Single lock/multiple drawers

[D35p3r4d0]

How exactly is it that a single lock is able to control all the drawers on a file cabinet or tool chest? How does a single rotary motion keep several separate drawers locked? I can't find out, and it's driving me crazy. Can anyone help me out?
P.S. No it's not a question about locks themselves, but this seemed the best place to ask.
Thanks for the help.

[Jaakko]

THere is vertical metal rod, that has little notches on it. When you rotate the lock, the locks cam for example lowers the rod and so the little notches will lower into little holes/grooves in the side of those drawers.

If I would be in another city, I would have a picture of a wooden ex-drawer that had a thing like this operated by a small Abloy camlock.

[Kaotik]

Jaakko is right.

There are two different types of those cabinets, one is where the lock is mounted in the corner where the notched rod is attached to the cam of the lock and is lifted or lowered when turned to disengaged the lower drawers.

The other type is where the lock is mounted in the top center of the cabinet and has a T-shaped cam with one horizontal rod mounted on each side, those rods are then attach to a vertical notched rod down each side of the cabinet by a pivot point. When the the lock is turned, it disengages the rods for access of the lower drawers.

[nothumbs]

For most of these style cabinets, when in the unlocked state, you can remove a drawer. This would let you observe the internal construction.

http://www.castersupply.com/NAV/drawer2/isl_system.htm
http://compx.com/images/timbmtocentral1.gif