US415429A

US415429A - woodruff

Info

Publication number: US415429A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1889-11-19
Anticipated expiration: 1906-11-19

Description

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1. E. W. WOUDRUPF.

PILE 0R DOCUMENT HOLDER.

Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

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E. W. WOODRUFF.

FILE 0R DOCUMENT HOLDER.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDMIND Il'. \VOODRUFF, OF \VASHING'1`ON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

FILE OR DOCUMENT HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 415,429, dated November 19, 1889.

Application filed September 17, 1889. Serial No. 324,171. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, EDMUND IV. IVOODRUFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin File orDocument Holders; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to that class of document or le holders in which the box is formed by a bottom, a front at right angles thereto, and two side pieces, between which and toward the front or bottom aiileboard or follower is situated and adapted to be adjusted.

My invention relates more particularly, iirst, to means of an improved character by which the file-board is held in place in an .upright position to compress and hold the contents of the file-box, or is permitted to fall into an inclined position to release said contents and allow of their convenient examination; second, to improved devices whereby a iile box or ho'lder maybe suspended upon the front of its cabinet at the entrance of its pi geon-hole or space.

Theinvention consists in the parts and combinations thereof, or in their equivalents, hereinafter particularly described and claimed.

In order to make my invention more clearly understood, l have shown in the accompanying drawings means for carrying the same into practical effect.

In said drawings, Figure l is a vertical section of a portion of a cabinet and file-holder embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a. holder suspended and with the fileboard in an .inclined position, ready for the inspection or removal of the contents. Fig. 3 is a transverse section, looking toward the back of the file-board. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a file-board having a somewhat different form of clamping device, also embodying my invention. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the cabinet and box, illustrating the means for suspending the latter.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates a portion of a case or cabinet, of which a a are two shelves, a being the upper and a the lower relative to the file-box, which is shown in connection with them.

B is the file-box, of which the front b is of such height as to neatly fill the space between shelves a a. The box here shown is of the type known as horizontah in which the file-board operates toward and from the bottom and the papers or files lie in horizontal planes when the box is in place upon its shelf; but certain of my improvements herein described are applicable to holders in which the follower operates toward and from the front, and in which the files are always upright, and I claim such invention whether used with a horizontal or with an upright file-holder.

I will rst describe the means whereby the holder or box is suspended upon the front of the cabinet.

C is a tongue, which is pivot-ally mounted upon the forward end of a slide D by means of a pin c. The slide is mounted upon and is movable toward and from the front edge of the shelf a', being guided and held upon the shelf by means suitable to permit this move- 1nent-sucl1, for instance, as headed screws d, passing through a longitudinal slot d in the slide and securely fixed in the shelf. In such case the slot d is properly countersunk or rabbeted, as shown, Fig. 5, so as to'bring the tops ofthe screw-heads flush with or below the surface of slide D. A stop is provided which prevents the forward oscillation of the tongue C beyond the desired angle-such, for instance, as a projection c', adapted to abut against the front end of the slide. A groove e in the bottom E of the box is adapted to recei've the parts C and D when the former is folded down upon the slide and the box is upon the shelf a', thus permitting the box to slide into its place or to be drawn out from the cabinet.

F is a plate or metal strap secured in or across the groove e, so as to leave an aperture adapted to receive the tongue C. This plate is situated at such distance from the front of the box that it will reach and be engaged by said tongue just before the box is sufficiently drawn out to admit of its being tipped forward and downward to its suspended position, thus insuring that the file- IOO box shall not be hastily and part-ially drawn forth and allowed to tip without engaging the tongue, which would ordinarily result in the falling of the box to the floor.`

In order to prevent the boX from being tipped until it has been drawn forward into engagement with the tongue, as above described, the sides b are made of such shape (say rectangular) and length that their ends shall be flush with the top of front h, and shall extend back therefrom in engagement with the under side of shelf a, as shown at b2, when the holder is in place in the cabinet.

The tongue C is provided with a shoulder c', which limits the distance to which the tongue shall pass into or beneath the plate F, and which serv es to support the weight of the box when suspended. This shoulder c also forms, an offset,' which holds the end of the tongue, when folded, at a suflicient distance above the plate D to permit plate F to pass beneath the tongue as the file-box is' drawn forward.

I will now proceed to describe my improved means for clamping the file-board and for holding it in an inclined position. It is desirable that the file-board tip from the bottom-that is to say, upon an axis substantially coincident with the bottom edge of the boardi as such movement better exposes the contents of the box to view, and does so without making it necessary t-o slide the [ile-board to- It is also i desirable that when in clamping the fileboard its bottom edge shall have been brought l against the papers the operation of the clamping device shall not throw said bottom edge v farther forward. Vhen this latter action occurs, the clamp offers much resistance, considerable force is necessary to close it, and the parts are frequently bent, broken, or loosened from the file-board. By my improvement these various difficulties are overcome', and a clamping device is produced which, while it holds the contents of the file-box firmly and with all the desired pressure, can be operated by a mere touch.

Referring to that embodiment of my invention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that the clamp consists of a system of two levers and a link, the first Gbeing substantially horizontal, pivoted to or beneath the bottom edge of the file-board, as at g, extending backward '(toward the open end of the tle-boX) therefrom, and adapted at-its outer end gg to bear downward upon the bottom (or front) of the fileboX, which is provided with the usual undercut clamping-groove b3. The second lever II is pivoted at h to the lever G, such pivotal point being situated at the outer side of pivot g, and at its upper end forms or is provided with an operating-handle h. At a point intermediate between said handle and pivot 7L the lever II is hinged by a pin h2 to the lower end of ya third bar I, which latter at its upper end is pivoted in or on the file-board by pivot i.

.I indicates a cross-head or two lateral proj ect-ions, which are adapted to vengage the under side of the undercut clamp-groove b3, and obtain,in conjunction with the outer end of lever G, a secure grip upon the file-box and hold the file-board rigidly in the desired position. The projections .l may be formed with or attached to the file-board, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or may be' carried by the horizontal lever G at a point between the end g3, which bears upon the file-box, and the pivot g, as seen in Fig. 4.

In operating this clamping device to release the file-board from the position shown in Fig. l, it is simply necessary to touch the inner side of the handle h and give it a slight outward pressure. The pivots 71., h2, and z' being almost in a straight line, a very light pressure will suffice to carry the pivot h2 beyond (to the right inFig. l) the straight line drawn from pivot h to pivot t', whereupon the pressure of the papers will cause the fileboard to fly open and into its inclined position, (shown in Fig. 2,) when the contents of the file-box will be ready for inspection. To close the file-board against the papers it is simply necessary to take the handle h with the thumb and linger, press the lever H longitudinally till the file-board is yat its lower edge in close contact with the papers, and then tilt the lever toward the {ile-board. Such action brings pivots h, h2, and c' into a straight line, and linally carries pivot h2 slightly past Such line, at which instant the handle h comes IOO in contact with the back of bar I, (or said bar be substantially parallel with the papers and at right angles with that part of the box in which the clamp-groove b3 is formed. The projections J, when carried by the follower or le-board, are preferably formed upon the lower end of a metallicplate K, riveted to the le-board. Such plate also forms a convenient bearing for the pivot g.' As` the clamping strain of the toggles H and I tends to force plate K in a direction parallel with the follower-board, and as the latter is frequently made of soft wood, I provide said plate with an inward projection 7c, adapted to fit tightly in a corresponding recess bored in the file-board. This projection, being of considerable diameter, gives much more security than the ordinary rivets against loosening by pressure in lines parallel with the file-board. Bearings for pivots t' are also preferably furnished by a plate L, having ears Z, and a proj ec tion Z analogous to that of the plate K. Plate L is also securely riveted to the file-board, and by virtue of its projection Z is adapted to resist the upward pressure brought to bear upon itby the operation of the toggles.

Additional stability is given to the Iile- IIC board by a projection d4 formed upon the outer end of lever G, and adapted to iit between the sides of the clamp-groove b3. The board is thus prevented from being accidentally twisted out of its proper posit-ion, the projection d* acting as a guide whether the file-board be vertical or inclined.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. In a file or document holder, the combination, with a file-box and a follower or leboard therefor, of a lever pivotally connected at one end with said follower, extending rearwardly therefrom and adapted at its free end to bear against the file-box, projections which engage the file-box oppositely to said lever, and toggles connected with said follower and with said lever for oscillating the latter upon its pivot toward or from the file-box to engage the latter or be disengaged therefrom and clamp or release the follower, substantially as set forth.

2. In a file or document holder, the combination, with the file-box having a clampgroove and the follower-board, of a plate secured to said board and provided with projections adapted to engage said clamp-groove, an outwardly-extending lever pivoted to said plate and adapted to bear at its free end upon the filebox, and toggles adapted to oscillate said lever toward or from the flleboX, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the file-box having a clamp-groove and the file-board, of a leverpivoted to the latter and havinga guiding projection a4, toggles for depressing said lever, and projections connected with the file.

board for engaging the under side of said clamp-groove, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the file-board and levers for clamping the same, of a plate secured to said tile-board forming a pivotal bearing and provided with an enlargement or projection seated in the file-board for resisting pressure parallel with the board.

o. rlhe combination, with thc cabinet or shelf, of a le'box or holder, a slide mounted on said shelf, a tongue pivoted upon said slide and adapted to fold toward the same or to stand upward therefrom, and means carried by the said holder whereby the latter is engaged and held by said tongue, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with the shelves, of a slide mounted upon the lower shelf, a tongue pivoted and adapted to fold upon the slide, and a file-box provided with means for the engagement of said tongue, the file-box having side pieces, the ends of which extend from the top of the front of the box in a direction parallel with its bottom, and which are adapted to engage the bottom of the upper shelf to prevent the premature tilting of the file-box, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination, with a shelf or support, of a file box or holder, a slide mounted on said shelf, a tongue pivoted upon said slide and adapted to fold toward the same or to stand upward therefrom, said tongue and slide having a shoulder offset or support adapted to cause a space to be left between said two parts, and means carried by said holder whereby the latter is engaged and held by said tongue, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with a shelf orsupport, of a file box orholder, a slide mounted on said support, a tongue pivoted upon said slide and adapted to fold toward the same or to stand upward therefrom, said tongue and slide being provided with a stop to limit the forward oscillation of the former, and means carried by said holder whereby the latter is engaged and held by the tongue, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDMUND W'. WOODRUFF.

Witnesses:

' Il. N Low,

E. K. STURTEVANT.