Abstract:
A single sheet of non-woven material is provided with sufficient strength and durability to store two compact discs without the necessity of laminating or otherwise interconnecting the non-woven sheet to a backing sheet or other materials for strength. The single sheet of non-woven material is positioned between the playing surfaces of the two compact discs to provide a non-scratching, protective surface and to reduce the costs associated with manufacturing the sleeves used to store the CDS.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority of U.S. provisional patent Application Serial No. 60/094,768 having a filing date of Jul. 31, 1998 and being incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates to flexible storage sleeves used to hold compact discs, digital video discs and CD ROMs which store musical, video, graphical or other types of information.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Compact discs, digital video discs and CD ROMs (hereinafter referred to as “CDS”) are used extensively to store information which can be retrieved and played back by the user. The information stored can relate to music, video, instructional materials, games and numerous other variations of data. The information is than played back on CD players, video disc recorders and players, and personal computers.  
           [0004]    CDS are typically sold at the retail level in rigid, hard plastic cases known in the music industry as “jewel boxes”. Although protective of the sensitive playing surfaces found on the CDS, the jewel boxes are bulky, difficult to open, often crack because of the rigidity of the plastic, are expensive to manufacture and are environmentally insensitive. Thus, flexible “sleeves” have become increasingly used by consumers to replace jewel boxes, primarily in the aftermarket once consumers have purchased their CDS from the retail distributor. The flexible sleeves are commonly made from plastic type materials such as polypropylene or vinyl and are formed by placing one or more sheets of the flexible material in an overlying relationship to created one or more “pockets” to receive the CD. Additional pockets may be used to hold the graphics which accompany the CDS, or alternatively may hold another compact disc.  
           [0005]    To protect the playing surface of the compact disc which retains the sensitive stored information, different types of materials are commonly used. These include woven fabrics such as velours and cottons, as well as non-woven fabrics such as Sontara®, Stearns®, or other materials. Unfortunately, these materials must be laminated or in some form bonded to either a backing material or in some instances another layer of nonwoven material to provide sufficient structural integrity to prevent tearing after repeated use. Typically, a polypropylene or other similar type of backing material is used to provided structural support and to provide a low friction material to facilitate the insertion and removal of graphics. One such sleeve is identified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,731 to Youngs.  
           [0006]    The manufacturing of storage sleeves which have dual pockets for storing two CDS or one CD and accompanying graphics has thus been limited to materials which preferably have a non-woven material with a backing sheet for support, or which is laminated to another non-woven material. In either example, a lamination process is required in the form of heat bonding, or “welding”. This lamination process is time consuming, expensive and thus undesirable for the manufacturing of CD storage sleeves. Accordingly, significant demand exists for a durable, non-woven material which has a texture capable of protecting the playing surface of CDS yet is sufficiently durable for holding CDS and/or graphics without tearing or otherwise failing after repetitive use. The material must generally be manufactured using well known sleeve manufacturing techniques to retain the cost benefits associated with known sleeve production.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    It is thus one object of the present invention to provide a carrying sleeve or pocket for holding compact discs which is made from a single-sheet material which is protective of the playing surface of the CD, yet durable enough not to tear or otherwise become altered or destroyed after considerable use. Preferably the material can be used as a middle sheet between a front sheet and a back sheet to create two pockets for independently holding two CDS.  
           [0008]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a sleeve for holding CDS which can be manufactured from a non-woven material without the use of a backing sheet or which otherwise would require laminating, bonding or other form of interconnection means between two or more sheets of material. This may include the bonding of non-woven materials to other non-woven materials or alternatively the bonding of a non-woven material to a woven material or to sheet backing materials such as plastic, vinyl or other materials known in the art.  
           [0009]    Thus, in one aspect of the present invention a non-woven material known by the trade name of “Veratec”® is used as the non-woven sleeve material. This single sheet material is capable of being used as an independent, stand alone sheet of non-woven material which does not require any lamination or bonding to other sheets of material for durability and support. Further, the material is pliable and flexible enough to permit conventional manufacturing techniques to be used to form various designs of CD sleeves. Thus, numerous designs may be used for a variety of different CD storage requirements. These include sleeves designed for holding single CDS, multiple CDS and album type pages with a multiplicity of CD sleeves positioned on a page and adapted for interconnection to a 3-ring notebook or other similar device. In a preferred embodiment of the aforementioned design a single sheet of non-woven material is “sandwiched” between two stored CDS, thus providing a protective non-woven material for contact with the sensitive playing surfaces of each of the two CDS. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIGS. 1A and 1B are front and back views respectfully of a sleeve for holding a CD (digital video disc) with a flap and single non-woven sheet positioned between the two pockets created for holding the CD;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIGS. 2A, 2B and  2 C are depictions of the invention shown in FIG. 1, i.e. front view, back view and detailed view, respectfully, with relief holes provided at the top of the flap to resist tearing;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIGS. 3A and 3B are depictions of the invention shown in FIG. 1 with arcuate cuts near the top of the flap to inhibit tearing;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 identifies a double sided sleeve capable of holding two CDS with a non-woven single sheet positioned between the two CDS, and a title strip near the upper edge for holding graphics notes;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a sleeve design capable of holding two CDS on the front side and two CDS on the back side and adapted to fit into a binding device;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is a sleeve design capable of holding 4 CDS on the front side and 4 CDS on the back surface and adapted to be bound in a notebook or other type of binding device;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 is an alternative design of a sleeve design capable of holding two CDS on both the front and back sides of the sleeve and using a non-woven single sheet of material between each pair of opposing CDS;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 8 is an alternative design of the invention shown in FIG. 6 (no holes for an album) and utilizing a non-woven material between each of the opposing compact disc playing surfaces;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 9 is a depiction of an  8  pocket sheet capable of holding 8 CDS per side or a total of 16 CDS per sheet;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 10 is a of a sleeve capable of holding one CD on the front side and another CD on the back side and adapted for being interconnected to a wallet type binding device;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 11 is an alternative design of a sleeve capable of holding 2 CDS on the front side and 2 CDS on the back side and adapted for being interconnected to a wallet or other type of binding device; and  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 12 is an alternative sleeve design capable of holding 4 CDS on the front side and 4 CDS on the back side and adapted for being interconnected to a wallet or other type of binding device. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0022]    Referring now to the drawings, FIGS.  1 - 12  represent numerous embodiments and designs of storage sleeves used to hold CDS. Each of the various designs, however, utilize the novel feature of a single, non-laminated sheet of non-woven material used in conjunction with a CD storage sleeve. In a preferred embodiment, the single sheet of non-woven material is positioned between a flexible front sheet and a flexible back sheet to create two opposing pockets, each pocket being capable of holding a CD. For reference purposes, a two-sided sleeve as referred herein means a sleeve having 2 pockets for holding 2 separate CDS, the 2 pockets having a common non-woven middle sheet which is in contact with the playing surface of the CD. Thus, in a typical sleeve design there is a first sheet, a second sheet and a third sheet which are laminated or bonded on at least three peripheral edges to create two pockets for receiving CDS.  
         [0023]    The first sheet is commonly referred to as a back sheet and may be comprised of a transparent material such as plastic, vinyl or polypropylene. Alternatively, non-woven materials may be used. The third sheet, which is commonly referred to as the front sheet, may also be comprised of the same materials as used for the back sheet. The second sheet, commonly referred to as the middle sheet, is comprised of a single layer of non-woven material which is not laminated, bonded, glued or otherwise interconnected throughout its surface with any other sheet material or backing sheet. However, glues and other means known in the art may be utilized to interconnect the individual fibers of the nonwoven material. Thus, in one embodiment the present invention the middle sheet is a single sheet of non-woven material having the trade name of Veratec®, and is referred to hereinafter as a single sheet non-woven material.  
         [0024]    The single sheet non-woven material has numerous advantages over the prior art non-woven materials which are bonded or laminated to other backing materials. One major advantage is reduced manufacturing costs since one entire sheet of material is eliminated during manufacturing. This eliminated sheet is typically a backing sheet of polypropylene, vinyl or other plastic type of material. Alternatively the backing sheet may be a woven or another non-woven material which is provided for strength.  
         [0025]    Non-woven materials previously used in sleeve designs did not have sufficient strength to prevent tearing or ripping during periods of extended use. This is essentially due to the manufacturing process utilized for these types of nonwoven materials, where the fibers of the non-woven materials (typically a polypropylene fibrous material) are laid down with spinnerets onto a moving belt. The non-woven fibers are all generally oriented in the same linear orientation on the belt to form a web, at which time the fibers proceed through a roller wherein the mass is compressed into a sheet and the fibers tack bonded or welded together via small weldments through the fibrous mass. The resultant non-woven fabric has sufficient strength in one linear direction across the fibers, but is quite weak in other directions, which allows tearing during use of the sleeve.  
         [0026]    To alleviate the tearing problem associated with the manufacturing process of typical non-woven materials, it is necessary to laminate the sheet of non-woven materials to other materials or to other sheets of non-woven materials to provide strength and durability. Unfortunately, this additional manufacturing step requires a laminating or bonding process, and additional materials which is expensive and thus increases the unit price per sleeve. Further, even when nonwoven materials are bonded to other non-woven materials and not vinyl or other durable backing materials, the resultant non-woven laminated materials are not overly durable since these laminated, non-woven materials still have a tendency to tear.  
         [0027]    The new single sheet non-woven material utilized in the present invention is manufactured in a distinct manner to produce a unique non-woven material which does not require any laminating, bonding or welding to create a durable material which is resistant to tearing yet still provides a protective surface for the CD playing surface. The single sheet non-woven material is manufactured with the spinnerets laying down a continuous polypropylene fiber (or other similar material) onto the moving belt as described above for the manufacturing of typical non-woven materials. However, the spinnerets move back and forth over the moving belt, thus permitting the fibers to be oriented diagonally to the direction of the belt, creating biaxially oriented fibers. The non-woven mat of material is then run through compression rollers where the non-woven material is tack bonded together. The resultant non-woven material has a much greater resistance to tear in the linear direction because of the random orientation of fibers, thus alleviating the need to bond the non-woven material to other backing sheet materials or other non-woven fibers. The savings in expense is substantial based on the elimination of an entire sheet of material and the laminating process associated therewith.  
         [0028]    The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purpose of illustration and description. Furthermore, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variation and modifications commensurate with the above teachings, and the skill or knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiments described hereinabove are further intended to explain best modes known for practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such, or other embodiments and with various modifications required by the particular application or use of the present invention. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments to he extent permitted by the prior art.