US2523722A

US2523722A - Index rod for filing cabinets

Info

Publication number: US2523722A
Application number: US73612A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fritz A Saaf; Charles M Abrahamson
Original assignee: All Steel Equipment Inc
Current assignee: All Steel Equipment Inc
Priority date: 1949-01-29
Filing date: 1949-01-29
Publication date: 1950-09-26
Anticipated expiration: 1967-09-26

Description

Sept. 26, 1950 F. A. SAAF ETAL 2,523,722

INDEX ROD FOR FILING CABINETS Filed Jan. 29, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 26, 1950 Filed Jan. 29, 1949 F. A. SAAF ETAL INDEX ROD FOR FILING CABINETS 2 ShetQ-Sheet 2 I rod head;

Patented Sept. 26, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INDEX ROD FOR FILING CABINETS Fritz A. Saaf and Charles M. Abrahamson, Aurora, 111., assignors to All-Steel Equipment Inc., a corporation of Illinois Application January 29, 1949, Serial No. 73,612

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to index rods used in filing. cabinets for slidably holding index sheets or separators in place within the cabinet.

Index rods conventionally are threaded at the rear ends to screw into tapped openings at the rear of the drawer, or the index rod head may be threaded to screw into the drawer front. The threads frequently. become worn or possibly stripped so that it becomes: impossible to properly secure the rods in place.

Furthermore, in some of. the more modern styling. of filing cabinets and ofiice equipment, there is a trend away from round handles, and yet if non-circular heads are provided for the index rods to match the other hardware on the filing cabinet or drawer,- it is difficult, if not impossible to so orient the head with respect to the threads that when the rod is screwed firmly into place the head will be squared and not askew with respect to the other fittings.

The principal object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a simple means for eliminating the conventional threadedarrangement for lockingan indexrod in place so that a square or other non-circular. head may be employed on the index rod to harmonize with the other hardware.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel means for releasably locking the index rod head to the drawer front and to guide the rear end of the index rod into an opening provided in the drawer back.

Further and other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds and the description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a filing cabinet drawer equipped with a preferred form of this invention and with parts of the drawer broken away to better reveal the constructional features;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the index rod with its method of support at the rear and the releasable locking arrangement at the front;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the index Fig. 4 shows the slot in the drawer front which receives the index rod head; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the novel guideway embossed into the drawer bottom for guiding the index rod into the opening in the drawer back.

The invention may be variously embodied within the scope of the'appended claims, and it should be understood that the description which follows ismerely a compliance with Section 4888 of the Revised Statutes in revealing a preferred form of the invention.

The drawer used to illustrate the invention is shown generally at Ill and comprises a front I I, a back [2, sides [3, and a bottom It channeled at t5. toprovide the usual valley for the downwardly extending tabs It of index sheets or separators ll. The tabs are pierced at E8 to receive the index rod generally indicated at l9, which consists of a rod 29 slightly chamfered at its rear end as shown at 2! (Fig. 2), and having a reduced portion 22 at its front end adapted to be received within a recess 23 in the index head 24. The reduced portion 22 of the rod 28] may be threaded for engagement with the head or it may be swaged or otherwise united with the head.

The head 24 is preferably die-cast of any suitable metal such as aluminum, and has a crosshead portion 25 provided with flanges 26 which conform in general shape to the non-circular opening 21 in the drawer front H. The body of the head 24 is provided with a square recess 28 above the cross-head 25 to accommodate a leaf spring 29, which is clamped between the rod 20 and the head 24 when the two are united.

On one side of the index rod head, preferably. on the bottom side, is a slotsfl which in width'at least equals the gauge of the metal front ll, so that when the rod with the head is pushed rearwardly through the opening 27, the slot 30 will engage the marginal wall of the opening 2'! opposite to that engaged by the spring 29 and thereby hold the index rod releasably clamped against longitudinal movement.

Inasmuch as the head 24 can enter the opening 21 only when the cross-head 25 and leaf spring '29 are properly aligned with respect to the opening 21, the head is necessarily properly oriented whenever it is properly locked in place.

To release the head from the drawer front, it is only necessary to lift up on the head so that the lower marginal wall of the opening 27 moves out of the slot 30, whereupon the head and rod may be freely moved outwardly.

Obviously, the slot 21 could be of any suitable configuration as long as the index rod head is of mating shape, and so also could the slot 39 be located on the sides or top of the index rod head as long as the resilient means urging the head into locking engagement with the drawer front is opposed to the slot.

When the index rod I9 is thrust home into locked position, it is very desirable that the rear end of the rod be properly engaged so that it will not rattle in the drawer, and so that the index or separator sheets i! are freely movable within the channel I5. To this end, the rear portion of the drawer bottom is embossed with a guideway generally designated 3| which smoothly guides the rear end of the rod into an opening 32 provided in the rear wall I2 of the drawer. This opening is formed by punchin out a lip 33 which may be bent upwardly or downwardly to apply the desired resilient pressure upon the rod 20 while supported on the guideway 3| and within the opening 32.

The guideway 3| is V-shaped in general configuration, and rises from the floor 33 of the channel I5 with two wings 34 and 35, each of which lies in a plane that is inclined with respect to both longitudinal and transverse axes of the drawer bottom. In other words, as shown in Fig. 2, the wing 34 of the guideway inclines upwardly towards the rear, and as shown in Fig. 5, both wings 34 and 35 are tilted downwardly and inwardly to form a V-shaped valley or path leading to the openin 32 in the drawer back.

The intersection between the wings 34 and 35 of the guideway is rounded out as indicated at 36 to better guide the rod into the opening 32. Also, it should be noted that in forming the wings 34 and 35, the portions 31 and 38 which adjoin the wings are somewhat rounded to facilitate the embossing of this configuration in the drawer bottom.

We claim:

1. In a file drawer having a drawer front, bottom, and back, the combination therewith of an index rod adapted to pass through openings in the drawer front and back, and having a head for engagement with the drawer front, said head having means for releasably engaging the drawer front to hold the index rod against longitudinal movement, and means associated with the drawer bottom for guiding the rear end of the index rod into said opening in the drawer back, said last named means comprising a V-shaped guideway embossed in the drawer bottom adjacent the back thereof, and providing sloping walls rising from the drawer bottom, each of which lies in a plane that is inclined with respect to both the 4 longitudinal and transverse axes of the drawer bottom.

2. In a file drawer having a drawer front, bottom, and back, the combination therewith of an index rod adapted to pass through openings in the drawer front and back, and having a head for engagement with the drawer front, said head having means for releasably engaging'the drawer front to hold the index rod against longitudinal movement, means associated with the drawer bottom for guiding the rear end of the index rod into said opening in the drawer back, said last named means comprising a V-shaped guideway embossed in the drawer bottom adjacent the back thereof, and providing sloping walls rising from the drawer bottom, each of which lies in a plane that is inclined with respect to both the longitudinal and transverse axes of the drawer bottom, and means on the drawer back for resiliently urging the index rod toward said guideway.

3. In a file drawer having a drawer front, bottom and back, the combination therewith of an index rod adapted to pass through openings in the drawer front and 'back and having a head for engagement with the drawer front, means including an upwardly inclined wall rising from the drawer bottom and intersecting'the back wall at an angle of less than for guiding the rear end of the rod to the proper level for passing through the opening in said back wall, said opening in the drawer back being substantially tangent to the intersection of said inclined wall and said drawer back, and releasable means for holding the index rod in operative position.-

FRITZ A. SAAF.

CHARLES M. ABRAHAMSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 533,988 Hall Feb. 12, 1895 818,090 Hunter Apr. 17, 1906