Convertible cabinet

• US 5,472,270 A
• Filed: 07/05/1994
• Issued: 12/05/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Midmark Corporation
• Original Assignee: Midmark Corporation
• Inventors: Strait, Scott L., Neff, Christopher J., Czarnecky, Joseph A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dorner, Kenneth J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anderson, Gerald A.
• Application Number:
  US08/270,671
• Time in Patent Office: 518 Days
• Field of Search: 312/334.4, 312/400, 312/410, 312/330.1, 312/334.7, 312/334.4, 312/334.22, 312/348.1, 312/265.6, 312/265.4, 312/263, 312/265
• US Class Current: 312/265.6
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 57/00 Cabinets, racks or shelf units, characterised by features for adjusting shelves or partitions shelf units with stackable uprights A47B87/00; details of cabinets, racks or shelf units in general A47B96/00; brackets adjustable in themselves A47B96/07
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 67/04 Chests of drawers; Cabinets characterised by the arrangement of drawers A47B67/02 takes precedence; drawers, guides for drawers, per se A47B88/00
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 88/402 Profiles or supporting structures for supporting single drawers

Abstract

A drawer-type storage cabinet, particularly adapted for use in the health care industry is convertible from a cabinet which employs mechanical extension glides removably mounted on inner side walls, for supporting individual drawers, to a glide-type support in which a pair of molded plastic side wall liners are located on the inner side walls, after the removal of the removable mechanical extension glides. The side wall liners are formed with a plurality of shelf-supporting ledges for receiving thereon slide-type storage devices including wire shelves, molded plastic tubs and the like. The change over is accomplished without removing the cabinet from its installed condition.

Claims

1. A convertible drawer-type storage cabinet in which mechanical extension glides support a plurality of drawers, comprising:

a cabinet case having at least two spaced-apart side walls, a top and a bottom, each of said side walls being formed with an outer side wall, and an inner side wall mounted in spaced relation to an associated said outer side wall,

means in each of said inner side walls defining openings positioned adjacent a front edge and a rear edge of each side wall and providing means by which pairs of drawer supporting extension glides may be removably mounted on said inner side walls within the cabinet for supporting drawers thereon,

a pair of side wall liners, one for each of said inner side walls,

a plurality of stationary shelf-support ledges formed in said liners said ledges being relatively vertically spaced to each other and defining slide surfaces for receiving of slid type storage devices, and

each of said liners having a plurality of attachment bosses each in general alignment with one of said inner side wall opening, said liner may be secured by a fastener to an associated said side wall when said glides are removed from said cabinet.

2. A convertible drawer-type storage cabinet in which mechanical extension glides support a plurality of drawers, comprising:

a cabinet case having at least two spaced-apart side walls, a top and a bottom, each of said side walls being formed with an outer side wall, and an inner side wall mounted in spaced relation to an associated said outer side wall,

means in each of said inner side walls for supporting pairs of drawer supporting extension glides which are removably mounted within the cabinet for supporting drawers,

a plurality of internally threaded fasteners in each of said side walls for receiving a retaining screw,

a pair of molded plastic side wall liners, one for each of said inner side walls, said liners being formed with a locating peripheral flange positionable against the margins of one of said inner side walls along at least said front and rear edge,

a plurality of shelf-support ledges formed in said liners inwardly of said peripheral flange, said ledges being relatively vertically spaced to each other and defining therebetween slide spaces for receiving the support surfaces of slid type storage devices, and

each of said liners having a plurality of attachment bosses each in general alignment with one of said threaded fasteners in an inner side wall for securing said liner to an associated said side wall by retaining screws in certain ones of said fasteners when said glides are removed from said cabinet.

3. A drawer-type cabinet which is convertible from an arrangement in which extension glides support a plurality of drawers to an arrangement in which slide-type storage devices, such as wire shelves, wire baskets and molded plastic tubs, are slidably mounted on stationary guideways, comprising:

a cabinet case having at least two spaced-apart side walls, a top and a bottom,

means on each of said side walls defining two vertical rows of individual vertically spaced openings extending respectively adjacent a front edge and a rear edge of each side wall and providing means by which pairs of extension glides may be removably mounted on said inner side walls for supporting drawers,

a pair of molded plastic side wall liners, one for each of said side walls,

a plurality of stationary shelf-supporting slide ledges formed in said liners, said ledges being relatively vertically spaced in relation to each other and defining therebetween a slide space for receiving a sliding surface of said slide-type storage devices,

each of said liners having a plurality of discrete attachment bosses each formed in general adjacent alignment with one of said openings, and

securing means to secure said liners at said bosses to said side walls, thereby converting said cabinet to receive slide-type storage devices.