US1674359A - Filing device - Google Patents

Description

June 19, 1928.

. H. FREY FILING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed March 17,1927

June 19, 1928. 1,674,359

H. FREY FILING DEVICE Filed March 17, 1927 2 Shegts-Sheet 2 Patented June 19, 1923.

HENRY FREY, or HAVANA, rumors.

FILING DEVICE.

Application filed March 17, 1927.

This invention rel-atesto improvements in filing. devices, and particularly to a filing device for holding papers, letters, currency, etc., the object of the invention being to provide a filing device which is simple of construction and reliable and eficient in use, which is instantly adjustable to hold a large or small number of sheets, which will securely hold in place a single sheet as Well as a large number or shee's, and which allows the sheets to be instantly released without trouble or inconvenience.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination. and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of filing device embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the same. I

Figure 3-is a perspective view of one of the followers or clamping members.

' Figure 4' is a side elevation of a form of filing device for clamping papers against a baseboard." I

Figure '5 is a perspective view of thede vice shown in Figure 4. v i I Figure 6 is a view of a modified form af follower. Figure 7 is a section on line 7''? of'Figure 6'. .Figure 8 .is a view of another modified form of follower;

Figure 9 is a sec tion on line 9+9 of Figure 8. I

In the practical embodiment of my invention as shown in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive,

I provide a frame structure comprising a base or backing 1 carrying guide rods 2 on which a pair oflfollowers or clamping members 3 are'sli dably and tiltably mounted. In

this form of' the-invention the sheets to be filed are disposed vertically and are clamped between the followers 3. The frame struc ture here shown, which includes the base or backing 1, ismade of sheet metal and embodi'es'end wallsilrising from the end edges of the base or backing 1 and between which Serial No. 176,062. I

end edges of which the walls 4 project up} wardly so as to dispose the rods-2 above and at a prescribed level with respect to the base. Disposed on the outer side of and parallel with the walls i are walls 5 con-' nected at their upper edges with the walls l by horizontal crosswall's 6, thus providing a channeled end wall construction. Fitted in and gripped by these channeled'walls are supporting strips 7 of felt, rubber or other suitable soft material which project at their 7 lower edges below the plane of the base orbacking 1. These strips provide supporting backing 1 and channeled end walls may be of unitary construction-or formed ofa single piece of sheet metal, the'r'od's 2, in addition to serving as guides, also connecting and r'e inforeing the walls 1 sothata staunch and durable construction is produced. An'open frame of this type may be employed for filing purposes in conjunction with'the fol lowers-3, or this frame may form the bottom of a suitable enclosing case, if desired.

Each follower 3' ispreferably made of spring sheet metal bent into the shape disclosed, and comprises a lower guide portion 8, which is normallyvertically disposed andis straight in a vertical direction, a straight, vertical elampingportion 9, aportion 10 connecting the portions 8and- 9,a-ndanvupper free end portion 11 forming a finger grip or manipulating portion; The portion 8 is provided with openings 12 for the reception and passage of tfhe'rods 2", said openings slightly exceeding the rods in diameter so that the follower may slide freely" and tilt forwardly or rearwardly to specified de' grees on the rods. is disposed ina vertical plane parallel with but offset inwardly from the plane of th'e guide portion 8, and is connected at its lower edge with the guideportion by the obliquely arranged connecting portion 1 0, which forms The clamping portion 9 the clamping portions 9 may spread to wide degrees to permitof the insertion of a large number of sheets between them when the guideportions are arranged any specified distance apart, the spreading motion of the clamping portions 9, permitted by the yielding of the connecting portions 10, causing the latter to be placed under more or less spring tension, whereby the portions 9 are' caused in turn to bear with considerable I yielding spring pressure force on the sheets to hold themzsecurely clamped. The diverging relationship of the finger piece 11 not only allows the upper edges of the sheets to be relatively free so that .the portions of the sheets, above the clamping line, may be inspected under many conditions without a full releasing motion of the follower, but also provide for the ready and convenient manipulation of these members of the followersfor follower adjusting actions. The guide portion of each follower is provided at its lower edge with a series of three inwardly projecting flanges l3 and 13, forming a pair of end spring tongues and a central spring tongue. .The end spring tongues 18 extend inwardly and upwardly at an oblique angle and are arranged to bear at their free edges against the undersides of the rods 2 to in stitute a spring binding pressure thereon during a clan ping action of the follower, while the tongue 13 projects inwardly and downwardly at an angle and forms a stop for engagement with the base or backing 1 to limit the inward and downward tilting movementof the follower when not under are placed between the two followers 3 will be clamped. When the followers are V poses arranged in close relationship and one or more sheets are disposed between them, the portions. 9 will be disposed either in a vertical position or at slight outward relative angles to the vertical and each follower will be so arranged that its tongues 13 will engagethe rods 2 and hold the followers from casual outward sliding movement. As the number of sheets is increased, and the portions 9 of the two followers are accordingly spread to greater degrees apart, the guide portions 8 will be tilted outwardly and the tongues 13 caused to bear with greater spring pressure on the rods 2, while the connecting portions 10 will also be moved outwardly and placed under tension or stress, whereby the sheets will be firmly clamped while at the same time the guide portions of the followers will be placed under torsion stress so that they will be frictionally bound against the rods with great force, rendering it impossible for the followers to be accidentally disengaged and release the sheets. To disengage the followers for adjustment, in or-' der to effect a release of the sheets, it is necessary only to press inwardly on the finger portions 11, whereupon these portions will shown employing a single follower, or

clamping member which is vertically movable and designed to clamp the sheets horizontally against the base or backing. The base or backing 1 here shown may be made of either wood or metal, and the guide rods 2 here shown extend upwardly perpendicularly to the base and are formed by'the sides of an arched rod of wire. The single follower here shown is of the construction previously described and its guide portion is mounted to slidevertically on the guides 2 while its clamping portion is arranged to face the baseor backing 1%. It will be obvious that in this construction the follower is vertically adjustable and tiltable on the guide rodsQ for clamping and releasing purposes. In order to hold this follower at any desired point of adjustment or elevation when free from engagement with end sheets and in order to increase its clamping efficiency, a spring pressure plate 14 is provided for coaction with its tongue 18.

This plate is secured at itslower edge to the base 1 and extends upwardly parallel with the guides '2 so as to be engaged by the free edge of thetongue 13 in the upward and downward sliding movements of the follower 3, and in all the positions of said follower. Thus it will be seen that while the follower may be tilted to reduce its frictional grip on the guide. rods, so as to adapt it to be easily and conveniently adjusted upwardly and downwardly, the Weightof the follower, when not under stress, will cause the tongue "13 to be -held in engagement with-the plate 14, which will exert a spring pressure thereon, the resultingpressure of the plate causing the tongues 13"to bind on the guides whereby 'the follower will beheld at any point of'elevation along the length of the guidesQ In Figures '6 to-9, inclusive '1 have shown two modified forms of followers which may be employed in connection with the construction of base, guides and spring plates shown in Figures l and 5. In Figures 6 and 7 the construction in general of the follower is the same as that previously-describ.ed,except that the'tongues 13 are dispensed with and the follower is provided with {Ll-shaped reinforcing and guiding tions which engage the rods 2*, allowing openings 12 ofQa required length to effect a direct friction-ail bind of the guide portion on the rods when the follower is tilted construction shown in Figures 8 and 9 the part 8 of the follower is devoid of both tongues 13 and the tongue 13' and a continuous U-shaped reinforcing and guide strip is applied thereto, which is provided with the openings 12 and the intermediate portion of which is slitted and bent outward to form a tongue 13 corresponding to and serving the purpose of tongue 13.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, the construction and mode of use of my improved filing device will be readily understood and it will be seen that the invention provides a simple and inexpensive type of construction of file device which provides for the quick and reliable clamping of the sheets also provides :a "fi'-le-=-device "which is exceedingly strong and durable and not liable ;to *be easily injured "or to getaouit of order;

:Hawingthus fully described my invention, I'claim I 1. A *fi'ling device comprising :a frame structure having guides, and ;a follower having-'openings tot receive said guides for slidably and tiltably connecting itwith the guides, and provided with resilient projecti'ons inclined in one direction and engagea'b'le with "the guides for allowing and limitingits tilting motion inone direction, and a resilient projection inclined in .the.-opposite directien"for engagementiwith a part-of the frame for limitingits tilting motion in the opposite direction.

2.,A i'il ing device comprising aframe structure'ha-vrng guides, and follower ihaving openings'toreceive-said guidesfor slidably and tiltably connecting it with :the guides andprovided with a resilient :p'roj ection engageable with a portion of the-frame structure for permitting free sliding motion of the ffollowerwhile limiting itsiti-l ting-motion in one direction; I

' 3. .iA filing devicemompri-sing a frame structure having guides, and a follower having openings to receive said guides for slidably and tiltably connecting it with the guides and provided with a resilient projection inclined to its plane and to a plane at right angles thereto for engagement with a part of the frame structure for limiting its tilting motion in one direction.

4. A filing device comprising a frame structure including guides, and a follower having a base portion provided with openings to receive said guides for slidably and tiltably connecting it with the guides, said base portion being provided with resilient projections to engage the guides for permitting and limiting the tilting motion of the follower in one direction and provided with a resilient project-ion to engage a portion of Y the frame independent of the guides for limiting the tilting motion of the follower in the opposite direction.

5. A filing device comprising a frame structure including guides, and a follower slida'bly and tiltably engaging the guides and provided with resilient means for limiting its tilting motions, said follower having spaced base and clamping portions lying in different parallel vertical planes, an in clined connecting portion between its base and clamping portions, and a manipulating portion at its free end inclined in a direction reverse to the direction of inclination of said connecting portion.

6. In a filing device, a follower having a base portion apertured for slidable and tiltable engagement with guides of a frame, said base portion having resilient members inclined to its plane in one direction for engagement with the guide to permit and limit its tilting motion in one direction and having a resilient portion inclinedreversely to the first-named resilient portions for engagement with a part of the frame to limit its tilting motion in the reverse direction.

7. In a filing device, a follower formed of resilient metal and adapted to be slidably and tiltably mounted on a guide, said follower having base and clamping portions lying in different-parallel vertical planes, an inclined connecting portion between the two, and a manipulating portion at its end opposite-the base portion inclined at a reverse angleto the connecting portion. I

8. In a filing device, a frame structure including guides, and followers of resilient metal slidably and. tiltably engaging the guides, and provided with means for resiliently limiting their tilting motion in at least one direction, each follower comprismg base and clamping portions lying in different parallel planes, an inclined connecting' portion between said base and clamping portions, and a free-end portion inclined in a reverse direction to the connectlngportlon, said followers being arranged in reverse order on the guides so that their clamping portions lie closest to each other and their free end portions relatively diverge.

9. A filing device comprising a base plate, I

mounted on said guides, and strips of soft material fitted in the channels of the channeled end walls and projecting belowthe level of the base plate to serve as supports. 10. In a filing device, a follower having a base portion apertured for slidable andtiltable engagement with guides, a clamping portion, an inclined connecting portion cbetween the base and clamping portion, and a resilient projection on the base portion ex tending at an angle thereto for engagement with a portion of a frame on' which the follower, is mounted to limit the tilting mo tion of the follower in onedirection. In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HENRY FREY.

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