U.S. patent number 3,866,990 [Application Number 05/407,751] was granted by the patent office on 1975-02-18 for storage and dispensing cabinet.
Invention is credited to William P. McRae.
United States Patent |
3,866,990 |
McRae |
February 18, 1975 |
STORAGE AND DISPENSING CABINET
Abstract
A cabinet for tape cassettes, comprising a plastic, box-like
case having open front and rear sides, a snap-in rear wall and a
snap-on cover door, and a series of cassette-storing slideways on
the bottom wall of the case, with a plurality of elongated key
levers pivotally mounted above the slideways and having exposed
front ends along the open front of the case, and a plurality of
L-shaped ejector cranks pivotally mounted adjacent the inner ends
of the key levers. The key levers actuate the cranks to push
selected cassettes forwardly along the slideways. Depending detent
fingers on the rear ends of the key levers normally hold the
cassettes in place, and upwardly projecting actuating fingers on
the key levers form free-sliding connections between the levers and
the cranks.
Inventors: |
McRae; William P. (Northridge,
CA) |
Family
ID: |
23613380 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/407,751 |
Filed: |
October 18, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/9.25;
G9B/23.017 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B
23/0236 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G11B
23/023 (20060101); A47b 081/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;312/13-19,319,DIG.6
;206/387 ;221/274 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Mitchell; James C.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Fulwider, Patton, Rieber, Lee &
Utecht
Claims
1. A storage and dispensing cabinet for generally rectangular tape
cassettes of predetermined length, width and thickness, each having
a recess in a predetermined position on one longitudinal edge, said
cabinet comprising:
a one-piece, box-like plastic case having upright side walls, open
front and rear sides, a top wall having a front edge spaced
rearwardly from said front side, and a bottom wall that converges
forwardly toward said top wall;
said front side being spaced from said rear side a distance greater
than the length of the tape cassettes, and said top wall being
spaced from said bottom wall a distance substantially greater than
the width of the cassettes;
a rear wall snap-fitted onto said case and closing said rear
side;
supporting means for said case beneath said bottom wall for holding
the case on a horizontal surface with said top wall substantially
horizontal and said bottom wall inclined upwardly toward said front
side;
a plurality of laterally spaced, parallel ribs on said bottom wall
extending from adjacent said rear wall to adjacent said front side,
and defining between them a plurality of slideways for tape
cassettes;
a stop rib projecting forwardly from said rear wall for positioning
engagement with tape cassettes on said slideways, said rib being
spaced from said front side a distance approximately the same as
the length of the cassettes;
a plurality of elongated, one-piece, molded plastic key levers
disposed in side-by-side relation in said case beneath said top
wall and having front end portions projecting forwardly beyond said
top wall, and rear end portions terminating short of said rear
wall, each of said key levers being vertically aligned with one of
said slideways in a generally horizontally idle position, and
having a transverse hole between its ends that is aligned with the
holes in the other key levers;
a first elongated pivot rod extending generally horizontally
through said holes and secured at its ends to said side walls;
a plurality of one-piece, L-shaped molded plastic ejector cranks
disposed in side-by-side relation in said case beneath said top
wall, each of said ejector cranks having an upper generally
horizontal leg with a front end portion overlying the rear end
portion of one of said key levers, a generally vertical leg
extending downwardly along said rear wall in alignment with one of
said slideways to lie behind a tape cassette engaging said stop
rib, and a transverse hole therethrough adjacent the juncture of
said legs and aligned with the holes in the other ejector
cranks;
a second elongated pivot rod extending generally horizontally
through said holes and secured at its ends to said side walls;
said key levers having upwardly projecting fingers adjacent their
rear ends in free sliding engagement with the undersides of said
generally horizontal legs, and downwardly projecting fingers
adjacent their rear ends positioned for detenting engagement with
the recesses in the cassettes;
a depending flange formed integrally with the front edge of said
top wall and terminating in a lower edge adjacent the tops of said
key levers and spaced rearwardly from the front ends thereof, said
flange having laterally spaced zones aligned with the key levers
for displaying identifying indicia;
an elongated crossbar extending across said front side along said
front ends of said key levers and covering the lower portions
thereof, said crossbar being integrally joined at its ends to said
side walls;
an elongated flat plate disposed beneath said front end portions
and integrally joined at its ends to said side walls and along its
front edge to said crossbar, said plate being spaced below said
front end portions and having a rear edge spaced rearwardly from
said first pivot rod for engaging the undersides of said key levers
to determine the idle positions thereof, while permitting upward
rocking of said rear end portions in response to depression of said
front end portions;
and a cover door overlying said open front side and hingedly
connected to said case adjacent said bottom wall to swing forwardly
and downwardly into an open position in which the cover projects
forwardly from the case, the inner side of said cover door having a
plurality of identifying plates thereon for information correlating
said key levers with the cassettes
2. A storage and dispensing cabinet as defined in claim 1 further
including means on said door and said cabinet for stopping further
opening of the door when the latter is in a preselected open
position projecting
3. A storage and dispensing cabinet as defined in claim 1 in which
said cover door is hingedly connected to said side walls by means
of hinge pins engaging resiliently flexible brackets projecting
rearwardly from said
4. A storage and dispensing cabinet as defined in claim 1 in which
said pivot rods are supported on said side walls on holders molded
integrally with said side walls, and positioned to receive the ends
of said rods with snap fits after the ejector cranks and key levers
have been strung
5. A storage and dispensing cabinet for tape cassettes and the
like, comprising:
a hollow case having top, bottom, rear and side walls and an open
front side, said top wall having an opening across the front edge
portion thereof;
means on said bottom wall for holding a plurality of tape cassettes
on edge, in closely spaced side-by-side positions extending from
front to rear in said cabinet, and forming laterally spaced
slideways for movement of the tape cassettes into and out of said
cabinet through said open front side;
a plurality of elongated key levers disposed in said cabinet
substantially beneath said top wall and in closely spaced,
side-by-side relation extending from front to rear in said cabinet,
and having front end portions positioned in the opening in said top
wall, and rear end portions overlying said slideways in closely
spaced, side-by-side relation, each of said key levers being in
general vertical alignment with one of said slideways;
means pivotally supporting each of said key levers between its ends
in said cabinet for independent rocking about a first pivotal axis
extending between said side walls;
a stop for each of said key levers normally holding the same in a
preselected idle position and permitting said front portion to be
depressed to raise said rear portion to an actuating position;
a plurality of L-shaped, one-piece ejector cranks disposed in said
cabinet beneath said top wall and each having an upper leg
extending in a front-to-rear direction and overlying the rear end
portion of an associated key lever, and a lower leg extending
downwardly along said rear wall, each of said lower legs being
laterally aligned with one of said slideways;
and means pivotally supporting each of said ejector cranks in said
cabinet adjacent the juncture of said upper and lower legs, for
rocking movement about a second pivotal axis generally parallel to
said first axis;
said upper leg of each of said ejector cranks abutting slidably
against said rear end portion of the associated key lever to be
raised upon depression of the front end portion of the key lever,
thereby to swing said lower leg of the ejector crank forward along
the aligned slideway to
6. A storage and dispensing cabinet as defined in claim 5 in which
each of said key levers has a depending finger adjacent the rear
end thereof, for
7. A storage and dispensing cabinet as defined in claim 5 further
including a cover door hingedly mounted on said case for swinging
between a closed position and an open position about an axis along
the front edge of said bottom wall, and means on said cover door
and said case for stopping opening of said cover when the latter is
in an outwardly extending position with the free edge thereof
substantially level with said
8. A storage and dispensing cabinet as defined in claim 7 in which
said cover door has a forwardly offset lower portion terminating in
a lower edge, and is mounted on said case by means of hinge pins
rotatably engaging brackets projecting rearwardly from said lower
portion above said lower edge, said hinge pins fitting rotatably in
recesses in the inner sides of said brackets, and said lower edge
being swingable into engagement with the underside of said bottom
wall to stop further opening of said cover door when the latter is
in a downwardly and outwardly
9. A storage and dispensing cabinet as defined in claim 5 in which
said top wall has a front edge spaced rearwardly from said front
side, as defined between the front edges of said side walls, and
further including an elongated crossbar extending across the upper
portion of said front side, beneath the level of said top wall and
cooperating therewith to define an elongated slot across the front
of said top wall, said key levers having front ends partially
covered by said crossbar while the upper sides of the
10. A storage and dispensing cabinet as defined in claim 9 further
including a flat flange depending from said front edge of said top
wall and spaced rearwardly from the front ends of said key levers,
and a plurality of identification zones on the front side of said
flange and each aligned with one of said key levers, for displaying
indicia for
11. A storage and dispensing cabinet as defined in claim 9 further
including an elongated plate disposed below said front end
portions, said crossbar being secured at its ends to said side
walls and along its front edge to said bar and having a free rear
edge spaced rearwardly from said first axis, said stops for said
key levers the rear edge portion of said
12. A storage and dispensing cabinet as defined in claim 5 in which
said key levers have upwardly projecting fingers adjacent their
rear ends slidably engaging the underside of the upper legs of said
ejector cranks.
13. In a storage and dispensing cabinet for generally rectangular
tape cassettes of predetermined length, width and thickness and
having abutments in standard position on corresponding edges, the
combination of:
a case having an open front side;
means in said case defining at least one slideway for holding a
tape cassette on edge in a predetermined position and for movement
along said slideway through said open side;
at least one key lever pivotally mounted in said case to lie along
the edge of the cassette opposite the slideway, and having a front
end portion accessible from outside the case for manual depression,
and a rear end portion movable away from the slideway upon such
depression, said key lever having detent means on said rear end
position projecting toward said slideway and positioned for
retaining engagement with the abutment in a cassette in said
predetermined position, and said detent means being disengageable
upon movement of said rear end portion away from said slideway;
and an L-shaped ejector crank pivotally mounted in said case
adjacent said rear end portion and having one leg overlying said
rear end portion to be moved away from said slideway by said rear
end portion, and having a second leg extending along the rear side
of said case to be moved forwardly along the slideway upon movement
of said one leg away from the slideway, thereby to shift a cassette
forwardly through said open end.
14. In a storage and dispensing cabinet for tape cassettes and the
like, the combination of:
a case having a bottom wall and an open front side;
means in said case defining at least one slideway on said bottom
wall for holding a tape cassette on edge in a predetermined
position and for movement along said slideway through said open
side;
at least one key lever pivotally mounted in said case to overlie
the edge of the cassette opposite the slideway, and having a front
end portion over said open side and accessible from outside the
case for manual depression and a rear end portion movable away from
the slideway upon such depression;
and at least one L-shaped, one-piece ejector crank pivotally
mounted in said case adjacent said rear end portion and having a
first leg overlying said rear end portion to be moved away from the
slideway by said rear end portion, said crank also having a second
leg extending along the rear side of said case to be moved
forwardly along the slideway, said first leg having free sliding
engagement with said rear end portion during movement thereof.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to storage cabinets for tape cassettes,
cartridges and the like, and has particular reference to a storage
cabinet of the type having means accessible from outside the
cabinet for selecting and at least partially ejecting a stored
cassette.
Efforts have been made in the past to provide a practical and
effective storage cabinet of this general type. Representative of
the results of these efforts are the cabinets and mechanisms shown
in U.S. Pat. Nos. 876,865, 1,014,929, 1,327,142, 2,330,173, and
3,582,168. A related ejecting mechanism also is shown in U.S. Pat.
No. 830,772.
The fact that these patents, and others of similar types, have been
issued over a period of years ranging from 1906 to the present, on
devices for generally similar purposes, indicates that considerable
attention has been given to the provision of compact, inexpensive
and convenient storage means for this type of article. As yet,
however, no completely satisfactory solution has been found, to the
knowledge of the present inventor, and no suitable storage unit has
been found to be commercially available at the present time.
The primary deficiencies in the prior art devices are believed to
be in the areas of complexity (with resulting relatively high
cost), bulkiness, or generally unattractive appearance or
inconvenience in operation. The primary objective of the present
invention is to provide a storage cabinet of the foregoing general
character which is extremely simple and compact in construction,
can be mass-produced at a very low cost, and at the same time, is
attractive and convenient to use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention resides in an improved storage cabinet that
may be fabricated almost entirely of molded plastic parts,
including a box-like outer housing or case and the parts of a
simple and effective selecting and ejecting mechanism, and then
assembled relatively inexpensively into the final product.
Moreover, the present invention makes it possible to catalog and
store a relatively large number of cassettes compactly and securely
in a relatively small cabinet, and to select and eject any desired
cassette quickly and easily with a very simple manipulation of the
ejecting mechanism.
More specifically, as illustrated in the preferred embodiment shown
herein, the case has a bottom wall with means thereon defining a
plurality of slideways for holding cassettes in side-by-side
relation for edgewise insertion in and removal from the cabinet
through an open front side thereof, and a key-lever actuated
ejecting mechanism is provided in the case for each slideway. This
ejecting mechanism includes a pivoted key lever having an exposed
front end portion to be manually depressed to rock the key lever
from an idle position to an actuating position, and a rear end
portion carrying a detent that is engaged with a cassette in the
idle position to prevent accidental displacement thereof. An
L-shaped ejector crank is pivotally mounted in the case and
positioned to be actuated by the key lever when the latter is
actuated, the ejector crank having one leg which slidably engages
the key lever, and another leg which serves as a push rod, swinging
forwardly along the associated slideway to push the cassette
thereon at least partially out of the cabinet for easy removal.
Other structural features of the invention reside in the particular
configurations of the case, the key lever, and the ejector crank,
which contribute to economy of manufacture, compactness of storage,
and convenience of operation, and in the configuration and mounting
of a cover door for the case, which opens outwardly and downwardly
in front of the cabinet to form a tray-like extension of the
case.
Preferably, a set of recesses for numbered index tabs is provided
on the inner side of the cover door, and corresponding index
numbers are provided on the case, above the exposed ends of the key
levers. These cataloging elements, plus suitable indicia on the
cassettes that are stored, contribute materially to the ease of
storing, selecting and dispensing cassettes, and permit easy
rearrangement or reprogramming whenever desired.
As a result of the foregoing, the present invention provides an
attractive storage cabinet which may be fabricated of plastic at
very low cost, and which stores a plurality of cassettes in a total
amount of space that is very little greater than the actual volume
of the cassettes. At the same time, any desired cassette can be
readily selected and easily removed, and subsequently returned to
its proper place in the cabinet with equal ease.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent
from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a storage and dispensing cabinet
embodying the novel features of the present invention, shown
partially loaded, with the cover door in the open position, and
with one key lever depressed;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially
along line 2--2 of FIG. 1, with alternative positions of a key
lever, of an ejector crank, of a cassette, and of the cover door,
shown in broken lines;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partially in cross-section,
taken substantially along line 3--3 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the key lever shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the ejector crank shown in FIG. 2;
and
FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along
line 6--6 of FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As shown in the drawings, the invention is embodied in a storage
cabinet 10 for tape cassettes 11 of a well known standard type
having a generally rectangular housing, usually composed of plastic
and of a standard length, width and thickness. Such cassettes
contain two reels, only the toothed central portions 12 of which
are shown, for holding a length of magnetic tape 13 and running it
back and forth from one reel to the other in a tape player or tape
recorder.
Along one elongated edge 14 of the cassette 11, the lower edge as
viewed in the drawings, are openings (not shown) providing access
to the tape during playing and recording. This portion of the
cassette is thickened, as indicated at 15 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The
opposite elongated edge 17 has two apertures 18 (FIG. 2) that
initially are closed by breakable tabs (not shown). When the tape
is recorded, at least one of these tabs is broken off, and the
resulting edge opening serves to prevent the accidental erasing of
the recorded material in a tape recorder. These features, and the
abutments 19 shown in FIG. 2 on the end edges 20 of the cassette,
are conventional in the art, and are mentioned herein only as
background for the present invention.
There have been prior storage cabinets for tape cassettes and the
like, including tape cartridges, reels in cans, phonograph records,
and other thin and flat articles. Moreover, some of these cabinets,
as evidenced by the aforesaid patent, have had mechanisms for
selecting and at least partially ejecting the articles.
The improved storage and dispensing cabinet 10 of the present
invention has a box-like case formed by a top wall 21, a bottom
wall 22, side walls 23, and a rear wall 24, the front side being
open and provided with a cover door 25 that is hingedly connected
to the side walls adjacent the lower front corners thereof. For
this purpose, brackets 27 are provided on the cover door to project
into the case along the inner sides of the side walls, and hinge
pins 28 (see FIG. 3) on the side walls are fitted rotatably in
recesses 29 in the brackets, thereby defining a pivotal axis for
the door extending along the lower portion of the open front
side.
As shown in FIG. 2, the case is supported on laterally spaced legs
30 formed on the underside of the bottom wall 22, the legs having
flat lower surfaces 31 and progressively increasing in thickness
toward the front. The legs thus hold the bottom wall in an upwardly
and forwardly inclined position relative to a supporting surface 32
such as a table top, and assist in preventing accidental sliding of
cassettes 11 out of the cabinet. For aesthetic purposes, the top
wall 21 preferably converges with the bottom wall, toward the
front, so as to be either horizontal or inclined slightly
downwardly toward the front.
Formed on the upper side of the bottom wall 22 are a plurality of
elongated and parallel, upstanding ribs 33 which extend from the
front edge of the bottom wall toward the rear wall 24. These ribs
are spaced apart to receive the thickened side edge portions 15 of
cassettes 11 between them with a free sliding fit, and to suport
the cassettes on edge in the cabinet.
The ribs 33 thus define a plurality of slideways for receiving and
holding a plurality of cassettes 11 in the case. For increased ease
of insertion and removal, each slideway has small ridges 34 on both
sides, along the bases of the ribs 33, so that each cassette is
supported slightly above the bottom wall 22, and slides only on the
ridges. A stop rib 35 (see FIG. 2) is formed on the lower portion
of the rear wall 24 and projects a selected distance forwardly
therefrom, for positioning engagement with the cassette in each
slideway, normally holding the cassette in a preselected position
in spaced relation with the rear wall and with the front edge 20
substantially even with the front edge of the bottom wall.
Mounted in the case above the slideways are a plurality of
elongated, generally horizontal key levers 37, which are spaced
above the slideways a distance somewhat greater than the height of
the cassettes 11 to be stored. The front end portion 38 of each key
lever projects under an opening in the top wall 21 adjacent the
front thereof, and thus is exposed to be depressed, and the rear
end portion 39 of each key lever extends over the position of the
rear portion of a stored cassette, in operative association with an
L-shaped ejector crank 40 which, when actuated, pushes the cassette
outwardly along its slideway.
Herein, each key lever 37 is pivoted between its ends on an
elongated pivot rod 41 extending transversely of the case, between
the two side walls 23, and suitably supported at its ends on the
inner sides of the side walls. Each key lever has a transverse
through-hole 43, surrounded at each end by an outwardly projecting
boss 44 for spacing the key levers apart when they are mounted on
the rod.
With the appropriate number of key levers 37 on the rod 41, one for
each of the slideways, the ends of the rod are supported on the
inner sides of the side walls. The key levers are held in closely
spaced, side-by-side relation on the rod, with one key lever
overlying each slideway and with the front end portions 38
projecting forwardly from the pivot rod under the opening in the
top wall, and the rear end portions extending rearwardly from the
pivot rod toward the ejector cranks 40. In the normal or idle
positions of the levers, the rear end portions preferably are
inclined somewhat downwardly toward the rear wall, as shown in
broken lines in FIG. 2.
Herein, the front end portions 38 are vertically thickened, as can
be seen most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 4, and their upper sides are
specially contoured to provide an upwardly facing, key surface 45
that is narrower than the lower part, so as to be spaced from the
key surfaces of adjacent key levers for ease of operation. These
surfaces may be knurled, as shown in FIG. 4, for non-slipping
actuation. The rear end portions 39 are considerably longer than
the front portions and are of substantially uniform thickness from
adjacent the pivot rod to the rear ends.
To form the opening along the front of the top wall 21 of the case,
the top wall stops short of the front edges 47 of the side walls
23, and has a downturned flange 48 along its front edge. This
flange preferably has a slight forward incline, and terminates just
above the upper sides of the key levers, rearwardly from the front
ends thereof, as shown in FIG. 2. For assistance in selecting a
particular cassette 11, the front side of this flange is divided by
ribs 49 into a series of laterally spaced zones aligned with the
key levers, to receive indicia such as a series of index numbers,
one number being aligned with each key lever.
Extending across the open front of the case is a relatively narrow
crossbar 50 which is joined at its ends to the side walls and is
positioned on the case to overlie, and partially mask, the front
ends of the keys. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this crossbar is
spaced below the level of the flange 48, and covers the lower
portions of the front ends, having a short upwardly inclined flange
51 along its upper edge terminating close to the ends of the keys.
Upwardly inclined connecting bars 52 (see FIG. 1) connect the
crossbar to the upper flange 48 along the side walls 23.
As shown in FIG. 2, an elongated flat plate 54 is secured to and
extends rearwardly from the lower edge of the crossbar beneath the
key levers 37 and rearwardly beyond the pivot rod 41. The rear edge
portion 55 of this plate is positioned to abut against the key
levers and thus determine their normal, idle positions, shown in
broken lines in FIG. 2.
The L-shaped ejector cranks 40 are pivotally mounted in the case in
a manner similar to that used for the key levers. Each has a
through-hole 57 adjacent the juncture of its two legs 58 and 59,
herein in a sleeve 60 on the leg 58. The sleeve has ends 61 which
are disposed laterally beyond the sides of the legs to serve as
spacing abutments.
The ejector cranks 40 are mounted on a pivot rod 62, the opposite
ends of which are fitted into two U-shaped holders 63 on the side
walls 23. These holders are formed by the rear ends of two ribs
63.sup.a formed on each side wall 23, and position the rod 62
adjacent the rear wall 24 of the case, just beneath the top wall
21, with the upper leg 58 of each crank normally projecting
generally horizontally forwardly over the rear end portion 39 of
one of the key levers 37, and with the lower leg 59 of the crank
normally depending generally vertically along the rear wall 24, in
the gap above the positioning rib 35 thereon.
Each depending leg 59 is transversely aligned with one of the
slideways and with the cassette 11 therein, to swing forwardly
along the slideway upon counterclockwise rocking of the ejector
crank 40 from the normal position shown in broken lines in FIG. 2
toward the position shown in full lines. These legs thus form "push
rods" for ejecting a cassette at least partially from the case upon
such rocking.
The operative connections between the key levers 37 and the ejector
cranks 40 are simple sliding connections, which herein are formed
by upstanding fingers 64 adjacent the inner ends of the key levers
and have upper ends 65, preferably rounded, for bearing against the
undersides of the upper legs 58 of the ejector cranks. The fingers
engage the legs 58 far enough from the forward ends 67 thereof to
remain in engagement through the full range of permissible rocking,
and position the ejector cranks with the depending legs thereof
parallel to the rear wall 24 when the key levers are at rest on the
stop rib 55.
An important feature of the improved cabinet 10 is the manner in
which cassettes 11 are positively detented against accidental
displacement along the slideways. For this purpose, each key lever
37 has a detent finger 69 which projects downwardly from the rear
end portion 39 thereof for engagement with a standard abutment on
the cassette. While such a detent may be provided in different
locations for different types of standard cassettes or cartridges,
in this instance the detent finger is a tab which projects
downwardly from the key lever beyond the upturned finger 64, and
engages an edge of the rear recess 18 in the upper edge 17 of the
cassette. The finger projects into this recess when a cassette is
properly positioned in a slideway and the key lever is in the
normal position, thus blocking sliding of the cassette out of the
case.
In addition to closing the front side of the case, the cover door
25 serves as the support for a series of index plates which
identify the material on the cassettes and correlate the index
numbers on the flange 48 with the contents of the cassettes. For
this purpose, the inner side of the cover door is formed with
rectangular recesses 70, in which the plates are secured, the
plates having index numbers corresponding to the index numbers on
the flange 48, and sufficient space being provided for identifying
data pertaining to the cassette which is stored in the
corresponding slideway. Such information may be on adhesive labels,
and marking tabs (not shown) also may be provided for the exposed
edges 20 of the cassettes.
As shown in FIG. 1, the plates are conveniently displayed on the
tray-like upper side of the cover door 25 when the latter is in an
open position extending forwardly from the front edge of the bottom
wall. The door has a forwardly offset lower portion 71 adjacent the
level of the hinge pins 28, and a free lower edge 72 which is
positioned to swing under the bottom wall 22 and abut against the
latter as the free edge portion of the door reaches the level of
the supporting surface 32. Thus, the door is maintained in the
position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, whether or not the supporting
surface extends this far forwardly.
Preferably, the free edge portion of the door has a flange 73,
disposed generally at a right angle with the main panel of the
door, and sized to swing over the key levers 37 and into closely
spaced relation with the front edge of the top wall 21 when the
door is closed, as shown in broken lines in FIG. 2. Forwardly
projecting tabs 74 on the front edges 47 of the side walls 23 align
with the offset in the lower portion of the door for a finished and
attractive appearance when the door is closed.
With the foregoing arrangement, the improved cabinet 10 may be
manufactured and assembled at very low cost with a minimum number
of parts. The case, including the crossbar 50 and the plate 54, can
be molded of plastic, in one piece with open front and rear sides.
Both the key levers 37 and the ejector cranks 40 also may be
relatively inexpensive plastic moldings, and the rear wall 24 and
the cover door 25 can be plastic moldings adapted to be snap-fitted
into place over the front and rear sides of the case, the hinge
brackets 27 being resiliently flexible for insertion between the
side walls 23 and the hinge pins 28. The snap-fitting connections
between the rear wall 24 and the top, bottom and side walls are
shown in FIGS. 2 and 6.
Accordingly, the key levers 37 and the ejector cranks 40 can be
strung onto the pivot rods 41 and 62 and fitted into place through
the open sides of the case. It is to be noted that no special
manipulation is required to connect the levers and the cranks,
because the upper legs 58 simply overlie the rear end portions 39
of the levers. When the rear wall 24 and the cover door 25 are in
place, the cabinet 10 is completed.
From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention
provides an improved storage and dispensing cabinet 10 for
cassettes 11 and the like, which cabinet is very inexpensive,
compact and convenient to use during selection and dispensing of
stored articles. Moreover, with modern plastics, the cabinet can be
made quite attractive, to be suitable for use on any piece of
furniture.
It also will be apparent that, while a preferred embodiment has
been illustrated and described, various modifications and changes
may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention, particularly in adapting the inventive concept to the
storage of different types of similar articles.
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