US1245022A - Locker system. - Google Patents

Description

G. H. PIGGOT.

LOCKER SYSTEM.

APPLicATloN FILED AUG. 3o. |916.

Ex Patented 001;. 30,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

GRAHAM H. PIGGOT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO FEDERAL STEEL FIXTURE COMIPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS.

LOCKER SYSTEM.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 30, 1917.

Application filed August 30, 1916. Serial No. 117,613.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GRAHAM H. Prooor, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Locker Systems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to locker systems for gymnasiums, golf clubs, -and other places where private lockers are necessary and desirable.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement of such character that the lockers or drawers in which the clothing is kept will be of less size than heretofore, whereby the system will be less expensive and occupy-less space, and in which the private drawers or lockers are supplemented by a certain number of compartments which are common to the members of the club or users of the sys-v tem, thereby to enable each member or user to have what is practically a full locker service, including the locking up of both the street clothing and the gymnasium or other suits at the proper times, but in a system in which each private locker or drawer is too small to hold the street clothing, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

It is also an object to provide certain details andl features of construction and combinations tending to increase the general eiiciency and desirability of a condensed locker system of this particular character.

To these and other useful ends, my invention consistsf in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of a section of steel shelving containing the lockers or drawers of a locker system embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line'JS-S in Fig. 1. l

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the steel dressing cabinets or compartments which supplement the lockers shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 to make up the complete system.

Fig. 5 is a vertical' section on line 5-5 'in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the construction shown in prises a structure A of steel or other suitable material, having openings a arranged one above the other, in vertical columns, for the lockers or removable drawers B, which latter may be of any suitable construction.

iAs shown, these lockers or drawers are pro' vided at their front ends with locks o for engaging the lower edges of the openings ato hold the lockers or drawers against removal. At its yrear end, each locker or drawer B is provided with an opening or hand-hole C through which an attendant can obtain access to remove clothing or articles of wearing apparel, or for any other purpose. Preferably, therefore, the structure A has a paageway D in rear thereof, which is provided with a door d for gaining access thereto. The attendant, by entering this passageway D, can gain access to any of the drawers or lockers through the openings C, in the manner explained. The door al can be provided with a suitable lock E to prevent improper access to the passageway back of the drawers. are made just large Aenough to contain the gymnasium suit, or the golf suit, or other similar wearing apparel, but are not large enough to contain the ordinary street shoes and clothing, etc., whereby the entire struc-- ture is very much condensed and will not occupy as much space as would be the case if these drawers were to be used to contain the street clothing while the user is on the floor of the gymnasium or on the golf course.'

Figs. 4 to 8 show the construction of the dressing cabinet or auxiliary compartment to be used in common by those who occup the drawers or lockers previously describe Offcourse, with a large number of drawers or lockers, Athere will then be a suitable num- These drawers or lockers B- ber of the cabinets shown in Figs. 4 to 8, but there need not be a larged number of these cabinets than the number of people who can occupy the gymnasium door at the saine time, or who can use the golf course at the same time. ln other words, in a gymnasium or club having a thousand members, there would be a thousand drawers orlockers B, of the kind shown and described, but the number of dressing cabinets F, such as shown in Figs. l to 8, inclusive, would be very much less, and would only be a percentage of the said total number of drawers or lockers, depending upon how many people could occupy the floor of the gymnasium at the saine time, or could properly be on the golf course at the same time. ln tact, the number oi' dressing cabinets F might be even less, as in some instances it would be found that the maximum number of people occupying the gymnasium door, or using the golf course, would never be as large as the tull capacity thereof. 'lhese cabinets F are preferably constructed of steel and sheet-metal, or other suitable material, and are rectangular and uprightl in torni, being provided with legs to support them a distance above the floor. Flach cabinet is, therefore, provided with a top wall l` a rear or back wall 2, side walls 3, and a front doei' 4, which latter is hinged at 5 to one corner portion olf the cabinet. lt will be observed that this door is of a height to extend from the top oit' the cabinet to a point some nistance above the bottom 6 of the structure, thus leaving an opening between said bottom and the lower edge ot' said door. As shown, said door is provided with upper and lower locking bolt-s 7 and S, operated by a suitable locking mechanism 0, said upper bolt engaging a cleat l@ on the cabinet to hold the top of the door closed. rlhe bolt 8 has its lower end provided with an outturned portion ll which projects under the lower edge or' the door. 'lhc interior of the compartment may be provided with hooks or hangers for supporting the street clothing of the user, and is preferably just large enough for this purpose.

The method of use is as follows: lllien the gymnasium or golf-club member, or other person, desires to use the lecker snstem, the drawer Fi is withdrawn from shelving or rack il, and carrie( place where the user will then subst i, gymnasium or gell clothes contained in Y drawer for the street clothing and wear' apparel. The said street clothing. r then hung up or placed in the a and the drawer l is then inserted n r door il, in the manner shown in Fi and 7, after the said door is closed. hen

tile drawer is inserted in place, e t 1 'l 2 i tne iront end of the drawer eng` tue top of the lower end-portion 11 of the bolt 8, thus preventing the bolts 7 and 8 from being returned to unlocking position while the drawer is in place. rlhe lock of the drawer is then operated to cause its bolt to engage the forward edge-portion of the bottom 6, thus locking the drawer in place and at the same time preventing the door 4 from being opened. To prevent the rear end ot the drawer from being tilted upward, should some one improperly attempt to force an entrance by forcing the door el outward, a cleat 13 is provided at the back of the cabinet, inside thereof, to extend over the rear end of the drawer, as shown in Fig. 5. The cabinet F thus closed and locked against further` entrance thereto by the insertion and locking in place of the drawer B, is new inaccessible by other persons, and cannot be opened until the user returns. rlhe drawer B is then unlocked and removed, the street clothing, etc., is removed from the cabinet, and the golf or gymnasium suit, or other wearing apparel, is then returned to the drawer-B, after which the latter is then returned to the rack' or lockerstructure A, where it is againv locked in place. rl`his releases the cabinet F for use by other persons, and in this way the said cabinet is not individual for any particular user ot' the locker system, but to the contrary is commento all of the members of the `gyinnasium or club. Thus, a considerable saving is accomplished, as the entire lof-ker system is much less expensive and occupies less space than would'be the case it' `the drawers or lockers B were made large enough te contain the street clothing and other wearing Aapparel while the gymnasium or other similar suit is in use.

ly the construction and combinations shownvand described, a self-service'locker system is provided, and by this is meant that the user of the system can come and go and make the desired changes in clothing without the assistance of the care-taker or attendant. it the saine time, however, the care-taker or other attendant can have access to the rear end of each drawer or locl'er, so that soiled linen Or other things may be removed from the drawers-or lool:- ers, and so that the clean laundry can then be distributed among the diicferent drawers or locker without unlocking and removing them from their respective or allotted coinpartnienl's. For this purpose, steel or other kind orn metal shelving jfl.. can be placed a distance from the wall ol' the, building. and the passageway thus provided for the structure can then be in )ped with a door oi ny character` such as the door ol prt-,vir i cribed, or with any other suitable. n s preventing access to the passagwaf. course, the openings in the ends of the drawers or lockers need not necessarily be large enough to permit the hand to be inserted into the drawer or locker, but to the contrary can be just large enou h to permit the care-taker to slide the pac age of laundry through the openingand into the door. This, however, will depend upon the requirements or practice in dilferent cases. and if desired the said openings may be large enough to permit the caretakerl to insert the hand into the drawer. However this may be, the drawers are preferably of such shape and construction that they can be inserted in the lower end of the interior of the dressing cabinet, in the manner explained, in order to keep the cabinet closed and locked until the user returns. During this time, of course, the drawer will indicate who is using the cabinet, assuming that the different drawers are numbered or lettered or marked in some other suitable manner.

lVhen one drawer or locker is transferred to the cabinet F, the rear opening C of such drawer or locker is closed by the rear wall Q of the cabinet, so that access cannot be had to the drawer or locker when the latter is locked in the cabinet.

l donnot limit myself to the eXact construction shown and described.

What I claim as my invention is 1. ln a locker system, a structure divided into compartments,individual storage drawers 'or lockers for insertion in said compartments, devices to lock the drawers or lockers in place, a dressing cabinet common to the users of said individual drawers or lockers, said cabinet having a space in which any one of said drawers or lockers may be temporarily inserted, so that said users can take turns in occupying said cabinet, and said cabinet having means whereby the locking device of the drawer or locker inserted therein is operative to lock the cabinet in closed condition.

Q. In a locker system, a structure divided into compartments, individual drawers or lockers for insertion in said compartments, devices to lock the drawers or lockers in place, a dressing cabinet common to the users of said individual drawers or lockers, said cabinet having a space in which any one of said drawers or lockers may be inserted, and said cabinet having means whereby the locking device of the drawer or locker inserted therein is operative to lock the cabinet in closed condition, said means comprising a door hinged to the cabinet and disposed above the drawer or locker. and locking devices on said door to engage the upper portion of the cabinet and the front portion of the drawer or locker.

3. ln a locker system, a structure divided into compartments, individual drawers or lockers for insertion in said compartments, devices to lock the drawers or lockers in place, a dressing cabinet common to the users of said individual drawers or lockers, said cabinet having a space in which any one of said drawers or lockers may be inserted, said cabinet having means whereby the locking device of the drawer or locker inserted therein is operative to lock the cabinet in closed condition, said cabinet having a bottom wall to support said drawer therein, and said means including a door movably mounted on the cabinet and disposed above the front portion of the drawer or locker when the latter is inserted in the bottom portion of the cabinet.

4. In a locker system,a structure divided into compartments, individual drawers or lockers for insertion in said compartments, devices to lock the drawers or lockers in place, said drawers or lockers having their rear ends provided with openings through which the hand can be inserted, and said structure having a passageway in rear thereof to afford access to said openings, means to prevent access to said passageway, and a cabinet to receive said drawers or lockers and having means to close said openings to prevent access to the drawers or lockers when transferred to said cabinet.

5. ln a locker system, a structure providing a plurality of compartments arranged in vertical columns, drawers or lockers for said compartments, and devices to lock the front ends of said drawers or lockers in place, each drawer or locker having its rear end provided with an opening affording access to permit the removal of articles from the drawers or lockers or to permit articles to be placed in the drawers or lockers without unlocking and removing them from the compartments, by the attendant only, said structure having a. passageway in rear of said drawers or lockers, and a door to prevent access to said passageway, and a cabinet adapted to receive said drawers or lockers one at a. time, so that said cabinet is common to the users of all of said drawers or lockers, and means on said cabinet to close the opening at the rear end of each drawer or locker.

6. The combination of a plurality of storage drawers or lockers, a structure to hold said drawers or lockers in storage position, and a cabinet to temporarily receive only one drawer or locker at a time, so that .the persons to whom said drawers or lockers are allotted are compelled to take turns in usingsaid cabinet, and means to lock any occupying drawer in place and the cabinet closed after the transfer of the drawer from said structure to said cabinet.

7. rfhe combination of a plurality of drawers each having a rear opening, a main structure to hold said drawers and having through its opening when temporarily re- Ineans to aord access to said opening of tained in said auxiliary structure.

each drawer, by an attendant, and an aux- Signed by me at Chicago, llinos, this lary structure to receive Said drawers one 15th day of June, 1916.

5 at a time-and having means to close said opening, so that a drawer is not accessible GRAHAM H. PGGOT.

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