16 C.F.R. § 1261.2
In addition to the definitions given in section 3 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052 ), the following definitions apply for purposes of this part:
(a) Clothing storage unit means a consumer product that is a freestanding furniture item, with drawer(s) and/or door(s), that may be reasonably expected to be used for storing clothing, that is designed to be configured to greater than or equal to 27 inches in height, has a mass greater than or equal to 57 pounds with all extendable elements filled with at least 8.5 pounds/cubic foot times their functional volume (cubic feet), has a total functional volume of the closed storage greater than 1.3 cubic feet, and has a total functional volume of the closed storage greater than the sum of the total functional volume of the open storage and the total volume of the open space. Common names for clothing storage units include, but are not limited to: chests, bureaus, dressers, armoires, wardrobes, chests of drawers, drawer chests, chifforobes, and door chests. Whether a product is a clothing storage unit depends on whether it meets this definition. Some products that, depending on their design, may not meet the criteria in this definition and, therefore, may not be considered clothing storage units are: shelving units, office furniture, dining room furniture, laundry hampers, built-in closets, and single-compartment closed rigid boxes (storage chests).
(b) Clothes locker means a predominantly metal furniture item without exterior drawers and with one or more doors that either locks or accommodates an external lock.
(c) Closed storage means storage space inside a drawer and/or behind an opaque door. For this part, both sliding and hinged doors are considered in the definition of closed storage.
(d) Door means a hinged furniture component that can be opened or closed, typically outward or downward, to form a barrier; or a sliding furniture component that can be opened or closed by sliding across the face or case of the furniture item. This does not include vertically opening hinged lids.
(e) Door extension from fulcrum distance means the horizontal distance measured from the farthest point of a hinged door that opens outward or downward, while the door is in the least stable configuration (typically 90 degrees), to the fulcrum, while the clothing storage unit is on a hard, level, and flat test surface. See figure 1 to this paragraph (e). Sliding doors that remain within the clothing storage unit case are not considered to have a door extension.
Figure 1 to paragraph (e)-(Top View) The door extension from fulcrum distance, illustrated by the letter Y.
(f) Drawer means a furniture component intended to contain or store items that slides horizontally in and out of the furniture case and may be attached to the case by some means, such as glides. Only components that are retained in the case when extended up to 2/3 the shortest internal length, when empty, are included in this definition.
(g) Extendable element means a drawer or pull-out shelf.
(h) Extendable element extension from fulcrum distance means the horizontal distance measured from the centerline of the front face of the drawer or the outermost surface of the pull-out shelf to the fulcrum, when the extendable element is at the maximum extension and the clothing storage unit is on a hard, level, and flat test surface. For a curved or angled surface this measurement is taken where the distance is at its greatest. See figure 2 to this paragraph (h).
Figure 2 to paragraph (h)-The extendable element extension from fulcrum distance, illustrated by the letter X.
(i) Freestanding means that the unit remains upright, without needing attachment to the wall or other upright rigid structure, when it is fully assembled and empty, with all extendable elements and doors closed. Built-in units are not considered freestanding.
(j) Functional volume of an extendable element means the interior bottom surface area multiplied by the effective extendable element height, which is distance from the bottom surface of the extendable element to the top of the extendable element compartment minus 1/8 inches (see figure 3 to this paragraph (j)). Functional volume behind a door means the interior bottom surface area behind the door, when the door is closed, multiplied by the height of the storage compartment (see figure 4 to this paragraph (j)). Functional volume of open storage means the interior bottom surface area multiplied by the effective open storage height, which is distance from the bottom surface of the open storage to the top of the open storage compartment minus 1/8 inches.
Figure 3 to paragraph (j)-Functional volume of extendable element.
Figure 4 to paragraph (j)-Functional volume behind a door.
(k) Fulcrum means the point or line at the base of the clothing storage unit about which the clothing storage unit pivots when a tip-over force is applied (typically the front feet). The fulcrum position is determined while the clothing storage unit is on a hard, level, and flat test surface with all doors and extendable elements closed.
(l) Hard, level, and flat test surface means a test surface that is:
(1) Sufficiently hard to not bend or break under the weight of a clothing storage unit and any loads associated with testing the unit;
(2) Level with no more than 0.5 degrees of variation; and
(3) Smooth and even.
(m) Interlock means a device(s) that restricts simultaneous opening of extendable elements or doors.
(n) Levelling device means an adjustable device intended to adjust the level of the clothing storage unit.
(o) Maximum extension means a condition when an extendable element is open to the furthest manufacturer recommended use position, as indicated by way of a stop. In the case of slides with multiple intermediate stops, this is the stop that allows the extendable element to extend the furthest. In the case of slides with a multipart stop, such as a stop that extends the extendable element to the furthest manufacturer recommended use position with an additional stop that retains the extendable element in the case, this is the stop that extends the extendable element to the manufacturer recommended use position. If the manufacturer does not provide a recommended use position by way of a stop, this is 2/3 the shortest internal length of the drawer measured from the inside face of the drawer front to the inside face of the drawer back or 2/3 the shortest internal length of the pull-out shelf. See figure 5 to this paragraph (o).
Figure 5 to paragraph (o)-Example of maximum extension on extendable elements with stops and without stops.
(p) Maximum handhold height means the highest position at which a child may grab hold of the clothing storage unit, measured while the clothing storage unit is on a hard, level, and flat surface. For units shorter than 4.12 feet, this is the top of the clothing storage unit. For units 4.12 feet or taller, this is 4.12 feet. See figure 6 to this paragraph (p).
Figure 6 to paragraph (p)-The maximum handhold height, illustrated by the letter Z for a unit shorter than 4.12 feet (left) and for a unit 4.12 feet or taller (right).
(q) Moment means a moment of a force, which is a measure of the tendency to cause a body to rotate about a specific point or axis. It is measured in pound-feet, representing a force multiplied by a lever arm, or distance from the force to the point of rotation.
(r) Open storage means space within the frame of the furniture that is open ( i.e., is not in a drawer or behind an opaque door) and that reasonably can be used for storage ( e.g., has a flat bottom surface). For example, open shelf space that is not behind a door, display space behind a non-opaque door, and framed open clothing hanging space are considered open storage.
(s) Open space means space within the frame of the furniture, but without a bottom surface. For example, open space between legs, such as with a console table, or between separated storage components, such as with a vanity or a desk, are considered open space. This definition does not include space inside the furniture case ( e.g., space between a drawer and the case) or any other space that is not visible to a consumer standing in front of the unit ( e.g., space behind a base panel).
(t) Portable storage closet means a freestanding furniture item with an open frame that encloses hanging clothing storage space and/or shelves. This item may have a cloth case with curtain(s), flap(s), or door(s) that obscure the contents from view.
(u) Pull-out shelf means a furniture component with a horizontal flat surface that slides horizontally in and out of the furniture case and may be attached to the case by some means, such as glides.
(v) Test block means a block constructed of a rigid material, such as steel or aluminum, with the following dimensions: at least 0.43 inch thick, at least 1 inch deep, at least 1 inch wide. See figure 7 to this paragraph (v).
Figure 7 to paragraph (v)-Test block.
(w) Tip over means an event at which a clothing storage unit pivots forward to the point at which the clothing storage unit will continue to fall and/or be supported by a non-support element.
(x) Tip-over force means the force required to cause tip over of the clothing storage unit.
(y) Tip-over moment means the minimum moment in pound-feet about the fulcrum that causes tip over.
16 C.F.R. §1261.2