Hingedly Connectable Disk Trays and Disk Protective Enclosure for Same
AssigneeFinest Products Limited
InventorKwok Din Lau
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A disk storage system for disks having a central opening includes a set of hingedly connectable disk trays, a pair of axle members for attachment to one of the trays on an axle axis thereof, and a storage container having hinge pedestals for engagement by the axle members. Hinged connections between adjacent trays is by tabs that are pivotable on respective hinge axes of the different trays, the tabs being engagable with respective tab cavities of adjacent trays.
Claims24
A first disk tray for disks of the type having a central opening, front and back face surfaces, and an outer perimeter, the disk tray comprising:
- (a) a tray panel portion having a hub for holding one of the disks;
- (b) a tab portion hingedly connected to the panel portion on a tab axis, the tab axis being located along a side corner margin of the tray portion;
- and
- (c) the tray panel portion being formed having a tab cavity therein for receiving a tab portion of a second disk tray, whereby the first and second disk trays become hingedly connected on the tab axis and pivotable from an open, coplanar condition to a closed facing condition.
A disk storage system for disks of the type having a central opening, front and back face surfaces, and an outer perimeter, the system comprising:
- (a) a storage container comprising a pair of main panel portions hingedly connected along opposite side extremities of a spine portion, a spaced pair of hinge pedestals projecting from an inside surface of the spine portion, each of the main panel portions having a hub on an inside surface thereof for holding an additional data disk, the container having open and closed conditions;
- (b) a set of N disk trays, each disk tray comprising:
- (i) a tray panel portion having a pair of hubs formed in offset relation on opposite sides thereof for holding a pair of the disks;
- (ii) a spaced pair of tab portions hingedly connected to the panel portion on a tab axis, the tab axis being located along a side corner margin of the tray portion;
- (iii) the tray panel portion being formed having a pair of tab cavities therein for receiving respective tab portions of a second disk tray, whereby the first and second disk trays become hingedly connected on the tab axis;
- (iv) the tray panel portion having a pair of oppositely oriented axle cavities formed into opposite end extremity portions and aligned on an axle axis for receiving a pair of axle members, the axle axis being parallel to the hinge axis;
- and
- (c) a pair of axle members, each axle member having a shank portion for engaging the axle cavities of one of the disk trays, and a shaft portion for engaging respective ones of the hinge pedestals,
- Whereby, when the disk trays are hingedly connected by engagement of the tab portions of N−1 of the trays with the tab cavities of different trays, and when the axle members are engaging the axle cavities of one of the trays, the axle members are engagable with the hinge pedestals of the storage container for pivotable support of the set of disk trays, the container in the closed condition enclosing the set of disk trays.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.