Special receptacle or package – For holding a machine readable recording medium – For holding an optical disc
Patent
1996-03-29
1998-12-01
Gehman, Bryon P.
Special receptacle or package
For holding a machine readable recording medium
For holding an optical disc
206232, 2063083, 206555, 206804, B65D 8557
Patent
active
058425632
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to storage containers for information-bearing disc devices, such as compact discs ("CDs"), compact disc, read-only-memory ("CD-ROM") devices and video laserdiscs as well as for the printed instructional or advertising matter provided with such discs. The invention additionally relates to seal means formed integral with such containers to enable an observer to determine whether the container contents have been accessed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Compact discs were originally designed as a storage and reproduction medium for digitalized music programs. CD-ROMs, on the other hand, are utilized for storing text and graphics, as well as for audio information. Discs created for these purposes have a plastic-coated, aluminized reflective surface containing digitalized information on one side thereof.
In order to access the program encoded upon, for example, an audio CD, an infrared beam from a semiconductor laser is focused upon the information-bearing surface through a series of lenses and prisms. The laser light which strikes the surface is then converted into a digital electronic signal. The resultant signal is then decoded and fed through an electronic filter, converting it from digital form into an analog signal suitable for any hi-fi amplifier.
A protective plastic coating on the surface of information-bearing discs of the type described herein prevents dust or debris from reaching the underlying reflective metal surface. Scratches or blemishes in the protective coating can thus interfere with the laser light beam.
One common cause of such damaging scratches is the removal or insertion of such information-bearing disc devices from or into, respectively, a molded plastic storage case of the type commonly used to hold such discs. Presently, the most common type of container utilized for this purpose is the well known "jewel box" case (hereinafter referred to simply as the "jewel box"), so-called due to the hinged manner in which it is opened. The jewel box is described, for example, in International Publication No. WO 86/07182. However, the jewel box is difficult to manipulate and contains many sharp edges which can scratch or gouge the information-bearing surface of the disc if a disc is carelessly handled, resulting in a loss of some or all of the information contained thereon.
Improved storage containers capable of enhanced protection of the outer, information-bearing surface on such disc devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,771,883, 4,881,640 and 4,899,875 to Herr et al. These references describe plastic storage containers of a type comprising a slidable drawer member dimensioned and configured to receive and store information-bearing discs within an outer shell in a manner that significantly diminishes the chance of scraping or otherwise damaging the information-bearing surfaces of the disc.
Further to the above, however, a booklet containing advertising and/or informational matter concerning the contents of the disc, sometimes including photographs and/or drawings, is typically included in the storage container with the disc. This material, referred to herein as "printed matter" may, for example, describe or illustrate the musical or informational contents encoded upon the disc, provide song titles or information about the recording artist, set forth the lyrics of the songs recorded thereon, or provide instructions on how to access the material upon, e.g., a CD-ROM.
The prior art jewel box typically stores such booklets adjacent the inner front panel of the container where they are held in place by several positioning tabs molded integrally upon the inner surface of the front panel. When the jewel box is opened to retrieve the disc, the booklet thus remains secured against the inner surface of the front panel by the tabs. To retrieve the booklet, the user must slide or bend the printed matter out from under the tabs. This operation tends to be rather awkward and often causes damage, i.e., bending, tearing, etc., to the booklet. The storage containers disc
REFERENCES:
patent: 2500773 (1950-03-01), Robins
patent: 2848106 (1958-08-01), Rice
patent: 2850158 (1958-09-01), Woodward
patent: 2866541 (1958-12-01), Ravis
patent: 3232421 (1966-02-01), Young
patent: 3710977 (1973-01-01), Van Der Enden
patent: 3730602 (1973-05-01), Campbell et al.
patent: 3860248 (1975-01-01), Hunt et al.
patent: 3876134 (1975-04-01), Rice et al.
patent: 3888350 (1975-06-01), Horvath
patent: 3951264 (1976-04-01), Heidecker et al.
patent: 4084694 (1978-04-01), Lainez et al.
patent: 4174034 (1979-11-01), Hoo
patent: 4266784 (1981-05-01), Torrington
patent: 4316539 (1982-02-01), Torrington
patent: 4379507 (1983-04-01), Llabres
patent: 4387802 (1983-06-01), Shearing et al.
patent: 4411360 (1983-10-01), Gardineer, Jr. et al.
patent: 4428014 (1984-01-01), Saito
patent: 4453631 (1984-06-01), Mark
patent: 4463849 (1984-08-01), Prusak et al.
patent: 4463850 (1984-08-01), Gorog
patent: 4476978 (1984-10-01), Saito
patent: 4535888 (1985-08-01), Nusselder
patent: 4617655 (1986-10-01), Aldenhoven
patent: 4620630 (1986-11-01), Moss
patent: 4623062 (1986-11-01), Chase et al.
patent: 4635792 (1987-01-01), Yamada
patent: 4640413 (1987-02-01), Kaplan et al.
patent: 4664261 (1987-05-01), Frodelius
patent: 4694954 (1987-09-01), Moss
patent: 4694957 (1987-09-01), Ackeret
patent: 4702369 (1987-10-01), Philosophe
patent: 4709812 (1987-12-01), Kosterka
patent: 4722439 (1988-02-01), Grobecker et al.
patent: 4726615 (1988-02-01), Goldberg
patent: 4728157 (1988-03-01), David, Jr.
patent: 4760507 (1988-07-01), Ackeret
patent: 4771883 (1988-09-01), Herr et al.
patent: 4881640 (1989-11-01), Herr et al.
patent: 4899875 (1990-02-01), Herr et al.
patent: 4905217 (1990-02-01), King et al.
patent: 4940142 (1990-07-01), Behrens et al.
patent: 4971195 (1990-11-01), Mitsuyama
patent: 5088859 (1992-02-01), Mahler
patent: 5188230 (1993-02-01), O'Brien et al.
patent: 5219090 (1993-06-01), Vollmann
patent: 5383554 (1995-01-01), Cowan
patent: 5445265 (1995-08-01), Herr et al.
Herr Arthur G. F.
Johnson Robert W.
Welles Toby S.
Gehman Bryon P.
Laserfile International, Inc.
LandOfFree
Storage container for information-bearing disc devices does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Storage container for information-bearing disc devices, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Storage container for information-bearing disc devices will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2389844