Drawer assembly

Claim 2

A construction comprising a self-contained assembly including a plurality of drawers, each of said drawers including opposed side walls and a transversely extending bed portion, a frame for supporting the drawers independent of other support, said frame comprising vertically extending upstanding corner posts and connecting members extending longitudinally along each side of the assembly connecting the corner posts together, and including tracks formed integrally with each of said longitudinally extending connecting members, said tracks receiving the side walls of said drawers for sliding movement of the drawers relative to said frame, said longitudinally extending connecting members defining an inwardly facing channel, the opposite ends of each channel being in alignment with and terminating adjacent said corner posts and projections extending outwardly from said side walls and into said channels, said prOjections serving to retain said drawers on said track and serving as stop means to limit the movement of the drawers relative to the track.

Claim 3

A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said tracks define a longitudinally extending concave trough, and wherein the bottom edges of said side walls define complementary convex surfaces for engagement with the track.

Claim 4

A construction comprising a self-contained assembly including a plurality of drawers, each of said drawers including opposed side walls and a transversely extending bed portion, a frame for supporting the drawers independent of other support, said frame comprising vertically extending upstanding corner posts and connecting members extending longitudinally along each side of the assembly connecting the corner posts together, and including tracks formed integrally with each of said longitudinally extending connecting members, said tracks receiving the side walls of said drawers for sliding movement of the drawers relative to said frame, the opposed interior faces of the side walls for each drawer defining elongated grooves and wherein the side edges of said bed portions fit within said grooves, said grooves including upwardly extending portions, and wherein said bed is provided with front and back walls with the side edges of said front and back walls being received in said upwardly extending portions, projections extending outwardly from said side walls and over said tracks, the opposite ends of each connecting member being in alignment with and terminating adjacent said corner posts, said projections cooperating with portions of said connecting members and thereby serving to retain said drawers against removal from said tracks, and said projections also cooperating with said corner posts and thereby serving as stop means to limit the movement of the drawers relative to the track.

Claim 5

A construction comprising a self-contained assembly including a plurality of drawers, each of said drawers including opposed side walls and a transversely extending bed portion, a frame for supporting the drawers independent of other support, said frame comprising vertically extending upstanding corner posts and connecting members extending longitudinally along each side of the assembly connecting the corner posts together, and including tracks formed integrally with each of said longitudinally extending connecting members, said tracks receiving the side walls of said drawers for sliding movement of the drawers relative to said frame, the opposed interior faces of the side walls for each drawer defining elongated grooves and wherein the side edges of said bed portions fit within said grooves, said grooves including upwardly extending portions, and wherein said bed is provided with front and back walls with the side edges of said front and back walls being received in said upwardly extending portions, projections extending outwardly from said side walls and over said tracks, the opposite ends of each connecting member being in alignment with and terminating adjacent said corner posts, said projections cooperating with portions of said connecting members and thereby serving to retain said drawers against removal from said tracks, and said projections also cooperating with said corner posts and thereby serving as stop means to limit the movement of the drawers relative to the track.

Claim 6

A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said projections comprise pins and including openings defined by the top walls of said channels whereby said drawers can be lifted away from said track by aligning said pins relative to said openings to permit passage of the pins through the openings when the drawers are lifted.

Claim 7

A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said projections comprise pins and wherein said pins are spring loaded and normally extend into said channels, and means attached to said pins for pulling the pins in to permit removal of the drawers from the assembly.

Claim 8

A construction in accordance with claim 1 including transversely extending bottom connecting members, said corner posts and said bottom members comprising sections cut from an elongated extruded member, and including corner joints for interconnecting said bottom members and said corner posts at right angles.

Claim 9

A construction in accordance with claim 6 wherein said extruded sections comprise L-shaped tubes and wherein said corner joints define a pair of outwardly extending L-shaped projections adapted to interfit with the hollow interiors of said tubes.

Claim 10

A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein the opposed interior faces of the side walls for each drawer define elongated grooves and wherein the side edges of said bed portions fit within said grooves.

Claim 11

A construction in accordance with claim 8 wherein said grooves include upwardly extending portions, and wherein said bed is provided with front and back walls with the side edges of said front and back walls being received in said upwardly extending portions.

Claim 12

A construction in accordance with claim 9 including additional groove portions extending forwardly away from the top of the upwardly extending grooves at the front of said side walls, and including an over-hanging member extending forwardly away from the front wall of each drawer to serve as a handle means, the side edges of said over-hanging member being received in said additional groove portions.

Claim 13

In a construction comprising the assembly of a plurality of drawers and meAns for holding the drawers in a space defined between opposed mounting members, the improvement comprising longitudinally extending supports, means attaching said supports to said mounting members, said supports defining a side wall and inwardly extending top and bottom walls, stop means located between said top and bottom walls and extending inwardly relative to said side wall, and track portions comprising continuations of each of said bottom walls, said drawers including sides defining bottom edges with each bottom edge being located in engagement with a track portion, and including means protruding outwardly from each side into the space defined between the top and bottom wall of each support, said protruding means engaging said stop means during movement of a drawer relative to a support for thereby limiting the movement of the drawer, and wherein the bottom edges of said drawers define a convex surface, said track portions of said supports defining concave troughs for receiving said convex surfaces, said troughs extending in planes substantially co-extensive with the respective drawer sides, and said top and bottom walls of said support being located outwardly of the adjacent drawer sides, said troughs comprising integrally formed extensions of each support bottom wall.

Claim 14

In a construction comprising the assembly of a plurality of drawers and meAns for holding the drawers in a space defined between opposed mounting members, the improvement comprising longitudinally extending supports, means attaching said supports to said mounting members, said supports defining a side wall and inwardly extending top and bottom walls, stop means located between said top and bottom walls and extending inwardly relative to said side wall, and track portions comprising continuations of each of said bottom walls, said drawers including sides defining bottom edges with each bottom edge being located in engagement with a track portion, and including means protruding outwardly from each side into the space defined between the top and bottom wall of each support, said protruding means engaging said stop means during movement of a drawer relative to a support for thereby limiting the movement of the drawer, and wherein the bottom edges of said drawers define a convex surface, said track portions of said supports defining concave troughs for receiving said convex surfaces, said troughs extending in planes substantially co-extensive with the respective drawer sides, and said top and bottom walls of said support being located outwardly of the adjacent drawer sides, said troughs comprising integrally formed extensions of each support bottom wall.

Claim 15

A construction in accordance with claim 11 including a notch defined in each top wall whereby a drawer can be lifted upwardly to pass said protruding means through the notch to thereby permit removal of the drawer relative to the support.

Claim 16

A construction in accordance with claim 11 wherein said stop means comprises an angle member attached to the side wall of said support.

Claim 17

A construction in accordance with claim 11 wherein said stop means is formed by pressing a portion of said side wall inwardly between the top and bottom walls.

Claim 18

A construction in accordance with claim 11 wherein said stop means is provided by bending a portion of said top wall downwardly relative to said bottom wall.

Claim 19

A construction in accordance with claim 11 wherein a gap is defined between said stop means and said top wall whereby said drawer can be lifted upwardly for passage of said protruding member through said gap to permit removal of the drawer relative to the support.

Claim 20

A construction in accordance with claim 11 wherein said track portion defines an upwardly extending ridge, and including a groove defined by the bottom edges of said drawers adapted to receive the ridge.

Claim 21

A construction in accordance with claim 11 wherein the side walls of said drawer define a groove on their interior surfaces, said groove comprising an upwardly extending back portion, a longitudinally extending bottom portion and an upwardly extending front portion, and including separate front, bottom and side wall pieces for the drawer adapted to be fit within said grooves.

Claim 22

A construction in accordance with claim 18 wherein said front and back walls comprise extruded lengths, each of said lengths defining a gap adjacent the bottom edges, said bottom wall being received within said gaps in an assembled drawer.

Claim 23

A construction in accordance with claim 18 wherein said front wall includes an outwardly extending portion having a downwardly extending continuation, said groove receiving said extending portion whereby a handle is provided for the assembled drawer.