Supports: racks – Special article – Recorded music type
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-02
2003-11-11
Stodola, Daniel P. (Department: 3634)
Supports: racks
Special article
Recorded music type
C211S041120, C206S308100, C206S310000, C312S009590, C312S009610
Reexamination Certificate
active
06644482
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical disk holding apparatus and particularly an apparatus that has hanging units to carry optical disks and built-in hooks on the hanging units to hang on holding units for storing the optical disks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Optical disks are the most popular recording medium nowadays. They have huge capacity and great reliability. Hence they are widely used for storing data such as music, images, computer software and the like.
In order to protect the optical disks from being damaged, there are many optical disk housing products being developed and marketed, such as optical disk cartridges, optical disk pouches, optical disk support racks and optical disk containers. The optical disk cartridge is generally a box with a spline chuck in the center for engaging with the center opening of an optical disk. Once the optical disk is placed inside, the box may be closed.
The optical disk pouch is usually a bag-like container made of a non-woven fabric for directly holding an optical disk inside. Its protection effect is inferior to the optical disk cartridge. In general, a plurality of optical disk pouches may be put together and held in a larger optical disk packet.
The optical disk support rack is generally an open type stand with a plurality of holding segments. The support rack cannot directly hold the optical disks, but is mainly to house the optical disk cartridges in the holding segments, with the optical disks held in the cartridges.
The optical disk container generally has a plurality of carriers for holding optical disks and a cabinet for housing or supporting the carriers. Classified by retrieving and loading movements, the most commonly used containers are sliding types and swiveling types. That is, the linkage method between the carriers and the cabinet utilizes either slide tracks or pivotal hinges to allow the carriers to be moved out of the cabinet in selected ways for users to retrieve or load the optical disks. As the carriers and cabinet have special linkage relationships formed therebetween, they need special matching and engaging designs and constructions. Thus conventional containers have more complex structures, particularly on the linkage mechanisms between the carriers and cabinet. As a result, they require more production and assembly time, and are more costly to make.
Furthermore, the optical disk containers should be made with different dimensional specifications for housing different numbers of carriers at selected locations, to allow the optical disks to be held in the carriers and cabinet in an organized way to fully utilize the limited cabinet space. To achieve this end, the carriers should be packed tightly and have very small tolerance between the neighboring carriers. As the carriers have very limited area for people to retrieve and move, it is easy to mistakenly remove a carrier adjacent to that which the user intends to retrieve. This is troublesome and could result in operation errors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages, the primary object of the invention is to provide an optical disk holding apparatus that employs a hanging means to store the optical disks.
The optical disk holding apparatus according to the invention consists of a holding unit and a hanging unit. The holding unit includes at least an elevated carrying member. The hanging unit is a plate member slightly larger than the optical disk that has a snap clip to clip the optical disk, and a hanging hook extended outwards from it. The snap clip holds the optical disk securely on the plate member. The hanging unit may be hung on the carrying member in the holding unit through the hanging hook. Thus a novel optical disk storing method is formed.
The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
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Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Harris Erica B
Sinta Technology Corp.
Stodola Daniel P.
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