HK1096929A - Sleeve assembly for digital media disk - Google Patents

Description

Sleeve assembly for digital media disc

Cross reference to related applications

This application is a continuation-in-part application of united states prior application No. 10/800811 (application date 3/15 2004), which was claimed to have the priority date of this prior application in accordance with the provisions of 35u.s.c. § 120.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to packaging systems and, more particularly, to packaging systems for flat products such as compact discs and digital video discs.

Background

Digital information/entertainment products are increasingly being distributed on flat storage media such as compact discs ("CDs"), digital video discs ("DVDs"), etc. For example, music video programs, movies, software, photographs, promotional material such as catalogs and brochures, and the like are commonly produced and distributed as CDs and/or DVDs, and other similar flat storage media are referred to generically herein as "digital media discs. Digital media disks have many advantages over other existing storage media. Digital media discs are easier to manufacture, less expensive, and easier to modify and format, and have a form factor. Although the most common digital media disks are circular with a diameter of about 12cm, the digital media disks may have different sizes and/or shapes. Digital media discs are typically provided with external indicia, such as for identifying the digital content stored in the media and/or providing other aesthetic, promotional, and/or informational content. Players for various types of digital media discs are ubiquitous.

For example, the packaging for music CDs typically includes a rigid, transparent or translucent plastic casing, often referred to as a "jewel case. An insert or leaflet is typically inserted into the jewel case to form an indicator marking the contents of the CD. The inserts may include other information such as playlists, lyrics, copyright notices, content alerts or ratings, and lists of participants, such as the artists and producers involved in making the CD.

But the common jewel box-type shell has some defects. Jewel case type casings are thick and heavy with many hard corners. This makes the jewel case (and its enclosed CD) inconvenient to carry around, such as in a pocket or backpack. Additionally, jewel case type casings are typically made of brittle, hard plastics that are prone to scratching and cracking. For example, jewel case type casings are subject to breakage when dropped or otherwise mishandled, and in particular, the integral hinge mechanism is susceptible to damage. Jewel case type casings are also difficult to open. Jewel case type enclosures also typically include an engagement member that extends through a central hole in the CD and clasps the CD to secure it to the enclosure to prevent the CD from accidentally falling out when the jewel case type enclosure is in an open position. However, some engagement members also complicate CD removal, especially possibly leading to damage of the CD: for example, a CD may be damaged if a user attempts to remove the CD by pulling the outer edge of the CD upward without first disengaging the engagement mechanism. In addition, some jewel case type casings are relatively expensive to manufacture.

Other cases have been designed for CD discs that overcome some of the disadvantages discussed above for jewel case type cases that use cardboard to form the carrier. For example, U.S. patent No. 5655656 discloses a two-piece sleeve package for CD discs, which is made of cardboard stock, having an outer container and a separable inner sleeve slidably engaged with the outer container. 6241085 discloses a foldable cardboard CD carrier for holding multiple CDs in a side-by-side configuration, and 6637588 discloses a foldable cardboard CD carrier having a folding panel including a protrusion adapted to pass through a central hole in a CD. However, these carriers are relatively complex in construction. In addition, because the cardboard is opaque, the user cannot easily identify the contents of the enclosed CD without opening the carrier.

Thus, there is still a need for a carrier for digital media discs such as CDs and DVDs that is simple in construction, easy to manufacture, and easy to open for removal of the digital media disc.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention discloses a disk sleeve component for a digital medium disk such as a CD, a DVD and the like. The sleeve assembly can use a universal sleeve member without product specific identification thereon in combination with a placard that is detachably held with the sleeve member, the placard having product specific identification thereon. At least a portion of the identifying indicia is visible through the one or more apertures in the sleeve member even when the sleeve assembly is in the closed condition. The sleeve assembly includes a multi-panel sleeve member, such as a three-panel, three-fold sleeve, wherein both the first and second panels have retaining members for retaining a placard with an identifying indicia printed thereon. The first and/or second panels have apertures therein positioned to expose at least a portion of the identification indicia on the placard. The third panel includes an inwardly opening pocket or other retaining means adapted to receive a digital media disk so as to securely retain the media disk in the sleeve when the sleeve assembly is folded into the closed position.

In one embodiment of the invention, an aperture is provided which is disposed substantially between the first panel and the second panel, whereby when the sleeve assembly is closed, the aperture extends over the folded spine to expose a portion of the placard which is visible from the end of the sleeve assembly. Such a design allows a user to identify a particular disc from a stack of similar discs.

In one embodiment of the invention, a sleeve assembly includes a multi-panel sleeve having a first sleeve panel with a first retaining member and a second sleeve panel with a second retaining member, wherein the first sleeve panel and the second sleeve panel are hingedly coupled along a spine of the sleeve. Means for releasably coupling the digital media disk to the multi-panel sleeve are also included. A display slip with identification marks printed thereon is provided. The placard is sized to engage the first and second retaining members such that the placard is detachably retained on the sleeve and at least a portion of the identifying indicia is visible through a viewing aperture in the multi-panel sleeve when the sleeve is in the closed position.

In one embodiment of the invention, the sleeve assembly includes a hinge portion for holding the placard on the outer surface and a separable box portion for receiving the hinge portion, and holes through which at least a portion of the identifying indicia is visible.

The present invention comprises a method for packaging a digital media disc comprising the steps of: providing a multi-panel sleeve comprising means for holding a digital media disc, the sleeve having at least one through viewing aperture; holding the media disk in the sleeve; printing a placard having an identifying indicia associated with the digital media disc; and holding the placard to the sleeve such that the identifying indicia is visible through the viewing aperture.

Drawings

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a sleeve assembly for a digital media disc made in accordance with the present invention, shown in a collapsed condition;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the sleeve assembly of FIG. 1 when it is partially opened and then substantially fully opened;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the sleeve assembly of FIG. 1 showing the insertion of a placard and a digital media disk;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are front and rear views of the sleeve assembly of FIG. 1, with the sleeve assembly in a fully open position;

FIG. 5 is an end view of a plurality of assembled sleeve assemblies;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a die cut blank showing fold lines for making the sleeve portion of the sleeve assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a sleeve assembly according to the present invention, the assembly being shown in a substantially fully open condition;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are front and rear views, respectively, of a single portion of the sleeve assembly of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a die cut blank showing tabs and fold lines for making the sleeve portion of the assembly of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10A is a partially exploded perspective view of a third embodiment of a sleeve member according to the present invention, wherein the sleeve member includes a hinge portion and a separable box portion;

FIG. 10B is a perspective view of the sleeve assembly shown in FIG. 10A when fully closed; and

fig. 11A and 11B are front and rear views, respectively, of the hinge portion of the sleeve assembly of fig. 10A.

Detailed Description

Presently preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled digital media disc sleeve assembly 100, shown in a closed, or folded, state. The sleeve assembly 100 includes a sleeve member 110, which is preferably die cut from a sheet of paperboard as described in detail below. The sleeve member 110 has a front aperture 112 and a spine aperture 114. A removable placard 160 (partially visible in fig. 1) is disposed substantially inside the folded sleeve member 110 and has a portion that is visible through the front aperture 112 and the spine aperture 114 in the sleeve member 110. The placard 160 may include a first identifying indicia 162 printed or otherwise disposed thereon that is visible through the front aperture 112 and a second identifying indicia 164 printed or otherwise disposed thereon that is visible through the spine aperture 114.

Fig. 2A shows the sleeve assembly 100 in a partially opened state, fig. 2B shows the sleeve assembly 110 in a substantially fully opened state, and a placard 160 is drawn in phantom lines to show the detailed structure of the sleeve member 110 and arrows indicate the sequence of deployment. The sleeve assembly 100 is shown in a three-panel or "tri-fold" configuration. But it is conceivable that: in a very intuitive manner, the present invention can be readily implemented into a sleeve assembly employing four or more panels, a design that does not depart from the present invention, and which readily holds more than one digital media disk.

As best seen in fig. 2B, the sleeve assembly 110 includes a first end panel 116, an intermediate panel 126, and a second end panel 136. The first end panel 116 is hinged to the middle panel 126 by a hinge 118, wherein the hinge 118 is preferably formed by two closely spaced, parallel fold lines 119,120. The first retaining member 121 overlies and substantially conforms to the distal portion of the first end panel 116. The upper edge 121A and the lower edge 121B of the first retaining member 121 are connected to the first end panel 116 while the side edge 121C thereof is free or open, thereby forming a flat channel or opening between the first retaining member 121 and the first end panel 116.

The middle panel 126 is also hinged to the second end panel 136 by a hinge 128, the hinge 128 preferably being formed by a single transverse fold. The intermediate panel 126 includes a second retaining member 131 that is opposite the first retaining member 121 and is disposed substantially adjacent the second end panel. The upper edge 131A and the lower edge 131B of the second retaining member 131 are connected to the intermediate panel 126, and the sides 131C are free, thereby forming a flat channel or opening between the second retaining member 131 and the intermediate panel 126.

The second end panel 136 includes a pocket member 141 disposed at a distal end of the second end panel 136. The upper edge 141A, lower edge 141B, and distal side edge 141C of the pocket member 141 are connected to the second end panel 136, and the proximal side edge 141D is open, thereby forming a pocket. The pocket is sized to slidably receive a digital media disk 90 therein. The proximal edge 141D of the pocket member 141 may include a semicircular cutout 144 positioned to expose the central aperture 92 of the digital media disk 90 to allow a user to remove the media disk 90 by sliding the disk 90 out of the pocket by inserting a finger into the central aperture 92.

The width of the hinge 118 between the first end panel 116 and the middle panel 126 is greater than the width of the hinge 128 between the middle panel 126 and the second end panel 136 so that the hinge 118 will accommodate the thickness of the second end panel 136 with the digital media disk 90 when the sleeve assembly 100 is folded or closed (as shown in fig. 1).

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the placard 160 is sized to overlie the first end panel 116 and the middle panel 126 in combination with one another such that the opposite ends 160A and 160B of the placard 160 are slidably inserted into the flat channels formed by the first and second retaining members 121 and 131, respectively. In particular, the placard 160 is a flexible, simple cardboard panel, the left end 160A of which may be inserted under the first retaining member 121 and the right end 160B of which may be inserted under the second retaining member 131. In this manner, the placard 160 can be slidably adjusted to substantially cover the first end panel 116 and the middle panel 118 of the sleeve assembly 110. The digital media disk 90 is inserted into the pocket formed by the pocket member 141. The placard 160 includes an intermediate hinge portion 169 that covers the hinge portion 118 of the sleeve member.

Fig. 4A is a front view of the assembled disc sleeve assembly 100 opened, and fig. 4B is a rear view of the disc sleeve assembly 100. It can be appreciated that: the front of the placard 160 may include a third identifying indicia 166 that is appropriate for the particular digital media disc, the contents of which are, for example, a program listing, a user guide, an included feature film, a copyright notice, or other product information. It is also understood that: a fourth identification 168 may be printed on the end 160A and/or 160B of the placard 160 obscured by the first and second retaining members 121,131. For example, it may be desirable from an aesthetic standpoint to place information that is rarely used or semi-confidential on the ends 160A, 160B of the placard 160.

Referring now to fig. 4B, the back side of the placard 160 includes first and second identifying indicia 162, 164 arranged to: when the placard 160 is in the desired position, the two identifying indicia are visible through the front aperture 112 and the spine aperture 114, respectively. Thus, it can be appreciated that: in the preferred embodiment, the sleeve member 110 does not carry any printed information or other indicia specific to the particular digital media disc 90, and thus the sleeve member may be used with different discs in general. For example, for a complete collection of different music CDs, the same sleeve member 110 may be used, which would significantly facilitate production and reduce costs. But it can be appreciated that: the sleeve member 110 may carry general information such as, for example, printing, embossing, or other processes such as, for example, a trademark of a trade name, a verification number of a manufacturer or distributor, commercial information, or aesthetic indicia. The placard 160 carries an identifying indicia specific to the associated digital media disc 90. The placard 160 is preferably a simple rectangular flat paper panel on which information can be easily printed. Additionally, the first and second identifiers 162, 164 may be printed only on relatively small portions of the back side of the placard 160, which portions are visible through the apertures 112, 114 in the sleeve member 110.

In particular, as can be seen from fig. 5: the second identifying indicia 164 visible through the spine aperture 114 allows a user to identify and select a particular digital media disk (not shown) even when multiple sleeve assemblies 100 are stacked together or when only the edge with the hinge portion 118 is visible.

Fig. 6 shows a die cut die 111 for making the sleeve assembly 110. The molding compound 111 is a single piece flat paperboard molding compound that includes a first end panel 116, a middle panel 126, a second end panel 136, first and second retention members 121 and 131, and a pocket member 141. The front aperture 112 and the spine aperture 114 are pre-cut. It will be readily appreciated that: although the front aperture 112 and the spine aperture 114 are shown as circular, other shapes are contemplated by the present invention, including square, oval, etc. It is also contemplated that more than two apertures may be provided to allow additional or other portions of the placard 160 to be exposed through the sleeve member 110, including, for example: a large number of smaller holes are provided in an aesthetically pleasing pattern.

Tab members 150, 152, 154, and 156 are arranged to fold along respective fold lines 151, 153, 155, and 157. As can be clearly seen from fig. 6: to assemble the sleeve assembly, tab members 150, 152, 154, and 156 need to be folded inwardly and adhesive applied thereto. The retaining members 121, 131 and the pocket member 141 are then folded downwardly to engage the appropriate tab members to form the sleeve member 110.

Fig. 7 illustrates a second embodiment of a sleeve assembly 200 according to the present invention, which includes a sleeve member 210 and a placard 260. In this embodiment, the multi-panel (three-panel) sleeve member 210 includes a first end panel 216 hingedly connected to the middle panel 226 along the spine 219, and the member 210 further includes an oppositely disposed second end panel 236 also hingedly connected to the middle panel 226. The first end panel 216 and the middle panel 226 are substantially similar to the first end panel 116 and the middle panel 126 of the first embodiment described above. For example, the first end panel 216 and the middle panel 226 include first and second retaining members 221, 231 that slidably receive and retain the detachable placard 260. The first end panel 216 and/or the middle panel 226 include one or more holes 212 (two shown in phantom) to facilitate viewing portions of the placard 260 through the holes 212. A ridge aperture 214 (shown in phantom) may also be provided to facilitate viewing of portions of the placard 260 therethrough.

The second end panel 236 of the present invention includes a rigid or semi-rigid disk holder 241 which may be formed from a polymeric material such as a thermoplastic material such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The disk holder 241 defines a circular or substantially annular recess 243 sized to receive the digital media disk 90 (shown in phantom). Extending from the circular recess 243 is a centrally located, resiliently deformable retaining member 244 sized to engage the central aperture 92 of the digital media disk 90. The disk holder may include one or more peripheral notches 245 (four shown) to facilitate removal of the digital media disk 90 from the disk holder 241. Such disc holders 241 are well known in the art. Preferably, the disk holder 241 is permanently secured to the second end panel 236, such as with an adhesive or a secure double-sided tape (not shown), so that the disk holder 241 does not separate from the second end panel 236, even after multiple re-uses.

As best seen in fig. 8A and 8B, the front face of the placard 260 (shown in fig. 8A) preferably includes one or more first identifying indicia 262 (two shown) printed or otherwise disposed on the placard 260 so as to be visible through the front aperture 212 of the sleeve member 210, and a second identifying indicia 264 printed or otherwise disposed on the spine 269 of the placard 260 so as to be visible through the spine aperture 214 of the sleeve member 210. The back of the placard 260 (see fig. 8B) may have additional identifying indicia 266, such as specific information appropriate for the particular digital media disc, as described above, the contents of which are, for example, a program listing, a user guide, an included feature film, a copyright notice, or other product information. The ridge 269 of the placard 260 is positioned to cover the ridge 219 of the sleeve member 210.

Fig. 9 illustrates a die cut paperboard form 211 used to make the preferred embodiment of the sleeve assembly 210. The molding 211 is a single piece flat paperboard molding that includes a first end panel 216, a middle panel 226, a second end panel 236, and first and second retaining members 221 and 231. Front aperture 212 and spine aperture 214 are pre-cut.

Tab members 250 and 252 are positioned to be foldable as shown. In a preferred embodiment, the second end panel 236 includes a reinforcing portion 237 that is folded over the second end panel 236 and glued together to provide additional strength to support the disk holder 241. The arrows in the figure indicate: after the reinforcing portion 237 is turned over, the media tray holder 241 is disposed on the second end panel 236. The sleeve member 210 is made by the following operations: a cutting die 211 having holes 212, 214 (shown); marking a folding line according to a required structure; folding the tab portions 250 and 252, the holding members 221 and 231, and the reinforcing portion 237; and bonded to form sleeve assembly 210. The disk holder 241 is then attached to the second end panel 236.

Fig. 10A (partially exploded view) and 10B (closed view) illustrate a third embodiment of a sleeve assembly 300 according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the sleeve member includes a hinged portion 370 and a separable box portion 380. Also shown in fig. 11A and 11B is a hinged portion 370 (and placard 260) that includes a first panel 316 that is hingedly connected to a second panel, and preferably integrally formed from a paperboard molding. A disk holder 241 is fixedly attached to the second panel 336 for releasably holding a digital media disk (as described above). The tray holder 241 may be attached to the second panel 336, for example, by affixing double sided tape.

In contrast to the embodiments described above, the first and second retaining members 321, 331 are disposed on the back of the sleeve hinge portion 370, and the first and second retaining members 321, 331 are adapted to slidably engage the placard 260, as described in detail above. As best seen in fig. 10A, the placard 260 substantially wraps around the hinge portion 370 of the sleeve, covers the outer surface of the folded hinge portion 370, and slides under the first and second retaining members 321, 331.

As shown, the hinge portion 370 and the box portion 380 are sized to: when the hinged portion 370 and the sheet 260 carried thereby are inserted into the box portion 380, a relatively tight fit is formed. The box portion 380 includes one or more viewing apertures 312 arranged to: when the hinged portion 370 is fully inserted into the box portion 380, at least a portion of the first identification indicia 262 is visible through the viewing aperture 312. In addition, as can be seen in FIG. 10B, when the hinged portion 370 is properly inserted into the box portion 380, the second identifier 264 is visible through the open end of the box portion 380. In the preferred embodiment, the sleeve box portion 380 is also formed from a die cut paperboard form that is folded and glued to form the box portion 380, but it is contemplated that other suitable materials may be used to form the box portion 380.

It will be appreciated that the sleeve assembly of the present invention will be particularly suitable for applications where: the user can selectively customize the data on the digital media disk. For example, a user may wish to purchase a customized list of music tracks that are recorded on the same CD. With the present invention, universal or quasi-universal sleeve members, such as the members 110, 210, 370, and 380 described above, may be provided. The sleeve member may not carry any information specific to the particular CD identified by the user, and thus a single universal type sleeve member (or a small set of universal members) can be used for many different users. Of course, the sleeve member may carry indicia thereon that is not relevant to the user's customization options-such as trade marks for trade marks, commercial information, artwork, etc.

The placard (e.g., 160, 260) carries information specific to the CD disc, such as playlists, music track playing times, artist lists, photos, etc., so that the placard can be easily printed and inserted onto the sleeve member. The placard may also have other indicia printed thereon, including pictures, artwork, etc., at least some of which are user-selected.

The user may then insert the placard into the sleeve member and attach and/or enclose the CD into the sleeve member. Thus, the present invention provides a convenient packaging system with specific identification for media discs without any printing or marking of the sleeve member.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above, it will be understood that: various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (26)

1. A sleeve assembly for holding a digital media disc, the sleeve assembly comprising:

a multi-paneled sleeve having a first sleeve panel with a first retaining member and a second sleeve panel with a second retaining member, the first sleeve panel and the second sleeve panel hingedly coupled along a spine of the sleeve, wherein the multi-paneled sleeve is movable between a closed position and an open position;

means for releasably coupling a digital media disk to a multi-panel sleeve;

a multi-panel display sheet having a first display sheet panel hingedly connected to a second display sheet panel along a spine of the display sheet, and an identification printed on the display sheet portion, wherein the display sheet is sized to slidingly engage the first and second retaining members such that the display sheet is removably retained on the multi-panel tray sleeve; and

a viewing aperture penetrating the multi-panel sleeve, and the viewing aperture is positioned to: at least a portion of the identification printed on the placard is visible through the viewing aperture when the multi-panel sleeve is in the closed position.

2. The sleeve assembly of claim 1, wherein: an apparatus for releasably coupling a digital media disk to a multi-panel sleeve includes a semi-rigid polymeric disk holder having an annular recess sized to receive the digital media disk.

3. The sleeve assembly of claim 2, wherein: the multi-panel sleeve further includes a third sleeve panel hingedly connected to the second hinge panel, and the disc holder is fixedly coupled to the third sleeve panel.

4. The sleeve assembly of claim 2, wherein: the disc holder is fixedly coupled to the second sleeve panel, and the multi-panel sleeve further includes a separable narrow box portion sized to slidably receive the first sleeve portion and the second sleeve portion, wherein the viewing aperture is disposed through the box portion of the multi-panel sleeve.

5. The disc sleeve assembly of claim 3, wherein: the sleeve assembly further comprises at least one additional second viewing aperture and the placard further comprises at least one second identifying indicia, wherein the additional second identifying indicia is visible through the second viewing aperture when the multi-panel sleeve is in the closed position.

6. The sleeve assembly of claim 5, wherein: the second viewing aperture is arranged to penetrate the spine of the sleeve.

7. The sleeve assembly of claim 2, wherein: the multi-panel sleeve includes a first portion made of paperboard and a polymeric disc holder.

8. The sleeve assembly of claim 2, wherein: the sleeve member is free of any identifying indicia.

9. The sleeve assembly of claim 2, wherein: the placard is sized to substantially cover the upper surfaces of the first and second panels of the sleeve member.

10. The sleeve assembly of claim 2, wherein: the first and second retaining members are integrally formed by folding a portion of the multi-panel sleeve.

11. A method for packaging digital media discs, comprising the steps of:

providing a multi-panel sleeve having a first panel hingedly connected to a second panel along a spine of the sleeve, the multi-panel sleeve having means for releasably retaining a digital media disc, wherein the multi-panel sleeve includes a cardboard portion having at least one viewing aperture therethrough, and wherein the multi-panel sleeve does not include any indicia thereon identifying the digital media disc;

releasably retaining a digital media disk in a multi-panel sleeve;

printing a multi-panel display slip having a first identification mark associated with the digital media disc; and

the multi-panel display sheet is held to the multi-panel sleeve such that the first identifying indicia is visible through a viewing aperture in the paperboard portion of the multi-panel sleeve.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein: the means for holding the digital media disks is a semi-rigid polymeric disk holder.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein: the multi-panel sleeve further includes a third panel hingedly connected to the second panel.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein: the means for holding the digital media disk is a semi-rigid polymeric disk holder fixedly coupled to the third panel.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein: the means for holding the digital media disk is a pocket integrally formed in the third panel of the multi-panel sleeve.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein: the multi-panel sleeve further includes a separable narrow box portion that slidably receives the first panel and the second panel, wherein the viewing aperture is disposed through the box portion of the multi-panel sleeve.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein: the means for holding the digital media disk is a semi-rigid polymeric disk holder coupled to the second panel of the multi-panel sleeve.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein: the first and second panels each further comprise an integral placard holding panel that slidably receives the placard.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein: the multi-panel sleeve further includes a second viewing aperture arranged to penetrate a spine of the sleeve, the method further comprising the steps of: printing a second identifier on the placard, the second identifier being positioned to: the second identifying indicia is visible through the second viewing aperture when the placard is held on the multi-panel sleeve.

20. A sleeve assembly for holding a CD comprising:

a tri-fold sleeve member having a middle panel hingedly connected to oppositely disposed first and second end panels, wherein the first end panel and the middle panel each have retaining members and the second end panel includes a semi-rigid tray holder for releasably retaining a CD tray, wherein at least one of the first end panel and the middle panel has a viewing aperture therethrough; and

a placard having a plurality of identification indicia printed thereon, the placard being detachably retained by the retaining member such that the placard covers the first end panel and the middle panel, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of identification indicia printed on the placard is visible through the viewing aperture.

21. The sleeve assembly of claim 20 further comprising: a ridge aperture spanning the first end panel and the middle panel, wherein at least a portion of the identification indicia printed on the placard is positioned to be visible through the ridge aperture.

22. The disc sleeve assembly of claim 21, wherein: the viewing aperture is circular.

23. The disc sleeve assembly of claim 22, wherein: the sleeve member is made from a single blank portion of a blank of paperboard and a semi-rigid tray holder.

24. The sleeve assembly of claim 23 wherein: the placard also includes additional identifying indicia printed on the front face thereof.

25. The sleeve assembly of claim 23 wherein: the CD disc has music content, wherein the further identification printed on the placard is a playlist indicating the music content.

26. The sleeve assembly of claim 20, wherein: the sleeve member is free of any markings specific to the contained CD disc.