SYSTEM FOR DIVIDING DRAWERS
The system for dividing drawers provides a partitioning system for dividing a conventional drawer into a plurality of compartments for separating pairs of shoes or the like. The system includes front and rear sets of upper and lower ribs adapted for mounting on interior faces of front and rear walls of a drawer. Each rib has a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper ribs being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of the lower ribs. At least one divider panel having opposed front and rear edges slides into a selected pair of vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs, and a corresponding pair of vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs. Additionally, the divider panel is releasably secured to the front and rear walls of the drawer.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to storage, and particularly to a system for dividing drawers that partitions a drawer into a plurality of compartments for the storage of pairs of shoes or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Drawers of dressers or chests typically define a single, open compartment. Although such drawers are well suited for the storage of large items, such as items of apparel, they are not well suited to smaller articles, or articles which a user may wish to have sorted, such as pairs of shoes. Although multi-compartment drawers are known, such multi-compartment drawers are typically manufactured with a permanent, pre-determined number of compartments defined therein. The user has no way to change the number or size of the compartments, depending on the user's changing storage needs.
Thus, a system for dividing drawers solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe system for dividing drawers provides an easy to use and install partitioning system for dividing a conventional drawer into a plurality of compartments for separating pairs of shoes or the like. The system includes a front set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of a front wall of a drawer and a corresponding rear set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of a rear wall of the drawer. The front set of ribs includes an upper front rib and a lower front rib, and the rear set of ribs similarly includes an upper rear rib and a lower rear rib.
The upper front rib is adapted for mounting adjacent an upper end of the front wall of the drawer, and the lower front rib is adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of the front wall of the drawer. Similarly, the upper rear rib is adapted for mounting adjacent an upper end of the rear wall of the drawer, and the lower rear rib is adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of the rear wall of the drawer.
Each pair of front and rear ribs has a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in interior surfaces thereof, the slots being vertically aligned.
At least one divider panel having longitudinally opposed front and rear edges slidably engages aligned slots in the front and rear ribs. In addition to the sliding engagement of the at least one divider panel with the selected slots of the ribs, the at least one divider panel is additionally releasably secured to the front and rear walls of the drawer. In one embodiment, front and rear frictional engaging members are attached to the divider panel adjacent the front and rear edges thereof. Preferably, the front and rear frictional engaging members are spring-biased detent pins extending from the front and rear edges of the divider panel. In an alternative embodiment, front and rear hooks are attached to upper edges of the front and rear ends of the at least one divider panel for releasable attachment to upper edges of the front and rear walls of the drawer.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSThe system for dividing drawers 10 provides an easy to use and install partitioning system for dividing a conventional drawer D into a plurality of compartments for separating pairs of shoes or the like. As shown in
As shown in
As further shown in
It should be understood that the overall dimensions of the at least one divider panel 12 may depend upon the dimensions of the particular drawer D. Further, the overall configuration of the divider panel 12 may vary for ornamental purposes, or depending upon the nature of the goods to be stored within the compartments of drawer D. For example, the exemplary panel 12 shown in
In addition to the sliding engagement of the at least one divider panel 12 with the selected slots 24 of the ribs 14, the at least one divider panel 12 is additionally releasably secured to the front and/or rear walls 18, 20 of the drawer D. In the embodiment of
In the alternative embodiment of
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A system for dividing a drawer, comprising:
- a front set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of a front wall of a drawer, the front set of ribs including an upper front rib and a lower front rib, the upper front rib being adapted for mounting adjacent an upper end of the front wall of the drawer, and the lower front rib being adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of the front wall of the drawer, each of the front ribs having a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper front rib being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of the lower front rib;
- a rear set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of a rear wall of the drawer, the rear set of ribs including an upper rear rib and a lower rear rib, the upper rear rib being adapted for mounting adjacent an upper end of the rear wall of the drawer, and the lower rear rib being adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of the rear wall of the drawer, each of the rear ribs having a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper rear rib being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of the lower rear rib;
- at least one divider panel having longitudinally opposed front and rear edges, the front edge thereof slidably engaging a selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs, the pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs including one of the vertically extending slots defined in the upper front rib and an aligned one of the vertically extending slots defined in the lower front rib, the rear edge thereof slidably engaging a selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs, the pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs including one of the vertically extending slots defined in the upper rear rib and an aligned one of the vertically extending slots defined in the lower rear rib, the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs being spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to a height of the at least one divider panel, the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs also being spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to the height of the at least one divider panel, wherein the at least one divider panel is adapted for partitioning the drawer into a plurality of compartments, the front edge of the at least one divider panel extending continuously between the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs and the rear edge of the at least one divider panel extending continuously between the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs when said at least one divider panel engages therewith; and
- means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer, respectively.
2. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer comprises front and rear frictional engaging members secured to the at least one divider panel respectively adjacent the front and rear edges thereof.
3. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 2, wherein each of said front and rear frictional engaging members comprises a spring-biased detent pin, the pin being biased to extend from the edge of the panel and retractable against the bias to the edge of the panel.
4. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer comprises front and rear hooks secured to upper edges of the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel, respectively, the hooks being adapted for releasable attachment to upper edges of the front and rear walls of the drawer.
5. A drawer with removable dividers, comprising:
- a drawer having opposed front and rear walls, a lower wall and an open upper end;
- a front set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of the front wall of the drawer, the front set of ribs including an upper front rib and a lower front rib, the upper front rib being mounted adjacent an upper end of the front wall of the drawer, and the lower front rib being mounted adjacent a lower end of the front wall of the drawer, each of the front ribs having a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper front rib being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of the lower front rib;
- a rear set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of the rear wall of the drawer, the rear set of ribs including an upper rear rib and a lower rear rib, the upper rear rib being mounted adjacent an upper end of the rear wall of the drawer, and the lower rear rib being mounted adjacent a lower end of the rear wall of the drawer, each of the rear ribs having a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper rear rib being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of the lower rear rib;
- at least one divider panel having longitudinally opposed front and rear edges, the front edge slidably engaging a selected pair of vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs, the pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs including one of the vertically extending slots defined in the upper front rib and an aligned one of the vertically extending slots defined in the lower front rib, the rear edge slidably engaging a selected pair of vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs, the pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs including one of the vertically extending slots defined in the upper rear rib and an aligned one of the vertically extending slots defined in the lower rear rib, the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs being spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to a height of the at least one divider panel, the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs also being spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to the height of the at least one divider panel., wherein the at least one divider panel is adapted for partitioning the drawer into a plurality of compartments, the front edge of the at least one divider panel extending continuously between the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs and the rear edge of the at least one divider panel extending continuously between the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs when said at least one divider panel engages therewith; and
- means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer, respectively.
6. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 5, wherein said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer comprises front and rear frictional engaging members secured to the at least one divider panel adjacent the front and rear edges thereof.
7. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 6, wherein each of said front and rear frictional engaging members comprises a spring-biased detent pin, the pin being biased to extend from the edge of the panel and retractable against the bias to the edge of the panel.
8. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 5, wherein said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer comprises front and rear hooks secured to upper edges of the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel, respectively, the hooks being releasably attached to upper edges of the front and rear walls of the drawer.
Type: Application
Filed: May 15, 2012
Publication Date: Nov 21, 2013
Applicant: KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERALS (DHAHRAN)
Inventors: MEHMET DONDURUR (DHAHRAN), AHMET Z. SAHIN (DHAHRAN)
Application Number: 13/472,284
International Classification: A47B 88/20 (20060101); A47B 97/00 (20060101);