US2351571A - File r ack - Google Patents

Description

June 13, 1944.

L. H. BURLIN FILE RACK Filed July 24, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 13, 1944.

| H. BURLIN FILE RACK Filed July 24 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 13, 1.944

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v r FILE RACK Leslief HfBurlin, Valparaiso, Ind., assignor to Milton L. Sturm. Evanston, 111., doing business as I V Milton Sturm & Company, Chicagm lll.

Y Application July 24,1942, Serial No. 452,219

' 6' Claims. (01. 45-64) This invention relates to file racks in general and more particularly to such file racks as are used for filing or holding magazines, papers, or letters, for ready access adjacent a chair, table, or the like.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a simple rack in which magazines, papers, letters, or the like may be placed and held in position for ready access, and in which the magazinesare held neatly in a vertical position regardless of how few or how many magazines or papers are placed in the rack, within the capacity of the rack.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rack of the above mentioned character with a movable end plate which will exert a continuous pressure against the stack of magazines or the like in the rack to hold them in position, and in which the movable plate may be tilted to allow for an examination of the contents of the rack for the selection of a particular magazine or the like.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a rack of the above mentioned character which is almost entirely made of wood.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a spring for a rack of the above mentioned character, which spring is nonmetallic and yet reliable in its action.

It is a still further object of thepresent invention to provide a rack of the above mentioned character which is simple and economical of construction, easy to operate, and of neat and aesthetic appearance.

The attainment of the above and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings formingapart thereof.

In the drawings: I

Figure 1 is a front view of a rack embodying the present invention; v

Figure 2 is a top view of the rack of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end view of therack of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a bottom view of the rack of Figure 1; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 4.

Reference may now be had more particularlyto the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout. The rack is indicated in general by the reference numeral I and includes two similar end members 22 of.-

wood; Each of the end members is in the formof an inverted T and consists of a wide bottomportion 3 and a comparatively narrow upright portion 4. together at their base by longitudinally extending bars 65. The end members 2-2- are further secured together by boards 8-8 which form the base of the rack and which are at a slight inclination to one another, as may be seen from Figure 4. The ends of the board 88 extend into slots in the bars 6-6. A stationary longitudinally extending vertical wall or partition ID extends between the end members and issecured to the end members by wood screws II-I I.

A pair of identical links I2-I3 are pivoted to the outer side of each end member, as by a pivot screw I4. The link I3 is on the outside of the link I2. The link l3 includes an arm extending upwardly from the pivot I4 to a pivot I5 and includes an arm I8 extending in the opposite direction from the pivot I4 to a leaf spring I9 for a purpose and of a construction to be more fully set forth as this description proceeds. Likewise the link I2 includes a part I8 similar to the part l8 of the link I3 against which another spring.

ings, bears against the portion 4 of the two end members. The top of the plate 25 has a longitudinally extending outwardly curved lip'26. The

plate 25 is of a length equal to the spacing be-' tween the outer surfaces of the end members 2--2. On one edge the plate 25 has an outer projection 28, as may be seen in Figure 1, which extends from the surface of the plate an amount equal to the thickness of the link I2. No such projection is present on the opposite edge of the plate 25, as is apparent from Figure 1. The two plates 2525 on opposite sides of the partition I 0 are of identical construction. Since the plates are mounted facing one another the projection 28 on one plate is on one side of the rack and on the other plate is on the other side of the rack.

This may be seen from Figures 1 and 2 wherein the projection 28 on the front plate 25 ison the right hand side of the rack, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, whereas the projection 28 on the rear plate of Figure 1 is on the left hand side of the rack,;

The two end members are secured,

as seen in Figure 2. Thus each plate 25 is pivoted between an inner link l2 on one side of the rack and an outer link l3 on the other side of the rack. This construction permits the use of identical plates 25, whereby the manufacturer is relieved of the necessity of providing different right hand and left hand plates.

A stationary cross bar 39 is securely mounted on the underside of the rack, as by a screw 3| that threads into the base 88 and the partition I 0. Two bars of spring wood or wooden strips i9|9 are mounted on the top of the bar 30 and extend the full length of the rack on opposite sides of the longitudinal center thereof, and

project through openings Site-"33in the opposite These spring bars bear l8,i8' of the links end members 2 2. against the projections |2--l3 and urge the links to the position illus trated in Figure 3-. When the links are in the position illustrated in Figure 3 the plates 25 25 bear against the end members 2 -2 leaving a narrow opening between each plate and the partition l forreceiving one or several magazines' their pivots l4l4 and force the ends of the spring members [9-19 downwardly. The spring members l9-l9 thus exert a spring pressure against the part l8 of the link I'Z, as seen in Figure 3, and against the corresponding part 18 of the 7 link I 3 on the opposite side ofthe rack to urge'the link to maintain the plate 25 infirm engagement against the stack of papers or magazines between the plate 25 and the partition 10, thus maintaining the magazines or papers in the rack firmly in a vertical position. If it is desired to separate some of the papers in the rack' in order to select a desired magazine or paper, the

plate 25 may be manually tilted about its pivot I5, as illustrated at 4| in Figure 4-, to permit such separation. At all times the springs I9-l9 This causes the links l2-|-3' that support the plate involved to swing about cause the links to maintain a continuous pres- 1 sure urging, the plates towards the partition I0.

It is to be noted that when the plate 25 is in its outwardly extended position, ,as illustrated in dotted lines at 40 in Figure 4, the links I2l3 that supportthe plate extend from the pivot l5 towards the endmember 2 at a very small inclination, asindicated at43. 1 This is due to the curvature of the links. As a result the portion of the linkat 43 serves as a closure for theopen end of the magazine space between the extended plate 25 and the ,end member 2.

In the normal use of the rack each plate 25 is vertical and maintains pressure distributed over a large area of the last book, paper, or magazine in the rack. The-plate may, however, be manually tilted, as illustrated in dotted linesat 4| in Figure 4, to permit the tops of the papers to be ianned apart, to'facilitate selection of the desiredpaper. While the papers are fanned out at the top they are pressed together by the bottomof the plate 25,thus holding-the papers in place.-

In compliance with the requirements of the patent statutes I have here shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention. It is, howevento be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction here shown, the same being merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. What I consider new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A rack comprising a base, a vertical partition secured to and extending across the base, supporting links, means adjacent the base for pivotally supporting the links, members on opposite sides of the partition pivotally mounted on the links for movement towards and away from the partition, a pair of parallel wooden spring strips mounted on the underside of the base but spaced from the underside of the base and extending lengthwise of the base for substantially the full length of the base, at least one end of each strip-"being free and movable away from thebase, said; links being engaged by the free ends of the spring strips for pressing the members towards the partition.

2. A rack for magazines or the 1ike,'comprising a base, a central longitudinal vertical partitionextending above the base,'means connecting the partition with the base, similar longitudinally extending plates on opposite sides of the parti- 3-. A rack for magazines or the like, comprising a base, a central longitudinal vertical partition extending above the base, means connecting the partition with the base, similar longitudinally extending plates on opposite sides of the partition, linkages supporting the respective plates, each linkage including links pivoted at the opposite ends of-the rack and swingable towards and away from the partition, the plates being pivoted to therespective'linkages, a pair of wood spring-strips secured intermediate their ends to the rack below the base and extending longitudinally of the rack to the opposite ends of the rackand each bearing against links-at the two ends of the frame and biasing the links to press the platestowards the partition.

4; A rack for magazines or the like, comprising a base, a stationary longitudinal vertical wall extending above the base, means connecting the wall with the base, a pair of links pivoted to the rack at opposite ends thereof about axes in alignment with one another, a plate pivoted to the termediate its ends to the rack and extending longitudinally of the rack to the ends of the rack and pressing the links in a direction urging the plate towards the vertical wall.

5. A rack for magazines or the like, comprising a base, a stationary vertical dividing wall extending above the base, said base including narrow end-members at opposite ends of the dividing wall and at right angles thereto, means connectingthe dividing wall and the end members with the rest of the rack, supporting links, means adjacent the base for pivotally supporting the links, a pair of end plates above the base on opposite sides of the vertical dividing wall and pivotally mounted on the links for movement'towards and away from the vertical dividing wall, said end members being in the path of movement of the plates constituting stops for limiting the movement of the plates towards the vertical dividing wall, and spring means for constantly urging the plates toward the vertical dividing wall.

6. A rack for magazines or the like compris ing a base, a longitudinal vertical wall extending above the base, means connecting the base and the wall into a rigid structure, a pair of links pivoted on opposite ends of the rack, a plate member between the links and pivotally mounted thereon and moved by the links towards and away from the vertical Wall, a part of each link extending across the space between the plate and the vertical wall intermediate the top and the bottom of the plate, and spring means acting on said links to urge the plate towards the vertical wall.

LESLIE H. BURLIN.

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