Abstract:
A rectangular drawer has an upstanding partition extending between the drawer side walls and dividing the drawer into front and rear compartments. A rectangular tray has a bottom wall and upstanding front, rear and opposed side walls, the tray side walls having lateral flanges at their upper edges, slidably supported on upper edges of the drawer side walls for movement of the tray between an open and closed positions, respectively uncovering and covering one of the compartments. A key-actuated lock mechanism locks the tray to the partition in the closed position. In one embodiment, the lock mechanism is mounted forwardly of the tray and has a movable latch member movable into engagement in a slot in the partition and, in another embodiment, the latch mechanism is on the partition and the latch member moves into engagement with one of two different slots in the bottom wall of the tray, arranged so that the tray can be reversibly mounted.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/260,220, filed Jan. 8, 2001 now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The following disclosure relates to devices having one or more drawers and a sliding tray in one of the drawers, the sliding tray being adaptable for providing access to a lockable portion of the drawer and for locking into a position to prevent access to the lockable portion of the drawer. The following disclosure has particular application to apparatus and methods for providing a lockable storage space inside a drawer of a multiple-drawer cabinet. 
     Various types of multiple-drawer cabinets, such as cabinets for storing mechanics&#39; tools and the like, are provided with various apparatus for locking or otherwise securing the drawers to prevent theft. However, it is often necessary to leave such cabinets unlocked to allow others to have access to the tools and other devices stored therein. Nevertheless, the owner of the cabinet may have certain possessions in the cabinet that he wants to deny access to. Such possessions may include, for example, a wallet, keys, money, or other valuables or personal items that are sometimes stored during work hours. Other items may include particularly expensive tools, batteries, or a variety of other expensive, consumable, or hard-to-find items. 
     SUMMARY 
     The disclosed apparatus and method avoid some of the disadvantages of prior devices and methods while affording additional structural and operating advantages. 
     One form of the disclosed drawer has a lockable compartment comprising a portion of the drawer, closeable by a cover that comprises a sliding tray. 
     One form of the disclosed drawer has a lock coupled to the sliding tray and locked such that a lock bolt may be coupled to a partition or other part of the drawer. 
     In one embodiment, a drawer comprises a bottom wall, an upstanding peripheral wall structure integral with the bottom wall and having an upper edge, a partition extending across opposed portions of the peripheral wall structure for cooperation therewith and with the bottom wall to define a compartment, and a tray mountable on the peripheral wall structure for movement between an open position uncovering the compartment and a closed position covering the compartment, the tray having a bottom wall disposed below the upper edge of the peripheral wall structure. 
     The disclosed cabinet and lockable compartment comprise certain novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the disclosed drawer and lockable compartment. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the disclosed apparatus and method, there are illustrated in the accompanying drawings preferred embodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the disclosed apparatus and method, its construction and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multiple-drawer cabinet that includes a first form of a lockable compartment within a drawer; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged front perspective view of a first form of the drawer with lockable compartment of FIG. 1, including a sliding tray in a closed position; 
     FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of the drawer of FIG. 2, the sliding tray being in an open position; 
     FIG. 4 is a further enlarged, fragmentary view in vertical section of the drawer of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, the sliding tray being in an open position; 
     FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the sliding tray of FIGS. 1-5; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a drawer with second form of a lockable compartment in a closed condition; 
     FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary, perspective view of the lockable compartment of FIG. 7 in an open position; 
     FIG. 9 is a further enlarged, fragmentary view in vertical section of the lockable compartment of FIG. 7; and 
     FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 of the lockable compartment in an open condition. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a multiple-drawer cabinet  20  having a frame  21  provided with a set of wheels or rollers  22  depending therefrom and a handle  23 . The cabinet  20  may have a number of drawers, including drawer  30 , which may have many features in common with other drawer designs. For example, referring also to FIGS. 2-6, the drawer the  30  is generally rectangular in shape and has a bottom wall  32 , and an upstanding peripheral wall structure  33 , which includes two side walls  34 ,  36 , a front wall  38  and a rear wall  40 . A forwardly projecting handle flange  42  may be provided on the front wall  38  to facilitate opening and closing of the drawer  30  by a user. A hook  44  (FIG. 4) may be provided on the drawer  30 , such as on the rear wall  40 , for cooperation with an associated locking mechanism to prevent drawer  30  from being withdrawn from the cabinet  20 . Many examples of such locking mechanisms are known to those having ordinary skill in the art, and therefore, will not be described in detail herein. A flange  46  may also be provided at the top of the rear wall  40  and extends toward front wall  38  in order to reduce the possibility of tools falling out of the back end of drawer  30 . 
     In one form, a partition  50  is provided within the drawer  30  and extends between the two side walls  34 ,  36 . In alternative forms (not shown), partition  50  could extend from the front wall  38  to the rear wall  40 , diagonally between one of the side walls  34 ,  36  and one of the front wall  33  or rear wall  40 , or diagonally between two opposite corners of the drawer  30 . Additionally, it is contemplated that one or more other versions could be made using any suitably constructed partition or multiple partitions. 
     The partition  50  may be formed from sheet metal and has a rectangular partition wall  52 , integral at opposite ends thereof, respectively, with end flanges  54  (one shown), and also integral with a top flange  56  and a bottom flange  57 . Flanges  54 ,  56 , and  57  may extend substantially perpendicular to partition wall  52 . In one form, all of these flanges extend in the same direction toward rear wall  40  of drawer  30 . The end flanges  54  are respectively welded, or otherwise secured to, the side walls  34 ,  36  of the drawer  30 . Similarly, bottom flange  57  may be welded to, or otherwise secured to, the drawer bottom wall  32 . In one form, top flange  56  includes a generally L-shaped opening  58  adapted to act as a keeper or strike plate to accept the bolt or latch member of a lock. 
     The partition  50  preferably extends between both side walls  34 ,  36  and divides the drawer  30  into a front portion  60  and a rear portion  62 . In one form, the partition  50  extends upward from the drawer bottom  32  toward the top edges  63 ,  64  of side walls  34 ,  36  of drawer  30 , but does not extend all of the way to top edges  63 ,  64 . In the illustrated embodiment, the rear portion  62  forms a lockable compartment. 
     In one form, a lockable lid or cover is provided for the lockable portion of drawer  30 . Such lockable lid can take the form of a sliding tray  70 , which may be manufactured from sheet metal that is bent and formed into any suitable configuration. Sliding tray  70  may include a rectangular bottom wall  71  and an upstanding peripheral wall structure including opposed side walls  75 ,  76 , a rear wall  77  and a front wall  78 , which cooperate with the bottom wall  71  to define a recessed storage volume  72  for holding small tools or other devices. Laterally outwardly extending flanges  73 ,  74  may be provided on side walls  75 ,  76 , respectively at the upper edges thereof, and are adapted to overlie and slide along the top edges  63 ,  64  of drawer side walls  34 ,  36  to allow sliding tray  70  to slide back and forth along the length of drawer  30 . Rear wall  77  of sliding tray  70  may be slightly shorter than side walls  75 ,  76 , and the rear ends of the side walls,  75 ,  76  may be notched, as at  79  (FIGS.  4  and  5 ), so as to fit beneath flange  46  on drawer rear wall  40  drawer flange  46 . 
     Projecting forwardly from the front wall  78  is a lock carrier  90 , which may include a substantially horizontal rectangular flange  92  projecting forwardly from the upper end of the front wall  78 , and integral at its forward end with a depending rectangular flange  94 . The parts are dimensioned so that the flange  94  extends below the level of the bottom wall  71  of the tray  70 . The flanges  92  an  94  are laterally substantially co-extensive with the front wall  78 , so as to substantially bridge the gap between the side walls  63  and  64  of the drawer  30 , preventing access to an open-bottom chamber  98  defined by the front wall  78  and the flanges  92  and  94  (FIGS.  4  and  5 ), when the tray  70  is disposed in its closed position, as will be explained more filly below. 
     A lock  100  may be mounted in a complementary opening in the flange  94  and may have a generally L-shaped bolt or latch member  104  pivotally movable between a locking condition (FIG. 4) disposable in the opening  58  of the partition  50  and an unlocking position (FIG. 5) removed from the opening  58 . The lock  100  may be selectively operable by a key  108  in a known manner. 
     In operation, sliding tray  70  is placed on drawer  30  so that side flanges  73 ,  74  ride on the upper edges of side walls  34 ,  36  respectively, thereby allowing sliding tray  70  to slide back and forth with respect to drawer  30 . As sliding tray  70  is moved toward the rear of drawer  30 , the rear wall  77  and notched rear ends of side walls  75 ,  76  of sliding tray  70  fit underneath flange  46  of drawer rear wall  40  in a closed position shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, to prevent access to the closed drawer compartment  62 . 
     When sliding tray  70  is positioned as just described, bolt  104  of lock  100  is in alignment with partition opening  58  and the key  108  can be used to move bolt  104  into opening  58  in order to lock sliding tray  70  in place. In one form, the lower end of the flange  94  substantially abuts the front wall  52  of the partition  50  to close the space between the tray  70  and the partition  50 . This minimizes the possibility of any tampering with bolt  104  or the locked compartment  62  formed beneath the sliding tray  70 . 
     The resulting lockable compartment  62  can be unlocked by using the key  108  to move the bolt  104  out of opening  58 , which allows sliding tray  70  to be slid forward, exposing the previously locked rear compartment  62  of drawer  30 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. In one form, lock  100  is positioned near the top of the flange  94  to allow easier access to the lock  100  without the necessity of removing or moving tools in front portion  60  of drawer  30 . Similarly, the vertical flange  94  preferably extends only a short distance below the top of the partition  50  to allow sliding tray  70  to be slid back and forth along drawer  30  without having to remove or move tools stored in the front portion  60  of drawer  30 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 7-10, a second form is illustrated that has many features in common with the previously described form. Therefore, like numerals have been used in the figures to denote many similar features. This second form can be used in a cabinet similar to that depicted in FIG. 1 or any other suitable drawer device. In this form, a partition  150  is provided within drawer  30  and extends between the two side walls  34 ,  36 . In an alternative form, partition  150  can extend from front wall  38  to rear wall  40 ; diagonally between one of side walls  34 ,  36  and one of front wall  33  or rear wall  40 ; or diagonally between two opposite corners of the drawer  30 . Additionally, it is contemplated that one or more other versions could be made using any suitably constructed partition or multiple partitions. 
     Partition  150  can be formed from sheet metal and has a rectangular partition wall  152 , two end flanges  154  (one shown), a top flange  156 , and a bottom flange  157 . Flanges  154 ,  156  and  157  extend outward and perpendicular to partition wall  152 . In one form, all of these flanges extend in the same direction toward the rear wall  40  of drawer  30 . The side flanges  154  may be respectively welded, or otherwise secured to the side walls  34 ,  36  of the drawer. Similarly, bottom flange  157  may be welded to, or otherwise secured to, drawer bottom wall  32 . 
     In one form, partition wall  152  includes an opening  158  adapted to accept the lock bolt  104 . Opening  158  can be located, for example, at a position approximately equidistant between drawer side walls  34 ,  36 . 
     Partition  150  preferably extends between the side walls  34 ,  36  and divides the drawer  30  into the front portion  60  and the rear portion  62 . In one form, partition  150  extends upward from drawer bottom wall  32  toward the top edges  63 ,  64  of side walls  34 ,  36  of drawer  30  but, does not extend all of the way to the top edges  63 ,  64 . 
     In one form, a lockable lid or cover is provided for the lockable portion  62  of drawer  30 . Such lockable lid can take the form of a sliding tray  170 , which may be manufactured from sheet metal that is bent and formed into any suitable configuration. Sliding tray  170  may include a rectangular bottom wall  171  and an upstanding peripheral wall structure including opposed side walls  175  and  176 , rear wall  177  and front wall  178 , which cooperate with the bottom wall  171  to define a recessed storage volume  172  for holding small tools or other devices. Laterally outwardly extending flanges  173  and  174  may be provided on the side walls  175 ,  176 , respectively, at the upper edges thereof and are adapted to overlie and slide along the top edges  63 ,  64  of drawer side walls  34 ,  36  to allow the sliding tray  170  to slide back and forth along the length of the drawer  30 . Rear wall  177  of sliding tray  170  may be slightly shorter than side walls  175 ,  176  so as to fit beneath the flange  46  on the drawer rear wall  40 . The rear ends of the side walls  175 ,  176  are notched, as at  179 , to accommodate the drawer flange  46 . 
     In one form, bottom wall  171  includes an opening  200  adapted to act as a keeper or strike plate and accept bolt  104  of lock  100 . Opening  200  can be located proximate to front wall  178  of sliding tray  170  at a position approximately equidistant between tray side walls  175 ,  176 . 
     Additionally, sliding tray front wall  178  may also be adapted to be slightly lower than flange  46  on rear wall  40  of drawer  30 , and the front ends of the side walls  175 ,  176  may be notched, as at  179   a . This allows tray front wall  178  to slide underneath and clear flange  46  on drawer rear wall  40  if sliding tray  170  is turned around and then slid all the way to the rear of drawer  30 . Similarly a second opening  202  can be provided in the bottom wall  171  proximate to sliding tray rear wall  177  at a position approximately equidistant between tray side walls  175 ,  176 . Such configuration allows sliding tray  170  to be placed in drawer  30  “backwards” and still function properly. 
     In operation, sliding tray  170  is placed on drawer  30  so that side flanges  173 ,  174  ride on drawer side walls  34 ,  36 , thereby allowing sliding tray  170  to slide back and forth with respect to drawer  30 . As sliding tray  170  is moved toward the rear of drawer  30 , sliding tray rear wall  177  (or sliding tray front wall  178 ) fits underneath flange  46  of drawer rear wall  40 . In one form, any space between rear wall  177  (or front wall  178 ) of sliding tray  170  and flange  46  is minimized to prevent access to drawer rear compartment  62 . 
     When sliding tray  170  is positioned as just described, bolt  104  of lock  100  is in alignment with opening  200  (or  202 ) and key  108  can be used to move bolt  104  into opening  200  (or  202 ) in order to lock sliding tray  170  in place. In one form, a channel  204 , extending from rear wall  177  to front wall  178 , may be welded, or otherwise secured, to sliding tray bottom wall  171  to cover openings  200 ,  202 . This prevents access to the opening  200 ,  202  from above, inhibiting tampering with bolt  104  or the locked compartment formed underneath sliding tray  170 . 
     The resulting lockable compartment can be unlocked in similar fashion. Key  108  is used to move bolt  104  out of opening  200  (or  202 ), which allows sliding tray  170  to be slid forward, exposing the previously locked rear compartment  62  of drawer  30  (see FIGS.  8  and  10 ). In one form, lock  100  is positioned near the top of partition wall  152  to allow easier access to lock  100  without the necessity of removing or moving tools stored in front portion  60  of drawer  30 . 
     From the foregoing, it can be seen that there has been provided an improved apparatus and method for securely storing valuables in a drawer that remains unlocked, while at the same time providing a movable storage region in the drawer. 
     The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. While particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the broader aspects of applicants&#39; contribution. The actual scope of the protection sought is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the prior art.