GB2277318A

GB2277318A - Disc storage unit

Info

Publication number: GB2277318A
Application number: GB9408074A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Cheung Wing Chan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-04-22
Filing date: 1994-04-22
Publication date: 1994-10-26
Also published as: GB9408074D0

Abstract

A disc storage unit (10) suitable for storing a magnetic or optical disc (9) comprises a planar hollow body (11) for accommodating a said disc (9), said body (11) having along a part of its periphery an opening (12) through which a said disc (9) can be inserted or removed. Internal resiliently-biassed ejecting means (13) are adapted to eject the disc (9) partially out of the body (11), holding means (19) are provided to hold the disc (9) inside the body (11), and connecting means are provided on the outside surface of the body (11) to connect one such disc storage unit (10) with another. <IMAGE>

Description

DISC STORAGE UNIT The present invention relates to a disc storage unit suitable for storing a magnetic or optical disc, such as a computer disc, a music disc or the like. A plurality of these units may be connected or engaged together to build a multi-disc storage system.

According to the invention, there is provided a disc storage unit suitable for storing a magnetic or optical disc, which disc storage unit comprises a planar hollow body for accommodating a said disc, said body having along a part of its periphery an opening through which a said disc can be inserted or removed, internal resilientlybiassed ejecting means adapted to eject a said disc so accommodated partially out of the body, holding means adapted to hold a said disc so accommodated inside the body, and connecting means provided on the outside surface of the body and adapted to connect one such disc storage unit with another.

Preferably, the ejecting means comprises an ejecting member which is elongate and is positioned substantially along a part of the periphery of the body.

More preferably, the ejecting member is positioned substantially along a part of the periphery of the body opposite the opening.

It is preferred that the ejecting member is provided by a spring.

Preferably, the holding means comprises a elongate holding member which is positioned substantially along a part of the periphery of the body.

More preferably, the holding member has one end which is located outside the body for manipulation by a user to release the holding means.

Preferably, said one end of the holding member has a detent for engaging a said disc so accommodated to hold the disc inside the body.

It is preferred that the holding member is hinged and is resiliently biassed into a position holding a said disc so accommodated inside the body.

In a preferred embodiment, the connecting means is provided by co-operable sliding engagement formations provided on opposite first and second principal sides of the body such that two said disc storage units can be connected together by means of the sliding engagement formations with the first principal side of one disc storage unit facing the second principal side of the other disc storage unit.

More preferably, the co-operable sliding engagement formations comprises a pair of ribs facing each other on the first principal side of the body and a pair of ribs facing away from each other on the second principal side of the body, corresponding ribs of the pairs of separate disc storage units being inter-engageable through sliding upon each other.

It is preferred that the ribs of each pair are provided on opposite lateral sides of the body.

In a preferred arrangement, the connecting means is operable to inter-connect a plurality of the disc storage units in a first configuration with the principal sides of adjacent disc storage units connected together and in a second configuration with the lateral sides of adjacent disc storage units connected together.

Preferably, insofar as the second configuration is concerned the connecting means is provided by co-operable sliding engagement formations provided on opposite first and second lateral sides of the body such that two said disc storage units can be connected together by means of the sliding engagement formations with the first lateral side of one disc storage unit joining the second lateral side of the other disc storage unit.

In a preferred embodiment, the last-mentioned co-operable sliding engagement formations comprises a pair of ribs provided on opposite lateral sides of the body, adjacent ribs of separate disc storage units being inter-engageable through sliding upon each other.

In a specific arrangement, a plurality of the disc storage units can be inter-connected in the second configuration only when one side of the disc storage units are interconnected in the first configuration.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 consists of three elevational views and an enlarged fragmentary view of an embodiment of a disc storage unit in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is an elevational view showing the internal arrangement of the disc storage unit of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view, including an enlarged fragmentary view, showing a stack of four disc storage units of Figure 1 connected face-to-face together; and Figure 4 is a perspective view, including an enlarged fragmentary view, showing two stacks, each of four disc storage units of Figure 1, connected together side-by-side.

Referring firstly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown a disc storage unit 10 embodying the invention, which storage unit 10 has a generally square planar hollow body 11 for storing a 3a-inch computer disc 9. The body 11 is formed by a front plastics panel 11X and a rear plastics panel ily joined together, and has an open top side providing an opening 12 through which the computer disc 9 can be inserted into or removed from the storage unit 10.

The opening 12 has a recessed profile to expose an edge of the computer disc 9 for convenient access thereto.

As best shown in Figure 2, the disc storage unit 10 is provided with ejecting means 13 for ejecting the computer disc 9 contained therein partially out of the body 11 for subsequent removal therefrom, and is provided with holding means 19 for holding the computer disc 9 inside the body 11 when the computer disc 9 is not in use.

The ejecting means 13 is provided by a spring 14 located extending generally along the bottom side of the body 11.

The spring 14 is provided by a spring wire 15 which is bent for about 3600 to form a small loop 15B between opposite ends 15A and 15C. The spring wire 15 is held in place by its loop 15B hinged on a fixed peg 16, and has its first end 15A anchored by a seat 17 integrally formed in the body rear panel ily. The other end 15C of the spring wire 15 is left free for bearing against the bottom edge of the computer disc 9 by means of a plastics roller 18. The spring 14 assumes an obtuse angle at rest but is pressed straight by the occupant computer disk 9. Under this condition, the spring 14 is tensioned to resiliently bias to eject the computer disc 9 partially out of the body 11.

The holding means 19 is provided by a plastics bar 20 which is located extending generally along the right side of the body 11. Lower end 21 of the bar 20 is hinged on a fixed peg 22, and upper free end 23 thereof extends slightly out of the body 11 through the opening 12. The free end 23 expands to the left to form a hook 24 and to the right to form a lug 25. The bar 20 is resiliently biassed midway to the left by a coil spring 26 which is held on the right side by a fixed seat 27. Upon insertion of the computer disc 9 into the body 11, the right edge of the computer disc 9 will urge the free end 23 of the bar 20 to the right, thereby pivoting the bar 20 against the coil spring 26. The hook 24 will ride, under the resilience of the coil spring 26, past the top right corner of the computer disc 9 when the computer disc 9 is fully inserted into the body 11, thereby detaining the computer disc 9.

In order to release the computer disc 9, the bar 20 is pivoted slightly back to the right by a user engaging the lug 25 to set free the computer disc 9 from the hook 24.

At this moment, the computer disc 9 will automatically slide upwards under the action of the ejecting means 13 and subsequently rest on the then released ejecting spring 14, with the top edge of the computer disc 9 fully exposed for retrieval by the user.

The body 11 is provided with three internal abutments 28 to 30 for defining the right position of the computer disc 9 inside the body 11. The abutment 30 also serves to keep the holding bar 20 upright.

Turning now to Figure 3, the disc storage unit 10 is provided with integral connecting means for two or more to be connected together. In a first configuration, the storage units 10 can be connected together face-to-face to form a horizontal stack. As also shown in Figure 1, the sides of the front body panel 11X, apart from open side 12, is thickened to form two side ribs 31 and 32 and one bottom rib 33, defining among them a shallow recess 34. The opposed inner sides of the two side ribs 31 and 32 are slantly undercut such that the width of the recess 34 across the bases of the ribs 31 and 32 is larger than that across the tops of the ribs 31 and 32. On the rear body panel ily, there are formed two side ribs 35 and 36 and one bottom rib 37, all of them being slightly off the corresponding edges of the rear panel 11Y. The outer sides, facing away from each other, of the two side ribs 35 and 36 are slantly undercut such that the external dimension across the ribs 35 and 36 is smaller at the base than at the top of the ribs 35 and 36.

In order to connect two disc storage units 10 together in a face-to-face manner, one storage unit 10 is held right above the other storage unit 10 but slightly offset to permit the ribs 35 to 37 on the upper storage unit 10 to slide into the recess 34 of the lower storage unit 10. A sliding fit engagement is effected, in that the side ribs 35 and 36 of the upper storage unit 10 engage from inside with the corresponding side ribs 31 and 32 of the lower storage unit 10, as shown in Figure 3B. The two storage units 10 are aligned when the corresponding bottom ribs 33 and 37 come into abutment.

Referring further to Figure 4 of the drawings, the disc storage units 10 can also be connected together side-byside in a second configuration. For this purpose, each lateral side of the body 11 has a rib 38/39 which is undercut on one side opposite to that of the other rib 39/38, to an extent of about half of the rib width. As shown in Figure 4C, with two storage units 10 connected together in a stacked manner, a vertical gap 40 is formed between adjacent ribs 38. This gap 40 has a cross-section complementary to that of the rib 39 of a third storage unit 10. The third storage unit 10 may be connected to the first two storage units 10 by sliding its rib 39 from below into the gap 40, forming a sliding fit engagement therebetween.

A two-row arrangement as shown in Figure 4, or a multiple row arrangement, may be built with the storage units 10 to form a tidy and convenient multi-disc storage system.

It is envisaged that the connecting means between adjacent disc storage units of the invention may be provided otherwise than through sliding fit engagement, for example through push-to-fit engagement provided by co-operable studs and holes/recesses. Also, two independent storage units may be joined together along adjacent lateral sides to form a side-by-side configuration.

The invention has been given by way of example only, and various other modifications of and/or alterations to the described embodiment may be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as specified in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A disc storage unit suitable for storing a magnetic or optical disc, which disc storage unit comprises a planar hollow body for accommodating a said disc, said body having along a part of its periphery an opening through which a said disc can be inserted or removed, internal resilientlybiassed ejecting means adapted to eject a said disc so accommodated partially out of the body, holding means adapted to hold a said disc so accommodated inside the body, and connecting means provided on the outside surface of the body and adapted to connect one such disc storage unit with another.

2. A disc storage unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ejecting means comprises an ejecting member which is elongate and is positioned substantially along a part of the periphery of the body.

3. A disc storage unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the ejecting member is positioned substantially along a part of the periphery of the body opposite the opening.

4. A disc storage unit as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the ejecting member is provided by a spring.

5. A disc storage unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the holding means comprises a elongate holding member which is positioned substantially along a part of the periphery of the body.

6. A disc storage unit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the holding member has one end which is located outside the body for manipulation by a user to release the holding means.

7. A disc storage unit as claimed in claim 6, wherein said one end of the holding member has a detent for engaging a said disc so accommodated to hold the disc inside the body.

8. A disc storage unit as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the holding member is hinged and is resiliently biassed into a position holding a said disc so accommodated inside the body.

9. A disc storage unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the connecting means is provided by co-operable sliding engagement formations provided on opposite first and second principal sides of the body such that two said disc storage units can be connected together by means of the sliding engagement formations with the first principal side of one disc storage unit facing the second principal side of the other disc storage unit.

10. A disc storage unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the co-operable sliding engagement formations comprises a pair of ribs facing each other on the first principal side of the body and a pair of ribs facing away from each other on the second principal side of the body, corresponding ribs of the pairs of separate disc storage units being interengageable through sliding upon each other.

11. A disc storage unit as claimed in claim 10, wherein the ribs of each pair are provided on opposite lateral sides of the body.

12. A disc storage unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the connecting means is operable to inter-connect a plurality of the disc storage units in a first configuration with the principal sides of adjacent disc storage units connected together and in a second configuration with the lateral sides of adjacent disc storage units connected together.

13. A disc storage unit as claimed in claim 12, wherein insofar as the second configuration is concerned the connecting means is provided by co-operable sliding engagement formations provided on opposite first and second lateral sides of the body such that two said disc storage units can be connected together by means of the sliding engagement formations with the first lateral side of one disc storage unit joining the second lateral side of the other disc storage unit.

14. A disc storage disc as claimed in claim 13, wherein the last-mentioned co-operable sliding engagement formations comprises a pair of ribs provided on opposite lateral sides of the body, adjacent ribs of separate disc storage units being inter-engageable through sliding upon each other.

15. A disc storage unit as claimed in any one of the claims 12 to 14, wherein a plurality of the disc storage units can be inter-connected in the second configuration only when one side of the disc storage units are interconnected in the first configuration.

16. A disc storage unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.