US 5,352,030 AGranted

Anti-tip device

OwnerWolfgang Derle, Ronald G. Schenkinventors

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Abstract

In a filing cabinet arrangement of vertically disposed drawers mounted on progressive two or three channel drawer slides an improved interlock or anti-tip mechanism is used. By means of a uniquely configured cam, the cabinet of drawers provides both an anti-tip mechanism as well as an anti-rebound quality which ensures that a drawer, once returned to the cabinet, does not rebound outwardly. In addition, this device will act as a security lock mechanism in conjunction with installed locking apparatus. The particular inventive features lie in the simplicity of the mechanism and in its space saving qualities. No additional space in a cabinet, other than that required for the drawers and the drawer slides, is necessary. The mechanism is economical, simple and worry free in its operation. It is adaptable to any file cabinet situation where two or three channel progressive drawer slides are used.

Claims12

Dependent claims

An interlock and anti-rebound mechanism for a multi-drawer file cabinet having a vertical series of drawers, each of which is mounted on a pair of progressive drawer slides comprising at least two channel slides, slidably mounted to one another for individual opening and closing movement of the drawer, said interlock and anti-rebound mechanism comprising:

a resilient spring base plate fixedly mounted within a first channel slide;
said resilient spring base plate having at least one aperture in a base portion and including a raised portion at each end;
each of said raised portions including an elongate rectangular slit therethrough;
each of said slits being adapted to receive a curvilinear end portion of a vertically aligned locking bar when in operation;
an activator cam pivotally mounted on said spring base plate within said first channel slide and adapted to move two locking bars outwardly from and inwardly toward said resilient spring base plate, said activator cam comprising at least three different axially-spaced configurations, including an upper L-shaped configuration;
said mechanism further including:
a pair of right angled projections on one end of a second channel slide and integral therewith;
said projections extending inwardly, at substantially right angles, towards a web of said first channel slide;
said projections adapted to rotate said L-shaped portion of said activator cam from a drawer-open/locked position to a drawer-closed/unlocked position;
wherein, in operation, when one of said drawers is pulled outwardly from said cabinet to an open position, said projections interact with said L-shaped portion of said cam and rotate said cam 90 degrees such that a second different axially-spaced configuration of said cam urges an upper and lower locking bar outwardly from said spring base plate, thereby exerting pressure on activator cams and locking bars associated with each other of said drawers in said cabinet, thus preventing the remainder of said cams from rotating and said other drawers from opening;
and when said drawer is retracted into said cabinet, said cam is rotated in the opposite direction 90 degrees to a drawer-closed/unlocked position permitting said locking bars to move inwardly toward said resilient spring base plate thus permitting rotation of any one of said cams associated with said other drawers;
all components of said mechanism functioning within a space defined by outer surfaces of said first and second channel slides.

9 more elements

An interlock and anti-rebound mechanism for a multi-drawer file cabinet having a vertical series of drawers, each of which is mounted on a pair of progressive drawer slides including at least two channel slides, slidably mounted to one another for individual opening and closing movement of the drawer, said interlock and anti-rebound mechanism comprising:

a spring base plate fixedly mounted on a first channel slide;
said spring base plate having at least one aperture in a base portion and including a raised portion at each end;
each of said raised portions including an elongate rectangular slit therethrough;
each of said slits being adapted to receive a curvilinear end portion of a vertically aligned locking bar when in operation;
an activator cam pivotally mounted on said spring base plate within said first channel slide and adapted to move two locking bars outwardly from and inwardly toward said spring base plate, said activator cam comprising at least three different axially-spaced configurations, including an upper L-shaped configuration;
a pair of right angled projections extending at substantially right angles to a web of a second channel slide and integral therewith;
said projections adapted to rotate said L-shaped portion of said activator cam from a drawer-open/locked position to a drawer-closed/unlocked position;
wherein, in operation, when one of said drawers is pulled outwardly from said cabinet to an open position, said projections interact with said L-shaped portion of said cam and rotate said cam 90 degrees such that the second different axially-spaced configuration of said cam urges an upper and lower locking bar outwardly from said spring base plate, thereby exerting pressure on activator cams and locking bars associated with the other of said drawers in said cabinet, thus preventing the remainder of said cams from rotating and said other drawers from opening;
and when said drawer is retracted into said cabinet, said cam is rotated in the opposite direction 90 degrees to a drawer-closed/unlocked position permitting said locking bars to move inwardly toward said spring base plate and of any one of said cams associated with said other drawers.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.