Abstract:
A drawer safety latch automatically stops the drawer both when opening and closing the drawer. In a preferred embodiment, the safety latch is a one-piece design and includes a large, flat surface for stick-on mounting of the safety latch to the drawer without the need for screws or other fastening devices.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   The present invention relates to a drawer safety latch. More particularly, it relates to a drawer safety latch which can be installed very easily and operates simply. There are many known types of drawer safety latches, but they usually are difficult to install, difficult to operate, and typically only operate in one direction, to prevent a child from opening the drawer. In many cases, the latch permits the child to open the drawer enough to get his fingers into the drawer, and then permits the child to close the drawer on his fingers, which can result in injury to the child. 
   SUMMARY 
   The safety latch of the present invention may be placed so that the drawer opens just far enough for the user to be able to disengage the safety latch, but not enough to gain access to the contents of the drawer until the safety latch is disengaged. Once the drawer is opened far enough to engage the safety latch, the safety latch prevents the accidental closure of the drawer. In order to close the drawer, the user must intentionally disengage it. This prevents a child from closing the drawer on his fingers. 
   A preferred embodiment of the safety latch is very easy to install. It includes an adhesive strip and can be mounted quickly and easily to the drawer without the need for drilling or screws. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cabinet with a drawer safety latch made in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the drawer safety latch of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a view along line  3 — 3  of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a plan view of the drawer safety latch of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a view along  5 — 5  of  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a view along  6 — 6  of  FIG. 5 ; 
       FIG. 7  is the same as  FIG. 3 , but with the drawer opened beyond the detent of the safety latch; and 
       FIG. 8  is the same as  FIG. 7 , but with the drawer closed beyond the detent of the safety latch. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The engaging arm  20  has a top surface including front and rear ramps  26 ,  28 , which are collinear, and a trough  30  between the two ramps  26 ,  28 . The trough  30  has substantially straight front and rear walls and defines an upward opening. Both of the ramps  26 ,  28  terminate short of that upward opening in a vertical plane, leaving the upward opening free to receive the front face of the cabinet, so the trough receives and abuts the front face of the cabinet and stops the travel of the drawer both when the drawer is opening and when the drawer is closing. As is explained in more detail later, the trough  30  has a depth which permits it to engage the front face of the cabinet  34  (see  FIG. 3 ). The top surface of the front ramp  26  tapers from a lower elevation in front to a higher elevation in back, where it meets the trough  30 . The top surface of the rear ramp  28  tapers from a higher elevation in front, where it meets the trough  30 , to a lower elevation in back. 
   The vertical leg  12  has an inside face  14 , a flat outside face  16 , and a top surface  18 . In this embodiment  10 , there is an adhesive strip adhered to the outside face  16 , including a peel-off protective sheet  24 , which covers the adhesive strip until the user is ready to install the safety latch  10  in the drawer  22 , at which time he peels off the protective sheet  24  to expose the adhesive surface in order to adhere the vertical leg  12  to the side of the drawer  22 . 
     FIGS. 1–8  show a drawer safety latch  10  made in accordance with the present invention. Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  4 ,  5 , and  6 , the safety latch  10  is a substantially “L” shaped body (seen best in  FIG. 6 ), including a vertical leg  12 , a horizontal leg  36  projecting inwardly from said vertical leg  12 , and an engaging arm  20  projecting forward from said horizontal leg  36 . The vertical leg  12  lies in one plane, and the engaging arm  20  extends along a second plane that is parallel to and offset from the vertical leg. 
   The engaging arm  20  is cantilevered from the horizontal leg  36 , and pivots upwardly and downwardly parallel to the vertical leg  12  by means of flexing of the latch material between the engaging arm  20  and the horizontal leg  36 . The engaging arm  20  may be deflected by pushing it down until the apex  38  of the second ramp  28  is below the cross bar  32 , allowing the drawer to open. The engaging arm  20  is naturally biased to spring back up when it is not being deflected downwardly. 
   As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the cabinet  34  has a frame and a front face which includes the cross bar  32 . The front face defines an opening  46  through which the drawer  22  passes as it moves forward and backward relative to the cabinet  34 . The front face and its cross bar  32  have a front-to-back depth, and the trough  30  on the latch  10  is deep enough to receive the cross bar  32 . The drawer  22  has left and right sides  23 ,  25  and a bottom  27 . 
   The safety latch  10  is mounted inside of the drawer  22  such that the outside face  16  of the vertical leg  12  of the safety latch  10  lies against the inside surface  42  of the left side  23  of the drawer  22 . The protective sheet  24  has been peeled off of the outside face  16 , allowing the vertical leg  12  to be adhered to the side  23  of the drawer  22 . To facilitate the installation, the safety latch  10  is mounted such that the upper surface  18  of the vertical leg  12  is parallel to, and flush with, the upper edge  44  of the side  23  of the drawer  22 . 
   As seen in  FIG. 8 , as the drawer  22  is first opened, the cross bar  32  portion of the front face of the cabinet  34  bears down on the front ramp  26  of the engaging arm  20 . The ramp  26  rides along the cross bar  32 , flexing the engaging arm  20  further and further downwardly as the drawer  22  is pulled out, until the trough  30  reaches the cross bar  32 . At that point, the engaging arm  20  snaps back and receives the cross bar  32  within the trough  30  (as seen in  FIG. 3 ). Now, the rear vertical surface of the trough  30  abuts the rear surface of the cross bar  32 , preventing any forward movement of the drawer  22 , and the front vertical surface of the trough  30  abuts the front surface of the cross bar  32 , preventing rearward movement of the drawer  22 . Thus, in this position, the latch  10  prevents the drawer  22  from moving inwardly or outwardly. 
   In order to open or close the drawer  22  from the position shown in  FIG. 3 , the user pushes down on the front ramp  26  of the safety latch  10  until the respective ramp  26  or  28  clears the bottom  46  of the cross bar  32 , and then, while the safety latch  10  is in this downwardly deflected position, the user pulls or pushes on the drawer  22  to further open or close the drawer  22 . 
   If the drawer  22  is opened, so that the entire latch  10  is forward of the cross bar  32 , then, as the drawer  22  is pushed closed, the cross bar  32  bears down on the rear ramp  28 , again causing the engaging arm  20  to flex downwardly. Again, as soon as the drawer  22  is closed enough that the trough  30  reaches the cross bar  32  (as seen in  FIG. 3 ), the engaging arm  20  snaps back up to receive the cross bar  32  within the trough  30 , preventing any further movement of the drawer  22  in the forward or rearward direction. Once again, the user pushes down on the front of the engaging arm  20  to release the cross bar  32  from the trough before opening or closing the drawer any further. 
   In this preferred embodiment  10 , the safety latch  10  is made as a single piece from a strong and flexible material, such as plastic, such that the engaging arm  20  may be readily deflected downwardly when acted upon by either the cross bar  32  or by the user, and such that it also will snap back upwardly when it is released. 
   The safety latch  10  may typically be installed as close as possible to the front face of the drawer  22  such that the drawer  22  opens just far enough for the user to be able to push down on the front ramp  26  of the safety latch  10  to disengage the engaging arm  20 , but not far enough for a hand to reach into the drawer  22  and grab or pull out any of its contents. The distance between the front face of the drawer and the front face of the cabinet when the latch is latched, as shown in  FIG. 3 , should be great enough that a child&#39;s fingers will not be pinched between the drawer and the cabinet when the drawer is in the latched position. 
   The embodiment described above shows a simple and effective arrangement for providing a safety latch for a drawer which prevents a child from getting access to the contents of the drawer and prevents the child from pinching his fingers in the drawer. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the embodiment described above without departing from the scope of the present invention.