1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cabinet, and more particularly to a cabinet with a safety device to keep drawers from sliding out unintentionally.
2. Description of Related Art
With reference to
However, the drawers (71) may slide out accidentally while the cabinet is moving, the tools inside the drawers (71) may be scattered over a floor and persons near the cabinet may be injured. Therefore, a safety device is mounted on a cabinet to keep the drawers (71) from sliding out unintentionally. However, when the safety device is unlocked, all of the drawers (71) are at a unlocked condition and a user can open multiple drawers (71) simultaneously. When multiple drawers (71) are opened simultaneously, the center of gravity of the cabinet will be shifted and the cabinet easy turns over and results dangers to the 9 user.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a cabinet to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the invention is to provide a cabinet that can keep the drawers from sliding out unintentionally and allows only one drawer to be opened at one time. The cabinet has a hollow housing, multiple tracks, multiple drawers, multiple wheels, a safety device and a lock assembly. The tracks are attached respectively to sides of the housing in parallel and are arranged in pairs. Each track comprises a securing rail securely attached the housing and a sliding rail slidably mounted on the securing rail. The sliding rail has a top, a bottom, a guiding notch defined in the top and a locking hole defined through the bottom. The drawers are mounted respectively between the sliding rails of corresponding pairs of the tracks. The wheels are attached to the bottom of the housing. The safety device is mounted in the housing and comprises a fixed base, a moving base, multiple guiding blocks, multiple locking blocks, multiple guiding brackets and multiple sliders. The fixed base is elongated and is longitudinally attached to one side of the housing. The moving base is slidably mounted on the fixed base and has a hole defined through the moving base. The guiding blocks are securely attached to the moving base and correspond respectively to the tops of the sliding rails of the tracks on the side of the housing on which the safety device is mounted. Each guiding block has a bottom and an inclined face defined in the bottom. The locking blocks are securely attached to the moving base and correspond respectively to the bottoms of the sliding rails of the tracks on the side of the housing on which the safety device is mounted. Each locking block has a top and a locking tab formed on the top and selectively engaging with the locking hole in a corresponding sliding rail. The guiding brackets are attached to the fixed base and correspond respectively to the tracks on the side of the housing on which the safety device is mounted. Each guiding bracket has a guiding slot laterally defined through the guiding bracket. The sliders are slidably and respectively mounted on the guiding slots in the guiding brackets. Each slider has a top abutting with the inclined face on a corresponding guiding block and a pin extending from the slider and engaging with the guiding notch in the sliding rail of a corresponding track. The lock assembly is attached to the housing, corresponds to the safety device and has a lock cylinder attached to the housing and having a locking bolt rotatably extending into the hole in the moving base.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
The housing (10) is hollow and has two sides, a bottom and an open front. The tracks (16) are attached respectively to the sides of the housing (10) in parallel and are arranged in pairs. Each track (16) comprises a securing rail (162) securely attached the housing (10) and a sliding rail (164) slidably mounted on the securing rail (162). The sliding rail (164) has top, a bottom, a guiding notch (166) defined in the top and a locking hole (168) defined through the bottom. In a preferred embodiment, each guiding notch (166) extends along an inclined direction. The drawers (14) are mounted respectively between the sliding rails (164) of corresponding pairs of the tracks (16). The wheels (12) are attached to the bottom of the housing (10) to allow the cabinet to be moved conveniently.
The safety device (20) is mounted in the housing (10) and comprises a fixed base (22), a moving base (24), multiple guiding blocks (25), multiple locking blocks (26), multiple guiding brackets (27) and multiple sliders (28). The fixed base (22) is elongated and is longitudinally attached to one side of the housing (10).
The moving base (24) is slidably mounted on the fixed base (22). With further reference to
The guiding blocks (25) are securely attached to the moving base (24) and correspond respectively to the tops of the sliding rails (164) of the tracks (16) on the side of the housing (10) on which the safety device (20) is mounted. Each guiding block (25) has a bottom and an inclined face (252) defined in the bottom.
The locking blocks (26) are securely attached to the moving base (24) and correspond respectively to the bottoms of the sliding rails (164) of the tracks (16) on the side of the housing (10) on which the safety device (20) is mounted. Each locking block (26) has a top and a locking tab (262) formed on the top and selectively engaging with the locking hole (168) in a corresponding sliding rail (164).
The guiding brackets (27) are attached to the fixed base (22), are mounted over the moving base (24) and correspond respectively to the tracks (16) on the side of the housing (10) on which the safety device (20) is mounted. Each guiding bracket (27) has a guiding slot (272) laterally defined through the guiding bracket (27) and has a cavity (274) defined in the guiding slot (272) at an end near the corresponding sliding rail (164).
The sliders (28) are slidably and respectively mounted on the guiding slots (272) in the guiding brackets (27). Each slider (28) has a top abutting with the inclined face (252) on a corresponding guiding block (25) and a pin (282) extending from the slider (28), slidably held in the guiding slot (272) and engaging with the guiding notch (166) in the sliding rail (164) of a corresponding track (16).
The lock assembly (30) is attached to the housing (10), corresponds to the safety device (20) and has a lock cylinder (32). The lock cylinder (32) is attached to the housing (10) and has a locking bolt (34) rotatably extending into the hole (242) in the moving base (24).
With further reference to
With reference to
When the slider (28) moves along the guiding slot (272), the top of slider (28) will move along the inclined face (252) on the corresponding guiding block (25) and push the guiding block (25) to move upward. Consequently, the moving base (24) with the locking blocks (26) will be also pushed to move upward, such that the locking tabs (262) will be inserted into and engaged with the locking holes (168) in the unmoved sliding rails (164). Accordingly, the other drawers (14) will not be opened due to the engagement of the locking tabs (262) and the locking holes (168). Therefore, only one drawer (14) can be opened at one time, and this can keep multiple drawers (14) from being opened simultaneously and the center of the gravity of the cabinet from shifting.
When the opened drawer (14) is pushed back into the housing (10), the moving base (24) will move downward with gravity due to without the supporting effect provided by the guiding bracket (28). Consequently, the locking tabs (262) on the locking blocks (26) will disengage from the locking holes (168) in the sliding rails (164), such that the user can open another drawer (14) to take and use tools inside.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20070176523 A1 | Aug 2007 | US |