Abstract:
A storage unit or rack for recording-media boxes such as CD boxes or other such containers which rack supports the boxes in a series of parallel substantially horizontal planes or in planes inclined at some other angle. The rack has one or more pairs of sidewalls lying in planes which intersect at right angles and which engage two adjacent side edges of each box and leave the other two side edges of each box facing outwardly and exposed so that they are visible for reading labels on the boxes and to provide easy access for placement and removal of such boxes.

Description:
This invention relates to a storage unit or rack for recording-media boxes such as CD boxes or other such containers. The rack supports the boxes along two adjacent side edges thereof in a series of parallel substantially horizontal planes or in planes inclined at some other angle. The rack is open in the area of the other two side edges of the boxes so that they are visible for reading any labels thereon and for easy placement and removal of the boxes. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     With the continued development of various types of recording media such as compact disks, (CDs), video cassettes and the like and the containers therefor, various specially designed storage racks have been devised for orderly storage of such recording-media and the containers in which the recordings are enclosed. 
     A typical container for CDs is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,829 issued to P M Clemens. Containers of this type may be stored in racks such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,655,345; 4,779,730; and 4,889,244. All these racks support the containers standing on edge in a vertical position. While these racks serve their intended purpose, some are more complex that necessary, more difficult to manufacture and some may not be as aesthetically pleasing as they could otherwise be. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a primary object of this invention to provide a storage unit for a recording-media box which is simple, inexpensive to manufacture and is aesthetically pleasing 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a modular storage unit for a recording-media box which is versatile and may be expanded by adding additional storage sections when needed. 
     A still further object of this invention is to provide a storage unit for a recording-media box which supports the boxes in such manner that the labels thereon may be easily read for making a selection of which recordings are to be played and the boxes may be easily placed in or removed from the storage unit. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a storage unit for a recording-media box which is rotatable about a vertical axis for more easily viewing all the labels on the boxes stored therein. 
     These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent in the following specification and the attached drawings. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     This invention is a storage unit for recording-media boxes the unit having at least one first wall member lying in a first plane, at least one second wall member lying in a second plane which intersects at a common axis with and is substantially perpendicular to the first plane, and a connecting means attached to all of the wall members to hold them in fixed angular and spatial relationship to each other, at least one face of each wall member having a series of alternating transversely extending parallel ribs and grooves, the ribs and grooves on each first wall member being in such a position as to lie in a plurality of parallel planes which are common to the ribs and grooves on an adjacent second wall member wherein each groove on a first wall member is aligned in a common plane with an adjacent groove on a second wall member so that each such set of adjacent grooves will receive and support a pair of adjacent sidewall edges of a recording-media box in a plane parallel to other media boxes similarly supported by other sets of grooves in the wall members. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of one embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a top plan view of another variation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a top plan view of still another variation of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the base member of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3; 
     FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of the base member shown in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8--8 of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a typical connection of a base member to a wall member; 
     FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary exploded view showing how the retaining bracket connects to a wall member; 
     FIG. 11 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing a modular stacking embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 12 is a fragmentary end view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 11; 
     FIG. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a typical connection between a base member and an vertical wall member with the base member mounted on a lazy susan; 
     FIG. 14 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing a vertical wall member having grooves of multiple widths; 
     FIG. 15 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the invention having a two inclined walls; 
     FIG. 16 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of the invention having one vertical wall and one inclined wall; 
     FIG. 17 is a side elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 16; 
     FIG. 18 is a top plan view of another embodiment of the invention with the storage rack in a horizontal position; 
     FIG. 19 is a left end view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 18; 
     FIG. 20 is an exploded left end view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 18 and 20; 
     FIG. 21 is as front elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 18 through 20; and 
     FIG. 22 is side elevational view of a modification of the bracket shown in FIG. 20 wherein the bracket is designed for mounting on a wall or other vertical surface. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, a storage unit or rack for recording-media boxes is indicated generally by the numeral 10. The rack 10 may be used to store compact discs (CDs), audio or video cassette boxes or the containers for various other recording-media depending upon the size and arrangements of the retaining ribs and grooves as will be explained later. 
     The embodiment of the rack 10 in FIG. 1 has a first pair of substantially identical wall members 11 spaced apart from each other and lying in a common vertical plane. The rack 10 also has a second pair of substantially identical wall members 12 spaced apart from each other and lying in a common vertical plane which is perpendicular to and intersects the plane of the first pair of walls 11 at a common vertical axis which is centrally located between all the walls 11 and 12. The walls 11 and 12 are all interconnected to each other in fixed angular and spatial relationship by a pair of brackets 13 shown in greater detail in FIG. 10. 
     Referring now to FIG. 10, a bracket 13 is shown in position for connection to a wall member 12 by means of a tongue and groove type connection in which the a portion of the rib 12a is removed on each side to form a tongue 14 which fits into one of the four slots or grooves 15 in the bracket 13. A pair of opposed inwardly facing humps or buttons 16 snap into engagement with a hole or depression 17 in each side of the tongue 14 to firmly lock the wall member 12 and bracket 13 together. All the other wall members 11 and 12 attach to the bracket 13 in the same manner. This type of connection is particularly well suited to a rack made from molded plastic which has the desired resiliency to permit the snap in type interlocking feature. 
     The bottom edge 18 of each wall member 11 and 12 is attached to a circular base member 19 by screws 20 as shown in FIG. 9. The screws 20 pass through holes 21 in the base 19 which is shown in more detail in FIGS. 6 through 8 and then screw into threaded holes 21a in the wall member 11. The base 19 is in the shape of an inverted saucer and has radially extending reinforcing webs 22 and a downwardly extending edge flange 23 around the circumference of the base 20. 
     Each adjacent pair of walls 11 and 12 form a right angle with each other so that the rack 10 contains four right angle corners. Each side of each wall 11 contains a series of alternate transverse ribs 11a and grooves 11b lying in a series of parallel substantially horizontal planes. Each side of each wall 12 contains a series of alternate transverse ribs 21a and grooves 12b lying in a series of substantially parallel planes. Each groove 11b or 12b is of sufficient width to receive the type of recording media box that is to be stored on the rack 10. When the walls 11 and 12 are assembled in operative position on the base 15, each groove 11b lies in a common plane with a matching groove 12b and thereby permits a recording-media box 16 to be positioned in any pair of the adjacent grooves 11b and 12b as shown in FIG. 1 with two adjacent edges of the box 16 being engaged by two adjacent grooves 11b and 12b. In instances where the boxes 16 are longer in one dimension than in the other, the boxes can be alternately turned with every other box having the length in one direction and every other alternate box having the length in the opposite direction as show by the two boxes 16 in FIG. 1. With this arrangement one edge of each box 16 sticks out further than the adjacent edge of the box 16 on either side to make it easier to grasp the box for removal from the rack 10. 
     FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the appearance of other views of the embodiment of rack 10 shown in FIG. 1 with similar parts being identified by similar numbers for simplicity. 
     FIG. 4 shows an embodiment similar to FIGS. 1 though 3 but with only three of the vertical wall members, i.e. two wall members 11 and one member 12. This embodiment has a truncated base 19a instead of the circular base 19 in FIGS. 1 through 3 and a truncated bracket 13a connecting the members 11 and 12. FIG. 2 can also serve as the front elevational view of FIG. 4 since it would look identical to the same view of FIG. 3. 
     FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment having only one vertical wall 11 and one vertical wall 12. The base 19b is in shape of a modified triangle and the walls 11 and 12 only form one square corner for retaining a stack of recording-media boxes. The wall members 11 and 12 are connected together at a right angle to each other by a bracket 13b. 
     FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate how the wall members 11 and 12 may be divided into stacked sections with a top section 11x being stacked on top of a bottom section 11y. The lower edge 18x of the top section 11x fits into a recess 24 in an adapter 25 which has a concavely curved portion 25a that mates with a convexly curved portion 25b on the upper edge of the bottom section 11y. A screw 20x holds the top section 11x in the recess 24 of the adapter 25. The adapter 25 also has downwardly extending tabs 26 which engage the bottom section 11y and aid in retaining the adapter 25 and top section 11x in place. 
     FIG. 13 illustrates another modification in which a lazy susan 27 is attached to the base 19 and to vertical wall members 11 and 12 by screws 20. The lazy susan is made of an upper plate 28 and a lower plate 29 which are rotatable with respect to each other. Both the upper plate 28 and lower plate 29 have axially annular grooves 30 and 31 which form a bearing race for a plurality of ball bearings 32. The screws 20 are passed through access holes 33 in the lower plate 29 and then through holes 34 in upper plate 28 and holes 21 in the base member 19 and then are screwed into threaded holes 21a in the wall member 11. The lower plate 29 has a plurality of foot pads 35 on the bottom thereof to protect any surface upon which the rack 10 is placed when in use. 
     FIG. 14 shows another modification of the invention with a typical vertical wall member 11 having multiple width grooves with a wide groove 11w and a narrow groove 11n to handle different thicknesses of boxes on the same rack. 
     FIG. 15 is another embodiment of the invention in which a recording-media rack indicated generally by the numeral 36 made up of an upwardly extending wall member 37 and an upwardly extending wall member 38 which are mirror images of each other and are joined together at a right angle at a miter joint by an adhesive, screws (not shown) or any other suitable fastening means. The walls 37 and 38 have a series of alternate transverse ribs 37a and 38a with grooves 37b and 38b respectively between each pair of ribs. The walls 37 and 38 lie in planes which intersect at a common axis which extends upwardly but which is inclined rearwardly of the rack at an angle of approximately 10° from a perpendicular axis when the rack 36 is positioned on a horizontal surface. This is accomplished by truncating the bottom edges 39 and 40 of the walls at such an a proper angle to tilt the entire rack 36 rearwardly and thereby place the ribs 37a and 38a and the grooves 37b and 38b on a rearwardly inclined plane with respect to a horizontal plane. These inclined grooves 37b and 38b will in turn hold the recording-media boxes therein more securely than if on a horizontal plane. 
     FlGS. 16 and 17 show still another embodiment of the invention somewhat similar to the one in FIG. 15 wherein a recording-media rack indicated generally by the numeral 41 has a pair of upwardly extending wall members 42 and a single wall member 43 centrally located between the members 42 and attached thereto by any suitable means. The wall members 42 can be made as one continuous wall with the rear edge of the wall 43 joined at right angles to the center thereof. The walls 42 have alternate transverse ribs 42a and grooves 42b therebetween. Similarly the wall 43 has ribs 43a and grooves 43b. The lower edge 44 of the rack 41 is truncated in such manner as to tilt the rack 41 rearwardly at an angle of approximately 10° from a perpendicular axis. This causes the wall 43 and the grooves 43b to be inclined rearwardly while the wall 43 lies in a vertical plane. The walls 42 lie in a common plane which is inclined rearwardly approximately 10 from a perpendicular axis. With this arrangement the rack 43 supports the recording media-boxes placed therein at an inclined angle similar to the rack 36 in FIG. 15. It has been found that an upwardly extending support rib 45 attached to the rear surface of the wall member 42 at the center thereof adds to the stability of the inclined rack 41. The rib 45 is preferably the same thickness as the wall member 43 and lies in the same plane as the member 43. The various parts of the rack 41 can be attached to each other by adhesive or any suitable means. 
     FIGS. 18 through 21 show still another modification of the invention in which the recording-media box storage unit or rack is indicated generally by the numeral 50. This version differs from the other embodiments since the rack 50 is positioned in a horizontal position and supports the media boxes in a vertical position. 
     The rack 50 has a pair of substantially identical wall members 51 held in fixed spatial and angular relationship to each other by a pair of substantially identical foot brackets 52. Both the walls 51 have a series of alternating ribs 51a and grooves 51b extending transversely across the upper face of each wall member. 
     As shown in FIG. 20 each foot bracket 52 has a pair of opposed slots 53 extend outwardly and upwardly from each side r of the bracket at a 45° angle to a horizontal bottom edge 54 of the bracket. 
     Each wall member 51 has a cut-out notch 55 in the inner end of two of the ribs 51a to enable one edge of each wall portion to fit into one of the slots 53 of each of the brackets 52 as shown in FIG. 19. 
     When both the wall members 51 are assembled with the brackets 52 and the brackets are placed on a horizontal surface, the wall members lie in planes which intersect at a common horizontal axis and are at right angles to each other. The brackets 52 hold the wall members 51 at oppositely inclined angles which are 45° from the horizontal surface on which the rack 50 is placed. A typical CD recording box 56 is shown positioned in a pair of adjacent slots 51b in the rack 50 in FIGS. 18, 19 and 21. 
     FIG. 22 shows an alternative wall mountable bracket 52a which can be used with the wall members 51 instead of the foot bracket 52 when it is desired to mount the rack 50 on the wall. The bracket 52a has a pair of slots 53a for receiving the wall members 51, a rearwardly extending segment 57 with a right angled mounting flange 58 having a pair of holes 59 therethrough for fastening the bracket 52a to a wall. 
     It should be understood that the various embodiments of storage racks shown and described herein can be made from wood, metal, plastic or other various materials. These and various other modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the invention.