Tab Products Company, Inc.

Lloyd Lechner

Kent Thomas

A filing cabinet includes a safety interlock that prevents more than one drawer from being opened at a time. The safety interlock comprises a column of endwise abutting catches mounted to the cabinet wall for vertical reciprocation thereon. The ends of the catches are formed with tabs. The tabs of adjacent catches cooperate to define gaps of predetermined spacing. Actuator means on each cabinet drawer are aligned with the catch gaps. When a selected drawer is opened, the actuator means thereon enters the associated gap and displaces upwardly any higher catches. Upward displacement causes the gaps between higher adjacent catches to be displaced into the paths of the actuator means of any higher drawers, thereby preventing any higher drawers from being opened. The retainer of an open drawer blocks upward displacement of any lower catches, thereby preventing lower drawers from being opened. A slide is reciprocably mounted on each retainer. The slide remains in the gap to maintain catch upward displacement when the drawer is opened such that the retainer passes completely through the gap. The catches are severable approximately in line with the top of each drawer to enable easy field conversion of cabinet drawers without affecting interlock components associated with non-converted drawers.

Safety interlock

A versatile system for storing IBM 3480 cartridge system tapes positively retains the cartridges in compartmented containers. Positive retention is accomplished by small upstanding tabs that engage a notch formed in each tape cartridge. The container is useable with storage racks designed for new installations of the IBM 3480 system. The container is further useable in retrofit applications in which the IBM 3480 cartridge system replaces previous magnetic tape reels. Retrofit installations may include standard rails for attaching to pre-existing storage racks and hanger bars fastened to the containers for hanging the containers on the rails. The present invention includes double channel rails designed to be vertically spaced on pre-existing racks that cooperate to suspend the containers in vertical attitudes. The containers may include latches on the bottom panels that cooperate with the rails to prevent undesired container tilting on the rack.

Growing community of inventors

Mayville, WI, United States of America

Lloyd Lechner