US2785940A

US2785940A - Cardboard storage file

Info

Publication number: US2785940A
Application number: US291637A
Authority: US
Inventors: Donald L Felton
Original assignee: KAY DEE Co
Current assignee: KAY DEE Co; KAY-DEE Co
Priority date: 1952-06-04
Filing date: 1952-06-04
Publication date: 1957-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 1974-03-19

Description

March 19, 1957 D. L. FELTON CARDBOARD STORAGE FILE :5 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed June 4, 1952 INVENTOR DONALD L. FELTON ATTORNEYS March 19, 1957 D. L. FELTVON 2,785,940

CARDBOARD STORAGE FILE Filed June 4, 1952 Y s Shets-Sheet 2 FIG.6.

INVENTOR DONALD L. .FELTON .90 86 A MMMOADM ATTORNEYS March 19, 1957 D. L. FELTON CARDBOARUSTORAGE FILE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 4, 1952 INVENTOR ATT NEYS FIG. l3.

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a /I i United States Patent Oflice Patented Mar. 19, 1957 CARDBOARD STORAGE FILE Donald L. Felton, Lincoln, Nebn, assignor to The Kay- ?eekgompany, Lincoln, Nebn, a corporation of Neras Application June 4', 1952, Serial No. 291,637

2 Claims. (Cl. 312-348) This invention appertains to improvements in inexpensive storage files of the sliding drawer type, which are used for the storage of inactive records, and particularly relates to an improved file constructed from a bendable but sturdy material, such as corrugated cardboard or fiberboard.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a file, including a jacket or shell and a sliding drawer, which is constructed in a simple manner for transportation in a knocked down or collapsed manner for assembly within a minimum of time and effort and without the use of any tools or the possibility of any error in construction.

A further object of this invention is to provide a shell which is closed .at its rear end and open at its front end and has a lesser cross-sectional area at the front end than at the rear end or intermediate portion and to provide a drawer that is slidably housed in the shell and has a rear wall of a size slightly less than the cross-sectional area of the shell rearwardly of the front end and slightly greater than the cross-sectional area of the shell at the front end, so that the rear wall of the drawer is arrested or stopped by the front end of the shell and the drawer is prevented from being. completely withdrawn from the shell in the act of removing and inserting records or papers in the drawer.

A further object of this invention is to provide a drawer with the front wall that is of a size complemental to the cross-sectional area at the front end of the shell, so that the front wall fits snugly'within the front endof the shell in a dust and light tight fit.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a concealed rigidifying strap or frame for the front end of the shell to reinforce the front end and insure that the opening will always be of the same cross-sectional area whereby the drawer can be properly and easily moved through the front end.

A further object of this invention is to provide means for stacking a number of files'in tiers, the means securing the files together vertically and horizontally and in a manner so that the lower files will not be damaged and so that the upper files will not tip up at the back, when the drawers in the upper files are being pulled out and pushed in.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simple and improved blank for forming the drawer, the blank being of a material, such as cardboard or fiberboard, and being folded or bent upon itself in such a manner as to form opposing side walls and a front and rear wall, and to provide means for reinforcing the front and rear walls of the drawer.

A further object of this invention is to provide a rigid frame for the front wall of the drawer and to provide novel means for securing the cardboard or fiberboard sides and bottom wall of the drawer to the rigid reinforcing frame.

These and ancillary objects and structural features of merit are attained by this invention, a preferred embodiment of which is set forth in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the improved file, illustrating a number of such files secured together in a stacked or tiered arrangement;

Figure 2 is a view in perspective of the improved file, with the drawer in an out position;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the back Wall of one of the files and illustrating the manner of securing the back walls of a lower and upper file together;

Figure 4 is a detailed sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view in perspective of the pin that is used to secure the filestogether, as shown in Figures 3 and4;

Figure 6 is a view in perspective of the blankfor formingthe drawer and illustrating the drawer in its initial stages of erection;

Figure 7 is a detailed perspective view of the front portion of the drawer, without the rigidifyiug' member;

Figure 8 is a view in perspective of the front portion of the drawer with the rigidifying member shown attached thereto;

Figure 9' is a perspective view of the front portion of the .rigidifying member;

Figure 10 isa cross-sectional view taken on line 10-10 of Figure 8 and. looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 11 is aperpsective view of the shell, with the flaps in afolded out position and exposing the rigidifying frame or strap;

Figure 12 is a detailed sectional view taken on line 12-12 of Figure 2;

Figure 13' is av detailed sectional view taken on line 13-13 of Figure 1;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of the rigidifying strap or frame for the front end of the shell;

Figure. 15 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the file, with the drawer in a fully closed position; and,

Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 16-16 of Figure 15.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings and. initially to Figure 6 for a consideration of the drawer construction, it will be noted that the blank 10 is longitudinally creased or scored as at 12 and 14 to divide the blank into a center section 16 and side sections 18 and 20. The blank is further scored transversely by transversely extending parallel score lines 22 and 24 to form the reinforced back wall. The blank is severed along severance lines 26 and 28, which coincide with the

score lines

12 and 14.

The center section 16 forms the long bottom wall 30, outer back wall 32 and inner back wall 34. The inner back wall 34 is folded inwardly about the score line 24 and 'the outer back wall. 32 is folded upwardly about the score. line 22. The free edge 36 of the inner back wall 34 is formed with projecting locking tongues 38, which are adapted to be inserted in.slots 40 that are formed transversely in the bottom wall 30 at the score line 22. The severance lines 26 and 28 and score line 22 form in each of the side sections 18 and 20 reinforcing

flaps

42 and 44. The

flaps

42 and 44 are adapted to be folded inwardly about the score line 22 and interposed between the outer back wall 32 and inner back wall 34 to rigidity the back wall of the drawer. V-shaped marginal slots 46 are formed in the side sections 18 and 20 forwardly of the score line 22 and the slots extend to a depth equal to one-half the'width of the side sections. The outer portion 48 of the forward end portion of each of the side sections '18 and 20"isfolded over onto the inner section 50 to form the double thickness or reinforced

side walls

52 and 54. Thus, the

side walls

52 and 54 are reinforced V by their double wall manner of construction up to the slots or cut-outs 46. Rearwardly of the cut-outs 46, the side walls have

end portions

56 and 58 which are substantially the width of the

flaps

42 and 44.

In erecting the drawer, the side sections 18 and 20 are folded upwardly perpendicular to the center section 16 and the

flaps

42 and 44 are folded inwardly at right angles to the upstanding side sections. The outer back wall 32 is then raised about the score line 22 perpendicular to the bottom wall and the inner back wall 34 is folded down over the upper edges of the

flaps

42 and 44, with the tongues 38 being inserted into the locking slots 40.

Prior to the formation of the reinforced back wall of the drawer, a reinforced front wall 59 is positioned in place, as seen in Figure 6, and secured to the front ends of the side walls 52 and S4 and the bottom wall 30. For this purpose, as seen in Figure 7, the bottom wall 30 is provided with an opening 60 and the

side walls

52 and 54 are provided with

openings

62 and 64.

The front wall 59 consists of a rigid rectangular open frame 61, which may be formed from wood or other suitable material and a plate 65, which may be formed from Masonite, steel or other suitable material. The plate is formed at its lower end with a laterally extending flange 66 and at its upper edge with a laterally extending flange 68 that parallels and overlies the flange 66 and terminates in a downwardly directed flange 70. The opposing side edges of the plate are turned inwardly upon themselves to form side channels 72 and 74 within which the lateral flanges 76 of sides strips 78 are adapted to be inserted, as seen in Figure 8. The side strips 78 are secured to the sides of the frame 61 by nails 80 or other suitable fastening elements and the flanges 76 are inserted within the channels 72 and 74. The flange 68 overlies the outer surface of the top of the frame, with the flange '70 resting on the inner surface thereof and the flange 66 seats on the end portion of the bottom wall 30 of the drawer and is positioned under the bottom of the frame 61.

Openings

82 and 84 are made in the side strips 78 and an opening 86 is formed in the bottom flange 66, the openings registering with the openings 60, '62 and 64 in the bottom wall and

sides

52 and 54 of the drawer. Grommets 88 are mounted in the

openings

60, 62 and 64.

Openings

90 and 92 are formed in the sides of the frame 61 in registry with the

openings

82 and 84 and an opening 94 is formed in the bottom of the frame 61 in registry with the opening 86 and the flange 66. Axially split spring sleeves 96 are fixed in the

openings

90, 92 and 94 and frictionally receive the shanks 98 of headed pins 100. Thus, in attaching the

sides

52 and 54 and the bottom 30 of the drawer to the front wall 59, the frame 61 with the plate 65 attached thereto is inserted on the bottom wall 30 perpendicular thereto and with the opening 94 aligned with the opening 60 in the bottom wall. The

sides

52 and 54 are folded up about the crease lines 12 and 14 and the

openings

62 and 64 are brought into registry with the

openings

82 and 84 and 90 and 92. The spring sleeves 96, which have been previously inserted in the

openings

90, 92 and 94, receive the shanks 98 of the pins 100, the pins being inserted through the grommets 88 and securing the sides and the bottom 30 to the front wall 59, as illustrated in Figure 10.

The tubular shell 102, which slidably houses the drawer, is formed from cardboard or fiberboard and includes a body section 104 having opposing open ends formed with flaps. As seen in Figures 3 and 4, the back wall 106 of the shell is formed by folding the side flaps and top and bottom flaps 108 into closure relation and transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shell. A strip 110 of adhesive material overlies the adjoining edges of form the closure back wall 106.

The open front end 114 of the shell is rigidified by an open frame or strap 116, illustrated in Figure 14. The strap 116 includes a pair of identical inwardly facing

U-shaped sections

118 and 120. The

legs

122 and 124 of the U-shaped sections are connected by a bar 126 that forms the top of the frame or strap. The thin bar 126 is suitably super-imposed at its ends on the

legs

122 and 124 and itis formed with upstanding

circular bosses

128 and 130, which have sockets 132. The

legs

134 and 136 are connected by a thin bar 138 and the bar 138 is also formed with laterally projecting bosses 140 that have sockets 142 as shown in Figure 12. The sockets 132 and 142 extend through the

bars

126 and 138 to the legs of the

U-shaped members

118 and 120.

The top wall 144 of each shell is formed with vertical openings 146 adjacent the front end and spaced slightly from the marginal opposing longitudinal marginal edges of the top wall. Similarly, the bottom wall 148 of each shell is formed with vertical openings 150 which, when the shells are stacked in tiers, as seen in Figure 12, register with the openings 146 in the top wall 144 of an underlying shell. The openings are arranged, so that the bosses 128 and project through the openings 146 in the top wall 144 of the shell and the bosses on the bottom 138 of the frame or strap 116 project through the opening in the bottom wall 148 of the shell.

As seen in Figure 12, the

bosses

128 and 130 on the top 126 of the frame 116 and the bosses 140 on the bottom of the frame are of a height slightly less than the thickness of the top and

bottom walls

144 and 148 of the shell, so that the free end of the bosses lies below the outer surface of the top and bottom walls of the shell.

.To arrange the shells in tiers or in stacked formation, as I seen in Figure 1, cylindrical pins or lugs 152 are used, the pins being detachably inserted in the sockets 132 in the

upstanding bosses

128 and 130 and projecting above the top wall 144 of an underlying shell, so as to seat in the sockets 142 of the bosses 140 on the bottom 138 of the frame 116 in the upper shell. In this fashion, four of the shells can be tied or secured together, as illustrated in Figure 1, and the two

upper files

154 and 156 are held together by a connecting strap 158, illustrated in detail in Figure 13. As seen in Figure 13, the cylindrical pins 152 are seated in the sockets in the

bosses

128 and 130 of the adjoining side-by-side shells and the strap 158 is formed with the openings 160, adjacent each of its ends to receive the projecting or upstanding portions of the pins or lugs.

As illustrated in Figure ll, the strap or frame 116 is disposed at the front end of the shell 102 and the bosses project through the openings in the top wall 144 and in the bottom wall 148 to locate the strap or frame against movement axially of the shell and also to providevmeans for receiving the pins or lugs 152 and thereby stacking the files in an arrangement, such as illustrated in Figure 1. To conceal the strap and further locate the strap against movement, flaps are formed on the sides and top and bottom walls of the shell. The sides 112 are formed with hingedly connected

flaps

162 and 164 and the top wall is formed with a flap 166. A flap 168, similar to the flap 166, is hingedly connected to the bottom wall 148. The

flaps

166 and 168 are folded inwardly over the top and bottom portions of the frame 116 and interiorly of the shell so that they are superposed on the top and

bottom walls

144 and 148 respectively of the shell. The

flaps

162 and 164 are then folded inwardly and superposed on the sides 112 of the shell and lock the

flaps

166 and 168 in place.

As illustratedin Figure 2, the reinforced back wall of the drawer is of a size substantially less than the internal cross-sectional area of the shell rearwardly of the

flaps

162, 164, 166 and 168. However, with the flaps folded in, the internal cross-sectional area of the front end is reduced or slightly less than that rearwardly of the front end, so that the free edge of the flap 166 forms a stop against which the reinforced upper edge 24 (crease line) abuts. The drawer is thus arrested in its withdrawal movement and prevented from being completely withdrawn from the shell.

As seen in Figure 15, the size of the front wall is similar to the cross-sectional area of the front end of the shell, defined by the inturned flaps, so that the front wall 59 fits snugly within the front end and forms a light and dust tight fit. The plate 65 is formed at its lower edge with an overhang 170, which abuts against the front end of the bottom wall 148 and acts as a stop to limit the insertion of the drawer into the shell.

To secure the rear ends of the files together, so that the

upper files

154 and 156 do not tip upwardly at their rear ends, when their drawers are being withdrawn, a connecting clip 172 is provided, as illustrated in Figures 35. The clip 172 is U-shaped and provided with opposing legs 174 and 176 and a connecting web or head portion 178 that is offset from the legs 174 and 176. The clip is made of resilient material and the legs are biased relative to each other by the head. The legs 174 and 176 are inserted, as seen in Figures 3 and 4, transversely of the longitudinal axis of the shell and back of the back walls 106 of the upper and lower shells. The legs are forced into the corners, puncturing the corners and gaining entrance interiorly of the shells and the head or web 178 engages the marginal edges of the adjoining top and bottom walls of the shells.

The plate 65 is formed with a transverse slot 180 to receive handles 182 and with spaced vertical slots 183 and 184 to receive the ends of the card or name plate.

The storage file is shipped in a completely knocked down, compact form and may be stored in such form, until it is needed for use. At such time, the tubular shell 102 is raised to its rectangular shape and the flaps 108 are brought together and secured by the strip of adhesive material to form the back wall 106. The rigidifying strap 116 is inserted within the front end and the flaps on the front end are folded inwardly. The drawer is then erected in a manner aforedescribed and is inserted within the shell by tilting the back wall of the drawer with respect to the front end of the shell, so that the upper edge 24 of the back wall of the drawer is inserted in the front end at an angle, until it passes the flap on the top wall of the shell whereupon the drawer is aligned with the shell and slid into the shell.

The storage file may be used as a separate unit or a plurality of files may be secured together in stacks or tiers, as aforedescribed. When secured together, the storage files are held against horizontal or vertical movement and the drawers may be moved in and out, without causing the shells to move apart or tip upwardly.

It can thus be seen that a compact and inexpensive storage file is provided, which will store a number of records or papers in a dust and vermin free manner.

Although the best known embodiment of this invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is to be understood that other forms of the invention may be made, such as come within the purview of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A storage file comprising a shell having an open front end, and a drawer having a rear wall and a crosssectional dimension less than the internal cross-sectional dimension of the shell and slidably positionable in the shell through the open end thereof, the open front end of the shell having a flap extending into the shell into the path of forward movement of the rear wall of the drawer, the open front end of the shell having a second flap extending into the shell into engagement with the first flap to hold the first flap in the path of forward movement of the rear wall of the drawer so that the rear wall will engage said flap as it approaches the open front end of the shell whereby further forward movement of the drawer will be arrested to prevent the drawer escaping through the open front end of the shell.

2. A storage file comprising a shell having an open front end, a rigid strap of a form and dimension corresponding to the cross-sectional form and dimension of the front end of the shell and mounted therein, and a drawer having a rear wall and a cross-sectional dimension less than the internal cross-sectional dimension of the shell and slidably positionable in the shell through the open end thereof, the open front end of said shell having a flap extending over said strap into the shell and having its free end disposed in the path of forward movement of the rear wall of the drawer, the open front end of the shell having a second flap extending into the shell into engagement with the first flap to hold the first flap in the path of forward movement of the rear wall of the drawer so that the rear wall will engage the free end of the flap as it approaches the open front end of the shell whereby further forward movement of the drawer will be arrested to prevent the drawer escaping through the open front end of the shell.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,745,518 Vance Feb. 4, 1930 1,900,338 Hanson Mar. 7, 1933 1,994,159 Wurzburg Mar. 12, 1935 2,043,893 Hedges June 9, 1936 2,121,190 Fellowes June 21, 1938 2,125,813 Roscoe Aug. 2, 1938 2,128,341 Zalkind Aug. 30, 1938 2,179,904 Strayer Nov. 14, 1939 2,236,557 Zalkind Apr. 1, 1941 2,268,236 Baird Dec. 30, 1941 2,337,079 Zalkind Dec. 21, 1943 2,339,312 Zalkind Jan. 18, 1944 2,433,100 Derman Dec. 23, 1947 2,435,917 Zalkind Feb. 10, 1948 2,597,731 Hoy May 20, 1952 2,655,423 Strayer Oct. 13, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 302,506 Great Britain Dec. 20, 1928