US2731321A - Drawer catch - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 17, r1956 B. THOMPSON DRAWER CATCH Filed March 3l, 1954 wl I /f l ff J0 il' nu I ggg Lgggd6 Erg/an Thompson ATTORNEYS e' We@ United States Patent 'i O DRAWER CATCH Bryan Thompson, Houston, Tex. Application March 31, 1954, Serial No. 419,990 2 Claims. (Cl. S12- 348) This invention relates to furniture, cabinets, and other devices in which drawers are positioned, andl in particular a stop for limiting outward movement of a drawer to prevent the `drawer being pulled all of the way out and depositing contents thereof on the floor.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a catch adapted to be installed on a drawer to limit outward movement of the drawer in which the latch is adapted to be be manually adjusted to permit the drawer to be taken out when desired.

In numerous instances and particularly in kitchen cabinets drawers are often drawn outward accidently and once the drawer leaves the supporting structure the drawer with the contents thereof drops to the floor. Various types of slides, latches, and other holding devices have been provided in drawers and particularly drawers of desks, however, with conventional retaining latches it is diticult, if not impossible, to withdraw the drawer when it is desired to remove the drawer of the desk. With this thought in mind this invention contemplates a catch adapted to be installed in the side of a drawer and an adjusting screw for moving a portion of the latch outwardly to extend into a groove in the supporting structure at the side of the drawer, or the latch is adapted to be withdrawn to permit the drawer to be` withdrawn.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide a catch adapted to be installed in the side of a drawer to limit outward movement of the drawer in which the position of the latch is readily adjustable.

Another object of the invention is to provide a catch for temporarily preventing a drawer being withdrawn from structure in which it is mounted in which the device is adapted to be installed in devices now in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a stop for limiting outward movement of a drawer in which the stop is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the invention embodies a spring arm attached to a mounting plate and having a ange on the extended end and a thumb screw threaded through the mounting plate and positioned to engage the arm to adjust the position of the flange, said parts adapted to be installed in a recess in a side of a drawer and the extended end of the spring arm being adapted to extend into a groove in supporting structure with the ange on the end of the arm positioned to engage an obstruction at the end of the groove to prevent the drawer being withdrawn from the structure.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view showing a drawer of a cabinet or the like and in which the latch of this invention is positioned in a recess in one side of the drawer.

Figure 2 is a sectional plan taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l with the parts shown on an enlarged scale illustrating the relative positions of the parts and showing the latch in the outwardly extended position, in full lines and in the released position in broken lines.

j 2,731,321 Patented Jan. 17, 1956 ICC Figure 3 is a sectional plan similar to that shown in Fig. 2 `showing the drawer drawn outwardly and until the latch engages a stop in the supporting structure of the drawer.

Figure 4 is a detail showing a cross section taken on line 44 of Fig. 3 with the parts shown on a still further enlarged scale and showing the positions of the parts with the latch withdrawn or in the released position.

Figure 5 is a detail showing an elevational view of the latch with parts of a drawer on which the latch is positioned broken away.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts the improved drawer catch of this invention includes a spring arm 10 secured by a rivet 11 to a mounting plate 12 and a thumb screw 13 having a head 14 and provided with a spring 15 and a washer 16.

The spring arm 10 is bent at the point 17 to provide a ange 18 and the ange portion is bent upon itself at `the point 19 to provide a ange of double thickness with the inner portion 20 havingan extended end that is secured in' position with a band 21 which is crimped on the arm 10, as shown.

With the parts designed and assembled as shown and described the device is installed in an elongated slot 22 in a side 23 of a drawer 24 with the flange portion 18 positioned in an opening 25 at the end of the slot and with the mounting plate 12 secured in position with a nail or other fastener as indicated by the numeral 26.

The thumb screw 13 extends through an opening 27 in the side 23 of the drawer and the end of the screw is threaded in an opening 28 in the mounting bar or plate l2.

The head 14 of the screw 13 may be formed with a disc having a peripheral ange and with the interior lled with a suitable material, as indicated by the numeral 29, however, it will be understood that the head may be formed in any suitable manner.

The side wall 23 of the drawer is positioned to slide against or coact with a wall 30 of a supporting structure and the wall 30 is provided with a groove 31 in which the projecting end or flange portion 181 of the latch extends whereby therdrawer is free to travel inwardly and outwardly until the flange 18 engages a stop 32 at the outer end of the groove. As shown in Fig. 3 the stop is provided with a web having a tongue 3.3 and the tongue is secured in a groove 34 by an adhesive or other suitable means.

It is preferred to form the stop so that the peripheral edge of the front panel of the drawer 24 extends over the end of the groove 31 and stop when the drawer is in the closed position.

By turning the adjusting screw 13 the ilange of the arm 10 is adapted to be extended outwardly to prevent the drawer being drawn from the structure or by turning the screw in a counter-clockwise direction the ange end of the arm 10 may be permitted to spring into the recess and opening 25 to permit the drawer to be withdrawn from the structure when desired.

It will be understood that modifications, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a supporting structure provided with a drawer opening therein, a drawer slidably mounted in said opening, there being an elongated slot in each side of said drawer, said slots extending forwardly from the rear of the drawer and terminating at a point adjacent to the rear of the drawer, a mounting plate seated in said slot and secured to said drawer, there being an opening in the side of said drawer communicating with the front of said slot, a spring arm having the same width as said plate but being of greater length than said plate, securing elements connecting the rear end of said arm to said plate, the front end of said arrn being bent upon itself to provide a rst ange arranged at right angles with respect to the major portion of said spring arm, a second flange extending from said first ange and arranged in superposed relation with respect thereto, said anges being mounted for movement into and out of the opening in the side of the drawer, a band crimped on said arm and engaging a projecting `portion of said second flange, there being registering apertures in the side of said drawer and in said plate, a thumb screw extending through said registering apertures and engaging said arm, a head on the inner end of said thumb screw, a washer circumposed on said thumb screw, a coil spring interposed between said head and washer andk circumposed on Asaid thumb screw, there vbeing a groove in said supporting structure, an L- shaped stop including a tongue secured in said groove, and said tongue adapted to be engaged by said first flange.

2. In combination, a supporting structure provided with a drawer opening therein, a drawer slidably mounted in said opening, there being an elongated slot in each side of said drawer, a mounting plate seated in said slot and secured to said drawer, there being an opening in said drawer communicating with the front of said slot, a spring arm having the same width as said plate but being of greater length than said plate, securing elements connecting said arm to said plate, the front end of said arm being bent upon itself to provide a first ange, a second ange extending from said rst ange and arranged in superposed relation with respect thereto, said flange being mounted for movement into and out of the opening in the side of the drawer, a band crimped on said arm and engaging a projecting portion of said second ange, there being registering apertures in the side of said drawer and in said plate, a thumb screw extending through said registering apertures and engaging said arm, a head on the inner end of said thumb screw, a washer circumposed on said thumb screw, resilient means interposed between said head and washer and circumposed on said thumb screw, there being a groove in said supporting structure, a stop including a tongue secured in said groove, and said tongue adapted to be engaged by said first ange References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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