U.S. patent number 3,633,761 [Application Number 05/013,276] was granted by the patent office on 1972-01-11 for fiche storage and cleaning apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Xerox Corporation. Invention is credited to Robert G. Holliday.
United States Patent |
3,633,761 |
Holliday |
January 11, 1972 |
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.
Inventors: |
Holliday; Robert G. (Ann Arbor,
MI) |
Assignee: |
Xerox Corporation (Ann Arbor,
MI)
|
Family
ID: |
21759137 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/013,276 |
Filed: |
February 24, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/131.1;
15/231 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B42F
17/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B42F
17/00 (20060101); B42F 17/08 (20060101); A47f
003/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;211/131,133,163,13,40,41 ;312/8-11,20
;15/214,21R,29R,208,100-102,97,231,219,220 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Britts; Ramon S.
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.
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.
* * * * *