JP2007532429A - Disk storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a containment for at least one readable and / or writable data disc (D) having a ferromagnetic hub (H) in the center. The container has at least one panel (1) having a surface (2) for receiving a disc. The surface has a magnetic material (4) at a position where the disk hub can be aligned to hold the preceding disk close to the surface. The surface (2) has guidance for a centering member (3) positioned around the magnetic material (4) and at least partly discs (D) when in the retracted position close to the surface. Enclose. The present invention allows convenient storage and removal of a disk with a low risk of damaging the disk.

Description

  The present invention relates to a disk container for at least one readable and / or writable data disk having a ferromagnetic hub in the center.

  A disk having a ferromagnetic hub at the center is, for example, a blue laser-based optical disk. These disks are typically housed in cartridges to protect the disks from damage. However, recent advances in protective coatings for such discs have made it possible to obtain very good resistance to scratches and fingerprints. Therefore, it is expected that cartridges will be depleted and bare disks will be used.

  Others are advances in disk standardization that make disks with a diameter of about 50 mm that can be used without a cartridge. Such a disk is strong enough to be used without a cartridge.

One possible option for storing such a bare disk in a disk storage container is to have a container with a plurality of open sleeves to accommodate and at least partially cover the disk. An example of such a disk storage container is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-237869A (Patent Document 1). However, it is not very convenient to insert the disc into the sleeve and remove it again.
JP 2003-237869A PR

  The present invention aims to provide a disk storage container and to allow easy access and removal of the disk from the storage position.

  Thus, the present invention provides a storage container for at least one readable and / or writable data disk having a ferromagnetic hub at its center. The container has at least one surface for receiving the disk, the surface having a magnetic member in a position that allows alignment of the hub of the disk to hold the disk in close proximity to the surface.

  Due to the magnetic force of the surface, all that is necessary is to place the disk on the surface to store the disk and to grab the disk to remove the disk again from the storage position in the container. This is very easy for the user to use. The magnetic force with which the disk is attracted against the surface can be controlled by design and is large enough to hold the disk reliably and sufficiently to allow the disk to be removed without exerting any force on the disk Can be made small. The force exerted on the disc can cause deformation of the disc, which causes too much load on the coating, and media degradation.

  With the guiding means according to claim 2, it is very easy to move the ferromagnetic hub of the disk in line with the magnetic material on the surface. If the guiding means has a centering member according to claim 3, it is easy to always obtain the same location of the disc.

  According to claims 4 and 5, the centering member is formed by a peripheral wall on the surface which can be blocked to gain access to the periphery of the disc. This allows the disc to be removed by grabbing its end.

  The embodiment as claimed in claim 6 has the advantage that when the disk is in a retracted position on a magnet that protrudes at least partially above the surface, the disk does not contact the surface. This reduces the risk of damage to the disc.

  A very compact structure is obtained in the embodiment of claim 7, particularly when the substantially flat panel has a disk storage surface on both sides.

  One possible embodiment of the containment is described in claim 9. This containment allows the user to carry multiple discs and when the disc is used for portable applications where the user carries a device with a disc drive such as a cell phone, disc player, PDA, or the like. It is especially convenient.

  The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a storage container and, in particular, a disc D, which can be an audio, video or data disc, which is an optical disc. The disc can have any dimension, but the invention is particularly suitable for discs having a diameter of, for example, less than 50 mm, although not limited. The optical disc D has a central hub H made of a ferromagnetic material. The disk drive in which the disk D is used has a magnetic spindle to fix the disk to the disk drive. There is a space for data around the hub H. Data can be read from or written to on one or both sides of the disk D.

  In this embodiment, the containment vessel has a plurality of panels 1 having at least one face 2 to hold the disc D. This surface 2 can be provided on one side of the panel 1, but it is highly conceivable that the panel 1 has the surface 2 on both sides. The face 2 can be embedded in the panel 1 to create a peripheral wall 3 that serves as a guiding and / or centering means for the disc to facilitate the correct position of the disc D. At the center of the surface 2, a magnetic material 4 in the form of a magnet attached to the surface 2, or a magnetic material (magnetic polymer composite material, etc.) provided on the panel 1 or integrated with the panel 1. Given. The magnetic material 4 can be provided in a range of approximately the same size as the hub H of the disk D, but for some reason the magnetic material has a smaller or larger range as long as the disk hub H can be aligned therewith. Can be present in

  The magnetic material 4 can have an upper surface that is coplanar with the surface 2, but can also be positioned at the lower level or protrude from the surface 2. In the lower level embodiment, there is no direct contact between the hub H and the magnetic material 4, reducing the attractive force on the hub H. This leads to a very low force to remove the disk D. In the latter embodiment, the magnetic material 4 can protrude from the surface 2, thus creating a support for the disk D that is free from the surface 2. In all cases, the disk D is close to the surface 2 at its storage position.

  The peripheral wall 3 can be blocked to create a grip area that can be grasped with a finger to remove the disk D. The blockage at the peripheral wall 3 may be small and sufficient to grab the disc D, but may be large so that there is a very small wall portion. These wall portions are very small and can be pins or cams on the face 2 of the panel 1 applied around the magnetic material 4. In the retracted position, the disc D can be placed against or on the centering means / guide means or can be separated therefrom by a small play.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the panels 1 are pivotally connected to each other and the panels 1 can be rotated about a common axis so that they can exit through the panels. Of course, other arrangements can be envisaged. For example, the panels 1 can be connected in a zigzag structure. In these embodiments, one panel 1 forms the cover of the other panel. The outer panel, as seen in the closed position of the container, has an outer surface that does not hold the disk D and all the stored disks are in the container and are therefore protected by the container.

  2 to 4 show several other embodiments of the container according to the invention. In FIG. 2, the panel 1 has four surfaces 2, each surface intended to hold a disk D. In FIG. 3, the surface 2 is defined between pins, cams or other protrusions 5 around the surface that serve as guiding means and centering means to guide the disc D relative to the surface 2, and the hub It may be possible for H to be aligned with the magnetic material 4. In this case, the magnetic material 4 has a rectangular shape. FIG. 4 illustrates a rotating device type container. The circular panel 1 has a plurality of surfaces 2 provided around the central axis of the panel. The panel 1 is rotatably accommodated in a housing (not shown) having one or more openings so that the disk D can be placed on or removed from one of the surfaces 2. obtain.

  From the above description, it is clear that the present invention provides a disc container that is very easy to use and provides maximum protection for the disc.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments shown, but can be varied in a number of ways without departing from the scope of the invention. As shown, it is possible for the containment panel to be large enough to have multiple faces to hold multiple disks, for example. In that case, with a given magnetic material, the disc is held at different positions on the panel. The centering means can guide the disc to respective positions on the panel.

  In the specification and claims, the use of the singular does not exclude the presence of the plural and the word “comprising” does not exclude the addition of elements or steps. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

  In the presently preferred embodiment, the disk is an optical data disk. However, it should be understood that the invention can be used for all other types of disks.

1 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a disk storage container according to the invention. Another embodiment is shown schematically. Another embodiment is shown schematically. Another embodiment is shown schematically.

Claims (11)

A containment for at least one readable and / or writable data disk having a ferromagnetic hub in the center,
The container has at least one surface for receiving the disk, the surface having a magnetic material at a position where the hub of the disk can be aligned to hold the disk close to the surface. Have
Containment vessel. The surface has guide means projecting to guide the disk toward a position that is in line with the magnetic material;
The containment vessel according to claim 1. The guide means includes a centering member positioned around the magnetic material to at least partially surround the disk when in a stored position proximate the surface;
The containment vessel according to claim 2. The centering member is formed by a peripheral wall on the surface;
The containment vessel according to claim 3. The peripheral wall is blocked;
The containment vessel according to claim 4. The magnetic material protrudes at least partially above the surface;
The containment container according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The surface is formed on a substantially flat panel;
The containment container according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A plurality of surfaces, each of the surfaces storing at least one disk;
The containment vessel according to any one of claims 1 to 7. Having a plurality of panels movably coupled,
The containment vessel according to claim 6 and 8. The panels are pivotally coupled substantially around a common axis;
The containment vessel according to claim 9. The magnetic material has a magnet.
The containment container according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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