Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
D 4439
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This invention relates to cabinets and more particularly
to locking and interlocking mechanism for doors and drawers in such
cabinets.
The use of interlocking devices in cabinets that have
sliding drawers to prevent more than one drawer to be open at one
time is well known. These devices generally include some sort of
device that is engaged by means carried on a drawPr being opened~
and which device is moved to a position wherein other blocking means
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thereon are positioned to prevent opening of any other drawer. These
~- 10 devices often have a key operated device that acts to hold the device ~ -
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'J' ~ in position to prevent any drawer from being opened. --
Where the drawers are of the "shelf type" with open fronts
to permit access to the contents of the drawer or shelf, such a
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~ ~, locking arrangement will not prevent access to the contents of the ~
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cabinet. In such a case closure doors can be provided that are ~-
y~j pivotable about their upper ends and are slidable into the cabinet
i! out of the way in a horizontal position above the shelf. Lock means
~- can be provided to either individually lock the doors or mechanism
-s installed that will simultaneously lock all of the doors.
It is an object of this invention to provide a cabinet
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I~,r ' ' having sliding drawers and pivoted doors with a locking mechanism,....................................................................... .
~ that simultaneously locks both the doors and drawers.
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` It is a further object to provide an interlock mechanism
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which can be key operated to lock all drawers and doors.
A still further object is to provide an interlock mechanism
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-~-i which will prevent more than one drawer to be opened at one time
but will permit any number of doors to be open.
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In accordance with one broad aspect, the invention
~: relates to a cabinet having top, bottom, rear and side walls
and an open front, a plurality of slidable shelves arranged
- to slide from an inner position out the open front to an
exposed position and a plurality of pivoted doors swingable
between vertical closed positions closing access to the
7 shelves and horizontal open positions permitting access to the
shelves, each door associated with one shelf, a combined
. lock means for simultaneously preventing the doors from being
moved from their closed positions and preventing sliding
. of said shelves from their inner positions, said lock means -
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, including a vertically movable lock bar movable between a
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~;~ locking and an unlocking position, said lock bar having lock
~:: device means engaging said doors when said lock bar is in
.; locking position and said doors are in closed position said
~- lock devlce means engaging said shelves to prevent the same
~-~ from sliding out when the lock bar is in its locking position.
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D 4439
These and other objects and advantages wi11 be readily
apparent from the followin~ disclosure and accompanying drawings in
which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a file cabinet incorporating
the invention;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cabinet with one -
of the drawers in open position;
Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the locking bar
mechanism of Fig. 2;
~,- 10 Fig. 4 is a similar view showing one form of cam and
abutment device carried on the side of the sliding shelf;
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Fig. ~ is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the cabinet
; of Fig. 2; -
~-~ Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a key lock
mechanism; ~ -
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Fig. 7 is a cross-sectiGnal view taken on the line 7-7 of
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Fig. 6;
Fig. 8 is a cross-sPctional view taken on the line 8-3 of
Fig. 5;
Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fi~. 5 showing another form
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Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 10-10
of Fig. 9; and
Fig. 11 is an enlarged view taken on the line 11-11 of
Fig. 10.
In the embodirllent shown in Figs. 1 to 8, the invention is
i shown in a multiple drawer cabinet generally indicated 1, and which
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~ j has a plurality of pivoted norrnally vertical doors 3. The doors 3
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each close off acces to an open faced drawer or shelf 5 which can
be slid outward from within the cabinet on conventional telescoping
supports 7. The doors 3 are pivoted on rollers not shown which ride
in tracks 9 so that after a door is swung up to a horizontal position
it can be slid back into the cabinet as seen in Fig. 2 with the door
supported on the track 9.
~ The locking device includes an elongated bar 11 vertically
':t;, arranged inside of the cabinet near the front thereof as seen in
Fig. 2. The bar 11 is biased by spring 13 upward to an unlocking
~; 10 position. At the upper end of the bar 11 is a bracket ~ember 23
having a portion 14 that passes through an aperture in a bracket 16
(Figs. 6 and 7) attached to the front of the cabinet. This serves
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as a guide for movement of the bar up and down. The lower end of
the bar 11 passes through a similar aperture in the cabinet as seen
in Fig. 2.
As seen in Fig. 3 the locking bar carries a plurality of
forwardly extending bracket members 15 (only one of which is shown
in Fig. 3). The brackets each have a hook portion 17 and a roller 19
extending outward. The hooks 17 are adapted, when in a raised
f. l 20 position, to enter into apertures 21 formed in the doors 3 as seen
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in Fig. 5. When the lock bar 11 is in its lower or locking position
S f the hook 17 prevents the door from being opened.
',., The bracket 23 on the top part of the bar 11 has a slot 25
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` through which an eccentric pin 27 protrudes. The pin 27 is carried on
a rotatable portion 29 of a key lock device 31. It will be obvious
that as the lock is rotated by a key in the position illustrated in
Fig. 3, the pin 27 will act on the bracket to force the bracket and
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~:, bar 11 downward against the spring 13 into locking position. On the ~
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other hand, the slot 25 permits free up and do~ln movement of the
- bracket and-bar when the pin 27 is in its upper position.
; Mounted on the side of each shelf drawer are elongatedguide members 2 having an inclined cam portion 33. A second combined
` blocking and cam portion 35 is located below the cam portion 33. The
rollers 19 carried on the lock bar 11 are positioned to engage the
underside of the cam 33 when the bar 11 is in its upper or unlocking
position. When the bar 11 is in its lower or locking position the
rollers 19 engage the vertical face on the blQcking or abutment
portion 35.
~ The operation of the device of Figs. 1 to 8 will now be
described. When all of the doors 3 are closed and the key lock 31
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is in its locking condition, the pin 27 holds the bracket 23 and
` ~` bar 11 in its lower position against spring 13. In this position
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x j the hooks 17 prevent any of the doors that are closed from being
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~ ., opened. At the same time the rollers 19 prevent the shelf drawers
'3 ',~ from being opened because the abutment 35 contacts the rollers. When
, l the key lock is opened the spring 13 raises the bar 11 and the hooks 17
are raised to permit opening of any of the doors 3 to be opened. The
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~ 20 rollers 19 are now raised above the level of the abut~ent 35. As any
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~ - drawer is opened, the cam portion 33 thereon engages the respective
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roller 19 and forces the roller and lock bar down into the locking
position. The roller rides on the underside of the guide 32. No
i other drawer or door can then be opened. As the opened drawer is
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~ ; returned the roller again rides on the underside of the guide 32.
t.''~ The inclined portion 36 on the member 35 aids in moving the roller
and bar upward into unlocking position.
A modified arrangement is shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11. In
~; ~ that form the locking bar 41 is similar to that in Figs. 1 to 8
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except that operating pins or studs 43 are threaded in apertures
in the lock bar. The clearance between the hexagonal portion 49 and
shoulder 47 which engages the bar 11 penmits free up and down movement
of the stud in a slot 50 formed in the inner sidewall 52 of the
cabinet. A spring clip device 51 is attached to the sidewall 52 that
engages the pin 43. A detent portion 54 is urged outward by the
pin 43 as it moves between the lower solid line position of Fig. 11
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~;~ and the upper broken line position. This serves to hold the lock
~` bar and pins in their upper unlocked positions~
The pins 43 function as both the door lock and drawer lock.
The doors 55 contain a hook portion 57 that the pin 43 engages when
- in its lower position. The same pin engages the front vertical face
67 of a molded assembly 61 which includes an upper inclined cam
~;, portion 63 and a low cam portion 65. Unlike the embodiment of
Figs. 1 to 8, that of Figs. 9 to 11 does not have a horizontal track
~, or guide 32 to hold the lock mechanism in its lower locking position
~, since the spring clip 51 serves to hold the bar in either position.
The lower cam 65 serves to positively move the pin and lock bar up
when the drawer is closed.
The operation of the device of Figs. 9 to 11 is basically
~- the same as that of Figs. 1 to 8. The lock bar 41 is positively
moved up and down by the key lock but when in unlocked position the
~; ` bar can be independently moved up and down by the cams 63 and 65 as
a drawer is opened and closed. The spring clip 51 serves to hold the
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bar up or down.
It will be obvious that changes and modifications can be
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?,~ made without departing from the inventinn. For example, the operaticn
of the lock bar could be reversed with the upper position being the
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`~: locking position and the lower the unlocked position. This and other
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changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art and such changes
are deemed to be within the scope of the invention which is limited
only by the following claims:
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