WO2008122815A1

WO2008122815A1 - A sleeve assembly

Info

Publication number: WO2008122815A1
Application number: PCT/GB2008/001268
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert Johnston; Peter Anthony Farrar
Original assignee: Meadwestvaco Corporation
Priority date: 2007-04-10
Filing date: 2008-04-10
Publication date: 2008-10-16

Abstract

A sleeve assembly for holding disks on front and rear faces thereof, the assembly comprising a first pocket on the front face for receiving a first disk and a second pocket on the rear face for receiving a second disk, each pocket comprising a front sheet and a rear sheet secured together to form a pocket having an open end through which the disk can be inserted into and removed from the pocket, the assembly being formed from one or more sheets of material folded and glued together such that the first and second pockets are offset from each other. Two or more such sleeves may be assembled together as pages of a book. An obstructing sheet member may be attached to at least one of the front sheet and rear sheet and located to lie substantially co-planar with a disk located in a pocket adjacent an edge of said disk to inhibit sliding of the disk out of the pocket until removal of the obstructing sheet member.

Description

A Sleeve Assembly

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a sleeve assembly for holding a plurality of disks and, more particularly, an assembly formed from folded sheet material.

BACKGROUND ART

Various sleeve assemblies are known for holding disks as an alternative to holding the disks in an injection moulded container. Other forms of sleeve assemblies are specifically designed for housing disks when they are sent by mail, e.g. as described in US2006/0006080.

The present invention aims to provide an alternative form of sleeve assembly which is simple to manufacture and has a variety of potential uses.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a sleeve assembly for holding disks on front and rear faces thereof, the assembly comprising a first pocket on the front face for receiving a first disk and a second pocket on the rear face for receiving a second disk, each pocket comprising a front sheet and a rear sheet secured together to form a pocket having an open end through which the disk can be inserted into and removed from the pocket, the assembly being formed from one or more sheets of material folded and secured together such that the first and second pockets are offset from each other.

The invention also provides a blank formed from sheet material which has been cut to appropriate shape, provided with creases and/or lines of weakness and provided with adhesive areas so it can be folded and fastened into a sleeve assembly as described above. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a plurality of sleeve assemblies as described above assembled together as pages of a book.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of forming a sleeve assembly holding disks on front and rear faces thereof, the assembly comprising a first pocket on the front face for receiving a first disk and a second pocket on the rear face for receiving a second disk, the assembly being formed from one or more sheets of material folded and secured together such that the first and second pockets are offset from each other.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a sleeve assembly for holding one or more disks, the assembly comprising a front sheet and a rear sheet secured together to form a pocket for receiving a disk and having an open end through which the disk can be inserted into and removed from the pocket, the assembly also comprising an obstructing sheet member attached to at least one of the front sheet and rear sheet and located so as to lie substantially co-planar with a disk located in said pocket adjacent an edge of said disk so as to inhibit sliding of the disk out of the pocket until removal of the obstructing sheet member.

Preferred and optional features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the subsidiary claims of the specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, merely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a blank cut from sheet material for forming a first embodiment of a sleeve assembly according to the present invention; Figures 2-6 illustrate steps in folding the blank of figure 1 to form an assembly, front and rear views of which are shown in Figures 7(A) and 7(B); and

Figures 8-10 illustrate steps in removing a disk from the sheet assembly shown in Figure 7.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The sleeve assembly described herein is formed from sheet material, e.g. paperboard, cardboard, plastics board or a wide variety of other forms of sheet material known in the trade. Preferably, the sheet material is folded and glued or bonded to form the desired sleeve assembly. A wide variety of different forms of adhesive may be used, including contact adhesives and heat bonding.

The sheet material can, of course, be pre-printed with the required graphics prior to the blank being cut. The assembly is also constructed so that a single face of the blank forms the majority of the external surfaces of the final product so, if desired, the original sheet material need be printed on only one side.

Figure 1 shows a blank formed from a sheet of card. The card is cut to the shape shown and provided with fold lines Fl to F7, eg in the form of creases in the sheet material, and adhesive strips. The function of these fold lines and adhesive strips will be described further below.

The blank shown in Figure 1 comprises the following panels: a first front panel 1, a second front panel 2, a first rear panel 3, a second rear panel 4, a first tab 5 and a second tab 6.

The first front panel 1 is attached to the first rear panel 3 by fold line Fl and has adhesive strip Al along an edge IA opposite that attached to the first rear panel 3. It is also provided with a cut-out IB for providing finger access to a disk held in the sleeve (as will be described below). The second front panel 2 is likewise attached to the second rear panel 4 by fold line F2 and has adhesive strip A2 along an edge 2A opposite that attached to the second rear panel 4 and has a cut-out 2A. The first and second front panels 1, 2 also have adhesive strips A2, A6 along edges 1C, 2C thereof opposite to the edge in which the cut-outs IA, 2A are formed, adhesive strips A5, A6 thus extending perpendicular to fold lines Fl, F2.

The first rear panel 2 has adhesive strip A3 along an edge opposite that connected to first front panel 1 and the second rear panel 4 has adhesive strip A4 along an edge opposite that connected to the second front panel 2. The first and second rear panels 3, 4 are connected to each other by fold line F3 which lies perpendicular to fold lines Fl and F2.

The first tab 5 is attached to the first rear panel 3 by fold line F4 along the edge thereof opposite that attached to fold line Fl and the second tab 6 is attached to the second rear panel 4 by fold line F5 along the edge thereof opposite that attached to fold line F2.

The adhesive strip A3 provided along an edge of first rear panel 3 is attached to the remainder of panel 3 by fold line F6 and the adhesive strip A4 along an edge of second rear panel 4 is attached to the remainder of panel 4 by fold line F7.

The manner in which the blank shown in figure 1 is folded to form a sleeve assembly will now be described with reference to Figures 1-6.

First, the adhesive strips A3 and A4 (and the tabs 5 and 6 attached thereof) are folded about lines F4 and F5 (which are co-linear) as illustrated by arrows in Figure 1 to the position shown in Figure 2 to form edge strips 3A, 4A along edges of first and second rear panels 3, 4. The adhesive strips A3, A4 bond these edge strips 3A, 4A to the upper face of first and second rear panels 3, 4 so they are secured in the position shown in Figure 2. The tabs 5 and 6 are not bonded to the upper face of the first and second rear panels 3, 4 but are respectively attached to the edge strips 3A, 4A by fold lines F4, F5.

If desired, fold lines F4 and F5 may be perforated, or otherwise weakened, for reasons that will become apparent below. Indeed, lines F4 and F5 may simply comprise a line of perforations without the need for a crease to form a fold line.

First and second disks Dl, D2 (e.g. CDs or DVDs) may then be installed on the first and second rear panels 3, 4 as shown in Figure 3. As shown, each of the tabs 5, 6 has an arcuate edge with a radius similar to that of the disks and the disks are positioned to lie adjacent the arcuate edges of the tabs 5 and 6. The disks Dl, D2 thus lie substantially co-planar with the tabs 5 and 6 and, preferably, the tabs 5, 6 are formed of sheet material having a thickness substantially similar to the thickness of the disks. It will also be seen that the width of the first and second rear panels (between edge strips 3A, 4A and fold lines Fl, F2) is similar to (but slightly greater than) the diameter of the disks.

The first and second front panels 1, 2 are then folded over along fold lines Fl, F2, respectively, as shown by the arrows in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 4. The adhesive strips Al, A2 bond the edges of the front panels 1, 2 to the upwardly facing surfaces of the edge strips 3A and 4A of the rear panels 3, 4, and adhesive strips A5, A6 bond edges 1C, 2C of the front panels 1, 2 to edges 3B, 4B of the rear panels 3, 4.

The front panels 1, 2 thus overlie the disks Dl, D2 and form sleeves or pockets for housing the disks. Each of the pockets has three closed sides (e.g. formed by fold line Fl, adhesion between edges 1C and 3A, and adhesion between edges IA and 3A) and one open side (where the edge of front panel 1 provided with cut-out IB is not adhered to the rear panel 2). As shown in figure 4, the cut-outs IB, 2B provide finger access to the disks Dl, D2 and, preferably, to at least a portion of the central aperture of the disks (so a user's finger can obtain a purchase on the edge of the aperture in the disk).

As shown in Figure 4, the front panel 1 only partially covers the tab 5. At least part of the tab (which may be labelled with wording such as "tear" or "pull here") thus remains exposed.

The assembly is then folded about fold line F3 as illustrated in Figure 5 (with the rear faces of the first and second rear panels 3 and 4 being secured together with adhesive) to provide the finished assembly as shown in Fig 6. A front view and back view are also shown in Figures 7A and 7B.

It will be noted that fold line F3 is not central between the first and second rear panels 3 and 4 so the disks Dl and D2 on opposite sides of the assembly are axially offset from each other. This feature provides a significant advantage as it assists in providing the sleeve with a more even, or uniform, thickness and stiffness which helps when a plurality of such rectangular sleeves are bound together in the form of a book as described below.

It will be appreciated that as the tabs 5 and 6 are substantially co-planar with the disks, and positioned adjacent the periphery of the discs at the mouth of the respective pocket or sleeve, they inhibit the disks from sliding out of the pockets. In effect, they reduce the width of the mouth of the pocket so this is less than the diameter of the disk. Although, it might be possible to lift the edge of the disk over the tab by bowing the front and rear panels of the pocket away from each other this is difficult to achieve and, in practice, unless a specific attempt to do this is made, the tabs are effective in preventing the disks sliding out of the pockets. Moreover, if the sleeve is sandwiched between other items, it may be very difficult for the disk to be lifted away from the rear panel so as to be lifted over the tab. Figures 8-10 illustrate removal of a disk from the sleeve assembly. First the tab 6 is pulled, as illustrated by the arrow in Figure 8, so it is torn away from the base panel 3 along the fold line or perforation line F4. The tab 6 can then be detached from the assembly as shown in Figure 9. The disk is then able to be slid out of the sleeve or pocket as illustrated in Figure 10.

It should be noted that the perforated line F4 lies under the front panel 1 so the tear line is not visible following removal of the tab 6. Also, it is located at the edge of the sleeve or pocket so can only contact the peripheral edge of a disk as it is slid in or out of the pocket (so there is no risk of it scratching one of the major surfaces of the disk).

It will be appreciated that other shapes of blank and other folding arrangements can be used to form a similar product providing a pocket and a tab, or other forms of obstructing sheet member, substantially co-planar with the disk or for forming offset pockets on opposite sides of an assembly.

A plurality of rectangular sleeve assemblies such as that shown in the drawings may be assembled together in the form of a book, the edge strips 3A, 4A being bound together to form the spine of the book between front and back covers (which may be formed of thicker, more rigid sheet material). Alternatively, hole punches may be provided in the edge strips 3A, 4A so the sleeve can be mounted in a ring binder. Such an arrangement is particularly suited to a product which comprises multiple disks, e.g. eight disks may be provided in four "pages" of a book, each page comprising a double-sided sleeve of the type illustrated.

As the discs of each sleeve assembly are offset from each other, eg one at the bottom of a rectangular page and the other at the top of a rectangular page, the page has a generally uniform thickness (even though the discs may overlap each other to some extent) and the entire page is relatively stiff. Such an assembly is thus suitable for binding together with other such assemblies as pages of a rectangular book.

The tabs 6 and 7 help ensure that the disks do not slide out of the pockets/sleeves during transit and can be removed by the end user of the product when access to the disks is required. It will also be appreciated that when assembled as pages of a book, each pocket or sleeve is sandwiched between adjacent sleeves (or a sleeve and a cover of the book) so it is very unlikely that a disk can lift over the tabs and hence slide out of the pocket.

The tabs 6 and 7 also help prevent the disks sliding within the pockets during transit and so help avoid the disk becoming scratched or scuffed.

In addition, the tabs 6 and 7 provide tamper evidence. If the disk is pulled out, the tab 6, 7 is likely to be irreversibly and visibly damaged even if it has not been detached.

Whilst the tabs provide these advantages, it will be appreciated that, in some cases, they may be omitted.

The Figures illustrate a double-sided sleeve assembly, i.e. having two sleeves back-to-back so that a disk can be held on each side of the assembly. However, it will be appreciated that in further aspects of the invention single-sided assemblies may be provided (e.g. by separating the blank along the fold line F3 to provide two separate single-sided assemblies).

A preferred form of the invention thus provides a sleeve assembly holding a plurality of disks, the sleeve assembly being formed from sheet material which is cut, folded and glued to form a pocket about each disk, each pocket having an open or openable end though which the disk can subsequently be removed from the pocket. The disks can be held in the assembly for delivery and retail and can subsequently be stored in the assembly by the end user.

Claims

1. A sleeve assembly for holding disks on front and rear faces thereof, the assembly comprising a first pocket on the front face for receiving a first disk and a second pocket on the rear face for receiving a second disk, each pocket comprising a front sheet and a rear sheet secured together to form a pocket having an open end through which the disk can be inserted into and removed from the pocket, the assembly being formed from one or more sheets of material folded and secured together such that the first and second pockets are offset from each other.

2. A sleeve assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which each pocket also comprises an obstructing sheet member attached to at least one of the front sheet and rear sheet and located so as to lie substantially co-planar with a disk located in said pocket adjacent an edge of said disk so as to inhibit sliding of the disk out of the pocket until removal of the obstructing sheet member.

3. A sleeve assembly as claimed in claim 2 in which a first edge of the front sheet is connected to a first edge of the rear sheet by a first fold line and the obstructing sheet member is attached to a second edge of the rear sheet by a line of weakness.

4. A sleeve assembly as claimed in claim 3 in which the second edge of the rear sheet is folded inwards so the obstructing sheet member lies against a front surface of the rear sheet and the front sheet is folded about the first fold line so as to at lest partially overlay the front face of the rear sheet and to partially overlay the obstructing sheet member, the front sheet being secured to the rear sheet so as to form a pocket for housing a disk.

5. A sleeve assembly as claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4 in which the obstructing sheet member comprises a tab, a first portion of which is exposed and free to be grasped by a user for detaching the tab from the assembly and a second portion of which is attached to said rear sheet and is covered by the front sheet.

6. A sleeve assembly as claimed in any preceding claim in which a cutout is provided in the front sheet to provide finger access to at least part of a central aperture of a disk when housed in said pocket.

7. A sleeve assembly as claimed in any preceding claim formed from a single piece of sheet material which has been folded and glued to form the required configuration.

8. A sleeve assembly as claimed in any preceding claim formed from a blank which has been pre-printed on only one side thereof, said one side forming the majority of the external surfaces of the assembly.

9. A sleeve assembly as claimed in any preceding claim in which the rear sheet of the first pocket is connected to the rear sheet of the second pocket by a fold line.

10. A sleeve assembly as claimed in any preceding claims in which the front and rear sheets of each pocket are connected to each other by a fold line whereby a disk can be placed on the rear sheet prior to the front sheet being folded over to form the pocket.

11. A sleeve assembly as claimed in any preceding claim with a first disk held in the first pocket and a second disk held in the second pocket whereby the first and second disks are axially offset from each other.

12. A sleeve assembly as claimed in any preceding claim which is rectangular.

13. A plurality of sleeve assemblies as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12 assembled together as pages of a book.

14. A blank formed from sheet material which has been cut to appropriate shape, provided with creases and/or lines of weakness and provided with adhesive areas so it can be folded and fastened into a sleeve assembly as claimed in any of claims 1-12.

15. A method of forming a sleeve assembly holding disks on front and rear faces thereof, the assembly comprising a first pocket on the front face for receiving a first disk and a second pocket on the rear face for receiving a second disk, the assembly being formed from one or more sheets of material folded and secured together such that the first and second pockets are offset from each other.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15 in which each pocket is formed by placing a disk on a rear sheet, placing a front sheet over the disk and then securing the front and rear sheets together.

17. A sleeve assembly for holding one or more disks, the assembly comprising a front sheet and a rear sheet secured together to form a pocket for receiving a disk and having an open end through which the disk can be inserted into and removed from the pocket, the assembly also comprising an obstructing sheet member attached to at least one of the front sheet and rear sheet and located so as to lie substantially co-planar with a disk located in said pocket adjacent an edge of said disk so as to inhibit sliding of the disk out of the pocket until removal of the obstructing sheet member.