US1788036A - Top-opening filing cabinet - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 6,1931. F. L. G. s'TRAUBEL 1,788,036

` TOP OPENING FILING CABINET Filed April 14- 1930 by greatly facilitating access to each such i seccion through a closed iiling cabinet em,-

Patented dan. 6, 1931 unirte iinnnnsioir n. s frnAnnn'n, or4 @nenn BAY, Wisconsin, Assieivonrofrrin Aurorreric riLn @e inner:k co., oren-nen Bay, Wisconsin, a coaronnfrroiv or Wis- CONSIN Application` mea April 14,

' My invention relates to top-opening filing cabinets,y and in its general objects aims to v providea cabinet in which the opening of the cover simultaneously moves the cover to a 5 position permitting free downward access to the contents of the cabinet, and tilts the front of the cover ofthe cabinet forwardly to ex# pand the effective upward opening of the cabinet..

10 In't'he class of `cabinets usedfor filingl 20 portionican be'ltilterd to permit a separation of the upper portions ofthe letters,` there'- section Aof the cabinet@r` l p llVhere a cabinet is of a single declrheiglit,

' 5 as distinguished from so-called three-drawer or four-drawer height, thisis not feasible, since theweightofxthe extended slide in'a full or even ina partly filled kdrawer will overbalance the weight 'of the cas- 3i) ingy of .the cabinet, so as to tilt or even upset the entire cabinet. Moreover,"the needed Slide arrangement,- including the rollers and'extension slide portions. usual-- by interfering greatly'with the eifectivense of such single tier cabinets.

'y My present; invention aims A.to yovercome these objections by providingfa Ysingleftier cabinet requiring iiof slide or otherv movable support for the filecontents,ainisgtofprovidep novel means for supportingthe movable cover of the cabinet and for swinging this cover effectively out ofthe way whenraisech'and aims to provide'simple means whereby the Tor-orniiino rrniive 'Ciminna' 193e.A serial no. 444,119.

lraising ofthe cover also'tilts the front of the cabinet forwardly. l

lrloreover, my invention :aims to provide meaiiscconnecting the movable cover with the movable front wherebya return ofthe cover to its normal position .will simultaneously return the front toits normal position, and for this purpose aims to provide connecting means so arranged that vrearward pressure on the cabinet front when in its forwardly tilted position will not efecta closing'of the cover. y i

Furthermore, my invention aims to provide a simple, compact and inexpensive cabinetconstruction y for these purposes and one 1 which can readily be employed in an all-metal (and'h'eiic'e fireproof)cabinet.

Still further and also more detailed'ob-- jects will appear from the following specifi-` cation and from theaccompanying drawings, inlwhich L i Fi l is a 'central,"vertical and longitudinal Vtaken alongtheline eL-3 of Fig; `l but drawn ll? l is a perspective v'iewof the cabinet,

drawn onl a reduced scale.

In the illustrated embodiment, the main` andistationaryportion of my cabinet includesy a bottoml rigidly secured (as by welding)-` toy aba-cl; 2"' and sides 3. The front of this stationary cabinet portion is normally closed kby afronta which connectedfat its lower lend by hingesto the bottom 1, so that thisv i -fron'tfc'an be tilted forwardv about horizon# tal axis en -tending .transverse of the cabinet.

:Extending rearwardly from the front 4f at its opposite side edgesv are wings 6,- each of' Whichwings ,pivotally connected ata con o siderabledistance `above the anis of the hinges 'Sito the forward end' of a'linlr'' which has its rear end pivotally connected to the free v`end of an ariiiSaofra bell-crank lever. This lever ACi is pivotedadjacent to the juncture of its arms Y I' er than theffirst named arm f8, is pivoted at I its free end to the adjacent side portion `12 of the'hereafter'described cover. j Y Y Normally closing the mouth of the stationary cabinet portion 1s a cover comprising as a rigid assembly a cover top 11, cover side portions 12, a frontal cover end 13 and a rear `cover end 14, all four of which cover por-A,

tions may'have: their lower edges seated o n the upper edges of the main portion of the lcabinet and of the movable front 4.

lnsteadof being hinged to themain portion ofthe cabinet after the heretofore custernary` manner, this cover is connected to the main and upwardly opening cabinet portion only by the aforesaid two lever arms 10 and by two rear links 15, which links are respectively adjacent to the opposite sides 3 of the cabinet.- Each rear'link 15 is considerably shorter than one of the counterpart lever arms 10 and extends rearwardly downward within the closed cabinet, the lower end of each rear link being pivoted tothe adjacent `cabinet body side 3 rearwardly of the pivot pin 9 of the adj acentbellcranklever.

When the front of the cover is liftedas by raising a'knob' 16 fastened to the-frontal cover end 13, the lever arms 10 and the linksk 15 cooperateto raise the forward portion of j the'cover to a greater extent than its rearward portion, and to swing the uppervends` of both the said lever arms and links rearwardly beyond thepivotal connections of theseconnecting parts lto the' cabinet body,

until Vthe swinging movement of the Ycover is halted by the engagement of the rear. links 15 with the upper edge of theback 2 of the Y body of the cabinet.y The links 15 and the longer leverV arms Y 10 then cooperateY (as shown rvin Fig. 2) in supportingthe cover in an approximately upright position in which the covery partly depends behind the cabinet body and permits free downward accessto the interior of the cabinet.

To'movethefront 4:' forwardly while the' cover isbeing swung from the'closure posi- 'Y tion of Fig. 1 to the opened positionof Fig. 2,*- l' connect the vfree end ofeach .depending lever arm 8 by a link 7 tothe Vmovable cab- ,j inet front, desirablyby providing this Afront with rearwardlyY extending kwings 6 respectivel7 adjacent t0 lille Side 0f. the Cabnetltor which ywings the forward Yends of the are respectively pivoted.- Y Y During the swinging o f the cover from its links l closed to itssaid open position, the rocking of the Vbell-'crank levers'pabout their pivots9 also swings the depending lever arms8 so'as vof papers, and' toV permit an inspection of papers without 'even taking them out of the file. Y Y Y Vxhen the cabinet is to be closed, a forward pull on the knob lvsimultaneously rocks the upper` lever arms 10 and the rear links 15 about their pivotal. connections tothe sides of the cabinet body, so` that these lever arms and short links cooperate to swing the cover back until it rests on the upper edge ofthe cabinet as shown in Fig. l. Since the just mentioned. pivotal connections are at considerabledistances from the front of the cabinet, any looseness :in these connections might prevent the cover from alining laterally with the cabinet body (or stationary portion of the cabinet) when the cover is closed. Hence I dosirably provide means adjacent to the frontY of thecabinet for insuring this alinement, so as to exclude dust; as for example by providing each cover side with a clip finger 17 adapted to depend along` the inner face of the corresponding body side 3 (as shown in Fig. 1) when my cabinet is closed.

I'also desirably provide a guardplate 8l adjacent to each side portion 3, which guard plate has its major portion offset inwardly from the vadjacent cabinet side, y(as show-n in Fig. to provide a space-within which the adjacentlinkv 7, and the lower portions of both the adj acentlever and rear link can operate, each guard plate'having an aperture 48A in an offsetting portion through which a lever arm 10 and alink 15 vfreely extend. Each guard plate then prevents the adjacent lever and links from eno'aging and damaging the content-s of the cabinet.

. In practice, the relative lengths of the lever arms and ofthe links, aswell as the locations of the Vvarious pivotal connections may be varied considerably. Howeveng preferably i arrange these so that during `the opening of the cabinet each pivot pin 19 (which connects one ofthe front-moving links 7 to the depending arm 8 of the `associated bellcrank lever) VVmovesupwardlypast the common axial plane ofthe pivot pins ,9 and 18.Y 'Then when the cabinet is in its open position of V`Fig. 2, a rearward pressure on tlie'hingedV vfront @will tend to swing the coverstill further'rearward, so that this Vcover will not be slammedidown to its closure position if the user 'of the' cabinet vaccidentallyV presses Y against the hinged-front.`

y disposing the pivotal connection ofthe lower end fofleach rear linlrto a'cabin'et side link, i

rearward of the 'pivoting of a lever tothe same side, lI permit the, lever andrear link at'each side ofthe cabinet to swing withoutY interferingwith eachother; eand by making the forward lever arm ylonger than the rear eect theaction which swing-s the;

cover partlyvbehind the back of the stationary cabinet and to: an approximately vupright position upon a lifting of the frontal portion of the cover.

So also', by making the arm 8 (which actu-y Y ates the movement of theifront) integral with, one of the members which connects the :overY to thestationary cabinet portion, I secure anexceedingly simple and compact mechanism for conj ointly moving the coverjand the front when'the cover is manually moved;

y However, changes might obviously be made without departing either from the 'spirit'of my invention or fromrthe appended claims, hence I donot wish to be limited to the details 4of the construction and arrangement above disclosed.V A l y In vthe claims, it is to be understood that theterm' overhangs is used in the sense of overlying or extending horizontally above.

I claiml as my invention :l V

l. Ina filing cabinet, a stationary member including two sides and aback; ay front piv-A otally connected at its flower end tothe said stationary member; acover normally seated Acn upon upper portions of the stationary meinber in' a position in which it overhangs the space between the said frontIl sides and back; means operatively connecting the cover withV tliestationaryportion `to permit the cover to be swung upwardly and rearwardly with brespect to the said stationary portion, and

means associated with the aforesaid means for rockingl the front forwardly about its v'iivotal connection to the stationary member when the cover is swung in the said direction.

l 2. In a filing cabinet, a stationary member includingtwo sides and a back a front piv- -otally connected at its lower end to the said stationary member; a cover normally seated uponl upper portions of the stationary inembeil iii position in which it overhangs'the stati iipoiiupper portions of thestationary inemg` space between the said front, sides and back;

l i two means spaced longitudinally of the cabinet and connecting tiie cover with the ,stai` tionaryinember, whereby a'lifting of the forward part of the cover will swingtlie cover upwardly and rearwardly ;1 and froi'itffactuating means interposed between the' front and one of the .aforesaid means5 whereby the swinging of the cover inthe saidv direction rocks'the front'forwardlyf about its pivotal connection to the stationary'member of the cabinet. -K L n 3. In a filing cabinet; a stationary member including two sides and a back; a front pivrotally connected at its lower end tothe said '.o'nary member; accover normally Vseated ber in a position in which it overliangs the spacebetween the said front, side'sa/iid'back;

two bell-crank levers respectively adjacentV to and pivoted to the twoy sides.; eacli'bellcrank lever comprising `an upper ,arm nor-l mally .sloping upwardly Vforward lfrom the 4 pivot Maxis of the lever and connected at'its kfree end to A*the cover, anda .lower arm nerf Y mally depending froml the said pivot axis; and .means interposed between lthe free' end ofthe short arm of eaclilleverr and the said the front aboutits pivotal connection tothe stationary member. i

4. In ai liling cabinet, a stationary member :including` two sides and back; a front pivotally `'connected at its lower end .to the said stationary member; a cover; normally seated upon upper-portions of the stationary niember in a position in which it overhangs the space between .the said front, sides and back;

` two bell-,crank levers respectivelyy adjacent to and iiroted tothe two sides' each'bell-crank lever comnrisinevr an u er arin normallf L C sloping upwardly `forward' from the pivot Vaxisof the leverand connected at its free vend to -the cover, and a. lower arm normally de pending from the said" pivot axis; and two links respectively` adjacent to the said two sides, eachy link being pivoted at itsrear end to. the `.lower arm of one ot` the levers and being pirovted at its forward end to the said yspace between the saidfront, sides and back two bell-crank levers Yrespectively adjacent to Afront whereby movement of the leversrocls.V

and pivoted to the two sides; eachbell-crank Y lever coinpi'isingv an upper arm normally slopingvupwardly forward from the-pivot axis of the lever and `Conni-ieted"atitsfreeend totliecover,` and aI lower arm normally desv Vpending,fronifthe 'said pivot axis; and twol :links respectively adjacent to the said two`V sides andeach pivoted at its reare'nd to the lower: arm of oneof the levers; tliefront iii:-

- cluding` two .wings extendingrearwardly respectively adjacentV to the .saidrtwo sides, each oi' theisaid links having its forward endpiviio oted to .onel ofthe wings ataconsiderable e distance above tliefpivoted Vconnection of the frontto the stationary member of the cabinet.;

./In' ailing cabinet, aV stationary `,Intelli-Q ber; including upright sides andi.. a back; a normally uprightffront hinged at its'lower end to .the stationarymember on a .horizontal axis g" a coverv normally seated'v upon n upper portions of. thestationary member in a posi-" tion in it overhangs the spacelbetweenv i the said front, back and sides; two rear links respectively connecting,` the cover to rearward of the connections of the aforesaid links to Vthe cover, land including a'second arm noi'-v inally extending downward from the axis on which the lever is pivoted to a side; vand two `iront#actuating links respectively" con- 'necting'these'cond arms of the tivo levers to '7. A iilingcabinet as per claim 6, in Vwhich the .front includes a rontplate and two.

wings extending rearwardly iroin the front plate and respectively adjacen'tto the sides of the stationary cabinet portion, towhich wings lthertwo front-actuatinglinks are re'- spectively connected.

8. A tiling cabinet as per. claim 6,in Vwhich the first named two links are disposed for engaging the upper end of the back when the A a less distancefrom the back than the lengthVK of these links, whereby these'links are adapt- 1 .ed to "extend, over'and rest upon the upper cover is swung outl or' itsjnorinal position, thereby, limitingV the extent of the saidswinging.

` i 9. A ilingi'cabinet as 'per claim 6, in which the two rear links are pivoted tothe sides near the upper edges ofthesaidV sides and at a less distance from the backV than the length i n n Y f latera'i Ymovement of the cover with respect of these links, whereby these links are adapt ed to extend over and restupon the upper edge of thevback to limit the swing movement of the cover out of its normal position.Y V

l0. A iling cabinet as per cl aim 6, in which Vthe pivot axesof the levers are lower `than 'y the pivot axes of the rear links.

11. A filing cabinet as per lclaim V6, in which the two rear links are pivoted to the 'sides nearthe upper edges of the said sides andatedge of the. back to limit the swing @novevnient of the, coverfoutofits normal position,

1S. Inalingcabinet, a stationary meniber includingtwo sidesrand'a back; a front hingedly,connected at its lower end tothe stationary member; 'a cover normallyk seated upon upper'portions of the stationary inein.

`andtiltsit jrearwardlyV downward, and swings the roiit'rforwardly about its hinged Connection to the` stationary member; Vthe said means comprising va lever andlink system includingtwo rear links disposed for en! gaging the back .to limit'theextent of the said swinging land tilting of the cover, two v'front- 'actuating `links 'disposed for swingingV the 7 front i'irwardly,` and two levers cooperating .with the front-'actuating links to prevent rearward pressure oii'the v'forwardly swung iront from moving,l the said levers, links and cover.Y

14.' A'filing cabinet as per. claim l, in which i'liecover niember'lias: sides normally seated on the upper edges of vthe sides, ofthe stationary member, in combination with projectionson thesidesof one member for engag! ingfsid'esY of the other member to `prevent to 4the sideswh'en the cover has its said s idesV thus seated.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, April 11th,

i930. f Y Y FREDERICK LVG. STRAUBEL. l'

l the first named 4arm oiY eachilever beingof Vsuchv alength'asto disposet-he coverv in'an Y Y approximatelyY uprightv position l whenthese links thus rest upon theY upper edges; o rfftliev` l" 12.A Avn-tiling cabinet as jg'ierjy claim Y6,1m

Vwhich thepivot axis'of each lever/is so `dis?n posed with* respect to the angle betwe'enits Y lever arms and the connectionjof the 'front tothe frontiactuating link yassociated with l this lever, vthat the connection between the vfront#actuating linkfand lever. is above a line I connectingthepivotaxis ofthe `le'v'er'ivith the connection of the samel link toL the cabinet front `when this front is swung forwardly toits eXtreme extent from 'its' normalY posify tion; whereby a rearwardp'ressure fonthe fiio

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