Abstract:
A disc holder formed from a base layer of material and a top layer of material that has a surface area less than the base layer, the layers being adhered and arranged to provide that the trim edge is free of the top layer upon trimming thereby preventing contamination of a manufacturer&#39;s recycling process.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates generally to disc holders, more specifically, to a data disc holder suitable for binding into printed publications.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Publishers of books and other printed publications often desire to include additional materials with their publications, such as tear-out inserts, software, music or data. One common carrier of this additional content is a data disc, such as a compact disc or DVD, which can be bound into the publication, typically against the front or back cover of the publication. Publications are typically assembled by binding together a number of sections, commonly referred to as signatures. Accordingly, to include a data disc in a publication, the data disc is placed in the holder and the holder is then treated as a signature and bound into the publication.  
         [0003]     A number of data disc holders have been fabricated for the purpose of including a data disc in a publication. Some common data disc holders include paper holders with windows, plastic holders and vinyl holders. However, paper holders are expensive to manufacture. The plastic holders are problematic because as the holders are treated as signatures, the holder is jogged to the top or bottom of the publication as the publication and data disc holder run through the jogging, gluing and trimming processes. During the trimming process, the holders with plastic are trimmed and the resulting waste material pollutes the paper recycling systems of the manufacturer. Vinyl holders, whether transparent, opaque or translucent, suffer from the same problems as both the plastic and paper holders.  
         [0004]     Other combinations of materials have also been used, including data disc holders with a combination of a top transparent layer such as plastic and a bottom non-woven fabric. However, the combination holders cost substantially more to manufacture and either have signature trimming recycling problems or require costly preassembly and/or attachment operations.  
         [0005]     Accordingly, as mentioned, the existing data disc holders intended for binding into publications include significant limitations. As a result, significant improvement can still be made relative to creating a less expensive and recycling compatible data disc holder.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention is intended to provide an improved data disc holder that is less expensive, recycling compatible, easy to include in the binding process and securely holds the data disc during the binding process, and transparent thereby permitting viewing of the enclosed data disc.  
         [0007]     The data disc holder is generally comprised of a transparent top layer and an opaque or translucent base layer. The two layers are glued together to form a pocket that can receive a data disc that is viewable from the outside. The top layer is glued substantially to the base layer on three of the four sides of the layers and on the fourth side a sufficient space is left to slide the data disc into the pocket; accordingly, the fourth side is only partially glued.  
         [0008]     The glue on the fourth side terminates at a distance sufficient to permit the data disc to be inserted into the pocket between the layers at the unglued portion of the fourth side. Also, the glue is preferably of a strength that permits the edge of the data disc to penetrate the bond between the plastic and paper layers enough to allow the data disc to become wedged into the edges, but not so much as to permit the data disc to entirely break the bond and exit the holder. The top is also die-cut to form a zipper tab to permit easy removal of a portion of the top layer to enable access to the data disc pocket.  
         [0009]     In a preferred embodiment, the base layer is paper and the top layer is plastic and sized to be less than the area of the base layer, thereby avoiding trimming of the top layer plastic during the trim portion of the binding process. In one embodiment this is achieved by having a top layer waste matrix that is removed from the holder&#39;s base layer. In another embodiment this is achieved by simply using a plastic layer that is smaller than the base layer.  
         [0010]     In one process for manufacturing the holder, the paper and plastic materials are initially contained on two separate rolls. The rolls are aligned so the paper roll dispensed from the paper roll is located beneath the plastic dispensed from the plastic roll. As the paper is unrolled, it is stamped with an ultraviolet glue stamp that imparts the desired glue pattern onto the paper. The paper and plastic materials are then married together and an ultraviolet light cures the adhesive. The paper and plastic can be any thickness or composition, however, the marrying of the materials has been found to work well using a 2 mil polyethylene plastic layer to provide enough weight to enable marriage of the materials without using excess plastic.  
         [0011]     One advantage of the present invention is that the data disc holder is less expensive to manufacture. Another advantage of the invention is that the data disc holder does not create plastic waste product during the trim portion of the binding process and is therefore compatible with existing paper recycling systems. The invention also has the advantage of permitting viewing of the data disc through the top layer of the holder. Another advantage is that the holder retains the disc more securely during the binding process. Another advantage is that the data disc can easily be removed from the publication by pulling the die-cut zipper tab. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a top elevational view of one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  are side and top elevational views, respectively, showing the insertion of a data disc into the disc holder and  FIGS. 2C, 2D  and  2 E are depictions of potential movements of the data disc within the disc holder.  
         [0014]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are perspective views of the disc holder bound into a book prior to trimming.  
         [0015]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are perspective views of the disc holder bound into a book after trimming.  
         [0016]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are perspective views of the disc holder prior to and during removal of the data disc from the holder. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]      FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of the disc holder  10 . The holder  10  has a paper base layer  12  and a plastic top layer  14  which is attached to the base layer via a glue line  16  thereby forming a disc pocket  13 . The glue line  16  extends along three of the four sides of the top layer  14  and on the fourth side the glue line  16  terminates at a point sufficient to allow a data disc to be inserted into the disc pocket  13  through a disc opening  20 . At the glue line termination point at the edge of the disc opening  20  the glue line extends at an angle away from the edge of the base layer  12  to form a retaining glue line  17 . The top layer  14  is die-cut to create a die-cut zipper  18  which can be torn to remove the disc from the disc pocket  13 .  
         [0018]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate the placement of a data disc  25  into the disc pocket  13 . After the disc  25  is placed in the pocket  16  toward the retaining glue line  17  to ensure that it will be retained during the binding processes, the holder  10  is treated as a signature and gathered with other signatures to form the body of the publication. These signatures groups are jogged along a conveyor to the binding apparatus, and during the jogging the signatures are held together along their binding edges  30 . This jogging process results in forces f being imparted on the disc  25  as shown in  FIGS. 2C and 2D . If the binding edge  30  is located on the same side as the disc opening  20  as shown in  FIG. 2C , then the force f results in the disc  25  moving toward the binding edge until it reaches the retaining glue line  17  which stops the movement of the disc  25 . If the binding edge  30  is located opposite the side with the disc opening  20  as shown in  FIG. 2D , then the force f results in the disc  25  moving toward the binding edge until it reaches one or two sides of the primary glue line  16  which stops the movement of the disc and pins the disc between the top layer  14  and base layer  12 . The holder  10  may also be jogged from behind a non-binding edge such as the top edge  31  resulting in the force f moving the disc against the primary glue line  16 .  
         [0019]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  illustrate the holder  10  bound into an untrimmed publication  35  and  FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate the holder  10  bound into a trimmed publication  35 . The trim portion  41  of the publication  35  is cut away from the final text portion  40  to create an even trim edge  43  and the trim portion  41  is recycled or discarded. The trim portion  41  can be one or both ends of the publication  35 . The trimmed holder portion  42  is included in the trim portion  41  waste product to be recycled; accordingly, the trimmed holder portion  42  consists solely of the base layer  12  of the holder  10  which constitutes recyclable material.  
         [0020]      FIGS. 5 and 6  illustrate the holder  10  bound into a final publication  35  and the removal of the disc  25  from the holder  10 . The end customer can remove the disc  25  by simply pulling on the tab  18   a  which then tears a strip  18   b  from the top layer  14  and results in a top layer opening  19 . The end customer can then easily remove the disc  25  from the disc pocket  13  through the top layer opening  19 .  
         [0021]     The preceding description of the invention has shown and described certain embodiments thereof, however, it is intended by way of illustration and example only and not by way of limitation. Those skilled in the art should understand that various changes, omissions and additions may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.