GB2300600A - File tray - Google Patents

Abstract

A file tray including a plurality of trays connected one above another by upright supports 3 and respectively formed of a basket-like casing 11 and a rear fender 12 detachably fastened to the casing, wherein the casing comprises a hand-hold portion 111 at the front side, an upward rear slope 112 at the rear side, a downward flange 1121 extended from the upward rear slope, two upright side walls 113 at two opposite lateral sides, two connecting walls 1123 longitudinally extended from the upright side walls and connected between the upright side walls and the upward rear slope, and two mounting notches 1124 on the connecting walls at the top; the rear fender comprises two outer coupling walls 121 respectively attached to the connecting walls of the casing at an outer side, two inner coupling walls 1211 respectively attached to the connecting walls of the casing at an inner side, two downward front projections 122 respectively fitted into the mounting notches on the casing, and a plurality of bottom hooks 123 respectively hooked on the downward flange of the casing.

Description

FILE TRAY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to file trays, and relates more particularly to a built-up file tray which can be conveniently arranged into any of various forms as desired.

Various files trays and cabinets have been disclosed for holding files in order, and have appeared on the market. Regular file trays are commonly comprised of a plurality of open trays arranged one above another. These file trays are convenient for access of files because they are of open type. However, unlike a cabinet, these file trays have no shade to protect the files.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is one object of the present invention to provide a file tray which can be conveniently built up by the user. It is another object of the present invention to provide a file tray which can be conveniently arranged into an open type file tray as well as an enclosed type file tray as desired.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the file tray comprises a plurality of trays connected one above another by upright supports and respectively formed of a basket-like casing and a rear fender detachably fastened to the casing. The rear fender has bottom hooks for hooking on the downward flange of the upward rear slope of the casing. The casing has mounting holes at the top side as well as the bottom side for mounting a respective upright support so that a plurality of trays can be connected in a stack.

A substantially enclosed shell, which provides a front opening, may be installed to hold the file tray on the inside.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a file tray according to the present invention; Fig. 2 shows the trays assembled and arranged in a stack and covered by a shell according to the present invention; Fig. 3 shows an alternative arrangement of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a schematic drawing showing the installation procedure of the rear fender according to the present invention; Fig. 5 shows the rear fender of Figure 4 installed; and Fig. 6 is a rear end view of a casing according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 3, a file tray in accordance with the present invention is comprised of a plurality of trays 1 arranged in a stack and supported one above another by upright supports 3. A substantially enclosed shell 2 which has only a front opening may be fastened to and covered over the stack of trays 1 to form with them into a document storage cabinet A.

The tray 1 is comprised of a casing 11 and rear fender 12 detachably fastened to the rear open side of the casing 11. The casing 11 is shaped like a basket, open above and at the rear side, comprising a hand-hold portion 111 at the front side, an upward rear slope 112 at the rear side opposite to the hand-hold portion 111, a downward flange 1121 extended from the upward rear slope 112, two upright side walls 113 at two opposite lateral sides, two connecting walls 1123 longitudinally extended from the upright side walls 113 and connected between the upright side walls 113 and the upward rear slope 112, two longitudinal grooves 1122 on the upward rear slope 112 adjacent to the connecting walls 1123, and two mounting notches 1124 on the connecting walls 1123 at the top for mounting the rear fender 12.The thickness of the connecting walls 1123 is relatively thinner than that of the upright side walls 113. The rear fender 12 is made of substantially U-shaped configuration comprising two outer coupling walls 121 respectively extended from two opposite ends thereof at right angles, two inner coupling walls 1211 respectively connected in parallel to the outer coupling walls 121, two downward projections 122 respectively extended from the connecting area between the inner coupling walls 1211 and the outer coupling walls 121, and a plurality of bottom hooks 123 spaced between the inner coupling walls 1211.

Referring to Figures 4, 5, and 6, the rear fender 12 can be conveniently fastened to the casing 1 by: hooking the bottom hooks 123 on the downward flange 1121 of the upward rear slope 112 of the casing 1, and attaching the outer coupling walls 121 and the inner coupling walls 1211 to both sides of each connecting wall 1123 respectively, permitting the inner coupling walls 1121 to be engaged with the longitudinal grooves 1122 and the two downward projections 122 fitted into the mounting notches 1124 respectively.

Referring to Figures 1 and 3 again, the casing 11 further comprises a plurality of recessed mounting holes 1131 at the top side as well as the bottom side for mounting a respective upright support 3, and therefore a plurality of trays 1 can be connected one above another. The upright support 3 can be a flat bar or an angle bar. However, the shape and size of the recessed mounting holes 1131 must match with the respective upright supports 3.

Referring to Figure 3 again, an open type file tray B can be built-up simply by connecting a plurality of casings 11 into a stack.

It is to be understood that the drawings are designed for purposes of illustration only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits and scope of the invention disclosed.

Claims (4)

What is claimed is:

1. A file tray comprising a plurality of trays connected one above another by upright supports, wherein each tray is comprised of a basket-like casing and a rear fender detachably fastened to said casing, said casing comprising a hand-hold portion at a front side thereof, an upward rear slope at a rear side thereof opposite to said hand-hold portion, a downward flange extended from said upward rear slope, two upright side walls at two opposite lateral sides thereof, two connecting walls longitudinally extended from said upright side walls and connected between said upright side walls and said upward rear slope, said rear fender comprising two outer coupling walls respectively attached to said connecting walls of said casing at an outer side, two inner coupling walls respectively attached to said connecting walls of said casing at an inner side, and a plurality of bottom hooks respectively hooked on said downward flange of said casing.

2. The file tray of claim 1 wherein said casing further comprises two mounting notches on said connecting walls at a top side, and two longitudinal grooves on said upward rear slope adjacent to said connecting walls for engagement with said inner coupling walls of said rear fender respectively; said rear fender comprises two downward projections respectively extended from the connecting area between said inner coupling walls and said outer coupling walls and respectively fastened to said mounting notches on said casing.

3. The file tray of claim 1 wherein said casing further comprises a plurality of recessed mounting holes at a top side and a bottom side thereof for mounting said upright supports.

4. The file tray of claim 1 further comprising a shell covered over said trays for allowing said trays to be moved in and out.