US1120548A - Follower for filing-cabinet drawers. - Google Patents

Description

A. H. SCHAFFERT.

FOLLOWER FOB. FILING CABINET DRAWERS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.23, 1914.

1,120,548. P en ed Dec. 8, 1914.

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HF NORRIL PErERs Ca. PHOTUUYHnL WASHINGYO/L u v TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLF H. SCI-IAFFERT, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE PROOFING COMPANY, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

FOLLOWER FOR FILING-CABINET DRAWERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 23, 1914. Serial No. 833,981.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ADoLF H. SCHAFFERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Youngstown, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Followers for Filing-Cabinet Drawers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the subject of drawer followers, and has particular reference to a novel construction thereof that is of special utility in connection with card index or filing cabinet drawers. Many devices of this character have been devised and are now in common use, but after a short time cannot be easily operated. because they do not stand up under ordinary service conditions. For instance, followers having compressors commonly known as cam compressors, have proven to be more or less unsatisfactory, because it has been found that in use the movable parts of the device readily become sprimg to such an extent that the cam will not lock securely. With a view to remedying the defects of this type of compressor, a cam was-used that bore directly on the guide rail. f This idea was also found to be unserviceable because the cam, being in direct contact with the guide rail, marred or cut the latter when locked tight thereon, so that the follower could not move freely back and forth. This was especially true unless the guide rail and cam were of unusually tough or case hardened metal. That is, if the rod was of softer metal than the cam, the latter would soon make deep cuts in the rod which would hinder the shifting of the follower, or if the cam was made of softer metal than the rod, it would wear out in a short time and render the device of no practical value. Attempts to remedy this objection either by adopting tough metal for both rod and cam, or subjecting either or both to a special hardening operation proved to be much too expensive to continue. A further disadvantage of thecam type of follower was that it had no backward play to enable its successful application to all types of filing systems. Another type of follower that has been employed in practice is the well known spring compressor wherein a spring is carried by the body of the follower and has a free compressible end and a rail or rod engaging end. In other words, thisarrangement in GENERAL FIRE-.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

eludes the follower back as a part of the compressor so that in order to move the same along the rail, it is necessary to grasp both the follower back spring and compress them together. This is very disadvantageous especially when the and free end of the i drawer is filled with files or cards. Under these circumstances, it is impossible to get a firm grip on the follower back. Another objection to this type of follower is that it is impossible to maintain the back portion thereof at right angles to the bottom of the drawer as is necessary in some filing systems, v I

The primary object of the present inventi on is to provide a novel construction of follower and follower clamping means which do not have the objections incident to'many of the known types, particularly those above described. That is to say, the present invention contemplates a novel follower device that is normally held upright in the drawer in a perpendicular position, or at right angles to the guide rail, thus adapting the same to true vertical filing systems which. prevail, particularly in the filing of cards, while at the same time there is suflicient play provided by tl e rail-engaging member to permit of backward tilting of the entire follower under hand pressure for the purpose of removing cards or papers, or in those systems where the file papers exert a pres= sure that would tend to tilt the follower.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide a simple and durable device of this character having but few and inexpensive parts, whose particular arrangement is such that they may be readily assembled to con-1 stitute a follower back that is easily and quickly locked to the guide rail, and also readily and easily released from engagement therewith so that it may be shifted longi tudinally along the rail to'accommodate the i device forming the subject matter of the present invention in normal locked engagement with the guide rail; Fig, 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 partly'in' section showing the follower tilted rearwardly in-fulllines, and in its normal position in dotted lines. F ig. 3 is,,a rear elevation of the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with a portion of the spring housing broken away-to show-thel0 clamping shoe in engagement with theguide v rail,to. hold the followerin its normal locked position. Fig; 4: is a" rear elevation partly in section showing the clamping shoe disengagedfirom the guide rail so that the entire: followenmay be shifted,- and also showing in: dotted lines the positions that the camYlever may-assume to lock the follower in engagement with ;the guide rail.

Inccarrying "out the present invention, the flexibility of the looking or clam-ping means; permits. the use -'..of. either hard or soft metal; thereby -.eli1ninating 1 any I special expense attaching to aspecial preparation of the metal to prevent the parts from wearing out-; quickly. as they do in the cam type-- of{ followercpreviously describech By special reference to the construction I shown.inthe drawings, itwill be observed that l the. follower device includes in 1 itsorwhich is free from projections I or like elements toIfu-rnish a fiat bearing for files or cards,-'and:preferably coextensive with the width andrheight of the drawer though I its .c dimensions may be readily varied to suit; all conditions i Thersaid follower back IV has secured to=its rear side' a substantially inverted UL-shaped ispring housing member 2 a the arms or walls of which; extend below the lowerwedge; of Fthellfollower back, as at- 3; and arecut away to forininturned retaining: hooks 4:, more clearly shown in Figs- 3 :and 4 of the/drawings. These retaining hooks 4 are. formedby a substantially T-shaped; slotbeing cuttin thelowerends 3 of the housing. walls, thus enabling themto loosely I receivea channeled guide .rail 5; The upper edgesofrthe channeled .portion-of the guide rail" 5 are turned outwardly 1 to form holding .the spring 12:.tends toeXert abinding force ganization a followenbackl, one side of flanges 6, Whi0ha as best seen in Figs. 3- and upgn theclamping shoe 10, so that the lat ter unless restrained by the cam lever 11 is always normally incontact withthe upper faces of the holding flanges 6.

lVith special reference to the cam lever 11, it will' be observed that the same is formed at itstlower, end with a cam head 13and at its upper portion with a finger piece 14, whileone-fa'ce or side. thereof has a bearing contact with the rear side of the follower back 1. The cam head 13;of&the lever11' is provided with apair offlat-locking faces 15 which are at substantially right angles to eaclrother, and at their meeting points merge into the central cam-projection 16.

'80 Theabove described construction ofcam I controls the locking and: unlocking of; the

clamping portions of thefollower with the guide railjso that the former may be freely shifted back -and-'fortln That is-to say, the g5 particulararrangement of" clamping elements as shown -in thedrawings is such that the holding flanges 6 are clamped aor-engaged on both their upper-and lower faces, and in this connection it: wi1l be noted that owing to the spaced {apartrelation -of=the retaining hooks .4 and the width of the clampingshoe 10, that the follower back 1- will' alw-ays be in aflperpendicular plane withrespect to-the guide rail when theparts are in their clamp- 5 ingposition. r Figs. 1 ands?) show the-follower back-in its normalzclamped positions That-is,=when- "thespring l2 isiexertingi its-clamping force:

upon the shoes 10 because the oan-r head 13 of the lever 11 has one ofthe: fiatlocking faces:15xin contactlwith the end wall 70 E thei spring.;.housing.:2: 1 Thus, the 5 spring :12 is pushingedowni on =the clampi ngshoe 10- to bind;the..same.ion-thetop oftheholding-Ns fiangesfi'rof theagui-de rail, and atthe same time exerting :an unrestrained upward pressure-ion the lundersideuof the end wall 7' of F the r springahousing, thereby 1 pushing thesprings housing. 21 upward :and causing- -:the

retaining ll'OOkScb'LilO 1 grip on bind against the underside-.ofthe holding flangesb.

' Fig. dzshowsthe follower device released from. looking. engagement with the guide rai1-,:so that thesamekmay'mbe shifted thereon to accommodate the contents I of the drawer. In otherwords, the spring; 12 islshown un der compression, being restrained fromerrerting its-rclamping forcebecause of thever-- tical position, ofi the clampingw lever 11.v 12o- When thessaid; lever 11 is in the vertical position, the central :rounded point or ,cam projectipn; 1650f -thev cam .head 13 is: resting -upon .theuppenfaceof the ,end wall 7 of thehousing 2; thus lifting .theclamping 12." SllOfilOQfIOID;iblndlllg engagement with the guide, rail -5 so that a clearance is provided between the..clamping face of the 1sh'oeh10 and; the top =of. thev holding flanges :65- as clearly shown in thexdrawings. Because of 1130 the compression of the spring 12, and the clamping shoe 10 being withdrawn from the top of the holding flanges 6, the retaining hooks l become disengaged from the undersides of the holding flanges 6, thereby providing ample clearance to enable the follower back to be readily shifted from one position to another.

With further reference to the cam lever 11, it will be observed from the foregoing that when in its vertical position as shown in full lines in Fig. i, all of the clamping parts of the follower are released from engagement with the guide rail, and in order to bring the said clamping parts into lock-' ing' engagement with the rail as shown in Fig. 3, the said lever 11 may be shifted to either one side or the other by merely a gentle pressure of the thumb or finger in either direction as shown by dotted lines in Fig. il. The rear face of the follower back 1 may be provided with stop lugs 17 to engage with the shank of the cam lever when it is in either one of its locked positions and prevent the same from being pushed further than necessary to effect the locking of parts.

As pointed out in the preface of the specification, the flexibility of the clamping parts is one of the important features of the present invention, because this flexibility permits of a rearward tilting of the follower back while the clamping shoe 10 and retaining hooks l are in clamped engagement with the holding flanges 6 of the guide rail. This feature is fully illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and in the latter figure particularly, wherein the lower edge of the rear wall of the spring housing 2 acts as a fulcrum upon which the entire follower back may tilt under a tilting pressure. Fig. 1 shows the normal position of the follower back. That is, under tension of the spring 12 and the flat engagement of the clamping shoe 10 with the upper faces of the flanges of the guide rail, the follower back is held perpendicular or atright angles to the rail, thus adapting the same to true vertical filing systems which are used, especially in the filing of cards. However, at the same time, it will be noted that there is sufficient play permitted between the flanges 6 of the rail and the retaining hooks i at the bottom corners of the spring housing or casing to permit of backward tilting of the entire follower under hand pressure for the purpose of removing cards or papers, or in those systems where the file papers exert a pressure that would tend to tilt the follower.

From the foregoing description, it is believed that the many features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent, and that the same provides many novel and distinctive features which enable its application to various filing systems.

I claim: a

1. A drawer follower including in combination with a guide member, a follower back shiftable along said guide member and having means for normally holding the same perpendicular in engagement therewith, said means being yieldable to permit the follower back to. tilt rearwardly while locked to the guide member.

2. A drawer follower including a flanged guide rail, a follower back shiftable thereon, spring pressed plunger clamping means carried by the follower back for engaging said guide rail to hold the same in position, the plunger movement of said clamping means being operable in a plane parallel to the follower back, and means for actuating said clamping means.

3. A drawer follower including a flanged guide rail, a follower back shiftable on said rail, spring actuated means for holding the follower back in any positionon said guide rail, and a separate locking device for holding said spring actuated means either engaged or disengaged.

4. A drawer follower including a channeled guide rail having oppositely disposed flanges, a follower back, means carried by said follower back for engaging the underside of said flanges, and means for engaging the top of said flanges including a spring pressed clamping shoe and a cam lever for actuating said shoe.

A drawer follower including a chan neled guide rail having oppositely disposed flanges, a follower back, means carried by said follower back for engaging the underside of the rail flanges, and spring pressed cam-actuated means for engaging the opposite sides of the rail flanges.

6. A drawer follower including a channeled guide rail having oppositely disposed flanges, a follower back having an abutment and means for engaging the underside of said rail flanges, a clamping shoe having a spring arranged between itself and said abutment on the follower back, and a cam lever pivotally connected with the clamping shoe and having a bearing on said abutment.

7. A drawer follower including a channeled guide rail, a follower back, a spring housing carried by said follower back and provided with rail engaging means, a clamping shoe carried by said spring housing, and shiftable means including a spring for causing the clamping shoe to engage with the guide rail and draw the rail engaging means of the spring housing into engagement with the guide rail.

8. A drawer follower including a channeled guide rail having oppositely disposed flanges, a follower back having an abutment and also having means for engaging the underside of the rail flanges, spring pressed clamping means also carried by the wall of: thehousing andolamping shoe refollower back for engaging the topv side of the rail flanges, and a cam lever" pivotally connected to said' springpressed clamping means and having a bearingat its cam end on said abutment, said cam lever whenin a Vertical. position. lifting the said clamping means to release the entire follower from engagement with. the rail, and when shifted to either side of theivertical adapted to lock 1 the follower torthe rail.

91 Adrawer follower/including a channeled guide rail having oppositely disposed flangesya follower back shiftable on'said guide rail, a. spring housing having opposite side. walls and a oonnectingiend wall, retaining hooksuformed'at the lowerlends of said siderwallsanrl adapted to engage with the underside of the flanges of the guide rail, aclainpingshoe having a guide rod projecting through theendwallof the spring housing, a spring surrounding said guidfe rod and having. its ends bearlngibeneath the end speotively to clamp the latter against the upper faces of the'guide flanges,- and a shiftable-oanrlever pivotally connected to said guide rod andbearing against the upper face oftthe end wall of the casing.

10. Adrawer follower including a guide rail, a follower back shiftab'le thereon,

plunger clamping means carried by the follower-back and including a memberiengaging one side of the guide rail and another member engaging the opposite side ofthe guiderail, a spring element commonto both ofsaid members and arranged to place one under oompression 'and the other under ten-l si'on, said olamping nieans being adapted to yield when rearward pressure is applied to the follower back to permit the same to tilt.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my v Gepiu of this patent matte. obtained for, five centseaeh, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, I? 0.."

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