JP7699491B2 - Double-sided drawer structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a double-sided drawer structure that allows drawers to be pulled out from both the front and back sides of a storage space.

This type of double-sided drawer structure is convenient because dishes can be washed from the kitchen side and stored in the drawers, and when serving food, the drawers can be pulled out from the dining side to serve the washed dishes, making it ideal for use in counter kitchens and popular.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a drawer device that can be freely pulled out from both the front and back sides with a single drawer rail. The drawer device described in Patent Document 1 has rollers 4 that rotate forward and backward, arranged at two locations, one at the front and one at the back of both left and right side plates 31, 32, and rails 5 arranged on both left and right inner sides of the storage body that the rollers 4 face. A stopper 6 is provided that protrudes into the rail 5 when it comes into contact with the roller 4 that has passed before, and when the succeeding roller 4 comes into contact with the stopper, it is prevented from passing, thereby preventing the drawer from being pulled out any further (see claim 1 in Patent Document 1, paragraphs [0010] to [0019] of the specification, and Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, etc.).

However, because the drawer device described in Patent Document 1 must be able to be freely pulled out from both sides, the rail 5, which is the movable part, cannot be covered by the drawer panel, leaving the rails, rollers, and other mechanical parts exposed, resulting in a poor appearance.

In addition, because the drawer device described in Patent Document 1 must be able to be freely pulled out from both sides, it is not possible to provide a stopper that stops the drawer body when it is stored in the storage space, and there is a problem that when the drawer is closed, the drawer simply jumps out from the other side due to inertial force. Note that the stopper 6 of the drawer device described in Patent Document 1 is a stopper that hooks and stops the roller 4 located at the end of the drawer 3 to prevent the drawer 3 from being completely pulled out of the storage body 1 and coming off, but is not a stopper that prevents the drawer 3 from jumping out from the other side due to inertial force when the drawer 3 is closed on the other side from the storage body 1.

One way to solve this problem is to install a push-in catch or similar device to suppress the inertial force when closing the drawer. However, because the drawer body needs to be pulled out from both sides, this does not prevent the drawer body from popping out from the other side if the inertial force exceeds a certain level.

In addition, the drawer device described in Patent Document 1 is a mechanism that allows drawers to be pulled out from both sides using a single drawer rail, and has a complex structure, is thick, and is difficult to conceal. It is also prone to malfunctions if debris or other objects get caught in the mechanism, and is expensive.

Patent Document 2 also discloses a double-pullout drawer structure in which the drawer rails are divided into upper and lower sections and hidden by a front panel. The double-pullout drawer structure described in Patent Document 2 is said to be able to prevent rattling or collision of the front panel with the storage box when the storage box is stored by providing regulating means 47, 49, 86, 88 that regulate the relative movement in the front-to-rear direction between the front panel 10 pulled outward and the storage box 8 in response to the front panel 10 being pulled outward and being connected to the storage box 8.

However, although the double-pull drawer structure described in Patent Document 2 can conceal the drawer rails when the drawers are stored, it does not solve the problem of the drawer popping out from the other side when closing the drawer. In addition, the double-pull drawer structure described in Patent Document 2 also has the problem that the front panel 9 also opens when the drawer pops out.

Furthermore, the double-pull drawer structure described in Patent Document 2 is also complex in structure, and like the drawer device described in Patent Document 1, it is prone to malfunction when debris or other objects become caught, and is expensive.

JP 2003-304945 A JP 2006-43189 A

The present invention was conceived in consideration of the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a double-sided drawer structure that has a simple drawer mechanism that can be concealed as much as possible and prevents the drawer from popping out from the other side due to inertial force when closing the drawer.

The double-sided drawer structure according to the first invention is a double-sided drawer structure in which the drawer can be freely pulled out from both the front and back sides of the storage space, and the drawer comprises a drawer body and an outer frame that is U-shaped in plan view and is provided on the outside of the drawer body, an outer drawer rail is provided between the outer frame and the side panel of the storage space, an inner drawer rail is provided between the outer frame and the drawer body, and the outer drawer rail and the inner drawer rail are provided with a soft-close mechanism that prevents the drawer from jumping out to the opposite side due to inertial force when the drawer is closed.

The double-sided drawer structure according to the second invention is the same as the first invention, but the soft-close mechanism includes a tension spring that pulls the rail back to the open state, and a damper that applies a load against the restoring force of the tension spring.

The double-sided drawer structure according to the third invention is characterized in that in the first or second invention, the side frame of the drawer body has an inverted L-shaped cross section that covers the inner drawer rail from above.

The double-sided drawer structure according to the fourth invention is any one of the first to third inventions, characterized in that a flap door is provided on the rear side of the storage space.

The double-sided drawer structure according to the fifth invention is the fourth invention, characterized in that the left and right lower ends of the drawer body are structured to avoid the hinges of the flap door.

The double-sided drawer structure according to the sixth invention is any one of the first to fifth inventions, characterized in that the storage space is provided under the counter of a kitchen counter.

The double-sided drawer structure according to the seventh invention is the sixth invention, characterized in that the lower end of the outer frame is secured to a height of 105 mm or more from the worktop of the kitchen counter.

According to the first to seventh inventions, the drawer rails that make up the drawer mechanism are divided into two pairs of rails, an outer drawer rail and an inner drawer rail, which not only simplifies the mechanism of each rail and improves the durability of the drawer mechanism, but also makes each rail thinner, allowing the rails to be hidden from view. In addition, according to the first to seventh inventions, a soft-close mechanism is provided that prevents the drawer from jumping out to the other side due to inertia when it is closed, so even if the drawer is closed forcefully, it can be prevented from jumping out to the other side due to inertia.

In particular, according to the third invention, the side frame of the drawer body has an inverted L-shaped cross section that covers the inner drawer rail from above, making it possible to conceal the inner drawer rail so that it is almost invisible from people's line of sight.

In particular, according to the fourth invention, a flap door is provided on the rear side of the storage space, so that the double-sided drawer structure can be concealed by the flap door when the drawers are not pulled out.

In particular, according to the fifth invention, the left and right bottom ends of the drawer body are designed to avoid the hinges of the flap door, so there is no hindrance to inserting and removing the drawer from the back side, and the space can be effectively utilized without compromising the storage height of the drawer.

In particular, according to the sixth and seventh inventions, the lower end of the outer frame is secured to a height of 105 mm or more from the worktop of the kitchen counter, ensuring a height that allows the installation of a back guard, and also allowing the drawers to be pulled out and put back in while cooking utensils such as bowls are placed on the worktop, so cooking work is not hindered.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a double-sided drawer structure according to an embodiment of the present invention applied to a counter kitchen, as viewed from the kitchen side. FIG. 2 is a view seen from the dining area showing the above-mentioned double-sided drawer structure applied to a counter kitchen. FIG. 3 is a front view of the double-sided drawer structure as viewed from the kitchen side (K side). FIG. 4 is a rear view of the double drawer structure as viewed from the dining room side (D side). FIG. 5 is a partial vertical sectional view mainly showing the drawer rails of the double-sided drawer structure. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing only the outer frame of the drawer of the double-sided drawer structure. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing only the drawer body of the double-sided drawer structure. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a soft-close mechanism for the drawer rails of the double-sided drawer structure. FIG. 9 is a functional explanatory diagram showing the function of the soft-close mechanism of the above embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the height of the drawers of the double-sided drawer structure from the worktop.

Below, we will explain in detail how to implement the double-sided drawer structure to which the present invention is applied, with reference to the drawings.

First, a double-sided drawer structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 10. Fig. 1 is a view from the kitchen side showing a double-sided drawer structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention applied to a counter kitchen 10, and Fig. 2 is a view from the dining side showing a double-sided drawer structure 1 according to the present embodiment applied to a counter kitchen 10. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the double-sided drawer structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is described by exemplifying a double-sided drawer structure in which a storage space 12 is provided under a counter 11 at the rear of the kitchen of a counter kitchen 10, and drawers can be pulled out from both the front kitchen side (K side) and the rear dining side (D side).

The reference numeral 13 in FIG. 1 denotes the worktop 13 of the counter kitchen 10, and the reference numeral 14 denotes the sink 14. The reference numeral 15 in FIG. 2 denotes a flap door 15 that blocks the double-sided drawer structure 1 from being seen from the dining room side (D side).

As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the double-sided drawer structure 1 according to this embodiment comprises a drawer 2, a pair of left and right outer drawer rails 3, 3 for pulling out the drawer 2 so that it can be opened and closed, and a pair of left and right inner drawer rails 4, 4. Figure 3 is a front view of the double-sided drawer structure as seen from the kitchen side (K side), and Figure 4 is a rear view of the double-sided drawer structure as seen from the dining side (D side). Figure 5 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view mainly showing the drawer rails 3, 4 of the double-sided drawer structure 1. Note that reference numeral 16 denotes the side panel 16 of the storage space 12, and reference numeral 17 denotes the bottom panel 17 of the storage space 12.

(drawer)
The drawer 2 is composed of an outer frame 5 made of a wood material, metal such as aluminum alloy or steel plate, or resin as shown in Fig. 6, and a drawer body 6 made of a wood material or resin as shown in Fig. 7. Here, the wood material refers to materials obtained by breaking down wood into large and small elements and solidifying them with adhesives or the like to reconstruct them, such as wood including solid wood, plywood with veneer or the like attached to its surface, laminated veneer lumber, and laminated lumber. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing only the outer frame 5 of the drawer 2 of the double-sided drawer structure 1, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing only the drawer body 6 of the drawer 2 of the double-sided drawer structure 1.

As shown in FIG. 6, the outer frame 5 is a U-shaped frame body in plan view, and is composed of a fascia board 50 and a pair of left and right frame beams 51, 51 with a vertically elongated rectangular cross section that are vertically attached to the board surface of the fascia board 50. As shown in FIG. 5, an outer drawer rail 3 is interposed between the frame beams 51 and the side panel 16 of the storage space 12, and the outer frame 5 is configured to slide freely on the outer drawer rail 3 relative to the side panel 16 of the storage space 12.

As shown in FIG. 7, the drawer body 6 is composed of a top panel 60, a pair of left and right side frames 61 with an inverted L-shaped cross section, a back panel 62, and a bottom panel 63, and has the function of storing items by placing them on the bottom panel 63. As shown in FIG. 5, an inner drawer rail 4 is interposed between the side frames 61 and the frame beam 51, and the drawer body 6 is configured to slide freely on the inner drawer rail 4 relative to the outer frame 5.

(Drawer rail)
In the double-sided drawer structure 1 according to this embodiment, the outer drawer rail 3 and the inner drawer rail 4 have the same configuration. Of course, it goes without saying that the outer drawer rail 3 and the inner drawer rail 4 may be configured differently. However, by making the outer drawer rail 3 and the inner drawer rail 4 have the same configuration, as in the double-sided drawer structure 1 according to this embodiment, the number of parts can be reduced, thereby achieving cost reduction.

As shown in FIG. 5, the outer drawer rail 3 is composed of an outer rail 30, a middle rail 31, and an inner rail 32, with the outer rail 30 fixed to the inside of the side panel 16 of the storage space 12 and the inner rail 32 fixed to the outside of the frame beam 51 of the outer frame 5.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 5, the inner drawer rail 4 is composed of an outer rail 40, a middle rail 41, and an inner rail 42, with the outer rail 40 fixed to the inside of the frame beam 51 of the outer frame 5, and the inner rail 42 fixed to the outside of the side frame 61 of the drawer body 6.

(Soft close mechanism)
8, the outer drawer rail 3 and the inner drawer rail 4 are equipped with a soft-close mechanism 7. This soft-close mechanism 7 mainly comprises a spring coil 33 (43), which is a tension spring, and an oil damper 34 (44), and has the function of preventing the drawer 2 from jumping out to the opposite side due to inertial force when it is closed.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the outer rail 30 (40) and the middle rail 31 (41) are connected by the spring coil 33 (43), and the oil damper 34 (44) applies a load in a direction corresponding to the restoring force of the spring coil 33 (43). Therefore, when the drawer 2 is closed, that is, when the middle rail 31 (41) is at a certain distance or less from the outer rail 30 (40), the inner rail 32 (42) is pulled back by the spring coil 33 (43) relative to the outer rail 30 (40).

At this time, a load is applied to the oil damper 34 (44) in a direction corresponding to the restoring force of the spring coil 33 (43), so the inner rail 32 (42) is slowly pulled back against the outer rail 30 (40) by the spring coil 33 (43).

In other words, as shown in Figure 9, if the drawer 2 is forcefully closed in the direction of arrow A from the dining room side (side D), the inertial force may cause the outer frame 5 to pop out in the direction of arrow B. However, the oil damper 34 (44) not only weakens the inertial force that causes the outer frame 5 to pop out in the direction of arrow B, but because the outer rail 30 and middle rail 31 of the outer drawer rail 3 are connected by a spring coil 33, the restoring force of the spring coil 33 pulls back the middle rail 31 and inner rail 32, and the outer frame 5 fixed to the inner rail 32 is also pulled back in the direction of arrow C (see also Figure 5). Figure 9 is a functional explanatory diagram showing the function of the soft-close mechanism.

At this time, the oil damper 34 functions to slowly and gently pull the outer frame 5 back in the direction of arrow C. This prevents the outer frame 5 from being forcefully pulled back by the restoring force of the spring coil 33, causing the drawer body 6 to open in the opposite direction due to its inertial force (see also Figure 8).

Similarly, as shown in Figure 9, when the drawer 2 is forcefully closed in the direction of arrow D from the kitchen side (side K), the inertial force causes the drawer body 6 to pop out in the direction of arrow E. However, because the outer rail 40 and middle rail 41 of the inner drawer rail 4 are connected by a spring coil 43, the restoring force of the spring coil 43 pulls back the middle rail 41 and inner rail 42, and the drawer body 6 fixed to the inner rail 42 is also pulled back in the direction of arrow F (see also Figure 5).

At this time, the oil damper 44 functions to slowly and gently pull the drawer body 6 back in the direction of arrow F. This prevents the drawer body 6 from being pulled back forcefully by the restoring force of the spring coil 43, causing the outer frame 5 to open in the opposite direction due to the inertial force (see also Figure 8).

(Drawer height)
As shown in Fig. 10, the height of the drawer 2 is set to a height H1 = 105 mm or more from the worktop 13 to the bottom end of the skirting board 50 of the outer frame 5. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the height of the drawer 2 from the worktop 13. By ensuring this predetermined height H1 = 105 mm or more, a back guard can be installed on the back of the worktop 13, and the drawer 2 can be taken out and put back in while cooking utensils such as bowls are placed on the worktop 13, so that cooking work is not hindered.

(Bottom left and right ends of the drawer body)
5, the bottom plate 63 of the drawer body 6, which forms the drawer on the dining side of the drawer 2, does not reach the left and right ends of the drawer body 6, and the left and right bottom ends of the drawer body 6 are structured to avoid the hinge 15a of the flap door 15. Therefore, the double-sided drawer structure 1 does not interfere with the insertion and removal of the drawer 2 on the dining side, and makes effective use of the space without sacrificing the storage height of the drawer 2.

[Effects of the embodiment]
The double-sided drawer structure 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention described above is a double-sided drawer structure that allows the drawer to be freely pulled out from both the front side (kitchen side) and the back side (dining room side), and the drawer rails that form the drawer mechanism are divided into two pairs of rails, the outer drawer rail 3 and the inner drawer rail 4. This simplifies the mechanism of one rail, reduces the risk of dust getting caught without becoming complicated, and improves the durability of the drawer mechanism.

The double-sided drawer structure 1 also has an inverted L-shaped cross section, with the pair of left and right side frames 61 of the drawer body 6 covering the inner drawer rail 4 between the frame beam 51 and the side frame 61 of the outer frame 5 from above. As a result, the inner drawer rail 4 can be hidden so that it is barely visible from above, which is people's line of sight, when the drawer 2 is pulled out from either the kitchen side or the dining side.

In addition, the double-sided drawer structure 1 is provided with a flap door 15 that blocks the double-sided drawer structure 1 from being seen from the dining room side, so that when the drawer 2 is not pulled out, the double-sided drawer structure 1 is completely hidden from view from the dining room side.

As mentioned above, the left and right bottom ends of the drawer body 6 are designed to avoid the hinges 15a of the flap door 15. As a result, the double-sided drawer structure 1 allows the drawer 2 to be easily inserted and removed from the dining area, and makes effective use of space without compromising the storage height of the drawer 2.

Furthermore, the double-sided drawer structure 1 is provided with the aforementioned soft-close mechanism 7 on both the outer drawer rail 3 and the inner drawer rail 4. Therefore, even if the drawer 2 is forcefully closed from either the kitchen side or the dining room side, the soft-close mechanism 7 can pull the drawer 2 back and prevent it from jumping out to the other side due to inertial force.

In addition, the height H1 of the double-sided drawer structure 1 from the worktop 13 to the bottom end of the skirting board 50 of the outer frame 5 is 105 mm or more, so a back guard can be installed on the back of the worktop 13, and the drawer 2 can be taken out and put back in while cooking utensils such as bowls are placed on the worktop 13, so cooking work is not hindered.

The above provides a detailed explanation of the double-sided drawer structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. However, the above-mentioned and illustrated embodiments merely show one embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted in a limiting manner.

In particular, the double-sided drawer structure 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described as being applied to a kitchen counter 10, but the double-sided drawer structure according to the present invention is not limited to kitchen counters and can be applied to any double-sided drawer structure in which the drawers can be freely pulled out from both the front and back sides of the storage space.

1: Double-sided drawer structure 2: Drawer 3: Outer drawer rail (drawer rail)
30: outer rail 31: middle rail 32: inner rail 33: spring coil (tension spring)
34: Oil damper (damper)
4: Inner drawer rail (drawer rail)
40: outer rail 41: middle rail 42: inner rail 43: spring coil (tension spring)
44: Oil damper (damper)
5: Outer frame (drawer)
50: Skirt board 51: Frame beam 6: Drawer body (drawer)
60: Skirting board 61: Side frame 62: Back panel 63: Bottom board 7: Soft-close mechanism 10: Counter kitchen 11: Counter 12: Storage space 13: Worktop 14: Sink 15: Flap door 15a: Hinge 16: Side board 17: Bottom board

Claims (7)

The drawers have a double-sided drawer structure that allows the drawers to be pulled out from both the front and rear sides of the storage space,
The drawer comprises a drawer body and an outer frame having a U-shape in a plan view provided on the outside of the drawer body,
An outer drawer rail is provided between the outer frame and the side panel of the storage space,
An inner drawer rail is provided between the outer frame and the drawer body,
A double-sided drawer structure characterized in that the outer drawer rail and the inner drawer rail are provided with a soft-close mechanism that prevents the drawers from jumping out to the opposite side due to inertial force when the drawers are closed. 2. The double-sided drawer structure according to claim 1, wherein the soft-close mechanism comprises a tension spring that pulls the rail back to the open state, and a damper that applies a load against the restoring force of the tension spring. 3. The double-sided drawer structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the side frame of the drawer body has an inverted L-shaped cross section that covers the inner drawer rail from above. 4. The double-sided drawer structure according to claim 1, wherein a flap door is provided on the rear side of the storage space. The double-sided drawer structure according to claim 4, wherein the left and right lower ends of the drawer body are structured to avoid hinges of the flap door. 6. The double-sided drawer structure according to claim 1, wherein the storage space is provided under a counter of a counter kitchen. The double-sided drawer structure according to claim 6, wherein the lower end of the outer frame is secured to have a height of 105 mm or more from the worktop of the counter kitchen.

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