Patent Application
20070170077
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for storing disks. More particularly, the invention relates to a disk holder.
2. Description of Related Art
Disks are used to store music, movies, and other types of data. The jewel cases that often hold disks are often fragile and cumbersome to manage. Users may prefer storing frequently used disks without their jewel cases. However, many of the currently available disk holders obstruct viewing many of the disks and/or some may damage a disk. U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,346 to Kollegian; U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,066 to Koch; U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,907 to McCloy; U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,893 to Smith; U.S. Design Patent No. D470,001 to Munroe, II; and U.S. Design Patent No. D435,189 to Mok describe some disk holders. Despite these holders, there is still a need for a disk holder that is compact, durable, stylish, protective, and allows quick and easy viewing/user access due to the tight construction and flexible rubber composition of the disk holder.
In various embodiments, one or more disks may be placed in a disk holder. A disk may be perpendicularly placed in the disk holder. A disk holder may include a substrate. The substrate may include one or more channels in a top surface of the substrate. A width of a bottom portion of a channel may be substantially less than a width of a top portion of the channel. A channel may include one or more gripping sections that frictionally retain a side edge region of a disk that resides in a channel. In an embodiment, a channel may include at least one insertion section and/or one tapered section coupled to one or more gripping sections of a channel. The insertion section may have a width greater than a width of a disk to facilitate insertion of a disk into a channel.
In some embodiments, the disk holder may include one or more longitudinal members and/or latitudinal members. A longitudinal member may inhibit deformation of the substrate along a longitudinal axis of the substrate. A latitudinal member may inhibit deformation of the substrate along a latitudinal axis of the substrate. In an embodiment, one or more longitudinal members and/or latitudinal members may be positioned on a bottom surface of the substrate. A longitudinal member may be coupled to a channel. A latitudinal member may be coupled to a longitudinal member.
In some embodiments, the disk holder may be formed from a flexible substrate. The disk holder may allow the creation of an additional space between disks placed in the channels. The additional space may allow top surfaces of the disks to be viewed while the channels frictionally grip the disks. In an embodiment, a user may be able to create an additional space between disks perpendicularly placed in channels to view the top surfaces of disks. A channel may be deformed to allow the top surface of a disk to be viewed. In an embodiment, the disks placed in the channels may be partially bent to view top surfaces of disks.
Features and advantages of the methods and apparatus of the present invention will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of presently preferred but nonetheless illustrative embodiments in accordance with the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. The drawings may not be to scale. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
In various embodiments, a disk holder 100 may hold disks 200 such as, optical disks including laser disks, compact disks, DVDs, data disks, and/or mini disks. FIGS. 1A-B depict embodiments of disk holders. In some embodiments, a disk holder 100 may include a substrate 300 with one or more channels 400, one or more longitudinal members, and/or one or more latitudinal members. A substrate 300 may be flexible. A channel 400 may include one or more gripping sections 500, insertion sections 600, and/or tapered sections 700. Longitudinal members and/or latitudinal members may inhibit deformation of a substrate 300. A substrate 300 may allow creation of an additional space between disks 200 placed in channels 400 so that top surfaces 250 of the disks can be viewed while the channels frictionally grip the disks.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. In the context of this application, the following terms are defined as:
“Frictionally grip” refers to holding at least two materials in contact with each other by friction. A frictional grip may be released by applying a force greater than the frictional force between two objects.
A “side edge region of a disk” refers to an outer side and a region of top and bottom surfaces of the disk proximate to the outer side (see e.g.,
In some embodiments, a disk holder 100 is formed from a substrate 300. A substrate may be composed of plastic, metal, wood or mixtures thereof.
A substrate may be formed of a flexible plastic material. In an embodiment, a substrate may be formed of a deformable and/or an elastic material. Using a flexible material to form substrate 300 may also inhibit damaging disk 200 (e.g., by scratching a readable portion of a disk).
A top surface 250 of a disk 200 may include information such as title, artist name, and/or graphics. A user may use the information on a top surface 250 of a disk 200 to determine the identity of the disk. It may be desirable to form a substrate 300 from a flexible material so that a channel 400 may be deformed to create an additional space between disks 200 placed in channels so that top surfaces 250 of the disks may be viewed. The additional space may allow top surfaces of the disks to be viewed while the channels frictionally grip the disks. In an embodiment, the disks placed in the channels may be partially bent to view top surfaces of disks.
A substrate may be positioned horizontally (e.g., positioned on a table or desk), vertically (e.g., coupled to a wall, bookcase, or shelf), or at an angle. In an embodiment, a disk holder may be designed so that disks can be perpendicularly placed in the disk holder (see e.g.,
In some embodiments, a substrate may be one piece. Sections of the substrate may be machined and/or etched into a one-piece substrate. In another embodiment, the substrate may be molded. For example, the substrate may be injection and/or compression molded. The substrate may be cast in a desired shape. Molding and/or casting the substrate may reduce waste and/or necessary material costs. Molding and/or casting the substrate may also facilitate production of the substrate since channels, longitudinal members, and/or latitudinal members would not need to be etched and/or carved out of a substrate.
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In some embodiments, a substrate 300 may have a width 1200 of approximately 3 inches to approximately 4 inches. A substrate 300 may have a length 1100 less than 8 inches. A length 1100 of a substrate 300 may be from approximately 6 inches to approximately 7 inches and/or include at least 20 channels 400. A substrate 300 may have a length 1100 of approximately 3 to 5 inches and/or include at least 10 channels 400.
In certain embodiments, a substrate 300 may include at least three channels 400 per inch. A substrate 300 may include three to four channels 400 per inch. A substrate 300 may not have channels 400 on a portion of a top surface 900 of a substrate. For example, an approximately 6.5 inch to 7 inch substrate may include 20 channels on approximately 5.25 inches to approximately 6 inches of a top surface of the substrate. An approximately 3.5 to 4.5 inch substrate may include ten channels on approximately 2.5 inches to approximately 2.9 inches of a top surface of a substrate.
In some embodiments, one or more channels 400 may be positioned in or on a top surface 900 of substrate 300 of a disk holder 100. A channel 400 may be a groove formed in a substrate. A channel 400 may have a length 1300 of approximately 2 inches to approximately 3 inches. In an embodiment, a channel 400 may have a length 1300 of approximately 2.4 inches to approximately 2.6 inches.
A width 1400 of at least a portion of a channel 400 may be greater proximate a top portion of the channel than at a bottom portion of the channel. A width 1400 of at least a portion of a channel 400 may be at least greater than a width of a disk. In an embodiment, a width 1400 of at least a portion of a channel 400 may be at least greater than twice the width of a disk. Insertion of a disk into channel 400 may be facilitated when a width 1400 of at least a portion of channel is greater than the width of a disk. For example, a width of at least a top portion of a channel may be approximately 0.1 inch to approximately 0.2 inch. A width of at least a bottom portion of a channel may be approximately 0.06 inch to approximately 0.07 inch.
A channel 400 may be substantially planar or may be curved. In an embodiment, a channel 400 may define a curvature that is approximately the same as the curvature of a round object (e.g. a disk). A channel 400 may have a curvature similar to the curvature of a round object and/or a curvature of the substrate 300, see
In some embodiments, a channel 400 may include one or more gripping sections 500, see
In some embodiments, a width of a gripping section may be designed to be capable of frictionally retaining a disk. A gripping section may have a width of approximately 0.05 inch to approximately 0.08 inch. In an embodiment, a gripping section may have a width that is approximately 0.01 inch to approximately 0.03 inch less than the width of a disk. A gripping section may have a width that is approximately 0.01 inch to approximately 0.03 inch greater than the width of a disk. A gripping section may have a width approximately the same as a width of a disk.
In certain embodiments, a channel 400 may include three gripping sections 500. One or more of the gripping sections 500 may be coupled to each other. Two gripping sections 500 may be positioned proximate or at ends of a channel 400, see
In some embodiments, one or more insertion sections 600 may be coupled to a gripping section 500, as depicted in
In an embodiment, a width of an insertion section may vary. A width of an insertion section may have a width greater proximate or at the top portion of the channel than at the bottom portion of the channel. A width of at least a portion of an insertion section may be at least twice the width of a disk. Utilizing an insertion section with a width greater than the width of a disk may facilitate insertion of the disk and/or inhibit damaging the disk.
In some embodiments, a disk holder 100 may include one or more tapered sections 700,
A tapered section may facilitate placement of a disk in a channel. In an embodiment, a tapered section may facilitate insertion of disk in the gripping section of a channel by providing a tapered connection between the insertion section and the gripping section such that a disk may be guided into the gripping section.
Utilizing a tapered section between gripping sections and insertion sections may reduce the tendency of a disk placed in a channel to be scratched during insertion. In an embodiment, edges between gripping sections, tapered sections, and/or insertion sections may be at least partially rounded to decrease the likelihood of damage to a disk, such as scratching, due to contact with the edges of the substrate.
In some embodiments, a portion of a bottom surface of a substrate 300 may be planar 1600, see
In some embodiments, a substrate 300 may include one or more longitudinal members 1800 and/or one or more latitudinal members 1900 positioned on a bottom surface of the substrate.
A longitudinal member 1800 may be coupled to one or more sides 2000, 2100 and a bottom surface of a substrate 300. A longitudinal member 1800 may inhibit deformation of a substrate 300 along a longitudinal axis of a substrate. A longitudinal member 1800 may be coupled to a channel 400. For example, a longitudinal member 1800 may couple to a channel 400 and extend along a length of a channel. In an embodiment, a substrate 300 may include more longitudinal members 1800 than channels 400, to increase the resistance of a substrate to longitudinal deformation. For example, a substrate 300 may include at least one longitudinal member 1800 in a region of a substrate that does not include channels 400 to inhibit longitudinal deformation of the substrate in the region without channels.
A latitudinal member 1900 may inhibit deformation of a substrate 300 along a latitudinal axis of a substrate. A latitudinal member 1900 may be coupled to one or more sides 2200, 2300 and/or a bottom surface of a substrate 300. In certain embodiments, at least two latitudinal members 1900 may be coupled to two or more longitudinal members 1800 to inhibit deformation of a substrate 300. In an embodiment, at least one of latitudinal members 1900 may form at least a portion of a planar portion 1600 of a bottom surface of a substrate 300, see
It is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. As used in this specification, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly indicates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a gripping section” includes a combination of two or more gripping sections and reference to “a plastic” includes mixtures of plastics.
Certain U.S. patents have been incorporated by reference. The text of such U.S. patents is, however, only incorporated by reference to the extent that no conflict exists between such text and the other statements and drawings set forth herein. In the event of such conflict, then any such conflicting text in such incorporated by reference U.S. patents is specifically not incorporated by reference in this patent.
Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.
