JP2000011513A - Locking mechanism for tray in information recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a locking device by using a solenoid and a magnet joinly in a locking mechanism locking a tray on which a disk is to be mounted at a mounting position. SOLUTION: A locking mechanism 30 is supported to a tray 14 and is engageable with the locking pin 35 provided in a cabinet 14 and is provided with a locking lever 50 which is elastically supported by springs 55, 56 and a locking lever driving mechanism. The locking lever driving mechanism is provided with a solenoid 61 to which a current is supplied while a current direction is changed over, plunger 63 which is supported movably in the centeral cavity part of the solenoid 61 and which is consisting of the magnetic material connected to the locking lever 50 and a permanent magnet 64 which is fixed at the end part of the hollow part of the solenoid 61. Then, the machanism is made so as to release a clock by rotating the locking lever 50 while driving the plunger 63 by supplying a current to the solenoid 61.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disk device for performing recording or reproduction by mounting a disk as a recording medium, and more particularly, to a mounting position of a disk device where the disk is mounted and an exchange position for exchanging the disk. The present invention relates to a lock mechanism for preventing a tray that moves between them from moving at a mounting position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a disk device for mounting a recording medium disk such as a CD-ROM, a disk is a tray that moves between a disk mounting position inside a disk device housing and a disk replacement position outside the housing. The disc is mounted on the tray that is placed and pulled out, and is moved to the mounting position of the disc device to operate the disc device. A lock mechanism is provided for fixing the tray on which the disk is mounted at the mounting position while the disk device having the tray at the mounting position is in operation. The lock mechanism of this tray is provided with a lever with a hook rotatably on the tray to be slid, and hooks the lever with
The tray is locked at a mounting position by being locked to a pin provided on a chassis that supports the apparatus main body.

[0003]

The lock mechanism is released by rotating a lever. In many cases, a suction type solenoid is conventionally used as a mechanism for rotating the lever. In the lock mechanism using the suction type solenoid, an iron core fixed to a rotating lever urged in a predetermined direction by a spring is driven by the suction force of the solenoid.

In recent years, with the spread of notebook-type disk devices, demands for smaller and thinner disk devices have been more and more increased, and accordingly, solenoids have necessarily been smaller and thinner. It is becoming inevitable. However, if the size and thickness of the solenoid are reduced, the suction force will be insufficient, and there will be a problem that the operating reliability of the lock mechanism will be affected. Further, since the iron core attached to the solenoid is heavy, when vibration or impact is applied to the device, there is a problem that the lever rotates against the spring due to the impact and the hook of the lever is unlocked. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a tray lock mechanism in a disk device that has a simple mechanism, can be reduced in weight and size, and has high reliability in operation.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a recording medium is supported and can be moved between a mounting position in a recordable or reproducible housing and an exchange position for exchanging a recording medium outside the housing. A lock mechanism for locking the tray at a mounting position in the housing, the lock mechanism being supported by the tray,
A lock lever that can be engaged with a lock pin urged by a spring in a direction in which the lock lever is provided in the housing, and a lock lever drive mechanism that releases the lock lever. The driving mechanism is a solenoid to which a current is supplied by switching a current direction, a plunger movably supported by the central cavity of the coil and connected to the lock lever, the plunger comprising a magnetic material, and a central cavity of the solenoid. A permanent magnet fixed to an end of the solenoid, the solenoid generates a magnetic field in a direction to increase a magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet, and a magnetic field in a direction to negate the same, thereby driving the plunger. This is a configuration characterized by rotating the lock lever.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the lock mechanism according to the first aspect, the lock lever includes an arm that is pivotally attached to a shaft fixed to a tray and has a claw portion that engages with the lock pin. A lever pivotally connected to a shaft and having an end connected to the plunger, wherein the arm is biased by a spring in a direction in which the claw engages the lock pin. Configuration.

The locking device according to the first and second aspects uses a permanent magnet and a solenoid capable of flowing a current in both directions, and the solenoid is provided with a magnetic field in a direction in which the magnetic field generated from the permanent magnet is strengthened. The magnetic field is generated by switching the direction of the current in the direction of canceling. Thus, the magnetic field acting on the plunger connected to the lock lever is changed, and the lock lever is rotated to release the engagement of the lock lever with the lock pin. As a result, the reliability of the operation of the lock mechanism can be increased, and a small solenoid can be used, so that the size and thickness of the recording medium mounting device can be reduced.

[0008]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing a state where a tray of a disk device to which an embodiment of a tray locking mechanism according to the present invention is applied is pulled out, and FIG. 2 is a state where the tray is accommodated in a mounting position in a housing of the disk device. FIG.

The disk device 11 is used as an external storage device of an information processing device (not shown) such as a personal computer.
It has a disk mounting device 12 to which a CD-ROM, PD disk cartridge, DVD disk cartridge, or the like is mounted. The mounting device 12 includes a tray 14 pulled out of the housing 13 of the disk device 11, and a holder 15 into which a disk serving as a recording medium is inserted.

The tray 14 is slidably attached to the casing 13 in the AB direction. The tray 14 is pulled out in the A direction to exchange a disk, or is stored in the casing 13 for recording. Or, it is moved to a playable mounting position.
On the upper surface of the tray 14, a turntable 18 on which a disk is mounted, a disk motor 19 for driving the turntable 18 to rotate, and a pickup 20 for optically reading information recorded on the disk are provided.

On one side of the tray 14, there is provided a lock mechanism 30 for preventing the tray from moving when the tray 14 moves to the mounting position in the housing. The lock mechanism 30 includes a lock lever 50 that engages with a lock pin 35 provided on the housing 14 and a latching solenoid 60 that drives the lock lever 35, as described later. At the rear end of the tray 14, an ejection pressing member (not shown) made of a spring for urging the tray 14 in the direction A is provided. When the lock by the lock mechanism 30 is released, the ejection is performed. The pressing member for the tray 14 is
Move in the A direction.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the lock mechanism 30 will be described.
Will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of the lock mechanism. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the lock lever. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the latching solenoid. The lock mechanism 30 includes a lock lever 50 and a latching solenoid 60 for rotating the lock lever 50 to a lock position or an unlock position.

The lock lever 50 has a claw 51a at the tip for engaging with a lock pin 35 provided on the housing 13, and
Bearing hole 51 into which shaft 53 erected on tray 14 is inserted
b, an arm 51 having an engagement groove 51c formed therein, and a lever 5 connected to a plunger of a latching solenoid 60.
2 and more. The claw 51a of the arm 51 has a hook 51d and an outer inclined surface 51e. Lever 52
Has a shaft hole 52a, an engagement pin 52b, projections 52c and 52d for locking a spring, and a pin 52e for fixing to the plunger 63. The bearing hole 51a of the arm 51 and the shaft hole 52a of the lever 52 are pivotally connected to a shaft 53 erected on the tray 3, and the lever 52 is pivotally connected to the head of the plunger 63 via the pin 52c. . Also,
The pin 52b of the lever 52 enters the engaging groove 51c of the arm 51 and engages with it.

As shown in FIG. 3, a first spring 55 is attached to a shaft 53 to which the arm 51 is attached, and one end 55a of the spring 55 is connected to the arm 51.
, And the other end 55b is
Locked to 2. Thereby, the arm 51 is connected to the lever 52
Is biased in the direction of arrow C to be rotatably supported. The arm 51 is configured such that the pin 52b of the lever 52 abuts the engagement groove 51c of the arm 51 so as to maintain the posture shown in the figure. A second spring 56 is attached to the shaft 53, and one end 56 a of the second spring 56 is locked by a pin 57 erected from the bottom of the tray 3, and the other end 56 a
b is locked by a convex portion 52c formed on the lever 52.
As a result, the lever 52 is urged by the spring 56 in the direction of arrow D with respect to the tray 3 so as to be rotatable.

FIG. 5 shows a latching solenoid 60,
(A) is a figure which shows a whole structure, (B) shows a plunger, (C) shows a yoke. The latching solenoid 60 is
A coil 61 supported by a yoke 62, a plunger 63 formed of an iron core that is a magnetic material inserted into a central hollow portion of the coil, and a coil located at an end of the hollow portion of the coil and supported by the yoke It is constituted by a magnet (permanent magnet) 64. The plunger 63, as shown in FIG.
It is formed of an elongated iron plate member having a hook 63a for connecting a pin 52c formed on the lever 52 of the lock lever 50 to the head. The yoke 62 is a plate-shaped member having a U-shaped cross section including an upper surface 62a, a lower surface 62b, and a side surface 62c, as shown in FIG. 4C, and supports the solenoid 61 and the magnet 64. A hole 62d for guiding the plunger 63 is formed on the upper surface 62a of the yoke 62. The magnet 64 is a magnet using a rare earth element having a large attractive force.

The solenoid 61 is supplied from a power source (not shown) in such a manner that the direction of current flow is changed according to a switch operation. When a current is applied in one direction, a magnetic field is generated in the same direction as the line of magnetic force generated by the magnet 64, and when a current is applied in the opposite direction, a magnetic field is generated in a direction to cancel the magnetic field from the magnet 64. ing. The energization of the solenoid 61 is controlled by an operation switch (not shown) provided on a bezel on the front surface of the tray 14.

In the lock mechanism having the above-described structure, when the solenoid 61 of the latching solenoid 60 is not energized, the arm 51 and the lever 52 overcome the attractive force of the magnet 64 acting on the plunger 63, and the springs 55 and 56 As a result, the plunger 63 is held in a raised state as shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the lock mechanism 30 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. (1) First, in the loading start state shown in (A), the coil 61 of the latch solenoid 60 is not energized. Therefore, the arm 5 of the lock lever 50
1 and the lever 52 are the plunger 6 of the magnet 64.
Spring 55 and spring 56
Maintain the state shown in FIG.

(2) When the tray 14 moves forward in the direction of the housing 13 (in the direction of arrow B) and the inclined surface 51d at the tip of the arm 51 comes into contact with the lock pin 35 (FIG. B), the arm 51 is moved by a spring. The claw portion 51 a rotates in the direction of the arrow E around the shaft 53 against the elasticity of the shaft 55, and gets over the lock pin 38. At this time, the engaging pin 52b of the lever 52
Moves in the engagement groove 51c of the arm 51.

(3) When the claw portion 51a gets over the lock pin 38, the arm 51 rotates again to the original state by the elasticity of the spring 55, and the hook portion 51e engages with the lock pin 38 to be locked. Figure C). Thereby, the tray 3
Will be prevented from being pulled out of the housing. (4) When the tray 14 is ejected, that is, when the locked state is released, the operation switch provided on the front bezel of the tray 14 is pressed. When the operation switch is pressed, the solenoid 61 of the latch solenoid 60 is magnetized. A current flows in a direction in which the magnetic field lines in the same direction as the magnetic field lines generated by the magnetic field 64 occur for a predetermined time (about 10 msec). Then, by the excitation of the solenoid 61, the magnetic field in the same direction as the magnetic field formed by the magnet 64 is strengthened. As a result, the plunger 63 is attracted in the direction of the magnet 64, and the elastic force of the spring 56 around the shaft 53 is exerted on the lever 52. The arm 51 rotates in the direction of arrow E with the rotation of the lever 52, and the claw portion 51a
The engagement between the hook 51e and the lock pin 38 is released (FIG. D). In this state, the plunger 63 sucked into the solenoid 61 is held in that state by the magnet 64.

When the engagement between the claw portion 51a and the lock pin 38 is released, the tray 14 automatically moves in the direction A, that is, in the pulling-out direction, by a pressing mechanism using an elastic body. (5) When the engagement between the claw portion 51a and the lock pin 38 is released and the tray 3 is pulled out, a current in the reverse direction flows through the solenoid 61 for a predetermined time (about 10 msec) to excite the solenoid 61. Then, a magnetic field in a direction to cancel the magnetic field generated by the magnet 64 is formed in the solenoid 61. As a result, the suction force for pulling in the plunger 63 is canceled, and the elastic force of the spring 56 wins and returns to the original state (FIG. E). This completes the ejection.

As described above, the lock mechanism according to the present embodiment employs the lock lever 50 supported via a spring.
Since the plunger 63 is driven and engaged or disengaged by using a solenoid having a magnet (permanent magnet) and capable of generating a magnetic field in both directions, a sufficient attraction force can be obtained even if the solenoid is downsized. Can be obtained, and the entire device can be reduced in size. Further, the iron core constituting the plunger can be lightened, and the spring load can be increased. As a result, the lock is prevented from being released due to vibration or impact.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, the lock mechanism is provided with a lock lever 50 supported via a spring.
Since the plunger 63 is driven and engaged or disengaged by using a solenoid having a magnet (permanent magnet) and capable of generating a magnetic field in both directions, a sufficient attraction force can be obtained even if the solenoid is downsized. Can be obtained, and the entire device can be reduced in size. In addition, the iron core constituting the plunger can be lightened, and the spring load can be increased. As a result, the lock is prevented from being released due to vibration or impact, and the tray can be securely mounted at the mounting position. Locking and unlocking can be performed, and the reliability as a disk device is also increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state where a tray of a disk device to which an embodiment of a tray lock mechanism according to the present invention is applied is pulled out.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state where a tray is accommodated in a mounting position in a housing of a disk device.

FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of a lock mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an exploded configuration diagram of a lock lever.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a latching solenoid.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the lock mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Disk device 12 Mounting device 13 Housing 14 Tray 15 Holder 5 18 Turntable 19 Disk motor 20 Pickup 30 Lock mechanism 35 Lock pin 50 Lock lever 51 Arm 52 Lever 60 Latching solenoid 61 Solenoid 62 Yoke 63 Plunger 64 Magnet

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A tray that supports a recording medium and is movable between a mounting position in a housing capable of recording or reproducing and a replacement position for exchanging a recording medium outside the housing at an installation position in the housing. A lock mechanism supported by the tray and engageable with a lock pin urged by a spring in a direction to engage with a lock pin provided in the housing; and A lock lever drive mechanism for releasing the engagement, the lock lever drive mechanism comprising: a solenoid to which a current is supplied by switching a current direction; a solenoid movably supported in a central cavity of the coil, and connected to the lock lever. And a permanent magnet fixed to an end of a central cavity of the solenoid, wherein the solenoid generates a permanent magnet. The direction of the magnetic field to increase counteracts by generating a magnetic field in the direction to drive the plunger, thereby locking mechanism, characterized in that so as to rotate the lock lever. 2. The lock mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the lock lever is pivotally attached to a shaft fixed to the tray, and has an arm having a claw engaging with the lock pin, and is pivotally attached to the shaft. And a lever having an end connected to the plunger, and the arm is urged by a spring in a direction in which the claw engages with the lock pin.