Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DRAWER WITH REPLACEABLE SKIN
Cross Reference to Related Applications
[0001] This non-provisional application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent
Application Nos. 60/861,874, entitled "Drawer with Replaceable Skin," filed on
November
30, 2006, and 60/861,880, entitled "Replaceable Drawer Front Component," filed
on
November 30, 2006 the entire disclosure of each is incorporated herein by
reference, to the
extent that it is not conflicting with the present disclosure.
Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a drawer with a replaceable skiil and
to a drawer
with a replaceable skin for installation on a tool chest or tool cabinet.
Background of the Invention
[0003] Storage containers such as dressers, bureaus, and file cabinets having
drawers
are in popular use. Several exemplary storage devices include tool chests,
tool cabinets, arid
combination tool chest and cabinet units. Tool chests, tool cabinets, and
cornbination tool
chest and cabinet units are in widespread use in residential, commercial and
industrial
settings.
[0004] Tool chests arid cabinets typically include a plurality of drawers of
similar or
various lieight. The drawers are consti-ucted to form an assembled unit having
slides on either
side and a front panel. A common construction teclmique involves the complete
assembly of
the tool chest or tool cabinet frame by welding or other means. The drawers
are manufactured
as complete pennanent assemblies. Subsequently, the drawers are installed and
the entire unit
is painted or othei-wise finished to produce a unifonn appearing exterior
surface. This
unifoi7n surface includes the exposed front face of the drawers. As a result,
the color of the
front panel matches the rest of the tool chest or tool cabinet. Absent any
repainting, the color
or texture of the fiont face of the drawers can not be readily changed by the
consumer.
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Summary
[0005] A replaceable skin is provided as part of a drawer fi=ont for a tool
storage unit and
for a drawer skin replaceinent kit and method of installing the drawer skin on
a drawer front.
The drawer skin includes connection feati.ires that facilitate its
installation on the drawer front.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0006] Further features and advantages of this invention will become apparent
from
the followiiig detailed description made with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0007] Figure 1 is a front elevation view of a tool chest having a replaceable
drawer front
constri.icted in accordance with an embodiment of this invention;
[0008] Figure 2 is a top view of the tool chest of Figure 1;
[0009] Figure 3 is a riglit side view of the tool chest of Figure 1;
[00010] Figure 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the tool chest of
Figure 1 showing a
drawer having a replaceable drawer front constructed in accordance with an
embodiment of
this invention in an extetided or open position;
[00011] Figure 5 is an exploded view of the drawer of Figure 4;
[00012] Figure 6a is an exploded rear view of a replaceable drawer front
constructed in
accordance with an embodilnent of the present invention;
[00013] Figure 6b is a rear view of the replaceable drawer front of Figure 6a;
[00014] Figure 7 is a top view of a replaceable drawer front skin constructed
in accordance
with an ernbodiment of the present invention; and
[00015] Figure 8 is a rear view of a replaceable drawer front skin constructed
in
accordance witli an embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Invention
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[00016] This Detailed Description of the hzvention merely describes
embodiments of
the invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the specification,
including any claims,
in any way. Indeed, the invention as described by the specification and any
claims is broader
than ai1d unlimited by the preferred embodiments, and the terms used in the
specification and
claims have their fizll ordinary meaning.
[00017] The present invention will be described for use with a tool chest and
a tool
cabinet. It should be understood that this is for exemplary puiposes only and
the invention
can be applied to a wide variety of applications.
[00018] The invention is directed to a drawer frorlt having a replaceable
skin. The
drawer front is designed to be conveniently removed from a tool chest or tool
cabinet. After
removal, the exterior skin of the drawer front can be replaced by a consumer
in an after-
market enviromnent. The remove-and-replace operation requires no special
tooling or
training. The process results in the front face of the drawer front having a
new or different
ornamental appearance. The skin of one or more drawer fascia assemblies can be
replaced to
alter the oniarnental appearance of part or all of a tool chest or a tool
cabinet.
[00019] R.eferz-ing now to the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation view of
a tool chest
10. Figures 2 and 3 are top and right side views of the tool chest. The tool
chest 10 includes
a plurality of drawers 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. One or more of the drawers is
constr-ucted to inchzde
a replaceable drawer front 21 (Figure 5), to be discussed in greater detail.
[00020] Figure 4 is a fragmentary front perspective view of the tool chest 10
with one of
the drawers 18 pulled away frorn the chest to a partially extended position. A
replaceable
drawer front 21 is mounted to the outermost portion of a drawer body portion
35. The drawer
front 21 includes a gr-ip por-tion 52 adapted to be gripped by a user to move
the drawer along
its slides. hl the depicted embodirnerit, the grip portion 52 includes two
cavities 45 for tool
storage. Other ernbodiments rnay include alternative features as part of the
grip portion 52.
The drawer front 21 includes a bottom portion 54 and a skin portion 50
betweerr the grip
portion and the bottorn portion. The skin portion 50 is configured to be
removed by a user
and may be made of a flexible decorative rnaterial that is wrapped around the
grip portion and
bottom portion. Alternatively, the skin portion may be molded or formed
material having an
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aesthetically pleasing appearance such as brushed aluminum, stainless steel,
plastic, or a
material that includes a paiilted surface.
[00021] The skins 50 that are installed in the drawer fronts 21 on the drawers
of the tool
chest 10 may be configured to cumulatively depict coinponents of a single
image when
installed on the tool chest. For exarnple, the drawer fronts may be configured
to depict a
sports logo or inascot, a flag, or a motto, when the drawer fronts are
installed on the tool
chest. When the drawer 42 is in a fully extended position, a user may depress
release buttons
(not shown) located in or near the slides on either side of the drawer to
remove the drawer
from the tool cabinet 30. It should be understood that other structures and
teclnliques for
drawer removal can be used in the practice of this invention.
[00022] Figure 5 is an exploded view of the drawer 18 with the drawer front 21
removed
from the drawer body portion 35. The drawer body portion 35 includes a front
pane146
having a series of exemplary through-holes 48. The holes are used to mount the
drawer front
21 to the body portion 35. Tabs 75 extending fi=om the back of the drawer
front 21 are
configured to engage and be retained in the holes 48. It may be advantageous
to provide a
niounting configuration that allows the drawer front 21 to be removed and
installed without
requiring the use of tools. As shown in Figures 6a and 6b, the rear side of
the drawer front 21
includes a pattem of tabs 75 protrudirig from the grip portion 52 and bottom
portion 54. The
tabs have a nan=ow neck portion 75a and a larger head portion 75b. The tabs
can be of any
practical number, pattern and size, but sliould be corresponding to the holes
48 on the front
pane146 of the drawer to which the replaceable drawer front will be mounted.
The holes 48
include a srnaller left portion 48a adjacent a larger right portion 48b. When
viewing from the
perspective of Figure 5, the tabs 75 are in the left portion 48a of the hole
48 when the drawer
front 21 is installed in a drawer. In other words, the neck portion 75a of the
tab is in the
smaller section 48a. To remove the drawer front 21, the user slides the drawer
front 21 to the
right so that the head 75a of the tab 75 becomes aligned and co-axial with the
larger right
portion 48a of the hole 48. In this position, the user can simply pull the
drawer front directly
off the drawer. To install a replacement drawer front, the process is
reversed. Of course, other
liole and tab sizes, configurations, and patterns can be used in the practice
of this invention.
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[00023] The skin 50 of the drawer front can be removed from a drawer front and
replaced
with a different skin 50. A user may chose to do this for a variety of
reasons, such as for
exaniple, to cliange the color of the entire front of a tool cabinet or to
replace a single skin on
a drawer front having an aesthetically danzaged appearance.
[00024] Referring now to Figures 6a and 6b, rear views of a drawer front 21
are shown.
The view shown is from the rear of the assembly when in an installed position
on a drawer
face 46. As already discussed above, the drawer front assembly 21 includes a
skin front piece
50, a grip portion 52 and a bottom portion 54. It should be understood by
those with ordinary
skill in the art that any number, size or shape of support pieces can be used
in the practice of
this invention. The skin 50 is wrapped around either end of the grip portion
52 and bottoin
poi-tion 54 to foi7n the drawer front 21. A strap support 63 is mounted to the
grip portion 52
by screws 58 at a mounting hole 72 aiid to the bottom portion at a mounting
hole 74 to
provide rigidity to the drawer front 21. Four additional screws 57 are
inserted through holes
51 in the skin 50 to mount to two tlueaded holes 59 in the top support and two
threaded holes
59 in the bottom support. It should be understood by those with ordinary skill
in the art that
any number, size or type of liardware can be used in the practice of this
invention.
[00025] An exemplary drawer front 21 is sliown in Figure 6b in assembled form.
The size
and construction of the drawer front assembly may vary in the practice of the
present
invention, such as for example, by varying in height and including support
straps of various
lengths and multiple intennediate horizontal members. Further, the height of
the skin 50 may
extend beyond the support, such as for exainple, below the bottorn of the
bottom support.
[00026] Referring now to Figures 7 and 8, various views of the skin 50 are
shown. The
skin in an installed position defines a radius as shown in Figure 7 due to the
outer surface of
the grip portion 52 and bottom portioii 54 and due to the position of skin
support pads 82,
seen best in Figure 6a. However, the skin can be constructed of a relatively
rigid material to
create a desired shape for the exterior of the drawer front.
[00027] To remove and replace the skin from a drawer front, the drawer front
is first
removed from a drawer. A user may chose to remove and replace a skin for a
variety of
reasons, such as for example, to change the color of the entire front of a
tool cabinet or to
replace a single drawer having an aesthetically damaged appearance.
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[000281 To replace the skin 50, a user must first remove the four screws 57
with a
screwdriver or drill, and then repeat the assembly steps for the drawer front
asseinbly with a
new skin. To install the drawer front to the drawer, the tabs of the drawer
front are inserted
into the through-holes in the drawer and the drawer front is slid into the
smaller section 48b of
the holes. In some einbodiments, a lock or securing mechanisms can be used to
retain the
drawer front in place in an installed position.
[000291 While several enibodiments of the invention has been illustrated alld
described in
considerable detail, the present invention is not to be considered lirnited to
the precise
constructions disclosed. Various adaptations, inodifications and uses of the
invention inay
occur to those skilled in the arts to which the invention relates. It is the
intention to cover all
such adaptations, modifications and uses falling within the scope or spirit of
the specification
filed herewith.
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