GB2248382A - Cabinet - Google Patents

Abstract

A cabinet 2 has drawers 12 mounted one above another which pivot open and shut about individual hinges 21. Each drawer is so balanced on its pivot that, when empty, the drawer is biassed towards a closed position and the empty drawer will rest in an open position, with the unit in its normally intended attitude of use (e.g. mounted on a wall). The unit is particularly useful as a cutlery storage unit and its drawers can be internally surface-finished appropriately. <IMAGE>

Description

CABINET Fleld of the Invention The present invention is concerned with cabinets and is especially concerned with multiple-drawer cutlery cabinets.

Prior Art known to the APPlicant Cutlery cabinets are traditionally one-level hinged-lid units or one-level sliding-drawer units. These cabinets occupy a relatively large amount of space compared with the storage volume they provide and cannot be conveniently wall-mounted.

Summary of the Invention According to the present invention there is provided a cabinet having a plurality of drawers mounted therein which, in use, are vertically spaced from each other, at least one drawer pivoting open, wherein the said drawer when empty is biased towards a closed position and wherein the said empty drawer will rest in an open position.

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings that follow; in which: Brief Descrintion of the Drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of a cabinet accoiding to the present ins ent,icn.

Figure 2 is a partially sectioned view on the line II -II in figure 1.

Descrirtion of the Preferred Embodiment In Figure 1 of the drawings that follow there is shown a cabinet 2 having a top 4, sides 6 and a bottom 8. In figure 2 there can also be seen back 10 of the cabinet 2.

Within the volume defined by the top 4, sides 6, bottom 8 and back 10 there are mounted four drawers 12 (A - D) vertically spaced from each other. As can be seen in figure 1 each drawer 12 (A, B, C or D) is mounted directly above or below another drawer 12 (A, B, C or D) in the cabinet 2; although they may be staggered or otherwise laterally spaced.

The bottom drawer 12 (D) is shown in its fully open position. In figure 2; a dashed line indicates the fully closed position of drawer 12 (D).

Although the cabinet 2 is not shown in relation to its surroundings, it can be wall-mounted, free-standing, wheeled, mounted on another surface or used in any other suitable way.

The drawer 12 (D) will now be described. The other drawers 12 (A - C) are similar.

The drawer 12 (D) comprises a front panel 14, a rear panel 16, side panels 18 and a base panel 20; these panels 14 - 20 define a storage volume 22. The front panel 14 has a top surface 28. Each of the panels 14 - 20 is an elongate panel, rectangular in crosssection although the side panels 18 taper downwardly from the front panel 14 to the rear panel 16. The panels 14 16 and 20 extend between the two sides 6 of the cabinet 2 with a small gap at either end.

An elongate horizontal hinge 21 is attached to the bottom of the base panel 20 and extends the full length thereof. The hinge 21 is also attached to a support block 24 which is located immediately below the drawer 12 (D) and is mounted on the sides 6, bottom 8 and back 10 of the cabinet 2. The drawer 12 (D) can thus pivot open about a line along its lower-face, the line is parallel to the front of the drawer 12 (D).

The support blocks 24 of drawers 12 (A - C) are mounted on the sides 6 and back 10 of the cabinet 2. Each of these support blocks 24 has a stop-block 26 attached thereto at the front end of the support block 24 and extending forwardly thereof. When a drawer 12 (A, B, C or D) is fully closed stop-block 26 substantially fills the gap between the support block 24 above the respect drawer 12 (A, B, C or D) to prevent the ingress of dust or other unwanted materials into the storage volume 22. When the drawer 12 (D) is in its fully closed position the top of the front panel 14 rests against the front of stop-block 26. Support block 24 may also assist in supporting the drawer 12 (D), especially when the drawer is loaded.In its fully open position the top of rear panel 16 rests against the back corner of stop-block 26; although the stop-block 26 can be modified to present a planar surface to the top of rear panel 16. The height of rear panel 16 is determined by the requirement that it act as a stop for the drawer 12 (D).

The operation of the invention will be disclosed, by way of example, by describing how the drawer 12 (D) might be loaded with cutlery.

The drawer 12 (D) is empty and in its fully closed position, shown by the dashed lines in figure 2, before the start of the loading.

The drawer 12 (D) is opened by the user grasping the top surface 2S of the front panel 1-1 and pulling the drawer 12 (D) forwardly and down. The top surface 28 may be suitably formed with, for instance, an indentation to allow it to be easily grasped.

If the drawer 12 (D) is released at any stage whilst it is being opened before it is fully open (the position of drawer 12 (D) shown in Figures 1 and 2) it will swing back to its fully closed position. This occurs because the drawer 12 (D) is biased, by gravity, towards its fully closed position. The location of the hinge 21 in relation to the centre of gravity of the drawer 12 (D) is such that when the drawer 12 (D) is in a non-fully open position the centre-of-gravity of the empty drawer 12 (D) is behind the pivot-line of hinge 21, i.e towards the back 10 of the cabinet 2, causing the drawer 12 (D) to pivot about the hinge 21 and swing freely to a fully closed position.The hinge 21 is so positioned that when the drawer 12 (D) is in its fully open position the centre-of-gravity of the drawer 12 (D) is just forward of the hinge 21 so that the drawer 12 (D) is biased, by gravity, towards its fully open position. The bias towards the fully opened position may occur a small distance before the drawer 12 (D) is fully open.

The position of the hinge 21 in relation to the drawer 12 (D) to ensure that the drawer is biased as described above can be determined by calculation or by simple experimentation.

In this way, the drawer 12 (D) tends to stay open under gravity when it is opened fully, whilst when the drawer is anything other than fully open, it tends to swing shut. Furthermore, when the drawer 12 (D) is in its fully opened position it can be closed by lightly pushing the drawer so that the centre-of-gravity is transferred to the rear of the pivot biasing the drawer 12 (D) towards its fully closed position.

Once the drawer 12 (D) is fully open it can be loaded with cutlery without the need for it to be continually held open. When the storage volume 22 has been filled, or at any suitable time before that stage, the drawer 12 (D) can be swung shut. When the drawer 12 (D) is loaded, in whole or in part, the centre-of gravity may be altered so that it requires slightly more effort to shut the drawer. However, once the drawer 12 (D) approaches its fully closed position it will still be biased towards that position. If the cutlery is stored in the drawer 12 (D) in a suitable manner the overall centre of gravity of the drawer may still allow it to function as described above; for instance, a cutlery dividing tray may be used in the drawer.Thus in most normal weight distributions the drawer 12 (D) is biased in substantially the same way that it is when empty.

Although the invention has been described with respect to its usefulness as a cutlery cabinet, it can be used to store a wide range of articles. The number of drawers in the cabinet may also be varied for different applications, as can the sizes of the various drawers. Furthermore, two or more drawers can be used adjacent each other in the cabinet.

Where the surfaces of the drawers and the cabinet abut resilient materials may be used to avoid damage to either component. The movement of the drawers can also be dampened if desired to avoid the drawers swinging shut too quickly.

The pivot described in the preferred embodiment could be replaced by any pivoting over-centre mechanism which may involve the use of a drawer that slides as well as pivots.

Generally, the pivot will be about a line near the front of the cabinet.

Cabinets according to the invention have many advantages over the cabinets known to the applicants. The cabinet is more economical of space than the known cabinets and can be used as a free-standing unit, a wall mounted unit or in any other suitable position. The top surface of the cabinet can be used as a working or storage surface and the front of the cabinet presents an aesthetically pleasing aspect and avoids the need for exterior handles which could injure persons brushing past the cabinet (although, if required, handles could be used).

Furthermore, by combining vertically spaced drawers with the pivoting feature several synergistic advantages accrue. The disadvantage that results from multiple-drawer cabinets with sliding drawers, that is that when more than one drawer is opened there is a danger of the cabinet toppling (especially encountered with filing cabinets), is avoided because the articles stored in the drawers are not pulled so far from the centre-ofgravity of the cabinet. Additionally, even when all of the drawers are fully open articles can be easily removed from each of the drawers.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS:

1. A cabinet having a plurality of drawers mounted therein which, in use, are vertically spaced from each other; at least one drawer pivoting open, wherein the said drawer, when empty, is biassed towards a closed position and wherein the said empty drawer will rest in an open position.

2. A cabinet according to claim 1 in which the drawers are staggered.

3. A cabinet according to claim 2 in which the drawers are laterally staggered.

4. A cabinet according to any of the preceding claims and in which the said biassed-closed drawer (or each such drawer, if there are more than one of such drawers) comprises a front panel, a rear panel, and side panels with the side panels tapering downwardly from the front panel to the rear panel.

5. A cabinet according to any of the preceding claims and in which the front panel of at least the said biassed-closed drawer stops short of each opposite side of the cabinet so that there is an appreciable gap at either end of the cabinet between the cabinet sides and that drawer panel.

6. A cabinet according to any of the preceding claims and in which the top edge of the front panel of at least the said biassedclosed drawer is suitably formed with an indentation to allow it to be easily grasped.

7. A cabinet according to any of the preceding claims and in which the spacing between the top edge, and/or the side edge, of the front panel of the biassed-closed drawer is such that the drawer can be opened by finger insertion between that edge and the adjacent cabinet surface.

8. A cabinet according to any of the preceding claims and in which a single stop means, mounted on the cabinet, acts to limit both the opening and closing extremes of movement of the or each said biassed-closed drawer.

9. A cabinet according to any of the preceding claims and in which the or each said biassed-closed drawer has its movement damped, to avoid the drawer swinging shut too quickly, by means known per se.

10. A cabinet substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.