1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a cabinet, and more particularly to a cabinet with a safety device that can improve safety of the cabinet when a drawer is opened.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional cabinet with multiple drawers may be used to classify objects into different groups by putting objects having similar characteristics into a corresponding drawer. For example, hand tools, electrical tools and fasteners can be classified by putting them respectively into drawers of a tool cabinet. However, when drawers of the conventional cabinet load objects, each drawer may bear a heavy weight. When a drawer is pulled, other drawers may be brought out to escape from the conventional cabinet. When several drawers are opened at the same time, the conventional cabinet may collapse down to hurt people and damage objects held in the conventional cabinet.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a cabinet with a safety device to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a cabinet with a safety device that can improve safety of the cabinet when a drawer is opened.
A cabinet in accordance with the present invention comprises a cabinet body, multiple drawers and a safety device. The cabinet body comprises a rear panel, two side panels and a top panel. The rear panel has an inner surface, a top and a bottom. The side panels are mounted on the rear panel and each side panel has a top end. The top panel is mounted on the top ends of the side panels.
The drawers are mounted moveably in the cabinet body.
The safety device is mounted in the cabinet body and comprises a control member and multiple hook members. The control member is mounted on the rear panel and comprises a supporting base, a pivotal member and a resilient element. The supporting base is mounted on the inner surface of the rear panel and has a supporting body, a top flange and a bottom flange. The supporting body is attached to the inner surface of the rear panel, extends from the top to the bottom of the rear panel and has a top end and a bottom end. The top flange is mounted on the top end of the supporting body and has a front edge. The bottom flange is mounted on the bottom end of the supporting body and has a top surface.
The pivotal member has a V-shaped cross-section, is mounted pivotally on the supporting base and comprises a guide sheet, a hook sheet and an included angle. The guide sheet has a top edge and a bottom edge. The hook sheet is attached to the guide sheet and has an outer edge, a top edge and a bottom edge. The hook flange is formed on the outer edge of the hook sheet.
The resilient element has a positioning end and a guide end. The positioning end is connected to the supporting base. The guide end is connected to the pivotal member.
The hook members are mounted respectively on the drawers and aligned with the pivotal member and each hook member comprises a short protrusion, a long protrusion, a hook protrusion and a pushing protrusion. The short protrusion extends toward the rear panel and has a rear end. The long protrusion extends toward the rear panel and has a rear end. The hook protrusion is mounted on the rear end of the short protrusion. The pushing protrusion is mounted on the rear end of the long protrusion and extends between the supporting base and the pivotal member.
When a drawer is opened, the pushing protrusion on a corresponding hook member pushes the hook sheet of the pivotal member to pivot the pivotal member and stretch the resilient element and the hook flange on the hook sheet engages the hook protrusions on hook members on other drawers. When an opened drawer is closed, the pushing protrusion on the corresponding hook member pushes the guide sheet of the pivotal member to pivot the pivotal member and the hook flange on the hook sheet disengages from the hook protrusions on hook members on other drawers.
Other objectives, 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 drawers (11) are mounted moveably in the cabinet body (10) and each drawer (11) has a bottom board (110), two side boards (111), a rear board (112), a front board (113) and two hangers (114). The bottom board (110) has two side edges, a rear edge and a front edge. The side boards (111) are mounted respectively on the side edges of the bottom board (110) and each side board (111) has an outer surface. The rear board (112) is mounted on the rear edge of the bottom board (110). The front board (113) is mounted on the front edge of the bottom board (110). The hangers (114) are mounted respectively on the outer surfaces of the side boards (11), correspond to and are mounted slidably and respectively on a corresponding pair of drawer holders (103) on the cabinet body (10).
With further reference to
The pivotal member (22) has a V-shaped cross-section, is mounted pivotally on the supporting base (21) and comprises a guide sheet (220), a hook sheet (221), a top holder (222), a bottom holder (224), a guide protrusion (223), a hook flange (225) and an included angle. The guide sheet (220) has an inner edge, a top edge and a lower edge. The hook sheet (221) is connected to the guide sheet (220) and has an inner edge, an outer edge, a top edge and a bottom edge. The inner edge of the hook sheet (221) is attached to the inner edge of the guide sheet (220). The top holder (222) is mounted between the top edges of the guide sheet (220) and the hook sheet (221) and is aligned with the pivotal hole (210) in the top flange. The bottom holder (224) is mounted between the bottom edges of the guide sheet (220) and the hook sheet (221) and holds the stud (215) on the bottom flange. The guide protrusion (223) is formed on the top edge of the guide sheet (220) and is mounted moveably in the guide slot (211) in the top flange. The hook flange (225) is formed on the outer edge of the hook sheet (221). The included angle is defined between the guide sheet (220) and the hook sheet (221).
The resilient element (23) has a positioning end and a guide end. The positioning end is connected to the positioning protrusion (212) on the top flange on the supporting base (21). The guide end is connected to the guide protrusion (223) on the guide sheet (220) of the pivotal member (22). With further reference to
The bolt (213) is mounted in and extends through the pivotal hole (210) in the top flange and the top holder (222) on the pivotal member (22). The nut (214) is screwed on the bolt (213) so the pivotal member (22) is mounted pivotally on the supporting base (21).
The hook members (25) are mounted respectively on the drawers (11) and are aligned with the pivotal member (22). When all drawers (11) are closed, the hook members (25) are disposed near the pivotal member (22). Each hook member (25) comprises a connecting base (250), a short protrusion (251), a long protrusion (252), a hook protrusion (2510) and a pushing protrusion (2520). The connecting base (250) is mounted on the bottom board (110) of a corresponding drawer (11) and has a hook side and a pushing side. The short protrusion (251) is mounted on the hook side of the connecting base (250), extends toward the rear panel (100) and has a rear end. The long protrusion (252) is mounted on the pushing side of the connecting base (250), extends toward the rear panel (100) and has a rear end. The hook protrusion (2510) is mounted on the rear end of the short protrusion (251) and faces the connecting base (250). The pushing protrusion (2520) is mounted on the rear end of the long protrusion (252), faces the connecting base (250) and extends between the supporting base (21) and the pivotal member (22) when the corresponding drawer (11) is closed.
With reference to
With reference to
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. 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.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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3560068 | Ostrom | Feb 1971 | A |
4352529 | Steinke | Oct 1982 | A |
4452498 | Wood et al. | Jun 1984 | A |
4804876 | Lannert et al. | Feb 1989 | A |
5720535 | Mehman | Feb 1998 | A |
5862689 | Wen | Jan 1999 | A |
6347848 | Cho | Feb 2002 | B1 |
6374649 | Holcomb et al. | Apr 2002 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20080157642 A1 | Jul 2008 | US |