Patent ID: 7104619

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 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 attachable to a slide mounted item, and an outside channel attachable to a side of the cabinet adjacent said slide mounted item, said inside channel including an inner end, an upper edge, a generally parallel lower edge, and a tab adjacent to the inner end; and b) said outside channel slidably receiving the inside channel along a slidable pathway and said inside channel moveable between an inside channel retracted position and an inside channel extended position, said outside channel further including an inner end which underlies, at least in part, the inner end of the inside channel in the inside channel 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 said vertical guideway including a pivot axis also located in the slidable pathway; a rotatable cam member pivotally mounted in the guide housing; for rotational movement about the pivot axis, said cam member including at least a first peripheral lobe and a second peripheral lobe, at least one of said first and second lobes engageable by the inner end of the inside channel upon movement thereof to the inside channel retracted position and also to the inside channel extended position, said cam member further including a third peripheral lobe and a fourth peripheral lobe, said third and fourth lobes projecting radially in opposite directions from the pivot axis and said cam member rotatable to a position aligning said third and fourth lobes to be transverse in direction to the movement of the inside channel when the inside channel is slidably moved to the extended position; at least one cam follower slidably mounted in the guide housing guideway movable transversely to the direction of movement of the inside channel upon cooperative engagement of said cam follower by the third or fourth peripheral lobe of the cam member upon rotation of the cam member effected by movement of the inside channel toward the inside channel extended position, said cam follower including a projecting stud for receipt of a removable rod, said stud extending transverse to inside channel movement; a connecting rod having a cross sectional configuration congruent with the the stud and connectable between the stud and a next vertically adjacent slide; and a cooperative tab and slot interconnecting the cam follower and guide housing to limit travel of the cam follower relative to the guide housing.