Lock for hinged rack

Claim 1

A lock in combination with a rack and a post, said combination comprising: said post being positioned in generally upright orientation and it being a hollow post; said rack having first and second upright frame members defining the sides of said rack and being structured for the mounting of equipment between said upright frame members, said first upright frame member being spaced from said upright hollow post; upper and lower hinges positioned in said space between said post and said first frame member so that said rack can swing about a hinge axis defined by said upper and lower hinges from a position where it lies substantially in line with said post to a position where it swings in front of said post; an arcuate finger rigidly secured to said first upright frame member of said rack and extending therefrom toward and into the hollow interior of said post, said finger, at least through a portion of its lengths, being positioned at a distance from said hinge axis and being arcuately curved substantially about said hinge axis, said finger having a plurality of spaced holes therethrough in its arcuately curved portion; and locking means on said post, said locking means including an operating rod extending through said hollow post and guided generally along its longitudinal axis by said post, a plunger on the rear end of said operating rod, said operating rod being connected so that movement along its axis causes selective locking engagement of said plunger in one of said holes, said operating rod extending adjacent the front of said post, a knob on the front of said post and a compression spring between said knob and said post so that said plunger is urged in the engagement direction by said spring, so that said locking means can be operated from the front of said post.