US2240067A - File cabinet and the like - Google Patents

Description

April 7 K. c. EOLESKY ET AL. 224G367 FILE CABINET AND THE LIKE Filed July 6, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 29, mm. K. c. BOLESKY ET AL.

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W K. c. BOLESKY ETAL ZEW UW FILE CABINET AND THE LIKE Filed July 6, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Apr. 29, 1941 bir s eras ares or ies 10 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in filing cabinets and the like.

Such cabinets usually comprise a vertically disposed series of drawers of substantial length, and upon the opening of any of these drawers the weight is shifted forwardly. Should more than one drawer be opened at a time this shifting of the weight may be suflicient to bring the center of gravity forward of the base and cause the structure to tilt forward and endanger the attendant. It is the purpose of this invention to prevent accidents of this character by rendering it impossible, in the normal use of such cabinets, to open a second drawer while one drawer is open.

The invention consists broadly in means for automatically securing all of the remaining drawers of the set against opening movement by the performance of some act essential to the opening of any one drawer of the set. More specifically, it consists in means actuated by some necessary step in the opening of any one of the drawers for interposing an obstacle to the opening of each of the remaining drawers, and for withdrawing such obstacle by the closing movement of the drawer which has been opened.

In the accompanying drawings and the following specification several forms in which the invention may vbe'embodied are shown and described.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a filing cabinet, one of its side walls being removed;

Fig. 2 is a detail of a locking bar shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail in perspective of one of the drawers and of the locking means of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail view similar to Fig. 1, showing an open and a locked drawer;

Figs. 5 and 6 are details, respectively, on the lines 5-5 and ii--t of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified form of the same type of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a detail section on the line 8-8 of Fig. '7

Fig. 9 is a detail section in perspective of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is an elevation of a cabinet provided with a modification of the invention;

Fig. 11 is a detail :plan View of one of the drawers of this cabinet;

Fig. 12 is a detail vertical section of the cabinet showing the locking mechanism and portions of two of the drawers; and

Fig. 13 is a detail section on the line i3l3 of Fig. 12.

In all of the illustrated embodiments of the Ill invention the casing of the cabinets may be of any suitable form. A conventional structure is illustrated. At l5 and It are shown certain uprights and cross bars; at ill, l8 and it suitable sheet metal bottom, wall and top plates.

The drawers of the cabinet may be of any dered number, four being shown :by Way of illustration and being numbered, respectively, 29, ill, 22 and 23. These drawers may be mounted within the casing in any desired manner. In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, the mounting of the drawers is of the so-called cradle type, in which each drawer is slidingly supported on a pair of longitudinally movable cradle bars 24,

which are of channel form and each of which reciproca'tes within a fixed channel bar 25 secured to the side of the casing. Each drawer is provided with a longitudinally disposed outstanding flange 26 along each of its sides, which rides upon a pair of rollers 2i, 28, pivotally attached to the Web of one of the cradle bars 2 1, one of these rollers, as 23, projecting through an aperture in the lower flange of this bar and riding upon the lower flange of the bar 25 and transmitting the load thereto. The cradle bar is prevented from tilting on the roller 28 as a :pivot by means of the roller 29, carried at its rearward end and hearing upwardly against the top flange of the bar 25.

As thus far described the cabinet is of ordinary and well known construction.

A vertically disposed locking bar 30 is slidably mounted between a side wall of the casing and the drawers, as shown being held between pairs of guide lugs 3!, 32, secured to the outer faces of some or all of the bars 25. The bar 33 carries a set of rollers, as 33, each rot'atably mounted on a stud 3 1, fixed in the bar, one such roller being located adjacent to each of the drawers and riding on the cradle bar 243 associated therewith, the upper flange of the bar 25 being apertured to accommodate it, as shown at 36. When all of the drawers are closed these rollers rest in recesses 3 3 formed in the upper faces of the cradle bars 2t associated with the several drawers, which recesses now register with the apertures 36. The rearward margins ill of the recesses 3% are inclined backwardly to constitute cams.

As any one of the drawers is drawn forward the cradle bar associated therewith travels forwardly, the roller 23 being turned by the frictional engagement therewith of the flange 2t. The forward movement of the cradle bar causes the elevation of the bar Ell due to the action of the cam 37 on the roller 33 associated with that drawer,

Upon the adjacent side wall of each drawer there is mounted a laterally projecting lug 381, so positioned that as the bar 3%) is raised by the opening of one of the drawers, the rollers 33 associated with the several drawers which are not opened are brought to rest immediately before the lugs thereof, effectually preventing the opening of these drawers until the bar 30 is again lowered by the closing of the drawer which has been opened.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, a cabinet is shown which is not of the cradle type, the several drawers sliding on fixed ways. The safety locking mechanism comprises a vertically movable bar 40, preferably of channel form and reciprocating in the ways iii secured to the body of the casing, and carrying a series of rollers, as 42, one associated with each of the drawers and, when the bar is raised, engaging the forward face of a stop lug on the side of the drawer,thi detail of the locking means being substantially the same as that of Figs. 1 to 6.

The means for raising the locking bar comprise an angle bar 43, secured along the adjacent side, as 44, of each drawer, and having the forward end of its outstanding flange inclined downwardly, as shown at 45, for engagement as the drawer is drawn forward, with the roller 42 associated therewith, and by a camming action raising the bar 4!! until the roller rides upon the horizontal portion of the flange of the bar 43. The forward end of the vertical flange of the bar 43 is bent outwardly with reference to the drawer side, as shown at 46, and is located immediately back of the position to which the roller 42 associated with that drawer shall be raised by the opening of another drawer.

As the bar lll is raised by the opening of any one of the drawers of the set its rollers associated with the other drawers are brought to a position immediately in front of the outstanding lugs 46 thereof, and eifectually prevent the opening of these drawers until the bar M! is again lowered by the closing of the drawer which has been opened. Upon the closing of the now opened drawer the roller 42 associated therewith will travel down the camming flange 45, the bar 46, moving downwardly with it, again brings the parts of the automatic locking mechanism into such position that any of the drawers maybe opened and will, in moving forward, securely look all of the remaining drawers in closed position, as hereinbefore described.

The two forms of construction thus far described are of like type in that the automatic lock- I ing action is accomplished by the opening movement of a drawer.

Another type of the invention comprises an automatic lock for each drawer, the releasing of any one of which interposes obstacles to the release of each of the locks associated with other drawers of the set, such obstacles being removed by the closing of the drawer which had been opened but leaving all of the locks in their previous automatic engagement.

One form of this type of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 10 to 13 of the drawings. At 50 there is shown a front elevation of a cabinet containing a set of drawers all of which are equipped with locking mechanisms of like form, the push buttons or plungers thereof being indicated at to 54. These plungers are mounted in a vertical housing 55, of channel form, shown as continuous, though it may be sectional, secured tothe inner face of the side and front walls 56, 51,

of the cabinet, and project through the wall 51 and the rear wall of the housing. Each plunger carries on its stem an expansion spring, as 58, which reacts between the rear wall of the housing and a button 59, fixed upon the plunger stem, and which normally holds the plunger extended outwardly through the cabinet front. The forward or inner end of each plunger carries a beveled, preferably a cone-shaped, head 60, having an annularly channeled stem 6!.

A look lever 62, having a pair of hinge lugs 63, is pivoted between a pair of fixed lugs 64 projecting inwardly from the side wall 5'5 of the cabinet, its inner end being normally engaged with the forward face of a bracket secured to the side of a drawer, as 65, when the drawer is closed, by the action of a spring, as shown at 61, and prevents the opening of the drawer. The power end of the lock lever has a lateral flange 68, which normally engages the inclined face fill of the head of the plunger 53, and as the plunger is pushed forward rides up on this face, swinging the lever on its pivot to carry it out of engagement with the bracket 65. As the plunger continues to advance the flange 58 enters the annular channel at the base of the head 6:, thereby preventing the withdrawal of the plunger and also the reengagement of the lock lever with the bracket 65.

The drawer, as shown being the lower one, thus unlocked may now be drawn out freely, but the unlocking of this drawer has interposed an effective obstacle to the release of the automatic locks associated with the other drawers of the set.

While this latter action may be accomplished by other means there is shown for this purpose a vertically slidable bar 69 of channel section, suitably secured to the casing, as the rearward wall of the housing 55, as shown.

The web of the channel bar 69 is provided with a series of keyhole apertures 12, one associated with the automatic lock of each drawer. The heads of these apertures are of sufficient diameter to receive the stem 8! of the plunger head, the outward movement of the plunger being arrested by the contact of this head with the web of the bar, now in register with the annular channel of the stem of the plunger head. Immediately above each of the apertures 12 the web of the bar 69 is cut to form a tongue 13, which is bent inwardly but inclined downward over the conical head 60 of the plunger, with which it cooperates in a camming action, to raise the channel bar when the plunger is advanced.

The several tongues F3 are normally spaced a short distance from the heads of the plungers with which they are associated, as indicated in dotted lines at 13*, providing lost motion to permit the stem El to clear the bar before its upward movement commences. Preferably the heads 69 are given a cylindrical form adjacent their bases to afford a horizontal seat for the tongue '13 associated with the plunger that has been advanced.

The upward movement of the bar 69 brings the stem of the keyhole apertures I2 associated with the plungers which have not been manipulated into interlocking cooperation with the annular channels of the stems 6| thereof, thereby preventing the release of the automatic locks of all of the remaining drawers.

To provide for the relocking of the drawer.

which has been opened, when it is again closed a pivoted tripping cam I4 is pivotally mounted with or upon the bracket 65 and normally advanced by a light spring 15 to the position of Fig. 11, where it engages a stop indicated at 16. When the drawer is drawn forward this cam escapes past the end of the lever by the yielding of the spring 15. As the drawer is closed the cam 14, being now in the solid line position of Fig. 11 and of such radial dimension that it engages the lock lever now in the dotted lines position, tilts it suificiently to disengage the flange 68 from the groove at the base of the plunger head, permitting the outward movement of the plunger, as 54, the dropping of the channel bar 69, and its consequent disengagement from the plungers associated with the other drawers, and reengaging the locking lever associated with the presently closed drawer with the bracket 65 thereof.

Either type of the invention illustrated may be embodied in other specific forms, within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention- 1. In a filing cabinet and the like, in combination, a case, a series of drawers mounted in the case, a vertically reciprocable element mounted on the case and crossing the several drawers, a locking detent associated with each drawer and movable into locking engagement with closed drawers by moving the reciprocable element in a vertical plane, and means associated with each drawer for moving said element as the drawer is opened and for lowering the element without further manipulation as the drawer is closed.

2. In a filing cabinet and the like, in combination, a casing, a vertical series of drawers mounted therein, drawer supports comprising for each drawer fixed channel bars, floating channel bars roller supported thereon-and longitudinal outstanding fianges fixed to the drawer sides and riding on rollers associated with the floating bars, a forwardly facing shoulder on a side of each drawer, a vertically movable bar mounted in the casing and extending past the several drawers, instanding rollers carried by such bar and located one adjacent to each drawer and each normally riding on an upwardly and backwardly inclined flange of a floating bar associated with one of the drawers, whereby upon the opening of any one of the drawers the remaining drawers are locked by the engagement of the rollers carried by the vertically movable bar with the shoulders on said drawers.

3. In a filing cabinet and the like, in combination, a case, a series of drawers mounted in the case, a vertically reciprocable bar mounted on the case and crossing the several drawers and carrying a series of rollers one thereof associated with each drawer, a backwardly and upwardly inclined bracket attached to each drawer and engageable with a roller upon the initial opening movement of the drawer for raising the rollers, and a shoulder outstanding from each drawer for engaging a raised roller to prevent the opening of the other drawers.

4. In a filing cabinet and the like, in combination, a case, a set of drawers mounted in the case, a vertically reciprocable bar mounted on the case and crossing the several drawers and carrying a series of rollers one thereof associated with each drawer, means carried by each drawer engageable by the roller associated with the drawer for raising the bar as the drawer is opened and for lowering the bar when the drawer is closed under any conditions, and means carried by the drawer engageable by the roller associated therewith for locking the other drawers against opening movement.

5. In a filing cabinet or the like, in combination, a case, a set of drawers mounted in the case, automatically engageable and manually releasable locking mechanism for each drawer, and means actuated by the release of the locking mechanism of each drawer for preventing the release of the locking mechanism of the remainder of the drawers.

6. In a filing cabinet and the like, in combination, a case, a set of drawers mounted in the case, means for automatically locking each drawer, and manually controlled means associated with each drawer for simultaneously releasing the locking means therefor and for rendering the releasing means of other drawers inoperative.

7. In a filing cabinet and the like, in combination, a case, a set of drawers mounted in the case, means for automatically locking each drawer, manually controlled means associated with each drawer for simultaneously releasing the locking means therefor and for rendering the releasing means of other drawers inoperative, and means actuated by the closing movement of each drawer for reengaging the locking means thereof and for restoring the action of the manual releasing means of the remaining drawers.

8. In a filing cabinet and the like, in combination, a case, a set of drawers mounted in the case, a spring-advanced locking lever carried by the case and associated with each drawer, a springretracted push rod carried by the case for controlling each lever and interlocking therewith 1 when advanced, a slidable bar carried by the case and beingvertically movable by each rod into locking engagement with the remaining rods, and means carried by each drawer for eifecting the disengagement of the rod and lever associated therewith upon the closing of the drawer.

9. In a filing cabinet and the like, in combination, a case, a set of drawers carried by the case, each drawer being provided with automatic locking means comprising a locking lever having a lateral flange at its power end, a spring retracted push rod having a beveled head provided with an annularly channeled stem for engaging the lever, said case being provided with a vertically slidable bar having lips for engaging the beveled faces of the several heads and keyhole apertures cooperating with the stems of the several push rods for locking the rods against reciprocation, and means carried by each drawer for disengaging the locking lever and push rod head upon the closing of the drawer.

10. In a filing cabinet and the like, in combination, a case, a set of drawers, means for locking the remainder of said drawers in closed position when any one of said drawers is in open position, said means comprising a single vertically reciprocable bar extending across said drawers, and means associated with said drawers and cooperating with said bar .for moving "said bar to elevated position for preventing the opening of the remainder of said drawers when any one of the same is in open position and for releasing said bar when said one drawer is closed so that any of said drawers may then be opened at will.

KENNETH C. BOLES-KY. FRITZ A. SAAF.

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