Point-of-sale enablement of optical storage media

Abstract

A locking mechanism for an optical storage medium comprises a first portion that is installed on the optical storage medium and a second portion that is lockable to the first portion. When the first and second portions are locked together, the optical storage medium is unusable to access data stored thereon.

1 . An apparatus, comprising:
 an optical data storage medium comprising a longitudinal portion at a resting location;   a counterweight attached to said optical data storage medium;   wherein, unless said longitudinal portion is locked in place, said counterweight causes said longitudinal portion to move from said resting location when said optical data storage medium is rotated thereby rendering at least some data on said optical data storage medium unusable.   
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising a locking mechanism that locks said longitudinal portion in place. 
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein said locking mechanism comprises a micro-encapsulated adhesive. 
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein said locking mechanism comprises a multi-part adhesive with each part being micro-encapsulated. 
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said longitudinal portion is located in a region of said optical data storage medium that does not contain data. 
   
   
       6 . A locking mechanism for an optical storage medium, comprising:
 a first portion that is installed on the optical storage medium;   a second portion that is lockable to said first portion;   wherein, when said first and second portions are locked together, the optical storage medium is unusable to access data stored thereon.   
   
   
       7 . The locking mechanism of  claim 6  further comprising a case for said optical storage medium, said case comprising a hole that aligns with a hole of said optical storage medium into which at least one of said first and second portions are installed when the first and second portions are locked together. 
   
   
       8 . The locking mechanism of  claim 6  further comprising an adhesive usable to lock the first and second portions together. 
   
   
       9 . The locking mechanism of  claim 6  further comprising a micro-encapsulated adhesive usable to lock the first and second portions together. 
   
   
       10 . The locking mechanism of  claim 9  wherein the first and second portions are unlockable when adhesiveness of the adhesive is reduced thereby enabling rotating storage medium to be used to access said data. 
   
   
       11 . The locking mechanism of  claim 9  wherein the first and second portions are unlockable when adhesiveness of the adhesive is reduced by a magnetic field thereby enabling optical storage medium to be used to access said data. 
   
   
       12 . The locking mechanism of  claim 6  wherein the first portion comprises a rotating member rotatable to a first position to lock the first and second portions together. 
   
   
       13 . The locking mechanism of  claim 12  wherein the rotating member is rotatable to a second position to unlock the first and second portions. 
   
   
       14 . The locking mechanism of  claim 12  wherein the rotating member is rotatable between lock and unlock positions by a magnetic field, the first and second members being locked together when the rotating member is in the locked position and unlocked when the rotating member is in the unlocked position. 
   
   
       15 . The locking mechanism of  claim 12  wherein the rotating member comprises ferromagnetic material. 
   
   
       16 . The locking mechanism of  claim 6  wherein the first portion comprises a post that extends at least partially into a center hole from a first side of the optical storage medium. 
   
   
       17 . The locking mechanism of  claim 16  wherein the second portion is lockable to the first portion from a second side of the optical storage medium. 
   
   
       18 . The locking mechanism of  claim 6  wherein the first and second portions are curved and fit over an outer edge of the optical storage medium. 
   
   
       19 . A method, comprising:
 attaching a first portion to an optical storage medium;   locking a second portion to said first portion thereby rendering the optical storage medium unusable for accessing data stored thereon.   
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19  wherein locking the second portion comprises applying an adhesive containing a micro-encapsulated dissolvent. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 20  further comprising applying a magnetic field to release the micro-encapsulated dissolvent to thereby unlock the second portion from the first portion. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 19  wherein locking the second portion comprises applying a magnetic field to cause a rotating member of the first portion to rotate to permit the second portion to be locked to the first portion. 
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 22  further comprising applying the magnetic field to cause the rotating member of the first portion to rotate to permit the second portion to be unlocked from the first portion. 
   
   
       24 . An apparatus, comprising:
 an optical data storage medium; and   a photosensitive coating on at least a portion of said optical data storage medium, said photosensitive coating prevents the portion from being accessed for read or write operations;   wherein said photosensitive coating is deactivated when exposed to a light source to thereby permit read or write operations from being performed.   
   
   
       25 . The apparatus of  claim 24  wherein the coating comprises a dye.