Printed circuit board storage device

Claim 1

In a storage cabinet for printed circuit cards, top and bottom opposed substantially parallel support surfaces spaced apart a selected distance for releasably retaining a plurality of printed circuit cards disposed substantially normal therebetween, a pair of opposed sidewalls depending from said top and bottom surfaces and connecting the same so as to define a tunnel-like enclosure having oppositely disposed open ends between said sidewalls and bounded by edges of said surfaces and sidewalls such that the printed circuit cards may be inserted into said enclosure through one of said open ends for assuming an upstanding stored position substantially normal between said open ends, adjustable means on each of said sidewalls for selectively varying the distance between said top and bottom surfaces for the purpose of adjusting the same to the upstanding dimensions of printed circuit cards to be stored in said cabinet, said top and bottom surfaces being substantially flat and having a plurality of elongated integrally defined upstanding ribs directed into the interior of said enclosure and positioned between and substantially parallel to the planes of said oppositely disposed open ends, each of said ribs including a plurality of grooves defined therein to interrupt the continuity thereof and being perpendicular to the direction of elongation of said ribs for receiving in said grooves edge portions of the printed circuit cards for the purpose of retaining the cards in said upstanding stored position between said opposed top and bottom surfaces, and adjustable stop means on at least one of said surfaces for selectively limiting the insertion of the printed circuit cards into said enclosure so as to prevent the overinsertion of the cards into the enclosure through said one open end and out of the enclosure through said opposite open end, said plural grooves are of a predetermined width slightly larger than the thickness of the printed circuit cards to be stored in said cabinet, auxiliary support means for guiding and retaining in said cabinet a plurality of printed circuit cards of a thickness greater than the width of said grooves, said auxiliary means being engageable on each of said top and bottom opposed surfaces and comprising a pair of substantially flat plates each having a plurality of upstanding elongated ridges thereon, said ridges including a plurality of slots of predetermined width greater than the width of said grooves defined substantially normal to the direction of elongation of said ridges, and engaging means on said opposed surfaces and on said flat plate auxiliary support means for connecting said flat plates with said opposed surfaces for supporting printed circuit cards of a different thickness between said flat plates than the printed circuit cards supported between said opposed surfaces.