US2551213A - Cardholder for index devices - Google Patents

Description

May 1, 1951 w. LANG 2,551,213

cARDHoLDER`FoR` INDEX DEVICES Filed sept. 14, 1945 s sheets-sheet 1 INVEN TOR.

A frm/vn May l, 1951 w. LANG 0mm-:OLDER FoR INDEX nEvIcEs 3 Sheets-SheetrZ Filed Sept. 14, 1945 A T raf/VEX May l, 1951 w. LANG K 2,551,213

. CARDHOLDER FoR INDEX -DEvIcEs Filed sept. 14, 1945 3 sheets-sheet 5 VAA- IIN", 4...

IN V EN TOR.

l Arme/v51( Patented May 1,1951

cAEDHoLDER Fon INDEX DEVICES William Lang, Verona, N. J., assignor to The Bates Manufacturing Company, West Orange, N. J., va corporation of New Jersey Application September 14, 1945, Serial No. 616,244

Claims.

Mv invention relates to index devices by which ready reference may be had to a list of telephone numbers, addresses, recipes, or other Classifiable matter. More particularly, it is directed to a holder for a group of loose cards superimposed upon each other, one or more of which is reserved for a single classication and which may readily be opened at any desired point for reference such as shown in Patent No. 2,341,983.

A principal object of my invention is to provide a card holder in which the card supporting hooks are adapted to be swung to a position remote from the connection between the cover and base with their free ends exposed for readily and easily connecting or disconnecting loose cards therefrom.

Another object is to provide such a holder 1nV which the card supporting hooks are adapted to be swung to a position encircling thehinge rod of the cover for providing a substantially common center of swing for the cards and cover and for preventing displacement of the cards.

A further object is to provide a holder for cards wherein no obstruction is placed upon the hooks to tear the cards and the cards will be protected when the holder is being opened.

Yet another object is to provide a holder Whereby one or several cards may be turned back to lie perfectly at thus giving complete access to any matter upon the cards and presenting the cards in the best position for Writing or working upon the same. v

A further object is to provide a device of this character which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture and highly elfective in use.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of my improved device with the cover in raised or open position and the pile of index `cards indicated in dot-dash lines.

the cards turned up.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the right hand end of Figure 4 with the cover closed.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view showing the hooks and cover in open position, the cards being removed.

Figure '7 is a sectional View taken on the plane of the line 1 1 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 8 8 of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a side elevational view partly broken away of another embodiment of my invention, the card holder and the cover being shown in open position. y

Figure 10 is a top plan View of the device'of Figure 9 but showing the card holder in closed position with the cover open.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary side view of the device of Figure 9 with the cover closed.

Referring rst to the embodiment shown in Figures 1 through 8, the index comprises a rectangular shallow box-like base or support I including a or portion 2, front wall 3, rear wall 4, and side walls 5 and 5, the side wall 6 being cut away as indicated at l. A rectangular shaped cover 8 having an inwardly extending ange portion 9 along one side edge thereof is hingedly connected to the base by a rod I0 passing through brackets ll on the cover and through thev side walls 5 and 6 of the base, so that the covermay swing into closed position in opposed relation to and above said base and spaced from said rod at the side thereof opposite said base and the cover may swing open into a position approximately perpendicular to said base.

A group of superimposedcards or sheets i2 arey connectedand disconnected, at will, from the base by means of a holder or binder. This holder comprises a rod I3 formed of a single .length of wire or other stock material which is bent at each end at right angles to the body of the rod forming highly arched card retaining ring-like hook portions lll. The rod is hingedly connected to the floor of the base at a point remote from the hinge rod l0 by upstruck bearing lugs I5 and intermediate its ends the holder is bent to form a V-shaped portion I6. Lugs Il hold the rod against longitudinal movement. The bent portions and hooks i4 at the ends of the rod are sufficiently long to permit the hooks Vto be swung forward of the base a considerable distance away from the connection between the cards can readily, andeaslybe connected to.; and

substantially the same.

disconnected from the base. The hooks are also adapted to be swung rearwardly of the base to a substantially upright position partly encircling the hinge rod of the cover` as shown in Figures 4 and 5 so that the centers of swing of the cover and of the cards are substantially the same. When the hooks are in this encircling position, their free ends are. sufficiently close to the hinge rod to fprevent displacement-or shifting of the cards.

The cards are supported 01T of the floor 1of the base at the rear by spaced upstandingcurved portion |61 of the rod I3 and at the frontby an upstruck elongated flange portion '18,

The cover is suitably biased 'to raised or-open position as by a tensioned coiled spring I9 disposed about the hinge rod :mand having one arm extending beneath and bearing against the adj acent portion of the cover and heldlagainst displacement by a clipmember 2|, and having fits other Varm 22 extending over and bearing against the holder I3 'at its offset vportion I6 whereby the holder is yieldingly held against hinging movement and is also held against lateral displacement.

The lcards are of :a width to -t within the side walls of the base and 'each card is provided with spaced perforations 23 at one-end thereof. As shown in Figure 2, the vedge portions of the cards along one side thereof are cut back from their rear edges as indicated at I2', in amounts "which progressively increase from the'uppermost to the lowermost card, such edge portions thus being of differentand progressively vdecreasing .lengths with the shortest of such Vedge portion on the bottom card.

When it is desired to connect a card to or disconnect a card from the base, the base is tilted slightly to permit the rear endvof the card ,or pile of cards to move outwardly free of the Yfront wall ofthe base, or afinger may be inserted through an opening 2' in the floor rof ythe base and the card or pile pushed outwardly. A portion of the holder, such as'one of the `hooks I4, is then grasped and the holder moved forwardly by a swinging or rolling motion until the Afree ends of the hooks are carried'around and face upwardly as shown in Figures 1 and 3. When -in-this position, these free ends are considerably removed from the coverso that there is plenty of clearance therebetween so .that the perforations in the cards may be easily slipped over said ,free ends. When 'the :hooks -are :in `this open position, the opposite end of 'the card `or pile of cards connected :thereto :rests `on the front wall of the base asshown in Figure 1 .thereby permitting ready access to andmanipulation 'of such cards by the fingers of the user of the device.

After the card or cards vare thus mounted on the hooks, the holder is swung rearwardly again until the hooks partly encircle 'the rod AIIJ fas shown in Figures 4 and -.5 'whereby the Acenters of Athe "swing of the cards and of the cover `are It will also kbe noted that the hooks'are lsuiliciently closeto the hinge rod I0 to prevent any displacement or fshifting 'ofthe cards.

The cards are also slightly less in width than :the flanged cover 8 so that'when the latter is in its .lowered or closed position it will 'substanvtially enclose the stack of cards as Shown in Figure 2. The flange 9 on the cover formsa guiderail for a :slider 24 which has ya shoe 25 :engaging said vguiderail whereby the lslider fis vslidably mounted fonth'e 'guiderail :for movement .4 lengthwise of the cover. The slider is provided with an upper portion which extends inwardly over the top of the cover and terminates in a pointer or indicator 26. The slider also has a lower inwardly extending portion or selector 21 which is adapted for selective coaction with the cutaway edges of cards I2 and which when the cover is closed lies at a level slightly below the bottom card of the stack, the cards being supported on the portions I6' and flange I8 off of the floor of the base so that the selector may .slide freelyunderneath the edges of the cards without interference. The pointer 26 is adapted .to cooperate with a suitable index '28 such, for aexample, as .the letters of the alphabet, which is -applied to andvextends longitudinally of the coveradjacent the path of movement of said pointer. The cards also preferably bear index characters which from the top to the bottom of the stack, respectively, correspond to the characters of the index A28 on the cover, that is, in the device illustrated, the uppermost card bears the letter A, the next card the letter B and so on to the lowermost card which bears the letters X, Y and Z. A suitable handle 29 may be provided on vslider 24 to facilitate movement of the latter. Means may also :be provided to yieldingly and releasably Vhold the slider in adjusted position.

Suitable means is provided for automatically effecting the releasable locking of the cover 8 vin its lowered or closed position against the action of the spring I9, upon movement of the cover Ato such position, this means preferably being of such constructionthat the cover may readily be released to effect automatic upward or opening movement thereof and of such of the cards I2 as may be operatively connected thereto by member 24 under the action of spring I9. This mechanism, as shown, comprisesa detent '3| carried by the ange 9 of the cover and a spring biased latch 32 with which said detent coacts. 'The latch 32 which has an upper inwardly inclined surface is preferably carried by or formed on the free end of a spring 33 which is 'suitably secured as indicated at 34 at its'other end to kan extension 35 of the floor of the base. The spring 33 is bowed upwardly midway its ends and extends longitudinally of the base in a position adjacent and substantially parallel to the guiderail 9 of cover 8 when the latter is in its lowered closed position, and with the latch 32 normally located, under the biasing action of the spring, in operative relation with respect to the detent 3| of the cover. 4The free end portion of spring '33 loosely engages a guide slot formed in a struckup end 36 of a member 31 secured to the extension 35 of the iioor of the base adjacent its front end. The other end 38 of member 31 is also struckup and forms a stop to limit the forward movement of latch 32 when the bowed spring 33 is exed downwardly.

The selection of a card by the mechanism just described may be briey described as follows: When the cover 8, as shown in Figure 1, is inits raised open position and is then swung down against the action of spring I9 to its closed position, the detent 'SI engages the upper inclined surface of latch 32 to force the latter outwardly lagainst the action of spring I9, and after the 4detent has cleared the said inclined surface, the latch snaps into engagement therewith and thus automatically effects the locking of the'cover in its 'lowered closed position-as shown in Figure '2. To then effect the opening or separation'of the pile of cards at any desired point it is merely necessary to adjust the slider 24 to the proper position on its guiderail 9 and apply a slight downward pressure to the bowed portion of spring 33. For example, if it is desired to separate the stack of cards so that the card bearing the letter D will be available for reference to or entry of an item, slider 24 is moved on guiderail 9 to a position in which pointer 26 is .directly opposite the letter D of index 28. Pressure is then applied to spring 33 to ex the bowed portion thereof downwardly such an amount as to cause the latch 32 to move forwardly out of engagement with the detent 3|. The spring I9 will thereupon act automatically to move the cover to its open position shown in Figure 1, and also to move with the cover al1 of the cards which are above the card bearing the letter D" as the hook 21 of slider 24 is then positioned to engage the edge portion of the card bearing the letter C and said slider therefore serves operatively to connect the latter card and those above it with the cover. To separate the stack of cards at some other point, the cover is moved to its closed position, slider 24 is adjusted to proper position with respect to index 28 and the cover is again l released by applying a downward pressure to spring 33.

Attention is now invited to the embodiment shown in Figures 9 through 11. In this embodiment, the base, cover and index cards all have substantially the same form and function and carry the same reference characters as in the previous embodiment. The coil spring |9 however has its arm 22 impinging directly against the oor of the base and is held against displacement by a clip 39.

In this form also a somewhat different form of holder for the cards is used. Here a plate 49 of substantially the Ysame size as the cards I2 has one end formed with outstruck lugs 4| which swing around a transverse rod 42 which is positioned adjacent the front wall and supported by the side walls of the base. A substantially U -shaped link member 43 is journalled in instruck lugs 44 on the floor of the base below the plate and is provided with a crank arm 45 extending along the plate. The crank arm has an offset portion 46 extending laterally of the side wall and through a notch 4'| in the upper edge of said wall. A nger piece 48 is mounted on the outer end of the offset portion to facilitate actuation of the crank arm. A pair of hooks 49 are carried on the inner end of the plate. When the plate and link member are in nested position as shown in Figure 11, the hooks encircle the hinge bar I0 of the cover the same as in the previous embodiment.

The cover is yieldingly held in closed position the same as in the previous form and is raised by means of the spring I9. Upward pressure on the finger piece 48 will lift the link member and the latter will push the inner end of the plate upwardly to swing said plate around the rod 42, the transverse portion 59 of the link member sliding inwardly along the plate until it rides over and engages the free edges of outstruck lugs 5| formed on said plate whereby the plate is held in upward open position as shown in Figure 9. When in this position, the cards can readily be slipped over the free ends of the hooks 49 for connecting and disconnecting them from the base.

My invention is also particularly adapted for use with the digitally operable mechanism disclosed in Letters Patent No. 2,223,966.

It will readily be seen that the embodiments of the index device shown herein may be modied in numerous ways without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a card index a base, a transverse hinge rod at one end of said base in spaced relation thereto, a cover having hinge brackets at one end pivotally connected to said rod so that said cover may swing into open position approximately perpendicular to said base and into closed position in opposed relation to and above said base and spaced from said rod at the side thereof opposite said base, a device for releasably connecting perforated loose cards to said base including hooks normally overlying and partially encircling said rod with their free ends facing downwardly in closely spaced relation to said rod for providing a substantially common center of swing for the cards and cover and for preventing displacement of the cards, said hooks being mounted on said base to be swung away from the base and the cover with their free ends facing upwardly to permit said cards to be slipped thereon.

2. In the card index as defined in claim 1 the addition of a helical spring for biasing the cover to open position and for yieldingly holding the card connecting device in each of its said positions. A

3. In a card index as defined in claim 1 the addition of a common spring for biasing the cover to open position and for yieldingly holding the card connecting device in each of its said positions.

4. In a card index as defined in claim 1, said device comprising a main portion pivotally mounted on the base to swing on an axis parallel to the axis of said rod and having an integral hook at each end thereof and perpendicular thereto and disposed in a plane at right angles to said rod, said device being so positioned relative to said hinge rod that when said main portion is rotated in one direction the hooks are disposed remotely from said rod with their free ends exposed and facing upwardly, while when said main portion is rotated in the opposite direction the hooks overlie and partly encircle the hinge rod.

5. In a card index as defined in claim 4, said main portion between said hooks being formed with an offset portion, and with the addition of a spring on said transverse rod having opposed arms, one of which biases the cover to open position, while the other engages said offset portion for holding the connecting device in adjusted position.

WILLIAM LANG.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 794,035 Monson July 4, 1905 2,141,761 Pollock Dec. 27, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,692 Great Britain 1908

Images