US2669237A

US2669237A - Control means for divider plates of filing drawers

Info

Publication number: US2669237A
Application number: US307683A
Authority: US
Inventors: Clarence W Straubel
Original assignee: General Fireproofing Co
Current assignee: General Fireproofing Co
Priority date: 1952-09-03
Filing date: 1952-09-03
Publication date: 1954-02-16
Anticipated expiration: 1971-02-16

Description

.Fbf v C. w. s'rRAUBEL "CONTROL MEANS FOR DIVIDER PLATES oF FILING DRAwERs Filed sept.. 3.,; 19.52 I

2 'sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR Clarence W Si'rabeL,

ATTORNEY Feb. 16, 1954 c. w. s'rRAuBEL l CONTROL MEANS FOR DIVIDER PLATES OF FILING DRAWERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 5.' 1952 INVENTOR Clarence W SlraubeL.

ATTO NEY the tips of its side walls. Both said guide element and said shoe may appropriately be formed from sheet metal and said shoe may be slidably retained in said guide element by having its side portions confined between the bottom wall I5 and the flanges I1 of said guide element. In this connection, to provide for free and easy sliding movement of the shoe I4 along the guide element I3, said shoe may have depressed therefrom elongated ribs or other suitable formations 2l longitudinal thereof for reduced frictional contact with the bottom wall of said guide element.

The divider plate II, extends, of course, transversely of the drawer I9 and at its bottom has a downward projection 22 which is disposed between the flanges of the shoe I 4. The flanges 29 and the side edges of the projection 22 are notched as indicated at 23 and 24, respectively, and have their notched portions intertted with each other whereby the divider plate II is retained in assembly with the shoe I4 and is mounted thereon for forward and rearward rocking movements relative thereto.

A suitable spring 25 is suitably mounted on the shoe I4. and is suitably engaged with the divider plate I I so as to tend constantly to rock the latter rearwardly to its limit of rearward rocking movement as determined by suitable stop means which may comprise side projections 2'9 adjacent to the top of the divider plate for engagement with the top edge of the side walls 21 of the drawer I0, hereinafter more fully explained, or a rearwardly directed foot formation or detent 28 at the bottom of the projection 22 for engagement with the bottom wall I 8 of the shoe I 4, or both.

The projections 2G are provided with collar members 29 which function both as anti-canting stabilizers and as spacers between the projections 26 and side walls 21. The members 29 are preferably of a solid plastic material or hard rubber, and comprise a main body portion 39 having a rectangular or other non-circular aperture 3| to slip over the projections 26 and be held in nonrotative position thereby. In this position, the body portion 35 rests on the top edge of the side walls 21. The inner end of the collar member has an integral dependent lip or flange 32 which projects downwardly between the inner face 33 of the walls and the corresponding edge of the divider plate, substantially as shown. By these means. the top of the divider plate is supported for relatively free movement on the top of the walls 2l and limit or assist in limiting its rocking movement to either of its two extreme positions. The lips 32 not only hold the collar members in place, but furnish resistance to twistingA or canting of the divider plate from its normal transverse position, thereby preventing binding and insuring correct functioning of the device as a whole;

The guide element I3 is suitably provided at points suitably spaced apart along its length with a series of suitable stop formations 34 which may consist, for example, of portions of thelbottom wall I5 of said guide element extruded or bent upwardly from the bottom wall as shown in my prior Patent No. 2,821,464, issued April 28, 1942, and assigned to The General Fireproofing Company of Youngstown, Ohio. These stop formations are receptor teeth for receiving the lower end 35 of the foot formations 28 providing positive abutments in one direction, while in the other direction the lower end 35 may slide thereover.

The midportion of the bottom wall I8 is arched, as indicated at 39, over the stop formations 34. A

portion of the arch 33, however, is in the form of' a resilient longitudinally extending tongue 31.

The free end of the tongue 31 has a V-shaped depressed portion 38 for slidable engagement with the stop formations 34.

As material accumulates in the drawer I0 behind the divider plate II, the material will, of course, exert forward pressure against the divider plate with the result that the latter will eventually be rocked forward to a position in which the end is raised above the stop formations 34. When this occurs, the spring 25, by reacting from the divider plate upon the shoe I4, will cause said shoe to slide forwardly until the forward pressure against the divider plate is suiiciently relieved to permit the spring 25 to return said divider plate to its rearwardly rocked position. Thus, the divider plate II is automatically and incrementally adjustable forwardly to afford more drawer space behind the same to receive material as material accumulates behind the same. However, the V-shaped portion 38 at the end of the resilient tongue 31 acts `as a buffer to moderate or dampen free movement of the shoe under these conditions so as to prevent overtravel thereof. Consequently, the adjusting movement of the shoe is automatically restrained to the increment or minimum increments necessary to satisfy the prevailing load condition.

While the spring 25 may be of any suitable type, it may appropriately be of generally U-shape and may include a medial portion 39 engaged against the front face of the divider plate I I and a pair of arms 40 engaged in eye formations 4I struck upwardly from the bottom wall I8 of the shoe I4. The arms 49 are provided with coils 42, so that the medial portion 39 tends constantly to rock the divider plate I I rearwardly.

An L-shaped member 43 has its vertical leg 44 disposed between the sides of the U-shaped medial portion 39'and its horizontal leg 45 projecting forwardly a short distance, substantially as shown. Pins or Shanks 46 project from either side of the L-shaped member and are pivotally disposed in the center of the coils 42, respectively. substantially as shown.

Projecting laterally on either side of the vertical leg 44 are tabs 41 which are disposed between the front face of the divider plate and the medial portion 39. In the normal position of the divider plate Il, that is, in the position in which it is rocked rearwardly, the horizontal leg is above the stop members 34. However, if the divider plate is suddenly rocked forward an excessive amount to its forward extreme position, the forward end of the horizontal leg will pass downwardly through an aperture 48 of the shoe I4 and enter between a consecutive pair of the underlying stop formations 34, thereby preventing forwardmovement of the divider plate. This is advantageous in cases where it is desired to remove or replaceva iile or other item behind the divider plate without changing its relative position in the drawer.

As will be understood, any given drawer Ill may be provided with as many of the divider plates II as desired.

I claim:

1. In a filing cabinet having a drawer comprising a bottom wall and side walls and a transverse divider plate rockably mounted on a longitudinally slidable shoe, a device for limiting the rocking of said plate and stabilizing it against canting, said device comprising fingers projecting from either side of said divider plate abovethe top edges ofthe said side walls, a removable collar" 5 on each linger adapted to abut the top edge of its corresponding side wall, said collar having a ver tical flange projecting downwardly between the vside wall and the adjacent edge of the divider plate.

2. In a filing drawer having a divider plate rockably mounted on a longitudinally slidable shoe, a guide element for the shoe, a longitudinal row of spaced upstanding stop members on the guide element below the shoe, a detent car ried by the divider plate and projecting from one side thereof for normally engaging said stop mem bers under the inuence of resiliently yieldable means tending to rock said divider plate in one direction, a second detent mounted for movement with said divider plate and projecting from the other side of said divider plate for engaging said Stop members when said divider plate is rocked in the opposite direction against the action of said yieldable means, said second detent being normally disengaged from said stop members when the divider plate is rocked under the inuence of said yieldable means.

3. In a ling cabinet drawer having a divider plate rockably mounted on a longitudinally slidable shoe a guide element for the shoe, a longitudinal row of spaced upstanding stop members on the element below the shoe, detents carried by the divider plate and projecting from either side thereof, for alternately engaging said stop members when the divider plate is rocked from one extreme position to the other, and resiliently yieldable means tending to rock said divider plate to one of its extreme positions.

4. In a filing cabinet drawer having a divider plate rockably mounted on a longitudinally slidable shoe, a guide element for the shoe, a longitudinal row of spaced upstanding stop members on the element below the shoe, detents carried by the divider plate and projecting from either side thereof, for alternately engaging said stop members when the divider plate is rocked from one extreme position to ythe other, resiliently yieldable means tending to rock said divider plate to one of its extreme positions, and a resilient tongue integral with the shoe and projecting lon- 6 gitudinally of the drawer, said tongue being in constant sliding contact with said stop means.

5. In a ling drawer having a bottom wall and side walls, a divider plate rockably mounted on a longitudinally slidable shoe, a guide element for the shoe, a longitudinal row of spaced up standing stop members on the element below the shoe, detents carried by the divider plate projecting from either side thereof, for alternately engaging said stop member when the divider plate is rocked from one extreme position to the other, abutment means for limiting the rocking of said divider plate 'between its extreme tions, and yieldable means tending to rock said divider plate to one of its extreme positions.

6. The subject matter of claim 3 in which one of the detents comprises an L-shaped member pivotally mounted with its vertical leg in engagement with a face of the divider plate and its horizontal leg projectingr outwardly therefrom.

7. The subject matter defined by claim 3 in which the resiliently yieldable means comprises a resilient wire mounted on the shoe having a portion thereof bearing against a face of the divider plate and having intermediate tensioning coils between the divider plate and the shoe, a member including one of said detents, said member being L-shaped and having shanks projecting outwardly for pivotal engagement with said coils, the vertical leg of said member being disposed against a face of said divider plate and having tabs projecting outwardly therefrom for engagement between the divider plate and the said portion of the resilient wire.

CLARENCE W. STRAUBEL.

References Cited in the le 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 619,323 Macey Feb. 14, 1899 857,271 Day June 18, 1907 1,666,700 Harrison l Apr. 17, 1928 1,983,576 Straubel Dec. 11, 1934 2,169,562 Lombardini Aug. 15, 1939 2,281,463 Straubel Apr. 28, 1942 2,312,742 Andersen Mar. 2, 1943