Packaging arrangement for storage discs and method for making the same

A packaging arrangement for storage discs is formed from a single paperboard blank. The blank is partitioned into a plurality of die-cut panels folded and adhered to a base panel to form a multilayer laminated paperboard packaging arrangement for storing and transporting storage discs. The die-cut panels form a recess for receiving the storage disc. A removable adhesive label is provided to retain the storage disc in the recess. The adhesive label may be designed to indicate whether access to the storage disc was gained by a user. The packaging arrangement may be adapted for binding in a book or magazine or serve as a postal mailer.

FIELD OF INVENTION 
The present invention relates to packaging arrangements for storage discs 
and more specifically to a multilayer laminated paperboard packaging 
arrangement for receiving and retaining storage discs. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In recent years, the audio compact disc and the CD ROM have emerged as one 
of the most popular mediums for storing audio and computer information. 
Heretofore, these storage medium discs have been packaged for wholesale 
and retail distribution in clear packages known as jewel boxes. These 
jewel boxes generally comprise three separate pieces of plastic, including 
a clear front and back panel and an opaque compact disc holder which 
snap-fits into the back panel. The front and back panels are normally 
hinged along one edge so as to open like a book. Preprinted inserts are 
required to display promotional material accompanying the storage medium. 
The conventional jewel box construction is very bulky and expensive to 
manufacture. Because the jewel box must be transparent to display the 
promotional material, the box must constructed with injection molded 
plastic of the polystyrene type. Moreover, the three plastic pieces must 
be manually fitted together and the promotional material physically 
inserted. 
This package was well suited during the development stage of the compact 
audio disc and CD ROM. However, with the rapid increase of storage discs 
as an information medium, the drawbacks of the jewel box package are 
becoming more pronounced. For example, it is desirable to package 
information contained in a book or magazine not only in printed form, but 
also in compact disc form. Currently, however, there are no packaging 
arrangements which would allow a compact disc to be bound with a book. 
The mailing of information on a storage disc is also desirable. Currently, 
CD ROMs and compact audio discs are either shipped in a jewel box inside a 
carton or in bubble pack wrapping enclosed in a plastic envelope. Both 
methods suffer from excessive handling and additional mailing fees. 
Accordingly, there is a current need for a storage disc package which is 
both simple and inexpensive to manufacture and can be adapted for binding 
in a book or magazine or converted to a postal mailer. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to a packaging arrangement that satisfies 
this need. There is, therefore, provided according to a preferred 
embodiment a multilayer laminated paperboard packaging arrangement having 
a paperboard base for supporting one face of the storage disc and a 
plurality of substantially identical paperboard layers laminated together 
for containing the perimeter of the storage disc. The laminated layers are 
affixed by an adhesive to the paperboard base. The laminated layers are 
formed with an opening of sufficient size for receiving and retaining the 
storage disc. 
Preferably, the packaging arrangement includes a removable adhesive label 
positioned over the entire opening for retaining the storage disc therein. 
The label may be designed to be permanently altered when removed from the 
opening and thereby serve as a security device to determine whether the 
storage disc has been accessed. 
Preferably, the packaging arrangement includes a side flap extending from 
an edge thereof for binding with a book or magazine. This arrangement is 
particularly attractive when an abundance of detailed information is 
desired to augment the printed material without significantly increasing 
the size of the book or magazine. 
Alternatively, the side flap may be folded and extended over the entire 
opening of the packaging arrangement and adhered thereto to form a postal 
mailer or a sealed package for retail distribution. When used as a postal 
mailer, high speed automated addressing and mailing can be achieved at 
reduced cost. 
In one embodiment, the packaging arrangement is fabricated from a 
continuous paperboard sheet partitioned into panels and cut to form a 
blank. All but one panel is subjected to the cutting process. The one 
panel which is not cut serves as a base panel for the storage disc. The 
blank is then folded so that the cut-outs in each panel form a recess with 
the base panel for receiving and retaining the storage disc. The recess is 
defined by the superposed cut-outs of the folded panels. 
Preferably, the panels are roll folded which entails positioning the base 
panel at one end of the paperboard blank and sequentially folding the end 
portion of the paperboard blank opposite the end panel onto an adjacent 
panel until the packing arrangement is complete. 
An attractive feature of using a single paperboard sheet is that the 
packaging arrangement can be processed on high speed equipment for 
die-cutting, printing and gluing operations, resulting in a package that 
is both simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a multilayer laminated 
paperboard packaging arrangement 10 for storing and transporting a storage 
disc is shown in FIG. 1. "Storage disc" as used herein is defined as a CD 
ROM, compact audio disc, or any other informational medium stored on a 
substantially flat disc. The packaging arrangement 10 includes a base 
panel 12 constructed from flexible paperboard or other moderately rigid 
material. Three substantially identical die-cut panels 14, 16, 18, are 
laminated together and adhered to the base panel 12 to form a recess 20 
for receiving the storage disc (not shown). The die-cut panels are 
typically rectangular and similarly constructed from flexible paperboard 
or the like. As will be appreciated, the circumference of the recess 20 
will be approximately, but slightly larger than, the circumference of the 
storage disc to prevent lateral movement during transportation. 
To accommodate the thickness of the storage disc (approximately 0.050") a 
four layer laminate formed from standard 18-point paperboard is 
preferable. This configuration results in a recess depth of 0.052" formed 
by die-cut panels 14, 16 and 18. Moreover, 18-point paperboard can be fed 
into a normal printing press for printing of licensing agreements, 
instructions, promotional material and the like. This eliminates the labor 
intense activity of inserting separate preprinted material into the 
packaging arrangement typically encountered in the standard jewel box 
arrangement. It will be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art 
that storage mediums of different thicknesses can be accommodated by 
increasing or decreasing the number of laminated layers or by selecting an 
alternative paperboard thickness. 
An adhesive label 22 is affixed to the die-cut panel 18 and positioned over 
the recess 20 for retaining the storage disc during transport. The 
adhesive label is preferably a tear resistant synthetic product such as 
polyart, kimdura, tyvek or the like. Kimdura, which resembles paper stock, 
is particularly desirable due to its aesthetics and its ability to act as 
a good substrate for printed material. 
The adhesive label is divided into an upper portion 24 and a lower portion 
26 separated by a channel score or hinge 27. The upper portion 24 is 
removably adhered around the periphery of the recess to retain the storage 
disc in place during transport while allowing access thereto by a user. 
Access is gained by merely peeling back the upper portion 24 of the label. 
The lower portion 26 is permanently adhered to the die-cut panel 18 to 
provide support to the hinge 27. No adhesive should be applied to the 
interior of the upper portion 24 contacting the storage disc, however, a 
small amount of adhesive may be applied in the center where a spindle 
would typically be positioned in a jewel box arrangement. 
The adhesive applied to the upper portion 24 is preferably a semi 
aggressive removable adhesive. This configuration allows the product to be 
opened and closed numerous times for restoring the disc. Alternatively, 
the label may be provided with a security film, such as mylar designed to 
tear when opened. The label will still be resealable but tampering will be 
evident. This approach is particularly attractive for preventing 
unauthorized access of the storage disc by a purchaser. For example, if a 
purchaser of the product removes the storage disc from the packing 
arrangement with the intent of copying the data and returning the product 
to the vendor, the vendor would be able to determine whether the purchaser 
gained access to the storage disc by examining the label. 
To facilitate the removal of the label, the die-cut panels, 14, 16 and 18 
are formed with finger wells 28 and 30. The finger wells 28 and 30 allow a 
user to reach underneath the label so that it may easily be peeled back. 
Preferably, the label is formed with two indentations, 32 and 34, for 
better exposure of the finger wells to the user without exposing the disc. 
In one embodiment, the packaging arrangement is formed with an extended 
flap 36 for perfect binding into a book or magazine. Flap 36 is made by 
making panel 12 wider than panels 14-18. It is envisioned that this 
embodiment may be particularly attractive for corporate annual reports, 
promotional material and strategic business plans, where an abundance of 
detailed information can be stored on a disc to augment the printed 
material. The perfect binding of the book or magazine may be performed by 
any means known in the art. By way of example, the packaging arrangement 
is held in place with several signatures of a book and the signatures 
along with the extended flap 36 are ground off to form the spine. Adhesive 
is then applied to the spine and a cover is fitted over the book. Once the 
book is perfect bound, it is subject to a 3-knife trim (including panels 
12-18) around the periphery of the pages to produce aesthetically pleasing 
flat edges. 
The use of the extended flap 36 for perfect binding the book is ideal for 
reducing the thickness of the spine irrespective of the number of 
laminated layers of the packaging arrangement. Moreover, by increasing the 
length of the extended flap, the impact of the thickness of the laminated 
layers on the perfect binding process can be reduced. 
In an alternative embodiment, the packaging arrangement 37 may serve as a 
cover for a perfect bound book as illustrated in FIG. 2. In this 
embodiment, the extended flap 36' is lengthened and formed with a channel 
score 38 for dividing the base panel 12 into two substantially equal 
panels. Signatures are first ground off and adhered together to form the 
spine 39 of the book. The spine is then inserted into the channel score 
38' whose width is commensurate with the thickness of the spine. Once 
perfect bound, the book is similarly subject to a 3-knife trim to produce 
flat edges around the periphery of the pages. 
Turning to FIG. 3, the extended flap 36" is formed with a channel score 38' 
for stitch binding into a magazine or book. In this embodiment, the 
channel score 38' of the packaging arrangement is positioned on a conveyor 
belt saddle (not shown). As the packaging arrangement is longitudinally 
conveyed, signatures are released on top of the packaging arrangement 
until the entire book is formed. The channel score 38' and signatures are 
stitched together and the book is subject to a 3-knife trim. 
Alternatively, the extended flap may be configured to form a postal mailer 
or a storage disc sales package. This embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 4. 
The extended flap 36'" is designed to fold over the storage disc about a 
channel score 38". A suitable adhesive is applied to the extended flap 
36'" and the die-cut panel 18 to seal the package. The adhesive may be 
similar to that described above for the label or any other means known in 
the art. Alternatively, a circular adhesive tab 41 may be attached to the 
back side of the extended flap 36'" and adhered to the back side of the 
base panel 12 once the package is folded. In the postal mailer embodiment, 
this packaging arrangement enables high speed automated addressing and 
mailing at reduced cost, resulting in a commercially feasible method to 
mail large quantities of storage discs to consumers. In the sales 
packaging arrangement, the package can be shrink wrapped and placed with a 
vendor for retail distribution. 
Turning to FIG. 5, the packaging arrangement is preferably constructed from 
a single paperboard sheet 40 with a roll fold. The roll fold is best 
implemented by forming the paperboard sheet 40 into four generally 
rectangular panels 12, 14, 16 and 18 having channel scores 13, 15, and 17 
therebetween. Rectangular panels 14, 16, and 18 are die-cut so that when 
the panels are foldably engaged with the end panel 12, a recess is formed 
for receiving and retaining the storage disc. The packaging arrangement is 
formed by first folding panel 16 about its channel score 17 onto panel 14. 
The panels are secured together by adhesive or any desired technique known 
in the art. With panels 14 and 16 secured together, these panels are 
folded about channel score 15 and adhered to panel 18 to define a three 
layer laminate with panel 16 sandwiched between panels 14 and 18. The 
final step entails folding the three layer laminate about channel score 13 
and adhering to panel 12 thereby yielding the configuration of FIG. 1. 
The adhesive should be applied to the panels in a such a manner that it is 
unaffected by the 3-knife trim. This generally requires applying adhesive 
strips 42 about the periphery of the panels out to the edges and applying 
the 3-knife trim along the glue strips so that the package does not tend 
to peel once trimmed. The adhesive should also provide structural support 
resulting in a more rigid package and prevent the storage disc from being 
laterally displaced between the panels. 
Alternatively, the packaging arrangement can be formed with a W-fold. This 
process is performed by first folding panel 12 and panel 16 into face to 
face alignment with panels 18 and 14 respectively. The packaging 
arrangement is then folded along channel score 15 in a direction opposite 
to the fold of channel scores 13 and 17. The disadvantage of using a 
W-fold, however, is that the paperboard sheet 40 may require printing on 
both sides. In contrast, with the roll fold, the paperboard sheet need 
only be printed on the back side of panels 18 and 12 to provide printing 
on both sides of the packaging arrangement once folded resulting in 
reduced printing costs. 
FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a process wherein a plurality of packaging 
arrangements can be formed from one single paperboard sheet 44 and 43 
respectively. Standard paperboard stock, 40".times.28" is preferable 
because it is commercially available at a low cost and can be processed on 
high speed equipment such as Bobst die-cutter. The paperboard sheet may be 
partitioned into two 81/2".times.11" packaging arrangements separated by a 
cutting knife in the die 49 as shown in FIG. 6 or four 51/2".times.81/2" 
packaging arrangements separated by cutting knife in the die 51, 53 and 55 
as shown in FIG. 7. Each of these packaging arrangements are formed with a 
1" extended flap 45 and 47, respectively, for perfect binding with a book 
or magazine. The packaging arrangements are preferably separated during 
the die-cutting process along cut line 49 for the 81/2".times.11" 
packaging arrangements and along channel scores 51, 53 and 55 for the 
51/2".times.81/2" packaging arrangements folded with a roll or W-fold as 
described above. It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the 
art that any number of packaging arrangements can be formed from a single 
paperboard sheet. The particular arrangements described above are believed 
to be the most cost effective approaches for producing this product. 
FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 illustrate a standard 81/2".times.11" package wherein 
four 31/2" floppy discs, two 43/4" CD ROMS or two 51/4" floppy discs may 
be stored in a single packaging arrangement, 46, 48 and 50 respectively. 
An individual adhesive label may be provided for each disc or 
alternatively a single label for sealing the entire packaging arrangement. 
It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that various 
combinations of 31/2", 43/4", and 51/4" storage discs may be packaged in a 
single packaging arrangement. 
Turning to FIG. 11, a single paperboard sheet 52 is partitioned into two 
rows of four generally rectangular panels. Similar to the manufacturing 
process described above, rectangular panels 14',14", 16', 16", 18' and 18" 
are die-cut so that when the panels of each row are foldably engaged about 
channel scores 13', 15' and 17', two recesses are formed, each capable of 
storing and retaining a storage disc therein. An end panel 12' is formed 
with an extended flap 36"" for binding with other material. The extended 
flap 36"" may be adapted for perfect or stitch binding in accordance with 
the teachings described herein. The upper portion 54 is configured as a 
fold-out section in the packaging arrangement for accessing a storage disc 
in either the upper or lower portion, 54 or 57, respectively. The fold-out 
is folded about channel score 56 during transport or storing of the 
storage discs. The fold-out packaging arrangement embodiment can be 
designed to retain several storage discs in each section as described 
above. 
It is apparent from the foregoing that the present invention satisfies an 
immediate need for a storage disc package which is both simple and 
inexpensive to manufacturer which can be adapted for binding in a book or 
magazine or converted to a postal mailer. The present invention satisfies 
this need by providing a packaging arrangement formed from a multi-layer 
laminated paperboard. This packaging arrangement may be embodied in other 
specific forms and used for storing a variety of devices without departing 
from the spirit or essential attributes of the present invention. It is 
therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all 
respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made to the 
appended claims rather than the foregoing description to indicate the 
scope of the invention.