US2600050A - Collapsible cabinet - Google Patents

Description

June 10, 1952 P. L. DU Bol-'F ET Al.

COLLAPSIBLE CABINET s sheets-sheet 1 Filed March 5l, 1949 /IVVE/VTORS alsof-,

June 10, 1952 P. Du BOFF ET Al.

` coLLAPsIBLE CABINET 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 5l, 1949 //V VEA/TORS ,DAW/ ,170 50i;

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s v E N R 0 r r A June l0, 1952 Filed March 3l, 1949 P. l.. Du Bol-'F ET AL 2,600,050

` COLLAPSIBLE CABINET 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented June 10, 1952 UNITED. STAT-es PATENT H; Dooley, Bayonne, N. J., assignors, by lrreslne.l assignments, te Philip L. Du Boff, Scalsdale, N Yz v VAlmhication 431, 1949, Serial No. 845656 s Claims. (o1. 31a-2,62),

This` invention. relates to new and useful improvements in cabinets and more particularly to cabinets ot the collapsible type,l the primary object of theinvention being toprovide a collapsible cabinet which is providedA with means for quickly and readily locking'. the same in set-up position. tov prevent lateral sway or movement, such means also affording a 'utilitarian purpose.

A. further object of the invention resides in the provision of structure at the` corners of a collapsible cabinet to. make. the same substantially dust proof.

A. still further object resides in providingv removable shelves adapted: toY be itted` in place in. such manner as to lock. the cabinet-in upright position and prevent lateral sway or movement of the same.

A further object residesin providing a cabinet which is capable of being knocked-down andstored or shipped in a reasonably. small space andone which may be quickly and readily assembled when desiredA for use.

A sti-ll further object of the invention resides in providing a collapsible cabinet with walls hinged together and having the edges at the hingedL portions so constructed as to be` intertting in formation and providingsubstantiallya dust proof connection.

Still another object residesin so` forrn'ir'igc'er` tainl Walls` of the. collapsible cabinet as to` provide for a frictional connection with portions of shelves to create an interlocking connection, sustaining the. cabinet in set-.up position Iockedi against lateral sway or movement.

A further object of the invention resides .in providing a device which is. simple'. and durable construction, inexpensive to manufacture and one which Will bevery.- eflicient and usefulv in .operen ation.

VtitliV these and numerous other objects in View,v the invention consists in the novel features` of construction, combination and arrangement of parte, as will be hereinafter referred. toand more particularly pointed out in the specication and;

In thev accompanying drawingsy forminga part i this. application,

Figure 1 is a frontl elevation. of a cabinet. con-1 strliltedin accordance with our invention?,v with parte broken away and parts', in section, the? cabi-1 het being in upright position 4and: the door Qnened;

2; is a central` vertical section there through, taken; substantially on the'. line 2:-2. of Figure E?, showingthe-horizontal position ofA the shelves and` the` relation thereof tothe Wallsy 0i the cabinet;

Figur'e i-s a vertical transverse slectionr as. seen on the line 3;-3. rif-:Figure: 5.;

Figurelis aview similar to .Figure l',- with partsr broken... away and parts in section. better illus.- trating theposition ofthe shelves and theirrelar tion to portions of the cabinetin, assemhledaDQS-l tion; A

Figure 5 is'. a horizontal section; asKv seen` on,l the line liz-54 of. Figure, 3'; Figure 6. is a similar view, asseenY on the line; (-e of Figure 3:;

Figure. 7 isa horizontal section; taken through the cabinet in collapsed position Figure. 8. is avew: similar to Figure '1, shovving portions. of the' cabinetset up' to formr dust proof corners.; Y Y l Y Figure. 9; is' af vertical sectional. Viewy sin; Figure 3; with tliedoor being omitted and g M partitions or sheliz'essupportedin pla-ce, W1, h the uppermost shelfv or partition aboutto be moved dmnwarell-y7 eleetive; loclrinerosition:

Figure. lOfis a frag-mentali sectional rvievvY show ing relation. of parts of a-y shel-fto portions ou the collapsible. walls;

Figure. 1l is? aifragmental; perspective viewiyvith parts shownin section, of orl'eof the walljsoif the cabinets showing` particularly. the no tgchV fcgrlrredl therein;

Figure 12 is a fraemental perspective viert efk the dooroffthecabinetremovect:with:partsshowni i-n section.;

Figure 13 is a perspective view.Y ofshelves removed;

Figure. r4. isv a sectional` View fragment of a. slightly. modified form. of. wall; structure toy provide a modified formcf dust proof corner;-

Figure 15'.y is asimilar View showing the Walls; ini interlockedposition providingthe modified form; of' dust proof corner;v and` Figure. loi is a: fragmentary. perspective view; with parts section; of: one ofY the'. WallsA of this modification shovvnrin Figures Hand '15.'

I-ni describing` the invention, we sh'all refer to-` the" drawings invvhich similar reference charac-1 ters desigr-late. corresponding parts throughout' thel several vievv's and' in' which the numeral `l desie'riatesI the rear' Wall off'ar cabinet, preferably.- made of metal;k although? it.' will be understood* thatthesamej may be nl'adeof any. desiredmais'. terial, saidr'ar wall having thesidefedges thereof b'entangularly tofom thesideflanges 2";- The are: also provided the side Walls 3 andfk anni "as:

one of the.

T this" is` a? collapsible orknockdownfabinetkthe latter walls are hinged to the rear wall through the medium of hinges 5. Portions of the hinges are secured to the inner faces of the side flanges 2 of the rear wall while other portions of the hinges are secured to the inner faces of the side Walls at points slightly distant from the rear edges of the latter, as best illustrated in Figures l and 8 of the drawings. The rear edges of the side walls 3 and 4 are bent angularly and inwardly, as shown at 6 to provide end flanges thereon, these latter flanges fitting snugly against the rear face of the wall I when the side walls are extended to their outward positions, as clearly shown in Figure 8. Thus, the hinges are hidden from View, under normal conditions, and the corners of the walls I, 3 and 4 are adapted to be interlocked to provide substantially dust proof connections. The front edges of the side walls 3 and 4 are bent inwardly to form the flat abutment flanges 1, thence rearwardly, as shown at `8, and then toward the side walls, as shown at 9. The termination of the metal forming the face 9 is just short of the inner face of the walls 3 and 4, as best seen in Figures rI and 8, and for a purpose to be hereinafter and more particularly set forth. It will be seen, however, that the formation of the frontl edges of the side walls 3 and 4 in the manner set forth provides smooth, strong and rigid front edges for the walls.

The faces 8 and 9 of the front portions of these Y walls 3 and 4 are cut away or notched at various intervals throughout the length of the walls, as shown at I0. These notches or cut away portions I afford means for the introduction of shelves which are also used to lock the walls in assembled or upright position, as hereinafter set forth.

The shelves are designated by the numeral II and each shelf has its front edge provided with an upstanding ange I2, while the side edges are formed with depending flanges I3. The flanges I2 and I3 extend, respectively, the full width and depth of each shelf. The rear edge of each shelf is provided with a vdepending flange I4, the ends of which terminate short of the side edges of the shelf, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Figure 13 of the drawings. As many shelves may be provided as are desired, according to the height of the cabinet and while in the drawings we have shown three such shelves, and further while we have shown a rather elongated cabinet, it is to be understood that the height, size, and shape of the cabinet may be varied as desired, so that the number of shelves may be varied as found necessary and/or desirable.

As heretofore indicated, the shelves are also constructed to perform the function of locking the walls in upright position. In carrying out this objective, there are provided on the inner face of the rear wall I a number of spaced strips or the like I to provide means for connection therewith of the depending flange I4 on the rear edge of each shelf. Interlocking of the ange I4 of the shelf with the strip I5 is clearly shown in Figures 3 and 9 of thedrawings. When it is desired to set up the cabinet, from a collapsed position, as shown in Figure 7, the walls are outspread, as shown in Figure 8, and the shelves are introduced through the notches IIJ into a position as shown by the upper shelf in Figure 9. Then the shelf is forced frictionally against the walls and downwardly until the depending fiange I4 locks into the strip I5. In accomplishing. this, the ange I2 frictionally locks into the notch I0 and the depending side flanges I3 lock frictionally in the restricted spaces between the ends of the faces 9. and the inner faces of the walls 3 and 4, as best shown in dotted lines in Figures 5, 6 and 10 of the drawings. This frictional interlocking fit between the side flanges I3 and the restricted spaces between the walls 3 and 4 and the ends of the faces 9 not only locks the walls in upright position but prevents lateral sway or movement when the device is so set up.

There is also provided a door I6 which is hingedly mounted on pintles I1 supported on the face 1 of the wall 4. This door may be of any desired construction but is preferably constructed with bent edges to form beads as shown in Figure 12 of the drawings.

The cabinet is provided with a top wall I8 and a base I9. We have shown this top and base of simple construction and it may be varied as desired.

In Figures 14 to 16, inclusive, we have shown a slightly modified form of structure insofar as the dust proof corner structure is concerned. In this modification, the rear wall 20 is provided adjacent its side edges with notches or indentations 2l. The side wall 22 which is hinged to the side flange 23 of the rear wall, has the rear edge thereof angularly bent as shown at 24 and this bent edge or flange has formed thereon the arcuate tongues or fingers 25 which are adapted to fit snugly in the notches or indentations 2l when the side wall is brought to an upright position with respect to the rear wall, as best shown in Figure l5 of the drawings. This modification merely provides for a spring locking connection at the corners when the device is set up to improve the dust proof quality of the corner construction.

From the foregoing description of the construction of our improved collapsible cabinet, the

method of assembly and application thereof to use will be readily understood and it will be seen that we have provided a comparatively simple,

inexpensive and efficient means for carrying out` the various purposes and objects of the invention.

While we have described the elements best adapted to perform the various functions set forth, itis apparent that various changes in form, proportion and in the minor details of construction may be resorted to without sacrificing any of the principles of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

l. A collapsible cabinet comprising a rear wall having forwardly extending flanges along its side edges, side walls hinged on their inner faces to front edges of said fianges and having rear portions extending across outer faces of said flanges and provided along their rear edges with flanges overlapping side edge portions of the outer face ofthe rear wall and forming a dust-proof joint. and a door hinged to the front edge of one side wall.

2. A collapsible cabinet comprising a rear wall having forwardly extending flanges along its side edges, side walls hinged on their inner faces to front edges of said flanges, front edge portions of the side walls being bent to form inwardly extending abutments and then rearwardly to form flanges having rear portions bent to form lips extending towards and terminating in slight spaced relation to inner surfaces of the side walls, the lips and the flanges of said abutments being cut to form recesses leading from edges of the lips, a strip mounted across the inner face of the rear wall between its anges and having its upper edge flush with the plane of lower edges of the recesses, and a shelf in said cabinet having a depending flange across its rear edge tting between said strip and the rear wall and a ilange projecting upwardly along its front edge, the shelf having forward corner portions tting into said recesses and end portions of its front ange fitting snugly between upper and lower edges of the recesses, and flanges extending downwardly along side edges of the shelf against inner faces of the side walls with front end portions tting tightly between inner surfaces of the side walls and edges of the lips.

3. A collapsible cabinet comprising a rear Wall having forwardly extending flanges along its side edges, side Walls hinged on their inner faces to front edges of said flanges and having rear portions extending across outer faces of said flanges and provided along their rear edges with flanges overlapping side edge portions of the outer face of the rear wall, the rear wall having recesses in opposite side edge portions of its outer surface, tongues extending laterally from edges of the anges of the side walls and curved longitudi- Cil REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the lle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 18,293 Brogden Dec. 22, 1931 1,423,252 Popper July 18, 1922 1,306,610 Christensen May 26, 1931 1,937,935 Zimmerman Dec. 5, 1933 2,183,883 Golder Dec. 19, 1939 2,443,515 Rockwell June 15, 1948 2,461,219 Lew Feb. 8, 1949

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