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US 4,495,066 AGranted
Card retainer and control means for information retrieval devices
AssigneeMicrosize, Inc.
InventorLaurence A. Cross, Jr.
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMicrosize, Inc.
InventorLaurence A. Cross, Jr.
Estimating the term…
A retainer element is adapted to prevent randomly filed cards, microfiche, microfiche jackets, or microfilm jackets, from accidental fall from capsules in which they are stored. The retainer element automatically moves to a card-protecting position responsive to removal of the capsule from an information retrieval device, so that cards cannot become lost or misplaced at any time when a capsule is not within the information retrieval device. The retainer element is automatically moved, however, to a card-freeing position responsive to insertion of the capsule in the retrieval device. With the capsule in the retrieval device, a control finger is moved to a position overlying the corners of the cards, microfiche, microfiche jackets, or microfilm jackets, at a particular stage of the selection cycle, and becomes a fulcrum about which selected cards pivot to positions in which the selected cards are engaged in an internal notch of the associated capsule, to facilitate their removal.
In a device for retrieving randomly filed cards, microfiche, microfiche jackets or the like, and including a support structure, a capsule removably insertable therein and holding a quantity of randomly filed cards, means for displacing wanted cards relative to unwanted ones preliminary to ejection of the wanted cards, and means for ejecting the wanted cards, the improvement comprising fulcrum means movable between a retracted position, and an advanced position providing in said fulcrum means an element about which a wanted card must pivot when ejected, the capsule having means for engaging the pivoted card against return from its ejected position, the fulcrum means comprising an arm mounted on the support structrue for movement between the retracted and advanced positions thereof, said arm being pivotally mounted on the support structure, the arm being spring-biased to its retracted position, the ejection means including cam means for biasing the arm to its advanced position against the restraint of said spring, the ejection means further including a spring-loaded ejector plate for snapping the wanted cards into engagement with said element of the fulcrum means, said cam means being adapted to first retract the ejection plate against the spring-loading thereof and thereafter release the same to exert its snap-action against the wanted cards.
In a device for retrieving randomly filed cards, microfiche, microfiche jackets or the like, and including a support structure, a capsule removably insertable therein and holding a quantity of randomly filed cards, means for displacing wanted cards relative to unwanted ones preliminary to ejection of the wanted cards, and means for ejecting the wanted cards, the improvement comprising fulcrum means movable between a retracted position, and an advanced position providing in said fulcrum means an element about which a wanted card must pivot when ejected, the capsule having means for engaging the pivoted card against return from its ejected position, said capsule further including card retainer means normally overlying portions at least of the cards in the capsule to prevent cards from coming out of the capsule, the card retainer means comprising an arm pivotally mounted on the capsule for movement between a retracted, card-clearing position and an advanced position overlying said portions of the cards, the arm being spring-biased to its advanced position, the arm having an extension engageable by a user to manually retract the arm against the spring bias thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.