Abstract:
The present invention is a stress relieving plate mounted on a drawer track boot, where screws, bolts or similar fastening devices are used to mount the drawer track boot to the drawer cabinet wherein the stress relieving plate transfers the localized stress caused by the fastening devices to a larger area of the drawer track boot, and to prevent loosening of the screws, bolts or other fastening devices during use of the drawer.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a plate or washer for distributing stress from neighboring fastening elements used to anchor a drawer roller bracket assembly to a cabinet structure.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Conventional drawer roller brackets adapted for mounting within a cabinet typically consist of a track for receiving rollers mounted on a drawer and a means for mounting the track within a cabinet. The brackets are typically mounted horizontally in opposing pairs and receive complementary rollers mounted on opposing sides of a drawer. Various means have been employed for mounting roller brackets inside a cabinet but in most instances the roller brackets must be anchored at some point along the length of the bracket to the inside of the cabinet and at the end of the bracket distal the drawer receiving opening. This end portion of the bracket comprising the anchoring portion is sometimes referred to as a drawer track boot.  
           [0003]    The drawer track boot may be integral with the drawer roller bracket assembly or may be a distinct piece to which the drawer roller bracket may be attached. One such drawer roller bracket assembly which comprises separate drawer roller bracket and boot pieces is the Kitchen Magic drawer track bracket assembly manufactured by Amerock Industries.  
           [0004]    Most contemporary drawer roller bracket assemblies are manufactured of plastic components because of the ease with which plastic materials can be installed and the low cost associated with their manufacture.  
           [0005]    In addition, plastic components despite their light weight are often more durable than metal or wood components due to their resilience. This is a particularly important attribute for drawer roller brackets which are subjected to continuous weight bearing stress. In addition, regardless of the degree of care employed in installation of the roller brackets, torsional stress is inevitable as a result of uneven weight distribution in a drawer.  
           [0006]    However, despite the advantages of employing plastic drawer bracket parts a significant drawback exists in that the fastening means for anchoring the drawer track boot inevitably becomes loose by virtue of repeated stress caused by drawer use. As a result, it is necessary to periodically tighten the fastening means (usually wood screws) anchoring the drawer track boot to the interior of the cabinet. Inevitably the tightening of the screws to secure the boot will result in the splitting of a plastic boot. In addition, repetitive torsional stress can cause splitting of the boot at the point a fastener contacts the boot. As a result, a need exists for a device to prevent splitting of the boot by the installation or tightening of the boot and also to reduce the incidence of loosening of the boot fastening means.  
         OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the subject invention to provide an inexpensive device that can be used to prevent damage to a plastic drawer track boot during installation and/or tightening of the drawer track boot to a cabinet.  
           [0008]    It is another object of the subject invention to provide a device that prevents loosening of the drawer track boot caused by repeated use of a drawer associated therewith.  
           [0009]    It is still a further object of the subject invention to provide a device that distributes stress among neighboring fastener means.  
           [0010]    It is yet a further object of the subject invention to provide a drawer track boot reinforcement device that can be installed easily by a layman using simple hand tools.  
           [0011]    It is still a further object of the subject invention to provide a drawer track boot reinforcement device that can be installed in existing already installed drawer track assemblies.  
           [0012]    It is a further object of the subject invention to provide a method for preventing damage to a plastic drawer track boot.  
           [0013]    It is a further object of the subject invention to provide an improved drawer roller bracket system including a stress relieving plate.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0014]    The subject invention is directed to a device for distributing stress from neighboring fastening elements used to anchor a drawer roller bracket assembly to a cabinet structure. The subject invention is particularly suited to be used in connection with a plastic drawer roller bracket boot wherein the drawer roller bracket is attached at least in part to the interior of a cabinet by means of said boot. The subject invention substantially prevents the plastic drawer roller bracket boot from being damaged as a result of stress imparted on the fasteners employed to anchor the boot to the cabinetry. The subject invention also serves to prevent loosening of the fastener means anchoring the boot to the cabinetwork.  
           [0015]    The device comprises essentially a substantially planar plate having formed therein at least one opening for receiving fastening means. The plate is preferably formed of metal but may be formed of an alternate material suitable for the purpose such as ceramic, PVC or the like. The plate is shaped to substantially conform to the shape of the mounting surface of the boot with which it is to be used.  
           [0016]    Preferably the plate is generally L-shaped and comprises three openings formed therein to substantially correspond to the openings formed in the mounting surface of the Kitchen Magic drawer track bracket boot manufactured by Amerock Industries. Preferably the plate is fabricated of a metal material of the type typically used for fabricating washers, striker plates and other cabinetry hardware. Such materials include but are not limited to aluminum, steel, brass and alloys thereof.  
           [0017]    The plate is mounted on the surface of the boot opposite the surface to be anchored directly to the cabinet. Fastening means such as but not limited to screws used to secure the boot to the cabinet are passed first through the apertures of the plate and next through the corresponding apertures of the boot and ultimately into the cabinet to which the fastener anchors the boot. The fasteners, such as screws, can be secured so that the head of the screws are flush against the plate without damaging the underlying plastic boot. The force imparted by fasteners on the plate is distributed over the entire surface of the plate and underlying boot. In the absence of the plate the force of the fastener is imparted only on the plastic material of the boot that is contacted by the fasteners.  
           [0018]    The plate can be installed during initial installation of the boot and drawer track assembly or afterward.  
           [0019]    Other fasteners such as but not limited to nails may also be employed in connection with the subject invention. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a stress relieving plate in accordance with the subject invention.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a stress relieving plate in accordance with the subject invention.  
         [0022]    FIGS.  3 - 7  are top plan views of several preferred embodiments of a stress relieving plate in accordance with the subject invention.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8 a  is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of the stress relieving plate in accordance with the subject invention.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 8 b  is a cross sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the stress relieving plate according to FIG. 8 a  taken through line A-A.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the plate of FIG. 1 prior to assembly in a drawer track boot device.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 10 is a perspective of the plate of FIG. 1 affixed to a drawer track boot device.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0027]    The present invention is an apparatus for distributing stress from neighboring fasteners used to anchor a drawer roller bracket assembly to a cabinet structure.  
         [0028]    The stress relieving plate of the present invention is identified generally by the numeral  10  in FIGS.  1 - 10 . The stress relieving plate  10  includes a generally L-shaped body  20  comprising a major body  24  and a minor body  26  and at least one opening  30  formed in the body  20 . Referring to FIGS.  1 - 7 , it can be seen that the stress relieving plate  10  can comprise a body  20  with a major body  24  and a minor body  26  providing various L-shaped forms with openings  30  of various dimensions, and remain within the scope of the invention.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 1 shows a top plan view and FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the stress relieving plate  10 . As can be observed, the opening  30  can comprise any shape suitable for receiving a fastening means. Additional embodiments of the opening  30  include, but are not limited to, triangular, square, and rectangular shaped openings.  
         [0030]    In a preferred embodiment the stress relieving plate  10  is formed of metal of the type typically used for fabricating washers but in alternate embodiments the stress relieving plate  10  may be formed of any material suitable for the purpose of stress dissipation. This material can consist of metals such as aluminum, steel, brass and alloys thereof, or other materials such as ceramic, plastic, wood, PVC or the like.  
         [0031]    Now referring to FIG. 3, an alternate embodiment of the stress relieving plate  10  comprises one opening  30 . In an alternate embodiment now referring to FIG. 4, opening  30  comprises at least two openings  30 . As shown in FIG. 7, in another embodiment the plate  10  comprises at least one inlet  30  to the stress relieving plate  10 .  
         [0032]    Now referring to FIG. 9 in a most preferred embodiment the major body  24  has a length indicated by dimension “x” of about 1{fraction (11/16)}″ to about 1{fraction (13/16)}″ and a width of about {fraction (9/16)}″ to about {fraction (11/16)}″ and minor body  26  has a length indicated by dimension “y” of about 1{fraction (7/16)}″ to about 1{fraction (9/16)}″ and a width of about {fraction (5/16)}″ to about {fraction (7/16)}″ and is used in conjunction with the Kitchen Magic drawer track boot.  
         [0033]    The opening  30  is formed in the body  20  for receiving a fastener  70  such as but not limited to a wood screw, sheet metal screw, nail, bolt or the like.  
         [0034]    Now referring to FIG. 8 a , a preferred embodiment of the stress relieving plate  10  includes a locking means  40 . In a most preferred embodiment the locking means  40  is a roughened surface formed on the surface of the body  20  adjacent opening  30  that prevents the fastening means (not shown) such as but not limited to a sheet metal screw from loosening when the head of the sheet metal screw is in contact with the locking means. Now referring to FIG. 8 b , in another embodiment the locking means is at least one protrusion  45  that engages the head of a fastening means such as a sheet metal screw  50 . However, the locking means  40  can be any suitable means that is known in the art.  
         [0035]    Now referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the stress relieving plate  10  is disposed on the surface of a drawer track boot  60  on the surface  62  opposed to the surface contacting a cabinet  80 . The stress relieving plate  10  is secured to the drawer track boot  60  by fasteners  70 . The stress relieving plate  10  is generally L-shaped to conform to a mounting surface that supports and connects a drawer track  90  to the drawer track boot  60 . In a preferred embodiment the stress relieving plate  10  comprises three openings  30  formed therein to assure communication of fasteners  70  with apertures  64  of the drawer track boot  60 . The stress relieving plate  10  substantially prevents the drawer track boot  60  from being damaged as a result of stress imparted by the fasteners  70  employed to anchor the drawer track boot  60  to the cabinetry  80 .  
         [0036]    Now referring to FIG. 10, the stress relieving plate  10  is mounted on the drawer track boot  60  to be attached to the cabinetry  80 . Fasteners  70  such as, but not limited to, screws used to secure the drawer track boot  60  to the cabinetry  80  are passed through the openings  30  of the stress relieving plate  10  and through the corresponding apertures  64  of the drawer track boot  60  and into the cabinetry  80 . In a preferred embodiment, the fasteners  70  consists of wood screws, however other fastening elements such metal screws, bolts, and nails can be used. The force imparted by the heads of fasteners  70  on the stress relieving plate  10  is distributed across the stress relieving plate  10  and the underlying drawer track boot  60 .  
         [0037]    Now referring to FIGS. 8 a  and  8   b , in a preferred embodiment plate  10  further comprises locking means  40  adjacent to openings  30 . In a most preferred embodiment best seen in FIG. 8 a  locking means  40  comprises a roughened surface. As best seen in FIG. 8 b  in an alternate most preferred embodiment locking means  40  comprises a protrusion  45 .  
         [0038]    Numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best modes of carrying out the invention. Details of the structure may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of all modifications, which will come within the scope of the appended claims, is reserved.