GB2480297A - Storage drawer with lifting compartment - Google Patents

Abstract

A storage drawer comprises a housing (5, fig 1) and, mounted in the housing (5), a drawer 6 which can be slid from a closed position to an open; located within the drawer is a compartment 1 which is arranged to move relative the drawer 6 as the drawer 6 is slid out of or into the housing (5); when the drawer 6 is opened the compartment 1 is raised and, as the drawer 6 is pushed back in the compartment 1 is lowered. The raising of the compartment 1 is preferably achieved by a lifting mechanism including cam followers (18, fig 5) which run in cam tracks (10, fig 5). The front of the compartment 1 may constitute the front 2 of the drawer 6.

Description

STORAGE DRAWERS, PARTICULARLY FOR RETAIL DISPENSING This invention relates to storage drawers, particularly for use in retail dispensing operations.

Although many items sold at retail are nowadays selected by the customer from an appropriate display shelf, merchandiser or the like, the sale of certain types of goods is required to be carried out by a direct interaction between the would-be purchaser and a member of the staff of the retail outlet. Examples of such goods are prescription medicines. Sometimes because of the high intrinsic cost of relatively small size items, for example items of jewellery or electronic goods, these are not placed on open display, but traditionally need to be extracted from where they are stored by the member of staff and then presented to the customer. While a conventional drawer, for example located underneath a shop or checkout counter, is a convenient way of storing such goods, it is not without its disadvantages.

One problem is that if the drawer is tightly packed with items of merchandise, it can be difficult or fiddly to extract one easily, while if, in contrast, there is plenty of space in the drawer, moving the drawer tends to disorganise the contents of the drawer and quick, efficient selection and presentation of a product to a customer becomes more difficult.

A further problem is that if the drawer opens "behind the counter", the customer on the other side of the counter cannot easily see, even if the drawer is pulled well out, what is in it, and the salesperson needs to extract the goods and place them on the counter for inspection.

According generally to the present invention, there is provided a drawer unit consisting of a housing and, mounted in the housing, a drawer which can be slid from a closed position where the drawer lies wholly or substantially wholly within the housing to an open position in which the drawer projects partway from the housing, and wherein located within the drawer is a compartment which is arranged to move relative to the drawer as the drawer is slid out of or into the housing in such a way that, when the drawer is opened to a certain extent, the compartment is raised so that it lies wholly or partly above the top of the drawer.

While a variety of mechanisms may be constructed to effect such movement, the preferred mechanism is by way of a lifting mechanism connected to the compartment and actuated by engagement between a cam forming part of the lifting mechanism and a cam track fixed to the drawer housing. Most conveniently for simplicity of operation, the housing contains two cam tracks, one to either side of the drawer, and the compartment, which is lifted as the drawer is pulled out and which is lowered as the drawer is pushed back in, is mounted on the lifting mechanism at either side.

The compartment preferably extends from immediately adjacent the front of the drawer part way towards the rear of the drawer, but preferably not more than half way towards the rear of the drawer if the back of the drawer space is to be used for storage as well as the compartment.

The front of the drawer may be separate from the front of the compartment or the front of the compartment may constitute the drawer front and, for example, incorporate a handle or rail grip to enable the drawer to be slid in and out. In this latter case, the lifting of the compartment may be assisted by the person opening the drawer pulling upwards as the drawer is slid out.

As noted above, the raiseable and lowerable compartment is located essentially at the front of the drawer and extends only part way towards the back. The remainder of the drawer, i.e. the space in the drawer behind the raiseable and lowerable compartment, may be used for storing further products and, in particular, may be used to store extra product supplies which can be used to replenish the supplies of product located in the liftable and lowerable compartment.

In a particularly preferred construction, the cam tracks used to actuate the raising or lowering of the compartment relative to the body of the drawer are configured such that, as the drawer is opened, the compartment is raised until it projects to the desired extent above the top of the drawer, and then, as the drawer is opened further, the compartment is lowered again. This makes re-stocking the compartment from material now exposed and located in the back of the drawer easier.

Preferably the sliding of the drawer is effected by standard runner mechanisms fixed to the sides of the drawer and to the corresponding inside sides of the housing in which the drawer is mounted. Such mechanisms conventionally have a stop to render the drawer captive unless appropriately unlatched from its runners.

While the raising and lowering of the compartment may be effected merely by an appropriate simple mechanical linkage including a cam running in a fixed cam track, it is usually preferable to provide mechanisms biasing the compartment upwards so as to make the operation of the drawer easier, and to reduce wear on cam and track (so extending the service life of the unit).

Such mechanisms may use springs, gas struts or other suitable components to counterbalance the weight of the compartment and its content. Using such biasing mechanisms, and with careful design of the contour of the cam track, the "feel" of the drawer during opening and closing may be optimised and, by the use of an indent in the track, an intermediate "half open" position may be

rendered stable.

If desired, the top of the compartment may be in the form of a lid which can be raised to allow access to the interior of the compartment. In such a case, the lifting mechanism may be arranged to lift the compartment only enough for the lid to lie flush with the upper surface of a counter or worksurface underneath which the drawer is mounted and accordingly to constitute, when the drawer is pulled out by an appropriate amount, an extension surface to that counter or worksurface.

The invention is illustrated by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings which show a dispensing drawer unit in accordance with the invention suitable for incorporation under a counter in a retail store.

In the drawings: Figure 1 shows an opened drawer unit in perspective, seen from the viewpoint of a person who has opened the drawer; Figure 2 is a view of the drawer unit as in Figure 1 but from the opposite direction; Figure 3 is a perspective view part cut away showing the compartment in its raised position as in Figure 2; Figure 4 is an exploded view showing the unit and, more particularly, the components from which it is constructed; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the linkages which support the movable compartment and cam tracks in which a linkage engages; and Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 show diagrammatically the positions of the various components when the drawer is closed (Figure 6), as it is opened (Figure 7), as it is further opened (Figure 7), when it is still further opened (Figure 8), and when it is fully opened (Figure 10).

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the drawer itself consists essentially of a raisable front compartment 1 incorporating a drawer front 2 with a handle 3 to pull the drawer out, and a generally rectangular housing 5 in which the drawer is slidably mounted. The top of the housing 5 may be a counter in a retail shop or the top of a checkout desk. The rear portion of the drawer interior is denoted 6. A front rail 22 defines the front of the rear portion of the drawer, as well as avoiding any risk of something in the rear compartment (or the user's fingers) being caught between the lower edge of compartment 1 and the floor of the rear portion 6. The top of compartment 1 is preferably covered by a lid 4, shown in Figure 2.

As can be seen in Figure 3, the compartment 1 is mounted on the remainder of the drawer 6 via a parallelogram linkage formed by two lifting arms 12 and two links 13 located within the double skin side walls of compartment 1 and of the remainder of the drawer 6. The sides of the remainder of the drawer 6 are mounted on runners of conventional construction, the runners consisting of a portion 7 fixed to the side of the drawer 5 and a portion 9 fixed to the interior wall of housing 5. Also fixed to the interior walls of housing 5 are two cam track plates 10. Figure 4 shows the entire drawer unit in exploded view, including a rear wall 14 for the remainder of the drawer 6.

As can be seen, the ends 8 of the compartment in the rear portion of the drawer 6 are a double-walled unit 8a, 8b, between which lifting arms 12 and links 13 are located, their front ends being fixed pivotally to end walls 15 of the compartment 1, which is accordingly essentially supported on a parallelogram linkage. The rear ends of links 13 are pivotally mounted on walls 8b.

The two lifting arms 12 are connected by a torsion bar 16 ensuring that they move together and which is journalled in wall 8b. The rear ends of lifting arms 12 project past the ends of walls 8a and carry cam followers 18 which locate in a track in cam track plate 10. Gas struts 19 are mounted between a fixed pivot on wall 8b and a pivotal connection to a downwardly extending portion of lifting arms 12, tending to rotate the arms 12 clockwise as shown in Figures 4. Figure 5 shows the assembled linkage and cam track plate arrangement, but with walls 8a and 8b omitted for clarity.

Products or merchandise may be placed on the floor of compartment 1 and in the remainder of the drawer 6.

When the drawer is fully within housing 5, compartment 1 adopts a lowered position within housing 5 while, when the drawer is pulled part way out, which forces cam followers 18 to move to the lowest part of the track in cam plate 10, it adopts a raised position as shown in Figures 1 to 3.

Figures 6 to 10 show parts of the drawer unit diagrammatically in the various positions they adopt as the drawer is opened and shut. Figure 6 shows their position when the drawer is shut, with compartment 1 at the same height as the rear portion 6 of the drawer, and cam follower 18 at one end of the track in cam track plate 10.

As the drawer is pulled out, it moves to the position shown in Figure 7 and then, as it is pulled out further, the cam follower 18 is forced down in the track on cam track plate 10, so raising compartment 1 to the position shown in Figure 8. In this position, the fronts of the stack and pusher units in compartment 1 are clearly visible to the person who has opened the drawer and items in the compartment may be simply extracted and handed to a customer.

At this point, the drawer may simply be pushed back in, whereupon the movements previously made reverse or, alternatively, if it is desired, for example, to extract something from the rear portion of the drawer 6, the handle 3 is pulled further and the parts first adopt the positions shown in Figure 9, and then as shown in Figure 10, with compartment 1 now lowered again and the rear portion of the drawer 6 now accessible.

The drawer unit illustrated may be used in a wide variety of retail installations. They are of particular use where goods to be sold must not be on open display, e.g. tobacco based products. The components of the drawer unit may be sized to accommodate the standard package size for cigarettes supplied in bulk for retail sale, or to accommodate standard slide and pusher units from which tobacco products are often dispensed.

Claims (9)

1. CLAIMS1. A drawer unit consisting of a housing and, mounted in the housing, a drawer which can be slid from a closed position where the drawer lies wholly or substantially wholly within the housing to an open position in which the drawer projects part way from the housing, and wherein located within the drawer is a compartment which is arranged to move relative to the drawer as the drawer is slid out of or into the housing in such a way that, when the drawer is opened to a certain extent, the compartment is raised so that it lies wholly or partly above the top of the drawer.
2. 2. A drawer unit according to Claim 1 and including a lifting mechanism connected to the compartment and actuated by engagement between a cam forming part of the lifting mechanism and a cam track fixed to the drawer Q 15 housing.
3. 3. A drawer unit according to Claim 2 wherein the housing contains two cam tracks, one to either side of the drawer, and the compartment, which is lifted as the drawer is pulled out and which is lowered as the drawer is pushed back in, is mounted on the lifting mechanism at either side.
4. 4. A drawer unit according to Claim 2 or 3 wherein the cam track(s) used to actuate the raising or lowering of the compartment relative to the body of the drawer is/are configured such that, as the drawer is opened, the compartment is raised until it projects to the desired extent above the top of the drawer, and then, as the drawer is opened further, the compartment is lowered again.
5. 5. A drawer unit according to any one of Claims 2 to 4 and including mechanisms biasing the compartment upwards so as to make the operation of the drawer easier, and to reduce wear on cam and track.
6. 6. A drawer unit according to any one of Claims 1 to 5 and wherein the compartment extends from immediately adjacent the front of the drawer part way towards the rear of the drawer.
7. 7. A drawer unit according to any one of Claims 1 to 6 wherein the front of the compartment or the front of the compartment constitutes the drawer front and incorporates a handle or rail grip to enable the drawer to be slid in and out.
8. 8. A drawer unit according to any one of Claims 1 to 7 wherein the sliding of the drawer is effected by standard runner mechanisms fixed to the sides of the drawer and to the corresponding inside sides of the housing in which the drawer is mounted.Q 15
9. 9. A drawer unit according to any one of Claims 1 to 8 wherein the top of the compartment is in the form of a lid which can be raised to allow access to the interior of the compartment. (\J (\J