BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention concerns a drawer comprising a drawer side wall, a drawer wall made from a wood material, and a fitment portion fixed to one of the two ends of the drawer wall so that the drawer wall made of wood material is connected to the drawer side wall.
The invention further concerns an article of furniture comprising at least one drawer of the kind to be described.
Connecting fitments for connecting a drawer rear wall to a drawer side wall are described in WO 2010/036215 A2, DE 93 11 436 U1, U.S. Pat. No. 1,936,733, DE 20 2009 004 982 U1, EP 1 932 448 A2 and DE 20 2007 001 781 U1.
EP 0 664 982 B1 to the present applicant describes a connecting fitment for fixing a drawer rear wall to a drawer side wall which is in the form of a hollow profile member. The drawer rear wall is made from a wood material or also from an extruded plastic, and can be fixed relative to the drawer side wall by the connecting fitment. In that case, the drawer rear wall can be cut to the desired length and connected by the connecting fitment in a fast assembly procedure. The connecting fitment has a housing-like portion, in the side wall of which there are provided holes for receiving fixing pins arranged on the drawer side wall. That connecting fitment has proved to be very worthwhile in practice, but it will be noted that the connecting fitment has to be bent a number of times in manufacture and requires a relatively large amount of structural space in the assembled position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a drawer of the general kind set forth in the opening part of this specification, while avoiding the above-mentioned disadvantages.
According to the invention, it is therefore provided that the drawer side wall has a recess for receiving the fitment portion. The drawer wall made from the wood material projects into the recess of the drawer side wall with that end which has the fitment portion.
In other words, a compact fitment portion is arranged in the recess in the drawer side wall and is connected both to the drawer side wall and also to the drawer wall made from a wood material. An end region of the drawer wall also projects into the recess in the drawer side wall. Thus, the fitment portion in the assembled condition can be received completely within the recess so that the end of the drawer wall made from a wood material also lies within the wall thickness of the drawer side wall. In that arrangement, the drawer wall can bear directly against the drawer side wall, and the fitment portion in the mounted condition is invisible viewed from the interior of the drawer.
In the region of the recess, the drawer side wall can have holding elements for receiving the fitment portion, and the fitment portion is to be fixed relative to the drawer side wall in a positively locking relationship and/or force-locking relationship. For that purpose, the fitment portion can have a fixing limb with openings for receiving the holding elements provided on the drawer side wall. In that arrangement, the openings in the fitment portion are arranged so that the holding elements of the drawer side wall can engage behind them.
In an embodiment, the holding elements are in the form of latching elements which can be snap-engaged in the openings in the fixing limb. The latching elements which comprise plastic can be elastically deformable so that they can be latched with the openings in the fitment portion without the use of a tool.
The drawer side wall is in the form of a hollow-chamber profile member made of metal or plastic, and the drawer wall extends transversely relative to the drawer side wall and preferably is in the form of the drawer rear wall. Equally, the drawer wall can be in the form of a front wall or front panel of a drawer which is to be connected to the front end of the drawer side wall. In that case, the holding elements for fixing the front wall would have to be arranged at a front end region of the drawer side wall.
The article of furniture according to the invention has at least one drawer of the described kind.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further details and advantages of the present invention will be described by way of example illustrated in the Figures in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an article of furniture with displaceable drawers,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a drawer,
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the connecting region between the drawer side wall and the drawer rear wall,
FIGS. 4a and 4b are two different perspective views of the drawer rear wall with the fitment portion fixed thereto,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the fitment portion,
FIGS. 6a and 6b is a perspective view and a sectional view of the rear end region of the drawer, and
FIG. 7 is the rear end region of the drawer side wall with the drawer wall to be connected.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an article of furniture 1, wherein drawers 3 are supported displaceably relative to a furniture carcass 2 by drawer extension guides 4. The drawers 3 each have a drawer bottom 9, drawer side walls 10, and a further drawer wall 11 in the form of a drawer rear wall 11a, and the drawer side wall 10 and the drawer rear wall 11a are to be connected together by a fitment portion 14 that is still to be described. The drawer extension guide 4 has a carcass rail 5 to be fixed to the furniture carcass 2 and at least one displaceable drawer rail 7, and the drawer extension guide 4 can optionally also include a central rail 6 to increase the extension length.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the drawer 3, wherein the front panel 8 can be releasably latched with a latching device 12 arranged in the drawer side wall 10, by holding portions (not visible here) which are pre-mounted to the rear side of the front panel 8. The drawer side wall 10 is in the form of a—preferably metal—hollow profile member. It is possible to see a further drawer wall 11 in the form of a drawer rear wall 11a made of wood. The drawer rear wall 11a is connected to the drawer side walls 10 by fitment portions 14. The fitment portions 14 are completely received within the wall thickness of the drawer side walls 10 so that the drawer rear wall 11a can bear directly against the two drawer side walls 10.
FIG. 3 shows the connection region between the drawer side wall 10 and the drawer rear wall 11a. In the rear end region, the drawer side wall 10 has a vertically extending recess 15 in which the fitment portion 14 is fitted, and is connected to holding elements 20 (see FIG. 6b) arranged at the drawer side wall 10. The drawer rear wall 11a is also connected to the fitment portion 14, and its end projects into the recess 15 in the drawer side wall 10 so that the drawer rear wall 11a still somewhat overlaps with the inner profile wall 10a of the drawer side wall 10. Thus, the fitment portion 14 is invisible as viewed from the interior of the drawer 3, thereby affording a particularly aesthetic configuration of the drawer 3. The drawer side wall 10 can have a substantially rectangular configuration in cross-section.
FIG. 4a shows the fitment portion 14 fixed to the end of the drawer rear wall 11a and the height of which substantially corresponds to the height of the drawer rear wall 11a. The fitment portion 14 has at least one opening 16 (or a plurality thereof) for receiving the holding elements 20 arranged on the drawer side wall 10. The openings 16 are arranged at a spacing relative to the end of the drawer rear wall 11a, which in the illustrated embodiment is made possible by spacer legs 18 of the fitment portion 14, which project at a right angle from a plate-shaped fixing limb 21 of the fitment portion 14 and bear against the end of the drawer rear wall 11a.
FIG. 4b shows a perspective view of the rear side of the drawer rear wall 11a, in which respect it is possible to see the fixing locations 19 for securing the drawer rear wall 11a. The fixing locations 19 are arranged on tongues of the fitment portion 14, which project at a right angle from the fixing limb 21 and bear against the rear side of the drawer rear wall 11a. The provision of the tongues on which the fixing locations 19 are provided can however be omitted. It would also be possible for one or more screws to be screwed into the end of the drawer rear wall 11a, from the perpendicular fixing limb 21 of the fitment portion 14. In addition, it would be possible for the spacer legs 18 of the fitment portion 14 to embrace the drawer rear wall 11a so that the cut edges of the drawer rear wall 11a are concealed. In that way, the cut edges of the drawer rear wall 11a become invisible from the outside, in which case it is possible to dispense with precise finishing of those cut edges.
FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the fitment portion 14, wherein the drawer rear wall 11a is received within the L-shaped profile of the fitment portion 14. Screws can be passed through the fixing locations 19, to be screwed into the rear side of the drawer rear wall 11a in the assembly procedure. It is possible to see the openings 16 on the fixing limb 21 for receiving the holding elements 20 mounted to the drawer side wall 10. The spacer legs 18 which are bent from the end of the fitment portion 14 serve for spacing the openings 16 relative to the end of the drawer rear wall 11a so that the holding elements 20 of the drawer side wall 10 can reliably engage behind the openings 16. The fitment portion 14 is made in one piece and is preferably produced from metal.
FIG. 6a shows a perspective view from the rear of the rear end region of the drawer 3. It is possible to see the drawer extension guide 4 with the central rail 6 and the drawer rail 7 which is to be connected to the drawer 3. The drawer rear wall 11a is connected to the drawer side wall 10 by the fitment portion 14, and the end of the drawer rear wall 11a projects into the wall thickness of the drawer side wall 10.
FIG. 6b shows a sectional view of the structure shown in FIG. 6a. In the rear end region, the drawer side wall 10 has holding elements 20 which are received in the openings 16 in the fitment portion 14. The holding elements 20 are preferably in the form of latching projections which can be snap-engaged in the openings 16 of the fitment portion 14. The holding elements 20 can be, for example, in the form of elastically deformable latching projections, and the fitment portion 14 pre-mounted to the drawer rear wall 11a can be latchingly engaged on to the holding elements 20 without a tool. In the illustrated Figure, each of the holding elements (latching projections) 20 has a hooked configuration with a claw at an end thereof. As illustrated in FIGS. 6b and 7, the claw of each of the holding elements (latching projections) 20 has an inclined surface and a shoulder portion. Thus, each latching projection 20 can be introduced into a respective one of the openings 16 of the fitment portion 14 by bending the latching projection in a vertical direction as the inclined surface of the claw contacts an edge of the respective opening 16, and each latching projection 20 is secured against being withdrawn therefrom when the elastically-deformable latching projection 20 resiliently returns to form so that the shoulder of each claw contacts a rear surface of the fitment portion 14. The holding elements 20 can be brought into a release position by applying pressure in opposition to their resilient action so that the fitment portion 14 (and therewith the drawer rear wall 11a) can be separated from the drawer side wall 10.
FIG. 7 shows the rear region of the drawer 3 or the rear end portion of the drawer side wall 10 with the drawer wall 11 to be fixed thereto, in the form of the wood rear wall 11a. Fixed to the end of the drawer wall 11 is the fitment portion 14 which is latchable to the holding elements 20 arranged on the drawer side wall 10. The illustrated embodiment has a plurality of holding elements 20 which are spaced in a height-wise direction of the drawer side wall 10 and which extend in a direction facing at a right angle to the drawer longitudinal direction X and in a direction facing in the direction of the center of the drawer box. In the mounted position, the fitment portion 14 is received within the recess 15 of the drawer side wall 10, the recess 15 having a U-shaped configuration in plan view. In other words, the recess 15 is defined by limbs 22, 23 extending transversely relative to the drawer longitudinal direction X and a bar 24 which connects the limbs 22, 23 and which extends in the drawer longitudinal direction X. The bar 24 is provided on a rear cover cap 25 which is separate from the drawer side wall 10 but which is connected thereto in a positionally fixed relationship. The drawer side wall 10 is in the form of a hollow profile member with an inner profile wall 10a and an outer profile wall 10b. Those two profile walls 10a and 10b extend substantially parallel to each other, and in the assembled position the fitment portion 14 is disposed between those two profile walls 10a, 10b. Connected to the drawer side wall 10 is a carrier rail 26 having two vertically mutually spaced horizontal limbs 27 and 28 connected together by a vertical leg 29. The carrier rail 26 is mounted at the lateral edge of the drawer bottom 9, preferably in a recess which is open towards the edge of the drawer bottom 9. In the assembled position, the carrier rail 26 embraces the drawer rail 7 of the drawer extension guide 4 from above, with a portion which is profiled in a U-shape in cross-section.
The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, but includes or extends to all variants and technical equivalents which can fall within the scope of the appended claims. The positional references adopted in the description such as for example up, down, lateral and so forth are also related to the directly described and illustrated Figure and are to be appropriately transferred to the new position upon a change in position.
Patent Grant
10376053
