U.S. patent application number 11/739390 was filed with the patent office on 2008-10-30 for cd/dvd holder case.
Invention is credited to Gary Gonzalez.
Application Number | 20080264812 11/739390 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39885690 |
Filed Date | 2008-10-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080264812 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gonzalez; Gary |
October 30, 2008 |
CD/DVD HOLDER CASE
Abstract
A CD/DVD holder case, having a first and a second CD/DVD holder
compartment with a space for holding a number of discs in disc
sleeve, and a disc door at an opening. A living hinge connects the
first and second CD/DVD holder compartments together. A closure,
such as permanent magnets are used for holding the first and second
CD/DVD holder compartments in a closed position. When the first and
second CD/DVD holder compartments are swung to an opened position,
the disc sleeves can be accessed from the disc doors.
Inventors: |
Gonzalez; Gary; (Santa
Monica, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CHRISTIE, PARKER & HALE, LLP
PO BOX 7068
PASADENA
CA
91109-7068
US
|
Family ID: |
39885690 |
Appl. No.: |
11/739390 |
Filed: |
April 24, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/308.1 ;
G9B/33.014 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 33/0444
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/308.1 |
International
Class: |
B65D 85/38 20060101
B65D085/38 |
Claims
1. A CD/DVD holder case, comprising: a first and a second CD/DVD
holder compartment, each having a space for a plurality of discs
and a disc door at an opening of each CD/DVD holder compartment; a
hinge for connecting the first and second CD/DVD holder
compartments; and a closure means for holding the first and second
CD/DVD holder compartments in a closed position.
2. The CD/DVD holder case of claim 1, wherein the closure means
comprises a pair of permanent magnets, one each located in the
first and a second CD/DVD holder compartments.
3. The CD/DVD holder case of claim 1, wherein the hinge comprises a
living hinge.
4. The CD/DVD holder case of claim 1, wherein the first and second
CD/DVD holder compartments, the disc doors, and hinge are formed of
paper material.
5. The CD/DVD holder case of claim 1, wherein the walls of a first
and a second CD/DVD holder compartment and the disc doors are
formed of paperboard, with the hinge joining the first and a second
CD/DVD holder compartments and a hinge between the disc doors and
the first and second CD/DVD holder compartments formed by
overwrapping paper on the paperboard walls of the first and second
CD/DVD holder compartments and the disc doors.
6. The CD/DVD holder case of claim 5, wherein overwrapping paper is
preprinted with graphic indicia.
7. The CD/DVD holder case of claim 1, wherein the first and second
CD/DVD holder compartments each comprise a front and rear wall, two
opposite side walls, and a bottom wall, and the disc door which is
hingeably attached to each of the first and second CD/DVD holder
compartments, and moveable between an open position, where the
space in the first and second CD/DVD holder compartments is
accessible, and a closed position, where the disc door closes the
opening of the first and second CD/DVD holder compartments.
8. The CD/DVD holder case of claim 1, wherein the disc door further
includes a pull to open the disc door when in its closed
position.
9. A CD/DVD holder case, comprising: a first and a second CD/DVD
holder compartment, each having a space formed by an opposite front
wall and a rear wall, two opposite side walls, and a bottom wall,
which walls are joined together to form a box with an open top
having a rim, which space will hold a plurality of discs; a disc
door hingeably attached to the open top of each CD/DVD holder
compartment; a hinge connecting the first and second CD/DVD holder
compartments together between an opened position, where the front
walls of the first and second CD/DVD holder compartment will be
adjacent to each other, and closed position, where the rims of the
open tops of the first and second CD/DVD holder compartments will
be adjacent to each other; and a closure means for holding the
first and second CD/DVD holder compartments in the closed
position.
10. The CD/DVD holder case of claim 9, wherein the closure means
comprises a pair of permanent magnets, one each located in the rear
walls and/or the opposite side walls of the first and second CD/DVD
holder compartments arranged to attract each other.
11. The CD/DVD holder case of claim 9, wherein the hinge connecting
the first and second CD/DVD holder compartments together comprises
a living hinge.
12. The CD/DVD holder case of claim 9, wherein the walls of the
first and second CD/DVD holder compartments and the disc doors are
formed of paperboard, with the hinge joining the first and second
CD/DVD holder compartments and the hinge between the disc doors and
the first and second CD/DVD holder compartments formed by
overwrapping paper on the paperboard walls of the first and second
CD/DVD holder compartments and the disc doors.
13. The CD/DVD holder case of claim 9, wherein the disc door
further includes a pull to open the disc door when in its closed
position.
Description
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to CD and DVD carriers, and more
particularly to a CD/DVD holder case that is adapted to retain a
plurality of CD or DVD holders in a form factor that permits easy
carrying and storage of multiple CDs, which presents ample surfaces
for graphical displays, and which permits the elimination of
plastic and other potentially environmentally unfriendly
materials.
[0002] The rising popularity of music downloads is not lost on
traditional music companies, who have seen a steady deterioration
of sales of CDs over the last several years. This trend is not
slowing, and is probably accelerating with the increased popularity
of compressed music players such as the ubiquitous Apple.RTM.
iPod.RTM. line of MP3 players. With higher speed downloads and
greater storage capacity of players, many believe that video
downloads will soon lead to decreased sales of videos in the DVD
format.
[0003] Concurrent with decreased sales of recorded music and a
possible decrease in DVD sales, is the concern of many consumers
about reducing the amount of waste created. Indeed, present CD and
DVD storage cases are made of plastic or plastics and paper, which
are not biodegradable or recyclable.
[0004] Music companies and producers of DVDs would like to address
these challenges, and one good way to do so is by the presentation
of the CDs and DVDs in a way that conveniently holds multiple
CDs/DVDs, display them attractively, all while addressing increased
environmental concerns. There accordingly remains a need for new
devices for holding and displaying CDs and DVDs in an attractive
manner that is environmentally friendly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 is a front top isometric view of an exemplary CD/DVD
holder case of the invention with its disc holder compartment doors
in their closed position and with its two disc holder compartments
brought together side-by-side to reveal the disc holder compartment
doors.
[0006] FIG. 2 is a front view of the exemplary CD/DVD holder case
of FIG. 1.
[0007] FIG. 3 is a top view of the exemplary CD/DVD holder case of
FIG. 1.
[0008] FIG. 4 is a side view of the exemplary CD/DVD holder case of
FIG. 1
[0009] FIG. 5 is a front top isometric view of the exemplary CD/DVD
holder case of FIG. 1, but with its two disc holder compartments
partially hinged apart.
[0010] FIG. 6. is a front side isometric view of the exemplary
CD/DVD holder case of FIG. 1 but showing the disc holder
compartment doors in their opened position.
[0011] FIG. 7 is a side view of the exemplary CD/DVD holder case of
FIG. 6.
[0012] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view along lines 8-8 of FIG.
6.
[0013] FIG. 9 is a detail in the circled area 9-9 of FIG. 8.
[0014] FIG. 10 is a detail of the circled area 10-10 of FIG. 8.
[0015] FIG. 11 is a top view of the exemplary CD/DVD holder case of
FIG. 1, but with its two disc holder compartments brought together
end-to-end to cover the disc holder compartment doors.
[0016] FIG. 12 is a side view of the exemplary CD/DVD holder case
of FIG. 11.
[0017] FIG. 13 is a top side isometric view of the exemplary CD/DVD
holder case of FIG. 11.
[0018] FIG. 14 is a detail of the dashed circular area 14-14 of
FIG. 12 showing a closure used to retain the two disc holder
compartments together in their closed orientation.
[0019] FIG. 15 is a front isometric view of another embodiment of
an exemplary CD/DVD holder case with four disc holder compartment
doors in their closed position.
[0020] FIG. 16 is a top view of an exemplary disc sleeve that can
be stored in the disc holder compartments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] FIG. 1 is a front top isometric view of an exemplary CD/DVD
holder case 10 of the invention with two hinged together disc
holder compartments 12 and 14 brought together side-by-side to
reveal their respective two disc holder compartment doors 16 and
18. A hinge 20 joins the two hinged together disc holding
compartments 12 and 14 and the hinge can comprise a section of
flexible material, such as paper, fabric, plastic and the like.
Each disc holder compartment door 16 and 18 will preferably have a
pull 22 so that a user can open the door. The pull 22 can comprise
a section of material, such as fabric, leather, rubber, or other
material. Alternatively, the pull can comprise a finger grasping
relief area that can be formed in the door. Each disc holder
compartment 12 and 14 is made up of opposite walls 30 (e.g., front
wall) and 32 (e.g. rear wall), and side wall 34 and 36 (not shown).
An end wall 38 is opposite each door 16 and 18. The walls are
preferably formed from biodegradable material, such as heavy
cardstock, and the walls can be held together with overwrapping
material, such as paper, as shown in FIG. 8. This same overwrapping
paper can be used to form the hinge 20 used to hingeably connect
together the disc holding compartments 12 and 14. The overwrapping
paper can be preprinted with graphic indicia.
[0022] FIG. 2, a front view of the exemplary CD/DVD holder case 10,
and FIG. 3, a top view of same, shows the disc holding compartments
12 and 14, the walls 30, 32, 34 and 36, the doors 16 and 18, and
the pulls 22.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a side view of the exemplary CD/DVD holder case 10
of FIG. 1 and shows wall 34 and pull 22.
[0024] FIG. 5 is a front top isometric view of the exemplary CD/DVD
holder case 10 of FIG. 1, but with its two disc holder compartments
12 and 14 partially hinged apart. This view shows the doors 16 and
18, the hinge 20, the pulls 22, and walls 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38. As
shown, the hinge 20 is used to hingeably connect together the disc
holding compartments 12 and 14.
[0025] FIG. 6. is a front side isometric view of the exemplary
CD/DVD holder case of FIG. 1 but showing the disc holder
compartment doors 16 and 18 in their opened position to reveal the
spaces 40 in the disc holder compartments 12 and 14. The spaces 40
provide locations for holding discs and sleeves therefore, with an
exemplary embodiment of a disc sleeve 80 being shown in FIG.
15.
[0026] FIG. 7 is a side view of the exemplary CD/DVD holder case 10
of FIG. 6. This view shows the two doors 16 and 18 opened.
[0027] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view along lines 8-8 of the
exemplary CD/DVD holder case 10 of FIG. 6. This view shows the
walls 30, 34, 36 and 38, and overwrapping material 50 used to hold
the walls 30, 32 (not shown), 34, 36 and 38 together. Door
retainers 52 can be attached to the inside of walls 36 and have a
terminal end 54, which is set back behind a terminal end 56 of the
wall 36. The terminal ends 54 can act as a stop for doors 16 and 18
when they are closed. Another section of overwrapping material 58
can be overwrapped around the terminal ends 56 and 58 of the walls
36 and door retainer 52. In the area 20 of the hinge, the two
sections of overwrapping material 50 and 58 are adjacent and permit
the two disc compartments 12 and 14 to be hingeably moved relative
to each other. The terminal end 64 of wall 34 is shown and is at
about the same level as the terminal end 56 of wall 36, and
preferably the terminal end 54 of wall 52 is set back from terminal
end 58 of wall 36 by about the thickness of doors 16/18 and their
overwrapping material 60 so that when doors 16/18 are closed, they
will be generally perpendicular to the walls 34 and 36.
[0028] FIG. 9 is a detail in the circled area 9 of FIG. 8 and shows
the overwrapping material 58 on the two walls 36, and the
overwrapping material 58 on walls 56 and 36 to form the living
hinge 20, and terminal ends 56 of walls 36 and terminal ends 54 of
walls 52.
[0029] FIG. 10 is a detail of the circled area 10 of FIG. 8, and
shows how door overwrapping material 60 is wrapped around the door
16 and is used to attach the door 16 to the wall 34 by creating a
hinge area 62. The pull 22 is also shown, as is the terminal end 64
of wall 34 and its overwrapping material 50.
[0030] FIG. 11 is a top view of the exemplary CD/DVD holder case 10
of FIG. 1, with its two disc holder compartments 12 and 14 brought
together end-to-end so that the terminal ends 64 of their walls 34
contact each other to cover the disc holder compartment doors (not
shown.)
[0031] FIG. 12 is a side view of the exemplary CD/DVD holder case
10 of FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is a top side isometric view of same. On
each wall of the two disc holder compartments 12 and 14 adjacent to
the terminal edge 64, there are closure means 70, shown in the
circled areas 14-14.
[0032] FIG. 14 is a detail of the dashed circular area 14-14 of
FIG. 12 showing closure means 70 used to retain the two disc holder
compartments together in their closed orientation. The closures
preferably comprise a pair of permanent magnets 72 that are located
in recesses 74 formed adjacent to opposite terminal edges 64 of
walls 34. The permanent magnets 72 will preferably be covered with
overwrapping material 50 to conceal them. The permanent magnets 72
will be arranged so that when the two disc holder compartments 12
and 14 are brought together end-to-end, the terminal ends 64 of
their walls 34 contact each other to cover the disc holder
compartment doors, the magnets 72 will be arranged N-S or S-N and
attract each other. The attraction will create a closing force that
will tend to maintain the two disc holder compartments 12 and 14 in
their orientation shown in FIGS. 11-14. Other closures can be used.
Although two pairs of opposing magnets 72 are shown, a single pair
or more than two pairs could be used instead. Also, while the
magnets 72 can be placed in recesses 74 in the walls 34, they may
in addition or instead be located in the walls 30 and 32, as shown
in dashed area 110.
[0033] FIG. 15 is a front isometric view of another embodiment of
an exemplary CD/DVD holder case 80 with four disc holder
compartment doors 86A, 86B, 88A, and 88B in their closed position.
Two disc holder compartment doors 86A and 86B are provided for disc
holder compartment 82, and two disc holder compartment doors 88A
and 88B are provided for disc holder compartment 84. The two disc
holder compartments 82 and 84 are hinged together by a hinge 90 as
with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-14 above. A separating wall 90 is
optionally included to separate each disc holder compartments 82
and 84 into two spaces, with each space being adapted to hold a
plurality of discs in disc sleeves. If designed, instead of
providing two disc doors for each disc holder compartments, a
single door can be provided, and the separating wall 90 can be set
back and covered by a single door (not shown.) This embodiment will
permit a greater number of discs to be potentially carried and
forms a taller disc holder unit. The invention may also encompass a
CD/DVD holder case with more than two hinged together disc holder
compartments 12/14, such as arranging additional disc compartments
that are hinged to opposite edges in an accordion-like manner, so
that the storage capacity can be increased.
[0034] FIG. 16 is a top view of an exemplary disc sleeve 100 that
can be stored in the spaces 40 of the disc holder compartments 12
and 14. The disc sleeve 100 can have a compartment 102 for holding
a disc 104. A second side 106 can be connected by a fold area 108.
Other type of sleeves can be used. The number of discs that can be
held in each disc holder compartments 12 and 14 will depend on the
format and thickness of disc holding sleeves and the dimensions of
the space 40 of the disc holder compartments 12 and 14.
[0035] Graphics can be displayed on the surfaces of the CD/DVD
holder cases 10 and 80 and disc sleeves to be held therein as
desired. As noted above, the graphics can be printed on the
overwrapping material and then wrapped around the paperboard used
to form the walls and doors of the CD/DVD holder case. Thus, unlike
present CD holders, the CD/DVD holder cases of the invention can be
readily formed from biodegradable material such as paper and cloth
material, thereby eliminating plastic and providing a more
environmentally benign packaging design.
[0036] Although embodiments of the present invention have been
described in detail hereinabove in connection with certain
exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the invention
is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the
contrary is intended to cover various modifications and/or
equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the
present invention, as set forth in the claims.
* * * * *