Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Storage medium structure – Combined with diverse art structure
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-15
2001-10-16
Ometz, David L. (Department: 2652)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Storage medium structure
Combined with diverse art structure
C369S286000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06304544
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to novelty trading items and, more particularly, to novelty trading items for storing and communicating data to enthusiasts, hobbyists, and collectors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Over the years the trading card industry has developed as both a novelty item and a collectors item. As time goes by, the value of many of these trading cards which have printed indicia thereon has increased so that the trading card industry has grown significantly over the years and many trading cards have substantially increased in value. As technology has changed, however, various types of trading cards and methods of storing and communicating data have been developed.
The concept of associating card devices which store and communicate information to a user with indicia or an image thereon has been known for many years. Examples of such devices can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,691,312 by Petersen titled “Tape Recording Apparatus And System Having A Very Thin Cassette,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,853 by Yokokawa titled Dual-Function Information-Carrying Sheet Device,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,259 by Pearson et al. titled “
Video Sports Game System Using Trading Cards
,” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,035 by Bauer titled “Talking Entertainment Card.” These prior card devices, however, either used older methods of storing and communicating information such as cassettes or used integrated circuit technology. Accordingly, these prior methods can be expensive and complex to manufacture even in large volumes and neither understood nor appreciated the benefits, capabilities, design, or construction of optical digital data storage devices, and more particularly optical compact discs. Only recently has the technology and concepts related to the use of optical digital data storage devices really increased and been accepted in the market so that the relative price of optical digital data storage media has decreased dramatically.
Conventional compact discs, for example, are conventionally fabricated in either 80 millimeter (“mm”) or 120 mm sizes and are formed of generally rigid plastic discs. As understood by those skilled in the art, the discs are often formed by the use of a mold-based replication system using injection molding techniques. Each compact disc includes a series of either circular or spiral data tracks which are illuminated and read by a source of coherent light such as a laser. In producing these compact discs, data is optically mastered from data files and positive copies of the data are made. Die stampers are produced from electroplated shims, and discs are molded from the negative images on the die stampers. The discs are then individually metalized, and a lacquer coating is applied to each disc. The layer of rigid plastic positioned between each data track and the source of coherent light provides structural rigidity, protects the data tracks, and also functions as a single integral lens element to refract and focus the coherent light beam onto a selected data track. A disc label is also printed, and the disc inserted into a clam shell or other package for shipment to customers.
Recently, however, other thin film digital data storage medium and methods of manufacturing digital data storage media have been developed including for use with trading cards. An example of this thin film digital data storage medium and related methods can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,296 by Smith et al. titled “Optically Readable Thin Film Digital Data Storage Medium.” These recently developed trading cards, however, require extensive and new manufacturing investments, require a special adaptor to make the trading cards compatible with compact disc playing systems, and can be inhibited by marketing and manufacturing constraints, including the additional special adaptor, which can make this recently developed technology less commercially feasible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With the foregoing in mind, the present invention provides a trading card optical compact disc and methods of using a compact disc which are readily compatible with existing disc readers and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. The present invention also advantageously provides a trading card optical compact disc and method of forming a trading card that stores and communicates trading card information to a user of a disc reader in a manner that is relatively easy to manufacture in conjunction with known optical compact disc manufacturing techniques and thereby does not require extensive additional molding and tooling costs. The present invention further provides a trading card optical compact disc which does not require a separate special adapter for compatibility with existing disc readers.
More particularly, a trading card optical compact disc and method of using and forming the compact disc are provided which are compatible with a disc reader having a centrally located spindle and a seating ring for supporting and rotating a compact disc positioned thereon. The trading card optical compact disc according to a first embodiment of the present invention preferably has at least a first plastic rectangular layer having a width of about 2.5 inches and a length of about 3.5 inches and having a pattern of digital data encoded thereon. A second metallic layer if formed on at least portions of the first plastic layer, and a third protective layer is formed on at least the second layer for protecting the metallic layer. An indicia bearing fourth layer is formed on the third layer and has a generally planar upper surface for displaying indicia therefrom. An opening extends through the first, second, third, and fourth layers in a medial portion thereof. Trading card interface seating means is preferably integrally formed in at least the first layer for seating the trading card onto a loading tray of a disc reader so as to interface with only portions of the seating ring and not other portions of the seating ring of the disc reader and to read digital data stored thereon from the trading card optical compact disc.
According to the present invention, the trading card seating means is preferably provided by the at least a first plastic layer which has a major elevational portion having a first predetermined height and a minor elevational portion having a second predetermined height. The major elevational portion has the encoded digital data thereon, and the minor elevational portion is preferably devoid of the encoded digital data. For alignment, balancing, and compatibility purposes, the major elevational portion is advantageously formed in a medial portion of the trading card and has first and second pairs of spaced-apart outer side peripheries defining outer boundaries of the major elevational portion. Each of the first pair of space-apart outer side peripheries arcuately extend between each of the second pair of space-apart outer side peripheries. Each of the second pair of space-apart outer side peripheries extend generally linearly between each of the first pair of spaced-apart outer peripheries. Each of the arcuately-extending first pair of spaced-apart outer side peripheries of the major elevational portion are centered about an axis extending through the medial opening and generally perpendicular to the linearly-extending second pair of space-apart outer side peripheries. The encoded digital data of the major elevational portion of the first layer is formed within a circular data zone and preferably does not cover, i.e., less than, the entire surface area of the major elevational portion of the first layer. The circular data zone has a first inner circular periphery having a radius of at least 0.6 inches and a second outer circular periphery having a radius of less than 1.25 inches. The circular data zone is preferably capable of storing between 60-70 Megabytes of information or data therein in some compact disc formats, e.g., audio or CD-ROM, or 450-500 Megabytes in other compact disc formats, e.g., digital video. A first non-metallic zone surrounds and extends outwardly a predetermined distance from the medial opening
Engelking Raymond K.
Everidge Benjamin J.
Pierson Gerald A.
Allen Dyer Doppelt Milbrath & Gilchrist, P.A.
Diskxpress US, Inc.
Ometz David L.
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