US2401182A - Desk attachment - Google Patents

Description

MayvZS, 1945 LJ. w. PAxroN ETAL 2,401,182

DESK ATTACHMENT Filed Jan. 22, 1942 operatingposition; and

Patented May 28, 1946 i DESK ATTACHMENT John Warren Paxton, Bloomington, and Irving Richard Cornish, Elmhurst, Ill.

Application January 22, 1942, Serial No. 427,780

6 Claims. (Cl. 311-17) v when in place, its inner end I6 extends horizon- Our invention relates to improvements in desk attachments and relates particularly to means for utilizing an ordinary oiiice desk as a support for an appliance such as a typewriter, calculating machine, dictaphone, etc., at a height which is convenient for the operator. j

The purpose of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement of the character mentioned, which canV be nattached or applied to an ordinary oiiiceV desk without any need to employ moval of the top drawer.

a skilled mechanic in order to make the applica,-

tion. A 'furtherobject is to provide convenient and eflcientmeans f or safely and securely clamp-` ing the attachment" to the desk in such manner that strain or vibration caused by the weight or by the operation of the fappliancewill not affect 'thestability or rigidity' of the support, or` the appliance which is Supported thereby.

In the drawingaccompanying this application, and which shows certain' preferred embodiments of Athe invention: 7

Fig."1'is a fragmentary 'perspective view of an ordinary office desk to which'th'e improved attachment hasbeen applied;

' Fig. 2 is a shortened plan view of the attachmentjtself; f

Fig. a is a frontl elevation of the attachment; Fig. 4 isA a `vertical section taken through the lappliance and a portion of the desk towhich it is being applied, showing the manner in which the parts are arranged at the l beginning ofthe actof applicatiomi v l5 is a section similar to Fig. 4," showing the parts in the position which'they occupy after the attachmenthas been securely locked" in its Fig. "6 isa section taken on the line 6-5 of Fig. 2. j u

4Referring to the drawing, it will be seen that the( desk designated as ajwhole. I0is of the conventional type having" the usual side pedestal II withV accommodation for three drawers. The twolower drawers I2, and I3 are Vno1-affected by the` application of the attachment and Vmay be used in the usual way when the attachment is in place; The same thing is true of the-writing slide I4.. C i ln "Preferably, the main shelf or supporting element is madev inthe form of asingle horizontally arranged" board, preferablyof` the same width as d the top drawer which, in order to permit the ap'- plication of the attachment, vshould be removed from the desk. This boardmember I5 is made long enough toextend forwardly a sufIicientdistanito rrvridethe, necessary shelrroom and.

tally inwardly into the recess formed by the re- It will be observed that the entrance to the drawer opening, as is usual in desks of wooden construction,V is rectangular, the vertical sides of the entrance to which opening are formed by the posts Il and I8 ofthe pedestal, whilethe upper and lower sides of the drawer entrance opening take the form of horizontal rectangular wooden bars I9 and 20 located at the top and bottom of the entrance opening respectively.`

The rear faces 2IA and 22 and the` front faces 23 and 24 of said frame bars I9 and 20 serve as abutments which are engaged by cooperating shoulders on parts carried Aby the shelf member l5 and adapted to be drawntogether so that. the bars I9 and 20 will be clamped respectively between upper and lower pairs of said clamping parts.

The clamping parts which carry the shoulders referred to preferably take the form odf` a pair of fixed members and a pair of relatively movable members. The xed members in the present instance `comprise a horizontallyl extending wooden bar or slat 25 extending across the top of the shelf member I5 and a somewhatdeeper or wider'slat or board 26 located on the under side of the shelf member I5,vand preferably extending immediately below the upper slat 25. The combined width of the slats 25 and 26 and the thickness of the shelf member I5 is in excess of the vertical dimension of the entrance to the drawer opening, so that,` when the attachment is in place, the upper Slat 25 will have a shoulder 21 which contacts with the abutment 23, and the lower edge of the slat 26 will have a shoulder 28 which will at the same time contact withthe front abutment 24 of the lower cross bar 20. Said slats 25 and 26 may be conveniently secured to theshelf member I5 by long clamping bolts, for example 29, vextending vertically through all three ofthe aforementioned elements, as indicated best in Figs. 4 and 5. The nuts 30 of said bolts are preferably'- seated in square apertures inthe bottom edge of the member 26, so that the said bolts may be tightened conveniently; 1

In order to strengthen the shelf structure as a whole, thesides of the attachment are reinforced or braced by means of wooden angle bracket members 3| and 32 glued to the under side of the shelf mem-ber I5 and to the front face of the slat 26., If desired, wooden screws suchwa's `shown at 33WA may also be employed to clamping bar 34.

cessed into the rear face of the clamping bar 34, as shown at 36. This enables the screw to be conveniently operated from the frontl of 'the structure whenever it is desired toY 'draw the clamping bar 34 outwardly.

Vertically below the L-shaped clamping mem-` ber 34, there is located a similarly shaped lower clampingbar 31, in this case, however, reversed or turned upside clown as compared with the Thisy clamping bar 31 is equipped with clamping screws and bolts 38 Similarto the clamping screws 35, but the front portionsof said screws are arranged to slide in slots 39 so as to. enable the bar 31 and` its associated clamping screws 38 tov be moved vertically relative to the lower slat 26 of the shelf structure. This is to enable the bar 31 to be temporarily moved upwardly into inoperative position, as shown in Fig. 4, in order to permit the 'structure t-o be installed in its proper position.

It will be observed that, in theposition shown in Fig. 4, the total vertical distance between the upperand lower edgesrespectively of the clamping bars 34and 31 is `somewhat Vless than the verticaldimension of the entrance to the drawer opening, so that the inner extension I6 and its associated clamping bars can be inserted through the rectangular entrance to the drawer opening. ftersaid insertionhas .beenveffected the lentire `str'ucturefis then. moved upwardly' so that the', shoulder .21 is in engagement with the abutment23 on the yfront of the top cross bar- I9, and f thellower shoulder 28 ofA slat 26 is in engagement Wthrnthe front abutment 24' of the lower cross 4bar 23. In this position, the.y upper flange of. thetop clamp bar34 overlaps the rear face or abutment 2`I of bar I9 and, Iwhen the bolt 35 is tightened, the said .rear abutment 2| is engaged bythe front face or shoulder 40 ofkclamping bar 34. After the bolts 35 have been properly tightened, as shown in Fig. 5, the lower clamping barn 31 is slid downwardly until the rear face or abutment 22 of thevlower cross bar 20 is overlapped by the lower depending ange of the clamping bar 31, kand the clamping bolts 38 are thentightened so as to draw the shoulder 42 of 'said clamping bar 31 into Vengagement with.

the rear face or abutment v22 of the lower cross barZr.

:In view of the fact that the pull or force applied to the ` cross bars 34 and 31 is offset relative'to the line of contact between the clamp,

ing parts and the bars respectively, it'is advisable 't'o provide guides for preventing any rocking tendency of the clamp bars and to compel them to move horizontally under the influence of the clamping bolts. In the case of the upper slat 43, which takes the form of ahori'zontal bar which is capable of beingl clamped in any desired vertical position on the back of the slat 2E by means of horizontal clamping bolts 44 which extend through the guide slat 43 from the front of the structure and through the slots 39 previously referred to. It is manifest that, when the structure is being secured in position, before tightening the bolts 44, the slat 43 is slid downwardly until its lower face is in contactrwith the upper face of the clamping bar 31. Then the bolts 44 are tightened, so that, when the iinal clamping of the lower clamping bolts 4I is effected, the bar 31 will be properly supported and guided, andr any improper rocking movement thereof will be prevented.

If desired, the L- bars 34 and 31, which are subjected to considerable stress by the clamping bolts, may be reinforced in any suitable manner, for example by rivets 45 (see Fig. 6).

In vieul of the fact that the described arrangement may be modifiedv in various ways to Suit individual 4taste or diiTerent conditions, the scope of the invention should be determined by reference to the appended claims.

We claim:- 1 l Y 1. A desk attachment comprising a shelf having a pair of normally stationary, vertically spaced, upper and lower shoulders, and upper and lower clamping Amembers. spaced from said upper rof* vclamping members respectively engageable with said -inwardlyfacing abutments, and means horizontally adjustably` connecting said clamping members respectivelywith said shoulders and operative to effect. adjustments of ksaid clamping members toward vsaid shoulders to thereby draw the -1att`er-into shelf supporting engagement with said loutwardly facing abutments.

L3. A shelf attachment for a desk `having a draweropening, two `opposite sides. of .the entrance to which opening are each provided' with an inwardlyfacing vabutment and an outwardly facing abutment, the attachment comprising a normally horizontal Vmember having upwardlyand downwardly extending shoulders respectively-engageable with said outwardly facing abutments, a pair of clampingmembers respectively engageabl'e with said inwardly lfacing iabutln'ents,y and means horizontally adiustablyj connecting said' Vclamping members respectively with `said shoulders and operative to Veffect adjustments of said clamping members toward 'said shoulders tothereby draw thelatter into 4shelf supporting engagement with said outwardly facing abutments, one of said clamping members `being also vertically adjustablyV mounted on its cooperating shoulder to permit vertical movement/of said clamping member into .cooperative relationship 'to one of said inwardly facing abutments after horizontal Apassage of the .clamping members' through the entrance to said-draweropenng... Y

` 44. A. device 4for use on a desk having a drawer spacelwith' amember .extending across the top of the entrance tothe space, the device including a supporting board having an end portion of reduced width forming a tongue which is adapted to be inserted into said entrance, a part on the under side of the tongue for resting on the lower wall of the entrance, a part on the upper side of the tongue engageable with the under side of said member in said entrance, the tongue and said parts serving to occupy said entrance and to aid in supporting the board, and a latch block on the upper side of the tongue for engaging the rear side of the member to latch the Vboard in place.

5. A device for use on a desk having a drawer space with a member extending across the top of the entrance to the space, the device including a supporting board having a tongue of reduced width adapted to be inserted into said entrance,

`a transversely disposed strip on the upper side of the tongue adapted to engage in the entrance of said space and bear upwardly against the under side of said member, a transversely disposed strip 20 on the under side of the tongue adapted to engage in the entrance of said space and rest on the lower wall of the entrance, and one or more latch blocks on the upper side of the tongue for cooperating yspaced hook members mounted on said shelf member, one of said hook members being mounted so as`to be movable away from the other after insertion into said opening, thereby to enable said hook members to be respectively engaged with said inwardly facing aloutmentsl and means for adjusting said shelf member and said hook members toward each other to thereby clamp the attachment on said inwardly and outwardly facing abutments.

J OI-IN WARREN PAXTON.

IRVING RICHARD CORNISH.

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