US20080061665A1

US20080061665A1 - Furniture Drawer

Info

Publication number: US20080061665A1
Application number: US11/575,427
Authority: US
Inventors: Horst Lautenschlager
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-09-30
Filing date: 2005-09-08
Publication date: 2008-03-13
Also published as: EP1793702B1; CA2581178A1; ATE463179T1; EP1793702A1; DE502005009375D1; WO2006037419A1

Abstract

A furniture drawer has two lateral walls, a back wall and a base, and includes a front plate connecting the front ends of the lateral walls and a front trim, fixed thereto. Each lateral wall includes a metal running track, fixed to the back wall and the front plate. The running track is arranged in a lateral wall cladding, held between the back wall and the front trim as a support strut. The front plate is screwed to the front trim with horizontal tensioning. The lateral wall cladding is open to the bottom and engages with interlocking over the running track. The lateral wall cladding houses a longitudinal edge of the base in a groove at the lower edge of the inner wall thereof.

Description

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

The invention relates to a furniture drawer with two lateral walls, a back wall, a base, a front plate that connects the two front ends of the lateral walls, and a front trim fixed thereto.
The manufacture of furniture drawers increasingly calls for a simplified assembly process. If furniture drawers are manufactured in factories, simplification of the assembly process results in considerable cost savings. However, increasingly furniture drawers in the form of assembly kits are made available to customers who then assemble the furniture and therefore also the drawers. This system does not allow any significant demands on the ability of the customers or the availability of special assembly tools.
Despite the desired assembly simplification, one must ensure, however, that the assembled furniture drawer is stable and remains so after long-term and frequent use.
Significant requirements are associated with the load bearing capacity of furniture drawers as well, because excessive loads are possible.
In a known furniture drawer, as mentioned in the introduction (U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,091), the two lateral walls are comprised of metal. There is no additional tensioning of the furniture drawer. The metal lateral walls are not clad. The back wall and the front plate are inserted into or screwed to angled flanges at the ends of the lateral walls. The stability of the furniture drawing is determined solely by the stability of the respective corner connections.
It is desirable to provide a design of a furniture drawer as mentioned in the introduction that allows for easy assembly and provides stability and high load bearing capacity.
According to an aspect of the present invention, each lateral wall comprises a metal running track fixed to the back wall and the front plate, in that the running track is arranged in a lateral wall cladding held between the back wall and the front trim as a support strut, and in that the front plate is screwed to the front trim with horizontal tensioning.
Compared to customary designs of furniture drawers in which the corners of the drawer only have a simple connection of the walls that meet there, for example by way of a screwed connection or an insert connection, the furniture drawer according to the invention is especially advantageous in that there is tensioning between the back wall and the front plate that carries the front trim because the metal track arranged there, which can be connected to a telescope pullout, for example, acts as a running track to brace the back wall against the lateral wall cladding that acts as a support strut.
The lateral wall cladding preferably is open to the bottom and engages with interlocking over the running track. It provides cladding for the metal running track with regard to the inside space of the drawer, and to the outside it provides cladding for the space outside the metal running track that houses the guide elements for the drawer, for example a telescopic pullout track.
The interaction of the running track and the lateral wall cladding that acts as a support strut in both lateral walls of the furniture drawer ensures that said drawer has a high degree of stiffness and shape stability.
The tensioning between the running track and the support strut is accomplished easily by screwing the front plate to the front trim with horizontal tensioning, with the front trim pushing against the lateral wall cladding from the front so that the latter functions as a support strut. No special assembly measures are required because the front trim is usually screwed to the front plate anyway.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lateral wall cladding comprises a groove at the lower edge of the inner wall with said groove housing a longitudinal edge of the base. This means that it is not necessary for the metal lateral wall to have a bearing bridge for the base. The height of the metal lateral running tracks can be lower than the height of the drawer, because the overlapping lateral wall cladding provides the lateral inside area of the drawer across the entire height. This not only saves material for the running track, it also reduces the overall weight.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the front plate is a metal track and is covered by a cover profile. This allows for the selection of a metal front plate, which is especially suited for the transfer of the existing forces with said metal front plate not being visible when the drawer is opened because it is covered by the cover profile.
When the two ends of the cover profile rest against the inside of the lateral wall cladding, the front end of the lateral wall profile is supported with regard to the inside space of the drawer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in more detail based on the exemplary embodiments that are shown in the drawing. The following is shown:
FIG. 1 shows a spatial, extended view of a kit for a furniture drawer with one of the lateral walls missing;
FIG. 2 shows a horizontal longitudinal section through a lateral wall of the furniture drawer;
FIG. 3 shows a view in direction of arrow III in FIG. 2, with section line II-II in FIG. 2 being indicated here;
FIG. 4 shows a section along line IV-IV in FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 shows a section along line V-V in FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 shows a section along line VI-VI in FIG. 2; and
FIG. 7 shows a view similar to that in FIG. 1 of a modified embodiment of a furniture drawer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The furniture drawer shown in FIGS. 1-6 comprises two lateral walls 1 (one of which is not shown in FIG. 1), a back wall 2, a base 3, and a front plate 4 to which a front trim 5 is screwed.
Each of the two lateral walls 1 comprises a metal running track 6 that is engaged with interlocking by a lateral wall cladding 7 that is open to the bottom. In the example that is shown, the lateral wall cladding 7 is comprised of wood material. It can also be made of plastic, a wood-plastic composite, or aluminum.
On its upper and lower edge, the running track 6 comprises flanges 8, 9 that are beveled off to the outside, between which a telescopic pullout track 10 is arranged as indicated in dash-dotted lines in FIG. 3.
The lateral wall cladding 7 comprises a longitudinal groove 7 a above the running track 6 in which the upper flange 8 of the running track 6 is arranged. This keeps the running track 6 in its position in the lateral wall cladding 7. This is important so as to have sufficient free space 10 a for a pullout system within the lateral wall cladding 7 lateral next to the running track 6. Furthermore, this provides for a more stable unit comprised of running track 6 and lateral wall cladding 7.
At its back end, the lateral track 6 comprises tabs 11, 12 that are beveled to the front and that extend into the location holes 13 of the back wall 2 from the back of the drawer.
The location holes 13 are through bores. The tabs 11, 12 protrude on the front side of the back wall 2 and rest against the inside of the inner wall 14 of the lateral wall cladding 7.
Two rails 15, 16 protrude from the lower edge of the inner wall 14 of the lateral wall cladding 7 that limit a groove 17 between them in which a longitudinal edge 18 of the base 3 is housed.
The lower tab 11 that protrudes from the back wall 2 lies at the lower edge of the groove 17 that houses the longitudinal edge 18 of the base 3. The upper tab 12 that extends from the back wall 2 also rests against the inside of the inner wall 14 of the lateral wall cladding 7. This is how the inner wall 14 of the lateral wall cladding is fastened at its back end. The lower tab 11 that protrudes from the back wall 2 is located at the lower edge of the groove 17 that houses the longitudinal edge 18 of the base 3.
The front plate 4 is a metal track and comprises lateral hook tabs 19 that are hooked into receptacle slots 20 of the running tracks 6. A locking mechanism keeps the front plate 4 in its hooked in position on the running track 6.
In the exemplary embodiment that is shown, an additional locking mechanism on both ends of the front plate 4 comprises a locking bolt 21 that can be moved in longitudinal direction and whose lateral locking projecting part 22 can be pushed into a recess 23 of the running track 6. The locking bolt 21 is arranged in a mobile manner between the edge flanges 24 of the front plate 4 with said flanges being beveled towards the inside.
Similar to the inner walls 14, the inside of the back wall 2 comprises a groove 25 along the lower edge that accommodates the back edge 26 of the base 3.
In the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1-6, the front plate 4 is a metal track and is covered by a cover profile 30 made of plastic, for example. With a downward-facing edge strip 31, the cover profile 30 engages on its upper, front edge between the front trim 5 and the front plate 4 where it is clamped.
The two ends 32 of the cover profile 30 rest against the inside of the inner wall 14 of the lateral wall cladding 7 and thus support the front end of this lateral wall 14 and keep it from shifting inward.
With its two lower, outer corners 32 a, the cover profile 30 is located on the front in front of a rail 15 that protrudes from inside on the lateral wall cladding 7. This ensures that the front ends of the rails 15 keep and secure the cover profile 30 in its position.
A horizontal rail 33 arranged along the inside of the cover profile 30 forms a stop area 34 at each of its ends that rests against a catch 35 that protrudes from the locking bolt 21 and thus secures the locking bolt 21 in its lock position.
For the assembly of the furniture drawer in the embodiment according to FIGS. 1-6, the two tabs 11, 12 are pushed into the location holes 13 from the back. The front ends of the running tracks 6 are connected to the front plate 4. The two lateral wall claddings 7 then are placed over the two running tracks 6 and pushed back until they rest against the back wall 2. After the base 3 is inserted from the front, the front trim 5 is screwed to the front plate 4 and secures the base 3 in its position.
FIG. 2 shows that a face 27 of the lateral wall cladding 7 extends over the face 28 of the front plate 4. When the front plate 4 is screwed to the front trim 5 with screws 29, the front trim 5 exerts pressure on the lateral wall cladding 7 due to the tension produced by the screwed connection, so that the back end of the lateral wall cladding, which rests against the back wall 2, acts as a support strut. At the same time, this also exerts tension on the running track 6.
Deviating from the exemplary embodiment that is shown in FIGS. 1-6, the front plate 4′ in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 7 is comprised of wood or wood material. The front end of the running track 6′ has tabs 36 that are beveled inward and backward and extend into the location bores 37 of the front plate 4′ from the front of the drawer. In this manner, a fixed connection between the running track 6′ and the front plate 4′ or the back wall 2, respectively, is provided on the front of the drawer that is similar to that described for the back of the drawer, with the lateral wall cladding 7 providing the support strut in this case as well, which transmits a pressure force from the front trim 5 to the back wall 2.
Apart from a screwdriver for the screw 29, no additional tools are needed for the assembly of the furniture drawer.

Claims

1. Furniture drawer with two lateral walls, a back wall, a base, a front plate connecting front ends of the lateral walls, and a front trim fixed thereto, wherein each lateral wall comprises a metal running track, the metal running track being fixed to the back wall and the front plate, the running track being arranged in a lateral wall cladding, held between the back wall and the front trim as a support strut, and the front plate is screwed to the front trim with horizontal tensioning.

2. Furniture drawer according to claim 1, wherein the lateral wall cladding is open to the bottom and engages over the running track.

3. Furniture drawer according to claim 1, wherein the lateral wall cladding houses a longitudinal edge of the base in a groove at a lower edge of an inner wall of the lateral wall cladding.

4. Furniture drawer according to claim 1, wherein the lateral wall cladding is made of at least one of wood material, plastic, and a composite material.

5. Furniture drawer according to claim 1, wherein back ends of the running track comprise tabs that are beveled inward and to a front of the running track, the tabs extending into location holes of the back wall from a back of the drawer.

6. Furniture drawer according to claim 5, wherein the location holes are through bores and the tabs protrude from a front of the back wall and rest against an inside of an inner wall of the lateral wall cladding.

7. Furniture drawer according to claim 6, wherein one of the tabs protruding from the back wall is located at a lower edge of a groove in the lateral wall cladding that houses a longitudinal edge of the base.

8. Furniture drawer according to claim 1, wherein the front plate is a metal track and comprises lateral hook tabs that are hooked into receptacle slots of the running tracks.

9. Furniture drawer according to claim 8, wherein a locking device secures the front plate in a hooked position in the running track.

10. Furniture drawer according to claim 9, wherein the locking device is disposed on both ends of the front plate and comprises a locking bolt that can be moved in longitudinal direction and having a lateral locking projecting part that can be pushed into a recess of the running track.

11. Furniture drawer according to claim 1, wherein the front plate is a metal track and is covered by a cover profile.

12. Furniture drawer according to claim 11, wherein the cover profile has a downward-facing edge strip engaged between the front trim and the front plate.

13. Furniture drawer according to claim 11, wherein the cover profile has two ends that rest against an inside of the lateral wall cladding.

14. Furniture drawer according to claim 11, wherein the cover profile has two lower, outer corners and is located in front of a rail that protrudes from inside of the lateral wall cladding.

15. Furniture drawer according to claim 10, wherein a stop area arranged on the cover profile secures the locking bolt in a locked position.

16. Furniture drawer according to claim 1, wherein an upper flange of the running track is housed in a longitudinal groove of the lateral wall cladding.

17. Furniture drawer according to claim 1, wherein the front plate is comprised of at least one of wood and wood material, and a front end of the running rack has tabs that are beveled inward and backward and that extend into location holes of the front plate from a front of the drawer.

18. Furniture drawer according to claim 11, wherein a stop area arranged on the cover profile secures the locking bolt in a locked position.