GB2065457A - Runners in one-piece furniture drawers of plastics material - Google Patents

Abstract

A drawer is moulded in plastics in one piece, and comprises double walled side panels 11, 12 which are open to the bottom, the runners being formed separately and being inserted between the double walls, and each runner being in the form of a member reinforced by a stiffener 4 wherein the running surface of the runner is of plastics and is not an exposed surface of the stiffener. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION One-piece furniture drawer of plastics material The invention relates to a furniture drawer of plastics material with guide means inserted in spaces which are formed between the side frame walls and are open at the bottom, these guide means consist ing of plastics guide strips with roller elements and being solidly connected to inner wall zones defining the spaces.

A drawer of this kind is described in the specification of German Gebrauchmuster 7716951. In the construction described, roller guides and/or guide strips are provided as guide means for opening and closing the drawer in a sliding movement. The guide means at the drawer side are set back in a space which is formed by the double-walled drawer frame and is open at the bottom. In this known arrangement, the weight of the drawer rests on a continuous strip which closes off the upper end of the space between the frame walls.

Since, particularly in the pulled-out position, the drawer can apply a considerable weight to the supporting element, these elements and in particularthe continuous closure strip must be so designed that they are able to support the weight without the danger of breaking. Since the closure strips are generally made of plastics material and the material used may be the same as the plastics material of the drawer, the closure strips are generally made of plastics material and the material used may be the same as the plastics material of the drawer, the closure strips must either be of suitable thickness or rendered non-breakable by other suitable measures.

A disadvantage of this is that the supporting elements either require a considerable amount of material and are therefore costly, or they have to be rendered resistant to fracture by means of special machining operations.

The present invention seeks to provide a special form of the roller zone of the drawer that removes the danger of breakage and increases the loadbearing capacity of the drawer.

According to the.invention, there is provided a furniture drawer made of plastics material said drawer having side wall assemblies formed as a double wall structure, open at the bottom, guide means situated in the space defined between the walls of each of said assemblies, said guide means consisting of respective plastics guide strips along which, when fitted, a respective roller element will move, said guide strips being fixedly connected to the inner surfaces of the walls of each said assemblies, said guide strips being reinforced by respective inserts which inserts are covered, at least in the zone of movement of the roller elements, with the plastics material of the guide strips.

The inserts may be of strip form, and possible shapes can range from a planar strip material to a U-shaped or L-shaped configuration. The inserts can be arranged over the entire length of the guide strips. They may be made of, for example, hard plastics material or of metal, and can be anchored in the guide strips during manufacture of the latter. An undetachable connection can be achieved, for example, by spraying the inserts all over with the plastics material, and the sprayed-on material can pass through perforations into the inserts so that a virtually undetachable connection is ensured within the guide strips. With this method of anchoring, adhesive agents, for example, can be used as additional bonding means on the inserts. The anchoring of the inserts in or on the guide strips can also be carried out mechanically, i.e. by means of a shapelocking connection.Here, all the known mechanical connecting means are feasible for use for the present purpose. The shape-locking connection can be achieved, for example, by plugged-in or latching means.

In order that the invention may be better understood, several embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a completely embedded U-shaped guide strip fitted in the space within the double walled side wall assembly of the drawer; Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of an only partially embedded U-shaped guide strip fitted in the space within the side wall assemblies; and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of an L-shaped and fully embedded guide strip inserted in the space within the side wall assemblies.

In Figure 1 there is shown a drawer side wall assembly 1 having an inner frame wall 11 and an outer frame wall 12. In the arrangement illustrated, the bottom 13 of the drawer is formed integrally with the inner frame wall 11. This is not essential however; instead, the bottom 13 of the drawer can be subsequently connected to the inner frame wall 11 using some other method of production.

A guide strip 3 is fitted in the space 2 between the inner frame wall 11 and the outer frame wall 12. The guide strip is generally U-shaped, and has strip like securing elements 311, 312 projecting laterally from respective ends of the inner limb 31 of the U-shaped strip. The strip-like securing elements 311,312 are made integrally with the guide strip 3 and, in the end position shown, serve firmly to connect the guide strip 3 to the associated inner zones of the inner frame wall 11 and of the outer frame wall 12.

At one side of the other limb 32 of the U is integrally formed a further securing element 321 which extends towards the bottom 13 of the drawer and which is connected, at a bearing face provided for the purpose, to an edge zone 131 of the bottom 13 of the drawer. The strip-like connecting elements 311, 312,321 can be integrally and continuously formed with the guide strip 3.

In the illustrated arrangement, the guide strip 3 is reinforced by a U-shaped insert 4. In the form shown in Figure 1, the U-shaped insert 4 is covered over all of its faces by the plastics material of the guide strip 3, and its base and its two limbs 41 42 extend over the entire zone of movement of the roller elements, not illustrated in the drawing.

The guide strip 3 and in particular its lower limb 32 are so shaped that a gap for the passage of the guide means at the furniture-body side remains between the free end of the limb 32 and the free end 121 of the outer frame wall 12. Roller elements, which ensure smooth and reliable running of the drawer, can be fitted in the channel 6 formed by the U-shaped guide strip 3 and the free end 121 of the outer frame wall 12. The weight of the drawer is thus transmitted through the reinforced guide strip 3, to the roller elements, not shown in the drawing, and from these to the guide means at the furniture-body side, which guide means are likewise not illustrated in the drawing.

In Figure 2, elements similar two those of Figure 1 have been given the same reference numerals as in Figure 1. In contrast to the arrangement shown in Figure 1, the insert 4 is not enclosed over its entire face by the plastics material of the guide strip 3.

Instead, the rear side of the base of the U forming the insert 4 that is presented to the inner frame wall 11 is not covered with plastics material. In this arrangement the insert 4 can be clipped by its limbs 41,42 into slot-like grooves provided for the purpose in the guide strip 3, and retaining means 33, 34 ensurethat the insert 4 sits firmly in the guide strip 3.

Figure 3 illustrates a guide strip as in Figure 1, but with the difference that the guide strip 3 has an L-shaped insert 7 instead of the U-shaped insert 4.

The other elements of the arrangement shown in Figure 3 are the same as those in Figures 1 and 2.

The advantage of the use of a guide strip, reinforced in the manner described above resides in the fact that the load on the guide strip can be increased without the use of an excessive amount of material or without the need for carrying out further manufacturing steps. The insert can be adapted to suit requirements as regards weight-carrying capacity, and if fairly small weights are involved, an insert made of plastics material or of fairly thin metal can be used, whereas for greater weights a fairly thick metal insert can generally be used.

Claims (12)

1. A furniture drawer made of plastics material said drawer having side wall assemblies formed as a double-wall structure, open at the bottom, guide means situated in the space defined between the walls of each of said assemblies, said guide means consisting of respective plastics guide strips along which, when fitted, a respective roller element will move, said guide strips being fixedly connected to the inner surfaces of the walls of each of said assemblies, said guide strips being reinforced by respective inserts which inserts are covered, at least in the zone of movement of the roller elements, with the plastics material of the guide strips.

2. A drawer according to claim 1 wherein the inserts are of strip form.

3. A drawer according to claim 2 wherein the inserts are U-shaped.

4. A drawer according to claim 2 wherein the inserts are L-shaped.

5. A drawer according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the inserts extend over the entire length of their respective guide strips.

6. A drawer according to claim 5 wherein the inserts are undetachably anchored in the guide Strips.

7. A drawer according to claim 6 wherein the anchoring is achieved by the occlusion of material.

8. A drawer according to claim 6 wherein the anchoring is achieved mechanically.

9. A drawer according to claim 6 wherein the anchoring is achieved by means of a shaped-locking connection.

10. A drawer according to any one of the preced- ing claims wherein the inserts are made of hard plastics material.

11. A drawer according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the inserts are made of metal.

12. A furniture drawer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1,2 or 3 of the accompanying drawings.