WO2003015096A1

WO2003015096A1 - Mechanical device four housing compact discs

Info

Publication number: WO2003015096A1
Application number: PCT/MX2001/000060
Authority: WO
Inventors: Laurel John Bigelow
Original assignee: Laurel John Bigelow
Priority date: 2001-08-10
Filing date: 2001-08-10
Publication date: 2003-02-20

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for housing compact discs or similar objects which comprises a tray (1) that slides in and out of a drawer-type receptacle (4). The inventive device also comprises a mechanical system (7, 9) that is used to raise and lower a base (8) when the tray slides out and in respectively. The base (8), which supports the disc or similar object that is to be housed, facilitates the insertion and removal of said disc and protects same against scratching, fingerprints and other damage. Two or more devices can be stacked in order to house more than one disc or similar object.

Description

MECHANICAL DEVICE FOR THE HOUSING OF DISCS

COMPACTS

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention participates in the field of mechanical systems, incorporated into compact disk (CD's) hosting devices, read-only memory compact discs (CD-ROM's), digital video discs (DVD's), and other objects similarly , for the protection of these during their insertion into the housing device or during their removal.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE (BACKGROUND)

Compact discs (CD's), read-only memory compact discs (CD-ROM's), digital video discs (DVD's), and similar objects useful for supporting encoded information that will later be reproduced with laser light readers (hereinafter called with the generic name "disks"), they have a useful surface, always flat, where the information they contain is encoded. This useful surface is generally covered by some translucent material, which allows the passage of light, since its reading is precisely through the projection of laser light beams reflected on the useful surface of the discs, and the reflected laser light it is projected onto a reader that interprets the variations of such light, caused by the coding recorded on the useful surface of the disk. For the optimal functioning of the discs, the translucent material that covers the coded surface must remain intact, free of dust, of fingerprints printed with body fat and especially of scratches or scratches, since all this opaque the surface of the translucent material , and prevent the free passage of light. The vast majority of damage to the translucent surface of the discs is generated while they are removed or placed in the devices for their accommodation. The mechanism described in this patent, has novel functions in order to reduce the risk of damage to the disc during insertion or removal to or from the housing device. There are several types of disk accommodation devices, to which functions have been added for their protection while they are housed and functions have been incorporated so that they do not suffer any scratch or other damage precisely while they are housed. To achieve such protection, some devices contain a kind of soft synthetic envelopes, with the exact size of the disc and a tab that closes the access to the envelope keeping the content in place, others contain flat rigid trays with the right size of the disc to be housed and also a rigid cover that prevents the disk from leaving the housing space. The technology applied to the described devices and to the majority of the existing devices at present, is oriented to keep the disks safe and in good state while they are lodged, but in general, they do not add protection functions during the access of the disks to the device where they will be housed, or during their extraction. This protection and care function during the procedures of insertion and removal of the disks to and from the housing device, constitutes the main difference between the existing devices and the one described in this patent document, since in which describes, features that facilitate the insertion of the disk into the housing device, as well as its extraction, are introduced, protecting the disk itself to the maximum, since it is a mechanical system that includes a pedestal that during the insertion and removal of the disk, it raises and tilts the surface where it will be housed, and descends and stays down, while the disk remains lodged in the receptacle in which it has been placed.

At present, a large part of the existing mechanisms, devices, materials or systems, which, like the invention described in this patent document, serve to protect the translucent material that covers the useful surface of the discs, but even the creation of the invention presented, there is no other system that elevates and tilts the surface where the disk will be physically housed, during the moments in which it is inserted or removed to or from the housing device, which also has the function of facilitate these movements, and at the same time, reduce the chances of that the surface of the discs is scratched, fingerprints are printed with body fat, or suffer other damage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

1.- Brief explanation of the invention:

This invention is a mechanical system for the insertion and extraction of compact discs and similar objects, in devices for their accommodation, whether for storage, reproduction, safe transport or other purposes. The main technical feature of the invention is that the mechanism described has a pedestal that raises and tilts the surface that supports the disk, facilitating both the removal and the placement of the disk in the housing device in question. The main advantage of the invention is that by facilitating the insertion and removal of the disc, to and from the housing device, the risk of such damages such as scratches or scratches, as well as the printing of fingerprints with body fat.

2.- Description of the drawings:

1) The pointer (1) shows the sliding tray, which enters the housing drawer, and on which the lifting pedestal is supported.

2) The pointer (2) shows the bolts on which the lifting pedestal rests at the moment it is raised, and with respect to which it rotates while tilting.

3) The pointer (3) shows the lid that closes the housing drawer when the sliding tray is fully inserted into it.

4) The pointer (4) shows the housing drawer.

5) The pointer (5) shows the flexible tips, which exert force on the sliding tray to facilitate its evacuation from the drawer, when it is released. 6) The pointer (6) shows the lock retaining the sliding tray inside the housing drawer. 7) The pointer (7) shows the anchors that induce the rotation of the lifting pedestal, and that at the same time prevent the sliding tray from completely abandoning the housing drawer.

8) The pointer (8) shows the lifting pedestal. 9) The pointer (9) shows the inclined wedge, which is incorporated into the base of the elevating pedestal. 10) The pointer (10) shows the circular wedge that fixes the disks or similar objects to be stored on the lift stand. Figure 1 shows an overview of the sliding tray that enters the housing drawer, on which the pedestal is mounted.

Figure 2 shows a general view of the housing drawer it enters and the sliding tray comes out of. Figure 3 shows a general view of the elevating pedestal, on which the object to be housed rests. Figure 4 shows an overview of the mechanism when the sliding tray is inside the housing drawer, and the pedestal is resting completely on the sliding tray. Figure 5 shows an overview of the mechanism when the sliding tray is outside the housing drawer, and the pedestal is elevated and inclined with respect to the sliding tray. It is clarified that due to the perspective presented, in this drawing the inclination of the lifting pedestal is not noticed. Figures 6, 7 and 8 show a sequence that illustrates the way in which the elevation and inclination of the pedestal is achieved, this by means of a cross-sectional view of the drawer. In the sequence, the sliding tray (1), moves from left to right, and when the inclined wedge incorporated into the base of the inclined pedestal (9) makes contact with the anchor of the housing drawer (7), the inclination of both pieces makes the lifting pedestal (8) begin to rotate on the bolt incorporated in the sliding tray (2), until the lifting pedestal reaches its maximum inclination (figure 8), and the inclined wedge (9) definitely meets the anchor of the housing drawer (7), preventing the sliding tray (1) from completely leaving the housing drawer (4). Figure 9 shows a side perspective of the mechanism when the sliding tray is outside the housing drawer, and the pedestal is elevated and inclined with respect to the sliding tray.

Figure 10 shows a side perspective of the mechanism when the sliding tray is inside the housing drawer and the pedestal is resting completely on the sliding tray.

3.- Functions performed by the mechanism:

This invention consists of a mechanical device that includes a tray (1) that slides in and out of a drawer-shaped receptacle (4), which is special for housing a compact disc (CD), a compact disc for read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital video disc (DVD), or a similar object ("discs"). At the top of this sliding tray, a pedestal (8) is held that rises and tilts while the tray slides to dislodge the drawer. When the tray is approximately 80 eighty percent out of the drawer, the pedestal is at its maximum elevation level, with an inclination angle generally of 30 thirty degrees from the tray. At the highest end of the pedestal a circular wedge (10) can be incorporated whose external diameter generally coincides with the size of the internal diameter of the discs to be accommodated, so that when placing the disc, it fits with the wedge, being fixed. This function of fixing the disk can be incorporated and is especially useful, in cases where the purpose of the disk housing is for storage or transport.

Once the disc is placed on the lifting stand, while manually pushing the sliding tray into the housing drawer, as it moves forward, the pedestal goes down along with the disk, and decreases its angle of inclination, until resting on the tray sliding, and stay inside the housing drawer, along with the disk. The mechanism has a system that by means of a frictional force stops the elevated pedestal while the disc is placed or removed (Figure 8), and a safety lock (6) to stop the tray inside the receptacle, with the pedestal lift and in its In this case, for the entire time that a disc is not being removed or inserted. At the bottom of the drawer-shaped receptacle (or at the back of the sliding tray), there are two tips of flexible material (5), arranged at an angle of approximately 30 thirty degrees from the bottom of the drawer, which are flexed precisely towards the bottom of the drawer when the sliding tray is inserted into it and the Push. The flexible tips have the function of facilitating the exit of the tray from the drawer and therefore the elevation and inclination of the pedestal, taking advantage of the torsional force that they release when they recover their natural position, which happens when the insurance (6) that keeps the sliding tray inside the drawer is driven outward. The elevating pedestal can hold the object to be stored, even without the circular wedge (10) that is at its end, so that it is used only in housing devices capable of receiving vibrations or sudden movements, such as the devices of storage during transport of the objects to be housed.

Since the elevation and inclination of the lifting pedestal (8) is carried out outside the accommodation drawer (4), the space occupied by the accommodation drawer does not change at any time, this opens up the possibility of stacking accommodation drawers, precisely for host multiple discs or the like (each ^° on a device like the one described in this patent document). In case of stacking two or more accommodation drawers, the floor area of each one can be reduced, since the sliding tray can rest solely on its lateral parts.

4- How the mechanism performs its functions: a) The elevation and inclination of the pedestal. The lifting pedestal (8) and the sliding tray (1) are joined at one of its ends, by a pair of parallel bolts (2) that allow the pedestal to have angular movement with respect to the sliding tray. To achieve the elevation and inclination of the lifting pedestal (8), a pair of anchors (7), one on each side of the drawer, which have a sloping side (which can be tilted (which can be tilted) to be circular), a pair of inclined wedges (9) was also incorporated on the sides of the lifting pedestal (8). When the sliding tray (1), with the lifting pedestal (8) attached to it, slides out of the housing drawer (4), there comes a point where the inclined wedges (9) incorporated into the base of the lifting pedestal (8) ), they make contact with the anchors (7) incorporated on the sides of the housing drawer, and the anchors (7) push the sliding wedge (9) downwards, while the sliding tray (1) moves outwardly from the housing drawer (4) , which generates the angular movement of the lifting pedestal (8) itself to which the inclined wedges (9) are attached, stopping the movement when they reach their lowest possible point, which is generally when the angular movement reaches approximately 30 degrees . This description is illustrated more precisely in the sequence presented in the drawings (Figure 6), (Figure 7) and (Figure 8).

b) The movement control of the sliding tray out of the housing drawer. In general, the movement of the sliding tray (1) is achieved by exerting a force on it by pushing it in, or pulling it out of the housing drawer (4). To keep the sliding tray (1) still, when it remains inside the drawer (4), a safe (6) consisting of a flexible tip that when in its natural position, blocks the movement of the tray, is incorporated into the drawer slide (1), since it stops the cover of the housing drawer (3), which is precisely incorporated in the sliding tray (1). This position is illustrated in sufficient detail in Figure 4. Once the lock (6) that holds the sliding tray (4) held in the housing drawer (1) is released, a torsional force generated by a pair is released of flexible tips (5) that are generally placed at the bottom of the drawer (and that may be at the rear of the sliding tray), and whose natural position is approximately 30 degrees from the bottom line of the housing drawer. The force released by the flexible tips (5), will be sufficient to make the sliding tray (1) partially abandon the housing drawer (4), so that the user of the mechanism will exert a force to pull the sliding tray, until make it reach its top, at which time, the pedestal (8) will be elevated and with an inclination of generally 30 degrees with respect to the sliding tray (1). Flexible tips can be placed on the bande ^'slide - ja, so exercise their force against the bottom of the drawer housing, which will perform the same function with the same efficiency as initially explained in this description. c) The frictional force to maintain the elevation of the pedestal.

When the lifting pedestal is at its maximum elevation level, the anchors incorporated to the sides of the housing drawer (7) are pushing down the inclined wedges that are incorporated into the base of the lifting pedestal (9), and such wedges are exerting an upward force, generated by the weight of the pedestal itself, plus the force that the user can exert on the lifting pedestal. This encounter of forces with the opposite direction is illustrated in Figure 8. The forces found generate sufficient friction to prevent the weight of the pedestal from decreasing the elevation and inclination of the pedestal itself, and driving the sliding tray (1) back towards inside the housing drawer (4).

d) The movement of the sliding tray into the housing drawer. When the sliding tray is outside the housing drawer until it stops, the lifting pedestal is at its maximum elevation, and therefore at its maximum degree of inclination (Figure 5). To force the sliding tray (1) and the lifting pedestal (8), into the housing drawer (4), a force is exerted on the sliding tray in the direction precisely into the housing. As a consequence of this movement, the contact between the anchors incorporated at the sides of the housing drawer (7) and the inclined wedges incorporated at the base of the lifting pedestal (9) is eliminated. When the contact between the anchors (7) and the inclined wedges (9) disappears, the elevation and inclination of the pedestal (8) disappears, so that it is resting on the sliding tray (1), and from that position it continues to enter inside the housing drawer (4), until it is completely inside it.

5.- Advantages of the patented mechanism:

The elevation and inclination suffered by the pedestal that supports the object to be inserted or removed to or from the accommodation device, allows a space to be opened between the support platform (which in this case is the sliding tray) and the object to be housed , which allows the user to place their hand in a position comfortable, also giving you the possibility of taking the disk with the middle part of the fingertips, and not with the end of them attached to the nails or even with the nails themselves, as in other housing devices where The disk must be removed from flat platforms. The ease offered by this invention to place and remove objects, reduces the risk of damage caused by handling, such as scrapes and cracks from falls, scratches with the nails for taking them with them or the printing of fingerprints with body fat, on the useful surface of the discs.

An advantage in the protection of the discs, which is obtained with the described mechanism, is that when the discs are taken, the user's hand is placed in a lower position than the disc, so that when removed from the housing device, the useful surface of the disk is finally facing the palm of the user's hand, such surface being protected precisely by the hand and by the virtual space that exists between the palm of the hand and the useful surface of the disk, on the other hand, when the disc is lifted from a flat surface, when the disc is lifted, the useful side of it is exposed, and the uncoded part (not useful) is protected with the user's hand. With this invention, the risk of suffering the same damage that would exist if the useful side of the disk were exposed, or that could be generated if the user decided to turn the disk to direct its useful surface towards the palm of the hand, is avoided, since during such a movement there is a risk that it will fall and break, or that fingerprints with body fat will be printed on its useful surface.

6.- Best known method for the reproduction of the invention: For the production or manufacture of the invention, the best known method is through the industrial process of plastic injection into steel molds. To carry out this production process, it is necessary to create steel molds, which are manufactured following the drawings presented in this patent, with the necessary proportions so that the housing drawer has dimensions slightly larger than those of the objects to be accommodated, and that the outer diameter of the circular wedge (10) that is generally incorporated in the lifting pedestal (8) coincides with the internal diameter of the object to be housed.

Claims

CLAIMS:

one . The accommodation device for compact discs (CD), read-only memory discs (CD-ROM), digital video discs (DVD), or similar objects, characterized by having a pedestal that physically supports the object to be housed and that by means of a mechanical system it achieves the elevation and inclination of the pedestal during the insertion or extraction precisely of the object in question.

2. The mechanism for achieving the elevation and inclination of the pedestal incorporated in the device mentioned in claim 1, characterized by being formed by three independent elements, which consist of a lifting pedestal (8) that is attached to a second element which is a sliding tray (1), emphasizing that the shape they are attached allows an angular movement between them. The third element is a housing drawer (4), which has a pair of anchors (7) at its sides, which have the function of generating the angular movement of the pedestal (8), with respect to the sliding tray (1) , which is achieved when the inclined wedges (9) incorporated on the sides of the sliding tray make contact precisely with the anchors (7), while the sliding tray (1) moves out of the housing drawer (4).

3. The placement of a circular wedge (10) at the rising end of the pedestal incorporated into the device described in claim 1, characterized in that its external diameter has the same dimensions as the internal diameter of the object to be housed, which has the function of holding the fixed object on the pedestal.

4. The application of the device described in claim 1, in housing systems for two or more compact discs (CD), read-only memory discs (CD-ROM), digital video discs (DVD), or similar objects.