of the fixed rail and the movable rail as the movable rail slides, the other one of the fixed rail and the movable rail including a running wall on which the roller runs and sliding contact walls that come into sliding contact with opposite side surfaces, in a direction of a rotation axis of the roller, of the roller, wherein the roller includes a metal-made roller main body and a pair of resin-made sliding plates that sandwich the roller main body from opposite sides thereof in the direction of the rotation axis of the roller, and the pair of sliding plates are in sliding contact with the sliding contact walls.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A slide rail comprising:
a fixed rail;
a movable rail configured to be slidably attached to the fixed rail; and
a roller configured to be attached to at least one of the fixed rail and the movable rail and runs on the other one of the fixed rail and the movable rail as the movable rail slides,
the other one of the fixed rail and the movable rail including a running wall on which the roller runs and sliding contact walls that come into sliding contact with opposite side surfaces, in a direction of a rotation axis of the roller, of the roller, wherein
the roller includes a metal-made roller main body and a pair of resin-made sliding plates that sandwich the roller main body from opposite sides thereof in the direction of the rotation axis of the roller, and
the pair of sliding plates are in sliding contact with the sliding contact walls.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The slide rail according to claim 1, wherein
the roller main body is secured to at least one of the pair of sliding plates.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The slide rail according to claim 1, wherein
the roller includes;
a rotation shaft that is inserted into a rotation shaft hole of the roller to hold the roller rotatably, and
a resin-made collar that is secured within the rotation shaft hole of the roller, the rotation shaft being inserted into the collar.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The slide rail according to claim 3, wherein
the collar is formed of at least one resin selected from the group consisting of polyacetal, polyamide, polybutylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polyethylene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, polystyrene, polyphenylene ether, polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate, and fluorocarbon resin.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The slide rail according to claim 3, wherein
the collar is formed integrally with one of the pair of sliding plates.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The slide rail according to claim 1, wherein
the roller comprises a roller attached to the fixed rail and a roller attached to the movable rail,
the roller attached to the movable rail is disposed at a leading end of the movable rail in a direction of accommodating the movable rail in the fixed rail, and
the roller attached to the fixed rail is disposed at a leading end of the fixed rail in a direction of pulling the movable rail from the fixed rail.

### Claim 7

A paper feeder comprising:
a pull-out paper feeding tray configured to accommodate paper sheets to be fed; and
a pair of the slide rails configured to be attached to left and right sides of the paper feeding tray in order to guide the paper feeding tray in a pulling direction, wherein,
each of the pair of the slide rails comprises;
a fixed rail,
a movable rail configured to be slidably attached to the fixed rail, and
a roller configured to be attached to at least one of the fixed rail and the movable rail and runs on the other one of the fixed rail and the movable rail as the movable rail slides,
the other one of the fixed rail and the movable rail including a running wall on which the roller runs and sliding contact walls that come into sliding contact with opposite side surfaces, in a direction of a rotation axis of the roller, of the roller, wherein
the roller includes a metal-made roller main body and a pair of resin-made sliding plates that sandwich the roller main body from opposite sides thereof in the direction of the rotation axis of the roller, and
the pair of sliding plates are in sliding contact with the sliding contact walls.

### Claim 8

An image forming apparatus including a slide rail, wherein
the slide rail comprises;
a fixed rail,
a movable rail configured to be slidably attached to the fixed rail, and
a roller configured to be attached to at least one of the fixed rail and the movable rail and runs on the other one of the fixed rail and the movable rail as the movable rail slides,
the other one of the fixed rail and the movable rail including a running wall on which the roller runs and sliding contact walls that come into sliding contact with opposite side surfaces, in a direction of a rotation axis of the roller, of the roller, wherein
the roller includes a metal-made roller main body and a pair of resin-made sliding plates that sandwich the roller main body from opposite sides thereof in the direction of the rotation axis of the roller, and
the pair of sliding plates are in sliding contact with the sliding contact walls.