Improvements in or connected with Drawers, and in their Adapta- tion to Various Articles of Furniture.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 2nd June, 1892-Accepted, 27th Aug., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Drawers, and in their Adapta-
tion to Various Articles of Furniture.
I, ABBONDIO BERETTA, of 15 Cross Street, Hatton Garden, London, Carpenter
and Joiner, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in drawers which are so constructed and
arranged that they can be drawn out, not only in the usual direction, but also in a
direction at right angles thereto and in the adaptation of such drawers to various
articles of furniture, and the said improvements consist as follows:-
I construct the drawer itself of an inner part composed of a bottom and four sides,
and of an outer part composed of a bottom and two sides placed opposite to each
other. The inner part fits easily into the outer part, and is adapted to slide across
the latter in either direction. When the inner part is placed in the outer, the two
parts are adapted to slide in suitable runners or guides in the framing or other
article of furniture to which the drawer is adapted, in a direction at right angles to
that in which the inner part of the drawer is free to slide in the outer, and the
framing or casing in which the drawer is fitted is provided with openings so disposed
that when the drawer is to be moved in one direction or the opposite, both the outer
and inner parts are drawn out, but when the drawer is to be moved in a direction at
right angles to those directions, the inner part only is drawn out across the outer or
enclosing part which remains behind in the framing or casing. The drawer may be
guided by external runners or guides, or by grooves formed in the containing
framing or casing, into which grooves take studs or pins fixed in the bottom of the
outer part of the drawer. In some cases the drawer may be made simply with a
bottom and four sides, and be fitted with studs or pins in the bottom which take into
the aforesaid grooves, which latter may be made at right angles to one another, so
that the drawer may be drawn out in one or more of four directions. The outer
part of the drawer may be constructed of a bottom and two guide ways placed
opposite one another, fillets on the outside of the inner part of the drawer taking
into the said guide ways, whereby the outer part is prevented from falling off from
the inner when the entire drawer is wholly, or almost wholly, drawn out of its
framing or casing.
Drawers constructed as above described may be adapted to tables and other
articles of furniture by constructing the table or other article of furniture with
suitable framings or casings provided with suitable guide runners or grooves to suit
the particular construction of drawer employed. And I sometimes connect a cord
or cords to the bottom of the drawer, and pass such cord or cords through a suitably
placed hole, or over a suitable guide pulley or pulleys, and hang thereto a weight,
whereby the drawer is drawn back into its proper position in its framing or casing
when released. Or a similar effect may be attained by one or more springs.
Suitable spring catches may also be arranged to retain the drawer, or each part
thereof, in proper position.
When it is desired that the various fronts of the drawers exposed to view shall
stand flush with the faces of the framing or casing in which they are adapted to
work, the ends of the outer part of the drawer can readily be made of suitable
thickness to enable their front faces to stand flush with, or in any other relation to,
the front of the framing or casing; but the fronts of the inner part of the drawer
cannot be brought flush with the framing or casing by the same means, because
such fronts would in that case prevent the drawer from being drawn out along with
the outer part in the direction at right angles to that in which the inner part of the
drawer moves.
I therefore make such fronts as loose pieces or false fronts connected

page_text: to the inner part of the drawer by dovetailed grooves and fillets which allow the
inner and outer parts of the drawer to be drawn out together, leaving such false
fronts in position.
When adapting drawers of the kind above referred to, to the purposes of a table,
I sometimes effect the locking or bolting of the drawer in position by means of a
socket or sleeve adapted to turn on the upper part of the leg, such socket or sleeve
...being provided with a spiral groove or other device which, as the said socket or
sleeve is rotated on the table leg, gives motion to a bolt or catch which is thereby
engaged with or disengaged from a suitable recèss or other part of the drawer so as
to retain or release the same at pleasure:
Dated this 1st day of September 1891:
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION:
Improvements in or connected with Drawers, and in their Adapta-
tion to Various Articles of Furniture.
I, ABBONDIO BERETTA, of 15 Cross Street, Hatton Garden, London, Carpenter
and Joiner, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying two sheets. of
drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
This invention relates to improvements in drawers which are so constructed and
arranged that they can be drawn out, not only in the usual direction, but also in a
direction at right angles thereto; and in the adaptation of such drawers to various
'articles of furniture.
In the drawings
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a table fitted with a drawer arranged in accordance
with my invention,
Figure 2 is a plan with the table top and the drawer removed,
Figure 3 is a sectional elevation taken on line 1-1 of Figure 2, and
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation taken on line. 2-2 of Figures 1, 2 and 3.
A, A', A² indicate the casing or framing in which the drawer is adapted to slide;
A forming the top of the table, A' a base-board, and A² pillars connecting A to A'.
The drawer is composed of a bottom B and four sides B and is carried on an outer
part or carriage composed of a bottom or frame C having two dovetail guideways
parallel with each other. The drawer B B' is furnished with two dovetail guides or
fillets C which fit easily into the guideways C! and enable the said drawer to slide
across on the outer bottom or frame C in either of the directions indicated by the
plain arrows in Figure 2. When the drawer B B' is closed as shown in the figures
the two parts, that is to say the drawer B B and the outer part, frame or carriage C
are adapted to slide together between suitable runners or guides D secured to the
baseboard A' of the framing in a direction at right angles to that in which the
drawer B B¹ is free to slide on the outer part or carriage C, that is to say in either
of the directions indicated by the feathered arrows in Figure 2. The construction
of the framing or casing A, A', A leaves an opening in each of the four sides and
when the drawer is moved in the direction of the feathered arrows both the
drawer B B' and the outer part or carriage C are drawn out together through one
or other of the openings in the corresponding two sides of the framing and when the
drawer is moved in the direction of the plain arrows the drawer B B only is drawn
out through one or other of the openings in the other corresponding two sides and
across the outer part or carriage C.which remains behind in the framing or casing,
being prevented from moving in that direction by the guides D. The dovetail
guides C taking into the corresponding guideways C' of the outer part or carriage C

page_text: prevent the latter from falling off from the drawer B B when both are wпony or
almost wholly drawn out of the framing or casing A, A1, A2
In some cases, the drawer may consist simply of a bottom B and four sides B¹
without the outer part or carriage C and be fitted with studs or pins E in the
bottom, see Figures 5 and 6, which studs or pins take into guide grooves G formed
at right angles to one another in the base board A' of the framing so that the
drawer B B may be drawn out in any of the four directions. Figure 5 is a sectional
plan taken on line 3-3 of Figure 6 and Figure 6 a sectional elevation taken on
line 4-4 of Figure 5.
In some cases the drawer B B₁ may be arranged to slide on guides on a carriage as
in Figure 1 for example and the said carriage be provided with pins such as E in
Figures 5 and 6 on its under side, such pins taking into guide grooves in the base
board A¹ in a manner similar to that shown in those figures for the pins connected
to the drawer B B'.
A cord H may be connected at one end to the centre of the bottom of the
drawer B B' and the other end of this cord being passed down through the central
opening formed by the adjacent edges of the four guide rollers I has hung thereto
a weight I which is free to move up and down in the hole J formed through the
central leg K of the table. This weight and cord draws back the drawer B B into
its normal closed position on the part C whenever it is released after having been
drawn out in the direction of the plain arrows, and returns both the drawer B B₁
and the carriage C into their normal positions whenever they are released after
having been drawn out in the direction of the feathered arrows. Instead of a weight
a suitable spring may be employed to return the drawer or the drawer and
carriage C to its or their normal position. Suitable spring catches may also be
arranged to retain the drawer in proper position.
When drawers constructed in accordance with this invention are adapted to a
table as illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, the locking or bolting of the drawer in
the closed position may be effected by means of a socket or sleeve L adapted to
turn on the upper part of the leg K, such socket or sleeve being provided with a
spiral or inclined groove M or other cam-like surface which, when the said socket
or sleeve is rotated on the table leg in one direction, pushes a spring bolt or
catch N upwards so as to engage in a hole or recess N' in the bottom of the
drawer, and when it is rotated in the opposite direction allows the spring P'to
press the said bolt or catch N downwards so as to disengage it from the said
hole or recess.
When it is desired that the various fronts of the drawers exposed to view shall
stand flush with the faces of the framing or casing A A' A' in which they are
adapted to work, the outer part or carriage C may be composed of a bottom board
or frame C and two sides such as C³ for example (see Figures 7 and 8) secured to
the said bottom board or frame and made of suitable thickness to enable their
front faces to stand flush with, or in any other relation to, the front of the framing
or casing A. A' A2; but the fronts of the inner drawer B B' cannot be brought
flush with the framing or casing by the same means because such fronts would in
that case prevent the outer part or carriage C C³ and drawer B B' from being
drawn out together; I therefore make such fronts as loose pieces or false fronts B2
connected to the fronts of the drawer B B' by dovetailed grooves and fillets' B³
which allow the outer part or carriage C C³ and the inner drawer B B' to be
drawn out together in the direction of the feathered arrows, leaving such false
fronts B2 in position in the framing A A A² but inasmuch as if the said outer part
or carriage C C³ and drawer B B were drawn entirely out, the false fronts B*
would be left loose and without support in the framing, it is desirable to provide
suitable stops to prevent the said parts from being entirely withdrawn, whereby
the said fillets B³ on the false fronts are never entirely freed from the grooves in
the drawer B B' and the said false fronts are consequently always supported more
or less thereby even when the parts C C³ and B B are drawn out as far as the
stops will allow. In the arrangement shown in Figures 7 and 8 the sides C³'form
+

page_text: lateral guides for the drawer B.B' when the latter is being moved in the direction
of either of the plain arrows.in Figure 8. Figure 7 is a section taken on line 5-5
of Figure 8 and Figure 8 is a plan with the top A of Figure 7 removed. The
sides C³ may be made of the full height of the openings in the framing A. A' A² in
which they appear or they may be made of less height if preferred.
Figure 9 is a half elevation and half section taken on line 6-6 of Figure 10 of
the upper part of a kitchen table with two drawers applied thereto, each adapted
to be drawn out in three directions, Figure 10 is a sectional plan of same, the
right hand half showing a drawer in the closed position and the left hand half with
the drawer removed showing the guides and guide grooves by which the drawer is
guided in its movements, and Figure 11 is a section taken on line 7-7 of Figures 9
and 10. In these figures N2 represents a spring catch secured at one end to the
hase board A' and taking at its other end into a hole or recess in the bottom of
the drawer B B', its rounded end sufficing to hold the drawer tightly in its normal
position but not offering sufficient resistance to prevent the drawer from being
drawn out in any direction.
The drawer B B slides in the direction of the plain arrows, on the guide
fillets C which are themselves fixed on the fillets C which take into guide
grooves D in the upper surface of the base board A' of the framing and guide the
drawer when sliding in the direction of the feathered arrows.
Figures 12 and 13 are sections taken at right angles to each other of a modified
arrangement of the outer part or carriage and guides of a drawer to enable the
latter to be moved in directions at right angles to each other. The guide fillets C²
of the drawer B B slide transversely in guides on the frame C which slides in
guides D in the base board A' in a direction at right angles to the transverse
motion of the drawer B B₁ carrying the latter with it.
Figures 14 and 15 are respectively a front elevation and partial plan showing
how the front or fronts of a drawer, arranged in accordance with my invention,
may be masked by means of ornamental folding doors or brackets. B B¹ is the
drawer, A A A part of the framing in which the said drawer slides. Qare
folding doors or brackets hinged to the posts A2 of the framing and which doors or
brackets may be pressed open by the drawer B B' into the positions shown in
dotted lines in Figure 15 as the latter is drawn out, and may be closed again by
haud or by springs when the drawer is closed.
My improvements are described above and illustrated in the drawings as applied
to table drawers; but it is obvious that they may be applied to chests of drawers
or to any other articles of furniture containing drawers which it is desired shall
open in directions at right angles or at any other suitable angle to each other.
Similar letters of reference relate to like or analogous parts in all the figures of
the drawings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
First The combination with a drawer B B¹ of the outer part or carriage C
provided with guides or guideways on or in which the said drawer is adapted to
slide on the said outer part or carriage, the said drawer B B' and carriage C being
adapted to slide together in or on guideways in any suitable framing such
as A, A', A' for example of any piece of furniture, in directions at right angles or
at any other suitable angles to the direction in which the drawer B B' can be
moved on the carriage C, substantially as herein before described, and illustrated
in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the drawings.
Second A drawer B B or an outer part or carriage carrying a drawer having
studs or pins E thereon, a framing A, A1, A2, for example having guide grooves G
formed therein into which take the studs or pins E on the drawer B B or on
the outer part or carriage as the case may be, combined, arranged and operating as
bereinbefore described, and illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings.

page_text: Third-In connection with a drawer adapted to be drawn out in directions at
right angles, or at any other angles to each other, the use of the false fronts B*:
connected to the sides of the drawer B B by dovetail or other similar guides B³
substantially as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 of the
drawings, and for the purpose specified.
Fourth In connection with a drawer adapted to be drawn out in directions at
right angles, or at any other angles to each other, the use of doors or brackets Q
hinged to the framing in which the said drawer works as hereinbefore described,
and illustrated in Figures 14 and 15 of the drawings and for the purpose
specified.
Fifth In connection with a drawer such as a table drawer for example adapted
to be drawn out in directions at right angles, or at any other angles, to each other
the use of a weight or spring for the purpose of returning such drawer to its normal
position whatever may be the direction in which it has been drawn out, arranged
and operating as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of
the drawings.
Sixth-In connection with a drawer such as a table drawer for example adapted
to be drawn out in directions at right angles, or at any other angles to each other,
the devices for locking the said drawer in its closed position, consisting of a socket
or sleeve adapted to turn on the upper part of the table leg and provided with a
spiral or inclined groove or other cam-like surface, a spring bolt or catch and a
hole or recess in the bottom of the drawer, all combined, arranged and operating
substantially as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the
drawings.
Dated this 17th dow of M-1000