US1948451A - Ledger tray - Google Patents

Description

F eb. 20, 1934.

C. F. WOLTERS LEDGER TRAY Filed Jan. 12, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 J4 J .9 l s ,e1 JJ fr n w 64 6J f (ZE-9g INVENToR ya rZF/l/alerf A BY @0MM v; i 'ATTORNEYS Feb. 20, 1934. c. F. WOLTERS LEDGER TRAY 3 Sheets-Sheet v 2 Filed Jan. l2

-xNvENToR #MATTORNEYS Feb. zo, 1934,

cg F. woLTERs LEDGER TRAY Filed Jan. 12, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 OO OOOO lNvENToR CarlZB'Yh/alem 'ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 2o, 1934 TES PATENT OFFICE LEDGER TRAY Carl F. Wolters, Marietta, Ohio, assigner to Remington Rand Inc., Buffalo, N. Y.

vApplication January 12, 1932. Serial No; 586,251

16 Claims.

This invention relates to filing devices and especially to that class of such devices known as ledger trays, having means for firmly holding iiled ledger cards, papers, or folders in substantially upright position.

More particularly structure having a movable toward the the invention relates to a front compressor member rear of the tray to compress the filed matter and movable in an opposite direction to release the matter for examination or making entries thereon. An adjustable back stop is carried by a slide member upon which the tray contents rest, the slide member being automatically moved rearwardly upon movement of the compressor member from compressing position, so thatv the space allowed for examination of and making ent materially augmented.

The back stop is ries on the iiled matter is adjustable to the slide member, it engaging a guide member capable of disposition in several positions relative to sides of the tray. The lateral adjustment, which permits of shifting the tray contents from side requirements during to side to meet the various use of the device, is accomplished by meansv of a rod which retains and guides the guide member, extending longitudinally of the tray and being susceptible of selective inserton intovany of a plurality of recesses in the front of the tray.

These and other objects and advantages, in-

cluding those inherent in the novel arrangements and features ponent parts of the from the following embodiment of the accompanying draw Fig. 1 is a plan v ative position in which the contents are compressed between the rear stop;

of construction of the comdevice, will become apparent description of the typical invention illustrated in the ings, wherein:

iew of the device in inoperoompressor member and the Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through the device in the position shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section similar to Fig. 2 but show ing the device in operative member; and,

Fig. 'I is a perspec tive view depicting the front laterally relativev structure of the tray with the front bracket, the compressor and the operating mechanism therefor being removed.

As shownA in the drawings, the tray may include a bottom section lhaving a central channel, with base 11 and-vertical walls 12 and 13, extending from the .front to the rear thereof. Depending ilanges 14, at the sides of the bottom section, abut the side walls and inturned bottom flanges l5, of side walls 16 and may be secured thereto inl any suitable manner as by welding. l

A front wall section 17, having ahand opening 18, has rearwardly extending side flanges 19 secured to theside walls 16 and a bottom ange 21 secured to the bottom section 10. 'llhe upper edge 22 of iront wall section 1'7 is rearwardly and thence downwardly extended to engage a reinforcing strip 23 secured to the upper edge of anV inclined reinforcing plate, 24 having forwardly extending side flanges 25. The latter have ears 26 at the bottom thereof secured to bottom section 10 by screws 27. Access to the screws maybe had through openings 28 formed in plate 24.

The rear wall section of the tray is similar to the front wall section and comprises a section 29 having a hand opening 31, forwardly extending side flanges 32 secured to side walls 16, and -a bottom ange 33 secured to bottorn` section 10. Reinforcing plate 34 has a bottom fiange 35 secured to the bottom section 10 and an upper marginal portion 36 secured to a reinforcing bar 37 which is secured in and extends through the channelled upper portion 38 of the rear wall section.

A bottom plate or slide member 39 is seated in the channel of the bottom section 10, and has upstan'ding portions 41 engaging and guided by vertical walls 12 and 13 oi.' the channel. Laterally extending portions 42 of the slide overlie the horizontal marginal portions of the bottom section and are roughened on their exposed surfaces, as indicated at 43, to prevent slippage of ledger cards or other led material, 44, resting thereon. Flanges 45 and 46 extend upwardly from the front and rear edges, respectively, oi.' the slide.

Held against longitudinal movement between . flanges 45 and 46 and having lateral movement between walls 12 and 13l is a channel-shaped guide member 47 having parallel rows of aligned openings 48 in, the bottom web thereof and having inturned anges 49 extending from the side walls 50 thereof. The latter are cut away adjacent the forward end of the guide member and a U-shaped member 51 is there secured across the forward end of the guide member, for a purpose to be hereinafter described. An angle member 52 is secured along the rear end of the guide member.

A, plurality of longitudinally aligned openings 53 are formed in front wall section 17 and rear reinforcing plate 34 for receiving a guide rod 54, the forward end of which has a knob 55 and a threaded portion 56, the latter for threaded engagement'with either of openings 53 in the front Wall section. It will be understood that, upon removal, the rod 54 may be extended through either of the pairs of aligned openings, being substantially central of the tray in one position and being closer to one or the other side of the tray in the other position. A plurality of notches, aligned with the openings are provided in the flanges 45 and 46 of the bottom slide 4member 39. Central notches 55 and 56', respectively, are formed in the U-shaped member 51 and the angle member 52 for passing the rod 54. Accordingly, the latter will serve to retainthe guide member 47 against lateral movement and will further aid the walls 12 and 13 of the bottom section in guiding the bottom slide The guide member 47 may be shifted laterally by removing the rod and will be held in such lateral position upon reinsertion of the rod through other of the openings 53. In the illustrated embodiment. the aligned openings 53 are so positioned that the notches 55 will be aligned with them when one side 50 of guide member 47 abuts a wall 4l of the bottom slide, this facilitating the replacement of the rod 54 after lateral.shifting of the guide member.

Removably mounted upon the guide member 47 for movement longitudinally of the tray is a back stop or follower 6l, comprising an upstanding wall 62 incliningrearwardly from its bottom to its top, and a horizontal base portion 63 extending above flanges 49 of the guide member and portions 42 of the bottom slide. ber 64 having lateral runners 65 engaging the guide 47 between the base and the flanges 49 thereof, normally retain the back stop in place. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the flanges 49 terminate short of the rear edge of guide 47 to permit of disengagement of the runners therefrom, thus permitting of removal of the back stop from the tray. Latch 66 having a handle 67 is pivoted to the back stop at 68, the latch being normally urged into openings 48 inthe base of the guide member by a spring 69. Upon movement of the handle, the latch is disengaged from the openings to allow movement of the back stop longitudinally of the tray.

Front compressor member 71 includes-a plate 72 having a rolled upper edge 73 and forwardly and thence inwardly extending side flangesl 74. Sections 75 having vertical, inwardly facing channels 76 are secured to the forward face of plate 72. At the lower edge of the plate is a flange 77 securing bottom flanges 78 of the sections 75. Fingers 79 depend from the front stop for pivotal engagement in openings 81 formed in the bottom section 10, being retained therein by cotter pins extending through openings 82 in the fingers.

An actuating plate 83 has an upwardly struck portion 84 carrying a handle 85 and forwardly extending arms 86 carrying pins 87 with rollers 88, the rollers engaging the rear walls of channels 76.and the pins engaging the front walls of the Memchannels. The rear edge of the plate is hinged, by a pin 89 to a leaf 91 affixed to plate 24 of the front wall assembly of the tray. Upon movement upward of the plate 83 about hinge pin 89, the pins 87 and rollers 88 will move'in the channels 76 to carry the front stop 71 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3. Stops 92 in the channels limit downward movement of the actuator plate to the position shown in Fig. 2 where it is substantially at right angles to front stop 71. Accordingly the latter can not be moved except upon the application upwardly of pressure to the actuator.

A bracket 93 having an elongated slot 94 is carried by the compressor member. Movably engaged in the slot is a pin 95 carried by a lever 96 that is pivoted at 97 to a U-bracket 98 affixed to the front wall assembly. The lower end 99 of the lever engages in the U-shaped member 51 of the bottom slide, the end 99 being bifurcated to allow it to extend over the rod 54.

As the compressor plate is moved about pivot fingers 79 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 3, the lever 96 will have angular counter-clockwise movement, as the device is herein illustrated, thereby moving the bottom slide 39, and the guide member 47 and back stop 61 carried thereby, rearwardly, or to the right as the device is illustrated.

In service, ledger cards, or similar filed matter, 44, will rest upon the roughened surfaces 43 of the bottom slide portions 42|and will incline rearwardly to rest upon the back stop 61.

When the tray is not in use the back stop will be in such position, relative to the front and rear i walls of the tray, that the compressor plate, in

-the position shown in Fig. 2, will compress the filed matter and thus hold it against displacement. Designations of the subject matter, placedv on the foremost or rearmost card, may be observed through openings 101 and 102 in the com- .pressor and rear stop respectively, without moving the latter. Toexamne the tray contents, the handle 85 is lifted, thereby swinging the compressor plate forwardly and simultaneously moving the back stop and bottom slide to the rear. The ille contents will thus be decompressed and ample space will be provided for examining or making entries.

When the guide member 47 and the rear stop 61 are disposed centrally between the tray side walls 16, as shown in Fig. 1, ledger cards may be offset laterally to both sides during a posting or like operation. If the operator wishes to offset the cards laterally to one side only and desires to offset to a greater distance than can be accomplished with the parts in the position of Fig. 1, the guide member 47 and back stop 61 may be moved to one side or the other, to a position such as shown in Fig. 4, by removing rod 54, as I hereinbefore described.

It will be understood that the particular structurey herein described and illustrated is merely one representative embodiment of the principles of the invention, which may be utilized in other devices having other structural characteristics and arrangements, all within the purview of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a filing device, a tray having a bottom,

tudinally of the slide member and normally movable therewith,l said follower inclining upwardly and rearwardly, a compressor member pivoted vtom, a slide overlying the bottom and movable longitudinally of the tray relative to the bottom, a follower carried by the slide and cooperating parts thereon, a compressor adjacent the front of the tray, said compressor being mounted for vmovement toward the rear of the tray to compress rthe contents thereof against the follower and movement toward the front of the tray to release the contents, and means connecting the compressor with cooperating parts on the slide for moving the slide and follower toward the rear f of the tray when the compressor is moved in the opposite direction.

3. In a filing device, a tray having bottom and front walls, a slide overlying the bottom wall and movable longitudinally of the tray relative to the bottom wall, a compressor member adjacent the front of the tray mounted for movement toward and away from the rear of the tray, a lever pivoted medially of its ends to a front portion of a tray, one end of said lever having articulated connection with cooperating parts carried by the slide and the opposite end having articulated connection with the compressor.

4. In a filing device, a tray having bottom and front walls, a slide overlying the bottom wall and movable longitudinally of the tray relative to the bottom wall, a compressor member pivoted to the tray on a pivot axis adjacent the bottom wall, a substantially upright lever pivoted medially of its ends to a front portion of the tray, said slide having parts thereon providing a recess receiving the lower end of said lever, and an articulated connection between the upper end of the lever andthe compressor member,

5.- In a filing device, a tray having bottom and front walls, a slide overlying the bottom wall and movable relative thereto, a compressor member pivoted to the tray on a pivot axis adjacent the bottom wall, a substantially upright lever pivoted medially of its ends to a front portion of the tray, the lower end of the lever having an articulated connection to cooperating parts carried by the slide, a pin extending through the upper end of the lever, and said compressor member having a portion with an elongated slot slidably receiving said pin.

6. In a filing device, a tray having bottom and front walls, a slide overlying the bottom wall and movable relative thereto and carrying cooperating parts, a compressor plate having a depending tongue, said bottom wall having a recess receiving said tongue whereby the compressor may be moved angularly about an axis substantially coincident with the recess, a lever pivoted to a xed portion of the tray, said lever having articulated connections with cooperating parts mounted on the slide and compressor plate.

'7. In a filing device, a tray having bottom and front wall portions, a slide overlying the bottom wall portion and movable relative thereto longitudinally of the tray, a compressorV plate pivoted to the tray adjacent the front bottom portion thereof and adaptedy to recline against the front wall portion and to'` be held in such position by gravity,` an actuating member having one end pivoted to the front wall portion and having its opposite end slidably connected to the compressor plate whereby upon downward movement Iof the actuating member about its pivot axis the compressor plate will be moved to a reversely inclined position or position of inclination away from the front wall, the compressor plate and actuating member being disposed at substantially right angles 'to each other when the compressor plate is in reversely inclined position, whereby the compressor plate may be retained in such reversely inclined position until the actuating member is moved upwardly labout its pivot axis, and means connecting the compressor plate and slide for moving the .latter toward the rear of the tray upon movement of the compressor plate toward the front wall portion.

8. In a filing tray, a horizontal bottom plate, a vertical front plate secured to the front edge of the bottom plate, said front plate having a return bent upper edge, a rearwardly and down wardly inclined reinforcing plate having a part ,on its upper edge removably engaged in said return bent portion and having horizontal flanges at its bottom removably secured to said bottom plate, a compressor member pivoted at its bottom to said bottom plate and adapted to recline against said reinforcing plate, a bracket secured to the front plate and disposed between the latter and the reinforcing plate, a slidemember overlying and movable upon the bottom I:

plate, and substantially upright lever pivoted medially of its ends to said bracket, the lower endof said lever having an articulated connection to parts carried by the slide, and the upper end of said lever having an articulated connection to the compressor member, said reinforcing plate having an opening through which the upper end of the lever extends.

9. In a filing device, a tray having bottom,

front, and rear wall portions, the bottom wall l portion having a central longitudinal channel therein. a slide overlying the bottom wall portion and having a central channel interfltting and guided in the first mentioned channel, flanges on the ends of the slide, a guide member disposed` in the channel of the slide and having its ends abutting said flanges, a pair of spaced transverse flanges at the forward end of said guide member, a compressor member pivoted to the bottom wall portion for movement toward and away from the front Awall portion, means including a lever connected to said compressor and engaging between said pair of flanges for moving the guide member and slide toward said front wall portion when the compressor member is moved rearwardly, a plurality of transj versely spaced recesses in said-front andv rear wall portions and the flanges on said slide, the

recesses in the wall portions and flanges being aligned. said guide member having a recess formed ateach end thereof capable of selective alignment with said aligned recesses in the wall portions and flanges on said slide, a rod removably extending through the aligned recesses of the wall portions, guide member, and slide, and a follower carried by and movable with the guide member.

10. In a filing device, a tray having bottom,'

tom wall for guiding its movement longitudinal- 1y thereon, a guide member mounted for movement transversely oi the slide and `for longitudinal movement with the slide, a follower carried by the guide member and guided thereon for adjustment longitudinally of said guide member, and means for retaining the guide member in any of a plurality of positions relative to the sides of the slide.

11. In a filing device, a tray having bottom, front and 'rear Walls, aA slide overlying the rbottom wall portion and having means engaging said bottom wall for guiding its movement longitudinally thereon, a guide member mounted for movement transversely'of the slide and for longitudinal movement with the slide, a follower carried by the guide member and guided thereon for adjustment longitudinally of said guide member, means for retaining the guide member in any of a plurality of positions re1- ative to the sides of the slide, said retaining means comprising a rod extending through openings in said guide member and any one of a plurality of aligned sets of openings in the front and rear walls.

12. In a filing device,'a tray having a bottom, a slide overlying the bottom and movable longitudinally of the tray relative to the bottom, a guide member provided with channel means mounted on said slide and movable longitudinally therewith, a follower adjustably mounted on said guide member, a compressor adjacent the front of the tray, said compressor being mounted for movement toward the rear of the tray to compress the contents thereof and movement toward the front of the tray to release the contents, and means connecting the compressor and channel means on `said guide member to move said slide, guide and follower members toward the rear of the tray when the compressor is moved in the opposite direction.

13. A ledger tray, comprising a container having a bottom, a card supporting member slidable on said bottom, a follower adjustably carried by said card supporting member, a compressor pivotably mounted in the front of said container for movement to rearwardly and forwardly inclined ,positions and connecting means between the compressor and parts carried by said card supporting member, for moving said card supporting member and follower forwardly when the compressor is moved to a rearwardly inclined positon for cooperation to compress the contents of said tray, and for releasing said contents from compression when the compressor is. moved to forwardly inclined position by moving said member and follower rearwardly.

14. A ledger tray having bottom and front walls, a compressor mounted adjacent the front wall for llmitedrocking movement longitudinally in said tray, a guide member longitudinally movable on the bottom of said tray, a follower adjustably connected to said guide member and movable therewith relative to' the tray, and means connecting the guide member and compressor operable to move the guide member Aand follower longitudinally in the tray when the compressor is moved in an opposite direction, the compressor and follower cooperating to compress filed matter in the tray when moved toward each other and to release said matter when moved away from each other.

15. A ledger tray having bottom and front Walls, a compressor mounted adjacent the front wall for limited pivotal movement in the tray, a plate member slidable longitudinally on the 'bottom of said tray, a follower adjustably mounted on said plate member, and means connecting said compressor and plate member operable to move the plate member longitudinally in the tray in one direction in the movement of the compressor in an opposite direction.

16. A ledger tray having bottom and front walls, a compressor mounted adjacent the front wall no for limited pivotalmovement in the tray, a card supporting member longitudinally movable in the tray, a guide member carried by the last named member and adjustable thereon laterally of the tray, a follower longitudinally adjustable on said guide member and movable laterally therewith in the tray, and means connecting said compressor to said card supporting member operable to move said card supporting member, follower and guide member longitudinally in the tray in one direction in the movement of said compressor in an opposite direction thereto.

CARL F. WOLTERS.

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