Storage container for cylindrical articles, particularly packs of magnetic tape

Abstract

A book-shaped storage container for at least one cylindrical article and having substantially identical cover members which are hingedly connected to a back member. The closed container has a continuous peripheral flange parted by a butt joint which forms very small gaps with the parting plane between the said cover members at not more than two points, which gaps form the only means of communication between the interior of the container and the atmosphere. The container is simple to manufacture and effectively protects the articles stored therein against dust and physical damage, and can consequently be advantageously used for the storage of any sensitive articles of suitable shape, particlarly packs of magnetic tape or film.

Description

This invention relates to a book-shaped storage container for one or more cylindrical articles, particularly packs of magnetic tape, consisting of a back member to which congruent cover members are hingedly joined, which cover members enclose at least one cylindrical cavity when closed together.

A container for packs of magnetic tape is known which is made of plastics material and consists of a back member to which substantially identical cover members are hingedly joined. Each cover member consists of a base-plate having a peripheral flange and of two members disposed at diagonally opposite corners, which corner members form a rectangular block having a cylindrical cavity when said cover members are closed together. In said design, the narrow sides of the closed assembly each have a slot leading from the atmosphere to the cavity, so that the assembly is not dust-proof to the required extent. The shaped parts of the cover members are individually secured to the respective base-plates, thus making the manufacture of the container relatively expensive. The flat portions of the container consist of solid material coated with a relatively thin layer of plastics material.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a container which has improved dust-proof and shock-absorbing properties and which is simple and cheap to manufacture.

According to the invention, the container of the type mentioned above is characterized in that the cover members are similarly shaped and that, when the said cover members are closed together, not more than two small gaps lead to the cavity from the outer face of the narrow sides of the container, whereas the cavity is sealed off from the atmosphere by all other outer surfaces of the container.

The container of the invention has improved dust-proof properties and is simple to manufacture and may be advantageously used for the storage of dust-sensitive cylindrical articles such as magnetic tapes and films.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the cover members have cooperating locking elements, preferably pins and depressions, which effectively prevent accidental opening of the container.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, each of the cover members forms approximately one half of a rectangular block-shaped body comprising a continuous flange of at least half the height of the block running around its periphery. The interior of the container is thus completely sealed off from the atmosphere with the exception of two very small gaps in the narrow sides of the container, so that the ingress of dust particles, etc. is effectively prevented.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the parting plane between the two halves runs approximately diagonally through the narrow side faces of said block.

In yet another advantageous embodiment of the present invention the back member, hinges and block halves are made in one piece from deep-drawn plastics material, preferably thermoplastics material.

This provides a simple and cheap method of manufacture.

In an important additional embodiment of the invention hard cores are at least partially enclosed by a plastics film and a layer of foam material is provided between said film and said core on the bottom and top faces of said block.

Further details of the invention are disclosed in the following description of one embodiment of the container illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container when open, and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 1 when closed.

A container 1 consists of similarly shaped cover members 2 and 3 joined together via a back member 4 and film hinges 5. Each of the cover members 2 and 3 consists of a flat base 6 and a prism-shaped half 7 of a rectangular block of height h, which halves 7 are so arranged on said bases 6 that when the cover members 2 and 3 are closed together, the said block is formed. In the center of each half 7 there is provided a circular cavity 8, which cavities form a cylindrical cavity when the cover members are closed together. This cavity serves to accommodate the article to be stored, for example a pack of magnetic tape or a reel of magnetic tape on a spool. The halves 7 are surrounded by a flange 9 of height 0.5 h and of approximately square configuration, such that, when the cover members 2 and 3 are closed together, the only points of communication between the cavity 8 and the atmosphere are extremely small gaps at positions a, the article stored being thus afforded maximum protection against dust, etc.

The parting plane between the two halves 7 of said block is indicated in FIG. 2 by dashed lines 10. The points a indicated by arrows and showing the positions of the said gaps are at the points of intersection between the lines 10 and the butt joint 11 formed between the flanges 9 and located in a plane parallel to the closed cover members. The narrow sides of the container 1 are designated by reference numeral 12. The sides of the block are designated by reference numeral 13. The top face of the container 1 is designated by reference number 14, which face 14 is upholstered with a layer of foam material 21 disposed between a top film 20, which may be of plasticized PVC for example, and a stiffening core 19 which defines the outline of the halves 7 and may be of rigid PVC for example. The upholstery is indicated in FIG. 2 by a slight curvature of said face 14. The bottom face opposite face 14 is also upholstered. This affords adequate protection against knocks for the article in the container. The block half 7 associated with cover member 3 has large depressions 15 at its front end and in the region of greatest height and smaller depressions 16 in the front surface 13, which depressions cooperate with large pins 18 disposed at the low end of block half 7 associated with cover member 2 and with smaller pins 17 formed on the inside of flange 9 of cover member 2, respectively, said pins and depressions positively engaging each other when the cover members 2 and 3 are closed together. Any other effective means of locking the cover members 2 and 3 together to prevent accidental opening of the container and thus to prevent the stored article from falling out may be used. The back member, hinges and block halves can be manufactured in one piece from deep-drawn plastics material. The container 1 can also be made in a simple manner as follows:

The deep-drawn halves 7 and the film 20 are welded together while interposing the layer of foam material 21 and the core 19 to form a single unitary structure; the locking elements 15 to 18 are formed during deep-drawing of the halves 7. Manufacture is simple and cheap, and there is thus provided a versatile, dust-proof, shock-absorbing container which prevents the contents, preferably cylindrical articles, from moving about. Other advantageous embodiments of such a container are also conceivable and likewise form part of the present invention.

Claims

We claim:

1. A book-shaped storage container for a pack of magnetic tape, said container comprising: two substantially identical mating cover members which are hingedly connected by a back member connected thereto, each of said cover members comprising substantially one half of a block formed as a rectangular parallelepiped, said block halfs each having at least one recess, said recesses defining a cylindrical cavity when said cover members are mated, the parting plane between the block halfs of said mated cover members extending through two opposite lateral faces of said block, said cover members having continuous mating flanges arranged around the periphery of said block, said flanges being provided for covering the lateral faces of said block for sealing said cavity and said tape pack from the atmosphere, wherein each of said flanges having an individual height and at every arbitrary peripheral point of said flanges the sum of the heights of the mated flanges being equal to the height of said block, the parting plane between said flanges being positioned so as to penetrate the said parting plane between the block halfs, at the line of penetration between said two parting planes there are provided when said container is closed two small gaps only which communicate between said cavity and the outer face of said flange.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parting plane between the block halfs of said mated cover members extends substantially diagonally through two opposite lateral faces of said block and the parting plane between the flanges of said mated cover members extends substantially horizontally through two opposite lateral faces of said container.