Description of the Related Art Compact disks (or"CD's") are well known and widely used devices which store data, for example, audio data, in a digital format. The data is read from the compact disk by a"read"laser. Since no physical contact is made with the compact disk in order to retrieve the data from the disk, those disks provide a virtually infinite useful life, if properly maintained.

While compact disks provide a number of benefits over other data storage devices, they also have drawbacks as well. One such drawback is that the compact disk is somewhat delicate and must be handled with care. This is especially true regarding the surface upon which the digital data is written. If that surface is even minimally scratched, the data stored on the CD, or at least a portion of it, can be adversely affected.

In order to protect compact disks, a housing commonly known as a"jewel case"is used to protect the CD during storage and handling. These jewel cases include a bottom or back plate and a front cover plate pivotally connected along one edge to the back plate. A molded insert is frictionally engaged to the back plate, and includes a plurality of spring fingers arranged in a circular configuration in the middle of the insert,

the spring fingers being sized for releasably engaging the central opening of the CD. The insert also defines a recessed, circular region into which the CD may nest, with the raised peripheral portions of the insert acting to prevent lateral movement of the CD within the case.

While conventional jewel cases provide a useful benefit, they do have drawbacks as well. A typical CD is on the order of one millimeter thick, while a conventional jewel case is about one centimeter thick, i. e., ten times as thick as the CD.

Thus, each jewel case occupies at least ten times the space of the CD itself. This can become a problem for many people who have accumulated a large number of compact disks. Many people have hundreds of compact disks and therefore hundreds of conventional jewel cases, such that finding enough storage space for all of the jewel cases becomes a concern.

Accordingly, it will be apparent that there continues to be a need for an improved storage device which houses a CD in a manner which is safe for the CD, and which at the same time has relatively small dimensions so that it does not occupy an unnecessarily large amount of space. The present invention addresses these needs.

Summary of the Invention Briefly, and in general terms, the present invention provides an improved storage device for compact disks. The improved storage device (or"jewel case") includes a generally planar back plate with a compact disk engagement assembly (which in one illustrative embodiment includes a plurality of integrally molded spring fingers) formed generally centrally thereon, the compact disk engagement assembly being designed to releasably engage the central opening in the CD. A front plate is pivotally connected along one edge to the back plate. The front plate includes coplanar peripheral segments which define an enclosure for the CD, and a raised, circular portion having dimensions complementing those of the CD. With the CD engaged by the spring fingers, the front plate may be pivoted to its closed position, with the peripheral portions of the front plate being aligned in co-planar relation with the CD, and the raised portion being registered over the CD and providing sufficient space to

accommodate the CD. In this manner, the improved jewel case provides a relatively low profile and therefore occupies a relatively small amount of space.

In one illustrative embodiment, the back plate includes an elongated slot which opens into an interior cavity defining a pocket or receptacle dimensioned to receive a printed insert. Alternatively, a layer of a flexible polymer can be connected to a solid back plate, with the layer and plate cooperating to define a pocket or receptacle therebetween to releasably receive the printed insert.

Thus, in one illustrative embodiment, the present invention is directed to a housing for a compact disk which includes: a back plate including a centrally and integrally formed compact disk engagement assembly to engage a central opening of the compact disk, the back plate defining a substantially planar surface; and a front cover pivotally connected to the back plate, the front cover defining a raised central portion complementing the shape of the compact disk.

Description of the Drawings Other objects, features and advantages of the invention discussed in the above summary of the invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which are illustrative only, when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an improved jewel case illustrating one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the jewel case shown in FIG. 1, with the jewel case in an opened configuration; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the jewel case of FIG. 1 taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; Fig. 3A is a fragmented cross-sectional view showing an enlarged portion of the view shown in Fig. 3; and Fig. 4 is a fragmented cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 3A and showing another illustrative embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring now primarily to FIG. 1, there is shown an improved jewel case 10 for releasably holding a compact disk 11, according to one illustrative embodiment of the invention. It will be understood that the jewel case can hold a compact disk which contains audio recordings, video data, software data, or the like, stored in digital format. In the illustrative embodiment, the jewel case 10 includes a back plate 12 and a front cover 14, with the plate and cover being hingedly connected together at respective longitudinal ends thereof. A compact disk engagement assembly, generally designated 16, is formed integral with the back plate at a generally central location. The compact disk engagement assembly is flexible and resilient and therefore is operative to releasably engage the central opening of a compact disk. The front cover includes a plurality of coplanar peripheral regions 18 which define a circular, raised central region 20 sized to receive the CD. Thus, with a CD mounted on the compact disk engagement assembly and the front cover pivoted to a closed position, the peripheral regions are co-planar with, and encircle, the CD, while the raised region is disposed directly above the CD to receive the CD and also to prevent it from disengaging from the compact disk engagement assembly 16.

The back plate 12 defines a substantially planar, rectangular or square surface 22 upon which the compact disk engagement assembly 16 is integrally formed.

The planar surface has dimensions slightly larger than the diameter of the CD. The back plate at one longitudinal end includes an elongated, tubular member 24 which defines a spine for the jewel case 10, the spine being closed at its respective longitudinal ends. Each end of the tubular member includes a circular opening (not shown) which cooperates with a complementarily formed projection on the front cover to define a pair of pivot points and therefore an axis for pivotal movement of the front cover 14 relative to the back plate 12, as is well known in the art. The back plate is further formed at the longitudinal end opposite the spine with an upwardly projecting lip or wall 25, and includes upwardly extending side walls 26 at the respective lateral ends of the plate.

The compact disk engagement assembly 16 is preferably in the form of a spring finger assembly which includes a plurality of upwardly and radially inwardly

projecting fingers 27, which are arranged in a circular configuration. The fingers may be flexed radially inwardly to be received in a central opening of a CD, with the resilient nature of the fingers causing them to apply a radially outwardly directed force against the CD to resist disengagement of the CD from the fingers. The fingers are integrally formed with the back plate 12 during the manufacturing process, e. g., an injection molding process.

The compact disk engagement assembly 16 may take many different forms, as is well known in the art. The assembly may be in the form of a resilient, collapsible disk which releasably engages the central opening of the CD, and which collapses radially inwardly upon the application of an axial force thereto. Moreover, while in the illustrative embodiment the spring finger assembly 16 includes a relatively large number of fingers, the spring finger assembly may also be formed having fewer fingers. For example, the spring finger assembly may include a pair of opposing, flexible arcuate members to receive the CD. Thus, it will be understood that the compact disk engagement assembly may take many different forms, and is not limited to the multi-finger arrangement shown in the figures.

The back plate 12 is also preferably formed with an elongated slot 28 on one of its peripheral walls (preferably the end wall 25 opposite the spine) which opens into an interior cavity 32 defining a pocket or receptacle (FIG. 3). The slot and cavity are formed having predetermined dimensions to accept a printed insert card 34, which may contain any desired printed information, such as text, graphics, and the like, and which may serve to identify the corresponding CD contained in the jewel case. In one illustrative embodiment, the back plate preferably comprises a first molded plate 36 which includes the spine and spring finger assembly, and a second plate 38 which is welded or otherwise securely bonded to the first plate to define the slot 28 and cavity 32 therebetween.

Alternatively, in another illustrative embodiment, the back plate 12 may be molded in one piece, with the second plate 38 being a separate layer of material connected to the back plate by heat sealing or any other suitable method, with the back

plate and the separate layer defining the pocket between them (FIG. 4). The second plate may be formed of any of a number of materials, including polymer materials.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the front cover 14 includes a circular, raised central portion 20 which has a diameter slightly larger than that of the CD. At the periphery of the central portion, the front cover angles downwardly and radially outwardly to transition into respective generally curved, triangularly shaped peripheral segments 18, each of which is connected to the peripheral segments adjacent to it through narrow connecting pieces 40. With the front cover pivoted to its closed position (FIG. 1), the peripheral segments are coplanar with the CD (FIG. 4), and cooperate to define a CD enclosure which substantially prevents shifting of the CD within the jewel case 10. Thus, the peripheral segments act as a back-up to the compact disk engagement assembly and prevent substantial movement of the CD within the jewel case in the event the compact disk engagement assembly breaks or is otherwise ineffective.

The front cover 14 further includes a pair of side walls 46 which are in registration with the side walls 26 of the back plate 12 when the jewel case is closed.

The side walls 26 of the back plate and those 46 of the front cover are formed with complementary engaging structures to releasably hold the front cover in the closed position. For example, the front cover may include one or more hemispherical projections 48 at predetermined spaced apart locations, with the back cover including one or more detents or openings 50 at predetermined locations, with the projections being received in the detents when the front cover is in the closed position to releasably hold the front cover in place, as is well known in the art.

The side walls 46 of the front cover terminate at respective first ends in longitudinally projecting tab portions 52 which include generally hemispherical projections (not shown), which are sized to be received in the openings formed in the spine 24 of the back plate 12 to define the pivot points for the jewel case, thereby allowing for pivotal movement of the front cover relative to the back plate.

It will be understood that the jewel case 10 of the present invention may be formed with two components, namely the back plate 12 and front cover 14, and

therefore is more economical to manufacture than a conventional jewel case, which consists of three pieces. In addition, by having two pieces, the jewel case 10 has a slimmer profile than the conventional jewel case. Preferably, the thickness T of the jewel case 10 is between about five and eight millimeters.

In use, a person may take an assembled, closed jewel case 10 and pull the front cover away from the back plate to separate the two and cause the front cover to pivot relative to the back plate into an open position (FIG. 2). The user may then grasp the CD 11 and apply a compressive force to the spring finger assembly 16 to release the CD from the assembly. The CD may then be inserted into a CD player and played.

When the person desires to store the CD, the central opening formed in the CD may be aligned with the compact disk engagement assembly 16 and forced onto the assembly, causing the flexible fingers to flex radially inwardly to accept the CD.

The front cover is then pivoted to the closed position, with the spring finger assembly and peripheral segments 18 substantially preventing movement of the CD relative to the jewel case, for secure storage.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention provides an improved, low-profile jewel case for storing compact disks.

Having thus described preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that the above described arrangement and system is merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention, and that other arrangements and systems may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed below.