Drawer

Abstract

 The invention relates to a drawer (10) comprising a horizontal bottom (12), a front wall (14), a back wall (16) and two opposite side walls (18,20). The invention is characterized in that each of the two side walls (18,20) comprises a wall panel (26) with a flat vertical panel portion (28) and a lower panel portion (38) with a hook-shaped cross section to engage from below into a groove (110) in the lower surface (108) of the bottom (16). The wall panels (26) of both side walls (18,20) have an identical shape, each of them having symmetrical end portions with protrusions (50) to be received by a snap-fit action in an opening (72) in one end portion of the back wall (16) and in another opening (130) on the back side of the front wall (14), respectively.

Description

[0001] The present invention is related to a drawer, according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Drawers are known in the furniture industry in many different constructions. Most of them are constructed basically as an open box, with a horizontal bottom and vertical walls, namely a front wall, a back wall and two opposite site walls that stand perpendicular to the bottom. This basic construction can be varied in some respect. For example, it is possible to attach a decorative front plate to a structural front wall to cover it and to improve the optical appearance of the drawer. Many other variations refer to the moving mechanism of the drawer for pulling it out of a compartment. For example, the drawer can be supported by telescopic rails, with one fixed rail on the bottom of the compartment and another rail sliding on it and being fixed to the drawer.

[0003] Many different aspects have to be considered in the drawer construction. First of all, most furniture parts are delivered in a disassembled state and must be assembled by the end consumer. It is therefore necessary that all furniture parts, including the drawers, can be assembled easily even by inexperienced persons without problems. Secondly, the parts as such should be as flat as to be deliverable within a flat pack. The total number of different parts for building the drawer is a major factor for the production costs, and therefore this number should be as low as possible. On the other hand, the end product should have a good appearance in any respect, also including good handling and stability for many years of use.

[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a drawer that can be assembled easily and without use of tools even by inexperienced end consumers without any concessions to the stability of the construction. Another object is to provide a drawer that can be assembled from a lower number of different parts, i.e. to decrease the variety of parts to be assembled, which will decrease the production costs and will further simplify the assembling.

[0005] These objects are achieved by a drawer with the features of claim 1.

[0006] The drawer according to the present invention comprises wall panels that form a structural wall element providing the strength and rigidity of the side wall. These wall panels can, for example, be combined with other decorative elements to improve the optical appearance of the drawer. Each wall panel comprises a flat vertical panel portion and a lower panel portion to be connected with the bottom. For this purpose the lower panel portion has a hook-shaped cross section to engage from below into a groove in the lower surface of the bottom. This means that the connection between the side wall and the bottom can be easily established by the engagement of the hook at the wall into the groove at the bottom, also allowing a tilting or turning movement of the side wall with respect to the bottom, to allow the connection with further parts, as will be explained below.

[0007] The wall panels of both side walls have an identical shape, each of them having symmetrical end portions with protrusions for connection with the front wall and the back wall, respectively. Each of these protrusions can be received by a snap-fit action into an opening in one lateral end portion of the back wall and in another opening on the backside of the front wall. For better engagement these protrusions can have enlarged end portions, as hooks, detents, notches or any other shape allowing a snap fitting into an opening with a corresponding mechanism to hold the protrusion in the engaged state. For example, the openings may also have elastic springs, notches or detents to engage in a complementary element of the protrusion in the received state. In this respect there are many possibilities for the skilled man to choose any suitable snap-fit mechanism between the protrusion and the opening.

[0008] Because the wall panels have an identical shape, the left and right wall panels of the drawer can be reversed. This means that during assembling, the end consumer does not have to decide which of the two wall panels in one flat pack must be mounted on the left or right side of the drawer, avoiding assembling mistakes. Moreover, because the two wall panels can be produced by the same machine and tools and with the same working steps, production costs are decreased.

[0009] The assembling of the drawer according to the present invention is performed as follows. In a state in which the back wall is already attached to the bottom in its vertical position, the two wall panels are hinged to the bottom by inserting their lower hook-shaped cross section into the groove. This engaging connection allows a slight tilting of the side walls so that after the insertion in a slightly tilted position, they can be inclined towards each other to reach their vertical position. When the side walls approach the corner portions of the back wall, the respective protrusions at the side walls are received by the snap-fit action into the respective openings in the back wall. In the received position, the side walls stand perpendicular to the bottom as well as to the back wall.

[0010] In this situation the front wall can be attached by aligning its two openings on its back side to the remaining free protrusions and pushing the front wall onto them, so that the protrusions at the front end portions of the side walls are received within the openings in the front wall and engaged in another snap-fit action. Then all walls and the bottom of the drawer are fixed together and form a rigid unit.

[0011] This unit can already form a complete drawer that is mounted on telescopic rails inside a compartment of a cabinet. However, the wall panels must not necessarily form the complete side walls. It is, for example, possible to attach decorative elements like plates onto the wall panels from outside or inside the drawer that improve its optical appearance. Moreover, many drawers have decorative front elements that cover the front wall to form a part of the cabinet front. In this respect there all also many further possibilities.

[0012] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the wall panels are formed of at least one bended metal plate. This means that the hook shaped lower cross section of the panel can also be formed by bending. However, the wall panels must not necessarily be formed of one piece but can comprise two or more bended metal plates that are connected by welding or any other suitable connecting method.

[0013] Preferably the protrusions are formed by flanges with enlarged ends. These flanges that extend from the ends of the wall panels have end portions that are slightly enlarged in their lateral direction, forming a portion that can be received by a snap-fit mechanism in the respective opening so that the protrusion is fixed after snapping in and cannot slide out easily.

[0014] According to one preferred embodiment, these flanges are L-shaped with a first arm being bent perpendicular to the vertical panel portion and a second arm extending from the first arm, standing in the plane of the vertical panel portion and comprising lateral detents. This means that the protrusions can also be simply formed by bending the flanges to the L-shape. The lateral detents can already be formed by die-cutting the blank of the respective wall panel before bending.

[0015] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the wall panels comprise a bended hook-shaped upper panel portion overhanging to one side of the vertical panel portion.

[0016] Preferably each side wall comprises a flat decorative wall element attached to the side of the vertical panel portion under the hook shaped upper panel portion so that the upper edge of the decorative wall element is covered by the hook-shaped upper panel portion. This additional decorative wall element can be attached to improve the appearance of the drawer.

[0017] According to another preferred embodiment, the back wall comprises flanges at its corner portions that stand perpendicular to the plane of the back wall and comprise the openings for receiving the protrusions at the respective ends of the wall panels. These flanges may stand perpendicular to the plane of the back wall itself and parallel to the planes of the wall panels. In the resulting end position, the flanges of the back wall may lie flat at the inner surfaces of the wall panels.

[0018] Preferably the openings in the flanges of the back wall are provided with elastic hooks with detents over which the protrusions slide when pushed into the opening. These elastic hooks form a snap-fit mechanism. When the protrusion is pushed into the respective opening, it pushes the elastic hook laterally so that it slides over the detent. After the protrusion has passed the detent, the hook will snap back because of its elasticity so that the detent catches a protrusion, and the protrusion cannot slide back without releasing the hook manually or with help of a tool.

[0019] According to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the elastic hooks are comprised by fastening elements formed of a plastic material disposed in the corner portions of the drawer and attached to the back wall.

[0020] Preferably the fastening elements comprise a fitting portion that is fitted onto a flange of the back wall below the opening, the elastic hook being disposed on top of the fitting portion, and further comprising a detent engaging at the bottom edge of the back wall.

[0021] According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the opening in the back side of the front wall is provided within a sliding plate that is slidingly held within the front wall and driven by a rotatable driving pin that is held fixed with respect to the front wall and extends through an opening in the sliding plate, said driving pin having an eccentric axial cam portion for shifting the sliding plate when the driving pin is turned. The sliding plate can be covered by a fixed cover plate with a support hole for axially supporting the driving pin. So the driving pin can be turned within the support hole. By this turning movement, the cam portion exerts a pressure in a lateral direction to move the sliding plate together with the opening for receiving the protrusion. By the arrangement of the opening (holding the protrusion of the side wall) within a lateral sliding plate, the position of a side wall with respect to the front wall can be adjusted by means of the driving pin.

[0022] Preferably a pair of parallel elastic spring wires extends behind the sliding plate in the sliding direction spaced apart from each other, the spring wires being held at their ends to be elastically pushed apart by the protrusion when it is inserted into the opening between the spring wires. The spring wires form a snap-action mechanism that holds the protrusion when it is inserted so that it cannot be easily pulled out.

[0023] Preferably the driving pin has a conical end being axially pushable between the elastic spring wires. So the driving pin forms a tool for driving the spring wires from each other to release the protrusion. In this embodiment the driving pin has two functions, namely to drive the sliding plate laterally for adjusting the position of the protrusion (and so the respective side wall with respect to the front wall) and to release the snapping engagement of the protrusion in the opening, i.e. the connection between the front wall and the side wall.

[0024] According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drawer is characterized by support rails below the bottom that extend in the moving direction of the drawer and tilting adjustment mechanisms in the back portion of the drawer, each comprising an adjustment screw extending through the back wall and being accessible from the inner side of the drawer and being provided with an arc-shaped or circular groove on its flat back side that is spiraled or eccentric with respect to the turning axis of the screw, for receiving a protrusion disposed on top of the end portion of the support rail and extending towards the back wall. When the adjustment screw is turned, the distance between the protrusion engaging the groove and the turning axis of the adjustment screw is changed because of the eccentric or spiral arrangement of the groove, and so the position of the back wall (and the inclination of the bottom) and the support rail is adjusted. The terms "eccentric" ans "spiraled" with respect to the groove on the adjustment screw refer to the fact that the distance between the groove and the turning axis of the screw changes along the path of the groove, and so the groove may be just circular and eccentric with respect to the turning axis or having a spiral shape so that the protrusion lying within the groove must follow the change of the distance to the turning axis when the screw is turned. For example, the backside of the adjustment screw is formed by a disk carrying the groove and being arranged within the housing portion of the fastening element.

[0025] The invention further relates to a drawer arrangement in a cabinet, comprising a compartment within the cabinet, slide rails fixed on the bottom of the compartment and a drawer as described above, wherein the supports rails are slidingly arranged on the fixed slide rails. In this arrangement the support rails and the slide rails form telescopic rails for pulling out the drawer.

[0026] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

Fig. 1 and 2	are perspective views of one embodiment of a drawer according to the present invention;
Figs. 3 to 6a	are different views of a wall panel of the drawer shown in Figs. 1 and 2;
Figs. 7 to 10	are different views of a back wall of the drawer shown in the Figs. 1 and 2;
Figs. 11 to 14	are different views of a fastening element as part of the drawer shown in the Figs. 1 and 2;
Figs. 15 to 17	are perspective views of parts of the drawer of Fig. 1 and 2 to be assembled together;
Figs. 18 and 18a	show an adjustment mechanism at the backside of the drawer of Figs. 1 and 2; and
Figs. 19 to 21	show a lateral adjustment mechanism at the front wall of the drawer shown in the Figs. 1 and 2.

[0027] The drawer 10 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a horizontal bottom 12, a vertical front wall 14, an opposite back wall 16 and two opposite side walls 18,20 at the left and right side of the drawer 10. The front wall 14, the back wall 16 and the side walls 18,20 stand vertical to the horizontal bottom 12, and adjacent walls stand perpendicular to each other, so that the drawer 10 has generally a box shape and is open at its upper side. The drawer 10 is provided to be mounted in the compartment of a cabinet by means of telescopic rails, which will be further explained in the following. The rails are not shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

[0028] The front wall 14 is generally a flat panel of a wood or/and plastic material, having a decorative surface at its front side, which is not visible in Figs. 1 and 2. The side walls 18,20 and the back wall 16 comprise bended metal plates. The two side walls 18,20 have an identical shape and are provided to be connected to the adjacent front wall 14 and the back wall 16 by means of a snap-fit mechanism, which will also be further explained below. At the back corners of the drawer at the left and right side of the back wall 16, fastening elements 24 made of a plastic material are attached to secure the connection between the side walls 18,20 and the back wall 16. The fastening elements 24 are also housing a height adjustment mechanism at the backside of the drawer, while a lateral adjustment mechanism is provided at the connection between the side walls 18,20 and the front wall 14.

[0029] The connection between the different parts will be better apparent from the following description of details of the elements to be assembled together. Figs. 3 to 6a show a wall panel 26 that can be used for forming the left side wall 20 or the right side wall 18 of the drawer 10. In the perspective view of Fig. 3, one can see that the wall panel 26 comprises a vertical panel portion 28 that is generally flat and stands upright in the mounted position. At the upper rim of the vertical panel portion 28, an upper panel portion 30 is provided that has a hook-shaped cross section, as can be taken from the side view in Fig. 6. This hook-shaped upper panel portion 30 is formed by bending the metal plate so that there is a flat top portion 32 overhanging to an outer side 34 of the vertical panel portion 28, while the outer edge of the hook is formed by a slim vertical flange 36. Under this hook-shaped upper panel portion 30, a flat decorative wall element can be mounted to cover the whole outer surface 34 of the vertical panel portion 28. Other embodiments are possible were the hook overhangs the opposite inner side of the vertical panel portion 28, to cover the upper edge of a flat decorative wall element that is mounted at the inner side of the drawer.

[0030] At its bottom the wall panel 26 comprises a lower panel portion 38 which has also generally a hook-shaped cross section. It is noted that each wall panel 26 is formed of two bended metal plates that are connected by welding at a bottom connection line 40 of the wall panel 26. This bottom line 40 also forms the lowest point of a U-shaped cross section portion 42, forming a bottom groove 44 opened to the top. At this U-shaped portion 42, a flat horizontal flange portion 46 is attached opposite to the vertical panel portion 28. At the inner side of this flange portion 46, a vertical end flange portion 48 is bent upwardly. The U-shaped portion 42, the horizontal flange portion 46 and the vertical end flange portion 48 form the lower panel portion 38. The lower hook-shaped cross section projects to the side opposite to the hook-shaped upper panel portion 30.

[0031] As can be taken from Figs. 4 and 5, the end portions of each wall panel 26, which a symmetrical with respect to a vertical center plane A of the panel 26, are provided with protrusions 50 extending from the vertical outer edges 52 of the wall panel 26. As also shown in the enlarged view in Fig. 6a, these protrusions 50 are generally L-shaped flanges formed by bending. A first arm 54 of this L-shaped flange extends from the vertical panel portion 28 and stands perpendicular to it, while the second arm 56 forms the end of the protrusion and stands in the plane of the vertical panel portion 28. This second arm 56 is generally T-shaped or mushroom-shaped, i.e. it has lateral detents 58 on its both sides of its end (pointing to the upper panel portion 30 and the lower panel portion 38, respectively). These detents 28 contribute to the snapping engagement of the protrusions 50 into the respective openings, as will be described later.

[0032] Because of their identical shape and the symmetry of their end portions, the side wall panels 26 can be reversed, i.e., the wall panels 26 of the left side wall 20 and the right side wall 18 can be interchanged. This leads to the advantage that the drawer 10 can be assembled by an end consumer very easily, without the danger of mixing up different parts. Moreover, there is the advantage that identical parts lead to decreased production costs.

[0033] Details of the back wall 16 can be taken from the following Figures 7 to 10. The back wall 16 comprises a flat vertical back wall portion 60, a bended hook-shaped upper back wall portion 62 and a lower back wall portion 64 that is also generally hook-shaped, with the hook extending to the other side (see also Fig. 10). The cross section of the lower back wall portion 64 has also a horizontal flange portion 66 that extends directly from the vertical back wall portion 60. However, there is also a vertical upper end flange portion 68 perpendicular to the horizontal flange portion 66.

[0034] The back wall 16 is also symmetrical with respect to a center section plane B (see Fig. 8). At its left and right lateral end portions corresponding to the corner portions of the drawer 10, the back wall 16 is provided with flanges 70 that stand perpendicular to the plane of the vertical back wall portion 60. Details of these flanges 70 can be taken from Fig. 10. Each flange 70 mainly extends along the whole height of the vertical back wall portion 60 and has a mainly rectangular shape. In its upper half, each flange 70 comprises a generally rectangular opening 72 formed as a cutout from the edge of the flange. At its upper inner corner, the cutout 72 has a small notch 74 extending to the top. In its lower half, the free vertical edge of the flange 70 forms a laterally protruding rectangular tongue 76. On the height of this tongue 76, there is also an opening 78 on the inner side of the flange 70 near the vertical back wall portion 60.

[0035] It is also noted that in the horizontal flange portion 66 of the lower back wall portion 64, two openings 80 are provided at the ends of the back wall 16 (see Fig. 9).

[0036] One embodiment of a fastening element 24 for securing the connection between the back wall 16 and the side wall panels 26 is shown in Figs. 11 to 14 in different perspectives. Each fastening element 24 comprises a fitting portion 82 that extends vertically along an outer edge of the fastening element 24, and a housing portion 84 adjacent to the fitting portion to be attached to the backside of the back wall 16. The lower horizontal edge 86 of the housing portion 84 extends from the fitting portion 82 along a part of the lower edge of the back wall 16, as can also be seen from Figs. 1 and 2.

[0037] As can be taken from the top view in Fig. 14, the fitting portion 82 comprises a slit-like receiving channel 88 for receiving the flange 70 of the back wall 16. The receiving channel 88 is open towards the surface 92 of the fastening element 24 that lies directly on the back wall 16 but is disposed in a distance from it. On the side of the fastening element 24 that is facing the respective side wall 18,20, the receiving channel 88 is delimited by a flange 90. In the area between the surface 92 and the receiving channel 88, a detent 94 is arranged at the respective lateral surface 96 of the fastening element 24. To be received within the channel 88, the flange 70 must slide over the detent 94 along the lateral surface 96. In the received state, the detent 94 engages the opening 78 in the flange 70 (see Fig. 10). Moreover, there is a slit-like aperture 98 extending vertically along the ground of the receiving channel 88 and opening it towards the free back side of the fastening element 24. In this aperture 98, the protruding tongue 76 at the flange 70 (see Fig. 10) is received when the flange 70 slides into the channel 88.

[0038] On the lower edge 86 of the fastening element 24, another hook-like detent 100 is formed to engage to the back wall 16 from below. In the mounted position, the detent 100 engages into the opening 80 (see Fig. 9) of the horizontal flange portion 66. The detent 100 is arranged on the end of the housing portion 84 that is opposite to the fitting portion 82.

[0039] On top of the connecting portion 82, a L-shaped elastic hook 102 is disposed. This hook has a vertical first arm 104 and a second arm 106 extending horizontally from the first arm 104 towards the side wall 18,20. On top of this horizontal second arm 106, another detent 108 is positioned.

[0040] The following Figs. 15 to 17 show the order of mounting the bottom 12, the back wall 16, the fastening element 24 and the side wall panels 26 together.

[0041] The lower surface 108 of the bottom 12 comprises a back groove 110 that extends parallel to the back edge of the bottom 12, and a lateral groove 112 extending parallel and spaced apart from the lateral edge 114 of the bottom 12. The back groove 110 is provided to receive the hook-shaped lower back wall portion 64 of the back wall 16. In the engaged state shown in Fig. 15, the vertical end flange portion 68 engages the back groove 110 from below, and the horizontal flange portion 66 lies directly under the bottom 12. The flange 70 is positioned directly at the corner of the bottom 12.

[0042] In this position the fastening element 24 is pushed onto the back wall 16 from the backside of the drawer. From the position shown in Fig. 15, the fastening element 24 is pressed against the back side of the back wall 16 so that the flange 70 slides on the lateral surface 96 into the receiving channel 88, the protruding tongue 76 slides into the aperture 98, and the detent 94 slides into the opening 78. At the same time, the detent 100 at the lower edge of the fastening element 24 slides under the horizontal flange portion 66 to engage into the hole 80.

[0043] The end position of the fastening element 24 is shown in Fig. 16. One can see that the L-shaped elastic hook 102 is now positioned so that its horizontal second arm 106 with the detent 108 on top is arranged at the cut-out 72, namely behind the lower edge of the cut-out 72, seen from the side of the side wall 18,20.

[0044] In the following the side wall panel 26 can be attached. Its hook-shaped lower panel portion 38 can be engaged from below into the lateral groove in the lower surface 108 of the bottom 12 so that the vertical end flange portion 48 lies within this lateral groove 112. This engagement can already be accomplished in a tilted position of the wall panel 26, shown in Fig. 16, where it is inclined outwardly. The side wall panel 26 can then be turned upwardly towards the flange 70, so that the protrusion 50 approaches the cutout 72. To pass the cut-out 72, the second arm 56 of the protrusion 50 must slide over the detent 108 on top of the elastic hook 102 of the fastening element 24, so that the elastic hook 102 is pressed down. After the protrusion 50 is fully inserted into the cutout 72, as shown in Fig. 17, the detent 108 slides behind the lower edge of the second arm 56 in a snap-fit manner. In this position the vertical panel portion 28 lies flat to the flange 70 of the back wall 16, the flange 90 of the fastening element 24 being sandwiched between them. Because of the snapping action of the protrusion 50 in the cutout 72, a reliable connection between the wall panel 26 and the back wall 16 is established.

[0045] This connection can only be released by pressing down the elastic hook 102 so that the protrusion 50 can slide backwards and leave the opening while the wall panel 26 is turned in the counterclockwise direction around the axis of the lateral groove 112. It is also noted that in the end position in Fig. 17, the top edge of the first arm 54 of the protrusion 50 lies within the top notch 74 of the cut-out 72 and prevents the protrusion 50 from moving in a sideward direction with respect to the back wall 16 so that the position of the side panel 26 and the back wall 16 is mutually fixed.

[0046] The drawer 10 according to the present invention comprises kinds of adjustment mechanisms, namely lateral adjustment mechanisms for adjusting the position of the front end of the side wall 16,18 with respect to the front wall 14 and tilting adjustment mechanisms in the back wall 16 to adjust the inclination of the bottom 12 with respect to the mounting plane of the drawer 10. The latter tilting adjustment mechanism will be explained in the following.

[0047] As can be taken from Fig. 18 and 18a, an adjustment screw 116 is inserted in one of the lower corners of the back wall 16. The same adjustment screw 116 is arranged on the other corner of the back wall 16, which is omitted here for the sake of simplicity. The rear end of the screw 116 is covered by within the housing portion 84 of the fastening element 24, which is omitted in Fig. 18 and shown in a broken away state in Fig. 18a. It extends through the back wall 16 to be accessible from the inner side of the drawer, i.e. it can be turned by a respective tool that engages the screw 116 and applies a torque to it so that it rotates around an axis perpendicular to the plane of the back wall 16. The back end of the screw 116 has a disc-like shape with a circular groove arranged therein. The groove is eccentric with respect to the turning axis of the screw 116. Below the bottom 12 of the drawer 10, a support rail 120 is disposed that supports the drawer 10 from below and extends in the moving direction of the drawer 10, i.e. from the front to the back. On top of the end of the support rail 120, a stopping block 122 is arranged. On the front side of this stopping block 122 facing the back wall 16, there is a horizontal protrusion 124 that extends towards the back wall 16 and engages within the groove 118 in its lower portion. For this purpose the housing portion 84 of the fastening element 24 is provided with a hole 126 through which the protrusion 124 extends. The housing portion 84 receives the disc-shaped back portion of the screw 116 completely.

[0048] Because of the eccentric arrangement of the circular groove 118 with respect to the turning axis of the screw 116, the protrusion 124 has to follow and up and down movement when the screw 116 is turned, while it is held within the opening 126. This is because the distance of the path of the groove 118 to the turning axis of the screw 116 changes along the path of the groove 118. For example, when the screw 116 is turned in a direction where the part of the groove 118 within the opening 126 narrows towards the turning axis, the back part of the drawer 10 will be lowered. However, when the screw 116 is turned in the other direction, the back part of the drawer 10 will be lifted because the distance of the protrusion 124 within the opening 126 and the turning axis of the screw 116 will increase. It is noted that this effect can also be achieved by a spiral form of the groove 118 around the turning axis.

[0049] By this tilting adjustment mechanism, it is possible to change the height of the back portion of the drawer 10 with respect to a support rail, that may form a part of a telescopic rail arrangement with a sliding rail on which the support rail can slide. So if the support rail is slightly inclined and one wants to reach an exactly horizontal position of the bottom, the inclination can be balanced by means of the adjustment mechanism described above.

[0050] Figs. 19 to 21 show the insertion of the protrusion 50 on the front end of the side wall panel 26 into an opening 130. The slit-like opening 130 is arranged within a sliding plate 140 (see Fig. 20) of the front wall. The sliding plate 140 is held within a disc-shaped member 132 fitted into the back side 134 of the front wall 14, having a window 150 to access the opening 130. A driving pin 136 is also arranged within the disc-shaped member 132 for driving the sliding plate 140 in a lateral direction. By the movement of the sliding plate 140, the protrusion 50 is shifted in a lateral direction with respect to the disc-shaped member 132 so that the position of the front end of the wall panel 26 can be adjusted with the help of a tool like a screw driver 142 with respect to the front wall. The movement of the sliding plate 140 is achieved by an eccentric axial cam portion of the driving pin 136 that lies within a respective opening 144 for receiving the driving pin 136. When the driving pin 136 is turned around its axis (which is fixed in the disc-shaped member 132 with respect to the front wall 14), the cam portion shifts the sliding plate 140 in a lateral direction.

[0051] The protrusion 50 can be received within the opening 130 in a snap-fit manner. For this purpose a pair of parallel elastic spring wires 146,148 extends behind the sliding plate 140 in the sliding direction, which means that the elastic spring wires 146,148 are arranged horizontally and are spaced apart from each other at the upper and lower end of the opening 130. When the front end of the protrusion 50 is pushed into the opening 130, the spring wires 146,148 are pushed apart elastically by the detents 56,58 being disposed on the upper and lower side of the second arm 56 of the protrusion 50. When the detents 58 have passed the spring wires 146,148, it is impossible to pull the protrusion 50 out of the opening 130 unless the spring wires 146,148 are released, i.e. they must be spread apart to let the detents 58 slide in the reverse direction out of the opening 130. This releasing operation can be performed by pushing the driving pin 136 axially into the disc-shaped member 132. The driving pin 136 has a conical end 152 that is axially pushable between the elastic spring wires 146,148 to push them apart from each other. That is, the driving pin 136 has two functions, namely an adjustment function to drive the sliding plate 140 and a releasing function to spread the spring wires 146,148 to release the protrusion 50.

[0052] Assembling of the drawer 10 is completed by pushing the front wall 14 onto the front ends of the wall panels 26, like it is indicated in Figs. 19 and 20, after mounting the bottom 12, the back wall 16, the fastening elements 24 and the side wall panels 26 together, as described above with respect to Figs. 15 to 17. So the assembling of the drawer 10 can be completed without need of any tools even by inexperienced end consumers. While the side wall panels 26 are attached to the bottom and the back wall 16 by a combined inserting/tilting or turning movement, the connection between the front protrusions 50 with the front wall 14 is performed by a linear pushing movement. Although the protrusions 50 as such are identical, they can be received in different ways within the cutout 72 within the flange 70 at the back wall 16 on one hand and in the front opening 130 on the other hand.

Claims

1. Drawer (10),
comprising a horizontal bottom (12) and vertical walls,
namely a front wall (14), a back wall (16) and two opposite side walls (18,20) that are connected with their ends to the front wall (14) and the back wall (16), respectively,
characterized in that each of the two side walls (18,20) comprises a wall panel (26) with a flat vertical panel portion (28) and a lower panel portion (38) with a hook-shaped cross section to engage from below into a groove (110) in the lower surface (108) of the bottom (16),
the wall panels (26) of both side walls (18,20) having an identical shape, each of them having symmetrical end portions with protrusions (50) to be received by a snap-fit action in an opening (72) in one end portion of the back wall (16) and in another opening (130) on the back side of the front wall (14), respectively.

2. Drawer according to claim 1,
characterized in that the wall panels (26) are formed of at least one bended metal plate.

3. Drawer according to claim 2,
characterized in that the protrusions (50) are formed by flanges with enlarged ends.

4. Drawer according to claim 3,
characterized in that the flanges are L-shaped with a first arm (54) being bent perpendicular to the vertical panel portion (28) and a second arm (56) extending from the first arm (54), standing in the plane of vertical panel portion (28) and comprising at least one lateral detent (58).

5. Drawer according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the wall panels (26) comprise a bended hook-shaped upper panel portion (30) overhanging to one side of the vertical panel portion (28).

6. Drawer according to claim 5,
characterized in that each side wall further comprises a flat decorative wall element attached to the side (34) of the vertical panel portion (28) under the hook-shaped upper panel portion (30) so that the upper edge of the decorative wall element is covered by the hook-shaped upper panel portion (30).

7. Drawer according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that back wall (16) comprises flanges (70) at its lateral end portions that stand perpendicular to the plane of the back wall (16) and comprise cutouts as openings (72) for receiving the protrusions (50) at the respective ends of the wall panels (26).

8. Drawer according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the openings (72) in the flanges (70) of the back wall (16) are provided with elastic hooks (102) with detents (108) over which the protrusions (50) slide when pushed into the opening (72).

9. Drawer according to claim 8,
characterized in that the elastic hooks (102) are comprised by fastening elements (24) formed of a plastic material disposed in corner portions of the drawer (10) and attached to the back wall (16).

10. Drawer according to claim 9,
characterized in that the fastening elements (24) comprise a fitting portion (82) that is fitted onto a flange (70) of the back wall (16) below the opening (72), the elastic hook (102) being disposed on top of the fitting portion (82), and further comprising a detent (100) engaging at the bottom edge of the back wall (16).

11. Drawer according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the opening (130) in the back side of the front wall (14) is provided within a sliding plate (140) that is slidingly held within the front wall (14) and driven by a rotatable driving pin (136) that is feld fixed with respect to the front wall (14) and extends through an opening (144) in the sliding plate (140), said driving pin (136) having an eccentric axial cam portion for shifting the sliding plate (140) when the driving pin (136) is turned.

12. Drawer according to claim 11,
characterized in that a pair of parallel elastic spring wires (146,148) extends behind the sliding plate (140) in the sliding direction spaced apart from each other, the spring wires (146,148) being held at their ends to be elastically pushed apart by the protrusion (50) inserted into the opening (130) between the spring wires (146,148).

13. Drawer according to claim 12,
characterized in that the driving pin (136) has a conical end (152) being axially pushable between the elastic spring wires (146,148).

14. Drawer according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized by support rails (120) below the bottom (12) that extend in the moving direction of the drawer (10)
and tilting adjustment mechanisms in the back portion of the drawer (10),
each comprising an adjustment screw (116) extending through the back wall (16) and being provided with an arc-shaped or circular groove (118) on its flat back side that is spiraled or eccentric with respect to the turning axis of the screw (116), for receiving a protrusion (124) disposed on top of the end portion of one support rail (120) and extending towards the back wall (16).

15. Drawer arrangement in a cabinet,
comprising a compartment within a cabinet, slide rails fixed on the bottom of the compartment and a drawer (10) according to claim 8, wherein the support rails (120) are slidingly arranged on the fixed slide rails.

Drawing