Patent ID: 6969129

Claim:
A mechanism for interlocking at least two vertically adjacent slide mounted items in a cabinet between the side walls of said cabinet, said items selected from the group consisting of drawers, panels, pivotally mounted panels and fixtures, said mechanism comprising, in combination: a pair of telescoping slides for mounting each slide mounted item for slidable movement between a retracted position and an extended position, at least one of each pair of slides including a) an inside channel for attachment to a slide mounted item, and an outside channel for attachment to an adjacent side of a cabinet, said inside channel including an inner end, an upper edge and a generally parallel lower edge, at least one of said upper and lower edges including a projecting tab adjacent to the inner end; and b) said outside channel slidably receiving the inside channel along a slidable pathway, said outside channel further including an inner end which underlies, at least in part, the inner end of the inside channel in the retracted position; a guide housing mounted on the inner end of the outside channel in opposed relation to the inside channel, said guide housing including a vertical guideway, and a pivot axis located in the slidable pathway; a rotatable cam member pivotally mounted in the guide housing for rotational movement about a cam member pivot axis, said cam member including at least a first peripheral lobe for engagement by the inner end of the inside channel upon movement thereof to the retracted position, a second peripheral lobe for engagement thereof by the projecting tab at the inner end of the inside channel upon movement thereof from the retracted position toward the extended position, and a third peripheral lobe which projects generally radially from the pivot axis generally transverse in direction to the movement of the inside channel when the inside channel is in the extended position; at least one cam follower slidably mounted in the guide housing guideway for cooperative engagement by the third peripheral lobe of the cam member upon rotation of the cam member by movement of the inside channel toward the extended position, said cam follower including a projecting stud extending generally transverse to inside channel movement; and a connecting rod having a cross sectional shape generally congruent with the cross section of the stud and connectable between the stud and a next vertically adjacent slide; said cam follower further including a projecting element and said inside channel of one of said slides including an element receiving slot engageable by said cam follower projecting element when the inside channel is in the retracted position.