JP2002274588A - Case holder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a case holder for storing an information recording medium such as a CD, which case holder is capable of storing a case with an anticrime tag kept attached inside the holder and to lock the case in a stored state by an operation of a locking mechanism. SOLUTION: The case holder 21 has a box-shaped storage container main body 23 and the locking mechanism 24. The storage container main body 23 has in its front an opening 25 into/from which the case 22 storing information recording medium can be inserted/extracted, and has at its top and bottom locking portions 26a and 26b which lock the case 22. The locking mechanism 24 limits the extraction of the case 22 from the storage container main body 23. The locking mechanism 24 includes at least a locking member 32 provided so as to project into the container main body 23 and a plate spring 33 provided so as to retain the projecting state of the locking member 32, the plate spring 33 being capable of holding the locking member 32 such that the projecting length of the locking member 32 varies according to a position. Therefore, because the locking member 32 can be held in the position according to which the projecting length of the locking member 32 varies, each case 22 can be held by the holder despite a different size of the case 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a holder for a case for accommodating an information recording medium such as a CD (compact disk), and more particularly, to a case in which a security tag is held inside a holder. The present invention relates to an improvement in a case holder that can be stored and locked (locked) in a stored state of a case by operating a lock mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a CD shop or a CD rental shop, a security tag is attached to a case of a CD or the like so that a product such as a CD is not illegally taken out of the store (ie, to prevent shoplifting). It was directly attached. This security tag is for magnetically or electrically reacting a security sensor installed in advance at the entrance of the store, and when a product with the security tag passes through the entrance of the store, the security sensor is activated. The alarm sounds.

However, if a security doug is directly attached to a case such as a CD, it may be intentionally peeled off or removed. Therefore, after storing the CD case in the container holding the security tag inside,
The container and the CD case are locked (locked), and the lock is released at the counter at the time of sale, and the CD case is given to the purchaser (customer).

However, since the container holding the security tag uses a cylinder lock or a tumbler lock to lock the CD case, the key is unlocked in front of the purchaser (customer) using a key. The operation is complicated and inefficient, and it is inconvenient to quickly unlock a large number of products.

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, the applicant has proposed a CD case storage container disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-11566. As shown in FIG. 10, the storage container 1 of the CD case has a storage container body 4 having an opening 3 on the back side through which the CD case 2 can be taken in and out;
A push button type lock mechanism 5 provided in the storage container body 4 and restricting removal of the CD case 2 is provided. In the four corners of the opening 3, the stored CD
Locking projections 6a, 6a, 6b, 6b are provided to hold the CD case 2 by contacting the four corners of the case 2.

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the lock mechanism 5 is attached to the top plate 7 of the storage container main body 4, and includes a leaf spring 8 and the leaf spring 8 for holding the storage container main body 4.
And a lock member 9 that is provided so as to protrude through the top plate 7. When the lock member 9 protrudes into the storage container body 4, the CD case 2
Restricting the retrieval of

The leaf spring 8 is formed by being bent in a U-shape, and sandwiches both ends of the lock member 9. A U-shaped groove 10 is formed at the lower surface end of the lock mechanism main body, and a leaf spring 8 is fitted into the U-shaped groove 10. Further, the lock member 9 is formed with engagement step portions 9a and 9b, and when the push member is pushed in the direction of the arrow A, the leaf spring 8 is engaged with the engagement step portions 9a on both sides to hold the pushed state. I do. The button portion 9c is provided so as to be able to protrude from the upper end of the lock mechanism 5, and the operator operates the portion by pressing this portion in the direction of arrow A with a finger.

The leaf spring 8 engaged with the engaging step 9a
Using a unlocking device 11 having a U-shape or having magnets on both sides as shown in FIG. 14, the leaf spring 8 is spread on both sides by a strong magnet from outside of the inverted lock mechanism 5 and the engagement step is performed. When the engagement with the portion 9a is released, the lock member 9 moves
Descend in the direction.

[0009]

In the conventional case 1 for storing a CD case, the lock member 9 in the locked state has a fixed projection length, so that the CD case 2 is vertically moved (see FIG. 10). If the dimension of ()) is shorter than the predetermined dimension, rattling occurs in the vertical direction in the locked state, and the CD case 2 falls off from the storage container main body 4.
That is, the lock member 9 of the lock mechanism 5 has a disadvantage that only the CD case 2 having a predetermined size can be held in the locked state.

Therefore, in the case 1 of the conventional case for the CD case, it is necessary to solve the problem that the case 4 can be firmly held in the case 4 even if the CD case 2 has a different vertical dimension. Has issues.

[0011]

As a specific means for solving the problems of the conventional example, the present invention has an opening on the front side through which a case for storing an information recording medium can be taken in and out, and an upper part of the opening. And a box-shaped storage container main body provided with a locking portion for locking the case at a lower portion, and a lock mechanism for restricting removal of the case from the storage container main body, wherein the lock mechanism includes the storage container. It has at least a lock member provided to be able to protrude into the main body, and a leaf spring for holding the protruding state of the lock member, and the leaf spring can be held at a position where the protruding length of the lock member is different. Is provided.

The lock member is formed with an engaging step, and the projecting state of the lock member is maintained by engaging the engaging piece of the leaf spring with the engaging step. Further, the engagement step portion has a configuration in which a tapered portion is formed along a projecting direction into the storage container body.

In the case holder according to the present invention, the lock members can be held at positions where the protrusion lengths of the lock members are different, so that even in cases where the dimensions in the vertical direction are different, the lock members can be protruded in accordance with the dimensions. Can be held in the storage container body. In other words, even if there is some variation in the dimensions of the cases, it can be firmly held in accordance with the dimensions of each case.

[0014]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, in FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 21 denotes a holder for a case. The holder 21 is a box-shaped storage container main body 23 from which a predetermined case 22 for storing an information recording medium such as a CD can be taken in and out.
And a push button type lock mechanism 24 provided on the upper portion of the storage container main body 23.

The storage container main body 23 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material such as plastic, has appropriate rigidity and elasticity, and allows the jacket of the case 22 housed therein to be visually recognized from the outside. It is formed of a transparent or translucent material so that it can be used. The size of the inside of the storage container body 23 is formed so that the case 22 having a predetermined size can be almost perfectly stored, and some rattling occurs in the vertical direction.

An opening 25 is formed on the front side of the storage container main body 23 so as to be open, and plate-like locking portions 26a and 26b are provided along the upper and lower portions of the opening 25. In particular, the locking portion 26a is provided with a locking mechanism 24 described later.
Is formed wider than the length of the lock member 32 (projection 32 e) that protrudes into the storage container main body 23 by the operation described above. Note that the locking portions 26a and 26b only need to be able to lock the upper and lower edges of the case 22 housed therein. (Neither is shown).

The upper portion of the storage container main body 23 is provided with a horizontally long top plate 27. That is, a locking portion 26a located at the top along the front side of the top plate 27 is integrally provided. It is.

On the back side of the top plate 27, a rectangular back plate 28 is integrally provided. And this back plate 28
As shown in FIG. 1, a substantially square window hole 29 is formed in the case 2.
Push your finger to 2 and push it out. In addition, a security tag (not shown) is attached to an appropriate position inside the back plate 28 by an appropriate means such as bonding.

On both sides of the back plate 28, that is, on both ends of the top plate 27, vertically long side plates 30, 30 are provided integrally.

At the lower end of the back plate 28, a horizontally long bottom plate 31 is integrally provided. Both ends of the bottom plate 31 are provided integrally with the side plates 30, 30, respectively. A locking portion 26b located at a lower portion along the front side of the bottom plate 31 is provided integrally.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the lock mechanism 24 is attached to the top plate 27 and has a lock member 32 that can penetrate through the top plate 27 and protrude into the storage container body 23. A leaf spring 33 for holding the protruding state of the lock member 32 is housed in a lock mechanism main body 34.

The locking member 32 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 (a).
(B) As shown in (c), a push button portion 32a provided so as to be able to be pushed from the upper end of the lock mechanism main body 34,
A base portion 32b connected to the push button portion 32a; engaging step portions 32c and 32d provided continuously to the base portion 32b;
, Which are integrally formed of a synthetic resin material. The engagement step 32c is formed with a tapered portion 32f extending in the protruding direction.

The leaf spring 33 is formed by bending a long metal material into a U-shape, and wide portions at both ends thereof are bent into an L-shape and inward to form horizontal engaging pieces 33a, 33a. Has formed. And the leaf spring 33 sandwiches both sides of the lock member 32, and the engaging piece 33a is formed so as to be able to engage with the engaging step 32c or 32d when the push button 32a is pushed in. The engagement piece 33 a is
2c or 32d.
Is kept in the protruding state. Note that, as described above, the engagement step 32
Since the tapered portion 32f is formed in c, when the lock member 32 is projected in the direction of the arrow C, the engagement piece 33a slides on the tapered portion 32f and spreads on both sides, so that the lock member 32 can be projected. (See FIG. 7B.) The movement in the opposite direction is restricted by the engaging step 32c (see FIG. 7C).

The lock mechanism main body 34 is formed of a synthetic resin material, and has a U-shaped groove 35 formed at the lower end thereof.
A leaf spring 33 is fitted in the groove 35.

The engaging piece 33a engaged with the engaging step 32c or 32d is turned upside down by using an unlocking device 36 having a U-shape or having magnets on both sides as shown in FIGS. The leaf spring 33 (engaging piece 33a) is spread to both sides by a strong magnet from outside the locking mechanism 24, and the engaging step 32c is formed.
Or, when the engagement with 32d is released, the lock member 32 is lowered in the direction of arrow D by its own weight.

Next, a method of using the case holder 21 having the above configuration will be described. First, case 22
Mechanism in the case holder 21 and then the lock mechanism 2
The lock member 32 (projection 32e) of No. 4 protrudes, and the case 22 is fixed so as not to move in the vertical direction (to prevent rattling). In this case, the projection length of the lock member 32 (projection 32e) can be made different by engaging the engagement piece 33a with the engagement step 32c or 32d according to the dimensions of the case 22 (FIG. 7 ( B) b) c)
reference). That is, even when the dimensions of the case 22 are different, the case 22 can be held without rattling. In the present embodiment and each drawing, an example in which one engagement step portion 32c is formed is shown. However, two or more engagement step portions having the same shape may be formed. The projecting length of the lock member 32 (projecting portion 32e) can be varied in multiple stages.

Case holder 2 containing case 22
1, as described above, the width of the locking portion 26 a is formed wider than the length of the locking member 32 protruding into the storage container main body 23, so that the upper edge of the case 22 abuts on the locking portion 26 a. The lower edge of the case 22 is in contact with and held by the locking portion 26b. That is, the case 22 does not fall out of the opening 25 of the storage container body 23.

The case 22 is taken out from the case holder 21 in the following manner. First, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, using a predetermined unlocking device 36, a strong magnet is used by a strong magnet from outside the inverted lock mechanism 24.
When the 3 (engaging piece 33a) is spread to both sides to release the engagement with the engaging step portion 32c or 32d, the lock member 32 descends in the direction of arrow D by its own weight. Thus, the lock member 32
If the (projecting portion 32e) is retracted, the case 22 can move in the vertical direction, so that the contact between the locking portions 26a and 26b can be sequentially removed, and the case 22 can be taken out from the opening 25.

As described above, the case holder 21 is provided with the lock member 32 (projection portion 3) projecting into the storage container main body 23.
Since the protrusion length of 2e) can be held at different positions, even if the dimensions of the case 22 are different, it can be held according to each case.

[0030]

As described above, the case holder according to the present invention has an opening on the front side through which a case for accommodating an information recording medium can be taken in and out, and the case is provided above and below the opening. A box-shaped storage container main body provided with locking portions for locking, and a lock mechanism for restricting removal of the case from the storage container main body, wherein the lock mechanism is capable of protruding into the storage container main body. By providing at least a lock member provided and a leaf spring for holding the protruding state of the lock member, the leaf spring can be held at a position where the protruding length of the lock member is different,
Even in the case where the dimensions in the vertical direction are different, the case can be held in the storage container body by projecting the lock member according to the dimension. That is, even when there is some variation in the dimensions of the cases, there is an excellent effect that the cases can be firmly held corresponding to each case.

An engaging step is formed on the lock member, and the projecting state of the lock member is maintained by engaging the engaging piece of the leaf spring with the engaging step, whereby a case is formed. This has an excellent effect that the holding state is firm.

Further, since the engaging step portion is formed with a tapered portion along the projecting direction into the storage container main body, the engaging piece of the leaf spring forms the tapered portion when the lock member is projected. Since it is slid and spreads on both sides, an excellent effect that the lock member can be protruded is achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a case holder according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a case is stored in a case holder according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a lock mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the lock mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a lock member held between leaf springs.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a lock mechanism.

FIGS. 7 (a), (b) and (c) are enlarged side views of essential parts for explaining a state in which an engagement piece of a leaf spring is engaged with an engagement step of the lock member.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a state where the lock mechanism is unlocked using the unlocking device.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a state where the lock mechanism is unlocked using the unlocking device.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a storage case of a CD case according to a conventional example.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a lock mechanism according to a conventional example.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view showing a lock mechanism according to a conventional example.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a main part showing a lock mechanism according to a conventional example.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing an unlocked state of a lock mechanism according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage case of CD case 2 CD case 3 Opening 4 Storage container main body 5 Lock mechanism 6a Locking protrusion 6b Locking protrusion 7 Top plate 8 Leaf spring 9 Lock member 9a Engaging step 9b Engaging step 9c Button section 10 U-shaped groove 11 Unlocking device 21 Case holder 22 Case 23 Storage container body 24 Lock mechanism 25 Opening 26a Locking portion 26b Locking portion 27 Top plate 28 Back plate 29 Window hole 30 Side plate 31 Bottom plate 32 Lock member 32a push button portion 32b base portion 32c engaging step portion 32d engaging step portion 32e projecting portion 32f taper portion 33 leaf spring 33a engaging piece 34 lock mechanism main body 35 U-shaped groove 36 unlocking device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A box-shaped storage having an opening on the front side through which a case for storing an information recording medium can be taken in and out, and locking portions for locking the case at upper and lower portions of the opening, respectively. A container main body; and a lock mechanism for restricting removal of the case from the storage container main body. The lock mechanism holds a lock member provided to be protrudable in the storage container main body and a protruding state of the lock member. And a leaf spring capable of holding the lock member at a position where the protruding length of the lock member is different. 2. The locking member is provided with an engagement step, and the projection of the lock member is held by engaging an engagement piece of the leaf spring with the engagement step. The case holder according to claim 1. 3. The case holder according to claim 2, wherein the engaging step portion is formed with a tapered portion along a direction in which the engaging step portion projects into the storage container body.