Drawers are well known in the art and are commonly incorporated into structures such as desks, cabinets, and tables to provide convenient, retractable access to storage spaces. Such retractable storage is especially useful in the workplace where various tools and implements must be accessed frequently while at the same time the main horizontal work surface of the structure must be kept clear. An example is an ordinary office desktop which is generally kept clear of tools to allow papers to be laid flat upon the desktop surface and worked upon. Typically, a pencil drawer is provided directly beneath the desktop from which pens, pencils, erasers, scissors and the like are periodically retrieved to be used in working on the papers.
Drawers commonly include a horizontal tray with a storage space having one or more compartments which is supported between two horizontal rails for slidable movement along a horizontal axis parallel to the rails. A drawer is typically mounted directly below a horizontal member such that access to the storage space is limited when the tray is moved to a closed position wherein the storage space is entirely beneath the horizontal member. Desks commonly include a drawer mounter below the horizontal desktop working surface and above the leg space provided for a user. This drawer is usually shallow and used primarily for storing pencils and other common office implements such as paper clips, rubber bands and the like.
Applicants have found that, in the workplace, a need often arises for mounting a drawer underneath a horizontal work surface such as a table or workbench or bookshelf. In this situation, an add-on drawer is desirable for mounting onto the lower surface of a horizontal member to provide the retractable storage space. Prior to the present invention, no drawer was available which could be quickly and easily added to such a surface.
Prior drawers are typically mounted onto a bench or table using threaded fasteners to attach the rails to the lower surface of the table or bench. This mounting arrangement requires several tools and excessive time. Holes must be drilled into the table, and may need to be tapped depending on the table material. Because the rails must be mounted parallel to one another to properly support the slidable tray, measurements must be taken and markings carefully made prior to drilling. In addition, the drawer including tray and rails, or the rails if separate, must be supported while the fasteners are installed. Finally, where the horizontal member of the table or workbench is thin, mounting a drawer to the lower surface using threaded fasteners may be impossible without penetrating and thereby ruining the top work surface of the table.