Grease-damped drawer-closing apparatus

In combination with a piece of furniture having a fixed portion and a movable portion slidable in a direction through a long stroke on the fixed portion between a pair of end positions, an apparatus comprising:

• a housing extending parallel to the direction, shorter than the long stroke, fixed to one of the portions, and formed with an upwardly open slot;
• a pulling member fixed to the other of the portions and projecting downward and engageable in the slot such that on movement in the direction between the end positions the pulling member enters and exits the housing;
• an actuation member displaceable in the direction in the housing through a predetermined short stroke substantially shorter than the long stroke, the actuation member being engageable with and coupled to the pulling member only when the pulling member is engaged in the slot such that on displacement of the portions relative to each other the pulling member displaces the actuation member through the short stroke but otherwise is disengaged from and moves free of the actuation member;
• force-storage means coupled between the housing and the actuation member for, when the pulling member is coupled to the actuation member, urging the movable portion into one of the end positions;
• and
• means including a body of a high-viscosity grease in the housing engaging the actuation member for, when the pulling member is coupled to the actuation member, retarding movement of the movable portion into the one end position.