US1686515A - Sectional cabinet - Google Patents

Description

@et 9, w28'.- ,68'6,515 y E. F. CHANDLER SECTIONAL CABINET 'Filed Aug. 23, 192:5

ATTORNEY vso Patented Oct. 9, 1928,

UN'IEy *STATE-S,

'eater i orties.

EDWARD F. CHANDLER, OF BROOKLYN, YORK.

SECTIONAL CABINET.

' Application ledvAugust 23, 1923. Serial No. 658,864.

This invention relates to sectional cases or` cabinets used in stores, offices or the like, for tiling cards, papers, etc.

It ,is one of the objects of the invention to provide improved means for assembling the units and for holding them in assembled relation, to form a cabinet. Y Y

Another object is to provide a simplified locking means whereby the units can be more economically constructed and yet be rigidly held together when assembled.

Another object is to provide a unit consist V:Referring now to the drawings which illus- Y trate a'v preferred embodiment of the invention, y. y 'Figure l is a perspective view of the cabinet, showing three units assembled, and ready to receive the fourth;` n Figure 2 is-a sectional view illustrating one means for aligning the units;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the assemblv of a two unit cabinet;

Figure 4 isa perspective view of a .two'unit locking member; i

Figure is a sectional view of the two unit cabinet ;V Y

Figure 6 is an end elevation of a corner of avunit; y f Figure 7 is a view of the unit blank illustratingv a step in the process of forming the corner; i' .f l

Figure 8 is an end view of a four unit locking member; Y FigureV 9 is a perspective view showing the recess for the locking member inset fromthe face of the unit; i

Figure 10 is a perspective view showing a modified form of locking member recess;

Y Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view substantially on thene 11e-11 of Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a front view of thev shell for a unit; r Y r y n Figures 12n and 12b illustrate various ways of securing the ends of the shell together;

AFigure 13 is a View of a modified form of locking member.

ineens ln the' embodiments illustrated, the cabinety units, which may be of various sizes and of x rectangular sha-pe, are designated by the nu-- v moral Each unit is provided with an openiwng 2 in the front thereof, for receiving a drawer or raclr to hold thecards, papers or the like .for filing. A panel?) may be provided,"

around the openings 2' to hold thedrawers spaced from the walls'ofthe unit. A section of this panel is removed at each corner of the Gli unit as at 4:, L and the corner walls of the units.r

at each end thereof` are displaced inwardly to provide a recess 5 for the body 7 of the locking member 6. The locking members 6 arek of various sizes, each comprising a body member- 7 and one ormore prongs 7a, 7b, 7, 7d, etc. A single prong locking member is illustrated in Figure 13, a two prong member in Figure 4, and a four prong member in Figure 8,.

To facilitate assembling the units, each unit is provided with displaced dowels or projections 8 upon two ofthe adjacent. sides thereof, for example, upon the top and right side 'as viewed in Figure 1, and with corresponding sockets or depressions Qupontheopposite sides7 i. e., the bottom and left 'side in Figure 1,to receive the projections Sand hold the units'in position to receive the locking members 6. lThe projections 8 Vand depressions 9 may'each -be formed by displacing the walls of the units a'slight amount, as trated in Figure 2."

To assemble the cabinet, as illustrated in Figure 1, the fourthunitis positioned upon the single unit to complete the i'ectanglefour illus# p pronged locking members 6 are inserted'at each end of the cabinet at 10, two pronged locking members are inserted in the recesses at 11, and single pronged members are inserted at thek outer corners 12. When inserted, the body? of the'locking members substantially fills the recesses 5 and forms a cabinet with a .smooth exterior, while the prongs 7, 7b, 7C, etc., project into the separate units to hold or Vlockthem inassembled position. i

n win be observed am bymeans '6ft-his, 'constructiomeach unit', and each combination of units, when complete with theloclr- 'ing members, will -have perfectly smooth sides. As stated above, this constitutes, an advantage from a manufacturing standpoint, inasmuch as the costof tinishingflat surfaces is considerably less than'that entailedby the finishing' of 'irregular surfaces. However,. aside from considerations of cost, this feature is very important per se, because the appearance of the cabinets is finuch improved, it belng the same as that of ordinary non-sectional cabinets, and the weight is uniformly dis` tributed overa large surface.

f is possible to set cabinets formed by means Vof these units, side by side with cabinets of ordinary construction, Without danger of scratching or marring their surfaces.

Vhile a cabinet consisting of four substantially uniform units has been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that any number of units of various sizes may be assembl'ed together to form a cabinet and thatsuitable bases and cap pieces may be pro- Y the proper locking member is dropped intov vided for the top and bottom of the cabinet to form an attractive piece of furniture.

' A special feature of my invention is the simplified method of constructing the units of my cabinet, which are preferably formed from one piece of sheet material, shaped to form a rectangle 13, as illustrated in Figure 12, with the ends of the sheet joined by a strip 14 covering the seam. In lieu of the strip 14, the ends of the sheet may be con-V nected by a lap joint 1lia which is spot Welded or by a lock seam 14h which may be used to hold the ends together without W-elding. The recesses 5, for receiving the locking members 6, are formedvby displacing a part of the corner wall of the unit inwardly in a manner tobe described. For forming the panels 3y and the recesses 5 at the corners of( the cabinet, the sheet is cut to the shape shown in Figure 7. The Wings 3a to form the panelV 3 are cut away at the corners 3b so as to form a smooth joint when the wings 3a are folded down to form the panel. The notch 5a is formed to leave an opening into recess 5 for the insertion of the locking members. The sheet is then slitted at 5b to permit the Walls of the recess 5 to be'shaped therefrom. In the manufacturing process, the walls 1b are `folded toward each other along the line 1C to form a A.9D-degree angle, and the portion 5c is folded inwardly along thev lines 5d to form QO-degree angles with the walls 1b and complete the rectangular recess'. The Wings 3a are then folded inward along the lines 3b toformthe panel The completed corner as formed by these operations, is illustrated in Figure 6.

Figure 9 illustrates a modification of the invention in which the recess 5e for the lockingmember is inset from the face of the unit wherebyv the cabinet, when assembled, will present smooth end surfaces. The recesses 5e are longer than the vtotal length of the locking members 6, so that in assembling the units having the recesses inset from the ends,

the recess before the covering units are assembled, and when the completed cabinet is assembled the locking members may be pushed into locking engagement with the walls by inserting the arm through the openg Vings 2 and using the lingers 'to push the prongs ,5f to form a pocket in which the prongs 7a,

7b, etc., t, while the body Tof the locking member projects through openings 5f into the units.

panels 3 and the recesses 5 form reinforcements for the corners and end of the units to hold them rigid Without the necessity for attaching separate sections of angle irons o'r the like to the walls. y

In accordance with the patent statutes, I

have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, but itis to be understood that various modifications kmay be made therein without departing from,y the spirit of the invention or the scope of the accompanying.

claims.

Vhat I claim is: 1. In combination, a plurality of sectional Itv is to be noted here that the integral cabinet units, eachcomprising `a rectangular shell having flush faces, vsaid shells having complementary key-receiving openings in adjoining edges thereof letting into the interiors of the shells, and a freely slidable pronged key inserted in said openings with its prongs entering lthe respective cabinet sections and exposed interiorly thereof and embracing adjacent walls of the shells to lock them together. l j y 2. In a sectional cabinet unit, arectangular shell having iiush faces and having a keyreceiving opening provided at an edge thereof and letting intothe interior of the shell, so that a key or filler inserted in said opening may be exposed interiorlyof the shell, and means extending inwardly/from an inner face of the shell for supporting the key or'iiller inserted through said opening.

3. VIn a sectional cabinet unit, arectangular shell having flush faces,-and provided at one of its edges with a key-receiving opening letting into the interior Vof, the shell, and a key insertedto lie partially Within and partially Without the shell, the opening and the key being so shaped thatthe exposed portion of the key may be flush with the Qiterior of the shell.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signatureto this specification. y

EDWARD F. CHANDLER.

Images