JP7477162B2 - Drawer body - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to improvements to a drawer that is part of various furniture or store fixtures and can be pulled out and stored in the storage space of the furniture.

Patent Document 1 shows a storage unit that can be pulled out and installed in a system kitchen, and that allows the mounting position of the front panel to be adjusted. Such adjustment of the front panel becomes necessary when assembly errors or distortion during transportation occur in the storage unit.

The device in Patent Document 1 is composed of three parts: an axis member fixed to the front side of the storage main body, a first mounting member fixed to the back side of the front plate, and a second mounting member that sandwiches the axis member between the first mounting member and is screwed in place. In the device in Patent Document 1, the screw fastening is loosened to rotate the front plate around the axis member, and then the screw is tightened to hold the front plate against the storage main body in the adjusted position.

Patent No. 4855949

The main problem that this invention aims to solve is how to make it possible to adjust the attachment position of the front panel to the drawer body of this type of drawer appropriately and rationally with a minimum number of parts.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a drawer body in which the front plate is fixed to the drawer body by attachment members comprising a first member attached to the back surface of the front plate, a second member attached to the front part of the drawer body, and a screw body that is screwed into a screw hole formed in the first member through a through hole formed in the second member,
one of an abutting portion that is pressed against the second member by the screwing of the first member and an abutted portion that is pressed against the first member by the screwing of the second member is a protruding portion that continues in a vertical direction,
the other of the abutting portion and the abutted portion is a recess continuing in the vertical direction to receive the protrusion,
Furthermore, the cross-sectional contour shapes of the protrusion and the recess in the left-right direction are formed to follow the circumferential surface of an imaginary cylinder having an axial centerline in the up-down direction,
The screw hole of the first member is formed at a position approximately in the middle of the abutment portion in the left-right direction,
The through hole of the second member is an oblong hole that is long in the left-right direction and penetrates the second member from the front to the rear and has a front opening located in the abutted portion,
Moreover, the abutting portion is formed with a knurled portion consisting of a plurality of protrusions formed in the vertical direction and fine grooves formed between adjacent protrusions, and the abutted portion is formed with a knurled portion consisting of a plurality of protrusions formed in the vertical direction and fine grooves formed between adjacent protrusions, and the abutting portion and the abutted portion are brought into contact with each other by meshing the knurled portions.

One aspect of the invention is to make one of the attachment positions of the first member relative to the front panel and the second member relative to the drawer body adjustable in the vertical direction, and the other adjustable in the horizontal direction.

In one aspect of the invention, the front panel is fixed to the drawer body by the mounting members at two locations spaced apart in the vertical direction.

According to this invention, in this type of drawer body, the attachment position of the front panel to the drawer body can be adjusted appropriately and rationally with a minimum number of parts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a drawer body and a front panel of a drawer according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the drawer body and the front panel are separated from each other. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the essential parts showing the upper part of the front frame of the drawer body and the mounting member separated from each other, as viewed from the front. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the essential parts showing the upper part of the front frame of the drawer body and the mounting member separated from each other, as viewed from the rear. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the essential portion of the upper portion of the front frame of the drawer body, as viewed from the front. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the essential portion of the upper portion of the front frame of the drawer body, as viewed from behind. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the attachment member and the front plate are fixed to each other, and only the mount portion of the front frame of the drawer body is shown. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional diagram showing the fixed state between the mounting member and the front panel, illustrating the state in which the front panel has been tilted from the state shown in FIG. 6, with only the mounting portion of the front frame of the drawer body being shown. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the essential parts showing the upper part of the front frame of the drawer body and the mounting member separated from each other in a modified example of the drawer body configuration shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, as viewed from the front. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the essential parts of the modified example, showing the upper part of the front frame of the drawer body and the mounting member separated from each other, as viewed from the rear.

A typical embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 9. The drawer body 1 in this embodiment is supported by slide rails 12 and becomes part of various furniture or store fixtures, and is stored in a storage space 13 of the furniture so that it can be pulled out.

In the illustrated example, the drawer body 1 has a rectangular, plate-shaped bottom portion 2a that is long in the pull-out/push-in direction x (front-back direction/see Figure 1) and short in the left-right direction y (see Figure 1) perpendicular to the pull-out/push-in direction x.

In the illustrated example, the drawer body 1 is composed of a front panel 3 and a drawer body 2. The drawer body 2 comprises a front frame portion 2b arranged so as to substantially follow the front surface of an imaginary hexahedron with the bottom portion 2a as the bottom surface, a rear frame portion 2c arranged so as to substantially follow the rear surface of the hexahedron, and a side frame portion 2d arranged so as to substantially follow one of the sides of the hexahedron, and is configured so that the top surface and the other side of the hexahedron are open. The front frame portion 2b, rear frame portion 2c, and side frame portion 2d are configured by integrally fixing vertical bar portions 2f and horizontal bar portions 2g made of metal wire to an outer periphery portion 2e made of metal wire at appropriate positions.

In the illustrated example, a front panel 3 is attached to the front frame 2b, which is the front part of the drawer body 2, via an attachment member 4. When the drawer body 1 is fully pushed into the storage space 13, the front panel 3 becomes part of the front of the furniture or the like.

In the illustrated example, the front frame portion 2b is provided with four horizontal bars 2g. Between the first horizontal bar portion 2ga (located at the top) and the second horizontal bar portion 2gb, and between the third horizontal bar portion 2gc and the fourth horizontal bar portion 2gd (located at the bottom), a space 10 is formed with a vertical dimension slightly larger than that of the mounting member 4. In addition, between the second horizontal bar portion 2gb and the third horizontal bar portion 2gc, a space is provided that occupies approximately 2/3 of the vertical dimension of the front frame portion 2b. The vertical bar portion 2f is installed between the second horizontal bar portion 2gb and the third horizontal bar portion 2gc.

Between the first horizontal bar portion 2ga and the second horizontal bar portion 2gb, and between the third horizontal bar portion 2gc and the fourth horizontal bar portion 2gd, a mount portion 11 for mounting the second member 6 described later in the mounting member 4 is formed. The mount portion 11 is composed of a pair of strip plate bodies 11a installed between the upper and lower horizontal bar portions 2ga, 2gb and 2gc, 2gd. In the illustrated example, the strip plate body 11a has a plate surface aligned in the left-right direction, and the upper and lower ends are welded to the horizontal bar portion 2g. The space 10 between the first horizontal bar portion 2ga and the second horizontal bar portion 2gb, and the space 10 between the third horizontal bar portion 2gc and the fourth horizontal bar portion 2gd are divided into three by the pair of strip plate bodies 11a. A screw hole 11c is formed in the middle of the strip 11a in the vertical direction, penetrating the strip 11a in the front-rear direction.

The mounting member 4 is composed of a first member 5, a second member 6, and a screw body 7.

The first member 5 is attached to the rear surface 3a of the front panel 3. The first member 5 has a rectangular plate shape that is longer in the left-right direction y and has a larger left-right dimension than the second member 6.
An abutting portion 5a is formed in a central position in the left-right direction y of the first member 5. The abutting portion 5a is pressed against a contacted portion 6a of the second member 6 by screwing as described below.
The abutment portion 5a of the first member 5 is formed on the rear surface 5b side of the first member 5. The first member 5 is attached to the front plate 3 with its front surface 5c in close contact with the rear surface 3a of the front plate 3. In the illustrated example, the first member 5 has through holes 5d for fastening screws 8 to the front plate 3 on both sides of the abutment portion 5a. The first member 5 is fixed to the front plate 3 by screwing the fastening screws 8 into the front plate 3 from the rear through the through holes 5d (see FIG. 6 ).

The second member 6 is attached to the front frame portion 2b which forms the front portion of the drawer main body 2. The second member 6 has a rectangular plate shape that is long in the left-right direction y.
An abutted portion 6a is formed in a central position in the left-right direction y of the second member 6. The abutted portion 6a is pressed against the abutting portion 5a of the first member 5 by screwing as described below.
The abutted portion 6a of the second member 6 is formed on the front surface 6b side of the second member 6. The second member 6 is attached to the front part of the drawer main body 2 with the front surface 6b in close contact with the rear surface 11b of the band plate body 11a constituting the mount part 11. In the illustrated example, the second member 6 has through holes 6c for fastening screws 9 for the band plate body 11a constituting the mount part 11 on both the left and right sides of the abutted portion 6a. The second member 6 is fixed to the front part of the drawer main body 2 by screwing the fastening screws 9 into the corresponding screw holes 11c of the band plate body 11a from the rear through the left and right through holes 6c with the abutted portion 6a positioned between the pair of band plate bodies 11a.

The screw body 7 is screwed into a screw hole 5 e formed in the first member 5 through a through hole 6 d formed in the second member 6 .
In this embodiment, the screw hole 5e of the first member 5 is formed in the contact portion 5a at a position approximately in the middle in the left-right direction y.
In the illustrated example, the screw hole 5e of the first member 5 is formed by a metal nut body 5h that is incorporated into the first member 5 as an insert in a mold when the first member 5 is molded from a plastic material.
The through hole 6d of the second member 6 penetrates the second member 6 from front to rear, with a front opening 6e positioned at the abutted portion 6a. The through hole 6d of the second member 6 has an elongated hole shape that is long in the left-right direction y.

In this embodiment, one of the abutting portion 5a that is pressed against the second member 6 by the screwing of the first member 5 and the abutted portion 6a that is pressed against the first member 5 by the screwing of the second member 6 is a protruding portion that continues in the vertical direction,
The other of the abutting portion 5a and the abutted portion 6a is a vertically continuing recess for receiving the protrusion.
Additionally, the cross-sectional contour shapes of the protrusions and recesses in the left-right direction y are formed to follow the circumferential surface of an imaginary cylinder (not shown) having an axial centerline in the up-down direction.

In the illustrated example, the contact portion 5a is configured as a protrusion, and the contacted portion 6a is configured as a recess.

The abutment portion 5a is formed across the width of the first member 5, i.e., in the vertical direction z. The cross-sectional contour shape of the abutment portion 5a is the same at any position in the vertical direction z. The abutment portion 5a has a ridge shape that protrudes rearward with the apex 5f located at the midpoint in the length direction of the first member 5, i.e., in the left-right direction y.

The screw hole 5e is formed in the contact portion 5a at a midpoint in the left-right direction y and at a midpoint in the up-down direction z.

In addition, in the illustrated example, the abutment portion 5a is formed with a knurled portion 5g consisting of multiple ridges formed along the vertical direction z and fine grooves formed between adjacent ridges. In the illustrated example, the knurled portion 5g is formed in a range of approximately 1/3 of the left-right dimension of the abutment portion 5a, including the apex 5f of the abutment portion 5a.

On the other hand, the abutment portion 6a is formed to extend across the width direction of the second member 6, i.e., the vertical direction z.

In the illustrated example, a frame portion 6i is formed on the front surface 6b of the second member 6, which is made up of a pair of vertical ridges 6f, an upper horizontal ridge 6g extending between the upper ends of the pair of vertical ridges 6f, and a lower horizontal ridge 6h extending between the lower ends of the pair of vertical ridges 6f. The abutted portion 6a is formed within this frame portion 6i.

The cross-sectional contour shape of the contact portion 6a is the same in both the vertical and horizontal directions z. The contact portion 6a is recessed rearward with its deepest part 6j located in the middle of the length of the second member 6, i.e., in the left-right direction y, and has a groove shape that continues in the vertical direction between the upper horizontal ridge 6g and the lower horizontal ridge 6h.

The through hole 6d of the screw body 7 is formed in the middle of the abutment portion 6a in the vertical direction z.

In the illustrated example, the contact portion 6a is formed with a knurled portion 6k consisting of multiple ridges formed along the vertical direction z and fine grooves formed between adjacent ridges. In the illustrated example, the knurled portion 6k is formed in a range of approximately 1/3 of the left-right dimension of the contact portion 6a, including the deepest portion 6j of the contact portion 6a.

The vertical dimension L1 (see FIG. 3) of the abutting portion 5a is substantially equal to the distance L2 (see FIG. 2) between the upper horizontal ridge 6g and the lower horizontal ridge 6h of the frame portion 6i, and the horizontal dimension L3 (see FIG. 3) of the abutting portion 5a is substantially equal to the distance L4 (see FIG. 2) between the pair of vertical ridges 6f of the frame portion 6i. The abutting portion 5a is configured to fit complementarily into the abutted portion 6a.

The attachment member 4 is attached to the front of the drawer body 2 by attaching the second member 6 to the mount portion 11 in the space 10 with the fastening screw 9, and by screwing the screw body 7 into the screw hole 5e of the first member 5 through the through hole 6d of the second member 6 with the abutting portion 5a of the first member 5 facing the abutted portion 6a of the second member 6.

In this way, the drawer body 2 is fixed to the front plate 3 via the attachment member 4 by screwing the fastening screw 8 into the front plate 3 from the rear through the through hole 5d of the first member 5 of the attachment member 4 attached to the front of the drawer body 2 (see Figure 6).

Here, one of the contact portion 5a and the contacted portion 6a is a protrusion continuing in the vertical direction z, and the other is a recess continuing in the vertical direction z to receive the protrusion, and further, the cross-sectional contour shapes thereof are along the peripheral surface of an imaginary cylinder having an axial center line in the vertical direction z, so that when the screw body 7 is not fully tightened, the first member 5 can be rotated within a certain range in a direction around the vertical axis ax1 (see FIG. 1) relative to the second member 6, and thus the front plate 3 attached as described above can be tilted and adjusted around the vertical axis ax1. In this embodiment, the contact portion 5a and the contacted portion 6a are in contact with each other by engaging the knurled portions 5g, 6k (see FIG. 6), so that the tilt adjustment produces a sense of moderation and a clicking sensation. Since the through hole 6d of the second member 6 is a long hole that is long in the left-right direction y, this tilt adjustment makes it possible to fully tighten the screw body 7 from a state in which the front surface 3b of the front panel 3 is aligned with the ideal plane sf (see Figure 7) on which the decorative surface of a system kitchen, etc. is located, thereby allowing the front panel 3 to be held in the position after the tilt adjustment (see Figure 7).

In Figures 6 and 7, the reference numeral 14 denotes a washer 14 that is interposed between the screw head 7a of the screw body 7 and the rear surface 6m of the second member 6.

In addition, in this embodiment, one of the attachment position of the first member 5 relative to the front panel 3 and the attachment position of the second member 6 relative to the drawer body 2 is adjustable in the up-down direction z, and the other is adjustable in the left-right direction y.

In the illustrated example, the through hole 5d of the first member 5 is an elongated hole that is long in the left-right direction y, making it possible to adjust the attachment position of the front panel 3 relative to the first member 5, i.e., the attachment position of the front panel 3 relative to the drawer body 2, in the left-right direction y within the range of the length of the through hole 5d.

In the illustrated example, the through hole 6c of the second member 6 is elongated in the vertical direction z, which allows the attachment position of the second member 6 relative to the drawer body 2 to be adjusted in the vertical direction z within the range of the length of the through hole 6c in the space 10. This also allows the attachment position of the front panel 3 relative to the drawer body 2 to be adjusted in the vertical direction z.

In this embodiment, the front panel 3 is fixed to the drawer body 2 by the mounting members 4 at two locations spaced apart in the vertical direction z. Although the upper mounting member 4 is shown in Figures 3 to 5, the lower mounting member 4 has the same structure as the upper mounting member, and therefore its description is omitted.

When the fastening screw 8 is tightened, the front plate 3 is tilted so that the upper end side is tilted backward around the horizontal axis ax2 (see FIG. 1) so as to increase the adhesion between the first member 5 of the mounting member 4 located on the upper side and the front plate 3. Conversely, when the fastening screw 8 is tightened, the front plate 3 is tilted so that the lower end side is tilted backward around the horizontal axis ax2 so as to increase the adhesion between the first member 5 of the mounting member 4 located on the lower side and the front plate 3. This makes it possible to adjust the tilt of the front plate 3 around the horizontal axis ax2 in this embodiment.

Figures 8 and 9 show a modified example of part of the configuration of the drawer body 1 shown in Figures 1 to 7. In this modified example, the screw holes 5e of the first member 5 constituting the mounting member 4 are formed in two places, one above and one below. Correspondingly, the through holes 6d of the second member 6 constituting the mounting member 4 are also formed in two places, one above and one below. Both the upper and lower through holes 6d of the second member 6 are elongated holes that are long in the left-right direction y.

In this modified example, the second member 6 is attached to the front of the drawer body 2 via a mount 15 formed on the front frame 2b of the drawer body 2. In this modified example, the mount 15 is installed between the first horizontal bar 2ga and the second horizontal bar 2gb provided on the front frame 2b of the drawer body 2. In the illustrated example, the mount 15 is a rectangular plate, and its upper edge is welded to the center of the first horizontal bar 2ga, and its lower edge is welded to the center of the second horizontal bar 2gb. Two upper and lower through holes 15a for the screw body 7 that penetrate the mount 15 in the front-rear direction are formed in the middle of the mount 15 in the left-right direction. The upper and lower through holes 15a of the mount 15 are also long holes that are long in the left-right direction y.

In this modified example, the screw bodies 7 (screw bodies 7 constituting the mounting member 4) are introduced from the rear into the upper and lower through holes 15a of the mount portion 15 attached to the front of the drawer body 2, and then screwed into the upper and lower screw holes 5e of the first member 5 through the upper and lower through holes 6d of the second member 6, respectively. This attaches the second member 6 to the front of the drawer body 2, and at the same time, fixes the front panel 3 to the drawer body 2 via the mounting member 4.

Although not shown in the figure, the mount 15 is also installed between the third horizontal bar 2gc and the fourth horizontal bar 2gd on the front frame 2b of the drawer body 2 in the same manner as described above, and a separate attachment member 4 is also provided on the underside of the front frame 2b, and the front panel 3 is fixed to the drawer body 2 via the attachment member 4 on the underside in the same manner as described above.

In this modified example, the vertical size of the through hole 15a of the mount 15 is slightly larger than the diameter of the shaft of the screw body 7, which allows the mounting position of the second member 6 relative to the drawer body 2, i.e., the mounting position of the front panel 3, to be adjusted in the vertical direction. A guided protrusion 6n that fits into a vertically long guide slit 15b formed in the mount 15 is formed on the rear surface 6m of the second member 6 that contacts the mount 15, and the vertical adjustment of the second member 6 is made within the range of this guide slit 15b. The guide slits 15b are formed on the left and right sides of the formation location of the through hole 15a of the mount 15, and the guided protrusions 6n are formed on the left and right sides of the formation location of the through hole 6d of the second member 6.

The rest of the configuration of the modified example described above is substantially the same as the drawer body 1 shown in Figures 1 to 7, so the description will be omitted.

Naturally, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but includes all embodiments that can achieve the object of the present invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 Drawer body 2 Drawer main body 2a Bottom 2b Front frame 2c Rear frame 2d Side frame 2e Outer periphery 2f Vertical bar 2g Horizontal bar 2ga First horizontal bar 2gb Second horizontal bar 2gc Third horizontal bar 2gd Fourth horizontal bar 3 Front plate 3a Rear 3b Front 4 Mounting member 5 First member 5a Contact portion 5b Rear 5c Front 5d Through hole 5e Screw hole 5f Top 5g Knurled portion 5h Nut body 6 Second member 6a Contact portion 6b Front 6c Through hole 6d Through hole 6e Front hole opening 6f Vertical ridge 6g Upper horizontal ridge 6h Lower horizontal ridge 6i Frame 6j Deepest part 6k Knurled part 6m Rear surface 6n Guided part 7 Screw body 7a Screw head 8 Fastening screw 9 Fastening screw 10 Space 11 Mount part 11a Strip plate body 11b Rear surface 11c Screw hole 12 Slide rail 13 Storage space 14 Washer 15 Mount part 15a Through hole 15b Guide slit x Pull-out/pushing direction (front-rear direction)
y Left-right direction z Up-down direction ax1 Vertical axis ax2 Horizontal axis sf Ideal plane

Claims (3)

A drawer body in which the front plate is fixed to the drawer body by an attachment member consisting of a first member attached to the back surface of the front plate, a second member attached to the front part of the drawer body, and a screw body that is screwed into a screw hole formed in the first member through a through hole formed in the second member,
one of an abutting portion that is pressed against the second member by the screwing of the first member and an abutted portion that is pressed against the first member by the screwing of the second member is a protruding portion that continues in a vertical direction,
the other of the abutting portion and the abutted portion is a recess continuing in the vertical direction to receive the protrusion,
Furthermore, the cross-sectional contour shapes of the protruding portion and the recessed portion in the left-right direction are formed so as to follow the circumferential surface of an imaginary cylinder having an axial center line in the up-down direction,
The screw hole of the first member is formed at a position approximately in the middle of the abutment portion in the left-right direction,
The through hole of the second member is an oblong hole that is long in the left-right direction and penetrates the second member from the front to the rear and has a front opening located in the abutted portion,
Moreover, a knurled portion consisting of a plurality of ridges formed in the vertical direction and fine grooves formed between adjacent ridges is formed on the abutting portion, and a knurled portion consisting of a plurality of ridges formed in the vertical direction and fine grooves formed between adjacent ridges is formed on the abutted portion, and the abutting portion and the abutted portion are brought into contact with each other by engaging the knurled portions. The drawer body according to claim 1, in which one of the attachment position of the first member relative to the front plate and the attachment position of the second member relative to the drawer body is adjustable in the vertical direction, and the other is adjustable in the horizontal direction. The drawer body according to claim 1 or 2, in which the front plate is fixed to the drawer body by the mounting member at two locations spaced apart in the vertical direction.

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