The invention concerns a drawer frame member having an adjusting device for raising and lowering the drawer frame member relative to a drawer extension guide (i.e., adjusting the height of the drawer frame member). The invention further concerns a drawer having such a drawer frame member as well as an arrangement with a drawer and a drawer extension guide. The invention further concerns an article of furniture having this arrangement.
Drawer frame members of that kind (corresponding to drawer side walls) serve to provide that the front panel is inclined by heightwise adjustment or raising and lowering of the drawer frame member. This therefore does not involve adjustment of the inclination of the front panel relative to a drawer, but rather the entire drawer or the drawer frame member is inclined, whereby the front panel fitted thereto is also inclined. Basically that adjustment in inclination serves in particular aesthetic purposes in order to achieve a regular appearance in respect of a plurality of drawer fronts in mutually superposed relationship or relative to the furniture carcass. That adjustment after fitting or when fitting the drawer is often necessary by virtue of the manufacturing tolerances of the many individual components.
An example of such inclination adjustment for the front panel by way of the drawer or the drawer side wall itself can be found in EP 1 516 562 B1. It will be noted however that a disadvantage with that adjustment option is that the adjusting screw is difficult to gain access thereto. This means that, in particular, when individual drawers are arranged in closely mutually superposed relationship, that adjusting screw which is only accessible from above can only be reached with very great difficulty.
The object of the present invention is therefore that of providing a drawer frame member or drawer side wall which is improved over the state of the art and in which inclination adjustment for the front panel or heightwise adjustment for the entire drawer frame member can be comfortably and readily achieved.
For a drawer frame member having the features of the classifying portion of the invention that is achieved in that in the region of the lateral inside surface of the drawer frame member, that faces in the direction of the drawer interior, the adjusting device arranged substantially in the interior of the drawer frame member has an actuating element accessible from the drawer interior. In that way, the entire drawer interior can be better used for actuation of the actuating element. In the actuating procedure, a fitter can get into the interior space in the drawer and can easily and comfortably reach the actuating element even when a drawer is only half opened or when drawers are disposed in closely mutually superposed relationship.
The drawer interior is generally viewed as being the space in which articles to be stowed are stored in the normal purpose of use. In other words, this means that this is the space which is delimited laterally by the drawer frame members, the front panel and the rear wall and downwardly by the drawer bottom. There is no space which can be used for stowage purposes above the lateral drawer frame members.
In principle, the lateral inside surface of the drawer frame member can assume any shape, but a usual variant is that in which the inside surface extends substantially vertically in the mounted position of the drawer frame member.
The possibility should not be excluded that the actuating element is in the form of a slider, but preferably the actuating element is rotatable. In that respect, particularly preferably the rotatable actuating element on its surface facing in the direction of the drawer interior has a recess, preferably a cross slot or a hexagonal socket, in which a tool can be fitted. In that way, the actuating element can be rotated with a suitable screw wrench.
In order in contrast thereto to permit actuation without a tool, the actuating element can have a knurling at the outside surface to facilitate rotation with the fingers.
A particularly preferred variant of this invention can provide that the adjusting device has a support foot which in the mounted position rests on the drawer extension guide and which is moveable linearly and vertically by actuation, preferably by rotation, of the actuating element. Thus, the drawer frame member has an extendable support foot which rests directly on the drawer extension guide, preferably on its drawer rail. That has the advantage in particular over EP 1 516 562 B1 of substantially better holding and supporting effects than by virtue of the narrow annular groove which is shown in that specification and into which a holding edge engages.
For converting the rotary movement of the actuating element into the translatory movement of the support foot, it is possible for example to provide a gear which forms the actuating element and a rack which forms the support foot. In order, however, to achieve a self-locking heightwise adjustment option, it is preferable that at its end remote from the drawer interior the actuating element has a spiral worm which is in engagement with a corresponding latching means on the support foot.
To make actuation of the actuating element as simple as possible, preferably the axis of rotation of the actuating element extends transversely relative to the substantially vertical orientation of the inside surface. It is particularly advantageous in that respect if the axis of rotation is at an angle of between 30° and 120° preferably between 40° and 95°, in relation to the vertical orientation of the inside surface. When using a tool therefore the tool can be fitted to the actuating element slightly inclinedly relative to the horizontal or also precisely in a horizontal (corresponding to 90°).
In principle, it is immaterial whether the adjusting device is arranged in a front region of the drawer frame member or in a rear region thereof as long as pivotal movement of the drawer about the resting point on the drawer extension guide is possible by virtue of adjustment of the adjusting device. As however complicated and expensive front panel fitments are often arranged in the front region of the drawer, preferably the drawer frame member is a U-shaped profile member and has a rear wall holder which can be connected to the U-shaped profile member for connecting the drawer frame member to a rear wall of a drawer, the adjusting device being part of the rear wall holder. In that way, the rear wall holder which is appropriate only for mounting the rear wall to the drawer frame member can additionally also adopt the function of providing for adjustment of inclination. In order to give good access for inclination adjustment to the rear wall holder which is mostly arranged in the drawer frame member, even in the mounted condition, preferably the U-shaped profile member also forms the inside surface of the drawer frame member and has a hole through which the actuating element of the adjusting device is accessible. That therefore also satisfies the aesthetic demands in the drawer interior.
The invention covers not just the drawer frame member alone but also a drawer having two drawer frame members forming the side walls of the drawer, a rear wall connected to the drawer frame members, a drawer bottom and a front panel which is or can be mounted to the drawer frame members and optionally two container rails. In that case, the two drawer frame members can be of a substantially mirror-symmetrical configuration and can have an actuating element at their respective inside surfaces facing in the direction of the internal space in the drawer.
Protection is also claimed for an arrangement comprising such a drawer and a drawer extension guide which can be mounted to an article of furniture. In that respect, particularly preferably the drawer extension guide has a carcass rail which can be mounted to a carcass of an article of furniture, optionally a central rail, and a drawer rail for connecting the drawer to the drawer extension guide. The support foot of the adjusting device is held in positionally fixed relationship to the drawer rail, preferably to a holding nose of the drawer rail. In that case, the drawer can be connected to the drawer extension guide by way of per se known latching means or snap-in elements. The term positionally fixed holding of the support foot to the drawer rail means that, upon heightwise or inclination adjustment, the support foot does not perform a relative movement with respect to the drawer extension guide (a relative movement upon removal of the entire drawer is in fact involved). Rather, in the adjustment procedure, a relative movement of all other components of the drawer frame member relative to the support foot and thus also relative to the drawer extension guide is performed. In principle, the possibility should also not be excluded in that respect that the support foot itself remains on the extension guide even in the removed condition of the drawer. In that respect however it is necessary to guarantee that simple re-fitting and exact engagement of the support foot into the actuating element of the adjusting device is possible. The drawer is always held in play-free manner to the drawer rail by the holding nose and can only be moved by the adjusting device or upon removal of the entire drawer, relative to the drawer rail.
The invention also relates to an article of furniture having a furniture carcass, a drawer extension guide mounted to the furniture carcass, and a drawer fitted to the extension guide, with a drawer frame member according to the invention.
Further details and advantages of the present invention are described more fully hereinafter by means of the specific description with reference to the embodiment by way of example illustrated in the drawings, in which:
As diagrammatically shown in
As also shown in
Correspondingly to
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20140015391 A1 | Jan 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/AT2012/000082 | Mar 2012 | US |
Child | 14028948 | US |