JP2000090624A - Disk cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To use a disk cartridge, for an 8-cm DVD-RAM, in addition to a disk cartridge for a 12-cm DVD-RAM, at a disk drive for the disk cartridge for the 12-cm DVD-RAM without changing an optical head. SOLUTION: A window part which corresponds to the movement region of an optical disk is formed in a case 12. Shutters 16, 24 which are slid in a direction at right angles to the movement direction of the optical head and which are divided into a plurality of pieces are installed at the window part. The shutters 16, 24 constitute a disk cartridge which is overlapped in an open state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention digitizes digital information and video information by a computer or the like,
The present invention relates to a disk cartridge used for a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording or reproducing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a next-generation information recording medium (disk), a high-density, large-capacity rewritable digital video disk (DVD-RAM) has been developed. Read-only digital video disk (DV
D-ROM, etc.) uses the recording medium (disk) as it is, while the DVD-R
Since an AM recording medium (disk) has a high recording density and needs to be rewritten many times to increase reliability, the recording medium (disk) is stored in a dedicated disk cartridge. In other words, it is possible to prevent fingerprints, dust, and the like from adhering to the recording medium (disc) surface, thereby preventing new information from being recorded.

[0003] In the case of DVD, a large-diameter type having a diameter of 12 cm and a small-diameter type having a diameter of 8 cm are considered in the same manner as a CD-ROM. The large-diameter type can handle a large amount of data, but is inferior in portability, so it is often used for stationary devices. In addition, the small-diameter type is excellent in portability, and is expected to be used as a recording medium for a digital camera and an external recording medium for a portable computer.

[0004] This type of conventional disk cartridge will be described below. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional disk cartridge, FIG. 9 shows the conventional disk cartridge with a shutter opened, FIG. 9A is a plan view showing a large-diameter disk cartridge, and FIG. 9B is a plan view showing a small-diameter disk cartridge.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the small-diameter disk cartridge 51 has a rectangular thin case 52 made of hard resin and having a cavity. Case 5
2 are formed in the front surface portion 52b and the rear surface portion 52c, respectively, and have rectangular recesses 53 in which the thickness of the case 52 is slightly reduced. 52d are formed. Further, in each concave portion 53 of the case 52, a U-shaped window portion 54 is cut out from the center of the case 52 to one outer edge 52e. Surface portion 52b of case 52 removed from recess 53
A circular positioning hole 56a and an elliptical mounting hole 56b are formed in the rear surface 52c.

A window 54 is provided in the recess 53 of the case 52.
A single rectangular shutter 57 that is movable between a position where the shutter is closed and a position where the shutter is opened is attached. The shutter 57 is made of a resin or metal thin plate, is bent in a U-shape, and has two opposed flat plate portions 5.
7a and 57b and a bent portion 57c connecting the two flat plate portions 57a and 57b.
Cut off both ends of c, edge 5 for shutter opener
7d is formed in the bent portion 57c. The shutter 57 is formed by the flat plate portions 57a and 57b in the case 5
It is mounted so as to sandwich the concave portion 53 of the front and back surfaces 52b, 52c of Table 2, and slides between the step portions 52d on the surface of the concave portion 53. Further, a spring (not shown) is provided in a hollow portion in the case 52, and a shutter 5 is provided.
One end of a spring is attached to 7, and the shutter 57 normally closes the window 54 of the case 52 by the biasing force of the spring.

[0007] A disk-shaped (recording medium) 55 is rotatably housed in the cavity of the case 52. FIG.
As shown in A, the disk 55 housed in the small-diameter disk cartridge 51 was formed by laminating two polycarbonate substrates each having a diameter of 8 cm and a thickness of 0.6 mm, and forming a recording film, a dielectric layer, and the like on the substrates. Things. At the center of the disk 55, a circular center hole 60 (see FIG. 8) smaller than the window portion 54 of the case 52 is formed so as to penetrate therethrough. A medium layer 61 including the same is formed. The disc 55 is housed in the case 52 such that the center hole 60 and a part of the medium layer 61 are exposed from the window 54 of the case 52. The size of the window 54 of the disk cartridge 51 corresponds to the movable range (the direction of the arrow Y) of the optical head 10 that forms a part of the disk drive.

As described above, the shutter 57 normally covers the window 54 of the case 52 and is closed.
When the disk cartridge 51 is inserted into a disk drive device (not shown), a part of the disk drive device comes into contact with the edge 57b, the shutter 57 slides, and the windows 54 are automatically opened so as to expose the windows 54. When the disk cartridge 51 is completely loaded in the disk drive, the disk 52 is accurately positioned, and is rotatable around a central hole 60 of the disk 52 by a spindle device (not shown) of the disk drive. State. Then, an operation of recording information on the medium layer 61 or reproducing the information recorded on the medium layer 61 is performed by the optical head 10 of the disk drive device.

Next, when recording or reproduction is completed and the disc cartridge 51 is ejected from the drive device,
As the edge 57b moves away from the predetermined position of the drive device, the shutter 57 automatically covers the window 54 by the biasing force of the spring, and returns to the original closed state.

As described above, the small-diameter disc cartridge 51
However, the same applies to the large-diameter disk cartridge 50. As shown in FIG. 9B, the size of the large-diameter disk cartridge 50 is different but the necessary components are the same as those of the small-diameter disk cartridge. Therefore, the same components as those of the small-diameter disk cartridge are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The small-diameter disk cartridge 51 includes:
A dedicated disk drive corresponding to the disk cartridge 51 is used, and a dedicated disk drive corresponding to the disk cartridge 50 is used for the large-diameter disk cartridge 50.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B,
The small-diameter disk cartridge 51 is inserted into a conventional disk drive device designed for a large-diameter disk so as to correspond to the optical head 10 of the large-diameter disk drive device. When the shutter 57 is slid according to the size, the window 54 is narrower than the large-diameter disk cartridge 50 by the dimensional difference indicated by the arrow X in the figure.

[0013]

As described above, the large-diameter disk cartridge 50 has a disk drive corresponding to the disk cartridge 50, and the small-diameter disk cartridge 51 has a disk drive corresponding to the disk cartridge 51. Dedicated disk drive devices are required. Accordingly, the small-diameter disk cartridge 51 is inserted into a conventional disk drive device designed for a large-diameter disk, and the shutter 5 is adjusted to the size of the window 54 of the large-diameter disk cartridge 50.
7 is slid, the window 54 becomes narrower than the large-diameter disk cartridge 50 by the dimensional difference indicated by the arrow X in the figure. The optical head 10 of the above-described large-diameter disk device, which is wider than the head 10, was arranged at a predetermined position in the window 54, so that accurate recording and reproduction could not be performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a small-diameter disk cartridge can be used not only for a small-diameter disk drive device but also for a large-diameter disk drive device like a large-diameter disk cartridge. It is an object of the present invention to provide a disk cartridge that can be used.

[0015]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, as a first solution for solving the above problems,
A case having a window corresponding to the moving area of the optical head,
A shutter that is slidably mounted on the case and is divided into a plurality of shutters that cover the window, and the divided shutter slides in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the optical head and opens the window. , So that they overlap.

As a second solution, the divided shutters are engaged with each other during the movement and slide together in the engaged state.

As a third solution, the shutter has a first shutter and a second shutter. When the window is opened, the second shutter slides after the first shutter slides. The second shutter is disposed between the first shutter and the case so that
A claw for allowing both the shutter and the second shutter to slide together is provided on one of the first shutter and the second shutter, and a groove for engaging the claw is provided on the first shutter and the second shutter. Formed on any one of them.

As a fourth solution, a window is formed to face both the front and back surfaces of the case, and each shutter is integrally formed so as to cover the window.

As a fifth solution, the case is composed of 8
cm DVD-RAM discs.

[0020]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a disk cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention in a state where a window is covered with a shutter. FIG. 2 is a view in which a shutter is opened and a window is exposed. It is a top view in the state where it did.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a small-diameter disk cartridge 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention is made of a hard resin and has a rectangular case 12 having a hollow portion therein.
It is formed with. U extends from the center of the front surface portion 12b and the rear surface portion 12c of the case 12 to the front surface portion 12d (upper side in the drawing) facing the direction of insertion into the disk drive.
A character-shaped window 13 is provided. The window 13 is provided slightly larger than the window 54 of the conventional disk cartridge 51 by the dimensional difference X described above. Around each window portion 13 of the front surface portion 12b and the back surface portion 12c of the case 12,
A rectangular recess 14 whose thickness is slightly reduced is formed, and a step 15 is formed in the case 12 by the formation of the recess 14. Also, the front part 1 of the recess 14
On the 2d side, a slide guide portion 17 formed of an elongated groove parallel to the front surface portion 12d is formed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the first shutter 16 is formed by bending a rectangular resin or metal thin plate into a U-shape. 16b, a bent portion 16c connecting the flat plate portions 16a, 16b, a cut groove portion 18 formed by cutting a small portion into the flat plate portion 16a, and a claw portion 20 formed by bending a thin plate of the cut groove portion 18 inward at a right angle. Have.
Edges 16d for a shutter opener are provided at both ends of the bent portion 16c. In the bent portion 16c,
A band-like hook 22 extends outward from one end and is formed by being bent by about 90 degrees. further,
The tip of the hook 22 is bent so as to be coupled with a spring described later. Then, the first bent portion 16c is disposed so as to face the front surface portion 12d of the case 12,
The shutter 16 is attached to the case 12.

The second shutter 24 is formed by bending a thin plate made of resin or metal into a U-shape in the same manner as the first shutter 16, and has flat plate portions 24a and 24b opposed to each other.
And a bent portion 24a connecting the flat plate portions 24a and 24b. At the center of the bent portion 24a, a through-hole 26 penetrating in a rectangular shape is formed. An elongated groove 25 is formed in the flat plate portion 24 a of the second shutter 24. At one right end in the groove 25, a claw 27 is formed by cutting a thin plate of the groove 25 and bending it inward at a right angle.
Is provided.

Then, each of the first and second shutters 1
6, 24 are a front surface portion 12b and a rear surface portion 12 of the case 12.
c, the claw portion 27 of the second shutter 24 is first fitted into the slide guide portion 17 of the case 12, and the second shutter 24 is slidably mounted. . Further, the first shutter 16 is placed on the second shutter 24 so as to overlap with the second shutter 24, and the claw portion 20 of the first shutter 16 is fitted into the groove 25 of the second shutter 24, and the first shutter 16 is inserted. 16 is slidably mounted on the case 12, and the first and second shutters 16, 24 are mounted such that the flat portions 16a, 16b and the flat portions 24a, 24b respectively partially overlap.

When the window 13 is opened, the claw portion 20 of the first shutter 16 is moved in the middle of sliding so that the second shutter 24 slides after the first shutter 16 slides. The first shutter 16 slides while pressing the second shutter 24 as it is, and finally the first and second shutters 16 and 24 are completely removed from the window 13. At a position on the concave portion 14 of the case 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, the spring 30 is made of a metal wire, and has a winding portion 30a and a winding portion 3 wound in a coil shape.
It is composed of a pair of arms 30b extending from 0a at an angle of about 120 ° and an end 30c obtained by bending the tip of the arm 30b at an angle of about 90 °. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the spring 30 is disposed inside the case 12, and one end 30c is connected to the hook 22 and the other end 30c.
Oc is attached and fixed to the side wall in the case 12 with an urging force.

Next, the first and second disc cartridges 11 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The opening and closing operations of the shutters 16 and 24 will be described below. In an initial state, the spring 30 is housed in the case 12 of the disk cartridge 11 and one end 3
0c is attached to the hook 22 of the first shutter 16,
The other end 30c is attached to the inner wall of the cavity of the case 12 in the direction T1 in the figure. By the urging force of the spring 30,
The first shutter 16 is constantly pressed in the T2 direction in FIG. At this time, the claw portion 20 of the first shutter 16
Contacts the groove 25 of the second shutter 24, and the claw 27 provided in the groove 25 of the second shutter 24 contacts the slide guide 17 of the case 12.

The disk cartridge of the present invention (8 cmD
VD-RAM) 11 is inserted into a disk drive for a small-diameter disk cartridge.
6, the shutter opening / closing lever (not shown) of the disk drive device comes into contact with the edge 16d, and as the disk cartridge 11 is inserted, the first opening / closing lever moves in the T1 direction in FIG.
Shutter 16 slides against the resistance of spring 30. At this time, the claw portion 20 of the first shutter 16 slides and moves in the direction of arrow T1 along the groove portion 25 of the second shutter 24, and the hook 22 of the first shutter 16 passes through the second shutter 24. It moves inside the hole 26. Then, the claw portion 20 engages with the end of the groove portion 25 in the T1 direction, and comes into contact with the claw portion 27. In this way, the window 13
Is the optical head 10 of the disk drive device for small diameter (FIG. 9)
(See Reference). Then, the small diameter optical head 10 is arranged at a predetermined position in the window portion 13,
Records and reproduces information.

Next, the disk cartridge 11 of the present invention will be described.
Is inserted into the disk drive device for the large-diameter disk cartridge, the edge 16d of the first shutter 16
, A shutter opening / closing lever (not shown) of the disk drive device abuts. As the disc cartridge 11 is inserted, the first shutter 16 moves in the T1 direction in FIG.
Slides against the force of the spring 30. At this time,
The claw portion 20 of the first shutter 16 is the second shutter 2
4 along the groove 25 in the direction of arrow T1.
The flat portions 16a and 16b of the shutter 16 slide on the flat portions 24a and 24b of the second shutter 24, and the hook 22 of the first shutter 16
4 in the through hole 26. Up to this point, the operation is the same as when the disk cartridge 11 of the present invention is inserted into the above-described disk drive device for a small-diameter disk cartridge.

Further, the disc cartridge 11 is inserted into the back of the disc drive device so as to be arranged at a predetermined position. The first shutter and the second shutter move the edge 16 in the direction of arrow T1 while opposing the drag of the spring 30.
d and are slid together by the first and second
In a state where the shutters 16 and 24 overlap each other, the claw portion 20 of the first shutter 16 and the second shutter 24
The claw 27 of the second shutter 24 slides on the concave surface 14 of the case 12 along with the slide guide 17 of the case 12. Then, at the end of the slide guide portion 17 of the case 12 in the direction of the arrow T1, the first and second claw portions 20, 27 are engaged and stopped.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first and second shutters 16 and 24 covering the window 13 of the disk cartridge 11 are all removed, and are opened to a size corresponding to the window of the large-diameter disk cartridge. The above-mentioned window 13
To expose the central hole 60 (see FIG. 9) of the disk 55 and the medium layer 61. Then, in the disk drive, the central hole 60 of the disk 55 exposed in the window 13 on the surface side of the case 12 in the figure fits with a rotating member (not shown) of a spindle (motor) of the disk drive. do it,
The disk 55 is made rotatable, and the back 1
The optical head 10 is disposed to face the surface of the disk 55 exposed in the window 13 on the side 2c. Then, the optical head 10 for recording and reproducing information is brought close to the disk 55 from the window portion 13, and the spindle 13 (the disk 55 is rotated by the motor 9, and the laser beam emitted from the optical head 10 is used to open the window portion 13). Recording and playback are performed.

More specifically, in the disk drive device, laser light emitted from the optical head 10 is condensed on the recording film, and data is formed on the recording film by increasing the temperature of that portion. When reproducing recorded data, a laser beam is irradiated with a smaller power than at the time of recording, and the information is read by detecting an optical difference between a data portion and other portions.

Next, after the recording and reproduction are completed, in order to remove the disk 55 from the disk drive, first, an eject button (not shown) of the disk drive is pressed to generate an output signal for removing the disk 55. The loading device is driven, and the disk cartridge 11 is ejected from the disk drive device. At this time, when the disk cartridge 11 is ejected from the disk drive device, the edge 16d of the first shutter 16 is separated from the contact portion by the operation of the shutter opening / closing lever of the disk drive device, and gradually returns to the original position. Return to position. Then, the first force is applied by the urging force of the spring.
Then, the window 13 is returned to the original state in which the window 13 is closed by the first and second shutters 24 and 26 in a reverse order to the order in which the window 13 is opened by the second shutters 24 and 26.

That is, when the small-diameter disk cartridge is inserted into a commonly used small-diameter disk drive, the open and closed states of the first and second shutters 16 and 24 are set to be the same as those of the large-diameter disk drive. The first and second shutters 16 and 24 are opened so that the window 13 is not fully opened, but has the same size as the window 13 when a conventional small-diameter disc cartridge is used.

In this embodiment, the first and second shutters 16 and 24 are used to close the window 13 so that the window 13 can be used commonly for different disk drive devices. The invention is not limited to two shutters, and three or more shutters may be used.

The disk cartridge of the present invention described above has a case having a window corresponding to the moving area of the optical head, and a shutter which is slidably mounted on the case and is divided into a plurality of sheets covering the window. The split shutter slides in the direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the optical head and overlaps with the window open, so that light from different disk drive devices can be obtained with a simple configuration. The windows respectively correspond to the heads, so that they can be used as they are without being inserted into a different disk drive device and without any addition.

The divided shutters engage with each other in the middle of the movement and slide together in the engaged state, so that the window can be opened to a predetermined size. Information can be recorded and reproduced with an optical head of a disk drive device having a different configuration.

The shutter has a first shutter and a second shutter. When the window is opened, the first shutter slides and then the first shutter slides so that the second shutter slides. Second between shutter and case
And a claw for allowing the first shutter and the second shutter to slide together is provided on one of the first shutter and the second shutter, and a groove for engaging with the claw is provided. Since the shutters are formed on the other of the first shutter and the second shutter, each of the shutters engages with the claw portion and the groove portion, so that a predetermined opening of the window portion according to the disk drive device can be smoothly performed. Can be.

The window is formed to face both the front and back surfaces of the case, and the shutter is formed integrally so as to cover the window, so that the optical head can be connected to either side of the disk cartridge. The window can be opened to a predetermined size so that recording and reproduction can be performed on the disk surface through the window. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to a disk cartridge provided with a high-capacity disk using both sides of the disk.

The case has a 12 cm DVD-RAM.
Window having the same size as the window of the disk cartridge for the DVD-RAM, and storing the 8 cm DVD-RAM disk in the case so that the disk drive device can be changed to another disk drive without any change in function. By supplying this disk cartridge, information can be recorded / reproduced.

[0040]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a disk cartridge in a state where a slide shutter according to the present invention is closed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the disk cartridge in a state where a sliding shutter according to the present invention is opened.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the disk cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a shutter spring of the disk cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the disk cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of a main part of the disk cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of a main part showing a shutter of the disk cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a disc cartridge in a state where a conventional slide shutter is closed.

FIG. 9A is a plan view of a conventional small-diameter disk cartridge with a shutter opened, and FIG. 9B is a plan view of a large-diameter disk cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Case 12b Front part 12c Back part 13 Window part 16 First shutter 17 Slide guide part 18 Groove part 20 Claw part 24 Second shutter 25 Groove part 27 Claw part 54 Disk

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A shutter having a window corresponding to a moving area of an optical head, and a shutter slidably mounted on the case and divided into a plurality of shutters covering the window. A disk cartridge which slides in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the optical head and overlaps with the window portion opened. 2. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the divided shutters engage with each other during the movement, and slide together in the engaged state. 3. The shutter has a first shutter and a second shutter. When the window is opened, the second shutter slides after the first shutter slides. Disposing the second shutter between the first shutter and the case;
A claw for allowing both the shutter and the second shutter to slide together is provided on one of the first shutter and the second shutter, and a groove for engaging the claw is provided on the first shutter. 3. The disc cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the disc cartridge is formed on the other of the second shutter. 4. The window according to claim 1, wherein the window is formed on both sides of the front and back surfaces of the case, and the shutters are formed integrally so as to cover the window. 3. The disc cartridge according to any one of the above items 3. 5. The case has a 12 cm DVD-RAM.
Window having the same size as the window of the disc cartridge for use with the DVD-RA.
5. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a disk for M is stored.