US3549301A

US3549301A - Drawer construction

Info

Publication number: US3549301A
Application number: US746609A
Authority: US
Inventors: Everett K Harris; John P Ericson; Richard E Miller
Original assignee: All Steel Equipment Inc
Current assignee: All Steel Equipment Inc
Priority date: 1968-07-22
Filing date: 1968-07-22
Publication date: 1970-12-22
Anticipated expiration: 1987-12-22
Also published as: JPS5231793B1; JPS501191B1

Description

Dec. 22, 1970 E.- K. HARms L 3,549,301

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION OrigirialFiledOct.30,1969

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY %M.

\0m w Y X1 mmmm. T I. E .E A vK .E W DQm v I N m QN E On Dec. 22, 1970 R s EI'AL v 3,549,301

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed 001;. 30, 1969' Dec. 22, 1970 HARR|5 E'I'AL DRAWER CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Oct. 30, 1969 IN VE NTORS EVERETT K. HARRIS Hie/321g P. ERICSON D WQM E. MI{ LER ATT'YS.

Dec. 22, 1970 HARR|5 ETAL DRAWER CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets$heet 4., H

Original Filed Oct. 30, 1969 United States Patent 3,549,301 DRAWER CONSTRUCTION Everett K. Harris, Geneva, John P. Ericson, St. Charles,

and Richard E. Miller, Aurora, 11]., assignors to All- Steel Equipment Inc., a corporation of Illinois Original application Oct. 30, '1969, Ser. No. 871,350.

Divided and this application July 22, 1968, Ser.

Int. Cl. A47b 88/04 US. Cl. 312-330 15 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to a drawer construction for office furniture units, such as desks, in which the drawer is made from sheet metal components, including a body member of generally U-shaped transverse cross-sectional configuration defining a drawer bottom and sides, a rear panel, and a special fabricated front made of a stamped or drawn front piece and liner secured together by a press forming operation to form a mitered border along the front of the drawer that avoids machining for smoothness. The side walls of the drawer each have secured to same a side panel member that makes the sides of a double wall construction and hides brackets and the like which secure the drawer front to the drawer and houses a drawer stop device on either side of the drawer. The side panels are shaped to avoid all possible ledges, cracks, and the like that could accumulate dust, and to give the drawer as clean an appearance as possible. Associated with the drawer is a novel clip and divider arrangement that removably mounts the divider within the drawer.

The method of making the drawer front that is disclosed herein is the subject of our divisional patent application Ser. No. 871,350, filed Oct. 30, 1969.

This invention relates to a drawer construction for oflice furniture such as desks, and more particularly, to a novel drawer arrangement for metal ofiice furniture that is especially suited for desk and credenza tray and box drawers and some aspects of letter drawers.

Heretofore drawers of the indicated type have involved various pieces of hardware and shaping along the drawer side walls for slidably mounting same on the desk or credenza pedestal or the like and providing a locking arrangement therefor, which tend to accumulate dust and dirt and give the drawer a harsh and irregular appearance when withdrawn. Also, drawer fronts have consisted of a front piece that is directly attached to the drawer sides, to secure the drawer front in place, and a liner at the rear of the front piece, which frequently was removably mounted. Dividers when provided are frequently permanently mounted against removal, although more expensive models may provide for position adjustment.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a drawer construction that significantly simplifies assembly procedures while providing a smooth and clean overall appearing end product.

Another principal object of the invention is to provide a new drawer front arrangement and method of making same that provides a mitered drawer front assembly by simplified assembly procedures without requiring time consuming manual procedures such as welding and grindmg.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a drawer arrangement that overlaps the edges of its opening so that all cracks between the drawer and its supporting pedestal are fully hidden from the drawer front and side, to provide a new divider arrangement for desk drawers 3,549,301 Patented Dec. 22, 1970 and the like that is characterized by ready adjustability, removability and simplicity, and to provide a drawer arrangement that is economical of manufacture, convenient to install and use, and readily adaptable for embodiment in a variety of drawer sizes.

Other objects, uses and advantages will be obvious or become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the application drawings in which like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective view of a double pedestal desk and includes box and letter drawers embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one of the box drawers of the desk of FIG. 1, with parts broken away to expose other parts;

FIG. 2A is a detailed perspective view of a clip employed in accordance with the present invention to removably mount the divider shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 2B is a fragmental perspective view of a portion of the desk pedestal latch bar that cooperates with the drawer latch embodied in the drawer of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a fragmental rear perspective view of the drawer illustrated in FIG. 2, shown partially exploded and with parts broken away to expose other parts;

FIG. 4 is a rear plan view of the drawer front member employed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a small scale sectional view through the drawer front of FIG. 4, taken substantially along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmental cross-sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are plan views of the two blanks that are formed in the process of making the drawer front, with FIG. 7 illustrating the blank for the drawer front piece showing in broken lines score lines that are applied to same as part of the forming procedure, and with FIG. 8 showing the blank for the drawer front liner, illustrating in broken lines the bent lines that are involved;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are similar to FIG. 5, but showing the manner in which the two drawer front components are assembled together as part of the method of making the drawer front that is contemplated by this invention;

FIG. 11 is a fragmental plan view of one of the corners of the drawer front piece, showing same in the condition of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11A is a fragmental perspective view of a corner of the left hand front component of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a fragmental cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken substantially along line 12-12 of FIG. 2, illustrating the manner in which the divider supporting clips are applied to the drawer side;

FIG. 13 is a fragmental partially exploded perspective view of one of the rear corners of the drawer, better illustrating the details involved in the drawer construction at this point of the drawer; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the drawer body that forms the drawer bottom and side walls.

However, it is to be understood that the specific drawing illustrations provided are supplied primarily to comply with requirements of the Patent Code, and that the invention may have other embodiments that are intended to be covered by the appended claims.

GENEIUKL DESCRIPTION Reference numeral 10 of FIG. 1 generally indicates a double pedestal desk equipped with pedestals 12 and 14 provided with box drawers 16 and a letter drawer 18 arranged in accordance with this invention. The desk conventionally includes a top 20 and supporting legs 22 arranged and assembled together with a lock filler 24 equipped with a drawer lock 25 in the manner described in related application Ser. No. 744,782, filed July 15, 1968, the disclosure which is incorporated herein by this reference.

One of the box drawers is illustrated in FIG. 2, which illustrates the principal features of the present invention.

The drawer 16 comprises a front member 30, a body member32 that forms the sides 34 and bottom 36 of the drawer, a rear member 38, and side panels 40 operably associated with the drawer sides 34 to provide the double walled construction 42 that is better illustrated in FIGS. 3, 12 and 13.

Housed within the double walled construction 42 on either side of the drawer is a latch device 44 that cooperates with a latch bar arrangement 45 (FIG. 2B) of the type illustrated in said related application, which is operated by the lock 25 of lock filler 24 to lock and unlock the drawer.

- The drawer front 30 in accordance with this invention comprises a front piece 46 and a liner 48 formed in accordance with the method contemplated by the present invention to take the blanks that are illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 through a forming and assembling sequence to provide the end product shown in'FIGS. 3, 4, and 6. The drawer, front member 30 is arranged for application thereto of a suitable drawer pull 50. i

The double wall construction 44 that comprises the sides of the drawer is shaped to define a mounting recess 52 for a pair of mounting clips 54 of divider device 55, which clips 54, when in place in accordance with the present invention, operably mount a drawer divider member 56. The clips 54 may be positioned as desired along the length of the drawer and the divider 56 removably applied thereto, the clips being arranged and constructed to afiixedly hold thedivider 56 in place against longitudinal and lateral displacement until the user desires to shift the divider to a new location.

As will be apparent from the drawings, the sides of the drawer as defined by the double wall construction 44 are smooth and clean in appearance starting from the front of the drawer toward the rear, and the drawer latch devices and supplementary slide mounting devices are located at the rear, of the drawer. Instead of the usual laterally projecting rail for mounting the drawer on the pedestal, the double wall construction 42 is arranged or indented to define an internal shoulder 60 that extends the length of the drawer and defines a downwardly facing trackway 62 on which the drawer is slidably mounted on a flange 63 of a mounting channel 65 (see FIG. 12) that is appropriately secured within the respective desk pedestals on either side of the drawer. Channel 65 extends the depth of the respecting pedestals, and ad jacent its forward end carries a drawer glide button 67 of the type disclosed in Abrahamson et al. Pat. No. 2,743,- 149 on which trackway 62 rests.

Operably associated with the drawer 16, on either side thereof adjacent its rear end is a glide mount bracket 64 that is arranged to mount glide button 69 of the same type as button 67 to slidably mount the drawer on flanges 71 of channel 65. t

In accordance with this invention, the corners 66 as well as the top68, bottom 73, and the sides 70 of the drawer front member are given a mitered configuration so that they overlie the edges of the pedestal that define the sides, top andbottom of the drawer opening for the respective drawers; the drawer fronts are also proportioned vertically so that when the drawers are moved to their fully inserted positions, the top and bottom edges of adjacent drawers are in substantial juxtaposition, with the result that the drawer fronts hide the drawer opening defining edges from the front and sides of the desk. To

facilitate construction of such configuration, the drawer 4 member 30 is formed by a drawing or stamping operation forming a part of our invention that avoids the necessity of welding the drawer front at its corners 66 and a consequent grinding of same to provide a smoothly contoured surfacing.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION Referring now more specifically to FIGS. 3-11, relative to the construction of the drawer front 30, in accordance with our method of making the drawer front, the drawer front piece 46 is made from a blank (see FIGS. 7, 9 and 11) that is stamped from sheet metal in a progressive shaping operation through which a sheet of metal of suitable gauge is passed in strip form through suitable dies that provide the progressive shaping that is indicated.

In the first stamping or drawing operation that is performed, the blank 80 is formed from the base sheet in generally planar rectangular form, but with the corners 82 of the blank excised as indicated at 84 to define a rounded edge 86.

In performing the shaping operation indicated, the blank 80 remains connected to the base sheet by several tabs connected between its side edges and 92 and the base sheet so that the base sheet may be employed to move the blank between adjacent dies required to perform the indicated consecutive shaping operations.

At the next position, score lines 94, 96, 98 and are formed along the sides of the blank 80 where indicated in FIG. 7, and it will be noted that the score lines intersect the deleted corners 84 of the blank intermediate the ends of the respective corner edges 86, so that adjacent score lines intersect at the deletedportions of the respective blank corners.

As part of this forming step, perforations 102 may be formed at the midportion of the blank to define openings for screws employed to attach the drawer pull 50 to the drawer front.

The base strip and blank 80 are then moved to the final die forming operation insofar as completing the blank 80 is concerned, during the course of which the blank is press formed to bend its

edges

90, 91, 92, 93 at right angles to the plane of the blank to define angled edge portion 108 about blank 80. The bending action is preferably along a bend line adjacent to but just inside the respective score lines .94, 96, 98 and 100 sufliciently to bring in the material of blank 80 defining edges 86 into the resulting rounded edge configuration to result in the metal at the corner apexes 101 of the blank 80 being formed into the smoothly contoured corner that is indicated in FIGS. 4 and 11. Thus, the edge portion 108 at the corner apexes 101 of the completed blank 80 is notched as at 111 but not fully interrupted to leave a shoulder portion 113 at the :base of the edge portion. In performing this shaping step, the base sheet and its blank may be appropirately centered on a supporting die such that the score lines 90, 92, 98 and 100 will be centered over an appropriately shaped die anvil surface, after which a movable die member appropriately shaped to give the

edges

90, 92, 91 and 93 the right angled shape indicated -by FIGS. 9 and 11 is brought against blank 80 to so shape same, which operation also severs the blank 80 from the base sheet.

This completes the blank 80 for assembly with the liner member 48 after same has been shaped in the manner now about to be described although it is pointed out that the base sheet referred to is proportioned to have any suitable number of blanks 80 formed therefrom in the mlnlmum wastage.

The liner member 48 is stamped from a sheet metal blank (FIG. 8). The blank 110 in being processed by suitable press formingor drawing dies is shaped to define the indentations that provide spaced lands 122 that, in the assembled relation of front piece 46 and liner 48,

provide spaced portions of contact between these two members across the center of the drawer front 30, and thus provide convenient mounting portions for securing the drawer pull 50 to the front in which holes 123 are formed to accommodate application of securing screws to the drawer pull 50.

More significantly, the

sides

116, 118 and 115 and 117 of blank 110 are bent laterally of the blank 110 are bent laterally of the blank 110 to the diagonally related position illustrated in FIGS. 6, 9 and 10 about bend lines 112 that gives the blank a dished configuration defining an outwardly diverging or tapering rim portion 124 that is interrupted as at the corner deletions 112. The respective sides of the blank 110' are also indented inwardly as as 126 and are angled as at 128, along

bend lines

129, 131 and 133, respectively, so that the respective sides of the blank 110 have the special cooperation with the corresponding sides of blank 80 of the front piece 46 in the assembled relation of the drawer front (see FIG. 6).

These formation steps may be performed in any convenient sequence and in any suitable manner, and result in the blank 110 at the corner 114 of its rim portion defining smoothly contoured corner edges 135, along bend line 137.

It will thus be seen that at this stage of the fabrication of the drawer front, the front piece has the configuration indicated by FIGS. 9 and 11 while the liner 48 has the configuration illustrated in FIG. 9, in which the rim portion 124 of the blank defines at each of the sides -118 an outwardly facing diagonally related or mitered surface that terminates at the corner edges the rim portion 124, outwardly of the blank, ends in an edge portion 132 that extends perpendicularly to the planar web portion 134 of the now completed blank 110. The edge portion 132 on the respective sides of the blank substantially complements and fits inside of the corresponding edge portion 108 of the blank 80.

In the next step of the assembly, a blank 80 is rested on a suitable anvil portion of a suitably configured die and a blank 110 applied onto same within its edge portion 108, after which the edge portion 108 of blank 80, along the entire length of same, including shoulder portions 113, is bent to the configuration indicated in FIGS. 4, 6 and 10 to fixedly mount the blank 110 within the blank 80. It will be noted that in performing this operating, the flange 136 of edge portion 108 of the blank 80 is deformed into the notched portion 126 of the blank 110 and into substantial alignment with the diagonally related rim portion 124 of the blank 110 so that the surface 138 of edge portion 136 defines a continuation of the surface 130 of blank 110. Thus, the drawer front as completed defines a smoothly contoured tapered margin 140 about its inwardly facing side 142, and its outwardly facing side 144 is planar in configuration.

The drawer front 30 is now completed for assembly in a drawer construction, such as that shown in FIG. 2, for application to desk 10. It should be noted that the finished product does not require welding at the drawer front corner 66 and consequent grinding for shaping purposes that is conventionally required at such corners, as the in-folded flanges of front piece edge portion 108 securely hold the front piece 46 to liner 48 while overlying only a small portion of the margin 140 of the liner 148 and liner 48 is smoothly contoured at the corner edges 135. Furthermore, since no welding is necessary in connection with fabrication of the drawer front 30, the front piece 46 may be formed from vinyl covered material to provide greater selectivity of color combinations, etc. insofar as desk fronts are concerned.

The drawer body 32 that defines the drawer sides 34 and bottom 36 is made from sheet metal of an appropriate gauge and has the configuration indicated in FIG. 14 in which it is shown to be essentially U-shaped in transverse cross-sectional configuration, except that in the upper portions 150 of the sides 34, the sides are indented outwardly as at 152, and are shouldered as at 154 to define a web portion 156 and a downwardly extending flange portion 158 that is spaced outwardly of the drawer sides 34. As indicated, in FIGS. 12 and 14, the indentation 152 is smoothly rounded in transverse cross-sectional configuration for cooperation with the corresponding portion of clip 54, which will later be described. The web portion 156 of each side of the body member 32 is off-set outwardly of the plane of the respective side walls 34 approximately the thickness of such side walls, as indicated in FIG. 12.

The drawer front 30 is fixed to the body member 32 by applying to the drawer front liner member 48 a pair of side angle brackets 160 and a bottom angle bracket 162 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) in which the flanges 164 on the side angle brackets are fixed as by spot welding to the web portion 134 of the front liner member 48 as at 165, while the flange 166 of the lower bracket member are similarly applied to the drawer liner 48 as by spot welding at 167. The

angle brackets

160 and 162 are positioned so that the front end of the body member 32 when rested on the flange 168 of the bracket 162 will have its sides abutting the inside surfaces 169 of flanges 170 of the respective brackets 160, and the

respective brackets

160 and 162 are made fast to the body member 32 by suitably spot welding the

respective flanges

168 and 170 to the body member, sides and bottom, respectively.

The drawer rear 38 is formed from a suitable gauge of sheet metal to define angled side flanges 172 that are spaced apart to closely receive the exterior surfaces 173 of the side walls 34 of body member 32, and a lower or bottom flange 174 on which the drawer bottom rests, as well as a doubled over top edge portion 176 for reinforcing purposes.

The drawer back 38 is applied to the drawer body 32 by positioning the drawer body between its flanges 172 and resting its bottom on flange 174, and then spot welding the

respective flanges

172 and 174 to the corresponding abutting portions of the drawer body 32. It will be noted, in this connection, that the flanges 172 of the drawer back are disposed in abutting relationship to the outwardly facing surfaces 173 of the drawer sides 34.

The drawer side panels '40 each comprise a main panel portion 180 that is indented as indicated at 60 to define the downwardly facing trackway surface 62, and a lower panel portion 182 that is spaced inwardly of the panel portion 180 and terminates in an inwardly angled flange portion 184. The main panel portion 180 along the top edge of the drawer is formed to define a laterally extending web portion 186 terminating in a downwardly angled flange portion 188.

As indicated in FIGS. 3, 12 and 13, the side panels 40 are shaped to seat over the top and outer sides of the drawer sides 34, with the web portion 186 resting on the web portion 154 of the body 32 and the panel portion 182 abutting the outer surface of the respective drawer sides '34; the drawer bottom 36 seats on the flanges 184. The respective panel members 40 may be applied to the respective sides 34 of the drawer body 32 by lowering the respective panel members 40 onto the upper portions of the respective drawer body sides when angled sufiiciently outwardly of the drawer sides at the lower edges thereof to permit flanges 184 to be accommodated until the respective webs 186 seat on the respective webs 156, after which the panel portions 182 of the respective side panels 40 are swung into abutting relation with the drawer sides to position the flange portions 184 where indicated ni FIG. 12. The side panels 40 are then spot welded to the body member 32 at suitably spaced points along the panel portions 182 and flange portions 184. The panels 40 are notched at their lower rear portions, as at 187, to accommodate the flanges 172 of the drawer back 38 (see FIG. 13).

The latch devices 44- each comprise a resilient arm 190 fixed to the inwardly facing side 192 (FIG. 12) of the respective side panels 40 at one end 194 of said arms 190 as by spot welding as at 191, and shaped at the other end 196 thereof to define an outwardly indented portion 198 that projects outwardly of the respective side panels 40 through an appropriate opening 199 formed therein and forming a latching abutment 197. The side panels are also formed with an opening 200 in alignment with the respective arms 190 intermediate the ends thereof to permit the arms 190' to be manually depressed inwardly of the openings 199 to withdraw abutment 197 inside the openings 199.

The latch devices 44 are adapted for cooperation with a sliding latch bar 45 (FIG. 2B) which is arranged as disclosed in said application. The latch bars are mounted in the respective pedestals on either side of the drawer for sliding movement longitudinally thereof and these movements are controlled by lock 25 through the linkage disclosed in said application. The bars 45 each com- I prise a channel shaped member 201 notched as at 202 at the elevation of the adjacent arms 190, the particular locking relation involved being that when the shoulder 203 of the member 201 is disposed in front of abutment 197 defined by arm 190, withdrawal of the drawer is prohibited, while ifme-mber 201 is raised the amount achieved by operating lock 25, the abutment 197 moves freely through notch portiton 204; Bars 45 of each pedestal are provided with suflicient notches 202 to correspond with the

drawers

16 and 18 that are equipped with arms 190.

Each of the side panels 40 have fixed thereto the re.

spective glide mounting brackets 64, each of which defines a rearward flange 210 and'a forward flange 212 located in a like horizontal plane, and a centrally located flange 214 that is located in a horizontal plane spaced above that of flanges 212 and 210. The

flanges

210, 212 and 214 are perforated as at 215 for application thereto of the glide buttons 69 in the manner indicated in FIG. 12.

It will be noted that the application of the side panels 40 to the drawer sides 34 positions them to overlie the

brackets

160 and 162 of the drawer front 30 and the attaching flanges 172 of the drawer back 38 which are thus effectively hidden. Arms 190 and sockets 64 are applied to the respective panels 40 before the latter are applied to the drawer body 32.

Referring now to the divider device 55, the clips 54 comprise an elongated element 230 formed from sheet metal or the like to define at one end- 232 thereof an indentation 234 having a configuration that complements the outwardly facing surface of drawer side indentation 152, and a pair of spaced apart ridges 236 which define between them a groove 238 that receives the side edge 240 of the divider member 56. The ridges 236 in the form illustrated are defined by identations 242 formed in the strip 230 and extending from the end 232 to the end 244 of same.

The clip members 54 are shaped identically and can be used interchangeably on either side of the drawer.

The divider member 56 comprises a sheet element 250 formed from a suitable gauge of sheet metal and having its upper edge doubled over as at 252 for reinforcing and handle forming purposes. The side edges 240 of the divider are beveled somewhat as indicated at 254 (FIG. 2) to permit ready application of the divider member 56 to a pair of clip members 54 mounted in'the manner indicated in FIG. 2.

The individual clip members 54 are mounted in operating position by taking a clip member 54 and inserting its grooved end portion 232 through the slot 256 that is defined by the side panel flange portion, 188 and the adjacent portion of the drawer side 34 (and that forms the opening to mounting recess 52),.with the ridges 236 facing inwardly of the drawer, and the end 244 of the clip disposed in spaced relation to the drawer side, and using the indentation 152 as a pivot, swinging the lower ends 244 of the respective clips toward the drawer side 34 that the clip is being mounted on. Clips 54 are strapped so that when the grooved ends 232 of the respective clips are fully seated in the respective indentations 152, their lower ends 244 will be spaced somewhat from the respective drawer sides, substantially as indicated in FIG. 12.

When two of the clip members 54 have been applied to opposite sides 54 of the drawer in opposed relation, the drawer divider member 56 is positioned to dispose its bottom edge 255 in alignment with the grooves 244 defined by the respective clip members 254 and then the divider member is pressed downwardly to in effect cam the clip members flush against the drawer sides. This camming action stresses the clip members to provide a binding action between the clips and the drawer divider, as well as between the clips and the drawer sides which firmly holds the divider against displacement.

When it is desired to remove the divider device 55, it is only necessary to withdraw the divider member 56, after which the clip members will spring back to the position indicated in FIG. 12; the clip members then may be readily removed from the recesses 52 by pivoting them upwardly a short distance so that the grooved end portions 232 thereof will swing downwardly to the point where the ends 232 may be readily dislodged from the slots 256.

It will thus be seen that the divider device 55 may be readily applied to or removed from the drawer, and consequently can be readily changed in position when desired.

The drawer is completed by application thereto of the drawer pull 50. In doing this, screws 260 are threadedly applied to the drawer pull arms 262 through the

perforations

102 and 123 that have been formed in the drawer liner and front piece, respectively, in the area of the indentations 120, and that are positioned for being placed in alignment when the drawer front. 30 is assembled.

The herein disclosed specifics of drawer 16 can readily be embodied in tray and box drawers for desks and the like, which differ only in the heightof the drawers. Letter' drawers may also be similarly arranged where desired, and it has been found that the drawer front arrangement herein disclosed can be incorporated in standard letter drawer arrangements in place of the fronts now used to lend the advantages of our drawer front construction and fabrication techniques to such devices.

The foregoing description and the drawings are given merely to explain and illustrate my invention, and the invention is not to be limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, since those skilled in the art who have my disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A drawer for office furniture units and the like comprising:

a body member of generally U-shaped transverse cross-sectional configuration defining the drawer bottom and side walls,

a front member comprising a liner having a front piece secured to the forward side thereof,

bracket means fixed between said liner and said body member to fix said front member to said body member,

said bracket means at said drawer side walls being positioned exteriorly thereof,

a rear member closing the rear. of the drawer,

and a side panel secured across the exterior sides of said drawer side walls and overlying saidbracket means at said drawer side walls,

said side panels being indented to define supporting rails for the drawer on either side thereof,

2. The drawer set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said paneling indenting defines a downwardly facing trackway surface with said indenting extending to the bottom of the drawer.

3. The drawer set forth in claim 1 including a drawer latch carried by said drawer on either side thereof adjacent the rear of the drawer,

said drawer latch comprising: a resilient arm positioned between the side wall and side panel on the respective sides of the drawer, said resilient arm extending longitudinally of the drawer and having its forward end fixed to the respective panels and its rearward end formed with a laterally projecting abutment,

said side panels each respectively being formed with a window through which the respective abutments project,

and means for depressing the respective arms inwardly of the respective side panels to substantially withdraw said abutments within said side panels.

4. The drawer set forth in claim 3 wherein said depressing means comprises a window formed in the respective side panels between said ends of the respective arms for finger depression thereof.

5. The drawer set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said drawer front member liner comprises a dished stamped member of quadrilateral configuration defining an outwardly projecting rim,

said drawer front member front piece comprising a substantially planar member of a quadrilateral configuration complementing that of said liner,

with the edges of said front piece being bent over about corresponding edges of said liner to secure said front piece to said liner.

6. The drawer set forth in claim 5 wherein:

said edges of said liner and said front piece define a mitered configuration for overlapping the edges of the unit opening said drawer is to be positioned in.

7. The drawer set forth in claim 5 wherein:

said edges of said front piece at the corners thereof are notched,

said corners being smoothly curved over the corresponding corners of said liner.

8. The drawer set forth in claim 5 wherein:

said liner adjacent the mid portion of said front memher is indented into engagement with said front piece at a pair of spaced apart points,

and a drawer handle secured to said front member,

said handle including attachment portions secured to said front member by screw means applied to same through said liner and said front piece at said indentations.

9. A front member for a drawer for oflice furniture or the like comprising:

a liner comprising a dished stamped member of quadrilateral configuration defining an outwardly projecting rim,

and a front piece for said liner comprising a substantially planar member of a quadrilateral configuration complementing that of said liner,

with the edges of said front piece doubled over about corresponding edges of said liner to secure said front piece to said liner,

said edges of said liner and said front piece defining a mitered configuration for overlapping the edges of the unit opening said drawer is to be positioned in,

said edges of said front piece at the corners thereof being notched,

said corner notches being concavely curved,

said corners inwardly of said notches being smoothly curved over the corresponding corners of said liner.

10. The drawer set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said drawer side walls are formed with a rectilinear recess extending longitudinally of the respective side walls and facing each other adjacent the top edges of the respective side walls,

and wherein said drawer further includes:

a flange on the inside of the respective side walls overlying the upper portion of the respective recesses,

a clip member for each side wall comprising a generally flat element having one end thereof indented to define a shape complementing that of the respective drawer side recesses, and defining a groove extending normally of said indentation thereof,

whereby said one end of said clip members may be disposed in one of the respective side wall recesses and behind said flange thereof to mount same on the respective side walls,

and a divider member proportioned to span the dis tance between said clip members when mounted on the respective side walls in alignment transversely of the drawer and frictionally engage said clip members along said grooves thereof to removably mount said divider member in said drawer.

11. The drawer set forth in claim 10 wherein:

said drawer side wall flanges comprise a portion of the respective side panels overlying the tops of the respective side walls.

12. A drawer for ofl'ice furniture units and the like comprising:

a generally quadrilateral structure defining a drawer body including drawer bottom, side, front, and rear walls,

said drawer side walls being formed with a rectilinear recess extending longitudinally of the respective side walls and facing each other adjacent the top edges of the respective side walls,

a clip member for each side wall comprising a generally flat element having one end thereof indented to define a shape complementing that of the respective drawer side recesses and defining a groove extending normally of said indentation thereof,

and a divider member proportioned to span the distance between said clip members when mounted on the respective side walls in alignment transversely of the drawer and frictionally engage said clip members along said grooves thereof to removably mount said divider member in said drawer.

13. The drawer set forth in claim 12 wherein: said clip members are formed to bend with said drawer side walls and said divider member on application of the latter thereto to maintain said divider member against displacement longitudinally of the drawer. 14. In a drawer for application to pedestals of otfice furniture units and the like, said drawer including a front, rear, side walls and a bottom, the improvement wherein: said side walls each define an outwardly facing exterior side surface that is planar for a substantial portion of its depth, said side surfaces being indented inwardly of the drawer adjacent the lower edges thereof to define a downwardly facing supporting trackway for the drawer on either side thereof,

said indentation extending to thebottom of the drawer,

and a bracket secured to each side of the drawer adjacent the rear of the drawer and in said indentations, respectively, thereof,

said bracket including one or more flanges for cooperating with an adjacent support flange of the pedestal to which the drawer is applied.

15. The drawer set forth in claim 14 in combination with a pedestal defining an opening to receive same,

said pedestal having a channel member mounted along either side of said opening positioned to be in alignment with said drawer indentations when the drawer is applied to said pedestal opening,

a glide button formed of lubric material secured to the upper flange of each channel member adjacent the forward end thereof on which the respective drawer traekways ride when the drawer is applied to the pedestal,

said bracket flanges being spaced depthwise of the drawer to receive between them the other flange of the respective channel members,

and glide buttons formed from lubric material secured to the respective bracket flanges and positioned to engage the respective said other flanges of'the respective channel members when the drawer is applied to the pedestal.

1 2 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 997,567 7/1911 Linden 312330 1,284,581 12/1918 Bullock 312-330 5 3,416,850 12/1968 Hilfinger 312330 3,450,304 7/ 1969 Schreyer 312330 JAMES T. McCALL, Primary Examiner 10 U.S. Cl. X.R.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. aya gm. Dated D Inventofls) Jqhr P Harris M '11 It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent: are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 8, I me 7'5 after 'sa I I r ser? n I .ENGNED mu SEALED M 1 HM Ir- Aneefing Officer WILLIAM E. JR. dominion of Patents