GB2325217A

GB2325217A - Packaging for compact discs

Info

Publication number: GB2325217A
Application number: GB9804544A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robin James Price
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-05-17
Filing date: 1998-03-05
Publication date: 1998-11-18
Anticipated expiration: 2018-03-05
Also published as: HK1017122A1; GB2325217B; GB2325217A8; GB9709995D0; GB9804544D0; GB2325217A9

Abstract

A pack for a compact disc comprises a first sheet (35) and a second sheet (36) hingedly connected together and a third sheet (37) sandwiched between the first and second sheets (35 and 36). The third sheet (37) is formed from card which is thicker than the card from which the first and second sheets (35 and 36) are formed. The third sheet (37) is formed with an aperture (41) which acts as a compartment to receive the disc. The second sheet (36) acts as a closure for one side of the compartment and the first sheet (35) is formed with an aperture (39) through which the disc can be inserted into or removed from the compartment.

Description

PACKAGING Field of the invention This invention relates to packaging and has been developed specifically in relation to the packaging of discs, e.g. compact discs.

In co-pending Application No. 9723442.1 (to which reference should be made) there is described and claimed a pack for a disc comprising first and second sheets of substantially equal size hingedly connected together and a third sheet sandwiched between and bonded to the first and second sheets, the third sheet being formed with an aperture which acts as a compartment to receive the disc, the second sheet acting as a closure for one side of the compartment and the first sheet being formed with an aperture through which the disc can be inserted into or removed from said compartment.

The third sheet of the pack described in Application No.9723442.1 is thus, as shown in the drawings accompanying the application, of generally square form having a height and width equal to the diameter of a disc plus twice the thickness of the border around the aperture in which the disc is received. As a result, the height of the pack is greater than the heights of the packs currently used for the packaging of popular compact discs.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved form of pack utilising the basic principles of operation outlined in Application No. 9723442.1, but in which the height of the pack is substantially the same as that of packs used for the packaging of popular compact discs.

Summarv of the Invention According to the present invention there is provided a pack for a disc comprising first and second sheets of card hingedly connected together and a third sheet sandwiched between the first and second sheets, the third sheet being formed from card which has strength and rigidity characteristics greater than the card from which the first and second sheets are formed, the third sheet being formed with an aperture which acts as a compartment to receive the disc, the second sheet acting as a closure for one side of the compartment and the first sheet being formed with an aperture through which the disc can be inserted into or removed from said compartment.

The aperture in the third sheet preferably extends to (or almost to) an edge of the third sheet and a fourth sheet is preferably hingedly connected to the third sheet for folding movement relative thereto about said edge.

The third and fourth sheets are typically formed from card which is almost twice as thick (and thus twice as heavy) as the card from which the first and second sheets are formed. The first and second sheets are preferably formed from "print quality" card, i.e.

the printing of information concerning the contents of the disc, the manufacturer's logo or insignia and the like is applied to at least the first sheet, whereas no printing is applied to the third and fourth sheets.

The aperture in the first sheet preferably comprises a main portion of semi-circular form (but with the diameter of the semicircle in the form of a wave) and three lobes, one of which is located at the centre of the semi-circle and is formed by a trough in the wave. The other two lobes are preferably directed towards the corners of the first sheet remote from the hinge connection between the first and second sheets. The aperture in the third sheet preferably comprises a main substantially circular portion (which provides the compartment within which the disc is received) and two lobes, which register with said other two lobes of the aperture in the first sheet.

The first sheet is preferably hingedly connected to a fifth sheet which, in turn, is preferably hingedly connected to a sixth sheet which, in tum, is optionally connected to a seventh sheet.

The pack is thus formed from two blanks, one of thicker card and affording said third and fourth sheets, and the other of thinner card and comprising, in order, the second sheet, the first sheet, the fifth sheet, the sixth sheet and, optionally, the seventh sheet. The second, first, fifth, sixth and optional seventh sheets are thus hingedly connected about parallel hinge lines, whilst the hinge line connecting the third and fourth sheets extends at right angles to said parallel hinge lines.

In assembly of the pack, the third sheet is preferably secured, e.g. by gluing, on top of the first sheet, and then the second sheet folded over and secured on top of the third sheet. The fourth sheet is then folded over and secured on top of the second sheet so as to form a pocket within which a compact disc can be safely and securely located.

The pocket is then preferably folded over and the fourth sheet secured to the fifth sheet to form a pack with the first sheet uppermost and the compact disc visible through the generally semicircular opening in the first sheet. The sixth sheet (and optionally the seventh sheet, which is either a separate flap or is secured to the sixth sheet) can then serve as an openable cover for the pack.

Brief DescriPtion of the Drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of a first blank for use in the manufacture of a pack for a compact disc, Figure 2 is a plan view of a second blank for use in conjunction with the blank of Figure 2 in the manufacture of the compact disc pack, Figures 3, 4 and 5 show stages in the manufacture of the compact disc pack, Figure 6 shows the completed compact disc pack, and Figure 7 shows the compact disc pack containing a compact disc.

DescriPtion of the Preferred Embodiment The drawings show a compact disc pack which is made from a first blank 30 (shown in Figure 1) and a second blank 31 (shown in Figure 2). Blank 30 is formed from high-quality thin card to which printing can be applied, whereas blank 31 is of thicker, heavier card, which is not visible in the completed pack and to which printing is not applied. The strength and rigidity characteristics of the card from which the second blank 31 is made are thus substantially greater than the corresponding characteristics of the card from which the first blank 30 is made.

Blank 30 comprises five portions 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36 interconnected by parallel fold lines whilst blank 31 comprises two portions 37 and 38. Portions 32, 33, 34 and 36 are plain unapertured sheets, whilst portion 35 is formed with a cut-out or aperture 39. The upper boundary of the aperture 39 comprises a semi-circle with two arcuate lobes or notches 40 symmetrically arranged relative to the vertical centre-line of the aperture 39. The lobes or notches 40 are directed towards the upper corners of blank portion 35 and are of such size as to be spaced from the edges of blank portion 35, thereby avoiding weakening the part of the blank portion 35 surrounding the aperture 39.

The lower boundary of the aperture 39 is of curved wave form as shown so as to provide a lobe or notch at the centre of the circle from which the arc forming the upper boundary of the aperture 39 is struck. This lobe or notch is positioned between two arcs so that the visual impact of the aperture 39, particularly when a compact disc is contained within the pack, suggests a "smiling Teddy Bear".

Blank portions 32, 33, 34 and 35 are of constant height, whereas blank portion 36 has its lower edge 36A spaced upwardly a short distance relative to the lower edges of the other blank portions 32 to 35. Blank portions 32 to 35 have a height which is the same as the standard height of current popular music compact disc packs, i.e. single'sun packs.

Portion 38 of the second blank 31 is a plain unapertured sheet, whereas portion 37 of blank 31 is formed with an aperture 41 which serves as a compartment to receive a compact disc. The aperture 41 includes a main circular portion which has the same radius as the circle of aperture 39 in blank portion 35.The aperture 41 is formed with two arcuate lobes or notches 42 which are symmetrically positioned relative to the vertical centre line of the blank portion 37 and are directed towards the upper corners of blank portion 37. The formation of the lobes or notches 42 thus does not weaken the border surrounding the aperture 41 which has a diameter slightly greater than that of the compact disc which it is intended to receive.

The aperture 41 additionally includes an extension 43 which extends up to the fold line 44 between the two blank portions 37 and 38. The centre of the circular aperture is positioned in blank portion 37 such that, if the circle had been completed, i.e. if the extension 43 were not present, the lower part of the circumference of the circle would touch, or would come very close to, the fold line 44. The provision of the extension 43 ensures that there are no very thin sections of card adjacent the fold line 44, since such very thin sections might easily become torn or broken.

In assembly of the pack, portion 37 of the second blank 31 is glued or otherwise bonded on top of portion 35 of the first blank 30 so that the boundaries of the apertures in the portions 35 and 37 are in register, as are the two pairs of lobes 40 and 42. This is the condition shown in Figure 3.

Blank portion 36 is then folded over and glued or otherwise bonded in position on top of blank portion 37, so as to obtain the condition shown in Figure 4.

Portion 38 of the second blank 31 is then folded upwardly and secured in position on top of blank portion 36 so as to obtain the condition shown in Figure 5 in which there is a CD pocket formed from four sheets 35, 37, 36 and 38 fixed together on top of one another, sheet 35 then being the lowermost of the four sheets forming the pocket.

This CD pocket is then folded across on top of blank portion 34 and secured by gluing or other bonding to blank portion 34 to obtain the condition shown in Figure 6. Blank portion 34 acts as a back cover for the pack, while blank portion 33 acts as a front cover for the pack. The flap afforded by blank portion 32 can either be glued to the front cover 33, for extra pack strength, or used as an extra printed surface. In addition, a booklet or the like can be affixed to the front cover 33 or to the flap 32, if required.

The formed pack thus comprises the front cover 33, the back cover 34 and a holder or packet for the compact disc 45. The holder comprises a top sheet formed with a generally semi-circular opening 39, a double-thickness sheet 37 formed with an aperture 41 which acts as a compartment to receive the compact disc 45, and two backing sheets 36 and 38. As can be seen from Figure 7, the compact disc 45 is positioned in the pack so that part of the compact disc 45 is visible when the front cover 33 is open.

To remove the compact disc 45 from the pack, the user will normally engage the central part of the compact disc with the tip of his or her thumb entering the notch or lobe provided at the centre of the lower boundary of aperture 39. At the same time, he or she will engage the periphery of the compact disc 45 using the tip of his or her index finger which will enter either pair of aligned lobes 40, 42.

A right-handed person will normally use the right-hand pair of aligned lobes 40, 42, while a left-handed person will normally use the left-hand pair of aligned lobes 40, 42. Removal of the disc 45 from the pack will thus be easily carried out, and replacement of the disc in the pack will be just as easy.

Claims

Claims:

1. A pack for a disc comprising first and second sheets of card hingedly connected together and a third sheet sandwiched between the first and second sheets, the third sheet being formed from card which has strength and rigidity characteristics greater than the card from which the first and second sheets are formed, the third sheet being formed with an aperture which acts as a compartment to receive the disc, the second sheet acting as a closure for one side of the compartment and the first sheet being formed with an aperture through which the disc can be inserted into or removed from said compartment.

2. A pack as claimed in Claim 1, in which the aperture in the third sheet extends to (or almost to) an edge of the third sheet.

3. A pack as claimed in Claim 2, in which a fourth sheet is hingedly connected to the third sheet for folding movement relative thereto about said edge.

4. A pack as claimed in Claim 3, in which the third and fourth sheets are formed from card which is almost twice as thick as the card from which the first and second sheets are formed.

5. A pack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the aperture in the first sheet comprises a main portion of semi-circular form (but with the diameter of the semi-circle in the form of a wave) and three lobes, one of which is located at the centre of the semi-circle and is formed by a trough in the wave.

6. A pack as claimed in Claim 5, in which the other two lobes are directed towards the corners of the first sheet remote from the hinge connection between the first and second sheets.

7. A pack as claimed in Claim 6, in which the aperture in the third sheet comprises a main circular portion (which provides the compartment within which the disc is received) and two lobes, which register with said other two lobes of the aperture in the first sheet.

8. A pack as claimed in Claim 4, in which the first sheet is hingedly connected to a fifth sheet.

9. A pack as claimed in Claim 8, in which the fifth sheet is is hingedly connected to a sixth sheet which, in turn, is optionally connected to a seventh sheet.

10. A pack for a compact disc substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

11. A method of making a pack for a compact disc, which method comprises providing a first blank substantially as shown in Figure 1 and a second blank substantially as shown in Figure 2 and securing the different portions of the two blanks together substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 3 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows Claims:

5. A pack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the aperture in the first sheet has an upper boundary formed by an arc of a circle and a lower boundary which is of curved wave form so as to provide a lobe at the centre of the circle from which the arc forming the upper boundary of the aperture is struck.

6. A pack as claimed in Claim 5, in which the aperture in the first sheet has three lobes and in which the other two lobes are directed towards the corners of the first sheet remote from the hinge connection between the first and second sheets.

8. A pack as claimed in Claim 4, in which the second sheet is hingedly connected to a fifth sheet.

9. A pack as claimed in Claim 8, in which the fifth sheet is hingedly connected to a sixth sheet which, in turn, is optionally connected to a seventh sheet.