Spindle and latch

#This invention pertains to spindles and latching means associated therewith.

#A simple spindle with an "over-center" tongue at one extremity has long been known for removably supporting reels in theatrical motion picture equipment.

#With the advent of magnetic tape for recording and reproducing electrical variations, another generation of spindles for detatchably mounting a reel came into being. These frequently employed large hubs for the "spindle" and multiple resiliently-mounted latches.

#FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section along lines 1--1 in FIG. 2, of an assembled spindle and latch according to this invention.

#FIG. 2 is an end view of the same.

#FIG. 3 is a side elevation of an alternate embodiment of the spindle and latch, partly in section along a vertical diameter.

#In FIGS. 1 and 2, numeral 1 indicates the cylindrical spindle. This may have a variety of sizes and proportions, but to accommodate a standard paper tape reel, for instance, it is one half inch (1.27 cm) in diameter by 2.16 inches (5.5 cm) long, from flange 2 to the end.

#Flange 2 provides a needed surface against which one side of the inner portion of the reel, shown fragmentarily and dotted at 3, can be butressed. The flange also carries plural, typically three, rectangular keys 4, which fully occupy corresponding slots in the reel. An axial bore 13 is typically provided within the flange end of spindle 1 to allow a shaft (not shown) to enter the spindle in the usual manner.

#Slot 6 extends from the end of the spindle opposite to that occupied by the flange along a diameter and to approximately the center of the spindle, longitudinally. It has a width only slightly greater than the thickness of latch 7, to therefore provide a nesting support for the latch.