US20070024166A1

US20070024166A1 - Drawer structure with hand free releasing lock

Info

Publication number: US20070024166A1
Application number: US11/192,776
Authority: US
Inventors: Henry Sung
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-07-29
Filing date: 2005-07-29
Publication date: 2007-02-01
Also published as: WO2007018628A2; CN100551299C; WO2007018628A3; CN1899158A

Abstract

A drawer releasing device for a cabinet having a drawer compartment includes a docking frame and a locking arrangement. The docking frame includes a mounting base and a slider platform slidably and inclinedly mounted on the mounting base to slide between a slide-in storage position that the slider platform is disposed within the drawer compartment and a slide-out accessing position that the slider platform is slid out of the drawer compartment. The locking arrangement includes a locking unit and an actuation unit positioned out of the drawer compartment via an actuating cable, in such a manner that when the actuator is operated to release an engagement of the locking unit through the actuating cable, the slider platform is automatically sliding out of the drawer compartment in a hand-free manner.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a drawer, and more particularly to a drawer releasing device which is capable of releasing a drawer through simple actuation at a distance therefrom.
2. Description of Related Arts
A conventional drawer usually comprises a drawer body and a front panel, wherein the drawer body is slidably mounted on a drawer compartment formed on a cabinet so that a user is able to slide the drawer body in and out of the drawer compartment for achieving different purposes.
Drawers have widely been utilized in a wide variety of circumstances and a number of accessories have been incorporated into conventional drawers in order to fit new situations in which a drawer may be utilized. For example, power unit has been incorporated into conventional drawer so that the user does not need to manually open or close the drawer.
Despite their long and widespread applications, there exist several deep-seated disadvantages which need to be addressed. First, the most usual way of opening a drawer is by the user's hand. From the view point of many, this may seem inevitable because one nevertheless has to manually open a drawer in order to retrieve or put in something. Yet there exist situations where it is not desirable or convenient for the user's hand to touch the drawer's handle for opening it. For example, when the user is in the middle of doing something in which his/her hands are contacting with, say, dirty materials or raw food (if the drawer in a kitchen), the user may not wish to let his/her hands touching the drawer's handle for opening the drawer, even though in fact the user actually needs to open the drawer for retrieving something which he/she needs at that moment.
Second, if a drawer is fully loaded so that a considerable amount of force is required to pull the drawer out of the drawer compartment, the user may not have enough power to do so. This problem may not be that severe for drawers used in domestic environment, yet in workplaces such as in the office, a particular cabinet may contain a huge amount of files so that the user may not be able to pull the particular drawers out of the corresponding drawer compartments for retrieving, say, particular files.
If the drawer is positioned at a very low position, such as the lowest in a cabinet, it is difficult then for a user to effectively exert large amount of force for pulling the drawer out of the drawer compartment.
Obviously, one may purchase motorized drawers for resolving the above problems, but the main problem is that motorized drawers are usually expensive and as a result may not be affordable for general households. Moreover, even though one may afford to purchase sophisticated drawers, the first problem is still not yet resolved since the relevant users still have to use their hands for operating any control panels or even remote controllers.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

A main object of the present invention is to provide a drawer releasing device for a drawer, wherein the drawer releasing device is capable of releasing the drawer through simple actuation at a distance therefrom in a hand-free manner. In other words, a user of the present invention does not need to physically touch the drawer for pulling it out.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a drawer releasing device which is capable of automatically releasing a drawer out of the drawer compartment upon a simple actuation of an actuation unit extended out of the drawer by the user of the present invention. In other words, when the drawer is fully loaded, the user does not need to exert large amount of force for trying to pull put the drawer from the drawer compartment.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a drawer releasing device which is adjustable in its orientation and easy to assemble and disassemble so as to fit a wide variety of drawer compartment in order to facilitate widespread application of the present invention.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a drawer releasing device which can be adopted to use in conjunction with a wide variety of containers for fitting a wide variety of different circumstances. For example, a slider platform may be adapted to support rubbish bins or a basket for normally receiving the rubbish bin or the basket into a drawer compartment while automatically releasing the rubbish bin to be extended for convenient access by the user of the present invention.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a drawer releasing device which does not involve electrical components and even complicated mechanical component, so that the manufacturing cost and the ultimate selling price of the present invention can be kept to minimum.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a drawer releasing device for a cabinet having a drawer compartment, wherein the drawer releasing device comprises:
a docking frame, which is adapted for supporting within the drawer compartment of the drawer, comprising a mounting base and a slider platform slidably and inclinedly mounted on the mounting base to slide between a slide-in storage position that the slider platform is disposed within the drawer compartment and a slide-out accessing position that the slider platform is slid out of the drawer compartment; and
a locking arrangement, which comprises:
a locking unit substantially mounted on the mounting base to releasably engage with the slider platform to lock up the slider platform at the storage position; and
an actuation unit which comprises an actuator positioned out of the drawer compartment and an actuating cable which is extended from the locking unit to the actuator and is arranged in such a manner that when the actuator is operated to release an engagement of the locking unit through the actuating cable, the slider platform is automatically sliding out of the drawer compartment in a hand-free manner.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drawer releasing device for a drawer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the drawer releasing device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the drawer releasing device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the drawer releasing device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention illustrating that the slider platform is in the storage position.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the drawer releasing device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating that the slider platform is in the accessing position.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the drawer releasing device according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating that the inclination adjuster is formed in the mounting base.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 2 of the drawings, a drawer releasing device for a cabinet 80 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, in which the drawer releasing device comprises a docking frame 10 and a locking arrangement 20. The cabinet 80, such as a conventional cabinet, has at least one drawer compartment 70 formed between two sidewalls, wherein the drawer releasing device is preferably to be fittedly received in the drawer compartment 70 for releasably receiving a drawer 60 therein.
Thus, the docking frame 10 is adapted for supporting within the drawer compartment 70 of the cabinet 80, and comprises a mounting base 11 and a slider platform 12 slidably and inclinedly mounted on the mounting base 11 to slide between a slide-in storage position that the slider platform 12 is disposed within the drawer compartment 70, and a slide-out accessing position that the slider platform 12 is slid out of the drawer compartment 70.
On the other hand, the locking arrangement 20 comprises a locking unit 21 and an actuation unit 22, in which the locking unit 21 is substantially mounted on the mounting base 11 to releasably engage with the slider platform 12 to lock up the slider platform 12 at said storage position.
The actuation unit 22 comprises an actuator 221 positioned out of the drawer compartment 70 and an actuating cable 222 which is extended from the locking unit 21 to the actuator 221 and is arranged in such a manner that when the actuator 221 is operated to release an engagement of the locking unit through the actuating cable 222, the slider platform 12 is automatically sliding out of the drawer compartment 70 in a hand-free manner.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mounting base 11 comprises a pair of sliding tracks 111 alignedly mounted on an inner side of the sidewalls of the drawer compartment 70 wherein the slider platform 12 is slidably and inclinedly mounted with the sliding tracks 111 for sliding between the storage position and the accessing position alone the two sliding tracks 111 in a speed controlling manner. As a result, each of the sliding tracks 111 comprises a plurality of rolling balls 1111 rotatably provided therein for facilitating a sliding motion of the slider platform 12 with respect to the sliding tracks 111 in a speed controlled manner. In other words, the rolling balls 1111 allows controlling the speed of sliding movement of the slider platform 12 by the friction at the rolling balls 1111 within the respective sliding tracks 111.
The slider platform 12 is preferably embodied as having a quadrilateral cross section having a pair of elongated longitudinal members 121 slidably mounted with the sliding tracks 111 respectively, and three transverse members 122 transversely and spacedly extended across the two longitudinal members 121 for securely supporting the drawer 60 on the slider platform 12. For the sake of convenience, the three transverse members 122 is categorized as a front and a rear transverse members 122 extended across the two corresponding end portions of the longitudinal members 121 respectively, and a middle transverse member 122 extended across two corresponding mid portions of the longitudinal members 121 respectively.
Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 of the drawings, the docking frame 10 further comprises a drawer panel support 13 upwardly extended from the front transverse member 122 (a front edge) of the slider platform 12, wherein a 61 front panel of the drawer 60 is arranged to be mounted on the front transverse member 122 so as to cover the drawer compartment 70 when the slider platform 12 is slid into the storage position.
In order to maximize the suitability of the drawer releasing device of the present invention with different kinds of cabinets 80 having different geographical structures, the drawer panel support 13 can adjustably and pivotally be mounted with the front transverse member 122 so that the front panel 61 is capable of being mounted in a wide variety of orientations for fitting with different geographical structures of the cabinet 80 (FIG. 6). Thus, the front panel 61 can be able to be selectively adjusted in a vertical orientation to fittingly enclose the drawer compartment 60 when the slider platform 12 is slid thereinto at the storage position.
Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 of the drawings, the locking unit 21 comprises two locking arms 211, which are pivotally connected to the mounting base 10, having two driving ends 2111 engaging with the actuating cable 222 and two engaging ends 2112 to securely clip to the slider platform 12 to retain the slider platform 12 at the storage position and arranged in such a manner that when the actuating cable 222 is slid to move the driving ends 2111 of the locking arms 211 towards each other, the engaging ends 2112 thereof are pivotally moved to release the slider platform 12 from the locking arms 211 so as to unlock the slider platform 12 for freely sliding out of the drawer compartment 70.
Moreover, the locking unit 21 further comprises two locking rotors 212 rotatably mounted at the engaging ends 2112 of the locking arms 211 respectively to engage with the slider platform 12 for allowing the slider platform 12 being manually slid out from the drawer compartment 70 when a pulling force is applied on the slider platform 12.
It is worth mentioning that the driving end 2111 of one of the locking arms 211 is affixed to the actuating cable 222 while the driving end 2111 of another of the locking arm 211 is slidably mounted to the actuating cable 222, such that when the actuating cable 222 is pulled by the actuator 221 to move the driving ends 2111 of the locking arms 211 towards each other, the engaging ends 2112 of the locking arms 211 are moved away from each other to release the slider platform 12.
The locking unit 21 further comprises a resilient element 213 having two ends biasing against the driving ends 2111 of the locking arms 211 respectively so as to apply an urging force on the locking arms 211 to ensure the slider platform 12 being clipped by the engaging ends 2112 of the locking arms 211.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the locking arms 211 has gear joint 214 formed between the driving end 2111 and the engaging end 2112, wherein the gear joints 214 of the locking arms 211 are coupled with each other to control the engaging ends 2112 of the locking arms 211 engaging with the slider platform 12 in a coordinating manner.
Furthermore, the locking unit 21 further comprises a locker base 215 transversely extended on the mounting base 11 of the docking frame 10, wherein the locking arms 211 are provided on the locker base 215 for engaging with the slider platform 12 when it is slid at the storage position.
Accordingly, the locking arrangement 20 further comprises an engaging member 23 provided on one of the transverse members 122 and arranged to releasably engage with the locking arms 211 of the locking unit 21 when the slider platform 12 is slid at the storage position. In other words, the engaging member 23 is at the corresponding position with the locking arms 211 so that when the slider platform 12 is at the storage position, the engaging member 23 and the lock engaging device 212 are releasably engaged so as to normally retain the slider platform 12 at the storage position, as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings.
In other words, the user of the present invention is able to manually pull out the slider platform 12 from the storage position to the accessing position by exerting a sufficient amount of pulling force to overcome the inward biasing force exerted by the resilient element 213 to the engaging member 23. However, it is important to realize that the biasing force exerted by the resilient element 213 is such that the slider platform 12 is normally locked up and retained at the storage position if there is no extra pulling force exerted by the user of the present invention.
On the other hand, the actuator 221 is extended out of the cabinet 80 by the actuating cable 222 so that the user of the present invention may release the engagement between the slider platform 12 and the lock engaging device 212 at a distance through operating upon the actuator 221. Therefore, the actuator 221 can be selectively located away from the docking frame 10 for operating the locking arrangement 20. More specifically, the actuating cable 222, which is preferably embodied as a metal-made wire enclosed with durable and flexible plastic materials, has a driving end portion extended away from the drawer compartment 70 and connected with the actuator 221, and a driven end portion operatively connected with locking arms 211 in such a manner that when the actuator 221 is operated, the driven end portion of the actuating cable 222 is pulled to exert an urging force towards the locking arms 211 for pivotally driving the locking arms 211 to disengage with the engagement member 23 provided on the slider platform 12 so as to release the engagement between the slider platform 12 and the mounting base 11.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the actuator 221 comprises first and second actuation members 2211, 2212 pivotally connected with each other in such a manner that the first actuation member 2211 is adapted to be depressed with respect to the second actuation member 2212, wherein the driving end of the actuating cable 222 is connected with the first actuation members 2211 so that when the first actuation members 2211 is depressed, the driving end of the actuating cable 222 is pulled for pulling the driven end thereof so as to release the engagement between the slider platform 12 and the mounting base 11.
Referring to FIG. 4 to FIG. 5 of the drawings, when the engagement between the slider platform 12 and the mounting base 11 is released, since the sliding tracks 111 are downwardly inclined towards the front side of the cabinet 80, therefore, the sliding platform 12 will automatically due to natural gravitational force slide alone the sliding tracks 111 for moving from the storage position and the accessing position, as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings.
It is worth mentioning at this point that in order to enhance the automatic sliding motion of the slider platform 12 when the engagement between the slider platform 12 and the mounting base 11 has been released, the actuation unit 22 further comprises a pair of resilient members 223 mounted at the sliding tracks 111 respectively for normally exerting an initial forward pushing force towards the slider platform 12 in such a manner that when the engagement between the slider platform 12 and the mounting base 11 is released, the resilient members 223 will push the slider platform 12 frontwardly towards the accessing position. In other words, the slider platform 12 is effectively pushed to slide from the storage position towards the accessing position in the above automatic manner.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings, the sliding tracks 111 can be pivotally and adjustably mounted at the drawer compartment 70 for adjusting an angle of inclination of the docking frame 10 so as to allow the present invention to be utilized in a wide variety of circumstances. In order to further enhance universality of the present invention, the mounting base 11 may further comprise an inclination adjuster 14 which has a slider slot 141 formed on the mounting base 10 and comprises a slider member 142 which is extended from the slider platform 12 and is slidably engaged with the slider slot 141 to selectively adjust an inclination angle of the slider platform 12 with respect to the mounting base 10.
The operation and application of the present invention is as follows: the docking frame 10 is received in the drawer compartment 70 wherein the drawer or any other container, such as a rubbish bin, is supported on the slider platform 12. The actuator 221 is extended from the slider platform 12 to an exterior of the cabinet 80 so that the user is able to actuate it at a distance. It is important to emphasis that actuator 221 is preferably to be positioned on a ground surface so that the user may operate the actuator by his/her foot without using his/her hands.
From the forgoing description, it can be shown that the above mentioned objects have been substantially achieved. The present invention effectively provides the drawer releasing device which is capable of releasing the drawer through simple actuation at a distance therefrom in a hand-free manner. In other words, a user of the present invention does not need to physically touch the drawer for pulling it out.
One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A drawer releasing device for a cabinet having a drawer compartment, comprising:

a docking frame, which is adapted for supporting within said drawer compartment of said drawer, comprising a mounting base and a slider platform slidably and inclinedly mounted on said mounting base to slide between a slide-in storage position that said slider platform is disposed within said drawer compartment and a slide-out accessing position that said slider platform is slid out of said drawer compartment; and

a locking arrangement, which comprises:

a locking unit substantially mounted on said mounting base to releasably engage with said slider platform to lock up said slider platform at said storage position; and

an actuation unit which comprises an actuator positioned out of said drawer compartment and an actuating cable which is extended from said locking unit to said actuator and is arranged in such a manner that when said actuator is operated to release an engagement of said locking unit through said actuating cable, said slider platform is automatically sliding out of said drawer compartment in a hand-free manner.

2. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 1, wherein said locking unit comprises two locking arms, which are pivotally connected to said mounting base, having two driving ends engaging with said actuating cable and two engaging ends to securely clip to said slider platform to retain said slider platform at said storage position and arranged in such a manner that when said actuating cable is slid to move said driving ends of said locking arms towards each other, said engaging ends thereof are pivotally moved to release said slider platform from said locking arms so as to unlock said slider platform for freely sliding out of said drawer compartment.

3. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 2, wherein said locking unit further comprises two locking rotors rotatably mounted at said engaging ends of said locking arms respectively to engage with said slider platform for allowing said slider platform being manually slid out from said drawer compartment when a pulling force is applied on said slider platform.

4. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 2, wherein said driving end of one of said locking arms is affixed to said actuating cable while said driving end of another said locking arm is slidably mounted to said actuating cable, such that when said actuating cable is pulled by said actuator to move said driving ends of said locking arms towards each other, said engaging ends of said locking arms are moved away from each other to release said slider platform.

5. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 3, wherein said driving end of one of said locking arms is affixed to said actuating cable while said driving end of another said locking arm is slidably mounted to said actuating cable, such that when said actuating cable is pulled by said actuator to move said driving ends of said locking arms towards each other, said engaging ends of said locking arms are moved away from each other to release said slider platform.

6. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 2, wherein said locking unit further comprises a resilient element having two ends biasing against said driving ends of said locking arms respectively so as to apply an urging force on said locking arms to ensure said slider platform being clipped by said engaging ends of said locking arms.

7. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 5, wherein said locking unit further comprises a resilient element having two ends biasing against said driving ends of said locking arms respectively so as to apply an urging force on said locking arms to ensure said slider platform being clipped by said engaging ends of said locking arms.

8. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 2, wherein each of said locking arms has gear joint formed between said driving end and said engaging end, wherein said gear joints of said locking arms are coupled with each other to control said engaging ends of said locking arms engaging with said slider platform in a coordinating manner.

9. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 5, wherein each of said locking arms has gear joint formed between said driving end and said engaging end, wherein said gear joints of said locking arms are coupled with each other to control said engaging ends of said locking arms engaging with said slider platform in a coordinating manner.

10. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 7, wherein each of said locking arms has gear joint formed between said driving end and said engaging end, wherein said gear joints of said locking arms are coupled with each other to control said engaging ends of said locking arms engaging with said slider platform in a coordinating manner.

11. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 1, wherein said mounting base comprises a pair of sliding tracks adapted for inclinedly providing on two inner sidewalls of said drawer compartment, wherein said slider platform is slidably mounted with said sliding tracks in a speed controlling manner to slide between said storage position and said accessing position along said two sliding tracks.

12. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 7, wherein said mounting base comprises a pair of sliding tracks adapted for inclinedly providing on two inner sidewalls of said drawer compartment, wherein said slider platform is slidably mounted with said sliding tracks in a speed controlling manner to slide between said storage position and said accessing position along said two sliding tracks.

13. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 10, wherein said mounting base comprises a pair of sliding tracks adapted for inclinedly providing on two inner sidewalls of said drawer compartment, wherein said slider platform is slidably mounted with said sliding tracks in a speed controlling manner to slide between said storage position and said accessing position along said two sliding tracks.

14. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 1, wherein said actuating cable, which is embodied as a metal wire enclosed with durable and flexible plastic material, has a driven end portion operatively connect with said locking unit within said drawer compartment and a driving end portion extended away from said drawer compartment to connect with said actuator so as to allow said actuator being selectively located away from said docking frame.

15. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 7, wherein said actuating cable, which is embodied as a metal wire enclosed with durable and flexible plastic material, has a driven end portion operatively connect with said locking unit within said drawer compartment and a driving end portion extended away from said drawer compartment to connect with said actuator so as to allow said actuator being selectively located away from said docking frame.

16. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 13, wherein said actuating cable, which is embodied as a metal wire enclosed with durable and flexible plastic material, has a driven end portion operatively connect with said locking unit within said drawer compartment and a driving end portion extended away from said drawer compartment to connect with said actuator so as to allow said actuator being selectively located away from said docking frame.

17. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 1, wherein said actuation unit further comprises two resilient members mounted at said mounting base for normally exerting a forward pushing force towards said slider platform so as to initially push said slider platform out of said drawer compartment when said engagement of said locking unit is released.

18. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 7, wherein said actuation unit further comprises two resilient members mounted at said mounting base for normally exerting a forward pushing force towards said slider platform so as to initially push said slider platform out of said drawer compartment when said engagement of said locking unit is released.

19. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 16, wherein said actuation unit further comprises two resilient members mounted at said mounting base for normally exerting a forward pushing force towards said slider platform so as to initially push said slider platform out of said drawer compartment when said engagement of said locking unit is released.

20. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 1, wherein said docking frame further comprises an inclination adjuster which has a slider slot formed on said mounting base and comprises a slider member which is extended from said slider platform and is slidably engaged with said slider slot to selectively adjust an inclination angle of said slider platform with respect to said mounting base.

21. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 7, wherein said docking frame further comprises an inclination adjuster which has a slider slot formed on said mounting base and comprises a slider member which is extended from said slider platform and is slidably engaged with said slider slot to selectively adjust an inclination angle of said slider platform with respect to said mounting base.

22. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 19, wherein said docking frame further comprises an inclination adjuster which has a slider slot formed on said mounting base and comprises a slider member which is extended from said slider platform and is slidably engaged with said slider slot to selectively adjust an inclination angle of said slider platform with respect to said mounting base.

23. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 1, wherein said docking frame further comprises a drawer panel support upwardly and pivotally extended from a front edge of said slider platform for mounting with a front panel of a drawer so as to allow said front panel to be selectively adjusted in a vertical orientation to fittingly enclose said drawer compartment when said slider platform is slid thereinto at said storage position.

24. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 7, wherein said docking frame further comprises a drawer panel support upwardly and pivotally extended from a front edge of said slider platform for mounting with a front panel of a drawer so as to allow said front panel to be selectively adjusted in a vertical orientation to fittingly enclose said drawer compartment when said slider platform is slid thereinto at said storage position.

25. The drawer releasing device, as recited in claim 22, wherein said docking frame further comprises a drawer panel support upwardly and pivotally extended from a front edge of said slider platform for mounting with a front panel of a drawer so as to allow said front panel to be selectively adjusted in a vertical orientation to fittingly enclose said drawer compartment when said slider platform is slid thereinto at said storage position.