Document Files.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd May, 1892—Accepted, 6th Aug., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Document Files.
We, THOMAS WALTER FOWLER, of 926 F Street Washington, in the District
of Columbia, Lawyer, and DAVID CHARLES MEEHAN, of Columbus, in the
County of Franklin and State of Ohio, Merchant, both citizens of the United
States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement:-
Our invention relates to means for filing papers and documents of all kinds, and
it consists, first, in providing the box or case with side bars or portions adapted to
yield laterally under a compressive force applied to them to release a follower from
a locked condition.
Our invention also consists in providing the said sides with a ratchet or grooved
surface into contact with which the follower board is held by the expansive force
of said sides, and out of contact with such surfaces the follower is removed by a
lateral compression of said sides whereby an automatic release of the follower is
effected.
Our invention also consists in providing the follower with slotted plates, brackets,
or guides each having one of the walls of the slot serving as a pawl to engage the
ratchet surfaces of the side pieces of the box proper to lock the follower in position,
and to be released from its locked position when the said side picces are laterally
compressed to bring the outer portions or edges of the ratchets or grooved portions
inside of the planes of said engaging walls.
Our invention further consists of the construction arrangement and combination
of devices or parts which we shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.
Figure 1, is a perspective view of a document file embodying our invention.
Figure 2, is a side elevation of the document file showing one of the positions of
the follower-board.
Figure 3, is a horizontal sectional view on the line x-x of Figure 2.
Figures 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, illustrate modified forms of rack bars or ratchet surfaces
on the side bars.
Figure 9, is a perspective view of a metal follower formed with integral guides
on its sides.
In the accompanying drawing we have illustrated our invention as applied to a
well known form of document file box or case, but we do not limit ourselves to
these specific forms of boxes or cases, as their structure may be altered and their
general configurations modified to meet existing circumstances or to satisfy varying
tastes.
In the form of box or case shown in Figures 1 and 2 a plain base or bottom A is
secured to a front piece B which stands at right angles with the bottom, and may
be provided with a handle or finger piece a by which the file box or case is readily
handled, and also with a means for containing a label or otherwise indicating the
nature of the papers contained within the box or case.
The sides of the box or case are shown as consisting of the bars or guides C,
composed preferably of metal having a certain amount of spring, and these bars or
guides are supported a suitable distance above the base or bottom A by having one
of their ends secured to the said bottom and their opposite ends fitted or secured to
the front piece B. The side pieces or guides may be of any suitable shape or form
in cross section, and we have found a very desirable form to be substantially like
that shown in Figure 3 in which the bars or guides appear as being flat pieces set
on edge with their upper and lower edges rounded. However this form is not
absolutely essential as the round bars of Figure 7 or bars omitting the rounded
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edges will answer, but the preferred form is one substantially similar to the form
shown in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive.
Upon or within the sides, and preferably the outer sides of the bars or guides
we press, cut or otherwise make or secure vertically disposed notches, grooves or
indentations of any desired form, and which constitute a grooved or ratchet
surface with which the follower-board engagés.
These grooves, notches, or ratchets are vertically disposed and may extend the
full width of the bars or guides, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 or may be
formed in or on and along only the middle or other portion of the sides as shown
in Figure 5. The specific form or disposal of the grooves, notches or ratchets is
immaterial, provided they are so arranged as not to permit the engagement with
them, of the follower on its release from its locked position.
The follower D is to be located between the sides or guides in the well known
manner and is to be supplied with plates or brackets D' which may be secured to
the rear face of the follower and project laterally beyond its side edges, and having
said projecting positions or heads e vertically slotted and adapted to receive the
side bars C of the box or case proper. The slots e in the heads have a width
sufficient to receive the side bars and allow the follower to be moved back and
forth with freedom, while the vertical height or major axis of the slots is greater
than the cross-sectional height of the side bars and will be dependent upon the
rearward inclination which it is desired to have the follower assume when in its
unlocked position.
If desired the follower may be formed from a blank of metal, in which case the
slotted heads e will be formed integral with the follower and will project laterally
therefrom as shown in Figure 9.
The vertical walls of the slots will preferably be straight and the walls of the
slots contiguous to the outer grooved or ratchet sides of the side bars are to
serve as pawls or engaging surfaces for said sides.
If desired a pawl may be formed by a tongue projecting inward from the wall of
the slot as shown in Figure 5, but a simple and effective means is provided by
utilizing the wall of the slot as the pawl or engaging surface as before explained.
The follower may also be provided with any desired form of handle or finger-
piece E by means of which said follower may be more readily operated in its
forward and backward movement.
In operating our file box the papers or documents are placed within the case or
box in the usual manner, and the follower-board is pushed forward, the engaging
walls or pawl slipping past the grooves, notches or ratchet surfaces of the side bars,
which, being of spring metal are capable of lateral compression, and automatically
yield under the influence of the follower as the latter is moved forward, until the
said follower stopped by being forced against the papers, when the side bars expand
laterally by reason of their spring power or elasticity and bring one of the grooves,
notches or ratchets in or on each of the side bars into close contact with the walls
of the slot or pawl surfaces.
In this position the follower is securely locked to the file box or case proper and
holds the documents or papers in a close and secure manner. To release the
follower the operator simply exerts an inward pressure upon the side bars at any
point back of the point of engagement of the follower board with said sidės, wher
this pressure causes the said bars or sides to instantly release their contact with
the walls of the slots or pawl surface on the follower to permit the latter to be
moved backward by the cushion or pressure of the confined papers or documents
and to assume an inclined position, the angle of which is determined by the length
of the slots in the heads.
As soon as the release of the follower is effected by the compression of the sid
bars, the board instantly moves from its fixed vertical position, with the walls o
the slots or pawl surfaces parallel with the grooved or ratchet surfaces of the sid
bars, into a position which bring the said walls of the slots or pawl surfaces at a
angle with the grooved ratchets of the side bars, as shown by dotted lines i

page_text: Figure 8, when the follower may be drawn rearward to the end of the file box,
without liability of the walls of the slots or pawl surfaces engaging with any
portion of the grooved or ratchet surfaces of said side bars. On the backward
movement of the follower the latter remains in its rearwardly inclined position
with the end walls of the slot el sliding upon the top and bottom edges of the
side bars.
To return the follower to a locked position, it may be pushed forward still
remaining in its inclined position, until its lower ends is checked or arrested by its
contact with the file papers, when its upper end will be moved in an arc of a circle
and will be brought up against the papers by the continued pressure on the board.
As soon as the follower has assumed a vertical, or approximately vertical position
to bring the walls of the slots in alignment with the grooves or ratchets on the side
bars, the latter at once spring into contact with the walls of the slots or pawl
surfaces and thereby form a secure lock between the file case or box proper and
the follower.
The same results are effected by righting the follower when it is in its rearward
inclined position at the back end of the box, and then forcing it forward while in
a vertical position, the walls of the slots or pawl surfaces slipping by the grooves
or ratchets on the side bars as before explained.
A file box constructed in accordance with our invention as described, requires
no levers or clamping devices to lock the follower to the floor or bottom of the case
or box proper, and which are liable to bind tightly at times and render the ready
release of the follower-board a difficult matter.
It also requires no manipulation of any lever, clamping device or other feature
to give a proper inclination to the follower. The release of the follower in our
case is readily and instantly effected by simply compressing the sides of the box
or case towards each other, thereby accelerating the unlocking of the follower.
There are also no loose parts to cause a wabbling movement to the follower in
its backward and forward movement, and nothing to get out of order or rattle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1st. A document file having a follower-board adapted to be released from a
locked position by a lateral compression of the sides of the box or case.
2nd. A document file-box or case having compressible sides, in combination
with a follower engaging said sides and adapted to be released by an inward
compression of said sides.
3rd. A document file having compressible sides, in combination with a follower
adapted to slide on said sides and to be secured in a locked position by the lateral
expansion of the sides.
4th. A document file having compressible sides, in combination with a follower
adapted to slide on said sides and to be automatically secured in a locked position
and released by a lateral movement of the sides.
5th. A document file having a follower-board, and having its box or case
provided with side bars adapted to be moved inward under the influence of the
follower-board as the latter is forced against the file papers or documents, and to
hold said follower in a locked position.
6th. A document file-box or case having side bars of spring metal, in com-
bination with a follower guided on and held in a locked position on said bars, and
released from said position by an inward compression of said bars.
7th. A document file-box or case having side bars of spring metal, in com-
bination with a follower-board guided on said bars, held in a locked position by
the outward expansion of the bars and released by an inward compression of the
same.
8th. A document file-box or case having laterally yielding sides provided with
grooved or ratchet surfaces, in combination with a follower guided on and

page_text: . embracing said sides, and engaging said surfaces to secure it in a locked position,
said follower being released by the inward compression of said sides.
9th. Aidocument, file-box or case having the: side, bars of spring metal with
their-outer.sides provided with grooved or ratchet surfaces, in combination with a
follower-board, having slots for receiving, said sides, and with their walls binding.
against said grooved or ratchet surfaces thereof to lock the follower in position,
said follower being released by the inward compression of said sides.
10th. A document file-box or case having the laterally yielding grooved or
ratchet-formed side bars of spring. metal, in combination. with a follower having
plates extending laterally therefrom and. provided with vertical slots adapted to
receive and be guided by said bars, said slots each having, one, of their inner walls
provided with pawls or surfaces adapted to engage said grooves or ratchets to lock
the follower to said bars and to be released from contact ..with said bars by. the
inward compression of the latter.
Dated this 10th of M 1000
THOMAS WALTER FOWLER.
DAVID CHARLES MEEHAN.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
.
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicants.