GB2423237A

GB2423237A - Media storage and display rack

Info

Publication number: GB2423237A
Application number: GB0503561A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Miguel Navarro
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-02-21
Filing date: 2005-02-21
Publication date: 2006-08-23
Also published as: GB0503561D0

Abstract

The rack is primarily intended for storing and displaying CDs, DVDs, floppy discs, minidisks, cassettes and similar media 2 but it may also be used for other objects of similar size and shape. The rack consists of a sheet or panel 3 with a number of pockets or bottom-open pockets 1 shaped on. Each pocket is made with strips or cords that in places are fixed to, or made to be in close contact with, the background sheet. Each bottom-open pocket may be made with a strip or cord that is fixed in two different places to the sheet or pane. Each bottom-open pocket may also be made with a strip or cord that passes through holes made in the sheet or panel. The rack may hang on a wall like a picture or a calendar or be placed anywhere convenient.

Description

I

MEDIA STORAGE AND DISPLAY RACK

Preliminary note. In this application media is the plural of medium and by medium we mean CD, DVD, floppy disc, minidisk, cassette or other similar device used for storing music, software or other type of information.

The present application is for a media storage and display rack. It consists of a sheet or panel with a number of pockets or bottom-open pockets shaped on. The sheet or panel may be any shape, not necessarily rectangular.

The rack is primarily intended to store and display media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy discs, minidisks and similar information-storage devices but it can also be used to store and display many other objects of similar flat or elongated shape i.e. objects with one dimension significantly smaller than one of the other dimensions.

Preferably the rack will hang on a wall like a picture or a calendar - for example near the music equipment or computer - but it may be placed anywhere convenient.

Background

The invention solves a range of disadvantages that other products with similar intended use and currently in the market have. Some of the most widespread products for storing media are box-like holders. The media which often need each to be put inside a case - are each placed face to face with others. Therefore, once stored they can hardly be seen. Only the edge of the media or one of the smallest faces of its case can be seen.

All this makes these box-like products quite inconvenient to use. Each DVD, say, needs to be placed inside its case and them into the box. Each DVD and each case need to be clearly labelled. And each DVD has to be placed in the right case. If a DVD is placed in the wrong case or in an unlabelled case it becomes very difficult to locate.

If no cases are used for the DVD and they are just placed inside a box the situation is not much better. To locate a particular DVD it is necessary to go through all of them until the right one is found.

Other types of CD holders suffer from similar problems.

Our rack solves all those disadvantages. The information-storage devices or any other objects you want to store can be very easily placed in oUr rack and once there, they are still very visible. Therefore any particular object stored/displayed - for example a DVD - can easily be located and taken from the unit.

The CDs can still be placed inside a case but now there is no need to do that. They can be placed there uncovered or just inside a plastic pocket.

By using different spacing between the pockets, or pockets of different shapes or sizes, racks may be produced with different capacity or stability for the stored media.

The rack uses little room that may have a different use. For example, sixteen or more CDs can be easily accommodated on a 25 cm x 35 cm rack. It may hang on a wall very much like a picture or a calendar.

There are products in the market that share some features with our invention. For example some cascading racks for displaying magazines or newspapers. The structure of those products is however very different from our rack. And they are not suitable for storing and displaying CDs, DVDs, floppy discs or similar media.

Therefore, going from any of those products to our rack is not an obvious step at all. It would rather require a substantial jump of the imagination and considerable modifications.

Preferably our rack is made of plastics or synthetic material, but it may instead be made from cloth, leather, wood, metal, glass or a combination of these materials.

Fixing the strips or cords to the sheet or panel may be done in a variety of ways, some better than others. Passing the strips through holes and fixing them at the ends in a mechanical way - by hooking them using protuberances and holes - is perhaps the best way of manufacturing the rack. That is perhaps the simpler manufacturing way and it is also likely to produce the strongest and most durable rack.

Essential features Our media storage and display rack consists of a sheet or panel with a number of pockets or bottom-open pockets shaped on. The sheet or panel may be any shape, not necessarily rectangular.

The media storage and display rack will hang or be placed anywhere. The media are supported by the pockets or bottom-open pockets. Gravity - i.e. weight - and the pressure exerted by the pockets or bottom-open pockets on the objects stored combine to keep in place the media.

Now we describe four different embodiments of the invention. Two embodiments of the invention are shown in the two accompanying drawings on which FIGURE 1 shows a front view of a whole rack with eighteen bottomopen pockets.

The bottom-open pockets 1 are made with strips passing through perforations in the rectangular sheet or panel 3. Media 2 are supported by the pockets.

FIGURE 2 shows a front view of a whole rack with sixteen bottom-open pockets. The bottom-open pockets 1 are made with cords passing through perforations in the rectangular sheet or panel 3. Media 2 are supported by the pockets.

Particular examples

Particular example (I) We start with a rectangular sheet or panel. Strips or cords of the same or a different material are used to shape pockets or bottom-open pockets on the sheet or panel. Each strip is extended on the sheet or panel and it is then fixed to it at several places.

The strips are fixed to the sheet or panel by gluing, sewing, stapling or by any other method.

Particular example (II) Similar to particular example (I) but instead of strips cords are used.

Particular example (III) We start with a rectangular sheet or panel and one or several strips of the same or a different material. We perforate the sheet or panel in several places and pass a strip through these holes. The strip passes from the back of the sheet or panel to the front, then to the back again, then to the front and fmally to the back again. The strip therefore sews the sheet or pane. Then we fix both ends of the strip to the sheet or panel. Two bottom-open pockets have been produced. We repeat the same procedure with some more strips.

The ends of the strips may be fixed to the sheet or panel by stapling them, by gluing them, by hooking them using special features of the strips and/or the sheet or panel or by any other procedure.

By using special features of the strips and/or the sheet or panel the ends of the strips can be fixed to the sheet or panel without using any extraneous substance, material or mechanism. For example, semicircleshaped cuts can be made to the sheet or panel and elongated perforations can be made near the end of the strips so that the strips can be hooked to the sheet or panel.

FIGURE 1 shows a front view of a whole rack with eighteen bottom-open pockets.

Particular example (IV) Similar to particular example (II) but instead of strips cords are used.

FIGURE 2 shows a front view of a whole rack with sixteen bottom-open pockets.

Claims

1. A media storage and display rack consisting of a sheet or panel, which may be any shape, with a number of pockets or bottom-open pockets shaped on.

2. A media storage and display rack as claimed in Claim I where the pockets or bottom-open pockets are produced by fixing strips or cords to the sheet or panel.

3. A storage and display rack as claimed in Claim 1 where each pocket or bottom-open pocket is made with a strip or cord that is fixed in two or more different places to the sheet or pane.

4. A storage and display rack as claimed in Claim 1 where the pockets or bottom- open pockets are made with strips or cords passing through holes practiced in the sheet or panel.

5. A storage and display rack as claimed in Claim 1 where each pocket or bottom-open pocket is made with a strip or cord passing through holes practiced in the sheet or panel.

6. A storage and display rack as claimed in any proceeding claim where the ends of the strips or cords are fixed to the sheet or panel by hooking protuberances or holes of the sheet to protuberances or holes of the strips or cords.

7. A storage and display rack as claimed in any proceeding claim which is made from cloth, leather, plastics or synthetic material, glass, wood, metal or from a combination of these materials.

8. A storage and display rack as claimed in any proceeding claim which may hang on a wall like a picture or calendar.

9. A media storage and display rack substantially as herein described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.