US2628145A - Expansible cabinet - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 10, 1953 E. J. SLATTERY EXPANSIBLE CABINET 2 SHEET SSHEET 1 Filed Nov. 28, 1947 Ficjil- INVENTOR. EDwAR n J- 5 LATTERY Feb. 10, 1953 E. J. SLATTERY 2,628,145

EXPANSIBLE CABINET Filed NOV. 28, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 E 5 nq-4 i JNVENTOR. EDWARQJ-EILATTERY gzi w' Patented Feb. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES OFFICE.

Edward J; Slattery-,:Montgomery County," Md."

Application November 28, 1947, Serial No'. '788,766.

1:5Claiinz. 1

My invention consists in a new and usefulim provement in cabinets and is-designed-toprovide a cabinet having'a combination of' a' plurality-of compartments and a plurality of tables; intended moreparticularly for're'ception oi sound" record discs and albums containing sam'e. The pa-rticularly novel and useful features of my im proved cabinet are the combination ofa pair'of centrally disposed superposed compartments of constant volume, the lower one of which isopen at its front and the upper'being closed at its front by a hinged door; and a pair ot adjustable: lateral compartments, the volumes of whichmay be independently-varied, the coverof the-upper: central compartmentconstituting table of constant area and the covers-of the lateral compartments constituting. tables of; variable areas:,. and. the novel means .whereby theulateral: compartments may beiadjusted..

While I have. illustrated. in the. drawingsand have hereinafterfully described .one specific: embodiment of my invention, it isr-to ice-distinctly understood that I do not consider my; invention to be limited to said specific embodiment but-refer for its scope to the claim appended hereto;

In the drawings:

Fig. l'is aperspectiveviewof the cabinet, the upper compartment being closed, the lateral compartments: being inzextended position and a portion of the lower compartment being broken away to disclose its interior construction.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cabinet, the upper compartment being open, the lateral compartments being in retracted position and a-portion of the: lower compartment being broken away to disclose the parts of the interior constructionwhich have been movedfromuthe-ir positions as shown in Fig. 1,..b'y retraction of'the lateral compartments.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 4, in the direction of thearrows.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged verticalsection on the line i4 of Fig. 3, in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a greatly enlargedfragmentary.perspective view of one oftlie. improved b'allfrollers for the lateral compartments with its mounting and one of the guide keys and its key-wayfor the lateral compartment.

Fig. 6- is a greatly enlargedvertical section on the line 66 of Fig. 4, inthe direction. of. the arrows, of. one of the ball rollers, its mounting and the track in which it is received.

Fig, 7 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary.'vertical section of'one ofthe supporting rollers on the bottom of the outer ends of the lateral compartments.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged'verti'cal section on'the line 8-8of Fig.1 3.1m thedirection' of the arrows.

As illustratedinlth'e drawings, my improved cabinet has an upper central compartment A, witha drawer B; alower central compartment C, and lateral compartments D'a'nd E.

The cabinet' has toppanel' lmounted on side panels .2 and 31in which are mounted a bottom paneljfi'and. an upper intermedi'atepanel 5? g The top panel i I ;,,upper. portions? of side panels-'2' and 3Tandi theintermedi ate panel" 5 comprehend the upper-compartment'A. Suitablysp aced'above the bottom; panel 4" there. is" a. lower intermediate panelfi'mount'edin theside pane'ls'i a'nd 3: The upper intermediate panel 5.,.lower portions-of the sidepanelsll and? and the lower intermediate panel. 6' comprehend" the lower compartment- C.

A front panel "l"bene'a'th" the lower-intermediate panel 6 .extendsbetween thesid'epanels and-'3. A clat -8 onthe bottom panel 4*isparallel with the side panels" 2" and 3" and" midway therekietweem for. a purposepresently explained: A secon'd'cleat (not'shown) issimilarlyjmountedon theupper intermediate panel 5.

The means for sli'dably mounting thed'ra'wer B are. shown iniFigs. 2; 3; 4' and 8; the drawer 'IB heing'o'mitted'in Figs: 3' and tier-"clarity: Suitablyf mounted on the, side" panels 2" and 3' there are tracks 9f. Tracks I0 aremountedon-thesides of the drawer'B. Ball races H l interposed bet'ween the tracks 9*a'nd" lllcarry ball bearings l2 freely rotatable" between" the opposed concave surfaces? l3andil4 'of thei; tracks 9- and It; respectively. A bumper IS on theforward end of each't'rackfl and'azbumper |5-a on-the rear end of "each track l 0 limit the outward movement of thedrawer B; anda bumper I5-b on the rear end of each ofzthetracksBlimitsthe inwardmov'ement" of the'dra'wer B;

Since the-lateralcompartments D'and Ehave identical structural elements and diifer only in their positions (left and right)- in-the-=- cabinet (Fig;.1) a" description of the structural element's of one. of saitl'ilat'eral compartments will suffice.

Each of "the'side'panels- 2'--and3 is provided with a suitably disposed and'configuredorifice It immediately"above"theupper surface of" the upper intermediate panel 5, and an identical orifice I I intermediate the lower intermediate panel 6 and the"bottom*-panel-4 (Fig. 4). Eia'chlateral com partment has a top panel [8 and a bottom panel l9]; slidable in theorifices l6 and-.- H'; respectively, and connected at theirouter endsby aniend panerztrl suitably'key-ways -z I arecounter-sunk in the upper intermediate panel 5 and the bottom panel 4, and the top and bottom panels 58 and operation will be obvious.

and 19 are provided with keys 22 slidable in said key-ways 2i (Figs. 3, 4 and 5).

Suitably mounted on the rear and forward portions of the upper intermediate panel 5 there is a pair ofstruts 23 extending between the side panels 2 and 3 and spaced slightly from the sides of the top panels l8. Each strut 23 has countersunk in its edge adjacent the side of a panel [8 a track 24 (U-shaped in cross-section). Each panel [8 is provided on its inner end with a, plate 25 from the ends of which project pins 25 loosely received in bores 21 in ball rollers 28 rollably mounted in the tracks 24. It will be noted (Fig. 6) that the parts are so designed and related that the panels l8 are supported by the balls 26 resting on the lower horizontal portions 24-a of the tracks 24 and nicely clearing the upper horizontal portions 24-h, and that the outer vertical portions 24c of the tracks 24 are tangent to the surface of the balls 28. Similar struts 23 rear panel 29 extending between the side panels 2 and 3 downwardly from the top panel I. A door 38 for the upper compartment A is mounted on the strut 23 at the front of the panel 5 by hinges 3| and provided with suitable spring detents 32 (Fig. 3).

The end panels 20 of the lateral compartments D and E are provided with rollers 33 journalled in sockets 34 counter-sunk in the bottom edges of the panels 20.

The drawer B is provided with the improved ,means for holding sound record discs described and claimed in my co-pending application, Serial Number 779,819, filed October 14, 1947, now Patent No. 2,593,927.

From the foregoing description of the details of construction of my improved cabinet, its use With a selected group of records disposed in the drawer B, albums containing other groups of records, or empty al- .bums from which the records in the drawer B lateral compartments D and E which can be independently adjusted to provide adequate storage space according to the number of albums to be received therein. The table provided by the top panel I can be used to support the record player, or, if desired, the record player can be placed on one of the tablesprovided by either of the panels 13, and thepa'nel I may be used to support a television set, a radio'set, or a lamp and ornaments. If desired, a television set can be placed on panel I, a radio set on onepanel l8 and the record player on the other panel l8.

It is obvious that the adjustability of the lateral compartments D and E makes it possible to regulate the width of the cabinet to conform most desirably with the space available in the room in which the cabinet is placed. This is a feature of very considerable value in these day of small apartments.

The improved supporting means for the lateral compartments D and E, viz. the tracks 24, balls 28 and rollers 33, insures ready and smooth lateral adjustment, and the keys 22 obviate any binding tendency, to facilitate their adjustment.

Having described my invention, what I claim In a cabinet, the combination of a pair of side walls, each wall having an upper horizontal slot and a lower horizontal slot; top and bottom walls connecting said side walls at their ends; a rear wall connecting said side walls at their rear edges; a front panel connecting the lower ends of the front edges of said side walls; a pair of struts mounted on said bottom wall, connecting said side walls, and disposed adjacent said rear wall and said front panel, respectively, each of said struts having a track; a shelf mounted on said struts and said front panel and connecting said side walls, said bottom wall, said struts and said shelf comprehending a compartment to which access is provided by the lower horizontal slots of the side walls; a cleat mounted between said bottom wall and said shelf midway between said side walls and connecting said struts thereby dividing said compartment into two equal portions; an intermediate panel connecting said side walls, between said top wall and said shelf and extending from said rear wall to the forward edges of said side walls, said upper horizontal slots of the side walls being disposed immediately above said intermediate panel; a pair of struts mounted on said intermediate panel, connecting said side walls and disposed adjacent said rear wall and the front edge of said intermediate panel, respectively, each of said struts on said intermediate panel having a track; a pair of laterally-movable lower shelves received through said lower horizontal slots of the side walls and provided with means adapted to support said lower shelves on the tracks on the struts on the bottom wall, for movement into and out of the two portions of said compartment, respectively; a pair of laterally-movable upper shelves received through said upper horizontal slots of the side walls and provided with means adapted to support said upper shelve on the tracks on the struts on the intermediate panel; and a pair of end walls connecting the outer ends of said lower and upper shelves.

EDWARD J. SLAT'I'ERY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 463,932 Allison Nov. 24, 1891 591,440 Washington Oct. 12, 1897 1,172,99 Carmine Feb. 22, 1916 1,372,229 Jelene Mar. 22, 1921 1,547,627 Thomas July 28, 1925 1,870,763 Znidersic Aug. 9, 1932 2,233,559 Shields Mar. 4, 1941 2,258,667 Wogulis Oct. 14, 1941 2,293,210 Marzolf Aug. 18, 1942 2,370,861 J akeway Mar. 6, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 61,372 Switzerland May 17, 1912 705,692 France June 11, 1931 779,420 France Jan. 14, 1935 463,170 Great Britain Mar. 23, 1937

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