US421078A - Office - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1.

M. R. JEWELL.

FILE BOX.

No. 421,078. Patented Feb. 11, 1890.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

M. R. JEWELL.

FILE BOX.

Patented Feb. 11,1890.

I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAJOR ROMEYN JElVELL, OF ROCHESTER, NElV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE OFFICE SPECIALTY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME ILACE.

FILE-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 421,078, dated February 11, 1890. Application filed August 17, 1889. Serial No. 321,131. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, MAJOR ROMEYN J Ew- ELL, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in File-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to those file boxes or trays in which the movable follower or pressure device is employed to hold the sheets or papers against the bottom or the end of the box.

The improvements are intended more particularly for use with those receptacles made in the form of shallow trays or drawers, in which the sheets are laid horizontally; but they are also applicable to some extent to the narrow file-boxes in common use, in which folded papers are placed on end.

The invention relates to an improved construction and arrangement of the followerboard or pressure device and to the construction and arrangement of the tray, so that it may be supported when withdrawn from the cabinet in position to admit of the papers being examined by turning them to the right or left.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my tray as used in connection with the case or cabinet in its preferred form. Fig. 2 is a perspective View, partlyin section, showing the device for supporting the tray when withdrawn from the cabinet. Fig.3 is a perspective view of the trayin another form. Fig. at is a perspective view of the follower. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the plate by which the follower is held and guided. Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 1) m of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section showing the guide or support for the follower.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the tray or receptacle, and D a case or cabinet provided with suitable openings, permitting the tray to be inserted and withdrawn horizontally at the front. The tray is preferably constructed in the form shown in Fig. 1, consisting of a base-board a, a front board a, adapted to close the opening at the front when the tray isshoved home to its place, a vertical wall a along the left-hand side from front to rear, and a vertical wall (1, across the rear end." It will be observed that the tray thus formed is open at the top and on the right-hand side, and this for the purpose of allowing the sheets to be laid lengthwise thereon and of their being examined by turning upward to the left.

In order that the tray may be sustained at the front of the cabinet, as shown in Fig. 1, to permit convenient examination of its contents, I attach to the inside of the case, as shown in Fig. 2, a plate or projection a overlying the right edge of the base-board a near the front of the case. The baseboard is extended both to the right and in rear of the rear wall a thus allowing the plate to rest thereon without interfering with the inward and outward movements of the tray. When the tray is drawn outward, it rests upon the supporting ledge or shelf a and beneath the plate a in the manner plainly shown in Fig. 2.

In cases in which it is preferred to have the papers turn forward toward the operator instead of having them turn to the left, the tray will be constructed, as shown in Fig. 3, with an open rear end, side walls a on the right and left, and a front wall a, adapted to close the opening in the cabinet.

lVithin the tray or receptacle, whatever its form, I arrange the follower or pressure device B, mounted on the vertical guide 0, fixed on the tray. This guide may be located at the left side of the tray, as shown in Fig. 1, or at the front, as shown in Fig. 3. The follower is formed from a single piece of steel or other strong elastic wire doubled or bent upon itself to form a wide triangular end I), the two ends being brought together in a shank b, then separated and bent to form lateral arms or finger-pieces b and finally bent to the angular form shown at b b 1), whereby it is adapted to clasp or embrace the edges of the vertical guide. The shank b may be formed by twisting the two'ends of the wire together, as shown in full lines, or by the application of a inetal clasp around the same, as shown in dotted lines.

The plate or guide C has its upper end 0 Ioo lower end is bent forward, as shown at 0 and provided with holes 0 to receive fasteningscrews.

The wall of the receptacle is provided in the inner face with two vertical grooves a and the plate is fixed firmly in position between and partly across the vertical grooves, its teeth being seated in the upper edge of the receptacle, while its flange c is screwed to the bottom. The arms b of the follower are extended into the grooves past the edges of the plate 0, so as to engage behind the latter, as plainly shown in the drawings. Thus inserted, the arms connect the follower to the box, so as to prevent it from shifting, while at the same time their form is such that they permit the follower to rise and fall within the receptacle, and when lifted to tip backward be: yond or outside the receptacle, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 and full lines in Fig. (5. hen;

the guide holds the follower down in place upon the papers beneath it. lease the follower it is only necessary to lift its end adjacent to the guide, which may be conveniently accomplished either by taking hold of the arms U or byinserting the finger beneath it.

Owing to the angular form of the arms b and b and the manner in which the grooves are formed at the top, the follower is not only permitted to turn outward when raised, but is supported firmly in position as shown in Fig. 3, so that it serves as a restto supportthe upturned sheets, and as a guard to prevent them from falling out of the receptacle.

I commonly construct the follower with its active or outer end bent slightly downward, so that as its connected end is pressed downward the follower is put under tension, so that it acts with an elastic or yielding pressure upon the papers. It becomes, in effect,a spring, by which the papers are held down firmly on the bottom of the receptacle.

\Vhile I have represented and prefer to employ a follower of triangular form, it is to to be understood that it may be modified in form provided it is of suitable size and shape to afford a wide or extended bearing upon the paper. By bending its corners clownward it is caused to act upon the papers near the open edge of the tray, so that they are held securely in place and prevented from escaping although the tray may be overturned or placed on edge.

If preferred, the teeth on the upper end of the guide 0 may be dispensed with and the horizontal portion 0 provided with a depending tongue 0 having its edge curved, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, and adapted Owing to this fact, any resistance under or upward pressure against the follower causes it to lock with frictional effect firmly upon the guide. In other words,

In order to lG-I to enter a slot in the upper edge of the recep' tacle.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a file-box, the combination of the box or receptacle, a guide-plate C, fixed thereto, and a spring-follower or pressure-arm B, having one end adapted to embrace, slide upon, and frictionally engage the guide and the opposite end arranged to act upon the contents of the box.

2. The combination of the box or receptacle, a guide-plate C, attached thereto, and a follower or pressure device 1 having one end arranged to slide upon and engage the guide and the opposite end expanded laterally to bear upon the sheets or papers at widely-separated points.

3. In a file-box, the combination of the box or receptacle, a guide-plate 0, attached thereto, and a spring-follower or pressure device B, having one end arranged to slide upon and frictionally engage the guide and the opposite end expanded laterally and curved to bear upon the sheets or papers at widelyseparatod points.

4. The combination, in a tile-box, with a guide plate or bar 0,01"; the follower or pressure device consisting of the single piece of wire bent upon itself to form the expanded portion and secured together, the said wire having its ends bent into angular form and adapted to engage and slide on the guide, substantially as described.

5. In combination with the box or receptacle provided with grooves a), the guide-plate C, having the outwardly-turned upper end, and the pressure or follower device B, having the angular ends to embrace and engage the guide-plate, whereby the follower may be locked down in position or sustained in an upright position to maintain the upturned sheets.

6. The box having the vertical groove therein, in combination with the follower or pressure device and the guide-plate on which the follower slides, said plate having its upper end turned outward and finally bent downward and seated in the edge of the box, whereby the plate is held in place and the required movement of the follower permit-ted.

7. In combination with an inclosing case or cabinet, the forwardlysliding tray or receptacle having a front wall adapted to close the front opening in the cabinetand having at one side a guide provided with a follower or pressure device 1-3, arranged to turn upward after the tray is drawn forward in a plane at right angles to the path in which the tray slides.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand, this 11th day of July, 1889, in the presence of two attesting witnesses.

MAJOR ROMEYN JElVELL.

Witnesses:

CARL BUEDINGER, Faun. II. Mu'rscnLm-t ITO

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