Rear interlock

A stack of drawers arranged vertically in a cabinet, each drawer being mounted in a frame by spaced drawer slides each having an outer slide member and an inner slide member slidable relative to one another, the outer slide member being adapted for mounting on the frame and the inner slide member being adapted for mounting on a respective one of the drawers, and each drawer being provided with an interlock assembly located at the rear of each drawer slide on at least one side of the stack of drawers, the interlock assembly comprising:

• a housing;
• a plate slidably movable within the housing between a first position and a blocking position;
• an actuator mounted on the rear of the inner slide member;
• cooperating attachments on the plate and on the actuator enabling the plate to be selectively engaged by the actuator to move the plate to its blocking position during an operation of opening the drawer to which the inner slide member is connected;
• a catch that maintains the plate in the blocking position;
• an actuator follower supported for movement relative to the outer slide member between a plate blocking position and a blocked position, the actuator follower having a first follower surface arranged for selective contact by an actuating surface on the actuator and a second follower surface arranged for selective contact by an actuating surface on the plate, wherein, when the drawer is opened, at least one of the first follower surface is contacted by the actuating surface on the actuator and the second follower surface is contacted by the actuating surface on the plate to move the actuator follower from the plate blocking position to the blocked position, said actuator follower subsequently being maintained in said blocked position while the drawer is open by the plate in the plate's blocking position, and wherein closing of the drawer causes the plate to be returned to its first position, and the actuator follower to be returned to the plate blocking position;
• and
• a rod connected to the actuator follower and adapted to connect to a second actuator follower of a second, substantially identical interlock assembly used on a second, adjacent drawer, wherein when the actuator follower is in the blocked position, the rod maintains the second actuator follower of the adjacent interlock assembly in a plate blocking position to maintain the plate of the second interlock assembly in its first position, wherein the rod is located adjacent the rear of the cabinet.

A method of preventing a stack of drawers supported in a cabinet from toppling over as a result of more than one drawer being opened at any one time, each drawer in the stack being mounted in a frame by spaced drawer slides each having an outer slide member and an inner slide member slidable relative to one another, the outer slide member being adapted for mounting on the frame and the inner slide member being adapted for mounting on a respective one of the drawers, the method comprising fitting each drawer in the stack with a drawer slide interlock assembly comprising:

• a housing;
• a plate slidably movable within the housing between a first position and a blocking position;
• an actuator mounted on the rear of the inner slide member;
• cooperating attachments on the plate and on the actuator enabling the plate to be selectively engaged by the actuator to move the plate to its blocking position during an operation of opening the drawer to which the inner slide member is connected;
• a catch that maintains the plate in the blocking position;
• an actuator follower supported for movement relative to the outer slide member between a plate blocking position and a blocked position, the actuator follower having a first follower surface arranged for selective contact by an actuating surface on the actuator and a second follower surface arranged for selective contact by an actuating surface on the plate, wherein, when the drawer is opened, at least one of the first follower surface is contacted by the actuating surface on the actuator and the second follower surface is contacted by the actuating surface on the plate to move the actuator follower from the plate blocking position to the blocked position, said actuator follower subsequently being maintained in said blocked position while the drawer is open by the plate in the plate's blocking position, and wherein closing of the drawer causes the plate to be returned to its first position, and the actuator follower to be returned to the plate blocking position;
• and
• a rod connected to the actuator follower and adapted to connect to a second actuator follower of a second, substantially identical interlock assembly used on a second, adjacent drawer, wherein when the actuator follower is in the blocked position, the rod maintains the second actuator follower of the adjacent interlock assembly in a plate blocking position to maintain the plate of the second interlock assembly in its first position, whereby when a first one of the drawers in the stack is opened, the interlock assembly of the first drawer will prevent the other drawers from being opened until the first drawer is moved to a closed position.