Fiberboard file cabinet and drawer glide structure

Claim 2

In combination with a lightweight, fiberboard file cabinet, improved drawer support means for a plurality of drawers comprising: an outer housing of said file cabinet having top and bottom walls, a pair of upright side walls, a back closure wall and an open front end defined between the forward edges of said side walls; a self-supporting liner inside of said outer housing, said liner having three interconnected vertical panels including a back panel abutting against said housing back wall and a pair of upright side panels contiguous with said side walls and bearing thereAgainst; a plurality of rigid drawer glides suspended at vertically spaced locations on each of said liner side panels, each of said drawer glides comprising an upright backing strip abutting against the inside face of one of said side panels, an elongated, horizontal shoulder segment projecting outwardly from said backing strip through a horizontal slot in one of said side panels and terminating at its outer end at an elongated, vertically extending retainer flange projecting upwardly therefrom and bearing against the outside face of one of said side panels at a horizontally offset location from said backing strip snugly sandwiched between one of said liner side panels and one of said housing side walls, and a horizontal, drawer-supporting runner projecting inwardly from said backing strip substantailly at right angles thereto, and said drawer glides being disposed opposite each other in pairs on said liner side panels with their runners in horizontal alignment to support a drawer therebetween; and a plurality of drawers supported on said opposed pairs of drawer glides and slidably shiftable on said runners back and forth through said open front end of said cabinet housing.

Claim 3

A file cabinet and drawer support structure as defined in claim 1 wherein: each of said drawer glides includes at least one retainer lug depending downwardly from the bottom of said backing strip below said drawer-supporting runner and lying against the inside face of one of said liner panels, said retainer lug being struck from said runner and formed downwardly to thereby provide a unitary drawer glide and hanger structure.

Claim 4

A file cabinet and drawer support structure as defined in claim 2 wherein: each of said drawer glides has a flange lip on the bottom of said retainer lug projecting horizontally outwardly therefrom into a slot in one of said liner side panels, said shoulder and said flange lip on each of said drawer glides bearing against the bottom edges of their respective slots to thereby lend vertical bearing support to said drawer glides under the vertical load imposed by loaded drawers.

Claim 5

A file cabinet and drawer support structure as defined in claim 1 wherein: said liner includes a pair of inwardly turned flaps on the bottom of said upright side panels, said flaps bearing against said housing bottom wall to serve as base members assisting in supporting the vertical load imposed on said liner side panels by said drawers.

Claim 6

A file cabinet and drawer support structure as defined in claim 1 wherein: each of said drawer glides further includes a detent tab depending from the forward end of said runner at an angle thereto adjacent said open front end of said cabinet housing; and a plurality of vertically extending flaps hingedly attached to the forward edges of said housing side walls and folded inwardly over said drawer glides in overlying relation to the forward ends of said liner side panels, and said detent tabs restrainably engaging said flaps to assist in holding said flaps in said inwardly folded position.

Claim 7

A lightweight, multiple drawer, fiberboard file cabinet comprising in combination: a collapsible outer housing having top and bottom walls, a pair of upright side walls, a back closure wall and an open front end defined between the forward edges of said side walls; a self-supporting, three sided liner inside of said outer housing having a pair of upright side panels lying against and contiguous with said housing side walls; a plurality of rigid drawer glides attached to each of said liner side panels at vertically spaced locations thereon through horizontal slots in said side panels, each of said drawer glides comprising upwardly and downwardly extending retainer elements bearing against opposite faces of one of said liner side panels and a horizontal, drawer-supporting runner projecting inwardly from said liner side panels, and said drawer glides being disposed opposite each other in pairs on said liner sidE panels with their runners in horizontal alignment to support a drawer therebetween; a plurality of drawers supported on said opposed pair of drawer glides and slidably shiftable on said runners back and forth through said open front end of said cabinet housing; and a rigid reinforcing rim extending around the inner periphery of said housing inside of said open front end of said housing, said rim having upright side legs adjacent the forward edges of said housing side walls connected by a horizontal rim segment extending therebetween substantially midway of the height of said cabinet between a pair of vertically adjacent ones of said drawers said horizontal segment of said rim being covered by a removable fiberboard insert folded around said horizontal rim segment to a U-shaped configuration with its folded edge facing outwardly, and said fiberboard insert being held in place around said horizontal rim segment by vertically extending flaps hingedly attached to the forward edges of said housing side walls and folded inwardly over said rim side legs.

Claim 8

A lightweight, multiple drawer, fiberboard file cabinet comprising in combination: a collapsible outer housing having top and bottom walls, a pair of upright side walls, a back closure wall and an open front end defined between the forward edges of said side walls; a self-supporting, three sided liner inside of said outer housing having a pair of upright side panels lying against and contiguous with said housing side walls; a plurality of rigid drawer glides attached to each of said liner side panels at vertically spaced locations thereon through horizontal slots in said side panels, each of said drawer glides comprising upwardly and downwardly extending retainer elements bearing against opposite faces of one of said liner side panels and a horizontal, drawer-supporting runner projecting inwardly from said liner side panels, and said drawer glides being disposed opposite each other in pairs on said liner sidE panels with their runners in horizontal alignment to support a drawer therebetween; a plurality of drawers supported on said opposed pair of drawer glides and slidably shiftable on said runners back and forth through said open front end of said cabinet housing; and a rigid reinforcing rim extending around the inner periphery of said housing inside of said open front end of said housing, said rim having upright side legs adjacent the forward edges of said housing side walls connected by a horizontal rim segment extending therebetween substantially midway of the height of said cabinet between a pair of vertically adjacent ones of said drawers said horizontal segment of said rim being covered by a removable fiberboard insert folded around said horizontal rim segment to a U-shaped configuration with its folded edge facing outwardly, and said fiberboard insert being held in place around said horizontal rim segment by vertically extending flaps hingedly attached to the forward edges of said housing side walls and folded inwardly over said rim side legs.