US2559579A - Drawer locking mechanism - Google Patents

Description

y my 1951 c. M. ABRAHAMSON DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 6, 1948 INVENTOR.

July 10, 1951 c. M. ABRAHAMSON DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed April 6, 1948 v JNVENTOR.

Patented July 10, 1951 DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM Charles M. Abrahamson, Aurora, 111., assignor to All-Steel Equipment Inc., a, corporation of Illinois Application April 6, 1948, Serial No. 19,232

1 Claim.

This invention relates to mechanisms for looking desk drawers.

An important object of the invention is to provide novel drawer-locking means for desks.

Another object is to provide a desk having a novel locking mechanism which may be pre-set to lock the desk drawers.

A further object is to provide a pedestal type desk having unique drawer-locking means which may be readily installed in or detached from the desk.

An illustrative embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is an elevational View of the inner front portion of a left-hand desk pedestal in which the desk drawers are shown broken away in part;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of part of the structure shown in Fig. 1, taken along the line 2 -2, and showing a locking mechanism in its relationship to a desk drawer and to the knee-hole side member of a desk pedestal; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective of a portion of the structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and illustrating a locking mechanism in locked position with respect to a drawer slide and a drawer guide channel.

Considering the invention in its preferred form as applied to a pedestal type desk, Figs. 1 and 2 show a portion of a desk pedestal housing several drawers II, each drawer being provided with slides I2 securely fastened to the sides thereof, and in slidable contact with and supported by drawer guide channels I3. Antifriction rollers I4, suitably secured to a pedestal post I5, are provided to engage the bottom member of the drawer slides I2 to impart easier slidability thereto.

As shown in Fig. 2, the drawer slides I2 are attached to the sides of the drawers II by suitable means such as, for example, welding, as shown at I6, and the drawer guide channels I3 hole. Also, while only one pedestal corner post I5 is shown, it is understood that there is preferably one such post at each corner of the pedestal and that the drawer guide channels I3 on each side of the drawers II are secured, as above described, to a front as well as to a rear pedestal corner post.

Referring now to the elements which are positioned in that part of the pedestal closest to the knee-hole side, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a latch bar I8 is separably connected to the drawer guides I3 by means of a shoulder bolt I9 which is rigidly secured to the latch bar I8, and which is inserted in a key hole slot 2I blanked out of the drawer guide channels I3, as shown in the drawings (particularly in Fig. 3). As readily seen from the drawings, the latch bar I8 is movable vertically and is prevented from lateral movement, except in its uppermost position, by means of the shoulder bolt connection with the drawer guide channels I3, as described above.

The latch bar I8 is provided with lugs or tongues 22 which are blanked out and offset as m shown, and are positioned on the latch bar to are rigidly secured to the pedestal corner post I5 (only one is shown) by means of tabs I'I. As shown in Fig. 1, the tabs are an integral part of the drawer guide channels I3, extend into slots formed in the pedestal corner post I5, and are bent against the corner post sides to provide a firm connection.

While the drawings show the drawer slides I2,

positioned in the other side of the pedestal, i. e.,

that part of the pedestal away from the kneecoact with the drawer guides I3 and the drawer slides I2 in a manner described below.

The drawer guides I3 and drawer slides I2 are provided with slotted openings 23 and 24 respectively through their top flanges to receive the aforesaid latch bar tongues. When the latch bar I8 is in its lowermost position (best shown in Fig. 3), the latch bar tongues 22 pass through the aforesaid slots 23 and 24 in the drawer guide channels l3 and the drawer slides I2 and engaging the forwardly facing shoulders or walls of the slots 24 to lock the drawers against outward movement. With the latch bar I8 in its uppermost position, as shown by the dotted portion of Fig. 2, the latch bar tongues 22 are above the aforesaid slots 23 and 24 and the drawer can be moved forwardly as desired.

The upward and downward movement of the latch bar I8 is effected by corresponding movements of a lock bolt 25, which is a part of a lock 26 and which effects contact with the bentover portion of the latch bar as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, As shown in the drawings (particularly Fig. 3), movement of the lock bolt 25 upwardly and downwardly causes corresponding movement of the latch bar I8 and consequential engagement and disengagement of the latch bar tongues 22 with the drawer slides I2 and the drawer guides I3.

In order to permit of pre-locking while one or more drawers are extended, there is provided a spring 21 which is connected to and causes a downward pressure on the latch bar 18. The lower end of the spring 21 is held in a slot 28 of the spring-holding member 29 and the upper end of the spring is inserted in a slot 3| of the latch bar K8, the latch bar being bent as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It is readily seen that when the drawers H are in an extended position and the latch bar tongues 22 are, therefore, not positioned within the slots 23 and 24 in the drawer slides l2 or the drawer guides 13, gravity and the tension on the latch bar 18 due to the spring 21 will cause the latch bar and the latch bar tongues 22 to move downwardly into the slots 23 and 24 when the drawers II are closed sufficiently to bring the slots 23 and 2 5 into alignment with the latch bar tongues 22. Obviously, the spring 27 may be omitted, if desired, relying on gravity alone for the downward movement.

An important feature of my invention is the positioning of the elements in the manner shown whereby the lock 26 is mounted on the inner side wall 32 of the pedestal and is operatively connected to a latch bar it which engages drawer slides I2 and drawer guide members 13 adjacent the knee-hole side of the desk. This is made possible by means of the offset structure of the latch bar 18 operating to engage the drawer slides l2 and the drawer guides E5 on the side of the drawer nearest the inner, or knee-hole, side of the pedestal. The lock 26 is a conventional type of lock having a key-operated bolt 25 which moves upwardly and downwardly, as hereinbefore described. The lock is secured to the inner side wall 32 of the pedestal in any suitable way.

After the latch mechanism is installed, the flange '33 of the spring-holding member 29 is bent from its dotted line position to its full line position (Figs. 1 and 2) to prevent accidental dislodging of the latch bar 18. This retains the latch bar in a position precluding entry of the shoulder bolts l9 into the circular top portions of the key hole slots 2 1. Obviously, the flange 33 may be bent upwardly to remove the latch bar when necessary or desirable.

Another important feature of my invention is the easy removability of the latch bar I8 from its shoulder bolt engagement with the drawer guides 13 for purposes of assembly and disassembly of the desk.

While I have shown and described an embodiment of my invention as part of the left-hand pedestal of a desk, the same general type of arrangement is, of course, contemplated for the right-hand side of a desk to provide a locking mechanism operatively connected to a lock which is mounted on the inner side wall of the right hand pedestal.

Although I have described a specific embodiment of my invention, it is understood, of course, that modifications thereof within the scope of my invention are possible to those skilled in the art, and that my invention is not to be limited except as required by the appended claim.

I claim:

In a desk or the like, a pedestal, a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontally slidable drawers mounted within the pedestal, each or said drawers having a forwardly facing shoulder projecting laterally from the drawer toward one side of the pedestal, a vertically movable latch bar adjacent said shoulders and slidably supported on the pedestal between said drawers and the adjacent portion of the pedestal, said latch bar being movable between an upper unlatched portion in which all drawers are free to move in and out of the pedestal to a lower latching position, means for biasing the latch bar to its lower position. a lock bolt engageable with the latch bar and adapted to positively lift the latch bar to its raised unlatched position, lugs carried by the latch bar for cooperation with said shoulders and adapted to latch said drawers against opening when all drawers have been closed, said lugs and shoulders also cooperating to permit all drawers to be closed after support of the latch bar in its raised position has been removed by retraction of the lock bolt.

CHARLES M. ABRAHAMSON.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 912,570 Holland Feb. 16, 1909 1,073,274; Millice Sept. 16, 1913 1,686,194 Wheary et al Oct. 2, 1928 2,240,067 Bolesky ct al Apr. 26, 1941 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,559,579 July 10, 1951 CHARLES M. ABRAHAMSON It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 4, line 28, before position insert latching;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same may conform to the-record of the case in the Patent Ofiice. Signed and sealed this 25th day of September, A. D. 1951.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Gommz'saioner of Patents.

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