IES70071B2 - An improved storage rack for compact disc containers and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

A rack (1) for storing and displaying flat articles (C), such as compact discs and audio and video cassettes, which essentially comprises a pair of side walls (3, 4) held apart by a bottom section (6) and a top section (7). At the rear of the rack, a set of cams (10, 20, 30, 40) is positioned to align with a space to be occupied by the article (C) to be stored or displayed. The cams (10, 20, 30, 40) cooperate so that when an article (C) aligned with a first cam (10) is urged rearwardly against that cam, an associated cam moves in the opposite direction to urge the adjacent article outwardly for easy access by a user.

Description

AN IMPROVED STORAGE RACK FOR COMPACT DISC CONTAINERS AND THE LIKE The present invention relates to a rack for storing and 5 displaying rectangular articles and more particularly to a storage rack adapted to slidingly receive substantially rectangular articles such as containers used for holding audio media such as cassettes and compact discs and video media such as cassettes for video cassette recorders.

Known storage racks comprise two side walls held apart by a bottom section and a top section. The side walls are profiled to include ledges on which the rectangular articles are supported. Many different arrangements are available to present a selected article to the user so that the article may be extracted from the rack. In one particular well known arrangement a lip is provided at the foremost edge of the ledge and a spring is provided at the rearward end of the ledge to bias the article against the lip, thereby retaining the article until it is deflected over the lip. In this and other of the known arrangements, a particular disadvantage is that sufficient space is required between each article either to allow it to be gripped or so that the article may be deflected from a storage position for release.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage rack for rectangular articles having increased storage density from which stored articles are easily extracted.

Accordingly, the present invention comprises a rack for storing and displaying flat articles, the rack comprising side walls held apart by a bottom section and a top section, the side walls being profiled to include ledges S70 071 on which an article may be supported, characterised in that a set of cam elements is provided to the rear of the rack, each cam element being aligned with the space defined between the side wall ledges, the cam elements cooperating so that when an article on one ledge is urged rearwardly against a first cam element, an associated cam urges the article on at least one adjacent ledge outwardly.

Conveniently, the cam elements are rotationally mounted on a spindle.

The spindle is fixed between the bottom section and top section to the rear of the rack and preferably is disposed approximately half-way between the two side walls.

Preferably, the' cam elements are arranged in cooperating pairs.

The invention will now be described more particularly. with reference to the accompanying drawings which show by way of example only, one embodiment of storage rack according to the invention. In the drawings: Figure la and Figure 1b are front elevations of a prior art storage rack and a storage rack of the present invention, respectively; Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the storage rack illustrating a first arrangement of cams; Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the storage rack; and Figures 4a to 4c are three other arrangements of cams suitable for use with the storage rack of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, a prior art storage rack R is shown in Figure la and has capacity for housing ten compact disc containers C. To allow a user to extract a single compact disc sufficient space must be provided between each ledge L to allow the user to grip the compact disc container C. In many prior art constructions, a lip P is provided at the end of the ledge L to hold the container C against a biasing spring (not shown) located at the rear of the ledge thereby retaining the compact disc container C.

Figure 1b shows an improved compact disc storage rack 1 of the invention having a capacity for ten compact disc containers C. A minimal amount of space is provided between each container C, the space provided being the thickness of each ledge L. To extract a compact disc, an adjacent compact disc container C is pushed rearwardly which, by means of a cam arrangement which will be described in more detail hereinafter, urges the required compact disc container outwardly.

Figures 2 and 3 show a preferred arrangement of storage rack 1 suitable for .use with compact discs containers C but can be constructed for use with other rectangular articles such as video cassette and audio cassette containers. The storage rack 1 comprises a pair of side members 3,4, having ten ledges L running along their inner surfaces, a bottom section 6 and a top section 7 which are secured to the side walls 3,4 to form a box having a front aperture and rear aperture. At the rear aperture a spindle (hidden from view) is provided approximately half-way between the side walls 3,4 and is rigidly held between the bottom section 6 and the top section 7. An arrangement of cams 10 is rotatably mounted to the spindle and presents a cam surface 12 to the rear edge of each compact disc container C. In the arrangement shown, the cams are formed on a single length of hollow tubing 14, so that when one compact disc container is pushed rearwardly every second compact disc container is urged forward so that they may be gripped by a user. The top and bottom sections can be optionally provided with raised and depressed regions 15 to facilitate stacking of a number of storage racks one on top of the other. Additionally or alternatively, catches 16 and receivers 17 are provided on the outer surface of the side walls so that a row of storage racks can be modularly constructed.

It will be seen that the storage rack 1 may be orientated so that the containers are presented vertically.

Further cam arrangements are shown in Figures 4a to 4c. The first alternative arrangement comprises five cam units 20 of the type shown in Figure 4a which comprise an length of hollow tubing 24 for mounting the cam 20 on the spindle. Two cam surfaces 22 are mounted to the tubing 24 at a predetermined angle to one another and a stud 26 and a stud receiver 27 are provided at each end of the hollow tubing 24. A series of five of these units may be assembled on the spindle to provide an arrangement as described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. A semi-circular track (not shown) may be provided in the top and bottom sections 6,7 to facilitate the studs 26 or optionally the studs may be omitted from the upper and lower units 20 of the arrangement. In a further arrangement, similar to that shown in Figure 4a, the studs and stud receivers are omitted from each end of the hollow tubing 34 to provide a cam unit 30. Again, five of these units 30 are provided for a storage rack for ten compact discs. In this arrangement, the cam surfaces 32 operate in pairs so that when one compact disc container C is urged rearwardly, one adjacent compact disc container will be thrust forward by the action of the cams. A preferred construction of cam unit 40 is shown in Figure 4c. In this construction, a pair of identical units 40 cooperate to form a unit similar to that described with reference to Figure 4b. Each unit 40 comprises a short length of hollow tubing 44 having a cam surface 42 centrally mounted thereon. One end of the tubing 44 is smooth to prevent interaction with adjacent surfaces and the other end is provided with a stud 46 and a stud receiver 47. The stud 46 and stud receiver 47 are arranged so that a pair of identical units may be combined one on top of the other to form a pair of cooperating cams surfaces. Ten of these identical units 40 are required for the storage unit 1 illustrated.

A bracket (not shown) may be provided at the rear of the storage rack so that the rack may be wall mounted.

It will of course be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details described herein, which are given by way of example only, and that various modifications and alterations are possible within the scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

CLAIMS:

1. A rack for storing and displaying flat articles, having side walls that are profiled to include ledges on which an article is supported, characterised in that a set of cam elements is provided at the rear of the rack, each cam element being aligned with the space defined between the side wall ledges, the cam elements cooperating so that when an article on one ledge is urged rearwardly against a first cam element, an associated cam element moves in the opposite direction to urge the article on at least one adjacent ledge outwardly.

2. A rack for storing and displaying flat articles as claimed in claim 1, in which the cam elements are rotatably mounted on a spindle and are optionally arranged in cooperating pairs.

3. A rack for storing and displaying flat articles as claimed in claim 2, which the spindle is fixed between a bottom section and top section of the rack at the rear of the rack and is disposed approximately mid-way between the side walls.

4. A rack for storing and displaying flat articles, characterised in that a set of cam elements is provided at the rear of the rack, each cam element being aligned with a space to be occupied by the article to be stored or displayed, the cam elements cooperating so that when an article aligned with a first cam element is urged rearwardly against that cam element, an associated cam element moves in the opposite direction to urge at least one adjacent article outwardly. -, 5. A rack for storage and displaying flat articles such as compact discs and audio and video cassettes i substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figure 1b and Figures 2 to 4C of the

5. Accompanying drawings.