US382716A

US382716A - Bill-file

Info

Publication number: US382716A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1888-05-15
Anticipated expiration: 1905-05-15

Description

(No Model.)

E. L. MATTHEWS.

BILL FILE.

k w m a a A P M m r f M 8.. O 3 Hm m N be of a length equal to the entire length of the 'NITED STATES EDWIN L. MATTHEWS, OF ADA, MINNESOTA.

BILL-FILE.

PATENT OFF CE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 382,716, dated May 15, 1888.

1 Application filed November 10, 1887. Serial No. 254,767. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN L. MATTHEWS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the village of Ada, county of Norman, State of Minnesota, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementin Bill-Files, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to office files and filecases; and it has for its object to provide a. file which will give easy access to the papers when it is in use, and which will secure the papers in a closed case and protect them from displacement and dust when not in use. My construction for this purpose is simple, economical, and efficient, and'consists, broadly, in providing an expansible bellows-file with an extensible-case.

In the drawings, like letters referring to like parts, Figure l is a perspective view of my invention as it appears when the lid is raised and the case is extended. Fig. 2 is a perspective of the case as it appears with the bellows-file and the lid removed and a part of the front end and one of the slides broken away, and Fig. 3 is a plan of Fig. 1 with the,

lid and the central partof the bellows-file removed.

A is the body of the case, in shape like an ordinary oblong box or drawer with the front end removed.

, Bis the front end. In the bottom a and the sides a a of the box A are dovetailed grooves Gand D, adapted to receive and securely hold suitable slides. Of these grooves there may be any suitable number. I have shown two in the bottom and one on the interior surface ofeach side. To the end B are rigidly attached a set of beveled slides, E and F, adapted to fit the grooves O and D. Of these the slides E are attached to the lower edge of the end B and work in the grooves O, and the slides F are attached edgewise to the outer edge of the end B and work in the grooves D. These.

grooves O and D and the slides E and F may box or less, as desired. It is evident that the end B may be moved toward the body of the boxA until it meets the front ends of the bot tom a and the sides a and a"; or it may be withdrawn in the opposite direction, extending the interior of the case, by the skeleton formed out of the slides E and F.

Gis a bellows-file composed of a series of vertical card-board or wooden divisions connected at their ends by flexible material. It is thus expansible and compressible. If so desired, the lower edges of thedivision-pieces may also be connected by flexible material. These compartments may be marked with letters or numbers or in any other suitable manner, according to the classification in'hand. This bellows-file is placed inside the case A B, and its opposite ends are secured in any suitable manner toithe inner surfaces of the ends of the case. In the construction shown I use lugs H for the purpose, placing them in proper position in the ends of the case to grasp the outer edges of the'end boards of the bellowsfile. This makes adetachable connection,and one file can be removed and another inserted at will. v

K is a case-lid pivotally attached to the rear end of the box, and is of proper length to cover the entire case when contracted to its smallest compass.

The operation of the device is clear from the description already given. As one end of the bellows-file is attached to the relatively fixed part A and the other end to the movable part B, it is evident that when the case is extended the file is expanded, and reversely. The file may thus be used until it is filled to its utmost capacity when compressed or the case is closed, and yet afford easy access to any paper by simply extending the caseand expanding the file.

This is a device of great convenience and service in banks, offices, stores, and generally wherever itis necessary or desirable to keep a large number of classified papers in a small compass.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. The combination, With an extensiblebillfile case consisting, essentially, of a pair of telescoping parts, of a removable bellows billfile detachably connected at its opposite ends to the end walls of the telescoping parts of said case, substantially as described.

2. In combination, the box-like body A,

having its front end removed and provided with the grooves O D, the end B, provided with the slides E and F, working in said grooves, and the bellows-file G, attached at one end to the relatively fixed part A and at 5 the other to the relatively movable part B, as

and for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with a bill-file case, a bellows bill-file adapted to fit the same and having end boards provided with projecting outer to edges, and hook-shaped lugs secured in the 7 ends of said case in pairs with their hookshaped portions facing each other and adapted to detaehably secure the ends of the bellowsfile to the ends of the case, as and for the pur- 1 5 pose set forth.

4. The extensible bill-file case and expansi EDVIN L. MATTHEVS.

In presence of-- W. H. MArrHEWs, FRANK F. S. MILLER.