Optical disc case structure

Details Optical disc case structure Optical disc case structure

2002-06-25

2004-01-06

Luong, Shian (Department: 3728)

Special receptacle or package

For holding a machine readable recording medium

For holding an optical disc

C206S310000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06672454

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an optical disc case structure. More particularly, the invention relates to an ultra-thin case structure for receiving an optical disc having a diameter of 8 cm.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the development of information technology, the amount of numerical data that is transferred, processed, and stored becomes tremendous. Optical storage discs, such as compact discs, are presently the principal supports of numerical data storage. The optical discs are conventionally placed within a disc case.
Referring to FIG.
1
and
FIG. 2
, two perspective views schematically show the structure of a conventional optical disc case. The conventional disc case usually receives a standard disc
10
having a diameter of 12 cm. The disc case is constructed from a bottom cover
1
and a top cover
2
assembled with each other. The bottom cover
1
includes a bottom board
11
whose front and rear outer peripheries are respectively provided with front and rear peripheral projections
12
that are symmetrical to each other. Each front/rear peripheral projection
12
is composed of two projecting elements that are spaced apart from each other via a groove
15
and, furthermore, respectively define a flange
13
via a recessed portion
14
approximately located at a central position of each projecting element. Left and right peripheral projections
16
,
17
further project respectively from a left outer periphery and a right outer periphery. An outer surface of the right peripheral projection
17
, at a central portion, is further recessed into an opening groove
171
. Each front/rear peripheral projection
12
extends beyond the left peripheral projection
16
into a connecting segment
19
provided with a pivot axle
191
.
A top surface of the bottom board
11
is provided with short arcuate projections
111
that are coaxial to one another to fit an outer diameter of the disc
10
. The short arcuate projections
11
are conventionally four arcuate projections placed vis-a-vis four corners of the bottom board
11
, defined by the connection of the front/rear peripheral projections
12
with the left and right peripheral projections
16
,
17
. Inwardly from the short arcuate projections
111
, long arcuate projections
113
, conventionally thinner and smaller, are placed on the bottom board
11
respectively vis-a-vis the left and right peripheral projections
16
,
17
. The long arcuate projections
113
are coaxial to each other with a length greater than two corresponding short arcuate projections
111
. On the top surface of the bottom board
11
, a projecting ring
112
is arranged vis-a-vis a central periphery of the central hole of the disc
10
while a holding member
18
is further placed vis-a-vis the central hole of the disc
10
. The holding member
18
is composed of at least three portions. Each portion respectively has an arcuate positioning tongue
181
and an arcuate holding tongue
182
to position and hold the disc
10
, as shown in FIG.
2
through
FIG. 4. A
protuberance
184
is located on an upper portion of the outer surface of the arcuate holding tongue
182
to position and hold the disc
10
by engaging its central hole. The arcuate positioning tongue
181
has a lateral contour longer than that of the arcuate holding tongue
182
, and an outer surface of the tongue
181
is upwardly curved into a rounded profile
183
.
The top cover
2
includes a top board
21
whose left, front, and rear outer peripheries are respectively provided with projecting peripheral segments
24
,
22
,
23
, while the right outer periphery is opened. Furthermore, connecting segments
26
are placed proximate to the left peripheral segment
24
and respectively spaced apart from the front/rear peripheral segments
22
,
23
via spacing grooves
25
. A pivot hole
261
is defined through each connecting segments
22
,
23
to engage with the pivot axle
191
of the connecting segments
19
. Attachment grooves
221
,
231
are further defined in the front and rear peripheral segments
22
,
23
to engage with protuberances
121
respectively formed on the front and rear peripheral projections
12
, when the bottom and top covers
1
,
2
are closed by folding onto each other.
On the top cover
21
, a long holder bar
27
is placed proximate to the left peripheral segment
24
while pair of short holder bars
28
is placed proximate to the right peripheral side of the top cover
21
. A pair of transversal flanges
29
respectively project inwardly from an inner surface of the front and rear peripheral segments
22
,
23
, and engage the inwardly recessed portions
14
of the bottom board
11
. A slot
291
is further respectively defined through each transversal flange
29
of the top board
21
.
With the above case structure, the disc
10
is held in or released from the disc case by means of the protuberance
184
and the resilience property of the material that constitutes the arcuate holding tongue
182
. The deviation of the arcuate holding tongue
182
is therefore limited. The above conventional case structure may be subjected to various deficiencies, as described hereafter. For example, the protuberance
184
may be easily broken or the arcuate holding tongue
182
may be deformed. Furthermore, the bottom surface of the arcuate holding tongue
182
is coplanar with the bottom surface of the bottom board
11
. As a result, the pressure exerted on the arcuate holding tongue
182
, when the disc
10
is taken, can generate a negative stress on the contact portion of the bottom surface of the arcuate holding tongue
182
with the bottom surface of the bottom board
11
. Although a resulting deviation may not be significant, this deficiency however may cause the holding member
18
not to be durable. Therefore, a ringed recess
185
is usually defined on the periphery of the holding member
18
to relieve stress. However, this disposition does not provide satisfactory results with respect to the durability of the holding member.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an optical disc case structure that overcomes the above problems by having a more reliable holding member. It is another object of the invention to provide an optical disc case structure that has a reduced dimensional size so that it can be disposed in a smaller occupation space.
Furthermore, it is another object of the invention to provide an optical disc case structure that allows an easy opening of the disc case and an easy take-up of the disc placed therein.
To accomplish the above and other objectives, an optical disc case structure of the invention comprises a bottom cover and a top cover that are pivotally mounted to each other. The bottom cover respectively comprises a bottom board, a front peripheral projection, a rear peripheral projection, a take-up/put-in groove, a protruding ring, a left peripheral projection, a right peripheral projection, a plurality of first connecting segments respectively provided with pivot axles, and a holding member. The top cover comprises a top board, a left peripheral segment, a front peripheral segment, a rear peripheral segment, and a plurality of second connecting segments respectively provided with pivot holes. The bottom cover and the top cover pivotally assemble with each other via the pivot axles engaging the pivot holes. The holding member comprises at least two pairs of arcuate positioning tongues and arcuate holding tongues. The arcuate positioning and holding tongues together form the holding member that projects approximately perpendicular to the bottom board to engage a central hole of a disc. Each arcuate positioning tongue has an inner surface thereof upwardly extending in inclined and taper manners while an outer surface thereof upwardly bends into a rounded profile. Each arcuate holding tongue is spaced apart from and adjacent to at least one arcuate positioning tongue. Each arcuate holding tongue is connected to the bottom boar

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Optical disc case structure does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Optical disc case structure, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Optical disc case structure will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3263011