Drawer Interlocking Device For Cabinets

Abstract

This invention is directed to the combination of units having superposed slidable drawers, such as cabinets or desks, and having structural means providing a self-locking and unlocking mechanism actuable by the withdrawal of a drawer to lock the remaining drawers against withdrawing movements while the first drawer is withdrawn; to thereby prevent a tipping of the cabinet normally caused by the weight of several drawers being withdrawn at one time.

Description

This invention is directed to novel releasable locking mechanisms associated with units having two or more slidable drawers adapted to releasably lock one or more of a plurality of sliding drawers when one of such drawers is manually opened and withdrawn.

Objects of my invention include:

A. The provision of movable locking means for one or more slidable drawers in a multiple drawer containing unit which is actuable by withdrawal of one of the drawers to releasably lock the remaining drawers in closed positions so that a cabinet or desk or the like would not tip itself forwardly due to the weight of two or more open drawers.

B. To provide an economically manufacturable drawer locking mechanism in combination with a cabinet or drawer containing unit which includes a slidable lug-bearing locking bar and cam means which will be moved on withdrawal of one drawer to releasably lock the other slidable drawers against manual withdrawal, and which will be moved to positions, on closing of any one of the drawers, wherein none of the drawers are locked, to permit selective withdrawal of any one of the drawers of the unit.

C. To provide novel mechanism including key-lockable means, lock bars and cam means which provide for selectively locking all drawers in closed position.

Other and further important objects of my invention will be apparent from the following description and appended claims.

As Shown on the Drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a filing cabinet having slidable drawers, and with parts broken away.

FIG. 2 is a cross secton taken on a vertical plane indicated by line 2--2 of FIG. 1 and showing certain parts in cross section and parts partially broken away.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross section, with parts broken away taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 3 and showing one of the locking devices in locking position.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross section of the vertical slidable bar and a fragment of the adjacent cabinet wall, as indicated by line 5--5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on a vertical plane indicated by line 2--2 of FIG. 1 and showing the upper drawer in partially open position, and with parts broken away.

FIG. 7a is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the upper portion of the slidable bar and showing the locking link in normally open position.

FIG. 7b is another enlarged fragmentary elevation of the upper portion of the slidable locking bar with an end portion of the locking link in locking position.

On the Drawings:

Numeral 10 generally designates a cabinet having connected sidewalls, a connected top and a bottom frame and wall 14, and a rectangular front frame or face 11 and a back or rear wall 15, Said cabinet has a plurality of drawers 12 slidably mounted on side suspension bars 13, one of which is illustrated in FIG. 1, said drawers being superposed and spaced apart in the usual manner. Said walls, top, front frame and bottom are preferably connected by welding.

As shown in FIG. 2

An inner metal panel or wall 16 having an upper and a lower angularly bent ends 17 and 18 has its inwardly extending flanged ends or ribs 17a and 18a secured by rivets 19 to the rear wall 15 so that said inner panel 16 is spaced inwardly from and parallel to the rear wall 15.

Said inner panel 16 has formed therein in vertically spaced apart position openings or slots 20, two thereof being shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, said slots being preferably formed by cutting and striking angularly segments of said panel 16, so that the angular flanges 21 are formed as illustrated. The rearwardly extending portions of locking brackets 22 hereinafter described move into and through said slots 20 and through slots 27 herein described. A right-angled locking latch or bracket 22 is mounted on the rear or back wall of each of the drawers 12 by means of rivets 23 so that such brackets extend rearwardly and perpendicularly to the rear end wall of the drawer.

Each of the locking brackets 22 have an integral depending tooth or hook 24 and have an upwardly extending beveled projecting lug or cam 25 in a position closer to the free end of said bracket as illustrated.

A vertical metal locking bar 26 having at least two longitudinal apertures or slots 27 is slidably mounted for limited vertical movement adjacent the inner panel 16 by means of two relatively loose bolts 28 extending through apertures therein and extending in and being slidable in two upper and lower slots 29 formed in the inner panel 16, as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6. Mounted loosely on each of the bolts 28 are washers 29a as shown.

Said bar 26 is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 as of substantially V-shaped cross section.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6, the upper end of the slidable bar 26 is inwardly offset and has formed therein a "T" shaped slot 32 as shown in FIGS. 7a and 7b.

Securely mounted in an aperture formed in the upper portion of the front frame 11 of the cabinet is a cylinder lock 30 which contains a rotatable cylinder whose inner end is connected by a pin or rivet to a metal lever or link 31, the inner end of said link 31 being reduced and positioned loosely in an aperture in inner panel 17 and extending through the "T" slot of the slidable bar 26.

When the lock cylinder is rotated to locking position, the link 31 is in the locking position shown in FIG. 7b to prevent upward opening movement of slidable bar 26 to thereby hold the locking brackets in downward drawer locking position.

When the link 31 is rotated about one-fourth of a turn to the vertical position shown in FIG. 7a, the locking bar 26 will be moved upwardly to release the locking brackets of the drawers from locking position. Thereupon any one of the drawers may be opened, and when any drawer is opened, the locking bar 26 is lifted, causing the other drawers to be locked due to engagement of the other depending lugs 24 with said bar: Said bar 26 is temporarily maintained in upward position by the frictional and slidable engagement of the spring washers 29a.

Drawer closing movement of the open drawer will cause the beveled edge of the lug 24 of its hook to engage the locking bar to move downward so that thereupon all the drawers are unlocked.

It will be understood that after release of the manually actuable upper cylinder locking mechanism, the described vertical slidable bar 26 will be free to be moved vertically, and that withdrawal of any one of the drawers will first raise said slidable bar a short distance, and that after the disengagement with said bar of the arcuate camlike lug 25, the said locking bar 26 will be held in upper position by the engagement of spring washers 25a to thereby lock the remaining drawers of the cabinet or other drawer-mounting unit, which may be a desk or equivalent equipment unit.

It will further be understood that upon complete closing of a withdrawn drawer, the vertical locking bar 26 will again be moved and drop into lower position from which any one of said drawers may be retracted.

While the foregoing specification sets forth the invention in specific terms, it is to be understood that numerous changes in the shape, size and materials may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed hereinafter, and it is contemplated that various changes may be made in the embodiment of the invention herein specifically described without departing from or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention of any features thereof, and herein shall be construed as limitations upon the invention, its concept or structural embodiment as to the whole or any part thereof except as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. In a cabinet or the like having superposed slidable drawers;

a rearwardly projecting angular bracket mounted on the inner end of each of said drawers, each of said brackets having a depending projecting lug and having a downwardly opening recess and having an upwardly extending beveled shoulder thereon;

a vertical slidable locking bar having a plurality of vertically spaced slots therein;

said shoulders of said brackets being adapted to engage the edge portion of said bar at said slots said bar in upper unlocking position; said brackets normally extending into said slots respectively; said depending lugs being adapted to engage said bar upon descent thereof to lock the closed drawers against withdrawal, the partial withdrawal of one of said drawers being adapted to raise and then drop said locking bar to thereby engage and lock the brackets of the remaining drawers against normal withdrawal thereof;

the closing movement of a withdrawn drawer being adapted to cause the shoulder of its inner bracket to raise said locking bar and then to cause said bar to drop to lock the drawer into locked position.

2. A cabinet having superposed slidable drawers as recited in claim 2 and having a manually operable rotatable lock cylinder mounted in said cabinet, and having a rotatable metal link connected to said lock, and extending into and engaging the upper portion of said slidable locking bar to provide for manually selectively rotating said lock cylinder to raise said locking bar into drawer unlocking position and to permit descent of said bar into drawer locking position.

3. In combination with a drawer-containing cabinet or the like having a back wall;

an inner vertical wall mounted in said cabinet inward of said back wall and having vertically spaced slots therein;

a vertical slidable locking bar slidable mounted adjacent said inner wall and having a plurality of vertically spaced apart slots therein;

a plurality of drawers slidably mounted above each other in said cabinet;

a lug-bearing locking bracket having thereon an upwardly extending lug and a downwardly extending hook and mounted on the inner wall of each of said drawers;

said upwardly extending lug having an integral upwardly extending beveled cam face, said cam-faced lug being adapted to move into said slots of said bar on closing of an open drawer;

relatively loose bolts extending through slots in the rear wall of said cabinet and through said locking bar, said bolts having yieldable spring washers thereon;

the opening movement of a drawer in said cabinet being adapted to raise said locking bar to upper position to thereby cause said locking bar to engage the depending lugs of the remaining other closed drawers of said cabinet against outward movement;

said spring washers being adapted to releasably hold said locking bar in upper position;

the full closing movement of the single open drawer being adapted to cause said depending lug to move downwardly said locking bar to a lowered nonlocking position in which all of said drawers are openable;

and manually actuable locking means on said cabinet for selectively locking said bar and said drawers in closed position.

4. In a cabinet or the like having a rear slotted wall and slidable drawers;

a self-locking means for releasably locking certain drawers of a cabinet actuable on withdrawal of one drawer thereof including a projecting angular bracket mounted on the inner end of each of said drawers, each of said brackets having projecting upwardly a lug with a camlike edge thereon, and having a depending recessed hook thereon;

a vertical slidably mounted slotted locking bar adjacent the rear wall of said cabinet and having a plurality of vertically spaced slots therein;

bolts loosely extending through the slots of said rear wall and secured in said locking bar;

yieldable spring means mounted on said bolts and normally frictionally engaging said rear wall, said recessed hooks being adapted to engage the said slotted locking bar;

said brackets normally extending into said slots respectively when said drawers are in closed position, the partial withdrawal of one of said drawers being adapted to raise said locking bar to cause the hooks on said angular brackets to engage and lock the brackets of the remaining drawers against normal withdrawal thereof;

the full closing movement of a withdrawn drawer being adapted to cause the camlike edge of its inner bracket to lower said locking bar into drawer-unlocking position.