Patent Application
20070080614
This invention relates generally to a drawer cabinet kit constructed of plastic structural panels. More specifically, the present invention relates to a stackable modular cabinet constructed of injection molded plastic panels to contain at least one removable drawer, and which is capable of being packaged and shipped in a knocked-down state and constructed into a secure drawer cabinet at a desired site.
Throughout the home, a need exists to store a large variety of different items. This is particularly true of garage and utility areas where a vast array of products are generally stored for selected use. The accumulation of these various objects and products gives rise to a need for adequate storage of those items when not in use.
Various cabinets for storing items such as gardening tools, automotive supplies, household items and the like are well known. One of the more popular type of cabinets for storing household items is a cabinet with a plurality of pull-out drawers. Cabinets of this type are generally shipped to a consumer or a supplier fully assembled. Shipping fully assembled cabinetry requires a considerable amount of space available within a shipping medium. Because space is limited, the cost associated with shipping assembled cabinets is comparatively high.
Alternatively, drawer cabinet assemblies are customized for the consumer based on the consumer's needs. With customized cabinets, the consumer selects the cabinet material, the size of the associated drawers, and the drawer guides needed to guide the drawers in and out of the cabinet. Numerous devices have been utilized throughout history to guide drawers in and out of drawer cabinets. The simplest mechanism is a box into which the drawer slides. Other methods of control include runners on either side of the drawer or a single runner under the bottom of the drawer with notches to hold the drawer in alignment with the cabinet. All of these basic guide systems have high levels of friction between the drawer and the cabinet and, consequently, rapidly wear out. Numerous low friction devices have been designed to facilitate movement of drawers in and out of cabinets including ball bearings, wheels, and sliders. Most of these low friction devices require unsightly tracks along the side of the drawers, and wide spaces between the sides of the drawers and the drawer face to allow passage of the low friction devices from the inside of the drawer cabinet to the outside when the drawer is extended.
Side play of the drawer when extended is another difficult problem, particularly in the basic forms of drawer guides. Often the drawer must be moved from side to side and up and down in order to get it to return to the drawer cabinet. As the guides become worn, the problem becomes even more severe. Even drawer slides utilizing rollers, ball bearings and sliders have binding problems, especially when the drawers are heavily loaded or the slide parts have become slightly worn.
The ball bearing type of drawer slide creates a different problem. Because there is virtually no side play in a ball bearing slide, the drawer cabinet must be perfectly aligned with the drawer slide in order to eliminate binding as the drawer is moved in and out. Skilled labor and time are required to properly position a ball bearing slide.
Fabrication costs of low friction slide arrangements are another problem. The slide arrangements must be specially made for each different length of drawer. A long drawer requires a long slide arrangement and a short drawer requires a short slide arrangement. Manufacturers are required to maintain supplies of many different lengths of drawer slides or modify slides for each customer.
Full extension drawer slides are a variation of the typical drawer slide and are used to permit full extension of drawers, such that the back of the drawer is fully accessible. Such drawer guides usually use three or more rails with one rail (cabinet rail) being attached to the cabinet, one rail (drawer rail) being attached to the drawer and one rail (floating rail) gliding between the drawer and cabinet rails. Examples of such drawer guides are disclosed in United States Pat. Nos. to Card, U.S. Pat. No. 1,537,067, Tobey, U.S. Pat. No. 2,099,148, Schaffert, U.S. Pat. No. 1,129,831, Bullock et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,203,749, Vander Ley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,841, Lautenschalager U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,027, Fleisch, U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,102, Fraccaro, U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,574. In these systems, rollers or ball bearings are provided on racks between the floating rail and the cabinet and drawer rails to provide free gliding movement between each of the rails.
One of the problems associated with such systems is that they tend to be rather large and bulky, which limits their use on smaller drawers. Further, such systems are relatively complicated and difficult to fabricate, resulting in high costs to consumers.
Such prior art systems have not met all of the needs of manufacturers to provide a product that can be easily manufactured, packaged and shipped, or the needs of consumers requiring economical and versatile do-it-yourself storage kits. Moreover, because the prior art devices do not break down they are difficult and expensive to ship from the manufacturer to the consumer.
Paramount among such needs is an easy to assemble kit which can be easily assembled by an average homeowner. Structure is a further consideration; a cabinet formed from separate panels must create cabinet walls which resist panel separation, buckling and racking in such a way as to unify the entire enclosure.
Also, from a versatility standpoint, a cooperating drawer and guide should be present which can be easily assembled or modified after assembly of the side, top, base and back panels, and which provides security and dependable access to the contents of the drawers without the complex and difficult to assemble mechanisms associated with the prior art.
There are also commercial considerations that must be satisfied by any viable drawer cabinet system or kit; considerations which are not entirely satisfied by state of the art products. The drawer cabinet must be formed of relatively few component parts that are inexpensive to manufacture by conventional techniques. The drawer cabinet must also be capable of being packaged and shipped in a knocked-down state.
In addition, there are ergonomic needs that a drawer cabinet system must satisfy in order to achieve acceptance by the end user. The system must be easily and quickly assembled using minimal hardware and requiring a minimal number of tools. Further, the system must not require excessive strength to assemble or include heavy component parts. Moreover, the system must assemble together in such a way so as not to detract from the internal storage volume of the resulting wall cabinet or otherwise negatively affect the utility of the drawer cabinet.
The present invention provides an assembly, or kit, of injection molded panels having integrated connectors which combine to form a drawer cabinet with integrally formed guide rails and cooperating pull out drawers supported upon a plurality of rollers. The cabinet panels are formed of injection molded plastic and include integrally formed connectors to interlock with one another without the need for separate fasteners. The integrated connection of the side, back, top and base panels simplifies the drawer cabinet construction and minimizes the number of components required to assemble the drawer cabinet. Injection molding allows the panels to be formed with integral cross-bracing, ribs and gussets for increased rigidity. When supplied as a kit, assembly of the drawer cabinet requires minimal hardware and a minimum number of hand tools.
The drawer cabinet assembly includes a base panel, left and right side panels and a top panel. The base panel is constructed with integrally formed outwardly extending contoured locking posts for interlocking cooperative engagement with sockets formed into the bottom surfaces of the left and right panels. The engagement between the locking posts and the sockets serve to rigidly connect the components together, preventing the panels from bowing inwardly or outwardly under loads to provide a structurally sound cabinet with a pleasing aesthetic appearance. The construction of the panels minimize complexity of completing the assembly while increasing versatility by allowing the consumer to customize the assembly for specific needs. For example, the bottom surface of the base panel includes sockets allowing the base panel to be used as a top panel. This construction permits the multiple drawer cabinet units to integrated into a multiple drawer cabinet. Alternatively, the drawer cabinets may be placed in a stacked arrangement having the lower surface of one drawer cabinet removeably engaged with the upper surface of another top panel of an adjacently positioned drawer cabinet.
The interior portion of the cabinet includes integrally molded horizontal channels extending along each side. The channels extend from the front portion of each side panel to the rear portion of each side panel. Each channel is constructed and arranged to accept an outwardly depending drawer guide rail in a cooperating arrangement to prevent drawer tipping during extension and insertion thereof. The base panel includes a plurality of rollers secured within the base panel in a manner to cooperate with the bottom surface of the drawer member, allowing the drawer to be easily moved when loaded. In a preferred embodiment, a first pair of rollers are positioned to support the front portion of the drawer member and a second pair of rollers are positioned to support the rear portion of the drawer.
The snap together construction minimizes complexity of completing the assembly while increasing versatility by allowing the consumer to customize the assembly for specific needs. The built-in construction of the drawer guide channels and rollers eliminates the need for skilled tradesmen to line-up and mount complicated hardware within the cabinet. In this manner, the consumer can select one or a plurality of drawer cabinets having various heights, snap together the panels in the desired configuration, and thereafter slide in the drawers to complete the assembly.
The drawers are pre-constructed of polymeric material and include a pair of integrally formed handles that allow a removed drawer to be easily transported. The bottom surface of the drawer members are adapted to cooperate with the rollers for easy movement in and out of the cabinet even when heavily loaded. In addition, the bottom surface of the drawer member includes an alignment pocket adapted to cooperate with the upper surface of the top panel of the cabinet for removeably fixed placement outside of the cabinet.
In operation, as a loaded drawer is pulled outward it rolls freely on the rollers, utilizing the track and channel combination prevent the drawer from tipping. This construction allows the drawers to be easily opened with heavy loads without requiring complex sliding track mechanisms to prevent tipping of the drawer.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a polymeric drawer cabinet assembly having integrally formed guide assemblies and at least one cooperating drawer.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a drawer cabinet assembly having an integrally formed drawer guide, by which a cooperating drawer can be smoothly guided inwardly and outwardly of a cabinet body without the need for complex metal guiding mechanisms.
Yet a further objective of the present invention is to provide a drawer cabinet assembly having an integrally formed drawer guide which allows the drawer to be guided a sufficient distance out of the cabinet body to provide access to the interior of the drawer without tipping.
Still yet a further objective of the present invention is to provide a drawer cabinet assembly constructed from injection molded plastic panels having integrated connectors for increased structural integrity and easy assembly.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a drawer cabinet storage kit in which the side walls, top panel, and base panel are interlocked without the need for separate fasteners.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a kit for a drawer cabinet that is capable of being packaged and shipped in a knocked-down state and constructed into a secure drawer cabinet.
Still yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a drawer and guide assembly which allows an end user to customize a drawer cabinet to suit an individual application.
Other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.
The base panel 100 has an upper surface 102, lower surface 103 (
The top panel 200 has an upper surface 202, lower surface 204, front edge 206, rear edge 208, left edge 210 and right edge 212. Adjacent to each of the rear, left and right edges 208, 210, and 212 respectively is a means of attaching the top panel to the left side panel 300, right side panel 400, and back panel 500. The means of attaching the panels is illustrated herein as a plurality of formed sockets 112 extending outwardly from the lower surface 204. The formed sockets are constructed and arranged to cooperate with locking posts 112 extending oywardly in a linear fashion along the upper edges of the left 300 and right 400 panels. The locking posts 112 and sockets 310 are constructed and arranged so that the locking posts 112 enter and mateably engage the sockets 310 securing the panels together in an inter-fitting perpendicular engagement. In a most preferred embodiment, the side panel locking posts 112 each include at least one integrally formed spring-tab 114. The spring-tabs are constructed and arranged to cooperate with apertures 314 provided in the locking sockets 310 for positively maintaining secure coupling engagement between the top panel 200 and the left and right panels 300 and 400.
The left side panel 300 is constructed and arranged for enclosing the left side of the drawer cabinet. The left side panel 300 includes a top edge 302, a bottom edge 304, a front edge 306, a back edge 308, an inner surface 312 and an outer surface (not shown). The top edge 302 includes a means for attaching the left side panel to the bottom surface of the panel 100 or the top panel 200 in a perpendicular relationship. The attachment means is illustrated herein as a plurality of formed locking posts 112 extending upwardly from the top edge 302. The integrally formed locking posts 112 are constructed and arranged to cooperate with sockets 310 extending inwardly in a linear fashion along the lower edges of the base 100 and top 200 panels. The locking posts 112 and sockets 310 are constructed and arranged so that the locking posts 112 enter and mateably engage the sockets 310 securing the panels together in an inter-fitting perpendicular engagement. In a most preferred embodiment, the side panel locking posts 112 each include at least one integrally formed spring-tab 114. The spring-tabs are constructed and arranged to cooperate with apertures 314 provided in the locking sockets 310 for positively maintaining secure coupling engagement between the base or top panel 100, 200 and the left side panel 300. The bottom edge 304 include a means for attaching the left side panel to the base panel 100 in a perpendicular relationship. The attachment means is illustrated herein as a plurality of locking sockets 310 arranged in a linear fashion extending inwardly along the bottom edge 304. The locking sockets 310 preferably include at least one aperture 314. The apertures 314 are constructed and arranged to cooperate with the locking post spring tabs 114 for positively maintaining secure coupling engagement between the left side panel 300 and the base panel 100. The inner surface 312 includes an integrally formed means for guiding a drawer member in a generally parallel relationship with respect to the upper and lower panels. The drawer guide means is illustrated herein as a horizontally extending channel 316 integrally molded on the inner surface 312 of the left side panel 300. The channel 316 extends from about the front edge 306 of the panel to about the rear edge 308 of the panel. The channel 316 is generally constructed and arranged to cooperate with a drawer rail 610 (
The right side panel 400 is constructed and arranged for enclosing the right side of the drawer cabinet 10. The right side panel 400 includes a top edge 402, a bottom edge 404, a front edge 406, a back edge 408, an inner surface (not shown) and an outer surface 414. The top edge 402 and the bottom edge 404 include a means for attaching the right side panel 400 to the base panel 100 and the top panel 200 in a perpendicular relationship. The attachment means is illustrated herein as a plurality of formed locking posts 112 extending upwardly from the top edge 402. The integrally formed locking posts 112 are constructed and arranged to cooperate with sockets 310 extending inwardly in a linear fashion along the lower edges of the base 100 and top 200 panels. The locking posts 112 and sockets 310 are constructed and arranged so that the locking posts 112 enter and mateably engage the sockets 310 securing the panels together in an inter-fitting perpendicular engagement. In a most preferred embodiment, the side panel locking posts 112 each include at least one integrally formed spring-tab 114. The spring-tabs are constructed and arranged to cooperate with apertures 314 provided in the locking sockets 310 for positively maintaining secure coupling engagement between the base or top panel 100, 200 and the left side panel 300. The bottom edge 404 includes a means for attaching the left side panel to the base panel 100 in a perpendicular relationship. The attachment means is illustrated herein as a plurality of locking sockets 310 arranged in a linear fashion extending inwardly along the bottom edge 404. The locking sockets 310 preferably include at least one aperture 314. The apertures 314 are constructed and arranged to cooperate with the locking post spring tabs 114 for positively maintaining secure coupling engagement between the right side panel 300 and the base panel 100. The inner surface includes an integrally formed means for guiding a drawer member in a generally parallel relationship with respect to the upper and lower panels. The drawer guide means is illustrated herein as a horizontally extending channel 316 integrally molded on the inner surface 412 of the right side panel 400. The channel 316 extends from about the front edge 406 of the panel to about the rear edge 408 of the panel. The channel 316 is generally constructed and arranged to cooperate with a drawer rail 610 (
The left and right panels 300 and 400 are attached to the top and bottom panels 100 and 200 by inserting the locking posts 112 into locking sockets 310 until the spring tabs 114 integrally formed into the locking posts 112 engage the apertures 314 in the sockets 310. It will be appreciated that the purpose of the locking posts 112 are to align two panels in a perpendicular relationship and to facilitate their mechanical connection. The perpendicular panels are brought into a coupled relationship wherein the locking posts 112 enter the corresponding sockets 310. The result is a mechanically secure engagement between the panels. The coupling engagement between the panels as described above provides a secure connection and offers several advantages. First, the design allows the panels to be connected without the need for separate fasteners. Second, the design creates a positive lock that prevents separation of the panels. Third, the design maintains alignment of the panels and prevents bowing or bending of either panel relative to one another. The resultant drawer cabinet created by the combination of the interlocking panels benefits from high structural integrity and reliable operation.
Referring to
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For supporting and facilitating easy movement of a drawer 600, the base panel 100 includes a plurality of rollers 118 rotatably mounted therein. The rollers 118 are sized and positioned between an upper surface 102 and a lower surface 122 of the base panel 100 so that a portion of the roller protrudes above the top surface. The upper surface of the base panel 100 also includes a plurality of upwardly protruding slide surfaces 124. The slide surfaces are integrally formed into the upper surface 102 of the base panel and are constructed and arranged to cooperate with the bottom surface of the drawer members to prevent tipping and/or canting thereof.
Referring to
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Thus, a drawer cabinet kit with integral drawer guides and cooperating drawers has been shown and described. The kit is comprised of injection molded components having integrated connectors which may be assembled on a desired site without requiring separate fasteners or tools.
All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. All patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification.
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.
