Retractable drawer stand for children
View Patent ↗The convertible drawer contains a foldable child stand that retracts in and out of an existing cabinet. It has walls that fold up and a load bearing support that folds down. The device is intended to hold the weight of a child and contain them at a height to allow safe interaction with caregivers at the counter. The top portion of the walls are encased in foam, and the walls lock into place. The bottom support is held in place with magnets when not in use and folds down to supplement the stability and load capacity of the drawer slides. The device can be disassembled into a standard drawer once children have outgrown the need for elevation assistance.
1 . A retractable device contained within a cabinet having drawers having a base that is designed to slide in/out and support a child at counter/table height comprising:
two full extension ball bearing slides ( 10 ) that the retractable device slides in/out on;
containment walls ( 7 ) that fold up using hinges ( 11 ) first when setting up the retractable device and secure the foldable containment walls to a drawer wall ( 8 ); said containment walls defining side safety walls
a bottom support ( 9 ) that supports the drawer at a bottom surface thereof, is a rectangular structure and is the full width of the retractable device, folds downwards on a hinge ( 2 ) to support the drawer when it is fully extended, and then has lateral portions ( 12 ) that swing inward on hinges ( 2 ) to allow the device to be supported in more than one plane and therefore increase stability;
a front safety wall that folds up on a hinge ( 11 ) to tightly wedge between the side safety walls, thus preventing the side safety walls from folding in by opposition of the front safety wall and preventing them from folding outwards by the opposition of the lateral drawer box walls.
2 . The retractable device of claim 1 , wherein the front wall of retractable device locks into place with bolt action locking mechanisms ( 6 ) and is thus prevented from folding inward by these locks and prevented from folding outward by sidewalls of the drawer.
3 . The retractable device of claim 1 , wherein the bottom support is held on the underside of the drawer base with magnets ( 3 ) when not in use and has an anti-slip material ( 4 ) along a bottom portion of the bottom support that comes into contact with the ground.
4 . The retractable device of claim 1 , further comprising a top edge of the foldable walls are partially encased in foam ( 5 ), providing a safe place for children to play.
5 . The retractable device of claim 1 , wherein the containment walls fit snuggly against a counter overhang at maximal expansion of the drawer slides, which fit prevents the drawer from sliding in either direction when in use.
6 . The retractable device of claim 1 , in which disassembly occurs into a standard drawer by detaching four hinges ( 2 ) and ( 11 ) from the drawer walls ( 8 ) and removing all foldable containment walls and the bottom support.