EP1325995B1 - Interlock device preventing the simultaneous opening of elements, in particular for a drawer cabinet - Google Patents

Abstract

The pull out lock for chests of drawers has a rail (40) with multiple slides (20) mounted in a row. An adjuster plate (50) is connected to each drawer and can mover vertically. A stop (26) limits the movement of the slides. When a drawer is pulled out, the adjuster plate moves the slides to cause an elastic resistance movement to opening of the drawer beyond a set point. Claims include a chest of drawers using the stop.

Description

The present invention relates to a pull-out protection for a drawer cabinet. Furthermore, the invention relates to a provided with the pull-out drawer cabinet.

Cabinets and cabinet systems are used in many areas of trade and industry, for example as stationary or mobile tool cabinets in the field of industrial manufacturing or in the workshop area. Since in such cabinets often heavy tools or workpieces are stored, a tilting of the cabinets when opening drawers must be avoided. It has therefore long been known to provide such cabinets with a single pull-out protection. This is to ensure that not several drawers at the same time, but only a drawer, can be opened, so as to reduce the resulting from the pulled out drawers tilting moment.

It has been found that in some applications security requirements must be met that do not meet earlier cabinets. For example, it should be prevented that any persons have access to safety-sensitive parts or tools stored in cabinets are. This would in itself be solved simply by closing these elements in compartments of the cabinets. To access this, however, the corresponding compartments would have to be constantly opened and closed, which would significantly disrupt the workflow. In addition, each compartment would have to be provided with its own lock and key, which increases the design effort. In addition, a relatively large organizational effort would be associated with such a solution, as would have to be controlled, which persons receive keys for which drawers. If the access rights were changed, the return would have to be monitored by a large number of keys and their reissuing organized.

From WO-A-96/25577 a locking device is known which comprises at least one cabinet having a plurality of retractable drawers separated from each other, which are arranged on a housing of the cabinet, wherein compartments of the cabinet by a closure device can be locked and unlocked to which each of these compartments is provided with a switchable lock associated with it. In the closing device, an access authorization device is also provided. Each compartment can be locked and unlocked separately with its lock. The locking device known from WO-A-96/25577 already has the advantage over the prior art devices that the locking device can be formed in the rear area of the cabinet, whereas in the earlier cabinets it is usually a lateral attachment of the locking device was provided.

However, it has been found that the locking device of WO-A-96/25577 can still be improved with respect to some points. On the one hand, there has been the problem that the intrinsically single pull-out fuse leaves a transient range in which It can not work to its full extent, namely when two or even more drawers are pulled out at the same time. This happens especially when the drawer cabinet is moved on rollers, whether it is itself provided with wheels or that it is transported on a roller board, for example. But also abusive, simultaneous double extracts of drawers are conceivable. On the other hand, however, the arrangement of the safety edge according to WO-A-96/25577 is associated with the disadvantage that it can be triggered abusive even with retracted drawers by very flat objects when such an object is inserted between two drawers and up to the Safety edge can get. This abusive process is facilitated in particular by the fact that the object (eg a ruler) between the drawers is quasi guided and thus not even special finger skills are necessary to allow the abuse.

It is therefore first of all the object of the invention to provide a pull-out protection, in particular for a drawer cabinet, in which a simultaneous double extension is prevented and made impossible by the abusive manipulations, at least of the aforementioned type.

From DE-A-43 42 101 a locking device for drawers is known, which is also designed as a closing bar, in which the above problems are solved or do not occur at all. The closing strip according to DE-A-43 42 101 consists of a plurality of rotary elements which are mounted on a common pin, the rotary elements also have an organ which is designed so that it is an element in the rotation of an adjacent element around a predetermined angle over a certain axial stroke is removed, wherein the pin is vertically installed in the piece of furniture, that at an angular position of the elements, which does not require a distance, a radial projection or a groove of each of these elements in the trajectory of a projection of a drawer is arranged at their Opening the associated element rotates by the predetermined angle, whereby it causes the axial removal of an adjacent element and returns the rotated element when closing the drawer back to its original position, the pin at its lower part a fixed stop with a lifting member for lifting the abutting element in its rotation by the predetermined angle, while the upper end of the pin comprises a stop which is arranged at a position of the elements in which no element has been rotated by the predetermined angle, at a distance from the next element, the greater than the total distance, abe r is smaller than this total distance stroke plus the distance remaining at the end of the rotation of the element. In the locking device according to DE-A-43 42 101, the rotary elements are all identical and designed to abut each other, wherein the removal member has an axial lug of an element which is at rest in a recess of an adjacent element and after rotation of the element to a certain angle emerges from this recess. Even the above description shows the extremely complicated and expensive design of the locking device according to DE-A-43 42 101, which should therefore hardly come into question for an economical and easy to maintain use. Furthermore, the locking device according to DE-A-43 42 101 is not equipped with the basic advantages of the device according to WO-A-96/25577. The main disadvantage of the device according to DE-A-43 42 101 lies in the attempt to provide a multi-stable device in which the state in which one of the drawers is mounted, a very specific turning device is locked and thus locks the entire system, while in the device according to WO-A-96/25577 a bistable setting is provided in which the locking system when opening a drawer enters a lock state that is the same for all drawers.

From US-A-3 969 008 a further extract safety for a drawer cabinet is also known. This safety catch has a plurality of substantially arranged in a row and displaceable elements, a guide means for guiding the substantially arranged in a row and displaceable elements, as well as associated with the drawer to be secured adjusting elements for adjusting the vertical position of substantially in a series of arranged and movable elements. Furthermore, a limiting means for limiting the displaceability of substantially arranged in a row and displaceable elements is present. In this device, the adjusting elements cooperate with the drawer to be secured so that they move at the beginning of a pull-out movement of one of the drawer to be secured one of the substantially arranged in a row and displaceable elements and all other in one of the directions of the series elements, but be moved back to its original position by gravity after a certain extension position of the drawn drawer.

It is therefore still the object of the invention to design a further locking device so that the extremely complex measures of DE-A-43 42 101 can be avoided.

The invention solves the problem by a device according to claim 1. The measures of the invention initially have the consequence that the device can be operated together with the locking device according to WO-A-96/25577, so that the measures of the invention an additional Provide protection if needed. This rather modular concept should be regarded as a particular advantage of the invention. The measures of the invention provide additional protection against abuse and transient protection in the event that several drawers can be mounted at the same time. After mounting a drawer, the protection of the inventive device refers only to the abuse protection. As a result, the necessary protective measures are to be effected by simple means, compared with the complicated measures proposed in DE-A-43 42 101.

Further advantageous details of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims, some of which in turn have their own inventive contribution to the basic invention described herein.

The aforementioned and the claimed and described in the following embodiments, according to the invention to be used elements are subject to their size, shape design, material use and technical design no special conditions of exception, so that the well-known in the respective field of application selection criteria can apply without restriction.

Further details, features and advantages of the subject matter of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawings, in which - by way of example - a pull-out protection will be explained.

In the description of the following drawings, reference is made to the embodiment of WO-A-96/25577 as a basic version of a locking system.

Fig. 1

einen Schubladenschrank, der für die vorliegende Erfindung prädestiniert ist (Stand der Technik);

Fig. 2a

eine Einzelansicht der herkömmlichen Schliessleiste nach dem Stand der Technik ;

Fig. 2b

eine Explosionszeichnung nach Ansicht 2a (Stand der Technik);

Fig. 3

eine funktionale Darstellung des Schliessmechanismus, in dem die Massnahmen der Erfindung implementiert sind;

Fig. 4a

die Schliesszunge gemäss der vorliegenden Erfindung als Schrägansicht;

Fig. 4b

die Schliesszunge gemäss der vorliegenden Erfindung von der Seite;

Fig. 5

eine Schrägansicht der Schliessleiste mit den Massnahmen der Erfindung;

Fig. 6

eine Ansicht nach Figur 5 von vorne;

Fig. 7

eine Ansicht nach Figur 5 von der Seite, wobei alle Schubladen eingefahren sind;

Fig. 8

eine Ansicht nach Figur 5, von der Seite, wobei eine Schublade im transienten Zustand ist; und

Fig. 9

eine Ansicht der Führungsnut und den Gleitelementen.

In the drawings show:

Fig. 1

a drawer cabinet, which is predestined for the present invention (prior art);

Fig. 2a

a single view of the conventional closure strip according to the prior art;

Fig. 2b

an exploded view according to view 2a (prior art);

Fig. 3

a functional representation of the closing mechanism in which the measures of the invention are implemented;

Fig. 4a

the closing tongue according to the present invention as an oblique view;

Fig. 4b

the closing tongue according to the present invention from the side;

Fig. 5

an oblique view of the closure strip with the measures of the invention;

Fig. 6

a view according to Figure 5 from the front;

Fig. 7

a view according to Figure 5 from the side, with all drawers are retracted;

Fig. 8

a view according to Figure 5, from the side, wherein a drawer is in the transient state; and

Fig. 9

a view of the guide groove and the sliding elements.

In the following, the measures of the invention in the known from WO-A-96/25577 and described in Figure 1 as a whole with 10 drawer cabinet will be explained. The drawer cabinet 10 has a plurality of drawers 12. These drawers are secured with a single pull-out device 48, which is operated via a lock 46 and a safety bar 44. The drawers are guided by guides 14 when moving. The individual pull-out protection is formed by the closure profile, as disclosed in WO-A-96/25577 and also in EP-A-1 035 285. The technical details of the function of the closing strip are shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b, reference being made to the prior art in this respect.

As in the prior art, the closing mechanism is actuated by a closing tongue 52, which is formed on corresponding, attached to the end of the drawer slide 50. According to the present invention, however, these locking tongues have an elevation element, each with a ramp 54 and 56 fore and aft, and a flat part 58 formed between the ramps. The ramp is inclined by about 10 ° to 40 °, preferably by 20 °, said angle can also assume a value outside the specified range.

In front of the closure profile, in the present exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, a respective guide rail 40 is attached, in each of which a guide groove 42 is formed. In this guide 42 now flat flat plate 20 are now embedded. These plates 20 are formed so that they can slide vertically in the guide groove. At the top, they have a rectangular cutout 24 into which the closing tongues 52 with their additional elevating elements can be moved out of the two ramps 54 and 56 and the flat part 58, but by pressing the two adjacent platelets apart. In the exemplary embodiment, a small, rectangular cutout is also formed on the underside of the platelets, which functionally cooperates with the upper cutout 24 on the plate 20 arranged underneath as described above. The lowermost plate 20 rests on a connecting element 28, with which the two guide rails 40 are connected. When pushing apart of the platelets 20 so only the plate 20 can be moved above the closing tongue 52 formed with the elevation element upwards. This is only possible because of the vertical succession of platelets 20, although all platelets located above said platelet 20 slide upwards. The hibernation described here with Retracted drawers 12 is shown in particular in Figure 7.

Above the guide rails 40 are also connected to a connecting element 26 which is additionally formed as an upper delimiting element of the movement of the platelets 20. The distance of the uppermost plate 20 in the state in which all the plates 20 lie on each other and is not moved by any closing tongue 52, from the upper connecting and limiting element 26 is just selected so that only one elevation element with respect to its flat portion 58 transiently through the successive platelets 20 fits through. If the flat part 58 of an elevation element is located in an opening 24 between two platelets 20, then the uppermost platelet lies just on the upper connecting and delimiting element 26. A further lifting of the platelets 20 is not possible in this state, so that another drawer 12 can not be pulled out. This function is shown in particular in FIG.

In order to make the transient pull-out protection effective at the beginning of the drawer extension, the front ramp 54 is arranged on the closing tongue 52 so that, when the drawer 12 is completely retracted, it is just resting against the associated upper plate. By this configuration, namely, causes even with a small extension movement of the drawer 12 of the described movement process of the upper platelet and all overlying platelets begins or prevented.

When the drawer drawer has been pulled out over a certain opening way, the platelets 20, which are arranged above the closing tongue, lower again and the additional closing mechanism does not act further. The lowering is defined by the position of the rear ramp 56. Thus, if the corresponding drawer 12 has been pulled out beyond a certain pull-out path, only the pull-out safety according to the prior art acts in the present exemplary embodiment, as described, for example, in WO-A-96/25577 and also in EP-A-1 035 285 is disclosed. However, it must be emphasized that the additional, transient pull-out protection according to the present invention can cooperate with any other pull-out protection.

By a special measure of the invention, the transient pull-out protection according to the present invention, however, still acts in a wider sense. The platelets 20 are arranged so that each one platelet 20 protects the space between two drawers 12. This prevents that can be manipulated on the closing mechanism 26, 27 with an object which is passed between two retracted drawers 12 therethrough. In the present embodiment, therefore, the opening 24 of a small plate is always covered by the drawer both in the lower, stationary state and in the raised state. In the present embodiment, this fact is ensured by the fact that the total height of a single plate 20 is dimensioned at 25 mm, while the opening 24 together with the - small in the embodiment of the lower section of the plate 20 is not more than 5 - 8 mm, corresponding to the height of the flat part 58 on the closing tongue 52, so that the concealing part of the plate 20 is always protective in both the raised and in the lowered state in front of the accessible through the gap between two drawers part of the closing bar.

In the present embodiment, the additional, transient pull-out protection is modularly constructed such that it when inserting various drawers 12 in the drawer cabinet 10 does not need to be changed or adjusted. As already described, the height of a small plate in the exemplary embodiment is 25 mm. This allows the modular use of drawers with a height of for example 25 mm, 50 mm, 75 mm 100 mm or another multiple of 25 mm, without having to adjust the pull-out protection in any way. Since the closing mechanism according to the prior art according to WO-A-96/25577 and also according to EP-A-1 035 285 allows different drawer heights, an optimal adjustment of different types of drawer is possible.

Claims (8)

1. A slide safety assembly for a drawer cabinet

   - with a multiplicity of movable elements disposed essentially in a row (20),

   - a guide means (40) for guiding the movable elements disposed essentially in a row (20),

   - adjusting elements (50) that can be brought into contact with the drawers that are to be secured (12) for adjusting the vertical position of the movable elements disposed essentially in a row (20),

   - a limiting means (26) for limiting the movability of the movable elements disposed essentially in a row (20), wherein

   - the adjusting elements (50) can be brought into working contact with the drawers that are to be secured (12) such that when one of the drawers to be secured (12) starts to be pulled out they move one of the movable elements disposed essentially in a row (20) and all other elements located in one of the row directions (20), but once the drawer (12) being pulled out reaches a given pull-out position, they are moved back to the starting position by the gravitational and/or elastic force of a spring element and/or another driving means pushing back the movable elements disposed essentially in a row (20),

   characterised in that

   - the movable elements disposed essentially in a row (20) are in the form of essentially flat plates with an opening section (24),

   - the adjusting elements (50) are in the form of closing plates with a closing tongue (52), wherein the closing tongue has a ramp(54, 56) on each side of the slide movement of the drawer (12),

   - the guide means (40) is in the form of a guide rail, wherein the flat plates (20) are carried on each side along a guide channel(42) in the guide rail (40).
2. The slide safety assembly according to claim 1, characterised in that there is an essentially flat part (58) between the aforementioned ramps (54, 56) on the closing tongue.
3. The slide safety assembly according to one of the claims 1 to 2, characterised in that the movable elements disposed essentially in a row (20) are disposed essentially vertically.
4. A drawer cabinet with several compartments separate from one another, preferably pull-out drawers (12), which are disposed in a cabinet housing, wherein each of these compartments can be locked and unlocked by a locking mechanism, a lock acting on the respective compartment is provided for the locking and unlocking of each of these compartments and the locking mechanism has a central locking profile, which comprises a single slide safety assembly, through which only one compartment can ever be opened at a time,
   characterised in that
   the drawer cabinet has, in addition, a slide safety assembly according to claims 1 to 3.
5. The cabinet according to claim 4, characterised in that locks can be actuated separately from one another, so that drawers can be released for sliding out independently of one another.
6. The cabinet according to claim 4 or 5, characterised in that the locks can be actuated electrically.
7. The cabinet according to one of the claims 4 to 6, characterised in that the aforementioned single slide safety assembly comprises two safety strips that act on all drawers in the cabinet, which can be transferred by one drawer (12) in each case from a lock position, in which they lock drawers (12) to prevent them from being pulled out, into a release position, in which a drawer can be pulled out.
8. The cabinet according to claim 7, characterised in that the guide means (40) is disposed on the safety strip.

Images