Drawer construction
A drawer includes a pair of opposite drawer side members and a pair of opposite drawer end members. Each of the opposite side members have ends and are joined at their ends to ends of the opposite end members to form a perimeter frame for the drawer. Each of the opposite side members and opposite end members have a drawer bottom stop extending along a lower portion thereof and a bottom clip receiving channel below and spaced from the bottom stop. A drawer bottom sized and shaped to fit within the perimeter frame is positioned in the perimeter frame against the drawer bottom stops and drawer bottom holding clips are inserted into and received by the clip receiving channel to sandwich and hold the drawer bottom between the drawer bottom stops and the drawer bottom holding clips to provide a bottom or floor for the drawer.
Priority of Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/742,127, filed on Dec. 1, 2005, is claimed.
BACKGROUND1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to drawers and more particularly to plastic drawers which can be easily assembled.
2. Related Art
Wooden drawers have been used for many years in furniture such as cabinets, dressers, and the like particularly in the home. The wooden drawers blend well with the remaining structure to create nice looking furniture. Wood has typically also been a relatively inexpensive material from which to construct furniture. Conversely, industrial furniture such as file cabinets, medical cabinets, and the like which have drawers typically are constructed mostly from steel for durability during industrial usage. While wood and steel drawers work well, there are some drawbacks such as cleanabality, cost (particularly with the rising cost of wood and steel), weight, and non-modularity (each drawer is made to a particular size from raw stock rather than having at least some common pieces). There have been various drawers made from plastic in an attempt to solve such shortcomings of wood and metal drawers. Such drawers are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,678,909, 4,108,520, 4,099,815, 3,556,626, and 3,282,635. Such drawers generally comprise a plurality of plastic parts including four corner pieces, a pair of side members, a pair of end members, and a bottom plate forming the bottom of the drawer. The bottom plate is usually held in a channel in the side and end members and has to be inserted into the channel before all of the side and end members can be secured together. This slows assembly and makes assembly of the completed drawer more difficult. A wooden front member may be affixed to one end member for decorative purposes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to the invention, a drawer is constructed from mostly plastic component parts including sides and ends made from a common plastic extrusion which is cut to length to make the desired size drawer. Injection molded corner pieces can be provided to aid in assembly of the extrusions, or the extrusions can be secured directly together without corner pieces. A bottom panel can likewise be cut to size to fit the desired size drawer, and is assembled to the drawer after assembly of the side and end members using a plurality of spring clips, which may be in the form of strips, which fit into mating grooves along the bottoms of the drawer side and end members. This permits easy assembly of the drawer and allows the draw, except for the bottom, to be assembled prior to addition of the bottom. This can also permit removably fitting and changing the drawer bottom between a standard flat bottom, various colored bottoms, and specialty bottoms such as a vacuum molded bottom with raised portions and recesses to hold various kitchen utensils, medical instruments, etc., to each drawer. Color coding may be used on the bottom panels to show the correct location for each item. Likewise, the remainder of the drawer can be color coded. A decorative or color coded front panel of wood, plastic, or other material may be added to the drawer at the front thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSAdditional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example, features of the invention; and, wherein:
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.
The sides 22 and the ends 24 are made of an extrusion 38, such as a plastic extrusion, having respective walls 40 and 42 which are interconnected by an upper or top wall 44, a lower or bottom wall 46, and a plurality of interior ribs 50, 52, 54, 56, and 58 to define a plurality of longitudinal internal channels 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, and 69. For the embodiment shown, extrusion side wall 42 will form the drawer inner wall when the drawer is assembled. The drawer bottom stop is formed by lip 70 extending from extrusion side wall 42. As shown, the upper surface 72 of lip 70 is arcuate to provide a smooth transition between the side of the extrusion and the lip 70 forming the drawer bottom stop and drawer bottom 28. The rounded corner between the inside sides and ends of the drawer and the bottom of the draw makes cleaning around the bottom edge of the drawer easier. The rounded inside edge provided by the drawer corner pieces makes cleaning of the drawer corners easier. The bottom surface 74 of lip 70 extends straight out from wall 42 substantially perpendicular to wall 42 so as to abut the peripheral edge of drawer bottom 28. The drawer bottom holding clip receiving channel 36 is formed in wall 42 spaced below lip 70 to receive a portion of a holding clip 30 inserted thereinto. The portion 76 of the wall 42 extending below the bottom surface of lip 70 to the top of drawer bottom holding clip receiving channel 36 abut the peripheral edges 29 of and thereby receive and position the drawer bottom 28 in the bottom of the assembled drawer as shown in
The drawer bottom holding clip receiving channel 36,
The drawer corner pieces 26 in the embodiment illustrated in
The drawer bottom panel 28,
As shown in
The decorative front panel 32 is optional depending upon the use of the assembled drawer, and can be made of a solid piece of finished wood such as oak or maple, a laminate covered member, or other such decorative piece as is typically used on drawers. Alternatively, decorative wood grain or other such plastic can be used.
The drawer 20 may be assembled together by first assembling together the sides 22 and the ends 24 to the corner pieces 26, such as by applying a suitable solvent or other type adhesive to the outside of the plurality of hollow plugs 90, 92, 94, and 96 extending from the respective end walls 88 and 89, and inserting them into the mating longitudinal channels 60, 62, 66, and 68 to glue the components together. The adhesive is then allowed to set for a sufficient period of time. Other means of securing the components together in assembled position can also be used, such as ultrasonic or other plastic welding techniques. After this complete assembly of the drawer sides and ends to provide a peripheral drawer frame for the drawer, the drawer bottom panel 28 is then placed in the bottom of the drawer against the bottom surface 74 of lip 70, and secured in the bottom of the drawer against the drawer bottom stop 34 (lip 70) by drawer bottom holding clips 30. This provides a drawer bottom that is easier to install in the drawer than a bottom that is installed in a groove in the sides and ends of the draw during assembly of the sides and ends. If the drawer bottom holding clips 30 are removable from the clip receiving channels 36 by applying sufficient force to the clips 30 to disengage the holding flanges 80 and 81 from the reentrant channel portions 78 and 79, the drawer bottom 28 will be removable so can be replaced, if and when desired.
A front panel 32 may be connected to one end 24 of the drawer using a plurality of round headed bolts 112 and respective nuts 113,
Conventional drawer slides 120,
Rather than mounting separate door slides on the drawer, drawer slides may be molded directly into drawer sides 23. Thus,
Rather than attaching a decorative front panel 32 as shown in
The corner pieces can take many forms.
The drawers of the invention can be made in various sizes. As previously indicated, the length and width of the draws are easily selected by cutting the extrusion to form the desired length sides and ends of the drawer. This selection can be easily measured and made at the site of assembly of the drawers, or the sides and ends can be precut to selected sizes. Drawer lengths are more standardized than widths. Thus, standard lengths of about twenty inches, about twenty two inches, and about twenty four inches can be provided, with pieces of extrusion provided for the user to cut on site for the desired drawer width. However, the height or depth of the drawer is determined by the height of the extrusion. Thus, extrusions can be manufactured in various standard sizes. It has been found that extrusions to make drawers of about two and one half inches, about four and one half inches, about six and one half inches depth and about nine inches depth is satisfactory for most uses. Panels for the drawer bottoms can be made of plastic, melamine, or wood with a thickness of about one quarter inch. Of course, components can be made for various other sizes of drawers. Since the bottom of drawer is added after complete assembly of the sides and ends to form a perimeter frame, the sides and ends can be factory assembled in standard sizes and the bottoms installed on site of desired material cut to desired size.
While the forgoing examples are illustrative of the principles of the present invention in one or more particular applications, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications in form, usage and details of implementation can be made without the exercise of inventive faculty, and without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the claims set forth below.
Claims
1. A drawer, comprising:
- opposite drawer side members;
- opposite drawer end members;
- each of said opposite side members having ends and being joined at their ends to ends of the opposite end members to form a perimeter frame for the drawer, and each of the opposite side members and opposite end members having a drawer bottom stop extending along a lower portion thereof and a bottom clip receiving channel below and spaced from the bottom stop;
- a drawer bottom sized and shaped to fit within the perimeter frame and against the drawer bottom stops; and
- drawer bottom holding clips adapted to be inserted into and received by the clip receiving channel to sandwich and hold the drawer bottom between the drawer bottom stops and the drawer bottom holding clips.
2. A drawer according to claim 1, additionally including drawer corner pieces having tabs extending therefrom, and wherein each of the opposite side members and opposite end members includes internal channels adapted to receive tabs therein extending from the drawer corner pieces.
3. A drawer according to claim 1, wherein the ends of each of the opposite side members and opposite end members are straight cuts and abut a drawer corner piece.
4. A drawer according to claim 3, wherein the ends of each of the opposite side members and opposite end members are miter cuts and abut a drawer corner piece.
5. A drawer according to claim 1, wherein the opposite side members and opposite end members are cut from an elongate extrusion.
6. A drawer according to claim 5, wherein the elongate extrusion is an elongate plastic extrusion.
7. A drawer according to claim 1, wherein the drawer bottom holding clips are elongate to extend along the drawer bottom holding clip receiving channel.
8. A drawer according to claim 1, wherein the perimeter frame formed by the sides and ends is rectangular.
9. A drawer according to claim 1, wherein the sides and ends are cut to desired length from a plastic extrusion.
10. A drawer, comprising:
- opposite drawer side members;
- opposite drawer end members;
- each of said opposite side members and opposite end members being cut to desired length from an extrusion and being joined end-to-end to form a substantially rectangular perimeter for the drawer, and each having a drawer bottom stop extending from a lower portion thereof and a bottom clip receiving channel below and spaced from the bottom stop;
- a drawer bottom of substantially rectangular shape sized to fit within the assembled rectangular drawer perimeter and against the drawer bottom stop; and
- clips adapted to be inserted into and received by the clip receiving channel to sandwich and hold the drawer bottom between the stop and the clips.
11. A drawer side or end member, comprising:
- a member having a length and having opposite sides, an upper edge, and a lower edge, the distance between the upper edge and the lower edge defining the width of the member;
- a drawer bottom stop extending along a lower portion of one side of the member; and
- a drawer bottom holding clip receiving channel extending into the lower portion of the one side of the member and spaced below the drawer bottom stop and adapted to receive therein a portion of a drawer bottom holding clip.
12. A drawer side or end member, according to claim 11, wherein the drawer bottom holding clip receiving channel includes at least one reentrant portion adapted to receive a projection of the drawer bottom holding clip therein to secure the drawer bottom holding clip in the drawer bottom holding clip receiving channel.
13. A drawer side or end member, according to claim 12, wherein the drawer bottom holding clip receiving channel includes two reentrant portions.
14. A drawer side or end member, according to claim 11, wherein the drawer bottom stop extends from the member and has an arcuate surface toward the upper edge of the member to provide a smooth transition between the one side of the member and the drawer bottom stop.
15. A drawer side or end member, according to claim 11, wherein the member includes internal channels adapted to receive tabs therein extending from drawer corner pieces.
16. A drawer side or end member, according to claim 11, wherein the member has ends configured to be joined to an end of a second similar member.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 1, 2006
Publication Date: Jun 28, 2007
Inventor: Brent Clark (Ogden, UT)
Application Number: 11/607,462
International Classification: A47B 88/00 (20060101);