Storage apparatus

Claim 2

Storage apparatus comprising a housing and a mechanism supported in the housing having a carrier adapted to hold a plurality of articles in respective planes, wherein the carrier comprises a slider constrained within the housing to move rectilinearly relative thereto and a lever pivotally connected with the housing and coupled with the slider for movement in conjunction therewith from a storage position to an access position, the carrier being adapted so as to displace articles rectilinearly along said respective planes and differentially relative to one another during movement thereof to the access position, and wherein retaining means are provided on the carrier and the position of the carrier is maintained when in the access position by the weight of articles held therein acting on the retaining means.

Claim 3

Storage apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retaining means comprise inter-engaging parts on the lever and slider, whereby the weight of articles acting on the carrier in the access position causes locking of the inter-engaging parts and application of a counteracting force to the parts causes release for return of the carrier to the storage position.

Claim 4

Storage apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the interengaging parts comprise a pin and slot coupling of which the respective parts are formed one on the slider and the other on the lever.

Claim 5

Storage apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the carrier includes locating means for articles comprising pairs of opposed grooves on the slider, the articles being locatable between respective pairs of grooves in side by side relationship.

Claim 6

Storage apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the carrier is adapted so that in the access position the weight of articles acts on the lever and the lever has a series of abutments differentially spaced from the pivotal axis of the lever and adapted to engage respective articles during movement between access and storage positions and in the access position.

Claim 7

Storage apparatus as claimed in claim 5, including pairs of opposed grooves on the slider for locating articles adapted for storing articles in closely spaced side by side relationship, the articles being flat and generally planar and having respective straight edges facing said abutments on the lever, wherein each abutment comprises a generally flat surface, and in the access position edges of the articles lie parallel to and rest on said surfaces on the lever.

Claim 8

Storage apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the pairs of grooves accommodate the respective articles in parallel planes extending normal to the pivotal axis of the lever, the pairs of grooves being aligned respectively with the abutments on the lever.

Claim 9

Storage apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the housing and slider have at least one pair of complementary engaging elements for movement of the slider rectilinearly between the storage and access positions.

Claim 10

Storage apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing is adapted to support a plurality of said mechanisms having respective carriers and the mechanisms are aligned with their levers rotatable about a common axis and their sliders movable in parallel planes.

Claim 11

Storage apparatus comprising a housing and a mechanism supported in the housing having a carrier adapted to hold a plurality of articles wherein the carrier comprises a slider constrained a within the housing to move retilinearly relative thereto and a lever pivotally connected with the housing and coupled with the slider for movement in conjunction therewith from a storage position to an access position, the carrier being adapted so as to displace articles differentially relative to one another during movement thereof to the access position, and wherein retaining means are provided on the carrier and the position of the carrier is maintained when in the access position by the weight of articles held therein acting on the retaining means, the retaining means comprising inter-engaging parts on the lever and slider, the inter-engaging parts comprising a pin and slot coupling of which the respective parts are formed one on the slider and the other on the lever, whereby the weight of the articles acting on the carrier in the access position causes locking of the inter-engaging parts and application of a counteracting force to the parts causes release for return of the carrier to the storage position.

Claim 12

Storage apparatus comprising a housing and a mechanism supported in the housing having a carrier adapted to hold a plurality of articles wherein the carrier comprises a slider constrained a within the housing to move retilinearly relative thereto and a lever pivotally connected with the housing and coupled with the slider for movement in conjunction therewith from a storage position to an access position, the carrier being adapted so as to displace articles differentially relative to one another during movement thereof to the access position, and wherein retaining means are provided on the carrier and the position of the carrier is maintained when in the access position by the weight of articles held therein acting on the retaining means, the retaining means comprising inter-engaging parts on the lever and slider, the inter-engaging parts comprising a pin and slot coupling of which the respective parts are formed one on the slider and the other on the lever, whereby the weight of the articles acting on the carrier in the access position causes locking of the inter-engaging parts and application of a counteracting force to the parts causes release for return of the carrier to the storage position.

Claim 13

Storage apparatus for flat disks in sleeves, said apparatus comprising: A. a housing having (i) an open top, (ii) side walls (iii) a bottom wall, and (iv) a back wall and a front wall; B. a lid removably covering the open top of the housing; C. plural mechanisms arranged in mutual parallel relationship between the front and back walls of the housing and supported therein on the side walls independently of one another; D. each said mechanism including a carrier adapted to hold a plurality of flat sleeved disks; E. each carrier comprising (i) a slider, (ii) means to mount the slider for rectilinear movement normal to the bottom wall of the housing, the slider projecting above the top of the housing when the slider is raised to access position, (iii) means providing pairs of opposed grooves on the sliders for locating flat disks in sleeves in respective vertical planes parallel to the front and back walls of the housing, (iv) a lever pivotally connected with the housing by and coupled a pin and slot coupling of which the respective parts are formed, one on the slider and the other on the lever, so that lifting the slider from a lower storage position to a raised access position swings the lever upwardly; and F. said lever having a series of distal abutments differentially radially spaced from the pivotal connection of the lever to the housing and disposed to engage different sleeved disks upon upward movement of the slider from storage position to access position to differentially raise such sleeved disks relative to one another during movement of the carrier from said storage position to said access position; G. said slot having a downturned end into which the pin rides when the carrier is in said access position to maintain the carrier in such access position by the weight of the carrier and the sleeved disks held therein to pock the lever and the slider together, whilst application of a counteracting force to the pin and slot causes release of the carrier to storage position.

Claim 14

Storage apparatus for flat disks in sleeves, said apparatus comprising: A. a housing having (i) an open top, (ii) side walls (iii) a bottom wall, and (iv) a back wall and a front wall; B. a lid removably covering the open top of the housing; C. plural mechanisms arranged in mutual parallel relationship between the front and back walls of the housing and supported therein on the side walls independently of one another; D. each said mechanism including a carrier adapted to hold a plurality of flat sleeved disks; E. each carrier comprising (i) a slider, (ii) means to mount the slider for rectilinear movement normal to the bottom wall of the housing, the slider projecting above the top of the housing when the slider is raised to access position, (iii) means providing pairs of opposed grooves on the sliders for locating flat disks in sleeves in respective vertical planes parallel to the front and back walls of the housing, (iv) a lever pivotally connected with the housing by and coupled a pin and slot coupling of which the respective parts are formed, one on the slider and the other on the lever, so that lifting the slider from a lower storage position to a raised access position swings the lever upwardly; and F. said lever having a series of distal abutments differentially radially spaced from the pivotal connection of the lever to the housing and disposed to engage different sleeved disks upon upward movement of the slider from storage position to access position to differentially raise such sleeved disks relative to one another during movement of the carrier from said storage position to said access position; G. said slot having a downturned end into which the pin rides when the carrier is in said access position to maintain the carrier in such access position by the weight of the carrier and the sleeved disks held therein to pock the lever and the slider together, whilst application of a counteracting force to the pin and slot causes release of the carrier to storage position.

Claim 15

Storage apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein the housing and the lid are of plastics material, the lid being transparent and the housing being opaque.