Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~241934
-- 1 --
The present invention relates to a pivotable
container, in particular for recording media.
French Patent 1,430,704 discloses a two-part
cassette container which can be swung open and in which the
lid part has a pocket for holding the cassette, and the
bottom part possesses a cutout which corresponds to the
front of the pocket and in which the front of the pocket
lies when the container is closed, so that a closed
rectangular housing is formed. The lid part and the bottom
part are connected to one another via two pivot joints. The
points are primitive and cannot withstand any appreciable
load, so that many containers become useless because the
joint pegs break off. The bottom part and lid part can
easily be separated from one another and can therefore be
lost. Furthermore, a lack of care during use can also cause
the parts to separate from one another, which also results
in the pegs or the side walls of the bottom part breaking
off.
German Published Application DAS 2,366,195
describes a rotation-restricting device for this conven-
tional container, wherein rotation-restricting projections
are mounted on the lid part, the intention being that the
projections should come into contact with the side walls of
the bottom part when the container is opened by 180.
However, because of the flexibility of the free ends of the
side walls, the 180 restricting projections can easily and
unintentionally be passed over, so that the cassette cannot
effectively be prevented from falling out.
German Utility Model 7,834,754 also discloses a
pivotable container for two or more recording media, a card-
like recording medium in a card pocket on the lid, and a
tape cassette in a separate tray in the bottom. This
container has a substantially larger volume than the
pivotable cassette container known as a snap pack, since the
lZ41934
-- 2
bottom part must possess at least one additional space for
the pocket on the lid, but is also intended to possess
further spaces for holding pencils, etc. In this container,
the conventional connection between the bottom tray and the
lid comprises hinged faces with depressions on the lid,
which are engaged by axle stubs on the outsides of the tray
sides. The opening angle is restricted to about 130, at
which point the back of the upper edge of the lid makes
contact with the front edge of the bottom. Further special
rotation-restricting devices are neither stated for this
conventional container nor suggested from a consideration of
it.
It is an object of the present invention to
provide more effective restriction of pivoting for
containers of-;this type.
It is also an object of the present invention to
restrict pivoting by a simple means which cannot be overcome
without destroying the container; in addition, there i8 the
advantage that the limiting angle can be predetermined
solely by means of the length of the slot.
According to the present invention, there is
provided a substantially rectangular storage container for
articles, in particular recording media, said container
comprising:
two parts, namely a bottom part consisting of a
base wall bordered on two sides by side walls and a lid part
consisting of a front wall, a base wall and of a rear wall
at least partially bordered at the sides by side walls, the
base wall of the bottom part having a cutout which is
bordered at the sides by the side walls of the bottom part,
and the lid part having a pocket which is formed by the
front wall, the base wall and a part of the side walls of
the lid part, the outline of the front wall corresponding to
the contour of the cutout, and
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1241934
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a hinge device between the bottom part and the lid
part to permit pivotal movement therebetween
- wherein between the inside of said part of each
side wall of the lid part and the respective mutually
perpendicular, free outer edges of said front wall and said
base wall of said pocket a straight slot of limited length
is formed, the free ends of the side walls of the bottom
part,which ends have a mutual spacing smaller by the thick-
ness of the lid side walls than the mutual spacing of the
outside of the lid side walls, engaging, and being guided
by, the two slots, respectively, so that the pivoting
movement of the lid part in relation to the bottom part is
limited in the opening direction.
Preferably, the remaining part of the side walls
of the lid part has contact edges, and the bottom part has a
front wall which is higher than the side walls of the bottom
part, so that the container has a closed rectangular shape
when in the closed position.
This gives a compact container shape which is well
sealed against the outside, and an articles, in particular a
cassette, lying on the lid wall is additionally supported
laterally and thus prevented from falling out sideways from
the lid, for example if the container is opened the wrong
way round.
A smooth pleasing appearance of the closed con-
tainer is advantageously achieved if the side walls of the
bottom part possess recesses for receiving the side walls of
the pocket on the lid part.
If necessary, locking elements can be provided on
the lid part and/or on the bottom part, for the closed
position of the container. The examples shown in the
drawing and described below illustrate the invention.
Figure 1 shows a FlexyDis container with a novel
rotation-restricting device,
lZ41934
-- 4
Figure 2 shows a cassette container with a novel
rotation-restricting device,
Figure 3 shows diagrammatically the end position
for a 180 restriction,
g Figure 4 shows diagrammatically the end position
for a 90 restriction, and
Figure 5 shows diagrammatically the end positions
for a 65 restriction and a 20 restriction.
The snap box 10 consists of bottom part 11 and lid
part 12, an open pocket 13 being provided, on the inside of
lid wall 9 of lid part 12, for holding one or more articles,
and the base wall 14 being provided with a recess lg whose
contour corresponds to the outline of the front wall 16 of
pocket 13. The snap box 10 is shown with lid part 12 opened
up by about 90, which is the display position of snap box
10. When box 10 is closed, the front wall 16 closes the base
cutout 15, and the article or articles which are present in
the pocket and, for example, can be flat and rectangular or
of any outline, e.g. FlexyDisks~, disks, tape reels, film
reels, etc., are shielded on all sides
FlexyDisks is a registered trademark of BASF
Aktiengesellschaft, Ludwigshafen~Rine, Federal Republique of
Germany.
lZ41934
O.Z. 0050/36796
from the environment.
30ttom part 11 cons;sts of base wall 14, side
walls 17 and 18 and front wall 19, which is connected to
all other walls. Lid part 12 possesses, on pocket 13,
a roughly semicylindrical base wall 20, which runs into
front wall 16 and side waLLs 21 and 22 of the pocket.
30ttom part 11 and lid part 12 are pivotabLy connected to
one another via a joint device 23. The elements of joint
23 are roughly cylindrical pegs 24 on the outside of side
walls 21 and 22 of the pocket, and corresponding circular
recesses 25 in the inside of free ends 17a and 18a of
side walls 17 and 18 of bottom part 11, or circular holes
25 through the stated ends 17a and 18a. Without the edge
26 wh;ch projects beyond the side wall 21 of the pocket,
runs into circular edge 27 and comes to rest on the upper
edge of side wall 17 in the closed position, it would be
possib le to pivot lid part 12 until the outside of l;d
wall 9 came into contact with the front edge 28 of base
wall 14~ ie. an angle of pivoting of about 300 from the
closed position would be possible. ~lith a freely
moving joint 23, it would therefore be possible for the
article or articles stored to fall out, and it would fur-
thermore be impossible to open lid part 12 so that box 10
could be used as a display container. However, if base
wall 20 of the pocket were altered to a flat wall, it
would be possible to set a display position at 90, which
would remain stable.
Such a joint 23 consisting only of elements 24
and 25 can furthermore easily and therefore unintenti-
onally be separated, each of the parts 11 and 12 can be
lost, and there is also a danger that the free ends 17a
and 18a of side parts 17 and 18 can break off, with the
result that the container would become useless.
Curved slots 31 are provided in the ends 17a and
18a of the side walls 17 and 18 of the bottom part, these
slots being concentric with the circular recesses or
holes 25. The ends themselves are circular.
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The slot 31, or more precisely its length which can
be restricted in a predetermined manner, constitutes a
restriction in the rotation of lid part 12 and bottom
part 11 with respect to one another, since the end 29 of
5 circular edge 27 comes into contact with the end 32 of
the slot. In principle, the limiting angle can be selec-
ted by a suitable choice of the slot length. However, with
regard to preventing box 10 from toppl;ng over from its display
position, both the weight of the article or articles being
10 displayed or set up and the weight of lid part 12 and
bottom part 11 and the difference in their weights must be
taken into account in establishing the dimensions. An
opening angle of about 80-100 has proven advantageous
and stab le for a pack of 1û ~iniFlexyDisks (I (dimensions
about 150 x 150 x 35 mm). Where other articles, in
particular longer and/or heavier ones, are to be held, it
is preferable to choose dimensions which give smaller
angles, the form of lid part 12 and of bottom part 11
otherwise being unchanged.
After the plastic material, eg. high-impact poly-
styrene 454C or semi-high-impact polystyrene 427, has been
removed fron the mold and cooled, wall ends 17a and 18a
can point inward toward each other, so that an initial
tension is retained after assembly and damps the rotatio-
Z5 naL movement of the parts as well as counteracting
separation
In order to lock lid part 12 and bottom part 11
in the closed position, it is possible, for example, to
provide a locking stud 33 on each of the side parts 21
and 22 of the pocket; on closing, these studs rest in the
corresponding recesses 34~ which may or may not possess
beveling 35 and are located close to the upper edge of
side walls 17 and 18 of the bottom. This provides grea-
ter protection against the box being opened unintention-
ally and the article or articles falling out.
aottom part 11 and lid part 12 are assembled by
pushing these parts into one another, for example in the
1241934
- 7 - O.z. 0050J3679
horizontal position. In this method of assembly, the
ends 17a and 18a of the side walls are first guided over
side walls 21 and 22 of the pocket and then spread over
pegs 24, and the end position can be reached by exerting
pressure laterally on the circular rings of parts 17a and
18a. Peg 24 and ends 17a and 18a of the side wall can
possess slop;ng surfaces 36 and 37, respectively, on the
outside or inside, in order to facil;tate assembly of the
parts
In the above snap box, the rotation-restricting
device comprises circular edge 27 on the side walLs 21
and 22 of the pocket, and curved slot 31 in ends 17a and
18a of the side walls of bottom part 11. The longer cir-
cular edge 27 relative to the length of the curved slot
31, the better guided is the rotational movement. It is
most advantageous if the entire length of circular edge
27 ;s ;n contact w;th curved slot 31 when lid part 12 is
;n the end position. Furthermore, the width of edge 27
and slot 31 should correspond, ;n order to ;ncrease the
stability of the~two part ;~ alp Dg~ss;ble positions
relative to each other. Although a slot and a circular
edge have been discussed above, it is clear to a skilled
worker that the embodiment according to the invention can
also be achieved, about equally well, by means of grooves
and, for example, a number of projections arranged in the
form of an arc.
F;gure 2 shows a snap box 40 consisting of bottom
part 41 and lid part 42, which are shown here separated from
one another. Pocket 43 on lid part 42 consists of front
wall 44, base wall 45 and side walls 46, which are also re-
ferred to as lobes below. Each lobe 46 ;s provided with a
circular hole 47~ In contrast to a commercial cassette box,
in box 42 the front wall 44 is connected to the base wall
45; the lobes 46 can be partly or completely connected to
base wall 45 of con-necting lug 48), but this is not
necessary. Between front wall 44 and the Lobes, there
should either be no connection at all or Likewise onLy a
; ~LZ~1934
- - O.Z. 0050/36796
short lug-l1ke connectlon. The longer the connecting pieces
between the lobes 46 and front walL 44 and base Hall 45, the
shorter is the available limiting slot 50 and, as described
below, the smaller us the tim1ting angle achieved.
8Ottom part 41 consists of base wall 54, back or front
wall 51 and s1de walls 52 and 53 with free end walls 52a
and 53a, each having a joint peg 4~. The size and shape
of cutout 55 corresponds to the front Hall 44 of lid part
42, so that a closed rectangular body results.
1û The end walls 52a and 53a of bottom part 41 are
inserted ln slots 50 in pocket 43 of the lid part, provided
that the distance b 1s slightly or much smaller than a,
and the thickness of the end walls 5Za and 53a and the
length of pegs 49 are each somewhat smaller than the width
1S of slot 50. of the d~mens~ons are appropriate, pegs 49
slip unto the predetermined joint holes or joint recesses
47 of lid part 42 durlng 1nsertlon, thus completing the
assembly. Any necessary mountlng facets or beveling on
peg 49, d1rected toward recesses 47, can be employed, or
an outward^dlrected inltlal tenslon can be produced ;n
end walls 52a and 53a.
In Figure 3 to S, posltions at various pivoting
angles to are shown d1agrammatically, being 180,
90 65 and 6 20. As can be seen ln the
~nd~vidual figures, the particular llm1ting angle depends
on the length and position of the particular slot S 1,
S 2, S 3 or S 4. Lug 48 ln Flgure 3 has about the same
dimensions as in Figure 2. 8y lengthening lug 48 and at
the same t1me sh1ftin~ the joint approprtately, lt wlll
be possiblo to increase the strength of the arrangement,
whlch 1s determined substantlally by the lug/lobe con-
nectlon. Of course, contact edge 56 on lld part 42
would have to be made hlgher by an appropr;ate amount.
Otherwise lt may also be advantageous to increase the
thickness of the wall of pocket base 45.
Figure 2A shows the closed box 40, the contact
edge 56 of lid 42 being clearly recognizable. This
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- 9 - O.Z. 0050/36796
contact edge 56 is necessary because of the design of the
joint and of the device for restricting the pivoting
angle, and, in the cloyed position, is complemented at
the front by the raised edge 57 of wall 51 of bottom part
41. When the joint is arranged appropriately, it is also
possible in theory to exchange the edges, ie. to provide
the side edges on the bottom part, and the front edge on
the lid part; however, this would cause problems with
regard to removal from the mold during manufacture. Fig-
ures 3 and 4 reproduce the rectangular shape of box 40 inthe closed pos;t;on (cf. dashed outl;ne 58). In Figure 5,
product;on of an exactly rectangular shape has been d;s-
pensed with (cf. outline 59). In this example, the lobes
project, by an amount c, above the total height of bottom
part 41 and lid part 42 when these are snapped together.
This version can advantageously be employed wherever
stackability and storab;lity are unimportant, for example
as jewelry cases, etc.
F;gure 2 indicates (cf. curved lines of recesses
60 on side walls 52a and 53a) that, ;n the closed state,
the curved edges of lobes 46 L;e ;n recesses 60, ;n order
to complete the rectangular shape at the s;des too. Reces-
ses 60 should be of a su;table depth. In F;gure 2, end
wall 52a ;s offset inward w;th respect to side wall 52,
but can also be stra;ght provided that the relationship
between a and b is taken into account. It is of course
also poss;ble for side walls 52 and 53 to be thicker than
their end walls 52a and 53a respectively. If the intention
us to stack the boxes flat, one on top of the other,
rather than to store them vertically, it is also possible
to accept lateral projection of the lobes 46 as a result
of an ;ncrease ;n the;r th;ckness, and to ut;li7e the
advantage of the increased strength of these lobes.
Convent;onal groove-type ;nterlocking elements,
such as a project;on and a depression, etc., can also
readily be used between the bottom part 41 and the lid
part 42, and it is also possible to maintain suffic;ent
1241934
.
- 10 - O.Z. 0050/36796
friction between the stated parts by means of suitably
chosen in;tial tensions in the wall parts.
Attention is also drawn to another aspect of the
1nvention, ie. an automatic positive interlocking of
the bottom part 11 or 41 and the lid part 12 or 42, after
they have been assembled. As soon as circular edge 27
enters slot 31, separation of parts 11 and 12 is made sub-
stantially more difficult compared with the same con-
tainer without a rotation-restricting device; furthermore,
contact between the circular edge 27 and slot provides
good guidance of the pivotable part in the vertical planes,
so that lateral shearing and destruction of the connec-
ting devices between the container parts 11 and 12 (joint
and rotation-restricting elements) are counteracted.
In the case of the second box 40, this posit;ve
intcrlocking is of an improved form. After end walls 52a
and 53a have been inserted into slots 50, separation of
parts 41 and 42 is possible virtually only by force,
resulting in destruction of the container parts. Posi-
2û tive interlocking is effected by holding each end wall
52a, 53a on both sides, on one side by a particular lobe
46 and on the other side by the edges of the front wall
44 and of the base wall 45 of pocket 43. Hence, an essen-
tially flat support surface is provided on both sides for
end walls 52a and 53a, with the result that support in
the direction of the axis of rotation and positive gui-
dance in the vertical planes are achieved. The raised
lateral edges, donoted as contact edges 56, on the inside
surface of the lid of container 40 can also advantageously
be provided for container 10, since this results in late-
ral guidance for the article to be introduced, and also
protects the article inserted against falling or slipping
out sideways.
The form of the upper edge 61 of the pocket, which
is shown in Figure 1 and has a stepped edge with about half
wall thickness for each step, and the corresponding step
design (not shown) of the edge of cutout 15, results in
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O.z. 0050/36796
improved protection against dust, which is particularly
advantageous in the case of recording media which are not
packed or poorly packed. Such stepped edges can also be
provided at any other edges of container 1û, for example
on walls 17 and 19 and on lid wall 9. Corresponding
stepped edges can also be used in container 40to improve
closure and thus to increase protection aga;nst dust.
