US20020063100A1

US20020063100A1 - Modular blocks assembly CD rack

Info

Publication number: US20020063100A1
Application number: US09/988,509
Authority: US
Inventors: Yun-Ming Kwang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-11-24
Filing date: 2001-11-20
Publication date: 2002-05-30
Also published as: TW478635U

Abstract

The invention is a modular and wooden blocks type of CD rack. The CD storage comprises of several individual modules. And with different combinations of different modules, one can assemble different types of racks for storing CD and CD box. The modules comprise side plate, end plate, back plate, bottom feet, stand plate, support beam, connection structure. Because of the different modules, multiple types of CD rack such as vertical, horizontal and plane type CD racks can be structured and therefore it is capable of storing CD jewelry case, CD boxes and other objects. The framed racks are stackable unlimitedly in both vertical and horizontal direction.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a modular and wooden block type CD rack, especially; a CD rack comprises of several different modules and can be assembled to multiple types of CD rack via different combinations of different Modules. The rack stores not only CD jewelry case or CD boxes, but also various kinds of objects of different thickness. The assembled rack can be unlimitedly stacked providing more storing space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Presently, musical creation and computerize multimedia have being developed successfully, and CDs are getting more and more. Thus, the management for storing CD to save limited room and effectively utilize reserving room is becoming a great issue. A popular way is to store a number of CDs and CD boxes by racks.

In prior art, a CD rack is an integral structure and it is only for storing case for single CD (or CD boxes storing CDs and the thickness are same), which means the prior art is suitable for fixed thickness and other different kinds of thickness will not be stored. Thus, the situation is not convenient for user. Furthermore, prior art is single purpose and is not able to match different applications. Therefore, there is a need to create a CD rack of multiple functions to adapt CD boxes of different style and different thickness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main purpose of the invention is to apply the concept of wooden blocks to assemble different kinds of CD racks. By using modules it is possible to make distinct types of CD racks for unlike sorts of thickness of CD boxes or other objects. Furthermore, the invention is beautiful in looking and effectively uses limited space available.

The second purpose of the invention is to offer a module side plate. There are plural grooves on the two opposite side surfaces of the side plate and the grooves are spacing differently on the two side surfaces. By assigning the same side surface of the two side plates facing toward inside, objects of different thickness can be adapted in grooves.

The modules for the invention contains side plate, end plate, back plate, bottom feet, support beam, connection pin, support rod, etc.

Side plate is a plate object having plural ribs. The cross section of the side plate is in symmetry, and each end has a curved leading edge matching with an end plate. On its one side there are plural wide ribs sticking out and is used for loading thicker CD boxes. On the other side, there are plural narrow ribs for loading single pc CD box or thinner objects. The distances between narrow ribs are shorter..

There are plural connection holes on side plates and the connection holes are the connection structures for connecting other modules. There is another type of connection structure, which separately arranged above and under side plates, and is for purpose of expanding the CD rack. Generally, the male and female dovetails design will be used.

The goal to design the structure of side plate is variable functions. Thus, the side plates can be used as the right and left side plate of a vertical CD rack, or the up and down side plate of a horizontal CD rack. Furthermore, it can be a simple CD rack on desktop by adding bottom feet.

The structure of the end plate is symmetrical. End plates are used as the up and down sides of a CD rack with a closed space. (or right and left sides of a horizontal CD rack). Furthermore, the end plates can be turned over to use and the functions are totally same. The tenons on end plates are protruded and for combining with connection holes of side plates. On the end plates there are plural connection holes for connecting with back plates.

Two side plates and two end plates construct an internal room for storing, and it is the basic form of a CD rack.

Back plates can be used alone and as a single piece CD rack adapting CD, floppy disk, MO, zip disk, mini disk, tape, etc. Also, the back plate combine with side plates, end plates for enhancing the overall strength of a vertical CD rack. The vertical CD rack is a tall structure. The back plate has hangers or hanging holes capable for wall mounting.

Stand plate connects with the end plate of bottom, and the stand plate is to keep the rack stable when assembling vertical CD rack.

Side bottom foot is matching with side plate, and it is to support side plate for constructing a simple CD rack or a horizontal CD rack.

Extended foot constructs with end plate and side plate for building up the up and down sides of the closed reserving room.

Stand pillar is in cooperation with side plates and supports the two side plates when constructing a horizontal CD rack. It then forms the to closed reserving room of the horizontal CD rack.

Connection pin is to connect the side plate of adjacent CD rack when expanding the rack.

Support beam cooperates with side bottom foot or extended foot for supporting CD box.

When using, two side plates and two end plates build up a basic, closed reserving room, and thus a vertical CD rack. When narrow ribs on the two side plates are in the internal side of the closed reserving room, the resulting rack is for thinner CD box storing one pc CD in general. If turning over the right and left sides, and sides of wide ribs are in the internal side of the closed reserving room, another type of CD rack is formed, and it is for thicker CD boxes or other bigger objects.

The first preferred embodiment comprises two side plates and two end plates. The two side plates with narrow ribs facing each other forms the internal walls of the closed reserving room. The two end plates comprise the up and down walls of the reserving room. A stand plate connects with the bottom end plate to increase the stability of the rack.

The second preferred embodiment is to turn the two side plates of the first embodiment over and let the side with wide ribs facing each other and forms the closed reserving room. The two end plates are still in the same position. This embodiment is for storing thicker CD boxes or other objects.

The third preferred embodiment is that installing two side bottom feet on one side plate. The bottom feet are on the side with wide ribs. A support beam is installed on the center between two bottom feet. This is a simple CD rack for storing CD box for one pc CD.

The fourth preferred embodiment is a horizontal CD rack of single layer and comprises of two side plates, two side bottom feet, one support beam and four stand pillars. It is for the CD box storing single CD.

The fifth preferred embodiment is a horizontal CD rack of two-layer and comprises of two side plates, four side bottom feet, two support beams and four stand pillars. After installing side bottom feet and support beams, a horizontal CD storage frame of two-layer is then formed and it is for the CD box storing single CD.

The sixth preferred embodiment is a horizontal CD rack of single layer and comprises of two side plates, two end plates, two side bottom feet and one support beam.

The seventh preferred embodiment is a horizontal CD rack of two-layer and comprises of two side plates, two end plates, two side bottom feet, two extended feet, two support beams. The outline is similar to the sixth preferred embodiment and the only difference is that the up plate has two extended feet.

The eighth preferred embodiment is that turning over the up side plate of single layer horizontal CD rack and then making the sides with wide ribs toward up. Placing shield plates between wide ribs and the upper layer can be utilized for placing stationery.

The ninth preferred embodiment is to use the back plate alone, and it is for medias, such as CD, floppy disk, MO, mini disk, zip disk, tape, etc.

For more understanding about the purpose, features and functions of the invention, the following will be describing in detail with figures: [0029]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows 3-dimension view of the side plate of the invention, and it is the view from the side with narrow ribs. [0030]
FIG. 1B shows 3-dimension view of the side plate of the invention, and it is the view from the side with wide ribs. [0031]
FIG. 1C shows 3-dimension view of the back plate. [0032]
FIG. 1D shows 3-dimension view of the end plate and front bottom foot. [0033]
FIG. 2A shows a 3-dimension view of the preferred embodiment of the invention. [0034]
FIG. 2B shows a 3-dimension view of another preferred embodiment of the invention. [0035]
FIG. 2C shows a 3-dimension view of one preferred embodiment of the invention installed with a front bottom foot. [0036]
FIG. 2D shows a 3-dimension view of one preferred embodiment of the invention installed with a back plate. [0037]
FIG. 2E shows that variable amounts of vertical CD racks are extended along horizontal and vertical directions. The racks are connected by different connecting mechanism along different directions. [0038]
FIG. 3A shows another preferred embodiment of the invention. One of side plates combines with two side bottom feet and a support beam, and makes a simple CD rack. [0039]
FIG. 3B shows the expansion of preferred embodiment in FIG. 3A. The simple CD rack can be extended in directions of either right or left. [0040]
FIG. 3C is another preferred embodiment of the invention. A horizontal CD rack comprises of two side plates, support beams side bottom feet, stand pillars. The rack can be either single or two layers construction, depending on the amount of bottom foot and stand pillar used. [0041]
FIG. 3D is another preferred embodiment of the invention. The horizontal CD rack comprises of two side plates, end plates, side bottom feet, extended feet. [0042]
FIG. 3E is another preferred embodiment of the invention. Wide ribs of one side plate are pointing upward, making rooms for storing general objects. [0043]
FIG. 3F shows 3-dimension view of one preferred embodiment of the invention with a support beam and two bottom feet, and presents the embodiment by rotating it 90 degrees.[0044]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention is a modular blocks assembly CD rack. The invention comprises of several different modules and can be free assembled to different types of racks via different numbers of modules. The modules contain [0045] side plate 10, end plate 35, back plate 30, bottom foot 15, stand plate 40, support beam 20 and related connection components. By using different modules, multiple types of racks such as vertical, horizontal and plane type CD rack can be constructed and therefore capable of storing CD boxes, other keeping boxes or other objects of different thickness. All the racks constructed can be free expanded via connection mechanism and provide more reserving rooms for storing. Preferred connection mechanism comprises one of the following pairs: connection pins and connection holes, bolts and tap holes, keys and key slots, female and male dovetails or bulges and grooves, which are prior art connection structures.
FIGS. 1A and 1B show the same side plate viewing from different sides, numbered with [0046] side plates 5 and 10. FIG. 1A is the side plate 5 with narrow ribs 50 and FIG. 1B is the side plate 10 with wide ribs 45. We will use side plate 10 to represent the side plate from now on, because FIGS. 1A and 1B are two side views of the same side plate. Side plate 10 is a plane type and hollow frame structure. Both side plate end 11 and side plate cross section are symmetric. The front and rear ends are with arc-shaped edges 12. One side of the side plate is with plural narrow ribs 50 and the space between ribs 50 is smaller, and it is for supporting thinner CD boxes or other slice type of objects. The other side of side plate 10 is with plural wide ribs 45 and the space between wide ribs 45 is larger, and it is for supporting thicker CD boxes or other objects. In the preferred embodiment, the narrow ribs 50 and wide ribs 45 are tilting at the front end when assembled, and it prevents the falling of CDs or CD boxes out of the rack.
On the two short sides of [0047] side plate 10, there are plural connection holes 55 and the connection holes 55 penetrate side plate 10. The connection holes 55 have multiple functions. Connections between side plate 10 and end plate 35, (as FIGS. 1D and 2A), side plate 10 and another side plate 10 face to face (as FIG. 2E), side plate 10 and stand pillars 25 (as FIG. 3C), are all through the holes 55. On the outskirts of the short sides of side plate 10, there are male dovetail 60 and female dovetail 65. The locations of the male dovetail 60 and female dovetail 65 are opposite on the two short sides of side plate 10 in order that two side plates 10 can be connected via this mechanism. .
Referring to FIG. 1C, it is a [0048] back plate 30 and the purpose of the back plate 30 is to make the rack looks nicer and increase the rigidity of the whole structure. Around the inside of the peripheral of back plate 30, there are plural separators 31 and 32. The spacing between separators 31 in horizontal direction is not necessarily the same as the spacing between separators 32 in vertical direction, so they can be used for adapting objects of different thickness. In the preferred embodiment, the back plate 30 also can be utilized alone to adapt plural CD boxes in between separators 31 and 32. By different spacing between separators 31 or 32, different media such as CD, floppy disk, MO, mini disk, zip disk, tape, etc. can be seated on the back plate. Back plate 30 has tenons 33 and hanging holes 34, and the tenons 33 are the connection mechanism for connecting with end plates 35. Hanging holes 34 is for mounting the whole rack on wall by nails or hangers (not shown in figure).
FIG. 1D shows a 3-dimension view for [0049] end plate 35 and stand plate 40. End plate 35 is a symmetrical structure and there is an arc-shaped front edge 37 at its front end. At both sides of the front end, there are arc-shaped feet 38 and the arc-shaped feet 38 are matched with arc-shaped edges 12 of side plate 10. Each of two sides of end plate 35 is with plural tenons 36. When connecting with side plate 10, tenons 36 are inserted into connection holes 55 of side plate or connecting pin 85. The center part of end plate 35 is hollow 75 and the front edge of end plate 35 is end plate front edge 80 with arc-shaped and streamlined. Having end plate front edge 80 with arc-shaped and streamlined is to save material and increase appearance of good looking. There is an arc-shaped slot 41 in the rear of stand plate 40 and it is matched with end plate front edge 80 and so they can be bound together. In assembling a vertical CD rack, adding on the stand plate 40 may increase the base area of the rack and increase its stability as well, so the rack is not easy to fall. The front part of stand plate 40 is a slope 90 for better looking.
Following are some preferred embodiments for the invention: [0050]
Referring to FIG. 2A, which is one of the preferred embodiments of the invention. The two [0051] side plates 5 and 10, with narrow ribs 50 face to face, cooperating with two end plates 35, forms a CD rack. The narrow ribs 50 form smaller spacing so thinner objects (such as CD boxes for single CD, etc.) can be kept in there.
Referring to FIG. 2B, it is another preferred embodiment of the invention. The two [0052] side plates 5 and 10, with wide ribs 45 face to face, cooperating with two end plates 35 forms a CD rack. A reserving room is then formed. The wide ribs 45 form wider spacing and so thicker objects (such as CD boxes for plural CDs, etc.) can be kept in there.
Referring to FIG. 2C, it is another preferred embodiment of the invention and similar to FIG. 2A. Moreover, adding [0053] stand plate 40 to the front edge of end plate 35 at the bottom provides more stability.
Referring to FIG. 2D, it is another preferred embodiment of the invention and similar to FIG. 2A. Adding back [0054] plate 30 to the two side plates 5 and 10 and the end plates 35 for being a back plate, the structure of the whole CD rack is enhanced. The function of connecting pin 85 is to connect the adjacent side plates 10 of the racks shown as FIGS. 2A, 2B or 2D, in order to expand racks along the horizontal direction. Furthermore, male dovetail sets 60 and female dovetail sets 65 can connect the two adjacent side plates 10 along vertical direction. Hence, the racks can be expanded in vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 2E. In that embodiment there are several layers of CD racks stacked vertically via male and female dovetail sets. The dovetail sets mechanism prevents the fall of stacked racks. Plural connecting pins 85 are to connect plural side plates 10 for horizontal extension. The connecting pin 85 can be a cross-cut hollow shaft.
FIG. 3F is another embodiment of the invention. It is a 3-dimension view of FIG. 2A adding with a [0055] support beam 20 and two bottom feet 15, and then shows the state of rotating 90 degrees. Two bottom feet 15 are punched plural beam holes (no numbers) for support beams 20 to fit in. To utilize the embodiment, placing the rack with two bottom feet 15 toward down (means two side plates 10 are toward up and down and two end plates 35 are toward right and left directions). Thus, CD boxes (not shown) can be inserted into the space formed by narrow ribs vertically, and the bottoms of CD boxes are against the support beam 20 because of the gravity from CD boxes.
FIG. 3A is another embodiment of the invention, which is with a [0056] support beam 20 and two bottom feet 15 to one side plate 5. To utilize the embodiment, CD boxes (not shown) are vertically inserted into the space formed by narrow ribs, and then the bottoms of CD boxes are against the support beam 20 because of the gravity from CD boxes. Hence, the side plate 5 can be used alone for reserving objects and the end plates 35 are not needed under the condition. On the hand, it is possible to let the side plate 10 with wide ribs 45 toward up in order to reserve thicker CD boxes for multiple CDs.
FIG. 3B shows the expansion of the racks as in FIG. 3A, via male dovetail sets [0057] 60 and female dovetail sets 65. It consolidates multiple side plates 5 horizontally for keeping more CD boxes for single CD.
As shown in FIG. 3C, it is a preferred embodiment using [0058] plural stand pillars 25 to connect side plates 5. Using structure shown as in FIG. 3A, it is possible to stack more side plates vertically to store more objects.
Referring to FIG. 3D, it is another preferred embodiment. It uses [0059] extension feet 95 to connect end plates 35 and side plate 5. Each extended foot 95 has connection holes (not shown) on it. The side plate 5 and end plates 35 are connected via the connecting pins 85 that are fitting into the connection holes in extended foot and side plate. Side plates 35 are used to connect the up side plate 10 and down side plate 5, so the stand pillars 25 as in FIG. 3C will not be used.
Referring to FIG. 3E, it is similar to the construction of FIG. 3C, and the only difference is that the up side plate with [0060] wide ribs 45 toward up of the arrangement, even more, each reserving slot formed by wide ribs 45 has a slice of shield plate 100, therefore, the up side plate is for placing stationary, etc.
Although this invention has been disclosed and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, it is not to be limited by the disclosure here. Any variation using the principles disclosed in this invention by persons skilled in the art is still in the scope of this invention. This invention is, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims. [0061]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A modular blocks assembly CD rack, comprising:

at least two side plates, each side plate being a plate module with two larger side surfaces;

at least two end plates, each end plate being a plate module with two larger side surfaces; and

a connecting mechanism, said connecting mechanism connecting the two end plates with the two side plates so as to form a suitable distance between the two side plates, a reserving room being defined between the two side plates;

wherein, the two larger side surfaces of each side plate are individually installed with plural reserving slots, and the spacing of the reserving slots on the two side surfaces are different, thus, by choosing the same side surfaces of the two side plates facing toward the receiving room, it is possible to store objects of different thickness;

wherein, the connecting mechanism connects the side plates and end plates, by the mechanisms built in both side surfaces of the side plates at positions relative to end plates, and mechanisms built in both sides of the end plates relative to side plates, so with either side surface of the side plates facing toward the reserving room, the side plates and end plates can be connected easily.

2. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 1, wherein the shape of transverse cross-section of side plate is symmetric with both sides, and no matter which side surface of each side plate faces to the reserving room, every side plate and end plate can be smoothly connected each other via the connecting mechanism.

3. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 1, wherein an arc-shaped foot structure is installed on two sides of each end plate, and two ends of two side surfaces of each side plate are arc-shaped edges, therefore, the arc-shaped foot structure can fit with the arc-shaped edge.

4. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 1, wherein two end surfaces of two sides of each side plate are set plural connecting mechanism which connects with the relative connecting mechanism of adjacent side plates, and therefore the side plate can be connected with other side plate in the direction of the side surface and expands the side plates and end plates.

5. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 1, wherein said connecting mechanism can be chosen from any one of the following pairs: connecting pin and connecting hole, bolt and tap hole, key and key slot, female dovetail and male dovetail, and bulge and notch groove.

6. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 5, wherein said connecting mechanism can be chosen from any one of the following, pairs: connecting pin and connecting hole, bolt and tap hole, key and key slot, female dovetail and male dovetail, and bulge and notch groove.

7. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 1, wherein the rack further comprises a back plate, and the back plate is for increasing the rigidity and stability of the rack.

8. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 1, wherein the reserving slots are formed by parallel ribs distributed on side surfaces of side plate, and thus each of the side surface is divided into plural reserving slots.

9. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 8, wherein the side plate is a plate shape and hollow frame structure, the ribs comprise plural tiny strip shape ribs and wide strip shape ribs, furthermore, at least some wide strip shape ribs are not adjacent, and the one side surface of the side plate has been installed all the ribs in the hollow frame forming reserving slots with narrower spacing on the side surface, and only wide strip shape ribs extend to the other side surface forming reserving slots of wider spacing on that side surface.

10. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 1, wherein there is a stand plate installed on front edge of the end plate at the bottom, and the base area of the whole rack becomes larger and the structure is more stable.

11. A modular blocks assembly CD rack, which forms multiple types of CD rack for storing different types of CD boxes or other objects, said CD rack comprising:

at lease two side plates, each side plate being a plate module and with two larger side surfaces and two smaller end surfaces;

at least two end plates, each end plate being a plate module and with two larger side surfaces;

a connecting mechanism for connecting the two end plates with two side plates, said two side plates being spaced from each other at a suitable distance so as to define a reserving room between the two side plates for storing objects;

wherein, the two larger side surfaces of each side plate are individually installed with plural reserving slots, and the spacing of the reserving slots on the two side surfaces are different, thus, by choosing the same side surfaces of the two side plates facing toward the reserving room, it is possible to store objects of different thickness;

12. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 11, wherein the two side surfaces of each side plate are individually installed plural reserving slots, and gaps of the reserving slots on the two side surfaces are different, thus, by choosing either of the same side surfaces of the two side plates toward the reserving rooms and facing each other, the reserving room is capable of storing objects of different thickness in the reserving slots.

13. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 12, wherein the reserving slots are formed by parallel ribs distributed on side surface of side plate, and thus the side surface is divided into plural reserving slots.

14. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 13, wherein the side plate is a plate shape and hollow frame structure, the ribs comprise plural tiny strip shape ribs and wide strip shape ribs, furthermore, at least some wide strip shape ribs are not adjacent, and one side surface of the side plate has been installed all the ribs in the hollow frame forming narrower spacing of reserving slots on the side surface, and only wide strip shape ribs extend to another side surface forming wider spacing of reserving slots on that side surface.

15. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 11, wherein the cross-sectional view of the side plate are symmetrical for right and left sides, and so no matter which side surface of each side plate faces to the reserving room, the side plates and end plates can be connected by the connecting mechanism easily.

16. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 15, wherein an arc-shaped foot structure is installed on two sides of each end plate, and two ends of two side surfaces of each side plate are arc-shaped edges, therefore, the arc-shaped foot structure can fit with the arc-shaped edge.

17. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 11, wherein the connecting mechanism can be chosen from any one of the following pairs: connecting pin and connecting hole, bolt and tap hole, key and key slot, female dovetail and male dovetail, and bulge and notch groove.

18. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 11, wherein the rack further comprises a back plate, and the back plate is for increasing the rigidity and stability of the rack.

19. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 1, wherein there is a stand plate installed on front edge of the end plate at the bottom, card the base area of the whole rack becomes larger and the structure is more stable.

20. A modular blocks assembly CD rack, comprising:

at least one side plate, which is a plate module and with two larger side surfaces and two smaller end surfaces, each of the two side surfaces is installed with reserving slots and the spacing of the reserving slots on the two side surfaces are different, furthermore, the two end surfaces of the side plate are individually installed with connecting mechanism which can be used to connect adjacent side plate;

at least two bottom feet, which are connecting with the side plate at the two ends, and raising the side plate a certain height, and there is a connecting bole on each of the bottom foot for placing a support beam; and

at least one support beam, which connects the beam holes.

21. The modular blocks assembly CD rack of claim 20, comprising:

plural stand pillars, which are vertical to side surfaces of the side plates, and the stand pillars are to connect two side plates for forming a reserving room between the two side plates.