Underhanging drawer system

A slidable drawer system is provided for mounting below a stationary shelf or cupboard which does not require later support or side rails, but rather utilizes guide rails which receive flanges extending outwardly from the tops of the sidewalls. Thus, the guide rails are mounted directly to the bottom of the shelf or are spaced from the bottom surface in the case of cupboards with an underhang. A resilient finger is provided on the guide rail to engage with the rear wall of the drawer to prevent accidental disengagement of the drawer from the rails while permitting selective disengagement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a drawer system and more specifically to a 
sliding drawer or shelf mounted on rails beneath a cabinet or fixed shelf. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
In many kitchens, bathrooms and other rooms cupboards and cabinets are 
utilized for storing various items and generally the shelves on which the 
items are stored are fixed horizontally rather than being slidable with 
respect to the cabinet or frame of the shelf unit. Where slidable shelves 
or drawers are provided, generally side rails are utilized for the shelf 
to slide on which require that there be some lateral support for carrying 
the rails. 
In some shelf units, the shelves are spaced quite widely and the entire 
area between shelves is not utilized. Also, in cabinet and shelf units 
which are suspended on a wall above the floor or above a counter surface, 
the space below the cabinet or shelf unit may not be completely utilized. 
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a shelf or drawer unit which could 
be attached to areas of inadequate utilization to increase the storage 
capacity of the cupboard or shelf unit. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides for a slidable drawer or shelf system which 
can be attached to the underside of a shelf or the underside of a cabinet 
unit, even if the cabinet unit has an underhang. The system includes a 
pair of rails which are to be secured to the underside of the shelf or 
cabinet to receive the sliding drawer or shelf member. Spacers are 
provided in the event that the cabinet has an underhang in order to space 
the rails to extend below the underhang. The drawer or shelf member has 
side walls with a top flanged surface to slidingly engage with the rails. 
The drawer or shelf unit also has a rear wall which prevents items from 
being pushed through the back of the drawer or shelf unit, especially 
while it is being slid forwardly to a more accessible position. Also, the 
rails are provided with a downwardly sloped projecting finger which 
engages with the rear wall to provide a positive stop to prevent the 
drawer or shelf unit from being slid completely out of the rails. The 
finger is resilient and can be manually displaced to allow for complete 
removal of the drawer or shelf unit. 
Thus, the present invention provides for a storage system which can be 
utilized to increase the storage capacity of existing cupboards and shelf 
units.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In FIG. 1 there is shown a slidable underhanging drawer system generally at 
10 which includes a slidable drawer member 12 mounted beneath a cupboard 
14. The mounting arrangement is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 2, 3 and 
4. 
In FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 it is seen that the drawer unit 12 has a bottom wall 
16, opposed side walls 18, 20 a rear wall 22 and a forwardly sloping front 
wall 24. The bottom wall 16 is reinforced by supporting ribs 26 to 
increase the rigidity and strength of the drawer unit 12. The side walls 
18, 20 have an outwardly projecting flange 28 at an upper end 29 thereof. 
The top end 29 of the side walls as well as a top end 30 of the rear wall 
22 and a top end 31 of the front wall 24 are coplaner to thus provide a 
flush top perimeter of the drawer unit. 
The front wall 24 extends downwardly to a bottom edge 32 coplaner with the 
support ribs 26 and below a bottom surface 33 of the bottom wall 16. Thus, 
a lip 34 is formed just behind the bottom edge 32 of the front wall to 
assist in grasping and sliding the drawer 10 without requiring knobs or 
handles on the front wall. Also, the front wall 24 extends laterally 
beyond the side walls 18, 20 to be even with the flanges 28. A short side 
wall 35 leading from the front wall 24 back toward the side walls 18, 20 
terminates at an end 36 of the flanges 28 providing a stop to prevent 
excessive rearward movement of the drawer. Besides providing a stop 
function, the extra width of the front wall allows two or more drawer 
units to be mounted closely adjacent to one another without unsightly gaps 
between the units as shown in FIG. 1. 
A pair of rails 37, 38, being left and right-hand rails, respectively are 
provided to engage and hold the flanges 28 of the drawer system. As shown 
in FIG. 3, the rail 37 has a vertical support portion 40 including a 
supporting rib 42 along a bottom edge of the rail and a horizontally 
projecting ledge 44 on which the flange 28 slides. A plurality of 
horizontal mounting pads 45 project inwardly above the ledges 44 and are 
spaced above gaps 46 in the ledges. The mounting pads each have apertures 
48 therethrough to receive fastening means such as screws 50. The aperture 
48 is formed such that the fastening member 50 can be countersunk into the 
pad 45 such that the fastening member 50 will not project into the space 
between the pad 45 and the ledge 44. Thus, the flange 28 of the drawer 
unit 12 is free to slide on the ledge 44 without restriction up to the 
stop formed by the extending side wall 35. 
As shown in FIG. 2, the cupboard 14 has an underhang 52 which is a front 
trim board extending downwardly below a bottom surface 54 of the cupboard 
14. In order to permit the drawer unit 12 to slide forwardly beyond the 
front of the cupboard, the rails 37, 38 must be spaced below the bottom 
surface 54 of the cupboard 14. To provide this spacing there are a 
plurality of spacers 56, each to be used in conjunction with the fastening 
members 50. The spacers are provided in the form of a tube which can be 
cut to size to meet the particular needs by the installer of the drawer 
unit. 
It is important that the spacers 56 remain rigid when the fastening member 
50 compresses the spacer 56 when it is fully inserted. As shown in FIG. 7, 
the cross-sectional view of the spacer 56 shows that the spacer is a 
cylindrical tube with a central passage 58 therethrough for receiving the 
fastener 50. The annular wall of the spacer is relatively thick compared 
to the passage 58. Within the wall there are a plurality of smaller 
passages 60 which permit the usage of a lesser amount of material for the 
spacer without interferring with the strength and rigidity of the spacer 
itself. 
FIG. 5 is a side sectional view from the interior of the drawer unit 12 
showing the operation of a safety stop mechanism. Projecting downwardly 
and rearwardly from the front mounting pad 45 is a resilient finger 62 
which is engagable with the rear wall 22 of the drawer unit 12. Thus, as 
the drawer unit 12 is slid forwardly, the fingers 62 engage the rear wall 
22 preventing complete forward movement of the drawer unit 12 thus 
preventing accidental disengagement of the shelf from the rails. The 
fingers 62 are resilient and can be pushed upwardly to disengage the rear 
wall when it is specifically desired to completely remove the drawer unit 
12 from the rails. 
Also as seen in FIG. 6, the aperture 48 for receiving the fastening members 
50 in the left hand rail 37 is formed in an oval extending transversely of 
the length of the rail to permit slight lateral adjustment of the rail 
after it has been loosely secured to the cabinet 14 and prior to complete 
and secure attachment. 
Shown in FIG. 8 is a slidable shelf unit 64 which differs from the slidable 
drawer unit 12 only in the configuration of the front wall. The slidable 
drawer unit 12 has a solid front wall 24 extending the entire width and 
height of the drawer unit. The shelf unit 64 has a large opening 66 at its 
front end resulting in only a thin border lip 68 extending across the 
width of the bottom of the shelf and up the two sides. Thus, the shelf 
unit 64 permits access to the shelf without sliding the shelf forwardly, 
and provides increased access to the shelf when the drawer is slid 
forward. In all other respects, the shelf unit 64 operates identically to 
the drawer unit 12. 
The shelf and drawer units can be fabricated in any desirable width in that 
the rails are each attached separately and are therefore not affected by 
the width of the drawer or shelf units. Also, a plurality of drawer or 
shelf unit systems can be positioned laterally adjacent one another to 
provide a series of separate storage areas. 
As is apparent from the foregoing specification, the invention is 
susceptible of being embodied with various alterations and modifications 
which may differ particularly from those that have been described in the 
preceeding specification and description. It should be understood that I 
wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such 
modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of my 
contribution to the art.