Lockable sliding drawer tray

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6811232
  • Patent Number
    6,811,232
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, January 3, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 2, 2004
    20 years ago
Abstract
A rectangular drawer has an upstanding partition extending between the drawer side walls and dividing the drawer into front and rear compartments. A rectangular tray has a bottom wall and upstanding front, rear and opposed side walls, the tray side walls having lateral flanges at their upper edges, slidably supported on upper edges of the drawer side walls for movement of the tray between an open and closed positions, respectively uncovering and covering one of the compartments. A key-actuated lock mechanism locks the tray to the partition in the closed position. In one embodiment, the lock mechanism is mounted forwardly of the tray and has a movable latch member movable into engagement in a slot in the partition and, in another embodiment, the latch mechanism is on the partition and the latch member moves into engagement with one of two different slots in the bottom wall of the tray, arranged so that the tray can be reversibly mounted.
Description




BACKGROUND




The following disclosure relates to devices having one or more drawers and a sliding tray in one of the drawers, the sliding tray being adaptable for providing access to a lockable portion of the drawer and for locking into a position to prevent access to the lockable portion of the drawer. The following disclosure has particular application to apparatus and methods for providing a lockable storage space inside a drawer of a multiple-drawer cabinet.




Various types of multiple-drawer cabinets, such as cabinets for storing mechanics' tools and the like, are provided with various apparatus for locking or otherwise securing the drawers to prevent theft. However, it is often necessary to leave such cabinets unlocked to allow others to have access to the tools and other devices stored therein. Nevertheless, the owner of the cabinet may have certain possessions in the cabinet that he wants to deny access to. Such possessions may include, for example, a wallet, keys, money, or other valuables or personal items that are sometimes stored during work hours. Other items may include particularly expensive tools, batteries, or a variety of other expensive, consumable, or hard-to-find items.




SUMMARY




The disclosed apparatus and method avoid some of the disadvantages of prior devices and methods while affording additional structural and operating advantages.




One form of the disclosed drawer has a lockable compartment comprising a portion of the drawer, closeable by a cover that comprises a sliding tray.




One form of the disclosed drawer has a lock coupled to the sliding tray and locked such that a lock bolt may be coupled to a partition or other part of the drawer.




In one embodiment, a drawer comprises a bottom wall, an upstanding peripheral wall structure integral with the bottom wall and having an upper edge, a partition extending across opposed portions of the peripheral wall structure for cooperation therewith and with the bottom wall to define a compartment, and a tray mountable on the peripheral wall structure for movement between an open position uncovering the compartment and a closed position covering the compartment, the tray having a bottom wall disposed below the upper edge of the peripheral wall structure.




The disclosed cabinet and lockable compartment comprise certain novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the disclosed drawer and lockable compartment.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the disclosed apparatus and method, there are illustrated in the accompanying drawings preferred embodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the disclosed apparatus and method, its construction and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a multiple-drawer cabinet that includes a first form of a lockable compartment within a drawer;





FIG. 2

is an enlarged front perspective view of a first form of the drawer with lockable compartment of

FIG. 1

, including a sliding tray in a closed position;





FIG. 3

is a side perspective view of the drawer of

FIG. 2

, the sliding tray being in an open position;





FIG. 4

is a further enlarged, fragmentary view in vertical section of the drawer of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 5

is a view similar to

FIG. 4

, the sliding tray being in an open position;





FIG. 6

is a bottom view of the sliding tray of

FIGS. 1-5

;





FIG. 7

is a perspective view of a drawer with second form of a lockable compartment in a closed condition;





FIG. 8

is an enlarged fragmentary, perspective view of the lockable compartment of

FIG. 7

in an open position;





FIG. 9

is a further enlarged, fragmentary view in vertical section of the lockable compartment of

FIG. 7

; and





FIG. 10

is a view similar to

FIG. 9

of the lockable compartment in an open condition.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




Referring to

FIG. 1

, there is illustrated a multiple-drawer cabinet


20


having a frame


21


provided with a set of wheels or rollers


22


depending therefrom and a handle


23


. The cabinet


20


may have a number of drawers, including drawer


30


, which may have many features in common with other drawer designs. For example, referring also to

FIGS. 2-6

, the drawer the


30


is generally rectangular in shape and has a bottom wall


32


, and an upstanding peripheral wall structure


33


, which includes two side walls


34


,


36


, a front wall


38


and a rear wall


40


. A forwardly projecting handle flange


42


may be provided on the front wall


38


to facilitate opening and closing of the drawer


30


by a user. A hook


44


(

FIG. 4

) may be provided on the drawer


30


, such as on the rear wall


40


, for cooperation with an associated locking mechanism to prevent drawer


30


from being withdrawn from the cabinet


20


. Many examples of such locking mechanisms are known to those having ordinary skill in the art, and therefore, will not be described in detail herein. A flange


46


may also be provided at the top of the rear wall


40


and extends toward front wall


38


in order to reduce the possibility of tools falling out of the back end of drawer


30


.




In one form, a partition


50


is provided within the drawer


30


and extends between the two side walls


34


,


36


. In alternative forms (not shown), partition


50


could extend from the front wall


38


to the rear wall


40


, diagonally between one of the side walls


34


,


36


and one of the front wall


33


or rear wall


40


, or diagonally between two opposite corners of the drawer


30


. Additionally, it is contemplated that one or more other versions could be made using any suitably constructed partition or multiple partitions.




The partition


50


may be formed from sheet metal and has a rectangular partition wall


52


, integral at opposite ends thereof, respectively, with end flanges


54


(one shown), and also integral with a top flange


56


and a bottom flange


57


. Flanges


54


,


56


, and


57


may extend substantially perpendicular to partition wall


52


. In one form, all of these flanges extend in the same direction toward rear wall


40


of drawer


30


. The end flanges


54


are respectively welded, or otherwise secured to, the side walls


34


,


36


of the drawer


30


. Similarly, bottom flange


57


may be welded to, or otherwise secured to, the drawer bottom wall


32


. In one form, top flange


56


includes a generally L-shaped opening


58


adapted to act as a keeper or strike plate to accept the bolt or latch member of a lock.




The partition


50


preferably extends between both side walls


34


,


36


and divides the drawer


30


into a front portion


60


and a rear portion


62


. In one form, the partition


50


extends upward from the drawer bottom


32


toward the top edges


63


,


64


of side walls


34


,


36


of drawer


30


, but does not extend all of the way to top edges


63


,


64


. In the illustrated embodiment, the rear portion


62


forms a lockable compartment.




In one form, a lockable lid or cover is provided for the lockable portion of drawer


30


. Such lockable lid can take the form of a sliding tray


70


, which may be manufactured from sheet metal that is bent and formed into any suitable configuration. Sliding tray


70


may include a rectangular bottom wall


71


and an upstanding peripheral wall structure including opposed side walls


75


,


76


, a rear wall


77


and a front wall


78


, which cooperate with the bottom wall


71


to define a recessed storage volume


72


for holding small tools or other devices. Laterally outwardly extending flanges


73


,


74


may be provided on side walls


75


,


76


, respectively at the upper edges thereof, and are adapted to overlie and slide along the top edges


63


,


64


of drawer side walls


34


,


36


to allow sliding tray


70


to slide back and forth along the length of drawer


30


. Rear wall


77


of sliding tray


70


may be slightly shorter than side walls


75


,


76


, and the rear ends of the side walls,


75


,


76


may be notched, as at


79


(FIGS.


4


and


5


), so as to fit beneath flange


46


on drawer rear wall


40


drawer flange


46


.




Projecting forwardly from the front wall


78


is a lock carrier


90


, which may include a substantially horizontal rectangular flange


92


projecting forwardly from the upper end of the front wall


78


, and integral at its forward end with a depending rectangular flange


94


. The parts are dimensioned so that the flange


94


extends below the level of the bottom wall


71


of the tray


70


. The flanges


92


an


94


are laterally substantially co-extensive with the front wall


78


, so as to substantially bridge the gap between the side walls


63


and


64


of the drawer


30


, preventing access to an open-bottom chamber


98


defined by the front wall


78


and the flanges


92


and


94


(FIGS.


4


and


5


), when the tray


70


is disposed in its closed position, as will be explained more filly below.




A lock


100


may be mounted in a complementary opening in the flange


94


and may have a generally L-shaped bolt or latch member


104


pivotally movable between a locking condition (

FIG. 4

) disposable in the opening


58


of the partition


50


and an unlocking position (

FIG. 5

) removed from the opening


58


. The lock


100


may be selectively operable by a key


108


in a known manner.




In operation, sliding tray


70


is placed on drawer


30


so that side flanges


73


,


74


ride on the upper edges of side walls


34


,


36


respectively, thereby allowing sliding tray


70


to slide back and forth with respect to drawer


30


. As sliding tray


70


is moved toward the rear of drawer


30


, the rear wall


77


and notched rear ends of side walls


75


,


76


of sliding tray


70


fit underneath flange


46


of drawer rear wall


40


in a closed position shown in

FIGS. 2 and 4

, to prevent access to the closed drawer compartment


62


.




When sliding tray


70


is positioned as just described, bolt


104


of lock


100


is in alignment with partition opening


58


and the key


108


can be used to move bolt


104


into opening


58


in order to lock sliding tray


70


in place. In one form, the lower end of the flange


94


substantially abuts the front wall


52


of the partition


50


to close the space between the tray


70


and the partition


50


. This minimizes the possibility of any tampering with bolt


104


or the locked compartment


62


formed beneath the sliding tray


70


.




The resulting lockable compartment


62


can be unlocked by using the key


108


to move the bolt


104


out of opening


58


, which allows sliding tray


70


to be slid forward, exposing the previously locked rear compartment


62


of drawer


30


, as shown in

FIGS. 3 and 5

. In one form, lock


100


is positioned near the top of the flange


94


to allow easier access to the lock


100


without the necessity of removing or moving tools in front portion


60


of drawer


30


. Similarly, the vertical flange


94


preferably extends only a short distance below the top of the partition


50


to allow sliding tray


70


to be slid back and forth along drawer


30


without having to remove or move tools stored in the front portion


60


of drawer


30


.




Referring to

FIGS. 7-10

, a second form is illustrated that has many features in common with the previously described form. Therefore, like numerals have been used in the figures to denote many similar features. This second form can be used in a cabinet similar to that depicted in

FIG. 1

or any other suitable drawer device. In this form, a partition


150


is provided within drawer


30


and extends between the two side walls


34


,


36


. In an alternative form, partition


150


can extend from front wall


38


to rear wall


40


; diagonally between one of side walls


34


,


36


and one of front wall


33


or rear wall


40


; or diagonally between two opposite corners of the drawer


30


. Additionally, it is contemplated that one or more other versions could be made using any suitably constructed partition or multiple partitions.




Partition


150


can be formed from sheet metal and has a rectangular partition wall


152


, two end flanges


154


(one shown), a top flange


156


, and a bottom flange


157


. Flanges


154


,


156


and


157


extend outward and perpendicular to partition wall


152


. In one form, all of these flanges extend in the same direction toward the rear wall


40


of drawer


30


. The side flanges


154


may be respectively welded, or otherwise secured to the side walls


34


,


36


of the drawer. Similarly, bottom flange


157


may be welded to, or otherwise secured to, drawer bottom wall


32


.




In one form, partition wall


152


includes an opening


158


adapted to accept the lock bolt


104


. Opening


158


can be located, for example, at a position approximately equidistant between drawer side walls


34


,


36


.




Partition


150


preferably extends between the side walls


34


,


36


and divides the drawer


30


into the front portion


60


and the rear portion


62


. In one form, partition


150


extends upward from drawer bottom wall


32


toward the top edges


63


,


64


of side walls


34


,


36


of drawer


30


but, does not extend all of the way to the top edges


63


,


64


.




In one form, a lockable lid or cover is provided for the lockable portion


62


of drawer


30


. Such lockable lid can take the form of a sliding tray


170


, which may be manufactured from sheet metal that is bent and formed into any suitable configuration. Sliding tray


170


may include a rectangular bottom wall


171


and an upstanding peripheral wall structure including opposed side walls


175


and


176


, rear wall


177


and front wall


178


, which cooperate with the bottom wall


171


to define a recessed storage volume


172


for holding small tools or other devices. Laterally outwardly extending flanges


173


and


174


may be provided on the side walls


175


,


176


, respectively, at the upper edges thereof and are adapted to overlie and slide along the top edges


63


,


64


of drawer side walls


34


,


36


to allow the sliding tray


170


to slide back and forth along the length of the drawer


30


. Rear wall


177


of sliding tray


170


may be slightly shorter than side walls


175


,


176


so as to fit beneath the flange


46


on the drawer rear wall


40


. The rear ends of the side walls


175


,


176


are notched, as at


179


, to accommodate the drawer flange


46


.




In one form, bottom wall


171


includes an opening


200


adapted to act as a keeper or strike plate and accept bolt


104


of lock


100


. Opening


200


can be located proximate to front wall


178


of sliding tray


170


at a position approximately equidistant between tray side walls


175


,


176


.




Additionally, sliding tray front wall


178


may also be adapted to be slightly lower than flange


46


on rear wall


40


of drawer


30


, and the front ends of the side walls


175


,


176


may be notched, as at


179




a


. This allows tray front wall


178


to slide underneath and clear flange


46


on drawer rear wall


40


if sliding tray


170


is turned around and then slid all the way to the rear of drawer


30


. Similarly a second opening


202


can be provided in the bottom wall


171


proximate to sliding tray rear wall


177


at a position approximately equidistant between tray side walls


175


,


176


. Such configuration allows sliding tray


170


to be placed in drawer


30


“backwards” and still function properly.




In operation, sliding tray


170


is placed on drawer


30


so that side flanges


173


,


174


ride on drawer side walls


34


,


36


, thereby allowing sliding tray


170


to slide back and forth with respect to drawer


30


. As sliding tray


170


is moved toward the rear of drawer


30


, sliding tray rear wall


177


(or sliding tray front wall


178


) fits underneath flange


46


of drawer rear wall


40


. In one form, any space between rear wall


177


(or front wall


178


) of sliding tray


170


and flange


46


is minimized to prevent access to drawer rear compartment


62


.




When sliding tray


170


is positioned as just described, bolt


104


of lock


100


is in alignment with opening


200


(or


202


) and key


108


can be used to move bolt


104


into opening


200


(or


202


) in order to lock sliding tray


170


in place. In one form, a channel


204


, extending from rear wall


177


to front wall


178


, may be welded, or otherwise secured, to sliding tray bottom wall


171


to cover openings


200


,


202


. This prevents access to the opening


200


,


202


from above, inhibiting tampering with bolt


104


or the locked compartment formed underneath sliding tray


170


.




The resulting lockable compartment can be unlocked in similar fashion. Key


108


is used to move bolt


104


out of opening


200


(or


202


), which allows sliding tray


170


to be slid forward, exposing the previously locked rear compartment


62


of drawer


30


(see FIGS.


8


and


10


). In one form, lock


100


is positioned near the top of partition wall


152


to allow easier access to lock


100


without the necessity of removing or moving tools stored in front portion


60


of drawer


30


.




From the foregoing, it can be seen that there has been provided an improved apparatus and method for securely storing valuables in a drawer that remains unlocked, while at the same time providing a movable storage region in the drawer.




The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. While particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the broader aspects of applicants' contribution. The actual scope of the protection sought is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the prior art.



Claims
  • 1. A drawer comprising:a bottom wall, an upstanding peripheral wall structure integral with the bottom wall defining a compartment bounded by the peripheral wall structure and having an upper edge, a partition extending across and joining opposed portions of the peripheral wall structure being attached thereto and to the bottom wall to define compartment portions respectively on opposite sides of the partition, a tray mountable on the peripheral wall structure for movement therealong between an open position uncovering one compartment portion and a closed position covering the one compartment portion, the tray having a bottom disposed below the upper edge of the peripheral wall structure, and a lock assembly locking the tray to the partition.
  • 2. The drawer of claim 1, wherein the bottom wall is substantially rectangular in shape and the peripheral wall structure extends around the periphery of the bottom wall.
  • 3. The drawer of claim 1, wherein the tray includes flanges supportable on the peripheral wall structure at the upper edge thereof for accommodating sliding movement of the tray relative to the peripheral wall structure.
  • 4. The drawer of claim 1, wherein the tray defines an open-top storage volume.
  • 5. The drawer of claim 1, wherein the lock assembly includes a latch mechanism on the tray movable between locking and unlocking conditions relative to the partition.
  • 6. The drawer of claim 1, wherein the lock assembly includes a latch mechanism on the partition movable between locking and unlocking conditions relative to the tray.
  • 7. A drawer comprising:a bottom wall, an upstanding peripheral wall structure integral with the bottom wall defining a compartment bounded by the peripheral wall structure, a partition extending across and joining opposed portions of the peripheral wall structure being attached thereto and to the bottom wall to define a compartment portions respectively on opposite sides of the partition, a tray mountable on the peripheral wall structure for movement therealong between an open position uncovering one compartment portion and a closed position covering the one compartment portion, a lock mechanism carried by the tray and selectively movable between locking and unlocking conditions, and keeper structure on the partition engageable with the lock mechanism in the locking condition of the lock mechanism for retaining the tray in the closed position of the tray.
  • 8. The drawer of claim 7, wherein the lock mechanism is key-actuatable.
  • 9. The drawer of claim 7, wherein the lock mechanism includes a movable latch element, the keeper structure including a slot in the partition for receiving the latch element.
  • 10. The drawer of claim 9, wherein the tray includes lock support structure at a forward end thereof.
  • 11. The drawer of claim 10, wherein the tray has a bottom and the lock support structure includes a flange depending below the bottom of the tray for engagement with the partition to prevent access to latch element when the tray is locked in the closed position of the tray.
  • 12. The drawer of claim 7, and further comprising: a forwardly-projecting flange at a rear end of the peripheral wall structure at an upper edge thereof, the tray having a rear end receivable beneath the flange when the tray is in its closed position.
RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/260,220, filed Jan. 8, 2001 now abandoned.

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Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60/260220 Jan 2001 US