US3093140A - Suspended files - Google Patents

Description

June 1I, 1963 R. A. E. GUICHARD SUSPENDED FILES Filed Feb. 25, 1960 United States Patent O 3,093,140 SUSPENDED FILES Raymond Arthur Eugene Guichard, 63 Rue de Rome, Paris, France Filed Feb. 25, 1960, Ser. No. 10,993 Claims priority, application France Mar. 17, 1959 Claims. (Sl. 12916.7)

This invention relates to suspended files of the type in which the upper portion of one wall or cover is supported by a transverse bar slidably mounted on rails yand :the upper portion of the other wall or cover is carried by a hollow bar in the form of a U, and more particularly has reference to means for securing the upper portion of said other wall or cover to the hollow bar.

Various proposals have been made for securing the upper port-ion of a wall or cover of a suspended file to a hollow bar, but they all have objections.

An object of this invention is to provide means for securing the upper por-tion of a wall or cover of a suspended file to a hollow bar of inverted U `shape which avoids the objections to the prior art devices.

Another object is to provide a construction in which the upper portion of the wall or cover of a suspended le is folded outwardly over a wedging strip which is` placed within the hollow bar of inverted U shape and is supported therein so that a wedging action is exerted on the strip clamping the wall or cover of the file between the wedging strip and the hollow bar.

Other objects will appear from the following description. -In order to facilitate an understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic fragmentary end view of a filing system employing suspended files in connected or accordion fashion.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of `a file embodying the features of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of a hollow bar of inverted U shape, in which the upper portion of one of the covers ofthe file is attached by wedging action.

FIG. 4 is a similar view to that of FIG. 3 showing a modified form of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing another modified form of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of several disconnected individual files.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary penspeetive View, partially in section, of a wedging strip employed in the present invention for cooperation with the hollow bar.

FIG. 8 is a similar view of a modified form of wedging strip.

FIG. 9 is another view similar to that of FIG. 7 showing still another modified form of wedging strip.

FIG. 10 is a View similar to that of FIG. 1 showin-g connected files embodying the form of invention employing a wedging strip according to FIG. 9.

FIG. ll is a fragmentary perspective view of a file embodying the features of FIG. 3 of the present invention.

The fiat bar 1 and the manner in which it is fixed on the file cover 3a remain outside the scope of the invention. FIGURE 2 shows that this bar may for example be slipped into a channel 3b formed by a folded-over part 3 of the corresponding cover 3a, the folded-over part being fixed for example by clips or staples 4. I-t may also be double, crown the cover and be fixed thereto by crimping. Hereinafter reference will be made only to the means of fixing the le cover to the hollow bar 2.

In the simplest exemplified embodiment, shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, a flat istrip 5 is engaged under the fold 6 of the 'cover 3c. `It can be fixed thereto for exice ample by gluing or by staples "(not shown), before or after the edge of the cover has been folded obliquely. The width of -the strip 5 is chosen to be such that the assembly 5, 6 can be introduced into the bar 2 in the manner shown in FIGURE 3, the strip 5 and the fold 6 then `corresponding practically to the diagonal of said bar, the edges of the combination 5, 6 coming to bear with a certain pressure both on the inner surface of lthe upper angle 7 and the inner surface of the lower angle 8 of the bar 2, in order to avoid undesired displacement of the bar on the file when -the latter is handled. In the example -shown Lin FIGURE 3, the angle 8 is formed by one side 9 of the bar 2 being folded inwardly. yIt will be seen that such a bar can lthus be made from a thin strip of sheet metal simply folded rthree times.

As is shown in FIGURE 3, the slope of the foldedover part 6 breaks up the load V exerted vertically by the file into two horizontal components C1 and C2 acting in opposite directions to each other, and this will ensure that `the folded-over part 6 is very effectively wedged in the bar 2, the heavier the load the firmer said wedging effect, even if the top of the strip 5, under the inuence of the load, no longer reaches the upper angle '7.

FIGURE 4 shows a modified embodiment which differs from that shown in FIGURE 3 only in that the con- -tinuous folded-over side 9 is here replaced by a series of tongues 10, cut out from the bar 2 and folded inwardly, either at an angle or perpendicularly to the side of this bar. rfhese tongues 10 may be of any desired width.

There is no objection to an inside rib :such as 10 being provided on the opposite Aside of the bar 2, to correspond to the upper edge of the wedging strip 5, thus increasing the surface of contact between this strip 5, the fold 6 and the bar 2, while at lthe same time reinforcing the second side of the bar.

To give greater rigidity to the bar 2, as shown in FIG- URE 5, one of its vertical sides may be folded over inwardly over a certain part of its height, ais indicated at 11, the end of the fold being inclined, as shown at 12.

The characteristics of the assemblies shown in FIG- URES 3 -to 5 may naturally ibe combined or interchanged in any way whatsoever, just as other variations remain possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

FIGURE 7 represents the wedging strip in its simplest form.

According to FIGURE 8, this strip 5 may for example be curved as indicated. According to FIGURE 9, strip 5 may also be bent so as to have an obtuse angular cross section. This modification lends itself particularly well to very economical production according to which the strip 5 will be made of stiff cardboard which is easy to bend to form a fold or angle 15.

FIGURE 10 shows, by way of example, a continuous assembly of files using the wedging strip `5 such as is shown in FIGURE 9. In practice, the clamping effect obtained between the wedging strip 5, the fold 6 and the front side of the bar 2, in the upper angle 7, is sufiicient to ensure rigid assembly even in the absence of any gluing or stapling of the strip 5 tothe fold 6. Nevertheless, if it is considered useful, there is nothing against another fold 6a being formed on the lower free edge of the fold 6 by folding about 6b, in order to effect additional wedging in the lower angle 8.

Hereinbefore reference has been made to the production of the wedging strip S from cardboard, but it is obvious that it can also be made of any other suitable material, for example plastic material or metal.

Finally, it is not compulsory to use a hollow bar 2 of rectangular shape as indicated. It could also be square, or of any other shape, vthe essential feature being `that it J can, on the one hand, crown'the. flat bar and, on the other olfer the wedging strip and the fold of the cover two opposite angles or surfaces between which Athe desired wedging effect can be effected.

It will be appreciated that the method of joining the bar and the le as proposed according to the invention is of remarkable simplicity and very economical, from `the point of view both of production and assembly.

What I claim is: f

1. A suspended file comprising a sheet folded Ito form a pair of covers which are adapted to be suspended from upper edges of the covers parallel to the fold, with the folded edge downward, to provide a receptacle between the covers of the folded sheet, a flat supporting bar fixed to the upper edge of one cover, and a hollow supporting bar having an inverted U-shaped cross section xed t the upper edge of Ithe other cover forming either a continuous or an accordion ling system or an individual 1- ing system, the improvement comprising rst and second spaced vertical anges and a web connecting said flanges at -their upper portions to form said hollow supporting bar, abutment means projecting from the inner portion of the first of said anges and spaced downwardly from said web, said abutment means disposed substantially midway between the web and the bottom edge of said iinst flange, said abutment means extending substantially the entire length `of said first ange, a fold formed at the upper portion of said other cover and disposed within said bar, and a wedging strip positioned within said fold and positioned substantially diagonally within the hollow bar with its lower edge bearing on said abutment means and with its upper edge bearing against the upper portion of said second ange with the upper portion of said other cover wedged between the upperedge of the wedging strip and said second ange whereby the fiat bar of the le or an adjacent file may be disposed within lthe hollow supporting bar of the tile.

2. A suspended le according to claim 1, in which the lower edge of the first ange is bent upwardly and then inwardly obliquely to 'the flange for forming said abutment means.

3. A suspended le according lto claim 1 in which the wedging strip is a rectilinear cross section.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,224,998 Barker May 8, 1917 1,227,664 Rand May 29, 1917 2,530,821 Hubbell Nov. 21, 1950 2,927,586 Holgate et al Mar. 8, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 909,786 France Jan. 7, 1946 54,112 France Feb. 10, 1947 l(Addition to No. 900,778)

750,683 Great Britain June 20, 1956 190,701 Austria July 25, 1957 784,023 Great Britain Oct. 2, 1957

Claims (1)

1. A SUSPENDED FILE COMPRISING A SHEET FOLDED TO FORM A PAIR OF COVERS WHICH ARE ADAPTED TO BE SUSPENDED FROM UPPER EDGES OF THE COVERS PARALLEL TO THE FOLD, WITH THE FOLDED EDGE DOWNWARD, TO PROVIDE A RECEPTACLE BETWEEN THE COVERS OF THE FOLDED SHEET, A FLAT SUPPORTING BAR FIXED TO THE UPPER EDGE OF ONE COVER, AND A HOLLOW SUPPORTING BAR HAVING AN INVERTED U-SHAPED CROSS SECTION FIXED TO THE UPPER EDGE OF THE OTHER COVER FORMING EITHER A CONTINUOUS OR AN ACCORDION FILING SYSTEM OR AN INDIVIDUAL FILING SYSTEM, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND SPACED VERTICAL FLANGES AND A WEB CONNECTING SAID FLANGES AT THEIR UPPER PORTIONS TO FORM SAID HOLLOW SUPPORTING BAR, ABUTMENT MEANS PROJECTING FROM THE INNER PORTION OF THE FIRST OF SAID FLANGES AND SPACED DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID WEB, SAID ABUTMENT MEANS DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY MIDWAY BE-

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