Magnetic card filing equipment

Claim 1

In a card file system of the type in which the cards are provided with inserts of magnetic material and the tray for holding the cards is provided with one or more permaNent magnets for inducing like magnetic poles at corresponding positions in the inserts of adjacent cards, whereby the cards are caused to spread apart by magnetic repulsion, the improvement consisting in providing each card only with one magnetic insert near one of its upper corners and a second magnetic insert near its diagonally opposite lower corner, and providing the tray with longitudinally extending permanent magnets located adjacent said inserts, one of said magnets constituting a bottom rail of said tray and being horizontally polarized and the other said magnet being affixed to a side wall of said tray near the upper edge thereof and being vertically polarized, said last mentioned magnet being located near said upper corner inserts but spaced therefrom laterally and displaced slightly downwardly from a position directly opposite said upper corner inserts, whereby the magnetic attractive forces exerted on said upper corner inserts act laterally and downwardly, said tray having a non-magnetized bottom rail at the side opposite said first magnet, the attractive force exerted by both magnets serving to cause firm contact between the lower edges of said cards and said bottom rails while permitting the cards to spread apart through magnetic repulsion.