JP2002050143A - Case for disk cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To operate a shutter member automatically in the direction closing an aperture part provided in a cartridge casing when a disk cartridge is loaded or discharged in or from a case. SOLUTION: An optical disk 11 is housed in the disk housing chamber 16 of the cartridge casing 12 formed by superposing a set of shells 13, 14, and 15. A case 90 for a disk cartridge is provided with a cartridge housing part 93 for loading or discharging the disk cartridge 10 on which shutter members 18a and 18b to open and close the aperture parts 25 and 42 provided in the cartridge casing 12 to expose a part of the optical disk 11 are mounted. A protrusion 95 to engage with the cartridge casing 12 by the insertion operation of the disk cartridge 10 and to energize the shutter members 18a and 18b in the direction closing the aperture parts 25 and 42 is provided in the cartridge housing part 93.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the storage and transportation of a disk cartridge in which a disk-shaped recording medium such as an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, and a magnetic disk is rotatably stored in a disk storage chamber of a cartridge housing. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disk cartridge case capable of urging a shutter member in a direction to close an opening when used for storage, transportation, and the like to enhance a dustproof effect in a cartridge housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a disk cartridge in which a disk-shaped recording medium capable of recording and / or reproducing information such as audio, video or computer data is rotatably stored in a cartridge housing, for example, A configuration as shown in FIG. 15 is known. This disk cartridge 1 is a disk cartridge containing a write-once magneto-optical disk 4 on which a user can record and write information such as data of a computer later.

The disk cartridge 1 includes a cartridge housing 2 composed of a pair of upper shell 2a and lower shell 2b, and a magneto-optical disk 4 rotatably stored in a disk storage chamber 3 of the cartridge housing 2. Etc. are provided. The upper and lower surfaces of the cartridge housing 2 are provided with upper and lower openings 5 extending from the center toward one side. The opening 5 can be opened and closed by a shutter member 6 slidable along one side of the cartridge housing 2. The shutter member 6 is held in a state where the opening 5 is closed by a lock member that does not appear in the drawing.

In the disk cartridge 1 having such a configuration, if dust adheres to the magneto-optical disk 4 as a recording medium of information, a problem occurs in recording and reproduction of an information signal. It is stored in such a disk cartridge case 7 and is used for storage, transportation, and the like. The disk cartridge case 7 is composed of a combination of an upper case 7a and a lower case 7b which are superimposed on each other, and is a flat box body opened on one side. A cartridge storage section 8 is formed in the upper and lower cases 7a and 7b, and the cartridge storage section 8 is opened to the outside by an insertion port 8a.

A lock mechanism for locking and holding the inserted disk cartridge 1 is provided at the deepest portion of the cartridge storage section 8. The lock mechanism includes left and right lock pieces 9, 9 formed integrally with the upper case 7a. Each lock piece 9 is formed by an arm 9a extending in the depth direction and a projection 9b formed at the tip of the arm 9a.
The protruding portion 9b is formed of an arc-shaped protruding inward and is provided with appropriate elasticity by the arm portion 9a.

In contrast to such a lock mechanism, the cartridge housing 2 of the disk cartridge 1 is provided with one protrusion receiving portion 2c formed of a semicircular concave portion on each of the left and right sides. The projection receiving portions 2c are set at positions where the projections 9b of the lock pieces 9 are engaged when the disk cartridge 1 is completely inserted into the case 7. The left and right protrusions 9b are engaged with the pair of protrusion receiving portions 2c, so that the disk cartridge 1 is locked to the case 7, and the disk cartridge 1 is prevented from coming out during transportation or the like.

[0007]

However, in the conventional disk cartridge case having such a configuration, the lock mechanism only locks and holds the disk cartridge. Regardless of the open / closed state, when the disk cartridge is inserted to a predetermined position, the lock mechanism automatically locks and holds the disk cartridge. Therefore, when the disk cartridge 1 is inserted into the cartridge storage portion 8 in a state where the opening 5 is not completely closed by the shutter member 6, the disk cartridge is locked and held with the opening 5 opened. Will be done. As a result, dust and dust can enter the cartridge housing 2 from the opened portion of the opening 5, and writing (recording) and reading (reproduction) of an information signal can be performed by the entered dust and dust. There was a problem that it could be harmed.

In recent years, in the trend of increasing the capacity and recording density of optical discs, the pitch of recording patterns and the linear density have been increasing. In an optical disk or a magneto-optical disk, there is a case where a reading or writing beam is shielded by dust or dust entering a recording surface, or normal information cannot be read or written due to damage to an information recording surface.

In particular, due to the further increase in capacity and recording density, the degree of influence on the reading and writing of data is increased even for minute dust and dust, which had little effect in the prior art. However, the shutter member cannot prevent the entry of minute-sized dust and dirt. In this case, if minute dust entering the cartridge housing 2 adheres to the information recording surface of the magneto-optical disk 4, the information recording surface is damaged by the dust and normal information cannot be read or written. there were.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the conventional case for a disk cartridge, and
When a disk cartridge is put in or taken out of the case, the shutter member is automatically operated in a direction to close an opening provided in the cartridge housing,
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described conventional problems.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and the like and to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention relates to claim 1 of the present application.
The disk cartridge case described above includes a cartridge for storing a disk-shaped recording medium in a disk storage chamber of a cartridge housing formed by overlapping a pair of shells and exposing a part of the disk-shaped recording medium. A shutter member for opening and closing an opening provided in the housing includes a cartridge housing portion for inserting and removing a disk cartridge attached to the cartridge housing. The cartridge housing portion engages with the cartridge housing by an operation of inserting the disk cartridge. In addition, a projection for urging the shutter member in a direction to close the opening is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the disk cartridge case, the disk cartridge has a cartridge housing in which an upper shell and a lower shell rotatably support a middle shell, and an opening provided in the cartridge housing. And a pair of shutter members that can be opened and closed by rotation of the middle shell. The middle shell is provided with an operated portion with which the projection is engaged. When the disk cartridge is stored in the cartridge storage portion, the projection is formed. Is engaged with the operated portion to urge the middle shell in the direction to close the opening.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the disk cartridge case, at least one of the upper shell and the lower shell has an operation window for rotating the middle shell, and a portion exposed from the operation window of the middle shell. And a concave portion with which the projection is engaged is provided.

A disk cartridge case according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the projection is formed of an elastic piece projecting into the cartridge accommodating portion.

A disk cartridge case according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the projections are provided on both side surfaces in the cartridge storage so as to contact both side surfaces of the disk cartridge.

With the above-described structure, the disk cartridge case according to claim 1 of the present application provides:
Since the projection is provided in the cartridge storage section, when the disc cartridge is inserted into the cartridge storage section, the projection provided in the cartridge storage section is engaged with the cartridge housing and urges the shutter member in a direction to close the opening. Therefore, the disk cartridge can be inserted into or taken out of the cartridge storage section of the disk cartridge case 90 while the opening is completely closed by the pair of shutter members.

In the disk cartridge case according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the disk cartridge is stored in the cartridge storage portion, the projection engages with the operated portion, and the middle shell closes the opening by the pair of shutter members. The disc cartridge can be inserted into or taken out of the cartridge storage portion of the disc cartridge case 90 while the opening is completely closed by the pair of shutter members.

In the disk cartridge case according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the concave portion is exposed in the operation window of the cartridge housing, the projection is engaged with the concave portion by storing the disk cartridge in the cartridge storing portion. To rotate the middle shell.

In the disk cartridge case according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the projection is an elastic piece, it can move over an obstacle by its own elasticity and can reliably engage the projection with the recess.

In the disk cartridge case according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the projections are provided on both side surfaces of the cartridge storage portion, the disk cartridge can be inserted into the cartridge storage portion without applying a rotational force to the middle shell. Can be put in and out.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 14 show an embodiment of a disk cartridge case of the present invention and a disk cartridge suitable for use in this case. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the first embodiment of the disc cartridge viewed from the lower shell side, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shutter closed state also viewed from the lower shell side, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the upper shell, FIG.
6 is a bottom view of the middle shell, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the lower shell, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the middle shell and a pair of shutter members in a closed state, FIG.
FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the entire configuration of the disk cartridge, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a cross section of the center of the disk cartridge.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a cross section of a main part of the first embodiment of the disk cartridge case of the present invention. FIG. 11 shows the disk cartridge case of FIG. 10 inserted into the disk cartridge case of FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing a state before the disk cartridge is removed from the state shown in FIG. 11, and FIG.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing a state before the disk cartridge of FIG. 1 is inserted into the disk cartridge case according to the embodiment, and FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing a state of taking out the disk cartridge from the state of FIG.

First, before describing the disk cartridge case of the present invention, an embodiment of a disk cartridge suitable for use in the disk cartridge case will be described.

Disk cartridge 1 shown in FIGS.
0 is a read-only optical disk in which various information signals such as a music signal as audio information and a video and music signal as video information are recorded in advance as a disk-shaped recording medium, or information such as audio information and video information. The optical disk 11 accommodates a recordable optical disk 11 in which a signal can be recorded only once (write-once type) or can be recorded many times repeatedly (rewritable type). However, the disk-shaped recording medium is not limited to this, and it is formed in the same manner as a magnetic disk in which a magnetic thin film layer is formed on the surface of a thin disk to store information according to the magnetization state at a specific position. A magneto-optical disk or other disk-shaped storage medium in which information is written to or read from the magnetic thin film layer using an optical head and a magnetic head can be applied.

This disk cartridge 10 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of upper shell 13 and middle shell 14 are provided.
And a lower shell 15, and a cartridge housing 12 formed by stacking
An optical disk 11 rotatably stored in a disk storage chamber 16 formed therein, a middle shell 14 and a lower shell 1
5 is provided with a pair of shutter members 18a and 18b for opening and closing the openings 25 and 42 formed in the shutter 5. When the disc cartridge 10 is used with the optical disc 11 being horizontal, the upper shell 13 is usually arranged on the upper side, but in FIG. 1, the upper shell 13 is turned upside down for convenience of explanation. It is written with the shell 13 facing down.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the upper shell 13 is made of a thin dish-shaped member having a substantially square shape with an arcuate front side. At the center of the lower surface of the upper shell 13 (the surface that appears as the front surface in FIG. 1), a middle shell 1 is provided.
A circular upper concave portion 19a into which a substantially upper half in the thickness direction of 4 is rotatably fitted is provided. This upper recess 1
By providing 9a, on the outer peripheral edge of the upper shell 13,
Front edge 13a, left and right side edges 13b, 13c, and rear edge 1
3d is provided. The front edge 1 of the upper shell 13
The positioning recesses 21 a and 2 for positioning with the lower shell 15 are provided substantially in the center of the rear edge 3 d and the rear edge 13 d.
1b is provided.

On the outer peripheral edge of the upper concave portion 19a of the upper shell 13, three circular arc-shaped cam grooves 22 continuous at a predetermined length in the circumferential direction are provided at equal intervals. By providing the cam grooves 22 at three places, the lift-up portions 23 having a predetermined length are provided at three places between the adjacent cam grooves 22 and 22.
(A hatched portion in a lattice pattern in FIG. 4) is provided. In these three cam grooves 22, the middle shell 1 is provided.
The cam portion 46 provided on the fourth member 4 is slidably fitted.

The lower shell 15 is overlaid on the lower surface of the upper shell 13. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the outer shape of the lower shell 15 is substantially the same as that of the upper shell 13, and is formed of a thin dish-shaped member having a substantially quadrangular shape with an arcuate front side. At the center of the plane of the lower shell 15 (the surface hidden as the back surface in FIG. 1), a circular lower concave portion 19b into which a substantially lower half in the thickness direction of the middle shell 14 is rotatably fitted. Is provided. By providing the lower recess 19b, a front edge 15a, left and right side edges 15b and 15c, and a rear edge 15d are provided on the outer peripheral edge of the lower shell 15. At a substantially central portion of the front edge 15a and the rear edge 15d of the lower shell 15, a positioning projection 24 for positioning with the upper shell 13 is provided.
a and 24b are provided.

By engaging the projections 24a, 24b of the lower shell 15 with the recesses 21a, 21b of the upper shell 13, the upper and lower shells 13, 15 are aligned with each other and are superposed in a predetermined state. Upper and lower recesses 19a, 19b formed in the upper and lower shells 13, 15
The middle shell 14 is rotatably housed in a circular space portion made of.

At the center of the lower shell 15, there is provided a table opening 25a through which a turntable is put in and out. The table opening 25a is provided with a head opening 25b extending in one direction in the radial direction. The opening 25 of the lower shell 15 is formed by the table opening 25a and the head opening 25b. The opening 25 is for allowing the turntable of the disk rotation driving device and the optical head of the optical pickup device to face the optical disk 11, and is set to have such a size that these can freely enter and exit. Further, a shutter member 18 is provided on inner surfaces of both left and right ends of the head opening 25b.
shielding portions 26a, 26 for closing the gap between
6b are provided respectively. And the lower recess 1
In 9b, a pair of operation convex portions 27a and 27b are provided so as to be symmetrical in an oblique direction about the table opening 25a.

The upper and lower concave portions 19a, 19b formed by the upper shell 13 and the lower shell 15 having the above-described structure.
The middle shell 14 is housed in the middle shell 19b.
The upper shell 13 forms a disk storage chamber 16 having a circular space. This disk storage room 1
The optical disk 11 is rotatably accommodated in the optical disk 6 with predetermined gaps in the radial direction outside and the thickness direction. The optical disk 11 is formed of a thin disk-shaped recording member having a center hole 11a at the center.

On one surface of the central portion of the optical disk 11,
A center hub 28 is fixed by a fixing means such as an adhesive so as to cover the center hole 11a. This center hub 2
Numeral 8 is formed of a magnetic material such as an iron plate which is attracted by a magnet. A turntable of a disk rotation driving device built in the disk recording / reproducing device is fitted to the center hub 28 through a center hole 11a.
The center hub 28 is attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet provided on the turntable. Thus, the optical disk 11 is chucked on the turntable and integrated in the rotation direction, and is rotated at a predetermined speed (for example, a constant linear speed) by driving a spindle motor to which the turntable is attached.

An opening window 30 for exposing a part of the outer peripheral surface of the middle shell 14 is provided substantially at the center of one of the side edges 13b and 15b of the upper and lower shells 13 and 15. The opening window 30 is formed by an upper cutout portion 30 a provided at a joint portion of the upper shell 13 and a lower cutout portion 30 b provided at a joint portion of the lower shell 15. Furthermore,
A guide groove 31 extending in the front-rear direction along the joint surface is provided on one side edge portion 13b, 15b of the upper and lower shells 13, 15.
Is provided. The guide groove 31 is inserted with a shutter opening / closing means described later, and also has a role of preventing erroneous insertion when the disk cartridge 10 is mounted on the disk recording / reproducing apparatus. An opening window 30 communicates with the guide groove 31.

Further, at the front corner of one of the side edges 13b, 15b of the upper and lower shells 13, 15, there is provided a lock storage portion 33 in which the lock member 32 is rotatably stored.
The lock storage portion 33 communicates with the recessed portions 19a and 19b, and communicates with the guide groove 31 through an opening 34 provided in one of the side edges 13b and 15b. Further, a support shaft 35 for rotatably supporting the lock member 32 is provided in the lock storage portion 33 of the upper shell 13 so as to protrude toward the lower shell 15 side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lock member 32 is formed by a lever-like member rotatably fitted to the support shaft 35 and capable of swinging in a plane direction. A protruding stopper 36 is provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of the lock member 32, and an input unit 37 is also provided at the other end in the longitudinal direction. Further, the lock member 32 is integrally provided with a spring piece 38 protruding in the same direction so as to face the stopper portion 36.

The lock member 32 having such a configuration
Is fitted to the support shaft 35 with the stopper portion 36 facing the concave portions 19a and 19b, and the spring piece 38 is
a, 15a. The stopper portion 36 is urged toward the concave portions 19a and 19b by the spring force of the spring piece 38, and the input portion 37 opens the opening hole 34 as a reaction to this.
Is projected from the inside into the guide groove 31. As a result, the stopper portion 36 is engaged with the set position concave portion 44b provided in the rear sliding portion 43c of the later-described operated portion 43 of the middle shell 14. Thereby, the middle shell 14
Is locked by the lock member 32, and its rotation is prevented.

The above upper shell 13 and lower shell 15
The middle shell 14 rotatably fitted in the upper and lower concave portions 19a and 19b has a configuration as shown in FIGS. The middle shell 14 has a flat portion 14a made of a thin disk-shaped plate, and a ring portion 14b provided continuously on the outer peripheral edge of the flat portion 14a. An opening 42 is formed in the flat portion 14 a of the middle shell 14. The opening 42 is formed to have substantially the same shape and size as the opening 25 of the lower shell 15.

That is, similarly to the opening 25, the opening 42 is
A table opening 42a which is set at the center of the flat portion 14a and through which the turntable is inserted and removed, and a head which extends in the radial direction continuously to the table opening 42a and into which the optical head is inserted and removed. Opening 42b
And A supporting edge 14c that supports the inner non-recording area of the optical disc 11 from below in the free state is provided on the inner peripheral edge of the table opening 42a of the flat portion 14a.
Is provided.

The operated portion 43 is engaged with a part of the outer peripheral surface of the ring portion 14b of the middle shell 14 by a shutter opening / closing means to rotate the middle shell 14 within a predetermined angle range by reciprocating operation. Is provided. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the operated portion 43 includes a gear portion 43a provided with a large number of teeth over a predetermined range (approximately 30 °) in a circumferential direction, and a gear portion 43a. It has a front sliding portion 43b provided continuously on the side, and a rear sliding portion 43c provided continuously on the other side of the gear portion 43a.

The outer peripheral surface of the front sliding portion 43b of the operated portion 43 is set at substantially the same height as the addendum circle of the gear portion 43a.
The outer peripheral surface of the rear sliding portion 43c is set at substantially the same height as the bottom circle of the gear portion 43a. A recess 44a for initial operation is provided at a substantially central portion in the circumferential direction of the front sliding portion 43b, and is formed with a notch having an arc-shaped cross section. A set position recess 44b formed of a notch is provided. The gear portion 43a and the front and rear sliding portions 43b and 43c of the operated portion 43
4b is provided so as to protrude outward from the outer peripheral surface, so that corresponding portions of the upper shell 13 and the lower shell 15 avoid contact with these protruding portions 43a to 43c and allow the passage thereof. Relief groove 45a is provided.

Further, at both ends of the escape groove 45a of the lower shell 15, there are provided front and rear stop portions 45b and 45c protruding on the movement locus of each sliding portion 43b and 43c. When the rear end edge of the rear sliding portion 43c abuts on the front stop portion 45b, the middle shell 14 is rotationally displaced by the maximum angle with respect to the lower shell 15 so that the opening 25 and the opening 42 are most displaced. State. On the other hand, the front end edge of the front sliding portion 43b abuts on the rear stop portion 45c, so that
4 returns to the initial position, and the opening 25 and the opening 42 are overlapped with each other, so that the opening state is greatly opened.

Also, at one end face of the ring portion 14b of the middle shell 14, an arc-shaped cam portion 46 (a portion represented by a number of points in FIG. 5) which is continuous at a predetermined length at three locations in the circumferential direction. ) Is provided. These cams 46
Are engaged with the three cam grooves 22 of the upper shell 13 in a state where the middle shell 14 is assembled to the upper shell 13. By rotating the middle shell 14 by a predetermined angle, each cam portion 46 rides on each of the three lift-up portions 23.

On the other end face of the ring portion 14 b of the middle shell 14, two arc-shaped ridges 47 projecting to the side opposite to the cam portion 46 are provided. These ridges 4
Reference numerals 7 and 47 limit the movement of the pair of shutter members 18a and 18b outward in the radial direction. Further, a pair of shutter members 18 is provided on the flat portion 14a of the middle shell 14.
A pair of support holes 49, 49 are provided for rotatably supporting a, 18b in the plane direction. The pair of support holes 49, 49 are arranged point-symmetrically so that one of them is located at the edge of the head opening 42b with the table opening 42a as the center.

The middle shell 14 having such a configuration is
As shown in FIG. 8 and the like, the lower shell 15 and the upper shell 13 are assembled with a predetermined positional relationship. That is,
When assembling the cartridge housing 12, the cartridge case 12 is overlapped so that the opening portion 25 of the lower shell 15 is aligned with the opening portion 42 of the middle shell 14. At this time, in the opening window 30 of the cartridge housing 12, a front sliding portion 43b which is continuous with one side of the gear portion 43a among the operated portions 43 of the middle shell 14 is arranged.
Therefore, the initial operation concave portion 44a is provided substantially in the center of the opening window 30.
Is installed.

From this state, when the middle shell 14 rotates by a predetermined angle, the opening 42 of the middle shell 14 is tilted to the maximum with respect to the opening 25 of the lower shell 15, and a pair of shutter members 18a and 18b are used. When the opening 42 is completely closed, the rear sliding portion 43c continuing to the other side of the gear portion 43a moves to the opening window 30. As a result, the set position concave portion 44b is set substantially at the center of the opening window 30.

A pair of support holes 49, 4 are formed in the middle shell 14.
The shutter mechanism 18 mounted via the shutter 9 has a pair of shutter members 18 of the same shape and size.
a, 18b. The pair of shutter members 18a and 18b have shapes and structures as shown in FIGS. That is, the pair of shutter members 18
a and 18b are formed by a thin plate having a substantially semicircular shape. At substantially the center of the chord side of each of the shutter members 18a and 18b, a step 50 having a predetermined length in a direction perpendicular to the chord line is provided. A side joint 50a and a concave side joint 50b are formed.

Further, the joints 50a, 50b of the shutter members 18a, 18b are provided with eaves 51a, 51b, respectively, which protrude like eaves in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the strings extend. Thus, the pair of shutter members 18a, 18
b, the end surfaces of the convex-side joint 50a and the end surfaces of the concave-side joint 50b are opposed to each other, and the convex-side joint 50
The eaves 51a of a overlap with the eaves 51b of the concave joint 50b. The shutter members 18a, 18
A shaft mounting portion 50c, which is an end of the chord side of the b side on the side of the convex joining portion 50a, has a shaft portion 52 protruding toward the eaves 51a, 51b.
Are provided respectively.

The shaft portion 52 is connected to the support hole 49 of the flat portion 14a.
To each shutter member 18a, 18
b are rotatably attached to the middle shell 14, respectively. At this time, the pair of shutter members 18a and 18b are attached with their chord sides facing each other. As a result, when the pair of shutter members 18a and 18b are rotated to separate from each other,
8a and 18b are placed on the flat portion 14a,
Is fully opened. On the other hand, a pair of shutter members 18a,
18b are pivoted inwardly so that their joints 50
By bringing the shutter members 18a and 50b into contact with each other, as shown in FIG.
The central portion of the opening 42 is completely shielded by 8b.

Further, the shutter members 18a, 18b are provided on the opposite side of the shaft portions 52 of the shutter members 18a, 18b.
Are provided with opening and closing grooves 53 for opening and closing, respectively. Each opening / closing groove 53 is formed so as to extend in the radial direction about the shaft portion 52. The operation protrusions 27a and 27b of the lower shell 15 are slidably engaged with the opening / closing groove 53. Further, an elastic piece 54 formed by making a cut around the outer end of each opening / closing groove 53 is provided.
And a concave portion 53a for allowing the operation convex portions 27a and 27b to escape.
Are provided.

The material of the upper shell 13, the middle shell 14, the lower shell 15, and the shutter members 18a and 18b is, for example, a synthetic resin such as ABS resin (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin) or HIPS (high impact polystyrene). Resins are preferred. However, not only other engineering plastics can be applied, but also aluminum alloys, stainless steels, and other metal materials can be used.

The disk cartridge 10 having the above-described configuration can be easily assembled, for example, as follows. As shown in FIG. 1, the assembling operation of the disk cartridge 10 is performed with the upper shell 13 disposed below. First, the optical disk 11 is placed in the upper concave portion 19a of the upper shell 13. At this time, the optical disk 11 is inserted into the upper concave portion 19a with the center hub 28 facing down.

Next, the opening side of the middle shell 14 is fitted into the upper concave portion 19a so as to cover the optical disk 11. Thereby, the optical disk 11 is rotatably stored in the disk storage chamber 16 formed by the middle shell 14 and the upper shell 13. At this time, the direction in which the opening 42 of the middle shell 14 extends matches the front-back direction of the upper shell 13, and the front sliding portion 43 b of the operated portion 43 faces the opening window 30.

Next, the shutter mechanism 18 is assembled to the middle shell 14. This is because a pair of shutter members 18a, 18
The string portions of b are opposed to each other, and in this state, the shaft portions 52 are fitted into the support holes 49 of the flat portion 14a. And
The shutter members 18a and 18b are separated from each other and placed on the plane portion 14a of the middle shell 14, respectively.

At the same time or before or after this, the lock member 32 is attached to the support shaft 35 of the lock storage section 33. At this time, the spring piece 38 of the lock member 32 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the front edge 13 a of the upper shell 13, and the input portion 37 is projected from the opening hole 34 into the guide groove 31 by the spring force of the spring piece 38. Then, the stopper portion 36 of the lock member 32
Is engaged with the set position concave portion 44b of the operated portion 43. As a result, the middle shell 14 is locked by the lock member 32.

Next, the middle shell 1 including the shutter mechanism 18
The lower shell 15 is put on the upper shell 4, and the lower shell 15 is overlaid on the upper shell 13. At this time, the positioning protrusions 24a, 24b of the lower shell 15 are fitted into the positioning recesses 21a, 21b of the upper shell 13 as well. This allows
The lower shell 15 is automatically positioned with respect to the upper shell 13. At this time, by disposing the pair of shutter members 18a and 18b at the positions described above, the lower shell 15
, A pair of operation convex portions 27a provided in the lower concave portion 19b,
27b can be opposed to the pair of opening / closing grooves 53, respectively. Therefore, the pair of operation protrusions 27a and 27b can be engaged with the pair of opening / closing grooves 53 simply by overlapping the lower shell 15 with the upper shell 13 without worrying about the position of the pair of opening / closing grooves 53.

Thereafter, the lower shell 15 is fastened and fixed to the upper shell 13 using a plurality of fixing screws. Thus, the assembling work of the disk cartridge 10 having the sectional configuration as shown in FIG. 9 is completed. In this case, the joining surface of the upper shell 13 and the lower shell 15 may be directly joined by using, for example, an adhesive without using fixing means made of another member such as a fixing screw. As described above, according to the disk cartridge 10 of the present embodiment, the number of components used is small, and the assembling work can be performed extremely easily.

Next, the disk cartridge case of the present invention will be described. FIG. 10 shows a first embodiment of the disk cartridge case according to the present invention. The disk cartridge case 90 includes an upper case 91 and a lower case 92.

That is, the disk cartridge case 90
Are an upper case 91 and a lower case 92 which are superimposed on each other.
The two cases 91 and 92 are vertically overlapped to form a
3 are formed. This cartridge storage 93 is
An opening 94 is formed on one surface of the disk cartridge case 90 formed as a rectangular flat box. On the opening sides of the upper and lower cases 91 and 92, trapezoidal notches 91a and 92a are provided, respectively. By providing these notches 91a and 92a in the upper and lower cases 91 and 92, the rear central portion of the disk cartridge 10 completely inserted into the cartridge accommodating portion 93 is exposed, and the disk cartridge 10 is taken out. Is set.

A projection 95 projecting into the cartridge accommodating portion 93 is provided on one of the side surfaces of the upper and lower cases 91 and 92 and substantially at the center in the depth direction. The projection 95 is made of a plate-like spring material that can be appropriately elastically deformed.
1, 92 are attached to the projection attachment portions 96. The projection mounting portion 96 is provided in the cartridge storage portion 93.
It is composed of a concave portion having a T-shaped cross section with a narrowed side. The central portion protrudes in a mountain shape by locking both ends of the projection 95, and the apex portion protrudes into the cartridge accommodating portion 93. When the disc cartridge 10 is completely inserted into the cartridge accommodating portion 93, the protrusion 95
The disk cartridge 10 is set so as to be located substantially at the center of an opening window 30 provided on one side surface of the disk cartridge 10.

The disk cartridge case 90 having such a configuration is used, for example, as follows. FIG. 11 shows a state before the disk cartridge 10 is inserted into the cartridge storage section 93 of the disk cartridge case 90, and FIG.
This shows the state when 0 is taken out.

At this time, the disk cartridge case 9
0 before insertion into the disc cartridge 10 shown in FIG.
It is in the state as shown in. That is, the shutter mechanism 1
8, a pair of shutter members 18a, 18b
4 is locked by the lock member 32 and fixed at the initial position. Therefore, the opening 25 of the lower shell 15 and the opening 42 of the middle shell 14 are kept in a completely closed state. Further, three cam portions 46 of the middle shell 14 are provided.
Are in a state of jumping out of the three cam grooves 22 of the upper shell 13 and riding on the lift-up portion 23. Therefore, the pair of shutter members 18a and 18b
4 and the lower shell 15 are sandwiched from both sides and are locked. Therefore, the pair of shutter members 18a and 18b are in a state of being double locked by the holding mechanism by the elevating operation of the cam and the lock mechanism of the lock member 32.

The disk cartridge 1 in such a state
0 is inserted into the cartridge accommodating portion 93 of the disk cartridge case 90 as shown in FIG. When the disk cartridge 10 is inserted almost to the center of the cartridge accommodating portion 93, the projection 95 enters the guide groove 31 provided on one side surface of the disk cartridge 10 and comes into contact with the input portion 37 of the lock member 32. Is done. When the disc cartridge 10 is further inserted, the projection 95 pushes the input section 37 into the lock storage section 33 against the urging force of the spring piece 38.

Thus, the lock member 32 is connected to the support shaft 35
And the stopper 36 is set to the set position recess 4.
Get out of 4b. As a result, the lock of the middle shell 14 is released, and its rotation is free. However, in this case, the lock of the middle shell 14 is only released, and no external force in the rotational direction is applied, so that the own weight of the middle shell 14 and the shutter members 18a, 18b and the shutter members 18a, 18b The middle shell 14 does not rotate due to a frictional force or the like generated between the inner shell 14 and the lower shell 15. Then, when the protrusion 95 gets over the input unit 37,
The stopper portion 36 is again pressed against and engaged with the set position concave portion 44b by the spring force of the spring piece 38.

Further, just before the disk cartridge 10 is inserted, the projection 95 reaches the initial operation concave portion 44a of the operated portion 43 immediately before the disk cartridge 10 is completely inserted into the cartridge accommodating portion 93, and is deformed by its own elasticity. Into the recess 44a. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, the disk cartridge 10 is stored in the cartridge storage 93 while the openings 25 and 42 are completely closed by the pair of shutter members 18a and 18b. Therefore, this disk cartridge case 90
According to this, the dust-proofing effect in the disk cartridge 10 can be enhanced and the disk cartridge 10 can be reliably held, and the intrusion of dust, dust, and the like during storage and transportation of the disk cartridge 10 can be reliably prevented.

Next, the disk cartridge case 90
The case where the disk cartridge 10 is taken out from the printer will be described. This removal operation is performed by grasping and pulling out the rear central portion of the cartridge housing 12 exposed from the cutout portions 91a and 92a provided in the upper and lower cases 91 and 92. At this time, since the projection 95 of the disk cartridge case 90 is engaged with the initial operation concave portion 44 a exposed at the opening 30 of the disk cartridge 10, the rotation force in the clockwise direction M is applied to the middle shell 14. Works. However, the stopper portion 36 of the lock member 32 is provided in the set position concave portion 44b of the middle shell 14.
Are engaged and locked, so that the middle shell 14 does not rotate.

For this reason, the projection 95 is elastically deformed by the force of removing the disk cartridge 10, and
Escapes from the concave portion 44a. Then, the projection 95 slides in the guide groove 31, and the lock member 3 is moved in the same manner as described above.
2 input section 37. As a result, the disk cartridge 10 can be taken out of the disk cartridge case 90 while the openings 25 and 42 are completely closed by the pair of shutter members 18a and 18b as in the case of insertion. Therefore, the disk cartridge 10 in which the openings 25 and 42 are completely closed by the pair of shutter members 18a and 18b can be used as it is in the disk drive device.

FIG. 13 shows a disk cartridge case according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The disk cartridge case 97 has protrusions 95a and 95b similar to the protrusions 95 described above provided on both left and right side surfaces. The size, shape, and configuration of the projections 95a and 95b and the projection attachment portion 96 in this embodiment are the same as those of the projection 95 and the projection attachment portion 96 described above. Then, two protrusions 95 are provided at symmetric positions of the disk cartridge case.
a, 95b are provided. Other configurations are the same as those of the disk cartridge case 90 according to the above-described first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

On the other hand, in the disk cartridge 80 according to the second embodiment, the dummy recess 9 is provided at a position corresponding to the projection 95b corresponding to the added projection 95b.
8 are provided. The dummy recess 98 is formed in the cartridge housing 12 of the disk cartridge 80. Another configuration is the same as the disk cartridge 10 described above.
Therefore, the description is omitted.

This disk cartridge 80 is
As shown in the figure, the disc cartridge case 97 is inserted into the cartridge storage section 93. When the disc cartridge 10 is inserted almost to the center of the cartridge accommodating portion 93, one protrusion 95 a enters the guide groove 31 provided on one side surface of the disc cartridge 80, and enters the input portion 37 of the lock member 32. Be abutted. At the same time, the other dummy projection 95b comes into sliding contact with the other side surface of the disk cartridge 80. When the disc cartridge 80 is further inserted, the projection 95a
The input unit 37 is pushed into the lock storage unit 33 against the urging force of No. 8.

Thus, the lock member 32 is connected to the support shaft 35
And the stopper 36 is set to the set position recess 4.
Get out of 4b. As a result, the lock of the middle shell 14 is released, and its rotation is free. However, in this case, as described above, the own weight of the middle shell 14 and the shutter members 18a and 18b and the shutter members 18a and 18b
The middle shell 14 does not rotate due to a frictional force or the like generated between b and the lower shell 15. And the projection 95
When “a” gets over the input portion 37, the stopper portion 36 is again pressed against and engaged with the set position concave portion 44 b by the spring force of the spring piece 38.

Further, just before the disk cartridge 80 is completely inserted into the cartridge accommodating portion 93, the projection 95a reaches the initial operation concave portion 44a of the operated portion 43, and the dummy projection 95b is similarly inserted into the dummy concave portion 98. To reach. Thereafter, the protrusions 95a and the dummy protrusions 95b are deformed by their own elasticity and enter the concave portions 44a and the dummy concave portions 98. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the disk cartridge 80 is stored in the cartridge storage 93 while the openings 25 and 42 are completely closed by the pair of shutter members 18a and 18b. Therefore, according to the disk cartridge case 97, the dust-proof effect in the disk cartridge 80 can be enhanced and securely held, and the intrusion of dust and dirt during storage and transportation of the disk cartridge 80 can be reliably prevented. be able to.

Next, the disk cartridge case 97
The case where the disk cartridge 80 is taken out of the printer will be described. This removal operation is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, and the notch portions 91a, 9
This is performed by grasping and pulling out the rear central portion of the cartridge housing 12 exposed from 2a. At this time, since the projection 95a of the disk cartridge case 97 is engaged with the initial operation concave portion 44a of the disk cartridge 10, and the dummy projection 95b is engaged with the dummy concave portion 98, a rotational force acts on the middle shell 14. Never do.

As a result, the projection 95a and the dummy recess 98 are elastically deformed by the force of removing the disk cartridge 80, and the projection 95a comes out of the recess 44a and the dummy projection 95b comes out of the dummy recess 98.
Then, the protrusion 95a slides in the guide groove 31 and passes through the input portion 37 of the lock member 32 in the same manner as described above. As a result, the pair of shutter members 1
The disk cartridge 80 can be taken out of the disk cartridge case 97 while the openings 25 and 42 are completely closed by 8a and 18b. Therefore, the openings 25, 42 are formed by the pair of shutter members 18a, 1
The disk cartridge 80 completely closed by 8b can be used as it is for the disk drive.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, an example in which an optical disk is used as an information recording medium has been described. The present invention can be applied to a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk and other various disk-shaped recording media. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example in which the information recording / reproducing apparatus is applied to a disk recording / reproducing apparatus that is used for both recording and reproduction has been described. It is.

In the above embodiment, the upper case 9
The projections 95, 95a, 95 are separate from the first and lower cases 92.
b has been described, for example, the upper case 9
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a projection is provided integrally with the first or lower case 92. Thus, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit thereof.

[0076]

As described above, claim 1 of the present application.
According to the disk cartridge case described above, the projection is provided in the cartridge storage section, and the projection provided in the cartridge storage section is engaged with the cartridge housing by inserting and removing the disk cartridge into and out of the cartridge storage section, and the shutter is closed in a direction to close the opening. Since the members are urged, the disk cartridge can be inserted or removed from the cartridge storage portion of the disk cartridge case while the opening is completely closed by the pair of shutter members. It is possible to reliably prevent dust and the like from entering during storage and transportation, and to provide a disk cartridge case having a high dustproof effect.

According to the disk cartridge case according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the disk cartridge is stored in the cartridge storage portion, the projection is engaged with the operated portion, and the middle shell is opened by the pair of shutter members. The disc cartridge can be inserted into or taken out of the cartridge storage portion of the disc cartridge case while the opening is completely closed by the pair of shutter members. Is obtained.

According to the disk cartridge case described in claim 3 of the present application, since the concave portion is exposed in the operation window of the cartridge housing, the projection is formed in the concave portion by storing the disk cartridge in the cartridge storing portion. The effect that the middle shell can be rotated by engaging is obtained.

According to the disk cartridge case described in claim 4 of the present application, since the projection is formed of an elastic piece,
The effect that the obstacle can be overcome by the elasticity possessed by itself and the projection can be reliably engaged with the concave portion is obtained.

According to the disk cartridge case described in claim 5 of the present application, since the projections are provided on both side surfaces of the cartridge storage section, the disk cartridge can be inserted into the cartridge storage section without applying a rotational force to the middle shell. Can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing one embodiment of a disk cartridge suitable for use in a disk cartridge case of the present invention, as viewed from a lower surface side.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from below, showing a state in which a shutter mechanism is closed and an opening is closed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from below, showing a state where an opening is opened by opening a shutter mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a lower surface of an upper shell of the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the lower surface of the middle shell of the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the upper surface of the lower shell of the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pair of shutter members attached to the middle shell of the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 1 are closed and an opening is closed.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the disk cartridge shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view of a central portion of the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 1 and is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship with a turntable.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the disk cartridge case according to the present invention.

11 is an explanatory diagram showing a state before the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the disk cartridge case shown in FIG. 10;

12 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the disk cartridge case shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a second embodiment of the disk cartridge case according to the present invention, and showing a state before the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 1 is inserted.

14 is an explanatory view showing a state where the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the disk cartridge case shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a conventional disk cartridge case and a disk cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 80 disk cartridge, 11 optical disk (disk-shaped recording medium), 12 cartridge housing, 13 upper shell, 14 middle shell, 15 lower shell, 16 disk storage room, 18a, 18b
Shutter member, 25, 42 opening, 30 opening window,
31 guide groove, 32 lock member, 36 stopper part, 37 input part, 38 spring piece, 90, 9
7 disc cartridge case, 91 upper case, 92 lower case, 93 cartridge storage,
95, 95a, 95b projection, 96 projection mounting part,
98 Dummy concave

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A cartridge housing for storing a disk-shaped recording medium in a disk housing chamber of a cartridge housing formed by stacking a pair of shells and exposing a part of the disk-shaped recording medium. A shutter housing for opening and closing an opening provided in the cartridge housing, the cartridge housing being provided with a disk cartridge attached to the cartridge housing for taking in and out of the cartridge housing; A case for a disc cartridge, further comprising a projection for urging the shutter member in a direction to close the opening. 2. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a middle shell is rotatably supported by an upper shell and a lower shell, and an opening provided in the cartridge housing can be opened and closed by rotation of the middle shell. The middle shell is provided with an operated portion to which the projection is engaged, and when the disk cartridge is stored in the cartridge storage portion, the projection is moved to the operated portion. 2. The disk cartridge case according to claim 1, wherein the inner shell is urged in a direction in which the opening is closed by engaging the inner shell. 3. An operation window for rotating the middle shell is provided on at least one of the upper shell and the lower shell, and the projection is engaged with a portion of the middle shell exposed from the operation window. 3. The disk cartridge case according to claim 2, wherein a concave portion is provided. 4. The disk cartridge case according to claim 3, wherein said projection is formed of an elastic piece protruding into said cartridge storage portion. 5. The disk cartridge case according to claim 4, wherein said projections are provided on both side surfaces in said cartridge storage portion so as to contact both side surfaces of said disk cartridge.