Magazine for sound recording media

A magazine for sound recording media suitable for vehicle installation comprises an outer housing which defines, through the use of a plurality of inwardly extending ribs, a recess which receives the inner housing or housings which include the media receiving drawers or sliders. An impact absorbing frame is provided around the access opening at the front of the outer housing. The outer housing is mounted, by means of integral hubs, from a support by means of a yoke. The hubs are relatively rotatable with respect to the yoke to permit the outer housing to be positioned in a desired angular orientation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
(1) Field of the Invention: 
The present invention relates to the storage of sound recording media. More 
specifically, this invention is directed to a magazine for sound recording 
media which is intended for mounting in a motor vehicle and especially to 
an impact-protected magazine which may be mounted with a desired 
orientation. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are 
to provide novel and improved methods and articles of such character. 
(2) Description of the Prior Art 
Magazine for storing recording media such as tape cassettes, 
microcassettes, compact discs and the like are known in the art. Such 
magazines will typically be provided with a plurality of slide members 
which receive the sound recording media. The prior magazines generally 
have a housing with a cuboid shape. The slide members will be spring 
biased for ejection from the magazine housing upon release of individual 
latch mechanisms so as to present a selected cassette or disc for 
insertion in the sound producing, i.e., playback, apparatus. 
The design of magazines of the type briefly and generally described above 
presents particular problems when motor vehicle installation is 
contemplated. These problems include those presented by the need to 
provide some protection for the occupants of the vehicle from injury upon 
impact on the magazine, the need to provide protection to the magazine and 
its contents from damage in the case of sudden breaking maneuvers and/or 
accidents and the need to permit installation of the magazine in different 
orientations as dictated by the space available within the vehicle. 
In the prior art the rear side of the housing of the magazine was typically 
provided with a cover which, in turn, was provided with a pattern of 
insertion openings. The prior magazines also included a support which had, 
articulated thereto, a connecting member which could be locked into the 
openings in the housing cover. Thus, depending upon which insertion 
openings were chosen, the prior magazine could be mounted in various 
positions in the vehicle by attaching the support, for example by means of 
mechanical fasteners or an adhesive, to a surface in the vehicle. In order 
to provide the necessary protection against injury and damage resulting 
from impact, it has been conventional prior art practice to provide a 
covering of polyurethane foam at least on the outer surface of the housing 
in the side portions thereof which extend between the rear cover and the 
front of the magazine, access to the slider members being obtained through 
the front of the magazine housing. While the provision of some means to 
absorb impact is necessary, the manufacture of a foam cover of the type 
which characterized the prior art was difficult and, because the 
manufacturing difficulty and the cost of the material, such coverings are 
relatively expensive. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention overcomes the above-briefly discussed and other 
deficiencies and disadvantages of the prior art by providing an 
impact-protected magazine which is less complicated and thus less 
expensive when compared to the prior art. A magazine in accordance with 
the present invention is characterized by a frame or outer housing 
comprised of a hard, impact resistant material. An inner housing or 
housings, which contain the recording media receiving slider members, is 
mounted within the outer housing and spaced from the inner surface of the 
periphery defining walls thereof by a plurality of ribs which are integral 
with the outer housing. A magazine in accordance with the invention also 
includes a cap member which extends around the front edge of the magazine 
and covers the gap between the inner and outer housings which is defined 
by the ribs. This cap member is formed from an impact absorbing resilient 
material. The cap member covers all of the front edges of the magazine, 
these front edges having relatively sharp contours and constituting the 
regions of the magazine which are most likely to produce injury in the 
case of an impact. Accordingly, adequate cushioning is provided while the 
quantity requirements for the relatively expensive padding material are 
reduced. 
A magazine assembly in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the 
invention, consisting of the slider members, the inner and outer housings 
and the impact absorbing cap, can be mounted in a desired angular 
orientation relative to an axis which passes through, or almost through, 
the center of gravity of the assembly. This is accomplished by the 
provision of support axis defining load bearing members on the side 
portions of the outer housing. The coupling of a support member, which is 
affixed to a mounting surface of a vehicle, to the load bearing members on 
the magazine outer housing is achieved by means of a yoke which engages 
the support member via a snap-type connection. Accordingly, the yoke and 
magazine may disengage from the support as a unit in the case of severe 
impact thereby further reducing the risk of injury to vehicle passengers. 
The yoke and load bearing members on the magazine outer housing cooperate 
to define a pair of rotatable connections whereby the angular orientation 
of the magazine may be manually selected. The arrangement of the present 
invention reduces the forces acting on the support member as a result of 
dead weight.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS 
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a cassette receiving magazine half-housing 
which includes four slider members has been indicated generally at 100. 
The half-housing 100 is provided with covers or doors 102 which normally 
retain the slider members in the inserted position in half-housing 100. 
These doors may be opened by actuating the release buttons which are 
provided at the right sides thereof. Opening of the doors permits the 
slider members to be ejected by means of springs which are included in the 
half-housing 100. In the disclosed embodiment space is provided for a 
second half-housing 100 which, of course, would normally be present. The 
inner housing or half-housings, which include the slider members, do not 
comprise part of the present invention. The inner or half-housings 100 for 
the slider members can be unitary structures or can be assembled from 
several parts, i.e., each slider member could be provided with its own 
housing and these slider housings stacked within a frame or outer housing 
which has been indicated generally at 104. 
While the inner housing or housings, i.e., the housings which include the 
slider members, are basically cuboid in shape, the outer housing or frame 
104 is formed so as to have rounded, i.e., convex, corners and edges. The 
outer housing or frame 104 is provided, on the inside of its four side 
walls and extending generally from the front to the back thereof, with 
integral ribs 106. The ribs 106 are dimensioned such that the top surfaces 
thereof define an opening which receives and securely captures the 
half-housing or housings 100. As shown in FIG. 1 the ribs 106 extend 
rearwardly from and are perpendicular to the front edge 108 of the frame 
104. As may be seen from FIG. 3, the ribs also continue inwardly, as 
indicated at 110, for at least a short distance along the closed rear wall 
of frame 104. The ribs 106 also preferably extend in a perpendicular 
direction relative to the side walls of frame 104 with which they are 
integral and may vary gradually in height from the front edge 108 to the 
back of frame 104. 
A magazine in accordance with the present invention is also provided with a 
front cap 112. Cap 112 is pushed on to the front edge of frame 104 and is 
captured by a plurality of outwardly projecting tabs 114 provided about 
front edge 108 of frame 104. The cap 112 is formed from an impact 
absorbing resilient material, a polyurethane foam for example, and has an 
inwardly projecting circumferential flange 116. This flange is 
sufficiently wide so that it covers the gap, defined by ribs 106, between 
the side walls of frame 104 and the housing or housings 100 inserted 
therein. The flange 116, however, does not interfere with the ejection of 
the slider members in the inner housing or housings. Cap 112, accordingly, 
defines a padded frame around the insertion opening of frame 104. 
The frame 104 is injected moulded from an impact-resistant plastic. A pair 
of axially aligned hubs, which extend outwardly from the opposite sides of 
frame 104, are formed during the moulding process. These hubs are defined 
by a plurality of members 118 which, because of their size and shape, have 
a certain degree of resiliency. The members 118 which define each hub 
engage complementary shaped recesses in the walls of opening 120 in a 
push-on block 122. This arrangement permits the frame 104 to be manually 
rotated relative to the pair of push-on blocks 122 upon resilient 
deflection of the hub defining members. The hub members 118 will, after 
rotation to the desired angular orientation, spring outwardly into the 
cooperating recesses in blocks 122 to fix the relative rotational position 
of the frame 104 and blocks 122 and thus define the orientation of frame 
104. There will be no resilient deformation of the hub parts 118 once the 
desired orientation has been achieved. 
The assembly comprising the housing(s) 100, the outer housing or frame 104, 
the padding cap 112 and the push-on blocks 122 is carried by a yoke which 
has been indicated generally at 124. The yoke 124 is substantially 
U-shaped and the base portion 134 thereof releasably engages holes 126 
provided in a support member 127. One manner in which this engagement may 
be accomplished is best seen from FIG. 2. The support member 127 will be 
secured, for example adhesively or by mechanical fasteners, to a mounting 
surface in a vehicle. The manner of engagement of yoke 124 with support 
member 127 permits, for example in the case of a strong impact against the 
exterior of the magazine, the magazine and yoke to yield and separate from 
the support member which remains secured to the vehicle mounting surface. 
The two opposed arms 128 of yoke 124 are hollow. These hollow arms are 
sized and shaped so as to function as guides for the push-on block 122. 
That is, the blocks 122 may be moved along the interior of arms 128 but 
are subjected to frictional restraint so that the movement will only be as 
desired not as a result of, for example, vibration. The facing sides of 
the arms 128 of yoke 124 are provided with a pair of parallel, elongated 
openings 130. The hubs, defined by the hub members 118, extend through the 
openings 130 to engage the push-on blocks 122. 
In the interest of stability, and also for aesthetic reasons, the axis 119 
defined by the hubs on frame 104 will normally be located adjacent the 
ends of the longitudinal holes 113 which are nearest to the base 134 of 
yoke 124. In order that all conceivable mounting conditions in a vehicle 
can be accommodated, however, the frame 104 must be capable of being 
rotated through an angle of least 90.degree. relative to yoke 124. With 
axis 119 in the normal position, as depicted in FIG. 2, the 
above-described relative rotation of the hubs and blocks 122 through an 
angle of 90.degree. would not be possible because, for example, the rear 
edge 132 of frame 104 would come into contact with the base 134 of yoke 
124. Should such interference occur, the user need only slide the 
subassembly including the outer frame 104 upwardly as the apparatus is 
depicted in FIG. 2, rotate the hubs relative to the push-on blocks 122 to 
the desired orientation, and then push the frame 104 downwardly thus 
causing the blocks 122 to slide within arms 128 toward the plane of base 
134. Thus, the elongated, parallel openings 130 in the yoke arms 128 
permit the housing 104 to be slightly lifted away from the yoke base 134, 
for rotational adjustment between the hub 118 and the blocks 122. 
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the same reference numerals have been 
employed to identify those elements which are substantially the same as 
elements of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2. In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 
and 4 the front walls 140 of the slider members are shown as having a 
different configuration when compared to the covers 102 of the embodiment 
of FIGS. 1 and 2. However, as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the 
specific design of the inner-housing or housings of the magazine does not 
comprise part of the invention. The cap 142 of the embodiment of FIGS. 3 
and 4 has, as indicated at 144, an extension which is pressed into the 
gap, defined by ribs 106, between the inner and outer housings. In order 
for the gap which receives the extension 144 of the padded cap 142 to be 
present, the ribs 106 will terminate a short distance inwardly with 
respect to the front edge of frame 104. 
A further distinction between the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 and that of 
FIGS. 3 and 4 resides in the manner of establishing a break-away 
connection between the support 148 and the yoke which has been indicated 
generally at 146. In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4 the support 148 is 
provided, on its upper side, with a groove 154 which is undercut as 
indicated at 152. The central portion 156 of the base 158 of yoke 146 is 
shaped so as to be complementary in size and shape to the groove 154 
whereby the yoke may be snapped into the support. In the embodiment of 
FIGS. 3 and 4 the support is shown as being provided with an adhesive film 
150 for purposes of mounting the support to a surface in a vehicle. 
While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, various 
modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and 
scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the 
present invention has been described by way of illustration and not 
limitation.