Abstract:
A filing unit includes a drawer and a compressor mounted by the drawer for sliding movement lengthwise thereof between drawer contents compressing and released positions and for pivotal movement for purposes of releasably locking the compressor in a desired position lengthwise of said drawer.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to filing units of the type comprising a drawer and a compressor for releasably retaining drawer contents in a compressed, upstanding condition within the drawer. 
     Heretofore, it has been conventional commercial practice to provide a compressor with guide means to support the compressor for sliding movements lengthwise of the drawer between drawer contents compressing and release positions and a separate, manually operable locking means for releasably locking the compressor in a desired position lengthwise within the drawer. 
     However, it has also been proposed, as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,166,026 and 3,109,432 to provide a compressor with one-piece guide means, which serves to both support and releasably retain the compressor in a desired position within a drawer. However, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,166,026, the guide means is not capable of positively locking the compressor in a desired adjusted position and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,109,432, the guide means is not capable of both automatically locking the compressor in a desired position in response to force exerted thereon by contents of a file drawer, as an incident to placement of the compressor in such position, and positively releasably locking the compressor within the file drawer in any position into which the compressor is moved. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to filing units of the type comprising a file drawer and a compressor for releasably retaining drawer contents in a compressed upstanding condition within the drawer. 
     More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved compressor having guide means serving to cooperate with guide channels defined by the drawer for purposes of slidably supporting the compressor for movement lengthwise within the drawer and for releasably retaining the compressor in any desired position. 
     The present invention features guide means, which are unique from the standpoint that they are of one-piece construction and designed to assume three distinct positions relative to the drawer guide channels, namely, a first position in which they serve to slidably support the compressor; a second or temporary locked position which they tend to assume incident to manual placement thereof in compressing engagement with the contents of the drawer; and a third or positively locked position into which they may be manually moved at any point lengthwise within the drawer. The guide means may be selectively removed from their second and third positions by the application of manual pressure thereto. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The nature and mode of operation of the present invention will now be more fully described in the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view taken transversely through a filing unit of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary and exploded perspective view of the compressor of the filing unit; and 
     FIGS. 3-5 are sectional views taken generally along the line 3--3 in FIG. 1, showing the compressor in its first, second and third positions, respectively. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference is first made to FIG. 1, wherein there is illustrated a filing device comprising a file drawer 10 and a compressor 12 movably supported by the drawer for purposes of releasably retaining drawer contents, such as files or individual paper sheets, in a compressed, generally upstanding position within the drawer. 
     Drawer 10 is of conventional construction from the standpoint that it includes a pair of generally parallel side walls 14 and 14, which upstand from a bottom wall 16, and drawer front and rear walls, not shown. Side walls 14 and 14 support a pair of generally U-shaped guide channels 18 and 18, which open towards one another, extend lengthwise of drawer 10 intermediate its front and rear walls and define essentially parallel lower and upper guide surfaces 20 and 22, respectively. Guide channels 18 and 18 may be formed integrally with side walls 14 and 14, as depicted in FIG. 1, or formed by separate channel members, not shown, suitably affixed to such side walls. In either case, the material chosen to form the guide channels is preferably resiliently deformable at least in part, as required to permit slight separating movement of guide surfaces 20 and 22 for the reason to be described. Drawer 10 is preferably of sheet metal construction. 
     Compressor 12 is shown in the drawings as being in the form of a generally rectangular compressor plate 24 and a pair of mirror image guides 26 and 26, which are adapted to be received one within each of guide channels 18 and 18 for purposes of supporting the compressor plate to extend transversely within drawer 10 and for forwardly and rearwardly directed movements lengthwise thereof. Compressor plate 24 may be of thin metal or plastic sheet construction, which may be rigidified by the provision of a suitable member of transversely extending reinforcing or stiffening ribs 28. Compressor plate 24 may be considered as having forwardly and rearwardly facing surfaces 30 and 32, lower and upper edges 34 and 36, and opposite side edges 38 and 38. The arrangement is such that, when the compressor plate is supported within drawer 10 in the manner generally depicted in the drawings, the opposite side edges are spaced inwardly of side walls 14 and 14 and the lower edge is spaced above bottom wall 16 sufficiently to permit free movement of the compressor lengthwise within drawer 10, and the upper edge is normally arranged above the level of materials intended to be filed within the drawer to facilitate gripping of the compressor plate by a user for purposes of releasably locking the compressor in a selected position within the drawer. 
     To facilitate description of the invention, only the right hand guide 26, as viewed in FIG. 1, and its mode of attachment to compressor plate 24, will be described with reference to FIGS. 1-5 and like numerals will be employed to designate like elements of the left hand guide viewable in FIG. 1. 
     First referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be understood that each guide 26 is preferably of one-piece stamped sheet metal construction and shaped to define a generally rectangular mounting flange 40, which is sized for receipt within a forwardly facing mounting recess 42 of compressor plate 24 via a slot insertion opening 42a shown in FIG. 2; a connector flange 44, which is fixed to the mounting flange to extend rearwardly thereof; a guide flange 48, which depends from the outer edge of the connector flange; and a bracing flange 50, which depends from an inner edge of the connector flange for engagement with the rear surface of the mounting flange outwardly of the mounting recess. 
     Guide 26 is suitably secured to compressor plate 24 after positioning of mounting flange 40 within mounting recess 42, such as by rivet device 52. With guides 26 so mounted, their guide flanges 48 and 48 are disposed in a parallel relationship and in an outwardly spaced relationship relative to their associated compressor plate side edges 38 and 38, as shown in FIG. 1. 
     Guide flange 48 is best shown in FIGS. 3-5 as having front and rear flange parts or wings 48a and 48b, which are arranged to project forwardly and rearwardly of compressor plate surfaces 30 and 32, respectively; front and rear end portions of drawer 10 being generally designated as 10a and 10b, respectively, in FIG. 3 for purposes of reference. Flange parts 48a and 48b serve to define essentially parallel upper and lower guide surfaces 50a and 50b, lower and upper clearance surfaces 52a and 52b, and generally rounded end surfaces 54a and 54b serving to join the forwardly and rearwardly extending ends of their respective guide and clearance surfaces. Guide flange 48 is cut away at 56 for purposes of cooperating with the rearwardly disposed end of lower clearance surface 52a to define a lower latching tooth 58 and at 60 for purposes of cooperating with the rearwardly disposed end of upper guide surface 50a to define an upper latching tooth 62. Preferably, the tip or outer end of lower tooth 58 is disposed essentially flush with or slightly recessed relative to lower guide surface 50b, and upper clearance surface 52b is arranged such that it is recessed relative to a line drawn between the tip or outer end of upper tooth 62 and an abutment 64 defined by the juncture of the rearwardly disposed end of the upper clearance surface and end surface 54b. 
     The forwardly facing surface 40a of mounting flange 40, which is intended to be disposed essentially flush with rearwardly facing surface 32 of compressor plate 24, lies within a plane forming an angle of about 69° with guide surfaces 50a and 50b. Teeth 58 and 62 in turn lie within a plane, which is disposed forwardly of and essentially parallel to the front surface 40a. Thus, teeth 58 and 62 are disposed on opposite sides of a line drawn normal to guide surfaces 50a and 50b, and as such the distance between the tips of the teeth is greater than the distance between the guide surfaces. It is critical to the practice of the present invention that the normal spacing between channel guide surfaces 20 and 22 be slightly greater than the spacing between guide surfaces 50a and 50b, but slightly less than the spacing between the tips of teeth 58 and 62, and that the spacing between the channel guide surfaces and the degree of resiliency of channels 18 be such as will allow over-center movement of tooth 62 relative to tooth 58 incident to pivotal movements of compressor 12 relative to drawer 10 in the manner to be described. 
     Reference is now made specifically to FIG. 3, wherein compressor 12 is shown as being in a first position, which it tends to assume under the influence of gravity when no other external force is applied thereto. In this position, the relative orientation and weight distribution of compressor plate 24 and guides 26 and 26 is such that compressor 12 is supported by surface to surface engagement of guide surface(s) 50b with channel lower guide surface(s) 20 to allow a user to freely slide the compressor forwardly and rearwardly within drawer 10 and the compressor plate is inclined to extend upwardly and rearwardly within the drawer at an angle of about 69° relative to the channel lower guide surface. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a second position of compressor 12, which tends to occur as an incident to movement of the compressor under the control of a user forwardly within drawer 10 sufficiently to compress or contain drawer contents, such as files or papers, not shown, disposed between compressor plate front surface 30 and the front wall of such drawer. More specifically, as the drawer contents are compressed, they establish a force opposing continued forwardly directed sliding movement of compressor 12. This force tends to act on front surface 30 adjacent compressor plate lower edge 34, which leads in the direction of sliding movement of compressor 12, with the result that movement of such lower edge is eventually arrested and the compressor thereafter caused to pivot about a pivot point defined by lower tooth 58, as the user continues to apply force to rear surface 32 of compressor plate 24 adjacent upper edge 36, until upper tooth 62 is eventually brought into frictional surface engagement with channel upper guide surface 22. Thereafter, when a user releases the forwardly directed pressure applied to compressor plate 24, the weight of the compressed files acting against front surface 30 tends to retain teeth 58 and 62 frictionally engaged with channel guide surfaces 20 and 22 for purposes of preventing rearwardly directed movement of the compressor until subsequently released by a user. A user may release compressor 12 from its temporarily locking position shown in FIG. 4 by exerting force against the upper portion of front surface 30 in order to pivot the compressor in a clockwise direction about the pivot defined by lower tooth 58, sufficiently to remove upper tooth 62 from frictional engagement with channel guide surface 22 and thus free the compressor for rearwardly directed movement within the drawer. The previously referred to resiliency of guide channels 18 and 18 permits a slight spreading apart of guide surfaces 20 and 22, as an incident to movement of compressor 12 into its illustrated, temporarily locked position, whereby the resultant return bias tends to increase the frictional forces acting between teeth 58 and 62 and guide surfaces 20 and 22 for purposes of assisting in retaining the compressor in such locked position. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a third or positively locked position of compressor 12, which is achieved by user induced counter-clockwise directed pivotal movement of compressor 12 past its temporarily locked position shown in FIG. 4. During such movement, the resilient nature of guide channels 18 and 18 allows spreading of guide surfaces 20 and 22 sufficiently to permit upper tooth 62 to pass over center relative to lower tooth 58; the extent of pivotal movement of compressor 12 being limited or determined by engagement of abutment 64 with the channel upper guide surface 22. A user may remove compressor 12 from its positively locked position for return to its temporarily locked position of FIG. 4 by applying sufficient pressure to compressor plate 24 adjacent its upper edge 36 to cause same to pivot in a clockwise direction about lower tooth 58.