Fiche Storage And Cleaning Apparatus

Abstract

A file unit for storing microfiche which keeps the microfiche flat and clean. A vertical column of storage sections is provided which is four sided and which is on a turntable base to facilitate access to storage spaces opening to each of the sides. Replaceable cleaning elements are mounted at the top of the column to permit cleaning of the microfiche. Separate sections can be added to the column for expansion purposes.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a microfiche file unit adapted for use with a microfiche reader. Storage units for microfiche that are known in the prior art leave much to be desired. The conventional units most frequently used in the past have been simple file boxes which fail to preserve the microfiche properly and to keep them clean, and which are inadequate to provide fast identification and retrieval.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provides a storage unit providing fast identification and retrieval of microfiche, and one which keeps the microfiche flat and clean. Particular features of the present invention are the construction and arrangement whereby large numbers of microfiche can be stored individually within the unit in what is a relatively compact structure, adapted for future expansion. A limited number of components are required to fabricate the unit which can be made essentially of injection molded organic plastic parts.

According to one form of the present invention, a fiche storage unit is provided comprising a plurality of trays stacked together to define a column of storage sections for storing fiche. A top cover member is secured on the upper member of the stack of trays and the cover member and the upper member of the stack define between them a horizontal slot of sufficient length for receiving one of the fiche. A push plate is positioned in the slot for limited movement between the members, and the push plate and one of the members have parallel ledges at their outer extremities on which cleaning elements are mounted for wiping a fiche that has been inserted between the push plate and one of the members. By virtue of this construction and arrangement a microfiche can be cleaned readily at any time that it may have become soiled. The cleaning elements are disposable strips that can readily be removed from the ledges on which they are mounted to be replaced by new cleaning elements when the need arises.

The storage unit can be expanded by adding additional storage sections. The sections comprise a plurality of trays stacked together to define a vertical column. Each tray has a generally square frame which is constructed and arranged so that the trays can be stacked alternately at right angles to one another to define horizontal slots therebetween on all four sides of the column into which fiche can be inserted for storage in a flat condition. By virtue of this construction and arrangement a very compact unit is provided for storage of a large number of fiche. The storage sections are mounted on a turntable base to facilitate use of the storage spaces which are accessible through the slots on each of the four sides of the fiche storage unit.

Thus, it is among the objects of the present invention to provide an improved fiche storage unit which is constructed and arranged to store a large number of fiche in a relatively small structure, which is arranged to keep the fiche flat and clean, which is flexible for future expansion, which provides separate sections for storage of each microfiche, which is arranged for fast identification and retrieval of the fiche, which provides a multisided file on a turntable base, and which requires a minimum number of different parts to fabricate it.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fiche storage unit embodying one form of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view, partly in section along the vertical axis of the unit, with the cleaning elements removed from the section;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top plan view with a portion broken away to show interior construction of the top member of the unit;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section taken on the lines 4--4 of FIG. 3, showing details of the cleaning elements mounted on the storage unit;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one of the cleaning elements;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of one of the trays used in forming the vertical column of sections for storing the fiche;

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the tray turned 90.degree. from the direction of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of four assembled trays defining storage sections which may be used to expand the storage unit illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the storage sections shown in FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention will be described in greater detail. The fiche storage unit 10 includes a turntable base 12 on which is mounted the column 14 of storage sections for storing fiche (not shown), and a top cover assembly 16 is mounted on the top of the column 14.

The top cover assembly 16 comprises the top cover member 18, the push plate 20, and the compression spring 22 which is positioned between the push button 24 of push plate 20 and the upper member or tray 26 of the column 14 for urging the push plate 20 upward to the position shown in FIG. 2 wherein the flange 28 of push plate 20 is seated against the undersurface 30 of the top cover member 18.

The upper member or tray 26 is one of the plurality of trays that will be described hereinafter which form the column 14, and it has ledges 32 projecting outwardly from two of the opposite sides of the tray or upper member 26. The top cover member 18 is secured to the upper member or tray 26 and is recessed at its opposite sides so as to define with the upper member 26 the horizontal slots 34 through which the ledges 36 of the push plate 20 project in parallel relationship to the ledges 32 of the upper member 26. Accordingly, the compression spring 22 will urge the parallel ledges 32 and 36 apart, and they can be moved together against the spring action by depressing the push button 24 which projects upwardly through the opening 38 in the top cover member 18.

By virtue of the construction of the top cover assembly 16 in relation to the upper member or tray 26, a slot 34 is provided into which a fiche can be inserted for cleaning between the ledges 32 and 36. The latter have retaining elements or shoulders 40 and 42 for retaining cleaning elements 44 which may be mounted thereon. In the normal use of these cleaning elements, the fiche is inserted between the cleaning elements 44 when the ledges 32 and 36 are in their positions shown in FIG. 2, and then by depressing the push button 24, additional pressure will be exerted on the fiche by the cleaning elements 44. Then, while maintaining such pressure, the fiche can be withdrawn from between the cleaning elements 44, thereby wiping them free of any soil that may appear on either the upper or lower surfaces thereof.

Each cleaning element 44 is preferably formed by extruding a base member or extrudate 46 from a suitable organic plastic material such as a high impact styrene so that the extrudate has a cross section of a relatively flat C-shape with inwardly facing shoulders 48 at the opening of the C for cooperating with the shoulders 40 and 42 in retaining the cleaning elements on the ends of the ledges 32 and 36. As can be readily understood, the cleaning elements can be snapped over the shoulders 40 or 42, and they can be removed from the ledges merely by sliding them endwise off the ends of the ledges. For the purpose of cleaning the fiche, which normally are transparencies, microfilm, and the like, a suitable cleaning cloth 50 covers the outer surface of the extrudate, as is shown best in FIG. 4. One such suitable cloth which may be used for this purpose can be selected from the cloths sold by FilMagic/Distributors Group, Inc., 201 14 th Street, N. W., Atlanta, Ga. 30318, under the trademark FilMagic Cloths, which are silicone treated cloths.

The column 14 of storage sections is formed from a plurality of identical trays 52, and attention is directed primarily to FIGS. 2, 6 and 7 for a description of these members. Each tray 52 comprises a square frame 54 which has a first pair of opposite sides 56 and a second pair of opposite sides 58. The upper surface of the sides 56 are recessed as at 60, and a ledge 62 projects outwardly from each recessed portion with its upper surface in the plane of the associated recessed portion 60. In a similar manner, supporting surfaces 64 for fiche project inwardly from the recessed portions 60 so that the upper surfaces are in the same plane as the upper surfaces of the ledges 62 and the recessed portions 60. Abutments 66 project upwardly from the plane of the supporting surfaces 64 to define the inward limits of the storage space that is provided for a fiche on the supporting surfaces on the upper side of each tray 52. Thus, two storage spaces on the same level are provided on each tray.

The undersurface of each tray 52, when turned at a 90.degree. angle to an alternate position such as shown in FIG. 7 with respect to FIG. 6 provides complementary portions projecting therefrom for cooperation with corresponding parts of the upper surface of the next adjacent tray to define the storage spaces between such adjacent trays. Thus, the other pair of sides 58 of the frame 54 have on their bottom surfaces a downwardly projecting portion 68 which is shaped to fit into the recessed portion 60 of the next succeeding tray in a column to define therewith the horizontal slot 70 through which a fiche may be inserted for storage purposes. The other side of the tray also has complementary projecting portions or rails 72 which cooperate with the supporting surfaces 64 to retain the fiche in a flat position between the adjacent trays. Also forming an integral part of the frame 54 and projecting downwardly therefrom in alignment with the rails 72 and projecting downwardly beyond the lower surfaces of the rails 72 when in an unstressed position are the spring elements 74 which serve to retain the fiche in their stored positions.

The upper and lower surfaces of the tray 52 also have complementary portions for fitting one tray onto the next adjacent tray when assembling them in the alternately stacked positions at right angles to one another. These complementary portions include a male element 76 provided to fit into the female socket 78, and similarly the male element 80 is provided to fit into the corresponding female socket 82 in the upper surface of the next adjacent tray 52.

Thus, it can be seen that a plurality of fiche storage sections 84, such as are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 can readily be provided for adding to the column of sections which form the initial installation. For the purpose of making such addition, the cover assembly 16 can be removed from the upper tray 26 and the additional storage sections can then be mounted on the upper member 26, after which the cover assembly 16 can again be positioned on the upper tray 52 forming the additional fiche storage section 83.

The turntable base 12 comprises two plates 84 which are of identical construction, one being inverted and overlying the other. Each plate 84 has an annular race 86 in which are positioned a plurality of balls 88. The latter are spaced apart by means of the ball spacer element 90. A pin or screw 92 connects the plates 94 at their common axis so as to permit relative turning of one plate with respect to the other. Each plate 84 has its corners notched as at 92 for receiving the male element 76 projecting from the undersurface of the lowermost tray of the column 14.

Essentially all of the component parts of the fiche storage unit 10 are formed from suitable organic plastic material by an injection molding process. Four different parts are required, these being the plate 84, the tray 52, the push plate 20, and the top cover member 18. A suitable plastic material for this purpose can be a medium impact styrene.

When the main components of the fiche storage unit are formed of plastic materials, they can be joined together by any suitable means. Preferably, the various trays forming the column and the other plastic members secured thereto can be joined by conventional solvent welding techniques well known in the art. When it is desired to separate two components for the purpose of adding to the capacity of the fiche storage unit, mechanical elements such as snap buttons may be used, or it is also found very suitable to solvent weld the parts together at the male elements 76, 80 and female sockets 78, 82 and then merely to insert a tool, such as a screwdriver, into the slots between two adjacent parts to break the solvent weld connection by twisting the screwdriver. Thereafter, the added sections can be introduced and the parts can be solvent welded together again.

From the foregoing disclosure it will be apparent that the fiche storage unit 10 can provide individual storage space for a relatively large number of fiche. Such fiche will be retained in a flat state in a clean environment, and if the fiche become soiled in use, cleaning apparatus is readily available for cleaning the soiled fiche. The storage unit can readily be expanded in capacity if expansion becomes necessary. Also, fast identification and retrieval are assured. The fiche will have identifying indicia on an exposed edge which will be located over the ledge 62 associated with each storage space permitting the user to select the desired fiche expeditiously. The ease of identification is further assured by the turntable base arrangement. The limited number of different parts also permits the unit to be fabricated initially and expanded later at a relatively low cost.

Claims

It is claimed:

1. A fiche storage unit comprising a plurality of trays stacked together to define a column of storage sections for storing fiche, a top cover member secured on the upper member of the stack of trays, said members defining between them a horizontal slot of sufficient length for receiving one of said fiche, a push plate positioned in said slot for limited vertical movement between said members, said push plate and one of said members having parallel ledges at their outer extremities, and cleaning elements mounted on said ledges for wiping a fiche that has been inserted between said push plate and said one member.

2. The fiche storage unit that is defined in claim 1, wherein spring means are operatively positioned between said push plate and one of said members for urging said push plate toward the other member.

3. The fiche storage unit that is defined in claim 2, wherein said top member has a hole through its upper surface and said push plate has a push button projecting through said hole for pushing the push plate against said one member.

4. The fiche storage unit that is defined in claim 1, wherein each of said cleaning elements comprises a C-shaped strip enclosing the edge of the ledge on which it is mounted, and a cleaning material secured to the exposed surface of said strip.

5. The fiche storage unit that is defined in claim 1, wherein said column has a plurality of sides, and storage sections open to each of said sides to provide a multiplicity of storage spaces for fiche.

6. The fiche storage unit that is defined in claim 5, wherein said column of storage sections are mounted on a turntable base.

7. A fiche storage section comprising a plurality of trays stacked together to define a vertical column for storing fiche, each tray having a generally square frame, a horizontal surface of each of only two opposite sides of the frame being recessed, the vertical extent of each recess being less than the thickness of the frame, said trays being stacked alternately at right angles to one another so that the recessed sides of the frame of one tray are positioned adjacent to the other sides of the frame of the next succeeding tray, said trays when so stacked having complementary interfitting portions on the upper and lower portions of the frames securing the frames together and defining a horizontal slot at each recess into which a fiche can be inserted for storage in a flat condition.

8. The fiche storage section that is defined in claim 7, wherein ledges project outwardly from opposite sides of each frame, said ledges being in the plane of the complementary interfitting portion which defines the lower surface of the slot into which fiche can be inserted.

9. The fiche storage section that is defined in claim 7, wherein each tray has supporting surfaces which are inward extensions of the recesses in said opposite sides, and each tray has rails in complementary relation to the supporting surfaces of the next succeeding tray to define therewith a storage space of limited depth for maintaining said fiche flat.

10. The fiche storage section that is defined in claim 9, wherein abutments are located on each tray to limit the inward insertion of fiche into each storage space.

11. The fiche storage section that is defined in claim 7, wherein each tray has a spring element positioned inward of each recess and in the path of insertion of the fiche for resiliently retaining the fiche in its inserted position.

12. The fiche storage section that is defined in claim 7, wherein each tray is an integral one-piece structure of organic plastic material.

13. A fiche storage section comprising a plurality of trays stacked together to define a vertical column for storing fiche, each tray being an integral one-piece structure of organic plastic material and having a generally square frame with a horizontal surface of each of two opposite sides of the frame being recessed, said trays being stacked alternately at right angles to one another so that the recessed sides of the frame of one tray are positioned adjacent to the other sides of the frame of the next succeeding tray, said trays when so stacked having complementary interfitting portions on the upper and lower portions of the frames securing the frames together and defining a horizontal slot at each recess into which a fiche can be inserted for storage, ledges projecting outwardly from each frame from the lower surfaces of the slots, supporting surfaces extending inwardly from said lower surfaces, and rails projecting from each frame in complementary relation to the supporting surfaces of the next succeeding tray to define therewith a storage space of limited depth for maintaining the fiche flat, each tray also having an abutment to limit the inward insertion of fiche into each storage space and a spring element for resiliently retaining the fiche in its inserted position.

14. A tray for a fiche storage unit comprising a square frame with pairs of opposite sides, the upper surface of one pair of opposite sides of the frame being recessed, a ledge projecting outwardly and a supporting surface projecting inwardly from each recessed portion of said one pair of sides, each said supporting surface having a transverse abutment at its inner end, the other pair of opposite sides of the frame having a lower surface with a downwardly projecting portion generally complementary in shape to the recessed portion of the upper surface, rails extending inwardly from each projecting portion and being generally complementary in shape to said supporting surfaces and spring blades aligned generally with said rails and projecting downwardly beyond the lower surface of said rails.

15. A tray as is defined in claim 14, wherein the upper and lower surfaces of the frame has complementary portions for interfitting with corresponding portions of other trays stacked alternately at right angles to one another.

16. A tray as is defined in claim 15, which is an integral one-piece structure of organic plastic material.

17. A fiche storage unit comprising a plurality of trays stacked together to define a vertical column for storing fiche, each tray having a generally square frame with a horizontal surface of each of two opposite sides of the frame being recessed, said trays being stacked alternately at right angles to one another so that the recessed sides of the frame of one tray are positioned adjacent to the other sides of the frame of the next succeeding tray, and trays when so stacked having complementary interfitting portions on the upper and lower portions of the frames securing the frames together and defining a horizontal slot at each recess into which a fiche can be inserted for storage in a flat condition between adjacent trays, a top member secured on the upper member of the stack of trays, said members defining between them a horizontal slot of sufficient length for receiving one of said fiche, a push plate positioned in said slot for limited vertical movement between said members, said push plate and one of said members having parallel ledges at their outer extremities, and cleaning elements mounted on said ledges for wiping a fiche that has been inserted between said push plate and said one member.

18. The fiche storage unit that is defined in claim 17, wherein said column of storage sections is mounted on a turntable base.

19. The fiche storage unit that is defined in claim 18, wherein said turntable base comprises two plates in overlying relationship having facing concentric annular races, a plurality of balls in said races, and a pin connecting said plates at their center for relative rotation.