A kit of parts forming a sheet metal drawer and a sheet metal drawer

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a kit 1, 3, 5 for assembling a sheet metal drawer 51 in a storage system. The kit comprises a sheet metal front part 1 configured to make up the front wall of the drawer, a sheet metal rear part 3, configured to make up the rear wall of the drawer and a sheet metal mid part 5, configured to extend between the rear and front parts. The mid part 5 has a flat main surface 7 formed in one piece of sheet metal and has first 9 and second 11 straight lines of perforations. Folding the main surface 7 upwards to 90 degrees along the lines of perforations 9, 11 form a bottom piece 13 and right 15 and left 17 side walls of the metal drawer. The front 1 and rear 3 parts are configured to connect to the front 19 and rear 21 edges of the bottom piece 13 as well as of said right and left side walls 15, 17.

Description

The present disclosure relates to a kit for assembling a sheet metal drawer in a storage system, the kit comprising a front part configured to make up the front wall of the drawer, a rear part, configured to make up the rear wall of the drawer and a mid part, configured to extend between the rear and front parts. The present disclosure also relates to a sheet metal drawer formed by such a kit.BackgroundDrawers of the above mentioned type are used to a great extent for instance in chests of drawers used for instance in workshops, where they could be used to store tools and the like. A sheet metal drawer can be sturdy and carry relatively heavy objects.One problem with such product is to produce and have them distributed in an efficient manner thus lowering the overall product cost.SummaryOne object of the present disclosure is therefore to achieve a drawer that can be produced and distributed in an efficient manner.This object is achieved by a kit for assembling a sheet metal drawer as defined in claim 1. More specifically, in a kit of the initially mentioned kind, the mid part has a flat main surface formed in one piece of sheet metal and having a first and a second straight line of perforations, such that folding the main surface upwards to 90 degrees along said lines of perforations form a bottom piece and right and left side walls of the metal drawer. The front and rear parts are configured to connect to the front and rear edges, respectively, of the bottom piece as well as said right and left side walls.This makes it possible, even for an end user, to assemble a drawer, forming the bottom and right and left side walls simply by bending the mid part main surface along the perforated lines and attaching the rear and front parts thereto for instance with screws. After optionally snapping on sliders, the drawer is ready for use. The kit of parts may be distributed to the end user or to a retail location as a flat package where the combination of the side walls and the bottom piece do not take up much space, which allows for efficient distribution. At the same time, as the bottom piece and the side walls are made in one piece, the drawer becomes structurally stiff and sturdy.The rear edges of the main surface, outside the lines of perforations may comprise upward folded flanges for connecting with the rear part. This simplifies assembling as a rearwardly facing connection surfaces are provided when the side walls are folded up.The front edges of the main surface, outside said lines of perforations, may comprise cut-outs for receiving a recessed portion of the front part. This allows the front part to extend into the side wall providing a stiffer connection between the front part and the mid portion.A tab with an opening may project from the front edge into each such cut-out and be configured to be inserted into a respective slot in the recessed portion of said front part. This provides a reliable connection. For instance, the kit may further comprise plastic clips having a tongue part configured for inserting into the opening 31 thereby locking the tab in the slot.The recessed portion of the front part may form a rectangular channel and the plastic clip have a main inner part fitting inside this channel and an outer part configured to cover the edge thereof.The present disclosure further considers a sheet metal drawer for a storage system, the drawer being assembled from the kit. The drawer then comprises a front part making up the front wall of the drawer, a rear part, making up the rear wall of the drawer and a mid part, extending between the rear and front parts. The mid part comprises a continuous piece of sheet metal and a first and a second straight line of perforations and is folded at 90 degrees along those lines of perforations, thereby forming a bottom piece and right and left side walls of the drawer. The front and rear parts are connected to the front and rear edges, respectively, of the bottom piece as well as the right and left side walls.Description of the drawingsFig 1 show a front part of a drawer kit.Fig 2 shows a rear part of a drawer kit.Fig 3 illustrates a mid part of a drawer kit before folding of right and left side parts.Fig 4 shows a plastic clip for insertion in a front part.Fig 5 illustrates a side view of a front part.Fig 6 shows an exploded view of an assembled drawer.Fig 7 shows a perspective view of the assembled drawer.Detailed descriptionThe present disclosure relates to a kit for producing a sheet metal drawer that can be used for instance in a workshop cupboard, or the like. The drawer can be assembled by an end user or at a retail location, and the unassembled kit can be distributed as a flat package allowing low shipment costs. The kit comprises three main parts, the front part if fig 1, the rear part of fig 2, and the mid part of fig 3.Optionally the kit may also comprise plastic clips as illustrated in fig 4. A number of screws may also be included.Beginning with fig 1, the front part 1 is intended to form the front wall of the drawer and may be made in sheet metal. The front part 1 may present a downward bent portion 2 which may form a handle that allows the drawer to be drawn out of a cupboard, for instance. As illustrated in the front part cross section of fig 5, there may be formed a recessed portion 27 behind the downward folded portion, thereby forming a channel 39 in the front part 1. Typically this channel 39 may be rectangular in cross section although other shapes are possible. The channel 39 leaves room for the user’s fingers when handling the drawer.The end of the downward bent portion 2 may be folded again forming an upwards folded end 4 ensuring that its lower edge is free from burrs and the like. While it would be possible to form the front part 1 from a single piece of sheet metal, it may be advantageous, as illustrated in fig 5, to attach a separate floor connector part 6 to the front portion 1 e.g. by spot welding. This allows the bottom edge of the front part 1 to end with a flange 8 bent in under what will form the bottom of the drawer.Returning to fig 1, slots 33 may be formed in the recessed portion 27 of the front part 1 to connect with the remainder of the drawer as will be shown.Fig 2 shows a rear part 3 of a drawer kit. As illustrated, this part may be formed from a single piece of sheet metal. Preferably, a top 41 and a bottom 43 flange may be bent at 90 degrees from this piece. Those flanges make the part more rigid, and the bottom flange may comprise holes that facilitate with connecting to the mid portion 5.Fig 3 illustrates the mid part 5, comprising a flat main surface 7, which is formed in one piece of sheet metal. This flat part is configured to form a bottom piece as well as right and left side walls of the sheet metal drawer as will be illustrated.To this end, the mid part 5 main surface 7 has first 9 and a second 11 lines of perforations extending over the main surface from the front 19 to the rear 21 edge. The perforations are typically slot-shaped along the lines and have narrow intervening bridges of unperforated material to keep the main surface together. By folding the main surface 7 upwards to 90 degrees along the lines of perforations 9, 11, right and left side walls 15, 17 (cf. fig 6) can be formed. This may be done easily by the end user assembling the drawer. This means that until this point, the mid part 5 may remain flat with some minor exceptions, as will be discussed. All parts of the drawer kit may therefore be packaged in a relatively flat package which simplifies logistics and lowers the overall cost of the product.Although the mid part 5 could be entirely flat, the rear edges of the main surface 7 outside said lines of perforations 9, 11 may comprise upward folded flanges 23 for facilitating connecting with the rear part 3. Additionally, the outer lateral edges 24 of the main surface may be slightly bent to increase the stiffness of the final product. Those features however do not necessarily add to the package size, as the front and rear parts 1, 3 will be added in the same package on top of the mid part 5.The front edges of the main surface 7 outside the lines of perforations 9, 11 may comprise cut-outs 25 for receiving the recessed portion 27 of said front part 1, as will be shown. Tabs 29, each having an opening 31, may as illustrated project from the front edges into each of the cut-outs 25 for connecting with the front part 1 as will be shown.Fig 4 shows a plastic clip 35 for insertion in a front part channel 39. The plastic clip 35 may comprise a tongue part 37 for insertion into the opening 31 of the aforementioned tab 29 projecting into the cut-out 25 once the tab 29 has been inserted into the slot 33 of the recessed portion of the front part 1. Thereby, the tab 29 is locked in the slot 33, assisting in the connection of the front part to the mid part 5. Different means for locking the clip 35 in this position. In the illustrated case, hooks 38 are provided on each side of the tongue part 37, which provide a snap lock feature together with the mid part tab 29. Once the tongue part 37 is sufficiently inserted into the opening 31, those hooks 38 snap into position behind the tab 29. It would however for instance also be possible to provide a locking function in the tongue part 37 itself.The plastic clips 35 have a main inner part 41 configured to fit snugly inside the channel 39 and an outer part 50 configured to cover the edge of the rectangular channel 39. This keeps the plastic clip 35 in place and covers up a sheet metal corner at the front of the drawer.The assembling of a drawer 51 is now described with reference to figs 6 and 7. To start with, in the mid part 5 (cf. fig 3) the main surface 7 of the mid part is bent along the lines of perforations 9, 11, thereby raising the outer parts to form the right and left side walls 15, 17. This also present the upward folded flanges 23 at the rear of those parts as connection surfaces for the rear part 3. The rear part 3 has screw holes 61 that coincide with screw holes 63 on said flanges 23. And screws 65 are used to connect the rear part 3 to the mid part 5 using those holes. Different fastening means are conceivable to this end, screws being attached by deforming the holes or screw and nut combinations, for instance. Similarly, screws 65 may be attached at holes 67 close to the rear edge of the bottom part 13 off the mid part 5 coinciding with holes 69 in the bottom flange 43 of the rear part (cf. fig 2). This results in a firm connection between the mid 5 and rear 3 parts.The front part 1 is attached to the mid part 5 by aligning holes 71 near the front edge 19 of the mid part 5 with corresponding holes 73 (cf. fig 1) in the ledge-like floor connector part 6 extending backwards from the front part 1, and attaching screws 65 in those holes as well. This also positions the retracted portion 27 of the front part in the cut-outs 25 in the mid part 5, with the tabs 29 of the mid part extending into the slots 33 of the front part 1. Then, the plastic clips 35 can be inserted into the rectangular channels 39 of the front part such that the tongue portions 37 locks the tabs in place.This concludes the assembling and results in the drawer 51 of fig 7. As illustrated, the side walls 15, 17 of the drawer may comprise connection means such as openings 75 allowing sliders (not shown) to be attached to the drawer 51, as is well known per se. This makes it possible to attach the drawer in a cupboard or the like. However it would also be possible to use other means of fastening to connect with another structure.The present disclosure is not limited to the above examples and may be varied and altered in different ways within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A kit (1, 3, 5) for assembling a sheet metal drawer (51) in a storage system, the kit comprising a sheet metal front part (1) configured to make up the front wall of the drawer, a sheet metal rear part (3), configured to make up the rear wall of the drawer and a sheet metal mid part (5), configured to extend between the rear and front parts, characterized by the mid part (5) having a flat main surface (7) formed in one piece of sheet metal and having a first (9) and a second (11) straight lines of perforations, such that folding the main surface (7) upwards to 90 degrees along said lines of perforations (9, 11) form a bottom piece (13) and right (15) and left (17) side walls of the metal drawer, wherein the front (1) and rear (3) parts are configured to connect to the front (19) and rear (21) edges, respectively, of said bottom piece (13) as well as of said right and left side walls (15, 17).

2. Kit according to claim 1, wherein the rear edges of said main surface (7) outside said lines of perforations (9, 11) comprise upward folded flanges (23) for connecting with said rear part (3).

3. Kit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front edges of said main surface (7) outside said lines of perforations (9, 11) comprise cut-outs (25) for receiving a recessed portion (27) of said front part (1).

4. Kit according to claim 3, wherein a tab (29) with an opening (31) project from the front edge into each cut-out (25) and is configured to be inserted into a respective slot (33) in the recessed portion (27) of said front part (1).

5. Kit according to claim 4, further comprising plastic clips (35) comprising a tongue part (37) configured for inserting into said opening (31) thereby locking the tab (29) in the slot (33).

6. Kit according to claim 5, wherein the recessed portion (27) of said front part (1) forms a rectangular channel (39) and the plastic clip have a main inner part (41) fitting inside said channel (39) and an outer part configured to cover the edge of the rectangular channel (39).

7. A sheet metal drawer in a storage system, comprising a front part (1) making up the front wall of the drawer, a rear part (3), making up the rear wall of the drawer and a mid part (5), extending between the rear and front parts, characterized by the mid part (5) comprising a continuous piece of sheet metal and having a first and a second straight line of perforations, and being folded at 90 degrees along said lines of perforations, thereby forming a bottom piece (13) and right and left side walls (15, 17) of the metal drawer, wherein the front (1) and rear (3) parts are connected to the front and rear edges (19, 21), respectively, of said bottom piece (13) as well as said right and left side walls (15, 17).