Patent Application
20170151913
The present arrangement relates generally to drawers, shelves, trays, and the like, for supporting and retaining articles for storage and readily accessible use. More particularly, the present invention relates to drawers for use with enclosures wherein the vertical dimension of the enclosure is greater than the vertical dimension of the access opening to the enclosure, such that there is extra vertical storage space than the opening to itself indicate. Still further, the present invention relates to drawers for use with exteriorly accessible storage spaces in vehicles bodies, such as with motor homes and towed recreational vehicles.
Drawers (meaning generically, drawers, trays, shelves, and other movable surfaces which support and retain articles) are typically movable between open and closed positions. In an open position, drawers typically extend outward from a housing and give access to the articles within the drawer. In a closed position, drawers typically are retained within an enclosure of the housing, where access to the articles is restricted. A support structure for the drawer is mounted between the housing and the drawer to guide the drawer in its motion between open and closed positions. Some drawers include a front face mounted thereto which acts as an exterior face to the housing. Alternatively, some housings include one or more doors, separately mounted from the drawer, to cover an opening that gives access to the enclosure and the drawer(s) mounted therein. With the latter structures, when the door is opened, the drawer is then available to be pulled outward through the enclosure opening. These latter structures are commonly used with vehicles, wherein an exterior sidewall of the vehicle has an access door which can open to a storage enclosure, with drawer(s) or the like therein.
Typically, it is desirable for a drawer to be able to extend out of its enclosure to expose the entire inventory of articles it contains, rendering those articles most easily accessible, when the drawer is fully opened. Alternatively, full exposure of the load surface of the drawer can allow the users to most easily place articles on the drawer for storage. Prior drawers have sought to accomplished this by having, for example, telescopic guide rails or tracks attached to the sides of the drawer and to the support structure inside of the enclosure. As those drawers are pulled open, the individual rails move with respect to one another and telescope outwardly to support the drawer in a cantilevered connection to the housing. However, such telescopic guide rails are relatively expensive and are vulnerable to contact with dirt, debris, snow, and water which can jam and/or rust the mechanism and prevent closure and/or proper operation of the drawer, particularly when the guide rails are used outdoors. In addition, certain telescopic rails of that type can add significantly to the overall width of the drawer. Also, where the drawer must be pulled through the housing opening, any extra width of the drawer due to side-mounted guide rails will decrease the area of the load surface available for the drawer. Further, telescopic guide rails of this type typically permit motion of the drawer only in horizontal directions.
Often storage enclosures, such as those formed in the exterior of a motor home or travel trailer, have greater vertical dimension than the door used to provide access to that enclosure. Therefore, drawers mounted in such housings to move only horizontally either cannot move through the door, if the full vertical height is be utilized by the drawer load surface, or cannot utilize the full vertical height of the enclosure, if the drawer is mounted to move through the door. Further, if the drawer is mounted to move through the door, using guide rails which permit only horizontal motion necessitates the drawer blocking a portion of the door opening. Thus, the size of articles which may be stored in the enclosure is reduced even further than the door dimensions, by the reduced door clearance caused by the drawer.
It has been suggested to create drawers which move vertically within a housing, but these can require the use of more complex spring, pneumatic, or hydraulic systems to assist the vertical motion. Further, prior vertical drawer arrangements may not provide the fullest amount of horizontal extension desired for use with a separate enclosure door. In addition, prior vertical drawer arrangements may not be sufficiently sturdy to support the drawer and its contents reliably during travel of a vehicle. Motor homes, in particular, can be subject to significant road vibration and jostling of cargo, particularly when being driven over unpaved roads and trails.
It has also been suggested to create drawers which can be pivoted at one end to move up and down as an incline to give access to the drawer contents within the enclosure. Again, these may not be able to provide as much convenient access as drawers which can extend substantially outward through the housing door. Further, such drawers may not be as easy to manipulate to the closed or raised position as a horizontally movable door, at least without the extra cost and structure of lift assisting elements. Also, vehicular vibration and jostling during travel may require the addition of substantial locking and/or latching mechanisms to enable these inclined drawers to properly secure their contends during travel.
In general, when storing items in a drawer for vehicular travel, it has been found advantageous to secure the drawer at its horizontal extremities in order to obtain the most support of the load surface. In contrast, securing the drawer in a manner that is more cantilevered with respect to the support structure permits the ends of the drawer to experience greater vibration during travel, especially when heavier articles are placed at the drawer ends. However, with prior arrangements, securing the drawer at its horizontal extremities has been found to limit the extent of travel that a drawer can provide out of the enclosure opening. Thus, while some prior drawers are more secure for travel, they do so at the expense of user ease and accessibility when the vehicle is stopped, and retained articles and cargo are then needed by the user.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved drawer arrangements, particularly for use with storage enclosures and vehicles. Other objects are the provision of drawer arrangements that are:
These and other objects of the present invention are obtained by the provision of drawer arrangements including a drawer connected to a support structure having three guides for the path of the drawer between open and closed positions, at least two of which are operational at any given position of the drawer, as it moves both horizontally and vertically between different locations. In a closed position, the drawer is supported near its horizontal extremities and rests in a position that resists horizontal motion. In fully extended open positions, the drawer is supported in a cantilevered manner from the support structure. Intermediate the fully closed and fully extended positions, the drawer is supported in inclined positions which provide access to contents therein. The present invention also includes mounting structure which facilitates connection at a variety of locations under the floor of a motor home or travel trailer, with exterior accessibility.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following drawings and more detailed description of preferred embodiments.
As shown in
More specifically, drawer arrangement 10 includes a drawer 20 formed with a forward or front wall 21, a back or rear wall 23, and a load surface 28 therebetween. The load surface is where articles are placed onto the drawer and stored until needed. The load surface is, for example, provided with a means 29 of retaining articles thereon during movement of the drawer and movement of the vehicle. Several different structures can be used for this purpose, including, but not limited to, a compressive mat or pad with a somewhat adherent surface, removable netting, or an abrasive surface coating or tray paper which resists sliding of articles placed thereon.
Drawer 20 is also provided with a first load bearing member 22 mounted on each side of the drawer, preferably toward the rear of the drawer, and a second load bearing member mounted on each side of the drawer, preferably toward the front of the drawer. Placing these load bearing members further apart and more toward the extremities of the drawer, with respect to horizontal axis H, and adjacent the front and rear walls, can provide from a more stable support structure for the articles contained within the drawer, especially during vehicular motion, but also during use of the drawer as it is extended out of the enclosure. Alternatively, where a greater path of horizontal and/or vertical travel is desired for the drawer, the first and second load bearing members can be positioned closer together.
Each load of these bearing members is, for example, formed from a core post 25 with a movable roller 26 rotatably mounted to post 25 and retained on post 25 by an end cap 27. More specifically, the post and be a metal pin or bolt, the roller formed as a plastic or low friction sleeve, and the end cap a threaded nut, rivet, embossment or the like.
Support structure 30 for drawer 20 includes three guides for the drawer to follow as it moves between open and closed positions. These guides function in pairs, handing off their function from one pair to the next, as the location of the drawer changes. More specifically, support structure 30 includes guides 32, 34, and 36. Guide 32 is, for example, formed as a slot in the support structure along each side of drawer 20. This slot receives and retains therein the first load bearing member 22. The end cap for that load bearing member is, for example, sufficiently enlarged to resist inadvertent removal of the load bearing member from the slot of guide 32. Slot 32 is formed to define the entire desired path of travel for drawer 20. In the drawings, slot 32 is shown, for example, to have a substantially horizontal section 32a, and inclined section 32b, and a substantially horizontal section 32c. The vertical drop along axis V of inclined section 32b can be used to define the extent of vertical drop of drawer 20, and can be established as needed in a given application, such as: according to the location of beams 64 above the top of door opening 68, the extent to which it is desirable to hide the existence of and/or contents of the drawer from view through the door opening, and/or the extent to which drawer 20 needs to avoid restricting clearance through the door opening for articles to be placed into the storage compartment, apart from those retained in the drawer.
Guide 34 is also formed, for example, as a slot in the support structure along each side of drawer 20. This slot receives and removably retains therein second load bearing member 24. Slot 34 is formed to define only a portion of the desired travel for drawer 20. Slot 34 has an opening 35 at the front of support structure 30 which allows the second load bearing member to exit and enter slot 34, as drawer 20 is fully opened and closed, respectively. Slot 34 has a means 50, preferably at one end thereof, for releasably securing drawer 20 in a closed position. For example, means 50 can be a vertical drop in the slot. As shown in the example of the drawings, this vertical drop has a slight rearward incline. However, alternative embodiments can a vertical drop with no rearward incline or even a slight forward incline. The vertical drop serves to block immediate sliding of load bearing member 24 along slot 34 toward opening 35. However, users can readily overcome that blockage by exerting a slight lifting force to the front of drawer 20 when it is desired to move the drawer. In the drawings, slot 34 is shown to have a short horizontal section 34a and an inclined section 34b.
The length of section 34a does not need to correspond with the length of section 32a. Where load bearing members 22 and 24 are each moving along substantially horizontal slot sections, drawer 20 is retained in a substantially horizontal orientation. However, where the length of section 34a is shorter than the length of section 32a, load bearing members 24 enter the inclined sections of slot 34 sooner than load bearing members 22 enter the inclined sections of slot 32. Thus, the front of drawer 20 can be tilted downward with respect to vertical axis V to an incline which makes the articles retained therein more accessible in the direction of door opening 68. Similarly, the slope of inclined sections 32b and 34b need not be identical either. In the drawings, for example, the slope of section 34b is somewhat greater than the slope of section 32b, thus maintaining the inclination or tilting of drawer 20 as load bearing member 22 first proceeds down inclined section 32b. The specific slopes used and the relative tilting of drawer 20 can be readily adapted using the present invention, according to the needs of a particular application for the drawer and the path it needs to take through the door opening.
Guide 36 is, for example, formed as a first, upper ledge or lip 37 on each side of drawer 20. Support structure 30 includes at least a single third load bearing member 38 mounted thereon, preferably toward the front side of that structure, and extending inwardly toward drawer 20. As drawer 20 is extended toward the fully open position and second load bearing member 24 leaves slot 34 through opening 35, third load bearing member 38 comes into contact with the underside of guide 36 and supports the drawer. Load bearing member 38 can also be formed, for example, from a core post with a rotatable sleeve mounted thereon so as to facilitate movement of drawer 20. Guide 36 also includes a second, lower ledge or lip 39, shown in the drawings, for example, as the upper ledge of C-channel 41, secured to the sides of drawer 20 by conventional fasteners, such as rivets R. Lower ledge 39 is spaced from upper ledge 37 by at least the width of third load bearing member 38, such that the third load bearing member can pass freely between those ledges. The C-channel is mounted toward the rear of drawer 20 and does not, in the example shown, extend the entire length of the sides of the drawer. This is in contrast with preferred embodiments where upper ledge 37 does extend along the entire side of the drawer. Thus, guide 36 has a first portion 40 where engagement of the third load bearing member with upper ledge 37 restricts downward movement of drawer 20, and a second portion 44 where engagement of the third load bearing member with lower ledge 39 also restricts upward movement of drawer 20.
In effect, support structure 30 uses guides 32 and 34 for the initial movement of drawer 20 from the fully closed position toward opened positions and for the initial inclined access of the drawer. As shown in
Support structure 30 is mounted to one or more beam 64 by corner flanges 46 which extend upward from sides 47 of the support structure. Placement tabs 48 can, for example, be formed in corner flanges 46 in order to facilitate that mounting and/or positive locating of the support structure with respect to the beams. In preferred embodiments, where support structure 30 utilizes the vertical space between the beams, the vertical distance between the top of sides 47 and the top of corner flanges 46 substantially corresponds to vertical thickness of the beams. Thus, corner flanges 46 extend upward toward the floor of the vehicle or the top surface of the enclosure, with the beam(s) being located between the corner flanges of each side, adjacent the top of sides 47.
Although the present invention has been described above in connection with specific embodiments shown in the drawings, that is done by way of illustration and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention. For example, the embodiments of the drawings show the support structure formed for attachment to the underside of the top of the storage space enclosure, but support structure 30 can be readily adapted (in light of the teachings herein) for attachment to the upper surface of the bottom of the enclosure, such as where there is a significant vertical drop below the access door opening, and structural features of the vehicle are suitable for connection to the support structure of the drawer arrangement. Also, where the present invention is to be applied to a non-vehicular environment or where the vehicle does not employ support beams within the enclosure, the corner flanges of the support structure of the drawer arrangement can be formed to permit attachment to any suitable enclosure surface. In addition, in particular applications, the support structure of the drawer arrangement can be readily adapted to include multiple drawers of the type used in the present invention. Similarly, in applications where the vertical displacement of the drawer needs to be greater, the vertical dimension of the sides of support structure 30 can be increased to allow a greater vertical drop to slot sections 32b and 34b, for example. Further, the embodiments shown in the drawing are largely formed from stamped metal components, but in different applications these elements can be formed as molded or tubular assemblies, as the weight, aesthetic needs, and fabrication cost requirements may dictate or permit. Further still, a single set of movement stops 50 are illustrated in the drawings, but in a given application, additional movement stops can be employed, such as to releasably retain drawer 20 in a given inclined orientation intermediate full extension of the drawer from the vehicle. Still further, in
