Bracket Assembly for Undermounted Drawer and Tray Slides in Cabinetry

Abstract

A bracket assembly for mounting a drawer slide on a cabinet includes: a mounting bracket having a main panel, the mounting bracket being adapted for mounting to a wall or frame of a cabinet, the mounting bracket including a main panel and receptor mounting structure attached to the main panel; and a slide receptor having a mounting portion that is configured to interact with the receptor mounting structure of the mounting bracket and enable the slide receptor to move horizontally relative to the mounting bracket, the slide receptor also including a receiving portion that is configured to receive a drawer slide.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed generally to furniture, and more particularly to cabinets with sliding drawers and trays.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many cabinets, particularly those found in kitchens, include drawers for storing various items. Often, drawers are mounted to the cabinet with elongate slide members that are fixed to the drawer. Each slide member slidably engages a second elongate slide member that is fixed to the walls of the cabinet (often one of the slide members includes a small wheel that facilitates sliding motion). Some of such cabinets include multiple drawers, which can be disposed in vertically stacked fashion, side-by-side fashion, or both.

Some drawers have slides that are mounted on the underside of the drawer (so-called “undermounted” drawer slides). These drawer slides may be preferred in some environments because they are less exposed than side-mounted drawer slides (and therefore may be less exposed to damage) and may avoid taking up space on either side of the drawer. In some embodiments, undermounted slides may have mechanisms that cause the drawer to close automatically without slamming. An exemplary undermounted drawer slide is the DYNAMIC NT slide, available from Mepla-Alfit, Reinheim, Germany; another is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,817 to Simon.

An undermounted drawer slide may be mounted to a side wall of the cabinet, or may be mounted at either end to the front or rear wall. If the slide is to be mounted to the front or rear wall, often the wall will include mounting holes for receiving screws or other fasteners inserted through a mounting bracket that connects to the slide. However, it can be difficult to align the slides mounted to the underside of the drawer with mounting bracket once it has been mounted via the holes on the wall. If the slides and the bracket do not align, it becomes necessary to either remount the slides on the drawer or to form new holes in the cabinet wall, either of which can be time consuming. As such, it may be desirable to provide a mounting technique that addresses this difficulty.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a bracket assembly for mounting a drawer slide on a cabinet. The bracket assembly comprises: a mounting bracket having a main panel, the mounting bracket being adapted for mounting to a wall or frame of a cabinet, the mounting bracket including a main panel and receptor mounting structure attached to the main panel; and a slide receptor having a mounting portion that is configured to interact with the receptor mounting structure of the mounting bracket and enable the slide receptor to move horizontally relative to the mounting bracket. The slide receptor also includes a receiving portion that is configured to receive a drawer slide. In this configuration, the slide receptor can be adjusted relative to the mounting bracket to facilitate interconnection with a drawer slide.

As a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a bracket assembly for mounting a drawer slide on a cabinet, comprising: a mounting bracket having a main panel, the mounting bracket being adapted for mounting to a wall or frame of a cabinet, the mounting bracket including a main panel and upper and lower rails projecting forwardly from a front surface of the main panel; and a slide receptor having a main panel with upper and lower lips that are received in, respectively, the upper and lower rails that enable the slide receptor to move horizontally relative to the mounting bracket. The slide receptor also includes a receiving portion that is configured to receive a drawer slide. Again, in this configuration the slide receptor can be adjusted relative to the mounting bracket to facilitate interconnection with a drawer slide.

As a third aspect, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a cabinet having a rear wall with preformed apertures, wherein the bracket assembly as described above is mounted to the rear wall with the mounting dowels on the mounting bracket inserted into the preformed apertures.

As a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a cabinet having a frame with an upright member and a cross member, wherein the bracket assembly as described above is mounted to the frame, and wherein the mounting bracket of the bracket assembly includes generally vertically disposed mounting panels that extend rearwardly from a rear surface of the main panel, and one of the mounting panels is mounted to the upright member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1A is an exploded front perspective view of a bracket assembly according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is an exploded rear perspective view of the bracket assembly of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the mounting bracket of the bracket assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the slide receptor of the bracket assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view showing the mounting of the mounting bracket of FIG. 2 on the rear wall of a cabinet.

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view showing the mounting of the slide receptor of FIG. 3 on the mounting bracket of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5A is a front view of the slide receptor mounted in the mounting bracket as illustrated in FIG. 5 showing how the slide receptor can slide horizontally relative to the mounting bracket.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view showing the mounting of the slide receptor of FIG. 3 on a drawer slide.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of a peninsula mounting bracket according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the peninsula mounting bracket of FIG. 7 mounted to a cabinet frame.

FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the peninsula mounting bracket of FIG. 7 mounted to a cabinet frame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Thicknesses and dimensions of some components may be exaggerated for clarity.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein the expression “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

In addition, spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “under” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “over” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “under” can encompass both an orientation of over and under. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

Referring to the figures, a bracket assembly, designated broadly at 10, is illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The bracket assembly 10 includes a mounting bracket 12 and a slide receptor 40. These components are described in detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the mounting bracket 12 includes a generally planar main panel 14. Two split dowels 16 project from the rear surface of the main panel 14 (see FIG. 1B). The main panel 14 also includes an aperture 18. An upper rail 20 having an L-shaped cross-section projects forwardly, then downwardly from the main panel 14; the upper rail 20 is supported by three triangular gussets 21. Similarly, an L-shaped lower rail 24 projects forwardly, then upwardly from the lower edge of the main panel 14. A horizontal slot 22 is positioned just below the upper rail 20, and a horizontal slot 26 is positioned just below the lower rail 24.

A generally horizontal recess 28 is present in the front surface of the main panel 14 and extends from one side edge thereof most of the way across the main panel 14. A notch 30 extends slightly deeper within the central portion of the recess 28.

The mounting bracket 12 is typically of unitary construction, but may be formed of multiple components if desired. The mounting bracket 12 may be formed of any material suitable for the mounting of drawer slides; a polymeric material, such as ABS, is typically employed.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the slide receptor 40 has a vertical panel 42 with three sets of wings (lower wings 48, intermediate wings 50, and upper wings 52) that extend forwardly therefrom. The vertical panel 42 includes an upper lip 44 and a lower lip 46. The wings 48, 50, 52 are “stair stepped”, such that the intermediate wings 50 extend forwardly slightly farther than do the upper wings 52, and the lower wings 48 extend forwardly slightly farther than do the intermediate wings 50. Gaps 49, 51 are formed between respective pairs of wings 48, 50, 52. Triangular gussets 54 support the sides of the wings 48, 50, 52 and attach also to the side edges of the vertical panel 42. A central rib 56 divides the wings 48, 50, 52 and extends upwardly from the upper wings 52. A rear nub 58 extends from the rear surface of the vertical panel 42 partially coextensive with a central portion of the rib 56 (see FIG. 1B).

The slide receptor 40 is typically of unitary construction, but may be formed of multiple components if desired. The slide receptor 40 may be formed of any material suitable for the mounting of drawer slides; a polymeric material, such as acetal, is typically employed.

Turning now to FIGS. 4-6, the use of the bracket assembly 10 is illustrated therein. A rear cabinet wall 60 includes two mounting holes 62. The mounting holes 60 receive the split dowels 16 of the mounting bracket 12 (FIG. 4). Once the mounting bracket 12 is fixed to the rear cabinet wall 60, the slide receptor 40 connected with the mounting bracket 12. Interconnection of these components is accomplished by sliding the upper lip 44 of the vertical panel 42 into the pocket created by the upper rail 20, and by sliding the lower lip 46 of the vertical panel 42 into the pocket created by the lower rail 24 (FIG. 5). When so positioned, the rear nub 58 is received in the recess 28 in the main panel 14. The slide receptor 40 is then slid toward the center of the mounting bracket 12 until the rear nub 58 is received in the notch 30. Once the nub 58 is positioned within the notch 30, the bracket 40 is free to slide horizontally relative to the mounting plate 12 until the nub 58 strikes either of the side edges of the notch 30. Thus, the position of the slide receptor 40 relative to the mounting bracket 12 can be adjusted.

Once the bracket assembly 10 has been mounted to the cabinet wall 60, a drawer slide 64 can be mounted to the slide receptor 40. Typically, the drawer slide 64 will already be attached to the underside of a drawer. Mounting is achieved by sliding lips 66 that define a slot 65 in the drawer slides 64 into a set of the gaps 49, 51 between wings 48, 50, 52 of the slide receptor 40 (FIG. 6) (in the illustrated embodiment, the lips 66 are positioned in the gap 51 between wings 50 and 52). Notably, the horizontal position of the slide receptor 40 can be adjusted so that the drawer slide 64 can be received more readily and easily even though the drawer slide 64 is already mounted to the drawer.

Turning now to FIGS. 7-9, an alternative bracket assembly 100 is illustrated therein. This assembly 100 employs a slide receptor 40 as described above mounted onto a peninsula bracket 70. The peninsula bracket 70 includes a main panel 72 having a lower rail 76, an upper rail 74, a recess 78 and a notch 79 similar to those found on the main panel 14 of the mounting plate 12 described above. However, the peninsula bracket 70 has two mounting panels, 80, 82 that extend rearwardly from the main panel 72 spanned by a horizontal rib 84 (see FIG. 8). Apertures 86, 88 are present in respective mounting panels 80, 82.

The peninsula bracket 70 is typically employed in cabinets that have a skeletal frame 94 rather than a rear wall. As seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, the frame 94 may have a cross-member 90 and an upright member 92. The peninsula bracket 70 can be mounted to the frame 94 via the insertion of a screw through one of the apertures 86, 88 and into the upright member 92. The lower edges of the mounting panels 80, 82 rest on the upper surface of the cross-member 90. Once mounted, the peninsula bracket 70 is positioned to receive the slide receptor 40 within its upper and lower rails 74, 76 in the same manner as described above.

As still another embodiment, FIGS. 10-14 illustrate another bracket assembly, designated broadly at 110. The bracket assembly 110 includes a mounting bracket 112 and a slide receptor 140. These components are described in detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 10, the mounting bracket 112 includes a generally planar main panel 114. Four mounting apertures 116 are present in the four corners of the main panel 114. An upper rail 120 having an L-shaped cross-section projects forwardly, then downwardly from the main panel 114; the upper rail 120 is supported by three triangular gussets 121. Similarly, an L-shaped lower rail 124 projects forwardly, then upwardly from the lower edge of the main panel 114. A horizontal slot 122 is positioned just below the upper rail 20, and a horizontal slot 126 is positioned just below the lower rail 24.

A generally horizontal tab 128 projects away from the front surface of the main panel 114. A finger 130 extends downwardly from the central portion of the tab 128.

The mounting bracket 112 is typically of unitary construction, but may be formed of multiple components if desired. The mounting bracket 112 may be formed of any material suitable for the mounting of drawer slides; a polymeric material, such as ABS, is typically employed.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, the slide receptor 140 has a vertical panel 142. Two oblong apertures 148, 150 are located in the upper and lower corners of the vertical panel 142. A slide receiving arm 152 extends forwardly from the vertical panel 142. The slide receiving arm 152 is generally C-shaped and is supported from above by a gusset 154. A stepped projection 156 extends from the front of the slide receiving arm 152 and is configured to receive a drawer slide. A small slot 160 is located on the underside of the slide receiving arm 152 at its junction with the vertical panel 142.

On the rear side of the vertical panel 142, a generally horizontal recess 162 extends between the side edges of the vertical panel 142. Two ramps 164 are located at either side of the recess 162. Also, a series of generally evenly spaced vertical fingers 166 extend upwardly from the lower edge of the recess 162.

The slide receptor 140 is typically of unitary construction, but may be formed of multiple components if desired. The slide receptor 40 may be formed of any material suitable for the mounting of drawer slides; a polymeric material, such as acetal, is typically employed.

For the mounting of a drawer slide, the bracket assembly 110 can be used in either of two ways. In one mounting configuration, as shown in FIG. 14, the slide receptor 140 can be mounted directly to a cabinet wall 170 via fasteners inserted into the apertures 148, 150. The oblong shape of the apertures 148, 150 enables the position of the slide receptor 140 to be adjusted slightly. The slide receptor 140 can be mounted flush to the wall 170 without interference from structures that extend rearwardly beyond the upper and lower halves of the rear surface of the vertical panel 142 (as is not be the case for the slide receptor 40 described above). A drawer slide can then be mounted on the slide receiving arm 152.

If greater mounting adjustability is desired, an installer can mount the mounting bracket 112 to the wall 70 via fasteners inserted into the apertures 116 (see FIG. 13). The slide receptor 140 can then be slid into place between the upper and lower rails 120, 122 until the tab 128 is captured between the two ramps 164. Some discrete adjustment of the slide receptor 140 relative to the mounting bracket 112 can even be achieved by virtue of the interaction of the finger 130 of the mounting bracket 112 with the fingers 166 of the slide receptor 140. As noted above, a drawer slide can then be mounted on the slide receiving arm 152.

Thus, it can be seen that an installer of the bracket assembly 110 has the option of directly mounting the slide receptor 140 to the wall 170 or mounting the mounting bracket 112 to the wall 170 and the slide receptor 140 to the mounting bracket 112 as desired, and can use the same common slide receptor 140 for either mounting technique.

Those skilled in this art will appreciate that the bracket assemblies 10, 100, 110 may take different forms. For example, the mounting bracket 12 and the peninsula bracket 70 may have different receptor mounting structure than the upper and lower rails 20, 24; for example, the rails may face away from each other, or both may face upwardly, or they may be discontinuous. Also, the brackets 12, 70, 112 may be mounted to a cabinet differently; as an example, the mounting bracket 12 may be mounted to the rear wall of a cabinet via a screw or other threaded fastener rather than via the split dowels 16.

Alternative embodiments of the slide receptors 40, 140 may also take different forms. For example, the slide receptor 40 may include more or fewer pairs of wings. Alternatively, the slide receptor 40 may have a mounting portion that does not rely on upper and lower lips 44, 46 of its vertical panel 42 to interconnect with a mounting bracket; for example, the slide receptor may have hooks that engage rails on the bracket, or the upper and lower lips may be discontinuous. Moreover, the slide receptor 40 may have a slide receiving portion, like the slide receiving arm 150, that lacks the wings and gaps illustrated and described herein; instead, the slide receiving portion may have latches, hooks, or holes or recesses to receive latches or hooks present on the drawer slide itself, or may have other slide receiving structure. Exemplary drawer slide configurations include those available from Accuride International (Santa Fe, Calif.), Hettich International (Kirchlengern, Germany), and Grass GmbH (Hochst, Germany).

The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.

Claims

1. A bracket assembly for mounting a drawer slide on a cabinet, comprising:

a mounting bracket having a main panel, the mounting bracket being adapted for mounting to a wall or frame of a cabinet, the mounting bracket including a main panel and receptor mounting structure attached to the main panel; and

a slide receptor having a mounting portion that is configured to interact with the receptor mounting structure of the mounting bracket and enable the slide receptor to move horizontally relative to the mounting bracket, the slide receptor also including a receiving portion that is configured to receive a drawer slide.

2. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the receptor mounting structure comprises an upper rail and a lower rail that interact with the mounting portion of the slide receptor.

3. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the mounting bracket includes mounting dowels that project from a rear surface of the main panel.

4. The bracket assembly defined in claim 3, wherein the mounting dowels are split dowels.

5. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the mounting bracket further comprises generally vertically disposed mounting panels that extend rearwardly from a rear surface of the main panel.

6. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the mounting bracket further includes a generally horizontally disposed recess in a front surface of the main panel.

7. The bracket assembly defined in claim 6, wherein the recess includes a central notch.

8. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the slide receptor includes a main panel.

9. The bracket assembly defined in claim 8, wherein the mounting portion comprises upper and lower lips of the main panel.

10. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the receiving portion comprises a plurality of pairs of horizontally disposed wings.

11. The bracket assembly defined in claim 8, wherein the slide receptor further includes a rear projection that interacts with the mounting bracket.

12. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the mounting bracket is a unitary member.

13. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the slide receptor is a unitary member.

14. A bracket assembly for mounting a drawer slide on a cabinet, comprising:

a mounting bracket having a main panel, the mounting bracket being adapted for mounting to a wall or frame of a cabinet, the mounting bracket including a main panel and upper and lower rails projecting forwardly from a front surface of the main panel; and

a slide receptor having a main panel with upper and lower lips that are received in, respectively, the upper and lower rails that enable the slide receptor to move horizontally relative to the mounting bracket, the slide receptor also including a receiving portion that is configured to receive a drawer slide.

15. The bracket assembly defined in claim 14, wherein the main panel of the mounting bracket includes a generally horizontal recess in the front surface thereof.

16. The bracket assembly defined in claim 15, wherein the recess includes a central notch.

17. The bracket assembly defined in claim 16, wherein the slide receptor includes a rear projection protruding from a rear surface of the slide receptor main panel, the rear projection being received within the central notch.

18. The bracket assembly defined in claim 14, wherein the main panel of the slide receptor includes mounting apertures.

19. A cabinet having a rear wall with preformed apertures, wherein the bracket assembly of claim 3 is mounted to the rear wall with the mounting dowels inserted into the preformed apertures.

20. A cabinet having a frame with an upright member and a cross member, wherein a mounting panel of the bracket assembly of claim 5 is mounted to the upright member.