# Patent

## Title
Drawer wall element

## Abstract

A drawer wall element for a drawer. An edge portion of a drawer base can be installed thereon, forming a drawer side wall. The drawer wall element comprises a profiled wall part and a profiled base-receiving part. A support surface is present on the profiled base-receiving part. The profiled wall part comprises a chamber portion having inner and outer wall sheet metal portions, spaced from one another in an opposing manner across a width of the drawer wall element and connected by a bent section. A bearing portion is angled upwards towards the support surface. A web portion is provided on the profiled base-receiving part above and spaced from the support surface. At least one freely resilient tab protrudes past the support surface or the side of the web portion facing the support surface.

## Background
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/EP2014/077504 filed Dec. 12, 2014, which designated the United States, and claims the benefit under 35 USC §119(a)-(d) of German Application No. 20 2013 011 426.6 filed Dec. 20, 2013, the entireties of which are incorporated herein by reference.


FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a drawer wall element and to a piece of furniture.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A very wide range of different embodiments of drawer wall elements are known in the field of furniture making. Here, a drawer wall element made of metal is used particularly for furniture for which an increased load-bearing capability is anticipated. Here, the wall element can be brought into a comparatively robust form for example from a metal sheet by punching and bending. In comparison to the processing of other materials, a metal drawer wall element can be produced with relatively high precision.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a drawer wall element for the economical and qualitatively stable production of drawers.
The starting point of the present invention lies in a drawer wall element for a drawer, on which an edge portion of a drawer base can be installed in order to form a drawer side wall adjoining the drawer base. Here, the drawer wall element comprises a profiled wall part and a profiled base-receiving part, wherein a support surface which is present on the profiled base-receiving part is provided on the drawer wall element in order to support the underside of a drawer base which can be installed on the drawer wall element, and wherein the profiled wall part comprises a chamber portion having an inner wall sheet metal portion and an outer wall sheet metal portion, which are distanced from one another in an opposing manner across a width dimension of the drawer wall element and are connected by a bent section.
The core of the present invention lies in that a bearing portion is provided which is angled upwards towards the support surface, and in that a web portion is provided on the profiled base-receiving part above and at a distance from the support surface, the web portion adjoining the bearing portion by means of a bent material section, wherein at least one freely resilient tab which protrudes past the surface of the support surface or the side of the web portion facing the support surface is provided in the support surface and/or in the web portion.
The edge portion of the drawer base is engaged here on opposite sides with the support surface and the web portion, between which the edge portion of the drawer base can be clamped. The support surface and the web portion are arranged for this purpose in a manner largely overlapping one another in a direction perpendicular to the support surface. The profiled base-receiving part can extend over an entire length of the drawer wall element in the longitudinal direction thereof or over part of the entire length. When a profiled base-receiving part extends only over part of the length of the drawer wall element, the drawer wall element can have a plurality of profiled base-receiving parts, for example two or three.
Due to the freely resilient tab, which is raised from the support surface or the web portion, a pressing force can be ensured when a thickness of the drawer base varies, for example as a result of deviations during production. A raised arrangement of the freely resilient tab is intended here to mean that an upper side of the tab on the support surface protrudes past the support surface and that, in the event that the tab is formed on the web portion, the underside of the tab protrudes downwards from a web bearing surface of the web portion. As a result of a distance between a raised surface of the tab and a surrounding surface provided by the support surface or the web portion, the profiled base-receiving part can be advantageously adapted for example to deviations of a thickness of a drawer base and for example to a desired clamping force for holding the drawer base.
This provides the advantage that the profiled base-receiving part can hold an edge portion of the drawer base on opposite sides thereof. Here, the profiled base-receiving part can be advantageously adapted with the aid of the raised and freely resilient tab to a varying thickness of drawer bases, which variations can occur for example due to production.
The bearing portion can be provided as a stop in the event of installation, for example by pressing the profiled base-receiving part against the edge portion of the drawer base. The tab can thus be positioned at a safe distance from a side edge of the drawer base in order to prevent the drawer base from springing out, for example immediately following insertion of the drawer base into the profiled base-receiving part.
The web portion preferably bridges a distance, for example the width dimension, between the outer wall sheet metal portion and the inner wall sheet metal portion. Here, the chamber portion can be at least partially closed by the web portion, for example on an underside of the chamber portion. Here, a greater base surface can be provided in the storage space.
A preferred embodiment lies in the fact that the bearing portion bears against the outer wall sheet metal portion. Additional support and rigidity can thus be provided in the region in which the outer wall sheet metal portion bears against the bearing portion. Where appropriate, the profiled base-receiving part and the profiled wall part are fastened to one another in the region of the bearing portion, for example by means of a welded joint and/or for example a riveted joint, for example in order to increase the stability of the drawer wall element. Here, an offset, in particular a step-like offset, can be formed on the bearing portion, by means of which the bearing portion can be supported on a stepped profiled portion on the outer wall sheet metal part.
The bearing portion is preferably flat, whereby a narrow side of the drawer base can bear flush against the bearing portion.
For economical production, the tab is preferably freely punched from the material of the profiled base-receiving part. In addition, a tab can be attached for example by riveting and for example by welding to the profiled base-receiving part.
A bent section can be formed on the tab, by means of which bent section the tab is pressed against an adjacent drawer base. An elasticity can thus be adapted to a variation of the thickness of the drawer base. Here, it is particularly preferable when the tab has an S-shaped bent section between a connection to the profiled base-receiving part and a freely protruding end. The tab can thus bear flat against the drawer base.
It is additionally preferable for the tab to have an eyelet at a freely protruding end in order to pass through a fastening element. A drawer base can thus advantageously be prevented from shifting parallel to a support surface.
The eyelets on the tab can be formed as a slot, for example so as to be able to compensate for tolerances in the position of a mounting hole on the drawer base.
In addition, it is preferable for the tab to be connected to a portion of the profiled base-receiving part disposed perpendicularly to the support surface, in particular is connected continuously to the bearing portion. It is thus possible advantageously to prevent the base-receiving portion from being pushed away from the underside of the drawer base.
A counter holding element can be formed on the profiled base-receiving part, which counter holding element is arranged on a surface opposite the tab and protruding in the direction of the tab.
The profiled base-receiving part can be hidden by the outer wall sheet metal portion of the profiled wall part, at least from the support surface and above the support surface.
It is also preferable for the web portion to be supported on the inner wall sheet metal portion.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be explained hereinafter on the basis of an exemplary embodiment and with the aid of drawings, which are not to scale. The reference signs are used consistently in all Figs. for the same features. In the Figs.:
FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a drawer wall element according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of a profiled base-receiving part,
FIG. 3 shows a schematic side view of an end face of the profiled base-receiving part,
FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of an end face parallel along a longitudinal axis of the drawer wall element in a sectional illustration, and
FIG. 5 shows a schematic perspective view of a detail of the drawer wall element.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a drawer wall element 1 according to the present invention. The drawer wall element 1 comprises a profiled wall part 3 and two profiled base-receiving parts 2, wherein one of the profiled base-receiving parts 2 is arranged on a front-side end face 1a and one of the profiled base-receiving parts 2 is arranged on a rear-side end face 1b of the drawer wall element 1. A rear-wall connector 4 can also be mounted on the rear-side end face 1b of the drawer wall element 1.
The profiled wall part 3 comprises an inner wall sheet metal portion 6, an upper side sheet metal portion 8, and an outer wall sheet metal portion 7. The inner wall sheet metal portion 6 and the outer wall sheet metal portion 7 are interconnected via the upper side sheet metal portion 8. Here, the upper side sheet metal portion 8 is connected to the outer wall sheet metal portion 7 by a bending edge 8a and to the inner wall sheet metal portion 6 by a bending edge 8b, whereby a connecting bent section is provided. The sheet metal portions 6, 7 and 8 are preferably produced from an individual continuous sheet metal part and are continuously interconnected.
An individual profiled base-receiving part 2 is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 with further details. The profiled base-receiving part 2 has a support portion 9, which is preferably intended to be arranged substantially horizontally, having a support surface 10, which is intended to support an underside 18a of a drawer base 18—as shown in FIG. 4. A lower profiled portion 14 is bent from the support portion 9, for example at right angles, by a bending edge 14a. A bending edge 9a connects the support portion 9 to a bearing portion 11.
The bearing portion 11 is divided by an offset portion 11c into a lower bearing portion 11a and into an upper bearing portion 11b. Here, the lower bearing portion 11a protrudes upwards in a first plane E. The upper portion 11b is arranged protruding upwardly, parallel to a second plane F. The offset portion 11c is bent in an S-shape and is arranged in a connecting manner between the lower and the upper bearing portion 11a and 11b. The bearing portion 11 is thus adapted to a cross-sectional profile of the outer wall sheet metal part 7.
The upper bearing portion 11b is delimited by a bending edge 11d, which preferably extends parallel to the bending edge 9a. As a result of the bending edge 11d, a web portion 12 can protrude from the upper bearing portion 11b, for example at right angles, in such a way that the web portion 12 is arranged above the support portion 9 and in particular parallel to the support portion 9. On a side of the web portion 12 opposite the bending edge 11d, a further bending edge 12a can be formed, at which a profiled portion 13 is bent in a manner protruding upwardly, in particular at right angles. Inclusive of the bending edges 11d and 12a, the web portion 12 can extend in a width dimension G, which coincides with a width dimension B of a chamber portion 5 in the drawer wall element 1. The width dimension B can be predefined for example by the profiled wall part 3, in particular by the upper side sheet metal portion 8 having the bending edges 8a and 8b. 
The support surface 10 is interrupted by a plurality of openings 15a-15d, at which the sheet metal material of the support portion 9 is interrupted. Here, a largely flat tab 16 provided in the form of a strip is freely punched at each of the openings 15b and 15d and is connected to the rest of the profiled base-receiving part via an S-shaped bent section. In the embodiment shown here both tabs are formed in the same way, wherein a plurality of tabs can also be formed differently in other embodiments not shown.
The S-shaped bent section 17 is formed uniformly in the exemplary embodiment as a connection of the tab 16 to the bending edge 14a parallel thereto. At least an upper side of the tab 16 facing the web portion 12 is raised here above the support surface 10. Here, the tab 16 is connected only indirectly to the support surface 10 via the bending edge 14a. With an attached drawer base 18, as shown in FIG. 4, deformations of the support portion 9 and of the S-shaped bent section 17 caused in the event of clamping of the drawer base can cooperate in such a way that the tab 16 advantageously bears flat against an underside 18a of the drawer base 18. Here, in particular, an inclination of the tab 16 relative to the support portion 9 and, where appropriate, inclinations of the tab 16 and of the support portion 9 with respect to the web portion 12 can be coordinated with one another in such a way that the tab 16 always bears flat, in particular parallel to the underside 18a of the drawer base 18, against different drawer bases 18 having different base thicknesses, within a predefined tolerance. A plane C of the upper side of the tab 16 and a plane A of the support surface 10 can therefore be inclined relative to one another. By way of example, without a clamped drawer base, the plane A can be arranged in a manner ascending from the bending edge 9a and the plane C can also ascend comparatively slightly from the bent section 17. It is thus advantageously ensured that an edge portion 18c of a drawer base 18 is always in frictional contact with the drawer wall element at increased pressure, at least in the region of the tabs 16.
An eyelet 19 is for example punched out on the tab 16 and is intended for a fastening of the drawer base 18 to the profiled base-receiving part 2, for example using a screw. Once the drawer base 18 has been installed between the web portion 12 and the support portion 9, the drawer base 18 can be prevented from shifting or slipping out from the profiled base-receiving part 2, for example by being screwed in place.
A protrusion 20 is formed on the web portion 12 and projects from an underside of the web portion 12 in the direction of the support surface 10. The protrusion 20 is arranged closer to the bending edge 11d than to the bending edge 12a. It can be seen in FIG. 5 that the protrusion 20 extends over a comparatively small portion of a longitudinal axis of the profiled base-receiving part 2.
FIG. 4 shows an arrangement of the profiled wall part 3 and the profiled base-receiving part 2 on the drawer wall element 1 with the inserted drawer base 18. The inner wall sheet metal part 6 is delimited downwardly by a U-shaped bending edge 6a, at which the inner wall sheet metal part 6 is bent inwardly. As a result of a further bending, a flat portion 6b is arranged horizontally inwardly in the direction of the outer wall sheet metal part 7. Here, the portion 6b is raised approximately by a bending radius of the U-shaped bending edge 6a compared with a lower edge of the inner wall sheet metal portion 6 at the bending edge 6a. 
The outer wall sheet metal part 7 protrudes via an outer portion 7a downwardly past the inner wall sheet metal part 6. Here, a folding edge 7b, against which a folding portion 7c of the outer wall sheet metal part 7 is driven so as to also bear in part against the portion 7a, forms a lower edge of the outer wall sheet metal part 7. As a result of S-shaped bent sections 7d and 7e, the folding portion 7c is distanced in part from the portion 7a in a plane parallel to the latter.
The profiled base-receiving part 2 is hung, so to speak, via the profiled portion 13 and the web portion 12 in the profiled wall part, wherein the web portion 12 and the profiled part 13 bear against a surface of the inner wall sheet metal portion 6 facing the chamber portion 5. Here, the web portion 12 lies on the horizontal portion 6b. The lower edge of the inner wall sheet metal part 6 at the U-shaped bent section 6a can thus press with the protrusion 20 on the web portion 12 against an upper side 18b of the drawer base 18. On account of the protrusion 20, the U-shaped bent section 6a and the tab 16, the drawer base 18 is fixed or held in position. The profiled portion 13 and the upper bearing portion 11b are held at a distance by means of the web portion 12, as a result of which the bearing sheet metal parts 6 and 7 are arranged in a parallel position to one another, at least from the upper side 18b of the drawer base 18 to the upper side sheet metal portion 8.
Below the offset portion 11c, the lower bearing portion 11a bears against the folding portion 7c. Here, the profiled base-receiving part can be fixed to the folding portion, for example by a welded joint or also for example by a riveted joint (not shown), wherein the fixing to the outer portion 7a would not be visible. The lower bearing portion 11a additionally forms a stop when the edge portion 18c of the drawer base 18 is inserted, whereby the edge region 18c projects over a majority of the width dimension B into the drawer wall element 1 and in so doing can stabilize the drawer wall element 1.
LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS


    1 drawer wall element
    1a front-side end face
    1b rear-side end face
    2 profiled base-receiving part
    3 profiled wall part
    4 rear-wall connector
    5 chamber portion
    6 inner wall sheet metal portion
    6a bending edge
    6b portion
    7 outer wall sheet metal portion
    7a outer portion
    7b folding edge
    7c folding portion
    7d S-bent section
    7e S-bent section
    8 upper side sheet metal portion
    8a bending edge
    8b bending edge
    9 support portion
    9a bending edge
    10 support surface
    11 bearing portion
    11a lower bearing portion
    11b upper bearing portion
    11c offset portion
    11d bending edge
    12 web portion
    12a bending edge
    13 profiled portion
    14 profiled portion
    14a bending edge
    15a opening
    15b opening
    15c opening
    15d opening
    16 tab
    17 bent section
    18 drawer base
    18a underside
    18b upper side
    18c edge region
    19 eyelet
    20 protrusion

## Claims

1. A drawer wall element for a drawer, on which an edge portion of a drawer base can be installed in order to form a drawer side wall adjoining the drawer base,
wherein the drawer wall element comprises a profiled wall part and a profiled base-receiving part,
wherein a support surface which is present on the profiled base-receiving part is provided on the drawer wall element in order to support the underside of the drawer base which can be installed on the drawer wall element,
and wherein the profiled wall part comprises a chamber portion having an inner wall sheet metal portion and an outer wall sheet metal portion, which are distanced from one another in an opposing manner across a width dimension of the drawer wall element and are connected by a bent section,
wherein a bearing portion is provided which is angled upwards towards the support surface, and wherein a web portion is provided on the profiled base-receiving part to face the support surface above and at a distance from the support surface, the web portion adjoining the bearing portion by means of a bent material section, and
wherein at least one freely resilient tab which protrudes past the surface of the support surface or the side of the web portion facing the support surface is provided in at least one of the support surface and in the web portion.

2. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the web portion bridges a distance between the outer wall sheet metal portion and the inner wall sheet metal portion.

3. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bearing portion bears against the outer wall sheet metal portion.

4. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bearing portion is flat.

5. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tab is freely punched from the material of the profiled base-receiving part.

6. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a bent section formed on the tab, by means of which bent section the tab is pressed against an adjacent drawer base.

7. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tab has a bent section between a connection to the profiled base-receiving part and a freely protruding end.

8. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tab has an eyelet at a freely protruding end for passing through a fastening element.

9. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 8, wherein the eyelet on the tab is formed as a slot.

10. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tab is continuously connected to a portion of the profiled base-receiving part disposed perpendicularly to the support surface.

11. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 10, wherein the tab is connected continuously to the bearing portion.

12. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a counter holding element formed on the profiled base-receiving part and arranged on a surface opposite the tab and protruding in the direction of the tab.

13. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the profiled base-receiving part is hidden by the outer wall sheet metal portion of the profiled wall part at least from the support surface and from above.

14. The drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the web portion is supported on the inner wall sheet metal portion.

15. A piece of furniture comprising a drawer wall element as claimed in claim 1.