Patent Publication Number: US-2015061483-A1

Title: Cabinet drawer assembly having a drawer locking device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority of Chinese Application No. 201320528150.0, filed on Aug. 27, 2013. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a drawer, and more particularly to a cabinet drawer assembly having a drawer locking device. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional storage cabinet includes a cabinet body and a plurality of drawers that can be pushed in or pulled out. Typically, each of the drawers can be pushed completely into the cabinet so that it is at a storage position. However, since no means is provided for retaining each of the drawers at the storage position, when the cabinet is transported or subjected to an earthquake, the drawers may move relative to the cabinet. If this occurs, one hand of a user may be clamped between the cabinet body and one of the drawers. Or, when a heavier article is placed into one of the drawers, the one drawer may be drop from the cabinet body. When the one drawer drops from the cabinet body, damage may be caused to a user or the article. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of this invention is to provide a drawer assembly for a storage cabinet that includes a drawer locking device for locking a drawer in the cabinet so as to promote safety during use. 
     According to this invention, a drawer assembly is disposed in a storage cabinet. The cabinet includes an upright drawer supporting plate. The drawer assembly includes a drawer and a drawer locking device. The drawer locking device includes a retaining unit and a handle unit. The retaining unit includes a stop member connected fixedly to the drawer supporting plate, and a swing arm. An arm body of the swing arm has a hooked free end that is hooked onto the stop member so as to prevent forward movement of the drawer relative to the drawer supporting plate. The handle unit is operable to rotate and remove the hooked free end of the swing arm from the stop member. 
     Due to the presence of the drawer locking device, the drawer may be retained at a rear limit position, thereby promoting safety during use. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a partly exploded perspective view of a storage cabinet including the preferred embodiment of a drawer assembly according to this invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in  FIG. 2 , illustrating a swing arm and a handle unit; 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view taken along line V-V in  FIG. 2 , illustrating that a resilient member is stretched; 
         FIG. 6  is a view similar to  FIG. 4  but illustrating that a hooked free end of the swing arm is hooked onto a stop plate portion of a stop member; 
         FIG. 7  is a view similar to  FIG. 6  but illustrating that the handle unit is operated to remove the hooked free end of the swing arm from the stop plate portion of the stop member; 
         FIG. 8  is a view similar to  FIG. 5  but illustrating that the resilient member is compressed; 
         FIG. 9  is a view similar to  FIG. 7  but illustrating how the drawer is pulled out; and 
         FIG. 10  is a view similar to  FIG. 9  but illustrating how the drawer is pushed in. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the preferred embodiment of a drawer assembly according to this invention is adapted to be disposed in a storage cabinet  10 . The storage cabinet  10  includes two upright drawer supporting plates  11  spaced apart from each other along a left-to-right direction, a rear plate  12  connected between rear ends of the drawer supporting plates  11 , and a top cover  13  for covering top ends of the drawer supporting plates  11  and the rear plate  12 . 
     The drawer assembly includes a drawer  20  disposed between the drawer supporting plates  11  and movable along a front-to-rear direction, and a drawer locking device including two retaining units  30  disposed between the drawer supporting plates  11  and mounted respectively on left and right sides of the drawer  20 , and a handle unit  40  disposed on a front end of the drawer  20 . 
     With further reference to  FIGS. 2 ,  3 ,  4 , and  5 , the drawer  20  includes a bottom plate  21 , an upright rear plate  22 , an upright left plate  23 , an upright right plate  24 , and a front connecting piece  25 . The left and right plates  23 ,  24  are connected respectively to left and right sides of the rear plate  22 . The bottom plate  21  is connected to bottom ends of the rear, left, and right plates  22 ,  23 ,  24 . 
     The front connecting piece  25  includes: an upright front plate  251  connected to front ends of the left and right plates  23 ,  24 ; a mounting plate  252  extending forwardly from a top end of the front plate  251  and having a width along a left-to-right direction, which is smaller than that of the front plate  251 ; a plurality of pivot lugs  253  extending from a bottom surface of the mounting plate  252 ; two openings  254  formed through the mounting plate  252 ; two bent lateral plates  255  bent respectively from left and right ends of the front plate  251  and connected respectively to the left and right plates  23 ,  24 ; two notches  256  formed respectively in left and right ends of the connecting pieces  25 ; and a bottom plate  257  bent rearwardly from a bottom end of the front plate  251  and connected fixedly to the bottom plate  21  of the drawer  20 . 
     Preferably, an angle formed between the mounting plate  252  and the front plate  251  is greater than 90 degrees. 
     Each retaining unit  30  includes a stop member  31  connected fixedly to the corresponding drawer supporting plates  11 , and a swing arm  32  disposed on the drawer  20  and abutting against the stop member  31  for preventing movement of the drawer  20  relative to the drawer supporting plates  11 . 
     The stop member  31  of each retaining unit  30  is L-shaped, and has an abutment plate portion  311  abutting against the corresponding drawer supporting plate  11 , and a stop plate portion  312  extending perpendicularly from an end of the abutment plate portion  311  and through a slot  111  (see  FIG. 7 ) in the corresponding drawer supporting plate  11 , such that the stop plate portion  312  forms an inclination angle of about 30-50 degrees with respect to a supporting surface (not shown) for supporting the cabinet  10 . 
     One retaining unit  30  will be described in this paragraph. The swing arm  32  has a pivot portion  321  (see  FIG. 3 ) connected pivotally to one of the first pivot lugs  253 , an arm body  322  extending rearwardly from the pivot portion  321  and through the corresponding notch  256  and having a hooked free end  323  that is hooked onto the stop member  31  so as to prevent forward movement of the drawer  20  relative to the drawer supporting plates  11 , an ear plate  325  bent from a top end of the pivot portion  321  toward the one pivot lug  253 . The arm body  322  further has an arm body  322 ′ (see  FIG. 6 ) connected to and disposed in front of the hooked free end  323 , and a stop block  324  extending from and disposed under the arm body  322 ′ and movable to contact a rear side surface of the front plate  25  for limiting the rotational angle of the swing arm  32 . As such, the hooked free end  323  is pivotable between an engagement position shown in  FIG. 6  and a lower limit position shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . The hooked free end  323  of the arm body  322  is configured as a barb, and has an abutment surface  326  abutting against and disposed behind the stop member  32 , and an inclined guiding surface  327  extending downwardly and rearwardly from a top end of the abutment surface  326 . When the hooked free end  323  is disposed at the engagement position (i.e., normal position), the inclined guiding surface  327  is parallel to the stop plate portion  312  of the stop member  31 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     The handle unit  40  includes an elongate connecting plate  41 , two pivot pins  42 , an elongate handle cover  43 , two end covers  44 , and two resilient members  45 . 
     The connecting plate  41  is disposed above and adjacent to the mounting plate  252  of the drawer  20 , extends along the left-to-right direction, and has a top plate portion  411  connected fixedly to the swing arms  32 , a handle plate portion  412  extending downwardly from a front end of the handle plate portion  412 , and two second pivot lugs  413  extending downwardly from an intermediate portion of the top plate portion  411 . Each pivot pin  42  extends through the pivot portion  321  of the corresponding swing arm  32 , the corresponding first pivot lug  253 , and the corresponding second pivot lug  413 , so that the top plate portion  411  is connected pivotally to the front connecting piece  25 . As such, the handle plate portion  412  of the connecting plate  41  is operable to rotate the hooked free end  323  of each swing arm  32  relative to the drawer  20  between the engagement position and the lower limit position. 
     The handle cover  43  is sleeved on the connecting plate  41 , and has open left and right ends, and two inwardly bent side edges  431  spaced apart from each other by a distance that is smaller than that between two side edges of the connecting plate  41  so as to prevent forward removal of the handle cover  43  from the connecting plate  41 . 
     The end covers  44  are connected respectively and fixedly to the open left and right ends of the handle cover  43  such that removal of the connecting plate  41  from the handle cover  43  is prevented. Each end cover  44  includes a cover body  441 , an insert block  442  extending from the cover body  441  and clamped between the handle cover  43  and the handle plate portion  412  of the connecting plate  41 , and a pivot shaft  443  extending from the cover body  441  and through the swing arm  32 . As such, the end covers  44  are connected respectively and fixedly to the swing arms  32 . The end covers  44  cooperate with the connecting plate  41  and the handle cover  43  to constitute a rotating member. The rotating member is rotatable relative to the front connecting piece  25  to rotate and remove the hooked free ends  323  of the swing arms  32  from the stop members  31 , thereby allowing for forward movement of the drawer  20  relative to the drawer supporting plates  11 . The resilient members  45  (see  FIGS. 5 and 8 ) are disposed between the mounting plate  252  of the front connecting piece  25  and the top plate portion  411  of the connecting plate  41  for biasing the top plate portion  411  away from the mounting plate  252  to rotate the hooked free end  323  of each swing arm  32  to the engagement position. In this embodiment, each resilient member  45  is configured as a generally V-shaped spring plate, and has a first plate portion  451  extending through the opening  254  (see  FIG. 5 ) in the mounting plate  252  and clamping the mounting plate  252 , and a second plate portion  452  that is connected to the first plate portion  452  to form an angle therebetween and that has a free end abutting against the top plate portion  411 . 
     An angle formed between the mounting plate  252  and the front plate  251  is greater than 90 degrees. An angle formed between the mounting plate  252  and the top plate portion  411  is about 25-30 degrees. Due to the presence of the resilient members  45 , the drawer  20  can be opened with relative ease. 
     With particular reference to  FIGS. 1 and 6 , when the drawer  20  is pushed into the cabinet  10  to move to its rear limit position, the hooked free end  323  of each swing arm  32  is at the engagement position, so that movement of the drawer  20  in the cabinet  10  is prevented. With particular reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , when it is desired to open the drawer  20 , bottom ends of the handle plate portion  412  of the connecting plate  41  and the handle cover  43  are first grabbed. Next, a force is applied to the handle plate portion  412  to rotate the connecting plate  41  in a clockwise direction  60  against the biasing action of the resilient members  45 . At the same time, the handle cover  43 , the end covers  44 , and the swing arm  32  co-rotate with the handle plate portion  412  to thereby rotate the hooked free end  323  of each swing arm  32  until the stop blocks  324  of the swing arms  32  come into contact with the front plate  251  of the front connecting piece  25  (i.e., each hooked free end  323  is moved to the lower limit position). At this position, with further reference to  FIG. 9 , since the hooked free ends  323  are below the stop plate portions  312  of the stop members  31 , the drawer  20  can be pulled out in a forward direction  62 . Hence, the resilient members  45  are compressed to store a return force. 
     After the drawer  20  is pulled out to a desired position, the handle plate portion  412  and the handle cover  43  are released, so that the swing arms  32  are biased by the resilient members  45  to rotate counterclockwise until the hooked free ends  323  of the swing arms  32  come into contact with the stop plate portions  312  of the stop members  32  or rotate to their upper limit positions whereat the resilient members  45  are stretched completely. At this time, articles may be removed from or placed into the drawer  20 . 
     Subsequently, with further reference to  FIG. 10 , the drawer  20  can be pushed into the cabinet  10  in a rearward direction  63 . During rearward movement of the drawer  20 , the inclined guiding surfaces  327  of the hooked free ends  323  come into contact with the stop plate portions  312  of the stop members  32 . Since the inclined guiding surfaces  327  are parallel to the stop plate portions  312 , the hooked free ends  323  can move smoothly on the stop plate portions  312 . As soon as the hooked free ends  323  pass past the stop plate portions  312  (i.e., the drawer  20  is moved to its rear limit position), due to the biasing action of the resilient members  45 , they are rotated to the engagement positions. 
     In view of the above, the drawer assembly of this invention has the following advantages: 
     1. The drawer  20  can be locked releasably at the rear limit position in the cabinet  10  by the drawer locking device to promote safety during use. 
     2. The stop blocks  324  of the swing arms  32  are movable to contact the front plate  251  of the front connecting piece  25 , thereby limiting the rotational angle of the swing arms  32  and the connecting plate  41 . 
     3. Since the drawer  20  is maintained at the rear limit position by the biasing force of the resilient members  45 , it can be removed easily from the rear limit position, thereby resulting in convenience during use. 
     4. The inclined guiding surfaces  327  are parallel to the stop plate portions  312 , so as to facilitate smooth rearward movement of the drawer  20 . 
     With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only as indicated by the appended claims.