US3365261A - Slidable drawer structure - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 23,' 1968 K. H. GUTNER SLIDABLB DRAWER STRUCTURE Filed June 1, 1967 m W 7 H 2 T 7 E 2 N AWN,

United States ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLDSURE A dresser or like structure having a slidable drawer wherein the sliding movement of the drawer is facilitated by a channel-shaped slide operating in conjunction with a grooved guide, the slide having a specified range of critical dimensions to insure smooth sli-din of the drawer, particularly when the drawer is almost fully withdrawn from the dresser.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Ser. No. 579,401, now Patent No. 3,328,107, filed Sept. 14, 1966.

S ummary f invention A principal function of a drawer slide is smoothness of controlled operation. To achieve this goal, the slide must ride smoothly on its associated guidewhich is usually constructed of wood. Optimum results are obtained when the slide is essentially rigid in combination with the somewhat resilient or yielding wooden guide member. According to the invention, this is achieved through the use of steel, i.e., a ferrous material. Such a slide stands up well under different pressure changes and is not adversely affected by temperature changes. A particular change that is critical is the one that is encountered in the factory when the dresser is baked in the finishing process and resistance to thermal deformation is critical in maintaining smoothness of drawer slidability.

The smooth ridability of the inventive construction is achieved through the functioning of two structures within the slide. The first structure provided in the invention is certain critical reinforcing ribbing. The ribbing is particularly significant in the upper corners of the channelshaped slide and is responsible for maintaining end portions of the bottom flangethe critical ridable portions in its original plane relative to the remainder of the flange so as to achieve this smooth ridability.

A second structure within the slide is a funnel-type entry developed by flaring the rear ends of the flanges to prevent slicing off the wood and thereby permanently damaging the soft wood guidea damaged guide naturally resulting in inferior operation of the drawer.

The invention is explained in conjunction with an illustrative embodiment in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a dresser or like structure which accommodates a plurality of drawers, the confining structure being shown in phantom line;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a drawer equipped with the inventive slide when viewed from the lower rear;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the inventive slide as viewed from the rear end on a scale generally enlarged relative to FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the extreme lefthand portion of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view in fragmentary form such as would be seen along the sight line 55 of FIG. 4; and

' amt FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

In the illustration given, the numeral 10 designates generally a dresser or like structure which is seen to accommodate a plurality of slidable drawers, The instant invention finds particular use in dressers where the openings for receiving the drawers have a horizontal dimension not in excess of about 48", i.e., the width dimension of the drawer 11 seen in FIG. 1. Further, dressers normally have depths less than about 24" so that the depth of the drawer measured from front to back, is not in excess of about 24". Still further, the instant invention is concerned with the slidable feature of such a dresser drawer and this is normally achieved through the provision of a guide member 12 (seen only in FIGS. 1 and 6) as part of the dresser. For this purpose, the dresser frame is normally equipped with a slide-slotted center guide for the underside of the drawer with the guide extending generally perpendicularly to the opening receiving the drawer.

Fixed to the underside of the drawer 11 is a slide generally designated 13. The slide 13 is channel-shaped as can be readily appreciated from a consideration of FIGS. 3, 4 and 6. The slide 13 at its rear end is equipped with a turned-up tab 14 suitably secured to the rear face or panel 15 of the drawer by means of stapling or the like as at 16.

The other end of the slide 13, i.e., the forward end, is equipped with a tab portion as at 17 (so designated in FIGS. 2 and 3) which is received within a corresponding slot in the front panel 18 of the drawer 11. Further details of this construction as well as that of the folded portion 16 can be seen in my co-pending application identified above.

The slide 13 is seen to be channel-shaped or, more precisely, generally C-shaped in cross-section (see particularly FIG. 6.) The slide 13, in its C-shaped transverse section defines a generally horizontally disposed top wall 19 which I have discovered to require an outside horizontal dimension in the range of about 4;" to about 1 /2 for the size drawer specified aboveand when the gauge of the steel material of construction of the slide is lighter than about 16-gauge, i.e., in the range 18-gauge to 24- gauge. Here it will be appreciated that not only is it desirable to utilize lighter gauges for the sake of economy and ease of handling, but also the lighter gauge material in the slide results in less weight in the drawer and therefore less wear on the sliding surfaces of the drawer, frame, and guide. Further, the slide 13 includes generally vertical side walls in its transverse section as at 20 (see FIG. 6) and I find the critical dimensions of these for the structure specified to be in the range of about A" to about 1'. The vertical side walls 20 are turned inwardly as at 21 to provide integral flanges which cooperate with elongated slots 22 (designated only in FIG. 6) provided in the guide 12.

The slide 13 adjacent its rear or inserted end is equipped with a plurality of transversely-extending ribs as at 23, 24, 25 and 26 (see the lefthand portion of FIG. 3). The ribs in the illustration given extend from one flange 21 to the other flange 21 (this designation being given only in FIG. 3). Excellent results are obtainable when the ribbing is provided only in the vicinity of the upper corners as is designated by the symbol R in FIG. 6. In that dimension, it is seen that the rib extends at least part way across the top wall 19 and part way down the side wall Ztl. When ribbing of this nature is provided, there is developed an advantageous stabilization of the flanges 21 so as to maintain them essentially coplanar notwithstanding various stresses imparted to the drawer. It will be appreciated that when the drawer is virtually fully pulled out, its entire weight as well as the weight of its contents may be focused on the extreme rear end of the slide, particularly the rear ends of the flanges 2i and 21 so as to deform the rear flange portions out of the plane of the remainder of the flanges. This is effectively opposed and resisted by the ribs 23-25, particularly the portions thereof that are provided at the upper corners as at R. It will further be appreciated that smooth ridability of the drawer within the dresser frame, particularly the guide 12, is facilitated through maintaining the flanges 21 and 21' in the above-mentioned planar condition.

For this purpose, I find that it is essential to have at least two ribs of the character indicated, such as at 25 and 26. Each rib, for the installation described in detail above, i.e., for drawers of the size specified and using the material and dimensions of slide already given, each rib should outstand from the junction of the top and side walls of the C-shaped slide by at least about 1 but not more than about Further, the ribs should be spaced apart at least by about i.e., the dimension designated S in FIG. 4, but not more than about 1".

As mentioned previously, I employ a funnel-type configuration at the extreme rear of the slide 13 and optimum results are obtained when only the terminal portions of the flanges 21 and 21 are flared outwardly, i.e., downwardly from the plane of the remaining portion of the associated flange as at 27 in FIGS. 3-6. I find that the best results are achieved when end rib 26 is only partially formed in the slide 13 so as to develop a Z-shape such as is generally shown and designated by the numeral 28 in FIG. 5. In other words, the rib 26 has a wall portion 29 extending generally away from the plane 343 of the flange 21. In contrast to the other ribs, i.e., the ribs 2325, there is no return wall but instead the material of the flange 21 is continued from the extreme outer portion of the rib 'rearwardl'y and then flared away from the top Wall 19 as is best seen at the extreme upper lefthand portion of FIG. 5. The flare provided at 27 I find should not amount to more than about when employed in conjunction with a slide-in drawer defined as above.

In operation, utilizing a slide of the character hereinbefore described in detail, a drawer can be opened and closed a great number of times without destroying smooth ridability of the drawer within the associated support structure. In particular, the drawer can be extended out of the dresser and caused to be supported primarily on the extreme rear end portion of the slide with no dilatorious effect. Such an operation is particularly important in middle-price and lower-price dressers where elaborate slide features are inappropriate. Such dressers usually are purchased by young couples with children who can be hard on furniture, children hanging on dresser drawers and in other Ways exerting extraordinary stress.

Through the practice of the invention, I am able to provide a dresser which provides a drawer suitably constructed for smooth ridability throughout its life, notwithstanding the imposition of extraordinary stresses on the portions that are important for the smooth ridability of the drawer. In the illustrated version, the drawer, in effect, rides on a series of spaced areas as at 31 in FIG. 4 to further impart smooth movement.

I claim:

1. In a novel slida'ole drawer structure comprising a frame such as a dresser or the like having a generally rectangular drawer-receiving front opening, the horizontal dimension of which is not in excess of 48", a drawer slidably received in said opening and having a length not in excess of 24", said frame being equipped with an elongated slide-slotted center guide for the underside of said drawer with said guide extending generally perpendicular to said opening, and elongated slide fixed to the underside of said drawer and slidably engaging said guide, said slide being generally C-shaped in transverse section to engage said guide slots, said C-shape defining a horizontal top wall integrated with vertical side walls and inwardly extending flanges integrated with said side walls beiow said top wall, the improved slide construction characterized by the fact that said slide is constructed of ferrous material having a gauge lighter than 16-gauge with the outside vertical dimension of said slide being in the range of about $4" to about 1" and the outside horizontal dimension being in the range of about at," to about 1 said slide adjacent the end thereof adjacent the inserted end of said drawer being equipped with at least two transversely-extending ribs longitudinally spaced apart by at least about A but not more than about 1", each rib outstanding from the junction of the top and side walls of said C-shape by at least but not more than about and extending at least part way over said top and side walls whereby said ribs in conjunction with the material of construction stabilize the orientation of said flanges when the weight of said drawer is concentrated primarily on the rear portion of said flanges so as to impart smooth ridability of said drawer on said guide throughout substantially the entire withdrawal movement of said drawer relative to said frame.

2. The construction of claim 1 in which said ribs are continuous about said C-shape from one flange to the other flange.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which the rib closest to the rear end of said slide includes in the flange portions thereof a wall portion extending generally transversely of the length of said slide to define a generally Z-shape in longitudinal section with one leg of the Z being generally co-planar with the rest of said flange and the other leg being spaced laterally outwardly therefrom, said other leg of said Z-shape at its end being flared outwardly to provide a funnel-like entry for engaging said slide with said guide.

4. In a novel slidable drawer structure comprising a frame such as a dresser or the like having a generally rectangular drawer-receiving front opening, the horizontal dimension of which is not in excess of 48", a drawer slidably received in said opening and having a length not in excess of 24", said frame being equipped with an elongated slide-slotted center guide for the underside of said drawer with said guide extending generally perpendicular to said opening, and elongated slide fixed to the underside of said drawer and slidably engaging said guide, said slide being generally C-shaped in transverse section to engage said guide slots, said C-shape defining a horizontal top wall integrated with vertical side walls and inwardly extending flanges integrated with said side walls below said top wall, the improved slide construction characterized by the fact that said slide is constructed of ferrous material having a gauge lighter than ltd-gauge with the outside vertical dimension of said slide being in the range of about A to about 1" and the outside horizontal dimension being in the range of about to about 1 said flanges at the rear end of said slide being flared downwardly not more than about References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,559,322 7/ 1951 Skamser 312346 2,841,460 7/1958 Rainier 312-347 X 2,992,057 7/1961 Maxwell 312-432 3,050,357 8/1962 Hillson et al. 312332 3,185,530 5/1965 Reiss et al 312346 X 3,201,187 8/1965 Reiss et al 312346 3,328,107 6/1967 Gutner 312347 FOREIGN PATENTS 172,314 12/1934 Switzerland.

JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner.

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