CA2162590A1

CA2162590A1 - Compact disc package

Info

Publication number: CA2162590A1
Application number: CA 2162590
Authority: CA
Inventors: Diane L. Mase; Blake W. Yeaman; Peter Schakow; Munson W. Everett
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Sun Microsystems Inc
Priority date: 1994-04-01
Filing date: 1995-03-31
Publication date: 1995-10-12
Also published as: JPH08511229A; EP0700357A4; EP0700357A1; WO1995026917A1; KR960702410A

Abstract

A compact disc or similar article container (50) is disclosed, which is made from a single sheet of packaging materials configured in a form which is foldable to produce the container, the container having a first section (56, 57, 58, 62) with overlapping components of the materials to form pockets between these overlapping components, the pockets being adaptable to receive and hold a disk-like article, and having a second section (52, 55) with overlapping components of the materials and the second section being foldable over the first section to provide a protective cover for the first section. The container uses no non-biodegradable plastic materials. Also disclosed is a method for configuring and making a container from a single sheet of packaging materials, which can hold up to four disk-like articles, using minimum materials in volume and weight and using no nonbiodegradable plastic materials.

Description

~VO 95/26917 ~ ~ 6 2 5 91~ PCT/US95/04048 COMPACT DISC PACKAGE

BACKGROUND OF THE ~NVENT~ON
Field of the Invention This invention relates to pack~ging systems and more particularly to packages for holding and shipping CD and C~ROMs and similar disc and disk-like articles.

Art Background The Compact Disc (CD) introduced into the United States in 1983 was primarily a device, like a phonograph record, used for recording sound. Data is recorded on the CD in digital form as a series of tiny pits that are cover~d with a clear, protective coating. Instead of a needle vibrating in the grooves, a laser in a CD player shines light onto the pits and picks up the reflections as binary code. Thus the CD is also referred to an an optical disc. The Compact Disc Read Only Memory ("CD-ROM") is a compact optical disc based upon the Compact Audio ("CD") consumer product. The CD-ROM is used to hold text, graphics and sound. The CD-ROM is 120 mm in diameter, single sided and can hold in excess of 600 MegaBytes of data.

WO 95/26917 6?,~i99 PCT/US95/04048 The CD has become the medium of choice in the music recording industry and the CD-ROM has similarly become ubiquitous in the electronics systems business. Computer hardware and software manufacturers now ship millions of CD-ROM units each month, containing various kinds of software, including computer programs, databases, documentation, etc. A CD or CD-ROM has no inherent protective covering like the earlier vintage thin mylar floppy disks with their enclosing protective cases. As a result, these CD and CD-ROM are typically packaged in the standard single or double disc plastic "jewel case"
package for protection in shipping and storage. Hereinafter "CD" will refer to both CD and CD-ROM unless otherwise indicated. A single disc jewel case is depicted in Pigure 1. Referring to Figure 1, a typical jewel case package 10 is shown comprising a bottom member 16 which is typically made of clear plastic, an opaque molded plastic holding member 18 which is seated in the bottom plastic member 16 and which has a recessed area 19 for receiving a CD and a central hub 17 for holding the CD in the holding member 18. The typical jewel case 10 also has a top member 12 which is also made of clear plastic, this top member 12 usually having small tabs 14 SUBSTITUTE SHEET

2 1 ~ 2 5 9 0 PCT/US95/04048 on opposing sides which are used to receive on the underside of the top member 12 an identification label or explanatory booklet. There are various embodiments of the plastic jewel case for holding two CDs. They all typically have the same components. Referring to Figure 2 one embodiment of a two CD case 30 is shown comprising a bottom clear plastic member 33 having an opaque plastic insert 34 which is molded to receive and hold one of the CDs, and a top clear plastic member 32 also having an opaque plastic insert 34 which is molded to receive and hold one of the CDs. The top member 32 and the bottom member 33 are connected by means of hinging mechanisms to a central molded plastic member 36.
These prior art packages are characterized by the pervasive use of expensive and non-biodegradable plastics. In an attempt to reduce the expensive use of the clear plastic top and bottom members, some recent embodiments (see for example Figure 3) have incol~olated a heavy paper material member (item 42 in Figure 3) with the molded plastic holding member (item 44 in Figure 3) for holding a single CD glued to one end of the paper member, whereby the other end of the paper member can be folded over the CD to form a protective cover. One type of such package is the DIGIPAKRBy AGI, Inc., Melrore Park, Illinois.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET

WO 95/26917 ~,,39~ PCT/US95/04048 ?,~G

In spite of the reduced use of the non-biodegradable plastic in such embo~ ents of a CD package as exempliffed by the unit shown in Figure 3, any use of non-biodegradable materials (such as the formed plastic holding member 44) is objectionable to many persons in the United States and to official authorities in other countries. In the European Communities Council Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste (93/C
129/08), Section 2, it points out that the directive's main objective (2.2.1) is"to minimize the total impact on the environment of packaging and packaging waste, . . .", and suggests the following to reduce such waste in order of priority (2.2.3):
"elimination/reduction of superfluous packaging;
prevention/reduction of the volume of one way pA~kAging . . .;
re-use of packaging;
recycling of packaging waste;
only in the last resort, final disposal."
Actions taken by some EC countries include:
Austrian Packaging Waste Law: requires manufacturers and importers to take back used packaging without a fee, or alternatively paying up to 1.136 ECU/ton for plastics disposal.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET

WO 95/26917 2 1 6 2 .~ g ~ PCT/US95/04048 German Green Dot Scheme (Waste Management): similar to Austrian scheme with the emphasis on manufacturers and importers to restrict packaging to the absolute minimum in volume and weight to the dimensions actually required to protect the contents and to market the product. Has a quota for industry to recycle 64% of all plastics used to take effect July 1, 1995.
UK; government has challenged industry and im~,orleLs to reduce packaging waste by 50% to 75% by the year 2000.
The assignee of this invention, Sun Microsystems, Inc., like most international computer hardware or software companies, as well as most major music publishing companies, ship thousands of copies of CD-ROM
and CD into the European countries each month. The expense of dealing with the non-biodegradable materials resulting from such laws relating to import and removal of such materials is therefore enormous.
Applicants invention is an elegant and simple paper package capable of securely and protectively holding up to four CDs, CD-ROM or other disk- like articles, using minimum materials in volume and weight and no non-biodegradable plastic materials. Most significantly however, this simple yet effective package reduces the average cost of manufacture of the package dramatically. For example, in relation to the SUBSTITUTE SHEET

WO 95/26917 ~, ~ 6 2 5 3 PCT/US95/04048 type of package illustrated in Figure 3, the present invention, when used to contain a single CD, reduces the packaging cost from 35% to 50%; and when used to hold two CDs, reduces the cost from 60% to 75%, while providing adequate protection in shipping and storage for the fragile disks.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET

Jvoss/26sl7 21 62~9 D PCT/US95/04048 SUMMARY OF THF. ~NVF.l~TION
A disc or similar disk-like article cont~iner is ~li cc10sed which is made from a single sheet of pacl~ging m~teri~ls confi~l~ed in a form which is foldable to produce the containe., having a first section with ov~orl~pping S co~ .on~ of the materials to form poc~Ls adaptable to recdve and hold the disk-like articles, and having a second section with ov~ g co.n~.oQc..
of the materials and the second section being foldable over the first section to provide a protective cover for the first section-The first section of the conta;ner has overlapping co~ ol-rn~s of the m~ri~lS s~lffirient to form pockets ~A~pt~ble for receiving and hol-ling up to thrce of the disk-like ar~icles, and the second section may have its overlapping materials configured to form a pocket a~lapt~ble forreceiving and h~ ling one of the disk-like articles or for holding a desc,i~ti.~e booklet or other type of m~t~ri~lc, The cont~inrr materials incoll,ol~les a ~.. ;n;.. ~ of 30% recycled fiber.

wo gS/26917 ~, ~ 6 2~ 9 PCT/US95/04048 A~ldition~lly the cont~iner is coated with an aquaous coating that serves to protect the erclose~l discs drom loose fibers ge-ne~ted by the conl~;n~. 'S recycled paper materials.
Also di ~close~ is a method for configllring and making a disk or similar 5 disk-like article cont~in~r f~om a single sheet of p~r~ ing m~teri~ls~ which is adaptable to receive and hold up to four of the disk-like articles, using n.;..;..~..,.- materials in volume and weight and using no non-biodegra~able plastic materials.

~VO 95/26917 ~? S,9 0 PCTIUS95/04048 nF.~C~ ON OF THF. n~wr~
The objects, features and advantages of the Comr~ct Disk p~ ge of the present invention will be a~pa.~nt from the following des~ ion in which:
Figure 1 illusLI~tcs a typical prior art mol~le~l plastic single CD jewel S case.
Figure 2 illu~ ~s a typical prior art mol~ed plastic double CD jewel case.
Figure 3 illustrates a prior art emboliment of a single CD par~e made of paper and a molded plastic CD holding ~e~b&~ .
Figure 4 ~ c~t~s the present invention in a plane view of a single paper sheet showing all surfaces and col-ne~!;,-g tabs.
Figure S illnc~tes the present invention in folded form showing the sections for receiving two CDs and a desc.ip~i~e booklet.
Figure 6 illustrates a ~e-~ec~i~e view of thc present invention shown hol~ling two CDs.
Figure 7 illustrates a p~ pe~ e view of an ~Itern~tive emb~
of the present invention shown hol~ling four CDs.

2162~ 0 nF..CCRIPTION OF THF PRFFF.RRFI) F.MROl)TIVlF.NT
The present invention is a paper based cont~iner for a compact disc ("CD"), a con.p~cl disk read only lll.,llloly ("C~ROM") or other similar disk-like article, and a mPthod for making such a cont~h~e~ whaein the 5 cQ~ ine~ may hold up to four of the disk-like articles while using --;n;--------m~t-.ri~lc in volume and weight and yet providing adequate prut~lion for the articles, and using no non-biodegradable plastic materials. In the following dcs~fiplion,particularspecifi~tiQnsaredisclosedwhendescribingthevarious embod;..~ of the invention. These sperific~tionc are intended to provide an illustration of a specific application of the invention but are not inte.ndl d to limit the application of the invention to any specific type of Cr), CD ROM or similar disk-like article. It will be ayya~nt to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced in a wide range of pac~ging ~y~l~.l.s of various specifc~tions and confi~rations. The following descli~on also 15 con~ins references to material types and ccll,yonellls which are well known in the art, and these should be int~,yl~ted in the illustrative and not in the limited sense.

wo ss/26sl7 1 6~59 o PCTIUS95/04048 Thc cont~ine~ of the present invention is used to f~ it~te the p~rl~ging, chi~,..,l nt and storage of CD and CD ROM and other disc and disk-like units con~ ing various types of data inCl~ldin~ music, video, sor~w~ such as coll,p.ller prograrns of various kinds, 3~t~h~ces of inÇo~ aLion,doc~ cnn1l;on andcombin~tiQnsofthese. The~hip.,.~,.. lcofCD
and C~ROMs in these cont~inf rs will be made to almost all counLlics in the world.
Referring now to Figure 4, a plan layout 50 of the p~er,ned e~llbo~ is illustrated. In this preferred e-..bo~h~f -t, dle m~tfri~lc used 10 have the following characteristics:

Type: ~h~tkote EagletZ~) by Westvaco ness: 20 point Grain Direction: Vertical lS Color: White Finish: Gloss Recycle Content: 30% pOSt-CQIl~ l recycled fiber WO95/26917 ~,~6? 59 PCT/US95/04048 Ad~lition~lly, the package is coated with an en~,u~ lly friendly aqueous coating that also serves to add pros~Pctior to the e~close~ disc or disk-like articles from loose fibers gene.~ted by the cont~inet's recycled paper m~teti~ls Moreover, in the p~;rc~l~,d emboAimp~t the con~it~er pa~P~e is 5 printed on one side and folded so that the printed surface al,~c~s on all sides, l}~e.eb~ re~ cing cost and ink surface. Referring now to Figure 4, a p.ef~,..~d configuration of the invention is illustrated in plan view SO, showing six major co...l)o"ent parts 52, SS, 56, S7, 58 and 62. Components 56, 57, 58 and 62 are folded together to fomt a first section of the conl~inf ~, and cu.- Ipol.f nlc 52 and 10 55 are folded together to forrn a second section of the Colll~ f r. The first section of the co~t~inf,~ is formed as follows:
Component 56 is folded upwards along line 7~ and folded over cc"..ponent 57;
Tab S9 is folded upwards and overonto co...l.o--~nt 58 and glue lS is applied to the side of tab 59 OppOSiLé COlnlJOnel~L 58, and tab 60 is folded upwards and over col l~onrnt 58 and glue is applied to the side of tab 60 opposite co~ )or,f 1~[58, andco ~ ponf ~t S8isfolded upwards along line 72 and over co. l.oncnt 56 and secured to cGu.~onent 57 by means of the glue on tab 60 which meets colll~nent 57 through the cut-out portion 80 of co.l,~onel,t 56 and secured to coulpollenl S7 by means of the glue on tab 59 which meets co~ ~ner~t 57 through the cut-out portion 81 of co,ll~onenl 56;
finally, tab 64 is folded up and over coull)orlellt 62 along line 75 and glue is applied to the side of tab 64 OppO5ilt colll~nenl 62 and tab 65 is folded up and over co,ll~onent 62 along line 74 and glue is applied to the side of tab 65 opposite cc ,llponellt 62 and cc ulpo"ent 62 is folded up along line 73 and folded over cc~ )onen~ S8 and secured to co,l,ponent 57 by means of the glue on tabs 64 and 65.

Thisfirstsectionoftheconl~inF~t}le,~,fo,GcQr.~ canairpocketinthe space bet~.e~ n colllponenls 57 and 56, as well as an air pocket ~ en collll,or,ei-ls 56 and S8, and an airpocket between cc,,l,yonellts 58 and 62. Each of these air yockets may contain a CD or CD ROM each of which would be 15 cuchiQned by cach other and the intervening coull,one.lL layers of the cont~iner. Alternatively, and in the preferred eû~bo~ nt a CD or CD ROM
would be col,laih~ed in the pockets between co...~one,.l~ 56 and 58, and colnponents 58 and 62 and would be cuchioned by each other and by the air WO 95/26917 PCT/US9~/0 1~8 21 62~ ~j o poeket between cC~ ronrntc 57 and 56. In another al~.l,a~ e, a desc.i~ e booklet or other infoll..a~ion may be con-~inf~ in the poeket betwoen C~ 'OI'f'"~' 57 and S6, thereby providing ~d~liSiQn~l euchioning for the disks.
In an alternative embo~limc~n-, cc,l.l~onenL 56 is seeured to co~ orlf nl 57 by 5 means of glue along the edge 83 of col.lponcnt 56.
The second section of the cQn~inf" is formed as follows:
tab 54 is folded up and over cc~ ponf~ 55 along line 79 and glue is applied to the side of tab 54 opl,o~i~ co.~oncn~ 55;
tab 53 is folded up and over co~l)onf~n~ 55 along line 88 and glue is applied to the side of tab 53 o~,osi~e COIllpOllf,nt 55;
C~l..p".~ 52 is folded up along line 78 and over ec,ll.pol cnt 55, being secured to eolll~onent SS by means of the glue on tabs 53 and 54 thereby forming an airpocket between coll,~onel,ls 52 and SS. This air pocket provides ~ ition~l spaee for hol~ing an ~ ition~l dise or lS disk-like article or a booklet or other info.. ~l;on thereby providing additional e~chioning for disks loeated in the first seetion, when this second seetion is folded over the first section along line 77.

~6~9~
WO 95/26917 ? PCT/US95/04048 It is t}" ,eîore clear that up to four discs may be securely placed in the contAinpr ~lçs~ibe~ It is anticipated that the normal configuration would contain one or two discs with s~co,..l,Anying booklets of eYplAnAtory matter.
However an alternative embo limPnt holding four CDs is shown in Figure 7, S wherein the COnl~A;nP~ is coll~lisl of two first section parts, with one being foldable over the other. Referring to Figure S, a booklet in the air ~t~
bel~. eel- con.pol" nts 56 and 57 and co...lJon~ c 52 and 55 would provide ~A~litionAl p~ ing for the pluteclion of one or two discs in the contAinpr~ but the air pOCk~l5 th çmselves are deemP~ adequate pl, I~. Lion for one or two discs placed in the ~ockeb between co",pone"L~ 56 and 58 and co.~ onel ls 58 and 62, when the second section (comprising conlponcr,t~ 52 and SS) is folded over the first section along line 77 to form a closed pacl~g~P.
Refe~ing to Figure 6, a pc,~ecLi.~e view of the invention is shown col-lAin;..g two C~ROMs 90 and 92. The first CD ROM 90 is shown seated in the pocket formed by conlponell~s 62 and 58. The second CD ROM 92 is shown seated in the pocket fonned by c~,. . .pon~ ..t~ 58 and 56. In the shipping confi~ration, the second section of the cQntAinçr formed by c~",ponel~ls 52 and 55 is folded along line 77 over the top of the CD ROMs 90 and 92, thereby WO 95/26917 PCTlUS9Slû~018 providing a protective covering for the CD-ROMs cushioned either by the air pocket between components 52 and 55 or by a descriptive booklet which may be placed in that air pocket.
It is pointed out again that the container is made from 20 point stock paper, conlaining 30% post-consumer recycled fiber, and contains no plastic inserts or holding pieces to protect the disks, and yet the disks obtain adequate yl~leclion from the various air pockets and component layering of the invention.
Those skilled it the arts of manufacturing such packages for disks will recognize that there are alternative methods for folding and pasting together the components of such a device, and that changes of form of the various components and/or tabs or variations in the weight and/or composition of the paper will not change the invention. In the claims which follow, the word "disk" is used to mean also "disc", and the hyphenated word "disk-like" is used to mean CD, CD-ROM and other 5imilAr devices, including floppy disk type devices that are of equal or smaller size to a standard CD.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET

Claims

17 What is claimed is:

1. A container for containing disk-like articles comprising:
a single sheet of packaging material configured in a form which is foldable to produce a container comprising:
a first section having overlapping components of said packaging material arranged to form air pockets between said overlapping components, said air pockets adaptable to receive and hold a disk-like article; and a second section having overlapping components of said packaging material arranged to form an air pocket between said overlapping components, said second section being foldable so as to provide a protective cover for said first section.

2. A container as recited in claim 1 wherein said first section compnses overlapping components of said packaging material arranged to form air pockets adaptable to receive and hold up to three of the disk-like articles.

3. A container as recited in claim 2 wherein said second section comprises overlapping components of said packaging material arranged to form a pocket adaptable to receive and hold a disk-like article or a descriptive booklet.

4. A container as recited in claim 3 wherein said packaging material comprises a minimum of 30% recycled fiber.

5. A container as recited in claim 3 wherein said packaging material comprises only non-plastic materials.

6. A container for containing disk-like articles comprising:
a single sheet of packaging material said packaging material comprising a minimum of 30% recycled fiber and covered with an aqueous coating and configured in a form which is foldable to produce a container comprising:

a first section having overlapping portions of said packaging material arranged to form pockets adaptable to receive and hold up to three of the disk-like articles; and a second section having an overlapping portion of said packaging material arranged to form a pocket adaptable to receive and hold a disk-like article or alternatively a descriptive booklet or like materials, said second section being foldable so as to provide a protective cover for said first section.

7. A container as recited in claim 6 wherein said packaging material comprises only non-plastic materials.

8. A container for containing disk-like articles comprising:
a single sheet of packaging material configured in a form which is foldable to produce a container comprising:
a first section having overlapping components of said packaging material arranged to form pockets between said overlapping components, said pockets adaptable to receive and hold a disk-like article, said pockets forming an air space for providing a protective cushion when no disk-like article is inserted therein, said protective air space cushion providing protection for any disk-like articles which may be contained in any of the other pockets in said first section of the container;
and a second section having overlapping components of said packaging material arranged to form an air pocket, said second section being foldable so as to provide a protective air pocket cushion and cover for said first section.

9. A method for constructing a container for disk-like articles comprising the steps of:
using a single sheet of paper stock;
describing on said single sheet of paper stock, a configuration which is foldable to form a container;
folding portions of said foldable configuration to form a first section having overlapping components of said packaging material arranged to form pockets between said overlapping components, said pockets adaptable to receive and hold one of the disk-like articles; and folding portions of said foldable configuration to form a second section having overlapping components of said packaging material, said second section being foldable so as to provide a protective cover for said first section.

10. A method as recited in claim 9 wherein said first section comprises pockets between said overlapping components of said packaging material adaptable to receive and hold up to three of the disk-like articles.

11. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein said second section comprises overlapping components of said packaging material arranged to form a pocket adaptable to receive and hold a disk-like article or a descriptive booklet or the like.

12. A method as recited in claim 11 wherein said paper stock comprises a minimum of 30% recycled fiber.

13. A method as recited in claim 11 wherein said container comprises only non-plastic materials.

14. A method as recited in claim 13 wherein said configuration which is foldable to form a container, uses minimum materials in volume and weight necessary to securely and protectively hold said disk-like articles.

15. A method for constructing a container for plate-like articles comprising the steps of:
using a single sheet of paper stock, said paper stock comprising a minimum of 30% recycled fiber and said paper stock covered with an aqueous coating;
describing on said single sheet of paper stock, a configuration which is foldable to form a container, said configuration using minimum materials in volume and weight necessary to securely and protectively hold said disk-like articles;
folding portions of said foldable configuration to form a first section having overlapping components of said packing material arranged to form pockets between adjacent overlapping components, said pockets adaptable to receive and hold up to three of the disk-like articles; and folding portions of said fordable configuration to form a second section having an overlapping component of said packaging material arranged to form a pocket adaptable to receive and hold a descriptive booklet or an additional one of said disk-like articles, and said second section being foldable so as to provide a protective cover for said first section, whereby a container is formed for holding up to four disk-like articles securely and protectively, using minimum materials in volume and weight.

16. A method as recited in claim 15 wherein the packaging materials used contain no non-biodegradable plastic materials.

17. A method as recited in claim 16 wherein said second section is replaced by another first section, said container thereby comprising two first sections, one of said first sections being foldable over said other first section, said container configured with two first sections capable of holding up to six disk-like articles but normally being used with no more than four disk-like articles.