Enclosure for optical disk or the like

Claim 2

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, spaced apart substantially parallel side walls having substantially planar, spaced apart inner surfaces facing each other and forming an elongated, substantially flat space therebetween; (b) an access opening formed in said side walls for permitting the gripping of the disk to facilitate the insertion and removal thereof into and from said enclosure; (c) edge walls extending between opposed lateral edges of said side walls to enclose the lateral edges of said elongated space; (d) an end wall extending between said side walls at one end thereof to enclose said one end of said elongated space and to form with said side walls and said edge walls a partially enclosed elongated and substantially flat cavity between said spaced apart, inner facing surfaces of said side walls, the other end of said cavity remaining open to form means for inserting and removing a disk into and from said cavity; (e) positioning means permanently located within said cavity and supported on said edge walls and said end wall, said positioning means including means for engaging the outer edges of the disk at a plurality of spaced apart locations around the perimeter thereof to position the disk with the active face surfaces thereof positioned and held in spaced apart relation to said inner facing surfaces of said side walls and including grip means supported on said end wall for releasably gripping at least one edge of the disk; and (f) said enclosure consisting of a one-piece unitary structure; where said grip means comprises a pair of opposed, resilient grip elements spaced apart a sufficient distance for snugly receiving an edge of the disk therebetween.

Claim 3

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, spaced apart substantially parallel side walls having substantially planar, spaced apart inner surfaces facing each other and forming an elongated, substantially flat space therebetween; (b) an access opening formed in said side walls for permitting the gripping of the disk to facilitate the insertion and removal thereof into and from said enclosure; (c) edge walls extending between opposed lateral edges of said side walls to enclose the lateral edges of said elongated space; (d) an end wall extending between said side walls at one end thereof to enclose said one end of said elongated space and to form with said side walls and said edge walls a partially enclosed elongated and substantially flat cavity between said spaced apart, inner facing surfaces of said side walls, the other end of said cavity remaining open to form means for inserting and removing a disk into and from said cavity; (e) positioning means permanently located within said cavity including means for engaging the outer edges of the disk at a plurality of spaced apart locations around the perimeter thereof to position the disk with the active face surfaces thereof positioned and held in spaced apart relation to said inner facing surfaces of said side walls; and (f) a cover element for insertion into the open end of said cavity, said cover element including engagement means for engaging the disk; wherein said cover element substantially encloses the disk and is insertable with the disk into said cavity, and wherein said cover element is provided with openings therein for allowing edge portions of the disk to extend through said openings to engage said positiong means.

Claim 4

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, spaced apart substantially parallel side walls having substantially planar, spaced apart inner surfaces facing each other and forming an elongated, substantially flat space therebetween; (b) an access opening formed in said side walls for permitting the gripping of the disk to facilitate the insertion and removal thereof into and from said enclosure; (c) edge walls extending between opposed lateral edges of said side walls to enclose the lateral edges of said elongated space; (d) an end wall extending between said side walls at one end thereof to enclose said one end of said elongated space and to form with said side walls and said edge walls a partially enclosed elongated and substantially flat cavity between said spaced apart, inner facing surfaces of said side walls, the other end of said cavity remaining open to form means for inserting and removing a disk into and from said cavity; (e) positioning means permanently located within said cavity including means for engaging the outer edges of the disk at a plurality of spaced apart locations around the perimeter thereof to position the disk with the active face surfaces thereof positioned and held in spaced apart relation to said inner facing surfaces of said side walls; and (f) a cover element for insertion into the open end of said cavity, said cover element including engagement means for engaging the disk; wherein said cover element substantially encloses the disk and is insertable with the disk into said cavity, and wherein said cover element is provided with openings therein for allowing edge portions of the disk to extend through said openings to engage said positiong means.

Claim 5

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, spaced apart substantially parallel side walls having substantially planar, spaced apart inner surfaces facing each other and forming an elongated, substantially flat cavity therebetween; (b) edge walls extending between opposed lateral edges of said side walls to enclose the lateral edges of said elongated cavity; (c) positioning means within said cavity for positioning the disk within said cavity including means for engaging the outer edges of the disk at a plurality of spaced apart locations around the perimeter thereof to position the disk with the active face surfaces thereof positioned and held in spaced apart relation to said inner facing surfaces of said side walls; (d) said positioning means including grip means supported on an end wall extending between said side walls at one end thereof for gripping at least one edge portion of the disk to releasably hold the disk within said cavity against movement of the disk in the planar direction; and (e) including a cover element substantially enclosing the disk and being insertable with the disk into said cavity, and wherein said cover element is provided with openings therein for allowing edge portions of the disk to extend through said openings to engage said positioning means.

Claim 6

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, spaced apart substantially parallel side walls having substantially planar, spaced apart inner surfaces facing each other and forming an elongated, substantially flat cavity therebetween; (b) edge walls extending between opposed lateral edges of said side walls to enclose the lateral edges of said elongated cavity; (c) positioning means within said cavity for positioning the disk within said cavity including means for engaging the outer edges of the disk at a plurality of spaced apart locations around the perimeter thereof to position the disk with the active face surfaces thereof positioned and held in spaced apart relation to said inner facing surfaces of said side walls; (d) said positioning means including grip means supported on an end wall extending between said side walls at one end thereof for gripping at least one edge portion of the disk to releasably hold the disk within said cavity against movement of the disk in the planar direction; and (e) including a cover element substantially enclosing the disk and being insertable with the disk into said cavity, and wherein said cover element is provided with openings therein for allowing edge portions of the disk to extend through said openings to engage said positioning means.

Claim 7

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, spaced apart substantially parallel side walls having substantially planar, spaced apart inner surfaces facing each other and forming an elongated, substantially flat cavity therebetween; (b) edge walls extending between opposed lateral edges of said side walls to enclose the lateral edges of said elongated cavity; (c) positioning means within said cavity for positioning the disk within said cavity including means for engaging the outer edges of the disk at a plurality of spaced apart locations around the perimeter thereof to position the disk with the active face surfaces thereof positioned and held in spaced apart relation to said inner facing surfaces of said side walls; (d) said positioning means including grip means supported on an end wall extending between said side walls at one end thereof for gripping at least one edge portion of the disk to releasably hold the disk within said cavity against movement of the disk in the planar direction; and (e) a cover element for folding about the disk and being insertable with the disk into said cavity.

Claim 8

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, spaced apart substantially parallel side walls having substantially planar, spaced apart inner surfaces facing each other and forming an elongated, substantially flat cavity therebetween; (b) edge walls extending between opposed lateral edges of said side walls to enclose the lateral edges of said elongated cavity; (c) positioning means within said cavity for positioning the disk within said cavity including means for engaging the outer edges of the disk at a plurality of spaced apart locations around the perimeter thereof to position the disk with the active face surfaces thereof positioned and held in spaced apart relation to said inner facing surfaces of said side walls; (d) said positioning means including grip means supported on an end wall extending between said side walls at one end thereof for gripping at least one edge portion of the disk to releasably hold the disk within said cavity against movement of the disk in the planar direction; and (e) a cover element for folding about the disk and being insertable with the disk into said cavity.

Claim 9

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like as set forth in claim 4 in which said cover element is provided with openings therein for allowing edge portions of the disk to extend through said openings to engage said positioning means.

Claim 10

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, spaced apart substantially parallel side walls having substantially planar, spaced apart inner surfaces facing each other and forming an elongated, substantially flat space therebetween; (b) edge walls extending between opposed lateral edges of said side walls to enclose the lateral edges of said elongated space; (c) an end wall extending between said side walls at one end thereof to enclose said one end of said elongated space and to form with said side walls and said edge walls a partially enclosed elongated and substantially flat cavity between said spaced apart, inner facing surfaces of said side walls with the other end of said cavity remaining open to form means for inserting and removing a disk into and from said cavity; and (d) positioning means permanently located within said cavity including means for engaging the outer edges of the disk at a plurality of spaced apart locations around the perimeter thereof to position the disk with the active face surfaces thereof positioned and held in spaced apart relation to said inner facing surfaces of said side walls, said positioning means including grip means for releasably gripping at least one edge of the disk, where said grip means comprises a pair of opposed, resilient grip elements spaced apart a sufficient distance for snugly receiving an edge of the disk therebetween.

Claim 11

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, spaced apart substantially parallel side walls having substantially planar, spaced apart inner surfaces facing each other and forming an elongated, substantially flat space therebetween; (b) edge walls extending between opposed lateral edges of said side walls to enclose the lateral edges of said elongated space; (c) an end wall extending between said side walls at one end thereof to enclose said one end of said elongated space and to form with said side walls and said edge walls a partially enclosed elongated and substantially flat cavity between said spaced apart, inner facing surfaces of said side walls with the other end of said cavity remaining open to form means for inserting and removing a disk into and from said cavity; and (d) positioning means permanently located within said cavity including means for engaging the outer edges of the disk at a plurality of spaced apart locations around the perimeter thereof to position the disk with the active face surfaces thereof positioned and held in spaced apart relation to said inner facing surfaces of said side walls, said positioning means including grip means for releasably gripping at least one edge of the disk, where said grip means comprises a pair of opposed, resilient grip elements spaced apart a sufficient distance for snugly receiving an edge of the disk therebetween.

Claim 12

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, spaced apart substantially parallel side walls having substantially planar, spaced apart inner surfaces facing each other and forming an elongated, substantially flat cavity therebetween; (b) edge walls extending between opposed lateral edges of said side walls to enclose the lateral edges of said elongated cavity; (c) positioning means within said cavity for positioning the disk within said cavity including means for engaging the outer edges of the disk at a plurality of spaced apart locations around the perimeter thereof to position the disk with the active face surfaces thereof positioned and held in spaced apart relation to said inner facing surfaces of said side walls; and (d) said positioning means including grip means supported on an end wall extending between said side walls at one end thereof for gripping at least one edge portion of the disk to releasably hold the disk within said cavity against movement of the disk in the planar direction including a cover element substantially enclosing the disk and being insertable with the disk into said cavity and wherein said cover element is provided with openings therein for allowing edge portions of the disk to extend through said openings to engage said positioning means, where said grip means comprises a pair of opposed, resilient grip elements spaced apart a sufficient distance for snugly receiving an edge of the disk therebetween.

Claim 13

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, spaced apart substantially parallel side walls having substantially planar, spaced apart inner surfaces facing each other and forming an elongated, substantially flat cavity therebetween; (b) edge walls extending between opposed lateral edges of said side walls to enclose the lateral edges of said elongated cavity; (c) positioning means within said cavity for positioning the disk within said cavity including means for engaging the outer edges of the disk at a plurality of spaced apart locations around the perimeter thereof to position the disk with the active face surfaces thereof positioned and held in spaced apart relation to said inner facing surfaces of said side walls; and (d) said positioning means including grip means supported on an end wall extending between said side walls at one end thereof for gripping at least one edge portion of the disk to releasably hold the disk within said cavity against movement of the disk in the planar direction including a cover element substantially enclosing the disk and being insertable with the disk into said cavity and wherein said cover element is provided with openings therein for allowing edge portions of the disk to extend through said openings to engage said positioning means, where said grip means comprises a pair of opposed, resilient grip elements spaced apart a sufficient distance for snugly receiving an edge of the disk therebetween.

Claim 14

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like as set forth in claim 7 wherein said spaced apart distance is less than the thickness of the disk edge and said grip elements are spread apart upon insertion of the disk edge therebetween.

Claim 15

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like as set forth in claim 8 wherein said grip elements are integral with said end wall.

Claim 16

An enclosure for an optical disk or the like as set forth in claim 9 wherein said grip elements extend in cantilever fashion from said end wall into the interior of said cavity.