Media disk case with edge retention bracket

Abstract

A media disk case is disclosed, of a type having two covers joined along rear edges in a book-like fashion, and a spine interposed between the rear edges of the two covers. The two covers may be closed together to form an enclosed case having an interior compartment with walls comprised of surfaces of the covers and of the spine, and opened in book-like fashion to reveal the interior compartment. The media disk case includes an edge retention bracket secured to the spine. The edge retention bracket includes a channel extending from the spine in a semi-circular direction. The channel is configured to retain a media disk by contact around a portion of a perimeter thereof. In particular, the channel is configured to retain the media disk solely by contact around the portion its perimeter, whereby the use of a center rosette along with the associated disadvantages may be eliminated. In an embodiment of the invention, the edge retention bracket is a rigid member rigidly attached to the spine, whereby the edge retention bracket is held apart, i.e., “pops-up” from both of the two covers when the media disk case is opened to reveal the interior compartment.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to cases for storing, transporting, and displaying optical media disks, and in particular, to cases for digital versatile disks (DVD's).

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] Plastic cases for storing optical media disks, such as Compact Disk (CD) media disks and DVD's, have been known for perhaps as long as optical disks themselves. In addition to protecting the media disks from damage, such cases also provide a container and display medium for artwork and other printed information associated with the particular disk stored in each case. Plastic cases therefore have become commonly used for display of disks at the retail level as well as for protecting the disks.

[0005] Prior art cases for optical media disks such as DVD's characteristically are rectangular boxes with a flexible rosette centrally placed in the interior of the box. The flexible rosette is used for retaining the disk by inserting the rosette through the disk hub. The rosette is greater than the diameter of the central hole of the disk, and is radially resilient. It usually is configured with a relatively small diameter waist below a larger diameter distal end that may be forced through the hole by application of axial pressure. Such cases are usually opened like a book, thereby exposing a disk retained on an interior side of the box by the rosette. To remove the disk, a user grasps the disk by an edge or between opposite edges, and releases the rosette by depressing it at its center. To replace the disk in the case, the user places it with its center aligned with the rosette, and presses the hub of the disk over the rosette, thereby locking the disk in place. When the disk is inside of the case, the rosette secures the disk in place, preventing the playing surface of the disk from being scratched by the interior of the case.

[0006] The rosette/hub system used for disk retention in prior art cases has certain undesirable aspects. One drawback of such cases is that removal of the disk from the case is not as easy as some users require. Users often do not properly disengage the rosette from the disk hub, and instead forcible pull the disk from the case without disengaging the rosette. This may delaminate or otherwise damage the hub. If the hub is damaged, the disk may no longer play properly in its media player. And even if used properly, the rosette may gradually wear out the disk hub from frequent use. Also, the disk may be flexed during removal from the rosette. If the flexure is too extreme or occurs too frequently, the disk may become damaged thereby.

[0007] Damage from rosettes and from flexure is particularly troublesome with DVD disks, which are spun at high speeds and require high precision during playback. DVD's are constructed of multiple layers of relatively thin material adhered together with adhesives. The adhesion of the layers at the central hub of the disk may be somewhat poor, making the hub vulnerable to damage, such as delamination and crazing, from rosette removal. Flexure of the disks may also weaken the disks and make them more prone to delamination. In addition to destroying the roundness of the disk hub, delamination, cracking, and crazing may also obscure the very fine pitch digital data on the disk's playing surface, thereby impairing or destroying the playability of the disk.

[0008] It is desirable, therefore, to provide a plastic case for storing optical media disks that overcomes the limitations of prior art cases, and in particular, eliminates disadvantages associated with flexible rosettes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention provides an improved plastic case for storing, transporting, and displaying optical media disks, and particularly, DVD's. The case eliminates the central rosette and instead uses a retention bracket for retaining disks along their perimeter edges, while making removal and replacement of disks easier and simpler for the user.

[0010] The invention may be adapted for use with any box or case that is designed to open like a book and has a spine along its opening hinge. The book-with-spine design is in common use today for DVD cases, and may be inexpensively manufactured as a single piece of molded plastic. A spine separates the two covers of the case and is hinged relative to both covers, so that when the case is closed, the spine provides an end wall for the case. Sidewalls extend from the perimeters of the two covers and a latch is provided on the perimeter opposite to the spine for holding the case in a closed position.

[0011] According to the invention, an edge retention bracket is mounted to the spine in the interior of the case. The edge retention bracket is designed to hold the disk only by its edges. The retention bracket has a central opening through which the disk may be grasped by inserting a finger through the central hole of the disk and holding the disk between an edge and the center hole. The disk may be removed from or replaced in the edge retention bracket by holding the disk as described and sliding it edgewise out of or into the retention bracket. Multiple disks may be accommodated in a case by placing additional edge retention brackets on the spine of a suitably sized case. Each edge retention bracket holds a single disk, and any one of the multiple disks can be selected from the retention brackets by leafing through them as if they were pages of a book.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the invention, the edge retention bracket is rigidly attached to the spine of the case. When the case is opened, the edge retention bracket is pivoted by the action of the spine and thereby “pops-up” from the covers of the case. The disk is thereby inclined away from the covers of the case so it may more easily be grasped by a user. Multiple retention brackets may similarly be mounted together to the spine of a case, and configured to extend away from the covers of an opened case at the same angle, or in the alternative, at various different angles. In an alternative embodiment, one or more retention brackets may be flexibly attached to the spine of the case, so that they may be leafed through like a page or pages of a book.

[0013] Edge retention brackets may be provided in various different shapes. In an embodiment of the invention, the edge retention brackets comprise a pair of thin flexible arms extending from the spine of the case to provide a semi-circular groove or channel for the perimeter of a media disk. In the alternative, the edge retention bracket may be shaped more like an enclosed sleeve with an interior channel for holding the edge of a media disk. In retention brackets of either shape, the interior of the channel may contain soft protrusions or ridges positioned around the outer perimeter of a disk for securely retaining the edge of a media disk when the case is closed. The channel may be flared outward along its opening for easier insertion of a disk into the edge retention bracket. The edge retention bracket may be comprised of a relatively soft, flexible plastic that may be compressed between the covers of the case when the case is closed. The compression of the bracket material causes the bracket to securely grip the edges of any disk enclosed by the channel of the retention bracket when the case is closed.

[0014] A more complete understanding of the optical media disk case will be afforded to those skilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional advantages and objects thereof, by a consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment. Reference will be made to the appended sheets of drawings which will first be described briefly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a media disk case in a fully open position, showing a media disk retained by thin flexible arms of a retention bracket.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the case shown in FIG. 1, showing the case with the media disk removed.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a simplified plan view of a case in a closed position, with the upper cover removed to reveal a media disk retained in a retention bracket.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view, taken in the direction of arrows 4-4, of the case shown in FIG. 3.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the case shown in FIG. 4, with the upper cover latched in a closed position and showing the retention bracket compressed between the covers of the case.

[0020] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a case having multiple retention brackets.

[0021] FIG. 7 is an edge view of case with multiple retention brackets configured to extend at different angles from the spine.

[0022] FIG. 8A is a perspective view of a sleeve-shaped retention bracket.

[0023] FIG. 8B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a channel of an edge retention bracket, showing a detail of the channel shape.

[0024] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a case, showing a configuration for forming a case from a single piece of molded plastic.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0025] The present invention provides a media disk case that retains disks by their perimeter edges, thereby eliminating the center rosette and the disadvantages associated with it. In the detailed description that follows, like element numerals are used to indicate like elements that appear in one or more of the figures.

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a media disk case 30 in a fully open position, showing a media disk 20 retained by thin flexible arms 42a, 42b of a retention bracket 40. Case 30 comprises two opposing covers 32a, 32b joined along their rear edges 36a, 36b and a spine 34 interposed between the rear edges 36a, 36b. The two covers 32a, 32b are hinged together by the spine 34. It should be apparent that the covers of case 30 may be folded together to form a compartment enclosed by the covers 32a, 32b, sidewalls 38a, 38b, 38c, corresponding sidewalls 39a, 39b, and 39c, and spine 34. Any suitable latch may be provided for holding the case 30 in a closed position, such as the latch comprised of molded counterpart pieces 44a, 44b in sidewalls 38b and 39b, respectively. Auxiliary features, such as booklet clips 46a, 46b, may be included on the interior sides of covers 32a, 32b as desired. Exterior sides of covers 32a, 32b may be provided with an attached exterior sheet of printed material, such as a printed cardboard sheet (not shown), or a transparent sleeve (not shown) for insertion of artwork or other printed matter, as known in the art.

[0027] A typical media disk for storage in case 30, such as disk 20, comprises a central hole 28, an annular hub region 26 surrounding the hole, a player-readable data-bearing region (playing surface) 24 surrounding the hub, and an edge region 22 surrounding the data-bearing region around the periphery of the disk. The hub region 26 and edge region 22 are free of the binary data in which the media program carried by the disk is encoded. Instead, these areas may be blank or may be imprinted with text or graphics. The center rosettes of prior art cases are configured to engage disks at the center hole. This can stress or damage the critical hub region, which is used by a media player to spin the disk. The edge region 22 is free of data, and is less critical than the hub during play of a disk. Accordingly, the edge region 22 is available for use in disk handling and retention.

[0028] Retention bracket 40 is accordingly configured to grip disks in their edge regions. An opposing pair of thin flexible arms 42a, 42b extend from base 48 away from covers 32a, 32b. Bracket 40 is preferably secured to spine 34 at its base 48. The retention bracket and any enclosed disk can thereby lie flat and parallel to covers 32a, 32b when case 30 is closed, and extend away from the covers when the case is opened. Opening the case necessarily causes rotation of the spine 34 relative to the covers. Being fixed to the spine, the retention bracket will rotate with it until it is inclined away from the covers. For example, when the case 30 is opened flat, the retention bracket and any disk within it will be held approximately perpendicular to the covers, as shown in FIG. 1. Generally, a relatively large degree of inclination, such as at least 20°, is preferable.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows the case 30 with the media disk removed from the retention bracket 40. The retention bracket and its arms 42a, 42b are sufficiently rigid to maintain their general semi-circular shape and extended position when the disk is removed. In an embodiment of the invention, the opposing arms are biased towards each other in the direction indicated by arrows 50a, 50b to provide a clamping force on the edge of the disk when it is inserted. The amount of bias should not be too great so as to interfere with insertion or removal of the media disk, and may be as small as zero. The retaining effect of a centrally-directed bias or clamping force may be enhanced by providing a small protrusion in the bottom of channel 52 near the distal end of one or both of arms 42a, 42b. Such bottom protrusions are preferably positioned in arms 42a, 42b to be located past the midline of disk 20 after it is fully inserted. Further details of bottom protrusions are described below in connection with FIG. 3.

[0030] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a disk is retained within retention bracket 40 by friction between the edges of a media disk and the retention channel 52 that extends around an inner periphery of arms 42a, 42b. Friction may be enhanced by providing protrusions, such as ridges or circular bumps, in the sidewalls of channel 52. If sufficient friction with the sidewalls of the channel may be obtained, biasing the opposing arms towards each other is not required. In the alternative, or in addition, the channel 52 may be tapered (i.e., flared) to an interior dimension sufficiently narrow so as to frictionally engage edges of the media disk, so that a clamping force exerted by biased retention arms is not required.

[0031] Case 30 and retention bracket 40 may be made from any suitable plastic material such as known in the art, for example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyester, polypropylene, and like materials, or any combination thereof. Preferably, retention bracket 40 is made from a material that is softer than the surface of the media disk (such as DVD or CD disk) that it is intended to hold, to prevent scratching of the disk surface. The material should also be durable, stable, non-reactive with media disk materials and water, and heat resistant to at least about 150° F. (about 65° C.), or about the maximum interior temperature of a car on a hot sunny day. The case and retention bracket may be injection molded, vacuum formed, or formed using any suitable process. In an embodiment of the invention, the case 30 is made from a single sheet of material, such as PVC, that is vacuum formed. The retention bracket 40 may be molded or formed separately, and attached, such as by plastic welding, to the interior side of the spine. The covers 32a, 32b may be stiffened using a cardboard sheet or like material that is adhered or fastened to the outside of the covers 32a, 32b.

[0032] FIG. 3 shows case 30 in a closed position, with the top cover removed to reveal the media disk 20 retained in retention bracket 40 inside of an interior compartment 54 of the case 30. A distal portion of retention arm 42a has been cut away to reveal a channel bottom wall 58 and bottom protrusion 59. Certain auxiliary features, such as latch 44a and booklet clips 46a, 46b, have been omitted for illustrative simplicity. Midline 29 is drawn through the center of disk 20 and parallel to spine 34.

[0033] In the closed position, the spine is approximately perpendicular to cover 32a, and the retention bracket 40 and disk 20 lie inside of the compartment 54 substantially parallel to cover 32a. It should be apparent that the interior side of cover 32a (or its counterpart cover 32b) may optionally be provided with features that cooperate with the retention bracket 40 to secure the disk 20 against movement or vibration when the case is closed. For example, a protrusion or plural protrusions may be provided on the interior of cover 32a just outside the perimeter of disk 20 opposite from retention bracket 40. In the alternative, a sheet of material, such as a foam sheet or sheet of contoured plastic, having a recess or hole therein surrounding the outer perimeter of the disk and retention bracket, may be adhered to the interior of either or both covers 32a, 32b. Yet another alternative is to provide a round peg on the interior of the cover centered opposite to hole 28 of disk 20. The peg should be sized sufficiently smaller than hole 28 so that it may freely pass through it, and large enough to prevent the disk from moving out of the retention bracket. Such features may be used to prevent the disk 20 from being shaken out of the retention bracket when the case is closed.

[0034] In the alternative, or in addition, arms 42a, 42b extend past the midline 29 of disk 20 when the disk is fully inserted into retention bracket 40. For example, arm 42a extends past the midline 29 and around the periphery of disk 20 for an angular distance of approximately 5°. The extension past the midline should be relatively small, such as between about 0° and 10°, so as to not unduly hinder insertion and removal of the disk.

[0035] A small protrusion 59 in the bottom of channel 58 may be provided at a small angular distance past the midline 29. In FIG. 3, the protrusion 59 is shown located an angle &thgr; past the midline 29 (i.e, distal from spine 34). &thgr; may be any acute angle, preferably between about 0° and 10°. The outer edge of protrusion 59 is preferably sloped gradually towards the distal end of the retention arm 42a, to facilitate insertion of a disk and reduce stress on the protrusion. The protrusion may have the same slope or a less gradual slope towards the base 48 of the bracket, to facilitate disk removal.

[0036] During insertion of a disk into a retention bracket having arms that extend past the disk midline, such as bracket 40, the retention arms 42a, 42b will be forced apart by disk 20 as they pass over the full diameter of disk 20 at its midline, and spring back towards each other as the disk is inserted past its midline. Bottom protrusions 59, which are preferably provided in both retention arms 42a, 42b, advantageously engage the edges of disk 20 slightly inwards of the distal ends of the retention arms. In addition, the spring-back action of the retention arms advantageously provides audible and/or tactile feedback, such as a “click,” indicating that the disk is fully inserted into the retention bracket 40. To remove disk 20, a user may pull the disk away from spine 34 to overcome the clamping force provided by retention arms 42a, 42b, forcing them slightly apart as the midline of the disk passes over the bottom protrusions 59.

[0037] The interior retention channel 52 of arms 42a, 42b is preferably configured to grip the edge region 22 of disk 20. One method of providing a gripping action is to provide protrusions for gripping the edge region 22 of disk 20 in the interior of the channel, such as the bumps 56. Any number of protrusions, or in the alternative, a continuous protruding feature such as a ridge, may be provided in the channel 52 for gripping the disk.

[0038] It may also be desirable to provide a retention bracket with a channel that increases slightly in width towards the end of the bracket distal from base 48. In other words, the sidewalls of the channel may be made to flare outwards towards the distal end of the retention bracket, as shown in FIG. 4. The flaring (tapering) of the channel may facilitate insertion of the disk into the retention bracket. In addition, flaring may provide space for gripping features, such as the opposing bumps 56 of arm 42b, towards the distal end of the retention bracket. For example, clearance between bumps 56 and disk 20 may be provided when the case is open, as shown in FIG. 4. At the same time, the flaring of the channel may be used to effectively widen the distal end of the retention bracket and to increase its resiliency there. The retention bracket 40 may then cooperate with the covers 32a, 32b of the case 30 to compress the channel 52 against the disk 20 when the case is closed.

[0039] The effect of a flared channel 52 is illustrated by FIG. 5, showing the case 30 in a closed position and the retention bracket compressed between covers 32a, 32b. Arms 42a, 42b are made relatively soft and flexible, and are accordingly compressed (squeezed) until bumps 56 engage and grip the edge of disk 20. Similar squeezing action may be achieved by placing protrusions on the outside of the retention arms 42a, 42b, or even on covers 32a, 32b, while providing a channel with smooth interior walls. In the alternative, a squeezing effect may be achieved without any protrusions whatsoever, merely by carefully controlling the dimensions of the retention arms and of the channel. It should also be apparent that a squeezing effect may be accomplished without flaring the channel, i.e, using a channel with parallel sidewalls. The protrusions need not be abrupt, and may instead consist of a gradual thickening of portions of the sidewalls of channel 52 or of covers 32a, 32b. Protrusions such as bumps or ridges are relatively easy to form in sheet materials, and may be preferred when the retention arms are made by vacuum forming or other sheet-forming technique.

[0040] Whatever their shape, the retention arms of the type designed to be compressed by the covers of the case should be relatively flexible compared to the covers so that sufficient compression is achieved when the case is closed. For example, in an embodiment of the invention, the covers 32a, 32b are made of the same material as the retention bracket 40, and are stiffened by being formed to a greater thickness, by the addition of stiffening features such as ridges or rails, or by attaching a stiffening material such as cardboard to the exterior of the covers. In the alternative, or in addition, the retention bracket may be made of a more flexible material than the covers 32a, 32b. It should further be appreciated that the flaring or thickening of the retention arms (e.g., by placement of bumps 56) occurs relatively close to the sidewalls of case 30. This can be seen in FIG. 3, where bumps 56 are close to the sidewalls 38a, 38c. The cover 32a is relatively stiff at the sidewalls, and therefore better able to compress the retention bracket to achieve a firm grip on the disk in these locations. Also, the spreading or thickening of the retention bracket preferably is located near the midline of the covers, to prevent excessive stress on the hinge joints between the spine and the covers. The base portion 48 of the retention bracket is preferably no wider than the spine 34 (i.e., is no thicker than the spine is wide).

[0041] A single case for holding multiple disks may be provided with multiple retention brackets. FIG. 6 shows a two-disk case 60 having two edge retention brackets 62a, 62b holding optical disks 20. Edge retention brackets 62a, 62b may be essentially identical to the retention bracket 40 for the single-disk case 30 previously described. Spine 64 is wider than spine 34 for the single-disk case, but may otherwise be substantially similar to spine 34. Edge retention brackets 64a, 64b extend from spine 64 at substantially the same angle (i.e., about 90°), and are offset from one another for a distance about equal to at least the radius of an optical disk 20. This amount of offset permits a user to easily grasp a disk by the center hole during removal or insertion of a disk into any one of the retention brackets 62a, 62b, without touching a disk in an adjacent retention bracket. Other details of case 60 may be substantially as described above for case 30.

[0042] In an alternative embodiment, multiple retention brackets extend in different directions from spine 64, and are inclined at different angles to the covers of the case when the case is opened. FIG. 7 shows, in edge view, a three-disk case 70 with multiple retention brackets 72a, 72b, and 72c configured to extend at different angles from the spine. The retention brackets need not be offset from one another in the manner of case 60, because the divergence of brackets 72a, 72b, and 72c from spine 74 provides space between the brackets for removal and insertion of disks 20. In an embodiment of the invention, spine 74 is sufficiently rigid to hold the retention brackets apart from one another and away from the covers 76a, 76b when the case 70 is open, and sufficiently flexible to permit the retention brackets to lie flat against one another and against the covers when the case is closed. In the alternative, each of the brackets 72a-c may be attached to an individual spine or spine segment that is hinged relative to adjacent spines or spine segments. Other details of case 70 may be substantially as described above for case 30.

[0043] The retention bracket may be provided in various different shapes without departing from the scope of the invention. FIG. 8A shows an alternative sleeve-shaped retention bracket 80 suitable for attaching to the spine of a disk case as previously described. Retention arms 82a, 82b are straight on the exterior sides of retention bracket 80, and follow the semicircular contour of the disk-holding channel 84 in the interior of the bracket. Channel 84, in turn, is defined by the side walls of the retention arms 82a, 82b. Channel 84 additionally includes a pair of opposing semicircular ridges 89a, 89b in the interior of the channel for gripping edge region of a disk. Semicircular ridges 89a, 89b are positioned to engage an inserted disk along its peripheral edges when the disk is fully inserted into the retention brackets. Ridges 89a, 89b are another example of protrusions, such as the bumps 56 previously described, for gripping a disk. One skilled in the art will recognize that there are a great many other suitable shapes for retention brackets within the scope of the invention.

[0044] FIG. 8B shows channel 84 of the edge retention bracket 80 in greater detail. It should be appreciated that channel 52 of bracket 40, described above, may also be provided with gripping ridges and made to appear as shown in FIG. 8B. Walls 88a, 88b diverge slightly away from each other distal from the channel bottom 86. The width of the channel at the bottom 86 should be slightly larger that the thickness of the disk the bracket is intended to hold. The diverging walls 88a, 88b provide clearance for ridges 89a, 89b. When the edge of a disk is fully inserted in channel 84, the bracket 80 may be compressed between the covers of a case, causing the disk to be gripped by ridges ) 89a, 89b as previously described. The channel bottom 86 may be provided with a protrusion 87 near the distal end of each arm 82a, 82b, like the bottom protrusion 59 described in connection with FIG. 3 above. Protrusion 87 preferably extends across most of the width of channel bottom 86. The height to which protrusion 87 extends above the surface of the channel bottom may be determined based on factors such as the dimensions and relatively flexibility of the bracket 80 and disk 20, and the desired amount of spring clamping force desired to retain the disk. Generally, the height of the protrusion 87 will be relatively small, such as between about 0.02 to 0.12 inches (about 0.5 to 3 mm).

[0045] It may be advantageous to form a media disk case with a pop-up retention bracket from a single sheet of plastic material. FIG. 9 shows an exemplary case 90 such as may be formed from a single sheet. Covers 92a, 92b, spine 98, and other features of the case 90, except for the pop-up bracket 94, may be formed in a first process step, such as vacuum forming. Cutouts 96a, 96b may then be cut in the flat regions of covers 92a, 92b adjacent to spine 98, such as by a die cutting process. The cutout portions may then be separately formed, folded up and towards one another over spine 98, and welded together to form a retention bracket 94 such as may be similar to, for example, bracket 40 described herein. The finished case 90 can thus be provided with a spine-mounted, edge retention bracket without requiring a separate assembly step and while conserving the amount of plastic needed for the case. The holes in the covers left by cutouts 96a, 96b may be covered on the exterior of the case, such as by attaching a cardboard sheet to covers 92a, 92b, as previously described.

[0046] Having thus described a preferred embodiment of a optical media disk case, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain advantages of the within system have been achieved. It should also be appreciated that various modifications, adaptations, and alternative embodiments thereof may be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, exemplary shapes of retention bracket have been illustrated, but it should be apparent that the inventive concepts described above would be equally applicable to other shapes of retention bracket with the features described herein. Furthermore, although rectangular case are illustrated, the invention is not limited rectangular cases and may be applied to any case that opens like a book and has a spine. The invention is further defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A media disk case comprising:

two covers joined along rear edges thereof;

a spine interposed between the rear edges of the two covers and hinged to each of the two covers, whereby the two covers may be closed together to form an enclosed case having an interior compartment with walls comprised of surfaces of the covers and of the spine, and opened in book-like fashion to reveal the interior compartment; and

an edge retention bracket secured to the spine, the edge retention bracket comprising a channel extending from the spine in a semi-circular direction, the channel configured to retain a media disk by contact around a portion of a perimeter thereof.

2. The media disk case of claim 1, wherein the channel is configured to retain the media disk solely by contact around the portion of the perimeter thereof.

3. The media disk case of claim 1, wherein the channel further comprises an interior soft protrusion for grasping the media disk when the two covers are closed together.

4. The media disk case of claim 1, wherein the edge retention bracket consists essentially of a rigid plastic material.

5. The media disk case of claim 4, wherein the rigid plastic material is softer than the media disk.

6. The media disk case of claim 1, wherein the two covers and the spine consist essentially of a rigid plastic material.

7. The media disk case of claim 1, wherein the edge retention bracket is configured to be compressed between the two covers when the two covers are closed together, whereby the channel is caused to grip an edge of the media disk.

8. The media disk case of claim 1, wherein the channel of the edge retention bracket is flared outward at an open edge thereof to direct insertion of the media disk therein.

9. The media disk case of claim 1, wherein the edge retention bracket is a rigid member rigidly attached to the spine, whereby the edge retention bracket is held apart from both of the two covers when the media disk case is opened to reveal the interior compartment.

10. The media disk case of claim 1, further comprising a second edge retention bracket secured to the spine, the second edge retention bracket comprising a channel extending from the spine in a semi-circular direction, the channel configured to retain a media disk by contact around a portion of a perimeter thereof.

11. The media disk case of claim 10, wherein the second edge retention bracket is a rigid member rigidly attached to the spine, whereby the second edge retention bracket is held apart from both of the two covers and from the edge retention bracket when the media case is opened to reveal the interior compartment.

12. The media disk case of claim 1, wherein the edge retention bracket, the two covers, and the spine are formed together from a single piece of molded plastic.

13. The media disk case of claim 12, wherein the edge retention bracket is formed by cutting opposing forms from portions of the two covers adjoining the spine, folding the two forms towards the interior compartment, and attaching the two forms together.