US3110534A - Drawer stack - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 12, 1963 G. NELSON ETAL 3,110,534

DRAWER smog Filed March 20, 1961 INVENTOR GEORGE NELSON dOH/V F. FILE A TT'ORNEYS United States Patent 6 3,110,534 DRAWER STACK George Nelson, New York, and John F. Pile, Brooklyn, N .Y., assignors to Herman Miller, line, Zeeland, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Mar. 20, 1961, Ser- No. 96,822 3 Claims. (Cl. 31233il) This invention relates to a drawer stack, and more particularly to a drawer stack which is versatile in assembly and adjustment.

There are presently many types of drawer stacks all of which present at least one major problem. This problem is that of versatility. When present drawer frames are fixed in a given position in a stack, it is difficult to alter their position without going through at least as much work as is required in the initial installation. In many instances it is desirable to vertically adjust the drawer frames to accommodate different sizes of drawers. Oftentirnes it is desirable to replace a pair of shallow drawers with a single deep drawer, or to add or remove a drawer from an existing drawer stack.

The present invention solves this problem by providing a drawer stack which is constructed from uniform drawer frames which are vertically adjustably mounted in a common support structure. The drawer frames are uniform, interchangeable, and do not require complicated instructions for assembly. They are detachably connected to the support structure so as to facilitate the addition or removal of a drawer. The means by which the drawer frames are detachably connected to the support structure are continuously adjustable throughout the extent of the support structure. The drawer frames are therefore readily adjustable vertically to adapt them to various drawer sizes. The support structure may be utilized not only for a single drawer stack but to form adjacent rows of drawer stacks.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a drawer stack having drawer supporting frames of uniform design.

Another object of this invention is to provide a drawer stack having drawer frames which can be adjusted readily to accommodate different drawer sizes.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a drawer stack having drawer frame members which may be readily installed or removed to facilitate the addition, modification, or removal of a drawer fromthe stack.

Another object of this invention is to provide a drawer stack having drawer frames which may be positioned at any point along the support structure.

It is also an object of this invention to provide drawer frames which are designed to be interlocked with clips carried by the support structure to prevent tipping of the drawer frames.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a drawer stack which consists of a minimum number of component parts which are simple to construct so as to provide a competitive article of manufacture.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent upon reading the specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the drawer stack structure including the support members;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the drawer stack;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the drawer frame;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a spacer block utilized to space drawer frames;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the section lines V-V of FIGS. 1 and 6, and also showing a cover and hold down angle;

3,1 10,534 Patented Nov. 12, 1963 FIG. 6 is a rear elevational, fragmentary view showing a hold down angle associated with a drawer cover.

Basically, this invention relates to a drawer stack which is of versatile design. The drawer stack includes a series of drawer supporting frames which are detachably secured to spaced support members. The drawer frames are U-shaped members having side rails and integral end rails. Bracket arms fixed to the side rails have offset wings which connect the drawer frames to the support members. Hooks are formed on the wings of the bracket arms to engage clips which are connected to the support members. The clips are adjustable to any point on the support member to allow positioning of the drawer frame at any point along the support structure. The bracket wings include abutment surfaces which engage the clips and maintain the drawer frames at a normal angle with respect to the support member. In one arrangement, any drawer frame may be removed by merely unhooking it from the clip structure from which his suspended. A drawer frame may be added to the support structure by merely hooking it onto clips newly positioned on the support members. In another arrangement, the bracket wings are spaced by the clips which support the drawer frames. The bracket wings are also interlocked with the clips which arrangement prevents tipping of the drawer frames.

The drawer stack assembly is designated generally as It The assembly includes clips 30, drawer support frames 45; bracket arms 40 and 50, support members or posts 15, spacers 55 and drawers 60.

Referring now more specifically to the details of the invention, FIG. 1 best illustrates the support members or posts designated generally as 15. The posts 15 are identical to those disclosed in applicants copending application Serial No. 85,680, filed January 30, 1961, now Patent No. 3,039,727, and entitled Bracket. However, the posts will be described briefly herein to facilitate explanation of this invention. The post 15 is an elongated member which can be cut to various lengths to suit the particular drawer installation. Each of the side faces of the post is provided with T-shaped slots 18 which open upon the ends of the post. Flanges 19* and 20 define the T-shaped slot 18.

The slot 18 receives a clip 30 which is also fully explained in the aforesaid application Serial No. 85,680. The clip 30 may be positioned at any point along the length of the post and fixed in the desired position by appropriate fastening means. Although the clip 30 is a preferred structure, it is to be understood that within the broadest aspects of the invention, other equivalent means might be utilized to adjustably support the drawer frames 45 now to be described.

Identical drawer frames 45, 45a, 45b and 45' are. shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Since each of these frame members are identical units, only the drawer frame 45 will be explained in detail.

The drawer frame 45 is a U-shaped member having side rails 46 and 47 formed integral with an end rail 48. The rails are generally rectangular in cross section as best illustrated in FIG. 3. a

Fixed to the side rail 46 by conventional means such as a weldment, is a bracket arm 40. The bracket arm 40 is generally Z-shaped having a main body portion 41 which is connected to the side rail 46. The bracket arm 40 has an offset wing portion 4 2 which is directed away from the side rail 46. A hook 43 is formed from the wing portion and assumes a position parallel to the side rail 46 but spaced therefrom.

The hook portion 43 is cut away to form the abutment surface 44. The abutment surface 44 is designed such that it abuts clip 30 (FIG. 5) to maintain the drawer frame 45 at a right angle with respect to the support member when it abuts the clip as best shown in FIG. 5. An interlock notch 49 is formed on the top of the hook 43. This notch cooperates with clip '30 (PEG. 5) to prevent the back of frame 4-5 from tipping upwardly.

The other side rail 47 is provided with a bracket arm 50 which is a mirror image of the bracket arm 40. It has. a body portion 51 which is connected to the side rail 47, and an offset portion 52 and a hook portion 53. An abutment surface 54 and interlock notch 59 are formed on the hook portion 53. The hooks 43 and 53 engage the clips 30' and 30, respectively, as 'best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, and thereby suspend the drawer frame '45 from the support members 15 and 15'.

Spacer members in the form of rectangular blocks 55 (FIGS. 2 and 4) may be utilized to accurately space the drawer frames 45. The spacer 55 has an aperture 56 which receives a fastener. It may be secured to the post 15- (FIG. 2) by a conventional threaded fastener (not shown). Use of the spacers 55 is unnecessary when the drawer frames are so spaced that the base plate of each clip 50 engages the interlock notch 49 of the bracket 40 of the drawer frame below it; however, in certain installations where the drawer frames are to be spaced further apart, they facilitate assembly by quickly and accurately spacing and positioning the drawer frames 45. When the spacers 55 are fastened to the post 15 and the side rails of the drawer frames rest against the ends of the spacers, the spacers also operate as support structure and prevent the drawers from tilting. Thus, if the drawers are to carry extremely heavy articles, the spacers 55 will provide additional support for the drawer frames 45.

The drawer frames may also be spaced by the clips 30 as shown in FIG. 5. With this arrangement the firs-t or lowest clip 30 is secured to the post 15 in the desired position. A drawer frame 45 is hooked into position and another clip 30 placed against the interlock notch formed on the hook of the bracket arm. Another drawer frame 45 is then hooked in position. This procedure is continued until the desired number of drawer frames are installed.

FIG. 2 shows drawers 60, 60a and 6012 being supported by the drawer frames 45, 45a and. 45b respectively. The drawers are of conventional design and have slots or grooves cut in the side panel thereof to slidably receive the side rails 46 and 47. These grooves have a depth of approximately one-half the thickness of the drawer side panel. The end rail 48 acts as a back-stop for the drawer. Thus, when the drawer is moved to the closed position its degree of closing movement is limited by the end rail 48'.

It is also desirable to cover the top drawer when the stack is completed. This is done by hooking a bracket arm 70 and cover 71, which is similar in design to the bracket arm and shelf shown in copending application Serial No. 85,680 over clip 30 which has been placed above the uppermost drawer frame 45.

Hold down angles 75, one of which is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, are connected between the cover "71. and the fastener, which connect clip 36" to the posts 15 and 15. The hold down angle 75 has ears 76 and 77 which are twisted and bent so as to lie fiat against the bottom of cover 71 and the base plate of clip 30. The car 76 has an aperture which receives a fastener for connecting it to the cover 71. The ear 77 also has an aperture which receives the fastener which in this instance connects both the car 77 and the clip 30 to the post. The hold down brackets 75 prevent the cover 71 from tripping when pres sure is applied to the front edge thereof.

Assembly To construct the drawer stack 10, it is first necessary to anchor the posts 15 and 15'. If several rows of drawers are to be installed, it is necessary to anchor several more posts similar to 15 and 15'. The posts 15 and 15 are so spaced apart that the clearance between them is equal to the distance between the outside surfaces of side rails 46 and '47 of a frame 4-5.

If spacers 55 are to be utilized the two initial ones are next secured to the posts 15 and 15 by conventional fasteners. They are positioned directly opposite each other.

Spring clips 30 and 3d are then fastened to the posts -15 and 15 in a manner similar to that described in the aforesaid application Serial No. 85,680. If other means equivalent to the clip 36 are to be utilized, they are likewise fastened in position at this time.

The drawer frame 45 is next positioned between the posts 15 and 15', and hooks 53 and 43 passed through the slot openings and hooked over the clips 30 and 30'. The drawer frame 45 is then rotated until the abutment surfaces 44 and 54 abut the clips 30 and 30 in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 5. The drawer frame 45 is now fully installed and ready to receive the drawer 60.

The drawer frames 45a and 45b are assembled with the support members 15 and in a similar manner. The spacing between the drawer frames 45 and 45a is the same as that between the drawer frames 45a and 4512. However, in the illustrated embodiment, the drawer frame 4515 supports a drawer 6012 which is twice as deep as the drawers 6'0 and Mia. 1f the slots in the sides of a replacement drawer for drawer 6017 were centrally located, it would be a simple matter to lower the drawer frame 45 to accommodate it by lowering the clips which support the drawer frame. It can also be seen that it would be a simple matter to remove the drawer 60 completely by merely withdrawing the drawer and unhooking the drawer frame 45. An additional drawer could be added above or below the stack shown in FIG. 2 by pro viding the posts 15 and 15' with additional, properly posi tioned clips and hooking a new drawer frame 45 to them.

FfG. 1 shows that several drawer stack assemblies 14) can also be utilized to form rows of drawer stacks. The post 15' and clip 36 support both the bracket arm 40 of drawer frame 45 and the bracket arm 50 of an adjacent drawer frame 45'. The side rail 46 of drawer frame 45' is supported by another post (not shown) properly anchored in alignment with the post 15'. If, for example, drawers of a depth of 3 /2 inches are to be used in the stack, the clips 30 operates as spacers. In this arrangement a pair of clips 30 are connected to the posts in the desired position and the first drawer frame hooked in position. Another pair of clips 30 are placed directly on the interlock notches of the drawer frame and operate as spacers for the next drawer frame which is connected thereto. This arrangement continues for the entire drawer stack. With this arrangement the drawer frames 45 are interlocked with the clips 30. The engagement of the abutment surfaces 44, 54 of the bracket arms with the clips 30 prevents movement of the drawer frame in the clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 5, and the engagement of the interlock notches 49, 59 with the base plates of the clips 3t) prevents movement of the drawer frame in a counterclockwise direction. With this arrangement it is necessary to start from either the top or bottom of the stack and remove overlying or underlying drawer frames to remove a centrally located drawer frame due to the interlocking arrangement. However, this merely requires loosening and raising or lowering but not removing the clips 30.

The cover 71 is connected to the stack in the manner previously described.

From the above description it can be seen that the drawer stack assembly disclosed herein is composed of a minimum number of simply designed component parts which can be manufactured economically. The drawer stack is extremely versatile in that the drawer frames which support the drawers may be readily adjusted to the proper position. Any drawer frame may be removed or added without allecting the other drawers. Also, two shallow drawers may be removed and replaced by a single deep drawer without otherwise disturbing the drawer stack. The drawer frames and posts may be assembled to form not only single drawer stacks but integral rows of drawer stacks.

While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been described, it will be understood that modifications and improvements may be made thereto Such of these modifications and improvements as incorporate the principles of this invention are to be considered as included in the hereinafter appended claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.

We claim:

1. A drawer stack assembly comprising: longitudinally slotted post means; U-shaped support frames having side rails and integral end rails; clip means lidable in the slots of said posts for free positioning along said posts; brackets connected to said side rails and having hooks for detachably engaging said clip means; spacer means for exactly determining the distance between said support frames; said support frames being arranged to slidabiy receive drawers; said side rails supporting said drawers and said end rails acting as stops.

2. A drawer stack assembly comprising: a support structure having spaced support members; U-shaped drawer frames having side rails and end rails formed integral therewith; a single bracket means fixed to each of said side rails intermediate the ends thereof, said bracket means forming the sole support of said drawer frames; said drawer frames fitting between said spaced a support members; said brackets detachably engaging support means on said spaced support members; portions of adjacent ones of said support means engaging interlock notches formed on said brackets to prevent rearward tipping of said drawer frames.

3. A drawer stack assembly comprising: post means; U-shaped support frames having side rails and integral end rails; cover means for covering said drawer stack; brackets connected to said side rails and having hooks for detachably engaging hook receiving elements removably fastened to said posts and adiustably vertically positionable therealong; said support frames being adjustable to any point along said post to receive and position various sized drawers; and hold-down means connected to a cover and to said hook receiving element associated with said cover to keep said cover from tipping.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 891,968 Allen June 30, 1908 945,280 Lindberg Ian. 4, 1910 953,205 Hughes Mar. 29, 1910 984,857 Schuftan Feb. 21, 1911 1,664,130 as Mar. 27, 1928 2,247,436 Erickson "July 1, 1941 2,292,865 Boddy Aug. 11, 1942 2,519,623 Baker Aug. 22, 1950 2,572,081 Wallance Oct. 23, 1951 2,809,886 Pall Oct. 8, 1957 2,872,048 Cooper Feb. 3, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 186,221 Switzerland 1936

Claims (1)

1. 2. A DRAWER STACK ASSEMBLY COMPRISING: A SUPPORT STRUCTURE HAVING SPACED SUPPORT MEMBERS; U-SHAPED DRAWER FRAMES HAVING SIDE RAILS AND END RAILS FORMED INTEGRAL THEREWITH; A SINGLE BRACKET MEANS FIXED TO EACH OF SAID SIDE RAILS INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF, SAID BRACKET MEANS FORMING THE SOLE SUPPORT OF SAID DRAWER FRAMES; SAID DRAWER FRAMES FITTING BETWEEN SAID SPACED SUPPORT MEMBERS; SAID BRACKETS DETACHABLY ENGAGING SUPPORT MEANS ON SAID SPACED SUPPORT MEMBERS; PORTIONS OF ADJACENT ONES OF SAID SUPPORT MEANS ENGAGING INTERLOCK NOTCHES FORMED ON SAID BRACKETS TO PREVENT REARWARD TIPPING OF SAID DRAWER FRAMES.

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