Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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An a~nqe~nen ç =
structure~
The present invention relates to an arrangement in tray,
shelf or like storage 6tructures of the kind in which
the trays or shelves can be moved between an inwardly
inserted position and an outwardly withdrawn position on
bracket arrangements which are mounted on two sides oP
the trays, shelve6 or the like and which are movably or
detachably mounted on a frame or stand structure.
When storing bot~les, cans (tins) and other packaging
units, e.g. packagad medicines, drugs, etc,, in chemist
shops, drug ~torQs ~nd like places, the packages are
nor~ally placed on withdr~wabl~, sloping ~helving sys-
tems, or in cassette~, drawer~ or like storage devices.
These storage de~ices are filled fro~ the rear of an
extended or withdrawn storage device, whereas the stored
packaging unit~ are r~moved ~rom the front part of the
device wlth said device in iks inwardly displaced or
inserted position. Continuously adjustable partitions
form elongated co~partments along the whole length of
the storage device, ln its withdrawal direction, thereby
ensurin~ that the packages will bs removed in their
correct order of use. One such arranyement is described,
for instance, in Swedlsh Patent Sp~cification
No. 16278/68.
The aforesaid cassette storage sy6tem is best suited for
fraquently purcha8ed drugs, where each drug is stored in
large quantities and where lt is necessary to store the
drugs in long rows in the withdrawal direction o$ the
car-sette or drawer. Drugs which are purchased less
fre~uently and which ~re consequently stored in smaller
numbers are kept in standard, hori~ontal drawers which
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are extended to their Eull extent, both when placing
packaged unit~ into the drawers and when removing said
uniks therefrom~ Such drawars will also preferably
include smaller compartments, located one behind the
other.
The drug storage methods applied hitherto require the
provision of two mutually d.ifferent storage systems,
since the sloping withdrawal cassettes or clrawers need
to be fitted with catches in order to prevent the
drawers from sliding out under their own weight. The
horizontal drawers, on the other hand, are always
drawn out to their full extent, and do not need to be
fitted with such catches, but shall instead be capable
of moving smoothly in and out.
In a broad aspect the present invention provides an
arrangement in tray, shelf or drawer structures or the
like structures arranged for movement between an
inserted storage position and a withdrawn use position
in brackets which are located on a mutually opposite
sides of the trays or the like and which are movably
and/or detatchedly mounted on a frame structure. The
trays or the like include catch means operative to
latch the trays in a fully inserted position in the
brackets. The brackets can be pivoted between a
horizontal position and an inclined position. The
trays or the like and/or the brackets are so
configured khat when the brackets are adjusted to
their horizontal position, movement of the trays or
the like is stopped before the trays or the like are
fully inserted and before the catch means have come
into operation, whereas when the brackets are adjusted
to their inclined positions, the tray or the like can
be fully inserted and therewith latched by said catch
means.
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The invention will now be described in more detail
with reference to an exemplifying embodiment thereof
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a cassette or
drawer storage arrangement which is adapted for use in
a horizontal drawer mode in which the catch facility
is passive; Figure 2 is a sid~ view of the
arrangement, similar to
JCH 5604b/11-lZ
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Fiyure 1, with the arrangement adjusted to a sloping
cassette or drawer mode in which the catch ~acility i~
active; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line
III-III in Figure 1; and Figure 2 is an enlarged p~r-
spective view of the front part of the ca~sette or
drawer illustra~ed in Figures 1 and 2.
The 6torage arrangement illustrated in Figure 1 includes
a drawer or tray 10 for storing packages, e.g. packaged
drugs or medicines, in tin or bo~tle ~orm. The drawer lo
is withdrawably mounted in brackets 12 located on res-
pective opposite ~ides of the drawer, via an inter-
mediate rail 14, and the bracket structures 12 and the
drawer 10 are each ~itted with re~pective wheels 16, 18
which run in U-shaped profile~ on the rail 14. The
drawer 10 has an upper flange 20 which covers the rail
14 and the bracket ~tructure~ 12 when the drawer is
~itted into a frame ~tructure 22. The brackets 12 are
mounted on the frame structure 22 in a conventional
manner, with the aid of hook elements 24, 26 which
engage in slot~ in the frame 2~. The end of the drawer
10 remote from the ~rame 22, i.e. the outer end of the
drawer, is fitted with a grip 28, which is pivotally
mounted on ~ournals 30 provided on mutually opposing
side faces oE the drawer 10. The grip has an upstanding
flange 32 which is gripped by the user when wishing to
pull out the drawer 10. The grip ~8, which may be made
of a plastics material, is also provided with a resi-
lient tongue 34, which when the drawer 10 is fully
inserted functions to lock a drawer catch arrangement
hereinafter described. Located at the bottom of the grip
28 i~ a leg 3~ which extend~ along the outside of res-
pective brackets 12 in the in~ertion direction of the
drawer. The leg 36 includes a part ~Figure 4) which
extends transversely to said drawer insertion direction
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and which, when the drawer ~ 8 ~ully inserted in accor-
dance with Figure 2, is intended to engage in a recess
38 provided in a re~pective bracket 12, ~uch as to
prevent the drawer from sliding along the brackets 12
under its own weight. The aforesaid resilient tongue 3
on the grip 28 will abut an lnclined 6urface on the
bracket 12, when the drawer is pushed to its fully
closed position, and therewith prevsnt the leg 36 from
swinging out o~ en~agoment w~th the recess 38. Con-
sequently, in order to open the drawer, it is necessary
to press the upper part o~ the grip 28 inwards, against
the spring force o~ the r~ilient tongue 34.
In accordance with the prQ~ent lnvention, the drawer 10
and the bracket~ 12 are conflgured 60 that the drawer 10
can be used in a horizontal storage ~ode in which the
catch is pass~ive, ~r in an inclined ~torage mode in
which the drawer or cas~ette 10 coact with a drawer
catch. In the caæe of the pr~ent inventlon this is
achieved by provid~ng the drawer with ~top means which,
when the arrangement iæ in it~ horizontal draw mode, are
opexative to prevent the drawer ~rom being fully
inserted, i.e. from baing pu6hed fully home, as illu-
strated in Figure 1. In the case of the illustrated
embodiment, the ~top means i8 provided by con~iguring
the 10 wi~h an inclined rear wall ~urface 40, ~uch that
wheb the arrangement i8 in its horizontal drawer mode,
the upper part o~ ~a~d rear wall ~rface 40 will come
into abutment with the ~rame 22 be~ore the leg or catch
36 reaches th~ rece5B 38. A~ ~hown in Figure 1, in thi~
horizontal mode o~ the 6tor~ge arrangement the catch
leys 36 are unable to reach and engage the recesses 38
in the brackets 12, therewith enabling the drawer to be
withdrawn easily and ~moothly, in the absence of an
3~ active drawer latching effect. The hook elements 24, 26
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on the brackets 12 and the intexm~3diate bracket part 42
are con~igured to ena~le the ~racke~s ~2 to ~e inclined
to the vertical, as ~hown in Figure 2, ~o as to enable
the drawer to slope and to be used for ~;loping storage
purposes in the aforedescribed manner. Tha ~torage
arrangement is brought to its sloping storage mode, by
rotating respective hook elements 26 in th~ir slots in
the frame 22, so that the intermediate bracket part 42
located between said hook elemen~s 24, ~6 is brought
lo into abutment with the vertical ~ace of the frame 22.
The drawer 10 can then be pushed ~ully home, along the
brackets 12, therewith enabling the catch legs 36 to
~nap into the recess~s 38 provid~d in the brackets 12,
in the aforesaid manner, said legs being locked in the
recesses through the action of the locking tongues 34,
~uch as to prevent the drawer from sliding open under
its own weight.
It will be evident from the above description that the
inventive arrangement enable6 one and the same storag~
device, e.g. tray or drawer 19, and one and the same
bracket structure 12 to be u~ed as a horizontally move-
able drawer arrangement in which the catch facility
remains inactive, or as an inclined drawer or cassette
arrangement in which the catch facility i8 brought to an
active ~tate. This storage arrangement affords two
important advantages: ~he ~anufacturer can produce the
dual-purpose ~torage arrangement in large numbers,
instead of manu~acturing each ~eparate aspect of the
arrangement separately, whereas the user obtains a
produck which can be rsadlly adapted between a storage
arrangement for the storage of ~requently purchased
packaged goods and a ~torage arrangement ~or packaged
goods which are bought less ~requently, e.g. ~or the
storage of drugs and medicines in drug stores and
chemist shops. Both advantages have ~avourable economic
consequences, since the invention solves the problem of
latching or not latching the drawer t depending on whe-
ther the user selects a sloping or horizontal drawer
position when mounting the bracket~ in the wall-carried
rails or frame structure normally used to support
storage module systems.
It will be understood that the invention is not restric-
ted to the descrlbed and illustrated e~bodiment, and
that modifications can be nade within the scope of the
following claim~. Although the invention has been
described in relation to drawers for the ~torage of
packaged unit~, it will be under~tood that the invention
can be applied to other ~torage system~ utilizing alter-
nate horizontal and ~loping storage facilities employing
different kind6 of ~torage device~, such as shelves,
trays, baskets etc. Furthermore, the arrangement may
include drawer and bracket configurations dif~erent to
those described and illustrated for ter~inating horizon-
tal inward movement of the drawer before the catch
arrangement is able to come into operation, or include
separate devices which function to the same end. The
illustrated e~bodiment, however, can be manufactured
readily a~d chsaply and will encroach on the available
drawer space to the least possible extent.
