US2883989A - Filing systems - Google Patents

Description

April 28, 1959 c. B. ULRICH, JR

FILING SYSTEMS Filed June vl5, 1954 lili 1N V EN TOR.

United States FILING SYSTEMS 'Charles B. Ulrich, Jr., Lakewood, N.Y., assignor to Watson Manufacturing Company, Inc., Jamestown, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application June 15, 1954, Serial No. 436,844

1 Claim. (Cl. 129-16.7)

This invention relates to filing systems in which a number of items on separate sheets are assembled to select and coordinate data from the different sheets, for instance, for the preparation of accounts based upon punched card accounting systems.

'Ihe main object of the invention is a simplification of the procedures involved in the handling of the data on the various sheets and cards employed in the presenting and recording of the data.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel tiling equipment adapted for punched card accounting and recording which will efficiently receive and hold the data bearing cards and sheets and effectively present them together when needed for review, accounting, billing, reporting and the like.

Further objects of the invention, particularly in the structure of the filing equipment holding the data bearing cards, will appear from the following specication taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a face view on reduced scale of an index guide constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view on reduced scale illustrating an operation of the system in connection with index guides as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and

Fig. 4 illustrates a modification of the index guide.

In the typical tiling system illustrated in the drawings a tray (not shown) contains a series of index guides 6 assembled in order, for instance, alphabetically by name or in a numerical sequence. Each guide 6 has a stiftbacking board 8 of paper, fiber board, plastic or metal sufciently stii to prevent wrinkling of the filed cards or sheets between the guides. The boards 8 are dense and hard and of a size for attachment of one or more pockets 9, 10 each adapted to receive and hold a standard size punched tabulating card 11, 12 of the type, for instance, used in the accounting systems of International Business Machines and Remington Rand.

An index holder 25 is provided at the top and attached to the backing bcard 8 so that the guides may be readily located and by which it may be tilted for access to the records between the guides. The index 6 normally carries the name and/ or number of the account or subject.

Each pocket 9, 10, is attached to the board 8, for instance, by gluing or the like, and comprises a back piece 18 and a front piece 19 preferably formed with the diagonal edge 20 for easy insertion, observation and removal of the card. The left end of the front piece 19 may be folded around back of the board 8 and glued to the rear surface thereof or glued to the front piece to form an envelope pocket. The envelope sheet is thus glued to board 8. Each pocket will hold a number of tabulating cards, for instance, up to ten, and retain these snugly against the backing board. The corners of the pockets 9, 10 are preferably cut off to form an opening 2,883,989 Patented Apr. 28, 1959 with a diagonal edge 26 to make it easier to insert and remove the cards 11, 12. Index guides 6 assembled in the tray are so arranged that they can be compressed tightly holding the tabulating cards at and preventing warpage. An important feature is the adaptability of the lguide to display the upper portion of a tabulating card which is simply moved to a vertical position as shown in full lines at 15 in Fig. 3, thus making it visible when placed with others in a le. This effects a flagging of that guide and its contents as required in the system of this invention. The notch 16 of board 8 is important in permitting ready observation of the flagged cards when standing in the lower pocket 10. Also the upper edge of the card end may be conveniently grasped without interference with the board 8. The vertical nagging card may, if preferred, be placed in the upper pocket vand will then protrude well above the top of the guide as indicated in partial view in broken lines 17 in Fig. 2. In either upright position in pocket l0 or pocket 9 the card is visible to mark the le for active attention and indicates the guide 6 carrying pertinent data.

In this system the guide 6 carries all of the tabulating cards covering a given subject such as an account payable of a purchasing concern P with a supply house S, and this will include a master card or cards with holes punched for the vendors name, address and any other items normally repeated in the handling of the various acknowledgments, charges, payments and the like associated with the particular account payable.

There will thus be for each supplier S a separate guide 6 led in order. Invoices from the suppliers may be presorted in the same sequence as the index guides and filed in front of the corresponding guide. When an invoice is so filed the operator takes one or more of the appropriate tabulating cards that are normally tiled horizontally in their pocket 9, 10 and moves it or them to a vertical position as above explained and indicated at 25 in Fig. 2 exposing the upper end of the card or cards and so automatically identifying the particular accounts in condition for payment.

The indexing means may be modified as shown in Fig. 4 by having an indexing tab 28 along one end of the top edge of the board 29. The tab is less than half the length of the top edge so that the guides 27 may be turned to alternately present indexing tabs on the right and left side of assembled or stacked guides 29.' With the tab 28 having a length less than half the top edge a space notch 31 is provided between the alternately arranged tabs of successive guides. The vertically positioned cards are made visible without obscuring the index tab by positioning the card in the notch between the indexing tabs. The modiiication reduces the space required in the le.

Various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

An indexing and filing device comprising an information containing card of a predetermined length and Width and a generally flat rectangularly shaped card support having a top edge with an indented portion and a bottom and side edge, an index holder secured to the top edge` of said card support between said indented portion and a side edge, only two card receiving pockets secured to said card support in vertically spaced relation to one another with the bottom edge of one pocket spaced from the top edge of the subjacent pocket, the bottom edge of the lowermost pocket being disposed along the bottom edge of said card support, each pocket comprising a rectangularly shaped back portion and a front portion and a side edge portion, said back and front portions of each pocket being formed from a single piece of material with the front portion folded over the back portion along the bottom edge of the pocket and dening a bottom for the pocket, the back portion of each pocket having a width equal to that of the card support and being secured thereto, the front portion. of each pocket having formed therewith the side edge portion that is secured to said card support, said front portion of each pocket terminating in a top edge that extends from the top of the side edge portion diagonally to the line of fold of said back and front portions at the other side edge of the card support, said back and front portions being so congured to insure the ready and easy insertion and removal of cards into and from the pockets with the cards when in the pockets having the bottom edges thereof engageable with the bottom of a pocket' and at least one side edge of each card engageable with the side edge portion of a pocket, the length of said information containing card being slightly less than the width of said card support and slightly greater than the distance between the bottom of the lowermost pocket and the indented portion of said top edge whereby an information containing card when positioned in the lowermost pocket with a side edge thereof engaging the bottom of the pocket will project slightly above said indented portion but below the top edge for ilagging and when shifted to a complementary position in the superjacent pocket will project a substantial distance above said indented portion for flagging,

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 868,835 BeXell Oct. 22, 1907 874,758 Garney Dec. 24, 1907 886,320 Ferrero Apr. 28, 1908 1,083,972 Wolsieier Ian. 13, 1914 1,118,184` Chappee Nov. 24, 1914 1,408,509 Housh Mar. 7, 1922 1,495,953 Dick May 27, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS 289,214 Great Britain Apr. 2 6, 1928

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