Abstract:
An integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock provides a front piece having apertures for receipt of a cabinet door or drawer lock and a human hand. Optionally, a wire pull handle can be provided. A backing plate having a transverse lip thereon is adapted for telescoping interaction with the front piece. A cabinet door or drawer having a portion cut out therefrom for receipt of the integrated handle and lock is clamped between the front piece and backing plate such as by screws. Multiple locks can be incorporated into the integrated structure.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The invention relates to cabinet door and drawer handles and locks. More specifically, the invention relates to handles and locks for use with particle board cabinet doors and drawers. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A wide variety of cabinet door and drawer locks are currently available in this well developed art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,619 to Martin entitled “Speed Release Mechanism for Cylinder and Plug Assembly for Use with Cabinet Locks” issued Jun. 16, 1992, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention illustrates one example of an advanced cabinet door and drawer lock. Locks of this type typically have a substantially rectangular bolt housing in which resides a retractable deadbolt. A cylinder and plug assembly conventionally resides in a cylindrical cylinder and plug assembly housing which itself extends forwardly from the bolt housing. The bolt housing is typically mounted to the back side of a cabinet door or drawer by screws or the like, while the cylinder and plug assembly housing protrudes through a circular aperture in the cabinet door or drawer. The bolt is retracted or extended by inserting a key into the cylinder and plug assembly and rotating the key. A strike plate may be provided on the opposing cabinet door or adjacent drawer jamb in the case of a cabinet drawer. 
     Deadlocking latch-locks suitable for use in cabinet door and drawer applications are also known, and a lock of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,652 entitled “Pin Tumbler Cabinet Door and Drawer Deadlocking Latch-lock” issued on Aug. 19, 1997, also assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In that patented design, the external configuration of the lock is substantially identical to that shown with respect to the deadbolt style cabinet door and drawer lock. However, the bolt of the deadlocking latch-lock is split into a main bolt having a curved surface and an adjacent deadlocking bolt also having a similarly curved profile. This structure permits the lock to be “latched” into place merely by closing the cabinet door or drawer. If the deadlocking bolt portion remains depressed by the adjacent jamb portion of the structure to be locked, then the main bolt remains locked in an extended position until retracted by operation of a key. Thus, in this type of lock a key is not required to close the door or drawer having the deadlocking latch-lock. 
     Considering the highly developed state of the prior art, additional advances in cabinet door and drawer lock technology have typically been driven by changes in structure external to the lock itself. For example, solid wood has become increasingly scarce as a raw material for cabinetry. Due to the increasing cost of such virgin raw materials, combination fiber board in the form of wood fibers embedded in a plastic resin have replaced sheets or panels of solid wood. For aesthetic purposes, this type of “press board” is typically faced on one or both sides with a plastic laminate or veneer. Unfortunately, composite structures of this type have far lower tensile strength than the hard woods such as oak and the semi-hard woods such as spruce, fir and fruit woods which were previously employed in cabinet structures. Thus, a need exists for a cabinet door and drawer lock which can accommodate the lower tensile strength and screw retention capabilities of composite “press board” cabinet doors and drawers. 
     In addition, the recent adoption of the Americans With Disabilities Act (hereinafter “ADA”) has also necessitated changes with respect to handle and door pull designs for cabinet doors and drawers. When applied to composite “press board” cabinet doors and drawers, such handles suffer from the same screw retention and force concentration problems associated with prior art cabinet door and drawer locks mounted on press board surfaces. Thus, a need exists for a cabinet door and drawer handle and pull which is adaptable to composite wood structures. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cabinet door and drawer lock which can accommodate the lower tensile strength and screw retention capabilities of composite “press board” cabinet doors and drawers. 
     It is a further object of the invention to achieve the above object with a cabinet door and drawer handle and pull which is adaptable to composite wood structures. 
     The invention achieves these objects, and other objects and advantages which will become apparent from the description which follows, by providing an integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock for receipt in a cutaway portion of a cabinet door or drawer manufactured from a composite wood fiber/resin material. In the preferred embodiment, the integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock has a front piece consisting of a main body portion and a substantially planar face plate portion defining a cylinder housing aperture for receiving the cylinder housing portion of a cabinet door and drawer lock, and a handle aperture for receiving a user&#39;s fingers when used as a cabinet door or drawer pull. The face plate portion has at least three laterally extending flanges and a rearwardly-directed, transversely extending lip portion positioned on an edge of the face plate portion and spaced apart from the main body portion. The preferred embodiment also includes a substantially planar backing plate which when used in conjunction with the front piece clamps the lock onto a cutout portion of a composite cabinet door or drawer. The backing plate preferably has a transversely extending lip portion corresponding to the lip portion on the front piece, so that the respective lip portions engage one another in a telescoping, sliding relationship. In this way, different thicknesses of composite cabinet door and drawer materials can be accommodated while the flanges on the front piece and the backing plate essentially clamp the portions of the cabinet door or drawer adjacent to the main body portion so as to spread out forces transferred from the integrated handle and lock to the entire adjacent surface of the cabinet door or drawer. This structure avoids the concentration of forces on screw holes in the composite material typically relied on for mounting prior art locks. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the handle aperture in the face plate is narrower than the corresponding handle aperture in the main body portion so as to define a hidden pull surface for the user&#39;s fingers behind the face plate. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the main body and face plate portions of the front piece further define a second cylinder housing aperture for receipt of a cylinder housing portion of a second cabinet door and drawer lock which can be of the latch-lock type. 
     The integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock optionally includes a wire pull handle connected to the front piece. The wire pull handle has a substantially straight portion suspended in a spaced apart relationship from the handle aperture on the front piece. The wire pull handle can be laterally positioned either adjacent to the handle aperture or directly above the handle aperture. 
     In yet another alternate embodiment of the invention, the structure of the integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock can be provided without any aperture for cabinet door or drawer locks, and without the optional wire pull handle to present a “dummy” handle used in door and drawer applications. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of an integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock of the present invention applied to a cabinet drawer. 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged, perspective view of the cabinet door and drawer handle and lock shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded, rear isometric view of a front piece and backing plate of the invention removed from an exemplary cabinet drawer or door. 
     FIG. 5 is a isometric, environmental view of an alternate embodiment of the invention employing both a standard deadlocking cabinet drawer lock as well as a deadlocking latch-lock in an integrated cabinet door and drawer handle end lock. 
     FIG. 6 is a second alternate embodiment of the invention employed as a cabinet door and drawer handle alone. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, is generally indicated at reference numeral  10  in FIG.  1 . The integrated handle and lock  10  is shown applied to a drawer  12  of an exemplary cabinet  14 , such as a counter at a bank teller window or the like. 
     The preferred embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 includes a front piece  16  adapted for telescoping interconnection with a backing plate  18 . The front piece  16  has a face plate portion  20  defining a circular cylinder and plug assembly aperture  22  for receiving a cylinder and plug assembly portion  24  of a conventional deadlocking cabinet door and drawer lock  26 . A suitable cabinet door and drawer lock is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,619 to Martin entitled “Speed Release Mechanism for Cylinder and Plug Assembly for Use with Cabinet Locks” issued Jun. 16, 1992, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The face plate portion  20  also defines an elongated, rectangular handle aperture  28  for receipt of a user&#39;s fingers (not shown) for pulling open the drawer  12 , as will be described further hereinbelow. 
     As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the face plate  20  generally defines a substantially planar surface and reference plane from which extends in a transverse and rearwardly direction a main body portion  30 . The main body portion defines a cavity for a main body portion cylinder housing aperture  32  which corresponds to and is in registration with the face plate cylinder and plug aperture  22  for receiving the conventional cabinet door and drawer lock  26 . Threaded screw holes  34  are provided for mounting a bolt housing portion  36  of the deadlocking cabinet door and drawer lock  26  to the main body portion  30 . In addition, the main body portion  30  defines a main body handle aperture  38  which corresponds to, is aligned with, and is in registration with the face plate handle aperture  28 . Both the main body and face plate handle apertures  28 ,  38  have a preferred length of approximately 3.670 inch. The main body handle aperture has a preferred height or width of approximately 1.397 inch. However, the face plate handle aperture  28  has a preferred height or width of only 0.870 inch providing a pull surface  40 , shown in FIG. 4, having a width of approximately one-half inch for a user&#39;s fingers. This difference between the width of the main body handle aperture  38  and face plate handle aperture  28  leaves a void generally indicated at reference numeral  44  of approximately 0.870 inch. The face plate  16  preferably has a thickness of approximately 0.210 inch, while the main body portion  30  typically has a depth of approximately 0.750 inch such that the entire depth of the face plate and main body handle apertures is approximately 0.960 inch. 
     The face plate portion  20  further defines left, right and bottom flanges  46 ,  48  and  50 , respectively, which extend laterally from and with respect to the main body portion  30 . Each flange extends laterally approximately 0.025 inch from the main body portion  30 . An upper portion  52  of the face plate portion  20 , best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, is provided with a rearwardly directed, transverse lip  54  for mating with a corresponding lip  56  on the backing plate  18 . The lip  54  on the face plate portion  20  extends rearwardly approximately 0.125 inch and is spaced away from an upper sidewall  58  of the main body portion  30  a distance of approximately 0.063 inch, so as to form a pocket  60  having a depth of approximately 0.125 inch for telescopically receiving a reduced thickness portion  62  of the lip  56  on the backing plate  18 . The lip  56  has a main portion  64  having a depth of approximately 0.500 inch, while the reduced thickness portion  62  has a depth of approximately 0.125 inch so as to reside within the pocket  60  in a telescoping manner. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4 the backing plate  18  and front piece  16  can accommodate drawers  12  and/or cabinet doors having a thickness ranging from approximately 0.875 inch to approximately 1.000 inch. 
     The backing plate  18  is provided with a main plate portion  66  substantially transverse to the lip  56 . The main plate portion  66  is at least longitudinally and laterally coextensive with the face plate portion  20  of the front piece  16 . The main plate portion also defines an aperture  67  for receipt of the cabinet drawer lock  26 . Furthermore, the flanges  46 ,  48  and  50  on the face plate portion  20  laterally extend from the main body portion  30  of the front piece  16  a distance of at least 0.25 inch. Thus, by providing the cabinet drawer  12  with a cutout generally indicated at reference numeral  68  defining cutout sidewalls  70  having dimensions selected to closely approximate corresponding dimensions of the main body portion  30  of the front piece  16 , the flanges  46 ,  48  and  50  can clamp the integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock  10  to adjacent surfaces of the cabinet drawer  12  when the front piece  16  and backing plate  18  are assembled together with screws  72  or the like as seen in FIG.  3 . The screws  72  are received in corresponding, threaded screw holes  74  in the main body portion  30 . The main plate portion  66  is further provided with screw holes  75  for passage therethrough of shanks of the screws  72 . 
     As will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, the integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock  10  advantageously distributes tensile loads across a broad surface area of the cabinet drawer  12 . As best seen in FIG. 3, modern cabinetry often employs composite wood structures consisting of a wood fiber/polymer resin matrix core  76  veneered with thermoplastic surfaces  78 , commonly sold under the Formica name. Structures of this type cannot withstand concentrated tensile loads as high as those which can be withstood by hardwoods such as oak and medium soft woods such as fir, spruce, and fruit woods. In addition, cabinet door and drawer manufacturers have the option of merely providing the cabinet door or drawer  12  with the appropriate cutout  68  at the factory without having to install the cabinet door/drawer locks and pull hardware at the factory. Rather, the manufacturer can merely ship the cabinetry with the cutout  68  and the purchaser of the cabinetry can install the inventive integrated cabinet drawer and door handle and lock  10  on site without having to modify the cabinetry itself. Finally, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thermoplastic laminate surfaces  78  cannot be cut at 90° angles or chipping will result. Thus, both the particle board core  76  and the laminate surface  78  are typically radiused at corners  80  to maintain warranties on these products. The main body portion  30  preferably also has corresponding corners  82  having a radius of approximately 0.250 inch to closely match the shape of the corners  80  in the cabinet doors/drawers  12 . In this manner, tensile loads are evenly distributed throughout all points of contact between the integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock  10  and adjacent surfaces of the cabinet door or drawer  12  without concentrating stresses or tensile loads at any point in the surrounding structure. 
     An alternate embodiment of the invention is generally indicated at reference numeral  10 ′ in FIG.  5 . In this alternate embodiment like reference numerals refer to correspondingly numbered structures of the preferred embodiment  10  shown in FIGS. 1 through 4. This alternate embodiment  10 ′ includes a second cylinder and plug assembly aperture  90  for receiving a cylinder and plug assembly  22 ′ of a second cabinet drawer and door lock  26 ′. However, in this alternate embodiment, the preferred cabinet door and drawer lock  26 ′ is of the deadlocking latch-lock variety shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,652 to Martin entitled “Pin Tumbler Cabinet Door and Drawer Deadlocking Latch-lock” is sued on Aug. 19, 1997, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by this reference. This type of lock includes a main bolt  92 , having a curved rear surface, and an adjacent deadlocking bolt  94 , also having a curved rear surface. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the conventional deadlocking cabinet door and drawer lock  26  has a main bolt  96  which can only be actuated by operation of a key to the retracted to extended positions or vice versa. In contrast, the deadlocking latch-lock  26 ′ can retract both its main and deadlocking bolts  92 ,  94 , merely by closing the drawer  12  against a strike plate (not shown) on the adjacent cabinet structure. Only at that point is a key necessary to retract the main bolt  92  to reopen the drawer  12 . Thus, the alternate embodiment of the integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock  10 ′ shown in FIG. 5 has significant utility where two different individuals, each having differing security clearances, require access to the drawer  12 . For example, in a casino environment the dealer can be provided with a key which only actuates the deadlocking latch-lock  26 ′ so that he or she can close and lock the drawer  12  whenever away from the gaming table without using a key. However, the pit boss can be provided with a different key for actuating the deadlocking cabinet door and drawer lock  26  (the lock shown on the right hand side of FIG. 5) which will exclude access to the drawer  12 , even to the dealer. 
     In both the preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention, the integrated cabinet door and drawer handle and lock  10  and  10 ′ can be provided with a wire pull handle  100  to meet requirements of the Americans With Disability Act (hereinafter “ADA”). As best seen in FIG. 4, the main body portion  30  of the front piece  16  is provided with bores for receipt of hex head bolts (not shown) for securing the handle  100  to both the preferred and alternate embodiments  10  and  10 ′. In the conventional manner, the handle  100  has leg portions  112  which permit the handle to stand off from the face plate portion  20 . Although the handle  100  is shown laterally displaced with respect to the face plate handle aperture  28 , the handle  100  and bores  110  may alternately be repositioned so as to place the handle  100  directly above the handle aperture  28 . 
     An additional alternate embodiment of the invention is generally indicated at  10 ″ in FIG. 5 In this embodiment, the front piece  16 ″ does not have any cylinder and plug assembly apertures in the face plate portion  20 ″. Thus, when mated with the backing plate  18  in the manner shown in FIG. 6 the alternate embodiment  10 ″ serves as a “dummy handle” for use on a cabinet door or drawer where a lock is not required, or for aesthetic symmetry when used on cabinets having two adjacent, open doors. 
     Alternate embodiments of the above disclosed embodiments of the invention are contemplated. For example, all of the embodiments shown on the figures are shown in so-called “left hand” versions when applied to cabinet doors. Obviously, the lateral orientation of the handle apertures  28 ,  38  can be repositioned with respect to the front piece  16  to render a “right hand” version. Furthermore, any of the lock embodiments  10 ,  10 ′ and  10 ″ may be further secured to the door on drawer  12  of the cabinet  14  by additional screws (not shown) inserted through securing screw holes  118  to resist movement of the lock  10 ,  10 ′ and  10 ″ in the direction of arrow  120  in FIG.  4 . Thus, the invention is not to be limited by the above disclosure, but is to be determined in scope by the claims which follow.