Drawer cabinet storage kit

Abstract

The present invention provides an assembly, or kit, of injection molded panels having integrated connectors which combine to form a drawer cabinet. The panels are formed of injection molded plastic to interlock with one another without the need for separate fasteners or connectors. The interior of the cabinet is constructed and arranged to accept a plurality of cooperating drawer guides and drawers which snap into place to fill the cabinets interior.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates generally to a drawer cabinet kit constructed of plastic structural panels. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cabinet constructed of injection molded plastic panels to contain a plurality of drawers with modular snap-in guides and which is capable of being packaged and shipped assembled or in a knocked-down state and constructed into a secure drawer cabinet at a desired site. BACKGROUND INFORMATION [0002] Throughout the home, a need exists to store a large variety of different items. This is particularly true of garage and utility areas where a vast array of products have been developed to increase the comfort level of living. The accumulation of these various objects and products gives rise to a need for adequate storage of those items when not in use. [0003] Various cabinets for storing household items such as gardening tools, automotive supplies, barbeque accessories and the like are well known. One of the m...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015] The present invention provides an assembly, or kit, of injection molded panels having integrated connectors which combine to form a drawer cabinet with a plurality of snap-in drawer guide members and cooperating pull out drawers. The cabinet panels are formed of injection molded plastic and include integrally formed connectors to interlock with one another without the need for separate fasteners. The integrated connection of the side walls and top and bottom panels simplifies the drawer cabinet construction and minimizes the number of components required to assemble the drawer cabinet. Injection molding allows the panels to be formed with integral cross-bracing, ribs and gussets for increased rigidity. When supplied as a kit, assembly of the drawer cabinet requires minimal hardware and a minimum number of hand tools.

[0016] The drawer cabinet assembly includes a base panel, a back panel, left and right side panels and a top panel. The base panel is constructed with integrally formed outwardly extending contoured locking posts for interlocking cooperative engagement with sockets formed into the ends of the left, right and back panels. The engagement between the locking posts and the sockets serve to rigidly connect the components together, preventing the panels from bowing inwardly or outwardly under loads to provide a structurally sound cabinet with a pleasing aesthetic appearance.

[0017] The interior portion of the cabinet includes integrally molded vertical rails extending along each side. The rails extend from the base panel to the top panel. Each rail is constructed to accept a plurality of snap-in drawer guide members in a vertically spaced and generally parallel arrangement to cooperate with a combination of drawers to fill the cabinet. This construction allows the consumer to customize the drawer cabinet for a particular storage requirement. Cooperating with the vertical rails are snap-in drawer guide members having a rotatably mounted roller secured within the front portion thereof. The snap in guide members minimize complexity of completing the assembly while increasing versatility by allowing the consumer to customize the assembly for specific needs. The snap-in construction of the drawer guides eliminate the need for skilled tradesmen to line-up and mount complicated hardware within the cabinet. In this manner the consumer can select a plurality of drawers having various heights, snap in the drawer guides, and thereafter slide in the drawers to complete the assembly.

Problems solved by technology

Shipping fully assembled cabinetry requires a considerable amount of space available within a shipping medium.

Because space is limited, the cost associated with shipping assembled cabinets is comparatively high.

All of these basic guide systems have high levels of friction between the drawer and the cabinet and, consequently, rapidly wear out.

Most of these low friction devices require unsightly tracks along the side of the drawers and wide spaces between the sides of the drawers and the drawer face to allow passage of the low friction devices from the inside of the drawer cabinet to the outside when the drawer is extended.

Side play of the drawer when extended is another difficult problem, particularly in the basic forms of drawer guides.

As the guides become worn, the problem becomes even more severe.

Even drawer slides utilizing rollers, ball bearings and sliders have binding problems, especially when the drawers are heavily loaded or the slide parts have become slightly worn.

The ball bearing type of drawer slide creates a different problem.

Skilled labor and time are required to properly position a ball bearing slide.

Fabrication costs of low friction slide arrangements are another problem.

One of the problems associated with such systems is that they tend to be rather large and bulky which limits their use on smaller drawers.

Further, such systems are relatively complicated and difficult to fabricate, resulting in high costs to consumers.

Such prior art systems have not met all of the needs of manufacturers to provide a product that can be easily manufactured, packaged and shipped, or the needs of consumers requiring economical and versatile do-it-yourself storage kits.

Moreover, because the prior art devices do not break down they are difficult and expensive to ship from the manufacturer to the consumer.

There are also commercial considerations that must be satisfied by any viable drawer cabinet system or kit; considerations which are not entirely satisfied by state of the art products.

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