Optical Disc Holder

Abstract

An optical disc holder comprises at least one first pocket (102) for accommodating an optical disc, and at least one second pocket (1140 for accommodating an information sheet associated with and related to the disc. There is a backing (106) for the first and second pockets that is substantially rigid whereby a multiplicity of the holders may be arranged as a group side-by-side in a larger storage location and readily withdrawn from or re-inserted in the group.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to storage devices for discs, and in particular, optical discs. More particularly, this invention relates to the storage of digital versatile discs and the information supplied with such discs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditionally, compact discs (CDs) and digital video discs (DVDs) have been stored in transparent virgin GPPS (General Purpose Polystyrene) cases more commonly referred to as crystal or jewel cases. Such cases protect the discs from being scratched, prevent the discs from being bent and subsequently broken, and provide clips or a space for retaining the information such as artwork or lyrics sold with discs. However, in recent years the number of optical discs, and in particular DVDs and CDs, has grown substantially. Many people are assembling large movie collections on DVDs and storing photographs on CDs, therefore increasing the storage space required for crystal or jewel cases containing CDs or DVDs.

In order to overcome the storage problem, optical discs (such as DVDs or CDs) have been stored in albums or booklets with each disc retained in a flexible page incorporating a pocket. The albums may take many forms including those with a fixed number of pages having disc storage pockets, or binder type arrangements that permit the insertion of pages having disc storage pockets. Each page may also include a space for storing the information sheet associated with the contained disc. However, the supplied artwork and information generally must be cut or folded to size. Furthermore, in order to identify the disc, the binder or album must be opened and each page looked at in turn.

The albums are themselves difficult to store as they are often large and bulky. Albums typically offer capacities of 1, 2 or 4 optical discs per page. Therefore, in order to store a large number of albums, a collector of discs must have a large amount of storage space. The space required exceeds that required for the discs, as the album often has some type of protection for the discs which increases the space required.

Examples of optical disc holders for CDs and DVDs, applicable to these binder configurations and to other storage options, are disclosed in a number of patents assigned to Case Logic, Inc. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,241,086 and 6,267,234 disclose lightweight flexible sleeves for holding one or two DVDs and the accompanying graphics. The basic form of sleeve described and illustrated in these patents generally has a pocket for the DVD on one side, and a pocket for the graphics sheet on the other. The sleeve has a middle sheet and front and back sheets to form the pockets. The front and middle sheets are preferably comprised of spun-bonded, non-woven material such as Verake® or Sontara®. The front and back sheets may be transparent, and there is mentioned of the option of a reinforced backing sheet in the context of a product described as a “flexible sleeve”.

The DVD pocket in the Case Logic patents is said to have a disc stopping seal or weld interconnecting the front and middle sheets that define the pocket, to elevate the disc in the pocket. The sleeve has a 3-ring binder strip in some embodiments, while other embodiments are said to be for storage in trays or the like.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,086 also depicts a two-disc sleeve which has a disc pocket, with a disc stopping seal, and a graphics patent on both sides: the sleeve is foldable along a central line to form a booklet-style sleeve. U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,234 shows an alternative flexible two-disc sleeve with two side-by-side disc pockets on one side and two side-by-side graphics pockets on the other: this construction does not fold but serves as an insertable page in a 3-ring binding device.

It would therefore be desirable to provide an improved optical disc holder that permits the storage of one or more optical discs, together with the information and artwork associated with the disc, in a manner that at least alleviates one or more of the aforementioned disadvantages of previous arrangements.

It would also be desirable to provide an optical disc holder that reduces the overall amount of space required to store a collection of optical discs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention essentially entails a holder that is less bulky than conventional crystal or jewel cases but has more protection and solidity than the aforementioned flexible pages or pocket devices.

The present invention provides an optical disc holder that has at least one first pocket for accommodating an optical disc, and at least one second pocket for accommodating an information sheet associated with and related to the disc. A backing for the first and second pockets is substantially rigid whereby a multiplicity of the holders may be arranged as a group side-by-side in a larger storage location and readily withdrawn from or re-inserted in the group.

The holder is therefore advantageously able to accommodate an optical disc and the information associated with and related to the disc while being able to be conveniently stored on a shelf, in a drawer, or suspended in a system or in a portable carrier.

The first and second pockets may be on the same side of the holder, or alternatively on opposite sides so that the backing is between the pockets. In the latter case the second pocket is preferably large enough to accommodate the aforementioned information sheet as an artwork sheet supplied with the disc, without modification by trimming or folding the sheet as supplied.

The holder may be configured to hold any size or shape of optical disc or other storage media, eg. floppy discs, Compact Discs (CDs), Digital Video Discs (DVDs) or other formats of optical discs, but is particularly advantageous for DVDs.

An advantage of the present invention is that the space required to store optical discs, such as CDs and DVDs, is greatly reduced. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the physical storage compression is significantly better when comparing the present invention and traditional jewel cases. For example, five disc holders according to the present invention may be stored in the same space as one standard 1-or 2-disc DVD jewel case.

The pockets may be transparent so that the disc and/or information sheet(s) may be identified without having to remove the disc or sheet from the holder. The pockets may be formed from transparent polypropylene sheet or any other transparent material. Alternatively, the pockets need not be transparent and may be formed from any other suitable material. In either event, the material of the pockets is chemically inert or stable so as not to react with optical disc substrate or have a chemical reaction with the ink used to screen print titles on optical discs.

The backing may comprise a board, eg polypropylene board or other suitable rigid material, eg. fibreboard, cardboard or strawboard. The backing may include a fabric covering to assist in the prevention of disc scratching or like damage. The fabric may be polypropylene or any other suitable fabric.

The pockets and backing may be joined by high frequency welding, adhesive or any other suitable joining method.

There may be first pockets for one, two or several discs, and pockets may each accommodate more than one disc. An advantage of storing more than one disc per pocket is that DVDs or CDs that are commonly sold as ‘double’ issues or special editions may be accommodated in the same holder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To facilitate a better understanding of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings where the optical storage device is illustrated in preferred embodiments. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an optical disc holder according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the optical disc holder depicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an optical disc holder according to the invention for retaining two discs.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the optical disc holder illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front view of an alternate form of the pocket shown in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate modified holders having a detachable hang-sell bar at their top edge, the holder of FIG. 7 being a further alternative embodiment of holder for retaining two discs; and

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the holder depicted in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a first embodiment of optical disc holder 100 according to the present invention for storing a single optical disc. The optical disc holder includes a generally rectangular first pocket 102 dimensioned for snugly storing an optical disc, defined between an outer fabric layer 103 and a backing 106. In the use of this embodiment, the disc is typically a DVD.

The outer fabric layer 103 is joined to backing 106 along all four of its sides and close to its periphery by means of a seam 112 formed for example by high frequency welding, adhesive or any other suitable joining method. Seam 112 closes the periphery of the pocket. Outer fabric layer 103 includes an elongate transverse slot 104 adjacent its top edge 103a: the slot forms the opening of the pocket for inserting the DVD into the pocket. Opening 104 has a large radius concave lower edge 105. The pocket 102 also includes a vertically aligned centrally disposed elongate aperture 108 in outer fabric layer 103 to allow a user of the holder 100 to push the stored disc (not shown) out though opening 104 to remove the disc from the pocket.

The outer fabric layer 103 is formed from transparent polypropylene sheet so that the information and artwork on the disc is visible through the pocket. This allows for fast identification of the stored disc and facilitates efficient selection of discs from a collection or refilling into a collection.

The backing 106 comprises a core layer of polypropylene board or alternate suitable rigid material such as fibreboard, cardboard and strawboard (not visible in FIGS. 1 and 2 but shown at 408 in FIG. 8 in the fragmentary view at A), of gauge selected so that the backing is substantially rigid, enclosed within an outer covering or envelope 107 of polypropylene sheet. The rigidity allows multiple holders 100 to be stored on a shelf, in a drawer or other storage system or device so that discs may be quickly searched for by thumbing or flicking through the holders 100. In general, the rigidity of the backing is such that a multiplicity of the holders may be arranged as a group side-by-side in a larger storage location and readily withdrawn from or re-inserted into the group.

Covering 107 assists in the prevention of disc scratching or like damage.

It will be seen in FIG. 1 that covered backing 106, although approximately coincident with outer fabric 103 on three sides, extends above the top edge of fabric 103 a distance equal to about half the height of the fabric 103. The reason for this is apparent from FIG. 2, which is a rear view that shows the back of disc holder 100. The back of the optical disc holder 100 comprises a generally rectangular second pocket 114 defined by backing 106, and a further fabric layer 115 seamed at 113 to the backing along the sides and bottom edges of the backing, again by high frequency welding, adhesive or other suitable joining method.

At the top edge of backing 106 and fabric layer 115, the two are not joined, leaving an opening 110 through which the user may insert into the pocket 102 the information sheet which typically includes graphics, associated with and related to the DVD. Generally, this sheet is inserted without modification, i.e. without trimming, cutting, folding or otherwise deforming the sheet or altering the existing folds within the information sheet as supplied with the DVD in its normal retail box. It is the intended contents of pocket 114 that determine the dimensions of disc holder 100.

The top edge of fabric layer 115 has a central notch 116 to expose a small part of the information sheet to allow a user to grip the sheet to remove it from holder 100. The layer 115 is preferably transparent so that the information relating to the disc may be easily seen through the sheet. A suitable material for layer 115 is polypropylene sheet or fabric.

FIGS. 3 and 4 shown front and rear views respectively of an embodiment of optical disc holder 200 in accordance with the present invention for retaining a pair of discs. Holder 200 is formed similarly to optical disc holder 100 of FIG. 1, and like reference numerals prefixed with a “2” instead of a “1” are assigned to like features. Holder 200 additionally includes a second front pocket 222, in addition to pocket 202, formed by outer layer 209, for snugly holding a second disc. Layer 209, and pocket 222, extend under pocket 202. Pocket 222 also includes a vertically aligned elongate aperture 211 in outer fabric layer 209 and an elongate transverse slot 219 for inserting a second optical disc (not shown). The elongate transverse slot 219 has a large radius concave lower edge 217. As apparent from the rear view of FIG. 4, the back of optical disc holder 200 is substantially the same as that of optical disc holder 100 in FIG. 1, and again like reference numerals prefixed with a “2” are assigned to like features.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative two-disc holder 300 in which the disc pockets 302, 322 are positioned lower down, and the upper edges 317 of the pockets have a broad V-profile with a large central cut-out 316. The pockets 302,322 are also narrower than the holder itself, for a snugger fit, resulting in four side seams 312,313.

Conveniently, the optical disc holders of FIGS. 1 to 5 may be fitted at their top edge with a detachable hang-sell bar. An example is illustrated in FIG. 6, where the hang-sell bar 420 extends along the top edge 417 of the holder 400 and is connected thereto by a perforated line of weakness 424 by which the bar may be snapped off when no longer required. Bar 420 as illustrated has an inclined entry slot 430 for side loading. Instead of the slot 430, there may be an inverted T-slot 430a of conventional form in a rectangular bar 420a, as depicted in FIG. 7.

It is envisaged that the centrally placed T-slot 430a is the type of hook a retail store would use when all the items being loaded on a store peg were identical such as blank CD or DVD media or batteries. This is represented in the top illustration. The side loading slot 430 would be preferable when the items offered for sale were varied titles such as a music and DVD or computer or game hardware allowing consumers to make their selection without unloading every piece to reach their selection.

The holder shown in FIG. 7 is also further embodiment of two-disc holder 400 with two disc pockets 402,422 at the top of the front face, and a third pocket 419 below them, for, eg, an information sheet or the booklet commonly supplied with a CD set. The overlay sheet 419a defining this pocket 419 is typically transparent. The rear face would have the large information/graphics sheet pocket as in the other embodiments.

The compactness of the illustrated holders is well represented by the side-elevational view in FIG. 8 of the embodiment 400 of FIG. 7.

It is emphasized that, although only holders for one or two discs are illustrated, there may be separate pockets for each of more than two discs, indeed for several disks, and pockets may be such as to accommodate more than one disc.

Claims

1. An optical disc holder comprising:

at least one first pocket for accommodating an optical disc;

at least one second pocket for accommodating an information sheet associated with and related to the disc; and

a backing for the first and second pockets;

wherein the backing is substantially rigid whereby a multiplicity of the holders may be arranged as a group side-by-side in a larger storage location and readily withdrawn from or re-inserted in the group.

2. An optical disc holder according to claim 1 wherein said backing comprises a board.

3. An optical disc holder according to claim 2 wherein said board is polypropylene board.

4. An optical disc holder according to claim 2 wherein said board is selected from fibreboard, cardboard and strawboard.

5. An optical disc holder according to claim 4 wherein said backing further includes a fabric covering to prevent scratching or damage to discs in said first pocket.

6. An optical disc holder according to claim 5 wherein the fabric is a polypropylene fabric.

7. An optical disc holder according to any preceding claim 3 wherein the first pocket and second pockets are on opposite sides of the holder so that said backing is between the pockets.

8. An optical disc holder according to claim 7 wherein said second pocket is large enough to accommodate said information as an artwork sheet supplied with the disc, without modification by trimming or folding the sheet as supplied.

9. An optical disc holder according to claim 8 wherein the optical disc is a DVD.

10. An optical disc holder according to any preceding claim 1, further including a third pocket for accommodating a second optical disc, said first and third pockets being on a first face of the holder.

11. An optical disc holder according to claim 10, wherein said second pocket is on a second face of the holder so that said backing is between (i) the first and third pockets on one side of the backing and (ii) the second pocket on the other side of the backing.

12. An optical disc holder according to claim 11 wherein said first face has a further pocket for an information sheet or booklet.

13. An optical disc holder according to claim 1, wherein said first and second pockets are on the same side of the holder.

14. An optical disc holder according to claim 1, further including a hang-sell bar at an edge of the holder.

15. An optical disc holder according to claim 14, wherein said hang-sell bar is detachably attached to the holder.

16. An optical disc holder comprising:

at least a first pocket and a third pocket for accommodating respective optical discs, which first and third pockets are on a first face of the holder;

at least one second pocket for accommodating an information sheet associated with and related to at least one of said the discs, which further pocket is on a second face of the holder;

a further pocket for an information sheet or booklet, which further pocket is disposed on said first face; and

a backing between (i) the first and third pockets on one side of the backing and (ii) the second pocket on the other side of the backing.

17. An optical disc holder according to claim 16 wherein said backing includes a fabric covering to prevent scratching or damage to discs in said first and third pockets.

18. An optical disc holder according to claim 17 wherein the fabric is polypropylene fabric.

19. An optical disc holder according to claim 16, wherein said second pocket is large enough to accommodate said information sheet as an artwork sheet supplied with the respective disc, without modification by trimming or folding the sheet as supplied.

20. An optical disc holder according to claim 19 wherein the respective optical disc is a DVD.

21. An optical disc holder according to claim 16 further including a hang-sell bar at an edge of the holder.

22. An optical disc holder according to claim 21, wherein said hang-sell bar is detachably attached to the holder.

23. An optical disc holder according to claim 16, wherein one or both of said second and further pockets are defined, at least in part, by a respective transparent sheet through which a respective information sheet or booklet in the pocket may be viewed.

24. An optical disc holder according to claim 23, wherein said second pocket is large enough to accommodate said information sheet as an artwork sheet supplied with the respective disc, without modification by trimming or folding the sheet as supplied.

25. An optical disc holder according to claim 23 further including a hang-sell bar at an edge of the holder.

26. An optical disc holder according to claim 1 wherein the first pocket and second pockets are on opposite sides of the holder so that said backing is between the pockets.

27. An optical disc holder according to claim 26 wherein said second pocket is large enough to accommodate said information as an artwork sheet supplied with the disc, without modification by trimming or folding the sheet as supplied.

28. An optical disc holder according to claim 27 wherein the optical disc is a DVD.

29. An optical disc holder according to claim 11 wherein said backing comprises a board.

30. An optical disc holder according to claim 29 wherein said board is polypropylene board.