GB2108564A - Cabinet drawer interlocks - Google Patents

Abstract

A filing cabinet is equipped with a safety device to prevent more than one drawer being withdrawn at any one time, so that the filing cabinet is less likely to topple. Each drawer is mounted on conventional runners 6 and is provided with a profiled strip 7 and a block 8 at one side. A bar 12 is vertically slidable within a recess 10 in one side 11 of the housing, and a respective peg 13 projects from the bar 12 adjacent the mouth of the passage 9 defined between each profiled strip 7 and the adjacent block 8. As one drawer is withdrawn from the housing, the engagement of the profiled strip 7 of that drawer with the adjoining peg 13 will cause the peg 13 and bar 12 to rise, thereby bringing the remaining pegs 13 in front of their associated blocks 8. The remaining drawers can therefore not be withdrawn from the housing. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECiFICATION Improvements in or relating to an article of furniture The present invention relates to an article of furniture and, more particularly, to an article of furniture which incorporates a plurality of drawers, such as a filing cabinet.

A known filing cabinet comprises a metal or wooden housing within which a plurality of drawers is mounted, each drawer being slidable in a generally horizontal direction out of the housing in order to allow access to the contents of the drawer. Filing cabinets of this type are usually so constructed as to be as light as possible when the drawers are empty, so that the cabinet may be moved from one piace to another relatively easily. This has the disadvantage, however, that when the drawers are full, the files represent the major part of the weight of the whole assembly.

Therefore, in a typicai filing cabinet of this type where there are three or four drawers, if two or more drawers are withdrawn, or become withdrawn, at the same time, the structure becomes unstable and may tip forwards onto the person who has withdrawn the drawers. Where the drawers of the cabinet move freely and the cabinet is not on a level floor, when one drawer is withdrawn the cabinet may tilt slightly and a second drawer may, of itself, move to the withdrawn position.

Also, if the files are not neatly located in the drawers, part of a file in one drawer may protrude and engage an upper drawer, and thus, if the upper drawer is withdrawn the said one drawer may also move to the withdrawn position. This has caused a number of accidents in which people have been injured by toppling filing cabinets.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or reduce the above described disadvantage.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an article of furniture comprising: a housing; at least two drawers adapted to be withdrawn from the housing; and an automatic retaining means adapted to retain, as one drawer is withdrawn from the housing, the or each remaining drawer within the housing.

Preferably the retaining means comprises a member movable from a first position, in which any one drawer may be withdrawn from the housing, to a second position in which the or each drawer not withdrawn from the housing is retained within the housing as said, the movable means being adapted to be moved from the first position to the second position by the withdrawal of the said one drawer.

Suitably the movable means is a bar sli dably retained within the housing and comprising a plurality of projecting peg means respectively associated with the drawers, a peg means associated with each other nonwithdrawn drawer being adapted, when one drawer has been withdrawn and the movable member is in the said second position, to engage an abutment face on the associated drawer to prevent withdrawal of the associated drawer from the housing.

Advantageously the movable member is adapted to slide substantially vertically within the housing from the first position to the second position and a respective membermoving means is provided on each drawer, comprising a surface adapted to engage a respective peg means of the movable member when the said drawer is withdrawn, the surface being so profiled that when the drawer is withdrawn the movable member is moved to and is retained in the said second position.

Preferably the said surface comprises an inclined portion to engage said peg means and move the said bar to the second position as the drawer is being withdrawn, and a horizontal portion to engage the said peg means and retain the bar in the said second position whilst the drawer is in a withdrawn position.

Conveniently each peg means comprises a roller means adapted to engage the said surface.

Suitably each abutment face is located above the associated profiled surface and the movable member is higher when in the second position than when in the first position.

Preferably the said surface and the said abutment face are defined on a member or members secured to the drawer.

Advantageously the article additionally comprises a key-operated locking means adapted to move the movable member into the said second position in order to retain all of the drawers within the housing.

Preferably the movable member is biased towards the said first position and, conveni ently the movable member is biased by a spring.

The article of furniture may be a filing cabinet.

The invention also encompasses any novei feature or combination of features described herein.

So that the invention may be more readily understood and so that further features may be appreciated, an article of furniture in accordance with the invention in the form of a filing cabinet will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the filing cabinet, with part of the housing cut away to show the sides of two of the drawers; Figure 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevation, taken in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 1, of two drawers in the filing cabinet and an associated locking bar, the two drawers shown in this Figure being positioned entirely within the housing; and Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, in which the upper of the two drawers visible in the Figure has been partially withdrawn from the housing.

The filing cabinet shown in the drawings comprises a cuboid, substantially conventional. wooden housing 1, in which four drawers 2, 3, 4. 5 are slidably mounted on respective pairs of horizontal guide rails 6 which allow each drawer to be withdrawn from the housing. The guide rails 6 are conventional and therefore will not be described in detail, and are mounted on the exterior side faces of the drawers.

At the bottom of the left-hand exterior side face (as normally viewed by a user) of each drawer there is a strip 7 of, for example, Perspex (Registered Trade Mark) which extends from the front of the drawer to the back. Whereas the lower surface of the strip 7 is linear and is flush with the lower edge of the exterior side face of the drawer on which it is mounted. the upper surface is profiled.

Thus, a front portion 7a of the strip of reduced height merges via an inclined portion 7b with a rear portion 7c of increased height.

The front portion 7a and the inclined middle portion 7b are each of a relatively short frontto-back extent, so that the bulk of the strip 7 is in the form of the relatively high rear portion 7c. Each strip 7 is fastened to the respective drawer by, for example, screws or glue.

A respective block 8 is located on the left hand side of each drawer, above, and spaced from, the inclined portion 7b of the strip 7, the block 8 being trapezoidal and having a substantially horizontal top surface (when viewed from the side), two substantially vertrical sides and an inclined bottom surface, the inclination of the bottom surface being substantially the same as the inclination of the inclined portion 7b of the strip 7. A short inclined passageway 9 is defined between the inclined portion 7b of the strip 7 and the inclined lower surface of the block 8. The front, abutment, surface of the block 8 is spaced from the front of the drawer and is substantially above the junction of the front portion 7a and the inclined portion 7b of the strip 7.

A vertical recess 10 of substantially rectangular horizontal section is provided on the inside of the left hand wall 11 of the housing 1 of the filing cabinet and extends for substantially the entire height of the filing cabinet. A flat metal bar 1 2 is slidably located within the recess 10 in such a way that the exposed surface of the bar is substantially flush with the inside surface of the wall 11.

The bar 1 2 is shorter than the recess 10 and the engagement between the two is such that the bar 1 2 may fall freely parallel to arrow B within the confines of the recess 10 under the influence of gravity. To achieve this. the bar and recess may, for example. be waxed or coated with some other low-friction material.

The bar 1 2 is retained in the recess by rails (not shown, but conventional) which co-operate with the drawer guide rails 6. and which are firmly mounted on the said inside surface of the left hand wall of the housing 1.

The bar 1 2 is provided with a plurality of transversely-projecting pegs 13. that is to say pegs which project from left to right as the cabinet is viewed by the user, the number of pegs 1 3 corresponding to the number of drawers in the filing cabinet. With the bar 1 2 in a lower, resting, position (the position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 in which all the drawers are closed) each peg 1 3 projects from the bar 1 2 towards an adjoining respective drawer to rest on top of the front portion 7a of the profiled strip 7 on that drawer and adjacent the passage 9 defined between the profiled strip 7 and the block 8.

The use of the filing cabinet will now be described, with particular reference to Figs. 2 and 3 in which a portion of the housing 1 has been cut away. With the bar 1 2 in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, any one of the drawers may be withdrawn from the filing cabinet to allow access to the contents of the drawer. but it is assumed for the sake of example that the top drawer 2 is withdrawn.

As the top drawer 2 is withdrawn, the profiled strip 7 of that drawer will move past the adjoining peg 1 3 and, as the inclined portion 7b of the strip 7 moves past the peg 13, the peg, and therefore the entire bar 12, will be forced upwards until the peg reaches a level corresponding to the upper surface of the relatively high rear portion 7c of the strip 7 on the side of the top drawer 2.

The bar 1 2 is now in the position illustrated in Fig. 3, and it can be seen that the upward motion of the bar 1 2 has caused the peg 1 3 adjacent the second drawer 3 to move in front of the the front, abutment, face to the block 8 on the second drawer 3. Whilst only the top two drawers 2, 3 are illustrated in detail in the drawings, it wili be appreciated that the pegs 1 3 associated with the bottom two drawers 4 and 5 will likewise have moved into a position in front of the respective blocks 8 of those drawers. It is now impossible by virtue of the abutment of the three lower pegs 1 3 and the blocks 8 of the lower three drawers 3, 4 and 5, for any of those drawers to be withdrawn from the housing 1. It will be appreciated that, although the operation of the filing cabinet has been described with respect to the withdrawal of the top drawer 2, any one of the drawers can be withdrawn from the housing and the same effect will obtain, namely the remaining drawers of the filling cabinet will be prevented from being withdrawn.

Thus, in the filing cabinet described above, there is a greatly reduced likelihood that the filing cabinet will topple onto the person withdrawing the drawers.

Many filing cabinets are equipped with locking devices by means of which it is possible to lock all the drawers within the filing cabinet by turning a single key. The filing cabinet described above and illustrated in the drawings does not comprise such a locking device, but of course one could be provided and a convenient location for it would be down the right hand side of the front of the filing cabinet.

However it is envisaged that a filing cabinet in accordance with the invention having the safety feature described above comprising the bar 1 2 and so on may have a locking mechanism associated with the safety device. In such an embodiment, a key-operated lock would be provided at, for example, the top of the left hand side of the filing cabinet and the top of the bar 1 2 would be joined to the locking mechanism in such a way that operation of the lock by a key would cause the bar 1 2 to rise into the position illustrated in Fig.

3. Provided, of course, that all the drawers are closed, they will all be locked within the housing.

In the filing cabinet described above, the profiled strip 7 and the block 8 of each drawer are formed from sheets of Perspex (Registered Trade Mark), but of course other materials could be used, for example wood, metal or a plastics material such as nylon. If the drawer is made of wood a recess can be machined directly into the drawer defining surfaces equivalent to the operative surface of the strip and block described above. Alternatively, a single moulded plastics member defining these surfaces may be used. To ensure a smooth running of the drawers when they are withdrawn from the filing cabinet, each peg 1 3 should engage the adjoining profiled strip 7 smoothly and, in one embodiment, each peg 1 3 may be provided with a respective roller to provide a particularly smooth running action.

Whilst it is possible to arrange for the mounting of the strip 1 2 within the recess 10 to be sufficiently loose for the strip 1 2 to fail freely under the action of gravity from the position shown in the Fig. 3 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, this downward sliding action may be assisted by the provision of a suitable spring (not shown), if desired.

Whilst the invention has been described with specific reference to a filing cabinet, and whilst it is envisaged that the invention will find its main use in such cabinets, the invention is not restricted solely to filing cabinets.

Claims (14)

CLAIMS:

1. An article of furniture comprising: a housing; at least two drawers adapted to be withdrawn from the housing; and an automatic retaining means adapted to retain, as one drawer is withdrawn from the housing, the or each remaining drawer within the housing.

2. An article according to claim 1 wherein the retaining means comprises a member movable from a first position, in which any one drawer may be withdrawn from the housing, to a second position in which the or each drawer not withdrawn from the housing is retained within the housing as said, the movable means being adapted to be moved from the first position to the second position by the withdrawal of the said one drawer from the housing.

3. An article according to claim 2 wherein the movable means is a bar slidably retained within the housing and comprises with a plurality of projecting peg means respectively associated with the drawers, a peg means associated with each non-withdrawn drawer being adapted, when one drawer has been withdrawn and the movable member is in the said second position, to engage an abutment face on the associated drawer to prevent withdrawal of the associated drawer from the housing.

4. An article according to claim 3 wherein the. movable member is adapted to slide substantially verticaily within the housing from the first position to the second position and a respective member-moving means is provided on each drawer, comprising a surface adapted to engage a respective peg means of the movable member when the said drawer is withdrawn, the surface being so profiled that when the drawer is withdrawn the movable member is moved to and is retained in the said second position.

5. An article according to claim 4 wherein the said surface comprises an inclined portion to engage the said peg means and move the said bar to the second position as the drawer is being withdrawn, and a horizontal portion to engage the said peg means and retain the bar in the said second position whilst the drawer is in a withdrawn position.

6. An article according to claim 4 or 5 wherein each peg means comprises a roller means adapted to engage the said surface.

7. An article according to any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein each abutment face is located above the associated profiled surface and the movable member is higher when in the second position than when in the first position.

8. An article according to any one of claims 4 to 7 wherein the said surface and the said abutment face are defined on a member or members secured to the drawer.

9. An article according to any one of claims 2 to 8 additionally comprising a keyoperated locking means adapted to move the movable member into the said second position in order to retain all of the drawers within the housing.

1 0. An article according to any one of the claims 2 to 9 wherein the movable member is biased towards the said first position.

11. An article according to claim 10 wherein the movable member is biased by a spring.

1 2. A filing cabinet according to any one of the preceding claims.

1 3. An article of furniture substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

14. Any novel feature or combination of features described herein.