Supports: cabinet structure – With movable components – Horizontally movable
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-08
2004-08-24
Hansen, James O. (Department: 3637)
Supports: cabinet structure
With movable components
Horizontally movable
Reexamination Certificate
active
06779858
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention generally relates to an improvement in a drawer stop device, and more particularly, to a drawer stop device in which a single unit can be used for mounting on two opposite sides of a drawer.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Sliding drawers are commonly built into kitchen cabinets, desks, dining room cabinetry, office furniture, and the like to provide more convenient access to storage space therein. Typically, the drawers are mounted behind cabinet doors which serve to close off and provide a clean, finished, external appearance when the cabinet is not in use. When access into the cabinet is desired, the doors are swung open to a position perpendicular or obtuse to the front plane of the cabinet, clearing the opening to allow a drawer to be slid out from the interior of the cabinet.
However, if the doors are not fully opened, or if they swing back, it often happens that when the drawers are pulled out, their front edges bump against and scratch the inside surface of the doors. This is especially bothersome if the cabinet doors are made of expensive wood or a custom finish. Also, if a drawer is not returned to its fully retracted position, an attempt to close the cabinet doors can cause the doors to bump against the protruding front edges of the drawers. After repeated use, scratch lines and other marks can become gouged into the doors and create an unsightly appearance which is difficult to restore.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,717 issued Jan. 19, 1999 to the same inventor, a drawer stop device is disclosed for preventing the edges of sliding drawers from bumping against and scratching the inside surface of cabinet doors when the drawers are pulled out. In one embodiment shown in
FIGS. 1
,
2
A,
2
B, and
2
C, the prior drawer stop device
10
is mounted to sliding drawers
20
in a cabinet
30
. The cabinet
30
has a front opening
31
and at least one front door
32
vertically hinged (not shown) to one lateral side of the cabinet. The door
32
is movable between a closed position in which it covers the front opening
31
and hides the drawers
20
when they are slidingly retracted to a retracted position into the interior of the cabinet, and a fully open position (shown in
FIG. 1
) which allows clearance for the drawers to be slidingly extended out through the front opening
31
of the cabinet.
Each sliding drawer
20
has a front panel
21
horizontally elongated with opposite ends spaced apart by a given width, a bottom panel
22
, and opposed side walls
23
which are fixed together in an open quadrangular shape defined with opposite vertical front edges
24
. The drawer stop device
10
has a flat mounting portion
11
fixed to a bearing portion
12
. The bearing portion
12
includes a bearing flange (also
12
) which projects perpendicularly from the mounting portion and a roller element
13
rotatably mounted on a vertical mounting axis defined on an end of the bearing flange
12
.
As shown in
FIGS. 3A and 3B
, the stop device is mounted in one preferred way by fixing its mounting portion
11
to a front surface of the front panel
21
of the drawer (such as with screws or fasteners) adjacent to the one vertical front edge
24
proximate to the one lateral side of the cabinet to which the door is hingedly mounted. The roller element
13
mounted on the bearing portion
12
of the drawer stop device
10
projects by a predetermined amount beyond the vertical front edge
24
of the drawer so that it will make rolling contact with the door just ahead of the front edge
24
. When the drawer
20
is pulled outwardly, the roller element
13
engages the door (direction of arrow AA) with a rolling motion which avoids damage to its surface and prevents sharp contact between the drawer and the door. The roller element can also, with sufficient sliding acceleration of the drawer, act to further open the door outwardly.
The drawer stop device typically might have a height for the mounting portion of 0.5 to 0.75 inch, a length for the bearing portion of about 1.5 to 2.0 inches, and a diameter of the roller element of about 0.5 to 0.75 inches. The roller element can be covered or made entirely of a smooth material, such as a hard nylon or plastic material. When mounted in a proper position, the contact surface of the roller element projects a predetermined amount, e.g., about 1.0 inch, so that it makes rolling contact with the door ahead of the vertical front edge of the drawer.
The drawer stop device may be used in paired set with another device used when retracting the drawer. Referring to
FIGS. 3A and 3B
, this configuration is useful where the drawer front panel
21
has ends which extend by a small amount of trim laterally beyond the outer side of the side walls
23
. If the drawer has a sliding range which can extend beyond the width of the door, then upon retraction the jutting trim can become wedged by the door or may pinch the fingers of a person holding the front edges of the drawer (direction of arrow BB). Therefore, a second drawer stop device
10
B of similar construction as the first-mentioned device referenced as
10
A is mounted by its mounting portion
11
B on the side wall
23
behind the front panel trim. Its bearing portion
12
B mounts a roller element
13
B such that it projects by a predetermined amount beyond the lateral extent of the trim of the front panel
21
. Upon retraction of the drawer, the front edge of the door would be engaged in rolling contact with the roller element
10
B and is pushed outwardly by it so as to allow unimpeded retraction of the drawer into the cabinet.
In
FIG. 4
, another embodiment has drawer stop devices with roller elements
16
mounted on opposite sides at a bottom part of the drawers. As shown in
FIGS. 5A
,
5
B, and
5
C, the mounting flange is formed as an integral part of a lateral rail
14
on which the drawer
20
slides, and the bearing portion is a flat piece
15
perpendicular to the lateral rail
14
. The lateral rail
14
is mounted on the side walls
23
of the drawer along a bottom part of the drawer. The roller elements
16
are positioned so as to project by a predetermined amount beyond the vertical front edges of the drawers to make rolling contact with the door in the manner described previously.
However, the prior drawer stop device has the disadvantage that each unit is configured to be mounted on either one of the left or right-handed sides of the drawer. This requires two different units to be fabricated for left and right-sided mounting on cabinet drawers. If the drawer stop devices are packaged in sets with both left and right-handed units. If the cabinet has only one door, then only one drawer stop device is mounted on one side of a drawer and the other side unit is wasted. While a single unit could be mounted in regular orientation on one side and the same unit mounted in inverted orientation on the opposite side, this results in an unaesthetic appearance which is not desired.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a drawer stop device is provided as a single unit which can be mounted on both the left and right-handed sides of a drawer. The single unit is provided with mounting holes in a mounting portion thereof which can be used as needed to mount the device in suitable positions on either the left or right-handed side of a drawer. The drawer stop device has dual-side mounting positions for a roller element to be mounted therewith. A single interchangeable roller element is provided with a spindle and cap nut assembly for mounting in either mounting position as required.
In a preferred embodiment, the mounting portion has a Z-shaped or 3-flanged shape for mounting to different parts of a standard sliding drawer as desired. A first, horizontal flange has a row of mounting holes therein, and is perpendicular to a second, vertical flange provided with another row of mounting holes therein. A third, horizontal flange extending in an opposite horizontal direction from the first, horizontal flange has a pair of mounting holes on opposite ends thereof f
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