AU2007293953B2

AU2007293953B2 - Drawer

Info

Publication number: AU2007293953B2
Application number: AU2007293953A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Andreas Stuffel
Original assignee: Paul Hettich GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Paul Hettich GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2006-09-08
Filing date: 2007-08-22
Publication date: 2013-08-01
Anticipated expiration: 2027-08-22
Also published as: ES2610399T3; JP2010502330A; JP5167490B2; CN101511225B; CN101511225A; TW200836667A; RU2422072C2; EP2059145A1; RU2009112281A; EP2059145B1; WO2008028811A1; DE202007001780U1; AU2007293953A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a drawer (1) comprising a bottom (2), a rear wall (3), a front panel (4), and two lateral panels (5) which are each connected to the bottom (2) by means of at least two adapters (6). One adapter (6) is arranged in the front region of the bottom (2), which is adjacent to the front panel (4), and the other adapter is arranged in the rear region of the bottom (2), which is adjacent to the rear wall (3). At least the adapters (6) on the left side and on the right side are structurally identical. The rear wall (3) is fixed to the rear-side adapter (6), and the front panel (4) is fixed to the front-side adapter (6) into which a carrying holder (7) for receiving a front panel carrier (8) fixed to the front panel (4) is inserted.

Description

WO 2008/028811 PCT/EP2007/058737 1 Drawer The present invention relates to a drawer having the features of the preamble of Claim I or Claim 2. Drawers of the type according to the species are known in various embodiments, the adapters fundamentally assuming the function of bearing and supporting the lateral panels, which cover the adapters like hoods in designs of this type, and additionally being used for the purpose of fastening the rear wall and the front panel of the drawer. The designs known up to this point have various disadvantages. Thus, there are drawers of the type according to the species in which the overall installation of corresponding drawers is comparatively complex and is sometimes also only possible with the aid of tools, so that an assembly of drawers of this type by an end user practically does not come into consideration. Designs are known in which the adapters lying in the forward area differ in design from the adapters situated in the rear area. This is unfavorable for reasons of cost, because various adapters must be manufactured. Designs having two-part or multipart adapters are also known, the disadvantage here also being the increased manufacturing and additional installation costs for the assembly of the adapters. The present invention is based on the object of providing a drawer of the type according to the species, which is distinguished by an especially simple and thus also cost-effective design. In one embodiment of the present invention there is provided a drawer having a bottom, a rear wall, a front panel, and two lateral panels, which are each connected to the bottom via at least two or more adapters, one adapter being situated in the forward area adjacent to the front panel and the particular other adapter being situated in the rear area of the bottom adjacent to the rear wall in each case, wherein the adapters have an approximately rectangular insertion channel viewed in the displacement direction of the drawer , and at least the adapters lying on the left side and the adapters lying on the right side are implemented having identical constructions to 38838571 (GHMatters) P80103AU 2 one another, and the rear wall is fixed on the particular rear adapter and the front panel is fixed on the particular forward adapter, into which a support retainer is inserted to accommodate a front panel support fastened on the front panel, wherein each front panel support has a vertical adjustment eccentric, which comprises a baseplate, mounted so it is rotatable in the front panel retainer, and an eccentric pin connected thereto or produced in one piece therewith, the eccentric pin engaging in a longitudinal slot of the support retainer which is open toward the front panel. By using adapters having identical constructions at least on the left side and on the right side of the drawer, a significant cost advantage is achieved, because special adapters do not have to be produced and stored for the rear side or the front side. In another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a drawer having a bottom, a rear wall, a front panel, and two lateral panels, which are each connected via an adapter to the bottom, wherein the adapters have an approximately rectangular insertion channel viewed in the displacement direction of the drawer , and each adapter extends from the front area adjacent to the front panel up to the rear area of the bottom adjacent to the rear wall, and the rear wall is fixed on the rear end of the adapter and the front panel is fixed on the forward end of the adapter, into which a support retainer is inserted in each case to accommodate a front panel support fastened on the front panel, wherein each front panel support has a vertical adjustment eccentric, which comprises a baseplate, mounted so it is rotatable in the front panel retainer, and an eccentric pin connected thereto or produced in one piece therewith, the eccentric pin engaging in a longitudinal slot of the support retainer which is open toward the front panel. A simple attachment capability also results here for the front panel by the configuration of a 5 support retainer in the forward area of the adapter and the configuration having the front panel supports corresponding to the support retainer, which are in turn fastened on the front panel. To provide the capability of also being able to fix the front panel with identical adapters per side in the forward area, it is only necessary to insert a support retainer into a forward adapter, which 0 is provided for the purpose of accommodating a front panel support fastened on the front panel. 44572721 (GHUters) P80103AU 2A The adapters are advantageously each implemented in one piece, so that in this regard special installation steps for the assembly of the adapters may be dispensed with. The adapters are each produced as stamped-bent parts from sheet-metal for reasons of both manufacturing and stability. An embodiment in which the left-side adapters and the right-side adapters have identical constructions to one another is especially advantageous. A design of this type may be implemented if the adapters are implemented as mirror-symmetric around a central axis running perpendicular to the plane of the bottom. Only one single adapter type is then required for each drawer. The support retainers in the frontally situated adaptors are expediently connected to these adaptors by catch or snap connections. 4457272_ (GHMatters) P80103AU WO 2008/02881 1 PCT/EP2007/058737 3 The advantage of this embodiment is the simple installation by simply inserting the support retainers into the adapters until the latching occurs with the adapters themselves. Therefore, neither additional fasteners nor tools are required for connecting the support retainers to the adapters. Further features of the invention are the subject matter of further subclaims. The invention also provides the connection configuration of Claim 26, which achieves the object of allowing simple and rapid installation of a lateral panel on the bottom of a drawer. Exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the appended drawings and are described in greater detail hereafter. In the figures: Figure I shows a perspective illustration of a drawer according to the invention viewed from the front side and before the attachment of a front panel Figure 2 shows a perspective illustration of the drawer according to Figure 1 in the state in which it is only partially assembled Figure 3 shows a view of an adapter for connecting a lateral panel to the bottom of the drawer Figure 4 shows a view of a support retainer insertable into the adapter according to Figure 3 WO 2008/028811 PCT/EP2007/058737 4 Figure 5 shows a view of an adapter attached to the bottom of the drawer and equipped with a support retainer, and a front panel support which is fastenable on the support retainer Figure 6 shows a perspective illustration of an adapter Figure 7 shows a view in the direction of arrow VII in Figure 6 Figure 8 shows a view in the direction of arrow VIII in Figure 5, illustrated with a lateral panel Figure 9 shows a view, corresponding to Figure 8, according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention Figure 10 shows a perspective illustration of an adapter in the front drawer area with support retainer, front panel support, and an extension guide before the connection to the adapter Figure I I shows a view corresponding to Figure 10 after the connection of the extension guide to the adapter and the support retainer Figure 12 shows an adapter having inserted support retainer in horizontal section Figure 13 shows a section corresponding to Figure 12 with a toggle having clamping pin located in the functional position Figure 14 shows a perspective illustration of a toggle having clamping pin. A drawer, which has a bottom 2, a rear wall 3, a front panel 4, and two lateral panels 5, is identified as a whole by the reference numeral 1 in Figure 1.

WO 2008/028811 PCT/EP2007/058737 5 The lateral panels 5 are each connected via at least two adapters 6 to the bottom 2 and are borne by the adapters 6. It is indicated in Figure 2 that the lateral panels 5 are each fixed via three adapters. One of the adapters 6 is provided in the rear area adjacent to the rear wall 3 and a further adapter 6 is provided in the forward area facing toward the front panel 4. A further adapter 6 is situated between them, which initially does not have to be discussed in further detail, however. The adapters 6 which are situated on the left side or the right side of the bottom 2, respectively, are implemented having identical constructions with one another in each case. This also relates to the middle adapter 6, which is initially not yet of interest here. It is to be noted at this point that it is also conceivable that the adapters 6 may also be implemented having identical constructions, independently of which side of the drawer 1 they are situated on, in that the adapters 6 are implemented as mirror-symmetric around an axis running perpendicularly to the bottom 2. The particular adapters 6 lying in the rear area are also used, in addition to each supporting a lateral panel 5, for the connection to the rear wall 3. The adapters 6 in the front area are equipped with a support retainer 7 (see Figure 3 in particular) for accommodating a front panel support 8 (see Figure 5 in particular). The adapters 6 are preferably implemented as one piece components, advantageously in the form of stamped-bent parts produced from sheet-metal. The support retainers 7 and the front panel supports 8, in contrast, advantageously comprise plastic.

WO 2008/02881 PCT/EP2007/058737 6 The adapters 6 are formed in such a way that a support retainer 7 is insertable into an insertion channel 9, having an approximately rectangular cross-section viewed in the longitudinal direction of the lateral panels 5, up to an end position secured by a latched or similar formfitting connection position. In addition, a support retainer inserted into an adapter 6 may be secured by a tongue 10 provided on the adapter 6 and bent out in the direction of a support retainer 6. Both the insertion channel 9 and also the tongue 10 may be seen especially clearly from the illustration according to Figure 6. The front panel supports 8, which are fastened on an interior side of a front panel 4 facing toward the interior of the drawer 1, in particular by fastening screws, have a vertical adjustment eccentric 11, comprising a base plate 12, mounted so it is rotatable in the front panel support 8, and an eccentric pin 13 connected thereto or produced in one piece therewith, the base plate 12 being able to be fixed in a nonpositive or a formfitting way inside its receptacle in the front panel support 8 in any adjustment position, in the latter case by knurling 14 provided around the circumference, for example. Furthermore, the front panel retainer 8 is provided with a lateral alignment screw 15, which is fixed using its two front faces in the installed state in the axial direction inside the adapter and/or the support retainer 7. The front panel retainer 8 is insertable into the support retainer 7 and engages using the eccentric pin 13 of the vertical adjustment eccentric 1I in a longitudinal slot 16 of the support retainer 7, which is open viewed toward the front panel 4. The open side of the longitudinal slot 16 facing toward the front panel 4 is provided with an inlet area 16a constricted in relation to the diameter of the eccentric pin 13. Thus, if the front panel support 8 is displaced in the direction of the support retainer 7, the eccentric pin 13 must first overcome the constricted inlet area 16a to reach the longitudinal slot 16. A slight force application is necessary for this purpose, on the other hand, however, after the eccentric pin 13 enters the area of the longitudinal slot 16, the front panel 4 is temporarily secured, because the front panel 4 may not unintentionally disconnect from the support retainer 7 again in this preinstallation position.

WO 2008/028811 PCT/EP2007/058737 7 In this preinstallation position, firstly a vertical and lateral alignment of the front panel 4 may be performed by the vertical adjustment eccentric 11 on the one hand and the lateral adjustment screw 15 on the other hand, before the front panel 4 having the front panel retainer 8 fastened thereon is finally fixed in relation to the support retainer 7. This fixing is performed in a way known per se by a plate-like toggle 17 having a key-like clamping pin 18, which is inserted through a keyhole-like opening 19 of the adapter 6 using its exclusively cylindrical free end into a hole 20 of the support retainer 7 and exposes a window 21 of a lateral panel 5 in the installation position, through which the vertical adjustment eccentric 11 and the lateral adjustment screw 15 are accessible, and which, after the completed alignment, is displaced in the direction of the support retainer 7 until contact thereon by a thickened area like a key bit, which lies in the area of a passage 22 of the front panel retainer 8, by pivoting around its longitudinal axis until the thickened area like a key bit presses against the delimitation of the passage 22 facing away from the front panel. In this final clamped position, the plate-shaped toggle terminates the cited window 21 of the lateral panel 5. The design of support retainer 7, front panel retainer 8, and toggle 17 described above is obviously located on both sides of the drawer, so that the front panel 4 is fixed securely on the particular support retainer 7, after an orientation of the front panel 4 in relation to other components of a piece of furniture has occurred. The connection between the adapters 6 and the bottom 2 of a drawer 1 may be produced in various ways. The term "connection" between the adapters 6 and the bottom 2 is to be understood quite broadly in the present case and is not to relate only to a fixed connection, but rather also to a formfitting connection, the latter including a special design of the lateral panels 5. In any case, the adapters 6 are provided with a flange 23 which engages below the bottom 2 and which has at least one indentation 24 oriented upward. This indentation or these indentations 24 engage(s) in grooves 25 provided on the bottom side of the bottom 2 and running in the thrust WO 2008/0288 1 1 PCT/EP2007/058737 8 direction of the drawer 1. The adapters 6 are thus initially fixed in relation to the bottom 2 transversely to the thrust direction of the drawer 1. The possibility fundamentally exists of additionally screwing the adapters 6 onto the bottom 2 after orientation in the longitudinal direction of the drawer 1. A fixed connection would be provided between the adapters 6 and the bottom 2 in this case. In the meaning of a simple and tool-free installation, however, it is advantageous, for example, to already connect the adapters 6 to the particular lateral panel 5 after proper longitudinal orientation therein at the factory, for example, by spot welding or similar connection methods. The lateral panels 5, as Figure 8 shows especially clearly, have a lug 26 resting on the top side of the bottom 2, so that the prefinished installation unit, comprising lateral panel 5 and adapters 6, may be pushed onto the bottom 2 in the longitudinal direction, and only fixing against displacement in the longitudinal direction is still necessary. This may be performed without problems by the connection of the rear wall 3 and the front panel 4 to the particular rear or front adapters 6, respectively. In this case, a formfitting connection would be provided between the adapters 6, the bottom 2, and the lateral panels 5. The latter solution offers the significant advantage that a correspondingly designed drawer 1 may be transported lying flat and in a space-saving way in the disassembled state and if necessary may be assembled nearly tool-free even by technically untrained individuals. In this case, tools would finally only be necessary for actuating the vertical adjustment eccentric 11 and the lateral alignment screw 8. A design deviating from the exemplary embodiments shown may comprise only one adapter 6 being situated in the area of each lateral panel 5, in which, as in the previously described exemplary embodiments, the rear wall 2 is fixed on the rear end and the front panel 4 is fixed on the forward end area as in the previously described exemplary embodiments, i.e., in this case, a support retainer 7 and a front panel support corresponding to the front panel are again provided in the front end area of the adapter 6 in this case, which are assembled in the way described and allow an adjustable attachment capability for the front panel 4.

WO 2008/02881 1 PCT/EP2007/058737 9 In an exemplary embodiment of this type, the adapters may also be implemented as having identical constructions to one another by skillful design, as already noted above. The support retainers 7 lying in the forward area and connected to the adapters 6 provided there are provided on their lower, forward ends with a multiply conical catch part 27, which produces a nonpositive and/or formfitting connection with a stopper 28, which is connectable at the front end of a running rail 29 of an extension guide 30 (only indicated), so that a coupling between the drawer I and the cited extension guide 30 is possible in a simple way. Figures 10 and 11 show the forward end of the extension guide 30 having the stopper 28 fastened on the running rail 29 before and after the connection to the catch part 27 of the support retainer 7. Figure 9 shows that the lateral panels 5 may be provided in the area of their lower edge with a receptacle groove 31, which is open on top, to be able to insert upwardly protruding add-on parts 32, which increase the height of the drawer, into this receptacle groove 31. The support retainers 7 may be designed in such a way that the insertion channels 9 of the adapters 6 are not entirely filled up viewed in the longitudinal direction of the drawer 1, so that the possibility exists of being able to lay electrical cables or the like in the area of the lateral panels 5, if it is necessary or desirable for the purposes of electrical drives, lights, or the like. The adapters 6, implemented as stamped-bent parts, may readily be provided with arbitrarily formed spring hooks or the like, to prevent a longitudinal displacement in relation to the lateral panels 5 and/or a running rail 29 of an extension guide 30. Overall, the drawer according to the invention offers the advantage that it in the final analysis it comprises few different components, so that overall a cost advantage results in the manufacturing, and a further advantage is that the drawer may be delivered in the flat, disassembled state and assembled without problems by an end user, without tools or special tools being necessary for this purpose, because simple screwdrivers or Phillips head screwdrivers, WO 2008/028811 PCT/EP2007/058737 10 which are typically present in every household, are necessary for actuating the vertical adjustment eccentric I I and the lateral alignment screw 8. The support retainers 7 are implemented corresponding to the cross-section of the lateral panels 5 in their forward area, so that the forward, frontal end of each lateral panel 5 is filled up and terminated by this cited area of the support retainer 7, a further stiffening of the lateral panels 5 additionally results in this way. The lateral panels 5 may advantageously also be produced from sheet-metal themselves. Figures 12 through 14 show that the clamping pin 18 is provided with an extension 18a like a key bit and may thus only be inserted into the keyhole-like recess 19 of the adapter 6 in a specific position. Furthermore, the cited figures show that the clamping pin 18 is provided on its free end with a radially rebounding catch tongue 18b, which causes axial securing of the clamping pin 18 after the insertion of a clamping pin 18 into the hole 20 of the support retainer 7. As shown in Figure 12, the hole 20 is equipped with a small chamfer 20a, through which the catch lug 18b of the clamping pin 18 may be guided without obstruction, if the clamping pin 18 is located in the insertion position in relation to the keyhole-like recess 19. In other words, in this insertion position the clamping pin 18 with catch lug 18b may not only be inserted without problems into the hole 20, but rather also withdrawn from this hole 20 again, if this is to be necessary for reasons of disassembly. If needed, the toggle 17 may be designed in such a way that it has a certain latching, which prevents unintentional pivoting of the toggle 17, at least in the position in which the access to the vertical adjustment eccentric 11 and to the lateral alignment screw 15 is covered. The cross-sections of the adapters 6 and the lateral panels 5 may be designed in such a way that a continuous channel for the insertion of control lines, electric cables, or the like is formed in the upper end area of the lateral panels 5. 353857.1 (GHMatter) P0103 AU WO 2008/028811 PCT/EP2007/058737 11 In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. 3883857_1 (GHMatters) P80103AU

Claims

2. A drawer having a bottom, a rear wall, a front panel, and two lateral panels, which are each connected via an adapter to the bottom, wherein the adapters have an approximately rectangular insertion channel viewed in the displacement direction of the drawer, and each adapter extends from the front area adjacent to the front panel up to the rear area of the bottom adjacent to the rear wall, and the rear wall is fixed on the rear end of the adapter and the front panel is fixed on the forward end of the adapter, into which a support retainer is inserted in each case to accommodate a front panel support fastened on 5 the front panel, wherein each front panel support has a vertical adjustment eccentric, which comprises a baseplate, mounted so it is rotatable in the front panel retainer, and an eccentric pin connected thereto or produced in one piece therewith, the eccentric pin engaging in a longitudinal slot of the support retainer which is open toward the front panel. 4457272_1 (GHKatters) P80103AU 13
3. The drawer according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the adapters are implemented in one piece.
4. The drawer according to Claim 3, wherein the adapters are produced as stamped-bent parts from sheet-metal.
5. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least the left-side adapters and the right-side adapters have identical constructions to one another.
6. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support retainers are manufactured from plastic.
7. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the front panel supports are manufactured from plastic.
8. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the open side of the longitudinal slot facing toward the front panel has an inlet area constricted in relation to the diameter of the eccentric pin.
9. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each front panel support has a lateral adjustment screw, which is inserted into a threaded hole of the front panel support and is frontally supported on the adapter and on the support retainer.
10. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the vertical adjustment 5 eccentric and the lateral adjustment screw are accessible through a preferably rectangular window of the lateral panel, this panel being closable by a plate-shaped toggle having a key-like clamping pin, and the front panel simultaneously being able to be tightened on the front side of the lateral panel. 4457272_1 (GHMaTter) P80103AU 14
11. The drawer according to Claim 10, wherein the key-like clamping pin is inserted through a keyhole-like recess of the adapter and using its exclusively cylindrical free end into a hole of the support retainer.
12. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lateral panels are connected to the adapters.
13. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the adapters have a flange, engaging below the underside of the bottom, having one or more upwardly directed indentations, and the indentations engage in grooves applied to the underside of the bottom and running in the insertion direction.
14. The drawer according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the lateral panels are equipped with a lug resting on the top side of the bottom in its lateral edge area.
15. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support retainers are provided on their forward, lower end areas with a catch part in the form of multiple wedges, which engages in a nonpositive and/or formfitting way in a correspondingly formed stopper of a running rail of an extension guide.
16. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support retainer has a shaping corresponding to the clear cross-section of the lateral panels in its front end area facing toward the front panel.
17. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support retainers are fixed in a nonpositive and/or formfitting way in the particular adapters.
18. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, the support retainers are secured inside the adapters, exclusively or in addition to other types of connection, by at least one tongue bent out of the adapter in each case. 4457272_1 (GHMatters) P80103AU 15
19. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support retainers are designed in such a way that a part of the insertion channels of the adapters remains open viewed in the longitudinal direction of the lateral panels.
20. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lateral panels are produced from sheet metal.
21. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the key-like clamping pin is provided on its free end area with a radially rebounding catch lug and is secured by this catch lug in the axial direction.
22. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plate-like toggle is secured by catch means at least in its installed position, which covers the vertical adjustment eccentric and the lateral adjustment screw.
23. The drawer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cross-sections of the adapters and the lateral panels are adapted to one another in such a way that a channel for electric cables, control lines, or the like is formed between the upper end area of the adapters and the upper edge of the lateral panels.
24. A connection configuration for fastening a lateral panel on a bottom of a drawer, the lateral panel being borne by at least one or more adapters, in particular for a drawer according to any one of Claims 1 through 20, wherein the at least one adapter is connected to the lateral panel and is equipped with a flange engaging below the bottom, 5 having at least one indentation, which is directed upward in the direction of the bottom and engages in a groove of the bottom, and the lateral panel has a lug resting on the top side of the bottom.
25. A drawer, or a connection configuration for fastening a lateral panel, substantially as 0 herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
4457272.1 (GHattemr) PS0103AU