Drawer slide apparatus

A drawer slide assembly comprising:

• a pair of rollers to be supported on opposite sides of a cabinet opening, each of said rollers being generally frustoconically shaped with their small ends facing one another, whereby the upper surfaces of said rollers define a portion of a first upwardly opening V centered in the cabinet opening;
• a pair of drawer rails to be fixedly secured to opposite sides of a drawer to ride on said rollers, each of said rails including a riding surface supported on one of said rollers, said first and second riding surfaces being directly under the drawer and defining a portion of a second upwardly opening V, the legs of said first and second Vs being generally parallel when the drawer is in a centered position with respect to the cabinet opening, said rails having at least some freedom to move with respect to said rollers in a direction generally parallel to the axes of rotation of said rollers as said rails ride on said rollers, whereby the drawer has some freedom to move transversely within the cabinet opening to seek the centered position with respect to the cabinet opening as said rails ride on said rollers;
• and
• said rollers further including lateral stop means for limiting the lateral travel of the drawer from the centered position, said lateral stop means including an annular flange extending radially from the smaller end of each of said frustoconically shaped roller portions, said annular flanges limiting the lateral movement of said rails along said frustoconically shaped rollers.

An improved drawer and cabinet assembly including a cabinet having an opening, a drawer, and slide means for mounting said drawer within said cabinet to be slidable through said opening, wherein the improvement comprises said slide means comprising:

• a pair of rollers supported on opposite sides of said cabinet opening, each of said rollers being generally frustoconically shaped with their small ends facing one another, whereby the upper surfaces of said rollers define a portion of a first upwardly opening V centered in said cabinet opening;
• a pair of drawer rails fixedly secured to opposite sides of said drawer to ride on said rollers, each of said rails including a riding surface supported on one of said rollers, said first and second riding surfaces being directly under said drawer and defining a portion of a second upwardly opening V, the legs of said first and second Vs being generally parallel when said drawer is in a centered position with respect to said cabinet opening, said rails having at least some freedom to move with respect to said rollers in a direction generally parallel to the axes of rotation of said rollers as said rails ride on said rollers, whereby said drawer has some freedom to move transversely within said cabinet opening to seek the centered position with respect to said cabinet opening as said rails ride on said rollers;
• and
• said rollers further including lateral stop means for limiting the lateral travel of said drawer from the centered position, said lateral stop means including an annular flange extending radially from the smaller end of each of said frustoconically shaped rollers, said annular flanges limiting the lateral movement of said rails along said frustoconically shaped rollers.

A drawer slide assembly comprising:

• first and second rollers adapted to be rotatably supported on opposite sides of a cabinet, each of said rollers including a load-bearing, generally frustoconically shaped portion, each of said rollers having an inwardly directed smaller end, said frustoconically shaped portions of said first and second rollers thereby defining a portion of a first upwardly opening V centered in the cabinet;
• first and second drawer rails adapted to be fixedly secured to opposite sides of a drawer and each including a riding surface supported on said first and second frustoconically shaped roller portions, respectively, said first and second riding surfaces defining a portion of a second upwardly opening V centered on the drawer, the legs of said first and second Vs being generally parallel when the drawer is in a centered position with respect to the cabinet, said riding surfaces being free to move with respect to said rollers in a direction generally parallel to the axes of rotation of said rollers as said rails ride on said rollers, whereby the drawer is free to travel transversely within the cabinet to be guided to the centered position with respect to the cabinet as said rails ride on said rollers;
• and
• said rollers further including lateral stop means for limiting the lateral travel of the drawer from the centered position, said lateral stop means including an annular flange extending radially outwardly from the smaller end of each of said frustoconically shaped roller portions, each of said rails including an inner portion which engages said associated roller flange when the drawer moves laterally an undesired distance from the centered position to limit the lateral movement of said rails along said frustoconically shaped roller portions.