JP3505443B2 - Disk cartridge - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disc cartridge for recording or reproducing information with a disc-shaped recording medium such as an optical disc or a magnetic disc housed in a case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various optical discs such as mini discs (MD), magneto-optical discs (MO), compact discs (CD), digital video discs (DVD), and magnetic discs such as floppy discs are disc-shaped. The recording medium is housed in a substantially rectangular flat plate-shaped case and protected from scratches and dust. The disk-shaped recording medium is mounted in a disk drive device in the state of a disk cartridge housed in a case, and is configured to be able to record or reproduce a predetermined information signal.

7 and 8 show a schematic structure of an MD as a conventional disk cartridge. 7 shows the shutter open state, and FIG. 8 shows the shutter closed state. FIG. 9 shows a cross section in the vicinity of the magnetic head opening 1a viewed from the section line IX-IX in FIG. The case is formed by a pair of upper half 1 and lower half 2. A magnetic head opening 1a is formed in the upper half 1, and an optical pickup opening 2a is formed in the lower half 2. The magnetic head opening 1 a and the optical pickup opening 2 a can be opened and closed by a slide shutter 3. The case formed by the upper half 1 and the lower half 2 has a substantially rectangular plate shape, and the slad shirt 3 is slidably displaced along one side of the rectangular case,
Magnetic head opening 1a and optical pickup opening 2
Open and close a.

A magneto-optical disk 4 is housed between the upper half 1 and the lower half 2 as a disk-shaped recording medium.
The upper half 1 and the lower half 2 are arranged on both sides of the magneto-optical disk 4 in the thickness direction. A magnetic head 5 for accessing the information recording surface 4a on the surface of the magneto-optical disk 4 can be inserted through the magnetic head opening 1a of the upper half 1. The magnetic head 5 is provided in an apparatus for recording or reproducing information by inserting a disk cartridge 6 including an upper half 1, a lower half 2, a slide shutter 3 and a magneto-optical disk 4, and the slide shutter 3 is provided with an opening for the magnetic head. When the part 1a is opened, the information recording surface 4a can be accessed.

The slide shutter 3 is formed by bending a thin metal plate such as stainless steel. One end of the case serves as a shutter slide side 7, and the shutter slide side 7 is formed.
It can be reciprocated along. The surface of the upper half 1 where the slide shutter 3 moves is
It is formed as a shutter slide recess 8 which is recessed by the thickness of the plate material constituting the above, and the surface of the slide shutter 3 on the upper half 1 side does not form a step with the surface of the upper half 1.

For the magneto-optical disk 4, the upper half 1
The magnetic head 5 is accessed through the magnetic head opening 1a on the side, and the optical pickup (not shown) is accessed through the optical pickup opening 2a on the lower half 2 side. When the magnetic head 5 moves from the periphery of the disk cartridge 6 to the magnetic head opening 1a, as shown by the broken line, the upper half 1 is prevented from coming into contact with the surface thereof.
Need to be floating above the surface of the. When the magnetic head 5 accesses the information recording surface 4a, it needs to be in a state of approaching the information recording surface 4a in the magnetic head opening 1a. For this reason, the magnetic head 5 needs to be raised within the range of d1 with respect to the reference position as shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 shows the structure of the prior art for reducing the amount of head elevation. The parts corresponding to those of FIGS. 7 to 9 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. Patent No. 27168
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 05 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-110670, FIG.
It discloses a configuration in which the notch 9 is provided as shown in FIG. 0 so that the amount of rise of the head can be reduced when the optical head or the magnetic head is accessed. Magnetic head opening 1
a is formed so as to reach the shutter slide side 7 on the upper half 1 side, and the end surface of the shutter slide side 7 is
A notch 9 deeper than the shutter slide recess 8 is formed in the thickness direction. When the magnetic head opening 1a is opened by the slide shutter 3 and the magnetic head is made to access the information recording surface 4a through the notch 9, the rising amount d1 as shown in FIG. 9 can be suppressed. be able to.

[0008]

In the conventional disk cartridge 6 as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the magnetic head 5 and the optical pickup are opened by the slide shutter 3 and the magnetic head opening 1a and the optical pickup opening are provided. Part 2
When accessing a, it is necessary to climb over the height to the surface of the upper half 1 and the lower half 2. For example, the amount of ascent of the magnetic head 5 requires an amount equal to the thickness of the upper half 1 in addition to the amount required for not contacting the surface of the magneto-optical disk 4. Therefore, the magneto-optical disk 4
The thickness of the disk drive device for recording and reading information on the disk is required as much as the height of the upper half 1, which is an obstacle to downsizing of the disk drive device.
Further, in the design of the disk drive device, when the disk cartridge 6 is warped or the disk cartridge 6 is inserted with an inclination, the surface of the case of the disk cartridge 6 comes into contact with the magnetic head 5 and the magnetic head 5 and the like. To prevent the disk cartridge 6 from being damaged or the disk cartridge 6 becoming unmountable in the disk drive device.
You need to allow for extra space.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, a notch 9 is provided on a shutter slide side 7 that slides when the slide shutter 3 opens and closes the magnetic head opening 1a and the optical pickup opening 2a, and a slide shutter is provided. In the configuration in which the thickness of the shutter slide side 7 can be reduced when the head 3 is opened to reduce the amount of lift that the head needs to overcome, the slide shutter 3 slides in the direction in which the head is introduced into the opening. The direction becomes perpendicular. Generally, the direction in which the head is introduced into the opening is the direction in which the disc cartridge 6 is inserted into the disc drive, and when the slide shutter 3 needs to slide in a direction perpendicular to this insertion direction, the slide shutter 3 is opened. The driving force is different from the force given when the disc cartridge 6 is inserted, and a mechanism for changing the driving force in the vertical direction and interlocking is required. By forming the notch 9, even if the amount of rise of the head can be reduced, it is necessary to provide a mechanism for transmitting the force for opening the slide shutter 3 by changing the direction from the insertion force of the disc cartridge 6 to drive the disc. This is an obstacle to the downsizing of the device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a disk cartridge which can reduce the amount of rise when the head is introduced into the opening of the case and can make the introducing direction and the sliding direction of the shutter parallel to each other. .

[0011]

According to the present invention, a case having a substantially rectangular plate shape for rotatably accommodating a disk-shaped recording medium is provided to bring information close to the surface of the disk-shaped recording medium. In a disk cartridge provided with an opening for a recording or reproducing head and having a shutter for opening and closing the opening, the opening is formed in a shape extending from one side of the rectangular shape to an opposite side thereof. The thickness of the part is reduced to the length at which the head can scan the recording area of the recording medium in the radial direction on the end face on one side of the case in the direction perpendicular to the direction of inserting the disc cartridge into the device for recording or reproducing. The shutter opening / closing direction is parallel to the direction in which the disc cartridge is inserted into the recording / reproducing device, and is reciprocating in the direction perpendicular to the notch. A disk cartridge, characterized in that for opening and closing the opening.

According to the present invention, a disk-shaped recording medium is rotatably housed in a case having a substantially rectangular plate shape. The case has an opening for a head that approaches or approaches the surface of the disk-shaped recording medium to record or reproduce information, and includes a shutter that opens or closes the opening. The opening is formed in a shape that extends from one side of the rectangular shape toward the opposite side, and the end of the opening on one side of the case in a direction perpendicular to the direction of inserting the disc cartridge into the device for recording or reproducing is formed. Since the notch having a reduced thickness is provided in at least a part of the range of the opening, when the head is introduced into the opening, the amount of rise can be reduced by passing through the notch. . According to the invention, the head introduced from the end face on the one side where the notch is provided in the rectangular opening scans the recording area of the recording medium in the radial direction, and at which position in the scanning range Also, since it is possible to move between the opening and the outside with a small amount of lift, it is not necessary to wait until the position of the head moves to the notch when installing or removing the disc cartridge, Can be inserted and ejected. The shutter opening / closing direction is parallel to the direction in which the disc cartridge is inserted into the recording / reproducing device, and reciprocates in the direction perpendicular to the side of the case where the notch is provided. It can be easily opened and closed by using the insertion force of. Further, since the shutter reciprocates in the direction of introducing the head, it is easy to configure the shutter to move in conjunction with the mechanism for introducing the head, and the mechanism necessary for the reciprocating movement of the shutter is simplified. Can be miniaturized.

Further, in the invention, the shutter has a shape in which a tip of the one side covers the notch with the end face in a state where the opening is closed.

According to the present invention, in the state where the shutter closes the opening, the tip on one side can cover the notch on the end face, so that dust intrusion from the outside can be prevented.

Further, according to the present invention, the case and the shutter are characterized in that the end face on the side of the one side does not have a step when the shutter closes the opening.

According to the present invention, since there is no step on the end face on one side when the shutter closes the opening, the handling property is excellent, the disc cartridge can be easily handled, and the disc cartridge can be stored in a rack case or the like. You can make it easier.

[0017]

[0018]

[0019]

[0020]

[0021]

1 and 2 show a disk cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention in a shutter open state and a shutter closed state, respectively. The case 10 is a thin rectangular plate-shaped housing, and is configured by combining an upper half 11 and a lower half 12. A magnetic head opening 11a is formed in the upper half 11 so as to have a substantially rectangular shape, and an optical pickup opening 12 is formed in the lower half 12.
a is formed to have a substantially rectangular shape. Magnetic head opening 11a and optical pickup opening 1
2a, the slide shutter 13 reciprocates to switch between the open state shown in FIG. 1 and the closed state shown in FIG. The upper half 11 and the lower half 12 are arranged on both sides in the thickness direction of the magneto-optical disk 14 which is a disk-shaped recording medium, and the information recording surface 14a on the surface of the magneto-optical disk 14 is formed.
Information can be accessed by approaching the magnetic head 15 from the magnetic head opening 11a. The disc cartridge 16 in which the magneto-optical disc 14 is rotatably housed in the case 10 transmits information signals such as images and sounds,
It is used as a recording medium of a disk recording / reproducing apparatus for recording information on recording tracks concentrically formed on the information recording surface 14a of the magneto-optical disk 14 and reproducing the recorded information. The size of the disk cartridge 16 is formed so that it fits in the palm of the hand, for example.

Upper half 11 of the disk cartridge 16
The magnetic head opening 11a is formed so as to partially expose the information recording surface 14a of the magneto-optical disk 14 outward in the radial direction. The optical pickup opening 12a provided in the lower half 12 is formed so as to partially face the opposite side of the information recording surface 14a of the magneto-optical disk 14 outward in the radial direction. In the disc cartridge 16, the distinction between the upper half 11 and the lower half 12 is for convenience of description,
Of course, the direction in which the disc cartridge 16 is actually mounted in the recording / reproducing apparatus is not necessarily the same.

The magneto-optical disk 14 has a recording film formed on a transparent substrate, and a protective film formed on the recording film.
Case 1 in which the magneto-optical disk 14 is rotatably accommodated
0 is formed by overlapping the upper half 11 and the lower half 12 and integrally joining them, and fitting the slide shutter 13 for opening and closing the opening. The upper half 11 and the lower half 12 are formed of a plastic material into a thin plate shape by injection molding or the like, and are formed so that their outer diameter dimensions are substantially the same. The slide shutter 13 is formed of a thin plate metal material such as stainless steel or a resin material such as polycarbonate.

The slide shutter 13 is normally urged by a spring (not shown) so as to be in the closed state shown in FIG. The slide shutter 13 of this embodiment
Can be slid in a direction parallel to the insertion / ejection direction of the disc cartridge 16 to open and close the opening of the disc cartridge 16. When opening and closing the opening, the slide shutter 13 reciprocates along the shutter slide side 17, and the reciprocating range is formed in the upper half 11 with a shutter slide recess 18 corresponding to the thickness of the slide shutter 13. The surface of the slide shutter 13 and the surface of the upper half 11 are flush with each other so that no step is formed.

In the structure of the disk cartridge 16 as described above, the upper half 11 is vertically adjacent to the side perpendicular to the inserting direction of the magnetic head 15, particularly the shutter slide side 17 when the disk cartridge 16 is inserted. A notch 19 is provided on the edge. The notch 19 is provided on the end face perpendicular to the direction in which the disc cartridge 16 is inserted into the reproducing or recording device, and makes the height of the upper half 11 lower than the other portions, so that the magnetic head 15 is provided.
The thickness H of the case 10 that has to be overcome when being introduced into the magnetic head opening 11a is reduced. The length L of the notch 19 is set so that the magnetic head 15 can scan the recording area of the information recording surface 14a of the magneto-optical disk 14 in the radial direction.

Further, as apparent from FIG. 1, the upper half 11 and the lower half 12 of the disk cartridge 16 are provided.
The upper half 11 and the lower half 12 are formed so that the connecting portion of is substantially centered in the thickness direction of the disc cartridge 16. The magneto-optical disk 14 includes a magnetic head opening 11 a and an optical pickup opening 12.
It is housed in the case 10 so as to be exposed to the outside of the case 10 only at the portion a and to be able to come into contact with the magnetic head 15 and the optical pickup inserted into these openings. As shown in FIG. 2, the slide shutter 13
In the state where the opening is closed by the above, the upper half 11 and the slide shutter 13 are continuously fitted to each other on the end face side where the notch 19 is formed without a step, thus forming a continuous rectangular parallelepiped shape. It is like this. As a result, the disc cartridge 16 can be handled easily and can be easily stored in a rack case or the like.

FIG. 3 shows the disk cartridge 16 viewed from the lower half 12 side. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the optical pickup opening 12a is opened, and FIG.
Indicates a closed state. Optical pickup opening 1
2a is formed similarly to the magnetic head opening 1a shown in FIG. This is because the optical pickup does not necessarily have to approach the surface of the magneto-optical disk 14. However, when using a head that needs to approach the surface of the recording medium, the notch 19 may be formed in the same manner as the magnetic head opening 11a on the upper half 11 side.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section in the vicinity of the magnetic head opening 11a as seen from the section line IV-IV in FIG. In the present embodiment, the magnetic head 15 is provided in the magnetic head opening 11a.
Since the notch 19 is provided in the end surface on the side where the magnetic head 15 is introduced, the magnetic head 15 is compared with the rising amount d1 shown in FIG.
The amount of increase d2 required for the above can be reduced. As a result, the height required as a disk drive device for recording and reproducing information on the disk cartridge 16 can be reduced, and the size can be reduced. Further, since the notch 19 is formed over the scanning range of the magnetic head 15 in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 4, the magnetic head opening 11a and the outside are formed at any scanning position of the magnetic head 15. It is possible to move between. However, the magnetic head 15
If the above is introduced into the opening 11a for the magnetic head only at the outermost position in the radial direction of the magneto-optical disk 14, the range in which the notch 19 is provided can be narrowed.

FIG. 5 shows the slide shutter 1 of this embodiment.
The shape of 3 is shown. As described above, the slide shutter 13
Is formed by bending a thin plate metal material such as stainless steel, or is formed by molding using a resin material such as polycarbonate. The slide shutter 13 has a shielding portion 21 that shields the portion of the notch 19 when the opening is closed as shown in FIG. The shield 21 is shown in FIG.
As shown in, the end face provided with the notch 19 can be covered in a flush state without a step. Slide shutter 13
A part of the portion of the case 10 that is in contact with the shutter slide side 17 has an entry hole 22 for a shutter lock release pin that releases the shutter lock and opens and closes the shutter.
As shown in FIG. 3, the lower half 12 has a groove portion 20 formed near the shutter slide side 17, and the slide shutter 13 has a claw 23 inserted into the groove portion 20. Since the claw 23 is inserted in the groove portion 20, the slide shutter 13 is guided along the groove portion 20 and can reciprocate in parallel with the shutter slide side 17.
As shown in FIG. 1, a groove portion 17 a is formed on the shutter slide side 17, and a shutter lock release pin inserted into the entry hole 22 slides the slide shutter 13 in the same direction as the insertion / ejection direction of the disc cartridge 16. Thus, the opening of the disc cartridge 16 can be opened and closed. The slide shutter 13 has an upper half 11
The upper half-side closing portion 24 is formed on the side, and the lower half-side closing portion 25 is formed on the lower half 12 side, so that the magnetic head opening 11a and the optical pickup opening 12a can be closed.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of a disk cartridge according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A shows the shutter open state, and FIG. 6B shows the shutter closed state. In the present embodiment, parts corresponding to those in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 5 are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated description will be omitted. The case 30 of the present embodiment is similar to the case 10 of FIGS. 1 to 5 in that it is formed by combining the upper half 31 and the lower half 32, but the disk cartridge 3 of the present embodiment.
The length of the shutter slide side 37 of 6 is the shutter slide side 17 of the disc cartridge 16 of the embodiment of FIG.
Is shorter than the length of. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the shutter is open, the slide shutter 13
A part of the case protrudes outward from the case 30. Further, in order to reduce the depth, it is conceivable that after the magnetic head 15 is introduced into the magnetic head opening 11a, the scanning direction is not perpendicular to the insertion direction of the disk cartridge but is inclined.

In the above-described embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to the magneto-optical disk has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to other disk-shaped recording media such as a magnetic disk and an optical disk.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the opening is formed on one side of the rectangular plate-shaped case from one side toward the opposite side, the head is provided with a notch. If it passes through the notch when it is introduced into the opening, the amount of rise over the case is reduced, and it is necessary in a device for recording information on or reproducing information from a recording medium. The size in the thickness direction can be reduced. Further, since the shutter that opens and closes the opening reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the side where the notch is formed, when the head is introduced into the opening, the shutter is moved to open and close the opening. Can be easily and compactly constructed. Further, according to the present invention, the rectangular opening is formed to have a length that allows the head to scan the recording area of the recording medium in the radial direction, and the notch formed on the end face also has the length. , Whichever position in the scanning range, can be moved through the notch between the opening and the outside as it is, and it is necessary to prepare for recording and reproducing information on the disc cartridge. The time can be shortened. Further, according to the present invention, since the direction in which the disc cartridge is inserted into the device for recording or reproducing and the side of the rectangular shape provided with the notch are vertical, the direction in which the shutter moves to open and close the opening is in the disc cartridge. Is parallel to the insertion direction of the shutter, and the shutter can be easily opened and closed by using the force of inserting and discharging the shutter by using the inserting force.

Further, according to the present invention, when the shutter closes the opening, the cutout portion is also covered by the tip of the shutter, so that dust or the like may enter the inside from the outside through the cutout portion. And the information recording surface of the recording medium can be effectively protected.

Further, according to the present invention, when the shutter closes the opening, there is no step on the end face on the one side where the notch is provided, so that the disc cartridge has a good handling property, and a rack case or the like is provided. Can be easily stored.

[0035]

[0036]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a shutter open state of a disk cartridge 16 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a shutter closed state of the disc cartridge 16 of FIG.

3 is a perspective view showing a shutter open state and a shutter closed state on the back surface side of the disc cartridge 16 of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the section line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a perspective view showing a shape of a slide shutter 13 of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a shutter open state and a shutter closed state of a disk cartridge 36 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a shutter open state of the conventional disc cartridge 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional disc cartridge 6 in a shutter closed state.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line IX-IX in FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a disk cartridge of a prior art in a shutter open state.

[Explanation of symbols]

10,30 cases 11,31 Upper half 11a Magnetic head opening 12,32 lower half 12a Opening for optical pickup 13 Slide shutter 14 magneto-optical disk 14a Information recording surface 15 Magnetic head 16,36 disk cartridge 17,37 Shutter slide side 18,38 Shutter slide recess 19 notches 21 Shield 24 Upper half side closing part 25 Lower half side closing part

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Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An opening for a head, which has a substantially rectangular plate shape and rotatably accommodates a disc-shaped recording medium, approaches a surface of the disc-shaped recording medium to record or reproduce information. In a disc cartridge having a shutter for opening and closing the opening, the opening is formed in a shape extending from one side of the rectangular shape to the opposite side, and the disc cartridge of the opening is recorded or The end face on one side of the case in the direction perpendicular to the direction of insertion into the reproducing device is provided with a notch with a reduced thickness to a length that allows the head to scan the recording area of the recording medium in the radial direction. The shutter opening / closing direction is a direction parallel to the direction in which the disc cartridge is inserted into the device for recording / reproducing, and reciprocates in the direction perpendicular to the notch to open / close the opening. A disc cartridge characterized by: 2. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the shutter has a shape in which a tip of the one side covers the notch with the end surface in a state where the opening is closed. 3. The case and the shutter have a shape such that a step is not formed on an end surface on the side of the one side when the shutter closes the opening. Disc cartridge.