US1422631A - Desk-drawer lock - Google Patents

Description

A. SMI-Tom). DESK DRAWER LOCK. APPLICATION FILEDSEPLZZ, 1920.

Patented July H, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I. A. STAFFORD.

DESK DRAWER LOCK. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 22. 1920.

Patented July M, R923 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

4 SHEE1 S-SHEET 3'.

)Patented July M, 1922:

l. A. STAFFORD.

. DESK DRAWER- LOCK. Y 'j APPLICATION FILED SEPT.22. 1920. 1.422,63 l

Abm.

. ...L .....I .v.

l. A. STAFFORD.

DESK DRAWER LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 22, 1920.

areY guided in apertures 29 in the pedestal legs 22. The outermost part of each of said push bars extends into its companion pedestal leg 22 and is provided in its lower edge with a vertical notch 30 which is suitably" beveled on its opposite faces. Each of theseV pivot notches receives the upper end of a rock arm or bar 3l (Fig. 2). secured to a vertical rocking plate or member 32. Preferably, these plates are entirely housed and concealed within the front pedestal legs 22. Each of these plates is provided at its upper and lower ends with horizontal ears or flanges 32a 4and 33, respectively, through A spring 37 preferably of helical form which encircles the upper end` of the rock shaft 34 and is attached to same. p

Mounted on this shaft are a number of superimposed locking dogs 40 for the -deskdrawers of various sizes or depths, one for each drawer, which dogs are vertically adjustable onsaid shaft to accommodate various drawer arrangements, according to the fancy or particular needs of the user.V `These dogs are horizontally disposed and extend rearwardly from said shaft. To the lower Vside of each locking dog is preferably secured, by spot welding or otherwise, a bracket plate or brace 41, which serves to give the dog afirm bearing upon Vsaid rock shaft.V Interposed between each of said bracket-plates 41 and the corresponding locking dog is a torsion spring 42, one end of which is secured to or engages the locking dog while its'other -end engages a vertical flange 43 formed at the forward edge of the rocking plate 32 and extending laterally and inwardly therefrom. vThe vertical rear edge of said rocking plate has a similar vertical flange 44 which is provided lwith a vertical row of horizontal retaining notches or slots 45, any onekof which is adapted to receive the free rear portion of the locking dogs 40, as best shown inY Figs. 2 and 3, so as to hold the dog from vertical displacement on l YIthe rock shaftand the rocking plate 32. The

torsion spring-42 of each dog tends constantly to swing it against the inner end of the Vco-operating notch 45. To' shift one of the dogs from one position to another posi- Ition (Fig. 2) it is merely necessary to press its free rear end outwardlyagainst theresistanceof the spring 42 until the dog clears the respective notch 45, and'then bodily move the dog,'together with its spring 42 F 'and'bracket plate 41, to thel'desired new position, and finally4 interlock the dog with another one of the retaining notches 45.

Each of .these drawers 20 is provided at each of its sides with a longitudinal, channel-shaped slide bar 46 adapted to slide back and forth in a companion, longitudinal, channel-shaped drawer slide 47. @Each vof the latter is adapted to be removably engaged withany companion pair of blisters or apertured brackets 49 which are arranged in vertical rows on the desk frame as more fully shown and described in my aforementioned patent application. With this adjustable arrangement of the drawer slides, various arrangements of differently-sized drawers maybe obtained to suit the particular requirements of ythe user of the desk. lt is obvious that such an elastic arrangement of the drawers necessitates a corresponding adjustability of the locking dogs 40, such as already described. Y

` Each of the slide bars 46 of a drawer has secured to vit by a screw 50 or otherwise, a lock block 5l, which is adapted to engage with the rear face of its companion locking dog 40, as shown at the left hand side of Fig. 4, to lock the companion drawer in place. Y To unlock the drawers, the lock 24 is manually operated to-simultaneously shift 4both push bars 27 toward each other. This movement is transmitted by said bars to the actuating arms 31 of the rocking plates 32, causing the latter to be retracted to the position shownV in Fig. 6,and` carrying with them all the locking dogs 40 which are thus swung entirely clear of the respective Vlockblocks 5l, allowing the various drawers to be freely withdrawn.V .Y Y

`To lock the closed drawers, the barrel of the lock24 is turned in the opposite' direction, whereby the plates 32 are rocked outwardly to a position in which the dogs 40 areallowed to project in front of said lock-V blocks, as shown at the leftiof Fig. 4, preventing withdrawal ofthe drawers. Dur-V ing these movements the several locking dogs together with their companion rocking plate 32 `swing as a singlerunit aboutftherock shaft 34 as an axis. Y i 2 Should a drawer be left-open inadvertently (as shown by full `lines att-he Vright of F 4,) after operating'the lockingmechanismfto lock'the drawers, the open drawer need merely be pushedfin and closed'iwhich action .will first cause the companion lock block 5l to trip the companion locking dog 40 asideagainst thek resistance of the torsion spring 42, while the continue'dinward movement of` the drawer permits the dog to snap in front of said` block,thereby lock-v ing the drawer. Euring .this operation, all the parts of the locki-ngrmechanism Yremain stationary except said drawer-tripped'lockingdog.. i j

vThe -desk is alsosometimes equipped with a hinged locker dooi fl- (Fig. 7) which is provided in its inner side with a sliding horizontal locking lbolt `having a suitable spring 56 for projecting it. This boltis adapted to interlock with an vopening 59 in the adjacent wall of the -pedestal or deskframe, :for locking the door, ras shown by dotted lines in F ig. 7. The bolt is normally held in its unlocking position `by a cam 57 which is secured to the -front inner corner of the adjacent rocking plate 32 and adapted to projectthrough said opening 59 and push back said spring-bolt to release thedoor, as shown by full lines in F ig. 7, whenever said -rockingplate is moved to the position in which lthe dogs 40 release .the desk-drawers. lVhen, "however, said rocking plate is swung to its locking position, said cam 57 is withdrawn lfrom the opening 59, permitting the spring bolt 55 to enter it and locking the door. Thus, the door-'lock or bolt is set in locking position simultaneously with the movement of the drawer-locking dogs to the corresponding position.

The spring 37, while normally holding the rocking plate 32 and the rock shaft 34 in position, permits the ready removal of these parts from the pedestal. To do this,

it is only necessary to push said plate upwardly against the pressureof said spring, until theV lower end of said rock shaft is withdrawn from the lower vbracket 36. By a lateral vmovement of the lower portion of the rock-shaft, followed by a downward movement thereof, its upper end is withdrawn from the upper bracket 35 and the lwhole locking mechanism, including said plate, rockshaft and the dogs 40 can be removed from the pedestal leg, access to which is obtained by first removing one of the deskdrawers 20.

A modification of the locking mechanism is shown Vin Figs. 8-11 inclusive. In this case., a cylinder lock Q40 is used as before, the turning of its barrel causing a simul taneous outward or inward movement of a "pair of Apush bars 270. Each of these push bars is provided at its outer end with an varm 60 which is perforated to receive the inner, downturned end of a thrust link 6l. The outer end of the said link (as best shown in AFig. Y9) is pivot-ally connected to a rock arm or bracket 62 secured to a square, vertical rock shaft 340. The latter is joui'- naled in Vbrackets 350 and 360 secured to the frame of the desk and carries a. plurality of locking dogs 4 0() which while being `compelled to turn with the shaft are vertically adjustable thereon. To the upper face of each of t-hese dogs is secured a bracket. or brace plate 410 through which the rock shaft 340 passes. The latter is provided in one side with a vertical row-of recesses G3 any one of which is adapted to receive the head `of a spring bolt 64 for locking v:the corresponding dog to the rock shaft. This bolt is guided inthe lvertical kpart of the brace 410 and its frontend carries a aU- shaped guide-plate -G which embraces the shaft so Vas `to center the'bolt thereon. This guide vplate as well as .the bolt Gel is forced toward the rock shaft 340 by the bolt-spring 66 which encircles the bolt and bears with its opposite -ends against said guide-platee` and the inner face of the bracket plate 4:10 as best shown in Fig. l0. At its outer end, each of said spring bolts has a suitable handle 67 vfor retracting it ,to release the corresponding dog 400. The dog Acan --then be adjusted up or down on the shaft as inay be required, the same being again locked in place by engaging the bolt with the nearest recess 63 of the shaft.

If it be desired to leave one or `more drawers permanently unlocked, lit ;i s only necessary to shift the respect-ivedog or `dogs out of register with the corresponding drawer-slides 470. This also applies lto the does of it-he first-described construction.

ecured to the rear face of each push bar 270 near its outer end,'is Ya spring 69 vwhich bears against the inner lipped end of the adjacent thrust link l61, so as to normally hold the link aganst longitudinal movement in thearm 60 of the push bar Q'Oand coinpel itto move therewith, the spring vbeing stiff enough for this purpose. Vhen, however, one of the drawers is inadvertently left open (as indicated by dotted lines vin Fig. l0) after moving the Vdogs to locking position, the spring 69 upon closing said drawer, yields and .permits said link 6lV to slide in the arm 6() suliiciently `to allow the dog of said drawer to recede under the tripping action of t-he drawer-block, said spring again projecting said dog to locking position after .the block has passed behind it.

1f desired, the center drawer 70 located above ythe knee space :may belocked simultaneously with the pedestal drawers by the same locking mechanism. 1n the example shown in the drawings, Figs. l and 5, the

4front wall of said center vdrawer carries av fixed lug il projecting' above its upperedge and adapted to engage behind a verticallyswinging locking catch 72 in the depressed locking position ofthe latter, .shown by full lines in Fig. 1. rllhis catch lforms the lower arm of a bell crank which is pivoted at 73 to a longitudinal rail Tl secured to the desk-top,

`this rail and the adjacent flange T5 of the ver;

into its locking position, while a pin or pro-V j ection 80 carried by the adjacent thrust bar 27 and engaging the arm 77 retracts said catch clear of the drawer-lug 71 when the thrust bar is shifted inwardly by the partial rotation of the barrel of the cylinder lock 24. It will now be understood that when the locking Vdogs l() ofthe pedestal drawers are moved to locking position, the pin 8O recedes from the catch-arm 77, allowing the spring 78 to lowerv the catch to locking position. Vhen said dogsare moved to unlocking position, the pin 80 swings the arm 77 toward the lock 24, withdrawing the catch 72 to the corresponding position, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. l.

To permit this center drawer to be closed Vand automatically locked, in case it should be left open after moving the dogs a() to locking position, the catch 72 has a beveled lower edge 81, which causes the catch to be deflected aside when the drawer lug 71 trips over said edge.

It will be observed that in both embodiments of the invention herein shown and described, a vertical series of locking dogs is carried by a rock member by which they are simultaneously moved into and out of locking position; that in both cases the locking dogs are individually adjustable on said rockmember to adapt them to different drawer arrangements, and that in both cases the dogs are capable of yielding to permit the full closure and automatic locking of any drawers which mayV have been left open,

after moving the dogs to their locking po- Y vlockingdevices of other drawers, thus rendering the lock more convenient.

The lock is also very strong, durable and reliable, particularly on account of the arrangement of the locking dogs which extend rearwardly from their rock shafts.

Moreover, by locating the locking mech-l anism at the inner sides of the pedestall drawers instead of at the back thereof, the drawers can be extended to the extreme back of the desk, increasing their capacity.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a desk having a pedestal containing drawers, of an upright rock member journaled in the' front portion of said pedestal at the inner sides of the drawers, and locking dogs for the drawers controlled by said rock member. Y

' 2. The combination with adesk frame and drawers arranged therein, of an upright rock shaft j ournaled in the front portion of the desk-frame, and substantially horizontal locking dogs extendingV rearwardly from said rock shaft and adapted to interlock at their free rear ends with the sides of the drawers.

3. In a desk drawer lock, the combination with a desk frame and a plurality of desk drawers arranged therein, of an upright rock member mounted in said frame, a plurality of locking dogs for said drawers mounted on said rock member and vertically adjustable thereon, and means for actuating said rock member to move said dogs to locking and unlocking positions, each of said dogs when in locking position being yieldable to the pressure of a desk drawer independently of the remaining dogs.

4. In a desk .drawer lock, the combination with a desk frame and a plurality of desk drawers arranged therein, of a rock shaft mounted in said frame, a plurality of locking dogs longitudinally adjustable on said shaft and adapted to lock said drawers, a rocking plate bearing against said locking dogs for controlling their position, and means for actuating said rocking plate.

5. In a desk drawer lock, the combination with a desk frame and a plurality of desk drawers arranged therein, of a vertical rock shaft mounted in said frame, a plurality of locking dogs vertically adjustable on said rock shaft and adapted tolock said drawers,

a rocking plate pivotally mounted on said frame coaXially with said rock shaft and provided witha verticalrow of retaining devices for. said locking dogs, and means for actuating and locking said rocking plate.

6. In a desk drawer lock, the combination with a desk frame and a plurality of desk drawers arranged therein, of an upright rock shaft mounted in said frame, a vertical rocking plate provided with a vertical row of retaining slots, a plurality of locking dogs mounted on said rock shaft and each adapted to engage with any one of said retaining slots, springs tending to h old said dogs in said slots, and means for actuating and locking said rocking plate. V Y

1. In a desk drawer lock, the combination with a desk frame and a plurality of desk drawers arranged therein, of a vertical rock shaft mounted on said frame, a rocking plate mounted on said rock shaft and provided with a flange having a vertical row of retaining slots, a plurality of locking dogs vertically adjustable on said rock shaft and mounted to swing thereon, said dogs being adapted to engage in said slots, torsion springs one for each dog applied to said shaft and tending to hold the dogs in said slots, and means for actuatingyand locking said rocking plate.V

8. In a desk drawer lock, thecombination with a desk frame anda plurality of desk drawers arranged therein, of a rock shaft removably journaled in bearings carried by said desk frame, a vertical rockingplate whose opposite ends are pivoted on said rock shaft and terminate short of the ends thereof, a spring interposed between one end of said plate and the adjacent bearing of said rock shaft for removably holding the shaft and the rocking plate in place, and a plurality of locking dogs for the desk drawers mounted on said rock shaft and controlled by said rocking plate.

9. In a desk drawer lock, the combination with a desk frame and a plurality of desk drawers arranged therein, of a vertical rock shaft removably journaled at opposite ends in bearings carried by said desk frame, a vertical rocking plate secured to said rock shaft and provided with a vertical row of retaining slots, a retaining spring encircling said rock shaft between one of its bearings and the adjacent end of said rocking plate, locking dogs for the desk drawers adjustably arranged on said rock shaft and adapted to engage any one of said retaining slots, springs for yieldingly holding the dogs in said slots, a push bar for actuating said rocking plate, and locking means for said push bar.

l0. In a desk drawer lock, a rock shaft, means for actuating and locking said shaft,

member having means for shifting said door-bolt to unlocking position when said dogs are moved to the corresponding position.

l2. The combination with a desk having pedestals separated by a knee space, drawers in said pedestals and a drawer above said kneel space, locking dogs for said pedestal drawers, an actuating member for said dogs carrying a. projection, a locking catch for said knee space drawer mounted on the d esk frame and having a retracting arm arranged in the path of said projection, and a spring tending to move said catch to its locking position when released by said projection.

ION A. STAFFORD.

Images