US1558756A - Index guide - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 27, 1925. 1,558,756

J. H. RAND INDEX GUIDE Filed Dec. 2e. i925 Patented oct. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. RAND, 0F NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO RAND KAR-DEX.

COMIPANY, INC., OF NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW YORK, A ACC!RPORA'ILION OF DELA- WARE.

INDEX GUIDE.

Application led December 26, 1923. n Serial No. 682,646.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that' I, JAMES H. RAND, a ,citizen of the United States of America, and resident oflNorth Tonawanda, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented new and useful `Improvements in Index Guides, vof which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to index devices for loose record sheets and more specifically to means for indexing and spacing such sheets when arranged in parallel juxtaposed relation as in a file drawer or similar receptacle.

Objects of the invention are to provide guides or spacers of sufficient rigidity to support loose record sheets in an inclined or upright position, to prevent the guides from interfering with the `flexing of the tops of such sheets in searching the files, to provide upon the guides an indicator of the character scope or contents of the record sheets filed between said guides, and in general to improve the apparatus for filing and indexing record sheets and similar' loose papers.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention one concrete embodiment thereof is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the guides shown in Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a section of the guide shown in Fig. 2.

The embodiment of the invention shown for the purpose of illustration comprises an improved guide A adapted to be used for spacing and indexing loose material such as letters or record sheets such as the folded record sheets frequently used in stores for customers credit accounts. A typical arrangement is shown in Fig. 1 in which a plurality of record sheets B are suitably spaced and indexed by aplurality of guides A, all these parts being assembled in a receptacle, such as a box or file drawer C, parts of which are broken away to show the arrangement of the members within. To give some stability to the mass of the letters or record sheets the lower or inner portion e of each of the guides A is relatively thick, heavy7 and rigid, as compared with the upper or outer portion 5 which is relatively thin and flexible. This flexible portion which is toward the open side of the receptacle is useful .in running through the mass of papers in searching for a desired letter or record sheet and the reduced thickness of this flexible top further serves to partially compensate for the increased bulkiness of the upper portion of a lile drawer inl which record sheets with folded flaps at the top are used, as for example account sheets having a folded flap carrying the name ofthe customer'.

Guide A. may be constructed inr any manner which will provide the relatively flexible top and the relatively inflexible bottom rThe preferred method of constructing such'fa guide comprises uniting a sheet c of tough but flexible sheet materialsuchas a good grade of paper with a shorter sheet d of thicker, heavier and relatively rigid material such as cardboard, fiber board, etc. the latter being fastened to the lower portion of the larger sheet as by cementing the two together so that the larger sheet 'provides a flexible flap or extension beyond the stiftI portion of the guide. To improve the appearance of the guide the upper portion of sheet cl may be bevelled as indicated at 6 in Fig. 3.

To index the material in drawer C atab 7 is made fast to the top of each guide A. This tab may comprise a strip of flexible resilient material such as Celluloid folded upon itself and enclosing between its free ends a portion of the upper edge of the guide and made fast thereto in any suitable manner as by fabric strips 7 Within the sheath formed by this folded Celluloid may bevinserted an index strip 8. This strip is preferably arranged to show the same index indicia upon both sides, the indicia upon the rear side being inverted so that when the top of the guide A is flexed over as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 the indicia will be right side up when viewed from the front of the drawer C. The index strips 8 may be most easily made by marking the indicia twice in the same order upon one side of a strip of paper of suitable size and then folding the strip between the indicia and inserting it in the tab.

From the above it will be evident that the lUO guides A afford effective means for spacing loose sheets of paper such as letters and record sheets by reason of the relatively rigid lower portion 4, that the same guides serve to facilitate the locating of any desired letter or record by the provision of the fiexible top 5 which permits flexing the guides as well as the letters or record sheets, and that the double-faced index tab with the indicia readable from the front of the file drawer when the top of the guide is flexed in either direction also facilitates the locating of the desired letters and records.

I claim:

1. In an index device the combination with a receptacle for record sheets, of a plurality of guides for spacing said sheets, the portions of the guides toward the open side of the receptacle being of flexible material and the portions toward the `opposite Side being of relatively stiff material.

2. An index guide for spacing record sheet-s comprising a stifl' portion anda sheet of flexible material fastened to one side of the stiff portionand project-.ing therebeyond, the upper edge of the stiff portion being bevelled.

8. An index guide foispacing record sheets characterized in that the upper portion is flexible and the lower portion is relatively stiif, and an index tab on said` flexible portion having the same indicia on both sides thereof, the indicia on one side being inverted so as to be displayed right side up when said flexible portion is bent back.

4. An index guide for spacing record sheets comprising a stiff portion and a. fiexible extension fastened lto the stiff portion, and an index tab onsaid extension having indicia right side up on one side .thereof and upside down on the other side thereof.

5. A spacer for record sheets comprising a relatively stiff sheet having a flexible extension, said extension being fastened to the upper portion of said'sheet whereby when the spacer is interposed between record sheet-s the extension may be exed in either direction to facilitate the inspection of adjacent sheets.

6. A spacer for record sheets having a portion of relatively stiff material and a portion'of relatively flexible material connected to-said stiff portion and extending beyond one end thereof.

V7. rfi spacer for record sheets having a cardboardbase anda flexible vsheet fastened to said base and extending thereabove whereby when the spacer is placed in a drawer betweenlsheets the extension may be flexed in either direction to facilitate the inspection of adjacent Sheets.

Signed by ine at Boston, Massachusetts, this 18th day of December, 1923.

JAMES H. RAND.

Images