Abstract:
An envelope, or envelope assembly, having a removable panel. The removable panel can be printed upon simultaneously while the envelope, or envelope assembly, is being printed upon. The removable panel can be removed from the envelope, or envelope assembly, and adhered to another surface. A protective panel and an adhesive coating partially or totally cover one side of the removable panel. Furthermore, the protective panel and the adhesive coating can partially or totally cover one side of the envelope assembly. The protective panel is preferably transparent or translucent, thereby enabling inspection of the contents of the envelope from outside the envelope once the removable panel is removed. Additionally, a tab can extend from a surface of the envelope for ease of identification and organization.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention is directed to an envelope, or an envelope assembly, having a removable panel with an adhesive coating on one side such that the removable panel can be separated from the envelope, or the envelope assembly, and adhered to another surface. The invention is also directed to an envelope, or envelope assembly, having a tab. The envelope, or the envelope assembly, can be fed through a printer, such as a laser printer, an ink jet printer, an impact printer, a thermal transfer printer, a direct thermal printer, a typewriter, or any other suitable graphic printing device. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Envelopes can be used to hold a wide variety of items, including letters, documents, compact discs, pictures, baseball cards, and the like. Quite often, it is desirable to have a label for adhering to items within an envelope. In order to label items and store them in envelopes, one must purchase the envelopes and the labels separately. Furthermore, an outside surface of the envelope usually must be labeled to indicate what the contents are inside the envelope. 
     An envelope having a window is one way to reveal the contents of an envelope, but labels must still be purchased separately in order to label the contents themselves. If the labels and the envelopes are separate items, they cannot be run through a printer simultaneously. 
     A further setback in envelope organization is difficulty in distinguishing one envelope from another. When envelopes are aligned in a row, they typically all look alike. Even when a surface of an envelope is labeled, one must usually sort through a number of envelopes, looking at an entire surface of each one, before finding the sought-after envelope. 
     Accordingly, a need exists for a new and improved envelope, or envelope assembly, that provides means for labeling the envelope and any contents within the envelope. A need also exists for an envelope that can be more easily identified and organized. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an envelope, or an envelope assembly, with a removable panel that can be printed upon simultaneously while printing upon the envelope or envelope assembly. The envelope, or envelope assembly, can further comprise a tab for ease of identification and organization. 
     The envelope assembly includes a sheet of material having a printable surface on one side and an adhesive covered by a protective panel on another side. The sheet of material comprises an assembly shape preferably having a primary panel adjacent a secondary panel. At least one flap is preferably but not necessarily located along at least one edge of the primary panel and/or the secondary panel. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the sheet of material is rectangular with perforated, micro-perforated or die-cut lines located around at least a portion of a periphery of the assembly shape, thereby separating the assembly shape from a remainder portion of the material. 
     The protective panel is preferably transparent or translucent. The adhesive coating at least partially covers one side of the removable panel. When the removable panel is removed from a remainder of the envelope or envelope assembly, the transparent or translucent protective panel enables a user to view any contents of the envelope from outside the envelope. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the primary panel, the secondary panel and/or the remainder portion of the material is preferably die-cut to form the removable panel. The removable panel can be in a shape of a compact disc label, for example, so that graphics can be printed upon the printable surface of the primary panel and/or the secondary panel, and the removable panel can then be separated from the primary panel and/or the secondary panel and adhered to a compact disc. 
     The adhesive coating also at least partially covers one side of the at least one flap, and/or at least one edge of the primary panel and/or at least one edge of the secondary panel. The protective panel can be removed to expose the adhesive coating. In one preferred embodiment of this invention, the adhesive coating entirely covers one side of the sheet of material. In another preferred embodiment of this invention, the adhesive coating only partially covers the one side of the sheet of material. The protective panel preferably has at least one tearable line of separation, such that a portion of the protective panel can be separated from a remaining portion, such as a border portion, of the protective panel. The tearable lines of separation are preferably located along fold lines of the flaps. 
     To form an envelope, the protective panel is first partially or completely separated from the adhesive to expose the adhesive on each flap, edge of the primary panel and/or edge of the secondary panel. The flaps and/or the secondary panel are then folded toward the primary panel such that surfaces with exposed adhesive are aligned to contact surfaces to which they can adhere, thereby forming an envelope. 
     In one preferred embodiment, at least one tab extends outward from the primary panel and/or the secondary panel. A flap can be die-cut about a portion of a periphery of the tab, such that the tab remains extending outward while the flap can be folded over and adhered to either the primary panel or the secondary panel. The tab can be printed upon directly, or alternatively, the removable panel can be of a size and shape suitable to be adhered to the tab. 
     The envelope assembly of the present invention can be designed and constructed in a wide range of sizes for a number of different uses. In particular, the envelope assembly is suitable for housing compact discs, mini-discs, baseball cards, photographs, and many other items. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an envelope, or an envelope assembly, that has a removable panel. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an envelope, or an envelope assembly, with a tab extending from a surface of the envelope or envelope assembly. 
     The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are intended to illustrate the present invention rather than limit the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims and equivalents of the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Moreover, it should be noted that the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating principles of the present invention. 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a front plan view of a first preferred embodiment of an envelope assembly in sheet form and an unfolded position, showing three areas, each where a protective panel is removed, thereby exposing a layer of adhesive coating; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a front plan view of the envelope assembly shown in FIG. 1, but in a folded position with a compact disc inserted within a pocket formed by the folded envelope assembly; 
     FIG. 3 illustrates a rear plan view of the envelope assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in a folded position; 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a front plan view of a second preferred embodiment of the envelope assembly in a folded position; 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a front plan view of a third preferred embodiment of the envelope assembly, having only two flaps, in a folded position; 
     FIG. 6 illustrates a front plan view of a fourth preferred embodiment of the envelope assembly, in a folded position, having only two flaps, and having an adhesive coating only on a secondary panel; 
     FIG. 7 illustrates a rear plan view of a fifth preferred embodiment of the envelope assembly in an unfolded position, having flaps but no tabs, and showing a ring-shaped removable panel of a face material coated with an adhesive such that the removable panel can be separated from the assembly and adhered to a compact disc; 
     FIG. 8 illustrates a rear plan view of a sixth preferred embodiment of the envelope assembly in an unfolded position, showing a ring-shaped removable panel of a face material coated with an adhesive such that the removable panel can be separated from the assembly and, for example, adhered to a compact disc; 
     FIG. 9 illustrates a rear plan view of a seventh preferred embodiment of the envelope assembly in an unfolded position in an assembly shape having a removable panel; 
     FIG. 10 illustrates a rear plan view of an eighth preferred embodiment of the envelope assembly in an unfolded position having removable panels in a remainder portion such that the removable panels can be used to form tabs; and 
     FIG. 11 illustrates a cross-section view, taken along line  11 — 11  as shown in FIG. 1, of the unfolded envelope assembly. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIGS. 1,  2  and  3  illustrate a first preferred embodiment of an envelope assembly  10  in accordance with the present invention. As generally shown in FIG. 1, an envelope assembly  10  comprises a sheet  12  of material that can be fed into and run through a printer. An assembly shape  20 , which may also be referred to as a tearable shape, can then be separated from a remaining portion  21  of the sheet  12  and folded into an envelope  11  for holding, for example, a compact disc  54 , as shown in FIG. 2. A removable panel  56  and  56 ′, as shown in FIG. 3, can be separated from the sheet  12  as a label and adhered to a separate surface. Regardless of whether the envelope  11  comprises the removable panel  56 , the envelope  11  can comprise a tab  39  for organizational purposes. 
     Referring still generally to FIG. 1, the sheet  12  is of any suitable shape, and generally any suitable size that can be accepted by and fed through a printer, such as a laser printer or an inkjet printer. Common sizes of paper generally fed through printers are 8.5″×5.5″, 8.5″×11″, 8.263″×11.688″ (A4), and 8.5″×14″. The sheet  12  is preferably but not necessarily constructed of any suitable paper or paper composite material that can be used as a label. Other suitable materials for constructing the sheet  12  include fabric and plastic. An adhesive coating  44  covered by a protective panel  50  is applied to a first side  14  of the sheet  12 . The sheet  12  preferably has a printable surface  16  on a second side  18 , as shown in FIG.  3 . The printable surface  16  can be any of a variety of face materials used to make pressure sensitive labels. Such face materials may include, but are not limited to: smudgeproof stock, litho stock, cast coated stock, tag stock, fluorescent stock, foils, computer printable polyester, vinyl, satin cloth, Tyvek™ material, flexible plastic, book papers, photo quality papers and/or photo quality film. Furthermore, various portions of the face materials can be different colors, thereby resulting in different colored parts, such as the removable panel  56  and/or the tab  39 . 
     As used throughout this specification and in the claims, the term printable surface relates to a surface of any type of matter upon which a person or machine can draw, print, color, paint, photocopy, write, emboss, or make any other type of mark or graphic. Laser printers, ink jet printers, impact printers, thermal transfer printers, direct thermal printers, typewriters, or any other suitable graphic printing devices are preferred but not necessary for use with printable surfaces according to this invention. 
     Still referring generally to FIG. 1, within the sheet  12  is an assembly shape  20  comprising a primary panel  22 , a secondary panel  24  and at least one, preferably two, more preferably three flaps  26 ,  28  and  30 . As used throughout this specification and in the claims, the phrase assembly shape, or the phrase tearable shape, is intended to relate to a shape, such as the shape identified in FIG. 1 by element reference numerals  20 , that can be torn away from a remaining portion  21  of the sheet  12 , by using tearable lines, such as die-cut lines, perforated lines, micro-perforated lines or any other suitable structure that enables separation. The assembly shape  20  can be die-cut along at least a portion of a periphery, defined by perforations, and/or defined by micro-perforations, such that the assembly shape  20  can be easily removed or separated from a remaining portion  21  of the sheet  12 , for example after the sheet  12  is run through a printer. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the primary panel  22  can be square or rectangular, thereby having four edges  32 ,  34 ,  36  and  38 . In one preferred embodiment, the primary panel  22  has a width (W) in a range between about 4.75″ and about 5.25″, and a height (H) in a range between about 4.75″ and about 5.25″. In other embodiments, the primary panel  22  can have any suitable circular, polygonal or non-polygonal shape. The secondary panel  24  is located along the edge  32  of the primary panel  22 . A primary fold line  40 , which may or may not be marked with score lines, perforations and/or micro-perforations, is located at the edge  32  where the primary panel  22  and the secondary panel  24  meet. Each of the flaps  26 ,  28  and  30  are located at separate edges  34 ,  36  and  38  of the primary panel  22 . Alternatively, at least one of the flaps  26 ,  28  and  30  can be located at a corresponding edge  33 ,  35  or  37  of the secondary panel  24 . Secondary fold lines  42 , possibly marked with score lines, perforations and/or micro-perforations, are located at the edges  34 ,  36  and  38  of the primary panel  22  where each of the flaps  26 ,  28  and  30  and the primary panel  22  meet, and possibly at a junction between the secondary panel  24  and any of the flaps  26 ,  28  and  30 . 
     In one preferred embodiment, the envelope assembly  10  comprises three flaps  26 ,  28  and  30 , one located along each edge  34 ,  36  and  38  of the primary panel  22  not occupied by the secondary panel  24 , as shown in FIGS. 1-4,  7  and  10 . Flap  30  can be partially coated with a suitable adhesive to form an adhesive coating  44  for securely sealing the envelope assembly  10 . Alternatively, no adhesive coating  44  is applied to the flap  30 , or the flap  30  comprises a resealable type of closure, as known by those skilled in the art, such that the envelope assembly  10  can be sealed and opened multiple times without tearing or otherwise distorting the sheet  12 . In a further alternative embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the flap  30  is located along one of the edges  33 ,  35  and  37  of the secondary panel  24 . When flaps  26  and  28  are located on opposite edges  34  and  38  of the primary panel  22  and the edge  36  remains flapless, the assembly shape  20  without any remaining portion  21  of the material can easily be fed through a printer, with the edge  36  being fed first. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1-4 and  8 , the tab  39  can be formed within or integrated as part of the flap  30 . More specifically, the flap  30  is die-cut about a portion of a periphery of the tab  39 . The tab  39  can then be separated from the flap  30  along the periphery of the tab  39 , such that when the flap  30  is folded over, the tab  39  remains extended outward from the primary panel  22  and generally within a same plane as the primary panel  22 . Any number of the tabs  39  can be formed within any of the flaps  26 ,  28  and  30 , and/or within the primary panel  22  and/or the secondary panel  24 . 
     In other embodiments having only two flaps  26  and  28 , the flaps  26  and  28  can be located either on the two opposing edges  34  and  38  adjacent the edge  32  on which the secondary panel  24  is located, as shown in FIG. 5, or on the edge  36  opposite the secondary panel  24  and on the edge  34  adjacent the edge  32  on which the secondary panel  24  is located, as shown in FIG.  6 . In a further embodiment, one flap  26  can be located on one of the edges  34 ,  36  and  38  of the primary panel  22  and the other flap  28  can be located on one of the edges  33 ,  35  and  37  of the secondary panel  24 . It is apparent that any number of flaps can be located at any position which is suitable for adhering one or more of the flaps  26 ,  28  and/or  30  to the primary panel  22  and/or the secondary panel  24 . 
     In an embodiment of the present invention having only two flaps  26  and  28 , the tab  39  is formed within a periphery or integrated as a part of the assembly shape  20 , such as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The tab  39  extends outward from the edge  36  of the primary panel  22  not occupied by either of the flaps  26  and  28 . In other preferred embodiments of the present invention, more than one tab  39  can extend outward from the edge  36  of the primary panel  22 . As in an embodiment having three flaps  26 ,  28  and  30 , any additional tabs  39  can also be formed within or integrated as part of the flaps  26  and  28 , and/or within the primary panel  22  and/or within the secondary panel  24 . In a preferred embodiment, the tabs  39  are staggered cut in any suitable group number. For example, a first envelope can have a first tab  39  on a left portion adjacent the edge  36  of the primary panel  22 , a second envelope can have a tab  39  on a middle portion of the edge  36  of the primary panel  22 , and a third envelope can have a tab  39  on a right portion adjacent the edge  36  of the primary panel  22 . 
     The adhesive coating  44  preferably adheres significantly more to the sheet  12  than to the protective panel  50 , such that the protective panel  50  can be removed to expose the adhesive coating  44  which preferably remains on the sheet  12 . In such a preferred embodiment, the adhesive coating  44  at least partially covers the first side  14  of each of the flaps  26 ,  28  and  30 . The adhesive coating  44  can be applied in either a continuous format  46 , as shown on flap  28  in FIGS. 1 and 11, or a patterned format  48 , as shown on flap  26  in FIGS. 1 and 11. The adhesive coating  44  can cover the entire first side  14  of the assembly shape  20 , in which case, to prevent undesired adhesion, a protective panel  50  preferably also covers the entire area covered by the adhesive coating  44 . The protective panel  50  preferably has at least one tearable line of separation  52 , either die-cut or perforated with, for example, perforations and/or micro-perforations, located either along at least one of the edges  32 ,  34 ,  36  and  38  of the primary panel  22  or on at least one of the flaps  26 ,  28  and  30  a set distance from the primary panel  22 . As shown in FIG. 1, the tearable line of separation  52  is located between an outer edge of the flap  26 ,  28  or  30  and the fold line  42  but it is apparent that the tearable line of separation  52  can coincide with the fold line  42 . Thus, when the protective panel  50  is separated at the tearable line of separation  52 , an area of adhesive coating  44  under the separated portion of the protective panel  50  is exposed. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1-10, to form the envelope assembly  10  into the envelope  11 , at least one of the flaps  26 ,  28  and  30  and/or the secondary panel  24  without exposed adhesive coating  44  is folded over to face the first side  14  of the primary panel  22 . The protective panel  50  is separated from the adhesive coating  44  and torn from any remaining portion of the protective panel  50 , such as at the tearable lines of separation  52 . The flaps  26 ,  28  and  30  and/or the secondary panel  24  with exposed adhesive coating  44  are preferably then folded over the first folded flaps  26 ,  28  and  30  and/or secondary panel  24 , to construct the envelope  11 . The folded flaps  26 ,  28  and  30  and/or secondary panel  24  are secured by contacting the exposed adhesive coating  44  with surface portions of the flaps  26 ,  28  and  30  and/or the secondary panel  24  without exposed adhesive coating  44 . 
     In an alternate embodiment, the adhesive coating  44  can at least partially cover the first side  14  of the secondary panel  24 , without covering any of the flaps  26  and  28 , as shown in FIG.  6 . In this embodiment, the flaps  26  and  28  are first folded inward, and the secondary panel  24  is subsequently folded over to face the flaps  26  and  28 . Preferably then, the flaps  26  and  28  and the secondary panel  24  are secured in place with the adhesive coating  44 . 
     In yet another embodiment, illustrated in FIGS.  3 , 7  and  8 - 10 , the primary panel  22  and/or the secondary panel  24  comprises at least one removable panel  56  and/or  56 ′, preferably with at least a portion of each removable panel  56  having the printable surface  16 . The removable panel  56  can be a part of the printable surface  16  of the remaining portion  21  of the sheet  12 . For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the removable panel  56 ′ can be a symmetrical shape that can be folded about a fold line and adhered to an edge  32 ,  34 ,  36  or  38  of the primary panel  22 , or an edge  33 ,  35  or  37  of the secondary panel  24 . In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the primary panel  22 , the secondary panel  24 , and/or the remaining portion  21  of the sheet  12  is kiss cut about at least a portion of a periphery of the removable panel  56  such that the removable panel  56  can be separated from the envelope  11  or the envelope assembly  10  while leaving intact the envelope  11  or the envelope assembly  10 . 
     Preferably the adhesive coating  44  covers one side of the removable panel  56 . The removable panel  56  can be printed upon when the sheet  12  is run through a printer. After the removable panel  56  is printed upon, the removable panel  56  can be used as a label, or a sticker, to adhere to any suitable surface. In one embodiment, the removable panel  56  has a similar shape and a surface area less than or equal to a shape and a surface area of the tab  39 , such that the removable panel  56  can be adhered to and completely or almost completely cover the tab  39 . As shown in FIG. 3, for example, the removable panel  56 ′ can have a shape and size similar to one side of the tab  39 . 
     In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the protective panel  50  at least covers an entire area of the first side  14  of the sheet  12  corresponding to the removable panel  56  on the second side  18  of the sheet  12 . The protective panel  50  can be at least partially transparent or translucent, constructed of, for example, glassine or clear plastic, such that any contents of the envelope  11  can be viewed from outside the envelope  11  with the removable panel  56  removed. 
     In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 7, the removable panel  56  can be used as a label for the compact disc  54 . More particularly, the second side  18  of the primary panel  22  and/or the secondary panel  24  is die-cut, perforated, micro-perforated or the like to form tearable line of separation  57 , as shown in FIG. 9, which can be used to remove the removable panel  56  in any suitable shape, such as a circle  58 , preferably slightly smaller than a diameter of a compact disc  54 . Tearable line of separation  57  can also be formed as a gap between the removable panel  56  and the primary panel  22  and/or the secondary panel  24 . 
     A second, smaller shape such as a circle  60  or  60 ′, approximately equivalent to either a diameter of an inner cut-out circle  62  of the compact disc  54 , or a diameter of an inner circle  64  on the compact disc  54  where a read/write portion of the compact disc  54  adjoins a non-read/write portion of the compact disc  54 , such as shown in FIG.  2 . The removable panel  56  defined by the two circles  58  and  60  can be drawn upon, typed upon, or otherwise printed upon, such as when the sheet  12  is run through a printer, and can then be separated from the protective panel  50  to which the removable panel  56  initially adheres. The removable panel  56  can then be adhered to a non-read/write side of the compact disc  54 . 
     The protective panel  50  of this embodiment is preferably at least partially transparent or translucent, constructed of, for example, glassine or clear plastic, such that the compact disc  54  donning the removable panel  56  can be viewed from outside the envelope  11  through the transparent or translucent portion of the protective panel  50 . The middle portion  66  of the label either can be printed upon during the printing process of the remainder of the printable surface  16  and used as a separate label or sticker, or the middle portion  66  can remain on the protective panel  50  after the removable panel  56  has been removed, or the middle portion  66  can simply be discarded. 
     Another embodiment, similar to the one shown in FIG. 7, is shown in FIG.  8 . In this embodiment, the removable panel  56  is used as a compact disc label. However, like the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the flap  30  in this embodiment is attached to the secondary panel  24  opposite the primary panel  22 , rather than to the primary panel  22 . Furthermore, the flap  30  is also die-cut about a portion of a periphery of a tab  39 . As in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 7,  9  and  10 , the removable panel  56  is bordered by the two circles  58  and  60  and can be printed upon when the sheet  12  is run through a printer, and can then be separated from the protective panel  50  to which the removable panel  56  initially adheres. The removable panel  56  can then be adhered to a non-read/write side of the compact disc  54 . The protective panel  50  of this embodiment should also be at least partially transparent or translucent, constructed of, for example, glassine or clear plastic, such that the compact disc  54  donning the removable panel  56  can be viewed from outside the envelope  11  through the transparent or translucent protective panel  50 . 
     The envelope assembly  10  is preferably laminated, as shown in FIG.  11 . The envelope assembly  10  preferably comprises five layers in basic construction of a pressure sensitive label. The five layers comprise: (1) a face material  68 ; (2) a layer of a primer  70 ; (3) the adhesive coating  44 ; (4) the silicone coating  72 ; and (5) the protective panel  50 . The face material  68  has a printable surface  16 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 11. The primer  70  is a layer or coating applied to the face material  68  that improves a bond between the adhesive coating  44  and the face material  68 . The primer  70  also acts as a barrier to migration of chemicals that could stain the face material  68 . The adhesive coating  44  allows the face material  68  to be affixed to a surface, such as securing one part of the face material  68  to another part of the face material  68  in assembling the envelope  11 . The silicone coating  72  at least partially covers at least one side of the protective panel  50  and allows for easy “release” of the protective panel  50  from the adhesive coating  44 . During manufacture, the adhesive coating  44  laminates the face material  68  to the silicone coated protective panel  50 . 
     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the protective panel  50  is of a size smaller than the sheet  12  and at least slightly larger than the removable panel  56 . More particularly, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention geared toward housing the compact disc  54 , the protective panel  50  is preferably about 5″ by about 5″. The silicone coating  72  is applied in a layer to one side of the protective panel  50 , such as in a manner known to those skilled in the art of labels. A layer of the adhesive coating  44  is then applied to and preferably covers the silicone coating  72 . The protective panel  50  is then positioned over the second side  18  of the removable panel  56 . When the removable panel  56  is separated from the envelope  11  or the envelope assembly  10 , the adhesive coating  44  in contact with the removable panel  56  will release from the silicone coating  72  and will remain on the removable panel  56 . The adhesive coating  44  in contact with an area surrounding the removable panel  56  on the second side  18  of the sheet  12  maintains the protective panel  50  in place with respect to the sheet  12  once the removable panel  56  has been removed. 
     The envelope assembly  10  of the present invention is suitable for a wide number of uses. Prior to folding and assembling, or even subsequent to folding and assembling, the envelope assembly  10  can be fed into and run through a printer for labeling and/or decorating any portion, including the tab  39  and the removable panel  56 , or all of the resulting envelope  11 . In its folded form, the envelope assembly  10  is a suitable size for holding compact discs  54 . The envelope assembly  10  can be scaled up or down to house numerous other items, including stationery, photographs, and mini-discs. 
     While in the foregoing specification this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof, and many details have been set forth for purpose of illustration, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention. Therefore, to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter regarded as the invention, the following claims conclude the specification.