US1401188A - Flexible filing-cabinet - Google Patents

Description

C. G. RAY. FLEX|BLE FILING CABINET. APPLICATION FILED APR-26,1921.

1,401,188, Patented Dec. 27,1921. 4

2 SHEETS- SHEET 1- QGBMUMM Wm I BarL l3-fiag C. G. RAY. FLEXIBLE FILING CABINET. APPLICATIONYFILED APR. 26. 1921.

1,401,188. Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

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CARL e. nnit or enema, WISCONSIN.

FLEXIBLE FILING-CABINET.

Sp fifi a'ti t r Patented Dec. 27, 1921,.

Application filed April 26, 1921. Serial No. 464,662.

' filed are capable of automatic expansion and contraction with relation "to "each other to compensate for the thickness of articles filed therein. Thus the problem I have solved is the provision of means for automatically varying the size of thefiling pockets, "so as to materially increase the capacity of a cabinet, bearing 1 in 'mi-nd that in filing articles, that the volume of such articles in some pockets greatly exceeds; that of another. Hence, 'where the pockets are of a fixed maXi-mum capacity, .itr follows that a great deal'of space is lost, due to the fact that articles of minimum "volume must be inserted in the maximum pockets.

Anothecobject of my invention is to provide a series of rigid, independently movable partitions, forming therebetwen COIIlpensating pockets capable of? varying in proportion to the thickness of articles filed therein.

To provide means for yieldingly pressing the series of partitions together, whereby the pockets are automatically adjusted in prbportion to the volume of articles filed.

To provide for ;sinn ltaneoiislyv shifting the series of partitions in opposition to'pressure, together with means for selectively locking any one o'i "the partitions, whereby the pressure means will exert-force to shift the"assoeiated partition, :to thereby {expand the pocket associated with the lock partition for clearance, tliusfac'cornplishing a -clearanc'e space whereby 'acc ess maybehad to the articles filed in this particular popketf in order that they may be 'removed or addedto.

With the above and other minorobjects in view, the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combinationof parts, "as "are *hereinafter'set forth with reterenceto thefaccompanyin'g illus- .e easier ew in the drawings: 7

Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of a cabinet embodylng the features of my 'invention, the length of the cabinet being contracted for convenience in illustration, the section being indicated by line l l of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the cabinet, with certain parts broken away to more clearly illustrate certain features, the section being indicated by line 2-2 of Fig. l, and r Fig. 3 is a contracted longitudinal sectional view of the cabinet, as indicated by line 33 of Fig. 1, the same showing the cabinet parts with the partitions removed.

Referring by characters to the drawings, 1 represents the rear wall and 2-2 the side walls of a standard cabinet, provided with a hinged door 3 at its front for access thereto, the side walls below the door being connected by, an apron i, which, in cong'unction with said side walls and rear walhiorms a well atthe bottom'of the'cabinet for reciprocative movement of a tray composed of top and bottom heads 5-6 respectively, which heads are connected by side panels 7-7 and a rear panelB, the side panels being o'tslightly less width than the depth oi the tray, whereby a clearance space is formed "for longitudinally disposed cornpanion sets of rack bars 99-.99,

which rack bars are secured to the side walls 7 of the 'cabinet'and are formed with up- .wajrdly extended sawteeth -10, a's-bestshown in Fig. 1. Obviously, these rack bars may bemodified within the lmowledge of skilled mechanics; I

Thef fron't edge of thebottom head has secured, thereto an apron board 6, whereby thelgapflncidental to movement of the tray in a vertical direction, is closed with respect 'to-thefront ot the cabinet Thus, it will be seen that the tray is in telescopic union, with the cabinet, and is held against lateral rnoveinent by the cabinet walls in one direction, and in the other direction by the bars 9-9,the edges of which erve as guides in connection with the abutting edges of the tray panels 7+7. The tray, in this 'exemplification of my invention, is gravity controlled and is normally suspended at its lowermost position by a strap 1*1, which-is secured to the top head?) of the tray and to a spindle l2, whichv spindle is Ioui-nalul in suitable bearings formed therefor in the side walls of the cabinet.

The spindle projec" ey nd one wall of the cabinet and tel with a hand crank 13.

through which the nose portions of said plungers project when functioning.

The companion plungers are urged into engageme t with the rack bars by springs l7'l8, which springs in this instance are ormedin one piece and are coiled about nchor pins 19-20. From the'anchor pins, he spring units take the form of a double wedge X that inclines in both directions from a central loop, and this double wedge of the spring is controlled by a cam head 21 having wedge shaped flanges 22, which are adapted to engage the wedged faces 55 of the spring members, The cam is reciprocatively guided in a push rod 23, which rod is secured to one of the walls of the partition, and movement is imparted thereto by the push rod 23, which push rod extends out through the front wall of the partition and terminates with a button.

Hence, it will be seen that when the push rod is-drawn outwardly, as shown in Fig.

2, the spring elements 1', l'?18-18 are permitted to function, whereby the plungers are held inyielding locked engagement with their associated rack bars 99. When 1t isdesired to unlock the partition from the rack bars, the push rod 23 1s moved inwardly by pressure of the operator, whereby the cam 21 will exert a wedging force upon the central coils of the spring members to thus cause said members to rock ots l9 and 20, whereby they serve the purpose of levers to simultaneously retract the two sets of locking plungers from engage- 'ment with the teeth of the rack bars.

The exemplilication of my invention, as shown, is particularly arranged for use in connection with alphabetically arranging phonograph records, sheet music, general office filing, etc, whereby they can be quickly removed and replaced in a cabinet of minimum sire.- Obviously, the flexible cabinet may be used for storing any type of records or articles. lln'practice, it is desirable to label each partition with an index,

upon their ply-- and in connection with these indices a record sheet can be used, whereby the devices in the various-pockets can be selected, but, of course, the indlces arrangement forms no part of my invention except in so far that it is a convenient method for locatingand recording the articles stored in the cabinet. While I have shown only three partitions in the cabinet toillustrate the principle, of

my invention, obviously the cabinet can be supplied with a suflicient number-to fill it a when they are separated to produce the maximum pocket space. 1, for example, there are three partitions, A, B and C. Normally, the partitions are snugly nested together, and when in use, they are spaced apart the thickness of the pile of records g contained therebetween.

Should it be desired to have access to the pile of records below the partition B, for example, the operator will rotate the crank handle 13 and the tray will be raised a pre- As shown in Fig:

determined fixed distance by winding up the strap l1, upon the spindle 12. After this lifting of the gravity controlled tray is elfected, the operator withdraws or pulls out the push rod 23 in connectionwith partition B, whereby its associated locking will enter the racks simultaneously. The operator thereafter releases the crank 13 and permits the tray to. drop to its normal position, leaving the tray B and all trays thereabove locked in suspension. lhus the associated pocket of tray B containing the records "y will be materially widened, for the reason that all of the trays therebelow will travel downward by gravity to the limit of movement of said tray. Thisaction leaves a clearance space atthe top of the records to whichaccess is desired, whereby the 0perator can readily remove such records as he may require, and when it is desired to return the records, the pocket, which is of the greatest width due" to the locking action, is

in position to receive such records.

The operator then pushes the rod 23 in wardly, whereby the. partition B is freed from the rack, and thus it, together with all partitions above, will drop down so as to form a compact mass. This action can be imparted in connection with any pocket of the series, it being understood that the partitions are rigid, soas to sustain the sus= pended load locked from engagement with the cabinet walls, all of the {mass above said partition will drop by gravity.

While I have shown a completeexemplification of my invention in all of its details,

obviously I may vary the structural features,

as for example, any kind of lockingmechanism can be used in connection trays, and in some cases these trays may be locked by friction. In orderto insure the dropping of the trays by gravity without plunger and when the partition is un-' with the rigid binding, I have, in this instance, shown a pair of wire stretches 24 which are secured to the back wall 01 the tray, and which stretches serve as metallic rails against which the rear edges of the trays may slide, thus making a metal contact whereby fric: tion is avoided.

It will also be observed that the cabinet may be of any shape in cross-section, and also that the partitioned walls may be varied as to shape indefinitely, without departing from the spirit f the invention. 7

it is also within the province of my invention to reverse the movement of the tray. T hat is, said tray may be normally held at its uppermost position and depressed for obtaining the separation of the tray elements, and it should also be understood that as a substitute for the gravity arrangement shown, I may employ a weight or springs, in which case the partitions would be arranged to slide horizontally under a yielding tension in place of sliding vertically, as shown.

It is further understood that I may vary the structural ieatures of the invention within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A flexible filing device comprising a cabinet, a shittable tray mounted therein, a series of independently movable rigid partitions mounted in the tray, the partitions forming compensating pockets therebetween capable of varying in proportion to the thickness of the articles filed therein, means for shifting the tray and series of partitions in either direction, and means for selectively locking any one of the partitions to the cabinet, whereby the associated pocket thereof is expanded following movement of the tray.

2. A flexible filing device comprising a cabinet, racks carried thereby, a vertically movable tray mounted in the cabinet, a series of rigid partitions normally supported by the tray and adapted to form pockets of varying sizes for articles inserted therebetween, the proportions of the pockets being controlled by gravity, means for lifting the tray, and means for locking any one of the partitions after the tray has been lifted, whereby a clearance space is formed between the locked tray and its associated pocket for access to articles contained therein.

A flexible filing device comprising a cabinet, racks carried thereby, a vertically movable tray mounted in the cabinet, a series of rigid partitions normally supported by the tray and adapted to form pockets of varying sizes for articles inserted therebetween, the proportions of the pockets being controlled by gravity, means for lifting the tray, and manually controlled clutch means carried by each tray for locking the same after it has been lifted, whereby a clearance space is formed between the locked tray and its associated pocket for access to articles contained therein.

in testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin.

CARL G. RAY.

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