US 6,685,015 B2Granted

Optical disc accommodating case

AssigneeToyo Chemical Co., Ltd.

InventorHiromichi Uchida

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An optical disc accommodating case is provided, which permits quick and smooth accommodation and removal of an optical disc, permits reliable accommodation of the disc without causing contamination or scars and scratches to the disc, and permits coping with an assembling process in which the disc is automatically loaded into the case by a robot. A disc holder having an optical disc support has a wall to be in contact with an edge of an optical disc for preventing detachment of the optical disc in a horizontal direction. The wall has lock members for preventing upward detachment of the optical disc. The wall with the lock members is flexible, and the lock members are capable of being flexed toward an outer periphery of the optical disc to permit the optical disc to be accommodated on the optical disc support while the optical disc is pushed in a downward direction.

Claims18

Dependent claims

An optical disc accommodating case, comprising:

a casing;
and
a disc holder for detachably holding an optical disc in said casing, said disc holder including
(i) a disc bottom support having a wall to contact an edge of the optical disc so as to prevent detachment of the optical disc from said disc bottom support in a direction toward said wall, and
(ii) at least one lock member to prevent detachment of the optical disc from said disc bottom support in a direction away from said disc bottom support, wherein said at least one lock member is flexible such that upon contact of said at least one lock member by an outer periphery of the optical disc, via movement of the optical disc toward said disc bottom support, said at least one lock member flexes in a direction away from the optical disc so as to allow the optical disc to be received by said disc bottom support, wherein
said disc holder is flexibly supported in said casing such that when said casing is opened said disc holder extends angularly from a bottom of said casing and when said casing is closed said disc holder is confined within said casing between the bottom of said casing and a top of said casing.

3 more elements

An optical disc accommodating case, comprising:

a casing;
a disc holder for detachably holding an optical disc in said casing, said disc holder including
(i) a disc bottom support having a wall to contact an edge of the optical disc so as to prevent detachment of the optical disc from said disc bottom support in a direction toward said wall, and
(ii) at least one lock member to prevent detachment of the optical disc from said disc bottom support in a direction away from said disc bottom support, wherein said at least one lock member is flexible such that upon contact of said at least one lock member by the optical disc, via movement of the optical disc toward said disc bottom support, said at least one lock member flexes in a direction away from the optical disc so as to allow the optical disc to be received by said disc bottom support;
and
a locking member for detachably holding a front end of said disc holder on a bottom of said casing.

3 more elements

An optical disc accommodating case, comprising:

a casing;
and
a disc holder for detachably holding an optical disc in said casings, said disc holder including
(i) a disc bottom support having a wall to contact an edge of the optical disc so as to prevent detachment of the optical disc from said disc bottom support in a direction toward said wall, and
(ii) at least one lock member to prevent detachment of the optical disc from said disc bottom support in a direction away from said disc bottom support, wherein said at least one lock member is flexible such that upon contact of said at least one lock member by the optical disc, via movement of the optical disc toward said disc bottom support, said at least one lock member flexes in a direction away from the optical disc so as to allow the optical disc to be received by said disc bottom support and, wherein said at least one lock member includes
(a) a movable portion of said wall that is movable relative to a remaining portion of said wall, and
(b) an end locking portion on said movable portion of said wall
such that upon contact of said end locking portion by the optical disc, via movement of the optical disc toward said disc bottom support, said movable portion of said wall flexes in a direction away from the optical disc so as to allow the optical disc to pass beyond said end locking portion and be received by said disc bottom support, and after passage of the optical disc beyond said end locking portion said movable portion of said wall flexes in a direction toward the optical disc so as to cause said end locking portion to lock an edge of the optical disc.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.