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Disc storage system

Disc storage system description/claims

This invention relates to a storage system principally but not exclusively for discs used to store data, such as compact discs, CD-ROM's, DVD's, so-called mini discs and so forth.

The content of the discs is immaterial, and could be music, video, multimedia, computer data, computer programs and so forth; indeed, the discs could be blank and to be used for the storage of such content. Likewise, the physical format of the discs is immaterial and whilst they will normally be circular discs they could be square, rectangular, hexagonal or any other regular or irregular shape. They could be discs that are intended to be rotated, as is currently the case with CD's and DVD's, or they could be of a format yet to be commercialised in which they are for example held stationary and scanned. The word “disc” is therefore to be construed broadly as covering a range of products which are not necessarily circular and which are not necessarily used in the same manner as current CD's or DVD's. In general, they will be planar objects and relatively thin, for example no greater than 5 mm in thickness and preferably nearer 1 mm. Typically, the maximum dimension, i.e. diameter in the case of a circular disc, will be less than 150 mm, and for a conventional CD or DVD may be in the region of about 100 to 120 mm. However, the dimensions of the disc are in general immaterial although it should be suitable for storage in a pouch as described below. The material of the disc is also irrelevant, although typically the disc will be lightweight and may be constructed of a plastics material. Although the physical properties of the disc are not relevant to the invention, the disc will generally be rigid although some degree of flexibility will often be present.

Although the invention is particularly applicable to a storage system for discs, it will be appreciated that the invention is equally suitable for storing other materials such as paper, books, newspapers or the like.

DVD's and CD's are in widespread use for the storage of music, video, computer data, computer programs and so forth. They may be supplied pre-recorded or blank for a user to record using suitable apparatus such as a computer read/write CD or DVD drive, or a DVD recorder specifically intended to record television programmes. A typical user may have hundreds of discs for various purposes and this gives rise to storage problems. Typically, consumers are provided with discs in rigid plastic cases. These are considerably thicker than the discs that they contain, and this adds to the storage problems. There have been many proposals for the storage of discs, ranging from complex rack or drawer systems to wallets for containing a selection of discs to be carried around, but these have various drawbacks. For example, typically if a user wants to carry a selection of discs around it will be necessary to remove the case from a rack or drawer system, take the disc out of the case, replace the empty case in the rack or drawer, and then place the disc inside a pouch in a wallet.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a storage system comprising a storage rack and a plurality of storage pouches removably engaged with the rack, wherein the storage rack comprises two parallel, laterally spaced elongate elements and each storage pouch is provided with a pair of engaging means arranged to engage with the respective elongate elements, each engaging means being resilient and having an open portion so that it can be pushed laterally on to its respective elongate element and will resist unintentional disengagement from the elongate element, and wherein the engagement means permit sliding of the pouches with respect to the elongate elements.

According to a second aspect of an invention there is provided a storage system comprising a storage rack and at least one storage pouch, wherein the storage rack comprises two parallel elongate elements and the storage pouch comprises two apertures arranged to engage with said two parallel elongate elements. Preferably the engagement is in the form of a snap coupling allowing removal and attachment of the pouch. Preferably the engagement permits sliding of the pouch with respect to the elongate element.

In an alternative arrangement, there could be a single engaging means or aperture permitting attachment and removal of the pouch, with additional support means for the pouch. For example, there could be three, laterally spaced parallel elongate elements. Two may provide a supporting function only, and the third provide an attachment means.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a storage system comprising a storage rack and a plurality of storage pouches supported by and removably engaged with the rack, wherein the storage rack comprises an elongate element and each storage pouch is provided with engaging means arranged to engage with the elongate element, the engaging means being resilient and having an open portion so that it can be pushed laterally on to the elongate element and will resist unintentional disengagement from the elongate element, and wherein the engagement means permit sliding of the pouches with respect to the rack.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a storage pouch, preferably of flexible material, for a disc or other item which is versatile and can be removably used in a semi-permanent storage installation such as a rack, or in a portable product such as a storage wallet. According to this aspect of the invention there is provided a storage pouch having an opening adjacent one edge to permit insertion of a disc into, and removal of a disc from the pouch, and there being provided adjacent another edge of the pouch an aperture through the pouch, the aperture having a relatively wide portion for receiving an elongate storage element and a relatively narrow portion communicating with said other edge, so that by distortion of resilient material adjacent the relatively narrow portion the pouch can be located on and removed from the elongate storage element.

Typically, the relatively wide portion of the aperture will be circular so as to receive a circular storage rod, for example. However, other cross sections are possible and for example a square cross section aperture could be used with a matching elongate element or indeed with a circular cross section member. The relatively narrow portion may be in the form of a simple slit or slot extending from the wide portion to the edge. Alternatively, the relatively narrow portion may taper outwardly towards the edge of the pouch, to facilitate placing of the pouch on the storage element. In such an arrangement, the aperture will have the appearance of a keyhole.

Generally two apertures will be provided, one adjacent each end of said other edge. The pouch will then be suitable for use with a storage unit comprising two parallel elongate elements. The members need not extend in straight lines and can be curved for functional or aesthetic reasons. Generally, for a rack there will be two parallel straight members. For a wallet, there will generally be two parallel members, each bent into a loop.

A rack may be made of a single piece of metal wire or rod bent so as to provide two parallel elongate elements as well as an end stop and two feet a either end. In such an arrangement, the rack may also be stood on its end, with the two feet and an end of the end stop providing a three point support. Other forms of rack are possible as discussed below and may be made from wood, metal or plastics as desired, with the elongate elements likewise made from a chosen material such as metal, wood or plastic rods.

The pouch may be constructed from a suitable sheet material such as plastics (e.g. polypropylene or acrylic), and may be transparent, translucent, coloured or opaque as desired. The pouch may also be provided with internal surface(s) lined with a softer material so as to prevent scratching or other damage to the pouch contents.

Typically, the main part of the pouch may be generally square for simplicity of construction, having one edge open and the three other edges closed by bonding, welding or the like. The apertures for receiving the elongate elements may be adjacent the edge opposite the open edge.

One edge adjacent the opening of the pouch may be distorted outwardly, for example by providing a slight crease, to facilitate removal and insertion of a disc.

The pouch may be provided with a first extension adjacent the open edge, to act as or be able to receive a label. For example, the extension may be doubled back on itself and bonded, so as to provide a sleeve, open at one or each end, to receive a label. One of the faces of the sleeve may be provided with one or more cut-outs, such as an oval, so that a user can use a finger or thumb to help insert or remove a label.

The first extension may be arranged to form a flap (for example by being folded back on itself a second time) so that its lower edge extends beyond the top of the contents of the pouch e.g. a CD, thereby preventing the contents from falling out of the pouch. The pouch material is preferably suitably flexible to allow the flap to ‘flip’ over the top of a disc extending from the open edge thereby securing the disc in the pouch and similarly flipped behind the disc to allow the disc to be removed from the pouch.

Preferably, the pouch is provided with a second extension adjacent the edge opposite the open edge to act as, or forming a passage arranged to receive, a semi-rigid element. The semi-rigid element may be formed of the same or similar material to the pouch, which typically may be of flexible plastics material, but is selected to be more rigid than the pouch. The apertures and relatively narrow sections are preferably formed in the semi-rigid element thereby providing a rigid connection with the elongate storage element.

A pouch containing a disc is considerably thinner and lighter than a conventional plastic case containing a disc. For a given storage space, many more discs can be accommodated than with known systems. It is easy to flick through the pouches to identify a desired disc, and then to remove the pouch and disc from the elongate elements of a rack or wallet. The disc can then be used, carried around, mailed and so forth as desired. After use, the pouch containing the disc can be replaced on the elongate elements. There is the possibility of taking a pouch and disc from a long term storage rack and placing it in a wallet to be carried around, the wallet having a pair of parallel hoops which are received in the pouch apertures.

Dividers and if desired sub-dividers may be provided. These may be more rigid than the pouches if desired, although that is not necessary. The dividers or sub-dividers preferably have labels which extend above the top of the pouches—including any pouch labels. Main dividers may for example have labels extending their full width, whereas sub-dividers may have labels extending only part way across. Sub-dividers may have their labels at staggered positions across, for ease of indexing.

Additionally, alternatively or even incorporated with the function of a divider, there may be provided one or more separators which can be used to keep a selection of pouches in a preferred position on a rack. Such a separator could be movable readily in one direction along the elongate elements but resist movement in the other. Pouches could then be pushed together at an appropriate point on the rack. The separators may have apertures to receive the elongate elements and sprung portions which engage the elongate elements to resist movement in one direction.

The pouch and/or dividers may be provided with cut-out portions extending through the front and rear portions of the pouch or divider to act as stencils or templates for a user. The size and shape of the cut-outs is preferably selected to correspond to the size of the label which can fit into the passage define by the first extension of the pouch and/or the labels of the sub-dividers.

The pouch may alternatively be arranged to be expandable so as to be able to contain articles of different thicknesses. In this arrangement the front and rear faces of the pouch may be connected together with a series of folds such that the closed edges of the pouch resemble a concertina. The front and rear face of the pouch can thereby move relative to one another such that the pouch can be expanded. In this arrangement the front and rear faces may each be provided with an extension adjacent the edge opposite the open edge and arranged to receive a semi-rigid element. The front and rear faces of the pouch can thereby be attached to elongate elements of a rack.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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