Special receptacle or package – For holding a machine readable recording medium – For holding an optical disc
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-29
2001-04-03
Fidei, David T. (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
For holding a machine readable recording medium
For holding an optical disc
C206S425000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209719
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a storage box for CDs, computer disks, cassette tapes and like mass information carriers, comprising a box part, at least one drawer part, and spring means and locking means associated with the or each drawer part, the or each drawer part being arranged for receiving the mass information carrier and being slidably receivable, via a drawer opening, in the box part, the spring means associated with the or each drawer part being arranged for pressing the relevant drawer part into an at least partially opened position, the locking means associated with the or each drawer part being arranged for holding the relevant drawer part in a closed position against the action of the spring means; the box part, the drawer part, the spring means and the locking means all being manufactured in an injection molding process, at least partly from synthetic material, the box part being manufactured from at least one molded part, the drawer part being manufactured from one molded part, the spring means and the locking means forming an integral part of one or more of the molded parts mentioned and hence being formed integrally with these molded parts during the injection molding process, the locking means forming an integral part of both the molded part comprising the drawer part and the at least one molded part comprising the box part.
Such storage box is known from international patent application WO 87/05884. On page 11, lines 27-32 of this publication, it is described that the spring
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can be an integral part of the drawer part or the box part. Hence, from this publication, a skilled person may learn that the number of parts of which the storage box is manufactured, can be limited by designing the spring as an element formed integrally with the molded parts. The drawings of this publication directly make it clear that this also holds for the locking means.
A drawback of the known publication, however, is formed by the construction of the locking means. The drawer part of the known storage box can only be opened with one hand when a single storage box is taken in the hand. When a box located in a stack is to be opened, the left-hand side of the stack should be freely accessible for operating the locking means. In practice, however, usually more stacks of storage boxes are disposed side by side. Under those circumstances, the known storage box can only be opened when the storage box is removed from the stack. This is particularly inconvenient.
European patent application EP-A-0 568 729 discloses another storage box. The drawback of the construction known from that publication is that it consists of a large number of parts, to be manufactured separately. After the manufacture of these separate parts, the different parts of the storage box have to be assembled, which operation can be performed only manually. The manufacture of the large number of separate parts and the assembling operations have as a consequence that the cost price of the known box is too high, on which account it has not found widespread application in the market. Another drawback of the known box is that the unlocking means are operated by a separated unlocking button which occupies a considerable amount of space next to the drawer part. Not only does this disturb the outward appearance of the storage box, but the storage box is moreover considerably larger than the dimensions of the mass information carrier to be stored would require.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a storage box for mass information carriers of the type mentioned in the preamble, which storage box has the advantages of the known storage box, i.e. built up from few parts, and in which the drawbacks of the known storage box are overcome. The intended storage box must be capable of being manufactured in an economical manner and, moreover, must have an elegant outward appearance. The space occupied by the locking means must be minimal.
To this end, according to the invention, the storage box of the type mentioned in the preamble is characterized in that the locking means comprise at least one locking assembly, each locking assembly comprising a locking projection, an unlocking projection, a release projection, a spring lever, a first projection, a second projection and a retaining projection, the locking projection, the unlocking projection and the release projection forming a part of the at least one molded part comprising the box part, the first projection and the second projection being connected to a free end of the spring lever, which spring lever, together with the retaining projection, forms part of the molded part comprising the drawer part, the first projection being arranged for cooperating with the locking projection and the unlocking projection, the second projection being arranged for cooperating with the release projection and the retaining projection, in a closed position, the first projection being caught behind the locking projection, wherein for opening the drawer part the spring lever being pressed into an oblique position in that the first projection strikes the unlocking projection, the second projection thereby catching behind the retaining projection, enabling the first projection, in the slide open movement of the drawer part, to pass the locking projection, the second projection striking the release projection after the first projection has passed the locking projection, causing the second projection to be pressed from the retaining projection and allowing the spring lever to resume its original position.
Such storage box may have exactly the same dimensions as the conventional CD boxes, which are provided with a cover part which is pivotally connected to a bottom part. The locking means may be incorporated behind the drawer part, adjacent the sidewall located opposite the drawer opening. This enables the storage box according to the invention to be stored in the existing storage systems. Due to the construction of the locking means, entirely integrally formed with the molded parts from which the storage box is built up, the drawer can be opened by pressing the front side of the drawer. Hence, the opening and closing of the drawer part can be effected in a particularly simple manner. Even when the storage box is arranged in several stacks side by side, a storage box from the stack can be opened with one hand without the storage box having to be removed from the stack. Since the locking means are completely accommodated in the interior of the storage box, the storage box according to the invention moreover has an elegant outward appearance.
Preferably, the number of molded parts for the box part is kept to a minimum, i.e. one molded part. However, in view of the injection molds being withdrawable, it may be necessary that the box part be built up from two or more molded parts. In general, the drawer part can be assembled from one molded part. For the sake of the assembly of the storage box, the molded parts of the box part can readily be snapped together. The final assembly is effected by sliding the molded part comprising the drawer part into the drawer opening. After this final assembling operation, which can readily be automatized, the storage box is ready for use. Hence, the storage box according to the invention can be manufactured in a very inexpensive manner. The phrase ‘at least partly’ in the claim relates to embodiments wherein, in the injection molding process, a for instance metal spring is embedded in the plastic. This does not lead to additional assembling operations, because the metal parts form an integral part of the relevant molded part.
Further elaborations of the storage box according to the invention are described in the subclaims and will hereinafter be further explained on the basis of two exemplary embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Because known set-up devices for mass information carriers are generally intended for boxes having a pivotable cover, the set-up devices therefor are of such design that the st
Klijsen Hendrikus Lambertus Cornelis
Rombouts Frederik Willem
Fidei David T.
Hoffmann & Baron , LLP
Xubapa V.O.F.
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