US1957407A - Filing cabinet - Google Patents

Description

c. A. FINLEY FILING CABINET May 1, 1934.

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gwwnto'o Charla) A. Finley Patented May 1, 1934 FILING CABINET Charles A. Finley, North Tonawanda, N. Y., assignor to Remington Rand Inc., Buffalo, N. Y.

Application June 12, 1931, Serial No. 543,920

4 Claims.

This invention relates to tray holding cabinets and it has particular reference to a construction adapted to maintain the working parts of the cabinet in such relationship as to prevent acci- 5 dental interference therewith.

The invention comprehends the provision of a bottom structure for cabinets having an inner bottom member spaced from the bottom of the cabinet, and an outer bottom member detachably associated therewith. These bottom members have cooperating parts to mount the members in assembled relation that are concealed between the bottom members but accessible for operation when it is desired to remove the outer bottom member.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective View, certain parts being broken away, of an index cabinet wherein the bottom portion of the cabinet is shown, with a locking bar unprotected. 1

Fig. 2 is a perspective of a cover plate for cooperating with the bottom of the cabinet.

Fig; 3 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section showing the first step of the method by which the bottom cover plate is placed in position in the bottom'of the cabinet. v

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, showing the bottom cover plate in an-assembled position.

Fig.5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the bottom cover plate assembled with the bottom of the cabinet. 5

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the cabinet with the bottom cover plate attached thereto showing certain retaining portions of the cover plate for preventing inadvertent displacement.

A cabinet, such as visible index cabinet, is shown at 10 and is provided with a top 11, side walls 12 and 13 and a rear wall 14. The cabinet 40 is also provided with flanged portions 15 and 16 adjacent the lower portion of the side walls which project inwardly of the cabinet, and a flanged portion 17 provided upon the rear wall. The cabinet is provided with partitions or drawer guides 18 for holding card index trays or drawers and is also provided with a lowermost partition 19 which is formed with the lateral edges thereof projecting downwardly as depending flanges 20 and 21 for support upon and cooperation with the side flanges 15 and 16 of the side walls 12 and 13 respectively. The front lowermost part1 tion is provided with a depending flange 22 to which an offset 23 is attached which forms a channeled member 24 having a flanged portion 25 projecting inwardly of the cabinet to form a receiving member as hereafter described.

A locking rod or bar 26 has one end attached to a locking mechanism 2'7 placed in the front portion of the lowermost partition 19 and extending rearwardly thereof for engagement with a locking strip 28 of any conventional type. A bottom plate member 29 is provided for fitting removably into the bottom of the cabinet whereby detachment thereof, when desired, is permitted for access to the locking mechanism for adjusting, repairing or inspecting the same.

The locking strip 28 is slidably mounted in the rear portion of the cabinet as shown in Fig. 4 and is formed for locking cooperation with parts of index trays slidable in the cabinet between partitions 18 to retain said trays in the cabinet in a manner well known in the art. Operation of lock 2'? secures rotation of bar 26 to position the strip 28 in either locking position for locking the trays in the cabinet, or in disengaged relation with respect to the trays so they may be withdrawn from the cabinet.

This bottom cover plate 29 is provided with lateral upturned flanges 30 and 31 which are formed with tongues 32, 33, 34, and 35 thereon which are flexible and which may be bent to any desired position. ,A guide member 36 is attached to one end of the cover plate 29 and has a groove 37 formed therein for receiving the lock bar 26 and for guiding the cover plate in a well defined position upon the bottom of the cabinet. Ears 38 and 39 are attached to the cover plate in any suitable manner. In Fig. 2 they are shown as a portion of the attachment providing the guiding member 36. These ears are of a suflicient length so that when bent to a position substantially ooplanar with the bottom cover, they will extend beyond the end thereof and act as anchoring stops preventing longitudinal displacement of the plate 29 when in position, as will be more fully hereinafter described. A tongue member 40 is provided at one end of the plate and when in position in the cabinet this member bears upon the flanged portion 17 of the rear wall of the cab- :j

inet. In the form of the invention shown herein, this member tapers from the sides of the plate 29 and when in position upon the cabinet permits access to that portion thereof confined between the partition 19 and the cover plate 29, as shown in Fig. 6.

An upwardly extending flange 41 is formed in the other end of the cover plate 29 and extends upwardly therefrom to a distance suificient to permit entrance of the plate and flange into the offset 23 formed on the front portion of the lowermost partition or tray slide 19 of the cabinet. Supporting and locking members 42 and 43 are provided adjacent the flange 41 which are flexible and capable of being bent into a position in which they are an extension of the bottom plate, whereby these members act as stop members preventing longitudinal movement of the plate 29 when placed in position upon the bottom portion of the cabinet.

The method of introducing the bottom cover plate into cooperating engagement with the cabinet is shown in Fig. 3. The cover plate 29 is placed with its lateral edge and flange 31 upon an inwardly extending flange of the side wall such as 16 and is moved upwardly into position so that the flange 15 receives the other lateral flange 30. After the bottom cover plate is placed in position wherein the lateral flanges are engaged and supported by the inwardly extending flanges at the lower portion of the side walls the plate is in a position such as that shown in Fig. 4 wherein the tongue portion 10 of the plate is exterior of the flange 17 attached to the lower portion of the rear wall 14. By moving the plate longitudinally of the cabinet the channeled portion 23 formed on the front wall receives the flange 41 formed upon one end of the plate 29, and retains the plate securely in position at that end. When pushed to the extreme limit of movement the tongue 40 thereby clears the flange 1'7 and may be swung into place as shown in Fig. 5.

In order to hold the bottom plate cover securely in position and prevent lateral movement of the plate upon the bearing surfaces of the flanges formed on the lower portion of the walls the tongues 32, 33, 34, and 35 are bent outwardly to engage the side walls of the cabinet as shown in Fig. 6. The tongues may be spread or flexed into abutting position with the side walls of the cabinet by means of any desirable instrument reaching through the free corner portions of the cabinet as provided by the tapered ends or tongues 40 and 41 in Fig. 6. In the the same manner the ears 38 and 39 may be swung downwardly to abut the rearward wall of the cabinet and the projections 42 and 43 also bent downwardly to make contact with the front wall of the cabinet as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

It is thus clearly seen that the instant invention provides a bottom cover plate for cabinets which is adapted to be readily assembled thereon providing protection to portions of the structure susceptible of distortion in handling.

What is claimed is:

1. A bottom structure for a cabinet having upright flanges upon the lateral edges thereof for cooperation with the cabinet, lip portions upon said flanges capable of flexure for spacing the bottom laterally in said cabinet, said bottom having flanges and locking members upon the ends thereof for retaining engagement with portions of said cabinet and for spacing said bottom longitudinally thereof.

2. In a file cabinet wherein an outer casing has side walls provided with inturned flanges at their lower edges defining a bottom opening, a bottom member is mounted in said cabinet in spaced relation to said flanges, and inturned flange members at the front and back of said cabinet cooperate with the inturned flanges on said side Walls in forming said bottom opening, the combination of a sheet metal plate member having longitudinal and transverse dimensions larger than said bottom opening, and having removed corner sections, said plate member having the side and end marginal portions slidably engaged in overlapping relation with the inner faces of the inturned flanges of said cabinet, and positioning means on said plate operable to hold said plate with said marginal edges at the sides and ends in said overlapping relation wiih said inturned flanges and flange members.

3. In a file cabinet wherein an outer casing has side walls provided with inturned flanges at their lower edges defining a bottom opening therein,

inturned flange members at the front and rear of said cabinet cooperate with said flanges in forming said bottom opening, and a bottom member is mounted in said cabinet to form the bottom wall thereof, and is spaced from said inturned flanges, the combination of a sheet metal plate member having longitudinal and transverse dimensions greater than said bottom opening, said plate member having removed corner sections providing diagonal edge portions between the end and side edges of said plate member, and lateral flanges and. distortable projections on the sides and ends of said plate member for cooperation with said bottom member to hold said plate member in engagement with the inner faces of said inturned flanges spaced from said bottom wall, said diagonal edge portions providing access to said distortable tongues for manipulation thereof.

4. A bottom plate member for detachable engagement through an opening in the bottom of a cabinet, comprising a sheet metal plate member formed with laterally extending side and end flanges and provided with distortable positioning tongues, said plate member having diagonal edge portions joining the side and end edge portions of said plate member whereby the marginal portions of the sides and ends of said plate member may be retained in engaged relation with said cabinet by said tongues being distorted into engaged relation with said cabinet.

CHARLES A. FINLEY.

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