Abstract:
Hanging folder rods are flat strips having notches or hooks at their ends for riding on the rails of a file support frame. Notch depth is extended by long tips at the ends of the strip. By contouring the notches, extension, and end corners of the strips, the strips can be manufactured as a nested series with little void space between them. Strips nest, in one embodiment, with the top edge of one strip adjacent the bottom edge of another strip or, in another embodiment, with the bottom edges of two strips adjacent to each other. Manufacturing economy is effected by forming, for example, by stamping, the rods in the nested condition.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to hanging folders used in desk and standard files, and more particularly to the folder&#39;s hooked rods that engage the bars or rails of a support frame to suspend the folder in its desired position in the file. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     There is a very great use of hanging folders in filing systems by office workers, whether in professional or clerical capacity. Such folders are produced in large quantities, for example, by Esselte Pendaflex Corporation, Garden City, N.Y. The folders comprise a slightly stiffened paper sheet or board having a V-fold at its approximate center. Metal rods reinforce the folder edges that are parallel to the fold line, and the rods extend beyond the side edges of the folder. A hook shape or tip at each end of these rods is suitable for hanging the rods over horizontal bars or rails that are provided, frequently as part of a framework structure in a file cabinet or desk drawer. The weight of the folder, and its contents in use, hold the rod hooks or tips in place on the frame bars, where they are readily slidable along the length of the bars. 
     However, a problem arises in that the hanging folders tend to slip off the side bars, particularly when folders are pushed apart to make room for another folder, and when folders are slid along the supporting rails or bars. 
     Longer tips at the rod ends, effectively creating a deeper hook, would tend to resolve this problem and also prevent the rods from bending. However, rods with longer tips have not been manufactured because the rods are formed from sheets of metal. Making the tips longer in their prior art configurations creates too much waste material or too much material usage, i.e., the rods become bulkier. In either approach to the problem, more material is consumed and costs increase. 
     What is needed are rods for hanging folders which have longer tips without excessive scrappage and cost. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of this invention to provide improved hanging folder rods that have longer tips and are less likely to disengage, in use, from file support rails. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide improved hanging folder rods with extended end tips that are economical to produce. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide improved hanging folder rods with extended end tips that are efficient in use of raw stock materials. 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the hanging folder rods are flat strips that have notches or hooks at their ends for riding on the rails of a file support frame. The notches are made effectively deeper by long tips, i.e. extensions, at the ends of the strip. By contouring the notches, extensions, and end corners of the strips, the strips can be manufactured as a nested series of strips with little void space between them. In one embodiment strips nest with the top edge of one strip adjacent the bottom edge of another strip. In another embodiment the bottom edges of two strips are placed adjacent to each other. The sheet material required to manufacture rods with extended tips in accordance with the invention is substantially equal to the material required to manufacture conventional rods having conventional, shorter tips. This manufacturing economy is effected by forming, for example, by stamping, the rods in a nested condition. 
    
    
     Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description. The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated only by the appended claims. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hanging file folder including folder rods in accordance with the invention; 
     FIGS. 2a and 2b are plan views of pairs of hanging folder rods of the prior art in positions relative to each other as manufactured; 
     FIGS. 3a and 3b are plan views of hanging folder rods in accordance with the invention in nested positions for manufacture; 
     FIGS. 4a and 4b are plan views of alternative embodiments of hanging folder rods in accordance with the invention in nested positions for manufacture; and 
     FIGS. 5a-c are plan views of further alternative embodiments of hanging folder rods in accordance with the invention in nested positions for manufacture. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a hanging file folder 10 that comprises a sharply folded sheet 12 of heavy paper having a pair of hanging rods 14 in accordance with the invention. The rods 14 extend in the lengthwise direction of the folder, parallel to the fold. They are attached to the folder edges 16 in any suitable manner. For example, a sleeve may be formed by folding the sheet 12 at the edge 16 of the folder 10 and fastening the rod in place with adhesive, staples, etc. The rods 14 are locked within the sleeve so they extend beyond the lateral edges 18 of the hanging folder 10. At the outer ends of the rods there are hook-like structures that are contoured to engage a bar or rail of a supporting frame (not shown) in a file drawer or cabinet. 
     FIG. 2a shows a pair of conventional hanging rods. The rods 20, 22 are generally rectangular thin strips of metal that have cut-out notches 24, 25 respectively, which notches are set in from the ends 26, 27, respectively, of the strips so as to form tips. In use, the notches receive the bar or rail of the supporting frame in a file drawer. The rods 20, 22 are illustrated in mirror-image position as they would be formed from a sheet of metal in a stamping operation, for example. For economy of material in manufacture, the two rods 20, 22 are in contact one with the other such that the only waste material occurs where the notches 24, 25 are punched out. In another manufacturing arrangement (not shown), the same two rods 20, 22 can be placed so the notches 24, 25 face outwardly from each other in a reversed mirror image of FIG. 2a. The quantity of waste material is the same in each case. 
     FIG. 2b shows similar rods 20&#39;, 22&#39; of the prior art where the notches 24&#39;, 25&#39; are not rectangular as in FIG. 2a, but instead taper inwardly from the notch opening. Such a notch allows easier entry onto the supporting cabinet bar or rail, and is more tolerant of dimensional variations in such bar or rail. The quantity of scrap material which results in the manufacture of the rods 20&#39;, 22&#39; is greater than for rods 20, 22 in that the notch area is greater in FIG. 2b. The width 28, 28&#39; of two rods in abutting position as illustrated in FIGS. 2a, 2b is the sum of the widths of each individual rod. 
     FIG. 3a is basically the rod of FIG. 2a modified, in accordance with the invention, by adding an extension 34, a longer tip, beyond the rod width 35. The extension is transverse to the rod length and increases the depth of the notch 36 on one side edge thereof. Both ends of the rod 30 have similar constructions, that is, they are mirror images of each other. The width 38 of the extended tip portion is less than the width of the notch 36 in the length direction of the rod so that during manufacture a pair of rods 30, 32 or more can be formed as a nested series of rods with one extension or tip 34 of each rod received within a notch 36 of the other rod. When the rods 30, 32 are in abutment along their lower (in use) edges 39, 40, respectively, the overall width 42 of the two rods is less than the sum of the widths of each rod taken separately. That is, the nesting reduces the overall dimensions of stock material required in manufacture to less than twice the maximum width, as compared to the prior art (FIGS. 2a , 3a) where the width dimensions at the tip set the requirement for stock material use. The material from the notches 36 is scrap in the pair of rods 30, 32 of FIG. 3a. Offsets 44 at the opposite ends of the rods 30, 32 in their abutting position slightly increase the quantity of scrap. 
     Thus, with a width 42 approximately equalling the width 28 of the prior art, hanging rods 30, 32 are provided with extended tips or hooks that are better able to ride on the file rails without derailing. 
     FIG. 3b illustrates rods 46, 48 that are similar to the rods 20&#39;, 22&#39; in FIG. 2b, except for the extension 50 at the end tips of each rod. The extended tips effectively increase the depth of the notches 52 on one side thereof. When manufactured so they are abutting, as illustrated in FIG. 3b, one extended tip of each rod 46, 48 nests in the notch 52 of the adjacent rod for purposes of manufacturing economy. Again, an offset 54 results at the rod ends and the width 56 of two nested rods 46, 48 is less than the sum of the widths of the two rods taken separately. 
     With regard to FIGS. 4a and 4b, alternative embodiments of rod pairs in accordance with the invention are illustrated where nesting for the sake of efficient manufacture is accomplished. However, in these instances, nesting is not generally achieved by locating an extended tip in the notch of a similar rod. The rods 58, 60 of FIG. 4a are similar to the conventional rods of FIG. 2b with respect to the shape of the notch 62. The right-angled end corners, which are included in the rods 20&#39;, 22&#39; , are cut-off to provide an offset 64 and an extension 66 is provided at the tip which effectively deepens the notch 62 on one side thereof. The angle α of the offset 64 corresponds with the angle β for the side edge of the notch 62. Therefore, as illustrated, the rods 58, 60 nest in abutment with the extension tip 66 fitting into the offset space 64. The width 68 of two abutting rods 58, 60 is, for manufacturing purposes, less than the sum of the individual widths of each rod. All other dimensions being equal, the rods 58, 60, require no more material than the rods 20&#39;, 22&#39; of FIG. 2b, even though longer tips are provided. The ends of the rods 58, 60 are in alignment when nested. This alignment further assists in reducing scrap during manufacture. 
     FIG. 4b illustrates rods 70, 72 that are similar to the rods 58, 60 (FIG. 4a) except that the hooked end is contoured with curved edges rather than straight edges. Nesting to reduce scrap in manufacture is provided. 
     FIGS. 5a-c illustrate pairs of rods that are nested for the purpose of economic manufacture. Whereas, each rod in the rod pairs described above was identical to its associated rod, in FIGS. 5a-c different rods, that is having differences in the hooked ends and notches, are abutted when produced, for example by stamping. After production, the rods are separated by shape and used in matched sets, although mixing of rods is not precluded in use, as well as in manufacture, because the longitudinal spacing between the notches is equal. Regardless of which rod is used, sliding attachment to a cabinet rail is accomplished conventionally. 
     In FIG. 5a, rods 74, 76 are abutted along what would be their lower edges 78, 79 in actual use. The rod ends are in alignment and the notch 80 in the rod 74 opposes the notch 81 in the rod 76. An extension 82 of the end tip of the rod 76 rests against the sloped edge 84 at the end of the rod 74. The main body 86 of the rod 74, that is, between the notches 80 at opposite ends of the rod 74, extends beyond the tip 88 by a distance 90 such that the inner edge 92 of the notch 80 is the longer edge. By this nesting, economics in manufacture are provided as described above. It should be noted that the extension 82 on the rod 76 can be made longer than the extension 90 on the rod 74 without affecting the overall width 94 of the combination. 
     In FIG. 5b, two different rods 95, 96 are provided in each rod pair, the tips 97, 98 extend beyond the abutting lower edges 99, 100 of the strips. In the rods 101, 102 of FIG. 5c, the end tips 103, 104 are interlocked in a lateral direction such that the rods are different one from the other, but complementary. The extensions of the tips 104, 103 beyond the inner edges 105, 106 of the strip effectively lengthen one side of the notches 107, 108. The respective strip widths 109, 110 may be equal or unequal to each other, which affects the length of the other side of the notch. 
     Whereas, the strips are described as fabricated from metal sheet. In alternative embodiments in accordance with the invention they may be made from another material, for example, plastic or a composite of metal and plastic. 
     It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above constructions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention that might be said to fall therebetween.