WO2003001528A1

WO2003001528A1 - Disc storage device

Info

Publication number: WO2003001528A1
Application number: PCT/GB2002/002912
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alex Start; Peter Viner
Original assignee: Coral Products Plc
Priority date: 2001-06-26
Filing date: 2002-06-25
Publication date: 2003-01-03
Also published as: GB0115575D0; EP1407454A1

Abstract

A disc storage device (2) having a central boss (8) with an integral resilient arm (14) which forms a part of the outer peripheral surface of the boss (8). The free end of the arm (14) carries a protuberance (28) which extends radially outwards from the boss (8). The boss (8) is surrounded by an annular wall (6) with a finger break at (36) and which is located diametrically opposite the resilient arm (14).

Description

Disc Storage Device

The present invention relates to disc storage devices for holding recorded or recordable discs, and in particular, but not exclusively optically readable, writeable or re-writeable discs such as compact discs (CD's) and digital versatile discs (DVD's).

Conventionally when not in use such discs are stored in protective jewel cases. Inside the case there is a central boss comprised of a plurality of resilient tines 60 see Figs. 7 and 8, by which the central

aperture 62 of the disc 64 can be releasably engaged in a snap-fit manner to hold the disc securely within the case. The tines for this purpose traditionally extend proud from the interior of the case, or from a separable tray provided therein. The tines initially curve outwardly 66 as they raise from their base and then inwardly 68 towards their tips. The outer periphery of the tines forming the boss having, at its widest extent a diameter which is slightly larger than that of the central aperture of the disc to be stored in the case. A disc 64 can be snapped into the case by aligning its central aperture over the boss and pressing the disc down onto the tray or case. By this action the inner edge 70 of the disc 64,

immediately adjacent its central aperture engages the curving, resilient tines 60 and pushes them inwards, such that the boss is inwardly compressed allowing the disc to pass over the tines. Once the inner edge of the disc has passed over the widest part of tines, the compressive force is released and the tines spring back to their original condition, thereby holding the disc to the tray or base.

To correctly remove the disc, however, it is necessary to flex inwardly the tines to release their grip on the disc, whilst simultaneously grasping the outer periphery of the disc in order to lift the disc upwardly away from its tray or base mounting. This has the advantage that it requires the use of one hand of the user, grasping the disc, with the fingers and removing it from the central boss. This action depresses the tines inwardly to release the disc.

Most users, however, do not follow the recommended course for removal of the disc and instead remove the disc by holding the case in one hand whilst gripping, with the other hand the outer periphery of the disc and pulling the disc from its boss mounting. The user therefore does not by this action manually depress the central boss in order to compress it, and their lifting of the disc tends to flex the disc due to the disc pushing against the central boss to compress that boss in order to prise the disc therefrom. Depending on the severity of the snap-fit mechanism of the boss, this action tends to bend and stress the disc which can lead to snapping of the disc, or damage to the data contained thereon. A further problem arises in that the tines can scratch the face of the disc, if the user tries to remove the disc by pressing on just one edge of the disc causing the face of the disc to slide over the tines when

it is snapped from its engagement with the boss. This is a particular problem for recordable or re-writeable discs which are more easily scratched. Scratching can lead to the disc becoming unreadable or un- writeable. Also the tines themselves can become damaged, increasing the risk of damage to the disc during subsequent insertion and removal from the case. The geometry of the snap-fit action of the tines is critical to ensure that the disc can be snapped on and off easily. The axis 72 about which the snap-fit feature flexes lies outside the diameter of the hole 62 in the disc 64. This means that the disc 64 is easy to assemble because the snap-fit feature has a tendency to move inwards when the disc is pressed downwards into engagement with the boss. However, when the disc is removed by flexing it upward, see Fig. 7, the snap fit feature has a tendency to move outwards away from the centre of the disc and

increase the grip on the disc making it difficult to remove and thereby necessitating more force to overcome such, increasing flexing of the disc.

In order to overcome the above disadvantages disc holding devices have been developed which attempt to encourage the user to press a release mechanism provided in the central boss in order to release the grip of the boss on the disc before it is removed. However, the user must be educated into using such release mechanisms and such do not prevent the user from removing the disc without first activating the release mechanism on the boss. Furthermore, such release mechanism usually result in a tighter fit of the boss to the disc which further increases the risk of damage to the disc, if the disc is removed without firstly activating the release mechanism.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a disc storage device which overcomes or alleviates the above described drawbacks. In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a disc storage device comprising a hub for releasably engaging the centre hole of a disc to be stored on the device, the hub comprising a substantially fixed cylindrical body having a resilient arm cantilevered to the outer periphery of said body. Advantageously, the arm extends in a circumferential manner to the body. Moreover the arm may lie substantially within the cylindrical periphery of the hub. Advantageously the arm carries a protuberance at its free end which extends outwardly of the body. At least one surface of the protuberance may be chamfered. Preferably the axis about which the arm flexes lies within the periphery of the hub.

The axis about which the arm flexes is substantially parallel to the

cylindrical axis of the hub.

In a preferred embodiment the disc storage device further

comprises a disc receiving recess, the hub being provided at a central location to said recess. The recess may advantageously be provided as a depression in said device or alternatively by an annular rim. The annular rim or depression may have an internal lip for providing support to the outermost edge of a disc.

A periphery to the depression or the rim may advantageously comprise a finger access point to facilitate access to the underside of the disc stored to allow removal of the disc by pulling on the disc. The finger access point is preferably provided diametrically opposite to said arm.

The hub may be provided on a platform.

The disc storage device may be provided on an insert to a jewel case or video box, alternatively the disc storage device may be integral to said case or box.

By way of example only a specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is an elevated view of a disc storage device constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view of the device of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a sectional side view of the device of Fig. 2 with a disc held thereon; Fig. 4 is a detail of the central boss of the device of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a sectional side view of the boss of Fig. 4 and further illustrating a disc seated on the boss; Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a second embodiment of disc storage device; and Figs. 7 & 8 are sectional schematic views of a known disc holding device illustrating the engagement and release of a disc therefrom. The disc storage device shown in Figs. 1 to 5 comprises a disc * holding device 2 which may be provided on or in an insert tray to a jewel case or video style holding box, not illustrated, or may be provided as a integral molding to such case or box. The device 2 provides an apparatus for holding a disc 34, the disc being illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5 only, in the jewel case or box. The device 2 comprises a base portion 3 which carries a disc receiving recess 4 which is substantially bounded by an annular rim 6. A boss 8 is provided at a central portion of the recess 4 and is mounted on a platform 10 which stands proud of the floor of the recess 4.

The boss 8 comprises a substantially fixed cylindrical body 12 which carries an integral resilient arm 14. The arm 14 forms a part of the outer surface of the cylindrical body, with the arm 14 being attached to the main portion of the body at 16 and cut-away therefrom at 18 and 20, and from the base of the body by cut-away portion 22 in the platform 10 such that the arm 14 flexes substantially radially with respect to the body 12 about axis 24. The free end 26 of the arm 14 carries a protuberance 28 which extends radially outwards from the body 12. An upper and lower surface of the protuberance, as best illustrated in Fig. 5, has chamfered surfaces 30, 32 respectively to provide a lead-in and lead-out for a disc 34.

The annular rim 6 is provided with a break at 36, which is diametrically opposite said arm 14, to provide a finger receiving access point to said outer edge 42 of said disc 34. In use a disc 34 is inserted into the disc holding device 2 by aligning its central aperture 38 with the boss 8 and pressing the disc 34 downwards into the recess 4. The inner edge 40 of the disc 34 engages the chamfer 30 of the protuberance 28 and flexes the resilient arm 14 inwards about its axis 24, thereby allowing the disc 34 to pass over the protuberance 28. Once the disc 34 is past the protuberance 28, pressure on the arm 14 is released and it springs-out over the disc 34 to thereby retain the disc 34 in the recess 4. Once fully engaged, the disc 34 is free to rotate about the boss 8 without scratching its face because it is held proud of the floor of the recess 4 by platform 10. Furthermore, the outer most edge 42 of the disc 34 is protected by the annular rim 6, reducing the possibility of accidental removal of the disc or of foreign bodies entering the recess and thereby further reducing potential damage to the disc 34. The outermost edge 42 of the disc 34 is further supported by a further internal annular rim 44, concentric and adjacent to rim 6, but of less height. Platform 10 and rim 44 are designed to only contact the non-recorded or non-recordable portion of the disc 34.

To remove the disc 34 a user places a finger into the finger recess 36 and lifts the edge 42 of the disc to lift upwardly the disc 34. By this motion inner edge 40 of the disc engages chamfered surface 32 of protuberance 28 and forces the arm 14 inwards about its axis 24, thereby releasing the disc 34 which springs from its mounting on the boss 8. The inner edge 40 also contacts the smooth wall of cylinder 12 which resists the force applied to the disc and therefore does not affect the force needed to overcome the resistance of the protuberance of the resilient arm. Furthermore, because the arm flexes about axis 24, which is provided internal to the hub, the hub does not have a tendency to flex outwardly during removal of the disc. Although an outer rim has been described to protect the edge of the disc, it is to be understood that such a rim could be omitted. Additionally, the platform 10 could be omitted as best illustrated in the embodiment of Fig. 6. In this embodiment cut-away portion 22 is provided in the surface of the recess 4 and a short, annular ridge 1 1 is provided about the boss 8 which acts to lift the delicate surface of the disc away from the surface of the recess. This has the advantage that the overall height of the hub can be reduced enabling the jewel case in

•which it is used to be thinner and also more readily enabling its use in a double DVD/CD box where two such hubs are provided, without increasing the overall thickness of the box.

The disc holding device has been described as being provided in or on a tray insert to a case or box or as being integral within such case or box. It is to be understood that such devices could also be provided separately or be a component of a library system comprising several such devices.

Although the arm has been described as integral it could be a separately formed component which is joined to the hub.

While the invention has been disclosed herein in connection with certain embodiments and certain structural details, it is clear that further changes, modifications or equivalents can be used by those skilled in the art; according by such changes within the principals of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1 . A disc storage device comprising a hub for releasably engaging the centre hole of a disc to be stored on the device, the hub comprising a substantially fixed cylindrical body having a resilient arm cantilevered to the outer periphery of said body.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the arm extends in a circumferential manner to the body.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the arm lies substantially within the cylindrical periphery of the hub.

4. A device as claimed in any one of claims 1 , 2 and 3, wherein the arm caries a protuberance at its free end which extends outwardly of said body.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4, wherein at least one surface of the protuberance is chamfered.

6. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the arm flexes about an axis which lies within the periphery of the hub.

7. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,

wherein the arm flexes about an axis which lies substantially

parallel to the cylindrical axis of the hub.

8. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising a disc receiving recess, the hub being provided at a central location to said recess.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8, comprising a finger access point to said disc receiving recess, the finger access point being provided diametrically opposite said arm.

10. A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the disc receiving recess is substantially surrounded by an annular wall.

1 1 . A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the annular wall has an internal lip off lesser height.

12. A device as claimed in claim 10 or 1 1 , wherein the finger access point is a gap in said wall.

13. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hub is mounted on a platform.

14. A device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the hub is surrounded by a disc support ridge.

1 5. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one disc storage device is integral to a disc storage box.

16. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,

wherein at least one disc storage device is provided on an

insert to a disc storage box.

17. A disc storage device constructed and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to the

accompanying drawings.