Patent Publication Number: US-2007101598-A1

Title: Drawer know pull measuring jig

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates to measuring jigs, more particularly, a drawer knob pull measuring jig that permits a person to quickly identify the location of a hole to be drilled on a drawer for a knob pull in an accurate and precise manner.  
      Many drawer manufacturers do not include holes in the drawer face for a variety of reasons. For instance, customers prefer to personalize the drawer face by selecting his or her own knob pulls, which vary in hole locations. In addition, in order to further customize the drawer, customers select the location of the knob pulls, which are also known as jewelry, on the drawer face. Although drilling holes into a drawer for the knob pulls may seem like a simple task, it is more difficult than one realizes.  
      Accurate measuring is an essential step when drilling holes for knob pulls. Currently, many drawer installers or do-it-yourselfers use a standard tape measure to measure the horizontal and vertical distances from the edges of the drawer face to pinpoint the exact location of the hole to be drilled. Once the first drawer hole is drilled, the person then must measure each and every drawer face thereafter to achieve the same result. Not only is this method time-consuming, but if a measurement is slightly off, the resulting drawer is a painful eyesore as the knobs do not line-up appropriately and may require the drawer to be replaced. Although there currently exists a wide range of measuring jigs which attempt to quickly and accurately measure the location for a knob pull hole, the jigs are flawed for several reasons. First, although the drawer faces may appear to be identical in size, slight size differentiations, such as 22 inches vs. 22 1/16 inches in width, may cause the spacing from one end of the drawer face to the center of the drawer face to be different from one another. Thus, jigs that attach to both sides of the drawer face need to be readjusted each and every time a drawer face is measured due to the slight discrepancies in drawer size.  
      In addition, the current jigs are either too cumbersome for quick use, not versatile enough to use on a wide variety of drawer sizes, not durable enough for heavy use, clamp onto the drawer faces, which is time consuming or are simply too large in size for easy portability.  
      Thus, a need exists for a cabinet drawer pull measuring jig that permits a person to quickly identify the location of a hole to be drilled on a drawer face for a knob pull in an accurate and precise manner, yet is versatile, lightweight, compact and durable.  
      The relevant prior art includes the following references:  
                                       Patent No.               (U.S. unless stated otherwise)   Inventor   Issue/Publication Date                                            4,873,769   Casanave   Oct. 17, 1989       4,791,732   Bruno, Jr. et al.   Dec. 20, 1988       5,064,19   Ericksen   Nov. 12, 1991       4,952,101   Coombs   Aug. 28, 1990       4,684,299   Laliberte   Aug. 04, 1987       2,821,027   Billhimer, Sr.   Jan. 28, 1958       6,804,891   Hurtgam   Oct. 19, 2004       5,807,036   Lostlen   Sep. 15, 1998       3,583,823   Eaton et al.   Jun. 08, 1971       2,582,606   Riddle   Jan. 15, 1952       2,842,860   Gray   Jul. 15, 1958       2,807,095   Maxwell   Sep. 24, 1957       2,949,798   Berta, Jr.   Aug. 23, 1960                  
 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The primary object of the present invention is to provide a drawer knob pull measuring jig that allows a person to quickly identify the location of a hole to be drilled on a drawer face for a knob pull in an accurate and precise manner.  
      A further object of the present invention is to provide a drawer knob pull measuring jig that is adjustable.  
      An even further object of the present invention is to provide a drawer knob pull measuring jig that is lightweight.  
      Another object of the present invention is to provide a drawer knob pull measuring jig that is compact.  
      A further object of the present invention is to provide a drawer knob pull measuring jig that is durable.  
      An even further object of the present invention is to provide a drawer knob pull measuring jig that is easy to use.  
      The present invention fulfills the above and other objects by providing a drawer knob pull measuring jig comprising a suspension plate and a drill plate adjustably secured to one another via at least one pole. To use the drawer knob pull measuring jig, a person first positions the suspension plate on a drawer face top edge such that the jig is suspended from the drawer face. Then, he or she adjusts the height of the drill plate via thumb screws on the suspension plate so as to pinpoint the exact location in which a hole for a knob pull is to be drilled and secures the drill plate. Finally, a person inserts a drill bit into a pilot hole on the drill plate and drills a hole into the drawer face. Markings on the at least one pole connecting the drill plate and suspension plate permits the user to determine the measurements from the top of the drawer that were used. The user simply positions the measuring jig on another drawer to continue drilling accurate and precise holes into drawer faces. In addition, a person may adjust the height of the jig by loosening and tightening the thumb screws located in the drill plate so as to raise or lower the height of the drill plate. A variety of drill plates may be interchangeably used so as to provide a wide variety of pilot holes having various distances.  
      An alternate embodiment of the present invention fulfills the above and other objects by providing a drawer knob pull measuring jig comprising a suspension plate and a drill plate adjustably secured to one another via at least one pole. However, rather than a drill plate with a plurality of predeterminedly spaced pilot holes, the alternate embodiment of the present invention includes at least one sliding block located on the drill plate. The use of the at least one sliding block permits a user to adjustably select the distance between the pilot holes.  
      To use the second embodiment of the present invention, a person suspends the drawer knob pull measuring jig from a drawer face top edge as described above and adjusts the drill plate to the proper height. Then, he or she adjusts the sliding blocks so as to pinpoint the precise distance desired between the pilot holes.  
      The use of the present invention will permit a person to quickly identify the location of a hole to be drilled on a drawer for a knob pull in an accurate and precise manner.  
      The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective plan view of a first embodiment of a drawer knob pull measuring jig of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention in use;  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective plan view of a second embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a side view of the second embodiment of the present invention in use; and  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a drill plate of the second embodiment of the present invention.  
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      For purposes of describing the preferred embodiment, the terminology used in reference to the numbered components in the drawings is as follows:  
                                      1.   drawer knob pull measuring jig, generally       2.   suspension plate       3.   drill plate       4.   pole       5.   pilot hole       6.   thumb screw       7.   drill       8.   drill bit       9.   drawer face       10.   drawer, generally       11.   drawer face top edge       12.   marking       13.   slot       14.   sliding block       15.   aperture for pole       16.   steel bushings       17.   aperture for thumb screw       18.   vertical side       19.   horizontal side                  
 
      With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , varying views of a first embodiment of a drawer knob pull measuring jig of the present invention is shown. The drawer knob pull measuring jig  1  includes a suspension plate  2  having a vertical side  18  and a horizontal side  19  wherein the suspension plate  2  is secured to a drill plate  3  via at least one pole  4 . The poles  4  are inserted through apertures for poles  15  located on both the horizontal side  19  of the suspension plate  2  and the drill plate  3 . The poles  4  are secured to the plates  2  and  3  via thumb screws  6 . The suspension plate  2  is preferably J-shaped so as to permit a user to position the suspension plate  2  such that it is suspended from the drawer top face edge  11  and allows the drill plate  3  to be flush against a drawer  10 . However, the suspension plate  2  may also be L-shaped or C-shaped, so long as the suspension plate  2  includes a vertical side  18  and a horizontal side  19  that is sufficiently wide to extend over a top of a drawer face  11 . Markings  12  are located on the poles  4  so as indicate vertical distance between the suspension plate  2  and the drill plate  3 . At least one pilot hole  5  is located on the drill plate  3  for the acceptance of a drill bit  8  of a drill  7 . A marking  12  may be located near the at least one pilot hole  5  so as to allow a user to line up the pilot holes  5  with the center of the drawer.  
      To use the first embodiment of the present invention, a user first measures a distance from one side edge of a drawer  10  to a center of the drawer  10 . Then, the user positions the suspension plate  2  in the center of the drawer  10  against a drawer face  9  and drawer face top edge  11 . Then, the user adjusts the positioning of the drill plate  3  such that the pilot holes  5  are located at the desired location in front of the drawer face  9  by loosening the thumb screws  6  which secure the suspension plate  2  to the poles  4  and sliding the drill plate  3  up or down the poles  4 . Finally, the user tightens the thumb screws  6  so as to secure the drill plate  3  in the desired position. For ease of use, markings  12  may be located on the poles  4  which indicate the vertical distance from the pilot holes  5  to the drawer face top edge  11 .  
      Alternatively, the user may adjust the positioning of the drill plate  3  by loosening the thumb screws  6  which secure the drill plate  3  to the poles  4  and sliding the drill plate  3  up or down along the poles  4 . In addition, the user may adjust both the drill plate  3  and the suspension plate  2  via loosening the thumb screws  6  on both the suspension plate  2  and the drill plate  3 , sliding both plates  2  and  3  up or down on the poles  4  and tightening the thumb screws  6  so as to lock the plates  2  and  3  in place.  
      Finally, a user inserts a drill bit  8  into at least one pilot hole  5  and drills a hole for a knob pull. The pilot holes  5  preferably include steel bushings  16  so as to allow for a longer-lasting and more durable door knob pull measuring jig  1 .  
      Once the desired holes are drilled into the drawer face  9 , a user may then transfer the drawer knob pull measuring jig  1  to another drawer  10  to drill another hole. Unlike conventional drawer knob pull measuring jigs, however, the present invention need not be readjusted when drilling additional holes on other drawers  10 . The user need only measure the distance from one side edge of a drawer  10  to the center in order to determine the center. Then, the user positions the jig  1  against the drawer face  9  and drawer face top edge  11  such that the jig  1  is centered on the drawer face  9 . Because the suspension plate  2  and drill plate  3  are already positioned such that the pilot holes  5  are directly in front of the drawer face  9  where holes are desired to be drilled, the user simply drills additional holes into the drawer face  9 . Thus, the user need not readjust the jig  1  from drawer  10  to drawer  10  in order to have identically-placed holes for knob pulls.  
      Interchangeable drill plates  3  may be used wherein the pilot holes  5  on each drill plate  3  have varying distances, such as 3 inches, 3¾ inches and 4 inches between a first and last pilot hole  5 .  
      In  FIGS. 3-5 , varying views of a second embodiment of the present invention are shown. Similar to the first embodiment of the present invention, the second embodiment of the drawer knob pull measuring jig  1  includes a suspension plate  2 , a drill plate  3  and poles  4 . However, rather than having stationary pilot holes  5 , the second embodiment of the present invention includes adjustable pilot holes  5 .  
      At least one sliding block  14  is positioned on the drill plate  3  so as to permit adjustable pilot holes  5 . The sliding block  14  includes at least one slot  13  and at least one pilot hole  5 . To use the second embodiment of the present invention, a user measures the distance from one side edge of a drawer  10  and adjusts the drill plate  3  and/or suspension plate  2  via sliding the drill plate  3  up and down along the poles  4  and tightening the thumb screws  6  on the suspension plate  2 . Then, the user adjusts the sliding blocks  14  horizontally along the drill plate  3  such that the pilot holes  5  on the sliding blocks  14  are in the desired position in front of the drawer face  9 . The user then tightens the thumb screws  6  that are inserted through the slots  13  on the sliding blocks  14  and into the apertures for thumb screws  17  located on the drill plate  3 . Because the diameter of the slots  13  on the sliding blocks  14  are smaller than the diameter of the thumb screws  6 , when the thumb screws are tightened against the sliding blocks  14 , the sliding blocks  14  are locked in place.  
      Once again, the pilot holes  5  preferably include steel bushings  16  for durability. The apertures for thumb screws  17  are preferably threaded so as to permit an interlocking fit of the thumb screws  6 . Markings  12  are located on the drill plate  3  so as to easily permit a user to adjust the location of the pilot holes  5  on the drill plate  3  to a desired distance.  
      The pilot holes  5  on the sliding blocks  14  are positionable only in front of the slot  13  on the drill plate  3  so as to permit a person to drill a hole for a knob pull. When finished with a first drawer, the user need only measure the distance from one side of a second drawer to find the center and position the jig  1  in the center in order to locate an identically-positioned hole for drilling.  
      Although the use of thumb screws  6  is described for locking the plates  2  and  3  and sliding blocks  14  in place, other fastening means, such as screws, nuts and bolts, wingnuts and the like may be used.  
      The use of the present invention will allow a person to quickly identify the location of a hole to be drilled on a drawer for a knob pull in an accurate and precise manner.  
      It is to be understood that while a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and drawings.