GB2356554A

GB2356554A - Releasable interlocking storage system e.g. for compact discs

Info

Publication number: GB2356554A
Application number: GB9928024A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Webster Cross; Elaine Mary Cross
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-11-27
Filing date: 1999-11-27
Publication date: 2001-05-30
Also published as: GB9928024D0

Description

2356554 1

1 CD STORAGE SYSTEM 2 3 This invention relates to a storage system for the 4 storage of a collection of items, such as compact discs 5 (CDs), CD Roms and DVD discs in their original cases. 6 In particular the invention relates to a storage system 7 which comprises a number of modules which can be 8 releasably attached to each other so that the system 9 can be simply expanded to accommodate more compact 10 discs, CD Roms and DVD discs in their original cases at 11 any desired location within the storage system. 12 13 In this field a large number of shelf units, cabinets, 14 stands and trays are already available and have been 15 specifically designed to appropriate dimensions to hold 16 and store CDs and CD Roms. They range in capacity f rom 17 small trays for 10 or 12 CDs to large cabinets with the 18 capacity to hold hundreds of discs. These are 19 generally manufactured in wood, metal or plastic and 20 incorporate slots to hold individual CD cases neatly in 21 place. 22 23 The known shelving systems suffer from the disadvantage 24 that when a collection grows in quantity such that it 25 necessitates filing in a specific sequence in order to 2G facilitate ease of retrieval (commonly in alphabetical 27 order) there is no facility for inserting additions to 28 the collection in the correct position without in turn 29 moving the rest of the collection along slot by slot. 30 For example if a collection of 100 discs is arranged

2 1 alphabetically to fill the first 100 adjacent slots in 2 a shelving system, then if a new disc beginning with 3 the letter "C" is added to the collection, it may be 4 necessary to move each one of 80 or more discs to the 5 next adjacent slot in order to create an empty slot in 6 the correct position for the new disc. 7 8 It is an object of the present invention to provide a 9 storage system for a collection of items which allows 10 expansion of the system at the ends of the storage 11 system or at intermediate locations within the storage 12 system to accommodate the addition of items to the 13 collection at any required position within the 14 collection. 15 16 According to a first aspect of the present invention 17 there is provided a storage system comprising a 18 plurality of box-like holders, each holder comprising a 19 base and first and second opposing side walls. 20 21 Preferably the first and second side walls of each 22 holder are provided with first and second fastening 23 means respectively, adapted to permit the releasable 24 engagement of the first fastening means of one holder 25 with the second fastening means of an adjacent holder. 26 27 Preferably the first and second fastening means are 28 mutually engageable snap fit elements. 29 30 According to a first preferred embodiment the first 31 fastening means comprises a resilient male fastening 32 element and the second fastening means comprises a 33 female fastening element. Preferably the first 34 fastening means comprises a tongue member extending 35 along the length of the first side wall from the front 36 of the holder to the rear of the holder. Preferably 3 1 the second fastening means comprises a groove member 2 extending along the length of the second side wall from 3 the f ront of the holder to the rear of the holder. 4 Preferably the first and second fastening means are 5 adapted to permit mutual separation by a peeling 6 action. 7 8 According to a second preferred embodiment the first 9 and second fastening means each comprise a plurality of 10 projecting portions and a plurality of apertures 11 arranged between the projecting portions. Preferably 12 the projecting portions comprise vertically extending 13 ribs and the apertures comprise vertically extending 14 slots adapted to engage with the vertically extending 15 ribs of an adjacent holder. Preferably each projecting 16 portion on the first side wall has a corresponding 17 aperture on the second side wall directly opposite. 18 Preferably each projecting portion on the second side 19 wall has a corresponding aperture on the first side 20 wall directly opposite. Pref erably one or more of the 21 projecting portions is shaped to provide a resilient 22 snap fit connection with the corresponding aperture of 23 an adjacent holder. 24 25 Preferably each holder comprises a rear wall extending 26 between the first and second side walls. Preferably 27 the front of the holder is open. 28 29 In a preferred embodiment the system further comprises 30 one or more track members adapted to support the 31 holders. Preferably each holder is provided with 32 engagement means beneath the base adapted to.releasably 33 engage with said track members. Preferably the track 34 members comprise rail members and the engagement means 35 comprises recesses formed in resilient material and 36 adapted to releasably snap fit onto the rail members or 4 1 otherwise engage with the rail members.

2 3 Preferably each holder is formed of resilient plastic 4 or rubber material. Preferably each holder has a width 5 between the opposing side walls corresponding to the 6 external width of a CD case, a CD-ROM case or a DVD 7 case. Preferably the side walls of each holder project 8 below the base to form a downward facing hollow box 9 portion beneath the base. Preferably the rail 10 engagement recesses are formed in the downward 11 projecting part of the side walls. Preferably each 12 holder is provided with a front face projecting below 13 the base and forming a front wall of the downward 14 facing hollow box portion. Preferably the front face 15 is adapted to receive a label or similar. 16 17 Preferably the rail members are of metal. 18 19 According to a second aspect of the present invention 20 there is provided a holder for use in the system of the 21 first aspect.

22 23 A specific embodiment of the invention will now be 24 described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

26 27 Fig 1 shows a perspective view of an individual CD case 28 holder according to a first embodiment the invention; 29 Fig 2 shows a f ront view of the individual CD case 31 holder of Fig 1; 32 33 Fig 3 shows a perspective view of a storage system 34 comprising multiple CD case holders according to the f irst embodiment of the invention connected to form a 36 CD storage rack mounted on rod track system; 1 Fig 4 shows a f ront view of the storage system of Fig 2 3 3 4 Fig 5 shows a perspective view of an individual CD case holder according to a second embodiment the invention; 6 7 Fig 6 shows a perspective view of a storage system 8 comprising multiple CD case holders according to the 9 second embodiment of the invention connected to form a CD storage rack mounted on rod track system; 11 12 Fig 7 shows a plan view of the storage system of Fig 6; 13 14 Fig 8 shows a side elevation of the CD case holder of Fig 5; 16 17 Fig 9 shows an identification tag or clip which may be 18 releasably f ixed to the CD case holder of Fig 5; and 19 Fig 10 shows an enlarged perspective view of the 21 storage system of Fig 6.

22 23 Referring to the drawings, Figs 1 and 2 illustrate an 24 individual CD holder 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention and Figs 3 and 4 show how the 26 individual holders 1 are connected together to form a 27 storage system 10. Fig 3 shows a holder holding a 28 standard CD case 11. The individual holders 1 are 29 formed in a plastic or rubber material and comprise a floor or base 2, a first side wall 3, a second side 31 wall 4 and an end wall 5. A f ront wall 6 extends below 32 the base 2 only, so that a case 11 may be slid in and 33 out through the open f ront 7.

34 The first side 3 has a male inter- connecting element 13 36 which can be slotted into a f emale element 14 on the 6 1 second side 4 of an adjacent holder in a snap fit 2 connection, so that when two or more of the holders 1 3 are placed side by side the application of slight 4 pressure forces the holders to join together forming a 5 continuous rack 10, as seen in Fig 3. Two holders 1 6 can be separated by means of exerting slight pressure 7 to peel them apart or by sliding one of the holders 8 forward to release it. This allows for the insertion 9 of a new holder 1 between two existing holders. 10 11 The downwardly extending portions of the side walls 3, 12 4 are each provided with two slots 8 to allow the 13 holders to be clipped on to two lightweight metal rod 14 tracks 9, whose ends are held in a support unit (not is shown) provided at each end of the rods 9. The slots 8 16 have a narrower neck portion 18 and the walls 3,4 are 17 resilient, so that the slots 8 positively locate on the 18 rods 9. 19 20 Instead of using rods 9, the system 10 may placed on 21 any flat shelf or desktop as a free standing unit. For 22 this reason the bottom edges of the side walls 3, 4, 23 rear wall 5 and front wall 6 all lie in a common 24 horizontal plane. 25 26 The holders 1 may be formed of any suitable material. 27 It has been found that resilient plastic is the most 28 appropriate material. However natural or artificial 29 rubber may be used. A rigid material such as plastic, 30 steel or wood may be used with other forms of 31 fasteners, for example press studs, velcro, rigid 32 interlocking connections, hooked flanges etc. 33 34 The holders 1 may be provided in various colours, which 35 may be used as codes to identify the items stored in 36 them. The front walls 6 may be coated with a suitable 7 1 material to allow the user to write a title on. 2 Alternatively adhesive stickers may be placed on the 3 front wall to identify the items. 4 5 In use two adjacent holders may be peeled apart so that 6 a new holder 1 may be inserted in the system 10. In 7 Fig 3, if a new holder with reference "B" is required 8 to be inserted between the holders referenced "All and 9 "C", then holders 11 and 111 are peeled apart, and the 10 two blocks of holders 20, 21 are slid apart from each 11 other along the rails. The new holder is lowered onto 12 the rails until the slots 8 engage with the rails 9. 13 The new holder is then slid along the rails and snapped 14 together with holder 11, so that the male connector 13 15 of the new holder engages with the female connector 14 16 of holder 11. The block of holders 21 is then slid 17 along the rails until holder ill is snapped together 18 with the new holder, so that the male connector 13 of 19 holder ill engages with the female connector 14 of the 20 new holder. 21 22 Figs 5 and 8 illustrate an individual CD holder 101 23 according to a second embodiment of the invention and 24 Figs 6, 7 and 10 show how the individual holders 101 25 are connected together to form a storage system 110. 26 The individual holders 101 comprise a floor or base 27 102, a first side wall 103, a second side wall 104 and 28 an end wall 105. A case 11 may be slid in and out 29 through the open front 107. 30 31 The first side 103 and the second side 104 of the 32 holder 101 have a plurality of interengaging projecting 33 portions 115 extending outwardly therefrom. The 34 projecting portions are separated by a series of 35 recesses 117 between the individual projecting portions 36 115.

8 1 The projecting portions 115 of a first holder 101 can 2 be slotted into the recesses 117 between the projecting 3 portions on a second, adjacent holder 101. The 4 projecting portions 115 are so spaced apart to allow 5 the entry of a projecting portion from a second holder 6 101 to frictionally engage with the projecting portion 7 of the f irst holder 101. 8 9 To allow the projecting portions 115, to fully extend 10 past the projecting portions on a second holder 101, 11 small slots 118 are provided in the base plate 102.

12 13 When two or more of the holders 101 are placed side by 14 side the application of slight pressure forces the holders to join together forming a continuous rack 110 16 as seen in Fig 6. Two holders 101 can be separated 17 when required by means of exerting slight pressure to 18 peel them apart, thereby disengaging the projecting 19 portions from each other.

21 Alternatively one or more of the projecting portions 22 115 may be bulb shaped and will correspond with an 23 opposite projecting portion on an adjacent holder which 24 is similarly bulb shaped (not shown) 26 In use, the bulb shaped projecting portion will 27 resiliently engage an opposite bulb shaped projecting 28 portion on an adjacent holder to form a snap fit 29 connection. Providing a bulb shaped projecting portion in this way will improve the locking effect between 31 adjacent holders 101.

32 33 It is preferable for the individual units to be firmly 34 connected. Shaping the projecting portions into a bulb shape will increase the rigidity of the connection.

36 However as the individual holders 101 will be separated 9 1 from each other from time to time, the connection 2 should not be so tight as to cause difficulty in 3 separating the holders 101 when required. Therefore 4 only the outermost projecting portions 115, would 5 normally be bulb shaped in order to reach a balance 6 between a firm connection between the holders 101, and 7 ease of separating the adjacent holders 101 when 8 required. 9 10 Clips 119 can be attached below the base plate 102 to 11 label the contents of the holder 101. For example the 12 clips may designate the first letter of the CD 13 contained in the holder. A clip is shown in Fig 9. 14 Each clip 119 has a front portion 125, an upper 120 and 15 lower flange 121. The angle between the upper flange 16 122 and the front portion 125 is normally less than 90 17 degrees, but preferably about 50 degrees. The flange 18 and front portion are adapted to fit around a small 19 upper rod 122. The angle between the front portion 125 20 and the lower flange extends at an angle less than 90 21 degrees but preferably around 70 degrees. The lower 22 flange 121 has a groove 124 adapted to correspond with 23 a small lower rod 123. The clip can be resiliently 24 snapped into position by placing the small upper rod 25 122 between the upper flange 120 and the front portion 26 125 and pressing the lower flange 121 onto the small 27 lower rod 123, so that the groove 124 in the lower 28 flange 121 engages the lower rod 123. 29 30 Alternatively the clips may be secured to the holders 31 by other means such as press stud fasteners or 32 adhesive. 33 34 The downwardly extending walls 103 and 104 each have a 35 curved portion 108 shaped so the individual holders 101 36 can be mounted on two lightweight metal rod tracks 109, 1 whose ends are held in a support unit (not shown) 2 provided at each end of the rods 109. 3 4 Instead of using rods 109, the system 110 may be placed 5 on any flat shelf or desktop as a free standing unit.

6 For this reason the bottom edges of the side walls 103, 7 104, rear wall 105 and front wall 106 all lie in a 8 common horizontal plane. 9 10 Thus the invention allows for the construction of a 11 continuous CD rack in any sequence and to any size with 12 the ability for any two individual holders to be 13 separated at any point in the sequence permitting the 14 insertion of additions to the collection at any point.

The modular nature of the system and the provision of 16 individual holders in various colours provides the 17 ability to colour code individual CDs in categories 18 within the collection while retaining alphabetical 19 sequencing. The constructed rack is mountable on any flat shelf or desktop or on to a metal rod track system 21 for which connection points are incorporated into the 22 base of the holders.

23 24 These and other modifications and improvements can be incorporated without departing from the scope of the 26 invention.

Claims

1 CLAIMS

2 3 1. A storage apparatus comprising a plurality of box 4 like holders, each holder comprising a base and first and second opposing side walls, wherein the f irst and 6 second side walls of each holder are provided with 7 first and second fastening means respectively, adapted 8 to permit the releasable engagement of the first 9 fastening means of one holder with the second fastening means of an adjacent holder.

11 12

2. An apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the 13 first and second fastening means are mutually 14 engageable snap f it elements.

16

3. An apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein 17 the first and second fastening means each comprise a 18 plurality of projecting portions and a plurality of 19 apertures arranged between the projecting portions.

21

4. An apparatus according to Claim 3, wherein the 22 projecting portions comprise vertically extending ribs 23 and the apertures comprise vertically extending slots 24 adapted to engage with the vertically extending ribs of an adjacent holder, and wherein each projecting portion 26 on the first side wall has a corresponding aperture on 27 the second side wall directly opposite, and each 28 projecting portion on the second side wall has a 29 corresponding aperture on the first side wall directly opposite.

31 32

5. An apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein at 33 least one of the projecting portions is shaped to 34 provide a resilient snap fit connection with the corresponding aperture of an adjacent holder.

36 12 1

6. An apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein 2 the first fastening means comprises a resilient tongue 3 member extending along the length of the first side 4 wall from the front of the holder to the rear of the holder, and the second fastening means comprises a 6 groove member extending along the length of the second 7 side wall from the front of the holder to the rear of 8 the holder, the first and second fastening means being 9 adapted to permit mutual separation by a peeling action.

11 12

7. An apparatus according to any preceding Claim, 13 wherein each holder comprises a rear wall extending 14 between the first and second side walls, and wherein is the front of the holder is open.

16 17

8. An apparatus according to any preceding Claim, 18 further comprising one or more track members adapted to 19 support the holders, each holder being provided with engagement means beneath the base adapted to releasably 21 engage with said track members.

22 23

9. An apparatus according to any preceding Claim, 24 wherein each holder is formed of resilient plastic or rubber material.

26 27

10. An apparatus according to any preceding Claim, 28 wherein the side walls of each holder project below the 29 base to form a downward facing hollow box portion beneath the base.

31 32

11. A holder for use in an apparatus according to any 33 preceding Claim, the holder comprising a base and first 34 and second opposing side walls, wherein the first and second side walls of each holder are provided with 36 first and second fastening means respectively, adapted 13 1 to permit the releasable engagement of the f irst 2 fastening means of one holder with the second fastening 3 means of an adjacent holder. 4 5

12. A storage apparatus as hereinbefore described with 6 reference to the accompanying drawings.