GB2232405A

GB2232405A - Video cassette cases

Info

Publication number: GB2232405A
Application number: GB9012597A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Neil Wainman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-06-06
Filing date: 1990-06-06
Publication date: 1990-12-12
Also published as: GB8912951D0; GB9012597D0

Abstract

A case (28) of the type used, for example, to store video cassettes is provided with indicia (38) carried upon a plastics cover sheet (36) rather than upon a card or the like normally inserted under the cover sheet (36). <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO VIDEO CASSETTE CASES AND THE LIKE This invention relates to cases, particularly cases of the type used for video cassettes.

Figure 1 shows a typical video cassette case in a part-sectioned schematic perspective view. Referring to this Figure, the case 10 includes front 12 and rear 14 cover portions connected by a flexible spine 16 which acts as a hinge. A peripheral wall 18 is provided on the inside of the rear cover portion 14 to define a recess 20 in which a video cassette (not shown) can be held. The front cover portion 12 can be hinged over this recess 20 in the manner of a lid to enclose a video cassette within the case 10.

It is common for video cassette cases to carry indicia such as legends or pictorial matter, so that the video cassette within the case can be identified. For instance, where the video cassette is pre-recorded with a particular film presentation, the case will generally carry indicia identifying the film and showing scenes therefrom. Alternatively, where the video cassette is blank, the case will usually carry trade marks identifying the cassette manufacturer, and other indicia describing the cassette's characteristics.

In the typical video cassette case 10 of Figure 1, the front 12 and rear 14 cover portions, and the spine 16, are overlaid by a see-through plastics sheet 22. The sheet 22 is secured to the underlying part of the case 10 around some or all of its periphery, thereby defining a pocket which receives a card 24 bearing indicia 26. The sheet 22 serves to protect the card 24 from dirt and wear.

As will be clear, production of the case 10 includes the operation of placing the card 24 into an appropriate position under the sheet 22. This may be achieved in various ways. One way is to place the card 24 onto the case 10, lay the sheet 22 over the card 24 and then attach the sheet 22 to the case 10 around the edges of the card 24. Another way is to attach the sheet 22 to the case 10 whilst leaving at least one edge unsecured, so that the card 24 can be slid under the sheet 22. If desired, the unsecured edge of the sheet 22 can then be secured to the case 10 to retain the card 24 in position.

The case construction illustrated in Figure 1 suffers from several drawbacks. For example, the multiple components that must be added to the basic shell of the case 10 add to its cost. More seriously, the need for multiple manufacturing steps adds substantially to the cost of producing the case 10, particularly when these steps are performed manually as is generally the case.

In my efforts to overcome the drawbacks suffered by existing case constructions, I have devised the novel concept of providing the outer sheet of a case with indicia normally carried by a card or the like inserted under the sheet.

The invention does away with the indicia-bearing card of existing case constructions. This allows the case to be made more cheaply by (a) reducing material costs and (b) reducing labour and machinery costs through a reduction in the number, and the complexity, of manufacturing operations necessary to produce the case.

It is preferred that the sheet is of see-through plastics material, either transparent or translucent, and that the indicia are printed onto the reverse side of the sheet to be visible through it. In an alternative arrangement, the indicia may be printed directly onto the front side of the sheet, in which case the sheet can be opaque and may be coloured.

The invention also resides in a method of applying indicia to a case, the method comprising uniting a case structure with a cover sheet bearing the indicia, and attaching the cover sheet to the case structure such that the case structure supports the cover sheet with the indicia visible.

The invention can also be expressed in terms of a facility for producing cases, including means for supplying case structures, means for providing cover sheets bearing indicia, means for uniting the cover sheets with the case structures, and means for attaching the cover sheets to the case structures such that each case structure supports a cover sheet with the indicia visible.

Although my invention was made in response to problems suffered in the field of video cassette cases, I envisage that the invention could bring benefit to any other fields in which cases at present comprise an indicia-bearing card or the like under an outer sheet.

It will therefore be understood that this invention is not limited in its broadest concept to video cassette cases, although the invention brings particular benefits to that field.

In order that the invention can be more readily understood, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 2 is a part-sectioned schematic perspective view of a video cassette case constructed in accordance with this invention; and Figure 3 is a schematic flow diagram of a production facility arranged in accordance with a further aspect of this invention.

The video cassette case 28 shown in Figure 2 includes front 30 and rear 32 cover portions and a spine 34.

These components are identical to their counterparts in the existing video cassette case of Figure 1, numbered 12, 14 and 16 respectively. The principal difference over the case 10 of Figure 1 is that the sheet 22 and the card 24 are replaced by a single cover sheet 36 which bears indicia 38.

The cover sheet 36 is preferably of plastics material such as polythene or p.v.c., and can be self-coloured or printed with the indicia 38. Where the cover sheet 36 is to be printed, it is preferred that the print is applied to the reverse side thereof with the cover sheet 36 being of transparent or translucent material so that the indicia can be seen when the sheet 36 is attached to a case structure. This helps to protect the printed image from damage caused by abrasion and so on. However, it is also possible to apply the indicia to the front side of the sheet 36, in which case the sheet 36 is preferably of substantially opaque material, either white or coloured.

It is preferred that the cover sheet 36 is heat-welded or glued to the underlying part of the case 28 around some or all of its periphery, although it is also possible to glue or to cement the cover sheet 36 to the case 28 across its entire width.

Figure 3 illustrates a production facility for uniting a plurality of sheets 36 with a plurality of blank case structures to produce a batch of, say, one thousand completed cases 28. Case structures enter the facility at point A and sheets 36 enter the facility at point B. Advantageously, the sheets 36 are supplied to point B as a continuous strip on a roll and are cut off, one by one, during the production process.

The strip of sheets 36 and the case structures are brought together at a wrapping station 40, at which each sheet 36 is wrapped around each case structure.

The sheet 36 is then attached to the case structure at a welding or gluing station 42. The sheets 36 must of course be separated from one another at some stage and this can take place before wrapping, after wrapping but before welding, or after welding. In the illustrated embodiment, a cutter 44 is positioned to cut the roll of sheets after welding. The case 28 is then complete and can be despatched empty or, preferably, can be packed with a video cassette before despatch.

In the preferred arrangement described above, the sheets are pre-printed with indicia before being wound onto the roll, although they may be supplied simply as a blank web to be printed with indicia before being united with the blank cases. It is also possible for the sheets 36 to be pre-printed with some, but not all, of the indicia that will be required, with additional indicia being applied by a printer before the sheets 36 are united with the blank cases. This additional indicia may take many forms, for example a price marker or a trade mark associated with the retailer to whom the completed case 28 will be supplied. This arrangement has the advantage that the price, trade mark or other additional indicia can be altered in mid-batch without wasting the sheets 36 on the roll.A further advantage is that additional indicia cannot simply be peeled off, as is often the case where these indicia are carried by an adhesive label. This prevents loss of labels and also improves security by making it impossible for a dishonest customer to swap the price label for a price label taken from a cheaper product.

A further feature of the preferred embodiment is to provide control indicia on the strip of sheets 36, and a sensor responsive to these indicia in order to control and, in particular, to synchronise the movement of the sheets 36 relative to the blank cases.

This is especially important in view of the need to ensure that the sheets 36 are always positioned in register with the blank cases. The control indicia can take many forms, such as a series of notches on an edge of the strip, a series of printed lines, or, preferably, a series of 'windows' in which the sheets 36 are left blank i.e. free of other indicia. This last arrangement has the advantage that the indicia can be sensed simply by directing a beam of light from, for example, a low powered laser through the sheets 36 to be picked up by a photoelectric cell.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that this invention is not limited only to the arrangements described herein, but includes all variations and modifications falling within its scope.

Claims

1. A case comprising a case structure supporting a cover sheet, wherein the cover sheet bears indicia.

2. A case according to claim 1, wherein the indicia lies on an inner side of the cover sheet and the cover sheet is see-through so that the indicia can be seen from an outer side thereof.

3. A case according to claim 1, wherein the indicia lies on an outer side of the cover sheet.

4. A case according to claim 3, wherein the cover sheet is substantially opaque.

5. h case according to claim 4, wherein the cover sheet is self-coloured.

6. A case according to any preceding claim, wherein the indicia are printed onto the cover sheet.

7. A case according to any preceding claim, wherein the cover sheet is of plastics material.

8. A case according to any preceding claim, wherein the cover sheet is attached to the case structure around some or all of their common periphery.

9. A case according to any preceding claim, wherein the cover sheet is attached to the case structure by heat welding.

10. A case according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the cover sheet is attached to the case structure by glue or cement.

11. A method of applying indicia to a case, comprising uniting a case structure with a cover sheet bearing the indicia, and attaching the cover sheet to the case structure such that the case structure supports the cover sheet with the indicia visible.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the cover sheet forms part of a strip of cover sheets which is advanced from a storage means to be united with a plurality of case structures.

13. A method according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the cover sheet is pre-printed with all of the indicia.

14. A method according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the cover sheet is pre-printed with some of the indicia and is then printed with additional indicia before being united with the case structure.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the indicia includes price information.

16. A method according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the cover sheet is blank and is then printed with the indicia before being united with the case structure.

17. A method according to any of claims 12 to 16, wherein the cover sheet is cut from the strip after being attached to a case structure.

18. A method according to any of claims 12 to 17, comprising the step of sensing control indicia carried by the strip of cover sheets, to control the relative movement and positions of the strip and the case structures.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein the sensing step involves directing light through a window in the strip of cover sheets.

20. A facility for producing cases, including means for supplying case structures, means for providing cover sheets bearing indicia, means for uniting the cover sheets and the case structures, and means for attaching the cover sheets to the case structures such that each case structure supports a cover sheet with the indicia visible.