US1837019A - Index or file - Google Patents

Description

W H. DAY

INDEX OR FILE Dec. 15, 1931.

5 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March '7, 192- Dec. 15, 1931. w, A 1,837,019

' mmmx OR FILE Filed March 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 v v 40 3 -2 38 f Patented Dec. 15, 1931 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICES.

WILLIAM H. DAY, or EAST-HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOE, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T REMINGTON RAND INC, or NEW YORK, N. Y., A coRroR-ATIo or DELAWARE INDEX, on 1 FILE I Application filed March 7, 1925. Serial No. 13,820.

designed to be used ina file cabinet,-but it is m understood that in some of its aspects the invention will not be limited to the details shown, nor to the use of the same as de-' scribed. Preferably the drawer or tray, or other card carrying device, is made of sheet 1 metal. The drawer shown is provided with means to mount a plurality of index cards, such as are shown in thepatent to Irving Fisher, No. 1,048,056 granted December 24,

1912, but should not necessarily be limited :0 to use with such type of cards. Devices of this character when used as a tray or drawer for an index cabinet, are usually provided with a handle or drawer pull, which is secured to the front wall of the same; When constructed of sheet metal, the front wall becomes weakened and occasionally distorted under the constant strain, due to the pull exerted upon the handle. My invention, therefore, contemplates a drawer front structure which will obviate this tendency to distort, by the provision of a Inorerigid construction for a drawer or tray at this point. One object of my invention is to provide an improved supporting member or drawer to carry the reference members in a convenient and suitable manner so that the same will be protected against undue wear, and will at the same time be readily accessible. Another object of myinvention is to pro 4 vide a drawer for an index or file, in which the index members may be retained in proper position.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a drawer-or tray having an improved form of construction at the front face thereof, which will obviate any tendency of the same to become weakened or distorted under continuous use;

A still further object of my invention is to provide a facing plate for a drawer of the V beiprovided. .7

. in'the direction of the arrows;

character described, which plate may be applied to'the drawer in such a way that a pocket for the drawer label or the like, will enerally speaking, my invention con templates the provision of an improved drawer of this type made from-one piece of sheet metal, and of such construction that it will be strong and durable and yet light in weightand pleasing in appearance as well as inexpensive to manufacture.

. To these and other ends, the inventionconsists in the novel features and combination of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: I

F ig. 1 is atop plan view of an index card supporting member in the form ofa drawer or tray, embodying the features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 3'is atop plan view of the front portion of the drawer on an enlarged scale, without the indexjcards;

Fig. 4 isanenlarged section on line 44 of Fig. 1, through the front portion of the drawer with the cards removed Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on line 55 ofJFig. 1, through the front portion of the drawer, with the cards removed; r

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of the drawer with the outer front plate removed;

"Fig, 7 is a partial'section through the front of the drawer on line 77of Fig. 2, looking Fig. 8 is a rear view of the front plate member, looking into the same through the openpspace at the rear;

Fig. 9 is a section through the drawer on line 9-9 of F ig. .3, looking in the direction 'of the arrows,and

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section through a drawer having a slightly modified form of outer. front plate. I I

' For illustrating the featuresof my invention, I have selected and shown a supp rt or base member, for reference cards or the like,

in the form of a drawer 10, formed fromza single sheet of metal suitably shaped to provide the desirable depth. This drawer-has a a bottom portion 11, which when in use, is sub,- stantially horizontally disposed. The ma terial forming this bottom portion is bent angularly upward at each side, as at 12 and 13, then outwardly, as at 14 and 15, then vertically downwardly to provide side faces 16 and 17. The edges are then turned backwardly toward and in abutment with the drawer bottom, as at 18 and 19, and are depressed slightly below the drawer bottom, thereby forming runways upon which the drawer will slide upon a support. The front portion of the drawer body as shown in the drawings is curved upwardly as at 20, and then abruptly bent downwardly as at 21 to form a front face member for the drawer. The rear portion of the drawer body is also curved upwardly as at 22, and the edge portion thereof is bent back upon itself as at 23, in order to stiffen the drawer crosswise at this point. Grooves 24 and 25 extend substantially the entire length of the drawer body to assist the box like side portions in stiffening the drawer lengthwise.

An in dex card retaining strip 26 is mounted lengthwise through the center of the drawer. This retaining strip is provided with outwardly directed flanges 27 and 28 at its side edges, which are adapted to engage tongues 29 of the type of index cards described in the Fisher patent, above mentioned.

A pair of bails 30 and 31 are provided, which are hingedly secured to the drawer bottom by means of supporting members 32. The supporting members 32 are preferably spot welded to the drawer bottom, as at 33, and are located closely adjacent the angularly extending sides 12 and 13. These bails assist the index card retaining strip 26 in properly retaining the index cards 34 within the drawer by bearing upon the upper edges thereof and urging the same downwardly by gravity.

A pair of ears35 and 36, in this instance struck up from the material forming the drawer bottom, are provided at the forward end of the drawer, .and are so located that they will engage an edge of the forwardmost card in order that the cards will not slip out of'the drawer during the movement thereof in and out of the cabinetor other storage de vice.

Label card retaining cars 37 and 38 are struck outwardly from the vertical front plate 21-of the drawer, and a series'of hooklike members 39 are struck out from the same plate, being directed upwardly to form outer front'plate engagin fingers; The side vertical portions 16 and 17 are extended beyond the drawer at the front end, and are formed in'theshape of ears 40, which are bent face portion 42,"having a rearwardly di rected upper edge flange portion 43, and a rearwardly directed lower flange portion 44, which is extended beyond the lower edge of the plate 21, and along the bottom of the drawer, as at 45 and 46, respectively, and at 46 it is preferably spot welded to the same. The portion 43 of this outer front plate is provided with spaced apart label receiving openings 47 and 48 forming passageways, through which suitable labels 52 may be inserted into the space between the plates 41 and 21. In the front face portion 42 of his plate, there are provided a pair of openings or windows 49 and 50, through which the insignia upon the labels may be observed. An inwardly directed flange 51 is provided about each of the windows 49 and 50. This flange somewhat restricts the space between the outor plate 41 and the front plate 21 of the drawer, so that the label card 52 will be some- .tween the plates 41 and 21 at the ends and somewhat vertically stifl'en the outer plate member. These end closure portions also assist in locating the front plate 41 transversely upon the drawer. A handle member 55 is provided which passes through the front portion 42 and is riveted over on the inside as at 56.

The rearwardly directed flange portion 43 is slightly depressed at its rear edge and abuts the'front end of the drawer bottom in this instance, as well as the upper edge of the inner plate 21. The hook like members .39 engage the edge of the flange portions 43 and retain the same in close abutment with the front of the drawer, thereby securing the outer front plate to the drawer bottom at this point. The rearwardly directed lower flange portion 44 closes the bottom of the space or recess between the plates 41 and 21 to form a bottom for he label card pockets. This flange portion 44 continues rearwardly until it is in engagement with the drawer bottom, and is at this point secured thereto. In this manner, the inner front plate 21 is substantially enveloped by the outer plate 41, and the space or recess therebetween is substantially enclosed. V l

The modification-shown in Fig. 10 consists of a somewhat diflierently constructed outer front plate 60, and there is provision of separate card retaining ears 61. In this construction the front face portion 62 is extended upwardly beyond the upper front edge of the drawer a desirable distance, then bent rearwardly as at 63, and then downwardly as at 64: where the edge of the material is enga ed by the ears 39. A slot or slots is provided in the portion 63, through which label cards may be inserted into the recess or space between the plate 60 and the inner front plate 21. In all other features this outer front plate is similar to the previously described one, as is also the body portion and inner front plate construction of the drawer, with the exception that separate card retaining cars 61 are provided which are spot welded or otherwise secured in proper position upon the drawer bottom.

One of the advantages of the drawer construction above described, is that a drawer body of given depth is adapted to be used in cabinets or the like, having the distance between the drawer supporting partitions either the same or greater than the depth of the drawer body. This is made possible by the use of a front plate of such dimensions that the space between the partitions will be closed by this plate at the front of the cabinet when the drawer is within the same.

From the above, it is obvious that this invention has provided a light yet rigid and durable index card supporting member, easily and inexpensively manufactured from sheet metal. The structure described where by the outer front plate portions 43 engage the ears 39 of the inner front plate, and the securing of the portion 46 to the undersurface of the drawer bottom causes the strain, due to the pull upon the handle 55, to be distributed directly to the drawer body and not upon the inner face plate 21. The inner face plate 21 is braced by the side member ears 4:0, and being vertically disposed relatively to the drawer body strengthens the drawer at the front portion against twisting or other distortion. The label locating ears 37 and 38, and the flanges 51 to the openings 49 and 50, with the adjacent front surface of the inner plate 21, form spaced apart label card pockets into which label cards 52 are readily inserted from the top through the passageways 47 and 48, respectively, and within which the labels will be retained in proper position relatively to the windows 49 and 50. The inner and outer front portions of the drawer cooperate when constructed as above described to form stress reducing means for the front portion of the drawer.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the same is not limited in all of its details but is capable of many modifications and variations thereof which will lie within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

\Vh at I claim is:

1. In an index or file, a facing member for a" dr'awer* oathe lilie,'including an upper flange portion engageable with. a portion of the front of said drawer, a front plate portion having openings therein, and spaced by said. flange portion from the front of said drawenandia lower flange portion extending beneath-said. drawer andse'cured thereto, said first mentioned flange portion being provided with T a drawer label receiving opening through which a label or the likemay be inserted' soas to be observable through the openings inwsaidi front plate portion;

2; A facing member for the front of a drawer or thelike, including a front plate havingka flange portion engageable with a portionof said drawer front adjacentits upper edge, andanother flange portion extending-rearwardly over a surface of said drawer bottom and secured thereto,said front plate having openings todisplay a: drawer labelvor the like, said first mentioned flange portion. having'openings to allow the inser-' tio-niofadrawer labelto the. rear of: said front plate.

3.: Inaniindex or file, the'combination of a drawer having a bottom, said bottom rising upwardlyatthe front end thereof totform an upper frontedge for said drawer, a member co-extensive with the widthof said drawer disposed across the front thereof to form a front facefor saiddrawer attached to said bottom, and another memberin front of. and spaced" from said first mentioned member whereby a recess is formed 'therebetween, said second mentioned member substantially enveloping said first mentioned member and secured'to saidbottom at the upper and under surface thereof. 7

4. Ina drawer for an index or file,an inner front face member and an outer front face member, said members being'spaced apart to provide'a label receiving recess therebetween, an opening insaid' outer member through which the label may be observed, pocket forming means onsaid inner member for retaining the label in position relatively to said opening and against transverse displacement therefrom. r

5. In a drawer for an index or file, an inner front face member and an outerfront face member, said members being spaced apart to provide a label receiving recess therebetween, an opening in said outer member through which the label maybe observed, means on said innermem'berfor retaining the label in position relatively to said opening, and

against transverse displacement therefrom,

and means on said outer member restricting the recess at the rear of said opening to insure the action of said label retaining means.

6. In a drawer for an index orfile, an inner front face member and an outer front face member, said members being spaced apart to provide a label receiving recess therebetween,

an opening in said outer member through which the label may be observed, pocket forming projections on said inner member for retaining the label in position relatively to said opening and against transverse displacement therefrom, one of said members being formed to provide a downwardly directed passageway communicating with the pocket therebetween for the insertion of a label card therethrough and into said recess.

7. A drawer for an index or file, having a bottom formed with an inner front face member, and an outer front face member having marginal flanges engaging said inner front face member and spacing said outer face member from said inner face member, means uniting said outer face member with said inner face member, whereby said outer and inner face members in said spaced relation'provide a tubular drawer front and have stress reducing cooperation.

8. A drawerfor an index or file having an inner front face member, an outer frontface member, means mounting said outer front face member in spaced parallel relation with said inner front face member. and cooperating means on said inner and outer face members for receiving and retaining a label between said members and displaying said label through an opening in said outer face member.

9. In a drawer for an index or file, a'bottom having an inner front facemember, an outer front face member having flanges engaging and spacing said outer face member from said inner face member, and means on said outer face member extending past said inner face member and secured to and/engaging said bottom in angular relation, said flanges, means and face members having stress reducing cooperation,

10. In a drawer for an index or file, a bottom having the forward end inclined upwardly, an inner front-face member secured to said bottom at its upper edge, an outer front face member having marginal flanges engaging the edge portions of said inner face member and spacing said outer face member therefrom, an angular extension on said outer face member secured to said bottom, and means preventing lateral displacement of one face member relative to theother, said face members having stress reducing cooperation. 1

In testimony whereof, I have hereuntoset my hand this 5th dav of March, 1925.

WILLIAM H. DAY.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,837,019. Granted December 15, 1931, to

WILLIAM H. DAY.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 4, line 9, claim 6, for the word "recess" read pocket; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 9th day of February, A. D. 1932.

M. J. Moore,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

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