Patent Application
20100230305
The present invention relates to a media disc storage container comprising a cover member, said cover member including a front part interconnected with a back part via a hinge part, which hinge part is integral with the front part and the back part along their joining edge portions formed of flexible material, the front part and the back part having side walls at a first and second edge portion of the cover member, the container further comprising a non-metallic sheet containing graphics, which sheet is mounted on at least one of the parts of the cover member.
Media disc storage containers have found wide-spread use in most societies. The assortment of media discs is enormous, so producers need to have distinct containers for their media discs to stand out in the myriad of containers in shops. Further some high-end, and hence more expensive media discs, are provided with a container which has an exclusive, luxury look and feel, to give the customer the immediate impression that the particular media disc product is in fact a collectors item.
A prior art container is the subject of EP-B1-1 258 002. This container comprises a body portion having two sections connected to each other by a hinge, and printed matter secured to the body portion along an edge remote from and parallel to the hinge, the printed matter extending unsecured across the hinge to the other section where it is secured along an edge remote from and parallel to the hinge. The printed matter may be arranged to be visible at both sides, i.e. its external side visible from the exterior of the container and its internal side visible from the interior of the container through part of the body portion.
An object of the invention is to provide a media disc storage container, which provides a distinct presentation of printed graphics relevant to the content on the media disc, and which is difficult to copy.
To meet this object the media disc storage container according to the present invention is characterized in that the sheet is bonded or adhered to the cover member to distinctly present graphics on said sheet for viewing through an at least partially transparent portion of said cover member, and that the sheet comprises side parts which are secured to the sidewalls by bonding or adhesion. The bonding or adherent provides a transition between the sheet and the cover member that light can pass without being significantly scattered, presumably because the transition area is largely free of air. And the sheet side parts extending across the sidewalls make it possible to decorate also the sidewalls with graphics. The media disc storage container achieved has a distinct presentation of printed graphics, and it is a relatively complicated task to copy the container first of all because the sheet cannot easily be removed from the cover member, and if attempts to remove the sheet are made then the graphics on the sheet are likely destroyed or deteriorated. By providing the side walls of the container with the sheet with graphics, graphics are visible all over the container and also visible from inside the container. The feature of mounting side part of the sheet on the side wall of the container brings a further advantage in that the front part and the back part has no exposed free edge of the sheet, which edge could otherwise be ripped or torn during use of the container.
The securing of the sheet to the cover member by bonding, such as by lamination by heat bonding, or by adhering the sheet to the cover member provides as mentioned a high quality of the graphics when viewed through the at least partially transparent portion. Both bonding and adhering of the sheet to the cover member make copying more difficult, as the sheet is more or less integral with and an inseparable part of the container.
In one embodiment, the sheet is adhered to the inside of the cover member, preferably by a pressure-activated adhesive. This embodiment provides a very high degree of protection against damage of the graphics on the outside, as the cover member is positioned outside these graphics.
Alternatively the sheet may be adhered or heat bonded to the outside of the cover member. This embodiment facilitates manufacture of the container, and the graphics are presented optimally on the outside of the container.
Preferably, the contrast ratio of the graphics on the cover member is in excess of 50%. By contrast is meant the difference between the maximum and minimum brightness of the graphics. The value of the contrast ratio between the contrast when viewed through the material of the cover member and the contrast when viewed directly and not through a cover member should generally be as high as possible to achieve a sharp image on both sides of the cover member, such as a contrast ratio in excess of 75%, or even in excess of 90%.
To further increase the distinctness and copy protection capabilities of the container, the sheet is preferentially of a nature which after joining of the sheet and cover member results in a transparency ratio of at least 50% as seen through the joint. By transparency ratio is meant the ratio of visible light transmitted through the cover member and joint divided by the incident light. Advantageously the ratio could be even higher, such as 75%, 85% or even 90%.
In an embodiment, where the sheet is on the inside of the cover member, at least one hub for holding a disc is provided on the inside of the sheet. The hub may be mounted permanently on the inside of the sheet, such as by gluing, plastic welding etc., or be mounted releasably e.g. by a snap-fit.
It is possible to print on both sides of the sheet and to apply a an adhering layer or a bondable layer on top of one of the print on one of the sides of the sheet. However, in a preferred embodiment the sheet has on its outer side a first printed design printed onto said outer side and oriented to be viewed through the media disc information sheet, at least one barrier layer provided on top of said first printed design, and a second printed design provided on top of the at least one barrier layer and oriented to be viewed from outside the media disc storage container. By performing the printing of both the first printed design and the second printed design onto the same side of the media disc information sheet high quality printing can be used for both designs. The first printed design is printed onto the transparent polymeric material, possibly after the polymeric material has been treated to accept printing, and the printing causes an excellent contact between the colours and the surface receiving the colours. During printing the colours wet the surface so that they afterwards can be viewed at high quality through the transparent polymeric material. After the first printed design has been printed onto the media disc information sheet then a barrier layer is provided to the sheet on top of the first printed design. And subsequently a second printed design is printed onto the sheet on the outside of the barrier layer that separates the two printed designs. This separation allows the two designs to be significantly different in colours and shapes, and the first printed design may also be oriented to be viewed through the media disc information sheet and the second design be oriented to be viewed from outside the media disc storage container. They are consequently viewed in opposite horizontal directions (like mirror images).
Preferably, the barrier layer comprises a printed layer with white pigment. The white pigment serves to present the colours in the printed designs without distorting their colour value. It is possible to use other colours than white in the barrier layer. The barrier layer can alternatively be provided with e.g. black pigment or with a colour contrasting or supplementing the colours in the first printed design or the second printed design. The white pigment in the barrier layer do, however provide great freedom in the choice of colours in the printed designs.
In a preferred embodiment the barrier layer comprises at least two printed layers with white pigment, and preferably at least two serigraphic printed layers. By printing two layers of white the first printed design and the second printed design are effectively prevented from influencing each other and they each appear with only very few or practically none distortion or shadows from the other design.
In the most preferred embodiment the barrier layer comprises at least two serigraphic printed layers. The serigraphic printed layers provides a very dense separation and an image backing that presents design colours in depth, contrast and intensity.
In an embodiment the media disc information sheet has at least one see-through area bordered by printed graphics, preferably colour of the first printed design. The see-through areas can be used to provide very distinct presentations of media disc information, and especially in conjunction with the high graphic quality obtainable by the present invention it is possible to present text and picture compositions that stand out from others in the market and signal a quality product, and possibly a product with a high degree of adventure.
Preferably, said at least one see-through area is furthermore bordered by said at least one barrier layer and bordered by printed colour of the second printed design. When the see-through area is only bordered by the first printed design there can, when the container is opened and the first printed image is visible, be areas where the reverse side of the first printed design is visible. In order to avoid this it is preferred that both the barrier layer and the second printed design are also bordering the see-through areas(s). When both printed designs and the barrier layer border the see-through area(s) then there is optimum quality in the presentation of the printed designs both when the media disc container is viewed from the outside and from the inside.
The printed designs can be printed using various techniques such as serigraphy, flexography, letterpress or offset printing. In order to obtain a printing of fine quality it is preferred that the second printed design is a CMYK (cyan-magenta-yellow-black) colour print where at least four colour technique is utilized. Several of the mentioned techniques can provide four colour printing, but most preferably in order to obtain the best presentation of the printed designs the technique is offset printing. This is in particular advantageous with respect to the second printed design as this is the design primarily viewed in the store.
Although it is possible to obtain somewhat lower costs by using a lower print quality for the first printed design it is preferred that also the first printed design is a CMYK (cyan-magenta-yellow-black) colour print, preferably offset printed, so that the printing on the entire media disc container product is of high quality also when viewed after opening the container in order to remove or insert the media disc.
In a preferred embodiment substantially the full area of the inner side of the media disc information sheet registering with the front part of the cover member is adhered to the front part. When the full area of the inner side is adhered to the front part then the first printed design is presented at high quality through the front part. The best presentation of the first printed design viewed from inside through the cover member is when there is only little or no distortion of the design due to boundary effects between the print and the information sheet on the first hand and between the information sheet and the front part on the second hand. The printing of the design onto the information sheet ensures low boundary effects on said first hand, and when the full area of the inner side is adhered to the front part the first printed design is not distorted or made significantly less visible by air or other bounding errors between the inner side of the information sheet and the outer surface of the cover member.
When substantially the full area of the inner side of the media disc information sheet registering with the back part of the cover member is adhered to said back part then the container has a high quality appearance also when the container is turned over and viewed from the back side where one typically finds information on installation demands and production details for the media disc.
In order to obtain a neat and attractive appearance of the contained when placed on a shelf with the hinge part facing outwards it is preferred that substantially the full area of the inner side of the media disc information sheet registering with the hinge part of the cover member is adhered to said hinge part. The adherence between the hinge part and the information sheet causes the graphics to be presented in a clearly discernible manner.
The white pigment in the barrier layer may be a titanium dioxide as this is well suited for making a white background to the printed designs.
In the following the invention will be described in more detail by way of example and with reference to the drawing, in which
a is a detail of a side part of a DVD-box according to an embodiment,
b is a detail of a side part of a DVD-box according to another embodiment,
In
The front part 2 of the cover member is transparent, so the graphics on the sheet 6 can be seen from inside the DVD-box through the front part 2. The graphics of the sheet 6 is hence visible from both sides, as the sheet 6 is provided with graphics on both sides, either because the sheet 6 is coloured with the graphics throughout, or because the sheet 6 is provided with separate graphics on both sides of the sheet. The latter is preferred when the graphics are figurative and/or contain text matter.
The front part 2 is provided with side walls 9, 10. In the embodiment shown, the sheet 6 is mounted on the entire cover member, to cover substantially the whole outer surface or inner surface of the cover member, including side walls. The side walls 9, 10 of the front part 2 are hence to be mounted with side parts 14, 15 of the sheet 6, as will be realized from
The side parts of the sheet 6 may be mounted directly on the side walls e.g. by gluing or lamination with application of heat. The edge of the side parts of the sheet 6 may advantageously be mounted in a groove 23 at the side wall 9, as schematically illustrated in
In the embodiment shown in
Alternatively the side parts of the sheet 6 may be folded over the side walls and down on the inner side of the side walls to the bottom thereof (not shown).
The DVD-box can be manufactured by placing the sheet 6 and the cover member in a tool provided with a recess sized to correspond to the cover member, and preferably the tool is then provided with a back stop to hold the cover member in the recess. The tool may be provided with heating means, such as a resistance heating means, to heat the sheet 6 and if necessary also the cover member, to a bonding temperature at which the sheet 6 will bond to the cover member, e.g. by melting a plastic coating of the sheet to join the surface of the cover member. Subsequently the cover member is ejected from the tool to cool. Advantageously the period of heating is adapted so that the cover member is not heated through, so only the sheet and the surface of the cover member is heated to a bonding temperature. This further implies that the time cycle of manufacture can be very short, such as for example 2 seconds or even less.
Alternatively the sheet 6 may have or may be provided with glue or an adhesive, such as a pressure activated adhesive, and the cover member is simply pressed against the sheet in order to join the two. The time cycle of manufacture with this alternative can also be very short, such as 2 seconds or even less. In the simple embodiment shown in
According to another embodiment, the sheet 6 is folded over the side walls, down on the inner side of the side walls and under a panel sheet or an end paper mounted in the cover member (not shown).
In an embodiment the sheet 6 is a plastic film, so the resulting storage container is an all plastic product, as the cover member 1 and the lining part 13, if present, are also made of plastics material. The plastic film may be provided with graphics by printing directly on the plastic surface. The plastic film may further be provided with a plastic coating on top of the graphics to protect the graphics, and/or a plastic coating on a surface opposite to the graphics. Further the plastic coating may have a melting point lower than the melting point of the plastic film, to facilitate bonding of the film the cover member and reduce the risk of damage to the film during application of the film on the cover member.
The media disc type can be a compact audio disc (CD), a CD-ROM, a CD-RW, a DVD, a HD-DVD, a BD-ROM, a BD-RE, etc, and the media disc storage container is sized to the relevant type of disc, and naturally also to the number of discs in the container. Although the embodiment described and illustrated is a flat box, it will be evident to the skilled person that the storage container could have any suitable shape, such as a cylindrical shape, or a semi-cylindrical shape.
The sheet 6 can in an embodiment be a media disc information sheet 6 as illustrated in
A first printed design 24 is applied to outer side 123 with such an orientation of the design that it presents itself correctly when viewed from inside the media disc information sheet through the body layer 121. The designation R24 indicates that the right hand side of the first printed design is to the right in
Two printed layers 25, 26 with white pigment are provided on top of the first printed design to form a very effective barrier layer 27. The white pigment is dense and can e.g. be of titanium dioxide or another white pigment like zinc white, and the two layers prevent colour or shades from the first printed design to be seen from outside the media disc information sheet.
A second printed design 28 is applied on the barrier layer 27 with such an orientation of the design that it presents itself correctly when viewed from outside the media disc information sheet. The designation R28 indicates that the right hand side of the first printed design is to the left in
A transparent cover layer 29 is provided on top of the second printed design for wear protection of the printed layer. The cover layer may be a lacquer or a thermally applied film of a thermoplastic polymer, such as polyolefins, ethylene, propylene, polyacryls, polyesters, polyurethanes, vinyl acetate polymers, or mixtures of two or more of these.
A layer of adhesive 30 is provided on the inner side 122 of body layer 121. The adhesive may be of e.g. pressure-sensitive type, such as a material having a polymer as a principal constituent, like acrylic type polymers, block copolymers, styrene butadiene rubbers, natural or recovered rubbers, random ethylene and vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene vinyl acrylic terpolymers, polyisobutylene polyvinylethers etc. Other types of adhesive may be used, like adhesives based on dispersions in organic solvents or in water. (Meth)acrylate esters can be part of such pressure-sensitive adhesive. The layer of adhesive 30 is covered with a polymeric-based or paper-based peel-off layer 31 that may have a silicone release layer on the surface facing the adhesive.
A second embodiment of the media disc information sheet 6 is illustrated in
When the media disc information sheet 6 has been adhered to or joined with the cover member 1 of the container, to the inside or to the outside thereof, the first printed design can be viewed through the transparent material of the cover member 1 and the transparent body layer 121, as illustrated with arrow A in
One example of a second printed design 28 is illustrated in
The see-through areas may provide the finished media disc storage container with an eye-catching appearance where the see-through areas follow the contours of the objects depicted in at least one of the printed designs, typically the second printed design 28. The see-through areas can also follow the contour of letters in printed text forming part of the first and/or second printed design.
The first printed design 24 and the second printed design 28 are preferably printed using CMYK colour printing technology. This is well-known print technology providing full-colour prints based on four subsequent printings in the colours cyan, magenta, yellow and black, respectively. Although is a possibility to make images by RGB technology or in the greyscale, the CMYK printing is preferred because it provides the best quality in the printed designs. CMYK printing can be performed as letter print, serigraphic print, flexographic print or offset print, and offset printing is preferred due to the high quality in the printed graphics.
When the barrier layer is a printed layer it is preferably a serigraphic printed layer. It is of course possible to perform the first printed design by e.g. letter print, the barrier layer as serigraphic print and the second printed design as offset print and this could in some instances be economically favourable, but preferably both printed designs are offset printed. It is also possible to print the barrier layer by offset printing and to obtain the desired separation of the images by printing e.g. four or five layers of white in the barrier layer. And the barrier layer can include a layer of opaque polymer material. The polymer or plastic layer can be made opaque by tinting with black or colouring in other colours than black.
Details of the various abovementioned embodiments can, within the scope of the claims, be combined as will be realized by the skilled person. For example, the cover member may be provided with a sheet on both sides. Furthermore, the groove 23 at the side wall may for example be provided in relation to the embodiment provided with a sheet on the inside of the cover member, for taking up the edge of the sheet in the groove.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PA 2005 01320 | Sep 2005 | DK | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/DK06/50046 | 9/22/2006 | WO | 00 | 5/20/2010 |
