The invention pertains generally to the field of lockable drawer storage containers.
Lockable drawer containers, such as filing cabinets and tool chests and cabinets, feature a variety of locking mechanisms and features. Many lockable chests include a keyed lock cylinder that actuates a locking mechanism that locks the drawers in a closed position. Once the chest is locked, it is difficult or impossible to close and secure a drawer that was open at the time the locking mechanism was actuated. If a drawer is inadvertently or otherwise left open during locking, it is thus necessary for a proper key to be used to unlock the chest, close the drawer, and re-lock the chest.
A drawer lock for use with a lockable drawer chest includes a striker attached to a rear portion of a drawer that is selectively retained by a catch on a vertical lock bar. The lock bar is moved between a locked and unlocked position with an actuator that acts in response to motion of a chest locking mechanism. The catch includes a camming surface that urges the lock bar from the unlocked position when the striker plate impacts the camming surface as the drawer is closed. The actuator includes a relief that allows the lock bar to be moved by the striker from the locked position to the unlocked position. In this manner, a drawer that was open at the time the chest was locked can be closed and secured without the necessity of unlocking the chest.
Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, embodiments of the invention are illustrated, which, together with the description of the invention serve to illustrate the principles of this invention. The drawings and detailed description are not intended to and do not limit the scope of the invention or any subsequent claims in any way. Instead, the drawings and description only describe embodiments of the invention and other embodiments of the invention not described are encompassed by this disclosure of the invention.
The Detailed Description of the Invention merely describes preferred embodiments of the invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the specification or claims in any way. Indeed, the invention as described by the claims is broader than and unlimited by the preferred embodiments, and the terms in the claims have their full ordinary meaning.
The striker plate 72 is stamped from metal and has a general T-shape. The striker plate 72 is connected at one end to the drawer with punched out lances 76. A pair of bent legs 77 engage the drawer to properly position the striker plate with respect to the drawer. The striker plate includes a lock opening 74 at a leading end. The leading end includes a declined edge 75 that is angled to co-act with the taper 67c on the catch 67 to lift the catch when the drawer is closed against the catch.
The actuator 52 is molded from a suitable plastic material and includes a vertically oriented plate portion 55 into which the slot 56 is cut and a perpendicular mounting plate portion 51 that fits into an actuator channel formed by a series of actuator channel tabs 23 (
The actuator 52 converts linear motion of the link 49 to vertical motion of the lock bar guide pin 63. To achieve this motion conversion, the actuator includes the slot 56 which includes a top horizontal slot portion 57 and a bottom horizontal slot portion 59 connected by a slanted camming slot portion 58 that transitions between the top and bottom horizontal slot portion. The top horizontal slot portion 57 positions the guide pin in an up position to place the lock bar in the unlocked position. The bottom horizontal slot portion 59 positions the guide pin in a down position to place the lock bar in the locked position. A vertical relief slot portion 53 intersects the bottom horizontal slot portion to provide a path for the guide pin to travel when the lock bar is lifted by striker plate 72 impacting a catch 67 when a drawer is closed in an already locked chest.
Referring now to
Movement of the key cylinder to lock the chest causes corresponding movement of the actuator 52 to the right and the guide pin 63 slides down the slanted camming slot portion 58 and into the lower horizontal slot portion 59 to rest in the position shown in
While various aspects of the invention are described and illustrated herein as embodied in combination in the exemplary embodiments, these various aspects may be realized in many alternative embodiments not shown, either individually or in various combinations and sub-combinations thereof. Unless expressly excluded herein all such combinations and sub-combinations are intended to be within the scope of the present invention. Still further, while various alternative embodiments as to the various aspects and features of the invention, such as alternative materials, structures, configurations, methods, devices, and so on may be described herein, such descriptions are not intended to be a complete or exhaustive list of available alternative embodiments, whether presently known or later developed. Those skilled in the art may readily adapt one or more of the aspects, concepts or features of the invention into additional embodiments within the scope of the present invention even if such embodiments are not expressly disclosed herein. Additionally, even though some features, concepts or aspects of the invention may be described herein as being a preferred arrangement or method, such description is not intended to suggest that such feature is required or necessary unless expressly so stated. Still further, exemplary or representative values and ranges may be included to assist in understanding the present invention however; such values and ranges are not to be construed in a limiting sense and are intended to be critical values or ranges only if so expressly stated.
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