US2413078A - Filing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 24, 1946. R, P, SCHQLHELD l2,413,078

FILING APPARATUS Filed May `l2, 1944 3g i l? 3J 32 mi 15' Inv/enor, Rfchaw chqleld, g.- L 15.5/ y/worny' Patented Dec. 24, 1946 FILING APPARATUS Richard P. S'choleld, New York, N. Y., assignor to Scholfleld Service, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 12, 1944,` serial No. 535,347

The present invention relates to ling apparatus and, more particularly, to apparatus of the type in which a plurality :of filing card-s are mounted upon a rotatable drum or support, for ready access for inspection and posting by an operator. Apparatus of this class is exemplified by the prior patents to Scholeld et al., Nos. 2,046,655; 2,205,932; and 2,231,029.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a ro-tary file which is adapted to be positioned upon a desk, table or other article of oflice equipment, so as to be conveniently accessible to `an operator for quickly getting desired information and so that data may be readily posted or entered upon appropriate cards.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus of this type, in which the cards are so arranged that -they naturally tend to separate from one another, or spread apart slightly, and, by their own weight, will stay in a separated position when once opened up at a particular place by an operator, for inspection and posting.

A further object of the invention is to provide increased card capacity for a le of given size. Another object is to provide, in a compact rotary le containing a large number of cards, improved means for mounting the cards, which materially facilitates manipulation of the le.

Another object is to provide means for hingedly mounting the card-s on the periphery of a. drum in such manner that the cards are tipped rearwardly away from the position of the operator, so that they may be inspected more readily than heretofore and so that entries may be posted with greater ease. Another advantage :flowing from this arrangement is that' the cards normally tend to swing apart` and may be quickly and easily separated by the operator, whereupon theyl will maintain that relation.

Other and further objects and advantages will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from a consideration of the following description of the specic embodiment shown for purposes of illustration in the accompanying drawing and described below.

Rotary files of the type. shown in the above pat ents, and manufactured and sold extensively by applicants assignee for a number of years,` have been of two general types, namely,Y filing drums mounted for rotation on a horizontal or slightly inclined axisv and drums mounted. for rotation on a vertical axis. In both. types, the rim of the drum has been cylindrical and the cards have been secured at their inner edges on lines parallel to the axis of the drum In accordance with the preesnt invention,- a radical departure, from .prior practices has been made, since the rim or periphery of the filing drum is disposed upon an upwardly and in- 6 Claims. (CL 12S-162)- z wardlyinclned surface, such asa frusto-concal surface or a truncated pyramidal surface, the drum being mounted for rotation 4about its own axis, arranged substantially vertically. 'This novel structure results in numerous unexpected advantages and in a new mode of operation, as explained below.

In. the accompanying drawing:

, Figure 1 is a perspective View of the improved .apparatus with a plurality of cards mounted thereon;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the drum, showing a ycard mounted thereon, and:Y

Figure 3 is a plan v-ieW of a preferred form of card, with a central section broken away.

The drum l0 is preferably mounted for rotation .abolita central post. l I extending upwardly from a suitable base l2. The drum l0 may be made of any suitable material, such as molded plastic, .cast metal, wood turned on va lathe, or sheet metal, stamped or spun to the ,desired shape- Bearings l3 I4, as shown in Figure 2 may be employed,` or any other type of ball or rollerk bearings may be substituted. A collar l5,

tast on the pest l constitutes a thrustbearing and supports the weight of the drum and the cards, while a cap I6 on the upper end of thev post overlies the bearing I3 and the central portion of the drum.

The rim, circumference or periphery 20 of the ,drum isv preferably disposed u-pon a frusta-conical. surface which isI inclined in the.` neighborhood of 18 4to 23 from lthe vertical as indicated by angle a. Of course, the invention is not restricted to any specific range: of inclination of the surface, but theV degreesi-ndicated are preferred. Moreover, any other type of upwardly and inwardly tapering surface or surfaces maybe employed, such as are providedV by a many-sided, truncated pyramid, for instance.

The cards 22 are retained upon the surface of thex drum 4by a pair of ci-rcumferentially extending',4 parallel card retaining rails 23, 24, which may be formed integrally with the drum or separately and secured theretoV by any appropriate means. The rails, in cross section, project perpendicularly from thev surface of thev drum and each comprises a webl 25 and a head 26 .having arcuate margins struck about spaced centers, as explained in prior Patent No. 2,231,029. If desired a rail shape of the type shown in Patent No. 2,368,162 dated` January 30, 1945',4 may be employed, withV correspondingly shaped slots in the cards.. Preferably, the outer end face of the rail head is struck on a relatively nat arc havinga ratherv long radius, while the sideT faces are ldisposed onarcs of considerably less radius.

The inner margins 28 of the cards 22 are provided with keyhole shaped slots 29, 30, spaced 'shown apart a distance equal to the spacing of the rails. The slots correspond generally in cross sectional shape to -the shape of the rails, and vinclude throats 3| adapted to embrace the Webs 25and enlargements 32 adapted to embrace the rail heads.

The slots are slightly larger than the rails, so as to permit the cards to hinge or swing e i freely about their inner edges, but make line con tact with the rails, as explained in the abovementioned patents.

The cards may be applied to the drum by nexmounted drums.

yadvantages resulting therefrom will be clear from theforegoing description. It should be understood 'that the invention is not limited to the f' details of construction shown in the accompanying the margins of the slots opposite the throats 3l and may be deliberately removed in a similar manner, but, because of the structure illustrated, they will not become detached accidentally.

.As .aresult of theangularv disposition ofthe inner edges of the cards, that is, the upward and inward inclination thereof, the weight of each card tends to swing it laterally, fromA the position shown in Figure 2. This tipping of the cards vgives them a somewhat unbalanced characteristic, but when the cards are packed relatively tightly around one portion of the circumference ofthe drum, they` stand substantially radially. When the operator separates the'cards at one point, however, their unbalanced condition causes them to spread apart under their own weight and to remain in that relationfuntil manually shifted to a different position. This characteristic of the new arrangement is of material advantage, since an operator need use only one hand in separating the cards and in posting entries thereon or otherwise manipulating the device. There is no danger that the cards will movetogether and the operators place be lost.

In view of the fact that the circumference of the drum at its upper end is less than at its lower end, it will be apparent thatthe cards mounted thereon will be more closely packedat their upper edges than at their lowerones. This results in a spreading or fanning out of the cards and is of material advantage, since each card, at its lower portion is normally spaced a slight distance from its neighbor, thereby facilitating separation of the cards and rapid inspection of data thereon. j

In some cases itis desirable to interpose between the central post Il and the drum, a oneway clutch or brake device, to restrain rotation of the drum in one direction, so that substantial force in that direction may be applied to the drum as when posting entries on cards mounted thereon.- Any of the one-way brakes of the types in the above-identified Patent No. 2,046.655 may be employed, in a manner which will be entirely clear to one skilled in the art, from a consideration of the patent and the present specication. Alternatively. a one-way clutch and brake device of the type shown in the application of Scholiield and Kelly, Serial No. 499,966 filed August 25, 1943, may be used and, if desired, a'handle mechanism of the type shown in that application may be associated with the vertically `mounted drum of the present application.

'or post, with suitable collars, similar to that shown at l5 and referred to above, or equivalent devices. to maintain the several drums in properly spaced relation. Moreover, the one-way brake and clutch devices and the handle meching drawing and described above, but that all modic'ationsA coming within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents are included.

I claim: 1. A filing apparatus comprising a substantially vertically disposed drum supported for rotation .about its axis andl having a circumferentially unbroken continuous, upwardly and inwardly tapering periphery, circumferentially continuous card retaining means associated with the periphery of the cl-rum, and a plurality of cards retained thereby adjacent their inner edges for lateral swinging movement with respect thereto.

2. A iiling apparatus comprising a vertically disposed frusto-conical drum supported for rotation about its axis, and means for retaining a plurality of slotted cards upon its periphery for Iswinging movement with respect thereto, said means comprising a continuous, circumferentially ,extending card retaining raill adapted to be received in the slots in the cards. f 3. A ling apparatus comprising a vertically disposed frusto-conical drum supported for rotation about its axis, and meansfor retaining a plurality of slotted cards upon its periphery for swinging movement with respect thereto, said means comprisinga pair of spaced, parallel, circumferentially extending card retaining rails adapted to enter spaced slots in the cards.

4. A filing apparatus comprising avertically disposed frusto-conical drum supported for rotation about its axis, `and means for retaining a 'plurality of slotted cards upon its periphery for swinging movement with respect thereto, said means comprising a pair of spaced, parallel card retaining rails projecting perpenclicularly from the drum periphery and adapted to be received in spaced slots extending perpendicularly into cards from one edge thereof. l

5. In combination, a iiling drum journalled for rotation on a substantially vertical axis and having its periphery disposed'on a frusto-conical surface, inclined from its lower edge upwardly and inwardly toward its axis, card retaining means on the'inclined surface of the drum, and a plurality of ling cards hingedly secured at their inner edges to said means, with their inner edges inclined upwardly and inwardly, whereby the weight of the cards tends to cause them to tip laterally and to swing apart 'so that inspection orf and posting upon the cards is facilitated.

6. In combination, a frusto-conical filing drum journalled for rotation on a substantially vertical axis and having its periphery inclined from its lower edge upwardly and inwardly toward its axis, a pair of circumferentially extending, parallel card retaining rails on said periphery, and a Plurality of iiling cards hingedly secured at their inner edges to said rails, with their inner edges inclined upwardly and inwardly, whereby the weight of the cards tends to cause them to tip laterally and to swing apart so that inspection of and posting uponthe cards is facilitated.

RICHARD P. SCHOLFTELD. l

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