U.S. patent application number 13/472284 was filed with the patent office on 2013-11-21 for system for dividing drawers.
This patent application is currently assigned to KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERALS. The applicant listed for this patent is MEHMET DONDURUR, AHMET Z. SAHIN. Invention is credited to MEHMET DONDURUR, AHMET Z. SAHIN.
Application Number | 20130307394 13/472284 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49580755 |
Filed Date | 2013-11-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130307394 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DONDURUR; MEHMET ; et
al. |
November 21, 2013 |
SYSTEM FOR DIVIDING DRAWERS
Abstract
The system for dividing drawers provides a partitioning system
for dividing a conventional drawer into a plurality of compartments
for separating pairs of shoes or the like. The system includes
front and rear sets of upper and lower ribs adapted for mounting on
interior faces of front and rear walls of a drawer. Each rib has a
plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior
surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the
upper ribs being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending
slots of the lower ribs. At least one divider panel having opposed
front and rear edges slides into a selected pair of vertically
extending slots of the front set of ribs, and a corresponding pair
of vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs.
Additionally, the divider panel is releasably secured to the front
and rear walls of the drawer.
Inventors: |
DONDURUR; MEHMET; (DHAHRAN,
SA) ; SAHIN; AHMET Z.; (DHAHRAN, SA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
DONDURUR; MEHMET
SAHIN; AHMET Z. |
DHAHRAN
DHAHRAN |
|
SA
SA |
|
|
Assignee: |
KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM
AND MINERALS
DHAHRAN
SA
|
Family ID: |
49580755 |
Appl. No.: |
13/472284 |
Filed: |
May 15, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/348.3 ;
312/352 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 88/975 20170101;
A47B 88/90 20170101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/348.3 ;
312/352 |
International
Class: |
A47B 88/20 20060101
A47B088/20; A47B 97/00 20060101 A47B097/00 |
Claims
1. A system for dividing a drawer, comprising: a front set of ribs
adapted for mounting on an interior face of a front wall of a
drawer, the front set of ribs including an upper front rib and a
lower front rib, the upper front rib being adapted for mounting
adjacent an upper end of the front wall of the drawer, and the
lower front rib being adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of
the front wall of the drawer, each of the front ribs having a
plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior
surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the
upper front rib being aligned with the plurality of vertically
extending slots of the lower front rib; a rear set of ribs adapted
for mounting on an interior face of a rear wall of the drawer, the
rear set of ribs including an upper rear rib and a lower rear rib,
the upper rear rib being adapted for mounting adjacent an upper end
of the rear wall of the drawer, and the lower rear rib being
adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of the rear wall of the
drawer, each of the rear ribs having a plurality of vertically
extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof, the
plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper rear rib being
aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of the
lower rear rib; at least one divider panel having longitudinally
opposed front and rear edges, the front edge thereof slidably
engaging a selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the
front set of ribs, the pair of the vertically extending slots of
the front set of ribs including one of the vertically extending
slots defined in the upper front rib and an aligned one of the
vertically extending slots defined in the lower front rib, the rear
edge thereof slidably engaging a selected pair of the vertically
extending slots of the rear set of ribs, the pair of the vertically
extending slots of the rear set of ribs including one of the
vertically extending slots defined in the upper rear rib and an
aligned one of the vertically extending slots defined in the lower
rear rib, the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of
the front set of ribs being spaced apart by a distance
substantially equal to a height of the at least one divider panel,
the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set
of ribs also being spaced apart by a distance substantially equal
to the height of the at least one divider panel, wherein the at
least one divider panel is adapted for partitioning the drawer into
a plurality of compartments, the front edge of the at least one
divider panel extending continuously between the selected pair of
the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs and the
rear edge of the at least one divider panel extending continuously
between the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the
rear set of ribs when said at least one divider panel engages
therewith; and means for releasably securing the front and rear
edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls
of the drawer, respectively.
2. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 1, wherein
said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the
at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the
drawer comprises front and rear frictional engaging members secured
to the at least one divider panel respectively adjacent the front
and rear edges thereof.
3. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 2, wherein
each of said front and rear frictional engaging members comprises a
spring-biased detent pin, the pin being biased to extend from the
edge of the panel and retractable against the bias to the edge of
the panel.
4. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 1, wherein
said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the
at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the
drawer comprises front and rear hooks secured to upper edges of the
front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel,
respectively, the hooks being adapted for releasable attachment to
upper edges of the front and rear walls of the drawer.
5. A drawer with removable dividers, comprising: a drawer having
opposed front and rear walls, a lower wall and an open upper end; a
front set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of the
front wall of the drawer, the front set of ribs including an upper
front rib and a lower front rib, the upper front rib being mounted
adjacent an upper end of the front wall of the drawer, and the
lower front rib being mounted adjacent a lower end of the front
wall of the drawer, each of the front ribs having a plurality of
vertically extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof,
the plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper front rib
being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of
the lower front rib; a rear set of ribs adapted for mounting on an
interior face of the rear wall of the drawer, the rear set of ribs
including an upper rear rib and a lower rear rib, the upper rear
rib being mounted adjacent an upper end of the rear wall of the
drawer, and the lower rear rib being mounted adjacent a lower end
of the rear wall of the drawer, each of the rear ribs having a
plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior
surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the
upper rear rib being aligned with the plurality of vertically
extending slots of the lower rear rib; at least one divider panel
having longitudinally opposed front and rear edges, the front edge
slidably engaging a selected pair of vertically extending slots of
the front set of ribs, the pair of the vertically extending slots
of the front set of ribs including one of the vertically extending
slots defined in the upper front rib and an aligned one of the
vertically extending slots defined in the lower front rib, the rear
edge slidably engaging a selected pair of vertically extending
slots of the rear set of ribs, the pair of the vertically extending
slots of the rear set of ribs including one of the vertically
extending slots defined in the upper rear rib and an aligned one of
the vertically extending slots defined in the lower rear rib, the
selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of
ribs being spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to a
height of the at least one divider panel, the selected pair of the
vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs also being
spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to the height of the
at least one divider panel., wherein the at least one divider panel
is adapted for partitioning the drawer into a plurality of
compartments, the front edge of the at least one divider panel
extending continuously between the selected pair of the vertically
extending slots of the front set of ribs and the rear edge of the
at least one divider panel extending continuously between the
selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of
ribs when said at least one divider panel engages therewith; and
means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at
least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer,
respectively.
6. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 5, wherein
said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the
at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the
drawer comprises front and rear frictional engaging members secured
to the at least one divider panel adjacent the front and rear edges
thereof.
7. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 6, wherein
each of said front and rear frictional engaging members comprises a
spring-biased detent pin, the pin being biased to extend from the
edge of the panel and retractable against the bias to the edge of
the panel.
8. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 5, wherein
said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the
at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the
drawer comprises front and rear hooks secured to upper edges of the
front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel,
respectively, the hooks being releasably attached to upper edges of
the front and rear walls of the drawer.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to storage, and
particularly to a system for dividing drawers that partitions a
drawer into a plurality of compartments for the storage of pairs of
shoes or the like.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Drawers of dressers or chests typically define a single,
open compartment. Although such drawers are well suited for the
storage of large items, such as items of apparel, they are not well
suited to smaller articles, or articles which a user may wish to
have sorted, such as pairs of shoes. Although multi-compartment
drawers are known, such multi-compartment drawers are typically
manufactured with a permanent, pre-determined number of
compartments defined therein. The user has no way to change the
number or size of the compartments, depending on the user's
changing storage needs.
[0005] Thus, a system for dividing drawers solving the
aforementioned problems is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The system for dividing drawers provides an easy to use and
install partitioning system for dividing a conventional drawer into
a plurality of compartments for separating pairs of shoes or the
like. The system includes a front set of ribs adapted for mounting
on an interior face of a front wall of a drawer and a corresponding
rear set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of a rear
wall of the drawer. The front set of ribs includes an upper front
rib and a lower front rib, and the rear set of ribs similarly
includes an upper rear rib and a lower rear rib.
[0007] The upper front rib is adapted for mounting adjacent an
upper end of the front wall of the drawer, and the lower front rib
is adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of the front wall of
the drawer. Similarly, the upper rear rib is adapted for mounting
adjacent an upper end of the rear wall of the drawer, and the lower
rear rib is adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of the rear
wall of the drawer.
[0008] Each pair of front and rear ribs has a plurality of
vertically extending slots formed in interior surfaces thereof, the
slots being vertically aligned.
[0009] At least one divider panel having longitudinally opposed
front and rear edges slidably engages aligned slots in the front
and rear ribs. In addition to the sliding engagement of the at
least one divider panel with the selected slots of the ribs, the at
least one divider panel is additionally releasably secured to the
front and rear walls of the drawer. In one embodiment, front and
rear frictional engaging members are attached to the divider panel
adjacent the front and rear edges thereof. Preferably, the front
and rear frictional engaging members are spring-biased detent pins
extending from the front and rear edges of the divider panel. In an
alternative embodiment, front and rear hooks are attached to upper
edges of the front and rear ends of the at least one divider panel
for releasable attachment to upper edges of the front and rear
walls of the drawer.
[0010] These and other features of the present invention will
become readily apparent upon further review of the following
specification and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is an environmental perspective view of a first
embodiment of a system for dividing drawers according to the
present invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a partial environmental perspective view of the
system of FIG. 1, illustrating attachment of a pair of ribs the
rear wall of a drawer, the divider panels being omitted to show
details of the ribs.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a partial environmental perspective view of the
system of FIG. 1, a divider panel being broker away at one end to
show a detent pin.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a partial environmental perspective view of an
alternative embodiment of a system for dividing drawers, the
divider panel having a hook for securing the panel to the rear wall
of the drawer.
[0015] Similar reference characters denote corresponding features
consistently throughout the attached drawings according to the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] The system for dividing drawers 10 provides an easy to use
and install partitioning system for dividing a conventional drawer
D into a plurality of compartments for separating pairs of shoes or
the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 10 includes both a front
set of ribs 14 and a rear set of ribs 14 adapted for respective
mounting on interior faces of a front wall 18 and rear wall 20 of
drawer D. Each of the front and rear sets of ribs 14 includes an
upper rib and a lower rib. The upper rib of each set is adapted for
mounting adjacent the upper open end of the drawer D, and the lower
rib is adapted for mounting adjacent a bottom wall 22 of the drawer
D. It should be understood that the drawer D, shown in FIG. 1, is
shown for exemplary purposes only, and that the system 10 may be
used in combination with any conventional type of drawer.
Similarly, the ribs 14 are shown with exemplary dimensions. It
should be understood that the ribs 14 may be dimensioned and
configured for use with particular sizes and styles of drawer.
[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the ribs 14 may be furnished in strips
secured to the respective walls of drawer D by the use of screws 26
or other fasteners that extend through holes 28 in the ribs 14 and
are fixed into tapped holes 30 in the wall. Although FIG. 2
illustrates the attachment of a rear set of ribs 14, it should be
understood that the corresponding front set of ribs is also
attached in a similar manner. Further, it should be understood that
FIG. 2 illustrates only one exemplary method of mounting, and that
ribs 14 may be secured to the respective front and rear walls 18,
20 of drawer D by any suitable method, such as nails, bolts,
adhesives or the like.
[0018] As further shown in FIG. 2, each strip of ribs 14 has a
plurality of vertically extending slots 24 formed in the interior
faces thereof. The slots 24 of the upper ribs are aligned the slots
24 of the corresponding lower ribs. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, at
least one divider panel 12 having longitudinally opposed front and
rear edges slidably engage aligned slots 24 in the front and rear
ribs 14.
[0019] It should be understood that the overall dimensions of the
at least one divider panel 12 may depend upon the dimensions of the
particular drawer D. Further, the overall configuration of the
divider panel 12 may vary for ornamental purposes, or depending
upon the nature of the goods to be stored within the compartments
of drawer D. For example, the exemplary panel 12 shown in FIGS. 1
and 3, having a scalloped to edge, may be replaced by a rectangular
panel, a semi-circular panel, or any other desired panel
configuration. Further, although FIG. 1 illustrates three panels 12
being used to divide the drawer D into four separate compartments
for the storage of shoes or the like, it should be understood that
any desired number of panels may be used, since the panels 12 are
removable from the slots 24 and the drawer D. As shown in FIG. 1,
stickers 16 or other indicia may be applied to the external face of
front wall 18 to indicate the nature of the goods stored within the
drawer D and/or the number of compartments defined therein by the
panels 12. The panels 12 may be formed from wood, metal, plastic or
any other suitable material. By removal, addition or adjustment of
panels 12, the number and size of the compartments defined within
the drawer D may be varied by the user.
[0020] In addition to the sliding engagement of the at least one
divider panel 12 with the selected slots 24 of the ribs 14, the at
least one divider panel 12 is additionally releasably secured to
the front and/or rear walls 18, 20 of the drawer D. In the
embodiment of FIG. 3, frictional engaging members 40 are secured to
the at least one divider panel 12 adjacent the front and rear edges
thereof. Although only the rear edge of divider panel 12 is shown
in FIG. 3, it should be understood that a corresponding frictional
engaging member is also secured to the front edge thereof.
Preferably, the engaging members 40 are spring-biased detent pins
42 that are biased to extend from the front and rear edges of the
divider panel, but are retractable into a blind bore or channel 44
that extends into the panel 12, although it should be understood
that detent pin 42 may be mounted on an external face of the panel
12. If desired, the detent pins 42 may engage a corresponding
recess in the front wall 18 and rear wall 20, respectively, but if
so, the detent pin 42 should be equipped with a retraction pin.
Additionally, although only a single member 40 is shown applied to
each edge of the panel 12, it should be understood that multiple
such members 40 may be mounted to each of the front and rear edges
of panel 12.
[0021] In the alternative embodiment of FIG. 4, hooks 36 are
secured to the upper edge 32 of each panel 12 adjacent at least the
rear end thereof, or adjacent both the front and rear ends, for
releasable attachment to the upper edge of the rear wall 18 (and
front wall 20, when so equipped, of the drawer D. Although only the
rear edge of divider panel 12 is shown in FIG. 4, it should be
understood that a corresponding hook 36 may also be secured to the
front edge thereof. It should be understood that the dimensions and
configuration of the hook 36 are shown for exemplary purposes only,
and that the hook 36 may be vary in dimension and configuration to
match particular walls of a particular drawer D.
[0022] It is to be understood that the present invention is not
limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and
all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
* * * * *