Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Sheet Metal Container for a CD or similar
The invention relates to a sheet metal container for a CD or
similar with a lower portion which includes a receiving body
for the CD or a similar, disc-shaped data carrier with a
central opening, and with a cover portion with a downwardly
directed edge enclosing the edge of the lower portion.
In the known sheet metal containers of this type, the lower
portion has an edge which extends upwards from the base of
the lower portion to the cover portion. The lower portion
forms a flat shell in which the receiving body, which is
composed of foam material and has a depression to receive
the CD, is arranged. Since the C~ lies directly on the foam
body, it may be scratched if dust or other foreign matter is
deposited on the foam material. Moreover, it is difficult to
remove the CD from the known container because the CD is
arranged in a depression in the receiving body and the lower
portion. The CD can also move in the depression and is not
securely held. Finally, recycling of known containers also
poses problems because the foam receiving body is glued into
the lower portion. The known container i5 made of two
different materials and the foam receiving body would have
to be removed from the lower portion before this can be
recycled.
Containers for CDs are most frequently made of transparent
plastic nowadays. A receiving body, also made of plastic, i~
arranged in the lower portion of the container for the CD.
This receiving body has a button-like projection in its
centre which is divided into resilient lugs by several
slots. These resilient lugs engage in the central opening
with relatively high tension. Therefore, a high detaching
force is required when the CD is first used, and this can
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lead to breakage of the CD. Moreover, after some time the
plastic lugs lose rigidity so that the CDs are no longer
held securely. The lugs may break off as a result of aging
of the plastic after a certain length of time or after
frequent removal of the CD. Recycling of the plastic
contAiner also poses problems since the transparent
cont~;ner is generally made of a different plastic to that
of the receiving body and the two plastics must not be mixed
together.
Therefore, the object of the invention is to provide a sheet
metal container for a CD or similar of the aforementioned
type, in which the CD is securely held without any risk of
damage, from which the CD may still be easily removed, and
which is made completely of sheet metal so that it may be
easily recycled.
This is achieved according to the invention in that the edge
of the lower portion extends d~wnwards away from its base or
the cover portion and in its lower area remote from the base
has an outwardly projecting rolled edge (bead), and that the
receiving body is formed from sheet metal and has a central,
essentially cylindrical holding part, which engages in the
central opening in the CD to form a clamping connection, its
diameter being slightly larger than the diameter of the
central opening, and which is surrounded concentrically by a
support part, which is raised in relation to the r~m~in;ng
area of the base and on which the central portion of the CD
surrounding the central opening is supported.
In the case of the new sheet metal cont~; n~r, after the
cover has been removed, the entire edge of the CD is exposed
and is additionally at a distance from the base of the lower
portion. The CD can thus be easily removed from the lower
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portion and replaced onto this again. Since in relation to
the plastic from which the CDs are made, sheet metal has a
lower coefficient of friction than plastic, from which the
receiving body has previously been made in the case of
plastic packaging, only a low detaching force is required
when first using the CD which cannot lead to breakage of the
CD. Nevertheless, the clamping force exerted by the holding
part is sufficient to hold the CD securely. Since the
portion of the CD carrying the data is held at a distance
from the base of the lower portion, damage to the CD is
avoided. Moreover, the CD may also be removed more easily.
Since the entire sheet metal container including the
receiving body is made of sheet metal, it may be recycled
easily.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are characterised
in the sub-claims.
The invention is explained in further detail below on the
basis of examples shown in the drawing.
igure 1 shows a cross-section of the entire sheet metal
container in a first embodiment with the CD
disposed therein, in the scale of about 2:1;
igure 2 shows a cross-section of the lower portion in a
second embodiment;
igure 3 is a partial side view of the sheet metal
container in the area of a corner, in the scale
of about 5:1;
igure 4 is a top view onto the sheet metal container in
the scale of about 1:1;
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igure 5 shows a cross-section along line V-V in Figure
4, in the scale of about 5:1;
igure 6 shows a cross-section along line ~I-VI in Figure
4 in the same scale.
The sheet metal container 1 comprises a cover portion 2 and
a lcwer portion 3. The cover portion 2 and lower portion 3
have an essentially rectangular contour, the length and
width of which corresponds to the usual dimensions of CD
packs. The cover portion 2 and lower portion 3 are made of
sheet steel, in particular tin plate. However, another
material, e.g. aluminium sheet, may also be used.
The cont~in~r 1 also has particular new features and
advantages resulting from these with respect to the
construction of the lower portion 3. As may be seen from
Figures 5 and 6, the edge 15 of the lower portion 3 extends
downwards away from the base 4, e.g. it is directed away
from the cover portion 2. In its lower area remote from the
base, the edge 15 has an outwardly projecting ro}led portion
16, which may also be referred to as a bead. This rolled
portion 16 provides the lower portion 3 with particular
rigidity and also restricts the movement of the cover
portion 2 relative to the lower portion 3. In its lower area
remote from the cover plate 18, the edge 17 of the cover
portion 2 is provided with an inwardly projecting rolled
portion (bead) 19. This rolled portion 19 also serves to
reinforce the cover portion 2 and abuts against the rolled
portion 16 of the edge 15 when the cover portion 2 is
attached onto the lower portion 3. The rolled portion 19
encloses the edge 15 of the lower portion 3 and abuts
against this to form a clamping co~n~ction.
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In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the lower portion 3 has
a separate receiving body 5, which is also made of sheet
metal, preferably tin-plated black plate (tin plate), or
chromium-plated black plate, in the centre of its base 4.
The receiving body can be produced by deep-drawing.
As holding part, the receiving body 5 has a central
cylindrical peg 6, the diameter D of which is about 1~.1 mm,
and is therefore approximately 0.1 mm larger than the
central sp~n;ng usually provided in CDs. The CD is given the
reference 7 and its central opening 8 in Figure 1. The peg 6
may be provided with several radially extending slots 13 to
increase its flexibility. The peg 6 is surrounded
concentrically by a support part 10 which is connected to
the lower end of the cylindrical sidè wall of the peg 6.
A stepped æection 12 is provided on the outer circumference
of the support part 10. A fixing flange 9 is also provided
which serves to co~ct the receiving body 5 to the base 4.
The s~o~L part 10 is r~iSDA by the stepr~ section 12 in
relation to the rem~ining base 4 so that the~e is a space a
between the part 7b of the CD provided with data, thus
preventing any scratches to the CD.
The fixing flange 9 may be connected to the base 4 of the
lower portion 3 in various ways, e.g. by gluing. However,
hot-~ealing i~ preferred. Sheet steel, which has already
been provided with a sealable paint or a coating of
polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) prior
to deep-drawing, is used here to produce the receiving body.
The thickness of the paint can be between 1 and 10 ~m and
that of the plastic material 10 to 50 ~m. The lower portion
3 can either be made of uncoated sheet metal or it may have
the same coatings as the receiving body 5.
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The special structure of the lower portion 3 has the
essential advantage that, after removal of the cover portion
2, the outer circumference of the CD 7 is exposed on all
sides and can therefore be grasped more easily. Conversely,
the CD 7 may also be replaced on the holding part 6 without
there being any risk of its sensitive underside coming into
contact with parts of the lower portion 3.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the holding body 5'
forms one piece with the lower portion 3. The holding part
6' in this case is an essentially cylindrical collar drawn
from the base 4. As shown in the bottom of Figure 2 on a
greatly enlarged scale, this collar is expediently folded
rAA;~lly inwards at its free upwardly directed end.
Moreover, the collar 6' is deformed slightly outwards at its
free end to provide a diameter D which is slightly larger
than the diameter of the central opening 8 of the CD in
order to thus assure the clamping and holding function for
the CD. As in the case of the previously described
embc~;m~nt, the holding part or collar 6' is surrounded
concentrically by a support part which is raised in relation
to the surrounding area of the base 4. The base 4 is arched
upwards in a dome-like shape and slopes down towards the
edge 15 of the lower portion 3. As in the previous
embodiment, this ensures that the CD is supported on the
support part 7 only at its central part 7a surrounding the
central opening 8. The r~m~;ning area 7b of the CD, which
carries data, does not come into contact with the upwardly
arched base 4. There is a space al over all that area and
this increases towards the outside. After the cover portion
2 has been removed, the outer circumference of the CD 7 is
also exposed on all sides in this embodiment and may be
grasped easily.
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To make it easier to open the sheet metal container, the
height of the rolled edge 16 of the lower portion is reduced
in the area of at least one corner on its side facing the
cover portion 2, which may be achieved by compression, for
example. This is shown in Figure 6. The rolled edge 16 is
compressed by about O.S mm so that when the container is
closed, a corresponding space a is provided in the corner
area between the two rolled edges 16, 19. If pressure is
applied to the corresponding corner of the cover portion,
then the diagonally opposite corner of the cover portion
lifts and causes it to open. It is optionally also possible
to provide corresponding structures on all four corners so
that it is not necessary to pay attention to which corner of
the cover portion has to be pressed when opening the
cont~; n~r,
In order to make it easier to open the sheet metal
container, it is also possible to reduce the height of the
rolled edge of the cover portion 2 in the area of at least
one corner on its side facing the lower portion 3 of the
cover, as is shown in the partial side view in Figure 3.
This may also be achieved by means of compression. By
applying pressure onto this corner, the cover portion 2 is
lifted from the lower portion via the point of rotation l9a
and the container begins to open at the diagonally opposite
corner.
As may be seen in particular from Figure S, the cover
portion 2 is provided with a circumferential step 20 on its
upper side in the transition area between its edge 17 and
the cover plate 18. This step 20 permits engagement of the
rolled edge 16 of the lower portion 3 of a container 1
stacked thereon, as is shown in Figure 5 in broken lines.
This permits any desired number of containers to be stacked
one on top of the other without slipping.
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The holding part (6) or the cylindrical collar 6' may
be made also so long if necessary that two or three CDs
can be stacked coaxially one above the other on the
holding part 6 or the collar 6' by which they are held.
