Film cassette cover opener

Claim 2

A cover opener for use with a film cassette having a cover hingedly overlying the side of the cassette, the improvement wherein: said cover opener comprises guide means for slidably supporting said cassette for movement longitudinally on said guide means and at right angles to the hinge axis and at least one projection carried by said guide means positioned within the path of movement of said cassette and facing the leading end of said cassette opposite that end to which the cover is hinged, and a notch or hole within the leading end of said cassette in alignment with said projection to permit entrance of a cover opening projection.

Claim 3

The cover opener of claim 1 wherein said guide means comprises a pair of guides laterally disposed in face to face relationship.

Claim 4

The cover opener of claim 2 where said guides are laterally disposed a distance equal to the lateral width of a film cassette.

Claim 5

The cover opener of claim 3 wherein said cover opening projection is disposed between said guides and is adapted to enter said hole or notch at the completion of the film cassette slide upon said guides.

Claim 6

A cover opener as claimed in claim 4 wherein said cassette includes a film cover locking means within said cassette in alignment with said hole or notch and wherein said projection is adapted to enter said hole or notch and release said film cassette cover locking means.

Claim 7

A cover opener as claimed in claim 3 wherein said cassette includes a film cover locking means within said cassette in alignment with said hole or notch and said cover locking means is released by pushing said cover locking means from a locked to an unlocked position upon contact with said cover opening projection.

Claim 8

A cover opener as claimed in claim 6 wherein a projection is integral with a guide, and wherein the distance between the side of a guide and a projection and the side of the film cassette and a notch or hole therein are equal, whereby upon sliding the film cassette along the guides the hole or notch mates with the projection, thereby releasing said cover locking means.

Claim 9

A cover opener as claimed in claim 6 wherein a cover opening projection is provided adjacent to each guide, and each projection is spaced an equal distance from the nearest guide, and said projections complement equally the spaced holes or notches within the film cassette.

Claim 10

The cover opener of claim 8 wherein said guides are relatively laterally adjustable.

Claim 11

A cover opener as claimed in claim 1 wherein: two laterally spaced guide means are adjustable in the lateral direction and adapted to slidably receive substantiallY rectangular film cassettes of varying sizes which have cover closing means releasable by pushing the cover closing means from a locked position to an unlocked position, each film cassette has two holes or notches in the leading edge thereof to permit projections to engage the cover closing means and push them from the locked to the unlocked position, each hole or notch in the film cassette, no matter what the size of the film cassette, being the same distance from the nearest side of the film cassette; a projection is disposed at one end of each guide means and spaced a distance from the guide means equal to the distance between a corresponding hole or notch in the film cassette, which projection upon sliding the film cassette in the guide means enters the corresponding hole or notch in the film cassette and thereby pushes the cover closing means from the locked position to the unlocked position, whereby no matter how the size of a film cassette varies, a projection will always engage a hole or notch in the film cassette to unlock the same.