Compact disc cleaner

Abstract: The present invention relates to a compact disc cleaner which includes a box base having a cover and a seat, a turntable that is pivoted on the cover, a cleaning device pivoted at the near end of the turntable that includes a knob and a wheel body on the exterior and interior of the turntable, a cleaning element attached underneath the wheel body and gear teeth on the external wall of the wheel body that engage with the gear teeth on the internal wall of the box base. The said cover is pivoted, at one end, with the seat in which the compact disc is held. When the user rotates the knob of the cleaning device, the turntable will revolve as the same time and the internal gear of the box base will bring the wheel body on the cleaning device to rotate within the radius of the compact disc so to effectively clean the compact disc with the cleaning element underneath the wheel body.

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a compact disc cleaning cleaner whose simple mechanism makes it possible to effectively clean compact discs in an easy and convenient way. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART As a result of the progress in industrial technologies and the promotion of living quality, people are spending more time on recreational activities. Therefore, there's an increasing demand for higher audio and video enjoyment. Audio and video compact discs soon gain general acceptance for their hi-fidelity effects. Now they have become very popular in household, restaurants, audio-video centers, etc. Compact disc is a high quality technological product. Like all other products, it requires periodic or nonperiodic cleaning and maintenance to keep its qualities and performance as well as prolong its usable life. With its unique laser grooves, a compact disc should be wiped in a straight line either from center to edge or just the opposite, i.e., the cleaning direction should be kept vertical with the circumference of the disc. If a compact disc is wiped along the circumferential direction, the grooves on its surface will be damaged. This will cause a serious impact to its performance, or even worse, put an end to its usability. There are great number of compact disc cleaners available which meet the abovementioned cleaning requirements. The present invention, however, provides a different mechanism that can achieve a better cleaning effect. Document EP-0 206 589-A discloses the preamble of claim 1. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The features of the present invention includes a box base having a seat and a cover, on which a turntable is pivoted. Pivoted at the near end of the turntable is a cleaning device which includes a knob and a wheel body located on the exterior and the interior of the turntable. A cleaning element is attached underneath the wheel body. There are gear teeth on the wheel body' s external wall which match with the gear teeth inside the box base. At one end, the said cover is pivoted to the seat, within which a compact disc can be held for cleaning. When the user turns the knob on the cleaning device, the turntable will start revolving as well; in the meantime, the gear teeth inside the box base will start the wheel body of the cleaning device so that it will begin to rotate with the radius of the compact disc. In this way, the cleaning element attached to the wheel body can clean the compact disc efficiently. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is the top view of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is the S-S sectional view of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a partial sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is the top view of a third embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 5 is the C-C sectional view of Fig. 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As the drawings indicate, the present invention includes a box base D, a turntable 3 and a cleaning device 4. The box base having a cover 1 and a seat 2. The aforementioned cover 1 and seat 2 are pivoted at one end, and thus the cover can be opened and closed. There are teeth on the internal wall of the box base, such as the internal gear 11, circling along the internal wall of the cover, as seen in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, or the internal teeth 21, circling along the circumference inside the seat, as seen in Fig. 3. At the center inside the seat 2 is a boss 22 surrounded by a soft and unsmooth pad 23 on which a compact disc 5 is held. The discus-like turntable 3 is pivoted to the edge 12 at the matching position on the cover 1. Spaced beneath the outer rim are several hooks 31 which form grooves 32 with the rim of the turntable. The turnable is able to wedge into the edge 12 on the cover 1 with its hooks 31 so that it can be revolved freely. The said cleaning device 4 is pivoted at the near end of the turntable 3. It has a knob 41 and a wheel body 42 which are located on the exterior and the interior of the turntable 3. On the turntable there is a hole 33 with opening, and a pipe stem 411 is formed at the center of the knob 41. The pipe stem has a pair of vertical sluts (not shown is the drawings) and a pair of elastic hooks 412 at the bottom end, whereas the said wheel body 42 has an upward socket 421 at the center position. To assemble the cleaner, first the socket 421 of the wheel body 42 should go through the hole 33 on the turntable 3, and then the pipe stem 411 of the knob 41 should be pivoted into the socket 421 of the wheel body 42 until the hooks 412 and the bottom end of the socket are so hooked that the wheel body is rotatable in the turntable. A cleaning element 422, e.g., deerskin, is attached underneath the wheel body and the gear teeth (external gear) 423 which circle along the circumference of the wheel body will engage with the internal gear 11 (as shown in Fig. 2) or 21 (as shown in Fig. 3). As indicated in the drawings, the user, while operating the present invention, should turn the knob 31 of the cleaning device 4 to make it revolve round the center of the seat 2 (as indicated by arrow A; the turntable 3 will revolve at the same time). At this moment, the external gear 423 of the cleaning device's wheel body 42 will engage with the box base' s D internal gear 11 or 21 and rotate round the pipe stem 411 of the knob 41 (as indicated by arrow B). The cleaning device 4, under the influence of rotation and revolution, is able to clean the entire compact disc 5 effectively in the radial direction with the cleaning element 422 attached. As seen in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the external gear 423' of the wheel body 42 is located on the external wall of the socket 421 and the internal gear 11' of the box base is on the internal wall of the cover's 1 edge; this will reduce the radius of the wheel body' s socket, therefore, the rotating speed of the wheel body will be quicker, which means the cleaning time required can be shortened.

Claims: A compact disc cleaner comprising: a box base (D) including a cover (1) and a seat (2) pivoted to one another to be movable between open and closed positions, the box base having a series of internal gear teeth (11) thereon and the seat including means (22,23) for supporting a compact disc (5) within the box base; a turntable (3) mounted on the cover (1) for rotation about an axis coincident with a centre of the seat (2); and a cleaning device (4) mounted on the turntable (3) for rotation relative to the turntable (3) about an axis off-set from the axis of the turntable (3), the cleaning device (4) carrying a cleaning element (422) on its underside and having an external gear (423) that meshes with the internal gear of the box base, such that rotation of the turntable (3) about its axis causes the cleaning device (4) and the cleaning element (422) it carries to rotate about the axis of the cleaning device (4) to clean a compact disc (5) supported on the seat (2) in a radial direction; characterised in that the turntable (3) is rotatably mounted within an aperture in the cover (1), a periphery of the turntable (3) engaging the edge (12) of the cover aperture, and in that the cleaning device (4) is mounted on the turntable (3) and extends through an aperture (33) within the periphery of the turntable (3) with a wheel body part (42) thereof carrying the cleaning element (422) projecting to the underside of the turntable (3) and a knob part 41) projecting above the turntable (3), such that the knob (41) can be used to rotate the turntable (3) about its axis. A compact.disc cleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein said internal gear (11) of said box base (D) is located on the internal wall of said cover (1). A compact disc cleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein said internal gear (11) of said box base (D) is located on the internal wall of said seat (2). A compact disc cleaner as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said turntable (3) has several hooks (31) spaced beneath the outer rim and which forms grooves (32) for engaging the edge (12) of the cover aperture. A compact disc cleaner as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said cleaning device (4) has a pipe stem (411) formed at the center of said knob (41), said pipe stem (411) having a pair of vertical slits and a pair of elastic hooks (412) at its bottom end, and wherein the center of said wheel body part (42) houses an upward socket (421) extending through said aperture (33), on said turntable (3) and engaging said hooks (412) of said pipe stem (411) of said knob (41) such that said wheel body part (42) is revolvable in said turntable. A compact disc cleaner as claimed in claim 5, wherein said external gear (423') is on the external wall of said wheel body socket (421) and said internal gear (11') of said box base (D) is on the internal wall of said cover aperture.

Inventors: LU SHIH-HUANG, LU, SHIH-HUANG
Applicants: TAIWAN BOR YING CORP, TAIWAN BOR YING CORPORATION
Application year: 1999
Main classification: G11B23
IPC codes: G11B23