Abstract:
A slipping-proof kit drawer structure includes a hollow chest which has an opening directing forwards and at least a pair of sliding tracks on two side walls to allow a drawer to straddle and slid thereon for drawing out and retracting. The inner wall of the chest and the outer side of the drawer are interposed by an elastic latch assembly to form an anchoring condition. Thus a latch function can be achieved to prevent the drawer from slipping out even in a tilted condition during moving of the chest.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a cabinet drawer and particularly to a latching structure to prevent drawers from slipping out caused by inclining during transportation. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional kit has a pair of handles  1  on two sides and two drawers  2  located inside in a up and down manner that can be drawn out and hold various metallic tools. As the tools are quite heavy, drawing or loading of the drawers  2  takes a lot of efforts, hence many kits have sliding tracks (not shown in the drawing) on the inner walls of two sides to hold the drawers  2  on the left side and right side in a straddle manner. While such a structure enables the drawers  2  to be drawn smoothly to fetch the tools, moving the kit to different working sites through the handles  1  often forms an inclined angle and results in automatic slipping out of the drawers  2 . The tools in the drawers  2  could slide forwards and cause deviation of the gravity center. And the tools  2  could drop and hit users feet. To remedy this problem some kits have a lock  3  at the front side to lock the drawers  2  to prevent the drawers  2  from slipping out during transportation. Installation of the lock  3  involves additional moving mechanisms, and production cost is higher. Moreover, a mating key has to be provided to do locking and unlocking. 
         [0003]    Operation is more complicated. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    In view of the aforesaid problems occurred to the conventional kit drawers, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a slipping-proof kit drawer that includes a hollow chest with an opening directing forwards, at least a pair of sliding tracks on two opposing inner walls of the chest on the left side and right side to hold the drawer in a straddle manner so that the drawer can be drawn outwards and closed, and an elastic latch assembly located between an inner wall of the chest and an outer side of the drawer to perform latching and anchoring functions. The latch assembly includes a clipping member fastened to the inner wall of the chest and a latch member fastened to the outer side of the drawer. When the drawer is moved towards the chest, the latch member is inserted in the clipping member and latched. Thereby the drawer does not slip out even if it is tilted during moving of the chest. Such a latch function improves safety. 
         [0005]    The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional kit. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the chest of the invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the drawer of the invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4A  is a schematic side view of an embodiment of the latch assembly of the invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4B  is a schematic view according to  FIG. 4A  in an operating condition. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4C  is a sectional view according to  FIG. 4B . 
           [0012]      FIG. 5A  is a schematic plane view of a second embodiment of the latch assembly of the invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5B  is a schematic view according to  FIG. 5A  in an operating condition. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0014]    Please referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the slipping-proof kit drawer structure according to the invention includes: 
         [0015]    a rectangular chest  10  (such as a kit) which has a rectangular opening  11  on a front side, a pair of handles  12  on an outer surface of a left side wall and a right side wall, two pairs of sliding tracks  13  on an inner side of the two opposing side walls, and a vertical fastening plate  14  on an inner side of the left side and right side thereof; 
         [0016]    two rectangular drawers  20  each has a face panel  21  on a front side and a straddle track  23  located respectively on a left side wall and a right side wall. The face panel  21  has a fastening surface  22  respectively on the left side and right side. The straddle track  23  is parallel with the side wall of the drawer  20  and straddles the sliding track  13  in a slidable manner of the chest  10 ; and 
         [0017]    a latch assembly  30  (also referring to  FIGS. 4A ,  4 B and  4 C) which includes two pairs of clipping members  31  fastened to the fastening plates  14  on the left side and right side inside the chest  10 , and a pair of latch members  32  installed on the fastening surface  22  of the drawer  20  face panel  21 . The clipping member  31  has a rectangular and hollow box  311  which has an orifice  312  on the front side and a bar type latch claw  313  pivotally coupled on an inner side of a rear wall. The latch claw  313  has a strut type wedge portion  314  extended downwards from a front end as shown in  FIG. 4C . The inner side of the rear wall of the box  311  is coupled with a rear end of a spring  315 . The spring  315  has a front end coupling with an extensible latch  316  which is extendable through the orifice  312  of the box  311 . The extensible latch  316  has a reverse-U shaped flute track  317  on an outer side with an opening directing outwards. The flute track  317  forms an irregular heart-shaped latch groove  318  on the bottom. The extensible latch  316  further has an elastic hook  319  on an inner side. The wedge portion  314  of the latch claw  313  is wedged in the latch groove  318  and slidable therein. The latch groove  318  has an indented detent portion  318   a  corresponding to the latch claw  313 , a concave brake portion  318   b  in the center of the front side to anchor the latch claw  313 , a wedge-shaped switch portion  318   c  on the front side of the brake portion  318   b , and a channeling portion  318   d  on one side of the detent portion  318   a  to direct the latch claw  313  to the original position. Thereby when the extensible latch  316  is pushed by a user&#39;s hand, the wedge portion  314  of the latch claw  313  is moved along the latch groove  318  to the detent portion  318   a , the spring  315  is compressed. When the hand is released, the elastic force of the spring  315  pushes the wedge portion  314  to the brake portion  318   b  to form an anchoring condition. When the extensible latch  316  is pushed again, the wedge-shaped switch portion  318   c  directs the wedge portion  314  to the channeling potion  318   d . When the hand is released again, the latch claw  313  of the clipping member  31  is freed from harness and moved to the original position along the latch groove  318 . 
         [0018]    The latch member  32  further has a second hook  321  extended towards the rear side of the drawer  20  corresponding to the elastic hook  319  of the clipping member  31  to form a coupling and anchoring condition. 
         [0019]    By means of the construction set forth above, when in use, push the drawer  20  into the chest  10 , the latch member  32  on the face panel  21  of the drawer  20  inserts into the extensible latch  316  of the chest  10 ; the extendible latch  316  inserts into the box  311 , the elastic hook  319  is retracted to engage with the second hook  321  of the latch member  32 . When user&#39;s hand is released, the extensible latch  316  is moved along the latch groove  318  through the latch claw  313  to the brake portion  318   b  and anchored. On the other hand, when unloading of the drawer  20  is desired, depress the face panel  21  of drawer  20 , the wedge-shaped switch portion  318   c  of the latch groove  318  located on the extensible latch  316  pushes the wedge portion  314  of the wedge claw  313  sideward, and the elastic force of the spring  315  moves the latch claw  313  to the original position; the extensible latch  316  extends outwards through the orifice  312  of the box  311 ; the elastic hook  319  on one side of the extensible latch  316  is released and disengaged with the second hook  321  of the latch member  32  on the panel  21  of drawer  20 , thereby the drawer  20  can be moved outwards. 
         [0020]    Therefore during moving of the chest  10  (such as kit), the drawer  20  does not slip out even if the chest  10  is tilted one side. And the tools held in the drawer  20  do not drop, and incidental hazards can be prevented. 
         [0021]    Refer to  FIGS. 5A and 5B  for another embodiment of the latch assembly  30  of the invention. The latch assembly  30   a  in this embodiment includes at least a clipping member  31   a  and a latch member  32   a . The clipping member  31   a  is fastened to the fastening plate  14  (not shown in the drawings) on the left side and right side of the chest  10 . The clipping member  31   a  has a rectangular and hollow box  311   a  with two elastic clipping claws  312   a  movable inward towards each other so that they may be squeezed and retracted in the box  311   a . The latch member  32   a  is mounted onto the fastening surface  22  (not shown in the drawings) on an inner side of the face panel  21  of the drawer  20 . The latch member  32   a  has a head  321   a  on the front end that has two sides extending outwards to be clipped by the clipping claws  312   a  of the clipping member  31   a.    
         [0022]    The latch assembly  30   a  of the second embodiment functions like the latch assembly  30  in the previous embodiment. When the drawer  20  is pushed into the chest  10 , the latch member  32   a  moves towards the clipping member  31   a  into the clipping claws  312   a  and pushes the two clipping claws  312   a  so that they are retracted into the box  311 . The two clipping claws  312   a  move towards each other to clip the latch member  32   a . As a result, the drawer  20  is latched without slipping out even if the drawer  20  is tilted during moving. 
         [0023]    Prototypes of the invention have been made and tested satisfactorily. The object and functions previously discussed are fully accomplished. It offers a significant improvement over the conventional techniques. 
         [0024]    While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been set forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed embodiments of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.