Patent Publication Number: US-2012044628-A1

Title: Container locking mechanism

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of provisional application Ser. No. 61/174,587 filed on May 1, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This invention relates to a container and containers for holding and enclosing a product and to security devices for use therewith to prevent or deter theft. 
     The invention is particularly concerned with container and containers for products such as compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile discs (DVDs), but may be applicable to other forms of product. 
     DESCRIPTION 
     This invention relates to apparatus and cases for holding and enclosing information storage media and to security devices for use therewith to prevent or deter theft. 
     The invention is particularly concerned with apparatus and cases for holding disk shaped data carriers, for example CDs and DVDs, but may be applicable, to other forms of information storage media. 
     Various types of containers are known for holding CDs or DVDs. Many CDs are housed in so called “jewel boxes” which comprise a plastic tray on which the CD is mounted and the tray is installed within a clear plastic box comprising a base portion and a lid portion hinged thereto. More recently there have been advances in the technology, particularly for housing DVDs, which are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,068, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     A problem encountered with such known apparatus is the removal and theft of a CD or DVD from the apparatus within a store selling such products. The disk holder is usually provided within a container which is provided with a security tag which triggers an alarm if the container is taken out of the store without the tag first being removed or rendered inactive by staff in the store. The container may also be provided with a clear plastic wrapper which has to be removed before the container can be opened. However, it has been found that thieves are able to slit the wrapper along an edge of the container, e.g. the bottom edge, and release the CD or DVD from the disk holder within the container by actuating the release mechanism thereof by pressing this through a side wall of the container. They are then able to remove the CD or DVD from the container by compressing the container so that the side walls bow forming a gap between the two halves thereof so the CD or DVD can be slid out through the slit made in the wrapper. An experienced thief is able to do this whilst pretending to examine the product and slip the CD or DVD into a coat pocket unobserved. They then leave the empty container on the shelf and leave the store with the CD or DVD in their pocket without triggering the alarm system. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 7,404,484 (the &#39;484 patent, which is incorporated by reference herein), a case is disclosed, which, among other functions, may hold information storage media in combination with a releasable security member insertable into the case for inhibiting removal of the storage media from the case. The releasable security member may also hold the case closed. 
     The apparatus disclosed in the &#39;484 patent may be adapted to hold disc-shaped data carriers such as compact discs (CDs) or DVDs. The security device can be used with a wide variety of such apparatus including CD or DVD cases as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,068 and the well-known version of a CD case known as a “jewel box.” 
     The present disclosure relates to an improvement on the apparatus of the &#39;484 patent. 
     Preferred and optional features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the subsidiary claims of the specification. 
     The invention will now be further described, merely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of an apparatus for holding a DVD, together with a schematic representation of a security device partially inserted therein; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view of the apparatus of  FIG. 1 , with a strengthening rib added; 
         FIG. 3A  is a perspective view the apparatus of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 3B  is a detail of the apparatus of  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the apparatus; and 
         FIG. 4B  is a detail of the apparatus of  FIG. 4A . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a known apparatus  100  for holding a disk shaped information storage media such as a DVD. The apparatus comprises a base portion  101  and a lid portion  102  connected by a hinge portion  103 . A disk engaging mechanism  104  is provided on the base portion  101  for releasably engaging the central aperture of a DVD or CD The mechanism preferably comprises at least one cantilevered arm  105  with a button-like member  106  at the radially inner end thereof. The example shown comprises two cantilevered arms each having a button portion at its inner end. 
     An upstand  107  is provided on the base portion so as to extend around the periphery of a disk mounted in the apparatus. 
     The apparatus operates in the manner described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,068 and referred to above. This will not be described further here other than to note that to release a disk from the apparatus, the button portions  106  and the arms  105  on which they are provided must be depressed. Accordingly, by inserting a security device  108  beneath the arms  105  when the disk is in place, the disk can be locked on the button  106 . This is described further in the PCT patent application no. PCT/GB01/04553 the disclosure of which is also incorporated herein. 
     The security device  108  shown in  FIG. 1  comprises a first long arm  109  and a second, shorter arm  110  the two arms being connected to a head  111 . The two arms  109 ,  110  and the head  111  each comprises a flat strip of a relatively tough plastic material, e.g. glass reinforced NYLON™ or ABS each being approximately 8-12 mm wide and 1.0 to 1.5 mm thick. 
     The long arm  109  passes through a slot  112  in a side wall  113  of the base portion and through a slot  114  in the upstand  107  so that it can extend across the base portion  101  and be fitted beneath the arms  105  in order to prevent operation of the disk release mechanism  104 . 
       FIG. 1  shows the security device  108  partially inserted in the apparatus. Once the lid  102  of the case is moved to the closed position, the security device  108  is pushed further in the case so that the head  111  lies within a recess  115  in the edge of the case (this recess being provided to facilitate finger access to the opening edge of the case) and the shorter arm  110  passes through a slot in the edge of the lid portion  102  so as to hold the lid  102  in the closed position, as will be described further below. 
     The security device  108  can be locked in place in a variety of ways depending upon the level of security required. In a simple form, requiring only a low level of security, the security device  8  may be inserted into the case to lock the disk release mechanism  108  and to hold the case closed and the case then provided with a wrapping (not shown), e.g. a clear plastics sleeve or shrink wrapping, passing over the recess  115  so the device  108  can only be removed following breakage or removal of this wrapping. 
     In addition, a conventional security tag (not shown) can be mounted on the longer arm  109  (or the shorter arm  110  if it is big enough) so it cannot be removed without withdrawing the device  108  from the case. Alternatively, the security tag can be mounted on the inner face of the head  111  or positioned such that it is sandwiched between the head  111  and the side wall  113  of the case when the device  108  is fully inserted within the case so, again, it cannot be removed without withdrawing the device  108  from the case. 
     It will be appreciated that the security member  108  described above is slidable through an aperture, e.g. the slot  112 , in an edge of the case opposite the hinge portion  103 . The security member is thus located in the opening edge of the case opposite the hinge where it is most effective in holding the case closed. A user normally opens such a case by prising apart the base and lid portions along the edge opposite the hinge as this give maximum leverage and both portions can be easily engaged by the user&#39;s fingers or thumbs. It is for this reason, the finger recess  115  is provided in this position. The security member  108  being inserted in this edge thus holds the case closed at the point where such opening forces would normally be applied. It can also be designed to inhibit access to the edges of the base and lid portion where they are normally prised apart. Location of the security member in this edge also enables the security member  108  to be made small particularly if it is not designed to extend to the disk engaging mechanism  104 , but even if it also provides this function, this is the shortest route to the disk release mechanism (for a rectangular DVD box of the type illustrated). The security member preferably slides through an aperture in the edge of the case in a direction towards the hinge portion  103 . 
     The effectiveness of the apparatus for securing and protecting the contents, such as a DVD, relies to some extent on the strength of the materials from which the apparatus is made. For example, the thickness of base portion  101 , lid portion  102 , and hinge portion  103  each have an influence on the strength of the apparatus. In particular, when the security member  108  holds the apparatus closed along the center, the stiffness of the base portion  101  and lid portion  102  help hold closed the corners of the apparatus. In order to reduce the amount of material, such as plastic, used in the apparatus, it may be desirable to use a thinner base portion  101  and lid portion  102 . This may reduce the stiffness of the base portion, and particularly, the lid portion. Base portion  101  gains some stiffness from the material in upstand  107 . However, lid portion  102  may lack such features. 
       FIG. 2  shows another apparatus for holding a disk. While similar in many respects to the apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 , certain aspects are different as will be described here. In the base portion  101 , slot  114 A through upstand  107  in this instance may be extended inward slightly in the form of a short tunnel. A terminal slot  114 B may be provided on the hinge side of the apparatus, for receiving the end of long arm  109 . In the lid portion  102 , a reinforcing rib  150  may be provided extending from the lid slot  112 A (through which short arm  110  passes to hold the apparatus closed) or other structure through which security member  108  passes, and outward toward corners of the apparatus. When security member  108  is the apparatus, reinforcing rib  150  may serve to extend the clamping strength of the security member outward from the center of the apparatus and toward the adjacent corners  165 . The reinforcing rib  150  may be attached to lid portion side wall  113 A by one or more buttresses  152  (more clearly seen in  FIG. 4B ). Reinforcing rib  150  may extend outward to adjacent corner  165 , extending for example as far or nearly as far as literature clip  160 , or even further if no literature clip is provided. Reinforcing rib  150  may also extend a lesser distance. There may be one, two, or more reinforcing ribs extending outward to each of adjacent corners  165 . 
       FIG. 3A  shows a perspective view of the apparatus of  FIG. 2 , including rib  150 , while  FIG. 3B  shows a close-up detail of rib  150 , lid portion side wall  113 A, and literature clip  160 . In this example, rib  150  extends outward almost reaching the literature clip.  FIGS. 4A and 4B  show corresponding perspective and detail views of another embodiment of the apparatus including a rib  150 A that extends a shorter distance outward. 
     The rib  150 ,  150 A may add strength to the lid. The strengthening effect of rib  150 ,  150 A may be adjusted by modifying the length L, thickness T, and height H of the rib. The thickness T and height H may vary along the length L. There may be two or more ribs, for example, one rib extending outward toward each of adjacent corners  165 . Two or more ribs, of equal or different sizes, may extend approximately parallel toward one or each of adjacent corners  165 . Any combination of ribs may be used, for example a single rib extending to one corner, a first rib extending to one corner and a second rib extending to the other corner, two ribs extending to one corner and two other ribs extending to the other corner, two ribs extending to one corner and three ribs extending to the other corner, etc. Ribs extending toward opposite corners may be connected or partly connected to one another at or near slot  112 . 
     By way of example, the length L of each rib may range from about 1 cm to about 6 cm on a DVD case with literature clips, or from about 1 cm to about 8 cm on a DVD case without literature clips  160 . For other size cases, the length of each rib  150 ,  150 A may range from about 10% to about 90% of the distance “Y” between the lid slot  112 A and the adjacent corner  165 . The thickness T of the rib may, for example, range from about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm. The height H of the rib may, for example, range from about 1 mm to about 5 mm. The thickness T and height H of the rib may vary across its length L. 
     There may be provided a tapered or sloped termination at the ends of the rib. The rib  150 ,  150 A may be attached to the lid portion side wall  113 A by one or more web  154 . 
     Buttresses  152  may be used to connect rib  150 ,  150 A and lid portion side wall  113 A. The number and size of such buttresses may vary from the example shown in  FIG. 4B . Such buttresses may be located at one or more locations anywhere along the length of the rib  150 ,  150 A. If two or more ribs extend toward one corner, those ribs may be connected by one or more buttresses between the ribs. 
     It will be appreciated from the above that this invention can be provided in various different forms. Many of the individual features and combinations of features referred to above are believed to be novel. The invention is thus not limited to the specific combinations of features or the embodiments described but extends to cover each of the principles described or combinations thereof. 
     Whilst the invention has been described in relation to a disk holder of the type shown in the drawings, it will be appreciated that such disk holders can take a variety of forms and many aspects of the invention can be used with other types of disk holder. 
     Furthermore, as indicated in the introduction, aspects of the invention are also applicable to an apparatus or case for holding other types of information storage media, or products other than information storage media.