CA1114883A - Safety lock system for vertically stacked storage elements - Google Patents
Safety lock system for vertically stacked storage elementsInfo
- Publication number
- CA1114883A CA1114883A CA355,209A CA355209A CA1114883A CA 1114883 A CA1114883 A CA 1114883A CA 355209 A CA355209 A CA 355209A CA 1114883 A CA1114883 A CA 1114883A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- cam
- elements
- opposed
- storage elements
- locking bars
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
- E05B—LOCKS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; HANDCUFFS
- E05B65/00—Locks or fastenings for special use
- E05B65/46—Locks or fastenings for special use for drawers
- E05B65/462—Locks or fastenings for special use for drawers for two or more drawers
- E05B65/463—Drawer interlock or anti-tilt mechanisms, i.e. when one drawer is open, at least one of the remaining drawers is locked
Landscapes
- Drawers Of Furniture (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A safety lock system for vertically stacked slideably retained storage elements, such as file drawers. The system comprises one or more locking bars vertically slideably retained in alignment in a vertical support guide channel. Two or more cam elements are pivotally secured on a respective fixed pivot axis to the support guide channel adjacent an opposed end of each of the locking bars. Each of the cam elements have a cam portion retained in planar alignment with the lock-ing bars and an activating arm portion for rotating the cam portion about the fixed pivot axis. A displaceable space is provided below each cam element portion defined between one of the locking bar opposed ends and the cam portion. An engaging member is secured to one or more of the storage elements. The engaging member engages and displaces the activating arm portion of an associated cam element by predetermined displacement of a storage element having the engaging member to cause rotation of the associated cam portion to slidingly displace the locking bars thereabove through the displaceable space in immovable contact with their associated cam elements and arrest sliding displacement of the locking bars therebelow to maintain them in immovable contact with their associated cam elements to thereby immobilize all other cam elements against rotational displacement and thereby prevent slideable displacement of all other of the storage elements having an engaging member.
A safety lock system for vertically stacked slideably retained storage elements, such as file drawers. The system comprises one or more locking bars vertically slideably retained in alignment in a vertical support guide channel. Two or more cam elements are pivotally secured on a respective fixed pivot axis to the support guide channel adjacent an opposed end of each of the locking bars. Each of the cam elements have a cam portion retained in planar alignment with the lock-ing bars and an activating arm portion for rotating the cam portion about the fixed pivot axis. A displaceable space is provided below each cam element portion defined between one of the locking bar opposed ends and the cam portion. An engaging member is secured to one or more of the storage elements. The engaging member engages and displaces the activating arm portion of an associated cam element by predetermined displacement of a storage element having the engaging member to cause rotation of the associated cam portion to slidingly displace the locking bars thereabove through the displaceable space in immovable contact with their associated cam elements and arrest sliding displacement of the locking bars therebelow to maintain them in immovable contact with their associated cam elements to thereby immobilize all other cam elements against rotational displacement and thereby prevent slideable displacement of all other of the storage elements having an engaging member.
Description
sAcKGRouND OF INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a!n improved safety lock system having movable locking bars and fixed pivotal cams whereby predetermined ones of a plurality of vertically slideable storage elements are 1ocked when a selected one of the storage elements iB displaced a predetermined distance.
(b) Description of Prior Art Various interlock systems are k.nown for use with filing cabinets wherein drawers may be locked or prevented from opening when a first drawer is withdrawn from the cablnet. An example of this prior art is a file interlock system as shown in U.S. Patent No~ -3,900,236 issued August 19, 1975 and wherein there is shown a system comprising lock bars having cam members secured thereto and wherein the lock bars are displace-able to an immovable position against a cabinet wall to prevent withdrawing any file drawer of the cabinet once a file drawer is opened.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improvement of such system whereby it may be possible to bypass par-ticular drawers in a filing cabinet or other type system having slideable storage elements and wherein the lock system may be modified during use to remove the inter-lock from particular ones of the storage elements. It is also desired to provide such a locking system which operates on a different principle whereby the system is more economical to construct and assemble. It is also ~4~
desirable to have a locking system which need not he restricted for use in a cabinet hous.ing but which may be adapted to a plurallty of verti.cally sLl~eable stor-age element~ mounted in an open frame. Furthermore, it is desirable to have a system which would prevent two drawers ~rom being withdrawn simultaneously.
Accordingly, a featuxe of the present inven-tion is to provide an improved safety lock systern where-in selected ones of a plurality of vertically sli.de-able storage elements are arrested when a particular one of the storage elements is displaced a predetermined distance by arresting cam elements and movable locking bars disposed between the cam elements.
A further feature of the presen-t inventi.on is to provide a safety lock system for use with a plurality of vertically stacked slideably retained storage elements of different sizes and wherein selected ones of the storage elements, at random, may be bypassed from the lock system.
According to a further feature of the present invention, there is provided a safety lock system for use in a filing cabinet which prevents two drawers from being withdrawn simultaneously.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a safety lock system which is economical to produce and easy to assemble.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a safety lock system for vertically stacked slideably retained storage elements, said system comprising one or more locking bars vertically slideably retained in alignment in ver-tical support guide means, two or more cam elements ~ .
. ' ' ' ' ~ :
pivotally secured on a respective fixed pivot axis to said support gulde means adjacent an opposed end of each said locking bars, each said cam elements having a cam portion retained in planar alignment with said locking S bars and an activating arm portion for rotatlng said cam portion ahout said fixed p:ivot axis, a displaceable space below each cam element portion defined between one of said locking bar opposed ends and said cam por-tion, an engaging member secured to one or rnore of said storage elements to engage and displace said activating arm portion of an associated cam element by predeter-mined displacement of a s-torage element having said engaging member to cause rotation of said associated cam portion to slidingly displace said locking bars thereabove through said displaceable space in immovable contact with -their associated cam elements and arrest sliding displacement of said locking bars therebelow to maintain them in immovable contact with their associated cam elements to thereby immobilize all other cam ele-ments against rotation displacement and thereby prevent slideable displacement of all other of said storage ele ments having an engaging member.
According to a further broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of lock-ing predetermined ones of a plurality of vertically slideable storage elements when a selected one of said storage elements is displaced a predetermined distance, said method comprising (i) securing a lock support means vertically adjacent a displaceable side wall of said stacked storage elements, ~ii) providing sliding bars for slideable displacement in alignment in said support means, (iii) providing cam elements pivo-tally secured on a respective fixed pivot axis to said support means adjacent opposed ends of said sliding bars- tiv) ro-tating _ ~ _ ~4~3 a selected one of said cam elements by prede-terrni.ned sliding displacement of a selected one of said storage elements to cause sl.iding displacement of said locking bars above said rotated selected cam element, and (v) arresting said locking bars below said selected one of said storage elements by said rotated cam element -to arres-t all other cam elements to thereby prevent slide-able displacement of the re~ainder of said predeter-mined ones of said plurality of storage elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ~RAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present inven tion will now be described with reference to the example thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective fragmented view of the safety lock system illustrating the operation thereof, FIGURES 2A to 2C are fragmented perspective views illustrating the operation of the cam elemen-ts and locking bars showing the displacement of the locking bars above and below a rotated cam element, FIGURE 3 is an exploded view showing the assembly of the cam elements, FIGURE 4 shows the cam element assembled on its support plate;
FIGURE 5 is a plan view showing the construc-tion of a cam element, FIGURE 6 is a top section view showing the cam element mounted in a guide channel secured to a file cabinet wall and showing the position of the engaging pin secured to a file drawer, and FIGURES 7A and 7B are end views showing the end of the locking bar in section and in fragmented plan view.
_ 5 _ DESCRIPrrION OF PREFERRED EM:BODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings and more parti-cularly to Figures 1 and 2A to 2C, there is shown gen-erall~f at 10, the safety lock system of the present in-vention. The safety lock system comprises one or more locking bars 11 vertically slideably retained in planar alignment in a vertical suppor-t guide means, herein constituted by a support channel 12~ The support channel 12 is vertically securable to a support frarne, as shown in Figure 6, to the inner side wall 1~ of a filing cabinet 15 and disposed adjacent a side wall 16 of a plurality of vertically stacked slideably retained storage elements 13, herein file drawers displaceable on guide rails.
Two or more cam elements 17 are pivotally secured on a respective fixed pivot pin 18 secured in the guide channel 12 and extending between the back wall 12'of the channel 12 and a front wall 18'of a support plate 19 removably secured in front of the guide channel 12.
As shown more clearly in Figures 2A to 2C
and Figure 6, the locking bars 11 are elongated straight flat members having opposed elongated edge grooves 20 and the opposed er.ds 21 each have a cam engaging surface 22 and alocking bar support surface 23. Locking bars 11 are slidingly retained and displaceable within the guide channel 12 by means of side rails 24 secured to each opposed side wall 25 and formed integral with the back wall 12'of the guide channel. Thus, the locking bars 11 can move up and down along the side rails 24 and are maintained in a common plane.
~4~3 The cam engaging surface 22 is a concave end cavity in each of the flat opposed end walls 21 of the locking bars. I'he cavity 22 has opposed slQping walls 26 terminating at a central apex point 27. The locking bar su,pport surface 23 is constltuted by an end arm 28 provided on opposed sides of the concave end cavity or cam engaging support surface 22. ~rhe end arms 28 of the locking bars abut or res-t on the arms of the adjacent locking bar and the cam element 17 is disposed between the loc]cing bars in the space clelineated between opposed concave end cavities 22.
Referring now to Figures 3 to 6, the construc-tion of the cam element 17 will now be described. ~s shown more clearly in Fiyures 3 and 5, the cam element 17 is an integrally formed part comprising a cam portion 30 and an activating arm portion 31 and both these por~
tions are spaced apart by a connecting body 32 having a through bore 33 ex-tending therethrough to receive the pivot pin 18 therethrough.
The cam portion 30 is a dual cam portion com-prising diametrically opposed shoulder sections 3~
lying in a horizontal plane 35 when the cam element 17 is in its non-ac~ivated position, that is to say, its associated storage element 13 is not displaced or with-drawn fr~m the stack. The cam portion 30 is substan-tially of an elliptical shape and has a fla-t contour side wall 36 whereby to provide flush engagement with the flat wall of the cam engaging surface or cavity 22 of the locking bars 11.
f - -As shown in Figure 5, the activating arm por-tion 31 is a fork shaped element having opposed arms 37 which are enyageable by an engaging member, herein an engaging pin 38 (see Fig. 6) secured to an associated 5 one of a plurality of storage elements 13. The central longitudinal axis 39 of the activating arm portion 31 extends at 45 from the central longitudinal axis 35 of the cam portion 30. Therefore, with the axis 35 dis-posed horizontally, as the engaging pin 38 is displaced 10 in the plane of the sliding storage element 13, the pin 38 will rotate the activating arm portion 31 ~rom the pos:ition shown in Figure 5 to a position where its central longitudinal axis 39 lies along th~ axis 39' (as shown in Fig. 4) resulting in a 90 displacement 15 thereof. This displacement causes the cam portion 30 to rotate whereby its central longitudinal axis 3S now lies on the vertical axis 40. The operation of the cam and the locking bars 11 will be described later.
As previously described, the cam element 17 20 is rotatably supported on a pivot pin 18 which is secured between the back wall 12'of the guide channel 12 and the front wall 18' of -the support plate 19~ As shown in Figure 3, the pivot pin 18 is provided with a cylin-drical main body portion 40 having an attachment end 25 portion 41. A locating sleeve 42 is provided about the main body portion 40 adjacent a locating end portion 43 of the main body portion 40. The locating sleeve 42 provides retention of the cam element 1~ for precise positioning of the pivot pin 18 within its through bore 30 33. me pivot pin extends between the back wal:L 12' of the guide channel 12 and the front wall 18' of ~4~
the support plate l9q The attachment end ~1 of the pin ex-tends through a securemen-t hole ~ provided in -the front wall 18' of the support plate 19 and is rivetted therein. The locating end portion ~3 of the pin is received freely in a support hole 45 formed in the back wall 12'of the guide channel 12 whereby the plate 19 is removable from the channel 12.
Referring again to Figure 3, -there is shown the construction of a retention spring 50 which is secured intermediate the end surface 49 of the activa-ting arm portion 31 of the cam 17 and the inner surface ~8 of the end wall 18'of the support plate 19. The retention sprin~ 50 has a curvate shape whereby to main-tain pressure between the end surface ~9 of the cam 17 and the support plate 19 and -therefore acts as a pres-sure washer. However, the main purpose of the spring 50 is to maintain the actuating arm portions 31 of the cam elements in their respective non-actuated or actuated positions, that is to say, along the axes 39 or 39' of Fig. 5, when its associated storage element 13 is fully closed or displaced a predetermined distance.
The spring 50 is provided with a contoured hole 51 adjacent a lower end thereof whereby it can : be localized within an indexing tab 52 formed about the through bore 33 on the end surface ~9 of the cam element 17. The localizing contour hole 51 ali~ns the longitudinal axis of the spring 50 co-extensive with the longitudinal central axis 39 of the activating arm portion 31. ~he free end 53 of the spring 50 is provided '', ' , ' ' ' ' ': , ' ~ /
1~48~33 with engageable means, herein a hole :~orme~ as a con-cave depression 5~ to frictionally engage with two hold-ing means, herein being convex punch tabs 55 provided in the inner surface ~8 of the support plate 19 and posi-tioned such as to retain the spring 5p with its central longitudinal axis aligned 90 apart and coinciding with the axes 39 and 39' as shown in Figure 5 whereby to maintain frictional retention of the cam element 17 with the cam portion 30 thereof extending in the horizontal plane 35 (see Figure 5) and in the vertical plane 40 when displaced thereto by the engaging pin 3~3.
As shown in Figures 3 and ~, the support plate 19 is provided with opposed securement wings 56 disposed parallel to the front wall 18' and formed in-tegral with transverse side walls 57. A hole 58 is provided in each of the wings 56 to receive a secure-ment screw 59 therethrough to secure the support plate 19 to the attachment flanges 2~' of the guide channel 12 (see Figure 6) and formed integral with the side rails 24. Access -to the securement screws 59 is pro-vided through apertures 60 axially aligned with the holes 58 and formed in the front wall 18'.
Referring to all the drawings, and more par-ti-cularly to Figures 1 and 2A to 2C, the operation of the safety lock system will now be described. In -the assembly of the safety lock system, a bottom cam element, such as shown at 17' in Figure 2A, is secured to the guide channel 12. Thereafter, a first locking bar 11' is shaped fitted into the channel with the cam engaging cavity 22 resting on the horizontally disposed cam por-tion 30 of the cam element 17'. As shown in Figures 7A
and 7B, each locking bar is provided with flexible inner : ~ .
, : '- : ' elongated retain.ing ridges 20' which flex inwardly to locate the opposed side rails in a respective one of the opposed elongated edge groups 20 for sllding retention of the locking bars therewith. rrhereafter, a second lowermost cam element 17" is secured to the guide channel and a second lowermost locking bar 11 positioned thereover and this sequence continues along the guide channel 12 up to the predetermined number of cam elements required to lock a predetermined number of vertically stacked slideably retained storage elements 13.
As shown at the bottom of Figure 1, the opposed ends 21 of the end arms 2~ are in abutment with each other and are very closely spaced to each other when the locking system is assembled and a displaceable space 61 is formed between the contour side wall 36 of the cam portion 30 and the flat wall of the cam enyaging surface 22 of the locking bar positioned thereunder.
he displacement space 60 is spaced from the contour side wall 36 of the cam portion 30 a distance sufficient ~ 20 to permit the cam portion 30 to be displaced to its vertical position on -the vertical axis 40 and it is equal to the distance X as shown in Figure 5.
With all of the storage elements 13 having engagement pins 38 secured thereto resting in their .;25 stored position, all of the engaging pins 38 are resting in the position as shown in Figure 2A and the safety lock system is inactive. As soon as one of the storage elements 13 is pull.ed outwardly a predeterminecl distance, its associated engaging pin, such as 38' in Figure 2B, will be displaced horizontally with respect to the cam element and engage the arm 37' of the activating arm portion 31 causing the cam portion of the cam element 17"
to rotate 90 and locate itself on the vertical axis ~0.
This rotating movement of the carn portion 30 causes all of the uppermost locking bars 11 -to move upwardly into the displaceable space 60 unti] they abut or very closely space to the side wall 36 of the cam elements 17 located thereabove. Thus, the locking bars 11 above the rotated cam 17" and the cam elements thereabove are in irnmovable position. The locXiny bars below the rotated cam elernent 17", for example locking bar 11" as shown in Figure 2B, cannot be displaced as its cam engaging support cavi-ty 22 is resting onto the side wall of the cam portion 30 of the cam element therebelow. Thus, all of the cam elements therebelow and locking bars therebelow are arrested from further movemen-t through the cam portion 30 of the rotated cam element 17" and the entire cam and locking bar assembly is loc]ced through that rotated cam element 17". Therefore, no other storage elements 13 having engagement pins 38 thereon can be displaced as the engaging pin 38 will be arrested by the actuating arm portion 31 of the other cams which are all locked or arrested by the locking bars. When the displaced storage element 13 is slid back into its storage position, its engaging pin 38 will engage with the arm 37" (see Figure 2B) and displace the actuating arm portion 31 back to its inactive position on the axis 39 (see Figures 4 and 5). Thus, the locking bars above the rotated cam element ? 25 17 will drop to its unlocked position, -that is, each bar will rest on their lower ends on their associated cams 17 and the lowermost bars will not moveO All of the cam elements are therefore in their inactive position with their cam portions 30 extending horizontally.
' '.~
~4~83 As previously described, i-t is not possible wi-th the locking system of the present invention to withdraw two slideable storage retainlng elements 13 simultaneously~ More precisely, referring to Figure 2A, it can be seen that if two of the sliding elements were withdrawn simultaneously, each of their engaging pins 38 would abut against one of the arms 37 of their res-pective cam elements 17. This would skart a clockwise rotation of the opposed shoulder sections 34 with the lower cam element 17' causing the ]ocking bar 11' -to move upwardly while simultaneously the upper cam element 17" would apply downward pressure on the upper portion of the locking bar 11'. These opposed forces would cancel out the movement of the locking bar thereby pre-venting the drawers from being withdrawn. In a situation where a drawer may be only slightly open with its engaging pin 38 positioned intermediate the opposed arms 37' and 37" of the activating arm portion 31, and a further ; drawer is pulled out, the force exerted on the locking bars will cause the shoulder sections 34 of the cam ele-ment slightly displaced to reassume its horiæontal posi-tion whereby the activating arm portion 31 will retract the drawer into a fully closed position.
It is within the ambit of the present inven-tion to cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment thereof disclosed hereinabove, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.
(a) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a!n improved safety lock system having movable locking bars and fixed pivotal cams whereby predetermined ones of a plurality of vertically slideable storage elements are 1ocked when a selected one of the storage elements iB displaced a predetermined distance.
(b) Description of Prior Art Various interlock systems are k.nown for use with filing cabinets wherein drawers may be locked or prevented from opening when a first drawer is withdrawn from the cablnet. An example of this prior art is a file interlock system as shown in U.S. Patent No~ -3,900,236 issued August 19, 1975 and wherein there is shown a system comprising lock bars having cam members secured thereto and wherein the lock bars are displace-able to an immovable position against a cabinet wall to prevent withdrawing any file drawer of the cabinet once a file drawer is opened.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improvement of such system whereby it may be possible to bypass par-ticular drawers in a filing cabinet or other type system having slideable storage elements and wherein the lock system may be modified during use to remove the inter-lock from particular ones of the storage elements. It is also desired to provide such a locking system which operates on a different principle whereby the system is more economical to construct and assemble. It is also ~4~
desirable to have a locking system which need not he restricted for use in a cabinet hous.ing but which may be adapted to a plurallty of verti.cally sLl~eable stor-age element~ mounted in an open frame. Furthermore, it is desirable to have a system which would prevent two drawers ~rom being withdrawn simultaneously.
Accordingly, a featuxe of the present inven-tion is to provide an improved safety lock systern where-in selected ones of a plurality of vertically sli.de-able storage elements are arrested when a particular one of the storage elements is displaced a predetermined distance by arresting cam elements and movable locking bars disposed between the cam elements.
A further feature of the presen-t inventi.on is to provide a safety lock system for use with a plurality of vertically stacked slideably retained storage elements of different sizes and wherein selected ones of the storage elements, at random, may be bypassed from the lock system.
According to a further feature of the present invention, there is provided a safety lock system for use in a filing cabinet which prevents two drawers from being withdrawn simultaneously.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a safety lock system which is economical to produce and easy to assemble.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a safety lock system for vertically stacked slideably retained storage elements, said system comprising one or more locking bars vertically slideably retained in alignment in ver-tical support guide means, two or more cam elements ~ .
. ' ' ' ' ~ :
pivotally secured on a respective fixed pivot axis to said support gulde means adjacent an opposed end of each said locking bars, each said cam elements having a cam portion retained in planar alignment with said locking S bars and an activating arm portion for rotatlng said cam portion ahout said fixed p:ivot axis, a displaceable space below each cam element portion defined between one of said locking bar opposed ends and said cam por-tion, an engaging member secured to one or rnore of said storage elements to engage and displace said activating arm portion of an associated cam element by predeter-mined displacement of a s-torage element having said engaging member to cause rotation of said associated cam portion to slidingly displace said locking bars thereabove through said displaceable space in immovable contact with -their associated cam elements and arrest sliding displacement of said locking bars therebelow to maintain them in immovable contact with their associated cam elements to thereby immobilize all other cam ele-ments against rotation displacement and thereby prevent slideable displacement of all other of said storage ele ments having an engaging member.
According to a further broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of lock-ing predetermined ones of a plurality of vertically slideable storage elements when a selected one of said storage elements is displaced a predetermined distance, said method comprising (i) securing a lock support means vertically adjacent a displaceable side wall of said stacked storage elements, ~ii) providing sliding bars for slideable displacement in alignment in said support means, (iii) providing cam elements pivo-tally secured on a respective fixed pivot axis to said support means adjacent opposed ends of said sliding bars- tiv) ro-tating _ ~ _ ~4~3 a selected one of said cam elements by prede-terrni.ned sliding displacement of a selected one of said storage elements to cause sl.iding displacement of said locking bars above said rotated selected cam element, and (v) arresting said locking bars below said selected one of said storage elements by said rotated cam element -to arres-t all other cam elements to thereby prevent slide-able displacement of the re~ainder of said predeter-mined ones of said plurality of storage elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ~RAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present inven tion will now be described with reference to the example thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective fragmented view of the safety lock system illustrating the operation thereof, FIGURES 2A to 2C are fragmented perspective views illustrating the operation of the cam elemen-ts and locking bars showing the displacement of the locking bars above and below a rotated cam element, FIGURE 3 is an exploded view showing the assembly of the cam elements, FIGURE 4 shows the cam element assembled on its support plate;
FIGURE 5 is a plan view showing the construc-tion of a cam element, FIGURE 6 is a top section view showing the cam element mounted in a guide channel secured to a file cabinet wall and showing the position of the engaging pin secured to a file drawer, and FIGURES 7A and 7B are end views showing the end of the locking bar in section and in fragmented plan view.
_ 5 _ DESCRIPrrION OF PREFERRED EM:BODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings and more parti-cularly to Figures 1 and 2A to 2C, there is shown gen-erall~f at 10, the safety lock system of the present in-vention. The safety lock system comprises one or more locking bars 11 vertically slideably retained in planar alignment in a vertical suppor-t guide means, herein constituted by a support channel 12~ The support channel 12 is vertically securable to a support frarne, as shown in Figure 6, to the inner side wall 1~ of a filing cabinet 15 and disposed adjacent a side wall 16 of a plurality of vertically stacked slideably retained storage elements 13, herein file drawers displaceable on guide rails.
Two or more cam elements 17 are pivotally secured on a respective fixed pivot pin 18 secured in the guide channel 12 and extending between the back wall 12'of the channel 12 and a front wall 18'of a support plate 19 removably secured in front of the guide channel 12.
As shown more clearly in Figures 2A to 2C
and Figure 6, the locking bars 11 are elongated straight flat members having opposed elongated edge grooves 20 and the opposed er.ds 21 each have a cam engaging surface 22 and alocking bar support surface 23. Locking bars 11 are slidingly retained and displaceable within the guide channel 12 by means of side rails 24 secured to each opposed side wall 25 and formed integral with the back wall 12'of the guide channel. Thus, the locking bars 11 can move up and down along the side rails 24 and are maintained in a common plane.
~4~3 The cam engaging surface 22 is a concave end cavity in each of the flat opposed end walls 21 of the locking bars. I'he cavity 22 has opposed slQping walls 26 terminating at a central apex point 27. The locking bar su,pport surface 23 is constltuted by an end arm 28 provided on opposed sides of the concave end cavity or cam engaging support surface 22. ~rhe end arms 28 of the locking bars abut or res-t on the arms of the adjacent locking bar and the cam element 17 is disposed between the loc]cing bars in the space clelineated between opposed concave end cavities 22.
Referring now to Figures 3 to 6, the construc-tion of the cam element 17 will now be described. ~s shown more clearly in Fiyures 3 and 5, the cam element 17 is an integrally formed part comprising a cam portion 30 and an activating arm portion 31 and both these por~
tions are spaced apart by a connecting body 32 having a through bore 33 ex-tending therethrough to receive the pivot pin 18 therethrough.
The cam portion 30 is a dual cam portion com-prising diametrically opposed shoulder sections 3~
lying in a horizontal plane 35 when the cam element 17 is in its non-ac~ivated position, that is to say, its associated storage element 13 is not displaced or with-drawn fr~m the stack. The cam portion 30 is substan-tially of an elliptical shape and has a fla-t contour side wall 36 whereby to provide flush engagement with the flat wall of the cam engaging surface or cavity 22 of the locking bars 11.
f - -As shown in Figure 5, the activating arm por-tion 31 is a fork shaped element having opposed arms 37 which are enyageable by an engaging member, herein an engaging pin 38 (see Fig. 6) secured to an associated 5 one of a plurality of storage elements 13. The central longitudinal axis 39 of the activating arm portion 31 extends at 45 from the central longitudinal axis 35 of the cam portion 30. Therefore, with the axis 35 dis-posed horizontally, as the engaging pin 38 is displaced 10 in the plane of the sliding storage element 13, the pin 38 will rotate the activating arm portion 31 ~rom the pos:ition shown in Figure 5 to a position where its central longitudinal axis 39 lies along th~ axis 39' (as shown in Fig. 4) resulting in a 90 displacement 15 thereof. This displacement causes the cam portion 30 to rotate whereby its central longitudinal axis 3S now lies on the vertical axis 40. The operation of the cam and the locking bars 11 will be described later.
As previously described, the cam element 17 20 is rotatably supported on a pivot pin 18 which is secured between the back wall 12'of the guide channel 12 and the front wall 18' of -the support plate 19~ As shown in Figure 3, the pivot pin 18 is provided with a cylin-drical main body portion 40 having an attachment end 25 portion 41. A locating sleeve 42 is provided about the main body portion 40 adjacent a locating end portion 43 of the main body portion 40. The locating sleeve 42 provides retention of the cam element 1~ for precise positioning of the pivot pin 18 within its through bore 30 33. me pivot pin extends between the back wal:L 12' of the guide channel 12 and the front wall 18' of ~4~
the support plate l9q The attachment end ~1 of the pin ex-tends through a securemen-t hole ~ provided in -the front wall 18' of the support plate 19 and is rivetted therein. The locating end portion ~3 of the pin is received freely in a support hole 45 formed in the back wall 12'of the guide channel 12 whereby the plate 19 is removable from the channel 12.
Referring again to Figure 3, -there is shown the construction of a retention spring 50 which is secured intermediate the end surface 49 of the activa-ting arm portion 31 of the cam 17 and the inner surface ~8 of the end wall 18'of the support plate 19. The retention sprin~ 50 has a curvate shape whereby to main-tain pressure between the end surface ~9 of the cam 17 and the support plate 19 and -therefore acts as a pres-sure washer. However, the main purpose of the spring 50 is to maintain the actuating arm portions 31 of the cam elements in their respective non-actuated or actuated positions, that is to say, along the axes 39 or 39' of Fig. 5, when its associated storage element 13 is fully closed or displaced a predetermined distance.
The spring 50 is provided with a contoured hole 51 adjacent a lower end thereof whereby it can : be localized within an indexing tab 52 formed about the through bore 33 on the end surface ~9 of the cam element 17. The localizing contour hole 51 ali~ns the longitudinal axis of the spring 50 co-extensive with the longitudinal central axis 39 of the activating arm portion 31. ~he free end 53 of the spring 50 is provided '', ' , ' ' ' ' ': , ' ~ /
1~48~33 with engageable means, herein a hole :~orme~ as a con-cave depression 5~ to frictionally engage with two hold-ing means, herein being convex punch tabs 55 provided in the inner surface ~8 of the support plate 19 and posi-tioned such as to retain the spring 5p with its central longitudinal axis aligned 90 apart and coinciding with the axes 39 and 39' as shown in Figure 5 whereby to maintain frictional retention of the cam element 17 with the cam portion 30 thereof extending in the horizontal plane 35 (see Figure 5) and in the vertical plane 40 when displaced thereto by the engaging pin 3~3.
As shown in Figures 3 and ~, the support plate 19 is provided with opposed securement wings 56 disposed parallel to the front wall 18' and formed in-tegral with transverse side walls 57. A hole 58 is provided in each of the wings 56 to receive a secure-ment screw 59 therethrough to secure the support plate 19 to the attachment flanges 2~' of the guide channel 12 (see Figure 6) and formed integral with the side rails 24. Access -to the securement screws 59 is pro-vided through apertures 60 axially aligned with the holes 58 and formed in the front wall 18'.
Referring to all the drawings, and more par-ti-cularly to Figures 1 and 2A to 2C, the operation of the safety lock system will now be described. In -the assembly of the safety lock system, a bottom cam element, such as shown at 17' in Figure 2A, is secured to the guide channel 12. Thereafter, a first locking bar 11' is shaped fitted into the channel with the cam engaging cavity 22 resting on the horizontally disposed cam por-tion 30 of the cam element 17'. As shown in Figures 7A
and 7B, each locking bar is provided with flexible inner : ~ .
, : '- : ' elongated retain.ing ridges 20' which flex inwardly to locate the opposed side rails in a respective one of the opposed elongated edge groups 20 for sllding retention of the locking bars therewith. rrhereafter, a second lowermost cam element 17" is secured to the guide channel and a second lowermost locking bar 11 positioned thereover and this sequence continues along the guide channel 12 up to the predetermined number of cam elements required to lock a predetermined number of vertically stacked slideably retained storage elements 13.
As shown at the bottom of Figure 1, the opposed ends 21 of the end arms 2~ are in abutment with each other and are very closely spaced to each other when the locking system is assembled and a displaceable space 61 is formed between the contour side wall 36 of the cam portion 30 and the flat wall of the cam enyaging surface 22 of the locking bar positioned thereunder.
he displacement space 60 is spaced from the contour side wall 36 of the cam portion 30 a distance sufficient ~ 20 to permit the cam portion 30 to be displaced to its vertical position on -the vertical axis 40 and it is equal to the distance X as shown in Figure 5.
With all of the storage elements 13 having engagement pins 38 secured thereto resting in their .;25 stored position, all of the engaging pins 38 are resting in the position as shown in Figure 2A and the safety lock system is inactive. As soon as one of the storage elements 13 is pull.ed outwardly a predeterminecl distance, its associated engaging pin, such as 38' in Figure 2B, will be displaced horizontally with respect to the cam element and engage the arm 37' of the activating arm portion 31 causing the cam portion of the cam element 17"
to rotate 90 and locate itself on the vertical axis ~0.
This rotating movement of the carn portion 30 causes all of the uppermost locking bars 11 -to move upwardly into the displaceable space 60 unti] they abut or very closely space to the side wall 36 of the cam elements 17 located thereabove. Thus, the locking bars 11 above the rotated cam 17" and the cam elements thereabove are in irnmovable position. The locXiny bars below the rotated cam elernent 17", for example locking bar 11" as shown in Figure 2B, cannot be displaced as its cam engaging support cavi-ty 22 is resting onto the side wall of the cam portion 30 of the cam element therebelow. Thus, all of the cam elements therebelow and locking bars therebelow are arrested from further movemen-t through the cam portion 30 of the rotated cam element 17" and the entire cam and locking bar assembly is loc]ced through that rotated cam element 17". Therefore, no other storage elements 13 having engagement pins 38 thereon can be displaced as the engaging pin 38 will be arrested by the actuating arm portion 31 of the other cams which are all locked or arrested by the locking bars. When the displaced storage element 13 is slid back into its storage position, its engaging pin 38 will engage with the arm 37" (see Figure 2B) and displace the actuating arm portion 31 back to its inactive position on the axis 39 (see Figures 4 and 5). Thus, the locking bars above the rotated cam element ? 25 17 will drop to its unlocked position, -that is, each bar will rest on their lower ends on their associated cams 17 and the lowermost bars will not moveO All of the cam elements are therefore in their inactive position with their cam portions 30 extending horizontally.
' '.~
~4~83 As previously described, i-t is not possible wi-th the locking system of the present invention to withdraw two slideable storage retainlng elements 13 simultaneously~ More precisely, referring to Figure 2A, it can be seen that if two of the sliding elements were withdrawn simultaneously, each of their engaging pins 38 would abut against one of the arms 37 of their res-pective cam elements 17. This would skart a clockwise rotation of the opposed shoulder sections 34 with the lower cam element 17' causing the ]ocking bar 11' -to move upwardly while simultaneously the upper cam element 17" would apply downward pressure on the upper portion of the locking bar 11'. These opposed forces would cancel out the movement of the locking bar thereby pre-venting the drawers from being withdrawn. In a situation where a drawer may be only slightly open with its engaging pin 38 positioned intermediate the opposed arms 37' and 37" of the activating arm portion 31, and a further ; drawer is pulled out, the force exerted on the locking bars will cause the shoulder sections 34 of the cam ele-ment slightly displaced to reassume its horiæontal posi-tion whereby the activating arm portion 31 will retract the drawer into a fully closed position.
It is within the ambit of the present inven-tion to cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment thereof disclosed hereinabove, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims (14)
1. A safety lock system for vertically stacked slideably retained storage elements, said system com-prising one or more locking bars vertically slideably retained in alignment in vertical support guide means, two or more cam elements pivotally secured on a res-pective fixed pivot axis to said support guide means adjacent an opposed end of each said locking bars, each said cam elements having a cam portion retained in planar alignment with said locking bars and an activa-ting arm portion for rotating said cam portion about said fixed pivot axis, a displaceable space below each cam element portion defined between one of said locking bar opposed ends and said cam portion, an engaging mem-ber secured to one or more of said storage elements to engage and displace said activating arm portion of an associated cam element by predetermined displacement of a storage element having said engaging member to cause rotation of said associated cam portion to slidingly displace said locking bars thereabove through said dis-placeable space in immovable contact with their associ-ated cam elements and arrest sliding displacement of said locking bars therebelow to maintain them in immovable contact with their associated cam elements to thereby immobilize all other cam elements against rotational displacement and thereby prevent slideable displacement of all other of said storage elements having an engaging member.
2. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cam portion is a dual cam portion compri-sing diametrically opposed shoulder sections one to each side of said pivot axis, said shoulder sections lying in a horizontal plane when its associated storage element is in a closed position and being displaced to a vertical plane when its said associated storage ele-ment is withdrawn a predetermined distance.
3. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 2 wherein said locking bar opposed ends each have a cam engaging surface and a locking bar support surface;
when all said storage elements having said engaging member are in said closed position and said cam ele-ments are positioned in said horizontal plane, said locking bars rest on a cam element adjacent its lower opposed end and being spaced below a cam element adja-cent its upper opposed end a distance constituting said activating displacement space which is approximately equal to the said displacement caused by one of said cam elements when positioned in a vertical plane.
when all said storage elements having said engaging member are in said closed position and said cam ele-ments are positioned in said horizontal plane, said locking bars rest on a cam element adjacent its lower opposed end and being spaced below a cam element adja-cent its upper opposed end a distance constituting said activating displacement space which is approximately equal to the said displacement caused by one of said cam elements when positioned in a vertical plane.
4. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 3 wherein said cam portion is of substantially elliptical shape and has a flat contour side wall, said activating arm portion being a fork-shaped member having opposed arms, each said opposed arms being engageable by said engaging member of an associated storage element during predetermined displacement of said storage element to an open and to a closed position, respectively.
5. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 3 wherein said cam engaging surface is a concave end cavity in each flat opposed end wall of each said locking bars, said cavity having opposed sloping walls terminating at a central apex point, said locking bar support surface being constituted by an end arm on opposed sides of said concave end cavity, said end arms of said locking bars displaced above said rotated cam element abutting one another while said end arms of said locking bars immobilized below said rotated cam element are each spaced by said activating displacement distance.
6. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 3 wherein said vertical support guide means is a support channel vertically securable adjacent a side wall of said stacked storage elements.
7. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 3 wherein said locking bars are elongated straight members having opposed elongated grooves; said support channel having a back wall, opposed side walls and side rails in planar alignment on a respective free end of said side walls; said side rails being received in a respec-tive one of said grooves of said locking bars.
8. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 3 wherein said cam element is supported on a pivot pin rotatably supported at one end in a bore in a back wall of said support channel and at an opposed end being secured to a support plate detachably securable over said support channel.
9. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 8 wherein said cam element cam portion and activating arm portion are integrally formed and spaced apart by a connecting body having a through bore to receive said pivot pin therethrough.
10. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 9 wherein there is further provided a retention spring for maintaining said cam portion in said horizontal and vertical plane when displaced thereto by said dis-placement of said activating arm portion by said en-gaging member.
11. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 10 wherein an indexing tab is formed about an outer face of said activating arm portion about said through bore, said retention spring having a contoured hole for local-ized connection to said activating arm portion and ex-tending coextensive with the longitudinal center axis of said activating arm portion, engageable means at a free end of said spring, a first and second holding means to retain said spring with its central long axis aligned 90° apart to maintain frictional retention of said cam portion in said horizontal and vertical plane when dis-placed thereto.
12. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said slideable storage elements are file drawers, said drawers being secured on guide rails in a file cabinet having opposed side walls, a back wall and a top and bottom wall, said lock support channel being secured vertically to one of said cabinet side walls.
13. A safety lock system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said engaging member is a pin secured to said one or more storage elements and extending outwardly of said side wall thereof in alignment to engage said activating arm portion of said cam elements.
14. A method of locking predetermined ones of a plurality of vertically slideable storage elements when a selected one of said storage elements is displaced a predetermined distance, said method comprising (i) securing a lock support means vertically adjacent a displaceable side wall of said stacked storage elements, (ii) providing sliding bars for slideable dis-placement in alignment in said support means, (iii) providing cam elements pivotally secured on a respective fixed pivot axis to said support means adjacent opposed ends of said sliding bars, (iv) rotating a selected one of said cam ele-ments by predetermined sliding displace-ment of a selected one of said storage elements to cause sliding displacement of said locking bars above said rotated selected cam element, and (v) arresting said locking bars below said selected one of said storage elements by said rotated cam element to arrest all other cam elements to thereby prevent slideable displacement of the remainder of said predetermined ones of said plu-rality of storage elements.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA355,209A CA1114883A (en) | 1980-07-02 | 1980-07-02 | Safety lock system for vertically stacked storage elements |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA355,209A CA1114883A (en) | 1980-07-02 | 1980-07-02 | Safety lock system for vertically stacked storage elements |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1114883A true CA1114883A (en) | 1981-12-22 |
Family
ID=4117319
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA355,209A Expired CA1114883A (en) | 1980-07-02 | 1980-07-02 | Safety lock system for vertically stacked storage elements |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1114883A (en) |
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5074627A (en) * | 1990-07-13 | 1991-12-24 | Reff Incorporated | Anti-tilt and locking mechanism for multi-drawer cabinets |
| US6637843B2 (en) | 2001-10-03 | 2003-10-28 | Wesko Locks Ltd. | Modular housing |
| US6749274B2 (en) | 2001-10-03 | 2004-06-15 | Florian Westwinkel | Modular housing |
| CN108294512A (en) * | 2018-04-11 | 2018-07-20 | 宁波嘉尔机电设备有限公司 | A kind of external hanging type guide rail interlock |
-
1980
- 1980-07-02 CA CA355,209A patent/CA1114883A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5074627A (en) * | 1990-07-13 | 1991-12-24 | Reff Incorporated | Anti-tilt and locking mechanism for multi-drawer cabinets |
| US6637843B2 (en) | 2001-10-03 | 2003-10-28 | Wesko Locks Ltd. | Modular housing |
| US6749274B2 (en) | 2001-10-03 | 2004-06-15 | Florian Westwinkel | Modular housing |
| CN108294512A (en) * | 2018-04-11 | 2018-07-20 | 宁波嘉尔机电设备有限公司 | A kind of external hanging type guide rail interlock |
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |