CA1104626A - Document handling system - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT

In a manual paper handling system for processing and handling paper comprising a support structure presenting an upright support panel means for handling a plurality of trays therein; a plurality of trays;
said trays and support structure having cooperative mounting means for permitting easy, removable hanging of said trays on said support panel; the improvement comprising: at least some of said trays having bottom, side and back walls with said mounting means adapted to mount said trays on said panel means with said back wall located adjacent said panel means; said bottom wall as it extends from said panel means being inclined upwardly from the horizontal and from said side wall being sloped upwardly at an angle less than 90° from a horizontal plane, said side wall having inter-secting top and front edges with the top edge from the back to the front sloping downwardly and the front edge from bottom to top sloping rearwardly to provide better access for grabbing papers located within said tray, said side wall being sloped from bottom to top at an angle less than 90° from a vertical plane whereby papers placed therein tend to slide toward the back wall and the side wall and lean flat against the side wall. The system provides for an easy and organized way of classifying, temporarily storing, and moving documents from one department to another or from one person within a department to another person in the same department.

Description

11~626 This application is a divisional application of Application No. 243,702 filed January 16, 1976.
In professional, industrial, business, and other types of offices one problem which has plagued the operation of such offices is the processin~ and handling of documents which are in an "active" state, i.e., documents that are being used and worked on but need temporary storage maybe for an hour or a day or two. The office equipment industry offers very adequate files, drawers, and bins for storage purposes, but these are primarily designed to handle documents which are in an "inactive" state, that is, documents that have passed beyond the "active" state and are in effect in final storage. Therefore, there has been a long felt need for office equipment whereby documents that are in the "active" state can be organized and classified, temporarily stored, and then easily handled and con~eyed to different departments in the office.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a manual document handling system which provides for an easy and organized way of classifying, temporarily storing, and moving documents from one department to another or from one person within a department to another person in the same department.
The apparatus of this invention for accomplishing this organi~ation and classification of documents is a simple structure which is relatively easy to manufacture, assem~le and install with relation to other items of furniture within the office, such as tables, storage cabinets and the like.
This equipment makes possible the easy insertion and retrieval of the documents in the trays of the system. It makes the id~ntification of the documents and the transl)ortation of the documents from one station to anothcr a relatively easy

-2~

11~`4626 tas~ with less chance of errors and of losing the documents.
The structure of the sup~ort for the trays makes the hanging of the trays and r~moval of the trays from the support relatively easy and less burdensome than in conventional type of storage systems.
The system makes a highly visible display of the "active" documents. It makes for a neat appearing but otherwise visible display of such documents. The present invention makes the employee working in the office with the use of this system more productive at his job. It provides secondary benefits in supervisory/management control and planning, elimination of duplicate sorting processes, and faster documents movement and increased employee know-ledge of what is occurring as these "active" documents are lS worked on and transmitted from place to place.
The present invention makes for a wide variety of different shapes of trays for different sizes and shapes of documents and allows for a number of trays of different shapes and sizes to be used in any given space.
Thus, the present invention provides a manual paper handling system for processing and handling paper com-prising a support structure presenting an upright support panel means for handling a plurality of trays therein; a plurality of trays; said trays and support structure having cooperative mounting means for permitting easy, removable hanging of said trays on said support panel; the improvement comprising: at least some of said trays having bottom, side and back walls with said mounting means adapted to mount said trays on said panel means with said back wall located adjacent said panel means; said bottom wall as it extends from said panel means being inclined upwardly from the horizontal and from said side wall being sloped upwardly at an angle less than 90 from a horizontal plane, said side wall having intersecting top and front edges with the top edge from the back to the front sloping downwardly and the front edge from bottom to top sloping rea~ardly to provide better access for grabbing papers located within said tray, said side wall being sloped from bottom to top at an angle less than 90 from a vertical plane whereby papers placed therein tend to slide toward the back wall and the side wall and lean flat against the side wall.
Having described very briefly the various objects and advantages of the present invention, reference is now made to the drawings wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a perspective, front elevational view of a desk showing the system of this invention mounted thereon;
Fig. 2 shows still another arrangement of a desk and a side storage cabinet with the present invention arranged in relation thereto;
Fig. 3 is an exploded, perspective view of the various components of the tray support panel of this invention which is a~apted for a free-standing type of arrangement.

--3a-11~4~Z6 1 This figurc also illustrates the modular construction of the tra~ support panel ~hich can be utilized for different sizes and numbers of trays as desired;
Fig. ~ is a perspective view of a number of S different si7es and shapes of trays utilized in the system of this invention;
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional, side elevational view of the combination of trays and tray support panel of this invention;
Fig. 6 is a partial, front, elevational view of the trays and tray support panel of this invention;
Fig. 7 is a perspective, side elevational view of one of the trays of this invention with an accessory insert;
Fig. 8 is a perspective, side elevational vie~
of the insert sho~n in Fig. 7;
Fig. 9 is a partial, cross-sectional, side eleva-tional view of an indicia part of the tray of this invention;
Fig. 9A is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane 9A-9A of Fig. 9;
Fig. 10 is also a partial, exploded view of the support posts for the tray support panels;
Fig. 11 is a partial, perspective, exploded vie~
of the base leg for the free-standing support of~Fig. 3 and sho~ing a modification for clipping the leg onto a table or the like;
Fig. 12 is a side elevational vic~ of a spacer used in conjunction ~ith a tray of the present invcntion especially for adapting the tray for accommodating diffcrent sizes of documents;
Fig. 13 is a plan vie~ of one means for 11~4626 1 mounting the tray sul)port pancl bet~een two u~right panels; and Figs. 14, 15, 16 and 17 are schematic diagrams ~ strating how the trays and back panels by reason of their modular construction can work together to provide a variety of versatile combinations.
~ow referring more specifically to the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 disclose this invention utilized in conjunc-tion with a desk 100 (Fig. 1) OT with a desk 200 and a storage cabinet 300 ~Fig. 2). In each example the invention consists of two basic components, a tray support panel 10 and a plurality of trays "T" hung on the support panel 10. The trays can be of different shapes and sizes such as sho~n in Fig. 4 which illustrates such trays identified by reference numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
These trays are adapted to be mounted as l~ill be described hereinafter on a support panel 10 ~Figs. 3, 5, 6, and 13).
The panels 10 as illustrated best in ~igs. 3, 5, and 6 are made up of a plurality of slats such as slats lla, llb and llc (Figs. 3 and 5) each of which are identical. The slats in turn are assembled together by means of the posts 12, which can be mounted either in a free-standing manner as will be described herein~fter or can in turn be secured to another support as ~ill also be described.
~ach of the slats lla, llb and llc are identical.
The construction of these slats is best s?lol~ll in ~igs. 3 and 5. Sucll construction includes a back ~all 120 having a lip -,n 13 at the very top and the t~o hooks 14 and 15 spaced one above ~he other. The t\~o ~ooks 14 and 15 are identic31 and 11~26 1 include a front t~all 16, a bottom wall 17 and a hook-shaped upper wall 18. These slats lla, llb and llc can be constructed out of metal by any conventional means such as by extruding or by forming and welding. It is also conceivable that these slats can be constructed of a plastic material. ;
The hook structures 14 and 15 not only provide a hook on which the tray can be hung but also provide a socket by which the slats can be secured to the posts 12. This socket and plug construction is best shown in Fig. 3 wherein the post 12 is shown with the tabs or plugs 19 received into the passages or recesses 20 on the ends of the slats lla, llb and llc. It should be obvious from the details as shown in Fig. 3 that when the plugs or tabs 19 are inserted into the openings 20 the slats lla, llb and llc are rigidly mounted to the post 12 and thus are secured together to form the panel for hanging the trays on.
As is illustrated by the posts 12, 12b and 12c, the posts can be of any predetermined length for mounting any - predetermined number of slats. Specifically post 12 mounts three slats, post 12b mounts two slats, and post 12c only ` one slat.
The support panels 10 can be supported in several ways. Fig. 3 discloses a free-standing type of construction in ~hich there is provided a L-shaped base 21 having a base le~ 22 and an upright leg 23. The upright leg 23 is of a shape and size to receive the lower end 24 of the post 12, However, in some instances it is desirable to space the panel above the surface on which the freely mounted support is resting. In such a case an extension member 25 is provided having an end 25a and an end 25b. End 25a is of the same shape and size and has the same opening of the same shape 11~`46Z6 1 and size as the lo~er end of the post 24, Thus, the upright leg 23 of the base 21 is received within the end 25a of the extension member 25. In like manner, the upper end 25b is of reduced size and shape like thc upright leg 23 so as to be received within the end 24 of the post. In this construc-tion, as previously stated, the slatted panel is spaced above the surface on which the freely supported support rests.
Fig. 13 shows still another construction for mounting the panel 10. This construction is for the purpose of mounting the panel 10 between two panels, for example as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. In this par~icular instance, U-shaped brackets 28a and 28b are secured to the spaced end panels 26 and 27, respectively, the number of brackets on each panel being at least two but varying as desired depending upon the height of the panel 10. The posts 12 are received within the brackets 28a and 28b, the fit being such that the panel 10 will stay put in normal use. However, if the panel 10 is to be removed it can be slid one way or the other so that one of the posts 12 is removed from the brackets on one panel and then the other can likewise be removed. This construction provides for an easy insertion and removal of the panel and also provides for a fit of the support panel when the panels 26 and 27 vary slightly such as in drawers and the like.
Still another construction for mounting the panel 10 to upright support members of a panel wall or the iike is shown in ~ig. 10. In this instance, the post 12 is provided with a plurality of slots 29 which are shaped and sized to receive the hook portions 30 of the bracket 31.
The bracket 31 also has the hook portions 32 t~hich extencl in an opposite direction than the hooks sn and thus can be inserted into slots of an uprig)lt support men~ber such as 1 one that su~ports a wall for securing and supporting the ~-~
post 12 and the entire panel 11 on the wall.
In the post 12 at the very top is a short piece ~-of metal 33 having a bent over end which fits over the top end of the hooX 30 which stabilizes the entire assembly. Also shown in Fig. 10 and also in Fig. 3 is the cap 33 for closing the top end of the post 12.
Fig. 11 discloses a construction for stabilizing ~;
the base leg of the free-standing construction of Fig. 3. ;~
This includes a clip 34 secured in the groove 35 at the bottom of the base leg 22a. The clip is secured in the groove 35 by the screws 36 and when so mounted the clip can be slipped over the edge of a table or desk for stabi-lizing the entire assembly.
Referring to the trays which are best shown in Figs. ` ;
4, 5, and 6, it will be noted that the trays can be of many different shapes and sizes for holding various types of documents; for example, file cards, books, large documents and computer cards. Further, the trays can be made either right or left handed as illustrated. Specifically in Fig. 4, ` trays 1 and 2 are right and left document holders as are trays 6 and 7 and 8 and 9, respectively. Tray 3 is a book holder.
Substantially all of these trays, except for the book holder

3, are constructed similarly except for the dimensions. This construction, as will now be dcscribed in relation to trays 8 and 8a (~igs. 4 and 6), includc a bottom wall 37, a side wall 38, a back wall or end wall 39 and a retaining lip 40.
As will be seen from ~igs. 4, 5 and 6, the bottom wall 37, from back to front, is sloped upwardly from the horizontal plane "P" (Fig. 5) and from side 38 to lip 40 is sloped u~l~ardly from the ~lorizontal p]ane "P" (~ig. 6). The side -11~4626 1 wall 38 is sloped either to ~he right or lcft ~c~ending u~on whether it is a right or lcft hand tray and the angle bet~een side wall 38 and bottom wall 37 is less then 90. ~urther, as sho~n in Fig. S the back wall 39 is slo~ed forwardly from top to bottom. In addition, as shown in Fig. 5 the top edge 41 of the side wall 38 is inclined downwardly and the front edge 42, from bottom to top, is inclined rearwardly. This - slope or inclination of the edges 41 and 42 provides an open area on the sides of the documents 43 (shol~n in phantom in Fig. 5) so that the documents can be grasped ~ore easily when inserted and removed from the tray. It should be understood that although the specific sides and slopes of the sides of tray 8a as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 are described, the same general slopes of the sides of the other trays are the same.
At the back of the tray near the back wall and at the top and bottom of each tray are the hoo~s 44 and 44a as illustrated with relation to tray 8a in Fig. 5. These hooks fit over the hooks 18 provided on the ~anels 10 by the slats llb and llc. It will thus be seen that the trays can hang on the panels by hooking the hookc 44 of the trays over the hooks 18 of the panels.
It -~ill be noted that at the front of tray 8a a downturned flange 45 is ~rovided. This flange can be a matted surfacc to accept ~ellcil write-on in order to identify the documents in the tray, or in the alternative, a gummed label or tape can be used for such identification.
Another unique way of identifying the material in the ~ray is shown in Figs. 9 and 9A wherein the flange 45 is shown having the embossed ~ortions 60 at each end immedi<itely below the bottom wall 37. Tlle embosscd l)ortiolls 60 form dimples whic}l extend into groove 61 fol holdillg the ll-shal-c(l ,. g 11~4626 1 plastic tag holder 47 on the flange 45. l`his U-shaped indicia holder is shaped to slip over the end of the flange 45 and hook over the dimple formed by the embossed ~ortions 60. The label holder has a slot 48 for receiving and retaining a label card.
Figs. 14, 15, 16 and 17 illustrate some of the - basic combinations of trays and support panels made possible by the modular construction of both the panel and trays.
Fig. 14 discloses the four basic, modular size, trays. It discloses the vertical module is Y inches (preferably 5 inches) and the horizontal module is X inches (preferably 2 inches).
Thus, as shown, the Card tray and the Tab Card tray are one module (S inches) high and the Book/File tray and Document tray are two modules (10 inches) high. It will also be noted that the slats lla and llb are each one module (5 inches) high. Fig. 14 further shows the Card and Document trays are each one horizontal module (2 inches) wide and the Tab Card and Book File trays are two horizontal modules (4 inches) wide. By making all of the trays vertical modules high and horizontal modules wide the layout of the trays can be ~.ore easily developed in order to determine how the document handling system for any one particular station can be set up.
Fig. 15 helps to understand this mo~ular concept.
It discloses the various blocks formed by a tray or combination of trays. For example, blocks 62 and 63 are one module wide by two modules high while blocks 64, 65, 66, and 67 are two modules wide by two modules high. P,y th~s system of dividing the support panel into a number of blocks of various modules o~ width and height and knoliing wllat tray or combination of trays constitutes certain si~es of block.s, the particula - I O--11(~4626 1 arrangement of tra~s for any requirement can be determined.
Fig. 16 illustrates the uniclue reason for the slats 11 having slots and panel hooks at cvery "ha1f-vertical-module" intervals (2-1/2 inches). Such an arrangcment not only permits hanging of the trays at incrcased variable intervals but it also allows the trays~ such as illustrated by trays 68, 69 and 70 to be placed diagonally. Such diagonal placement provides flexibility to accommodate specific procedures and allows a larger number of trays to be hung on a back panel.
Fig. 17 shows another unusual advantage of the "half-vertical-module" slots and hooks on the support panel 10. Combined ~ith the cutout sections in the back wall 39 of the tray, the "half-vertical-module" location of the slots and hooks permits a very dense tray arrangement and essentially the placement of the trays in a vertical line.
Such dense arrangements are particularly useful where a large number of categories of papers are required (i.e., a category for each letter of the alphabet).
PERATION
The operation of this system should be obvious from the description. The person using the system will choose that type of tray adapted for holding the type of document ~hich he is processin~ or organizing. Such documents may include letters, reports, books, tab cards, co-nputer cards, file cards, and the like. In every instance, it is only necessary that the panels be sufficiently wide from top to bottom to support the trays. Since the slats forming the panels 10 are modular and the distance between the llooks ~
~n the trays use the same module, the person Usillg the system only nee(l he concerncd t}-lat the width fro-n tol) to bottom of li~462~

1 th~ pancl 10 is suf~icient to accommodate the tray holder for the documents which such person is handling.
- It ~ill he evident then that the installer merely chooses the pr-oper number of slats 11 and the proper length of posts 12. The assembler thcn merely plugs the tabs 19 into the openings in the ends of the slats lla, llb or llc and then mounts the panel eithel on a free-standing support such as shown in Fig. 3 or another support means such as shown in Figs. 10 and 13.
The person then ~Ising the system hooks the trays "T" on the panel 10 and stacks the documents in the trays.
It should be observed that when placing the document into the tray the upward slope of the bottom wall 37 causes that document to slide backwardly into a~utment against the back wall and the slope of the hottom 37 also causes the document to slide against the side wall 38. From time to time it is necessary to transfer documents from one station to another and rather than grabbing the pile of documents in any one tray, the entire tray is removed from the panel 10 and is carried to and hung on a panel at the next station where further processing is accomplished on the document.
It should become obvious that this is a simple system for handling and processing documents in an organized and concise way. This is accomplished with simple apparatus that is easily assem~led and installcd. IYitll this apl~aratus, problcms of proccssing and hal-ldling documents that are in an "active" state is made much easier reslllting in improved organization and classification of such documents.
~IO~IIICA'I`IONS
Figs. 7 and 8 5ho~r a modi~ication ~ ich is prin-ci~a~y adapted for use in printouts on computel macllines.

11~4626 1 Thcse printouts are especially long and as a rcsult on the normal size tray ~ould drape around the edge creating an unsightly mess and often getting into the way of the person using the system. These problems have been solved by pro-viding an e~tra length insert l~hich is a plastic piece of material formed into substantially the identical shape of the bottom l~all and side wall of the trays. This plastic insert 49 as shown in Figs. 7 and 8 includes the bottom wall 50 and the side wall 51 arranged at the same angle with relation to each other as the side wall 38b and bottom wall 37b of the tray 8b. It will be noted that the primary difference between the side wall 51 and 38b is that side wall Sl has a greater height and length to accommodate the extra large sheets of printout material.
lS This is also true of the bottom wall 50 which compared with the bottom ~all 37b of the tray is longer to accommodate the longer length of printout documents.
In the use of insert 49 in handling documents it - is placed directly in the tray 8b and it alone can be moved with the documents therein or the entire tray 8b with insert 49 and documents can be moved.
Another accessory extremely useful ~ith the trays as above described is the ad~ustable back stop 52 as disclosed in Fig. 12 ~}liCh S}10-~5 the back stop hc~th wit}lin the tray and in phantom removed from the tray. This adjustable back stop includes a two piece assembly including the stop member 53 ancl the stopmember 54. Stop member 53 is an J.-shaped member inclucling a leg which forms the stop plate 55 having the shape of a tr~ncated isosceles triangle 3~ and leg 53a telescopically received within the leg 54a of stop meml)er 54 w}licll also has a stop pllte 56 of thc same -]3-~1~46~

1 shape as stop plate 55. ~`he tclcsco~ing structure of legs 53a and 54a permits the spacillg betwecn the plates 55 of stop memher 52 and 56 of sto~ mcml)er 54 to be adjllsted. The back sto~ 52 rests inside the tray 8a as showll in ~ig. 12 and in phaJItom in Fig. 6 with t11e plate 56 ablltting ag~inst the bac~ wall 39a. This locates the plate 55 bct~ccn the back wall 39a and the front of the tray to thereby provide a back stop for short documents. ~Yith this adjustable bac~
stop the short documents are located at the front of the tray in position for retrieval.
By reason of the shape of plates 55 and 56, the adjustable back stop 52 can be used in either a right hand or left hand tray. ~lore specifically, the plates ~5 and 56 are formed of truncated isosceles triangles, the angles of the sides of the triangles matching the angle of slope or inclination of the bottom ~all 37 as shown in phantom in Fig. 6. Accordingly, when used in a right hand tray such as tray 8a of Figs. 6 and 12, the plates rest on one edge or side of the triangle and when used in a left hand tray such as tray 5 (~ig. 6) the plates rest on the opposite edge or side of the triangle.
Having described our invention, it should be understood that although we have described a preferred embodiment thereof, othcr emboclimellts aTe possib~A~e within the broadest aspect of this invention and therefore our invention should not be limited except as provided by the following claims.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

In a manual paper handling system for processing and handling paper comprising a support structure presenting an upright support panel means for handling a plurality of trays therein; a plurality of trays; said trays and support structure having cooperative mounting means for permitting easy, removable hanging of said trays on said support panel;
the improvement comprising: at least some of said trays having bottom, side and back walls with said-mounting means adapted to mount said trays on said panel means with said back wall located adjacent said panel means; said panel means including at least two vertical spaced, elongated, generally horizontal slots; each-said tray including top and bottom hooks spaced vertically a distance corresponding to the vertical spacing between said slots and being adapted to engage said slots; said back wall of each said tray being inclined slightly forwardly from the plane of said hooks as one proceeds from top to bottom, and therefore being inclined with respect to the vertical when said tray is hung on said panel; said bottom wall as it extends from said panel means being inclined upwardly from the horizontal and from said side wall being sloped upwardly at an angle less than 90° from a horizontal plane, said side wall having intersecting top and front edges with the top edge from the back to the front sloping downwardly and the front edge from bottom to top sloping rearwardly to provide better access for grabbing papers located within said tray, said side wall being sloped from bottom to top at an angle less than 90°

from a vertical plane whereby papers placed therin tend to slide toward the back wall and the side wall and lean flat agains the side wall.

The system of claim 1 in which the front edge of said bottom wall of said tray is turned downwardly to provide an indicia display surface.

The system of claim 2 in which the turned down front edge of said tray is embossed to provide at least one dimple on the back surface of said downwardly turned front edge; and a U-shaped lable holder fits onto the said front edge and is held thereon by said dimple.