US3033639A - Drawer guides - Google Patents

Description

M. D. EMERY DRAWER GUIDES May 8, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATT 'Ys Filed Dec. 11, 1958 v May 8, 1962 M. D. EMERY 3,033,639

DRAWER GUIDES Filed Dec. 11, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5

A mm INVENTOR:

MERTON D. EMERY United States 3,@33,639 Fatented May 8, 1962 free 3,033,639 DRAWER GUIDES Merton D. Emery, Grand Haven, Mich, assignor to Harbor Industries, Inc., a corporation of Michigan Filed Dec. 11, 1958, Ser. No. 779,690 6 Claims. (Cl. 312348) This invention relates to guides and, more particularly, to guides which are particularly well adapted for use as drawer guides, and the like.

It is a primary object of my invention to afford novel guides for drawers, and the like, having the parts thereof constituted and arranged in a novel and expeditious manner.

Drawer guides which have heretofore been known in the art have commonly had several inherent disadvantages such as, for example, requiring special slitting or forming of the drawer or article of furniture on which the guide was to be mounted; being complicated in construction; being difii-cult to assemble or adjust; or being unreliable and ineflicient in operation, and the like. It is an important object of the present invention to overcome such disadvantages.

Another object of the present invention is to enable novel guides for drawers to be afforded which may be readily mounted on drawers and the articles of furniture of which the drawers are to form a part.

Another object of the present invention is to afford novel drawer guides which may be easily adjusted to proper position.

A further object of the present invention is to enable novel drawer guides, and the like, to be afforded which are compact and relatively small in size.

A further object is to afford novel guides of the aforementioned type which require a minimum of connecting parts.

Another object of the present invention is to enable novel drawer guides to be afforded which embody effective stops for preventing the drawers from being accidentally completely withdrawn from the article of furniture in which they are mounted.

Yet another object of the present invention is to enable novel drawer guides to be afforded which embody stops of the aforementioned type, but wherein the parts are constituted and arranged in a novel and expeditious manner whereby the drawers having such guides thereon may be quickly and easily released from the stops for complete removal of the drawer from such anarticle of furniture when such removal is desired.

Another object of the present invention is to afford novel drawer guides, and the like, which are effective and efficient in operation and may be readily and economically produced commercially.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof, and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Gther embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In th drawings: I

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a drawer guide embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the drawer guide shown in FIG. 1, but with the parts thereof disposed in different positions; I

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the drawer guide shown 2 in FIG. 1, with the principal parts thereof shown in operative position on a drawer and a cabinet in which the drawer is to be mounted;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a portion of the guide and drawer shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

A drawer guide 1, embodying the principles of my invention, is shown in the drawings to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The guide 1 embodies, in general, an elongated, straight, channel-shaped guide 2, and anelongated slide 3 adapted to be slidably mounted in, and longitudinally movable along, theguide 2, as will be discussed in greater detail presently.

When drawers are mounted in cabinets, desks, and the like, it is desirable that they may be readily removed therefrom when this is desired, but that they be so supported in the article of furniture that they will not be accidentally withdrawn therefrom in the normal opening of the drawers. My novel drawer guide 1 affords a novel support and guide for drawers which may be readily mounted in articles of furniture, and the like. Also, my novel drawer guide 1 affords efficient stops for automatically stopping the drawer in fully extended position during normal opening movement thereof, but is so constructed that the stops may be quickly and easily disengaged for complete removal of the drawer from the article of turniture if this is desired.

Theguide member 2 may be made of any suitable material such as, for example, sheet steel, and embodies a longitudinally extending bottom wall 4, twoupstanding side walls 5 and 6, and two spaceduniplanar flanges 7 and 8 projecting inwardly toward each other from the upper edge portions of theside walls 5 and 6, respectively. Twoelongated slots 9 and 10 are formed in the bottom wall 4 at the front end portion 11 and rear end portion 12, respectively, of theguide member 2, theslots 9 and 10 being disposed in parallel relation to each other and extending perpendicularly to the length of the bottom wall 4, FIG. 3. Tworound openings 13 and 14 are also formed in the bottom wall 4, in closely adjacent, inwardly spaced relation to theslots 9 and 10, respectively. Astop member 15, in the form of a tongue struck upwardly from the bottom wall 4, is formed in the front end portion 11 of the slide member 2- in inwardly spaced relation to theopening 13, for a purpose which will be discussed in greater detail presently. Thestop member 15 terminates at its lower end portion in downwardly spaced relation to the plane of the lower face of theflanges 7 and 8, FIG. 4.

Theside walls 5 and 6 of theguide member 2 extend the full length of the bottom member 4 thereof, but theflanges 7 and 3 terminate at theirfront ends 7a and 8a, respectively, in inwardly or rearwardly spaced relation to thestop member 15, FIG. 3, for a purpose which will be discussed in greater detail presently.

Theslide member 3 may also be made of any suitable material such as, for example, sheet steel, and includes a longitudinally extendingtop wall 16, two longitudinally extendingupright side walls 17 and 18, and two spaceduniplanar flanges 19 and 20 projecting outwardly from the bottom edge portions of theside walls 17 and 18, respectively.Flanges 19 and 20 extend the full length of theside walls 17 and 18, respectively, and theside walls 17 and 18 extend the full length of thetop wall 16, except that twopoints 21 and 22 on the front end portion of thetop wall 16 project forwardly beyond theside walls 17 and 18. Amounting bracket 23, havingopenings 24 and 25 therein, is formed integrally with thetop wall 16 and projects perpendicularly upwardly from the rear end thereof for a purpose which will be discussed in greater detail presently. Astop member 26, in the form of a tongue struck downwardly from thetop wall 16, is afforded in the rear end portion of thetop wall 16 for a purpose which will be discussed in greater retail presently. Thetongue 26 terminates at its lower end portion in closely adjacent upwardly spaced relation to the plane of the lower faces of theflanges 19 and 20, FIG. 5.

Theguide member 2 and theslide 3 are of such size and configuration that theslide 3 may be mounted in normal at-rest position in theguide member 2, as shown in FIG. 1, wherein theflanges 19 and 20 rest on the upper face of the bottom wall 4, in vertically underlying relation to theflanges 7 andB, respectively, and theside walls 17 and 18 project upwardly between theflanges 7 and 8, to dispose thetop wall 16 in substantially aligned relation with theflanges 7 and 8. Also, it will be seen that when theslide 3 is disposed in the aforementioned normal at-rest position in theguide member 2, the front ends of theside walls 17 and 18 and theflanges 19 and 20 are disposed in vertical aligned relation with the front end of theguide member 2, and thepoints 21 and 22 project forwardly therefrom, FIG. 1.

When theslide member 3 is so positioned in normal at-rest position in theguide member 2, it is freely longitudinally slidable axially of theguide member 2 forwardly from the position shown in FIG. 1, to a normal fullforward position shown in broken lines in FIG. 2. When theslide 3 is disposed in the aforementioned normal fullforward position, thestop member 26 on theslide 3 abuttingly engages thestop member 15 on theguide member 2 to thereby prevent further forward movement of theslide 3 directly along the longitudinal axis of theguide member 2. However, when theslide 3 is disposed in this last mentioned position, it will be seen that the rear end portions of theflanges 19 and 20 thereof are still in underlying relation to the front end portions of theflanges 7 and 8 of theguide member 2, so that theslide 3 is prevented from falling downwardly and forwardly out of theguide member 2.

Theflanges 7 and 8 of theguide member 2 are disposed in sufiiciently closely overlying relation to theflanges 19 and 20, respectively, of theslide 3 that during such movement between the aforementioned normal atrest position and the aforementioned normal full-forward position of theslide 3, theslide 3 is held against undesirable upward and downward movement perpendicular to the bottom wall 4 of theguide member 2.

Theslide 3 is freely movable into and out of theguide 2 at the rear end thereof, but this is useful primarily in the assembling of theslide 3 in theguide member 2 during manufacture of the same, because, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, articles of furniture embodying drawers are normally closed at the rear so that if the drawers are to be removed therefrom they must be removed from the front.

In FIG. 3 an exploded view of my novel guide 1 and acabinet 27 are shown to illustrate a manner in which my novel guide 1 may be mounted in an article of furniture. Thecabinet 27 shown in FIG. 3 embodies a substantially rectangular-shaped housing 28 having fourvertical legs 22, 30,31 and 32, arear wall 33 and twoside walls 34 and 35, thehousing 28 being open at the front. Twocross braces 36 and 37 extend horizontally between thefront legs 29 and 30, and therear legs 31 and 32, respectively, in parallel spaced relation to each other. Thedrawer 38 shown in FIG. 3 embodies abody portion 39 and a front panel as, thefront panel 41% projecting above and below the front face of thebody portion 39. Thedrawer 38 is adapted to be mounted in thehousing 28, with thelower edge portion 41 of the front panel 4-0 disposed in abutting relation to the front face of thebrace 36 when thedrawer 38 is mounted in normal closed position in thehousing 28. When thedrawer 38 is disposed in such position in thehousing 28, therear end 42 of thebody portion 38 is preferably in forwardly spaced relation to therear wall 33 of thehousing 28. As is usual, thebody portion 39 of thedrawer 38 is of such size that it fits with a freely slidable fit between thelegs 29 and 3t), and between thelegs 31 and 32.

In mounting thedrawer 38 in thehousing 28 with my novel drawer guide 1, theguide member 2 may be mounted in thehousing 28 in such position that it extends between and is disposed in overlying juxtaposition to thebraces 36 and 37. Theguide member 2 is preferably of such length that when it is disposed on thebraces 36 and 37, the front and rear ends 11 and 12 thereof are disposed in vertical alignment with the front and rear faces, respectively, of thebraces 36 and 37, respectively. Theguide member 2 may be initially disposed in approxi mately proper position between theside walls 34 and 35, and suitable fastening members such as, for example,screws 43 and 44- may be inserted downwardly through the middle of theslots 9 and 10, respectively, into thebraces 36 and 37. Thescrews 43 and 44 are preferably not tightly clamped against the bottom wall 4 of theguide member 2 during this initial adjustment.

After theguide member 2 has thus been temporarily positioned in thehousing 28, theslide 3 may then be mounted on the bottom of thebody portion 39 of thedrawer 38, with the front face of thebracket 23 disposed in juxtaposition to the rear face of therear end 42 of thebody portion 39, and with the top face of thetop wall 16 disposed in juxtaposition to the bottom of thebody portion 39. In so mounting theslide 3 on thedrawer 38, theslide 3 is preferably slid forwardly along thebody portion 32 into such position that thepoints 21 and 22 thereon are embedded in the rear of thelower edge portion 41 of thefront panel 40, FIGS. 3, 6 and 7. As shown in FIGS. 3, 6 and 7 of the drawings, the bottom Wall 39a of thebody portion 39 of thedrawer 38 is disposed in a slot 41a in thefront panel 40, with thepoints 21 and 22 of theslide 3 disposed in the slot 41a below the wall 39a. However, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, in drawers not embodying a slot 41a, the points may be driven into the front panel of the drawer on which theslide 3 is to be mounted.

When theslide 3 is disposed in proper position on thedrawer 38, screws 45 and 46 may be inserted through theopenings 24 and 25 in the mountingbracket 23 into the end portion of thebody portion 39 of thedrawer 38 so that theslide 3 is firmly supported on thedrawer 38, thepoints 21 and 22 being embedded in thelower edge portion 41 of the panel 41), and the rear end portion of theslide 3 being firmly attached to therear end 42 of thedrawer 38 by thescrews 45 and 46.

Thedrawer 38 may then be mounted in position in thehousing 28 by tipping it at an upwardly and forwardly opening acute angle such that theslide 3 may be disposed in theguide member 2 in the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 2. Thedrawer 38 and theguide 2 may then be moved rearwardly in thehousing 28, with theslide 3 moving rearwardly along theguide member 2 at an upwardly opening acute angle until theslide 3 has moved inwardly a sufficient distance that thestop member 26 has moved past thestop member 15. Thereafter, the drawer and slide may be dropped downwardly and slid axially along theguide member 2 into fully closed position, wherein thelower edge portion 41 of thefront panel 40 of thedrawer 38 is disposed in abutting engagement with the front face of thecross brace 36, and theslide 3 is disposed in normal at-rest position in theguide member 2. During this initial rearward movement of thedrawer 38 andslide 2 into thehousing 28, theguide memher 2 is free to slide sideways to thereby properly position it longitudinally of thebraces 36 and 37 to properly receive theslide 3. Thereafter, thedrawer 38, with theslide 3 attached thereto, may be again withdrawn from thehousing 28, and thescrews 43 and 44 may then be tightened into firmly holding position on theguide member 2. If desired,additional screws 47 and 48 may then be inserted through theopenings 13 and 14 into the cross braces 36 and 37, respectively, to insure that theguide member 2 will be held in proper adjusted position on thebraces 36 and 37.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, although I prefer that theguide member 2 be of such length that when it is disposed in a housing, such as thehousing 28, the front and rear ends 11 and 12 thereof are disposed in vertical alignment with the front and rear edges of the supporting members such as the cross braces 36 and 37, this is not essential and, if desired, theguide member 2 may be shorter than this desired length, it merely being necessary that theguide member 2 will be of sufficient length that it may be secured in proper spanning relation ot the supporting members, and not be of too great length whereby it undesirably projects outwardly from the housing in which it is mounted.

It will be seen that with my novel drawer guide 1 attached to a drawer and to the supporting means for the drawer, the drawer is eifectively supported for inward and outward sliding movement, the spacedflanges 7 and 8 preventing undesirable rocking of the drawer on theguide member 2, and theslide 3 and guidemember 2 effectively cooperating to properly guide the drawer inwardly and outwardly of the housing in which it is mounted.

Also, it will be seen that with my novel drawer guide, when the drawer is pulled forwardly in a normal draweropening movement, thestops 15 and 26 are effective to prevent the drawer from accidentally being pulled completely out of thehousing 28. However, on the other hand, if it is desired, for some reason, to completely remove thedrawer 38 from thehousing 28, this may be readily accomplished by merely lifting upwardly on the front end portion of thedrawer 38 and thereafter moving the drawer 3'8 and theslide member 3 upwardly and forwardly out of theguide member 2.

Also, it will be seen that my novel drawer guide may be quickly and easily installed in articles of furniture by relatively unskilled persons.

In addition, it will be seen that I have afforded a novel drawer guide which is effective and efficient in operation and which may be readily and economically produced commercially.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A drawer guide for slidably mounting a drawer for horizontal sliding movement relative to supporting means for such a drawer and comprising an elongated channelshaped guide member adapted to be mounted in horizontally extending position on such supporting means, said guide member having an open, upwardly facing, longitudinally extending side, an elongated slide adapted to be mounted on the bottom of such a drawer, said slide being mounted in said guide member for longitudinal sliding movement axially of said guide member between a normal position and a forwardly extending position, said guide member having a stop member thereon in the laterally central portion thereof, and said slide having a stop member thereon in the laterally central portion thereof in position to abuttingly engage said first mentioned stop member when said slide is disposed in said forwardly extending position to thereby hold said slide against further outward movement axially of said guide member, said slide being movable transversely to said guide member when said slide is disposed in said forwardly extending position to thereby disengage said stop members and free said slide for further forward movement relative to said guide member.

2. A drawer guide for slidably mounting a drawer for horizontal sliding movement relative to supporting means for such a drawer and comprising an elongated channelshaped guide member adapted to be mounted in horizontally extending position on such supporting means, said guide member having a longitudinally extending bottom wall, two oppositely disposed, longitudinally extending side walls having upper edge portions, and two spaced coplanar flanges projecting inwardly toward each other from respective ones of said upper edge portions, a slide mounted in said guide member, said slide having a normal position in said guide member and being slidable longitudinally thereof between said normal position and a forwardly disposed outwardly extending position, said slide having two oppositely disposed, outwardly projecting bottom flanges, said first mentioned flanges overlying respective ones of said second mentioned flanges in position to hold said slide against removal from said guide member directly perpendicular to said bottom wall be tween said normal and extended positions, a stop member on said bottom wall and projecting upwardly therefrom between said side walls, and a downwardly projecting stop member on said slide in position to engage said first mentioned stop member when said slide is disposed in said extending position to thereby prevent further forward movement of said slide axially of said guide member, said flanges on said guide member terminating in spaced relation to one end of the latter in such position that said slide may be pivoted upwardly relative to said guide member when said slide is disposed in said extending position to thereby disengage said stop members and free said slide for removal from said guide member forwardly of the latter.

3. A drawer guide as defined inclaim 2 and in which said slide has a pointed end portion adapted to be embedded in one portion of such a drawer, and mounting means on the other end portion thereof for attaching said other end portion to anotherportion of said drawer.

4. A drawer guide as defined inclaim 2 and in which said bottom wall has two elongated slots in opposite end portions thereof and disposed in parallel relation to each other, and which includes fastening means adapted to extend through said slots into said supporting means for thereby adjustably attaching said guide member to said supporting means.

5. In an article of furniture including a drawer, having a body portion, and a front panel projecting downwardly from said body portion, and means for supporting said drawer, an elongated, straight, channel-shaped guide member having front and rear end portions, said guide member having a longitudinally extending bottom wall, two longitudinally extending side walls, and two uniplanar, spaced flanges projecting inwardly toward each other from respective ones of said side walls, said guide member being mounted on said supporting means with said bottom wall disposed in juxtaposition to the latter, and an elongated, straight slide having front and rear end portions, said slide having a longitudinally extending top wall, two longitudinally extending side walls, and two oppositely disposed, longitudinally extending flanges projecting outwardly from the bottom of respective ones of said last mentioned side walls, said top wall having points on the front end portion thereof, said slide being mounted on said drawer with said top wall disposed in juxtaposition to the bottom of said body member, and with said points embedded in said front panel, said slide also being mounted in said guide member with said last mentioned flanges disposed between said first mentioned flanges and said bottom wall, said slide being longitudinally slidable axially of said guide member between a normal position, wherein said panel is disposed in engagement with said supporting means, and a forward position wherein said slide projects forwardly of said guide member, said bottom wall having a stop member projecting upwardly therefrom, said top wall having a stop member projecting downwardly therefrom in position to abuttingly engage said first mentioned stop member when said slide is disposed in said forward position to thereby prevent said sliding movement of said slide axially of said guide member from said normal position forwardly past said forward position, said drawer and slide being pivotable upwardly relative to said guide member when said slide is disposed in said forward position to thereby disengage said stop members and free said slide and drawer for further forward movement relative to said guide member.

6. The combination in an article of furniture of the type defined inclaim 5, and in which said flanges on said guide member terminate in spaced relation to the front end thereof in position whereby said slide may be pivoted upwardly relative to said guide member when said slide is disposed in said forward position to free said slide for removal from said guide member in a movement wherein said flanges on said slide move upwardly and forwardly past the front end of said flanges on said guide member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,148,573 Carlson Aug. 3, 1915 2,011,189 Anderson Aug. 13, 1935 2,074,371 Cummings Mar. 23, 1937 2,142,898 Harmon Ian. 3., 1939 2,239,618 Muirhead Apr. 22, 1941 2,325,896 Waller Aug. 3, 1943 2,328,835 Motter Sept. 7, 1943 2,514,664 Miller July 11, 1950 2,559,322 Skamser July 3, 1951 2,560,721 Gibson July 17, 1951 2,747,943 Metcalf May 29, 1956 2,822,231 Golz Feb. 4, 1958 2,822,232 Lhota -2 Feb. 4, 195 8

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