US3862506A

US3862506A - Label holder

Info

Publication number: US3862506A
Application number: US348332A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bruce J Drenten; Frank S Breiner
Original assignee: Steelcase Inc
Current assignee: Steelcase Inc
Priority date: 1973-04-05
Filing date: 1973-04-05
Publication date: 1975-01-28
Anticipated expiration: 1992-01-28
Also published as: CA1000497A

Abstract

A label holder especially adapted for mounting in a recessed pull on drawers, doors, or the like. The pull includes front and rear walls defining a cavity. There is an opening in the front wall into which the label holder is positioned. The label holder is of one-piece construction extruded from resilient plastic material, preferably transparent, and includes a pair of rearwardly extending spring-like biasing flanges adapted for compressive abutment with the rear wall of the pull. These flanges force the label holder forwardly so that the edges of its front face abut the front wall of the pull on either side of the front opening. The front face is in position in the opening and a label can be displayed therethrough. Positioning flanges project forwardly from the face of the holder to position it within the pull opening. Integrally formed holding flanges are provided adjacent the inner surface of the face to hold a label behind the transparent face so that it may be viewed through the window and the face of the label holder.

Description

United States Patent 11 1 Drenten et al.

[ 1 Jan. 28, 1975 LABEL HOLDER [75] Inventors: Bruce J. Drenten, Grand Rapids;

Frank S. Breiner, Kentwood, both 21 Appl. No.: 348,332

[52] US. Cl. 40/325 [51] Int. Cl. G09f 3/00 [58] Field of Search 40/325, 10, 20 A, 16.6; 16/124; 312/2324 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,172,528 9/1939 Auer 40/10 R X 2,730,825 l/l956 Wilds 40/l6.2 3,238,656 3/1966 Kanzelberger.. 40/325 3,294,463 12/1966 Kafferlin 40/10 R X 3,320,690 5/1967 Forsburg 40/16.6 X

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 430,179 6/1926 Germany 40/152 532,154 8/1931 Germany 40/152 485,630 5/1938 Great Britain 16/124 Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell Assistant Examiner-Wenceslao .l. Contreras Attorney, Agent, or FirmPrice, Heneveld, Huizenga & Cooper [57] ABSTRACT A label holder especially adapted for mounting in a recessed pull on drawers, doors, or the like. The pull includes front and rear walls defining a cavity. There is an opening in the front wall into which the label holder is positioned. The label holder is of one-piece construction extruded from resilient plastic material, preferably transparent, and includes a pair of rearwardly extending spring-like biasing flanges adapted for compressive abutment with the rear wall of the pull. These flanges force the label holder forwardly so that the edges of its front face abut the front wall of the pull on either side of the front opening. The front face is in position in the opening and a label can be displayed therethrough. Positioning flanges project forwardly from the face of the holder to position it within the pull opening. lntegrally formed holding flanges are provided adjacent the inner surface of the face to hold a label behind the transparent face so that it may be viewed through the window and the face of the label holder.

18 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures IIIIIIIIIIIIII PATENTEB 3,862,506

SHEET 20F 2 My /4&

//0 Live LABEL HOLDER "FIG. 2 is a-sectionalelevation view taken along the plane 'IIII-0fFIG. l;

FIG. "3'is a perspective view ofthe label holder; FIG4 is a'view similar'toFIG. 2 illustrating the label The present invention relates to label holders for 're- '5 holder "partially assembled within the drawer pull recessed pulls on doors, drawers, and the like and addresses itself to the particular problem ofmounting a label holder in such a recessed pull simply'and in such a manner that it does not rattle when the door or drawer is opened and shut. There are label holder-s shown in the prior art which snap into the opening in the recessed pull cavity but which rattle in use. Some of the prior art label holders include specially designed flanges or the like which cooperate with specially designed recesses in the drawer pull to receive the flanges. These are, however, complicated in their construction and in many cases require separate tools to insert or remove them from the recessed pull. ln other constructions, it is required that the label holder be inserted from inside the drawer, door, or the like and requires that the contents be removed prior to the insertion thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The label holder of the present invention is especially adapted for ease of insertion from the outer facing portion of the recessed pull. The holder includes a front face and rearwardly'projecting biasing means. The biasing means engage the rear wall of the drawer pull cavity and force abutment means, located generally at the front face of the holder, forwardly into abutment with the inside surfaces of the front wall'of the drawer pull generally on either side of the drawer pull opening. The holder is inserted by cocking it at an angle and inserting it through the opening in the pull while simultaneously compressing the biasing means against the back wall of the opening and sliding the holder until it is properly aligned with the front'opening. It is then released, thereby allowing the'biasing means to push the holder forward toward the opening until the abutment means abut the front wall of the opening.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the label holder is integrally extruded from clear plastic and includes holding means adjacent the inner surface of its face for mounting and holding a label. In this way, the label is mounted behind the face and will be protected. The biasing means is in the form of a pair of rearwardly extending flange members having integral resilient, spring-like elements formed thereon which are especially adapted to abut the rear wall of the pull construction to bias the label holder forward. The spring elements are easily and readily compressed through the pull opening to allow either assembly or removal of the label holder. The special spring elements keep the label holder in tension so that no rattling or inadvertent sliding within the opening occurs when in use. Positioning means on the front face of the holder positively locate the holder with respect to the opening in the recessed pull. The many objects and advantages of this invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art upon reading the following specification with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view illustrating a first embodiment of the label holder of the present invention positioned within a recessed drawer pull;

cess;

'FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 4 illustrating the positioning of the label holder within the pull open :mg;

FIG. 6 isa perspective view of an alternate ernbodimentofthe label holder; and

FIG. 7 is an end view of the label holder shown in "FIG. '6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 'In the preferred embodiment, label'holder I0 is in a recessed pu'll at the front 12'of a-drawer,-door or the like (FIGS. '1 and 2'). The recessed pull itself includes a front-wall "14 and a back wall 16 which are spaced apart by side walls 18. The front, back, and side walls cooperate 'to form a cavity 20 into which the label rholder is positioned. A window opening #22 is provided in front wall '14 ofthe'pulland'in the-drawer-front 12. In'the'em'bodiment illustrated, the windowo'pen ing is elongated and includes a decorative trim member 24 positioned about the walls of the opening. The opening thus defined includes a top edge 26 abottom edge '28, and end edges 30. The trim piece 24 defines the-opening and abuts an inner wall surface 32 of front wall 14. Preferably, label holder 1 0 is formed by extrusion of a plastic which "is preferably transparent. One preferred material from which the label holder can be .constructed =is butyra'te although it is recognized that other plastic'ma'terials may be utilized with equal facility. The label holder includes a face 34 having an outer surface 36 and an inner surface 38. Holder I0 is elongated and the surface of face 34 is preferably slightly larger in height than the size of opening 22 provided in the recessed pull. Positioning flanges 40 are integrally formed on the front surface 36 of face 34 and extend outwardly a slight distance. Positioning flanges 40 are spaced apart near the top and bottom surfaces of the face 34 and extend-along the length thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, positioning'flanges 4'0 are spaced apart a sufficient distance such that when the label holder is positioned'withi'n the drawer pull recess, they abut top edge 26 and bottom edge 28 of trim piece 24 to position holder 10 within opening 22. The distance which positioning flanges 40 extend outwardly from outerface 36 is slightly less than the thickness of trim piece '24 such that no portions thereof extend beyond the face of the door, drawer, or the like in which the drawer pull is installed.

Extending rearwardly from the inner surface 38 of face 34 are a pair of biasing flanges 42. Each biasing flange 42 includes a generally V-shaped spring element 44 defined by an outer leg and-an inner leg 46. Each biasing flange 42 also includes a spacer 48 which joins inner leg 46 to front face 34. The outer leg S'Uex'tends rearwardly from inner leg 46 at an angle and is adapted to abut back wall 16 of the recessed pull cavity 20.

The upper and lower edge portions 34a of front face 34, above and below positioning flanges 40, serve as abutment surfaces for abutting the front wall of the drawer'pull. Thiskeeps the holder 10 from popping out of the recessed pull as a result of the biasing action 'of biasing flanges 42 against rear wall 16. As is apparent to one skilled in the art, the surfaces 34a specifically abut the insideof trim piece 24. For purposes of this disclosure, it will be appreciated that any surface generally at the front of the recessed pull can be considered the front wall of the recessed pull. It is onlyimportant that some surface at the front of the pull, or front wall be present for the purpose of preventing the holder 10 from popping out.

A pair of facing label holding flanges 52 extend perpendicular from spacer 48 and are generally parallel to the inner face surface 38 of front face 34. Flanges 52 are spaced a slight distance from inner surface 38 to provide a gap 56 therebetween into which a label 54 (FIG. 2) may conveniently be positioned. Since the face 34 is transparent, label 54 can be viewed through the face of the holder and yet it is protected and will not become damaged through handling and the like.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the convenient installation and/or removal of the label holder is illustrated. Basically, installation is accomplished by inserting the holder 10 through opening 22 at an angle such that it may readily pass through the opening. The upper spring element 44 is compressed as required against back wall 16 to allow complete passage of label holder 10 through opening 22. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper spring element 44 is compressed while the lower V- shaped spring element is in its relaxed position. In FIG. 5, slight finger pressure on the outer surface 36 of the face is applied to straighten the label holder within the opening equally compressing the V-shaped spring elements 44 against rear wall 16. The label holder 10 is shifted as required within the cavity until positioning flanges 40 come into general alignment with opening 22. The pressure applied against face 34 is released allowing the spring elements 44 to push label holder 10 forwardly toward opening 22 until abutment portions 34a of front face 34 abut the inside wall of trim 24. Positioning flanges 40 prevent further shifting in an upand-down direction. The V-shaped spring elements 44 constantly keep the label holder in tension so that no rattling or inadvertent sliding occurs.

It will be noted that label holder 10 can conveniently be slid longitudinally along the extended length of opening 22. This is accomplished by applying slight finger pressure on the face of the holder depressing it slightly as illustrated in FIG. and moving it along the opening until the desired position is reached. Pressure is then released and label holder is biased into position by spring elements 44 in the manner as previously described.

An alternate embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 wherein the biasing flange is integrally formed with the spacer extending from the inner face of the label holder. In this embodiment, label holder 100 includes a face 134 having an outer surface 136 and an inner surface 138. Positioning flanges 140 extend rearwardly a slight distance from the front surface of the face. The positioning flanges 140 are spaced at the top and bottom of the face such that when the label holder is positioned within a drawer pull recess, they abut the top and bottom edges of the trim piece as illustrated in the previous embodiment to position holder 110 within the opening. Upper and lower abutment surfaces 134a extend perpendicular to positioning flanges 140 to abut the front wall of the drawer pull and keep the label holder from popping out of the recessed pull.

Extending rearwardly from abutment surfaces [34a are a pair of biasing flanges 150. Each biasing flange 150 forms a spring element. Each flange 150 extends rearwardly at an angle to face I34 and is adapted to abut the back wall of the recessed pull cavity.

A pair of facing label holding flanges 152 extend perpendicular inwardly from positioning flanges and are generally parallel to inner face surface 138. Flanges 152 are spaced a slight distance from the inner surface to provide a gap 156 therebetween into which a label may conveniently be positioned. Since the face 134 is transparent, the label can be viewed through the front face of the holder and yet it is protected and will not become damaged through handling and the like.

Installation and/or removal of label holder 110 is accomplished in essentially the same fashion as that described in FIGS. 2-5 in connection with the previous embodiment. The holder is inserted through an opening at an angle such that it may readily pass through the opening. Upper biasing flange is compressed while the lower biasing flange is in its relaxed position. Finger pressure on the outer surface of the face is applied to straighten the label holder within the opening equally compressing the biasing flanges against the rear wall of the drawer pull. The label holder is then shifted as required within the cavity until positioning flanges I40 and abutment surfaces 134a come into general alignment with the opening whereupon the pressure is released allowing biasing elements 150 to push the label holder forwardly toward the opening and hold it securely in position so that no rattling or inadvertent sliding occurs.

While a preferred and alternate embodiment of the invention have been illustrated, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that other modifications of the invention incorporating the teachings hereof may readily be made in light of this disclosure. While the invention has been described with specific reference to its use in a drawer pull, it will be understood that it may readily be applied for use on doors, cabinets, and the like with equal facility. Accordingly, all modifications embodying the principles hereof are to be considered as included in the appended claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.

We claim:

1. A label holder for use in a recessed pull construction, said pull including spaced front and rear surfaces forming a drawer pull cavity, said front surface having an opening therein to provide access to said cavity, said holder comprising: a face adapted for positioning in said opening; abutment means operably connected to said face for engaging said front surface of said pull when-said face is positioned in said opening; at least one integrally formed, rearwardly extending elongated resilient biasing flange extending rearwardly from said face and engaging said rear surface of said pull whereby said abutment means is biased into engagement with said front surface of said pull, thereby minimizing any tendency for said holder to rattle with respect to said pull.

2. The holder of claim 1 in which said biasing means includes a pair of said resilient, rearwardly extending elongated biasing flange members.

3. the holder of claim 2 in which at least one of said rearwardly extending flange members having a generally V-shaped cross section, one leg of said V being operably connected to said face and the other leg of said V" being adapted for abutment with said rear surface of said recessed pull.

4. The label holder'of claim 3 which includes two of said rearwardly extending generally V-shaped flanges, said flanges being spaced from one another and being disposed generally at the top and bottom of said label holder, respectively.

5. The label holder of claim 2 which includes positioning means for operably engaging the edges of said opening to thereby align and position said face within said opening.

6. The label holder of claim 5 in which said positioning means comprise a pair of spaced positioning flanges generally from the upper and lower portions of said face, said flanges engaging the upper and lower edges of said recessed pull opening to thereby position said label holder in said opening.

7. The label holder of claim 6 in which at least said face portion of said label holder is transparent and said label holder includes holding means positioned adjacent the inner surface of said face for holding a label against said inner surface whereby said label may be viewed through said face.

8. The holder of claim 2 wherein said flange members are spaced from one another and disposed generally at the top and bottom of said label holder.

9. The label holder of claim 1 which includes positioning means for operably engaging the edges of said opening to thereby align and position said face within said opening.

10. The label holder of claim 9 in which said positioning means comprise a pair of spaced positioning flanges extending from the top and bottom of said holder, said flanges engaging the upper and lower edges and inner surfaces of said recessed pull opening to thereby position said label holder in said opening.

11. A label holder for use in a recessed pull construction, said pull including spaced front and rear wall portions forming a drawer pull cavity, said front wall having an opening therein for access to said cavity, said holder comprising: a face, said face being adapted for positioning in said opening for displaying reference indicia thereon in said opening; positioning means for aligning said face in said opening, said positioning means extending outwardly from said face; and biasing means integrally formed and extending rearwardly from said face generally at an acute anglewith respect to said face, said biasing means being compressible with abutment on said back wall during installation of said holder into said cavity through said opening and being expandable upon release thereof to bias said holder into abutting relationship with the inside surface of said front wall to thereby position and hold said label holder in said window.

12. The label holder as set forth in claim 11 wherein said biasing means includes a pair of resilient, rearwardly extending elongated flange members.

13. The label holder as set forth in claim 12 wherein each said elongated flange member includes a spring element which in cross section is generally in the shape of a V," one leg of said V being operably connected to said face, the other leg of said V being adapted for abutment with said back wall of said recessed pull.

14. The label holder as set forth in claim 12 wherein said positioning means comprises a pair of elongated outwardly extending positioning flanges, said flanges being spaced apart and extending along the upper and lower edges of said face, said flanges being adapted for abutment with the edges of said recessed pull opening to thereby position said label holder therein.

15. The label holder as set forth in claim 14 wherein said holder is integrally formed from plastic material.

16. The label holder as set forth in claim 15 wherein said plastic material is butyrate.

17. The label holder as set forth in claim 15 wherein at least said face portion of said label holder is transparent and further includes holding means positioned adjacent said inner surface of said face for holding a label against said inner surface whereby said label may be viewed through said face.

18. The label holder of claim 17 wherein said holding means includes a pair of holder flanges positioned on said elongated flange members, said holder flanges extending perpendicular to said elongated flange member and extending toward each other across said inner surface of said face.

l l= =l=

Claims

1. A label holder for use in a recessed pull construction, said pull including spaced front and rear surfaces forming a drawer pull cavity, said front surface having an opening therein to provide access to said cavity, said holder comprising: a face adapted for positioning in said opening; abutment means operably connected to said face for engaging said front surface of said pull when said face is positioned in said opening; at least one integrally formed, rearwardly extending elongated resilient biasing flange extending rearwardly from said face and engaging said rear surface of said pull whereby said abutment means is biased into engagement with said front surface of said pull, thereby minimizing any tendency for said holder to rattle with respect to said pull.

3. the holder of claim 2 in which at least one of said rearwardly extending flange members having a generally V-shaped cross section, one leg of said ''''V'''' being operably connected to said face and the other leg of said ''''V'''' being adapted for abutment with said rear surface of said recessed pull.

4. The label holder of claim 3 which includes two of said rearwardly extending generally V-shaped flanges, said flanges being spaced from one another and being disposed generally at the top and bottom of said label holder, respectively.

11. A label holder for use in a recessed pull construction, said pull including spaced front and rear wall portions forming a drawer pull cavity, said front wall having an opening therein for access to said cavity, said holder comprising: a face, said face being adapted for positioning in said opening for displaying reference indicia thereon in said opening; positioning means for aligning said face in said opening, said positioning means extending outwardly from said face; and biasing means integrally formed and extending rearwardly from said face generally at an acute angle with respect to said face, said biasing means being compressible with abutment on said back wall during installation of said holder into said cavity through said opening and being expandable upon release thereof to bias said holder into abutting relationship with the inside surface of said front wall to thereby position and hold said label holder in said window.

13. The label holder as set forth in claim 12 wherein each said elongated flange member includes a spring element which in cross section is generally in the shape of a ''''V,'''' one leg of said ''''V'''' being operably connected to said face, the other leg of said ''''V'''' being adapted for abutment with said back wall of said recessed pull.