US2648585A

US2648585A - Drawer construction

Info

Publication number: US2648585A
Application number: US141965A
Authority: US
Inventors: Clarence W Straubel
Original assignee: General Fireproofing Co
Current assignee: General Fireproofing Co
Priority date: 1950-02-02
Filing date: 1950-02-02
Publication date: 1953-08-11
Anticipated expiration: 1970-08-11

Description

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 2, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l l F I f I 1 u 1 7 j wi 1 0. Q6 36 30 I 26 i 1 gvwwvkw 1953 c. w. STRAUBEL 2,648,585

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 2, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1953 c. w. STRAUBEL 2,648,585

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 2, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 15 49 14 41 1%:5 i w 52, v3 64 r 22 m if f% i3O IINVENTOR. lzcewstraubel ATTONEY Aug. 11, 1953 c. w. STRAUBEL 2,648,535

DRAWER CONSTRUCTIQN Filed Feb. 2, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ru h INVENTOR Clarence W Shun/(Jab,

ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 11, 1953 DRAWER; ooNs'r aoorroN Clarence straubel YoungstownyOhio, assignor to The General Fireproofing- Company; Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Oliib A plication-February 2, 1950; 'Sbr'ifil' NO. 141 965 5 claims (01. 31 2 s* i3 This invention relates to improvements infilin'g cabinet drawers of the type in-which the fronts of the drawers are hinged at their bottoms to the drawers for outward swinging movement to afford ready access to the contents of the drawers when the drawersare opened.-

One special object of the invention is to provi'de simple, practical latch means which-is op-' erated by inward swinging movement of a drawer front to latch the drawer in a closed position, and which is released by outward swinging movement of the drawer fronttopermit opening of the drawer.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple, practical means which is'rendered-eifective by closing of a filing cabinet drawer to hold the drawer against undesirable lateral movement relative to a cabinet in which it iscontained.

In accordance with the invention the drawer front is provided with side wings the top marginal portions of which travel in downwardly opening channels at the tops of the side walls of the drawer during opening and closing movements of the drawer front, and inthisconnection another object of the invention is to provide attractive shield elements to cover the tops of saidwings, close the front ends of said-channels' and also to cushion closing movements of the drawer front. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide a drawer front of such a-simple practicaldesign that it may readily be assembled and disassembled;

With the'foregoing and-other objects in view; which will become more fully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of; parts" as are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings and as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the different views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the front end portion of a filing cabinet drawer constructed-in accordance with the invention; I

Figure 2 is a vertical, longitudinal section through the front end portion of the drawer showing the swingable front of thedrawer in closed position; v H

Figure 2 is'a detail perspective view further illustrating the manner of connectingothe-drawer head with one of thewings;

2 v. Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing thezdrawer front swung outwardly;

Figure 4 is ahorizontal section taken approximately on the line 4+4 of Figure 2; 0

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view similar to Figure 4 but showing the drawer latches duplimixed at opposite sides of the drawer and utilizing-booster springs; V

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the drawer latches shown in Figure 4 Figure 5 is a'transverse section taken approximately onthe line 55 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the wing shields; and w Figure 6 is adetail view partly in elevation and partly in section showing a modified form of wing shield.

Referring to the drawings in detail, I0 designates a; portion of a filing cabinet and ll designates aportion of a drawer which may be slidably mounted insaid cabinet in any suitable man'- ner.

The drawer ll includes sides l2, a bottom [3 and a front, designatedgenerally as [4, which is pivoted at or near its bottom to a :bottom portion-of the drawer, as indicated at [5, for swinging movement between a vertically disposed closed position, as shownin Figures 1' and 2 of the drawings, and an upwardly and outwardly inclined open position, as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. g

Also pivoted at or near its bottom to a bottom portion of the drawer II, as indicated at l6, for swinging movement between a position substantially parallel to the drawer front M, as shown in Figure 3-, and a position upwardly and rearwardly incl inedrelative to said drawer front, as-shown-in Figure 2 of" the drawings, is a front follower-plate I [which, by suitable spring means, such as helical-torsion springs 18 associatedwith its pivot lfi constantly is urged rearwardlyto exert' holding-pressure against the contents of the drawer. 7

On thefront'follower plate I! is a latch element I 9, which, by; forward swinging movement ofsaid'follower plate relativeto the drawer front [4, is engageable with a keeper 20 on said drawer front to-hold-said follower plate in a forwardly swung position adjacent to said drawerfront and substantially parallel thereto when said drawer front is; initsforwardly swung or open position. fIhepivot I6 ofthe front follower plate ll is located' above and slightly inward relative to the pivot l5 of-the drawer front I4. Coffee quently, when the drawer front I 4, with thefront 3 follower plate latched thereto, is swung inwardly to its closed position, the different arcs of swinging movement of the latch element l9 and the keeper result in lifting and release of the former relative to the latter. The springs |8 then act to swing the front follower plate IT inwardly relative to the drawer front M as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings so that said front follower plate exerts rearwardly directed pressure against material contained in the drawer I.

Rigid with the drawer front M at each side thereof and extending rearwardly therefrom is a win-g 2|, while rigid with each side I2 of the drawer near the front end thereof and extending inwardly therefrom is a stud or pin 22. Reinforcing angles 2|a are preferably employed on the corners between the wing and the inner plate of the drawer head to prevent tendency of the wings to bend at their junction with the plate.

Disposed at the outer side of and pivoted at its front end to each wing 2| near the front end of the latter, for vertical swinging movement, is a drawer front latch element 23 which has extending inwardly therefrom, through an opening 24 in its related wing 2|, an arm 25 to which is fixed the upper end of a leaf spring 26 the lower or free end portion of which is engaged with the front face of the front follower plate I1. The inner plate of the drawer head |4 preferably has a slot 26a into which the tail end of the spring may move when the plate I! is moved by the drawer contents to a substantially upright or vertical position.

By engagement of their lower or free ends with the front follower plate II, the leaf springs 26 are maintained under forward flexure and thereby tend constantly to swing the latch elements 23 downwardly. In this connection and as shown in the drawings, the latch elements 23 are arranged to ride over the studs or pins 22 when the drawer front is being closed and at their bottoms have recesses 21 to receive said pins when said drawer front is fully closed. Further in this connection and as shown in the drawings, the recesses 21 are inclined downwardly and rearwardly at their rear ends so that as the latch elements 23 are urged downwardly by the leaf springs 26 when the drawer front I4 is closed, camming or wedging actions occur between the pins 22 and the edges defining the rear ends of the recesses 2'! whereby the drawer front is maintained tightly closed.

The drawer frontlatch elements 23 may be of lengths such that their inner end portions remain upon the studs 22 when the drawer front I4 is fully open, or they may be of lengths, as shown, such that when the drawer front is fully open their inner end portions are disposed forwardly of said studs 22 and rest upon suitable supports 28 projecting inwardly from the drawer sides I2. In any event, the leaf springs 26 obviously serve not only to urge the latch elements 23 downwardly whereby the drawer front is maintained tightly closed, but assist the springs IS in urging the front follower plate rearwardly when the drawer front is closed.

Carried by and projecting inwardly from each of the side walls |2 of the drawer II is a pin 29, while carried by and projecting outwardly from each of the wings 2| is a pin 30. The pins 29 are disposed above the pins 30 and between each

pair

29 and 30 of said pins is interposed a coil spring 3|, the ends of which are engaged with said pins, respectively. The

said pins are arranged so that when the drawer front I4 is fully open the pins 30 are disposed forwardly of straight lines extending between the pins 29 and the drawer front pivot l5 and so that when the drawer front is fully closed said pins 30 are disposed rearwardly of such straight lines. Consequently, the said springs 3| act, when the drawer front is fully open, to hold the latter open and, when said drawer front is closed, to assist the leaf springs 26 and the latch elements 23 in maintaining the same closed. Moreover, said springs 3| obviously act advantageously to impart both opening and closing movements to the drawer front as soon as the latter is swung either inwardly or outwardly beyond a neutral position in which the pins 30 are disposed in straight lines extending between the pins 29 and the drawer front pivot I5.

Suitably mounted at its rear end upon each of the wings 2| at the outer side of the latter is a helical bumper spring 32, while carried by each side |2 of the drawer II in the path of forward movement of eachof said bumper springs is a suitable stop element 33. Thus, when the drawer front I4 is opened, the bumper springs 32 engage the stop elements 33 and both limit and cushion opening movement of the drawer front.' In this connection and if desired, the springs 32 may be carried by the drawer sides and the stop elements 33 may be carried by the wings 2|. As shown, the bumper springs 32 are mounted on tongues 32 struck outwardly from the wings 2|.

Suitably fastened to one side l2 of the drawer H is a drawer latch element 34 for cooperation with a keeper 35 carried by the adjacent side of the cabinet H! to latch the drawer in its closed position. The latch element 34 is of leaf spring form, extends longitudinally relative to the drawer side |2, has at least its front portion located at the inner side of the drawer side and is riveted or otherwise suitably fastened only at its rear end to the drawer side so that its front portion is free to flex inwardly and outwardly. Extending outwardly from the said front portion of said latch element, through an opening 36 in the drawer side I2, is a projection 31 for engagement behind the keeper 35 to latch the drawer closed. The front portion of said latch element tends constantly to assume a position spaced inwardly from the drawer side |2 an amount such that the projection 31 is disposed entirely inwardly with respect to the keeper 35. Consequently, unless the front portion of said latch element is flexed outwardly, the projection 31 will not engage behind the keeper 35.

Projecting outwardly from the wing 2| which is located at the same side of the drawer as the latch element 34, is a cam member 38, which, when the drawer front I4 is open, is disposed forwardly of said latch element 34 so as not to interfere with the latter assuming its normal position in which the projection 31 thereof is disposed inwardly with respect to the keeper 35. Consequently, when the drawer front is open, the latch element 34 is not engageable with the keeper 35 and therefore the drawer is free to be closed and opened. 'When, however, the drawer front is closed, the cam member 38 is engaged with the front end of the latch element 34 and holds the front portion 34a, of said latch element flexed outwardly, thereby conditioning said latch element so that when the drawer is closed the projection 310i said latch element snaps behind the keeper 35 and latches the drawer closed. In

this connection and as will, or course, be understood, the drawer front |4 may be swung closed after the drawer is closed with the same result of latching the drawer closed as would occur by first closing the drawer front and then closing the drawer. Obviously, when the drawer and the drawer front are closed, opening movement of the drawer front releases the latch element 34 so that the latter may spring inwardly from behind the keeper 35 to release the drawer for opening movement.

To insure proper coaction between the drawer latch element 34 and the keeper 35, the side of the drawer opposite to the side thereof which carries said latch element ma have, adjacent to the front end thereof, a suitable outwardly directed projection 39 to engage an adjacent side portion of the cabinet l0 when the drawer is closed to urge the drawer as an entirety to its limit of movement toward the other side of the cabinet. Thus, too, any undesirable lateral movement of the drawer relative to the cabinet is avoided when the drawer is closed. As shown, the projection 39 may conveniently be struck outwardly from a saddle plate 39' which may be welded or otherwise suitably liked to the side of the drawer and by means of which the drawer is supported upon its suspension means.

Figure 4 illustrates a modified arrangement wherein the effect of the projection 39 and one drawer latch 34 may be attained by using a pair of latches 34b and thus eliminate the projection 39. That is to say, instead of using projection 39 to insure lateral shifting of the drawer to take up side play and insure the coaction between the latch element and its keeper, as described above, two latches 34b and two keepers 35a may be used. Thus, under all normal side movement of the drawer in the case, the same will be latched therein when closed.

In connection with the spring drawer latches 34a or 34b, it is preferable to use a booster spring 340 to assist in disengaging the projection 31a from the keeper 35a upon the opening of the drawer. As will be seenfrom the drawer latch 34 in Fig. 4, the rear end is secured to the drawer side while the free front end 3411 tends to spring inwardly when the cam 38 moves away to release 31 from 35. When the drawer latch of Fig. 4 remains flexed outwardly under the influence of cam 38 over long periods of time, it is possible that the latch shank, including projection 3?, will lose its original spring effect so that when the drawer head is opened and the cam 33 moves away the projection 37 will not immediately clear the keeper 35, and prevent free opening of the drawer.

The above possibility is eliminated by the use of the booster spring 340 disposed between the inner face of the free end latch 34a and the inner face of the side wall of the drawer. Thus, when cam 38 moves away from the free end of the latch the booster spring 340 retracts the projection 31a. into opening 35 and insures 31a clearing its related keeper.

The drawer head or drawer front I4 is composed of an inner plate 40 and an outer finishing plate 4|. The inner plate 40 carries the wings 2| and the keeper 20 and is the part of the drawer front which is directly hinged to the drawer. At its top and sides said inner plate has forwardly directed flanges 42 which serve to .6 stiffen said inner plate and to act as spacers for the outer finishing plate 4|, while at the bottom of said inner plate is a downwardly directed flange 43.

At its sides, top and bottom the outer plate 4| is marginally turned rearwardly, as indicated at 44, then inwardly, as indicated at 45, to stiffen said plate and to provide top and bottom inwardly opening channels 46 to accommodate the top marginal portion and the bottom flange 43', respectively, of the inner plate 40. Said outer plate is assembled with said inner plate by engaging the top marginal portion of the inner plate in the top channel 46 of the outer plate, by then moving said outer plate first downwardly and then upwardly relative to said inner plate to engage the flange 43 of the inner plate in the bottom channel of said outer plate, and by then securing the two plates together by the usual drawer pull designated as 47. To remove said outer plate from said inner plate, the procedure mentioned simply is reversed. Between the two

plates

40 and 4| may be interposed a pad 48 or asbestos or equivalent fire resistant material to protect the contents of the drawer ID in the event of fire.

If desired, the outer plate 4| may have tabs 49 at its sides to be fastened by screws 50 to the wings 2| to assist in fastening said outer plate securely to the inner plate 4|].

The top portions of the drawer sides 12 are turned first inwardly, as indicated at 5|, and then downwardly, as indicated at 52, to avoid sharp edges and to provide stiffening and reinforcing formations at the tops of said drawer sides, and as a result of this construction downwardly opening channels 53 are provided at the tops of said drawer sides.

I The tops of the wings 2| are curved concentrically relative to th pivotal axis |5 of the drawer front l4 and are disposed to travel in the channels 53 during opening and closing movements of the drawer front M. In this connection, in order to provide attractive finishes for the tops of the wings 2| and to close the front ends of the channels 53., as well as to cushion final closing movement of the drawer front I4, shield pieces 54 are employed to cover the tops of the wings '2|.

The shield pieces 54 are of inverted U-shape in cross section to fit over the tops of the wings 2| and are curved to conform to the curvature of the tops of said wings. Moreover, the outer end portions of said shield pieces are of increasing width, toward their outer ends as indicated at 54a to wedgingly ngage in the front end portions of the channels 53 of the drawer sides during the final portion of closing movement of the drawer front l4 so as to cushion closing of the door front.

While the shield pieces 54 may be mounted operatively relative to the wings 2| in any suitable manner, one practical manner of mounting them may reside in providing the same at their front ends with t'ailportions which are downward extensions'5'5 of their top walls, and in providing said downward extensions with slots 56 to accommodate tongues 5'! provided at the front ends of the wings 2| near the tops of the latter. The downward extensions 55a are preferably fiat and engage a non-metallic disk of felt or the like 55b on the inner plate 40' of the drawer front [4 and may be resilient so as to react from said disk and plate 4| to tend constantly to tilt the shield piece 54 upwardly about the tongues 51, thus to maintain the tops of said shield pieces constantly engaged with the top walls of the drawer channels 53 so as to avoid unsightly gaps and finger hazard between the tops of said wings and the said top walls of the channels 53 at the front ends of the latter.

A modification of the inner end of the wings is shown in Fig. 6 wherein the body 540 of the wing is provided with a tail piece 54d which is of longitudinally arched-formation so that its intermediate portion covers the non-metallic shock absorbing button 54e while its extremity enters slot 54f of the inner plate of the drawer head.

From the foregoing description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is believed that the novel features comprising the invention will be clearly understood and their advantages appreciated. It is desired to point out, however, that While only single structure embodiments of said features have been illustrated and described, the same are readily capable of specifically different structural embodiments within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A filing cabinet provided at a side thereof with a keeper for a drawer latch, a drawer slidable in said cabinet and provided at a side thereof with a latch for engagement with said keeper to hold the drawer closed, a drawer front swingable between closed and open positions relative to the drawer, spring means effective when the drawer front is open to move said latch to a position in which the latter is ineffective to restrain opening or closing movements of the drawer, and means carried by the drawer front and operable by closing of the drawer front to move said latch to a position in which it engages behind said keeper when the drawer is closed and thus holds the drawer closed.

2. A filing'cabinet provided at a side thereof with a keeper for a drawer latch, a drawer slidable in said-cabinet and provided at a side thereof with a latch for engagement with said keeper to hold the drawer closed, a drawer front swingable between" closed and open positions relative to the drawer, said latch being of leaf spring form and having a normal bias such that it assumesa position in which it is ineffective to restrain opening or closing movements of the drawer when the drawer front is open, and means carried by the drawer front and engageable with said latch when th drawer front is closed to flex said latch to a position in which it engages behind said keeper when the drawer is closed and thus holds the drawer closed.

' 3. In a filing cabinet, the combination, including a keeper on the inner side of one Wall of the cabinet for a drawer latch, a drawer slidable in saidcabinet, a latch on one side of the drawer for engagement with said keeper to hold the drawer closed, a drawer front including a side wing swingable between closed and opened positions relative to the drawer, spring means effective when the drawer front is open to move said latch to a position in which the latter is ineffective to restrain opening or closing movements of the drawer, a cam member projecting from said wing and adapted to engage said latch when the drawer front is closed to maintain said latch in engagement with said keeper.

4. A filing cabinet provided at one side thereof with a keeper for a drawer latch, a drawer slidable in said cabinet, a latch at one side of the drawer for engagement with said keeper to hold the drawer closed, a drawer front swingable between closed and open positions relative to the drawer, said latch being of leaf spring form and having a normal bias such that it assumes a position in which it is ineffective to restrain opening or closing movements of the drawer when the drawer front is open, a booster spring leaf secured to the forward end of said leaf spring and having its free end adjacent the latch to augment the normal bias of said spring leaf, and means carried by the drawer front and engageable with said latch when the drawer front is closed to flex said latch to a position in which it engages behind said keeper when the drawer is closed and thus holds the drawer closed.

5. In combination, a filing cabinet provided on one side thereof with a keeper for a drawer latch, a drawer slidable in said cabinet, a latch on one side of the drawer for engaging said keeper to hold the drawer closed, a drawer front swingable between closed and open positions relative to the drawer, said latch being of leaf spring form and having a normal bias such that it assumes a position in which it is ineffective to restrain opening or closing movements of the drawer when the drawer front is open, a plate secured to the side of the drawer opposite the latch, a projection on the plate for engagement with a related side portion of the cabinet when the drawer is closed to urge the side of the drawer having a latch toward its related side portion of the cabinet, and means carried by the drawer front and operable by closing of the drawer front to move said latch to a position in which it engages behind said keeper when the drawer is closed and thus holds the drawer closed.

CLARENCE W. STRAUBEL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 701,449 Yawman June 3, 1902 821,576 Athey May 22, 1906 1,489,405 Wheary Apr. 8, 1924 1,750,448 Wege Mar. 11, 1930 1,939,487 Brainard Dec. 12, 1933 1,959,066 Schmitz May 15, 1934 2,090,648 Straubel Aug. 24, 1937 2,232,531 Houston Feb. 18, 1941 2,276,197 Houston Mar. 10, 1942