System and device for displaying, protecting, and storing items

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 60/788,175 filed on Mar. 31, 2006.

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a system and device for protecting, storing, and displaying any item, but preferably to protect, store, and display flat items and most preferably to protect, store, and display flat collectible items such as comic books and other printed documents.

2. Related Art

People commonly protect, store, and display flat items, such as comic books and other flat collectible items, using plastic bags with backing boards to add rigidity, corrugated plastic boxes, and specially constructed folders or shelving systems. Collectors in particular are seeking an effective system and device to safely store, display, and ship their items. In particular, collectors want to protect and display their collections while securing the value of their investments in the collectible items by minimizing the risk of damage occurring to the collectible during handling, shipping and display.

The accompanying figures depict multiple embodiments of the system and device for displaying, protecting, and storing items. A brief description of each figure is provided below. Elements with the same reference numbers in each figure indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawings in which the reference number first appears.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inner surface of a protective enclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the outer surface of a protective enclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cutaway perspective view of the two faces of a protective enclosures mated to form a closed protective enclosure with the label window shown.

FIG. 4 is a cutaway view of the interlocking system enabling multiple protective enclosures to be mated together into a self aligning columns or rows and columns.

FIG. 5 highlights the effect of the clearance and corner pockets to protect the corners of a flat item enclosed within the protective enclosure.

FIG. 6 is a detail view of one corner shown in FIG. 5 .

FIG. 7 is a detail view of a second corner shown in FIG. 5 .

FIG. 8 is a detail view of the preferred internal shape of a protective enclosure for containing a comic book.

FIG. 9 shows a collectible item enclosed within the protective enclosure with a label.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the display stand adapted to hold a protective enclosure upright for display of the item contained within.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a display stand with a protective enclosure inserted for display of the collectible item enclosed within the protective enclosure.

1. Protective Enclosure

The system and device disclosed herein is designed to protect, store and display any item, but preferably protect, store and display flat items. The system and device is easily modified by one of ordinary skill in the art to protect, store, and display a number of flat items including, but not limited to, patches, stamps, magazines, comics, coins, trading cards, certificates, and other important documents.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inner surface 114 of the protective enclosure 100 in an open position and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the outer surface 200 of the protective enclosure 100 in an open position. The protective enclosure 100 includes an upper face 102 and a lower face 104 . The upper face 102 has a upper label area 106 , while the lower face 104 has a lower label area 108 . The upper label area 106 and the lower label area 108 in one embodiment are adapted to accept a 1″ by 5″ card, label or tag between themselves when the lower face 104 is folded against the upper face 102 . The card in the label area 300 (shown on FIG. 3 ) allows easy cataloguing and inventory of the contents of a protective enclosure 100 without the need to move that protective enclosure 100 from an interlocking stack of multiple protective enclosures 100 .

The upper face 102 is separated from the lower face 104 by a living hinge 110 . The living hinge 110 is a thin section of plastic that enables the lower face 104 to be folded and closed against the upper face 102 . Features and characteristics of a living hinge 110 are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The arrow A indicates the direction of rotation of the upper face 102 onto the lower face 104 along the living hinge 110 to close the protective enclosure 100 as shown in part in FIG. 3 . The lower face 104 has a protective recess 112 formed within it for housing an item stored inside a protective enclosure 100 in the closed position.

1.a. Label Window

FIG. 3 is a cutaway perspective view of the upper face 102 and the lower face 104 of the protective enclosure 100 mated to form a closed protective enclosure 100 with the label window 300 shown. The label window 300 is formed by the upper label area 106 and the lower label area 108 . The size of the folds that form the upper label area 106 and the lower label area 108 enable placement of a paper or plastic label 900 (shown in FIG. 9 ) between the upper label area 106 and the lower label area 108 . Alternatively, an adhesive label may be attached to the outside surface of the label window 300 . The label window 300 is angled, preferably about 5 degrees to about 15 degrees for thin protective enclosures 100 and up to a maximum of about 30 degrees for thicker ones, for easy viewing when the protective case 100 is either stacked or on display in the protect enclosure display system 1000 (see FIG. 10 ). The protective recess 112 is formed by the recess walls 310 that surround the extents of the protective recess 112 in the lower face 104 .

1.b. Locking Interface

A locking interface 302 is formed between the material of the upper face 102 and the lower face 104 . The upper locking interface 304 is formed in the material of the upper face 102 and is sized and shaped to accept the lower locking interface 306 . In one embodiment, the upper locking interface 304 is sized to accept the lower locking interface 306 with an interference fit. In the embodiment of the protective enclosure 100 shown in FIGS. 1 , 2 , and 3 , the locking interface 302 forms a continuous line or perimeter around the protective recess 112 . The locking interface 302 thus provides a dust and moisture inhibiting barrier between the item stored within the protective recess 112 of the closed protective enclosure 100 and the outside world. In still another embodiment, the locking interface 302 is formed such that it is substantially water resistant, further protecting an item stored within the protective enclosure 100 .

In still another embodiment, the locking interface 302 is formed with a sealant or adhesive inside that creates a permanent seal between the upper locking interface 304 and the lower locking interface 306 thereby sealing the protective recess 112 of the closed protective enclosure 100 . In yet another embodiment, the locking interface 302 is formed with a gasket-like material, e.g., a foam ring or gasket, that provides additional sealing protection for the protective recess 112 .

1.c. Interlocking Stacking Interface

FIG. 4 details the aspects of the interlocking stacking interface 400 . The interlocking stacking interface 400 enables the closed protective enclosures 100 to be stacked either on top of each other in columns or in adjoining rows and columns. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , two protective enclosures 100 are placed side to side in a row. The interlocking stacking interface 400 extends along the length of both long sides of the protective enclosure 100 and enables the protective enclosure 100 to be stacked safely and effectively without the need for specialized external hardware for supporting and handling each unit. The interlocking stacking interface 400 also enables a single protective enclosure 100 to be selectively removed from a stack of multiple protective enclosures 100 without disturbing the stability of a row and column stack. In FIG. 4 , the elements of the left most protective enclosure 100 ′ that are equivalent to those found on the right most protective enclosure 100 are denoted by a (′) mark.

The interlocking stacking interface 400 is formed of two primary elements, the upper stacking lip 402 that is formed as part of the upper face 102 and the lower stacking lip 404 that is formed as part of the lower face 104 . The upper stacking lip 402 and the lower stacking lip 404 are connected by an upper raised ledge 410 and lower raised ledge 412 respectively by an inner vertical edge 408 and an outer vertical edge 406 . The complementary upper stacking lip 402 ′ and lower stacking lip 404 ′ on a second or left protective enclosure 100 ′ is also shown to highlight the interlocking stacking interface 400 . Also shown are the complementary upper raised ledge 410 ′ and lower raised ledge 412 ′ and inner vertical edge 408 ′ and outer vertical edge 406 ′ for the left most protective enclosure 100 ′.

The external face of the lower stacking lip 404 , 404 ′ is adapted to fit and slide substantially freely along the internal face of an upper stacking lip 402 ′ located on a left most protective enclosure 100 ′. The lower, outer vertical edge 406 of the lower stacking lip 404 is adapted to fit on the upper, outer vertical edge 408 ′ of the mating upper stacking lip 402 ′. The interlocking features of the interlocking stacking interface 400 enable the protective enclosures 100 to be interlocked both vertically and horizontally, thereby creating a row and column array of protective enclosures 100 .

The interlocking stacking interface 400 is adapted in this embodiment such that when multiple protective enclosures 100 are stacked on top of each other there is sufficient clearance created between upper surface 102 of the upper stacking lip 402 and the lower surface 104 of the lower stacking lip 404 to keep the remaining elements of the upper face 102 and the lower face 104 , including the outer surface of the protective recess 112 from touching the protective enclosures 100 that are located immediately above and below the selected protective enclosure 100 . Since the interlocking stacking interface 400 allows the individual protective enclosures 100 to nest within the respective upper and lower stacking lips 402 , 404 of the protective enclosures 100 above and below, a stable stack or column of protective enclosures 100 is readily formed as well.

1.d. Protective Enclosure 100 Material Selection

The protective enclosure 100 may be selected from a number of different types of material. Preferably the material is a plastic. Most preferably, the plastic is selected from the group consisting of polyvinylchloride (PVC), Amorphous Polyethylene Terephthalate (APET), polycarbonate, polystyrene, and polyethylene. The material used for the protective enclosure 100 in some embodiments provides ultraviolet (UV) light spectrum protection. In another embodiment, the materials selected for the protective enclosure 100 are selected such that they are substantially transparent, thereby enabling a person to view the item stored within. In yet another embodiment, the materials used for the protective enclosure 100 is formed from two separate materials that are joined to create portions of the protective enclosure 100 that have different levels of transparency, including different hues and colors ranging from clear to opaque. In still another embodiment, the upper face 102 is formed of a substantially transparent material while the lower face 104 is formed of a substantially opaque material. The selection of materials to achieve a variety of cosmetic and functional outcomes is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Another criteria used by designers in selecting the materials used to form the protective enclosure 100 is to provide protection and substantially maintain the seal integrity of the protective enclosure 100 when it is dropped, or alternatively to prevent collapse when items of specific weight and surface area are placed on the surface of the protective enclosure 100 .

In the embodiment of the protective enclosure 100 depicted herein, the material is selected to enable the protective enclosure 100 to be fabricated as a single piece using vacuum molding. In alternative embodiments, the protective enclosure 100 may be formed from multiple elements that are welded or glued or otherwise fitted together. In yet another embodiment, the protective enclosure 100 is formed using a process selected from the following injection molding, die casting, stamping, and casting.

1.e. Protection of Book-Like Flat Items

In yet another embodiment, shown in FIGS. 5-7 , the protective enclosure 100 is adapted to protect a substantially book-like flat item 500 , such as a book, magazine, or comic book within its protective recess 112 . In this case, the flat item 500 is sized as a typical US comic book 6.625″×10.25″. In alternative embodiments, the flat item 500 is sized for a specific type of book or other collectable item. The lower face 104 is shown in outline in FIG. 5 . The protective recess 112 is also shown as a dark outline in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 . The protective recess 112 has edge protector pockets 502 located in the four corners of the protective recess 112 . The edge protector pockets 502 are adapted to protect the corners of the flat item 500 such that when the flat item 500 rotates, as shown in FIG. 5 , the corners of the flat item 500 do not contact the edges of the protective recess 112 . Preferably, the internal dimensions of the protective recess 112 and the edge protector pockets 502 are adapted such that when the flat item 500 moves or shifts within the protective recess 112 , the flat item 500 contacts on the length of the flat item 500 , at point 600 in FIG. 6 and at point 700 in FIG. 7 , rather than at the flat item's 500 corners. The edge protector pockets 502 corners 702 are shown in this embodiment as substantially square. In alternative embodiments, these corners 702 are chamfered, filleted, curved, or otherwise broken to further increase the contact area between the flat item 500 and the recess walls 310 of the protective recess 112 .

In one embodiment, the protective recess 112 is sized according to the following formula that predicts the exact size and shape of the recess necessary to protect the corners of a flat item 500 stored within the protective enclosure 100 . In FIG. 5 , there are dimensions x and y defining the width and height respectively of the flat item 500 and dimensions x′ and y′ defining the width and height respectively of the protective recess 112 . Note that the protective recess 112 in this embodiment is not circular in shape but is designed according to the desired overall size and shape of the protective enclosure 100 and the contents to be contained within. The following formulations provide the length p, and the width w of the edge protector pockets 502 in a given protective enclosure 100 necessary to prevent the corners of the flat item 500 contained within from impacting the recess walls 310 of the protective recess 112 .

l x =0.95( x′−x )  4-1

l y =0.78( y′−y )  4-2

l′ y =l y +desired distance from comic case  4-3

l′ x =l x +desired distance from comic case  4-4

1.f. Protective Enclosure 100 for a Collectible Comic Book

FIGS. 8 and 9 depict an embodiment of the protective enclosure 100 adapted to protect and house a specific flat item 500 , in this case a collectible comic book 804 . FIG. 8 shows the preferred size of such a protective enclosure 100 whereas FIG. 9 shows such a protective enclosure 100 containing a comic book 904 . In this embodiment, the protective enclosure 100 has the following overall dimensions:

Overall closed length (L)=15″ Overall Open Length=29⅝″ Width from edge to edge (W)=9⅞″ Height (Closed)=½″ Material thickness=0.025″

The protective enclosure 100 in the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9 also includes a pair of finger holes 902 in a front edge of the protective enclosure that enable the upper face 102 and the lower face 104 of the protective enclosure 100 to be separated easily to reach the comic book 904 located within.

1.g. Additional Elements

The protective enclosure 100 in other embodiments also includes a number of additional elements that are incorporated into the device. In one embodiment, these additional elements include an Acid Inhibitor—an insert that goes between the front cover and first page of the comic book 904 , and the back cover and last page. This insert would consist of a porous paper that helps to prevent acid from the inside pages damaging the cover. In yet another embodiment, these additional elements include stuffers for placement of a comic book 904 that is thinner than the ⅛ th inch thick. A stuffer consists of a thin piece of plastic, being about 1/16 th in thickness and substantially the same length and width of a comic book, that helps keep the comic book 904 tightly in place while in the protective enclosure 100 , thereby preventing the comic book 804 from slipping within the protective recess 112 .

2. Free Standing Protective Enclosure Display System

FIGS. 10 and 11 depict an embodiment wherein there is a free standing holder 1000 that enables the protective enclosure 100 to be propped up 1100 in order to display the comic book 904 thereby creating a protective enclosure display 1000 as shown in FIG. 10 . The free standing holder 1000 has a lower lip 1002 , that in conjunction with the back 1008 and retaining tabs 1006 , form a retaining well 1004 . The retaining well 1004 is adapted to accept the lower edge of a protective enclosure 100 such that the protective enclosure 100 does not slip out of the retaining well 1004 . The lower surface 1010 of the free standing holder 1000 in this embodiment may have friction enhancement materials, such as a pad, fabric, or a granular surface, applied to the lower surface 1010 to prevent the free standing holder 1000 from slipping on most surfaces. The free standing holder 1000 in the depicted embodiment is formed of an injection molded plastic, in this case polystyrene. Other materials and fabrication techniques maybe selected by one of ordinary skill in the art, including but not limited to vacuum molding, die casting, stamping, casting, and machining. In yet another embodiment, the free standing holder 1000 has an additional weight added to the lower surface 1010 , or within the free standing holder 1000 itself, to provide additional stability.

3. Wall Display

The protective enclosure 100 , and specifically the lower face 104 in yet another embodiment is fabricated with a hole 906 , 908 and/or notch in the surface that enables the protective enclosure 100 to be hung on a wall using a hook, nail, or screw. In still another embodiment, the protective enclosures 100 are designed with an additional plastic element that enables a single protective enclosure 100 to be locked into an interlocked, stacked wall of protective enclosures 100 , thereby creating a display that does not need nails or hooks. In still another embodiment, display tabs are fabricated that resemble elements of the interlocking stacking interface 400 formed by a second protective enclosure without the associated enclosure. The display tabs are thus mounted to a wall, and then protective enclosures 100 for display are mounted on the display tabs using the same interlocking stacking interface 400 formed when multiple the protective enclosures 100 are stacked in an interlocking manner.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by the way of example only, and not limitation. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.