Abstract:
Holders for thin objects, such as disc-shaped optical media, are assembled from single units of flat paper or card stock. The holder completely covers the object when closed, but projects the object without losing hold of it upon opening the holder like a book, so that the object may be easily gripped and removed from the holder.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the benefit of provisional application No. 60/377,470 filed May 1, 2002. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention concerns foldable packages for pieces of thin objects such as disc-shaped optical recording media. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Foldable holders for thin, disc-shaped optical media, such as optical discs of any variety (CD, CD ROM, DVD, etc.), are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,281 (Kanesf) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,157 (Howell, el al.). The entire disclosure of each of these is incorporated by reference into this application for purposes of providing background on the general nature of handling media in these types of packaging schemes. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings show a particular embodiment of the invention as an example, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  are plan views of two embodiments of the invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a front view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  when fully assembled and closed. 
       FIG. 4  is a front view of the embodiment of  FIG. 3  when opened. 
       FIG. 5  is a back view of the embodiment of  FIG. 3  when closed. 
       FIG. 6  is a back view of the embodiment of  FIG. 3  when opened. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1  is a plan view of a first embodiment of the invention, which is formed from a single “cut” of material, completely laid flat and unfolded to show its various components. In this and the other figures, a relatively thicker line indicates a cut line and a relatively thinner line indicates a fold line; dashed lines are used to indicate hidden cut or fold lines, or the outline of a piece of recording media M, in some of the figures. 
   In this first embodiment, media holder  100  comprises several generally rectangular contiguous sections: cover section  1 , inside left section  2 , inside right section  3 , media pocket main section  4 , spine  5  lying between cover section  1  and media pocket main section  4 , two media pocket side sections  6  and  7 , and two back panel sections  8  and  9 . Each of these various sections is joined to its adjacent sections by fold lines, such as fold line  12  which joins cover section  1  and inside left section  2 . Similar fold lines are labeled  23 ,  38 ,  39 ,  15 ,  45 ,  46 , and  57  and join like numbered adjacent sections. 
   Holder  100  is assembled by folding along each of the fold lines and adhering certain sections together. The result is shown in  FIGS. 3-6 , with  FIGS. 3 and 5  showing the media holder  100  in its closed position and  FIGS. 4 and 6  showing media holder  100  in its open position. 
   The two media pocket side sections  6  and  7  are joined by overlapping edges  61  and  71  together and joining them to each other in any convenient manner, such as adhering edge regions  62  and  72  together with a conventional adhesive. This manner of joining together sections  6  and  7  is not a limitation on the scope of the invention, however. The media pocket is also formed by similarly adhering edge regions  63  and  73  to edge region  41  of the media pocket main section  4 . 
   This produces a media pocket which is capable of holding the media without requiring a hub or similar feature projecting into any opening that may be present in the piece of recording media. The ability to hold the media yet without a complicated and/or costly hub or similar feature is an important advantage of the invention. 
   The assembled media pocket is then wrapped behind holder  100  by folding at lines  15  and  45 , which places spine  5  at the conventional left side of the assembled holder, as it is viewed in the direction of cover section  1 . Cover section  1  thus serves as the primary face or front cover of the assembled media holder  100 . Additional folds are made at fold lines  12  and  23 , such that inside left section  2  and inside right section  3  are located in the interior of the assembled media holder. The back of cover section  1  is adhered to the back of left section  2 . The back face of media pocket main section  4  (not shown) lays against the back face of inside right section  3  (not shown). Back panel sections  8  and  9  are brought together by folding at lines  38  and  39 , respectively, and joining back panel sections  8  and  9  together by overlapping edges  81  and  91  and joining them in any conventional manner, such as adhesive as described above with respect to media pocket side sections  6  and  7 . Back panel sections  8  and  9  are joined together so that media pocket lies within a media holding sleeve formed by back panel sections  8  and  9  and the back face of inside right section  3 . 
   In the most preferred embodiment for conventional 120 millimeter diameter optical disc recording media, inside left section  2  and inside right section  3  are approximately 5.275 inches in height (the vertical dimension as shown in the Figures) and 5.475 inches in width (the horizontal dimension as shown in the Figures). Cover section  1  is approximately 5.275 inches in height and 6.375 inches in width. Media pocket main section  4  is approximately 4.843 inches in height and approximately 4.475 inches in width. Spine  5  is approximately 0.168 inches in width and between approximately 5.275 and 4.483 inches in height depending on which end of the angled cut is the location of the measurement. Back panel top section  8  is approximately 3.300 inches in height and back panel bottom section  9  is approximately 3.000 inches in height. 
   The extended width of cover section  1 , as compared to that of the inside left section  2  and inside right section  3 , helps insure that, when the assembled media holder  100  is opened, the assembled media pocket extends out of the media holder  100  by approximately 1 inch, which provides a section of the media M that may be easily gripped for removal from the media holder  100 . 
   Of course, these dimensions are not limitations on the scope of the invention, as they would depend upon the particular size of the piece of recording media and other design factors, such as the amount of the media that is desired to be exposed once the holder is opened, and the number of pieces of media desired to be held. In this regard, it is possible to provide the invention with dimensions suitable for a “double high” embodiment that holds two pieces of recording media, such as two of the 120 mm diameter disks described above, simply by scaling the height of the invention according to principles well within the ordinary level of skill in the art. 
   A second embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 2 , which is a plan view in which similarly performing elements bear the same numbers as in FIG.  1 . The embodiment of  FIG. 2  is preferred for holding a so-called “business card” optical disc (not shown). Such disks are typically approximately 80 millimeter diameter disks that have been cropped to approximately 63 millimeters in width as measured between two opposite edges. Other possible sizes are 85 mm by 58 mm, 90 mm by 58 mm, and so on. 
   Media holder  200  comprises back extension section  10  which is attached to spine  5  at fold line  105 . Media pocket main section  4  extends from side extension section  11  (it is attached at fold line  114 ), and back extension section  10  is attached to side extension section  11  at fold line  1011 . 
   This embodiment is assembled in a manner similar to that of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , that is, back panel sections  8  and  9  are brought together and joined to each other in any conventional manner. Edge sections  42  and  43  are folded at fold lines  44  and  46 , respectively, so that edge sections  42  and  43  may be adhered to the backside (not shown) of section  11 , providing a pocket into which the smaller media may be inserted. Side extension section  11  is folded to the backside (not shown) of back extension section  10 , and thus when back extension section  10  is folded at fold line  105  such that it is adjacent the backside (not shown) of inside right section  3 , it may be held in place behind back panel sections  8  and  9  once they are folded (at fold lines  38  and  39 ) and attached to each other. The end result is again a media holder in which opening up the media holder, i.e., unfolding fold line  23  once the media holder is fully assembled, extends the position of the media outwardly so that it may be easily gripped for removal from media package  200 . 
   It is possible, but not required, for printing and other graphic elements to be included in the media holder as desired. Similarly, it is possible but not required to add various other elements not illustrated here, such as a die cut opening in the face of one or more openings, such as the illustrative opening O shown in phantom on the inside left section  2  of  FIG. 4 , so that a brochure or other printed material that accompanies the piece of media can be included. The shape, dimensions, orientation angle, and other similar parameters of the opening are not limitations on the scope of the invention. It is also possible to adhere or otherwise attach or include a flat object (such as the brochure or other printed material just noted, or another similar object) to either section. 
   While any heavy paper or cardstock is suitable for the invention provided it can be cut and bent as described above, the preferred board stock is known as SBS CIS (solid bleached sulfate, coated one side), having a the weight in the range from approximately from 100 lb to 17 pt, with 12 pt the most preferred. As is known in the art, the selection of material influences the selection of adhesive, and vice versa, but any adhesive providing suitable bonding strength, peel test characteristics, and the like is suitable. The preferred adhesives are cold extrusion adhesives, but hot-melt adhesives are also believed to be acceptable. 
   In this vein, it should be understood in the above description and in the following claims that the word “adhere” and its variants (adhesive, adhesion, etc.) are to read as broadly defining the concept of joining or forming attachment between various parts, and thus are intended to include other conventional and equivalent attachment mechanisms, such as adhesive tapes (whether single-sided or double-sided in their use of adhesive). 
   The following claims may use the language “first,” “second,” “third,” and so on to specifically distinguish between various elements that are otherwise similarly named, such as fold lines, edges, and the like. These terms are not intended to imply any order of importance or time sequence in the manufacturing or use of the invention, unless other claim language specifically does so. 
   It is also clear that the manner in which the optical or recording media performs its recording function is not a limitation on the scope of the invention, and that the invention can be employed with any media that is relatively flat and otherwise similar to the conventional media described above. 
   In fact, it is not required that the object inserted into the invention be recording media at all; similarly shaped and sized objects such as business cards, postal cards (e.g., pre-addressed and prepaid business reply cards), and the like may be accommodated by embodiments of the invention that are constructed in accordance with the illustrative embodiments described above. 
   In particular, while the invention has been described with respect to relatively flat recording media, it should be equally apparent that the thickness of the inserted object is not a limitation on the scope of the invention. In fact, embodiments that incorporate into the invention additional sections to accommodate objects that are relatively thicker than conventional flat disks are equivalent to the invention as defined by the following claims.