US3050357A

US3050357A - Sliding drawer assembly

Info

Publication number: US3050357A
Application number: US15381A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hillson Frank; Krivisky Rubin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-03-16
Filing date: 1960-03-16
Publication date: 1962-08-21
Anticipated expiration: 1979-08-21

Description

Aug. 21, 1962 F. HILLSON ETAL SLIDING DRAWER ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 16, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 16, 1960 0M WMZM 6 ZWQ m d 2 2 Mi. A i I 1% Y a HI. H M

| I H I! JJ United rates Fatent 3,059,357 SLIDING DRAWER ASSEMBLY Frank Hillson, 48 Brentwood Drive, Verona, N.J., and Rubin Krivisky, 4 Sherman Drive, Spring Valley, N.Y. Filed Mar. 16, 1960, Ser. No. 15,381 6 Claims. (Cl. 312-332) Our invention relates to sliding drawer assemblies in general and in particular to a sliding drawer assembly in which both the rearward and forward portions of the drawer are movably and adjustably supported, positioned, and guided. This application is a continuation in part of our patent application for a sliding drawer assembly, filed in the United States Patent Ofiice in December 22, 1959, Serial Number 861,393, now abandoned.

Perhaps the most common sliding drawer assembly used today employs a centrally positioned, T-shaped or dove-tailed, overhead rail secured to the cabinet frame, which is operatively engaged with a suitable support member secured to the rear wall of the drawer. However, drawers and cabinets employing such an assembly must be made to a very high degree of precision with small tolerances in order that they function smoothly without jamming or otherwise sticking. Moreover, even if the drawer and cabinet are initially constructed with a high degree of precision, they frequently warp or otherwise change their shape and dimensions beyond the allowable, fine tolerances thereby impeding their smooth, friction-free operation or rendering them totally inoperative. In addition, the central rail cannot provide the evenly balanced, firm, friction-free support provided by sliding or rotating supports positioned on both sides of the drawer. Moreover, the various components of assemblies available today must be carefully pre-positioned before the drawer is inserted, thereby making dimensions even more critical and the time of assembly excessively long.

We have found that it is desirable to employ generally parallel, channeled guide rails, secured to the cabinet frame on opposite sides of the drawer receptacle. A rotatable or slidable guide secured to an axle which is mounted on the rear wall of the drawer, is movably positioned within the channel in each guide rail. Thus the rear portion of the drawer is continuously, both supported and guided at each side as it moves inwardly or outwardly. Moreover, the axle is free to move laterally within its support, and, therefore, will automatically accommodate for even relatively large irregularities in the shape and dimensions of the drawer and cabinet frame. In addition, a laterally adjustable, combination support and guide is movably secured to the front end of the guide rails to both position and support the bottom of the drawer and to position and guide its sides automati cally as it moves in and out of the frame. Thus, there is no need to carefully preposition various components of the assembly.

However, the use of straight generally parallel, opposed guide rails requires that the drawer be narrower than the frame opening by a distance approximately equal to the width of both of its guide rails and channels; frequently on the order of one-half an inch. It is inconvenient and frequently uneconomical for a manufacturer to re-tool his drawers, making them smaller to accommodate for such a mechanism. Moreover, in domestic assemblies, it is esthetically unpleasing to leave a relatively large opening between the drawer and the cabinet frame. Our present invention provides the benefits of the channeled guide rail assembly but, in addition, permits the use of a drawer having a width substantially equal to the width of the cabinet opening.

Therefore, it is among the objects and advantages of our invention to provide a sliding drawer assembly in ice which the rearward and forward portions of the drawer are movably and adjustably supported, positioned, and guided.

It is another object of our invention to provide a sliding drawer assembly which may be employed in assemblies where the drawers have a width substantially equal to the width of the cabinet opening.

Another object of our invention is to provide a sliding drawer assembly which may easily accommodate for irregularities in the shape and dimension of both drawer and cabinet frame.

It is a further object of our invention to provide a sliding drawer assembly which will guide the drawer on both sides.

Yet another object of our invention is to provide a sliding drawer assembly in which the forward portion of the drawer may be easily and quickly aligned by combination lateral and vertical support guides, which may automatically adjust to accommodate for specific irregularities in the shape and size of the drawer and cabinet frame.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a sliding drawer assembly in which the various components do not have to be precisely prepositioned before the drawer is fitted to the cabinet.

It is a further object of our invention to provide a sliding drawer assembly in which the drawer may be easily removed from the cabinet.

Yet another object of our invention is to provide a sliding drawer assembly in which the drawer is supported at each of its corners by friction-free members.

Yet another object of our invention is to provide a sliding drawer assembly in which the rearward portions of the drawer are supported by a pair of friction free guides which automatically and continuously accommodate to irregularities in the shape and size of the drawer or cabinet frame as the drawer is moved inwardly or outwardly.

Yet another object of our invention is to provide a sliding drawer assembly which may employ inexpensive and easily fabricated parts.

Still a further object of our invention is to provide a sliding drawer assembly which may employ parts having bearing surfaces fabricated of inexpensive, synthetic materials, such as polyethylene or nylon.

These objects and advantages as well as other objects and advantages may be achieved by our invention, one embodiment of which is shown in the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a deformed, channeled guide rail employed in our sliding drawer assembly;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded top plan view showing the channeled guide rail shown in FIGURE 1, secured to a cabinet frame, and an adjustable, support guide;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view showing the assembly comprising a pair of opposed, channeled guide rails and a drawer having resiliently adjustable guide members secured to its rear wall;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of a support member, axle and guide secured to the rear wall of the drawer;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the rear support member, axle and guide shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is an end view of an adjustable support guide shown in FIGURE 2;

ldIGURE 7 is a view in perspective of an alternate gui e;

VFIGURE 8 is a view in perspective of the assembly showing a pair of generally opposed, channeled guide rails and the rear portion of a drawer having guides secured thereto.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, our invention comprises a pair of longitudinal, deformed, channeled guide rails 11, ll. The

guide rails

11, 11 are secured to the cabinet frame in any convenient manner. FIGURE 3 shows the

front portion

12, 12 of each

guide rail

11, 11 secured to a pair of

vertical rails

13, 13 comprising part of acabinet frame, by

screws

14, 14. The

rear portion

15, 15 of each of the

guide rails

11, 11 is flat and is bent inwardly at an angle of approximately 90 degrees parallel to a rear, horizontal cross-member 16 of the cabinet frames The

rear portions

15, 15 of the channeled

guide rail

11, 11 are secured to the cross-member 16 by screws 17.

The guide rails 11, 1-1 are provided with a longitudinal channel 18. The channel 18 is formed integrally from the guide rail 11 and may be provided with a downwardly projecting flange 19 and an upwardly projecting flange 20 as is shown in FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 8. However, the channel may be merely U-shaped, dispensing with the upwardly and downwardly projecting

flanges

19, 20.

Each

guide rail

11, 11 is gradually deformed outwardly in a vertical plane along its longitudinal axis at position 21 rearwardly of its front portion 12, thereby defining an intermediate portion 23 diverging from the intermediate portion 23 of the opposing guide rail 11. Rearwardly of the intermediate portion 23, at position 22, the guide rail 11 is again gradually deformed in a vertical plane along its longitudinal axis but in the opposite direction to provide a side portion 24 which lies in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the front portion 12 but outwardly displaced therefrom. The

guide rails

11, 11 are mounted in the cabinet on opposing sides of the drawer receptacle with the respective front portions '12 and side portions 24 lying in mutually, generally parallel planes. The

flanges

19 and 20 of the guide rail 11 are deformed in the same manner to provide a channel 18 witha somewhat tortuous path. However, each deformation is sufliciently gradual to permit substantially frictionless passage of the guide 32 hereinafter described.

A pair of

rear support members

25, 25 are secured to the rear wall 26 of the drawer 27. The support members '25, 25 are located on both sides of the rear Wall 26, a

short distance intermediate its ends. The

rear support members

25, 25 may be secured to the rear wall 26 of the drawer 27 by means of screws 28 which pass through flanges 29 on each support member 25 thereafter fastening into the rear wall 26.

Each

rear support member

25, 25 is provided with a lateral bore 30. An elongated axle 31 is positioned Within the bore 30. A guide 32 is secured to one end of the axle 31. The guide 32, may be a wheel as is shown in FIGURES 3, 4, and 8 or a block 33 as is shown in FIGURE 7. The block 33 is preferably provided with beveled edges 34 to insure relatively friction-free movement. Each wheel guide 32 or block guide 33 is movably positioned within the channel 18 in each guide rail 11.

The axle 31 is provided with a stop 35 near the guide 32. A coil spring 36, coaxial with the axle 31 is secured between the stop 35 and the support member 25. The spring 36 normally urges the axle 31 and guide 32 outwardly away from the drawer. The opposite end of the axle 31 is provided with an annular flange 37 to prevent the axle from becoming disengaged with the support 'membr 25.

Formed integrally with the channeled

guide rails

11, 11 at the front portion 12 are a pair of flat, horizontal, laterally disposed tines 38, 38. A laterally adjustable support guide 39 is adjustably mounted on the tines, 38, 38. The supportguide39 is comprised of a vertical, longitudinal wall 40 and a horizontal, latitudinal wall 41,

ing surface. Formed integrally with the horizontal Wall 41 on its bottom is a vertical dividing wall 42, which is dimensioned to freely slide in the opening 43 between the tines 38, 38. A horizontal base 44 'is formed integrally 4 with the vertical dividing wall 42 at its bottom.. The base 44 extends latitudinallybeyond the horizontal latitudinal Wall 41 and is provided with a hole 45 to accom modate a screw or nail by which it may be fastened to the cabinet frame.

In operation the channeled

guide rails

11, 11 are secured to the cabinet frame in the manner shown in FIG- URES 2 and 3 with their respective front and side portions mutually, generally parallel. The guide rails should be positioned in such a manner that the bottom edge of the rear wall 26 of the drawer 27 will be supported at approximately the level of the bottom edge of the cabinet opening. The

rear support members

25, 25 are secured to the rear wall 26 of the drawer 27 intermediate its

side walls

46, 46. The rear support members are dimensioned and positioned such that the guide 32 may be resiliently positioned behind the rear wall 26 of the drawer 27 Within the confines of its width as defined by its

side walls

46, 46. In order to insert the drawer into a cabinet frame the

guides

32, 32 are forced inwardly against the urging of the spring 36 until they will fit Within the cabinet opening as defined by the

front portions

12, 12 of the channeled

guide rails

11, 11, This may be done by the forefinger of each hand as is shown in FIGURE 3. When the guides 32, 32 are positioned within the cabinet opening as de fined by the

front portions

12, 12 of the guide rails 11, 11 they may be released. The

springs

36, 36 will normally urge the

guides

32, 32 outwardly against the guide rails 11, 11, The drawer may then be pushed rearwardly into the cabinet frame. As the drawer moves inwardly, the

springs

36, 36 will maintain the

guides

32, 32 pressed tightly against the channeled

guide rails

11, 11 as they bend outwardly at

point

21, 21, In such a manner the guides 32 will be caused to follow or track the guide rails 11, 11. As the drawer moves further inwardly the

guides

32, 32 will easily pass into the channels 18, 18 on the guide rails 11,11, remaining in the channels as the drawer 27 moves to its innermost position. Similarly, as the drawer is withdrawn outwardly, the

guides

32, 32 remain in the channels 18, 18 on the guide rails 11, 11. At point 22 the guide rails will be forced inwardly against the normal urging of the

springs

36, 36 as the drawer is withdrawn from the receptacle thereby remaining positioned within the channel 18, 18. The

guides

32, 32, will continue to press against and track the guide rails 11, 11 until the drawer is removed from the cabinet. As the drawer comes free of the cabinet, the

springs

36, 36 will urge the

guides

32, 32 to their outermost position. However, the annular flange 37 on the axle 31 will prevent the guides and axle from becoming detached altogether from the

support members

25, 25. It should be noted that the channel 18 on the guide rails 11, 11 should begin at a point far enough rearwardly of the

front portion

12, 12 so as not to impinge against the side walls 46, 46of the drawer 27 as it moves straight inwardly as defined by broken lines AA' in FIGURE 3. Thus, the

side portions

24, 24 of the guide rails 11, 11 must be outwardly disposed from the front portions 12, 12 a distance equal to at least the width of the channeled

guide rails

11, 11. The

side walls

46, 46 of the drawer 27 will thereby follow lines AA AA shown in FIGURE 3 without touching the

guide rail

11, 11. In this manner the width of the cabinet opening is reduced by merely the thickness of the metal from which the guide rails 11, 11 are fabricated. Frequently less than 5 of an inch.

The adjustable support guides 39, 33 are mounted upon the tines 33, 38 with the dividing wall 42 freely positioned within the opening 43. The adjustable support guides 39, 39 are thus laterally movable but longitudinally immovable. As the drawer 27 is inserted into the cabinet frame the support guides 39, 39 are pressed against the

side walls

46, 46 of the drawer 27. As the drawer 27 is pushed inwardly into the cabinet frame, theadjustable sup port guides 39, 39 automatically move outwardly to accommodate for irregularities in the shape of the drawer.

When the drawer is at its innermost position the support guides 39, 39 are properly positioned. The drawer may then be withdrawn and the support guides 39, 39 secured in position by nails which pass through the

hole

45, 45 and into the cabinet frame. Thus, the forward end of the drawer may be quickly and easily aligned automatically in one simple operation without the necessity of precisely constructing both the drawer and cabinet to exacting dimensions and of pre-positioning guide elements in precisely measured positions before the drawer is inserted into the cabinet. Thus, this sliding drawer assembly may accommodate for irregularities in both the size and shape of the particular drawer and cabinet frame which would cause other drawer constructions to bind.

The various components of the drawer assembly may be fabricated of any convenient material. However, it is convenient to fabricate the guide rails 11, ll of some light metal whereas the other components may be fabricated of some synthetic material such as nylon or polyethylene. However, the guide rails may also be fabricated of such synthetics. This is particularly true of the bearing surfaces of the support guide 39, 39 and the guide 32 or 33. Nylon is particularly well suited since it provides noiseless, virtually friction-free operation and extreme durability and resistance to grooving or wear. Similarly the axle 31 and the support member 25 may be fabricated of a synthetic such as nylon or polyethylene.

The foregoing description is merely intended to illustrate an embodiment of the invention. The component parts have been shown and described. They each may have substitutes which may perform a substantially similar function; such substitutes may be known as proper substitutes for the said components and may have actually been known or invented before the present invention; these substitutes are contemplated as being within the scope of the appended claims, although they are not specifically catalogued herein.

We claim:

1. A sliding drawer assembly comprising a pair of opposed guide rails secured to a cabinet frame each having a longitudinal channel, a front portion on each guide rail, an integral intermediate portion on the guide rail rearwardly of the front portion and lying in a plane diverging from the plane of the intermediate portion of the opposite guide rail, an integral side portion on the guide rail rearwardly of the intermediate portion and lying in the plane generally parallel to the plane of the front portion, a guide adapted to be movably positioned within each channel, means for securing the guides to the drawer and, resilient means normally urging the guides outwardly against the guide rails.

2. A sliding drawer assembly comprising a pair of opposed guide rails secured to a cabinet frame each having a longitudinal channel, a front portion on each guide rail generally parallel to the front portion of the opposite guide rail, an integral intermediate portion on each guide rail rearwardly of the front portion and lying in a plane diverging from the plane of the intermediate portion of the opposite guide rail, an integral side portion on each guide rail rearwardly of the intermediate portion and lying in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the front portion each side portion being disposed outwardly from the respective front portion a distance at least equal to the width of the guide rail and channel, a guide adapted to be movably positioned within each channel, means for securing the guides to the drawer, and resilient means normally urging the guides outwardly against the guide rails.

3. A sliding drawer assembly comprising a pair of opposed guide rails secured to a cabinet frame each having a longitudinal channel, a front portion on each guide rail generally parallel to the front portion of the opposite guide rail, an integral intermediate portion on each guide rail rearwardly of the front portion and lying in a plane diverging from the plane of the intermediate portion of the opposite guide rail, an integral side portion on each guide rail rearwardly of the intermediate portion and lying in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the front portion, a guide adapted to be movably positioned within each guide rail secured to the rear of a drawer, each of said guides being laterally and resiliently movable to a position behind the drawer and Within the confines of its width, means for securing the guides to the drawer, resilient means normally urging the guides outwardly against the guide rails.

4. A sliding drawer assembly comprising a pair of opposed guide rails secured to a cabinet frame each having a longitudinal channel, a front portion on each guide rail generally parallel to the front portion of the opposite guide rail, an integral intermediate portion on each guide rail rearwardly of the front portion and lying in a plane diverging from the plane of the intermediate portion of the opposite guide rail, an integral side portion on each guide rail rearwardly of the intermediate portion and lying in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the front portion, a support member having a lateral bore secured to the rear of a drawer, a shaft positioned within each bore, the shaft being longer than the bore and laterally movable therein, a guide secured to one end of each shaft and adapted to be positioned within the respective channels on the guide rails and to be longitudinally movable therein, a spring secured to each shaft whereby each guide is laterally and resiliently movable to a position behind the drawer and within the confines of its width, the spring normally urging the guides outwardly against the guide rails.

5. A sliding drawer construction in accordance with claim 3 and a laterally adjustable support guide movably attached to each guide rail at its front end.

6. A sliding drawer assembly comprising a pair of opposed guide rails secured to a cabinet frame each having a longitudinal channel, a front portion in each guide rail, an integral intermediate portion on each guide rail rearwardly of the front portion and lying in a plane diverging from the plane of the intermediate portion of the opposite guide rail, an integral side portion on each guide rail extending generally rearwardly from the intermediate portion, a guide adapted to be movably positioned within each channel, means for securing the guides to a drawer, and resilient means normally urging the guides outwardly against the guide rails.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,385,811 Bodenstein July 26-, 1921 1,798,875 Geimer Mar. 31, 1931 2,550,980 Drake May 1, 1951