U.S. patent number 3,897,871 [Application Number 05/383,010] was granted by the patent office on 1975-08-05 for print album storage case insert.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Eli Lily and Company. Invention is credited to Gerald B. Zinnbauer.
United States Patent |
3,897,871 |
Zinnbauer |
August 5, 1975 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Print album storage case insert
Abstract
An insert for converting a predesigned container into a print
album storage case provides a means for storing said print albums
in separate independent essentially parallel positions from which
each print album in sequence can be moved to an inclined attitude
to expose the frontspiece of the next in sequence print album for
noting the contents thereof. Said insert is comprised of a base
section and two opposing side sections integrally connected to said
base section, each side section having thereon, in equal numbers, a
plurality of inwardly extending protuberances, said protuberances
on each side being disposed in two rows essentially parallel to the
connection between said base and said side section and essentially
equispaced aligned pairs at right angles to said connection, with
the two side sections being essentially mirror images of each
other. A plurality of protuberances integrally molded in similar
positions into the sides of a predesigned container also converts
such container into a print album storage case having similar
characteristics.
Inventors: |
Zinnbauer; Gerald B. (Carmel,
IN) |
Assignee: |
Eli Lily and Company
(Indianapolis, IN)
|
Family
ID: |
23511328 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/383,010 |
Filed: |
July 26, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/564; 206/311;
206/449; 211/40; 211/41.13; 211/41.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
25/107 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
25/10 (20060101); B65d 001/34 () |
Field of
Search: |
;220/22
;206/311,449,309,73,454-456 ;211/40,41 ;D6/185 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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|
|
|
|
|
|
478,400 |
|
Jan 1938 |
|
GB |
|
684,282 |
|
Apr 1964 |
|
CA |
|
702,647 |
|
Feb 1941 |
|
DD |
|
Primary Examiner: Price; William I.
Assistant Examiner: Moy; Joseph Man-Fu
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Ernsberger; Ralph W. Smith; Everet
F.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A print album storage container insert comprising:
a. a base section;
b. a first side section integrally connected to said base section,
said first side section having a plurality of resilient
protuberances extending inwardly therefrom, said protuberances
being formed in two essentially parallel rows, said rows disposed
essentially parallel to the top edge of said first side section and
containing equal numbers of equispaced protuberances disposed in
aligned pairs at essentially a right angle to said top edge, the
row of protuberances nearest said top edge having a resiliency
which allows for from about 50 to about 100 percent deformation
under force with a subsequent return to the original configuration
and form when said force is removed; and
c. a second side section integrally connected to said base opposite
said first side section, said second side section having a
plurality of protuberances similar in number to the protuberances
in said first side section and disposed similarly thereto and in a
mirror image thereof, said protuberance also having resiliencies
similar to those in said first side section.
2. The insert of claim 1 wherein said two parallel rows of inwardly
extending protuberances in each of said side sections are
constituted of a first row which is adjacent to and parallel to the
top edge of said side sections, and a second row which is separated
from said first row by a distance greater than the inward extension
of said protuberances in said second row, said protuberances in
said second row extending inwardly at least half again as far as
said protuberances in said first row thereof.
3. The insert of claim 1 wherein the distance between each of said
protuberances in each row is substantially the same.
4. A print album storage container comprising:
a. a container having a first and a second side, a first and a
second end, and a bottom connected with said sides and said ends at
essentially a right angle;
b. a plurality of resilient protuberances extending inwardly from
said first side, said protuberances being formed in two essentially
parallel rows, said rows disposed essentially parallel to the
junction of said side with said bottom and containing equal numbers
of equispaced protuberances disposed in aligned pairs at
essentially a right angle to said junction between said side and
said bottom, the uppermost row of protuberances having a resiliency
which allows for from about 50 to about 100 percent deformation
under force with a subsequent return to the original configuration
and form when such force is removed; and
c. a plurality of protuberances extending inwardly from said second
side, said protuberances being similar in number to the
protuberances in said first side and disposed similarly thereto and
in a mirror image thereof, said protuberances also having
resiliencies to those in said first side.
5. The container of claim 4 wherein said two parallel rows of
inwardly extending protuberances in each side are constituted of a
first row which is adjacent to and parallel to the junction between
said sides and said bottom, and a second row which is separated
from said first row by a distance greater than the inward extension
of said protuberances in said first row, said protuberances in said
first row extending inwardly at least half again as far as said
protuberances in said second row thereof.
6. The container of claim 4 wherein the distance between each of
said protuberances in each row is substantially the same.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an insert which can be fitted into a
predesigned container to convert such container into an especially
useful print album storage case wherein said print albums can be
stored between pre-spaced protuberances in oppositely facing sides
of said insert and readily moved in an arc from a position
essentially vertical to the bottom of said case to an inclined
attitude and back again.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Containers for holding and storing print albums, cassette cases and
the like have been developed in many different forms. One common
holding and storage container accepts print albums in a horizontal
position by providing opposed slots in the sides into which said
albums can be inserted. This configuration can be adapted to
vertical storage, back to back storage, storage in a carrousel, and
the like. Variations have been provided on the slot principle, but
in every case the storage is in a fixed position and there is a
requirement that identification must be provided on the narrow
exposed edge of the album or cassette, or the retrieval conducted
by a search procedure that involves removing the albums from their
storage position to identify the contents.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a means
for storing print albums, cassettes, and the like in a spaced flat
orientation which will permit the identification of the contents of
an album without removing the latter from the storage space in
which it is held.
Another object of this invention is to provide a print album
storage case insert adapted to be fitted into a pre-designed
container which will convert said container into a print album
storage case wherein the contents of said print album can be
identified without removing said album from said case.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a print album
storage case wherein print albums can be stored and the contents of
each album identified without removing said albums therefrom.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now been discovered that an insert can be provided for
fitting into a predesigned container which will hold print albums
in a flat spaced relationship within said container and allow for
the identification of the contents of each print album, said insert
having equispaced oppositely facing pairs of resilient
protuberances extending inwardly from that portion of said insert
which partially covers two opposed sides of said container, said
pairs being aligned at essentially a right angle to the end edge of
said insert. The lower of the said protuberances in each of said
aligned pairs extend inwardly farther than the upper protuberances
in said pairs. The upper protuberances yield to a moderate force
exerted against the print album and allow the print album to
override said upper protuberances and come to rest against the next
adjacent upper protuberances whereupon the face of the next
following print album in sequence is exposed for
identification.
The same configuration of protuberances in oppositely facing sides
of a molded container provides a print album storage case wherein a
similar storage orientation is effected.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a print album storage case
insert.
FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a print album storage case.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The novel structure of one embodiment of this invention is
comprised of a flat sheet into which is molded, or cut, a crimp, or
crease, line inboard from each end edge of said sheet and
essentially equidistance from said edges and parallel thereto. The
portions of said sheet which are disposed between said crimp lines
and the respective end edges of said sheet constitute the sides of
the novel print album storage case insert of this invention. Into
each of said sides are integrally molded a plurality of
protuberances which extend inwardly from the said sides when the
latter are turned upwardly from the base of said sheet facing each
other at an angle of about 90.degree. with said base. Said
protuberances are arranged in pairs which are essentially at right
angles to the crimp line which separates said base from said sides.
Both the upper and lower protuberances in said pairs are in rows
which are parallel to the end edge of said sheet, or the top of
said sides, and have essentially the same cross-sectional area. The
protuberances in the lower row extend inwardly significantly
farther than the protuberance in the upper row. Each of the aligned
pairs of protuberances are separated from the next adjacent aligned
pair by a distance slightly greater than the depth of the print
album to be disposed between said aligned protuberances, and the
lower row of protuberances are positioned above the base of said
insert by about the same distance that separates the vertical pairs
of said protuberances.
The distance between the lower and upper rows of protuberances is
determined by the height of the sides (height in said insert) of
said print album storage case insert, generally being about
one-sixth to one-third of such dimension. The height of the sides
of said print album storage case insert is determined by width and
depth respectively of the container into which said insert is to be
fitted.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the protuberances
are integrally formed in the sides of a print album storage case
essentially as described for the print album storage case
insert.
In either case, it is imperative that said protuberances,
particularly those in the upper row, have sufficient resiliency to
allow the print album, when positioned between opposite facing
pairs of said protuberances, to easily, but with some resistance,
override the upper protuberances in said opposite facing pairs when
some force is applied to said print album. When the latter occurs,
the print album remains in position between the lower protuberances
in said opposite facing pairs, and comes to rest against the next
adjacent upper protuberances in said opposite facing pairs in the
direction in which said force is applied.
The print album so moved is no longer essentially vertical and the
face or top of the next print album in the sequence is exposed and
the contents thereof can be noted without removing said print album
from said container.
The structure of the embodiments of this invention can be more
readily understood by reference to the drawing attached.
In FIG. 1 the novel print album storage case insert 1 is shown in
the contour it has when fitted into said container. The bottom 2 of
said insert is a flat surface having outside dimensions which are
slightly less than the inside dimensions of the container into
which said insert is to be fitted. One side of said insert 1 is
shown as side 3 and the other side is shown as side 4. Both inside
surfaces of sides 3 and 4 of said insert 1 are alike, and are
represented by the view of side 4 in FIG. 1. Similarly, both
outside surfaces of sides 3 and 4 of said insert 1 are alike, and
are represented by the view of side 3 in FIG. 1. Upper
protuberances 7 are shown in a row parallel to the top edge of side
4, and lower protuberances 8 are shown in a row parallel to the row
of upper protuberances 7. Each upper protuberance 7 is in alignment
with a lower protuberance 8 at essentially a right angle to the
junction of said base and said side. Each aligned pair of
protuberances is separated from the next adjacent aligned pair of
protuberances by a distance that is slightly greater than the
thickness of the print album which is to be vertically positioned
in said insert. Each individual upper and lower protuberance, 7 and
8, is matched by an opposite facing upper and lower protuberance,
the back sides of which are shown as 9 and 10 respectively in side
3. These horizontal facing protuberances are aligned in both the
same horizontal and vertical planes.
The lower protuberances, 8 and 10, extend inwardly from the inside
surface of sides 3 and 4, a distance which is sufficient to prevent
the print album 11 positioned between adjacent opposite facing
protuberances from being moved in an arc without the application of
moderate force to said print album.
The upper protuberances, shown as 7 from the front side and as 9
from the back side, extend inwardly from the inside surface of
sides 3 and 4, a distance which is sufficient to hold the print
album 11 snugly between adjacent opposite facing upper
protuberances 7, but at the same time allowing the upper part of
said print album 11 to be moved in an arc overriding one set of
opposite facing upper protuberances 7 with the application of only
a moderate amount of force.
A print album 11 is shown in place, in insert 1 disposed between
two adjacent aligned pairs of opposite facing protuberances. The
same print album 11 is shown as print album 12 when the former is
moved forward in an arc overriding the immediately adjacent upper
opposite facing protuberances and coming to rest against the next
adjacent upper opposite facing protuberances. The print album 12
remains disposed between the two opposite facing lower
protuberances, and assumes a position that is inclined with
reference to the next adjacent print album.
In practice, where the print album to be held in said insert 1 is
up to 9 or 10 inches long, the lower protuberances 8 will extend
inwardly from about three-sixteenths to about three-eights inch,
and the upper protuberances 7 will extend outwardly from about
three-thirty-seconds to about three-sixteenths of an inch. For
print albums longer than about 9 to 10 inches, the lower
protuberances 8 will extend inwardly from about three-eighths to
about five-eighths inch and the upper protuberances will extend
inwardly from about three-sixteenths to about three-eighths inch.
The ratio will be about 2 to 1. In any case, the lower
protuberances 8 will always extend inwardly farther than the upper
protuberances 7.
The cross-sectional design of the protuberance can be of any
geometric configuration, but an essentially round form is preferred
and a convex end is useful, particularly on the upper
protuberances, but not essential to the operation of the
invention.
It is important that both the upper and lower protuberances, 7 and
8, are resilient. It is essential that the upper protuberances 7
are resilient. The necessary resiliency can be provided in a number
of different ways. One way is to vacuum form the protuberances in a
sheet of plastic so that said protuberances are hollow on the back
side, 9 and 10, in back side 3 of said insert 1. In this case, the
wall thickness of the protuberances, 7 and 8, is essentially the
same as the wall thickness of the plastic sheet in which they are
formed. In FIG. 1, the protuberances, 7 and 8, are shown as being
of such a character and, in addition, channels 5 and 6 are shown as
integral parts of the two sides in which the protuberances are
formed. The channels add firmness to the sides without sacrificing
resiliency. As shown in FIG. 1, the protuberances, 7 and 8, are
disposed partly in the inwardly extending channels of the sides of
said insert 1, and partly in said sides, which are extensions of
the base 2 of said insert 1. This design is not essential to the
present invention, but is a preferred configuration. The invention
is also operative when the sides of said insert 1 are extensions of
said base 2 and there is no other deformation than the
protuberances hereinbefore described.
The resiliency required in the upper protuberances 7 can be
provided by molding the entire insert 1 in the configuration shown
in FIG. 1, or as a flat sheet which is later scored or debossed at
the location where the sides, 3 and 4, are turned at right angles
to the base 2, and the sides turned upwardly to obtain the
configuration of FIG. 1. In this case, the protuberances are
generally solid and the resiliency is provided by selecting an
elastomeric material of an appropriate firmness. The sides of such
a molded article can have stiffening channels, such as 5 and 6
shown in FIG. 1, with the protuberances partially disposed in said
channels and in said side surfaces on both sides of said
channel.
The spirit of this disclosure contemplates that all such
modifications in the design of the sides in which the protuberances
are disposed are within the scope of the present invention. The
important element is the resiliency of the upper protuberances
which allows for a deformation of such protuberances under force of
from about 50 to about 100 percent with a subsequent return to the
original configuration as the print album overrides them under
force applied to move said print album in an arc to an inclined
position.
In another embodiment of this invention, shown in FIG. 2, the
protuberances from the sides of the print album storage container
are molded integrally with the container itself. A print album
storage container is shown as 13 in FIG. 2. Such a container can be
of any size, have side walls of any height above the section
wherein the protuberances are disposed, and have a hinged lid or a
telescoping top or any other closure adaptable to such container,
or none at all. The heart of this embodiment is the protuberances
which are opposite facing, inwardly directed, on opposing sides of
the container.
The same characteristics and relations of one element to another
apply in this embodiment as those described hereinbefore for the
protuberances associated with the print album storage case insert
shown in FIG. 1.
The two sides of said container in which protuberances are disposed
are shown as 14 and 15, and the two ends of said container are
shown as 16 and 17. The ends 16 and 17 are plain inside and out.
The bottom of the container is shown as 18, and compares with the
bottom, or base, 2 in FIG. 1. Upper protuberances 19 and lower
protuberances 20 are disposed in aligned pairs and are positioned
in opposite facing mirror image relationships in the same
horizontal and vertical planes. A stiffening channel 21 is shown in
FIG. 2, and as with such channel, 5 and 6 in FIG. 1, such a
construction is beneficial to the resiliency of the molded
protuberances 19 and 20, however, it is not a requirement for the
operation of this embodiment. When the protuberances 19 and 20 are
integrally molded with the sides 14 and 15 of said container, such
protuberances will be solid, and it is necessary that the required
resiliency come from the elastomeric properties of the material
from which said container is molded.
The row of lower protuberances 20, identified as the first row, is
positioned at a distance from bottom 18 of said container that is
about the same as the distance between each of said protuberances
20, and is adjacent to and parallel to the junction between said
sides and said bottom. This distance provides an opportunity for
said print album to pivot between two adjacent lower protuberances
20 as it overrides an upper protuberance 19 in a second row of
protuberances parallel to said first row and separated therefrom by
a distance greater than the inward extension of said protuberances
in said first row, when sufficient force is exerted to move said
print album 11 to the position shown as 12 in FIG. 2. An extension
22 of the side 14 of said container 13 in which the protuberances
19 and 20 are disposed illustrates the relative height of said
protuberances 20 above the bottom 18 of said container 13.
Alternatively, a strip of plastic 21 in which protuberances 19 and
20 are disposed can be molded or vacuum formed and then sealed to
opposite sides of said container 13 by inserting such strips in a
specially fabricated cavity in the mold used to form the container
before the container itself is molded, thereby providing a
container into which said protuberance bearing strips are
integrally molded, or simply cementing said strips in the
appropriate location to the inside surface of the container. In
either of these alternatives the material of construction of the
protuberance bearing strips can be the same as that from which said
container is molded or of a different composition. In the latter
case, greater flexibility is possible as the container can be
molded from a semi-rigid or rigid material such as polystyrene, and
the protuberance bearing strip can be fabricated from a more
resilient material such as polyvinylchloride.
* * * * *