Cassette receptacle and storage apparatus

Claim 2

A library for storing rectangular cassettes, said cassettes comprising a pair of parallel generally rectangular side walls, edge walls having an aperture therein connecting said side walls closely together to define the shape of a narrow parallelepipedon, a pair of reels mounted between said side walls for rotation about parallel spaced apart axes generally perpendicular to said side walls, and magnetic tape extending between said reels and past said aperture, said library comprising: a. a plurality of albums comprising i. a holder for embracing and supporting one of said cassettes, said holder including a receiving portion and defining a cavity for receiving a cassette; and ii. a cover member for covering at least the receiving portion of said holder with a cassette substantially filling the space in an album; b. library means for removably supporting a plurality of said cover members of the receptacle assemblies in side-by-side relationship when said albums define a library volume; and c. hinge means interconnecting the holder and the cover member for conveying a cassette in a plane generally parallel to said narrow parallelepipedon to a position at least partially outside the library volume as said album is opened.

Claim 3

A library as in claim 1 wherein said library means comprises a frame and at least one rib and slot along said frame for each album arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of force required to begin rotation of said holder to the open position, whereby said albums may be removed from said library by application of force in a direction perpendicular to the direction of force required to open said album.

Claim 4

A library as in claim 1 including means for securing said holder within said library means and wherein said conveying means comprises biasing means associated with said holder for ejecting at least a part of a stored cassette out of said library volume when said cover member is removed from said receiving portion.

Claim 5

A library for storing rectangular cassettes, said cassettes comprising a pair of parallel generally rectangular side walls, edge walls having an aperture therein connecting said side walls closely together to define the shape of a narrow parallelepipedon, a pair of reels mounted between said side walls for rotation about parallel spaced apart axes generally perpendicular to said side walls, and magnetic tape extending between said reels and past said aperture, said library comprising: a rectangular holder for supporting a cassette; a cover member secured by a hinge to said holder, the combination of said holder and said cover member forming a rectangular volume generally conforming to the shape and size of the cassette when stored therein; library means including a frame for removably supporting a plurality of said covers together while permitting each of said covers to be removed from said frame without disturbing the connection between the other covers and the frame; and support means associated with said holder for conveying a cassette outwardly to a position where the cassette can be removed from said holder, when said holder is rotated about said hinge to an open position.

Claim 6

A library for storing rectangular cassettes, said cassettes comprising a pair of parallel generally rectangular side walls, edge walls having an aperture therein connecting said side walls closely together to define the shape of a narrow parallelepipedon, a pair of reels mounted between said side walls for rotation about parallel spaced apart axes generally perpendicular to said side walls, and magnetic tape extending between said reels and past said aperture, said library comprising: a rectangular holder for supporting a cassette; a cover member secured by a hinge to said holder, the combination of said holder and said cover member forming a rectangular volume generally conforming to the shape and size of the cassette when stored therein; library means including a frame for removably supporting a plurality of said covers together while permitting each of said covers to be removed from said frame without disturbing the connection between the other covers and the frame; and support means associated with said holder for conveying a cassette outwardly to a position where the cassette can be removed from said holder, when said holder is rotated about said hinge to an open position.

Claim 7

Library as in claim 4 wherein said covers are supported by said library means by a rib and groove arrangement aligned perpendicularly to the direction of force required to begin rotation of said holder to an open position.

Claim 8

A storage album for a tape cassette comprising a cover member having a pair of parallel side walls each of which has a long edge and a short edge intersecting at one corner of the album, a top wall connecting the long edges of said side walls, and an end wall connecting the short edges of said side walls with said cover member having at least one exterior slot therein extending parallel to said top wall, and with the space between said side walls being open in directions facing away from said top and end walls, a cassette holder having a plurality of wall portions for conforming to and holding a cassette in a position generally parallel to said side walls of said cover member, hinge means connecting said cassette holder to said cover member for pivotal movement between open and closed positions about a pivotal axis generally perpendicular to said side walls of said cover member and located near the end of said short edge remote from said one corner, whereby a plurality of said albums may be connected together by said slots into a library storage volume, and a cassette in one of said albums may be swung out of said library storage volume by pivoting its cassette holder about its pivotal connection to its cover, a generally rectangular magnetic tape cassette in said holder with said cassette having a pair of tape reels mounted for rotation about parallel spaced apart axes, a partially open edge along which magnetic tape extends between said reels and at least one lateral surface facing laterally from said partially open side toward a perpendicular edge of said cassette, and web means providing a support surface on said holder engaging said lateral surface for pulling said cassette out of said cover.

Claim 9

A storage album for a tape cassette comprising a cover member having a pair of parallel side walls each of which has a long edge and a short edge intersecting at one corner of the album, a top wall connecting the long edges of said side walls, and an end wall connecting the short edges of said side walls with said cover member having at least one exterior slot therein extending parallel to said top wall, and with the space between said side walls being open in directions facing away from said top and end walls, a cassette holder having a plurality of wall portions for conforming to and holding a cassette in a position generally parallel to said side walls of said cover member, hinge means connecting said cassette holder to said cover member for pivotal movement between open and closed positions about a pivotal axis generally perpendicular to said side walls of said cover member and located near the end of said short edge remote from said one corner, whereby a plurality of said albums may be connected together by said slots into a library storage volume, and a cassette in one of said albums may be swung out of said library storage volume by pivoting its cassette holder about its pivotal connection to its cover, a generally rectangular magnetic tape cassette in said holder with said cassette having a pair of tape reels mounted for rotation about parallel spaced apart axes, a partially open edge along which magnetic tape extends between said reels and at least one lateral surface facing laterally from said partially open side toward a perpendicular edge of said cassette, and web means providing a support surface on said holder engaging said lateral surface for pulling said cassette out of said cover.

Claim 10

A cassette library comprising a generally L-shaped frame having a back portion and a base portion generally perpendicular to each other, a plurality of storage albums constructed in accordance with claim 6 positioned adjacent to each other along said frame with the top walls of the cover members of said albums positioned adjacent to said back portion and with the end walls of the cover members of said albums positioned adjacent to said base portions, a blade extending from said back portion of said frame between each pair of adjacent storage albums with each blade having a pair of opposed flanges extending into the slots in the cover members of said pair of albums.