Injection molded DVD case having at least one recess on an outer surface for the installation of a decorative insert
A one-piece, standard thickness, injection molded DVD case has at least one recess on an outer surface for the installation of a decorative insert. For one preferred embodiment, the recess is coextensive with the front cover, with the exception of a narrow perimetric border. The decorative insert may be formed from vacuum-formed polymeric material, molded plastic, or stamped from sheet metal having a thickness in a range of about 0.005 to 0.01 inch (0.127 to 0.254 millimeters). Optimum thickness for the preferred embodiments disclosed herein is deemed to be about 0.0075 inch (about 0.2 millimeters). The decorative insert may include graphic images and text in relief, which may be painted for further affect. For another preferred embodiment, the recess on the front cover may cover only a portion of the available area. On the back cover, similar recesses may be formed above and below the disk storage region.
This application has a priority date based on Provisional Patent Application No. 60/635,329, which has a filing date of Dec. 13, 2004, and is titled Media Carrier, Transport and Storage Device, with Interchangeable Customizable Outside Surface or Lid.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to protective cases for packaging and storing optical information storage disks, such as CDs and DVDs and, more particularly to injection molded, one-piece protective cases.
2. History of the Prior Art
In recent times, most recorded music is purchased by the consumer either on a cassette tape or a compact disc. Cassettes tapes and compact discs have supplanted vinyl records and 8-track tapes as the dominant forms of recorded music. Along with the growth of compact discs, numerous storage containers have been developed to hold the discs during shipping, display for sale, and subsequent home storage of the discs. A disc may spend over 99% of its life stored in one such storage container because the same storage container is typically used to ship the disc, to display the disc, and to store the disc at the home of the consumer. Most of the storage containers known in the art hold the compact disc on a hub that engages the center hole of the disc to hold the disc in place in the storage container.
Digital video discs (DVDs) have recently been developed and are expected to grow as more consumers are exposed to the benefits of a digital video picture combined with a digital audio track on a single DVD. DVDs also have a larger storage capacity than a compact disc and may be used to hold feature length films as well as multiple music recordings. It is likely that DVDs may also be used to hold data in computer readable forms. One problem with DVDs is that they currently trade durability for their increased storage capacity. It is believed that a DVD may be damaged over time by the forces that are commonly created in a compact disc storage container. These forces are the outwardly directed forces created by the hub that typically radially engages the interior wall that forms the center hole in a disc. Compact discs are durable enough to be insensitive to this force but it is believed that a DVD will eventually warp as a result of these constant radial forces. Such warping can prevent the data on a DVD from being correctly read by a DVD player.
In view of the perceived problems with the constant bending forces, the industry has moved in the direction of requiring all DVD storage containers to loosely retain the DVD such that it may freely rotate while securely retained by the storage container. The storage container thus must retain the DVD in a manner that allows it to freely rotate while also securely holding the DVD during a standard drop test. It is thus desired in the art to provide a storage container for a DVD that holds the DVD without creating constant bending stresses in the DVD while securely retaining the DVD to prevent it from coming loose.
Standard one-piece injection molded DVD cases include a spine, a front cover coupled to the spine with a first living hinge, a rear cover coupled to the spine via a second living hinge, disk retention on the inside surface of the rear cover, and a pair of clips on the inside surface of the front cover for holding a paper booklet. In addition, a flexible sleeve is often heat sealed to the outer cover surfaces so that a paper title and credits insert may be slipped beneath it and cover the front and back outer surfaces while wrapping around the spine. The cases, themselves, are essentially generic, with only the title page and credits insert providing any measure of distinctiveness. What is needed, therefore, is a new one-piece injection molded DVD case that presents a distinctive, even elegant, appearance to the consumer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA one-piece, injection molded case for optical data storage disks, such as DVDs, DVD-ROMs, CDs, and CD-ROMs, has at least one recess on an outer surface for the installation of a decorative insert. For a preferred embodiment of the invention, the DVD case is injection molded from a polyolefin such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The storage case includes a spine, a front cover coupled to said spine via a first living hinge, and a rear cover coupled to said spine via a second living hinge. The front and rear covers close together to form a generally enclosed chamber in which at least one optical data storage disk may be stored. The storage case also includes at least one recess inset into an exterior surface of at least one of said covers and a decorative insert for installing within each recess.
For one preferred embodiment, the recess is of generally uniform depth and coextensive with the front cover, with the exception of a narrow perimetric border. The decorative insert may be formed from vacuum-formed polymeric material, molded plastic, reflective plastic or metal laminates which have been cut to size, wood panels, textile-covered panels, tooled or embossed leather, cast metal, or stamped from sheet metal having a thickness in a range of about 0.005 to 0.01 inch (0.127 to 0.254 millimeters). Optimum thickness for the preferred embodiments disclosed herein is deemed to be about 0.0075 inch (about 0.2 millimeters). The decorative insert may include graphic images and/or text in relief, and the exposed surface of the insert may be painted or printed to enhance its aesthetic appearance. For prototype cases made in accordance with the present invention, offset lithography has been used successfully to apply graphic images to sheet metal prior to the insert stamping and forming process. For another preferred embodiment, the recess on the front cover may cover only a portion of the available area. On the back cover, similar recesses may be formed above and below the disk storage region. Additionally, one or more recesses may be formed on the outer surface of the spine. Stamped sheet metal and injection molded plastic inserts may incorporate hooks on the side edges thereof. The hooks may be formed during the stamping of the sheet metal or during the injection molding of the insert. The hooks mate with hook receptacles formed during the injection molding process in the side walls of the recess and, thereby, retain the insert within the recess. Alternatively, an insert may be adhesively bonded to the DVD case within the recess.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The present invention is a one-piece, injection-molded case for packaging and storing optical digital information storage disks, such as digital video disks (DVDs), compact disks (CDs) and/or data storage versions of each. Patterned loosely after a conventional case for digital video discs (DVDs), it is of clamshell design, having a spine connected to both a front cover and a rear cover via a pair of “living” or “live” hinges. A living hinge is a thin flexible web of material that joins two rigid or semi-rigid bodies together. The DVD case is preferably made of a medium-density polyolefin, such as polypropylene or polyethylene, as both of these materials have excellent flexural qualities that permit a living hinge to be flexed thousands of times without breaking. If the hinge is not expected to last forever, other polymeric compounds, such as nylon and acetal may be used. The present invention differs markedly from a conventional DVD case in that at least one recess is incorporated into the surface of the front and/or back covers. A decorative insert is installed within the recess. Many types of decorative inserts may be used. For example, the decorative insert may be formed from polymeric materials, wood, metal, leather, paper, textiles, composite materials, or a combination of the foregoing. Polymeric materials may be vacuum formed, cast or injection molded. Wood panels may be hand-carved, machine-carved, or laser-etched. Metal inserts may be formed by casting, sheet metal stamping, and/or by the trimming of planar sheets to fit the recess. Leather inserts may be tooled, embossed or laser etched. The new decorative DVD case will now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawing figures.
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Although only several embodiments of the present invention has been disclosed herein, it will be obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as hereinafter may be claimed.
Claims
1. A case for packaging and storing an optical digital information storage disk, said case comprising:
- a one-piece, injection-molded main body including: a spine; a front cover coupled to said spine via a first living hinge; a rear cover coupled to said spine via a second living hinge; at least one recess inset into an exterior surface of at least one of said covers; and
- a decorative insert for installing within each recess.
2. The case of claim 1, wherein said decorative insert is made of a material selected from the group consisting of metal, polymeric compounds, wood, paper, leather, textiles, fiberboard and combinations thereof.
3. The case of claim 2, wherein said decorative insert includes multi-color artwork.
4. The case of claim 2, wherein said decorative insert is formed from sheet metal stamped in relief to which artwork is applied prior to the relief stamping.
5. The case of claim 1, wherein the decorative insert is formed in a mold which provides an in-relief surface.
6. The case of claim 1, wherein the decorative insert is a generally planar, laminar material that has been trimmed to fit the recess, said laminar material being selected from the group consisting of textiles, sheet metal, wood, and polymeric compounds to which a reflective coating has been applied.
7. The case of claim 1, wherein the decorative insert is a generally laminar, vacuum-formed polymeric panel to which color graphics have been applied.
8. The case of claim 1, wherein the one-piece, injection-molded main body is made from a polyolefin selected from the group consisting of polyethylene and polypropylene.
9. The case of claim 2, wherein said decorative insert is polygonally shaped, stamped from sheet metal to provide an in-relief graphic design on a major portion thereof, said insert having outer edges that are downwardly bent to form sidewalls that are generally perpendicular to said major portion, each of said sidewalls being inwardly-rolled to form a tube, with the tubes so formed from all outer edges lying in a common plane.
10. The case of claim 9, wherein portions of each tube are stamped to form an outwardly extending hooks, each of said hooks engaging a hook receptacle located within the recess.
11. A generally rectangular case for packaging and storing an optical information storage disk, said case comprising:
- a main body having intercoupled front and rear covers that close to form a generally enclosed chamber, said main body having at least one recess inset into an exterior surface of at least one of said covers; and
- a decorative insert for installing within each recess.
12. The case of claim 11, wherein the one-piece, injection-molded main body is made from a polyolefin selected from the group consisting of polyethylene and polypropylene.
13. The case of claim 11, wherein said decorative insert is made of sheet metal that has been stamped to include an in-relief design on an exposed major portion thereof.
14. The case of claim 13, wherein said sheet metal panel includes multi-color artwork.
15. The case of claim 11, wherein said recess is coextensive with said front cover, with the exception of a narrow perimetric border.
16. The case of claim 11, wherein the decorative insert is an injection-molded panel having in relief multi-color graphics.
17. A case for packaging and storing an optical digital information storage disk, said case comprising:
- a one-piece, injection-molded main body including: a spine; a front cover coupled to said spine via a first living hinge; a rear cover coupled to said spine via a second living hinge; and at least one recess inset into an exterior surface of at least one of said covers.
18. The case of claim 17, wherein said recess is of generally uniform depth and covers a major portion of said front cover.
19. The case of claim 17, which further comprises a decorative insert made from a material selected from the group consisting of textiles, metal, metal alloys, wood, leather, polymeric compounds, and polymeric compounds to which reflective coating has been applied.
20. The case of claim 19, wherein said decorative insert is stamped from sheet metal to which colored artwork is applied prior to the stamping process.
Type: Application
Filed: May 20, 2005
Publication Date: Jun 15, 2006
Inventors: Warren Osborn (Provo, UT), Bryan Dunford (Provo, UT)
Application Number: 11/134,187
International Classification: B65D 85/30 (20060101);