US3416850A

US3416850A - Drawer construction

Info

Publication number: US3416850A
Application number: US622495A
Authority: US
Inventors: George C Hilfinger; Xa D Johnson
Original assignee: Wesley Industries Inc
Current assignee: Wesley Industries Inc
Priority date: 1967-03-13
Filing date: 1967-03-13
Publication date: 1968-12-17
Anticipated expiration: 1985-12-17

Description

Dec. 17, 1968 c. c. HILFINGER ET AL 3,

' DRAWER CONSTRUCTION I Filed March 15, 1967 v a Sheets-Sheef 1 J INVENTORSI X D. Jmmsun,

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United States Patent 3,416,850 DRAWER CONSTRUCTION George C. Hilfinger and Xa D. Johnson, Toledo, Ohio, assignors, by direct and mesne assignments, to Wesley Industries, Inc., Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 622,495 12 Claims. (Cl. 312--330) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a drawer construction primarily intended for use in kitchens. The drawer has a metal back and sides and a front consisting of a metal frame with a central hardboard panel. As such, the drawer front can match kitchen cabinet doors constructed in a somewhat similar manner. The bottom of the drawer can be of hardboard and is received between flanges of the lower portions of the back and sides. The back and sides are assembled by a tongue and slot arrangement which eliminates the requirement for additional fasteners and speeds assembly.

This invention relates to a drawer construction including the drawer and the drawer front.

The new drawer in accordance with the present construction is durable yet inexpensive and can be made in a number of sizes relatively easily. The new drawer also has a front consisting of a metal frame and a separate central panel which can match doors of cabinets with which the drawers are employed. The assemblage is particularly effective for kitchens.

In accordance with the invention, the drawer construc tion includes metal rear and side walls which are provided with flanges at a bottom portion to receive a drawer bottom which can be of hardboard or the like. The drawer back and sides preferably are assembled by a tongue and slot arrangement which enables the back and sides to be assembled easily and without the use of any additional fasteners. The only fasteners employed are those used to aflix flanges at the front ends of the side walls of the drawer to the front panel. The front panel has a metal frame which can be either of a one-piece die-cast construction, a four-piece construction consisting of two end die-cast members and two upper and lower extruded frame members, or an eight-piece construction consisting of four die-cast corner members and four extruded frame members. The central panel consists of a single layer of wood or the like, or two layers including a front decorative layer and a back supporting layer. This panel construction provides an attractive appearance for the drawer and enables it to match cabinet doors which can be constructed in a somewhat similar manner. The metal frame enables the drawer to withstand wear and abuse more effectively and prevents anly possibility of warping.

In summary, the invention consists of a drawer construction having sides and a back assembled by a tongue and slot arrangement. The drawer front includes a metal frame which can consist of one piece, four pieces, or eight pieces, with a central, separate panel.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to provide a unique drawer construction having the features and advantages outlined above.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a drawer embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view in cross section taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

'ice

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in horizontal cross section through the drawer of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view in transverse, vertical cross section taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view in perspective of the drawer, showing the manner in which the sides and back are assembled;

FIG. 6 is a view in perspective of a slightly modified drawer according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view in vertical cross section taken along the line 77 .of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view in horizontal cross section taken along the line 88 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary, partially-exploded view, with parts in section, of the drawer of FIGS. 6-8.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, a drawer according to the invention is indicated at 10 and includes a back or rear wall 12, sides or

side walls

14 and 16, a bottom 18, and a front 20. The back 12 and the

sides

14 and 16 can all be extruded, with end portions thereof formed to particular, desired configurations. However, the back and sides can also be die-cast or roll-formed. The back 12 includes a main planar panel 22 at a lower portion of which is a groove 24 formed by inwardly-extending

flanges

26 and 28 to receive the rear edge of the bottom 18. Particularly if the back is die-cast, the lower flange 28 can consist of a plurality of spaced short flanges which provide the same function but save metal. The continuous upper flange 26 can also consist of short flanges but the continuous flange achieves a better appearance. At the ends of the back, tongues or projections 30 are formed by a suitable operation with the tongues then bent rearwardly, as best shown in FIG. 3, at an angle of about to the plane of the back panel 22. End portions of the back panel also can be notched or removed to prevent interference with the sides.

The left side 14 of the drawer also can be extruded, die-cast, or roll-formed, and includes a main panel 32 with a groove 34 formed at a lower portion thereof by inwardly-extending

flanges

36 and 38 which again can be continuous or discontinuous. Near the rearend of the side 14 slots or other suitable openings 40 are formed in the side panel 32 to receive the tongues 30 of the back 12. The slots 40 form a close fit with the tongues and provides a secure connection for the drawer. At the front end of the side 14, the panel 32 is bent inwardly to form connecting

flanges

42 and 44 which are used to afilx the side 14 to the front 20, as will be discussed more fully subsequently. A single flange can be used if the drawer is die-cast. A guide or supporting flange 46 extends along the outer surface of the side panel 32, between the

flanges

42 and 44, when side rollers are employed for carrying the drawer.

A supporting and guiding roller 48 is mounted on the side panel 32 to the rear of the back wall 12, as shown in FIG. 5. This roller cooperates with a C-shaped frame guide 50 affixed to framing generally indicated at 52 in FIG. 3. The roller 48 rides on a lower flange 54 of the guide 50 when the drawer is shut and partly shut. Similarly, the roller 48 rides on an upper flange 56 of the guide when the drawer is more than about half-way open. The guide 50 has a front roller 58 mounted thereon which rides on the guide flange 46 of the drawer for any position of the drawer. This general arrangement is known in the art. If the sides are die-cast, end portions of the roller flanges can be slanted to provide a self-closing effect for the drawer.

An upper rear corner portion 60 of each side is removed, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, to enable the drawer to be lifted out of the frame 52 when moved beyond an open position. Suitable stop means can be employed to o prevent normal movement of the drawer beyond a normally-open position, except by special manipulation of the drawer, as is well known in the art. Of course, rather than the side guides and rollers, a central guide can be used under the drawer. In such an instance, the supporting flanges 46 would not be provided.

The right side 16 of the drawer is substantially symmetrically opposite to the side 14. If the side guides and rollers are used, and the side 16 is extruded, it can have a modified guide flange 62 which extends outwardly from the side panel and a depending flange 64 which extends behind the frame roller 58 to provide an effective transverse guide for the drawer as it is moved in and out. The depending flange 64 is only employed on the one side to prevent possible binding, in the event the drawer frame is out of square or is not in proper alignment.

The drawer bottom 18 can be made of hardboard, plywood, flakeboard, or the like and is planar throughout its extent. The thickness is such as too cooperate closely with the

grooves

24 and 34, preferably with a slightly snug fit. If the thickness of the bottom is less than the width of the grooves, the flanges forming the grooves can be crimped slightly to provide a tighter fit.

The front of the drawer 10 basically includes a metal frame 66 and a central panel 68. The frame, in this instance, is of one-piece construction and has inwardly-extending inner flanges 70 abutting the face of the central panel 68, and inwardly extending outer flanges 72 extending to the rear surface of the panel 68. Intermediate web portions 74 of the frame have four rearwardly-extending bosses 76 which receive screws or other suitable fasteners '78. The screws 78 can be of the selftapping type, extending through the

flanges

42 and 44 of the

sides

14 and 16 to fasten the sides to the drawer front and specifically to the frame 66. With this construction, the central panel 68, which can be of a single layer of plywood or the like is then held in place between the inner flanges 70 of the frame 66 and the

flanges

42 and 44 of the

sides

14 and 16. While the bosses 76 are shown as extending through drilled holes in the panel 68, the bosses can stop at the front surface of the panel 68. Particularly for wider drawers, one or two supporting projections 80 can be cast on a lower member of the frame 66 and extend rearwardly beyond the panel 68 to support a front edge portion of the drawer bottom 18. Additional holes are formed in the panel 68 to receive the projections. Further, tabs 82 can be cast on central portions of the upper and lower frame members. These tabs can be bent downwardly over the rear surface of the panel 68 to aid in its support.

From the above, it will be seen that the drawer 10 is of durable and low-cost construction. The components of the drawer are, in themselves, relatively inexpensive and can be assembled quickly and with only the four screws or fasteners 78 employed. The drawer components can be assembled as best shown in FIG. 5 by fastening the side 14, for example, to the drawer front 20 by means of two screws and by then assembling the back 12 with the side 14 by inserting the tongues in the slots with the back 12 in a slanted position. The back is then swung to the dotted line position as shown in FIG. 5 and the other side 16 is then assembled therewith by inserting the tongues in the slots when the side 16 is at an angle as shown in full lines and by then swinging the side 16 to the dotted line position. The last two screws are then used to aflix the side 16 to the front 20 and the assembly is then complete. The grooves of the respective sides and back are received over the edges of the bottom 18 during the assembling steps.

FIGS. 6-9 show a slightly modified drawer which includes the same sides, back, and bottom components as the drawer of FIGS. l-S. In this instance the drawer has a slightly modified drawer front 84, but which still includes a metal frame 86 and a central panel 88. The metal frame 86 is of eight-piece construction, including upper and lower extruded frame members 90, side extruded frame members 92, and four die-cast corner frame members 94. The panel 88, in this instance, includes a front board or decorative layer 96 and a back board or supporting layer 98. Each of the layers can constitute inch plywood, by way of example, having one finished surface. A two-layer panel of this type is little more expensive than the single-layer panel 68 which is somewhat thicker than either of the

single layers

96 and 98 and should be finished on both sides. With the two-layer panel, the layer 96 can float relative to the metal frame since it is not affixed thereto, but is held between the frame 84 and the back layer 98.

The die-cast corner frame members 94 are shown in more detail in FIG. 9. Each of the corner members includes a web portion 100, an inner flange 102, which engages a margin of the decorative layer 96, and an outer flange 104, which extends to the rear surface of the supporting layer 98. The corner frame members has means for effecting assembly with the extruded frame members and 92, including two

tongues

106 and 108 which can be identical, with only one tongue being discussed in detail. The tongue includes a main web 110 terminating in a beveled edge or flange 112 and a perpendicular edge or flange 114. The upper surface of the flange 112 and a portion of the web 110 adjacent the flange 114 have serrations or

ridges

116 and 118 thereon which are deformed slightly when the tongues are assembled with the extruded frame members. Each of the corner members also have a central boss 120 integral therewith to receive fasteners. The bosses extend rear- .wardly from the web 100 a distance suflicient to abut of the flanges 104. The corner members 94 also have,

in this instance, two additional bosses 122 which abut and serve to back up or support corner portions of the rear supporting layer 98.

The extruded

frame members

90 and 92 can be identical in shape and cut to any desired length so as to produce a drawer front of a desired width and height. Since the drawer height is usually constant or standard, the corner frame members and the extruded side frame members 92 can be made of a single die-casting rather than of the three-piece construction, if desired, with only the upper and lower extruded frame members 90 then employed to accommodate drawer widths of different sizes.

Each of the extruded frame members includes a main web 124, an inner flange 126, and an intermediate L- shaped flange 128. These form a channel designed to receive one of the

tongues

106 or 108 in close fitting, snug relationship. Each of the extruded frame members also includes a second intermediate flange 132 which forms a fastener-receiving channel into which self-threading screws can be turned, particularly for wider drawers wherein the back layer 98 can be additionally supported by the frame members 90, by suitably spaced screws which serve the same purpose as the tabs 82 of FIG. 5. In addition, the frame members include outer flanges 134 which extend to the rear surface of the supporting layer 98 to hide the edges thereof and provide a finished appearance for the drawer front. The edges of the flanges 134 lie in the same plane as the edges of the outer flanges 104 of the corner members 94.

An L-shaped sheet metal bracket 136 extends under the drawer bottom 18 to provide intermediate support therefor. The bracket, shown in FIG. 7, is supported by a projection 138 extending through a hole 140 in the supporting layer 98. The projection 138 is inserted into the hole 140 before the front is assembled with the drawer bottom and is then held in place between the edge of the drawer bottom 18 and the panel 98 without special fasteners. The drawer is assembled in the same manner as before with four corner fasteners or screws 142 assembling the sides of the drawer with the front and also assembling the two-layer panel 88 with the frame 84. As mentioned, the bracket 136 is first assembled with the rear layer 98 by inserting the projection 138 in the hole 140 prior to assembly of the drawer sides with the front.

Various modifications of the above described embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is to be understood that such modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, if they are within the spirit and the tenor of the accompanying claims.

We claim:

1. A drawer comprising two side walls, a rear wall, a bottom, and a front, said front comprising a central panel having an outer flat margin of substantially uniform thickness extending around the entire periphery, a metal frame around said panel and separate from said panel, said frame comprising four frame members including two side frame members, an upper frame member, and a lower frame member, each of said frame members having a web, means contacting said margin of said panel, and an integral outer flange extending substantially to the back of said panel, and means fastening said side walls of said drawer to said front.

2. A drawer comprising two side walls, a rear wall, a bottom, and a front, said side walls each consisting of metal panels having inwardly-facing flange means at lower edge portions thereof substantially over the length of said panels, said rear wall also comprising a metal panel having inwardly-facing flange means co-planar with the flange means of said side panels, said bottom having two major surfaces spaced apart not more than the distance between said flange means to be received between and held by said flange means, said front comprising a metal frame and a center panel, means affixing said front to end portions of said side walls, one of (a) said side walls and (b) said rear wall having tongues and the other of (a) said side walls and (b) said rear wall having slots fitting with one another to provide a connection therebetween.

3. A drawer according to claim 2 wherein said tongues are bent outwardly from the plane of their associated wall.

4. A drawer according to claim 3 wherein said affixing means comprises flanges at the forward ends of said side walls for receiving fasteners by means of which said flanges are fastened to said front.

5. A drawer according to claim 4 wherein said tongues are on said rear wall and said slots are in rear portions of said side walls.

6. A drawer according to claim 1 wherein said central panel comprises a back board and a front board, said front board having the outer flat margin of substantially uniform thickness around the entire periphery, said back board extending beyond said margin of said front board, said front board being separate and independently movable relative to said back board.

7. A drawer according to claim 1 characterized by said fastening means connects end portions of said side walls to said metal frame, with said panel held therebetween.

8. A drawer according to claim 6 characterized by said fastening means connects end portions of said side walls through said back board to aid in holding said front board between said back board and said metal frame.

9. A drawer according to claim 1 wherein the upper and lower frame members are extruded and are connected to the two side frame members.

10. A drawer according to claim 9 wherein said side frame members each include an extruded portion and means connecting said extruded portion to said upper and lower extruded frame members.

11. A drawer according to claim 10 characterized by said connecting means comprises die-cast corner members having means for making connections with ends of said upper and lower frame members and with said extruded portions of said side frame members.

12. A drawer according to claim 11 wherein said connecting means comprises tongues received in channels formed in said upper and lower frame members and in said extruded portions of said side frame members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,327,761 8/1943 Brodbeck 312-342 2,701,174 2/1955 Franks 312-330 X 2,726,915 12/1955 Schuette 312-340 X 3,282,635 11/1966 Himelreich 31233O X JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.