WO2006099638A1

WO2006099638A1 - Cabinet module

Info

Publication number: WO2006099638A1
Application number: PCT/ZA2006/000038
Authority: WO
Inventors: Arnoldus Adriaan Van Wijk
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-03-15
Filing date: 2006-03-14
Publication date: 2006-09-21
Anticipated expiration: 2007-09-15
Also published as: ZA200709791B

Abstract

A filing cabinet with a base, a number of modules stacked one on the other, and a lid. The modules are secured together by means of interlocking tongue and groove formations, channel and rib formations, and spring loaded fasteners.

Description

CABINET MODULE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to a cabinet module which can be used with one or more similar modules to construct a cabinet, e.g. a filing cabinet, of a desired size.

[0002] The purchase price of a filing cabinet with a plurality of drawers can be substantial and in many instances a need exists for a small filing cabinet with, say, two drawers to which additional drawers can be added as filing requirements grow.

[0003] A need exists therefore for a modular cabinet arrangement which allows for a number of modules to be easily interconnected to each other in a neat and attractive manner to provide a cabinet of a desired storage capability.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0004] The invention provides, in the first instance, a cabinet module which includes a housing with a back member, opposed side members, sliding gear on the side members, a front opening, a drawer, engaged with the sliding gear, which is movable through the opening, a securing member and a complementary securing member on the back member, and fasteners and complementary fasteners on the side members, whereby the securing member is engageable with the complementary securing member of a similar housing on which the housing is stacked, and the fasteners on the side members are engageable with the complementary fasteners of the similar housing, thereby to secure the housing to the similar housing.

[0005] The securing member may include a hook formation or channel. [0006] Each fastener may be of any appropriate kind and for example may be selected from a screw device, a spring-loaded device, a catch or any equivalent mechanism.

[0007] Each fastener, when engaged with a respective complementary fastener, may restrict movement of the housing relatively to the similar housing in at least one of the following directions: vertically; transversely relative to the direction of drawer movement; in the direction of drawer movement.

[0008] Lower and upper edges of the side members may have complementary tongue and groove formations which, when engaged with each other, inhibit lateral movement of one housing relatively to an adjacent housing.

[0009] An interlock mechanism may be provided on the back member which includes a guide, first and second slide members which are slidably engaged with the guide, a catch device, and an actuator which acts on the catch device so that, when the drawer is moved to a closed position the slide members are movable relatively towards each other to respecting limiting positions, and wherein the slide members and the catch device interact with each other to allow the drawer to be moved away from the closed position only if the slide members can be moved away from the respective positions.

[0010] At least one of the cabinet modules may be used with a base with the housing stacked on the base and the securing member on the back member engaged with the complementary securing member on the base, and the fasteners on the side members being engaged with complementary fasteners on the base thereby to secure the housing to the base. [0011] Similarly at least one cabinet module may be used with a lid which is stacked on the housing and wherein the lid includes a securing member which is engageable with the complementary securing member on the back member and the lid further includes fasteners which are engageable with the complementary fasteners on the side members thereby to secure the lid to the cabinet module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The invention is further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side view, partly sectioned, of a cabinet according to the invention which includes two cabinet modules;

Figure 2 shows the cabinet of Figure 1 with a lid detached and with an upper module being engaged with a lower module;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of complementary formations on the cabinet modules which are engageable with each other; Figures 4 and 5 are enlarged views of fasteners, enclosed in a circle marked "5" in

Figure 1 , in disengaged and engaged positions respectively;

Figure 6 is a view in cross section taken on a line 6 - 6 in Figure 1, of tongue and groove formation on upper and lower edges of side members used in the cabinet modules of the invention; and Figures 7 and 8 show an interlock mechanism in released and interlocked modes respectively. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0013] Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings illustrates a cabinet 10 from one side and partly in section. The cabinet includes a base 12, a lid 14, a lower cabinet module 16 and an upper module cabinet module 18.

[0014] The lid is stacked on the module 18 which is stacked on the module 16 which in turn is stacked on the base 12.

[0015] The modules 16 and 18 include drawers 20 and 22 respectively.

[0016] The modules 16 and 18 are for all practical purposes identical and thus the construction of only one module is described hereinafter.

[0017] The module 16 includes a back member 24 and opposed side members 26, only one of the side members being visible in the drawing. The side members and the back member make up a housing 28 which, on a front side, has an opening 30 through which the drawer 20 can pass. Sliding gear of any appropriate kind, see for example the components marked 32 in Figures 7 and 8, is attached to the inner surface of each side member 26 and provides a means whereby the drawers can be slid to and fro between closed and open positions, as is indicated by means of a double headed arrow 34 in Figure 1.

[0018] Figure 3 illustrates in enlarged detail the construction of a back member 24 at a junction of the back member with a back member 24A of the overlying module 18. An upper edge of the back member 24 has an inwardly directed flange 36 while a lower edge of the back member 24A has an open channel formation 38 which can be engaged with a hook type action with the flange 36, as is shown in Figure 2. To achieve this the upper housing, designated 28A, is positioned precisely over the lower housing 28 and the channel formation is clipped on to the flange. The upper housing is then allowed to settle downwardly with a pivoting action.

[0019] Each side member 26 has a shaped steel plate 40 fixed to an upper edge of the side member and a shaped steel plate 42 fixed to a lower edge of the side member. The plate 40 has an upstanding projection 44 flanked by a small flange 46 through which is formed a hole 48.

[0020] The plate 42 has a downwardly facing slot or recess 50 which is complemental in shape to the projection 44. The slot is flanked by a flange 52 to which is mounted a spring-loaded catch 54.

[0021] When the housing 28A is settled on to the underlying housing 28, with the formation 38 engaged with the flange 36, the flange 52 is brought into abutment with the flange 46, as is shown in Figure 5. The spring-loaded catch 54, as is shown in Figure 4, is retracted to allow this action to take place. The catch 54 is then allowed to move inwardly, as is shown in Figure 5, so that a pin 56 of the catch engages with the hole 48 in the flange 46. The upper housing is thereby locked to the lower housing.

[0022] Figure 6 illustrates in cross section a junction between an upper side member 26A and a lower side member 26. The lower member has a centrally positioned tongue formation 70 in an upper edge, while the upper side member 26A has a centrally positioned groove formation 72, in a lower edge, which is complemental in shape to the tongue formation. Thus, when the housings are stacked one on the other, the cabinet modules are secured to each other by means of the interengaging flange and channel formations 36 and 38, by means of the spring-loaded catches 54 on opposed side members, and by means of the interengaging tongue and groove formations 70 and 72 on the side members. The flanges 52 and 46 are also brought into abutment and so are the projections 44 and the slots 50. The upper housing 28A is therefore constrained against movement, relatively to the lower housing, in a vertical direction, in a direction which is transverse to the vertical, and in a to and fro direction also transverse to the vertical.

[0023] From an inspection of Figures 1 and 2 it can be seen that the base 12 includes a steel plate 4OA which in all material respects is the same as the steel plates 40 and that the lowermost housing 28 and the base have interengaging formations similar to what is shown in Figure 3.

[0024] The lid 14 on the other hand has a steel plate 42A which is the same as the plate 42 and it can therefore be engaged with the uppermost housing 28A in a way which is similar to the way in which the housing 28A is engaged with the housing 28. Also the lid 14, at a rear side, has a channel formation 38A which can be engaged with a flange 36 on the uppermost housing.

[0025] It follows from the preceding description that, initially, a cabinet can be constructed from a single housing 28 which is engaged with a base 12 and a lid 14. Thereafter as the need for storage space increases a second housing 28A can be stacked on and secured to the lower housing 28 with the lid simply then being reengaged with the upper housing. The process can be repeated to provide a cabinet with five or more drawers. [0026] Each of the drawers in the filing cabinet may contain a large number of files or other objects and consequently may be fairly heavy. As noted four or even more drawers may be stacked one above the other in a vertical array. When an upper drawer is withdrawn to a position at which files inside the drawer can be accessed then a substantial moment can be exerted on the filing cabinet which tends to rotate the cabinet. It is therefore highly desirable to provide a construction which enables only one drawer to be withdrawn from the cabinet at a time. This may be achieved in the manner shown in Figures 7 and 8.

[0027] Figures 7 and 8 respectively show a portion of a sliding gear 32 in the cabinet of Figure 1 in closed and open drawer positions. Each drawer has associated with it an interlocking assembly 100 which is actuated by movement of an elongate member 102. The interlocking assembly 100 includes first and second slide

members 104 and 106 which are in-line, which are spaced from each other, and which are positioned on upper and lower sides of the sliding gear 32. The slide members are movable in a guide component 108. The slide members have arcuate plastic covers 110 fitted to their extremities.

[0028] An actuator 112 is mounted for sliding movement between an inoperative position shown in Figure 7 and an operative position shown in Figure 8, in the same direction as the direction in which a drawer is moved when it is moved from a closed position to a withdrawn position. The actuator includes cam surfaces 114 and 116.

A spring 118 is fixed to a rear end of a stationary component 120 of the sliding gear and to a trailing end 122 of the elongate member 102. This end is also attached to the actuator 112. [0029] The slide members of each interlocking assembly are in-line with each other and are also aligned with the slide members of the remaining drawer or drawers in the cabinet.

[0030] When the actuator 112 is moved to the operative position shown in Figure 8, by movement of a corresponding drawer to a withdrawn position, the cam surfaces

214 and 216 ride against arcuate surfaces of the corresponding covers 110 to ensure that the slide members are moved apart with a low friction action.

[0031] Extremities of the slide members, not shown, are brought into contact with extremities of corresponding slide members of adjacent interlocking mechanism associated with respective drawers above and below (if this is the case) the slide members 104 and 106. The outwardly moving slide members 104 and 106 prevent the corresponding slide members of each adjacent interlocking mechanism from being moved downwards or upwards, as the case may be, and consequently the drawers associated with those slide members can not be withdrawn.

[0032] As the withdrawn drawer is moved to its closed position the spring 118 urges the actuator 117 to the inoperative position shown in Figure 7. The opposed ends of the slide members 104 and 106 can therefore move relatively towards one another. In other words if a different drawer is moved from a closed to a withdrawn position its

slide members are moved with movement being transferred from one slide member to another so that only the drawer in question can be withdrawn and the other drawers remain locked in their closed positions.

Claims

1. A cabinet module which includes a housing with a back member, opposed side members, sliding gear on the side members, a front opening, a drawer, engaged with the sliding gear which is movable through the opening, a securing member and a complementary securing member on the back member, and fasteners and complementary fasteners on the side members, whereby the securing member is engeable with the complementary securing member of a similar housing on which the housing is stacked, and the fasteners on the side members are engageable with the complementary fasteners of the similar housing, thereby to secure the housing to the similar housing.

2. A cabinet module according to claim 1 wherein the securing member includes a hook formation or channel.

3. A cabinet module according to claim 1 or 2 wherein each fastener is selected from: a screw device; a spring-loaded device; a catch.

4. A cabinet module according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein each fastener, when engaged with a respective complementary fastener, restricts movement of the housing relative to the similar housing in at least one of the following directions: vertically; transversely; relative to the direction of drawer movement; in the direction of drawer movement.

5. A cabinet module according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein lower and upper edges of the side members have complementary tongue and groove formations.

6. A cabinet module according to any one of claims 1 to 5 which includes an interlock mechanism on the back member which includes a guide, first and second slide members which are slidably engaged with the guide, a catch device, and an actuator on the drawer which acts on the catch member so that, when the drawer is moved to a closed position the slide members are movable relatively towards each other to respective limiting positions, and wherein the slide members and catch device interact with each other to allow the drawer to be moved away from the closed position only if the slide members can be moved away from the respective limiting positions.

7. A cabinet which includes a base, and at least one cabinet module according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the housing is stacked on the base and the securing member on the back member is engaged with a complementary securing member on the base, and the fasteners on the side members are engaged with complementary fasteners on the base, thereby to secure the housing to the base.

8. A cabinet which includes at least one cabinet module according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and a lid which is stacked on the housing, and wherein the lid includes a securing member which is engageable with the complementary securing member on the back member, and the lid includes fasteners which are engageable with the complementary fasteners on the side members, thereby to secure the lid to the cabinet module.