Back-to-back drawer assembly with staggered bypassing slides

Claim 2

A drawer assembly for use in a unit having a transverse opening therethrough to accommodate two sets of drawers in back-to-back relationship and openable from opposite sides of the unit, said assembly comprising a plurality of drawer guides and two sets of drawers, said drawer guides being horizontal, rectilinear and arranged in equal numbers at both sides of said opening in parallel, equally spaced relationship, the upper surfaces of corresponding drawer guides at each side of said opening being coplanar, said drawer guides extending substantially the horizontal length of said opening, said sets of drawers being arranged in back-to-back relationship, the total vertical dimension of each set substantially equaling the vertical dimension of said opening, first and second mirror image slides for each of said drawers, said slides being rectilinear and of a length slightly less than the length of said guides, each slide having a bottom surface adapted to cooperate with said upper surfaces of said guides, said first and second slides being affixed to and indentically positioned on each drawer in horizontal, parallel, vertically staggered relationship, the vertical distance between the bottom surfaces of said slides of a drawer being substantially equal to the vertical distance between said upper surfaces of two adjacent guides, the slides of each drawer having portions extending rearwardly of said drawer, all of the slides of the drawers of said sets engaging different guides, each drawer and its slides being shiftable along its respective guides between open and closed positions, the rearwardly extending portions of the slides of each drawer of each set bypassing and extending alongside a drawer of the other set when said drawers are in said closed position.

Claim 3

The assembly claimed in claim 1 wherein each slide has a vertically narrow downwardly depending shoulder on its bottom surface near its forward end, each of said guides having a notch formed in its upper surface near each of its ends, the shoulders on the slides of each drawer cooperating with corresponding notches on the guides supporting said slides to maintain said drawer in said closed position unless purposefully opened.

Claim 4

The assembly claimed in claim 1 wherein said guides at each side of said opening comprise integral one-piece parts of a molded panel of plastic material.

Claim 5

The assembly claimed in claim 1 wherein each drawer of each set comprises an identical, open, rectangular frame, said frame comprising a front panel, a rear panel, and first and second side panels, said panels having upper and lower edges, said first slide being affixed along said first panel near said upper edge thereof, said second slide being affixed along said second side panel near said lower edge thereof, said drawer further comprising a rectangular bottom element having a peripheral upstanding wall thereabout, the free edge of said wall being affixed to said frame panels adjacent said lower edges thereof, the vertical dimension of said bottom element determining, in conjunction with the vertical dimension of said front panel, the overall vertical dimension of said drawer.

Claim 6

The assembly claimed in claim 4 wherein each of said frame and said bottom element comprises an integral, one-piece molded plastic structure.

Claim 7

The assembly claimed in claim 5 wherein each of said slides comprises an elongated plastic body of channel-shaped cross-section molded about an elongated metallic reinforcing member of correspondingly channel-shaped cross-section, the legs of said channel-shaped body comprising the top and bottom of said slide, the base of said channel-shaped plastic body comprising the outside vertical side of said slide.

Claim 8

The assembly claimed in claim 6 wherein each side panel of said drawer frame has a horizontal, laterally extending flange structure extending therealong and comprising an integral, one-piece part thereof, said flange structures being vertically staggered, each slide of said frame receiving said flange structure of its respective side panel within its channel-shaped cross-section and being affixed to said flange structure.

Claim 9

A medicine containing cart for use in nursing homes and hospitals, said cart comprising a base frame provided with casters, upstanding end walls and a top, said base frame, said end walls and said top defining a transverse opening in said cart extending from side to side thereof, two sets of drawers in back-to-back relationship being located in said opening and being openable from opposite sides of said cart, equal numbers of horizontal, rectilinear drawer guides being mounted on said cart ends at either side of said opening in parallel, equally spaced relationship, the upper surfaces of corresponding drawer guides at each side of said opening being coplanar, said drawer guides extending substantially the horizontal length of said opening, the total vertical dimension of each of said sets of drawers substantially equaling the total vertical dimension of said opening, first and second mirror image slides for each of said drawers, said slides being rectilinear and of a length slightly less than the length of said guides, each slide having a bottom surface adapted to cooperate with said upper surface of said guides, said first and second slides being affixed to and identically positioned on each drawer in horizontal, parallel, vertically staggered relationship, the vertical distance between the bottom surfaces of said slides of a drawer being substantially equal to the vertical distance between said upper surfaces of two adjacent guides, the slides of each drawer having portions extending rearwardly of said drawer, all of the slides of the drawers of said sets engaging different guides, each drawer and its slides being shiftable along its respective guides between open and closed positions, the rearwardly extending portions of the slides of each drawer of each set bypassing and extending alongside a drawer of the other set when said drawers are in said closed position.

Claim 10

A medicine containing cart for use in nursing homes and hospitals, said cart comprising a base frame provided with casters, upstanding end walls and a top, said base frame, said end walls and said top defining a transverse opening in said cart extending from side to side thereof, two sets of drawers in back-to-back relationship being located in said opening and being openable from opposite sides of said cart, equal numbers of horizontal, rectilinear drawer guides being mounted on said cart ends at either side of said opening in parallel, equally spaced relationship, the upper surfaces of corresponding drawer guides at each side of said opening being coplanar, said drawer guides extending substantially the horizontal length of said opening, the total vertical dimension of each of said sets of drawers substantially equaling the total vertical dimension of said opening, first and second mirror image slides for each of said drawers, said slides being rectilinear and of a length slightly less than the length of said guides, each slide having a bottom surface adapted to cooperate with said upper surface of said guides, said first and second slides being affixed to and identically positioned on each drawer in horizontal, parallel, vertically staggered relationship, the vertical distance between the bottom surfaces of said slides of a drawer being substantially equal to the vertical distance between said upper surfaces of two adjacent guides, the slides of each drawer having portions extending rearwardly of said drawer, all of the slides of the drawers of said sets engaging different guides, each drawer and its slides being shiftable along its respective guides between open and closed positions, the rearwardly extending portions of the slides of each drawer of each set bypassing and extending alongside a drawer of the other set when said drawers are in said closed position.

Claim 11

The cart claimed in claim 8 wherein each slide has a vertically narrow downwardly depending shoulder on its bottom surface near its forward end, each of said guides having a notch formed in its upper surface near each of its ends, the shoulders on the slides of each drawer cooperating with corresponding notches on the guides supporting said slides to maintain said drawer in said closed position unless purposefully opened.

Claim 12

The cart claimed in claim 8 wherein said guides at each side of said opening comprise integal one-piece parts of a molded panel of plastic material affixed to the adjacent upstanding cart end.

Claim 13

The cart claimed in claim 8 wherein each drawer of each set comprises an identical, open, rectangular frame, said frame comprising a front panel, a rear panel, and first and second side panels, said panels having upper and lower edges, said first slide being affixed along said first panel near said upper edge thereof, said second slide being affixed along said second side panel near said lower edge thereof, said drawer further comprising a rectangular bottom element having a peripheral upstanding wall thereabout, the free edge of said wall being affixed to said frame panels adjacent said lower edges thereof, the vertical dimension of said bottom element determining, in conjunction with the vertical dimension of said front panel, the overall vertical dimension of said drawer.

Claim 14

The cart claimed in claim 8 wherein one of said drawer sets includes a conventional tray-containing cassette, said cassette being provided with horizontal, rectilinear slides affixed to either side thereof in staggered position, each slide having a bottom surface adapted to cooperate with one of said drawer guides, said bottom surfaces of said cassette slides being vertically offset by a distance substantially equal to the vertical distance between the upper surfaces of two adjacent drawer guides.

Claim 15

The cart claimed in claim 11 wherein each of said frame and said bottom element comprises an integral, one-piece molded plastic structure.

Claim 16

The cart claimed in claim 13 wherein each of said slides comprises an elongated plastic body of channel-shaped cross-section molded about an elongated metallic reinforcing member of correspondingly channel-shaped cross-section, the legs of said channel-shaped body comprising the top and bottom of said slide, the base of said channel-shaped plastic body comprising the outside vertical side of said slide.

Claim 17

The cart claimed in claim 14 wherein each side panel of said drawer frame has a horizontal, laterally extending flange structure extending therealong and comprising an integral, one-piece part thereof, said flange structures being vertically staggered, each slide of said frame receving said flange structure of its respective side panel within its channel-shaped cross-section and being affixed to said flange structure.

Claim 18

The cart claimed in claim 15 wherein said opening has a vertical dimension of 30 inches, said sets of drawers being made up of drawers selected from drawers having vertical dimensions of 3 inches, 6 inches and 9 inches.