WO1993017433A1

WO1993017433A1 - Disc holder

Info

Publication number: WO1993017433A1
Application number: PCT/GB1993/000426
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jeremy Ian Aird
Original assignee: Jeremy Ian Aird
Priority date: 1992-02-27
Filing date: 1993-03-01
Publication date: 1993-09-02
Also published as: GB9204190D0

Abstract

A holder for a disc comprising a first folder having a first leaf which is a support for the disc, a second leaf which is a cover, and a spine; the folder having a slot in the spine and means for retaining a disc in the folder with a major segment of the disc against the inner face of the first leaf and a minor segment of the disc projecting through the slot when the folder is closed, the length of the slot along the spine being less than the diameter of the disc and the shape of the slot being such that when the folder is opened to expose the face of the major segment of the disc, the face of the minor segment of the disc is also exposed, and cover means adapted to cover and protect the minor segment of the disc when the folder is closed.

Description

DISC HOLDER

The present invention is concerned with holders for discs of the kind on which information can be recorded for retrieval, such as compact discs, computer discs, video discs and the like.

Cases for compact discs available at present are made of hard plastic material and are in the form of a base and lid which are hinged together along one edge. The plastic is generally transparent and a printed sleeve or insert may be provided in the case to provide information about the contents of the disc.

A disadvantage of the cases for discs available at present is that they are costly to manufacture and unless they are made of biodegradable material, their disposal adds to the environmental problems associated with waste disposal of plastics materials.

Another disadvantage of conventional cases for compact discs is that it can be difficult to remove the disc from case. This is because the disc may be held firmly in the base of the case at the centre of the disc, with the result that the disc may be damaged by too much flexing.

A further disadvantage is that the hinges of the case tend to be weak and liable to break, the case is brittle and easily cracked or scratched, and the printed inserts can be mislaid.

The above disadvantages are overcome by the present invention which provides a holder for a disc, said holder comprising a first folder having a first leaf which is a support for the disc, a second leaf which is a cover, and a spine; said folder having a slot in said spine and means for retaining a disc in the folder with a major segment of the disc against the inner face of the first leaf and a minor segment of the disc projecting through the slot when the folder is closed, the length of the slot along the spine being less than the diameter of the disc and the shape of the slot being such that when the folder is opened to expose the face of the major segment of the disc, the face of the minor segment of the disc is also exposed, and cover means adapted to cover and protect said minor segment of the disc when the folder is closed.

Thus, the major segment of the disc is retained between and is protected by the support leaf and the cover leaf of the folder and the cover means protect at least the minor segment of the disc which projects through the slot.

The cover means may comprise a sleeve into which the disc and the folder may be a sliding fit. However, in a preferred embodiment the cover means comprise a second, outer, folder within which the first folder lies as an inner folder, each leaf of the outer folder being attached, along the edge opposite the spine of the folder, to the corresponding edge of the corresponding leaf of the first folder with the spines of the folders being parallel and spaced apart by a distance to accomodate between them the said minor segment of the disc when the folders are closed, with the inner folder within the outer folder. If desired, the combination of outer folder and inner folder may be provided with a sleeve for further protection.

In one embodiment, the slot in the inner folder is a segment shaped slot cut out of the cover leaf with the chord of the segment extending along the spine.

In an alternative embodiment, the slot extends from the spine in an arc across the cover leaf leaving a segment shaped tab attached to the first leaf along the spine. The tab may be left flat or, in a preferred embodiment, folded back over the inner face of the first (support) leaf to form a tab under the disc which, when the folder is opened, urges away from the support leaf that portion of the disc which overlies the tab, thereby assisting removal of the disc from the holder.

It is preferred that the folder be formed from a stiff resilient material. Then, the means for retaining the disc may comprise a flap cut from, but remaining attached to, the support leaf. Alternatively the retaining means may comprise a slot cut in the support leaf. Suitably, this flap or slot is located opposite the spine of the folder whereby, since the spinal slot has a length less than that of the diameter of the disc, the disc is in effect loosely clamped in said spinal slot by the flap or slot comprising the retaining means.

Removal of the disc from the folder may be further assisted by the provision of cut away portions on the top and bottom edges of the support leaf to enable the disc to be held between fingers employed as if pincers at diametrically opposed positions on the rim of the disc. The holder may be readily adapted to hold two or more discs, each in its own folder. In this embodiment, the holder comprises a stack of two or more inner folders within the outer folder. Preferably, the top leaf of the top folder of the stack is attached to one leaf e.g the cover leaf, of the outer folder along the edges opposite the spines of the folders and likewise the bottom leaf, e.g the support leaf, of the bottom folder in the stack is attached to the other leaf of the outer folder. Adjacent leaves of adjacent folders in the stack may also be attached together along the edges opposite the spines of the folders thus forming, in effect, a "concertina" of inner folders within the outer folder.

The holder of the invention provides an improved means for storing and protecting discs which is simpler and less costly to manufacture than the conventional case employed for this purpose as it may be made from cheap and readily available sheet materials such as stiff card, particularly card made from recycled paper. An added advantage is that when the holder is made of card, its disposal does not provide any environmental problems.

A further important advantage is that with the choice of a suitable material for manufacture, e.g card or other stiff material which is resilient and yet when folded along a crease line retains the fold, the holder, even in the form adapted to retain a plurality of discs, may be made from a single sheet of the material by appropriate stamping, folding and glueing. Moreover, any design or information about the contents of the disc or discs retained in the holder may be printed on the sheet prior to the production of the holder from the sheet, thereby avoiding the need for a separate insert. Furthermore, as a result of the manner in which the sheet is folded to form the holder only one side of the sheet need be printed.

The invention will now be illustrated with reference to preferred embodiments and with the aid of the accompanying drawings in which

Figure 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of a holder according to the present invention in the open position;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the embodiment of Figure 1 in a semi open position;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a sheet from which the holder of Figures 1 and 2 may be produced;

Figure 4 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of a holder according to the present invention in a semi-open position; and

Figure 5 is a plan view of a sheet from which the holder of Figure 4 may be produced.

Figure 6 is a plan view, corresponding to that of Figure 1, of a modification of the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

The holder of Figures 1 and 2 comprises a first, or inner folder 10, made of card or similar material and comprising a support leaf 12, a cover leaf 14 and a spine 22, and a second or outer folder 16, (not visible in the view shown in Figure 1 because it is behind the inner folder) also made of card or similar material, and comprising leaves lδ, 20 and a spine 36. Support leaf 12 is provided towards the edge opposite spine 22 with an arcuate slot 24, and with cutaway portions 28 in the top and bottom edges» Cover leaf 14 is provided with a slot 30 which is in the form of a segment whose chord is along spine 22 and whose arc is on a circle which is concentric with that of the disc 32 which the holder is designed to hold with part of its rim retained in slot 24, as shown. The length of the slot along the spine is less than, and preferably about 0.7 to 0.85 of the diameter of the disc. The radius of the circle from which the segment is formed is slightly larger than that of the disc. While the segment can be cut completely out of the leaf, in the embodiment shown it has been formed by cutting round the arc but not along the chord, thereby forming a segment shaped tab 34 which has been folded back about the spine 22, as the fold axis, so as to rest over support leaf 12 and under the disc 32.

The distance between the spine 22 of the inner folder and the arcuate slot 24 in the support leaf is such that when a disc 32 is located on the support sheet with a part of its rim retained in the slot 24, a major segment 38 of the disc lies on the support sheet and a minor segment 40 extends beyond the spine and over the segment shaped slot 30 in the cover sheet, whereby when the cover leaf 14 is closed against the support sheet with the disc in between the leaves, the minor segment of the disc projects outside the cover (see Figure 2) . However, both the length of the arc and the length of the chord of the segment-shaped slot 30 are slightly larger than those of the minor segment of the disc so that when the inner folder is opened the face of the minor segment of the disc is exposed. Opening the folder also releases the pressure on the tab 3 which urges the disc away from the support leaf and thus facilitates its removal. The inner folder lies wholly within the outer folder 16 and the leaves 18, 20, of the outer folder are attached at their edges opposite the spine 3 to the corresponding outer edges of leaves of the inner folder as at 42, 44. The width of the outer folder, meaning the distance between the spine and the edge of a leaf opposite the spine, is such that with these edges of the leaves of the outer folder attached to the corresponding edges of the leaves of the inner folder, the minor segmen 40 of the disc which projects through the slot 30 of the inner folder when it is closed lies within and is protected by the leaves of the outer folder.

The spine 36 is formed e.g by folding about two lines, spaced apart, so that the distance between leaves 18, 20 at the spine is sufficient to accomodate the thickness of the inner folder and the disc held by the inner folder.

Figure 3 shows how the holder may be made from a single sheet of card o like material, folded along 46 corresponding to spine 22 to form the inner folder, then folded in the reverse direction at 48 and again at 5 folded in the same direction as 48 and 50 at and then at 4 to form spine 36 and thereby form the outer folder. Tongue 56 is then glued or otherwise attached to the edge 58 of leaf 18 of the outer folder (see Figure 2) .

Figure 4 illustrates a modification of the embodiment shown in Figures to 3 adapted to take two discs. In Figure 4, reference numerals identical to those of Figures 1 to 2 are employed to identify the parts common with those of the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2. In the embodiment of Figure 4, however, a second inner folder is included wherein the parts corresponding to those of the first inner folder are identified by adding one hundred to the reference numerals. Thus, Figure 4 comprises first inner folder 10 with leaves 12 and 14 and second inner folder 110 with leaves 112 and 114. This embodiment is adapted to hold two discs 32, 132. Alternatively one disc may be held between the leaves 12 and 14, and a booklet or the like located between the leaves 112 and 114.

Figure ~ shows the sheet from which the embodiment of Figure 4 may be formed.

Figure 6 shows a modification of the holder of Figure 1 wherein the slot 24 is replaced by a flap 5 cut from the leaf 12 of inner folder 10 but left attached to the leaf along margin or edge 6.

While the embodiments illustrated are made from a single sheet, it will be understood that the inner and outer folders may be made separately, if desired, as may the individual leaves of the folders.

The holder may be provided with a separate protective sleeve (not shown) of the type conventionally used for protecting audio discs.

Other modifications may also be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example the arcuate slot 30 may be replaced by a flap cut from but remaining attached to the support leaf 12.

Claims

1. A holder for a disc, said holder comprising a first folder having a first leaf which is a support for the disc, a second leaf which is a cover, and a spine; said folder having a slot in said spine and means for retaining a disc in the folder with a major segment of the disc against the inner face of the first leaf and a minor segment of the disc projecting through the slot when the folder is closed, the length of the slot along the spine being less than the diameter of the disc and the. shape of the slot being such that when the folder is opened to expose the face of the major segment of the disc, the face of the minor segment of the disc is also exposed, and cover means adapted to cover and protect said minor segment of the disc when the folder is closed.

2. A holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cover means comprise a second, outer, folder within which the first folder lies as an inner folder, each leaf of the outer folder being attached, along the edge opposite the spine of the folder, to the corresponding edge of the corresponding leaf of the inner folder, the spines of the folder being parallel and spaced apart by a distance to accomodate between them the said minor segment of the disc when the folders are closed.

3- A holder as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the slot is a segment shaped slot cut from the cover leaf with the chord of the segment extending along the spine.

4. A holder as claimed in claim 1 or clai 2 wherein the slot extends from the spine in an arc across the cover leaf, leaving a segment shaped tab attached to the first leaf along the spine.

5. A holder as claimed in claim 4 wherein the segment shaped tab is folded back over the inner face of the first leaf to form a resilient tab under a disc retained on said leaf.

6. A holder as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 which is formed of card or other stiff resilient material.

7. A holder as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the means for retaining the disc comprises a flap cut from, but remaining attached to said first leaf, or a slot cut in said first leaf.

8. A holder as claimed in claim 7 wherein said flap or slot is located opposite the spine of the first folder.

9- A holder as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 having a stack of two or more inner folders with the leaf of the top folder in the stack being attached to one leaf of the outer folder along the edges opposite the spines and the bottom leaf of the bottom folder in the stack being attached to the other leaf of the outer folder along the edges opposite the spines and the adjacent leaves of adjacent folders in the stack being attached together along their edges opposite the spines.

10. A holder as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the distance between the leaves of the outer folder at the spine is at least equal to the sum of the thickness of the sleeves of the inner folders in the stack and the number of discs to be retrieved.

11. A holder as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, formed from a single sheet of material.