Untitled record

Application filed March 11,1889. Serial No. 302,787. (No model.)

- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Edmund W. Woodruff, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have 5 invented certain new and useful Improvements in Documentand Letter Files; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which io it appertains to make and use the same.

While it is the practice in business to file away certain papers or documents in a folded condition, and also to store collections of such papers in envelopes or files, it is very desira15 ble for purposes both of economy of space and ready reference to preserve certain other papers (a common example of which is found in ordinary business-letters) in a flat or unfolded condition and in a properly-indexed arrange20 inent. For these purposes two radically different styles of devices have heretofore been used, differing in external appearance and in shape, and requiring a case or cabinet with differently - shaped compartments respect25 ively adapted to the different styles of said devices.

It is the object of my invention to provide a means for filing papers which will be capable of holding the two styles of papers, (folded 30 or unfolded,) and in which the two styles of holding devices shall be similar and uniform in external appearance and so analogous in general shape and configuration that they may be arranged side by side or interchanged 35 with each other, as convenience of arrangement, or situation in the cabinet, or the relative numbers of the two styles of holders may dictate.

It is a further object of my invention to 4° provide means for sustaining the paper-holding device, of whichever style, when the same is drawn out and while its contents are beingexamined.

' To these ends my invention consists in the 45 parts and combinations of such hereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

In order to make my invention more clearly understood, I have shown in the accompanying drawings means for carrying the same 5° into practical effect.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet and paper-holding devices embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is perspective view of the holder, which may be termed the “ letter-holder,” for flat or unfolded pa- 55 pers, drawn out and opened. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the same closed, provided with an index and filled with papers. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of this holder and of the adjacent'parts of the case. Fig. 5 is 60 a transverse section of the same. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the devices or slides which sustain the letter-holder when the latter is drawn out. Fig. 7 is a similar view of a modified form of slide, more especially’adapted for the 65 holder for folded papers, which may be termed the “document-holder.” Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section illustrating the latter form of slide.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates a 70 case or cabinet provided with any desirable number of shelves a of convenient distance apart and adapted to receive the paper-holders. The holders which I employ and their sustaining devices are of such character that 75 they may be placed side by side upon the shelves a in immediate contiguity without intervening partitions. Economy-of material and of space are thus secured. When shelves -. of such length are employed that there might 80 be a liability to bend or sag under a load of filled holders, I employ at intervals—say at every fourth holder, as shown-in Fig. 1—a vertical support a', which may be in the form of a partition running back the full depth of 85 the shelves or for a portion of such depth.

The cabinet may of course be constructed, if desired, with a separate space or compartment for each holder.

In the simplest form of the device the hold- 90 ers rest immediately upon the shelves without any slide or other device adapted to sustain them when drawn out upon the cabinet in front of their places, and when the contents of the holders are to be examined the 95 latter will be removed bodily from their shelves and held in the hand or placed upon a convenient table, desk, or shelf. I will first describe this form of the holders without regard to the slide or sustaining device, which 100 in some instances I prefer to use,.and which is hereinafter more particularly referred to.

B indicates the holder for folded papers, which maybe termed the “document-holder.”

404,458

It is made of a width suitable for the papers or file-envelopes which it is to contain—say four and three-quarters inches—and is provided with a. follower or file-board b, operat5 ing in planes at right angles to the front.

The direction of operation of such follower maybe either vertical or horizontal, as is well ' known in this class of holders, the latter construction being shoAvn in the drawings.

o C indicates the holder for flat or unfolded papers—such as business-letters—which device may be termed, for the sake of distinction, the “letter-holder.” This holder is upright in position, and the papers within it rest 5 upon their edges, being properly sustained between one of the sides c of the holder and a lateral file-board c', which operates in planes parallel with the front c² of the device. At the side on which the follower is situated the o holder is open, as shown. When closed, as shown on the top and bottom shelves in Fig. 1, the letter-holder presents the same external appearance (except for its label) as the document-holder, and is adapted to be read5 ily interchanged with it. The whole filing apparatus, therefore, is uniform and regular in appearance, and the cabinet or case which forms a part of.the same is equally uniform in construction, contributing much to simo plicityand economy in manufacture. As convenience of arrangement may dictate, the different kinds of holder may be transferred from one part of the case to another—for instance, as they become filled and go out of 5 current use—-or different proportions in number of the document-holder and letter-holder may be accommodated from time to time in the same case as the course of business may render desirable.

o For convenience of examination the follower o' of the letter-holder is provided with a support c³, adapted to hold it in an outwardly-inclined position. (See Fig. 2.) When thus constructed the holder is particularly well adapted to recei ve a card-index I), ha vingits lettered or indicating edge situated at the top of the holder. (See Fig. 3.) In order to facilitate the display of the dates and signatures of letters, the right side of the letter□ holder is left open, and the follower c' and support c³arranged on that side. Theholder may, however, be reversed in use, with its rear toward the person examining its contents. When intended to be so used the rear board c* may be cut away partly to give a better view of the interior of the holder and to facilitate the introduction of the hand in filing or removing letters. The direction of such cut is indicated by the dotted line x, d (shown on the front board c²in Fig. 2, which front board may be considered, for the purpose of understanding this modification, as the rear board of the holder.)

The support c³ for the file-board c' consists, ; by preference, of a lever mounted at its lower end and adapted to be moved from one side of the holder to the other in a T-groove id, formed in a plate fitted in the bottom of the holder. The construction and operation of this lever are well known and neednotbehere 70 further set forth.

I will now proceed to describe the sustaining device or slide, which is adapted to support the holder, when drawn out, on the front of the case immediately in front of its space. 75 While practically the same slide may be used with either type of holder, I prefer to modify its construction in certain details according to the particular form of holder with w’hich it is to be used, with a view to secure 80 more perfect and convenient working of the parts.

'In Fig. G are shown in plan view two contiguous slides especially adapted for sustaining the letter-holder 0. Referring to this 85 figure, and also to Figs. 2, 4, and 5, E indicates the slide, preferably consisting of two side bars e e, a rear bar e', and a front bare². The slide may be made in one piece or of several pieces secured together and of any suit- 90 able material. On their inner edges the bars e are provided with longitudinal rabbets e³and on t heir outer edges with similar rabbets e⁴.

F indicates a metal platcor button situated 95 in the space between the bars <?, secured to the upper side of the shelf a, and provided with an overhanging flange or head which fits in the rabbets (d of tlie side bars. This button is situated a short distance back from 100 the front edge of the shelf, and, it will bo seen, acts as a stop (by contact with the rear bar e') to limit the forward movement of the slide, and also keeps the rear end of the slide from tipping up and maintains it in a hori- 105 zontal position. Tlie slides are caused to act as guides for each other by virtue of their contiguity. The letter-holder, when adapted to fit this form of slide, is provided upon its bottom at the edges with blocks G of such no width as to fit the rabbets e⁴, and of such situation and length as to stop the forward movement of the letter-holder upon the slide when said holder is in the desired position.

It is obvious that a mere inversion of the ar- 115 rangement shown of the block or blocks G and the rabbet or rabbets e⁴ maybe used, the former being attached to the slide and the latter formed in the bottom of theholder. In the construction illustrated this position is 120 that shown in Fig. 2, where the rear edge of the top of the letter-holder is just below and engaged by the edge of the shelf above. It will be seen that tlie holder is th us prevented from tipping up at its rear end and is main- 125 tained firmly in position suitable for the exami nation of papers.

It will be readily understood that the buttons F may be arranged at the edges of the slides and the blocks (or a single block) G 13c situated in the central groove of the slide. When it is desired to remove the letter-holder bodily, it is simply necessary to draw it, with its slide, out to the full extent, and then

404,458 slightly raise the front of the holder till the forward ends of the blocks G are clear of the front bar e², when there will be no obstacle to the entire removal of the holder. The 5 front edge of the bar e² forms or is providedwith a bead or molding e⁵, which completely conceals the slide and gives a finish to the device.

In Fig. 7 is shown a modified form of slide io especially adapted in its details to the support of the document-holder B. As it is desired to haveroom for releasing and dropping back to an inclined position (see Fig. 1) the follower b, even though the holder be full, it 15 is preferred that the slide for this holder be adapted to sustain the latter when drawn out to a position entirely outside of the. case A. Instead of relying upon the shelf above to assist in supporting this holder, therefore, the 20 block G, carried upon the bottom of the holder and fitting in the slide, is arranged centrally of the holder aud slide, and is provided with lateral arms g, which extend for a short distance beneath the side bars e, fitting in rab25 bets e⁶, formed in the lower inner edges of the bars. Said arms g effectually maintain the holder B in a horizontal position, even when drawn out to a point entirely beyond the' case A.

At their rear ends the bars e are recessed on their in ner sides, as shown at e⁷, to permit of the vertical passage of arms g when the holder is in the act of being removed bodily from the case and from its slide. To remove 55 the holder bodilj⁷, it-is not necessary to operate its slide. If the holder be simply taken by its usual handle or ring r and tipped forward, the block G and arms g will pass upward through the central slot and recesses e⁷40 of the slide, and the holder will be freed from any connection with the case. It may be as readily replaced, these operations being as simple as if the holder were mounted directly upon the shelf without a slide. The block G 45 being situated centrally in this holder, the buttons F are arranged at the sides of and between the slides, as seen in Fig. 7.* The slides are thus not contiguous, and as they will not serve as guides for one another I employ a 50 second button F' in line with button F, whereby the slide is prevented from having undue lateral play.

For the slide which comes next to the side of the case A or to the partition a' there is 55 provided a retaining finger or lug I, which is secured to said case or partition (see Fig. 7) and engages the rabbet in the edge of the slide.

By an examination of the form of slide 60 shown in Fig. 7 it will be seen that if the block G of the letter-holder be arranged centrally either this holder or the documentholder maybe mounted on and used with this slide.

Instead of using the molding e⁵, the forward end of the slide may stop a little back of the face of the holder, and the front board of the latter may extend down to the shelf, thus concealing the slide.