GB2249713A

GB2249713A - Cabinet provided with wheels or rollers

Info

Publication number: GB2249713A
Application number: GB9121448A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Wijtse Bauke Rodenburg; Johannes Verboom
Original assignee: Ahrend Groep NV
Current assignee: Ahrend Groep NV
Priority date: 1990-10-18
Filing date: 1991-10-09
Publication date: 1992-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 2011-10-09
Also published as: FR2668046A1; GB9121448D0; GB2249713B; BE1005024A3; NL9002266A; DE4133816A1

Description

2 24 ?713 CABINET PROVIDED WITH WHEELS OR ROLLERS The invention relates to

a cabinet provided with wheels or rollers, in particular for placing under a 5 tabletop.

Such cabinets are particularly used in offices and are placed underneath a desktop, which is carried by a supporting construction.

The advantage of such a cabinet is that it can be placed in any position which at a certain moment is the most suitable for the user of the desk.

In order to make movement of the cabinet easy, it is provided with four wheels. However, this leads to limitations when designing the cabinet, especially the front side of it which can result in a less attractive appearance of the cabinet.

A drawback of the use of wheels is also that these take up space underneath the cabinet. The height of the cabinet, however, is determined by the lowest position of a tabletop or desktop. By employing wheels less storage space will be available than when a cabinet rests directly on the ground.

A further difficulty can arise, that in using the cabinet it will move by itself. When the cabinet is designed as a chest of drawers, this can occur when pulling out a drawer or pushing it in, expecially when it is very full.

The invention seeks to remove this drawback and provides that the bottom of the cabinet, near the back wall thereof, is provided with a backwards obliquely ascending wall part, at which obliquely ascending wall part and near the side walls of the cabinet two wheels have been mounted which project a small distance from beneath the obliquely ascending wall part and means for lifting the cabinet are provided at the front side for wheeled movement of the cabinet.

The invention also provides a cabinet provided with wheels or rollers recessed into the bottom of the cabinet, wherein said wheels are rotatable about an axis adjacent to the bottom and near to the rear wall of the cabinet, such that the wheels protrude a small distance below the bottom of the cabinet and wherein the bottom of the cabinet is upwardly inclined between a point below the axis of the wheels and the rear wall of the cabinet such that, when the cabinet is lifted at its front side and tilted about the axis of the wheels, a clearance is provided between the walls of the cabinet and the floor for movement of the cabinet from place to place.

Thus, the front wall of the cabinet rests directly on the floor, so that in designing it no account need be taken of wheels projecting downwards.

By providing the bottom with the backwards obliquely ascending wall part, when lifting up the front side of the cabinet, the back edge will not contact the ground. The cabinet will then rest exclusively on the two wheels.

In particular the invention provides that the wheels are within the side walls of the cabinet and therefore the wheels will be hardly visible. Hence, both the side view and the rear view will be able to meet certain aesthetic requirements.

A simple embodiment and easy assembly of the various parts can be attained when eachof the wheels is mounted on an axle which extends on both sides of the wheel concerned, while near their ends both wheel axles are received in a single wheel- receiving element in the cabinet, which element extends between both side walls in and between the rear wall and the bottom of the cabinet and that at the same time forms the obliquely ascending wall part of the bottom, the 3 wheel-receiving element being fastened to at least two of said wall parts.

According to another development of the invention, the wheel-receiving element for both the axles can be provided with two substantially vertically extending, opposite slots with a width almost equal to the diameter of the axle and each slot having a neck near its upper end, such that the axle can be pushed through this neck to form a snap-fit in the end part of the slot.

Mounting of the wheels in the wheel-receiving element can thus take place in a very simple manner and there is no need for extra fastening elements for the wheels.

Preferably, the wheel-receiving element will be made of plastic, since this has a certain flexibility and the wheel axle can be easily snapped into the end of the slot.

Naturally, it is in general necessary to lift the front side of the cabinet slightly when the cabinet has to be moved.

To this end, the cabinet can be provided with a grip at the upper side of the front wall.

Such a grip can be entirely integrated in the design of the cabinet and therefore be hardly visible.

When a relatively large a-mount of material, such as stationery, is stored in the cabinet, it can be difficult for some people to lift the cabinet at the front upper edge.

To remove this difficulty the invention provides for a transport arm, comprising a substantially vertical leg provided with a grip at the upper end and a relatively short lever at the lower end, which lever can be pushed underneath the front side of the cabinet. The lever and the cabinet are formed in such a way that a detachable coupling between cabinet and lever can be obtained when the lever is brought underneath the cabinet and slightly tilted, the transport arm being provided with at least one wheel at the connecting point between the lever and the vertical leg.

Owing to the length of the vertical leg only a small force need be exerted to slightly lift the front side of the cabinet with the lever, so that it can then be moved. Movement of the cabinet over greater distances can then take place easily.

The invention is further explained by means of an embodiment, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a front view of a cabinet according to the present invention; Fig. 2 shows a side view and partial section of the cabinet of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a section, on enlarged scale, of the wheel-receiving element, which is also shown in section in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 shows a section, on enlarged scale, according to line IV-IV of Fig. 1, of the wheel-receiving element; Fig. 5 shows a partial longitudinal section according to line V-V of Fig. 4 across the wheel-receiving element; Fig. 6 shows a side view of a transport arm according to the invention; Fig. 7 shows a front view of the transport arm 30 of Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 shows a side view of the cabinet together with the transport arm in two positions A and B thereof.

Fig. 1 and 2 show a cabinet 1 ccnsisting of two side walls 2, a rear wall 3, a bottom 4 and an upper wall 5. In the cabinet, a number of drawers 6 can be supported in a way known per se.

As appears from Fig. 2, the bottom 4 is discontinuous near the rear wall 3 and merges into an obliquely ascending wall part 7. This obliquely ascending wall part 7 is part of a wheel-receiving element 8, which is connected with the bottom 4 and the rear wall 3 by screws 9.

Fig. 3 shows the section of the wheel-receiving element 8 illustrated in Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale. This wheel-receiving element 8 comprises a part 10, that runs parallel to the bottom 4 and then merges into the obliquely ascending wall part 7. In the parts 7 and 10 threaded holes 11 have been made, for receiving the screws 9. The wheel-receiving element 8 is preferably made of plastic and in order to give the receiving element 8 sufficient rigidity the walls 7 and 10 can be provided with stiffening ribs 12, which can run both in longitudinal and transverse directions. 20 Fig. 4 shows, like Fig. 3, a cross-section across the wheel-receiving element 8, but on that point thereof where a wheel 13 can be mounted in the receiving element 8. As is apparent from Figs. 4 and 5, in the wheel-receiving element 8, at the point where a wheel is to be mounted, certain parts, running in longitudinal direction thereof, are discontinuous in such a way that two opposite walls 14 can be formed, with a slot 15 in each of them. A slot 15 is obtained by a U-shaped wall 16 standing squarely on wall 14. Each U- shaped wall 16 is provided with a neck 18 near its upper end 17, such that the axle 19 of a wheel 13 can be snapped into the upper end 17 of the slot 15.

When the cabinet stands normally on the floor 20, its legs 21 and wheels 13 rest on the floor, so 6 - that the cabinet will assume a stable position.

For moving the cabinet 1, its front side 22 is provided with a grip 23, see Figs. 1 and 2. When the cabinet is not too heavy, the front side can be lifted slightly with the help of the grip 23 and the cabinet 1 can easily be moved.

When the weight of the cabinet is too great, at least for the person wanting to move the cabinet, the transport arm 24 can be employed as it is shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8.

The transport arm 24 comprises a substantially vertical leg 25, provided with a grip 26 at the upper end and a relatively short lever 27 at the lower end, which lever is suitable for being placed under the is front side 22 of a cabinet 1.

At the point of connection between the lever 27 and the vertical leg 25, the transport arm 24 is provided with two wheels 28, which are at some distance from each other in a a way not further illustrated, and are connected to each other by means of an axle 29, which is pivotably supported by an element not further indicated, which extends between the vertical leg 25 and the lever 27.

In order to obtain a detachable coupling between the cabinet 1 and the lever 27, this lever is provided with a pen-shaped part 30, that can be received within an opening 31, see Figs. 1 and 2, made in a bearer 32 of the cabinet 1.

In order to be able to insert the"pin 30 into the opening 31 with ease, the bearer 32 is provided with an elevated part 33, see in particular Fig. 1, that becomes narrower towards the back, so that the free end of the lever 27 will be automatically led to the longitudinal centre plane of the cabinet and the pen 30 will locate in the opening 31.

Fig. 8 shows position A of a cabinet 1 with the 7 - lever 27 of the transport arm 24 pushed underneath. When the transport arm 24 is swivelled to the position B by means of the grip, the front side of the cabinet 1 is somewhat lifted and the whole can be 5 moved easily.

It will be obvious, that only one possible embodiment of the cabinet and the accompanying transport arm is illustrated in the drawing and described above and that many changes can be made without falling beyond the scope of the present invention.

is

Claims

1. A cabinet provided with wheels or rollers, in particular for placing under a tabletop, wherein the bottom of the cabinet, near its rear wall, is provided with a backwards obliquely ascending wall part, at which obliquely ascending wall part and near the side walls of the cabinet two wheels have been provided, which project a small distance from underneath the obliquely ascending wall part, means having been provided for lifting the cabinet at the front side for wheeled movement of the cabinet.

2. A cabinet provided with wheels or rollers recessed into the bottom of the cabinet, wherein said wheels are rotatable about an axis adjacent to the bottom and near to the rear wall of the cabinet, such that the wheels protrude a small distance below the bottom of the cabinet and wherein the bottom of the cabinet is upwardly inclined between a point below the axis of the wheels and the rear wall of the cabinet such that, when the cabinet is lifted at its front side and tilted about the axis of the wheels, a clearance is provided between the walls of the cabinet and the floor for movement of the cabinet from place to place.

3. A cabinet according to Claim 1 or'Claila 2, wherein the wheels are within the side walls of the cabinet.

4. A cabinet according to Claim 3, wherein each of the wheels is mounted on an axle extending on both sides of the wheel concerned, while near their ends, both wheel axles are received in a single wheel-receiving element, which extends between both side walls in and between the rear wall and the bottom of the cabinet and which at the same time forms the obliquely ascending wall part of the bottom of the cabinet, the wheel-receiving element having been fastened to at least two of said wall parts.

5. A cabinet according to Claim 4, wherein the wheel-receiving element for each of the axles is provided with two substantially vertically running, opposite slots with a width that is almost equal to the diameter of the axle and each of them being provided with a neck near its upper end, such that the axle can pass this neck for being snappingly received in the end part of the slot.

A cabinet according to Claims 4 or 5, wherein the wheel-receiving element is made from plastic.

7. A cabinet according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cabinet is provided with a grip at the upper side of the front wall.

8. A transport arm for use in moving the cabinet according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the transport arm comprises a substantially vertical leg provided with a grip at the upper end and a relatively short lever at the lower end, which lever is suitable for being pushed under the front side of the cabinet, the lever and the cabinet being formed in such a way, that a detachable coupling between cabinet and lever can be obtained when the lever after having been brought under the cabinet, is slightly tilted, the transport arm being provided with at least one wheel at the point of connection between the lever and the vertical leg.

9. A transport arm according to Claim 8, wherein a pin is mounted on the front end of the lever, which pin can locate in an opening in a bearer mounted near the lower edge at the front side of the cabinet.

10. A cabinet according to any of Claims 1 to 7, wherein at its centre, the bearer mounted near the lower edge of the front side of the cabinet, is provided with an elevated part, of which decreases in width from the front side of the cabinet to the back to form a guiding plane for the transport arm and the pin mounted thereon.

11. A cabinet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

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