GB2326515A

GB2326515A - Protective compact disk sheath with rotating aperture

Info

Publication number: GB2326515A
Application number: GB9712705A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dennis Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-06-18
Filing date: 1997-06-18
Publication date: 1998-12-23
Also published as: CA2208807A1; FR2765381A1; DE29711505U1; GB9712705D0

Description

TITLE: A CD SHEATH This invention is related to a sheath for holding a CD, permitting it to be moved in and out of a CD-ROM drive without direct contact to the hand.

Compact disks have been intensively used for storing character and image data for the advantage of high storage rapacity. Regular CD is commonly protected by an individual plastic case. However, the CD must be removed from the protective individual plastic case so that it can be put in a CD-ROM drive by hand for reading. When taking a CD out of the protective individual plastic ase and putting it into a CD-ROM drive by hand, the surface of the CD tends to be contaminated or scratched.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved CD sheath which can obviate and mitigate the above-mentioned drawbacks.

This invention is related to an improved sheath for holding a CD.

It is the primary object of the present invention provide a CD sheath which permits a CD to be moved in and out of a CD-ROM drive without direct contact to the hand.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a CD sheath which can prevent the CD from being contaminated or scratched.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a CD sheath which is simple in construction and low in cost.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a CD sheath which is easy to manufacture.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a CD sheath which is fit for practical use.

The foregoing objects and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numberals refer to identical or similar parts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of the present invention; FIG. 4 illustrates how to insert a CD into the present invent ion; FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the working principle of the present invention; and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of FIG. 6.

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invent ion, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings. Specific language will be used to describe same. It will, nevertheless, be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

With reference to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the CD sheath 1 according to the present invention generally comprises a first cover 10, a second cover 20, a non-woven cloth 30 and a protective film 50.

The first cover 10 is formed with a circular center hole 11, a vertical peripheral flange 14 raised from its circumference, a horizontal peripheral flange 141 extending outwardly from an upper end of the vertical peripheral flange 14, a sectorial opening 12, and a curved slot 13 opposite to the sectorial opening 12. The vertical peripheral flange 14 is formed with a notch opposite to the sectorial opening 12. The horizontal peripheral flange 141 has two cutting lines 1411, one close to each end thereof.

The second cover 20 is also formed with a circular center hole 21, a sectorial opening 22, and a rectangular opening 231 having a downwardly depending lug 23 so that when the second cover 20 is engaged with the first cover 10, the circumferential edge of the second cover 20 is arranged under the horizontal peripheral flange 141 of the first cover 10 and the lug 23 extends downwardly through the curved slot 12 of the first cover 10 thereby enabling the second cover 20 to be rotated with respect to the second cover 10 and therefore aligning the sectorial opening 22 of the second cover 20 with the sectorial opening 12 of the first cover 10 as desired.

After the engagement between the second and first covers 20 and 10, the cloth 20 is put onto the top of the second cover 20. A CD 40 is first inserted into the CD sheath through the notch of the vertical peripheral flange 14 of the lower cover 10 and then the top of the CD 40 is covered with the protective film 50 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

When in use, the lug 23 is turned along the curved slot 13 of the first cover 10 so as to align the sectorial opening 12 of the first cover 10 and the sectorial opening 22 of the second cover 20 for enabling the CD 40 to be read by a CD-ROM drive so that the CD sheath 1 together with the CD 40 can be put into a CD-ROM drive without blocking the reading of the CD 40.

Referring to FIG. 4, as the horizontal peripheral flange 141 of the first cover 10 is formed with two cutting lines 1411 at two ends, the two ends of the horizontal peripheral flange 141 of the first cover 10 may be forced to go slightly outwardly thus enabling the CD 40 to slide into the CD sheath 10 easily.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, when in use, the lug 23 is first rotated to align the sectorial opening 12 of the first cover 10 and the sectorial opening 22 of the second cover 20 and then the CD sheath 1 is placed on the sliding seat 601 of the CD-ROM drive 60. As the sliding seat 601 goes back into the CD-ROM drive 60, the rotating axle 602 of the CD-ROM drive 60 will fit into the circular center hole of the CD thereby enabling the CD 40 to be driven by the rotating axle 602. Furthermore, the CD 40 can be read by a laser member 603 through the openings 12 and 22 of the first and second covers 10 and 20.

Accordingly, the CD 40 will not be directly in contact with the hand in use thereby protecting the CD 40 from being scratched or the like.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the CD sheath together with the CD 40 is put into the CD-ROM drive 60, the rotating axle 602 will fit into the circular center hole of the CD 40 and slightly lift the position of the CD 40 so that the CD 40 can be freely rotated about the axle 602 and read by the laser member 603 through the openings 12 and 22 of the first and second covers 10 and 20. The bottom of the first cover 10 is provided with several slip-proof pads 15 for preventing the first and second covers 10 and 20 from rotating in unison with the CD 40.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A CD sheath comprising: a first cover formed with a first circular center hole, a vertical peripheral flange raised from a circumference thereof, a horizontal peripheral flange extending outwardly from an upper end of said vertical peripheral flange, a first sectorial opening, and a curved slot opposite to said first sectorial opening, said vertical peripheral flange being formed with a notch opposite to said first sectorial opening; and a second cover formed with a second circular center hole, a second sectorial opening, and a rectangular opening having a downwardly depending lug, said second cover having a circumferential edge of said second cover arranged under said horizontal peripheral flange of said first cover and said lug extending downwardly through said curved slot of said first cover thereby enabling said second cover to be rotated with respect to said second cover and therefore aligning said first sectorial opening of said first cover with said second sectorial opening of said first cover.

2. The CD sheath as claimed in claim 1, wherein said horizontal peripheral flange has two cutting lines each close to an end thereof.