GB2478644A

GB2478644A - Device to prevent jamming of drawers and the loss of items behind a rear wall

Info

Publication number: GB2478644A
Application number: GB1103928A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Shuttleworth
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-03-09
Filing date: 2011-03-08
Publication date: 2011-09-14
Also published as: GB201103928D0; GB2478540A; GB201003837D0

Abstract

An attachment which is intended to prevent the risk of jamming or loss of items down the back of drawers, includes an upstanding baffle 12 affixed to a rear wall of the drawer. The baffle is engaged with a horizontal cover sheet 10 which is fixed in a cabinet adjacent to the drawer opening to extend rearwardly above the drawer. The upper end of the baffle 12 may be slidably engaged with the cover sheet or provided with rollers, wheels or low friction bearing surfaces to ride over the sheet. In other embodiments which are described, the cover sheet 10 may be provided with depending side flanges which form angular notches or channels engaged with wheels or rollers mounted at the upper end of the baffle. The cover sheet 10 and the baffle 12 may also comprise overlapping sections to accommodate drawers of different widths.

Description

DRAWER ATTACHMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a drawer attachment which is intended to prevent, or at least reduce, the risk of jamming or loss of items down the back of drawers.

BACKGROUND

In many drawer units (particularly in kitchens) the front wall panel of the topmost drawer closes against a vertical lip that descends from the top of the cabinet. As the drawer is opened, rigid items such as cooking utensils frequently become jammed between this lip and the rear wall of the drawer.

Moreover, the drawer itself is usually relatively shallow, leaving a gap between the top of the drawer box and the underside of the cabinet top. As the drawer is opened, articles may be pushed over the rear wall of the drawer, either by the cabinet lip, friction with the surface above, or by their own inertia upon sudden movement of the drawer. Such articles then fall down into the depths of the cabinet, where they are often inaccessible and very hard o retrieve.

US 2006 0 152 116 Al proposes a partial solution o this problem by attaching a clear plastic cover over the rear portion of the drawer, bu this significantly reduces the capacity of the drawer. Other proposals include spring-loaded guards attached o the rear wall of the draw, as in US 1 704 964, and continuous bands which are mounted on rollers above the drawer and fixed o the rear of the drawer as in US i 120 028.

However many of these earlier devices are difficuft W fi and may even increase the risk that the drawer will jam.

The present invention seeks o provide a new and inventive solution o the problem of jammed drawers and lose items without reducing the capacity of the drawer, which can be rero-fitted to existing drawer units or fitted as standard in newly manufactured units.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention proposes a drawer mounted in a front opening in a cabinet, in which the drawer comprises a base, front and rear walls and opposing side walls and is mounted in the cabinet o move between open and closed positions, and the rear wall of the drawer is provided with an upstanding baffle which extends subsanially between the side walls, in which a cover sheer is fixed within the cabinet adjacent o said front opening and extends rearwardly above and subsaniaIIy parallel o the base of the drawer, and an upper end of the baffle is engaged with the cover sheet such that the baffle can move in a forward direction relative o the cover sheer when the drawer is opened.

By engaging the movable rear baffle with a fixed cover sheer, which may be semi-rigid with a certain amount of flexibility, the risk of jamming and resistance o movement of the drawer in normal use may be minimised. The drawer atIachmen is also easy o fi within most kinds of cabinet.

The cover sheet may be slidably inserted through a sIo in the baffle, although baffle is preferably provided with one or more wheels, rollers or low friction bearing surfaces which move in contact with the cover sheet.

In any embodiment of the invention the opposing side edges of the cover sheet extending in the direction of drawer movement are preferably provided with depending flanges. The flanges may form angular notches or channels with which the upper end of the baffle is engaged.

The baffle may be connected to the rear wall of the drawer by means of releasable wo-par connectors.

In some kinds of cabinet the upper end of the baffle may be provided with a rearward extension limb, the rear end of which is engaged with the cover sheet.

In any embodiment of the invention the cover sheet may be divided in the direction of drawer movement o form a plurality of overlappable sections. A clip may be provided for holding the overlapping sections together a the rear end of the cover sheet.

A preferred form of clip may engage aligned holes formed in the overlapping sections.

The baffle may also be divided o form a plurality of overlappable sections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description and the accompanying drawings referred o therein are included by way of non-limiting example in order o illusrae how the invention may be pu into practice.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a first form of drawer attachment; Figure 2 is a similar view of a variation of the drawer a tia ch men t; Figure 3 shows a modified form of the drawer a tia ch men t; Figure 4 shows a drawer atXachmen which can be used with lower drawers; Figure 5 shows a modification o the drawer atXachmen of Fig.s 1 and 2; Figure 6 shows another form of the drawer atXachmen, seem in end view; and Figure 7 is a plan view of the drawer atIachmen of Fig. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings show a drawer 1 which is mounted within a cabinet 2 such as an item of furnitijre or a kitchen unit. The drawer generally comprises a bottom wall 3 which is supported within upstanding front, rear and side walls, 4, 5 and 6 respectively. The front wall 4 is normally taller than the side and rear walls, and the drawer is slidably mounted within an opening in the front of the cabinet 2 using horizontal timber, metal or plastic runners or sliders 7 which are fixed inside the cabinet on opposite sides of the drawer. The runners or sliders 7 are engaged with the side walls 6 in known manner, so that the drawer can slide in and ou of a drawer opening. The closed position of the drawer is normally determined by conac between the drawer and part of the cabinet, e.g. by contact between the front wall 4 and a lip 8 which extends along the top of the front opening. The back of the cabinet may be closed by a back wall 9, as shown, or left open.

Referring firstly to Fig. 1, which shows the basic principle of the invention, a thin horizontal cover sheet 10 of plastic or other rigid or semi-rigid material, extending for the full width of the drawer, is secured to the lower edge of the lip 8 using any suitable means, e.g. screws 11, pins or adhesive. The cover sheet 10 lies substantially parallel to the bottom wall 3 and (with the drawer in its closed position, as shown) extends rearwards beyond the rear of the drawer, ending short of the back wall 9.

A rigid or semi-rigid vertical baffle 12 is secured to the rear wall of the drawer, extending across the full width of the drawer.

It should be noted that the baffle 12 may be secured to the front or rear surface of the rear wall 5. The upper end of the baffle is provided with a horizontal slot 13 which receives the cover sheet 10, so that as the drawer is opened and closed the cover sheet is able to slide freely through the baffle.

The part of the drawer box which remains inside the drawer cabinet is entirely covered by the sheet 10 whether the drawer is open, shut or anywhere in between. As a result utensils or other items are never able to lift into the space behind the lip 8 and cannot therefore jam against it. The rear baffle 12 also closes the rear of the drawer at all times, preventing articles within the drawer from falling down the back of the cabinet.

If the baffle 12 was secured o a drawer outside the cabinet i would be difficuft o insert the drawer into the cabinet, bu conversely, if the baffle was secured after the drawer is inserted, i would be difficuft W insert the cover sheet through the baffle. To avoid this difficulty, sockets or brackets 14 are permanently secured o the rear wall 5, and the baffle 12 is fitted with clips 15 ha can be attached o the sockets or brackets 14 without using tools. The assembly procedure involves sliding the baffle 12 onto the rear of the cover sheet 10.

The drawer is then inserted into the cabinet with the baffle angled forwards or backwards o pass over the rear wall of the drawer before being secured o the sockets or brackets 14. In an afternaive embodiment the baffle may be secured o the back face of the rear wall 5 SO that the baffle remains outside the drawer a all times. The drawer is also easily removed when necessary by reversing the sequence.

If the components are fitted to drawer units during manufacture, the front end of the cover sheet 10 can instead be secured o the vertical rear surface of the lip 8. The rear of the cover sheet can also be secured o the back wall 9. This makes the cover sheet 10 more discreet and less prone o flexing in use.

In order o accommodate drawers of different widths (e.g. 300 mm, 400 mm and 500 mm) the baffle 12 may be split vertically allowing the wo halves o overlap o varying exens. Suitable guides may be provided o maintain the wo halves in alignment. The upper margin of the sloe in which the cover sheet slides may be formed by a telescoping rod and sleeve arrangement. The width of the cover sheer 10 may be adapted using a similar arrangement of overlapping sections or by removing pare of the sheet, e.g. cuWng along a marked line, or snapping off a portion along an appropriate score line, Similar cutting or score lines may be provided across the width of the cover sheer allowing an appropriate portion o be removed o adapt the length of the cover sheer in order o avoid srus or other obsrucions a the rear of the cabinet.

Drawer units are frequently fitted with runners 7 in the form of roller guides, which ensure smooth opening and closing.

Smooth operation of the baffle may be ensured by fitting the upper pare of the baffle 12 with low fricUon bearing surfaces, wheels or rollers in conac with the cover sheet 10. For example one or more rollers 16 may be provided in conac with the bottom face of the cover sheer 10 o support is weight, or two opposing rollers 16 may be provided in contact with the upper and lower faces of the cover sheet as shown in Fig. 2.

The rollers 16 run over the opposing surfaces of the cover sheet as the drawer is opened and closed. The rollers 16 may afternaively run only along the edges of the cover sheet 10 if this is suitably rigid. On the other hand, if the cover sheet is somewhat flexible the rollers 16 may extend across the whole width of the cover sheet 10, although i is generally preferable o provide a series of shore rollers, wheels or low friction studs across the width of the cover sheer since these are more likely o maintain contact with the cover sheet.

In some cabinets, i might be difficult o secure the cover sheet o the bottom of the lip 8 as in Fig. 1, or attach fiwngs o the underside of workops, e.g. of metal or stone. Fig. 3 avoids these problems, as in the case of a drawer unit where the entire drawer front 4 slides into an opening in the front of the cabinet, whilst providing additional support for the rear of the cover sheet.

The cover sheet 10 is permanently attached by is rearmos end o an angled support limb 30 ha may consist of another sheet, straps, rods eec. The front end of the angled support 30 is attached o a bracket 31 which is fixed by screws 32, pins, adhesive or any other means o the rear of the fascia lip 8. The lower end of bracket 31 has a flange 33 which protrudes backwards into the drawer unit. A the front of the cover sheer 10, a se of small clips 34 spaced across is width are used o attach the cover sheet to the flange 33.

The bracket 31 can remain attached o the fascia 8 while the cover sheet 10 is unclipped, and the rear baffle 12 can be slid onto the cover sheer 10 when the drawer is inserted. The cover sheet can then be clipped o the flange 33 o secure i in place.

This provides rigid support for the cover sheet 10 with no protrusions, easy fixing without having o attach things deep inside the drawer unit, and simple removal and reinserion of the drawer as needed.

In many drawer units, only the opmos drawer closes against a lip 8. The lower drawers all close such that the op of the front panel 4 lies below the front panel for the drawer above i. This means that the lower drawers do no jam. Instead, jammed conens simply pull ou the drawer above whereupon i is normally easy o clear the jam from the side. However, the lower drawers in such cabinets can still suffer from loss of conens over the rear wall of the drawer. Fig. 4 shows another form of drawer atachmen which is suitable for use with such lower drawers.

A baffle 40 is fixed o the inside of the rear wall 5 of he drawer extending across the full width of the drawer. This baffle is stiff in nature a is lower end and becomes slightly flexible towards is upper end where i curves inwards towards the front of the drawer. The baffle 40 is of sufficient height o reach the base 41 of the drawer above. The op of the baffle 40 is fitted with a roller, set of rollers, a set of small wheels 42, or low friction bearing surfaces which run freely along the base 41 of the drawer above when the lower drawer is opened. This provides a secure barrier o prevent items falling from the rear of the drawer. The free edge of the baffle may protrude past the roller 42 50 as o nearly touch the upper drawer's base and thus prevent even thin items being lose behind the drawer.

When the upper drawer is opened i slides off the baffle 40 fitted o the lower drawer. The upper drawer is thus fitted a is cenreline, or a wo or more positions across is width, with a curved nose, or noses, 43. When the upper drawer is closed again, the or each nose 43 rides over the baffle 40 and re-seats the upper drawer on the roller 42.

Some cabinets have a different style of front lip 48 which is relatively shallow and extends much further back into the cabinet, as shown in Fig. 5. This means that when the drawer is fully open the rear wall 5 of the drawer is actually underneath the lip. In this case, the form of drawer atIachmen shown in Fig.s 1 and 2 may be modified as shown in Fig. 5, sc that the op of the baffle 12 is provided with a shore rearward extension limb 50 which extends beneath the cover sheet 10 sufficiently o avoid the lip 48. The rear end of the extension limb 50 may be provided with a rod 51, rollers, wheels, bearings etc. which extend over the upper surface of the cover sheet 10. Similarly, the extension limb 50 may be provided with rollers, wheels, bearings eec. as indicated a 52 o provide smooth movement relative to the cover sheet.

Fig.s 6 and 7 show another way of engaging the rear baffle 12 with he cover sheer 10 which eliminates the need for the baffle o have any protrusions above the level of the cover sheet. In this embodiment the opposite edges of the cover sheet 10 that run parallel o the direction of the drawer's movement are formed with downwardly-extending flanges 61 and 62, running the length of the cover sheet, which are angled inwardly towards each other a an acute angle o the cover sheet o form opposing angular notches. The rear baffle 12 is provided with angular rollers 63 and 64, shaped so as o engage with the opposing notches of the cover sheet formed by the downwardly protruding flanges. The rollers are mounted a opposite ends of the baffle 12 o roae about inclined axes.

The rollers prevent the cover sheet from lifting away from the baffle. Another advantage is that the downwardly protruding flanges provide the cover sheer with addiionaI stiffness. This prevents the cover sheer from sagging a the rear when secured o the front lip of the drawer carcase. A further advantage is that this arrangement allows the drawer o be easily and freely inserted into the carcase since the rollers naturally engage with the downward protruding edges of the cover sheet without requiring any mechanism o be attached or inserted over the op of the cover sheer. Likewise, the drawer can be removed and replaced a any rime as though the device was no fitted.

Similar advantages could be achieved using wheels, rollers or low friction bearing surfaces ha are arranged o engage inside angled notches or inward-facing channels protruding below the opposite edges of the cover sheet. However these variants are more complex o manufacture and may create some rubbing and friction with the sides of the rollers.

A major consideraUon in fitting such a device o existing drawer units is that such units vary considerably in width. Kitchen drawers are widely available in various widths, commonly ranging from 300mm o 600mm. To avoid having separate produces for each width of drawer, the cover sheet and rear baffle may be made adjustable.

In the embodiment shown in Fig.s 6 and 7 the cover sheet 10 is formed in wo sections 65 and 66. The wo sections of the cover sheet are equivalent o a single cover sheet that has been split longitudinally down the middle, parallel o the movement of the drawer. The front and rear edges of these sections are both perforated with regularly spaced small holes 67 and 68, Fig. 7.

In order o fi this o a narrow drawer, the wo sections are overlapped such ha the holes in the wo halves align. To fi the cover sheet o a full width drawer, the wo halves are abutted Iongftudinally. The front edge of the cover sheer is fixed o the cabinet lip via screws or other such means fitted through the front holes 67.

A the rear of the cover screen a small clip 70 is provided that can be used to hold the two sections together. The clip is of channel section, with an internal width equivalent o a double-thickness of the cover sheet, bu the walls of the channel are sprung inwards such that the clip will also close onto a single thickness cover sheet. Along the length of the channel on is inside surface are opposing rows of protrusions 71 spaced a the same interval as the holes in the cover sheet. When the wo sections of the cover sheet are abutted, the clip is engaged in the holes evenly across the join a the rear of the cover sheer, thus keeping the rear of the cover sheer together and aligned.

When the wo sections overlap, the clip can be fitted onto the overlapping area o engage in the holes and hold the sections o g ether.

Referring o Fig. 6, the rear baffle 12 may also be formed of wo sections, 73 and 74, in this case split vertically down the middle.

The split baffle may also be fitted o the vertical rear wall of the drawer such that the wo halves are abutted (for maximum width) or overlapping (for narrower widths) as in Fig. 6.

By using a cover sheer of, say, equal 300mm wide sections along with corresponding rear baffle sections, this system can thereby accommodate any drawer width between 300mm and 600mm with a single item. Moreover, ft is possible o make the wo halves symmetrical such that a single production process can make both halves of the cover sheer, and likewise a single production process could make both halves of the rear baffle.

A further refinement would be to allow three or more sections that may overlap o accommodate an even wider range of drawer widths. In this case, there would be wo outer sections as described above along with flat panels for the inner section or seci on s.

Whilst the above description places emphasis on the areas which are believed o be new and addresses specific problems which have been identified, i is intended that the features disclosed herein may be used in any combination which is capable of providing a new and useful advance in the are.

* * * * * * * *

Claims

CLAIMS1. A drawer mounted in a front opening in a cabinet, in which the drawer comprises a base, front and rear walls and opposing side walls and is mounted in the cabinet o move between open and closed positions, and the rear wall of the drawer is provided with an upstanding baffle which extends subsaniaIIy between the side walls, in which a cover sheer is fixed within the cabinet adjacent o said front opening and extends rearwardly above and subsaniaIIy parallel o the base of the drawer, and an upper end of the baffle is engaged with the cover sheet such that the baffle can move in a forward direction reIaive o the cover sheer when the drawer is opened.
2. A drawer according o Claim 1 in which the cover sheer is slidably inserted through a sloe in the baffle.
3. A drawer according to Claim 1 in which the baffle is provided with one or more wheels, rollers or low friction bearing surfaces which move in conac with the cover sheet.
4. A drawer according o Claim 1, 2 or 3 in which opposing side edges of the cover sheet extending in the direction of drawer movement are provided with depending flanges.
5. A drawer according o Claim 4 in which the depending flanges form angular notches or channels with which the upper end of the baffle is engaged.
6. A drawer according o Claim 5 in which the upper end of the baffle is provided with wheels, rollers or low friction bearing surfaces which are engaged within the angular notches or channels.
7. A drawer according o any preceding claim in which the rear end of the cover sheer is fixed o the cabinet and the front end of the cover sheer is joined o the front pare of the cabinet by releasable connectors.
8. A drawer according o Claim 7 in which the rear end of the cover sheet is fixed o the cabinet by a support limb which extends a an angle o the cover sheet.
9. A drawer according to Claim 8 in which the support limb is fixed to the front part of the cabinet.
10. A drawer according o any preceding claim in which the baffle is connected o the rear wall of the drawer by means of releasable two-part connectors.
11. A drawer according o any preceding claim in which the upper end of the baffle is provided with a rearward extension limb, the rear end of which is engaged with the cover sheet.
12. A drawer according to any preceding claim in which the cover sheet is divided in the direction of drawer movement to form a plurality of overlappable sections.
13. A drawer according to Claim 12 including a clip for holding the overlapping sections together at the rear end of the cover sheet.
14. A drawer according to Claim 13 in which the clip engages in aligned holes formed in the overlapping sections.
15. A drawer according to any preceding claim in which the baffle is divided to form a plurality of overlappable sections.
16. A drawer mounted in a front opening in a cabinet and arranged substantially as described with reference to the drawings.* * * * * * * *