US2340762A - Vanity drawer for chiffoniers and the like - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 1, 1944.

w. L. LUNDIN VANITY DRAWER 'FOR CHIFFONIERS. AND THE LIKE Filed June 25, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l WALFRED LUN DIN INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Feb. 1, 1944. I v w. 1.. LUNDIN' VANITY DRAWER FOR CHIFFONIERS AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets$heet 2 Filed June 25, 1942 WALFRED L. LUNDIN INVENTOR jig-.3 W.

AT TORNEYS Patented Feb. 1, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VANITY DRAWER FOR CHIFFONIERS AND THE LIKE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to chests of drawers, chiffoniers, bureaus, wardrobes, or similar articles of furniture suitable for bedrooms or dressing rooms. More specifically, this invention relates to such articles of furniture which are too tall to enable the top to be used as a vanity table or dressing table or a vanity mirror support by anyone sitting in a chair.

In small apartment bedrooms or in any dressing room in which the furniture space is very limited, it is often inconvenient, if not impossible, to have a separate vanity or dressing table in addition to the necessary chiffonier, chest of drawers, or wardrobe. To use the top of one of the latter-mentioned articles of furniture as a dressing table is not entirely satisfactory, since one would be obliged to stand up all the time while arranging the hair, etc., and since all the toilet articles, powder and cosmetics, must occupy space on the top of the furniture piece.

The object of this invention is to provide a drawer in such an article of furniture, which, when pulled out, may take the place of a vanity or dressing table, and, when not in use, may be pushed back and closed like any ordinary chiffonier drawer.

A further object of this invention is to provide a practical means for mounting a relatively large mirror in a vanity drawer, which mirror may easily be set up when the drawer is in pulled-out position and lowered when the drawer is to be pushed back.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a combined vanity drawer and mirror so simply and practically constructed and arranged as to involve very little expense in construction, to be suitable for any chiffonier, chest of drawers, or the like, and to be capable of use with minimum amount of efiort.

These and incidental objects I attain by making a vanity drawer, and substituting the same for an ordinary drawer in a chiffonier and the like, as hereinafter briefly described.

In the following description reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my invention shown located in an ordinary chiffonier and pulled out and arranged in readiness for use;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation of the chiffonier of Fig. 1 showing my vanity drawer closed and pushed back like the other chiifonier drawers, the adjacent drawers being indicated by broken lines;

Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of the same vanity drawer when pulled out preparatory to its use, this view illustrating the initial stage in arranging the drawer to serve as a vanity or dressing table;

Fig. 4 is a similar sectional side elevation of the vanity drawer showing the front wall swung down an important feature in this invention.

and the mirror-supporting cover pulled to extreme forward position, constituting the next stage in arranging the drawer, and indicating in broken line the final positioning of the mirror;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation of the vanity drawer, drawn to a larger scale, showing the guide slot on the inner face of one of the side walls and indicating diagrammatically the positions of the mirror-supporting cover in the guide slot; and I Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of a portion of the bottom of the drawer showing the lock employed to prevent the drawer being inadvertently pulled entirely out from the chiffonier.

In Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, my vanity drawer A is shown mounted like any ordinary drawer in the chiifonier B, but its location in the chiffonier is such that its height from the floor will be approximately the same as the heighth of an ordinary dressing table or vanity. The chiffonier B is assumed to be of ordinary design and construc tion and need not be described further. No alteration in its construction is required for accommodation of the vanity drawer A. When the vanity drawer is in closed position, as shown in Fig. 2, it appears from the outside of the chiffonier to be the same as any other drawer.

The vanity drawer A includes a bottom II), a back H, a pair of sides [2, attached to bottom and back, and a hinged front l3. The front I3 is hinged to the bottom It by any suitable hinge connection, such as the pair of flush hinges M, (Fig, 1). A conventional drawer pull or handle i5 is secured to the front l3 of the vanity drawer the same as to the other drawers of the chiffonier. The bottom edge of the front l3, the front edge of the bottom It, and the connecting hinges l4 joining front and bottom, are so arranged that, when the front I3 is swung on the hinges from the position in Fig. 3 to the position in Figs. 4 and l, the front will lie in the same plane as the bottom and constitute in effect an extension or continuation of the bottom.

A mirror 2| is mounted in a frame Hi, the outer perimeter of which is preferably approximately the same size as the interior of the drawer, so as to have the mirror as large as possible. The mirror frame is slidably and pivotally mounted in the sides 12 of the vanity drawer through the medium of two pins ll, one at each side. which ride in grooves 16, located in the drawer sides i2 respectively. The shape of these guide grooves It will be seen in Fig. 5 and the shape is Both grooves are identical and similarly located in their respective sides of the vanity drawer. Each groove [6 is placed near the top edge of the side wall, is substantially parallel to the top edge, and has its inner end located comparatively near to the back H of the drawer. A downwardly-extending locking notch I9 is located at the rear end of each groove, and a similar locking notch is located at the front termination of the groove. The purpose of these notche will be explained presently. A branch notch extends upwardly from the groove IE to the top edge of the drawer side, as shown in Fig. 5, to enable the mirror-supporting cover to be attached to or removed from the drawer when the drawer is entirely withdrawn from the chiifonier.

The outer or top member 3| of the mirror frame I8 is formed with a tongue and groove 23 adapted to engage with a complementary tongue and groove 24 in the top of the hinged front It, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The mirror-supporting cover is made of such size and the pins H and rear locking notches l9 are so arranged and located that when the pins l1 engage the locking notches l9 and the tongue and groove 23 of the mirror-supporting cover engage the tongue and groove 24 of the drawer front, the drawer front will be held firmly in the vertical position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. When the front is so held the drawer may be pulled to the position of Fig. 3 or may be pushed back from the position of Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 2, by grasping the drawer handle H5 in the same manner as any conventional drawer. However, were it not for the engagement of the pins I! in the rear notches IQ of the guide groove IS the pulling of the drawer from the position of Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 3 would cause the front 13 to swing outwardly on its hinges instead of being held firmly in vertical position.

The back of the mirror is preferably covered by a sheet or panel of wood veneer or other suitable material which not only protects the mirror but also furnishes a suitable top surface for the mirror-supporting cover when the drawer is pulled out into the position of Fig. 3 and the cover is down. In this position the mirror-supporting cover could be used as a temporary table or writing desk.

The sides I2 are cut away at the front upper corners, as shown at 32, to enable the mirrorsupporting cover to be grasped easily and raised slightly, when the drawer has been pulled to outer position, in order to disengage the tongue and groove 23 from the groove and tongue 24. This disengagement permits the front It to be dropped to the position shown in Fig. l.

On the inside face of each side wall l2 of the drawer a small lug or projecting strip 25 is secured. The location of these lugs is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. They are preferably slightly below the level of the lower face of the mirror-supporting cover when the front edge of the cover is in engagement with the drawer front l3, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and are placed slightly to the rear of the center line of the cover so that when the cover rests on these lugs, after it has been disconnected from the drawer front 13', the front portion of the cover will overbalance the rear portion and cause the pins I! to be lifted from the locking notches Hi. This position of the cover is indicated by the broken lines a: in Fig. 5. The lugs 25 also serve to prevent the mirror-supporting cover from dropping onto the bottom of the drawer when the front I3 is disconnected from the cover and is swung down on its hinges. Otherwise the dropping down of the cover might damage the mirror or damage articles contained within the drawer.

When the cover is in the position indicated by the broken lines w, in Fig. 5 it canb pulled forward into the position shown in Fig. 4 without any further lifting or manipulating. This forward position is also indicated by the broken lines 3 in Fig. 5. All that remains then is to swing the mirror-supporting cover upwardly into the final position so that the cover will lean back against the front of the chiffonier, as shown in Fig. 1 and as indicated by the broken lines 2 of Figs. 4 and 5. When the mirror-supporting cover is swung upwardly the pins I! drop into the forward looking notches 20. The engagement of the pins ll with these notches 20 then holds the bottom of the mirror-supporting cover in place and prevents it from being inadvertently shoved back in the grooves l6, which backward shoving might cause it to be overbalanced and topple forward.

When the drawer is no longer to be used as a dressing table and it is desired to push the same back into closed position in the chiifonier, the mirror-supporting cover is first swung down into the position shown in Fig. 4. This causes the pins H to be lifted from the forward looking notches 2|] and the cover can then be shoved back in the grooves IS. The front of the cover is then lifted slightly while the drawer front I3 is swung up on its hinges and the tongue and groove 24 are brought into engagement with the groove and tongue 23, as previously explained. The lifting of the cover from the lugs 24, when the cover has been pushed back, causes the pins H" to drop back into the rear locking notches IS with the result that the cover and drawer front are then held firmly in place.

In order to prevent the vanity drawer being inadvertently pulled entirely out of the chiffonier I provide a pair of safety catches or latches 26 (Fig. 6) mounted in the drawer bottom ID and hinged on pins 21. These latches normally hang down in the position shown in Figs. 4 and 6 and. act to engage the rail 28 at the limit of the forward travel of the drawer. Should it be desired to remove the vanity drawer entirely from the chiffonier or other article of furniture in which it is located, this may easily be done by manually lifting the latches 26. To do this in a chiffonier the drawer directly below the vanity drawer may be pulled out and the latches 26 can be conveniently reached and pressed upwardly to enable them to pass over the rail 28 while the Vanity drawer is pulled outwardly.

My vanity drawer could be made of metal instead of wood, or of any other material suitable for furniture, and many variations may be made in the design and appearance of the drawer and also in the design and construction of the mirror-supporting cover without departing from the principle of my invention. Although I have described this vanity drawer as mounted in a chiifonier, it will be obvious, as previously mentioned, that my invention can be combined with many types and articles of furniture or might be mounted the same as any other drawer in the wall of the bedroom or dressing room.

I claim:

1. In a drawer of the character described, a bottom, a rear wall, a pair of side walls, a hinged front wall, and a cover, complementary engaging tongue and groove edges at the front of said cover and at the top of said front wall, a pair of pivotal members attached near the rear of said cover at the sides respectively, guide grooves for said pivotal members in the side walls of said drawer respectively, a rear locking notch extending downwardly in each groove and adapted to engage said pivotal members when said cover is in its innermost position with its front edge supported on said front wall, a pair of elements on the inside faces of said side walls respectively below said guide grooves adapted to support said cover when said front wall is disengaged from said cover, said elements located farther from the front edge of said cover than from its rear edge, whereby when said cover is supported on said elements it will be overbalanced suificiently to cause said pivotal members to be lifted from said rear locking notches and facilitate the pulling of said cover forward, and whereby, when said drawer is pulled into open position and said cover is drawn forward, said cover may be swung up on said pivotal members in the manner described.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 with the addition of a second pair of locking notches at the forward ends of said guide grooves adapted to engage said pivotal member when said cover is swung up and thereby to prevent inadvertent displacement of the bottom of said cover.

3. In a drawer of the character described having a bottom, a rear wall, a pair of side walls, and a hinged front wall, a cover, means for holding the front of said cover and the top of said front wall in engagement with each other, a pair of pins attached near the rear of said cover at the sides respectively, guide grooves for said pins in the side walls of said drawer respectively/a rear locking notch extending downwardly in each groove and adapted to engage said pins when said cover is in its innermost positionwith its front edge supported on said front wallrsaid side walls being cut away at the forward upper corners to enable the front end of said cover to be manually lifted when said front wall andlsaid cover are to be disengaged, a second pair of locking notches at the forward ends of said guide grooves adapted to engage said pins when said cover is swung up and thereby to prevent inadvertent displacement of the bottom of said cover.

4. In a vanity drawer, a bottom, a rear wall, a pair of side walls, a front wall, said front wall being hinged to said bottom, a cover, means for holding the front of said cover and the top of said front wall in engagement with each other, a pair of pivotal members attached to said cover at the sides respectively, guide grooves for said pivotal members in the side walls of said drawer respectively, a rear locking notch extending downwardly in each groove and adapted to engage said pivotal members when said cover is in its innermost position with its front edge supported on said front wall, a pair of rests on the inside faces of said side walls respectively below said guide grooves adapted to support said cover when said front wall i disengaged from said cover, said rests located further from the front edge of said cover than from its rear edge, whereby when said cover is suported on said rests it will be overbalanced sufficiently to cause 'said pivotal members to be lifted from said rear locking notches and facilitate the Pulling of said cover forward, a mirror mounted on the underside of said cover, whereby, when said drawer is pulled into open position and said cover is drawn forward, said cover may be swung up on saidpivotal members to provide a dressing mirror 'for the drawer.

5. A vanity drawer having, a bottom, a rear wall, a pair of side walls, a hinged front wall, and a mirror-supporting cover, complementary engaging tongue and groove edges at the front of said cover and at the top of said front wall, a pair of pins attached near the rear of said cover at the sides respectively, guide grooves for said pins in the side walls of said drawer respectively, a rear locking notch extending downwardly in each groove and adapted to engage said pins when said cover is in its innermost position with its front edge supported on said front wall, a pair of lugs on the inside faces of said side walls respectively below said guide grooves adapted to support said cover when said front wall is disengaged from said cover, a mirror mounted on the underside of said cover, whereby, when said drawer is pulled into open position and said cover is drawn forward, said cover may be swung up on said pins and back against the front face of the chiffonier to provide a dressing mirror for the vanity drawer in the manner described.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 with said lugs located further from the front edge of said cover than from its rear edge, whereby when said cover is supported on said lugs it will be overbalanced sufficiently to cause said pins to be lifted from said rear locking notches and facilitates the pulling of said cover forward.

7. The combination set forth in claim 5 with said lugs located further from the front edge of said cover than from its rear edge, whereby when said cover is supported on said lugs it will be overbalanced suificiently to cause said pins to be lifted from said rear locking notches and to facilitate the pulling of said cover forward, and with the addition of a second pair of locking notches at the forward ends of said guide grooves adapted to engage said pins when said mirrorsupporting cover is swung up and thereby to prevent inadvertent displacement of the bottom of said mirror-supporting cover when said mirror is being used.

8. A vanity drawer of the character described including a bottom, a rear wall, a pair of side walls, a front wall, said front wall being hinged to said bottom, a cover, complementary engaging tongue and groove edges at the front of said cover and at the top of said front wall, a pair of pivotal members attached near the rear of said cover at the sides respectively, guide grooves for said pivotal members in the side walls of said drawer respectively, a rear locking notch extending downwardly in each groove and adapted to engage said pivotal members when said cover is in its innermost position with its front edge supported on said front wall, a mirror mounted on the underside of said cover, whereby, when said drawer is pulled into open position and said cover is drawn forward, said cover may be swung up on said pivotal members to provide a dressing mirror for the drawer, said side walls being cut away at the forward upper corners to enable the front end of said cover to be manually lifted when said front wall and said cover are to be disengaged, and a second pair of locking notches at the forward ends of said guide grooves adapted to engage said pivotal members when said mirriorsupporting cover is swung up and thereby to prevent inadvertent displacement of the bottom of said mirror-supporting cover when said mirror is being used.

WALFRED L. LUNDIN.

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