US2565784A - Filing cabinet equipment for machine shops - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 28, 1951 .1. F. SHEEAN 2,565,734

FILING CABINET EQUIPMENT FOR MACHINE SHOPS Filed Jan. 17, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR. )a ZfQ/M.

I am 2 2 W Aug. 28, 1951 J, SHEEAN 2,565,784

FILING CABINET EQUIPMENT FOR MACHINE SHOPS Filed Jan. 17, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 28, 1951 UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE FILING CABINET EQUIPNIENT FOR MACHINE SHOPS Jack F. Sheean, Bloomington, Ill. Application January 17, 1949, Serial No. 71,337

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to filing equipment and more particularly to an improved gasket filing rack for use in machine and automotive shops.

An object of my invention is the provision of a gasket rack in which the several trays or drawers are provided with floating stops so arranged as to permit the drawers to be opened or withdrawn from either side of the rack.

Another object of the invention is to provide a filing drawer having a perforated bottom to receive adjustable pegs for segregating various sizes of gaskets.

A further object of this invention is the pro vision of a perforated filing drawer containing adjustable label holders positioned within the drawer in accordance with the arrangement of contained objects.

Still other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a filing cabinet embodying my invention and showing the twoway operation of the drawers.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 3 and showing a drawer in a fully open position.

Figure 3 is a vertical section of a drawer and its suspension taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is an elevation of an adjustable peg used in carrying out the invention.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a label holder for use within the drawers.

Figure 6 is a sectional View taken on line GE of Fig. 3 and showing a drawer in the closed position.

Similar reference characters in the several fig.- ures represent similar parts.

In the parts department of large automotive repair concerns and machine shops individual units such as gaskets are customarily stored in long parallel rows of filing cabinets. Frequently in the procurement of several difierent items at a time it becomes necessary for the stock clerk to go around a long row to reach the front of the adjacent cabinets and remove the next desired item from a drawer. Obviously, this procedure requires more time for filling orders and results in the wasting of the valuable time of skilled workers waiting to be supplied with parts. Any

attempt to increase the number of supply clerks to prevent a jam during unexpected rush periods invariably results in the clerks getting in each others way when filling orders and in uneconomical idleness during slack periods.

With the use of cabinets such as I have shown at ill in Fig. 1, the filing drawers can be pulled out from either side of the rack so that when long rows of cabinets are used access to the drawers may be had from either side thus avoiding passing around a rack or stack to obtain a desired item. It will thus be seen that it is often possible for a clerk to operate from a single corridor in procuring several different items required to fill a given order.

The cabinet it! consists of a metal framework covered at the sides and ends with sheet metal facing H. The upper portion of the cabinet is provided with any desired number of horizontal shelves !2 divided by partitions it into individual pigeon-holes of predetermined sizes in accordance with the stock items to be stored therein. The lower portion of the cabinet comprises a series of horizontal drawers or trays it. While the depth of the individual drawers is merely a design feature to best accommodate the parts filed therein, it is preferable in the storage of gaskets to make the majority of a depth of approximately 3%. inches and to provide at least three deeper drawers of varying sizes up to 6% inches.

Each drawer has a bottom section 55 rimmed b side panels It and end panels ll. The and panels project beyond the sides, as at Hi, to cover the space occupied by the mounting elements and improve the appearance of the cabinet. A label holder l9 and a central handle 28 are provided on the outer face of each end panel as shown in Fig. 1. This duplication of hardware assists in the efficient operation of the drawer from either side of the cabinet.

lhe effective two-way operation of the filing drawer comprising my present invention is made possible by the novel mounting means best seen in Figs. 2, 3 and 6 of the drawings. For each drawer to be accommodated, the opposite sides of the filing case have respectively attached to the inner faces 2! thereof a pair of projecting hubs 22. These hubs each carry a ball bearing roller 23 and are located near the vertical edges of the side panels. Cooperating with each pair of supporting rollers 23 is a channel bar 24 fixed to the outer face of the side panel it of the drawer. This channel bar has an outwardly projecting lower flange 25 which rests directly on the roller 23 and an upper guide flange 25.

A transverse channel bar 21, welded to the face 2| of the cabinet, projects inwardly and fits within the flanges of the drawer channel bar 24 as shown in Fig. 3. The upper flange 23 of the cabinet channel bar is so positioned with respect to the supporting rollers as to lie directly beneath the slidable flang 26. The proximity of these latter flanges is precisely determined to permit the intended guiding function without transferring the weight of the drawer from the antifriction supporting rollers 23. This feature obviously affords an easier sliding operation of the drawer.

As best seen in Fig. 2, the lower flange 29 of the smaller channel bar is spaced from the flange 25 on the drawer and provides a track for a floating stop roller 39. When the drawer is opened, this floating stop is moved along the track 29 by a projecting follower 3| which is welded to the web of the drawer channel bar 2 3. The outward movement of the drawer is terminated by a second projecting lug or stop 32 welded below the level of follower 3! to the web of the cabinet channel bar 21. When the floating member 30 contacts the stop 32, the follower is prevented from further outward progression and in turn averts accidental release of the drawer from the cabinet. It will be apparent from Fig. 2 that by lifting the inner end of the open drawer the follower 3| may travel over the roller 38 and the drawer can be completely removed from the cabinet should occasion arise for repair or cleaning of the filing unit.

It will of course be understood from the drawings that the welded stop and follower arrangement described above is the same at both ends of the unit thereby allowing each drawer in the cabinet to be operated from either end with equal efliciency and case.

In order to prevent the drawer from overriding the closed position when vigorously shut, I have provided a detent 33 near each end of the flange 25 which moves with the drawer. Thes detents are spaced similarly to the supporting rollers 23 so that, as the ends of the'drawer become flush with the end faces of the cabinet, each detent will be engaged with its respective roller and so held by the weight of the drawer and its contents. Since the detents 33 are substantially shallow in form, as shown in Fig. 6, excessive force is not required to reopen the drawer.

The bottom section of each drawer is perforated with a pattern of holes 35 preferably punched on one inch centers. These holes are adapted to receive adjustable pegs 34 such as shown in Fig. 4. Each peg consists of a cylindrical shaft 36 provided with an abutment collar 3! near its lower end. The end of the shaft below the collar 31 is threaded as at 38 to receive a holding nut 39 as shown in Fig. 3. With this structure, th pegs are thus adjustable in the bottom of the drawer to separate and hold the various size gaskets or other objects filed therein.

For convenience and accuracy in locating gaskets or other articles within the drawer an adjustable label holder 20 (Fig. 5) may be positioned in the vicinity of each different siz article. The label holder has a pair of openings 4i so spaced as to permit their alinment with holes in the bottom of the drawer. Small machine bolts (not shown) may be placed in these alined openings to removably secure the label holder at any desired location within the drawer.

The bottom of the open compartments it in the upper portion of the cabinet may have standard perforations, special punching, or may be left blank in accordance with the intended use of each compartment. Where desirable, the adjustable pegs and label holders may also b used in the compartments having perforated shelves.

In the operation of a filing drawer embodying my invention a required number of segregating pegs are secured to the perforated drawer bottom in a manner to afford best utilization of space in storing gaskets or th like. An adjustable label holder is attached near each pile of gaskets with the enclosed label printing reversely duplicated so as to be easily observed from either end of the cabinet from which the drawer might be operated.

The weight of the drawer is carried by the oppositely disposed pairs of anti-friction rollers 23 upon which rest the lower flanges of the channel bars on the sides of the drawer. The detents 33 formed in these lower flanges provide a holding means for retaining the drawer in the closed position.

The two-way operation of each drawer is permitted by the novel stop arrangement consisting of a floating stop 30 which freely moves along the lower flange of the cabinet channel bar until confronted by a stop lug 32 welded to the fixed structure of the cabinet. The arrested floating stop in turn opposes further outward movement of the offset follower 3! secured to the inner end of the open drawer thereby preventing accidental removal of the drawer. Since the movable followers and fixed stop lugs are offset, the drawer may be opened from the opposite side of the cabinet and limited in its outward movement by the same floating stops cooperating with a second pair of lugs and followers oppositely disposed from those mentioned above.

From the foregoing description of my invention, it will be seen that I have devised a simply constructed filing drawer which may be operated from either side of a rack and in which the stored parts may be systematically segregated and labeled. It will be appreciated that the move ment and disorder obviated by this filing equipment will result in the saving of costly labor and time unnecessarily expended in conventional stock supplying systems.

While a preferred form of the invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that variations in details of form may be made without departure from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a filing cabinet a drawer having a channel member extending along each side thereof, the flanges of said channel member projecting outwardly of the drawer sides, a second channel at each side of the drawer secured to the filing cabinet and having flanges fitting within the flanges of said drawer channel member, rollers fixed to the cabinet and adapted to contact the lower flanges of said drawer channels to support the drawer, a roller member freely supported on the lower flang of each cabinet channel, stop lugs adapted to abut said roller member secured to the web portions of the drawer channels and cabinet channels at each end thereof, the cabinet channel lug lying in a plane offset vertically from the plane of the drawer channel lugs.

2. In a filing cabinet having drawers operable from either end, a drawer having a channel member extending along each side thereof, the flanges of said channel member projecting outwardly of the drawer sides, a second channel at each side of the drawer secured to the filing cabinet and having flanges fitting within the flanges of said drawer channel member, rollers fixed to the cabinet below said channels and adapted to contact the lower flanges of said drawer channels to support th drawer, detents formed at the ends of the lower flanges of said drawer channel to engage said fixed roller whereby the drawer is re- I leasably held in a closed position, a free roller resting on the lower flange of each cabinet channel, stop lugs adapted to abut said free rollers said lugs being secured to the web portions of the drawer channels and cabinet channels at each end thereof, said lugs being positioned within the vertical confines of the cabinet channel flanges and the cabinet channel lugs lying in a plane off set vertically from the plane of the drawer channel lugs.

JACK F. SHEEAN.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are oLrecord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 591,935 Quackenboss Oct. 19, 1897 771,877 Kuebler Oct. 11, 1904 1,019,983 McGaughey Mar. 12, 1912 1,135,235 Weiss Apr. 13, 1915 1,736,108 Anderson t a1 Nov. 19, 1929 2,378,419 Loeb et a1 June 19, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 136,327 Switzerland Nov. 15, 1929

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