JP2002133746A - Disk unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a disk unit suitable to be miniaturized and made lightweight and thin and allowing a disk to be automatically mounted and discharged. SOLUTION: This disk unit is provided with a pickup module 500 and a conveying means 300. The conveying means 300 is provided with a guiding means 200 supporting the disk 1 movably in the disk face direction, a thin and flat plate-like medium driving means, and a disk support guiding means 600 which supports a conveying passage of the disk when the disk is moved and is retreated when the disk is rotatively driven. The disk device can be made thin and miniaturized by dispensing with an extracting/moving mechanism and a vertically moving mechanism.

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 rotating a disk recording medium to reproduce a signal and, more particularly, to a disk device for transporting the disk recording medium to a mounting means for mounting and rotating the disk recording medium. More specifically,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mechanism for transporting a disk recording medium from a supply position to a position where the disk recording medium is mounted on a rotating means (specifically, a spindle motor) when the disk recording medium is driven to rotate.

[0002] Here, the disk recording medium refers to a concentric disk-shaped medium having a center hole, and examples thereof include an old EP record disk, MO, PD, CD, CD-ROM, and C-ROM.
DR, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM
Etc. are included. These are generically referred to simply as a disc. Unless otherwise specified, the term refers to a bare disk that is not stored in a jacket.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional disk mounting method will be described. The mechanism for transporting the disk means that the disk is supplied to the disk device and transported from the supply position to a position where the disk is mounted on the rotating device. As the transport method, there are the following three types as conventionally employed. First, for example, JP-A-6-290529
And removes the bare disk from the disk stocker and transports it, and is generally called a changer.

[0004] Second, the operator mounts and fixes it on the rotating means and transports it to a position where it is mounted on the rotating means. It is called a tray method.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4199, an operator mounts a disc on a turntable and transports the entire rotating means including the turntable to a position where it is rotationally driven.

A third method is to store a disk in a jacket, transport the jacket to rotating means, and then fix and rotate the disk in the jacket. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2585176, the apparatus is mounted on a reproducing apparatus by transport by a transport mechanism and vertical movement of a motor.

Each of the above-described transport systems requires a vertical moving mechanism for moving the fixed mechanism in the direction perpendicular to the disk transport direction, and requires a complicated moving mechanism and its moving space. In addition, in order for the operator to attach to the rotating means, it is necessary to move the rotating means to a position where it can be easily operated,
After all, a moving mechanism and a moving space were required.

[0007]

However, computer devices are becoming smaller and lighter, and disk devices used as external storage devices of computer devices are also required to be smaller, lighter and thinner. For this reason, the existence of the drawer moving mechanism and the up-and-down moving mechanism is an obstacle to thinning, and there is a limit to thinning. Further, in order to provide more comfortable computer operability, a disk device that does not require a mounting operation by an operator has been required.

The present invention relates to a disk device having a structure suitable for miniaturization and weight reduction and thinning. The entire device is made thinner without a drawer moving mechanism or a vertical moving mechanism, and a disk is automatically mounted and automatically ejected. It is an object of the present invention to provide a disk device which enables the above.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has a pickup means for loading, fixing and releasing a disk, and for driving a disk to reproduce a signal from the disk. A disk transport means for receiving the supply of the disk from the operator and transporting the disk to the pickup means in the direction of the disk surface, wherein the disk transport means supports the disk movably in the direction of the disk surface. Guidance means,
A medium drive means which is formed in a thin plate shape and swings in the direction of the disk surface to transport and drive the disk, and a disk support and guide means which supports the transport path of the disk when moving the disk and retracts when rotating the disk. A disk device comprising:

The disk is transported in the direction of the disk surface by the disk transport means configured as described above.

Therefore, according to the disk drive of the present invention, it is only necessary to convey the disk along the disk surface from the disk supply position to the position where the disk is rotationally driven, so that a drawer moving mechanism and a vertical moving mechanism are not required. It is possible to reduce the thickness and size.

Furthermore, the operator does not need to mount, fix, and open the disk by himself, and a disk device having more comfortable operability can be obtained.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, there is provided a pickup means for mounting, fixing and releasing a disk, and rotating and driving the disk to reproduce a signal from the disk, and an operator. A disk transport means for receiving a supply of a disk from the disk transport means for transporting the disk to the pickup means in the direction of the disk surface, the disk transport means comprising: a guide means for supporting the disk movably in the direction of the disk surface; and A medium drive means which is formed in a thin plate shape and swings in the direction of the disk surface to transport and drive the disk; and a disk support and guide means which supports the transport path of the disk when moving the disk and retracts when rotating the disk. A disk device characterized by having:

In the disk device of the present invention having the above-described structure, the medium can be made thinner by transporting the disk in the direction of the disk surface. Since it is only necessary to transport the disk along the disk surface from the position to the position where the disk is rotationally driven, a drawer moving mechanism and a vertical moving mechanism are not required, and the device can be made thinner and smaller.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a disk device according to an embodiment of the present invention. An overall image of the disk drive of the present invention will be understood based on FIG. First, the housing is composed of only two points, a lower cover 101 and an upper cover 131. The lower cover 101 includes a guide unit 200 for guiding the disk 1, a driving unit 250, a pickup module 500 that includes a rotation unit for rotating the disk 1 and reads signals by rotating, a control unit 440 that controls the entire apparatus, and A disk guide means 600 for supporting and guiding the disk 1 so that the reading surface of the disk 1 does not contact the inner protective cover 191 and the pickup module 500 is arranged.

On the other hand, the upper cover 131 is provided with a pivot mechanism 171 for pivotally supporting the driving means 250.
Conveying means 300 for causing disc 1 to perform an operation of storing and discharging disc 1
Are rotatably pivoted. Drive means 25 for lower cover 101
Reference numeral 0 denotes a drive source for rotating the transport means 300. After connecting the lower cover 101 and the upper cover 131, the insertion port means 450 is attached. The operating positions of the above mechanisms,
That is, the detection means for detecting the position of the disk will be described in detail in each mechanism.

Next, details of each mechanism will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lower cover of FIG. 1 and 2, the lower cover 101 is formed in a box body opened in two directions. In the drawing, the upper side of the paper is the upper cover 131.
Is mounted to form a space, and is a passage for inserting the disk 1, on which the transport means 300 and the pickup module 500 are mounted. An open portion in the front of the drawing is an operation surface on which the operator inserts and ejects the disc 1.

The lower cover 101 is provided with a rotation support portion 603a and a rotation support portion 603b. Guide plate 6
02 is connected to the rotation support portion 603a and the rotation support portion 60.
3b is attached rotatably. At the other end of the guide plate 602, a rotating roller 601 is rotatably formed. A part of the guide plate 602 is formed in a pin shape, and is cam-coupled to a cam groove formed in the slide plate 604. The slide sheet metal 604 is driven in the disk transport direction by a latching type (suction position holding type when power is not supplied) solenoid 605 attached to the lower cover 101. Accordingly, the slide operation of the slide metal plate 604 causes the guide plate 602, which is cam-coupled to the cam groove, to move up and down.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the slide sheet metal 604 and the rotating roller 601 and is a diagram viewed from the direction of arrow C in FIG. The solenoid 605 is open (the plunger is out of the solenoid body, FIG. 3).
In the case of (a), the slide sheet metal 604 is located on the upstream side of the conveyance (left side in the figure). The guide plate 602 is lifted upward in the drawing due to the engagement relationship between the cam groove formed on the slide sheet metal 604 and the pin-shaped portion formed on the guide plate 602. Then, the rotating roller 601 is positioned slightly higher than the pickup module 500 (FIG. 3).
(See (a)) to support the disk transport path. This state is the disk insertion standby position, and the disk 1 conveyed or ejected does not touch the pickup module 500.

Next, the solenoid 605 is in a suction holding state (a state in which the plunger is sucked by the solenoid body, FIG. 3).
In the case of (b), the slide sheet metal 604 is located on the downstream side of the conveyance (right side in the figure). Similarly, due to the engagement relationship between the cam groove and the pin-shaped portion, the guide plate 602 is pulled down below the paper surface, and the rotating roller 601 is pulled down to a position lower than the pickup module 500 (see FIG. 3B). This state is the disk reproduction position, and the rotating roller 601 is retracted to a position where it does not contact the disk 1 during reproduction.

Next, in FIG. 1 and FIG.
A guide rail L211 and a guide rail R221 are fixed to side walls L102 and R103 which are provided upright on the left and right sides of FIG. Guide rail L211 and guide rail R221
Is formed in a rectangular rod having a concave cross section, and the groove L of the concave cross section is formed.
212 and the groove R222 serve as a path for the disk 1. That is,
A bare disk 1 not using a jacket (not shown) enters the disk device along the grooves L212 and R222 in the direction of the disk surface. The lengths of the guide rail L211 and the guide rail R221 are the same as those of the pickup module 50.
It is extended to the position required to attach it to zero. further,
The guide rail L211 and the terminal end L213 and the terminal end R223 of the guide rail R221 remove the lower portions of the grooves L212 and R222 according to the outer shape of the disc 1, and
Groove L212, terminal portion L213 of groove R222, terminal portion R2
Reference numeral 23 is formed on a smooth slope so as to be easily attached to and detached from the pickup module 500.

An operator inserts the disc 1 from the operation surface. At this time, the insertion detection sensor 231 is arranged on the guide rail L211 in order to detect that the disk 1 has been inserted to a position necessary for transporting the disk 1 and sufficiently safe for the operator's finger. FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of the guide rail L. The insertion detection sensor 231 includes a passage actuator 232 for detecting the disk 1, a rotation pin 234 of the passage actuator 232, and an insertion detection switch 235.
It is composed of The passage actuator 232 has the groove 212
Placed in The passage actuator 232 is a pivot pin 2
At 34, it is rotatably attached to the groove 212. The rotation pin 234 is attached to the guide rail 211 by a retaining ring 237. Further, the passage actuator 232 is urged by the rotation spring 236 in a direction to protrude into the groove 212, detects the disk 1, and rotates the rotation pin 234 so as to protrude and retract so as not to obstruct the passage of the disk 1. The pivoting operation of the passage actuator 232 is integrally formed and is guided by the pivoting operation of the detection lever 233 connected to the lower cover 101, guided to the insertion detection switch 235, and the detection lever 233 presses the insertion detection switch 235. Thus, insertion of the disc 1 is detected.

Next, the structure of the driving means 250 will be described.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the driving means 250 of FIG. FIG.
, The driving means 250 includes a motor 251 serving as a power source.
And a gear train 261 for deceleration, and a conveying means 300 described later.
, And an encoder 271 that detects the amount of rotation of the drive gear 281.

The motor 251 is arranged at a rear corner of the lower cover 101. This is because the motor 251 is disposed outside the projected area of the disc 1 so that the thickness of the motor 251 does not hinder the conveyance and mounting of the disc 1. The drive worm 253 is pressed into the shaft 252 of the motor 251, and the drive worm 253 is engaged with the gear train 261. The driving force of the motor 251 is reduced to a torque necessary for the gear train 261 and a sufficient rotation speed, and guided to the encoder 271 and the driving gear 281.

The encoder 271 has a known structure.
The disk 273 provided with the slit 272 is fixed to the drive shaft, and the rotation of the drive gear 281 is detected by counting the number of the slit 272 with the photo sensor 274.
On the other hand, the rotational force of the motor 251 is transmitted to the drive gear 281. The driving gear 281 includes the passive gear 282 and the output gear 2.
84 is connected by a connecting portion 283 in a pin-wound shape. With such a shape, the passive gear 28
2 can be disposed on the bottom surface of the lower cover 101, and the output gear 284 can be disposed on the top surface of the upper cover 131 after passing through the space that becomes the passage of the disc 1 at the connecting portion 283. Thus,
The space of the disc 1 can be ensured by using the space without waste, and the rotational force of the drive shaft can be transmitted to the conveying means 300 described later.

Next, the structure of the transport means 300 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a view of the conveying means 300 as viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 and shows a state in which the upper cover 131 is omitted. The transport unit 300 includes a synchronous drive unit 310 as a drive source, a medium drive unit 340 that directly transports and drives the optical disk, a positioning unit 380 that accurately guides the transported optical disk to a position where the optical disk is mounted on the pickup module 500, and an optical disk. And a pressing means 390 for stabilizing the posture when the camera is mounted.

First, the synchronous drive means 310 comprises a ring gear 311 formed in a donut-shaped thin disk shape. The outer diameter of the ring gear 311 is formed to be substantially the same as or slightly smaller than that of the disk 1. A passive ring gear 312 meshing with the output gear 284 described above has an outer circumference of about 1 /
3 are formed. The passive ring gear 312 is formed such that its tooth tip is substantially the outer periphery of the ring gear 311. In a further approximately 1/3 region, two positioning gears A313 and B314 for functioning as an intermittent gear are formed. The respective positioning gears A313 and B314 mesh with two positioning pins 381, which will be described later, and rotate the positioning pins 381 for a necessary period when the optical disk is mounted. Positioning gear A
313 and the positioning gear B 314 are formed in a ring gear 3
11.

Two groups of holes are formed in the thin disk surface of the ring gear 311. The first group serves as a fulcrum for guiding the rotation of the ring gear 311 itself.
321, a rotation hole B322, and a rotation hole C323.
Each of the rotation holes A321, B322, and C323 has an area of about 1/3 of the entire circumference of the ring gear 3,
Eleven holes are formed along the circumference of the ellipse. A rotation guide pin 172 described later is engaged with each rotation hole. Thus, the ring gear 311 rotates at a required angle about the rotation guide pin 172 as a fulcrum. In particular, since the rotation hole has three points, that is, the rotation guide pin 172 has three points, the ring gear 3
Eleven centers can be determined. Therefore, even though the ring gear 311 is a donut-shaped thin disk, the center of rotation of the ring gear 311 can be accurately determined, and the center space 315 of the ring gear 311 can be effectively used. it can.

The other second group, which guides the power point of the medium driving means 340 described later, is a guide hole A331, a guide hole B332, and a guide hole C333. The respective guide holes A331, B332, and C333
Are a rotation hole A321, a rotation hole B322, and a rotation hole C3.
23 are arranged in a required curve on the inner peripheral side of each other and in the gaps between the rotation holes. Thus, when the ring gear 311 rotates,
A change in the distance between the virtual center point of the ring gear 311 and the curve of each guide hole causes a function of a cam at the point of force of the medium drive means 340, and the required operation of the medium drive means 340 described in detail later. Note that a rotation cam portion 324 is formed at an end of the rotation hole C323, and a part of the rotation hole C323 also serves as a guide hole.

In particular, the above-described respective guide holes are arranged in one ring gear 311 and the medium driving means 340 is operated by rotating the ring gear 311, and then the four types of swing arms are completely assembled as described later. And the accuracy of the operation of the entire apparatus can be ensured. Further, since the outer diameter of the ring gear 311 is the same as or slightly smaller than that of the disk 1, the driving means 25
The space and projection area required for zero can be made small so as to be almost negligible. Furthermore, as a notable feature,
Since the ring gear 311 is formed of a thin steel plate having a thickness of 0.4 mm and is slidably rotated on the upper cover 131, the thickness of the synchronous drive means 310 is so thin that the thickness of the synchronous drive means 310 can be ignored with respect to the entire thickness of the disk device. Could be configured.

Next, a description will be given of each of the medium driving means 340 which swings by each guide hole. FIG.
6 is an exploded perspective view of the medium driving unit 340 as viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1 and shows a state where FIG. First, the medium driving means 340 is composed of four types of swing arms. In common with all swing arms, the fulcrum is fixed to the upper cover 131, the point of force slidably engages with each guide hole of the ring gear 311 as described above, and the point of action drives the disk 1 and each means. It is a structure to do. Each swing arm is formed of a thin steel plate having a thickness of 0.3 mm, and is configured to be thin.

First, the discharge arm 341 will be described as a first swing arm. A pin is caulked and set up at the discharge arm force point 342, and engages with the above-described guide hole A331. The discharge arm fulcrum 343 is supported by the fulcrum pin 132 via a spacer or a drawing process for avoiding the thickness of the ring gear 311.
It is pivotally mounted on 31. Discharge arm action point 344
Indicates the final position (disc 1) where the ejection arm 341 has swung.
At the position where the mounting has been completed) so that the mounting detecting means 421 to be described later is detected. Also, the discharge pin 3 having a required protruding stroke at the discharge arm action point 344.
45 is pivotally mounted so as to be able to protrude and retract. The discharge pin 345 is
When the ejection arm 341 returns to the original position from the final position where the ejection arm 341 has swung, the outer peripheral edge of the disk 1 is pushed to drive ejection.

Next, the retraction arm 351 will be described as a second swing arm. A pin is swaged up at the retraction arm force point 352 to be engaged with the aforementioned guide hole B332. The retractable arm fulcrum 353 is supported by a fulcrum pin 13 through a spacer or a drawing process to avoid the thickness of the ring gear 311.
At 2, the upper cover 131 is pivotally attached to the upper cover 131. The retraction spring 355 is fixed to the retraction arm action point 354. The retraction spring 355 is formed by bending a leaf spring into a required shape.
The leaf spring is arranged in such a manner that the width of the leaf spring passes through the insertion space of the disk 1. While the retracting arm 351 pivots from the standby position to the final position, the retracting spring 355 drives the outer peripheral edge of the disk 1 to retract the disk 1.

Further, a pressing arm 391 will be described as a third swing arm. A pin is swaged up at the pressing arm force point 392 to be engaged with the above-described guide hole C333. The pressing arm fulcrum 393 is pivotally attached to the upper cover 131 by the fulcrum pin 132 via a spacer or drawing process to avoid the thickness of the ring gear 311. Pressing arm action point 394
Then, the pressing spring 396 is caulked together by the pressing pin 395, and the pressing spring 396 is slidably attached to a predetermined stroke. The pressing spring 396 is connected to the central space 31 described above.
5 and fixed to the upper cover 131 at a position opposite to the position crimped together at the pressing arm action point 394. The ring gear 311 rotates, and the pressing arm 391 swings during a period from when the mounting of the disc 1 is started until the mounting is completed,
The pressing spring 396 deflects toward the central space 315 and presses the disk 1 toward the pickup module 500 by the stroke of the pressing arm action point 394 swinging.

Finally, the shutter arm 461 will be described as a fourth swing arm. The shutter arm force point 462 is erected with a pin caulked and engaged with the above-described rotation hole C323. The shutter arm fulcrum 463 is supported by a fulcrum pin 1 through a spacer or a drawing process to avoid the thickness of the ring gear 311.
At 32, the upper cover 131 is pivotally mounted on the upper cover 131. A shutter cam 465 is formed to project from the shutter arm action point 464 and engages with a shutter dog 458 described later. The ring gear 311 rotates, the shutter arm 461 swings during the period from the start of mounting the disk 1 to the completion of the mounting, and the shutter cam 465 drives the shutter (457, see FIG. 13) to drive the disk 1 Close the insertion slot.

As a remarkable feature of the above structure, each of the four types of swing arms is formed of a thin steel plate, a swing fulcrum is provided on the upper cover 131, and a force point for sliding is provided on the ring gear 311. In addition, each of the four types of swing arms overlaps only the ring gear 311 so that the swing arms do not overlap with each other during the entire course of the swing operation. The moving arm is prevented from entering the passage space of the disk 1 during the entire swinging operation.
While making it thin enough to ignore the thickness of 0,
The disk 1 can be transported reliably.

FIG. 8 is a view of the upper cover and the ring gear as viewed from the direction B in FIG. The pivot mechanism 171 provided on the upper cover 131 described at the beginning will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the pivot mechanism 171 includes the three rotation guide pins 172. Each of the rotation guide pins 172 is erected on the upper cover 131 at a position where the center of the ring gear 311 is determined. Thus, the center of the rotation operation of the ring gear 311 is accurately guided.

Similarly, the manner in which other fulcrums and pins are erected will be described. As described above, four fulcrum pins 1
32 is caulked on the upper cover 131 and is erected. This is because four types of swing arms are rotatably fixed. In addition, two positioning shafts 382 are caulked on the upper cover 131 and erected. The positioning pin 381 described above is axially mounted on the positioning shaft 382. The positioning pin 381 includes a positioning gear A313 of the ring gear 311 and a positioning gear B3.
14 and a positioning portion 384 that contacts the peripheral edge of the disk 1. The positioning portion 384 is formed in a cylindrical shape that is axially attached to the positioning shaft 382, and has a shape in which a large-diameter cylindrical portion and a small-diameter cylindrical portion are almost half-cylinder combined.

Further, the positioning pin 381 is provided with a positioning spring 385 so as to hold two positions when the positioning pin 381 rotates. FIG. 9 shows FIG.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a positioning pin of FIG. One of the two positions is a position where the intermittent gear portion 383 faces the ring gear 311 and a thick cylindrical portion of the positioning portion 384 faces the direction in which the disk 1 enters, that is, a standby position. The other of the two positions is that the intermittent gear portion 383 has the ring gear 311.
The position where the cylindrical portion having a small diameter of the positioning portion 384 is opposed to the direction in which the disk 1 enters, that is, the mounting position.

Therefore, when the disk 1 enters at the standby position, the outer peripheral portion of the disk 1 comes into contact with the large diameter cylindrical portion of the positioning portion 384. After the positioning is completed, the positioning pin 381 is rotated to the mounting position in order to mount the disk 1 on the rotation driving means 551, and the positioning of the disk 1 is released.

Next, a description will be given of the medium monitoring means 400 for detecting the position of the disk 1 and monitoring its behavior. In addition to the operation (positioning) of the disk 1 as described above,
The medium monitoring means 400 is arranged at an important position for monitoring the behavior of the disk 1 and controls the operation. There are three important positions: a disk insertion position, a loading completion position, and a discharging completion position. Among them, the position of the disk insertion has already been described with reference to the insertion detection sensor 231.

Next, the mounting detecting means 421 will be described. FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the mounting detection means of FIG. As described above, the mounting detection unit 421 described later is detected at the final position where the ejection arm 341 swings (that is, the position where the mounting of the disc 1 is completed). The mounting detection means 421 is composed of a base 422 and a detection switch 423. The base 422 is fixed to the pin post 111 erected at a predetermined position of the lower cover 101, and the detection switch 4 is mounted on the base 422.
23 is fixed.

Next, the discharge detecting means 401 will be described. FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the origin switch of FIG. 2 viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. As for the remaining ejection completed position, the ejection drive is completed by pushing the outer periphery of the disc 1 when the ejection arm 341 swings and returns to the initial position, that is, the ejection completed position. At this time, since the ejection arm 341 exists in the space through which the disk 1 passes, it cannot be detected by the switch as described above.

On the other hand, at this time, since the ring gear 311 is rotating to the origin position (that is, the position where the ejection is completed = the origin position of the ring gear 311), the ejection detecting means 401 detects the origin of the ring gear 311. Is configured. The guide post 112 is swaged up on the lower cover 101, the origin actuator 402 is urged in the direction in which the ring gear 311 rotates, and the origin switch 403 is abutted. When the ring gear 311 rotates and reaches the origin position, the teeth of the positioning gear B 314 move to the origin actuator 4.
When 02 is pressed, the origin switch 403 operates. By detecting the origin position of the ring gear 311 in this way, the position where the discharge is completed is detected.

Next, the insertion port means 450 will be described. FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.
3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of FIG. 12 and 13, the insertion port means 450 is a contact point between the disk drive device of the present invention and the operator, and is considered from the viewpoint of operational safety and prevention of erroneous operation. For operational safety,
The insertion detection sensor 231 has been described. Next, a description will be given from the viewpoint of operation prevention. When the disc 1 is inserted, the discrimination cannot be made from the external appearance, so that a case where the second disc is erroneously inserted may be considered. In order to prevent this, when the disk 1 is inserted, the disk 1 is protected by closing the insertion opening.

After the upper cover 131 is connected to the lower cover 101, the bezel 452 is attached to the opening on the operator side. The bezel 452 has an opening 453 into which the disc 1 is inserted. The shutter base 455 is attached to the upper cover 131 located at the center of the insertion port 453. A shutter 457 is swingably mounted on the shutter base 455 via a shutter spring 456. Shutter 4
57 is urged by a shutter spring 456 in a direction to open the insertion port 453. The swing of the shutter arm 461 causes the shutter arm operating point 464 (that is, the shutter cam 465) to abut on the shutter 457. A shutter dog 458 is formed at a contact portion of the shutter 457. The shutter dog 458 is rotated by the contact of the shutter cam 465, and the shutter 457 is moved to the insertion port 453.
To close.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, a board 441 as a control unit 440 and a protective cover 19 are provided at the rear of the disk drive.
1 are arranged. On the substrate 441, a signal processing circuit for reproducing information from a signal read from the disk 1, a memory storing a program for controlling the entire disk device, and the like are mounted. On the other hand, the protective cover 191 is
And limits the range of movement in preparation for the insertion of a modified disk instead of the disk 1.

A series of operations from insertion to ejection of a disk in the disk device of the present invention configured as described above will be described. FIG. 14 is a sequence chart showing the operation of the transport unit of FIG. In FIG. 14, the horizontal axis represents the rotation angle of the ring gear 311, the left end represents the origin position (the position where the ejection is completed), and the right end represents the final position (the position where the mounting is completed). Also, five broken lines on the horizontal axis represent changes in the operation state of the four medium drive units 340 and the positioning pins 381. That is, FIG. 14 shows the interlocking relationship of the transporting means with the rotation of the ring gear 311. FIG. 15 is a view showing the state of insertion of the disk at the standby position of FIG. 14, and shows the state where the disk 1 is inserted at the position shown in FIG. The operation of inserting a disc will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 14 and 15.

First, the operator places the disc 1 in the bezel 452.
Is inserted into the insertion port 453 provided in the. The disk 1 enters the inside of the disk device along the grooves L212 and R222, and the leading end of the disk 1 is guided to the rotating roller 601 along the guide plate 602. A position where the center hole of the disc 1 enters the insertion slot 453, and there is no danger of pinching the operator's finger;
That is, the disc 1 is inserted to a position necessary for transporting the disc 1 and sufficient for the operator's finger to be safe (that is, a standby position). Then, since the passage actuator 232 is disposed in the groove L212 at the insertion position, the detection lever 2
33 detects the insertion of the disc 1 by pressing the insertion detection switch 235.

At this time, the four medium drive means 340 and the positioning pins 381 are on standby in a state in which they are slightly rotated from the origin position (the position where the ejection is completed) in the disk drawing direction. That is, the ring gear 311 is in a state of being rotated by about 20 ° in a counterclockwise direction (a rotation direction in a state where FIG. Four medium driving means 340 and positioning pins 3 according to the rotation angle of ring gear 311
Each of 81 swings and stands by. Discharge arm 341
Moves slightly from the origin position to the mounting completed position so as not to hinder the insertion of the disk 1 (so that the ejection pin 345 does not hinder the entry of the disk 1). The retraction arm 351 maintains the open state to the home position, and the retraction spring 3
55 stands by at the open position so as not to obstruct the entry of the disk 1. Of course, the pressing arm 391, the shutter arm 461, and the positioning pin 381 all maintain their original positions.

When the control unit 440 detects the insertion of the disk 1, the control unit 440 starts energizing the driving means 250,
The motor 251 starts rotating. The rotation of the motor 251 is transmitted from the drive worm 253 via the gear train 261 to the drive gear 2.
81 and the ring gear 3 by the output gear 284.
11 further rotates counterclockwise (disc pulling direction). At this time, it means that the disk pull-in period of FIG. 14 has elapsed. As shown in FIG. 14, the retraction arm 351 starts swinging during the disk retraction period. Then, the retraction spring 355 is connected to the disk 1
And the disk 1 is pulled into the disk device. At this time, the disk 1 has left and right grooves L212 and R22.
Rotary roller 601 which is supported at three points by the contact of pull-in 2 and pull-in spring 355 and supports and guides disk 1
The disk reading surface side is supported by and transported. Therefore, when the disk 1 is transported and driven,
Since the reading surface of the disk 1 does not come into contact with other parts, there is no danger of scratching. Also, when the outer peripheral edge of the circular disk 1 is supported and conveyed, three supporting points are provided, so And can be transported.

On the other hand, the ejection arm 341 continues to move toward the loading completion position so as not to hinder the conveyance of the disc 1.

The disk 1 thus transported is
Finally, it comes into contact with the positioning pin waiting in the transport space and stops. That is, it is the position of the positioning pin in FIG. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state in which the disk has reached the positioning pin position, and shows a state in which the disk 1 has advanced to the back of FIG. At this time, the retraction spring 355 of the retraction arm 351 pushes the outer circumference of the disk 1, and at the same time, the outer circumference of the disk 1 is positioned by the positioning portion 3 of the positioning pin 381.
Abuts on the large-diameter cylindrical portion 84; In this way, three points can be positioned by the two positioning pins 381 and the one retraction spring 355. Therefore, when the disk 1 is completely entered, the center of the disk 1 can be accurately positioned by three points, and the next disk mounting can be performed more accurately and smoothly.

After the positioning is completed, the ring gear 311
Continues to rotate counterclockwise. During the rotation process, the retracting operation of the rotating roller 601 and the mounting operation of the disk 1 are performed. That is, when the completion of the positioning of the disk 1 is detected by the counting of the encoder 271, the control unit 440
Energizes the solenoid 605 to move the slide plate 604 to the position shown in FIG. Slide sheet metal 604
The guide plate 602 has a lower cover 10 with the rotation support portions 603a and 603b as the center of rotation, due to the cam relationship between the cam groove formed in the above and the pin-shaped portion formed in the guide plate 602.
The rotating roller 601 that rotates in one direction and is attached to the guide plate 602 is positioned at a predetermined position (at the time of reproduction, the rotating roller 6
01 is not in contact with the disk 1, see FIG. 3 (b))
Evacuate to

Then, the ring gear 311 continues to rotate further, and finally reaches the final position. FIG. 17 shows the ring gear 3
It is a figure showing the last position of No. 11. 14 and 17, the discharge arm 341 does not perform a swing operation from the positioning pin position to immediately before the final position. This is because the disk 1 does not move during the positioning and mounting. Then, the discharge arm 341 starts swinging again immediately before the final position, and the discharge pin 345 presses the detection switch 423 at the final position. In this way, the control unit 440 detects the completion of the mounting of the disk 1, stops supplying power to the driving unit 250, stops the motor 251 and stops the rotation of the ring gear 311. The discharge arm 341 is connected to the detection switch 4
As described later, while the disc 1 is mounted (including during the reproducing operation), the recording is stopped at the position where the user presses the key 23.
A detection signal of the detection switch 423 is obtained.

The retraction arm 351 pushes the outer periphery of the disk 1 at the positioning pin position by the retraction spring 355 and maintains the position for a while with the ring gear 311.
During the mounting operation of the disk 1, the disk 1 swings away from the disk 1, and the retraction spring 355 separates from the disk 1. This is because, after the positioning is completed, when the disk 1 is mounted on the rotation driving means 551, the retracting spring 355 does not need to push the outer periphery of the disk 1.

The ring gear 311 continues to rotate counterclockwise after passing through the positioning pin position. At about the same time as when the pull-in arm 351 swings away from the disk 1, the positioning gear A 313 and the positioning gear B 314 are rotated by the positioning pin 381.
3, and the positioning pin 381 rotates by a predetermined angle to change the direction from the standby position to the mounting position. As a result, the cylindrical portion having a small diameter of the positioning portion 384 faces the outer periphery of the disk 1, and the positioning of the disk 1 is released. Then, after the positioning pin 381 changes its direction to the mounting position, the operation of the positioning spring 385 causes the ring gear 31 to move.
The direction of the mounting position is maintained even after disengagement with No. 1.

Further, the pressing arm 391 is connected to the ring gear 3
After 11 passes through the positioning pin position, the positioning pin 3
The first swinging operation is performed before the 81 starts to change the direction, and after maintaining the first swinging operation for a while, the retracting arm 351 and the positioning pin 381 are connected to the disk 1 as described above.
The second swinging operation is performed after moving away from. The pressing arm action point 394 moves the first swing stroke in the first swing operation,
Also, the second swing operation has a second swing stroke larger than the first swing stroke. Therefore, the pressing spring 3
Reference numeral 96 designates the pickup module 500
, A first pressing operation is performed with a first swinging stroke, and a second pressing operation is performed with a second swinging stroke that is larger than the first pressing operation.

That is, when the disk 1 reaches the positioning pin position, the first pressing operation is performed and the pull-in arm 35 is moved.
1 and the positioning pin 381 begin to be separated from the disk 1. Then, the pull-in arm 351 and the positioning pin 38
After the disc 1 is separated from the disc 1, a second pressing operation of a large stroke is performed, and the disc 1 is mounted on the pickup module 500. When the disc 1 reaches the positioning pin position, the guide rail L21
1 and the guide rail R221 are formed on a smooth slope so as to be easily attached to and detached from the pickup module 500, and when the disc 1 reaches the positioning pin position, the rotating roller 601 is moved to the retreat position. Therefore, the disc 1 is securely mounted on the pickup module 500 by the first and second pressing operations described above.

Further, it is added that in the course of the second pressing operation, the mounting and fixing means 511 provided on the pickup module 500 mounts and fixes the disk 1 on the rotation driving means (turntable) 551. Since the mode of the mounting / fixing means 511 is not the subject of the present invention, the points having the functions of mounting, fixing, and opening will be described, and details thereof will be omitted.

Thus, the pickup module 5 is separated from the guide rail L211 and the guide rail R221.
In the process of mounting at 00, after positioning, the first and second
Pushes the surface of the disk 1 in the direction of the pickup module 500, so that, for example, even if the notebook computer equipped with the disk device of the present invention is moved or tilted, 1 is securely mounted on the pickup module 500. Therefore, a more convenient disk device can be provided to the operator.

Finally, at substantially the same time as the second pressing operation, the shutter arm 461 swings and the shutter cam 4
The shutter 457 is pressed by the bezel 452
Is closed. In this manner, the disc 1 is mounted and fixed, preventing erroneous insertion, and the disc apparatus performs a reproducing operation.

Next, when it is necessary to end the reproduction or replace the disc 1, the operator performs an operation of ejecting the currently loaded disc 1. Then, the control unit 44
0 controls the rotation of the motor 251 to rotate the ring gear 311 clockwise from the state shown in FIG. Then, an operation is performed which follows a process reverse to the above-described mounting of the disk. In FIG. 14, the state changes from the final position on the right end to the origin position on the left end.

First, the discharge arm 341 starts swinging toward the origin position, and stops swinging immediately near the position where the discharge pin 345 comes into contact with the outer periphery of the disk 1. Subsequently, while the pressing spring 396 performs the second pressing operation, the mounting and fixing unit 511 rotates the rotation driving unit (turntable) 55.
When the disc 1 is released from the slot No. 1, the groove L212, the groove R222
Lift the disc 1 to the position. Further, while the pressing spring 396 performs the first pressing operation, the retraction arm 351 returns to the disk 1 and the retraction spring 355 contacts the outer periphery of the disk 1. At approximately the same time, the positioning gear A 313 and the positioning gear B 314 that have been rotated clockwise and returned have meshed with the intermittent gear 383 again, and the positioning pin 381 is rotated at a predetermined angle to move from the mounting position to the standby position. change.

When this state is detected by the counting of the encoder 271, the control unit 440 energizes the solenoid 605, moves the slide sheet metal 604 to the position shown in FIG. The guide plate 602 is supported by the rotation supporting portions 603a and 603b due to the cam relationship between the rotation supporting portions 603a and 603b.
Is rotated in the direction of the disk 1 with the rotation center as the rotation center. The rotating roller 601 attached to the guide plate 602 is lifted to a predetermined position. As a result, the disc 1 is lifted and positioned again, and the groove L212, the groove R
The disk 1 is guided to the position of 222.

Subsequently, with the clockwise rotation of the ring gear 311, the retraction arm 351 starts swinging toward the origin position again, and the ejection arm swings toward the origin position with a slight delay. Start. In this manner, the disc 1 released to the positions of the grooves L212 and R222 and positioned is pushed by the ejection pins 345 on the outer circumference, and
The sheet is conveyed toward the insertion port 453 along the groove 212, the groove R 222, and the rotating roller 601. FIG. 18 is a view showing the state of the discharge conveyance, in which the outer periphery is pushed by the discharge pin 345 and is conveyed to the vicinity of the standby position.

Referring again to FIG. 14, when the ring gear 311 further rotates clockwise, it finally reaches the origin position. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a state where the disk 1 has been ejected to the origin position. The ejection arm 341 swings most toward the insertion opening, and the disk 1 is pushed out of the outer periphery by the ejection pin 345 and comes out of the insertion opening. The retraction arm 351 retracts further to the outer periphery than the disk 1 so as not to obstruct the passage of the disk 1. At this time, as described in FIG.
And the origin switch 403 is operated, and the ejection detecting means 401 detects the completion of ejection of the disk 1 and arrival at the origin position.

When detecting the arrival at the origin position, the control unit 440 temporarily stops the motor 251 and continuously rotates the motor 251 in the reverse direction.
The ring gear 311 is rotated counterclockwise from the origin position to the standby position in FIG. 14 to prepare for the next insertion of the disc 1. The control of the rotation angle from the origin position to the standby position is controlled by the control unit 440 by counting the signal of the encoder 271 described with reference to FIG.

In the entire process from the insertion to the ejection of the disk 1 described above, the four medium driving means 3
It can be seen that each of the 40 does not overlap with each other and does not enter the passage space of the disk 1. In addition, the function of the discharge arm 341 and the pull-in arm 351
Function, a reliable operation sequence and a reliable transport can be ensured even if an abnormal situation occurs during the transport of the disk 1 (for example, a notebook computer using a disk device is suddenly tilted). Is done.

Also, since the pressing spring 396 performs the pressing operation during the mounting, fixing and releasing of the disk 1 by the mounting and fixing means 511, the pickup means must securely mount, fix and release the disk 1. Can be.

Further, in the entire process from the insertion to the ejection of the disk 1 described above, it can be seen that there is neither a process of moving the disk 1 in a direction perpendicular to its surface nor a mechanism for transporting the disk. The operator simply inserts the disc 1 into the insertion slot, and performs all steps from insertion to mounting, release, and ejection using the disc device, and does not require the operator to perform mounting operations as in the related art. Is also as described above. That is, according to the disk device of the present invention, the disk 1 can be made thin because it does not require the vertical movement mechanism of the disk 1 or the front and back sandwiching mechanism. Also,
The entire process from insertion to ejection is performed by the disk device without requiring the operator to perform a mounting operation or the like, and a disk device that can be easily handled by the operator can be provided.

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. In comparison between FIG. 1 and FIG. 20, it is clear that the main components occupying the thickness T of the disk device shown in FIG. 20 are only the pickup module 500 and the thickness (passing space) of the disk 1. This is because the synchronous driving means 310 and the medium driving means 340 are formed of a thin steel plate, and are slid on the upper cover 131 and oscillated as described with reference to FIGS. , The synchronous driving means 310 and the medium driving means 340 with respect to the thickness of the entire disk device.
This is because the thickness can be made thin enough to ignore the thickness. In addition, the pickup module 500
The thickness of the disk device of the present invention using the passage space of the disk 1, the synchronous drive means 310, the medium drive means 340, and the pickup module 500 is reduced to about 12.7 mm or less. Could be configured.

Further, since the outer diameter of the ring gear 311 is equal to or slightly smaller than that of the disk 1, the driving means 250
The required space and projection area can be made so small as to be almost negligible. Therefore, the planar projection figure of the entire disk device could be formed in a square shape circumscribing the disk 1.

As a result, the disk device can be mounted on a notebook-type computer which is required to be small and thin, and a disk device highly convenient for the operator can be provided.

[0075]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is only necessary to move the disk along the disk surface from the disk supply position to the position where the disk is rotationally driven. The entire device can be made thin without making it unnecessary. In addition, the transport of the disk by the rotating roller that guides the disk reading surface,
Damage to the disk reading surface during ejection can be prevented. In addition, the operator does not need to wear, fix, and open the disk device, and a disk device having more comfortable operability can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a disk device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view of the lower cover of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a slide sheet metal and a rotating roller.

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of a guide rail L.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the driving means of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view of the conveying means as viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the medium driving unit viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a view of the upper cover and the ring gear as viewed from a direction B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the positioning pin of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the mounting detection means of FIG. 2;

11 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the origin switch of FIG. 2 viewed from the direction of arrow A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view seen from the insertion direction in FIG. 1;

13 is a partially enlarged perspective view of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a sequence chart showing the operation of the transport unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a state of insertion of a disk at a standby position in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state where the disk has reached a positioning pin position.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a final position of a ring gear.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a state of discharge conveyance.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a state in which a disc has been ejected to an origin position.

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Disc 100 Case 101 Lower cover 102 Side wall L 103 Side wall R 111 Pin post 112 Guide post 131 Upper cover 132 Support pin 133 Swelling part 171 Axis mechanism 172 Rotation guide pin 191 Protective cover 200 Guide means 211 Guide rail L 212 Groove L 213 Terminal part L 221 Guide rail R 222 Groove R 223 Terminal part R 231 Insertion detection sensor 232 Passage actuator 233 Detection lever 234 Rotating pin 235 Insertion detection switch 236 Rotating spring 237 Snap ring 250 Driving means 251 Motor 252 Shaft 253 Drive worm 261 Gear train 271 Encoder 272 Slit 273 Disk 274 Photosensor 281 Drive gear 282 Passive gear 283 Connecting part 284 Output gear 300 Transport means 310 Synchronous drive means 11 Ring gear 312 Passive ring gear 313 Positioning gear A 314 Positioning gear B 315 Center space 321 Rotating hole A 322 Rotating hole B 323 Rotating hole C 324 Rotating cam 331 Guide hole A 332 Guide hole B 333 Guide hole C 340 Medium drive means 341 Discharge arm 342 Discharge arm force point 343 Discharge arm fulcrum 344 Discharge arm action point 345 Discharge pin 351 Retraction arm 352 Retraction arm force point 353 Retraction arm fulcrum 354 Retraction arm action point 355 Retraction spring 380 Positioning means 381 Positioning pin 381 Positioning pin Positioning shaft 383 Intermittent gear portion 384 Positioning portion 385 Positioning spring 390 Pressing means 391 Pressing arm 392 Pressing arm force point 393 Pressing arm fulcrum 394 Pressing arm action point 395 Pressure pin 396 pressing spring 400 medium monitoring means 401 ejection detection means 402 origin actuator 403 origin switch 421 mounting detection means 422 base 423 detection switch 440 control unit 441 board 450 insertion port means 451 erroneous insertion prevention means 452 bezel 453 insertion port 455 shutter base 456 Shutter spring 457 Shutter 458 Shutter dog 461 Shutter arm 462 Shutter arm force point 463 Shutter arm fulcrum 464 Shutter arm action point 465 Shutter cam 500 Pickup module 511 Mounting fixing means 551 Rotation driving means 600 Disk support guide member 601 Rotating roller 602 Guide plate 603 Rotation Support part 604 Slide sheet metal 605 Solenoid

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pickup means for loading, fixing and releasing a disc, and rotating and driving the disc to reproduce a signal from the disc; and receiving a disc from an operator and moving the disc to the pickup means in the direction of the disc surface. A disk transporting means for transporting the disk, wherein the disk transporting means guides the disk so as to be movable in the direction of the disk surface, and is formed in a thin plate shape and swings in the direction of the disk surface. A disk drive, comprising: a medium drive means for transporting and driving a disk; and a disk support and guide means for supporting a disk transport path when the disk is moving and retracting when rotating the disk. 2. The disk drive according to claim 1, wherein said guide means is rotatable in a disk transport direction, and supports and guides the disk without sliding on a disk reading surface.