초록 ▼

An anti-tip system for a piece of furniture having adjacent drawers, including a center panel having an aperture extending therethrough, a left drawer, and a right drawer, wherein the drawers each have a control member attached thereto. The invention includes a shuttle pin extending through the aper

An anti-tip system for a piece of furniture having adjacent drawers, including a center panel having an aperture extending therethrough, a left drawer, and a right drawer, wherein the drawers each have a control member attached thereto. The invention includes a shuttle pin extending through the aperture, wherein the shuttle pin has a left end extending from the left side of the center panel and a right end extending from the right side of the center panel. The invention also includes a left wedge and a right wedge associated, whereby the wedge associated with one drawer is adapted, when the drawer is opened, to move the shuttle pin within the aperture and into the path of the control member of the adjacent drawer, thereby blocking the travel of the adjacent drawer. The invention is also directed to a method of utilizing such an arrangement.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An anti-tip system for a piece of furniture having horizontally adjacent drawers comprising: a center panel having a right side, a left side, and an aperture extending through the panel along a longitudinal axis generally perpendicular to each side;a left drawer having an outside wall adjacent to

1. An anti-tip system for a piece of furniture having horizontally adjacent drawers comprising: a center panel having a right side, a left side, and an aperture extending through the panel along a longitudinal axis generally perpendicular to each side;a left drawer having an outside wall adjacent to the left side of the center panel, wherein the outside wall of the left drawer has a left control member attached thereto;a right drawer having an outside wall adjacent to the right side of the center panel, wherein the outside wall of the right drawer has a right control member attached thereto;a common shuttle pin extending through the aperture, wherein the shuttle pin has a left end extending from the left side of the center panel and a right end extending from the right side of the center panel; anda left wedge secured to the left side of the center panel and a right wedge secured to the right side of the center panel, whereby when one drawer is open, the shuttle pin is displaced by the wedge associated with the open drawer through the aperture to engage a stop on the closed drawer and prevent motion of the control member associated with the closed drawer, thereby blocking the travel of the closed drawer. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the left wedge and the right wedge are rotational wedges and are rotatably attached to the left hand side and the right hand side of the center panel and the control members engage the wedges such that translation of a drawer urges rotation of a respective wedge. 3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the stop for each wedge is an edge surface on the wedge in radial interference with the path of the shuttle pin in the extended position. 4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the stop is a separate element from the wedge and is protruding from the outside wall of each drawer in translational interference with the path of the extended shuttle pin. 5. The system according to claim 2, wherein the rotational wedge has a radially offset post and the control member has an engaging slot such that translation of a drawer translates the control member and engages the post to rotate the wedge. 6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the engaging slot is a u-shaped slot with a front leg longer than a back leg, wherein the back leg rotates the wedge to push the shuttle pin and the front leg releases the wedge to a neutral position. 7. The system according to claim 2, wherein each wedge includes a ramp and a neutral surface generally perpendicular to the shuttle pin aperture axis such that rotation of the wedge beyond the ramp does not further advance the shuttle pin. 8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the rotational wedge has a protrusion past the neutral surface upon which the shuttle pin bumps to limit rotation of the rotational wedge. 9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the left wedge and the right wedge are translational wedges associated with the outside wall of the left and right drawers and the left wedge and right wedge also function as the control members such that translation of one wedge through drawer motion acts as a control member to displace the shuttle pin into the stop of the other drawer to prevent translation of the other drawer. 10. The system according to claim 9, wherein each wedge includes a ramp and a neutral surface generally perpendicular to the shuttle pin aperture axis such that translation of the wedge beyond the ramp does not further advance the shuttle pin. 11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the neutral surface extends the length of the drawer travel. 12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the left wedge and the right wedge are separate parts and secured to the outer walls of the left drawer and the right drawer. 13. The system according to claim 9, wherein the stop is the ramp of each wedge, such that the shuttle pin advanced by one wedge interferes with the drawer travel by abutting against the ramp of the other wedge. 14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the shuttle pin is comprised of a cylinder with two opposing pistons biased in a neutral position and attached by a connecting post such that the compression of one piston urges the other piston from the neutral position and to protrude from the cylinder. 15. The system according to claim 14, wherein in the neutral position, the pistons of the shuttle pin do not contact either wedge. 16. A method for preventing horizontally adjacent drawers of a furniture piece from being simultaneously in the open position, comprising the steps of: providing a center panel having a right side, a left side, and an aperture extending through the panel along a longitudinal axis generally perpendicular to each side;providing a left drawer having an outside wall adjacent to the left side of the center panel, wherein the outside wall of the left drawer has a left control member attached thereto;providing a right drawer having an outside wall adjacent to the right side of the center panel, wherein the outside wall of the right drawer has a right control member attached thereto;providing a common shuttle pin extending through the aperture, wherein the shuttle pin has a left end extending from the left side of the center panel and a right end extending from the right side of the center panel; andproviding a left wedge secured to the left side of the center panel and a right wedge secured to the right side of the center panel, whereby when one drawer is open, the shuttle pin is displaced by the wedge associated with the open drawer through the aperture to engage a stop of the closed drawer and prevent motion of the control member associated with the closed drawer, thereby blocking the travel of the closed drawer.