Drawer fixing mechanism for desk

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6834918
  • Patent Number
    6,834,918
  • Date Filed
    Monday, March 17, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, December 28, 2004
    20 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Cuomo; Peter M.
    • Vu; Stephen
    Agents
    • Cantor Colburn LLP
Abstract
A drawer fixing mechanism for fixing a drawer to a desk without using screws and rivets is provided. The mechanism prevents the drawer from being deformed, shifted or separated from the desk by impact applied, to the desk. The fixing mechanism comprises a fixing member outwardly extending along upper edges of a drawer and having insertion holes corresponding to the through holes and an insertion groove at its bottom, an intermediate frame combined with a stand, and bots and nuts for assembling elements of the desk. The intermediate frame has a plurality of connection holes formed to correspond to the insertion holes. The bolts are inserted into the through holes of an upper panel, the insertion holes of the fixing member combined with the drawer, and the connection holes of the intermediate frame in order, and the nuts are combined with the respective bolts at the bottom of the intermediate frame.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a drawer fixing mechanism for a desk, and more particularly to a drawer fixing mechanism for a desk for fixing a drawer to an upper panel serving as a working place without using screws or rivets but using bolts and nuts, thereby preventing a drawer from being deformed and damaged.




2. Description of the Related Art




Generally, a desk comprises an upper panel providing a working place, a drawer provided under the upper panel and in which books and other items are received, and a stand for supporting the drawer at both sides.




Referring to

FIG. 4

, a drawer


120


having an interior space


121


therein is secured to the bottom of an upper panel


110


made of wood using screws or rivets.




Since the drawer


120


is fixed to the upper panel


110


by a plurality of screws or rivets, assembling or disassembling work of the desk is complicated and consumes a lot of time. Further, since the bottom surface of the upper panel


110


is usually damaged by such riveting work, the bottom surface of the upper panel cannot be used instead of the upper surface of the panel in the case that the upper surface of the upper panel is damaged.




Accordingly, to solve the problem above, a stand


130


is used. That is, the drawer


120


is simply placed on the stand


130


, and the upper panel


110


is placed on the drawer


120


. The stand


130


is secured to the bottom surface of the upper panel


110


by bolts and nuts. Therefore, the drawer


120


is not secured to the upper panel


110


and the stands


130


. Accordingly, when an external impact is applied to the desk, the drawer


120


is easily separated from the upper panel


110


and/or the drawer


120


can be broken, and the bolt and nut assembly is loosened, so that the upper panel


110


and the stand


130


may be separated.




Further, since the drawer is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin, it is easily deformed by load etc. and the deformed drawer must be replaced with a new one.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a drawer fixing mechanism for fixing a drawer to a desk, capable of securely fixing a drawer to a desk without using bolts and nuts.




It is another object of the present invention to provide a fixing mechanism for fixing a drawer to a desk, in which a contact area between a drawer and an upper panel providing a working place is minimized.




It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a fixing mechanism for more securely fixing a reinforcement bar to a drawer.




In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a drawer fixing mechanism for a desk including an upper panel having a plurality of through holes for receiving bolts, a drawer provided under the upper panel, opened at an upper part and a front part, and having an interior space to receive things therein, and a stand provided under the drawer, the fixing mechanism comprising a fixing member outwardly extending along upper edges of the drawer, and having a plurality of insertion holes penetrating from its upper surface to its lower surface and corresponding to the through holes, and an insertion groove at the bottom thereof for receiving an intermediate frame combined with the stand. The fixing mechanism further comprising the intermediate frame combined with the stand for supporting the drawer and having a plurality of connection holes penetrating therethrough and corresponding to the insertion holes, and bolts and nuts for assembling elements of the desk, wherein the bolts are inserted into the through holes of the upper panel, the insertion holes of the fixing member combined with the drawer, and the connection holes of the intermediate frame in order, and wherein the nuts are combined with the respective bolts at the bottom of the intermediate frame.




Preferably, the fixing protrusions


12




a


may be formed in the insertion groove near its opening.




Preferably, the intermediate frame may have three sides to be opened at its front, and a reinforcement bar may be coupled to both ends of the frame to close the intermediate frame at its front.




Preferably, an upper surface of the fixing member may be rounded.




Preferably, the drawer


120


may have a groove on the bottom surface thereof so as for the reinforcement bar to be inserted into the groove.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:





FIG. 1

is an exploded perspective view of a desk having a fixing mechanism in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a front view of the desk formed by assembling compartments shown in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is an enlarged view of a portion A in

FIG. 2

; and





FIG. 4

is a sectional view of a desk in accordance with a conventional art.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below in more detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.





FIG. 1

illustrates an exploded desk having a fixing mechanism in accordance with the present invention.




Referring to

FIG. 1

, a desk


100


in accordance with the present invention comprises an upper panel


110


, a drawer


120


opened at an upper part and a front part thereof, and having a recess


121


to receive things such as books therein, an intermediate frame


2


received into grooves formed at side edge portions of the drawer


120


and secured to a stand


130


, and the stand


130


placed on the ground and supporting the intermediate frame


2


at both sides. Bolts


140


penetrates the upper panel


110


, the drawer


120


and the intermediate frame


2


from the upper surface of the upper panel


120


to the bottom of the intermediate frame


2


, and nuts


150


are combined with ends of the bolts


140


.




The upper panel


110


has a rectangular or a square shape, and has a plurality of through holes


111


at every corner.




The drawer


120


has a plurality of grooves


3


formed at the bottom surface thereof. A fixing member


1


is provided to outwardly extend from upper edge portions of the drawer


120


. The fixing member


1


has a plurality of insertion holes


11


penetrating therethrough from its upper surface to its lower surface. The insertion holes


11


are formed to correspond to the through holes


111


of the upper panel


110


. The fixing member


1


further has an insertion groove


12


on the bottom thereof. In the insertion groove


12


, a plurality of fixing protrusions


12




a


is provided for holding and fixing the intermediate frame


2


in the insertion groove


12


of the fixing member


1


. The drawer


120


having a complicated structure described above may be formed by an injection molding method.




The intermediate frame


2


is formed in such a manner as to fit into the insertion groove


12


of the fixing member


1


, and has a plurality of connection holes


22


formed to correspond to the insertion holes


11


. A hook


23


is provided at the bottom of the intermediate frame


2


between adjacent connection holes


23


. The stand


130


is combined with the intermediate frame


2


at a rear part of the intermediate frame


2


, and a height of the intermediate frame


2


from the ground is adjusted by adjusting a height of the stand


130


.




Further, a reinforcement bar


21


is connected between both ends of the intermediate frame


2


by a welding method and it is inserted into the groove


3


provided on the bottom of the drawer


120


when the drawer


120


is combined with the intermediate frame


2


.




Accordingly, for assembling the desk, the intermediate frame


2


is inserted into the insertion groove


12


formed on the bottom of the fixing member


1


, the bolts


140


are inserted into the respective through holes


111


of the upper panel


110


, the respective insertion holes


11


of the fixing member


1


and the respective connection holes


22


of the intermediate frame


2


, and the nuts


150


are coupled to an end of respective bolts


140


. In the desk in accordance with the present invention, the intermediate frame


2


is fixed to the drawer


120


along three sides of the drawer


120


by bolts and nuts, so that the drawer


120


is more securely fixed to the stand


130


and the upper panel


110


, in comparison with the conventional desk.





FIG. 2

is a front view of the desk in accordance with the present invention. Referring to

FIG. 2

, when the desk is assembled, the intermediate frame


2


is inserted into the insertion groove


12


formed on the bottom of the fixing member


1


combined with the drawer


120


, and the reinforcement bar


21


is received in the groove (not shown) provided on the bottom of the drawer


120


. Further, the upper panel


110


is placed on the upper surface of the drawer


120


to cover the recess


121


of the drawer


120


.




Accordingly, when an external impact is applied to the desk or things collide with the desk, the reinforcement bar


21


prevents the drawer


120


from being deformed and shifted by being received in the groove (not shown) formed on the bottom of the drawer


120


.





FIG. 3

is an enlarged view of an “portion” in FIG.


2


. Referring to

FIG. 3

, the upper surface of the fixing member


1


is rounded (R), and the fixing protrusions


12




a


are formed in the insertion groove


12


at its both end portions. Since the upper surface of the fixing member


1


is round processed (R), a contact area of the fixing member to the bottom surface of the upper panel


110


is minimized. Accordingly, when the upper surface of the upper panel


110


is damaged, the upper panel


110


is turned over so that the bottom surface of the upper panel


110


may be used as a working place.




Further, when the intermediate frame


2


is forcibly inserted into the insertion groove


12


made of elastic material, since the fixing protrusions


12




a


tightly hold the intermediate frame


2


in the insertion groove


12


, the drawer


120


is securely fixed to the stand


130


without using rivets or screws.




As described above, the drawer combined with the fixing member is provided under the upper panel, the intermediate frame is inserted into and fixed in the insertion groove provided on the bottom of the fixing member, the stand is installed on the ground and supports the intermediate frame at both sides, bolts penetrate the upper panel, the fixing member combined with the drawer, and the intermediate frame combined with the stand, and are combined with respective nuts, so that the desk can be assembled without using screws and rivets, so that assembling and disassembling works of the desk are simpler and easier than the conventional desk. Further, time for the assembling and disassembling works is reduced.




Further, since the upper surface of the fixing member directly contacting to the upper panel is rounded, the contact area between the fixing member combined with the drawer and the bottom surface of the upper panel is minimized. As a result, damage to the bottom surface of the upper panel is minimized, so that the upper panel may be reused even if the upper surface of the upper panel is damaged, by turning over the upper panel so as for the bottom surface to be used a working place.




Further, since the reinforcement bar is inserted into the groove provided on the bottom of the drawer, the drawer is securely assembled with the intermediate frame and the reinforcement bar. As a result, the drawer may not be deformed or swayed when an external impact is applied to the desk.




Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.



Claims
  • 1. A desk comprising an upper panel having a plurality of through holes for receiving a corresponding plurality of bolts, a drawer positioned underneath the upper panel and having an open area as defined by a top section and a front portion of the drawer, wherein the placement of the panel on top of the drawer thereby defining an interior space via the front portion of the drawer in order to receive miscellaneous items, and a stand situated underneath the drawer;the drawer having a fixing member extending outwardly along upper edges of the drawer, wherein the fixing member having a plurality of insertion holes corresponding to the through holes, the insertion holes being formed to penetrate the fixing member from its upper surface to its bottom surface, and the bottom surface defining an insertion groove for receiving an intermediate frame attached to the stand; the intermediate frame having a plurality of connection holes corresponding to the insertion holes, and the intermediate frame combined with the stand to support the drawer; and the bolts extending directly into the through holes of the upper panel, the insertion holes of the fixing member, and into the connection holes of the intermediate frame, whereby one of a plurality of nuts is fastened to each of the bolts at the bottom surface of the intermediate frame, and with fixing protrusions forming in the insertion groove.
  • 2. The desk as set forth in claim 1, wherein the intermediate frame has three sides to be opened at its front and a reinforcement bar is coupled to both ends of the frame to close the intermediate frame at the front of the intermediate frame.
  • 3. The desk as set forth in claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the fixing member is rounded.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
10-2002-0031451 Jun 2002 KR
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Number Name Date Kind
2671002 White Mar 1954 A
2709633 Bargen May 1955 A
2846285 Wright Aug 1958 A
2910803 Close Nov 1959 A
3256840 Knoblock Jun 1966 A
3561376 Knoblock Feb 1971 A
3758182 Barecki et al. Sep 1973 A
4105271 Sebel et al. Aug 1978 A