An Adjustable Fixing Device of a Front Panel of a Drawer or the Like, and a Drawer Provided with the Adjustable Fixing Devices

Abstract

The device ( 16 ) for adjustably fixing a front panel ( 11 ) to side walls ( 12, 13 ) of a drawer ( 10 ) or the like comprises a first part ( 17 ) fixable to a side wall ( 12, 13 ) of the drawer ( 10 ), and a second part ( 18 ) fixable to the front panel ( 11 ) of the drawer ( 10 ); the first part ( 17 ) and/or the second part ( 18 ) comprise at least a first and a second element ( 19, 20; 21, 22; 43, 44, 45 ) connected slidably to one another along a vertical and/or lateral direction, between which adjusting means ( 31, 32; 53, 54 ) are interposed so as to adjust the vertical and/or lateral position of the front panel ( 11 ) with respect to the lateral walls ( 12, 13 ) of the drawer ( 10 ).

1 . An adjustable fixing device for a drawer, the device comprising:
 a first part fixable to a side wall of the drawer;   a second part fixable to a front panel of the drawer; and   adjusting means for adjusting the vertical and/or the lateral position of the front panel with respect to the side wall of the drawer,   wherein at least one of the first part and the second part comprises a first element and a second element slidably connected with each other in a substantially vertical and/or lateral direction,   wherein the first part and the second part are arranged in respective planes orthogonal with each other, and are conformed and arranged to be fixable respectively on an inner side of the side wall and on an inner side of the front panel, and   wherein the adjusting means are interposed between the sliding elements of the first part and/or the second part of the device for causing a driven sliding of the sliding elements in the vertical and lateral directions.   
     
     
         2 . The fixing device according to  claim 1 , wherein the first part comprises a first element fixable on an inner side of the side wall of the drawer and a second element slidably connected to the first element, and wherein the second part comprises a first element fixable on an inner side of the front panel of the drawer and a second element slidably connected to the first element of the second part. 
     
     
         3 . The fixing device according to  claim 2 , wherein the second element of the first part and the second element of the second part of are each made as a L-shaped one-piece component. 
     
     
         4 . The fixing device according to  claim 2 , wherein the second element of the first part and the second element of the second part are separate components connectable with each other by hooking means, fast-connecting means, or screws. 
     
     
         5 . The fixing device according to  claim 4 , further comprising tightening means for the hooking or the fast-connecting means, the tightening means being conformed and arranged for compensating for play in a coupling between the hooking or the fast-connecting means and/or for compensating working errors. 
     
     
         6 . The fixing device according to  claim 5 , wherein the tightening means comprises an eccentric tightening member rotatably supported by the second part of the device, the tightening member being conformed and arranged to act against a surface of the first part of the fixing device. 
     
     
         7 . The fixing device according to  claim 2 , further comprising a base element fixable on an inner side of the front panel, the base element having hooking means or fast-connecting means for the first element of the second part fixable to the front panel of the drawer. 
     
     
         8 . The fixing device according to  claim 7 , wherein the fast-connecting means comprise, on the base element, a first fixed retaining wing and a rotatable retaining member insertable in respective openings provided in the first element of the second part, the retaining member having a shaped wing rotatably engageable with a portion of the first element ( 21 ). 
     
     
         9 . The fixing device according to  claim 1 , wherein the second part of the fixing device is fixable to the front panel by fast-connecting means. 
     
     
         10 . The fixing device according to  claim 9 , wherein the fast-connecting means comprise at least one expandable connecting member. 
     
     
         11 . The fixing device according to  claim 1 , wherein the second part comprises a first element fixable on an inner side of the front panel of the drawer, a second element slidably connected to the first element according to a first direction, and a third element slidably connected to the second element according to a second direction perpendicular to the first one, the third element having a prolongation fixable to the side wall of the drawer. 
     
     
         12 . The fixing device according to  claim 11 , further comprising hooking means or fast-connecting means between the third element and the prolongation fixable to the side wall of the drawer. 
     
     
         13 . The fixing device according to  claim 12 , wherein the hooking means comprise a first hooking fork orthogonally protruding from the second element of the first part and a second hooking fork orthogonally protruding from the second element of the second part, the first fork having an upwardly open slit in which a flat part of the second fork is insertable, the second fork having a downwardly open slit in which a flat part of the first fork is insertable. 
     
     
         14 . The fixing device according to  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting means interposed between the sliding elements are configured as eccentric adjusting members. 
     
     
         15 . The fixing device according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second elements of the at least one of the first part and the second part of the device are configured as metal plates. 
     
     
         16 . A drawer for furniture comprising side walls and a front panel, the drawer comprising a first and a second fixing device according to  claim 1  for adjustably fixing the front panel to the side walls of the drawer. 
     
     
         17 . The drawer according to  claim 16 , wherein the side walls and the front panel, at their faces inside the drawer, have respective built-in seats having a substantially cylindrical shape for receiving, respectively, the first and second parts of the fixing device.