This invention relates to storage cabinets, and particularly a kit for a modular pull-out drawer for easy installation into a storage cabinet.
Kitchen pantries and other similar cabinets are often configured with interior shelves that do not pull out. Consumers commonly retrofit such cabinets with drawers that can be extended out of the cabinet for easier access to the stored items that may be in the back of the cabinet. The housewares market contains many examples of such pull-out cabinet drawer designs. Such designs may include a drawer or tray that is affixed to tracks that are screwed into cabinets so the drawer (or tray) slides in and out of the cabinet.
One problem is that consumers must screw the tracks into the wood of the cabinet to install them, so that they are firmly mounted to the cabinet. Not only is this a hassle to install, requiring time, tools and some degree of do-it-yourself (DIY) experience, but it puts permanent holes into the expensive wood cabinets. This may be especially challenging if the cabinet is made from solid surface materials which may be difficult to screw into, or if the wood is too soft to firmly retain a screw. For these reasons, many people are reluctant to install such modular drawers with screws. If the consumer is renting the home or apartment, there is also the risk of losing security deposit money for damaging the cabinet if the drawers are removed because the screw holes will remain.
In accordance with a preferred example of the invention, a drawer assembly is modular to enable an existing cabinet to be retrofitted (though it may be used in new construction), and therefore the preferred example is in the form of a kit for mounting a modular drawer within a cabinet having a horizontal planar floor and a pair of opposing cabinet sidewalls extending vertically upward with respect to the floor (which may be a shelf).
The kit preferably includes a bar assembly having a first end and an opposing second end with an adjustable length between the first end and the second end, the adjustable length being selectively configurable to allow the bar assembly to span the pair of opposing sidewalls; a bracket assembly including a front bracket and a rear bracket; a drawer; a side rail assembly supported by the bracket assembly, the side rail assembly being configured to support the drawer for movement between an extended position away from the bracket assembly and a retracted position toward the bracket assembly; and a hook configured to releasably join the bar assembly to the bracket assembly, wherein the bar assembly retains the bracket assembly within the cabinet when the bar assembly is mounted within the cabinet and spans the pair of opposing sidewalls.
In one version, the kit may include a first side mount and a second side mount, each of the first side mount and the second side mount having a first face with adhesive for attachment to one of the cabinet sidewalls and an opposing second face with a mounting structure; a telescoping tube assembly having a first end terminating in a first end cap and an opposing second end terminating in a second end cap with an adjustable length between the first end and the second end, the adjustable length being selectively configurable to allow the bar assembly to span the pair of opposing sidewalls, each of the first end cap and the second end cap being attachable to a separate one of the mounting structures; a bracket assembly including a front bracket and a rear bracket; a drawer; a side rail assembly attached to the bracket assembly, the side rail assembly being configured to support the drawer for movement between an extended position away from the bracket assembly and a retracted position toward the bracket assembly; and a hook configured to releasably attach the tube assembly to the bracket assembly, wherein the tube assembly retains the bracket assembly within the cabinet when the tube assembly is mounted within the cabinet and spans the pair of opposing sidewalls.
In one version, the tube assembly comprises a small tube telescopically received within a large tube.
In some versions, the small tube further comprises a spring-loaded button carried on the small tube, and the large tube comprises a plurality of holes extending along a length of the large tube, wherein the button may be selectively extended through a chosen one of the plurality of holes to adjust the length of the bar assembly.
In some versions, the tube assembly defines an axis between the first end and the second end of the tube assembly, and the second end cap comprises a spring cap, the spring cap having a spring housing a spring trapped within the spring housing, wherein the spring cap is moveable in a direction along the axis to decrease the length of the bar assembly when the spring is compressed.
In some examples of the invention, the kit includes a first foot attached to the rear bracket, the hook being formed as a portion of the first foot, the hook further extending vertically from the first foot to a first height when the bracket assembly is positioned on the floor.
In some examples, each of mounting structures are positioned on the first side mount and the second side mount to form a gap between the floor and the tube assembly when the first side mount and the second side mount are attached to the opposing vertical sidewalls, the gap having an upper end at a second height above the floor, wherein the first height is greater than the second height, thereby allowing the foot to be slid beneath the tube assembly when the bracket assembly is pivoted about the hook, but preventing the bracket assembly from being pulled out of the cabinet along a path defined by a plane parallel to the floor.
In some versions, the first foot further comprises a planar portion attached to the rear bracket, and wherein the hook extends in a direction away from the front bracket and the rear bracket.
In some versions of the invention, the first side mount and the second side mount are attached to the cabinet sidewalls, the tube assembly is mounted to and spans the first side mount and the second side mount, and the bracket assembly is supported by the floor.
Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings.
An exemplary modular cabinet drawer is illustrated in
The drawer or tray is carried on at least one rail assembly such as the left and right side rail assemblies 300, 301. In the preferred examples, the side rails are configured to extend and retract in a telescoping fashion.
In
The rail is supported at a front by a front bracket 400, and at the rear by a rear bracket 500. A bar assembly 600 is configured to be mounted between opposing sidewalls of a cabinet, and as discussed below is preferably arranged to accommodate cabinets of a variety of widths. In the preferred example, the bar is configured as a tube having a telescoping arrangement.
In
As illustrated, the bar assembly 600 spans the width of the cabinet between the opposing sidewalls 702, 703. A first side mount 610 is attached to a first sidewall 702, and a second side mount 611 is attached to a second sidewall 703. The bar assembly, which in the preferred embodiment includes a telescoping tube as discussed below, is mounted to each of the first and second side mounts. Most preferably, the side mounts include an adhesive provided on the side mounts (which is covered by a removable non-stick adhesive backing for shipment prior to use), such that the side mounts are affixed to the sidewalls by the adhesive. As further discussed below, the telescoping tube is spring-loaded to provide a force to hold the tube in place.
The modularity of the cabinet drawer allows it to be positioned within the cabinet as desired. Thus, the bar assembly 600 can be positioned at a desired distance D1 from the rear cabinet wall 704, to ensure that the cabinet drawer is positioned within the cabinet as close to, or as far from, the cabinet opening 705 as desired. Likewise, the cabinet drawer bracket structure (including the front bracket 400, rear bracket 500, and side bracket assemblies 300, 301) can be positioned centrally between the two sidewalls 702, 703, or can be skewed closer to either sidewall as desired. In the example as illustrated in
The front bracket 400 may optionally include one or more holes or slots 401, 402 to enable it to be mounted to a cabinet floor or shelf, such as with screws. Most preferably, however, the front bracket is intended to be placed on the cabinet floor or shelf without the use of any fasteners. Likewise, the rear bracket 500 may include one or more holes allowing it to be bolted or screwed to a cabinet floor, though in the preferred version it is intended to be mountable without such screws or bolts.
In alternate versions, the bar assembly may be configured differently, but preferably in a manner that allows it to be adjustably lengthened or shortened. Thus, the bar assembly may have internal threads or use other features to allow the length to be adjusted.
As seen in
The spring cap is shown in an exploded view in
As shown in
As seen in
A preferred side mount is shown in
The opposing face 616 of the side mount 610 is shown in
In order to form a bar assembly (or tube assembly) of the appropriate length for a particular cabinet, a user depresses the button 650 extending through a hole 640 in the large tube, then telescopically extends or contracts the assembly to increase or decrease its axial length as desired. The button then extends through a different selected one of the holes to lock the bar assembly in position. Most preferably, the bar assembly will then have a length that is greater than the length between the opposing cabinet sidewalls, so that the bar assembly must be compressed to actually fit within the side mounts. In order to insert the bar assembly, the spring 672 within the spring cap must therefore compress somewhat in order to fully accommodate the bar assembly. This compression provides an additional force, helping to ensure that the bar assembly is firmly mounted within the cabinet. To best achieve a snug and firm fit regardless of cabinet size, the spring and spring cap are preferably configured so that the distance through which the spring cap can compress is approximately the same as (or somewhat greater than) the distance between adjacent holes 640 formed in the large tube.
The rear bracket assembly is shown in a side elevational view in
When mounted within a cabinet, the side mounts (e.g., 610) are placed within the cabinet so that a lower end 619 is resting atop the cabinet (or shelf) floor, which is represented by plane A-A in
In accordance with a preferred version of the invention, the curved end 550 of the feet 540 extends upward to a height H1 above the planar portion 540 to a height H1 as indicated in
The preferred version of the invention as illustrated and described includes a bar assembly that spans a pair of opposing cabinet sidewalls, with a hook positioned on a cabinet drawer bracket assembly so that the hook can engage the bar assembly. It should be appreciated that the hook could be configured differently, for example to engage the upper surface of the bar assembly rather than the lower surface of the bar assembly. In one such version, for example, the feet 530 may be inverted and mounted atop the rear bracket 510 rather than beneath it.
In yet other versions of the invention, the hook is carried on the bar assembly and engages a surface on the bracket assembly, such as the rear bracket 500. Such implementations may be, for example, a reversed implementation of the versions described above, so that the feet (or other hook) are attached to the bar assembly and then engage the bracket assembly, rather than the other way around.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.