Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~03~2
1 This invention relates generally to office, appliances
and more particularly to an improved storage or file apparatus,
containing a plurality of stacked displaceable drawer-like
,~ components and wherein mean,s are provided for precluding the
displacement of more than one component at a time within any
one cabinet. Ass,ociated with each drawer component is a separate
operated receding door of improved construction.
rhe objective6 of a file interlock system are well
known to those skilled in the art to which the present in-
vention pertains. In any storage device containing a pluralityof vertically ~tacked storage or s~pport elements such as drawers
or shelves,~apted to be selectively rectilinearly displac~d to
gain access thereto, an inherent hazard i8 the likelihood of
tipping ~ver the storage cabinet or housing when more than one
~¦ 15 heav~ly loaded drawar or ,shel i~ withdrawn at any one time.
l Thu~,, the advantage of providing an ~nterlock arrangement for
precluding the operation of more than one displaceable element
at a time will be readily apparent.
~T~he present invention is especially directed to the
ty,pe o of~ice applianc~ co~monly referred to as a lateral ile,
`¦ ,g,nd which ha,~ re,cently gained noticeabl~ popularity. In this
type of device sh,elve,~ and/or file drawers having no full-
1 height front pane,ls are provided within a cabinet and suitably
¦ mounted for rectilinear displacement therefrom to permit operator
access from the, side thereof when withdrawn from the cabinet,
;~ In some installations the appliance i5 of the open front type,
;~ that i8, there i5 no separate enclo,sure means for sealing off
the front of the apparatus when the displace,able drawers are
in the re,tracted or housed condition, Howe,ver, the, present
arrangement proposes a separate door for enclosing each drawer
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or shelf, which door may be manually moved from a vertical en- -
clo~ing position to a horizontal position fully disposed within
the confine6 of the cabinet over it~ respec~ive drawer or shelf.
The pre~ent in~ention provides in an office appliance
S an upright cabinet or enclosure provided with a plurality of
vertically stacked displaceable components which may comprise
alternately disposed drawers and writing/machine shelYes each
associated with a manually operable receding door displaceable
from an overlying position enclosing the front o a respective
one of the drawers or shelve~ to a fully enclosed position
disposed above its respective displaceable component within
the confines of the cabinet. ~o gain access to any one of the
housed component~ the re~pective door i8 initially pivotally
displaced to a horizontal position and sub~equently rectilinearly
moved into the confines of the cabinet. The then exposed shel
or drawer may be subse~uently withdrawn from the enclosure and
it i9 during this latter motion that the interlock system of
`I : .
the present invention i9 actuated. In the case of the drawers,
l the withdrawal of any one drawer actuate~ an interlock ~tructure
¦ 20 which precludes the ~ubsequent operation of any other drawer
within the cabinet as well as any writing/machine shelf dis-
po3ed above the level of the displaced drawers. In the case of
the withdrawal of any one of the shelves from the cabinet the
interlock sy~tem is actuated in a manner serving to pre~enti~the
.~ j . ,
I 25 withdrawal of an~ drawer or other shelf di~posed above the level ;~
l of the withdrawn shelf.
....
The present improved file interlock sy~tem includes
¦ a plurality of ve~t~cally aligned lockbar~, all of which are
freely mounted within the interior of the office appliance
. : ..
`¦ 30 cabinet for limited vertical displac~ment. A separate lockbar
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1 disposed adjacent each displaceable file component carries a
rotary cam member which i~ arcuately displaced by means of an
activator or projecting mean~ carried by each file component or
its suspension and which servas to rotate the cam member during
rectilinear displacement o the file components in order ~o
vertically di~place the respective adjacent lockbar and all
other adjacent lockbar~ thereabove whereby locking means are
placed in the path of each of the remaining activators at lea3t
' above that component which is withdrawn in order to preclude
subsequent withdrawal and thus opening of at least those file
components located above the withdrawn file component.
Accordingly, one of the primary objects of the
present invention is to provide an improved office appliance
l including a cabinet containing a plurality of stacked hori-
! 15 zontally di~placeable file components including alternately -
~I dispo~ed drawers and shelves and wherein interlock means are
¦ provided to regulate the number of components which may be with-
¦ drawn from the cabinet at any one time.
1 Another ob-~ect of the present invention i9 to pro-
vide an improved office appliance including a cabinet containing
a plurality of vertically stacked withdrawable components,
each associated with an interlock system limiting the nu~ber
of said compon~nt~ which may be withdrawn at any one time and
further provided with a displaceable door for each of the com-
ponents moveable from an enclosing position overlying the frontof each component when di~posed within the cabinet to a receded
~ po~ition horizontally disposed above its respective component
1: ! fully within the confines of the cabinet.
A ~uxther ob~ect o the present invention i8 to pro-
vide an improved office appliance including a ~abinet containing
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l a plurality of verti~ally stacked writing/machine shelves,
each mounted for rectilinear displacement to and from the con-
fines of the cabinet and provided with activating means serving
to regulate an interlock system to limit the number of shelves
which may be withdrawn from the cabinet at any one time.
Still another o~ject of the present invention is to
provide an improved office appliance including a cabinet con-
taining a plurality o ~ertically stacked withdrawable file
components, each having associated therewith a displaceable
door assembly including a door panel pivotally carried by a -
~ follower as~embly mounted for rectilinear movement above the
.,j ,
displaceable file component to permit, when pivotally displaced
;;l to a horizontal position, receding movement of the door panel
I to a housed po~ition fully within the confines of the cabinet.
;, 15 With these and other objects in view which will more
readily appear as the nature of the invention is better under-
stood, the present invention consists of the constr~ction, com-
bination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully
described, illufltrated and claimed.
I 20 A practical and pre~erred e~bodiment of the present
; invention i~ ~hcwn in the accompanying drawings, in which~
FIG. 1 i~ a fragmentary side elevatlon, partly in
I ~ection, of an ofice appliance according to the present in-
vention and illu~trates one of the displaceable file components
25 in the fully extended position and two others in the fully
~Z retractea position.
-Z FIG. 2 is a ~ragmentary horizontal sectional view
taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and illu~trates t~e door
~`¦ as~embly as it appear~ when in the enclosing po~ition.
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the
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1 line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and illustrates the door follower a~sembly
and its supporting cabinet channel.
FIG. 4 i~ a vertical sectional vi~w similar to FIG.
3 but illu trating the receding door in it~ fully retracted
position within the con~ine~ of the cabinet.
FIG~ S is a fragmentary transver~e sectional view
taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 iæ a fragmentary horizontal ~ectional vi~w
tak~n along the line 6-6 of FIG. 1 and illustrate~ one of the
writing/machine shelves in the fully enclosed po~ition within
the cabinet.
FIG. 7 is a ragmentary vertical sectional view
taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6.
1 FIG. 8 is a ~ide elevation of the rotary cam member
1 15 of the file interlock and diagrammatically illustrates it8
alternate po~itions when actuated upon displacement of one o~
the writing/machine shelves.
. . . .
FIG. 9 i~ a fragmentary plan view, partly in section,
and illustrate~ the machine/writing shel~ of FIG. 6 as it appears
when in the Pully extended position.
~ Sim~lar re~erence characters designate corre6ponding
`~ part~ throughout the several figures of the drawings.
i R~f~rri~g now to the drawings, particularly FIG. 1,
the present invention will ~e seen to relate to an office
appliance, generally designated 1, and including a cabinet or
;- ... ~
enclosure 2 housing a plurality of vertically stacked, recti-
~`~ linearly displaceable components such as the writing/machine
.
- shelves 3 a~d drawer ~, each of which components i8 adapted to
be enclosed, when in the retracted po~ition, by means of a
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1 receding door assembly 5 mounted for compound motion above each
respective displaceable component. Induded within the cabinet
2 is a unique interlock as~embly, generally designated 6,
cooperating with the displaceable components 3 and 4 to regulate
the number of said component~ which may be withdrawn from the
retracted to the extended position at any one time. It will be
understood that the nu~ber and exact relative positioning of
the shelves 3 and drawers ~ as contained in any one cabinet 2
is entirely flexible and is determined by the height of the `-
; 10 cabinet 2 and de~irqs of the customer, there being illustrated
. ~. .
in F~G. 1 one drawer 4 and two shelves 3, which is entirely ade- -
quate for de~cribing the construction and operation of the in-
stant invention.
The cabinet 2 includes a pair of side walls 7-7 joined ~ ~
by means of a rear wa~l 8, a bottom wall 9 and a top wall (not ~ ~-
;'' shown). The side wall~ 7-7 serve to ~upport suspen~ion channels
I for guiding and retaining each of the displaceable components
; 3 and 4 a~ well as the plurality of door assemblie~ 5.
¦ The con~truction of the door assemblies 5 will be
initially described, with additional reference being made to
FIGS. 2-4 of the drawings. Each receding door assembly 5 in-
cludes a door panel, generally de~ignated 10, comprising an outer
face 11 spaced from a rear face 12 and respectively bounded by
a top edge 13, side edges 14-14 and a bottom edge 15. When in ~ -
1 25 the clo~ed position of FI&. 1 the door panel 10 seals off the
front of a cavity 16 within the confines of the cabinet 2, which
` cavity i~ intended to contain either a writing!machine 3helf
~ assembly 3 or a drawer assembly 4 as will be described herein-
¦ aftex. Means are contained within the cabinet 2 for supporting
the door panel 10 in the vertical position as shown in FIG. 1
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1(D3709Z
1 and for permitting displacement of the door panel to a horizontal
position prior to manually displacing the entire door assembly
5 into a receded position within the confines of the cabinet 2
and above the top limits of its respective cavity 16 there-
S beneath. This support and guide means is shcwn most clearly in
FIGS. 2-4 of the drawings and will be seen to include a follower
assembly, generally desig~ated 16, capable of being displaced
from a forward-most position as shown in full lines in FIG.
2 to a rearward-most position as shown in broken lines in FIG.
2. The follower assembly ~tructure as sh~wn in-this figure will
be understood to be duplicated adjacent the opposite side wall
7 ~not ~hown) of the cabinet 2 and includes at each side there-
of a side support plate 17 comprising a longitudinal member
having an outer edge 18 disposed within the confines of a door
cabinet channel generally de~ignated 19 which is rigidly a~fixed
to the interior of the cabinet side wall 7.
The door channel 19 include~ a side wall 20 juxtapo~ed
th~ ln~erior cabin~t side wall and from which inwardly extends
a top ~lange 21 and bottom flange 22 de~ining therebetween a
guid~way 23 within which the outer edge 18 of the follower a~sembly ~,
~id~ ~upport plate 17 reely travels. Vertical and lateral
1 ~upport for the follower a~sembly i9 provided within the door
-I cabinet channel~ 19 by means of a pair of roller~ 24-24 carried
by each side support plate 17 adjacent the two end~ thereof.
j 25 These roller~ 24 are preferably of a low friction composition ~-
-¦ such a~ nylon pla~tic and are carried by the side support plate
17 ~o that the periphery thereof projects at all times outwardly
from the outer edge 18 thereof as shown mo~t clearly in FIG. 2
o~ the drawi~g~. Attachment d the rollers to the follower
as~embly i8 mo~t readily achieved by utilizing a pin element 26,
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~ 7al92
1 also of low friction composition, and serving as a pivot for
the rollers. Thi~ pin element 26 includes a shanX 27 passing
through the center of each roller 24 and which i8 inserted
within a notch 28 adjacent each end of each support plate 17.
S The bottom of ea~h pin elehent 26 i9 formed with an enlarged
head serving as a glide 29 adapted to be supported upon the
bottom flange 22 of the door cabinet channel 19, while ~he top
of the pin element 26 may be a rounded head 30 normally dis-
posed immediately below the lower surface of the door cabinet
channel top ~lange 21. With the foregoing struc~ure in mind, -:~
: it will be seen that the periphery o~ the two rollar~ 24 :.
I carried by each 3ide ~upport plate 17 are constantly engaging
:j the side wall 20 of the door cabinet ~hannel 19 to provide
.1 .
lateral guiding of the follower a~embly 16 while the w~ight
o~ th~ entlre receding door assembly 5 is carried by the two
glides 29 projqcting beneath the side support plate 17 and resting - .:
¦ upon the upper surace of the door cabinet channel bottom flange
22. `:
:, ~oining each of the above described pair of side
~upport plates 17 a~soc~ated with each receding door assembly
5 i3 a cro~ channel 31, the end~ 32-32 of which terminate just
~hort of th~ inner edge 33 of each pair of spaced apart side
~I support plates 17. .
;l Connecting each end 32 of the cross channel 31 to its
respective side ~upport plate 17 is a mounting tab 34, one end
of which i9 removably ~ecured to the cross channel by mQans
~ of an adjustable releasable fastener 35. The other end of
.ll the mounting tab 34 extends beneath the inner edge 33 of the
,, . .
~ide support plate 17 and ixably support~ a shoulder pin 36
a~ shcwn in FIGS. 2 and 5 of the drawings. ~he distal portion ... :.
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~37092
1 of the mounting tab 34 will be seen to terminate short of the
vertically offset portion 37 of the side support plate 17. The
shank 38 of the shoulder pin 36 is freely disposed through a
motion take-up ~lot 39 extending substantially the length of
the side support plate 17 and includes an upper head 40 having
a lateral dimen~ion greater than that of the slot 39 such that -~
its under surface at all times is supported on the top of the
side support plate 17.
The cross channel 31 which ties together the two
side support plates 17-17 also ~erves as a support for the
cro~s channel hinye leaf 41 engaged by a hinge pin 42 within
the door panel 10. Cooperating with thehdnge pin 42 is the door
panel hinge leaf 43 attached to the door panel 10. When the
door is in the closed position of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 it will be
observed that the entire weight of the door panel 10 is carried
by th~ hinge pin 42 as it remains suspended in a vertical
po~ition from this hinge pin. The forward-mo~t portion of the
door cabinet channel 19 may be provided with a door panel bumper
44 projecting ~oxwardly therefrom and positioned so as to
engage the rear face 12 o~ the door panel 10 when suspended in
I the closed or vertical po~ition.
i The operation o~ the receding door as~embly 5 may now
be d~cribed with re~erence to the foregoing related components.
~o gain access to the re~pective displaceable file components
~l 25 3 or 4 disposed within any one cavity 16' within the cabinet 2,
¦ the operator initially must operate the receding door a~sembly
~1 5 by grasping the door panel 10 and pivoting it clockwise as
i viewed in the drawing ~o as to pivot the door panel approxi-
! mately gO from it~ closed vertical pQsition to a horizontal
~ 30 position par~llel to the door cabinet channels 19-19. When the
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1 door panel i~ thus disp~sed, the simple action of pressing
rearwardly upon the bottom edge area 15 of the door panel causes
the foll~wer a~sembly ~o move from the full line position of .
FIG. 2 to ~h~ broken line position therein, with the door panel
10 becoming fully receded within the confines of ~he cabinet 2
in a horizontal plane parallel to and immediately above the
plane of the door cabinet channel~ 19-19. During this rearward
displacement of the follower asse~bly 16 and door panel 10 ~: :
simultaneous displacement occurs between the cross channel 31 and
the two ~ide support plates 17. This action will be apparent ~ `
~ upon a review of FIG. 2 o~ the drawings wherein it will be ob-
served that in the left hand portion of this figure the qhoulder
pin 36 as carried by the cross channel mounting tab 34 i-~ dis- -
posed adjacent the orward extremity of the motion take-up
l 15 slot 39 whll0 in the right hand portion of this figure the cxoss ~ ~.
j channel and head shoulder pin are disposed at the oppo~ite or :.
l rear ~xtremity o the slot 39. Thi~ re}~tive displacement ..
~ bctween the cro~s channel and ~ide support plates may truly
o~cur ~imultaneou~ly, ox on the other hand, at different periods
o~ tim~ during the horizontal di~placement o~ the follcwer
as~embly 16. In other words, it will be appreciated that the
j ~houlder pins 36 m~y traverse the length of the slot during the
very initial rearward displacement of the door panel or alter-
natively, at the very end d the rearward displacement of the ~ :
~ 25 door panel, depending upon the relative coefficient of ~riction ~
.¦ offered by the shoulder pin 36 and rollers 24 together with ` :'
their respective engaging ~tructure. In any case, the important
I feature i~ that the overall length or depth of the entire
1 receding door assembly is significantly reduced when the door
, 30 i8 in the fully receded position of FIG. ~ of the drawings, :.
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~CI 370~Z
1 thereby taking full advantage of the available depth of the
cabinet 2 in order to provide a door panel 10 of maximum height
and accordingly a respective cavity 16' of maximum height.
The rearward-most displacement of the retracted door
assembly is regulated by means of a suitable in-stop bumper
45 attached t~ the door cabinet channels 19-19 within the
guide ways 23 thereof so that the rearmo~t roller 24 of each
side support plate 17 will abut the stop bumpers 45 when the
door panel i8 in the full receded position of FIG. 4. In order
to preclude marring the fini6h o~ the door panel and also to
ensure the quietest possible operation of the door assembly 5,
additional nylon glide elements in the form of a bottom plate
46 and side plate 47 may be mounted atop the door cabinet channel
top flange~ 21 and cabinet side walls 7 respectively, adjacent
1 15 the forward-mo~t end of eaah cabinet channel as shown in FI~.
;` 4 of the drawings. Additionally, an outstop bumper 48 i8
mounted withln the confines o the door cabinet channel guide-
I way 23 ad~acent the orwardmo~t limit thereof in order to serve
`;-j a~ a ~ nt ~top for each follower 16 when in its forwardmost
.1 '... :
¦ 20 position as when the door panel 10 is closed.
With the receding door a~sQmbly 5 now having been
describQd, the associated movable file/support components as
contained within the cavities 16' behind and/or beneath each
receding door a~sembly will now be di~cussed. The writin~f
: - . .;
machine ~helf, generally designated 3, includes a bottom wall
50 bounded by a pair of ~ide walls 51-51 all of which are sub-
stantially as deep as the depth of the interior of the cabinet
2 and which are further enclosed by a front wall 52 and rear
wall 53. A suitablQ supporting or writing ~urface 54 overlie~
tha bottom wall 50 in a spaced apart manner. Support and
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1~7092 1 guiding means enabling full extension of the shelf assembly 3
is pro~ided and includes a shelf channel 55 attached to the side
wall 51 and a shelf cabinet channel 56 affixed to the side wall
7 of the cabinet 2. An intermediate channel 57 engage~ both
the shelf channel 55 and cabinet channel 56 to form a well
known type of slide suspension assembly generally designated 58.
Quite ob~iously, the foregoing described slide suspension
assembly 58 will be utilized on both sides of the shelf assembly
3.
The rear wall 53 of the ~helf assembly preferably
extends vertically no less than the height of the shelf channel
55 and serves to suppo~t a shelf hingeleaf 59 engaging the
hinge pin 60. Likewi~e pivoting about the hinge pins 60 is a .
( lever hinge leaf 61. Carried by the lever hinge leaf 61 is an
! 15 activator or lever generally designated 62 including an inclined ~:
!l plate 63 terminating along its top edge in a downwardly e~-
.3 tending stop ~lange 64, while the other edge of the lever termin-
¦ ates in a limit flange 65 extending below the hinge pin 60. The , :.
hinge as~embly is suitably spring-loaded (not shown) to normally .-
bia~ the lever 62 in the position as illustrated in FIG. 1 of
the drawings where it will be seen that the lever limit flange .. :
~l 65 abuts the inner or front surface of the shelf rear wall 53
with the inclined plate 63 urged to an elevated position sub-
~;1 stantially in a plane 45 from the horizontal. The writing/ .: I
machine shelf assembly 3 as shcwn in this figure is disposed in : : .
~1 the fully extended position wherein it will be seen that the :~
entire surface 54 thereof is disposed outside the confines of
the cabinet 2 and thus fully accessible to an operator from
three ~ides thereo. This o~twardmost limit of the ~helf may
`! 30 be regulated by well known means associated with the slide . :
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1~37~Z
1 suspension assembly 58 and an important feature to note at
this point is that when in this fully extended position the
stop flange 64 of the lever 62 is disposed forward of or outside
the forward periphery of a bushing 66 projecting inwardly from
the sidewall 7 of the cabinet 2 and in a plane which is dis-
posed well below the topmost limit of the lever inclined
plate 63 such that subsequent efforts to retract the shelf
assembly within the cabinet 2 will be fruitless sinae the
vertically disposed stop flange 64 will immediately abut the
periphery of the inwardly projecting bushings 66 to preclude
any retraction of the shelf assembly 3. This stop action will
be apparent since the lever assembly 62 cannot pivot any further
;l
; in a counter-clockwise direction about the hinge pin 60 due to :
; the abutment of its lever limit flange 65 against the forward
surace of the shelf rear wall 53. It therefor becomes nec~
e~ary to vertically displace the inclined plate 63 of the
lever 62 in a downward direckion about the hinge pin 60 against
its associated ~pring force at least a sufficient distanca to
clear the uppermost limit of the inclined plate 63 beneath the .
periphery o the inwardly projecting bu~hings 66. This action
:~ is readily accomplished by the mere appli~ation of a ~light ~ :
dcwnward force by the operator's hand upon any portion of the
lever 62 which extends transversely substantially the entire
. width of the cavity 16' and need only be applied but for an
25 in~tant as the ~helf assembly 3 is urged rearwardly into the ;
~!
confines of the cabinet, after which the hand pressure may be
released when the inclined plate 63 has been moved behind the
i bushings 66 90 that continued rearward pressure upon any portion
:` of the shelf will move the entire shelf assembly fully within
the confines of the cabinet 2~
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1 The interaction between the writing/machine shelf
assembly 3 and interlock assembly 6 may now be discussed. The
interlock assembly 6 comprises a plurality of vertical lockbars
67 mounted for ver~ical displacement within the sidewall 7 with
each lockbar associated with one of the cavities 16 and having
an uppermost inwardly directed flange tip 68 at one end and a
bottom offset tip 69 at the other end. With the exception of
the lcwermost lockbar 67 in any one cabinet 2 the offset tips
69 are disposed behind the flange tip 68 of the next lower
vertical lockbar 67 such ~hat a limited vertical displacement
of all of the locXbars 67 may occur freely without any inter-
ference when a first component 3 or 4 i8 withdrawn from the
' cabinet. `~
Attached to each lockbar 67 adjacent the lower portion
thereof is a rotary cam me~ber, generally designated 70, having
;1 a central annular projection 71 extending into the cavity 16
at least to a point substantially overlying the respective
slide 3uspension as~embly disposed therebeneath. Suitable
;I mounting mean~ (not ~hown) are included for attaching each rotary
~I cam member 70 to it~ re~pective vertical lockbar 67 to permit
~ree rotary di~placement thereof within the limit~ about to be
~ described. Pro~ecting from each annular projection 71, in a
'~ plane juxtapo~ed tbe inner surface of the respective lockbar 67,
I i8 a radial cam flange 72 comprislng a greater cam flange 73
de~cribing an arc of sub~tantially greater than 180 and a
les~er cam flange 74 which will be seen to have a significantly
,1~ lesser radius than the flange 73 and which joins the two ends
of the cam flanqe 73~ A fixed limit pin 75 carried by each
vertical lockbar 67 projects inwardly to engage an arcuate
slot 76 formed in the rotary cam member 70 and extending to
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1 describe an arc of approximately 90 such that the arcuate
displacement of the rotary cam member is limited to the two ex-
tremes as shown in the upper and central portions of FIG. 1 of
the drawings~
Before proceeding with a de~cription of the actuation
` of the interlock assembly 6 upon rectilinear displacement of the
~ shelf assembly 3 it should be ob~erved that the end of ~he ~ :
;, activator lever inclined plate 63 adjacent the interlock assembly '~,
~ 6 longitudinally ~xtends beyond the confines of the Qhelf ~ide,' 10 walls 51-51 to provide a tab 77 terminating ju~t short of the : ~ `
~;' cabinet ~ide wall 7.
With the oregoing structure in mind the operation of ~,
: the interlock as~embly 6 upon displacement of the shelf assembly - :
, 3 may now be readily understood, with reference to the lower- .
15 most shelf as~embly 3 as shown in FI~. 1 of the drawin~s.
Following opening of the door panel 10 and its di~placement to
the previously described receded position, the retracted writing/ ~ .
I machine shelf as~embly 3 i8 manually withdrawn from its full
f confinement within the cabinet 2 merely by pulling outwardly . ,until the shalf as~embly is in the po~ition as shcwn in the '~
¦ upper portion of FIG. 1. Shortly afte~ the initial outward
'~ di~placement o~ the shelf assembly it will be observed that the , .. :
,, up~tanding activator lever 62, which normally lies within the
place of at least the lower portion of the rotary cam member
annular projection 71 will ~trike,~he periphery of this pro-
, 1jection 71. More particularly, the lever inclined plate tab
.`1 ' ' . `.
~ 'j 77 engages the lower portion of the periphery of the annular ~ :
. i .
projection 71. The components will then appear as in FIG, 7
. of the drawings and it will be seen that a friction band 78' . '~
. ,
:~ ~ 30 pro~ects from the periphery of the projection 71 to enhance ', ,
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1 the contact between the cam member and the activator lever 62 . .
~o that continued withdrawal of the shelf assembly 3 concurrently
rotates the rotary cam me~ber 70 in a clockwise direction while
.:- elevating the entire rotary cam member 70 and its attached
, . .
vertical lockba~ 67 until the cam member appears in the .
position of the uppermost cam member illustrated in FIG. 1 of
the drawings. In this elevated position the cam member i8 re~
tained a~ the greater cam flange 73 is disposed upon the ~op of
:' the flange tip 68 of the next lower vertical lockbar 67. By
properly selecting the positioning of each rotary cam member 70
upon its respective vertical lockbar 67 and the radius of the
~ greater cam flange 73, it will be seen th~t it is possible to :: :
m ensure that when a rotary cam member 70 is displaced into its
.
i elevated position that the lawer~ost point of the periphery of
its respective annular projection 71 will come to rest at a .:
point disposed slightly below the uppermo~t tip of the inclined
. : . ,
plate 63 of the activator lever 62 when in its normal upright :-
position for rea~ons which will become apparent immediately here-
,
inafter~
, 20 ~n important point to realize is that each vertical
lockbar 67 i9 provided with a pin stop 78 projecting inwardly
into each cavity 16'. The vertical positioning of each of these
pin stops 78 i~ selected so that when the respective vertical
~l lockbars 67 are in their normal or lowered position, that i8,
1 25 when the associated rotary cam member is positioned with its
1 lesser cam flange 74 resting upon the next lower lockbar flange
: ~ tip 68, no writing/machine shelve~ 3 above the level of any
.:~ elevated lockbar 67 may be withdrawn from the cabinet 2. To
`~ achieve the referenced interaction a stop plate 79 is mounted
~l 30 upon the bottom wall 50 of each ~helf as~e~bly 3 adjacent the
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~IL(113~92
1 rear wall 53 thereof. This stop plate 79 includes a vertically
disposed forward edge 80 which extendA dawnwardly a ~ufficient
di~tance to strike the rear surface of the pin stop 78 carried
by an adjacent vertical lockbar 67 should this respective locX-
bar and its pin stop be in the elevated position due to the :
prior withdrawal of any shelf assembly or drawer 4 therebeneath.
The stop plate 79 is provided with a plurality of notches 81
each likewise provided with a vertical forward edge more closely
adjacent the vertical plane passing through the activator level
62. These notches 81 serve as stop means likewise engageable
by a pin stop 78 should an operator attempt to simultaneously
withdraw one writing shelf 3 together with either another writing
shelf 3 or drawer 4.
When it i8 desired to retract any wxiting shelfassembly 3 from the fully extended po~ition to the fully re-
. tracted position, the extended position lock as previously des-
: cribed mu~t be initially actuated by manually depre~sing the :~ ;
l lever 62 until the inwardly projecting bushing 66 i9 cleared,
whereafter continued reaxward movement of the shelf assembly ~:
into the cabinat 2 proceeds until the uppermost portion of the
lover incl~ned plate 63 at its juncture with the ~top flange 64
engage~ the riction band 78' carried by the rotary cam member
annular prq~ect.ion 71. It will bo understood that since the
rotary cam member 70 i5 in the elevated position the activator . :
lever 62 engages the annular projection 71 only along its lower ~ . .
periphery to di~place ~ame in a coun~er-clockwise motion :
~I sufficient to arcuately di~place the greater cam flange 73 from
its engagement with the flange tip 68 therebeneath, whereupon ~:~
continued rearward movement of the shelf assembly permit~ lowering
~3 30 of the rotary cam member and it~ lockbar by gravity as it is
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. 1037~Z
rotated to present the les~er cam flange 74 at the bot~om most ~ ,
position and resting upon the flange tip 68 of the next lawer
lockbar 67. The op*rator continues to move the shelf assembly
: rear-wardly to the limit of its slide suspension asse~bly, at
5 which time the shelf as~embly i8 fully contained within the
. cabinet 2 and the interlock asse~mbly 6 will be in it3 nsrmal at : ~
:'' ..
. rest position. :
; The çubs~quent opening of any retracted writing shelf
; asse~bly 3 located belaw a writing ~3helf which is already dis-
placed in the extended position is precluded due to the immobil-
izing of all rotary cam members 70 located beneath the elevated
vertical lockbars 67. This immobilization is due to the fact
that the pluxality of vertical lockbars 67 when initially in- .
~ stalled within the cabinet 2 are provided with only enough axial
: 15 clearance with the cabinet to permit the vertical displacement
I as caused by the arcuate displacement of but one rotary cam
: member greater cam flange 73. In other words, revi~wing FIG. 1
' of the drawing~3, it will be seen that the uppermost rotary cam
! member 70 has alr~sady been vertically displaced and arcuately
1 20 rotated. Th~xefore, a subssquent attempt to extend the lawer
, writing shel assembly 3 from within the cabinet will cause the
.' activator lever inclined plate 63 thereof to strike the periphe~y
, .
. ~ of the lowermost rotary cam member annular projection 71 and
thi~s in it~3elf ~erves as a stop since the vertical lockbar 67
carri~ed by this lawermost rotary cam member is precluded from
any vertical displacement due to the prior vertical di~splacement
. caus~d by rotation o~ the uppermost rotary cam member 70.
If a drawer 4 is placed within a cavity 16' in~tead ::
.
3 of a writing/machine ~3helf 3 the activator means for regulating
the interlock a~3~embly 6 may comprise a ~addle, generally
" 1 -18-
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1 designated 82, mounted atop the drawer suspension channel 83
and containing an inclined front ramp 84 and rear ramp 85 for
respectively engaging and di~pla~ing the adjacent rotary cam
member annular projection 71 durin~ extension and retraction of
the a~sociated drawer 4, thereby actuating the interlock
a~embly 6 in a manner analogous to the activator lever 62 o~
the shelf assembly 3. The ~addle 82 is rigid and thus no pin
. stop plate 79 is required in the case of the drawers 4. This
., -
follows since an attempt to open a drawer 4 above an already
:' 10 extended component 3 or 4 will be precluded a~ the saddle 82
~" abut~ the elevated flange tip 68 and when attempting to open a
drawer 4 disposed beneath an extended component 3 or 4, the
rigid saddle front ramp 84 will strike the immobile cam me~ber
. projection 7.
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