U.S. patent application number 11/903395 was filed with the patent office on 2009-03-26 for removable pull handle device for a cabinet drawer.
Invention is credited to Yung-Tsai Lai.
Application Number | 20090079311 11/903395 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40470889 |
Filed Date | 2009-03-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090079311 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lai; Yung-Tsai |
March 26, 2009 |
Removable pull handle device for a cabinet drawer
Abstract
A removable pull handle device is adapted for use with a cabinet
drawer formed with a handle mounting hole, and includes a face
plate and a pull handle member having a key portion and a handle
portion. The face plate includes a plate wall to be secured on the
cabinet drawer so as to cover the handle mounting hole, and formed
with a key hole for access into the handle mounting hole. The key
hole and the key portion are configured such that, when the key
portion is extended through the key hole, the pull handle member is
rotatable relative to the face plate between a key inserting
position, and a plate engaging position, where the pull handle
member and the face plate cooperate to form a force exerting
mechanism that permits application of a pull force to draw the
cabinet drawer to an opened state.
Inventors: |
Lai; Yung-Tsai; (Taichung
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MARSHALL & MELHORN, LLC
FOUR SEAGATE - EIGHTH FLOOR
TOLEDO
OH
43604
US
|
Family ID: |
40470889 |
Appl. No.: |
11/903395 |
Filed: |
September 21, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/332.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 95/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/332.1 |
International
Class: |
A47B 95/02 20060101
A47B095/02 |
Claims
1. A removable pull handle device adapted for use with a cabinet
drawer that has an outer drawer surface formed with a handle
mounting hole, said removable pull handle device comprising: a face
plate including a plate wall that is adapted to be secured on the
outer drawer surface of the cabinet drawer so as to cover the
handle mounting hole, said plate wall being formed with a key hole
for access into the handle mounting hole; and a pull handle member
having a key portion that has a first end and a second end
extendible removably through said key hole in said face plate, and
a handle portion that is connected to said first end of said key
portion; said key hole and said key portion being configured such
that, when said key portion is extended through said key hole, said
pull handle member is rotatable relative to said face plate between
a key inserting position, where said key portion is removable from
said face plate via said key hole, and a plate engaging position,
where said key portion is non-removable from said face plate and
where said pull handle member cooperates with said face plate so as
to form a force exerting mechanism that permits application of a
pull force at said handle portion to draw the cabinet drawer to an
opened state.
2. The removable pull handle device as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said key portion of said pull handle member includes an insert rod
that extends along an axis, and a stop that protrudes in a radial
outward direction from said insert rod relative to the axis.
3. The removable pull handle device as claimed in claim 2, wherein:
said key hole has a largest dimension and a smallest dimension
smaller than the largest dimension; and sum of a diameter of said
insert rod and a radial length of said stop being smaller than the
largest dimension of said key hole and larger than the smallest
dimension of said key hole.
4. The removable pull handle device as claimed in claim 2, wherein
said key portion of said pull handle member is connected detachably
to said handle portion of said pull handle member.
5. The removable pull handle device as claimed in claim 2, further
comprising amounting seat adapted to be fixed in the handle
mounting hole, and including a surrounding seat wall that surrounds
an axis and that defines a receiving space.
6. The removable pull handle device as claimed in claim 5, further
comprising a rotary member that is disposed rotatably in said
receiving space in said mounting seat, and that includes a
surrounding wall surrounding the axis and defining a key space into
which said key portion of said pull handle member is extendible,
said rotary member engaging removably said key portion to permit
co-rotation of said rotary member with said pull handle member
relative to said mounting seat about the axis.
7. The removable pull handle device as claimed in claim 6, wherein
said surrounding wall of said rotary member has an internal wall
surface formed with a pair of positioning protrusions that confine
a stop receiving notch for engaging removably said stop of said key
portion of said pull handle member, thereby permitting co-rotation
of said rotary member with said pull handle member.
8. The removable pull handle device as claimed in claim 6, wherein:
one of said surrounding seat wall of said mounting seat and said
surrounding wall of said rotary member is formed with a
circumferentially extending notch; and the other one of said
surrounding seat wall of said mounting seat and said surrounding
wall of said rotary member is formed with a limit projection that
extends into and that cooperates with said circumferentially
extending notch to limit extent of angular rotation of said rotary
member relative to said mounting seat.
9. The removable pull handle device as claimed in claim 6, wherein:
said mounting seat further includes a guide shaft that extends into
said key space in said rotary member along the axis; and said
insert rod of said key portion of said pull handle member is formed
with a blind hole that extends along the axis and into which said
guide shaft is extendible.
10. The removable pull handle device as claimed in claim 6,
wherein: one of said surrounding seat wall of said mounting seat
and said surrounding wall of said rotary member is further formed
with a first pit; and the other one of said surrounding seat wall
of said mounting seat and said surrounding wall of said rotary
member is further formed with a positioning bump that engages
removably said first pit when said pull handle member is rotated to
the plate engaging position.
11. The removable pull handle device as claimed in claim 10,
wherein: said one of said surrounding seat wall of said mounting
seat and said surrounding wall of said rotary member is further
formed with a second pit angularly spaced apart from said first
pit, said positioning bump engaging removably said second pit when
said pull handle member is rotated to the key inserting position.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a handle device, more particularly
to a removable pull handle device for a cabinet drawer.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] As shown in FIG. 1, a common cabinet 6 includes a plurality
of cabinet drawers 62, each of which is mounted with a conventional
handle 63. When a user holds the conventional handle 63 of one of
the cabinet drawers 62 and applies a pulling force thereto, the
respective cabinet drawer 62 will be opened. However, since anyone
can easily open the cabinet drawers 62, the contents thereof can be
easily revealed without security and privacy. Another common
cabinet (not shown) has a construction similar to that of the
abovementioned common cabinet 6, but further includes a lock device
for promoting security and privacy of the contents of the cabinet
drawers. However, the configuration of the lock device is
relatively complicated, and all of the cabinet drawers are either
locked or unlocked at the same time, thereby affecting the
practicality of this common cabinet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
a removable pull handle device for a cabinet drawer, which provides
higher security and privacy for contents of the cabinet drawer, and
which is more practical.
[0006] Accordingly, a removable pull handle device of the present
invention is adapted for use with a cabinet drawer that has an
outer drawer surface formed with a handle mounting hole. The
removable pull handle device comprises a face plate and a pull
handle member. The face plate includes a plate wall that is adapted
to be secured on the outer drawer surface of the cabinet so as to
cover the handle mounting hole. The plate wall is formed with a key
hole for access into the handle mounting hole. The pull handle
member has a key portion that has a first end and a second end
extendible removably through the key hole in the face plate, and a
handle portion that is connected to the first end of the key
portion. The key hole and the key portion are configured such that,
when the key portion is extended through the key hole, the pull
handle member is rotatable relative to the face plate between a key
inserting position, where the key portion is removable from the
face plate via the key hole, and a plate engaging position, where
the key portion is non-removable from the face plate and where the
pull handle member cooperates with the face plate so as to form a
force exerting mechanism that permits application of a pull force
at the handle portion to draw the cabinet drawer to an opened
state.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet having cabinet
drawers mounted with conventional handles;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cabinet having cabinet
drawers mounted with a preferred embodiment of a removable pull
handle device according to the invention;
[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred
embodiment;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a partly exploded perspective view of the
preferred embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment,
illustrating a pull handle member in a plate engaging position;
[0013] FIG. 6 is an assembled sectional view of the preferred
embodiment taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5;
[0014] FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but illustrating the
preferred embodiment with the pull handle members removed from the
cabinet drawers;
[0015] FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but illustrating the
pull handle member in a key inserting position; and
[0016] FIG. 9 is a partly exploded sectional view of the preferred
embodiment taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0017] As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 6, the preferred embodiment
of a removable pull handle device according to the present
invention is adapted for use with a cabinet drawer 12 slidably
disposed in a cabinet 1. The cabinet drawer 12 has an outer drawer
surface 121 formed with a handle mounting hole 122. The removable
pull handle device comprises a mounting seat 2, a rotary member 3,
a face plate 4, and a pull handle member 5.
[0018] The mounting seat 2 is adapted to be fixed in the handle
mounting hole 122 in the outer drawer surface 121 of the cabinet
drawer 12, and includes a surrounding seat wall 22 surrounding an
axis (X) and defining a receiving space 21. In this embodiment, the
surrounding seat wall 22 has one edge formed with a
circumferentially extending notch 23 that has first and second
notch edges 231, 232, and an inner wall surface 25 formed with
first and second pits 251, 252 that are angularly spaced apart from
each other. The mounting seat 2 further includes a back wall 26
that is disposed at the other edge of the surrounding seat wall 22
opposite to the circumferentially extending notch 23, and that
cooperates with the surrounding seat wall 22 to define the
receiving space 21, and a screw 27 that extends through the back
wall 26 along the axis (X), and that fastens the mounting seat 2 to
the cabinet drawer 12.
[0019] The rotary member 3 is disposed rotatably in the receiving
space 21 in the mounting seat 2, and includes a surrounding wall 31
surrounding the axis (X), defining a key space 30, and having an
internal wall surface 311 and an external wall surface 312. The
internal wall surface 311 is formed with a pair of positioning
protrusions 32 that confine a stop receiving notch 36. In this
embodiment, the external wall surface 312 is formed with a limit
projection 33 that extends into and that cooperates with the
circumferentially extending notch 23 in the surrounding seat wall
22 of the mounting seat 2 to limit extent of angular rotation of
the rotary member 3 relative to the mounting seat 2, and a
positioning bump 35 that engages removably the first pit 251 or the
second pit 252 of the inner wall surface 25 of the surrounding seat
wall 22. The mounting seat 2 further includes a guide shaft 24 that
extends into the key space 30 along the axis (X).
[0020] The face plate 4 includes a plate wall 41 that is adapted to
be secured on the outer drawer surface 121 of the cabinet drawer 12
so as to cover the mounting seat 2 and the rotary member 3, and
that is formed with a key hole 42 for access into the handle
mounting hole 122.
[0021] The pull handle member 5 has a key portion 51 and a handle
portion 52. The key portion 51 has a first end 514 and a second end
515 extendible removably into the key space 30 in the rotary member
3 through the key hole 42 in the face plate 4, and includes an
insert rod 511 extending at the second end 515 along the axis (X),
and a stop 512 protruding in a radial outward direction from the
insert rod 511 relative to the axis (X). The insert rod 511 is
formed with a blind hole 513 extending along the axis (X) and into
which the guide shaft 24 of the mounting seat 2 is extendible. The
key hole 42 in the face plate 4 has a largest dimension and a
smallest dimension smaller than the largest dimension. The sum of a
diameter of the insert rod 511 and a radial length of the stop 512
is smaller than the largest dimension of the key hole 42 and larger
than the smallest dimension of the key hole 42. The handle portion
52 is connected detachably to the first end 514 of the key portion
51, such as via a male and female threaded connection. When the key
portion 51 of the pull handle member 5 extends into the key space
30 of the rotary member 3 with the guide shaft 24 extending into
the blind hole 513 of the key portion 51, and with the stop 512 of
the key portion 51 engaging the stop receiving notch 36 in the key
space 30, co-rotation of the rotary member 3 with the pull handle
member 5 relative to the mounting seat 2 about the axis (X) is
permitted. As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, when the handle portion
52 of the pull handle member 5 is turned clockwise, the rotary
member 3 will be driven to co-rotate with the pull handle member 5
about the axis (X) until the limit projection 33 of the rotary
member 3 abuts against the second notch edge 232 of the
circumferentially extending notch 23 in the surrounding seat wall
22 of the mounting seat 2. At this time, the key portion 51 is
rotated to a plate engaging position (see FIG. 5), where the key
portion 51 is non-removable from the face plate 4 and where the
pull handle member 5 cooperates with the face plate 4 so as to form
a force exerting mechanism that permits application of a pull force
at the handle portion 52 to draw the cabinet drawer 12 to an opened
state. When the key portion 51 is rotated to the plate engaging
position, the positioning bump 35 of the rotary member 3 will
engage removably the first pit 251 of the surrounding seat wall 22
of the mounting seat 2 for positioning the rotary member 3 relative
to the face plate 4.
[0022] On the contrary, as shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 9, when the
handle portion 52 of the pull handle member 5 is turned
counterclockwise, the rotary member 3 will be driven to co-rotate
with the pull handle member 5 about the axis (X) until the limit
projection 33 of the rotary member 3 abuts against the first notch
edge 231 of the circumferentially extending notch 23 in the
surrounding seat wall 22 of the mounting seat 2. At this time, the
key portion 51 is rotated to a key inserting position (see FIG. 8),
where the key portion 51 is removable from the face plate 4 via the
key hole 42 (as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9). When the key
portion 51 is rotated to the key inserting position, the
positioning bump 35 of the rotary member 3 will engage removably
the second pit 252 of the surrounding seat wall 22 of the mounting
seat 2 for positioning the rotary member 3 relative to the face
plate 4 such that the key portion 51 can be pulled away smoothly
via the key hole 42. Once the pull handle member 5 is removed from
the cabinet drawer 12 of the cabinet 1 while the cabinet drawer 12
is in a closed state, there is nothing on the outer drawer surface
121 of the cabinet drawer 12 that can be pulled to draw the cabinet
drawer 12 to the opened state, thereby resulting in higher security
and privacy of the contents thereof.
[0023] In addition, since the handle portion 52 of the pull handle
member 5 is detachably connected to the key portion 51 of the pull
handle member 5, different forms of the handle portion 52 can be
connected to the key portion 51 to meet aesthetic requirements.
[0024] It should be noted that, the locations of the
circumferentially extending notch 23 and the limit projection 33,
as well as those of the positioning bump 35 and the first and
second pits 251, 252, can be interchanged in other embodiments of
this invention. While the present invention has been described in
connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *