CA1129750A

CA1129750A - Cassette filing system

Info

Publication number: CA1129750A
Application number: CA363,399A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Ronald R. Ireland
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1980-10-28
Filing date: 1980-10-28
Publication date: 1982-08-17

Abstract

ABSTRACT
A storage system for sound or video tape cassettes and/or tape cartridges is provided. A receptacle contains a plurality of individual cells, each of which is configured to receive a tape unit therein. Each cell is pivotable on a common shaft so that in a first storage position the cell is tilted with respect to a horizontal plane. When a tape is to be selected the cell is pivoted on the shaft to a generally horizontal attitude or second position in which the tape is readily available for removal from the cell, the tape then being out of registry with all other tapes held in the system.

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Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION ~) Over the past decade or so there has been a tremendous increase in the number of sound tape recorders manufactured and sold which utilize tape which i5 pre-packaged as a cassette or an 8-track cartridge. Of these two formats the cassette is enjoying greater success in view of the high fidelity and ease or recording which is attainable therewith.
Once a person starts utilizing one of these formats he is, of course, faced with a question or storage. If he leaves his cassettes ~or cartridges~ loose the tape which is exposed could be damaged or rendered dirty thereby affecting the reproducability thereof. If the tape cassettes are stored in the normally individual storage boxes the aforementioned problems are eliminated but there is still the question of what to do with the boxes.
One simple solution to the storaye problem is the tape storage box, or "caddy" which usually merely in~ol~es a rectangular box having compartments formed by adjacent separating walls in which compartments the tape (in a storage box or not) is receivable. In such systems all tapes in the container are in a vertical upright position and it may be difficult to ascertain the contents of the tape due to the lack of room for reading the label or it may be difficult to remove the tape from the container due to the close proximity of the adjacent tapes. One such container is shown in Canadian Patent No. 1,030,918 (Berkman, -May 9, ~ 1978) which illustrates~a portable tape container which is adapted to work equally well - with cassettes or cartridges.
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SUMM~RY OF T~E INVENTION
The present invention is intended to overco3~e the aforementioned problems. The tape storage container of the present invention provides a receptacle, but instead o~
merely providing tape-receiving compar~ments the present invention provides individual pivotable cells each of which is adapted to store a tape or other similar article.
The cells are each pivotable between two positions, the first being a storage position in which all tapes are aligned r and the second being a removal or observation position in which a selected cell is pivoted out of its first position so that the contents may be more completely observed or readily removed from the cell. After removal of the contents the cell may be left in its second position or returned to its first position at the decision of the operator. Each cell is provided with a lever arm which extends out of the receptacle housing, movement of which arm effects the pivotting movement of the cell. I~
desired, the portion of the lever arm outside the housing may have a flat surface to which a label identifying the contents of the cell may be affixed.
In summary of the above the present invention may be seen as providing apparatus for storing articles such as tape cassettes or the like, comprising a housing having front, back, side and bottom wall portions , ~he housing havin~ an interior accessible through the top portion thereof, a plurality of adjacent article holding cells within said housing, each cell being pivotable about a common axis between a first, article storage position and a second, article access position, and for each cell a lever arm connected thereto and passing through the sd/ -2- .

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housing ~ront wall, operation of the lever arm effecLiIlg pivotting movement the cell between the posltions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure l is an isometric view oE an open-topped receptacle of the present invention showing a plurality of cells in the first position and a single cell in the second position.
Figure 2 is an isometric view showing the cells and the pivotting mechanism.
Figure 3 is a side view of a covered receptacle of the present invention in cross-section along the line ~-3 of Figure 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention is shown generally in a first embodiment by reference number 10 in Figure 1. A receptacle housing having a front wall 12, side walls 14, 16, back wall 18 and bottom wall 20 is utilized, the interior of the housing being accessible through the open top. ~he housing is advan-tageously moulded from opaque, translucent or transparent plastics material, although it could also be assembled from individual pieces of plastics material, wood or any other suitable material, Situated within the housing is a plurality of individual cells 22. As seen in Figure 1 all but one of the cells are shown in a first position with adjacent cells being aligned with each other. One cell, designated 22A is shown in a second position, The significance of these positions will be described hereinafter.
Since all cells are identical to each other it will sd/ 3 ~3..Z~

be sufficient to describe only one such cell and in that regard reference is made particularly to Figure 2. P~S seen in that Figure each cell 22 has a generally L-shape in the side view. One leg 24 of the cell acts as a lever arm and the other leg 26 cooperates with retaining walls 28 to define, along with a portion of the leg 24, an open pocket 30 which is adapted to receive the article to be stored therein. The width of the pocket (the distance between the walls 28) will be just slightly greater than the thickness of the article to be stored therein.
Such article could be a standard sound tape cassette, a tape cassette storage box, an 8-track cartridge or a video cassette.
- It would be necessary only to select the appropriate dimensions for the pocket 30 so that a receptacle capable oE storing the desired commodity could be produced. Depending on the size of receptacle an,d the size oE cell therein it could also be possible to mix the contents of the receptacle, as by storing both sound cassette tapes and 8-track cartridge tapes.
The retaining walls 28 are shown as, having enlarged gusset portions 32 where they meet the leg 24. These gusset portions strengthen the cell and also provide further, support and positioning for the cassette received in the pocket 30. At the back of each cell is a lug 35 containing a pivot hole 36 through which the pivot shaft 34 passes.
The leg 24 adjacent the pocket 30 has a width the same as the other leg 26. A short distance away from the pocket the leg 24 narrows down to a neck portion 38 and terminates in a , flat tab portion 40. As with the housing, each cell may be advantageously moulded as a unitary structure from a sd/~ ~ -4-suitable plastics material.
As seen in Figure 2 the shaft 34 passes through the hole 36 in each lug 35 and as indicated in Figure 1 the shaft is anchored at each end in the side walls 14 and 16 respectively.
The mode of anchoring the shaft is not significant to the present invention as any known mode may be used. As seen in Figures 1 and 2 adjacent cells are separated by a bushing 42 which is annular in cross-section and slips over the shaft 34 so as to properly space the cells apart a:Long the shaft. A
bushing 42 is also provided between each end cell and the - adjacent side wall 14, 16 respectively.
The front wall of the housing is provided with a plurality of generally upright rectangular slots 4~. Each slot has a width slightly greater than the width of the neck portion 38 o the cell leg 24.
In assembling the apparatus of the present invention one starts with the open receptacle having the slotted front wall 12. A first cell 22 is held so that the tab portion 40 is parallel to the first slot 44 and the tab portion is then slid through the slot 44 until the neck portion 38 is in registry with the ~l~t 44. The cell is then rotated through 90 so that the pocket 30 faces upwardly. This is repeated for each cell 22 until all cells are located in the receptacle.
If the side walls 14, 16 have holes therein corresponding to the holes 36 in the lugs 35, the shaft 34 is then merely fed from one side wall through the holes 36 with a bushing 42 being positioned between adjacent cells as the shaft is fed therebetween. Once all cells are positioned on the shaft the shaft is suitably anchored at each end, as by a cotter pin or a cap nut. If, on ~d/ _~_ ";' `:
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7S5:3 the other hand, each side wall is provided in its inside surface with a blind recess to receive the shaft end, the cells and bushings would be assembled to the shaft in an elevated position (raised above the receptacle) and the entire cell and shaft assembly would be lowered into the receptacle, with the walls being sufficiently flexible so that they could be bowed outwardly enough to pass the shaft downwardly therebetween.
The shaft ends could then, in essence~ "snap" into the blind recesses provided in the walls 14, 16 and be held therein as the walls 14, 16 resume their normal positions. It is, of course, understood that any other suitable means for anchoring the shaft in the walls 14,16 could be utilized.
'The operation of the invention'is described with'regard' to Figure 3 which shows a second embodiment of the'invention, it being understood that the same operation applies to the Figure 1 embodiment. In Figure 3 the receptacle has an inwardly sloping front wall 12a, feet 46 at each corner of the bottom wall 20 and a cover 48 hinged to the back wall 18 by hinges 50.
Top 48 may be transparent and provided with a lifting handle 52 Also in this embodiment the tab portion 40 of the lever arm is shown as angled relative to the remainder of the lever arm so that it assumes a generally horizontal attitude when the ceLl is in its first position.
, In Figure 3 a cell 22 is shown with a tape cassette 54 located in the pocket 30 of the cell. The cell 22 is shown in its first position with the lever arm 24 at an angle of roughly 45 to the bottom wall 20. The dimensions of the cell and the positioning of the shaft are chosen so that with a.tape cassette in place the cell will remain in the indicated first , ~ sd/ .) -6-.
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position. In other wor~s, the centre of gravity of the cell and cassette combination will be behind the pivot axis (to the right of shaft 34 in Figure 3).
~ Jhen the operator wishes to select a tape for use he merely applies a downwardly directed force to the tab portion ~0 of the lever ~rm of the appropriate cell 22. Such a force serves to tilt the cell counterclockwise as in Figure 3 so that the cell takes up the second position as shown by the cell 22A
of Figure 1. In this second position the cassette located in pocket 30 is moved forwardly out of alignment with the remaining cassettes in the receptacle and is thus in a position wherein it may be readily grasped for removal from the pocket 30.
Such pivotting action moves the centre o~ gravity of the cell and tape combination to the forward side of the pivotting axis and thus there will be no tendency ~or the cell to return to the first position on its own, The cell will remain in the second position until it is deliberately moved back to its first position, as when a tape has been replaced in the pocket 30 after use.
The storage system of the pres,ent invention is a practical storage system which makes it easier for a user to select the tape of his choice by moving the desired tape out of registry with the remaining tapes in the receptacle. Such movement also makes it easier to ascertain the contents of the ', tape by direct reading thereof, with or without labelling affixed to the tab portion 40. The number of tapes held by a receptacle is determined solely by the number of cells pro-vided and if desired the receptacles could be mode so as to be stackable or interlocking. It would also be possible to .

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provide a second set o cells in a receptacle with the lever arms thereof projectin~ from the back wall of the receptacle.
Furthermore the system could be configured 50 that the fLrst and second positions are reversed whereby in the first storage position the lever arms are horizontal and in the second, selection position,the lever arm is raised to tilt the desired tape out of registry with the remaining tapes to facilitate removal of the desired tape.
Clearly, several modifications to the storage system of the present invention could occur to a skilled person in the art and hence the protection to be afforded the present invention should be determined from the claims appended thereto.

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Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. Apparatus for storing articles such as tape cassettes or the like, comprising a housing having front, back, side and bottom wall portions, said housing having an interior accessible through the top portion thereof, a plurality of adjacent article holding cells within said housing, each cell being pivotable about a common axis between a first, article storage position and a second, article access position, and for each said cell a lever arm connected thereto and passing through said housing front wall, operation of the lever arm effecting pivotting movement of the cell between said positions.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each cell comprises a generally L-shaped holding arm with one leg of the holding arm being said lever arm and the other leg of the holding arm having article retaining means thereon, said axis passing through the juncture of said legs.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein in said first position said legs are inclined with respect to a generally horizontal plane and in said second position said one leg is generally parallel to the generally horizontal plane.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said common axis is defined by an elongated shaft anchored at each end thereof in a corresponding side wall of said housing and each of said cells is separated from an adjacent cell by an annular bushing concentrically received on said shaft.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said housing front wall has a plurality of generally upright slots therein, each slot passing a corresponding lever arm therethrough and sd/

defining at its upper and lower ends the limits of movement of the associated cell between said positions.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, 2 or 3 and including a transparent cover hinged to the back wall of said housing and pivotable between a first position covering the interior of said housing and a second position rendering said interior and the contents thereof accessible.

7, The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said retaining means comprises a pair of retaining walls perpendicular to said other leg, there being one retaining wall for each edge of said other leg, said one and other legs and said retaining walls defining an open pocket for receipt of an article to be stored therein.

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