US3311438A - File cabinet - Google Patents

Description

arch 28, 1967 J. E. BARROW FILE CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 13, 1965 INVENTOR JAMES E. BARROW ATTORNEYS.

March 28, 1967 J. E. BARROW FILE CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 13, 1965 1H?WEEHHHHHHIWHIIHIiHHHIlHlEIiiiIIIII Hh \llHll l lh lIHIHIIIHHIIHImimmlmurn-linmmmmmu nu INVENTOR JAMES E. BARROW ATTORNEYS.

3,311,438 FHLE CABHNET James E. Barrow, 70 Emerald Drive, .lonesboro, Ga. 39236 Filed Oct. 13, 1965, Ser. No. 495,431 15 Claims. (Cl. 312-323) The present invention relates to improvements in filing cabinets. More particularly, the present invention relates to a new drawer for a filing cabinet which, upon being withdrawn from the cabinet may be pivoted to a vertical position.

It is sometimes necessary to file many types of documents and drawings in a flat or horizontal position relative to the supporting plate of various filing cabinets. Filing the documents and drawings in this matter prevents edges from being bent over and sometimes torn which frequently occurs when filing such materials on edge in an upright position. It is particularly desirable to file drawings in a fiat, horizontal position to prevent them from acquiring a bow or curvature such as occurs When they are filed in a vertical manner.

Horizontal filing has an inherent disadvantage as compared to vertical filing. The documents and drawings are stacked or piled up in a horizontal relationship within the filing drawer compartment. As a result, any document or drawing which is not on top of the stack or pile is difficult to locate and to retrieve. The same is true when attempting to replace a document or drawing in its proper place within the stack or pile.

None of these disadvantages, of course, occurs in vertical filing since all documents and drawings have an edge exposed for easy location and withdrawal. Replacement of the materials is with equal ease.

The present invention provides a means by which documents and drawings may be stored in the horizontal position yet located and retrieved and replaced in a vertical position. In other words, the present invention provides the advantageous features of both the horizontal filing system and the vertical filing system by providing a new drawer for a filing cabinet.

By way of a brief description, the present invention provides a filing cabinet having a series of drawers therein which are designed for horizontal storage of documents and drawings. These drawers, when withdrawn from the filing cabinet, may be pivoted downward in such a manner as to place the stored documents, which previously were in a horizontal position, in a vertical position. In this manner, the documents are always stored in a horizontal position, yet when locating and retrieving documents, or in replacing them, they may be placed in a vertical position.

Therefore, it is one object of the present invention to provide a filing cabinet having a novel drawer arrangement which provides for the advantages of both horizontal and vertical filing positions.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a filing cabinet drawer which, upon being withdrawn from the cabinet, may be pivoted to a vertical position.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a filing cabinet drawer in which documents and drawings may be filed in a horizontal position yet located, retrieved and replaced in a vertical position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel pivoting and support means for filing cabinet drawers.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon considering the following discussion and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a filing cabinet having States Patent 3,311,438 Patented Mar. 28, 1967 "ice a series of novel drawers constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cut-away, cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1 showing in detail the manner in which the novel drawers of the present invention hook on and are supported by the handle of the "drawer immediately below upon being withdrawn from the filing cabinet.

FIG. 3 is a side-sectional View of a filing cabinet showing the manner in which a novel drawer of the present invention is withdrawn, pivoted and finally supported in the vertical position on the front of a filing cabinet.

With reference to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, filing cabinet 1 is provided having a conventional exterior cabinet housing 2. The front of the cabinet housing is substantially open and is generally divided into a vertical series of compartments for receiving the novel drawers 100, 200, 380 and 400 of the present invention. These drawers are supported at their lower edges by rails 3 secured in appropriate positions and the side walls of the cabinet housing. In addition to supporting the drawers, rails 3 provide a surface along which the drawers may he slid into or out of the cabinet housing.

While the filling cabinet in FIG. 1 is shown having four of the novel drawers of the present invention, it should be understood that filing cabinets having a smaller or greater number of drawers are also contemplated within the scope of this invention. Furthermore, the drawers of the present invention may be used in combination with drawers for only vertical filing and all being housed within the same cabinet.

The drawer 109 has the usual base plate 111 and side walls 112 as indicated on the withdrawn and positioned drawer in FIG. 1. A face plate 113 is secured across the front of the drawer and may have attached thereto a card or label holder, not shown, for identifying the contents of the drawer. A corresponding face plate 413 is shown on another drawer at the bottom of the file cabinet 1. In addition, a handle 114 extends forward from the upper edge of the face plate 113 for withdrawing the drawer from the filing cabinet. While this handle is illustrated as being integral with the top plate 116, it may be of another design and attached to face plate 113. Again, a corresponding handle 414 is shown on another drawer at the bottom of the file cabinet 1. Along the bottom edge of each face plate there is a cutout portion denoted by 315 and 4-15 on the lower two drawers 3% and 400. This cut-out portion allows each drawer to pass over the handle of the drawer immediately below when being withdrawn from the filing cabinet.

As illustrated on both FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, drawer 100 has only a very small top plate 116 which is also integral with the handle 114. This top plate may be much larger, covering up to substantially all of the entire top area of the drawer as desired, whereupon access to the drawers contents would be through the rear opening in the drawer.

The embodiment shown, however, employs a keeper plate 117 hinged at 118 to retain the contents within the drawer. This keeper plate may have spring loaded hinges so as to maintain some pressure on the contents of the drawer and urge them against base plate 111. As a result, the contents of the drawer would remain in a flat condition whether in a vertical or horizontal position.

The keeper plate 117 also has an angle near the hinge, thereby enabling the plate to extend at an angle out through the top of the drawer, as shown in FIG. 3. The contents of the drawer may then be allowed to rest against the plate in an orderly, upright manner, thereby providing extremely easy access to the contents of the drawer.

The back of drawer 100 is shown substantially open so as to allow access to the contents of the drawer when placed in a vertical position as shown in both FIG. 1 and FIG. 3. If additional strengthening of the rear of the drawer is desired, bracing pieces 119 may be attached to the base plate and side walls. Optionally, the back of drawer 100 may be provided with a fixed, removable, or hinged backing plate in which case the access to the contents of the drawer would be through the top. A plate of this type would offer a barrier to any rearward movement of the drawers contents when the drawer is closed.

. The uppermost drawer 100 in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is shown in its vertical position wherein its contents would be presented to a person in front of the cabinet in the same manner as in a vertical filing drawer. The drawer 100 is held in this position by a novel arrangement on the underside of the drawer in combination with the handle 214, shown in FIG. 2, of the drawer 2% immediately below. The details of this arrangement and the suspension are more fully illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. As shown therein, base plate 111 is recessed with respect to the side walls and face plate as well as any braces or backing plate which may be present. Spaced from and parallel to base plate 111 is flange 120 which extends from the lower edge of rear brace 119 towards a line corresponding to the center of the base plate of the drawer 1th) for only a short distance. Flange 120 acts as a hook for drawer 101 when it engages the novel handle 214 of the drawer 2% immediately below. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the handle 214 has an upper hanger lip 221 over which the flange 1211 becomes hooked. The lower extension 222 of the handle abuts base plate 111, thereby stabilizing the drawer 1W hanging from handle 214. The drawer 180 is further stabilized in position by the lower extension 322 of a handle 314 of an even lower drawer 300 shown in FIG. 3.

When a drawer 109 is placed into the filing cabinet 1, it rests on front and rear bearing surfaces 131 and 132 supported by rails 3. A rear stop 133 is also provided along the upper rear edge of the drawer to allow the front of the drawer to fit flush with the front of the filing cabinet. An upper bearing surface 134 may be employed to aid the travel of the drawer when being pulled open or pushed closed. These bearing surfaces and rear stops are shown more clearly by numerals 231, 232, 233 and 234 of drawer 20d and numerals 331, 332, 333 and 334 of drawer 3%.

Upon opening a drawer, for example drawer 1110 of HG. 3, the handle 114 is grasped and pulled forward. The drawer slides horizontally forward on its bearing surfaces over the rails 3 until it is somewhat withdrawn from the cabinet. At this point the drawer 1% begins to rotate downward due to the weight of the drawer and/or its contents and the fact that it is unsupported at its front edge in this withdrawn position. As the motion of the drawer continues forward and rotationally downward, the rear flange 129 engages the hanger lip 221 of the handle 214 on the drawer 280 immediately below. This prevents any further forward motion along a horizontal path. The rotational downward motion continues until the flange 120 becomes completely hooked over the hanger lip 221 and the base plate 111 of drawer 101) becomes stabilized against the lower extensions 222 and 322 of the handles of drawers 200 and 3%.

The drawer 109 is now in a vertical position as well as its contents. Access to the contents may be had through an opening in the rear of the drawer (which actually becomes the top when the drawer is in a vertical position) or the contents may be allowed to pivot outward through the top opening of the drawer (which actually becomes the front when the drawer is in a vertical position) by the action of the keeper plate 117. In either situation, the contents are presented in a vertical manner for easy location, retrieval and replacement.

When closing the drawer 100, handle 114 is grasped and the drawer is rotated upward while pushing it into the filing cabinet. The flange 120 smoothly disconnects from the hanger lip 221 and the drawer moves rearward on the bearing surfaces over rails 3. The upper bearing surface 134 aids in the movement of the upper rear edge of the drawer past the upper front edge of its compartment. The drawer continues its rearward movement until the rear stop 133 abuts the back wall of the filing cabinet at which point the drawer 1013 is fully seated within the cabinet in such a manner that the front face plate is flush with the front of the filing cabinet 1.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various supporting and suspension devices may be employed with the present invention to allow the drawer to move horizontally and to rotate or tilt downward to a vertical position as it is being withdrawn from the filing cabinet. The suspension may also be modified so as to allow only one type of motion to occur at a particular time. That is, the drawer may be permitted to move only in a horizontal direction until it is fully withdrawn from the cabinet and then it may pivot downward to the vertical position.

In addition, other handle designs may be employed provided some means is present to stop the forward motion of the drawer, provide a pivot for the drawer and support the drawer when it is in its vertical position.

Thus, having described the present invention, it should be apparent that the advantages of both the vertical and horizontal filing systems are provided when these novel drawers are employed within a single filing cabinet.

While only certain embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be apparent that other modifications and changes may be incorporated therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the present invention is to be limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A filing drawer comprising a base plate, side walls, a front face plate, hooking means extending downward from the base plate, and a handle extending outward from the front face plate, said handle having means extending therefrom for engaging the hooking means of another drawer.

2. A filing drawer comprising a base plate, side walls, a front face plate, hooking means extending downward from the rear edge of the base plate, and a handle extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate, said handle having lip means extending upward therefrom for engaging the hooking means of another drawer.

3. A filing drawer comprising a base plate, side walls, a front face plate, hooking means extending downward from the rear edge of the base plate, a handle extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate, said handle having lip means extending upward therefrom for engaging the hooking means of another drawer, and means attached to the interior of the drawer for maintaining the contents filed within the drawer in a flat condition.

4. A filing drawer having a base plate, side walls attached to said base plate, a front face plate attached to said base plate and side walls, :an L-shaped hook attached to the underside of the base plate and along the rear edge in such a manner that one leg of the L-shaped hook is spaced from and parallel to the base plate with the open end toward the face plate extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate, said handle having an upturned lip and a lower extension for engaging an L-shaped hook and base plate of another drawer.

5. A filing drawer having a base plate, side walls attached to said base plate, a front face plate attached to said base plate and side walls, an L-shaped hook attached to the underside of the base plate and along the rear edge in such a manner that one leg of the L-shaped hook is spaced from and parallel to the base plate with the open end toward the face plate, a T-shaped handle extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate by its stem thereby providing an upper flange for engaging an L-shaped hook of another drawer and a lower flange for abutting the base plate of said other drawer.

6. A filing drawer having a base plate, side walls, a

front face plate, a top plate, hinge means for swingably securing the top plate to the front face plate, an L-shaped hook attached to the underside of the base plate and along the rear edge in such a manner that one leg of the L-shaped hook is spaced from and parallel to the base plate with the open end toward the face plate, a T-shaped handle extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate by its stem thereby providing an upper flange for engaging an L-shaped hook of another drawer and a lower flange for abutting the base plate of said other drawer,

7. A filing drawer having a base plate, side walls, a front face plate, a first top plate partially covering a portion of the top of the drawer, a second top plate hingedly secured to said first top plate and capable of swinging movement extending into and out of the drawer, an L- shaped hook attached to the underside of the base plate and along the rear edge in such a manner that one leg of the L-shaped hook is spaced from and parallel to the base plate with the open end toward the face plate, a T-shaped handle extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate by its stem thereby providing an upper flange for engaging an L-shaped hook of another drawer and a lower flange for abutting the base plate of said other drawer.

8. In a filing cabinet having a series of drawers arranged vertically therein the improvement which comprises an L-shaped hook attached to the underside of each drawer base and along the rear edge thereof in such a manner that one leg of the L-shaped hook is spaced from and parallel to the drawer base with the open end toward the drawer front and a T-shaped handle extending outward from the upper edge of each drawer front by its stem.

9. A filing cabinet having a housing, supporting rails attached to the sides of the housing which divide the front of the housing into a series of compartments, a series of drawers which slide into each compartment supported by the rails, each drawer comprising a base plate, side walls, a front face plate, hooking means extending downward from the base plate, and a handle extending outward from the front face plate, said handle having means extending therefrom for engaging the hooking means of another drawer.

it). A filing cabinet having a housing, supporting rails attached to the sides of the housing which divide the front of the housing into a series of compartments, a series of drawers which slide into each compartment supported by the rails, each drawer comprising a base plate, side walls, a front face plate, hooking means extending downward from the rear edge of the base plate, and a handle extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate, said handle having lip means extending upward therefrom for engaging the hooking means of another drawer.

11. A filing cabinet having a housing, supporting rails attached to the sides of the housing which divide the front of the housing into a series of compartments, a series of drawers which slide into each compartment supported by the rails, each drawer comprising a base plate, side walls, a front face plate, hooking means extending downward from the rear edge of the base plate, a handle extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate, said handle having lip means extending upward therefrom for engaging the hooking means of another drawer, and means attached to the interior of the drawer for maintaining the contents filed within the drawer in a flat condition.

12. A filing cabinet having a housing with an open front portion, supporting rails attached to two opposite side walls of the housing which divide the front of the housing into a series of compartments, a series of drawers which slide into each compartment supported by the rails, each drawer comprising a base plate, side walls attached to said base plate, a front face plate attached to said base plate and side walls, an L-shaped hook attached to the underside of the base plate and along the rear edge in such a manner that one leg of the L-shaped hook is spaced from and parallel to the base plate with the open end toward the face plate, and a handle extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate, said handle having an upturned lip and a lower extension for engaging an L-shaped hook and base plate of another drawer.

13. A filing cabinet having a housing with an open front portion, supporting rails attached to two opposite side walls of the housing which divide the front of the housing into a series of compartments, a series of drawers which slide into each compartment supported by the rails, each drawer comprising a base plate, side walls attached to said base plate, a front face plate attached to said base plate and side walls, an L-shaped hook attached to the underside of the base plate and along the rear edge in such a manner that one leg of the L-shaped hook is spaced from and parallel to the base plate with the open end toward the face plate, a T-shaped handle extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate by its stem thereby providing an upper flange for engaging an L-shaped hook of another drawer and a lower flange for abutting the base plate of said other drawer.

14. A filing cabinet having a housing with an open front portion, supporting rails attached to two opposite side walls of the housing which divide the front of the housing into a series of compartments, a series of drawers which slide into each compartment supported by the rails, each drawer comprising a base plate, side walls, a front face plate, a top plate, hinge means for swingably securing the top plate to the front face plate, an L-shaped hook attached to the underside of the base plate and along the rear edge in such a manner that one leg of the Lshaped hook is spaced from and parallel to the base plate with the open end toward the face plate, a T-shaped handle extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate by its stem thereby providing an upper flange for engaging an L-shaped hook of another drawer and a lower flange for abutting the base plate of said other drawer.

15. A filing cabinet having a housing with an open front portion, supporting rails attached to two opposite side walls of the housingwhich divide the front of the housing into a series of compartments, a series of drawers which slide into each compartment supported by the rails, each drawer comprising a base plate, side walls, a front face plate, a first top plate partially covering a portion of the top of the drawer, a second top plate hingedly secured to said first top plate and capable of swinging movement extending into and out of the drawer, an L-shaped hook attached to the underside of the base plate and along the rear edge in such a manner that one leg of the L-shaped hook is spaced from and parallel to the base plate with the open end toward the face plate, a T-shaped handle extending outward from the upper edge of the front face plate by its stem thereby providing an upper flange for engaging an L-shaped hook of another drawer and a lower flange for abutting the base plate of said other drawer.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 296,611 4/ 1884 Pearson 312-323 X 339,325 4/1886 Rountree 312-323 2,857,558 10/1958 Fiske 317-101 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. F. DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A FILLING DRAWER COMPRISING A BASE PLATE, SIDE WALLS, A FRONT FACE PLATE, HOOKING MEANS EXTENDING DOWNWARD FROM THE BASE PLATE, AND A HANDLE EXTENDING OUTWARD FROM THE FRONT FACE PLATE, SAID HANDLE HAVING MEANS EXTENDING THEREFROM FOR ENGAGING THE HOOKING MEANS OF ANOTHER DRAWER.

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