AU611464B2

AU611464B2 - Card index holder

Info

Publication number: AU611464B2
Application number: AU20130/88A
Authority: AU
Inventors: David Cocks
Original assignee: Ofrex Group Holdings PLC
Current assignee: Ofrex Group Holdings PLC
Priority date: 1987-07-29
Filing date: 1988-07-29
Publication date: 1991-06-13
Anticipated expiration: 2008-07-29
Also published as: CA1315215C; EP0301435B1; EP0301435A3; EP0301435A2; GB8718011D0; DE3887584D1; DK418388D0; DK418388A; DE3887584T2; ATE101086T1; AU2013088A

Abstract

There is provided a card index box having upstanding side and front walls (2, 4) and an open top adapted to be closed by a lid (14) capable of being moved from a closed position over the upper surface of the box to an open position where it is firmly retained in an open condition to the rear of the box.

Description

-1 g 11 46_4 '614 i COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA The Patents Act 1952-1969 O 0 000ono e 0 o0 0o 0 o o n oo Soo Name of Applicant(s): Address of Applicant(s): Actual Inventor(s): OFREX GROUP HOLDINGS PLC THE LODGE, HARMONDSWORTH LANE, WEST DRAYTON, MIDDLESEX UB7 OLQ.

ENGLAND

DAVID COCKS Address for Service: G.R. CULLEN COMPANY, Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, Dalgety House, 79 Eagle Street, Brisbane, Qld. 4000, Australia.

0 0 0 S0 0 0 0 0 0 00 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED: "CARD INDEX HOLDER" The following statement is a full description of the invention including the best method of performing it known to us:-

I

TO- THE COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS I

AUSTRALIA.

-la- "Improvements in or relating to containers, particularly card index containers" THIS INVENTION concerns containers and in particular containers for receiving index cards.

Card indexes are used extensively in business and -whilst their use has continued for many years, existing containers for the cards still suffer from numerous disadvantages.

An object of this invention is to obviate, or at least reduce, such disadvantages.

According to the presc:;nt invention there is provided a '000.card index box comprising a container part and a lid part, said 0 4 4 container part having a bottom and upstanding side, front and 44 0 0arear walls, the lid part being connected with the container part 0 00 by journal means integral with one of said parts engaged in slot means provided in said journal means defining a horizontal .:..-.ivotal axis and said slot means being elongate in a direction transverse to said pivotal axis whereby the lid part can be swung iparlyand rearwardly about said axis from a closed position in w 44 hich it extends across the opening to said container part defined by the upper edges of said side, front and rear walls, to ~a position in which the lid extends upwardly from said rear wall, and can thereafter be slid downwardly at the rear of the 14,ontainer part with concommitant sliding of the journal means along said slot means.

Conveniently, the lid part is connected with the container 2 part by journal means on one end of said parts, defining a horizontal pivotal axis, engaged in slot means in the other of said parts, said slot means being elongate in a direction transverse to said pivotal axis and such that, when the lid has been swung upwardly and rearwardly from said closed position about said horizontal pivotal axis, said downward sliding of the lid part at the rear of the container part is permitted by sliding of said journal means along said slot means. Suitably, the lid part has, on either side thereof, at its rear, rearwardly projecting wings, and said journal means comprises a respective hinge pin extending from the 4040 o.o inner side of each said wing towards the other wing, and wherein said slot means comprises, in each said side wall of ao o said container part, adjacent a rear edge of the side wall, a 04 015 o respective elongate channel extending downwardly from adjacent the upper edge of the respective side wall and, open along the outer face of the respective side wall, each said 0404 channel receiving the said hinge pin of the said wing on the I same side, each said channel being closed at its upper end to prevent complete upward separation of the lid part from the container part. Preferably, said means provided to retain the lid part against pivotal movement at the end of such downward sliding movement comprises a stop member, on the rear wall of the container part, provided with an upwardly open channel to receive a rear edge of a top wall of the lid part, which rear edge is downwardly presented in the open

.I

2a position of the lid part.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood a preferred embodiment of the box will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a top perspective view from the front and one side; Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the box of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an elevation of one side of the box of Figures 1 and 2; n°4 Figure 4 is an underneath plan view; and oo Figure 5 is a top perspective view from the rear and other side showing the lid in an open position.

In this embodiment the box is formed as a rigid plastics material moulding which comprises a pair of spaced apart vertical side walls 2, 3 and outer front and rear walls oo. 4, 5 extending substantially in spaced parallelism and being L0 q somewhat rearwardly inclined.

C' F_ 69 -3- Immediately to the front of said outer rear wall 5 is an inner rear wall 6. Immediately behind the outer front wall is an inner front wall 7 which is connected to the inner rear wall 6 by a floor 8 of the box. The floor 8 is inclined upwardly as it extends from the front wall 7 towards the rear wall 6 and is provided on its upper surface with a plurality of ribs (not shown) extending between the side walls 2, 3. The inner front wall 7 diverges upwardly and outwardly away from the floor 8 where it merges with the upper portion of the front wall. Accordingly the side walls 2, 3 and inner front and rear walls 7, 6, in con-'.

junction with said floor 8 provide a -substantially rectangular box into which a plurality of index cards (not shown) may be located with their lower edge portions lying against the ribbed floor 8 and with the front face of the front card lying against the inner surface of the inner front wall 7 and with the rear surface of the rear card lying against the inner surface of the inner rear wall 6.

The ribs are provided to prevent the cards slipping from a So generally vertical condition with the inclined floor 8 causing the cards to the rear of the stack to be located at a o slightly higher level so that their upper edge portions may be seen and grasped more readily.

iJ The outward divergence of the inner surfaces of the i: 25 ,25 inner front and back walls 7, 6 allow the stack of cards to be fanned and inspected.

The outer surface of the outer front wall 4 is stepped Sto provide a ledge 9 upon which one or more cards may be temporarily lodged. The outer surface of the outer front wall may also be provided with a portion 10 to carry information indicating the contents of the box.

The portions of the side walls 2, 3 which bridge the ends of the inner and outer rear walls are each provided with an upwardly and slightly rearwardly inclined %1 4 straight channel 12, 13 which terminates slightly above the remaining edge portions of the side walls. A generally rectangular lid 14 with downwardly depending side walls 15 is provided preferably of a transparent or translucent material which is adapted to close the box. This lid 14 has wings 16, 17 extending rearwardly from its side walls 15 and projecting inwardly from these wings 16, 17, and engaging in the respective slots 12, 13, are hinge pins 18, 19 ideally integrally moulded with the lid which engage in the slot.

The upper portion of the outer and inner rear walls merge together over a smoothly curved portion 20 and the arrangement o o is such that the lid 14 may be raised to a position where it is substantially parallel to the outer rear wall 5 which will 0 It result in the hinge pins 18, 19 being allowed to slide downwardly along their respective slots 12, 13 with the upper wall of the lid sliding down the outer rear wall of the box and being retained in position as a result of its engagement with the rear wall. In this way the box may be left open and S the lid stowed to provide a stable product. To close the box :o004 the procedure is reversed with the lid being raised and then pivoted forwardly. The arrangement enables the lid 14 to be placed on to the container during manufacture by placing the lid into position over the outer rear wall 5 and sliding it upwardly and then hinging it downwardly on to the top of the container where it will be retained firmly for subsequent use once the box is placed on to a work surface. A stop member 21 serves to support and retain the lid 14 when in its open and stowed position.

+j I~j -4a- It will be appreciated from the description hereinbefore which is by way of example only that card index boxes embodying the invention and of numerous sizes may readily be moulded each having a simple yet robust and stable construction with a captive lid capable of remaining in a closed or in an open and stowed condition and for the cards to be retained on edge in a condition where OP o 0000oo 0oo 0000 000 o o 0 o 4 a o ;t L

I.

they may be readily fanned, searched, moved and, if desired, removed. If appropriate means (not shown) may be provided to retain the cards in a captive condition within the box.

The provision of the ledge 9 on the front wall makes it convenient to rest a card whilst viewing or transferring information to or from that card.

The features disclosed ip the foregoing description and in the accompanying drawings may, both separately and in any combination thereof, be material for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

The above described embodiment is shown in the attached illustrations.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, in the following claims and/or in the accompanying drawings may, both separately and in any combination thereof, be material for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

o

E

p 11

Claims

1. A card index box comprising a container part and a lid part, said container part having a bottom and upstanding side, front and rear walls, the lid part being connected with the container part by journal means integral with one of said parts, said journal means being engaged in slot means provided in the other of said parts, said journal means defining a horizontal pivotal axis and said slot means being elongate in a direction transverse to said pivotal axis whereby the lid part can be swung upwardly and rearwardly about said axis from 0 0 a closed position in which it extends across the opening to f~000 oeo said container part, said opening being defined by the upper 0 0 oooo edges of said side, front and rear walls, to a position in aoU which the lid extends upwardly Irom said rear wall, and can o o thereafter be slid downwardly at the rear of the container part, with concomitant sliding of the journal means along said slot means, until the lid reaches a lower position where it is .o i firmly retained in an open condition to the rear of the oo ocontainer part. o

2. A card index box according to claim 1 wherein said a lid part has a top wall and has side walls on either side of the lid part, depending from said top wall and said journal means comprises a respective hinge pin, at the rear of said lid part, extending from the inner side of each said side wall of the lid part towards the other said side wall of the lid part and wherein said slot means comprises, in each said side wall of said container part, adjacent a rear edge of the side wall, a respective elongate channel extending downwardly from j -6a- adjacent the upper edge of the respective side wall and open along the outer face of the respective side wall, each said channel receiving the said hinge pin of the said lid side wall on the same side, each said channel being closed at its upper end to prevent complete upward separation of the lid part from the container part.

3. A card index box according to claim 2 wherein said top wall of said lid part terminates in a free edge at the O0 0 0 0 0 00 6 o o 0 o o ,0 0 o 00 '4 II II11 I_ -7- rear of said lid part, and wherein, in order to retain the lid part against pivotal movement at the end of said down- ward sliding movement of the lid part, the rear wall of the container part has a stop member provided with an upwardly open channel to receive said rear edge of said top wall of the lid part, which rear edge is downwardly presented in the open position of the lid part.

4. A card index box according to claim 2 or claim 3 wherein said hinge pins are carried by portions of said side walls of the lid part which extend rearwardly of said free edge of the top wall wall, as considered when the lid part is in its closed position. A card index box according to any of claims 2 to 4 wherein each of said elongate channels in the side walls of the container part opens at its lower end onto the lower surface of said bottom part.

S°

6. A card index box according to any preceding claim wherein, to facilitate use of cards placed into the box, the I internal surface of the front and rear walls of the box diverge outwardly and upwardly.

7. A card index box according to any preceding claim wherein the internal undersurface of the box is upwardly inclined from the front to the back of the box to facilitate movement of, and viewing of, cards placed in the box.

8. A card index box according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the foremost surface of the box is stepped to provide a ledge upon which to stand one or more cards when the box is in use. N\ a closed position in which it extends across the opening to said container part, said opening being defined by the upper /2 L ~I i -8-

9. A card index box according to any one of the preceding claims substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings. DATED this 28th day of February 1991 OFREX GROUP HOLDINGS PLC By their Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO. o 0i 0 o 0 0 0i 0 '3