Patent Publication Number: US-2004045976-A1

Title: Method and system for storing and dispensing compact discs and DVDs

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
     [0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional application no. 60/388,943, filed Jun. 14, 2002, now pending. 
    
    
     
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002] The present invention provides a method and system for efficiently storing and handling compact discs and digital video discs in a limited space.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003] For many years, since the advent of the use of compact discs (“CDs”) and digital video discs (“DVDs”) as a digital storage medium for data, music, movies, and other information, consumers have had limited options for storing and handling CDs and DVDs (“discs”). These options include storing discs in transparent, plastic, individual storage boxes (“jewel boxes”) that the discs are sold in, the paper or cardboard versions of these jewel boxes that discs are typically mailed in, and bulk packaging materials that appeared soon after the development of recordable and rewritable CDs. Unfortunately, a packaged disc takes up many times its volume compared to an unpackaged, or bare, disc. In addition, once a desired disc is located, the desired disc must then be removed from the jewel box or other packaging before the disc can be used in a computer or other device, the packaging material generally set aside, stored, or even disposed of. After use, the correct jewel box, sleeve, or tray needs to be located to again store the CD. This can be a problem if the jewel box, sleeve, or tray cannot be located or is broken. Returning a CD to its original case can also be a relatively time-consuming and annoying step for a harried or busy system administrator or other disc user.  
       [0004] Typical computer users, purchasers of recorded music, and purchasers of movies acquire large numbers of discs. A typical recreational computer user may have dozens or hundreds of discs to store and manage, while professional software developers, system managers, database administrators, and other professional users may possess many hundreds or thousands of CDs, including distribution CDs containing software applications and software upgrades, CDs used for daily backups and archives, and CDs storing data files.  
       [0005] Although various methods and devices have been devised for professional users to store and handle discs, the methods and devises are generally too expensive, too slow and cumbersome, or too constrained to use. Instead, CD owners and users commonly maintain CDs and DVDs in large stacks of bare discs that must be sorted manually, each disc being handled individually, often multiple times, before a desired disc is located. While it is generally quicker to manually sort through a stack of bare CDs, spillage, contamination, occasional breakage, and inconvenience often result from not keeping discs in jewel boxes or other containers. Owners, users, manufacturers, and retailers of discs have all recognized a need for an inexpensive method and device for storing and managing discs.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] One embodiment of the present invention consists of manually activated disc storage and dispensing device. A disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component is slideably mounted to a disc storage base containing a stack of bare discs, the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component held above the base in a released position by a spring. Manual depression of the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component causes the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component to slide toward the disc storage base, compressing a spring, and grabbing the stack of discs between two vertically mounted, continuous belts. Manual releasing of the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component allows the compressed spring to expand, returning the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component to the released position, carrying the stack of discs. Manual activation of a thumb wheel transfers rotational motion to gears on which the continuous belts are mounted, driving the continuous belts downward, and releasing discs one-at-a-time at a rate determined by the rate at which the thumb wheel is turned.  
       [0007] A second embodiment employs wheels circumferentially coated with a compressible material and rotated through a drive gear to release discs one-at-a-time from a columnar retaining component. A third embodiment of the present invention employs air currents to carry discs from a base component up a first tube and to suspend discs translating across a display tray before entering a second tube in which the discs descend back to the base component. Additional embodiments generally allow a stack of discs to be dispensed, one-at-a-time, for viewing and selection by a user. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0008]FIG. 1 shows the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component of manually activated disc storage and dispensing device, representing a first embodiment of the present invention, in a released position.  
     [0009]FIG. 2 shows the manually activated disc storage and dispensing device, representing a first embodiment of the present invention, after manual depression of the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component towards the disc storage base.  
     [0010]FIG. 3 shows the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component of a manually activated disc storage and dispensing device representing a first embodiment of the present invention, carrying a stack of discs, following release from manual depression.  
     [0011]FIG. 4 shows one-at-a-time dispensing of discs by a disc storage and dispensing device that represents a first embodiment of the present invention FIGS.  5 - 7  show isometric, isometric cutaway, and plan vies of the manually activated disc storage and dispensing device that represents a first embodiment of the present invention.  
     [0012]FIG. 8 shows a disc-dispensing component of a second embodiment of the invention.  
     [0013]FIG. 9 shows a disc display component of a third embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     [0014] One embodiment of the present invention consists of manually activated disc storage and dispensing device. FIG. 1 shows the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component of manually activated disc storage and dispensing device, representing a first embodiment of the present invention, in a released position. The disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component  102  is held up, in a released position, by a spring  104 . The disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component is slideably mounted to a disc storage base  106  containing a stack of bare discs  108 . The stack of bare discs  108  is held in place within the disc storage base  106  by flexible walls of the disc storage base  110 - 111  that occlude lateral translation of the discs by surrounding greater than one half the circumference of the discs, but that can be displaced outward by manually rextraction of a disc from the disc storage base. The disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component  102  includes a handle  114  and three downward projecting columnar members  116 - 118  that slide over three upward projecting, smaller diameter columnar members  120 ,  122  (third upward projecting columnar member not shown in FIG. 1). Three belts  124 ,  126 , and  128  are mounted within the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component  102  on two, geared rotatably mounted rollers  128  and  130  and three rotatably mounted rollers  132 ,  134 , and  136 . Two vertically mounted belts  124  and  128  serve to grab and release discs, and the third belt  126  synchronizes rotation of the upper rollers  130  and  136  on which the vertically mounted belts  124  and  128  are mounted. The third belt  126  is driven by motion of the geared roller  128  with which it is enmeshed, the third roller in turn driven by a geared thumb wheel, with which the geared roller  128  is enmeshed.  
     [0015] Manual depression of the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component causes the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component to slide toward the disc storage base, compressing a spring, and grabbing the stack of bare discs between two vertically mounted, continuous belts. FIG. 2 shows the manually activated disc storage and dispensing device, representing a first embodiment of the present invention, after manual depression of the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component towards the disc storage base. The discs are securely held between the vertically mounted belts of the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component by compression of the belts. Grabbing of the discs is facilitated by separating the two vertically mounted belts from one another by a distance slightly less than the diameter of a disc, and by using a low durometer, deformable coating on the belts. Note that, as shown in FIG. 2 by arrows  202  and  204 , the belts are driven upward as the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component is depressed downward, toward the disc storage base  106 .  
     [0016] Manual releasing of the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component allows the compressed spring to expand, returning the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component to the released position, carrying the stack of bare discs. FIG. 3 shows the disc-grabbing-and-dispensing component of a manually activated disc storage and dispensing device representing a first embodiment of the present invention, carrying a stack of bare discs, following release from manual depression. The stack of bare discs is suspended above the disc storage base  106 , and securely held between the two vertically mounted belts  124  and  128 , the surfaces of which are exposed by cutouts in the downward projecting columnar members  116  and  118 .  
     [0017] Manual activation of the thumb wheel  128  transfers rotational motion to gears on which the continuous belts are mounted, driving the continuous belts downward, and releasing discs one-at-a-time at a rate determined by the rate at which the thumb wheel is turned. FIG. 4 shows one-at-a-time dispensing of discs by a disc storage and dispensing device that represents a first embodiment of the present invention. Note that, as the thumb wheel  138  is turned, the vertically mounted, continuous belts are driven downward, releasing discs  302  one-at-a-time. As each disc falls downward, onto a stack of bare discs  304  that builds upward from the disc storage base, the disc can be viewed and, if desired, extracted from the manually activated disc storage and dispensing device  100 .  
     [0018] FIGS.  5 - 7  show isometric, isometric cutaway, and plan views of the manually activated disc storage and dispensing device that represents a first embodiment of the present invention. Note that the manually activated disc storage and dispensing device is a compact, mechanically straightforward, and attractive disc storage and dispensing device that can stand unobtrusively on a desk top or table top.  
     [0019]FIG. 8 shows a disc-dispensing component of a second embodiment of the invention. In the second embodiment of the present invention, wheels circumferentially coated with a compressible material  802  and  804  are rotated through a drive gear  806  to release a disc  808  from a columnar disc-retaining component  808 . Thus, in the second embodiment, the discs are held and released from their inner edges, rather than from their outer edges.  
     [0020]FIG. 9 shows a disc display component of a third embodiment of the invention. The disc display component  902  includes a perforated display tray  904 , through the perforations of which air is forced upward by a fan mounted within the body of the display tray. The air forms an extremely low-friction surface over which a disc can glide between a dispensing tube  906  and a reception tube  908 . Forced air, mechanical, electromechanical, or a combination of forced air and mechanical or electromechanical mechanisms may be employed to lift discs through the dispensing tube to the display tray. Discs may return through a base member  910  from the reception tube to the dispensing tube.  
     [0021] Although the present invention has been described in terms of a particular embodiment, it is not intended that the invention be limited to this embodiment. Modifications within the spirit of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, many types of component configurations and methods of attaching and mounting components to various assemblies different from those shown in the figures and described in the above text may be employed. Additional components can be added to the top or base housings to increase efficiency and functionality of the device. For example, a cleaning system can be added, or an ion generator can be added to the fans to remove static electricity from the disc column. In another embodiment, an LED light may be added to light a stack of discs or to read the top most disc in a darkened room. Yet another example is the use of multiple springs to raise the top housing in the case of heavier disc columns. While the first and second embodiments feature manual activation, more complex embodiments may employ electromechanical drive mechanisms to rotate the rollers and drive the belts, in the first embodiment, or to drive the drive gear to turn the wheels, in the second embodiment. Alternate embodiments may be sized to accommodate different numbers of discs, and may be sized and configured to store and dispense regular, planar objects other than discs. While the first embodiment employs a single thumb wheel, two thumbwheels may be employed in more complex embodiments to provide greater accuracy and control in manual operation. Although continuous belts and wheels serve as dispensing mechanisms in the first and second embodiments, additional types of dispensing mechanisms may be employed in alternate embodiments, including helically-ridges shafts, rotatable spheres, retractable levers, and other such dispensing means.  
     [0022] The foregoing detailed description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes of illustration and description; they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously many modifications and variation are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.