US2386757A

US2386757A - Drawer suspension

Info

Publication number: US2386757A
Application number: US460309A
Authority: US
Inventors: Clarence W Straubel
Original assignee: General Fireproofing Co
Current assignee: General Fireproofing Co
Priority date: 1942-09-30
Filing date: 1942-09-30
Publication date: 1945-10-16
Anticipated expiration: 1962-10-16

Description

ct. m 1945. c. w. STRAUBEL DRAWER SUSPENSION Filed Sept: 30, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet l Get. 16, 1%. c. w. STRAUBEL DRAWER SUSPENSION Filed Sept. 50, 1942 3 SheetsSheet 2 Oct. 116, 1945. c. w. STRAUBEL DRAWER SUSPENSION I File'd Sept. 30, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Emma $011 L) e 1 Q. y w w W wlvx, Q, 8 U g MU w 9 UQ\ m 9Q T @Q 1% S &\ @2 xx Patented Oct. 16, 1945 DRAWER SUSPENSION Clarence W. Straubel, Youngstown, Ohio, assignor to The General Fireproofing Company, Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 30, 1942, Serial No. 460,309

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved mounting for the drawers of filing cabinets, and more particularly to a novel suspension for drawers of vertical filing cabinets.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a novel suspension carriage which moves progressively slower than the drawer as the latter is pulled out of the cabinet thereby to fully and adequately support or sustain the weight of the drawer and its contents when the latter is moved completely out of the cabinet. In that connection, one of the features of the invention resides in providing a case channel, or its equivalent, and a novel sliding suspension including opposite suspension members each carrying a plurality of pairs of loose or free travelling rollers and a plurality of pairs of relatively fixed rollers mounted on non-fixed pinion bearings. It will thus be apparent that the suspension contains all of the rollers both travelling and relatively fixed while the case channel and drawer runner have no rollers but merely serve as guides for the suspension members.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drawer suspension whose structural features and characteristics lend themselves to embodiment in either-metal, plastic, glass, wood or other material, composition or combination structures, thereby increasing the range of application of the invention .to different types and forms of vertical file cabinets.

A further object is to provide a construction which lends itself to embodiment in a cradle type suspension, that is the type wherein the individual suspension members are connected by transverse ties or cross members.

With the above and other objects in view, which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction. combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

A preferredand practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the improved suspension as applied to metal cabinet construction.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the improvements embodied in wood or other nonmetallic cabinet construction.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of the suspension members shown in Fig. I mounted in acabinet.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the construction shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the front end of the construction shown in Fig. 4, illustrating a complete case channel, suspension member, and drawer runner in assembled operative relation.

Fig. 6 is a detail vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is a detail vertical section taken on the line 1'I of Fig. 4.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

According to the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the same includes in its organization, a vertical filing cabinet or case A intended to receive a plurality of sliding drawers B. At each drawer location the cabinet is provided interiorly with opposite case channels C. These channels receive the progressive suspension designated generally as D and which cooperates with runners E on opposite sides of the drawer to support the drawer in its sliding movements into and out of the cabinet. In connection with the case channels C, it will be understood that each may be formed as a unit and aflixed to the inner'side of the cabinet, or, on the other hand, the said inner side of the cabinet may be used as the base or bottom of the channel by afiixing the upper and lower flange or track portions in proper spaced relation direct to the cabinet side Wall as shown in Fig. 2. In other words, where the type of manufacturing procedure makes it desirable, the channels may be made up as preformed units, or alternatively the roller tracks may be secured directly to the cabinet walls beforev or after they are assembled in cabinet form.

Referring to the structural features of the case channel members C in Fig. 1, wherein metal construction is shown, it will be observed that each of the same includes a body or web I having the upper flange 2 and the lower flange 3, the front end being open while the rear end is substantially closed by the laterally offset stop or abutment member 4. In accordance with the usual practice, these stop members may be provided with felt or equivalent facing-s la for partially absorbing shock and deadening noise incident to the carriage abutting therewith at the end of its inward movement. The inwardly

offset flanges

2 and 3 of the channel members may each be provided with marginal angularly disposed lip portions extending or projecting downwardly, that is in the same direction, with the result that the lip 2a of the upper flange cooperates with the web I to provide a'roller guiding channel while, in the example shown, the lip 31! of the lower flange serves as a reinforcement for sustaining the rolling load imposed on the upper surface of the flange 3.

The drawer runners E each preferably consists of a vertical body portion with lower and upper flanges Ii and I offset in opposite directions. Each runner has its body 5 secured to the side wall of the drawer B and may have the lower flange 6 engaging the bottom of the drawer while the flange 1 projects outwardly and is adapted. to be engaged by the peripheries of the rollers presently to be described in connection with the elements of the suspensionD (Fig. 4)

The said suspension D includes in its organization, the opposite individual suspension members or arms 11 each having a substantially vertical wall I and the lower and upper inwardly offset flanges 9 and Ill. The flanges 9 and III of each arm d are provided with the substantially right angularly disposed lip portions 9a and Illa respectively which extend upwardly and therefore in the same direction. The opposite suspension members d are connected by the transverse ties or straps II and I2 to unite the suspension members and thus form the carriage or suspension D. As will be apparent from Fig. 1, the tie or strap II is disposed in a horizontal plane at the front of the carriage while the tie or strap I2 is disposed vertically at the rear end of the carriage.

The suspension members (I are each provided with the forward, intermediate, and rear drawer supporting travelling rollers I3, I4 and I5, which, as compared with sets of relatively fixed yet free rolling and vertically movable rollers I6I I, later described, are of smaller diameter. Each roller I3 of the forward pair is provided with retaining stud I M operating in a slot I3b, or its equivalent, of a retainer plate I3 c carried by the related arm d. At their bottoms these rollers engage the bottom flange 9 of the arm d. Each roller I4 is in turn limited in its travelling movement by a bottom slotted or equivalent guide Ila carried by the inner face of the side wall 8 of the related arm below the upper flange III, and each roller I5 is limited in its travelling movement by a top slotted uide or cage I 5:: carried by the upper face of the flange III. The rollers I l and I5 are provided respectively with the axial studs or projections Ill) and I5b and the guides Ila, I5a are formed with lips I4, I5, respectively, with which said projections cooperate to retain the rollers I4, I5 in their guides or cages so that they. will not become accidentally displaced. The guides or retainers Ila and I5a are located respectively below and above the top flanges III of the arms d of the suspension D and both pairs of said rollers are disposed at higher elevations than the forward pair of rollers I3. The purpose of this arrangement is to enable the upper peripheries of the rollers I3 on one hand, and the bottom peripheries of the rollers It on the other hand, to engage the lower and upper faces respectively of the upper flange I of the runner E, and, moreover, to enable the upper peripheries of the rollers I5 of the rear pair to engage the bottom faces of the upper flanges 2 of the case channels.

The inner faces of the webs 8 of the suspension members also carry and house pairs of feeding rollers I5 and I! which are of larger diameter than the rollers I3, l4, I5 and are relatively fixed in a horizontal direction in the sense that they do not travel although their studs Ilia and Ila are mounted to move in vertical slots Itb in the side wall I while their peripheries project through the slots I5c and Ilc of the lower flange I of the suspension member thereby to slidably support the entire suspension in travelling engagement with the upper face of the lower flange I of the case channel C.

The bottom flanges l of the suspension members 8 are provided with stop or abutment members I8 which are adapted to engage with the horizontal cross members A'- of the frame so as to limit the outward movement of the entire suspension D. Likewise, the front ends of the lips Ila of the upper flange I 0 of the suspension members are provided with upwardly projecting stops or abutments I9 adapted to engage with a drawer carried abutment III which will prevent the drawer from being moved too far outwardly with respect to the suspension. Yet, by manually lifting the drawer at the front, the drawer is easily removable from the suspension.

The operation of the construction shown in Fig. 1 is as follows:

Assuming that the drawer B is closed, that is, fully in the cabinet, as shown in Fig. 4, it will be apparent that the lower peripheries of the rollers I6 and I! which project through the slots I50 and He in the flange 9 are in rolling engagement with the upper roller bearing faces of the lower flanges 3 of the case channel C. Also, the flanges I of the drawer rlmners E are in engagement with the upper peripheries of the rollers I6 and I I. The forward travelling rollers I3 of each suspension member are located at the rear ends of their guides and their bottom peripheries have a tractive engagement with the upper faces of the lower flanges l of the suspension members 11 and also, have tractive supporting engagement at their upper peripheries with the bottom faces of the flanges 1 of the drawer runners. The intermediate travelling rollers II of each suspension member are normally at the rear ends of their guides and have their lower peripheries in tractive engagement with the upper faces of the flanges I of the drawer runners while their upper peripheries are in tractive engagement with the lower faces of the upper flanges II of the individual suspension members or arms. The rear pair of rollers I5 are at the forward ends of their guides and travel between the tops of said flanges I II and the lower faces of the upper roller bearing flanges 2 of the case channels. As the drawer B is manually pulled outwardly of the cabinet A. the rollers I3 and I4 advance in their guides while rollers I5 retreat (Fig. 1) and the entire suspension D is propelled outwardly of the casing by the sets of rollers I5I| at substantially half thespeed of the movement of the drawer B on rollers I3, I4, and I5. When the drawer is fully pulled out of the cabinet, the suspension members 4 will rigidly support the drawer because substantially the rear half thereof is still within the limits of the case channels Cand cannot fulcrum downwardly because the rear pair of rollers I5 between parts 2 and III prevent such action. The relative differential and progressive movement between the drawer B and the suspension D. is due to the diflerent diameters of the pairs of travelling rollers I3, is and I5 and the pairs of rollers It and II which are relatively fixed horizontally. That is to say, the said rollers I5 and I1 being of larger diameter than the rollers I3, I4 and I5 and bearing on the lower flange I of the case channel C, cause the carriage or suspension D to move out of the casing relatively slower than they drawer B moves relative to the suspension members It," because the travelling rollers I 3, ll and ID of relatively small diameter permit the drawer to move out faster than the carriage.

The adaptation of the invention above described to wood or plastic or glass or other suitable material or combinations of construction is shown in Fig. 2. In this embodiment, the cabinet A2 having the cross pieces A3 at the front thereof, is provided with the case channels C which consist of the wood members 2I and 22 suitably spaced to provide a channel therebetween. The drawer B is slidably mounted in the drawer cabinet or case by the suspension D which in turn slidably supports the drawer runners E each including the onset flange la. The individual suspension members d' are connected by the transverse members IIa and I 2d and the inner faces of each of said members d are provided with the forward, intermediate, andrear travelling rollers I3m, I40: and I5a. Also the inner faces of the suspension members d are provided with the suspension feeding rollers IIia: and I 1.1: which are relatively fixed or held against travelling movement in said suspension members. The travelling rollers I3:c, I43: and I5: are mounted in grooves or recesses in the suspension members d. All of the rollers in Fig. 2 perform the same functions in the same manner, with reference to the upper and lower roller bearing members 2| and 22 of the case channel C and the flanges Ia of the drawer runners, as their counterparts described in Fig. l.

The upper members 2I of the case members C (Fig. 2) are provided with stops 23 which engage with abutments 24 onthe top of each of the suspension members d of the carriage to thus limit the outward movement of the carriage relative to the cabinet A2. The bottom of the drawer B carries the stops 25 which are adapted to engage with the inner edge of the transverse member Ila of the entire suspension D to limit the outward movement of the drawer B relative to the suspension. It will thus be apparent that the arrangement of stops and abutments in Fig. 2 is somewhat different from that in Fig. 1. In the latter figure, the outward movement of the carrlage or suspension is stopped relative to the cabinet by the abutments I8 on the carriage engaging with the transverse members A of the cabinet whereas in Fig. 2 the outward movement of the carriage relative to the cabinet is limited by the stops 23 on the case channels and the abutments 24 on the suspension members d of the carriage. In Fig. 1 the outward limit of the drawer B is checked relative to the members 8 of the carriage D by the engagement of the stops I9 on the members d engaging the abutments 20 carried by the drawer sides. In Fig. 2, however, the outward limit of the drawer B is shown as checked by the stops 25 on the drawer bottom engaging with the transverse member Ila on the carriage.

The operation of the construction shown in Fig. 2 is as follows:

When the drawer B is fully in the cabinet A2, the flanges Ia of the drawer runners E have their underfaces resting on the rollers I 32:, Him and I'Ix. The upper faces of the flanges Ia are in tractive engagement with the rollers :r. As the drawer is pulled outwardly the rollers I3a:, Ida: and I511: which are of smaller diameter than the rollers I6zc and Ila; permit of the drawer being pulled out of the cabinet approximately twice as fast as the rollers I62: and I la: will feed the carriage D relative to the bottom member 22 of the case channel C.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that in both embodiments of the invention the distinguishing characteristic is the provision of a suspension which carries all of the rollers, namely, spaced pairs of large relatively fixed rollers having an engagement with the drawer runners and case channels, and a plurality of travelling rollers mounted in the carriage and slidably supporting the drawer relative to the carriage so that it may move faster out of the cabinet than the carriage. The advantage of the arrangement is that its desirable features may be incorporated either in steel or wood, metal, plastic, glass, compositions or combinations of suitable material while at the same time preserving all of the advantages of a strong and easily operated suspension. In that connection it will be apparent that with respect to the case channels C and 0', both present upper and lower roller bearing faces for the rollers of the suspension. Also, while in the case of the metal embodiment, the rollers, I3, I4, l5, are held in guides, formed by metallic plates fashioned or bent to form cages in the wood, plastic, glass or other form of construction the same result is obtained by grooving or recessing the sides of the suspension members, and/or in using metal strips as retainers.

It may also be pointed out that all of the several pairs or sets of rollers, more or less, are

free rollingin the sense that none of them have fixed axle pinions or studs. With the relatively long paths of travel, roller tread and track wear are reduced or, in other words, all wear is distributed over a greater surface area. Also, it may be pointed out that while the rollers I8 and I1 are relatively fixed in a horizontal direction,

they are free to move vertically and hence have no fixed axle pinion. Their vertical movement, in addition to rolling, insures constant contact of rollers I3 and I4 with the drawer runners E.

Without further description, it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. and it will of course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a drawer suspension for filing cabinets and the like, a casing having a drawer-accommodating space, upper and lower forwardly and rearwardly extending track members carried by said casing at each side of the drawer-accommodating space therein, a drawer, a runner carried by said drawer at each side thereof and extending longitudinally relatively thereto, a pair of elongated suspension members free with respect to said track members and said runners and disposed at opposite sides of the drawer, respectively, and between the related upper and lower track members, respectively, each suspension member including an upper and a lower track element, a forward roller, a rear roller and an intermediate roller carried by each suspension member, means retaining said front and rear rollers in assembly with said suspension members for free traveling movement longitudinally with respect thereto, each forward roller being interposed between and being rollable upon the lower track element of the related suspension member and the related drawer runner, each rear roller being interposed between and being rollable upon the related upper track member of the casing and the upper track elementof the related suspension member,

each intermediate roller being interposed between and being roilable upon the upper track element ottherelatedsuspensionmemberandtherelated drawer runner, and other rollers carried by each suspension member rearwardly of the forward roller carried thereby and immovable longitudinally with respect thereto and interposed between and reliable upon the related drawer runner and the related lower track member of the casing, each intermediate roller including a trunnion, and means connected to each suspension member and cooperating with the trunnion oi the related intermediate roller to retain the latter assembled with the suspension member for tree traveling movement longitudinally with respect thereto.

2. In a drawer suspension for filing cabinets and the like, a casing having a drawer-accommodating space, upper and lower forwardly and rearwardly extending track members carried by said casing at each side of the drawer-accommodating space therein, a drawer. a runner carried by said drawer at each side thereof and extending longitudinally relatively thereto, a pair of elongated suspension members free with respect to said track members and said runners and disposed at opposite sides or the drawer, respectively. and between the related upper and lower track members, respectively, each suspension assays? member including an upper and a lower track element, a forward roller, a rear rollerand an f intermediate roller carried by each suspension member, means retaining said front and rear rollers in assembly with said suspension members for free traveling movement, longitudinally with respect thereto, each forward roller being interposed between and being rollable upon the lower track element 01 the related suspension member and the related drawer runner, each rear roller being interposed between and being rollable upon the related upper track member of the casing and the upper track element of the related suspension member, each intermediate roller being interposed between and being rollable upon the upper track element of the related suspension member and the related drawer runner, and other rollers carried by each suspension member rearwardly of the forward roller carried thereby and immovable longitudinally with respect thereto and interposed between and rollable upon the related drawer runner and the related lower track member of the casing, and means connected to each suspension member and cooperating with the related intermediate roller to retain the latter permanently assembled with the suspension member for free longitudinal traveling movement relative thereto.

CLARENCE W. STRAUBEL