US3012348A - Card mailing cabinet and desk combination - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 12, 1961 H. J. SMITH 3,012,348

CARD MAILING CABINET AND DESK COMBINATION Filed June 11, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

INVENTOR HARVEY J. SMITH ATTORNEY Dec. 12, 1961 H. J. SMITH 3,012,348

CARD MAILING CABINET AND DESK COMBINATION Filed June 11, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 P b P P P P b D p D P g INVENTOR. E HARVEY J.SM1TH ATTORNEY United States Patent Gfiice 3,612,348 Patented Dec. 12, 1961 This invention relates to a follow-up postal card rack and auxiliary equipment and relates more particularly to a fixture for use in service stations which will facilitate orderly and daily filing and monthly storage of numerous postal cards for mailing to service station patrons informing them that a month or a specific period of time has elapsed since the last motor check-up, lubrication, motor oil change or other regularly prescribed maintenance has been performed on the customers automobile. The apparatus of this invention further contemplates a compact combination postal card storage rack and writing desk.

For optimum vehicle operation and less costly maintenance motorists are constantly advised to have their cars lubricated regularly and the motor oil changed after a prescribed number of miles from the previous motor oil change. With this objective it has been found desirable to inform service station customers periodically by some inexpensive and effortless manner that a specific time has elapsed since the last engine inspection or other servicing has been performed and also to recommend that servicing at this particular time is advisable.

Therefore, the invention has as an objective a postal card follow-up rack for use particularly in automotive service stations to file in designated dated receptacles customer-addressd postal cards which cards when mailed will remind the addressee of the expiration of a specific period of time since the last automotive service was performed.

Another objective of this invention is the provision of a combination depository for storing-follow-up postal cards and a compact desk for writing supported therefrom.

A further objective of this invention is to provide a convenient and compact combination postal card storage file designating each day of the month on which postal cards deposited within individual dated card-receiving pockets are to be removed for mailing to customers and a desk for writing and storage of lubrication servicing data and relative materials.

Yet another objective of this invention contemplates the provision of a postal card follow-up rack having a series of open top postal card receiving pockets with each pocket being identified by a number corresponding to the day of the month in which the cards have been deposited or some other suitable designation.

This invention further contemplates a complete and compact automotive servicing wall or table mountable fixture in which a vertical backboard supports a series of postal card-receiving pockets each individually identified by the day of the month and a horizontal desk and paper storage compartment supported from the backboard.

Other and further objects of this novel follow-up and service cabinet will become more readily apparent as the invention becomes better understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combination card mailing rack and a desk fixture unit for wall mounting embodying the present inventive concept;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the combination unit of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the lower section of the combination card rack and desk unit with the card receiving pockets omitted from the rack and showing the desk drawer in the fully open position, and illustrating auxiliary equipment on the desk writing surface;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the upper section of a card rack backboard illustrating several card receiving pockets mounted thereon;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the upper portion of a card rack backboard;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a full card-receiving trough element prior to mounting to a backboard; and

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the upper section of a trough divider partition.

The postal card follow-up rack and desk'combination of the present invention is designed to facilitate a mail follow-up system and is intended so that a postal card may be simultaneously addressed while a service station attendant fills out, on the desk portion of the combination fixture, a completed lubrication check list for servicing of a motor vehicle and then the addressed card is deposited within a dated postal card receiving pocket or bin from out of a group of pockets each of which is numbered to come spond to the day of the calendar month. In the next succeeding month, the particular addressed card filled out in the preceding month, along with other addressed cards deposited within the same trough, will be mailed to notify the addressee that certain maintenance is advisable as a month has elapsed since the last check-up.

Referring to the drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated and particularly to FIGS. 1 through 3, there is shown a rectangularly-shaped vertical backboard or panel 10 with a perimetrical frame 11 mounted at the rear of the horizontal desk 12 on the desk top 13. A series of open top postal card-receiving pockets 14 is horizontally mounted in parallel and partially nested condition on the front of the backboard 10 so as to expose an adequate portion of the open top of each pocket to introduce a number of postal cards into the slots 15.

Each of the pockets or bins 14 is formed of sheet metal with a downwardly inclined continuous front wall 16, truncated side walls 17 and 18, and a narrow ledge forming the bottom or base 19 of each pocket, with the side walls and base being turned inwardly and substantially normal to the front Wall. A suitable number of panelsecuring tabs or lugs 29 project beyond the terminal panel-engaging edges of the bottom and side walls, as illustrated more clearly in FIG. 7. For greater compactness, the side walls 17 and 18 are relieved to form the depth limiting edges 22 in order to permit the troughs to be partially nested within each other.

Backboard or panel 10 is provided with two laterally spaced rows of vertically aligned lug receiving openings 23 and 24 which cooperatively receive the side wall projecting lugs 28 therein, and vertically spaced horizontal rows of lug receiving openings 25 for the introduction of the lugs 29 projecting from the base 19. It has been found desirable to fabricate the troughs 14 so that the front wall 16 is of sufiicient horizontal length to eliminate assembling difiiculties as will be more readily apparent hereinafter. However, it is also desirable to provide an adequate border and advertising space at the top of the panel 10.

A vertical partition member 26 is inserted into the panel over the central portion of the stacked troughs by introducing the end tabs 27 into partition member lugreceiving openings 28. Partition member 26 has a narrow front wall 29 and side walls 30 and 31 each of which has a saw-tooth configuration. The top end portion 32 of the partition member 26 is turned inwardly as shown in 3 FIG. 8 with the tabs 27 extending through the panel openings 28 and the bottom end portion (not shown) is turned substantially in the same manner for fastening to the backboard.

In assembling the troughs and partition member onto the backboard the lugs are introduced into their corresponding openings, thereafter the tabs are bent against the rear of the backboard to secure the troughs and partition member in position. There is thus formed from the single elongated trough two individual separated postal card receiving pockets or bins 35 and 36 each of which will accommodate a conventional size postal card 37 therein. Obviously the length of the pockets may vary to accommodate other types and size cards.

Fastened as -by welding or other suitable means to the rear of the backboard is a backboard hanger member 37 in which there are slotted holes38 for flush mounting the backboard to a vertical wall or partition.

On the front of the backboard along the vertical borders a numeral corresponding to the day of the month serves to identify each of the separate pockets arranged consecutively, as clearly shown in FIG. 1. While only fifteen full width troughs 14 are illustrated to form thirty individual postal card-receiving pockets numbered from 1 through 30, consecutively (only numerals 1 through 24 being shown in P16. 1) the bin bearing the number 30 will also include the number 31 for those calendar months having 31 days.

A horizontal desk '12 having the rectangular writing surface 13' supports the base of the backboard thereon with the backboard being securely maintained by means of the rounded side bracket plates 38 and 39. Bracket plates 38 and 39 extend from positions intermediate the sides of the desk 12 and backboard 1t) and are each fastened thereto by suitable fastening screws 40, or the like. Auxiliary vertical slot-forming side plates 41 and 42 having rear and bottom flanged edges 43 and 44 are mounted together with the bracket plates to form vertical pockets 45 at the sides of the unit.

The desk 12 is a shallow depth cabinet preferably made of sheet metal with a bottom 46, side walls 47 rear wall 48 and a drawer receiving front wall 49. The slidable drawer 40 is provided with an interior partition 51 to divide the drawer into front and rear compartments for storing postal cards and servicing data. The front section 52 of the drawer side 53 is offset below the rear section and a vertical lug-receiving slot 54 is provided adjacent to the drawer front panel 55.

Lock 57 is mounted in the desk front wall 49 and has a key-operated drawer locking disk 58 from which disk a lug 59 protrudes. In the vertical position of the lug 59, shown in FIG. 4, the drawer 59 may be fully removed from the cabinet. Upon rotating the pin tumbler within the lock 57 by means of a key, the disk 58 may be rotated so the lug will engage in the offset section forward of the rear section of the drawer side 53 to limit drawer withdrawal. By rotating the pin tumbler one-quarter turn counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 4 with the drawer in the closed position, the disk lug 59 will be introduced into the slot 54 to lock the closed drawer.

Auxiliary attachments such as the clipboard 60 which may be stored within the drawer 50 when not in use and a lubrication data-tag-receivingtray 61 are shown on the desk top in FIG. 4. Order books and lubrication charts may be retained readily within the vertical storage slots 45 as well as within the drawer 50.

In those cases where adequate wall space is provided within a lubrication bay within the service station, the combination fixture unit may be mounted directly to a wall by means of the hanger 37 and the angle brackets 64 which reach downwardly from a position intermediate the bottom of the desk, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. For table top mounting the brackets 64 may be omitted.

Obviously many modifications and variations may be made in the construction and arrangement of the postal card receiving bins and the contour thereof as well as the arrangement of the bockboard and desk in the light of the above teachings without departing from the real spirit and purpose of this invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims many modified forms of structure as well as the use of mechanical equivalents may be reasonably included and modifications are contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. A postal card follow-up rack of the character described comprising a rectangularly-shaped backboard having a pair of vertical rows of openings laterally spaced from each other and horizontal rows of openings vertically spaced from each other, open top postal card-receiving troughs horizontally mounted on said backboard, each of said troughs having a downwardly inclined front wall, side walls and a bottom, said troughs being so constructed and arranged as to be partially nestable within each other and to provide an open slot between nested troughs, said side walls and bottom wall having backboard fastening tabs thereon for introduction into said vertical and horizontal openings, a vertical trough partition member'for dividing each of said troughs into a pair of separate compartments, and identification markings for consecutively numbering the troughs.

2. A postal card follow-up rack of the character described comprising a rectangularly-shaped backboard having vertical rows of openings laterally spaced from each other and horizontal rows of openings vertically spaced from each other, open top postal card-receiving troughs horizontally mounted on said backboard, said troughs being so constructed and arranged as to be partially nestable within each other forming an entrance slot for cards between troughs, said troughs having projecting tabs thereon for introduction into said vertical and horizontal openingsfor fastening the troughs to said backboard, and a vertical trough partition member for dividing said troughs into a plurality of separate card-receiving pockets corresponding in number to the days of a calendar month.

References Cited in the file or" this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 181,235 Smith Oct. 15, 1957 431,621 Rankin July 8, 1890 700,465 Willy May 20, 1902 736,879 Robinson Aug. "18, 1903 1,316,719 Hall Sept. 23, 1919 1,455,192 Dumont May 15, 1923 1,507,169 Greenwell Sept. 2, 1924 1,592,497 Mays July 13, 1926 2,016,431 Hofman Oct. 8, 1935 2,119,609 Stiles June 7, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 11,881 Great Britain 1894

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