JP2002358680A - Optical lens cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make an optical lens cleaner quickly and easily cleanable dust, etc., adhering to an optical lens. SOLUTION: A brush member 19 is provided at the rear side surface peripheral end of a turntable 17. In the reproduction processing of a disk 21, a pickup 21 positioned at an initial position is moved to the brush member 19, and an optical lens 22 is automatically cleaned. Since the brush member 19 removes the dust adhering to the optical lens 22, the light quantity to a photodetector, for example, is not decreased, and a read defect is prevented. Labor including the attachment and detachment to the turntable of a conventional lens cleaner provided with a brush on a part of the disk rear side surface, is eliminated because the brush member 19 is placed at the rear side surface peripheral end of the turntable 17. The brush member 19 of the turntable 17 cleans the dust adhering to the optical lens 22 quickly and easily.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical lens cleaner for cleaning an optical lens for converging light on a disk.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, some audio devices, such as a radio cassette recorder with a disk device, have a disk device disposed above the audio device. The lid of the disk device is disposed on the upper panel of the device main body, and the storage portion for storing the disk is opened and closed by rotating the lid.

When the lid is opened, dust or the like floating in the air (hereinafter simply referred to as "dust") may enter the storage portion and adhere to the objective (optical) lens of the pickup. . If dust adheres to the optical lens, the dust reduces the amount of light from the optical lens and the amount of light reflected from the disk, causing a reading error (reproduction failure) of a photodetector that detects a signal from the reflected light.

For this reason, some conventional disk devices include:
In some cases, a shielding member such as a lens cover is arranged above the pickup so that dust does not adhere to the optical lens.

Conventionally, the user has cleaned the optical lens using a commercially available lens cleaner. For example, a commercially available lens cleaner has a brush on a part of the back surface of the disc,
The brush cleans the optical lens when playing back the disc.

[0006]

By the way, in the prior art in which a lens cover is arranged above a pickup,
If dust adheres to the optical lens during reproduction of a disc or the like, the dust cannot be removed from the optical lens.

On the other hand, in a commercially available lens cleaner, the user himself mounts a lens cleaner having a brush provided on a part of the back surface of the disc on a turntable and performs a regeneration process (play operation) for cleaning. Only had to do.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an optical lens cleaner capable of quickly and easily cleaning dust and the like adhering to an optical lens.

[0009]

An optical lens cleaner according to the present invention comprises: a turntable on which a disc is placed;
An optical lens cleaner applied to a disk device having an optical lens for converging light on the disk and a pickup moving in a radial direction around the turntable, wherein a cleaning means is provided at a moving end of the pickup. It is characterized in that it is provided so as to correspond to the optical lens. Here, the moving end of the pickup is a concept including both the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side of the disk on which the pickup moves.

When the pickup moves to a position corresponding to the cleaning means, the optical lens is cleaned by the cleaning means. That is, according to the present invention, since the cleaning means is arranged at the moving end of the pickup, the optical lens is cleaned by the cleaning means by moving the pickup to a position corresponding to the cleaning means.

Further, according to the present invention, since the cleaning means is arranged at the moving end of the pickup, it is troublesome to attach and detach a lens cleaner having a brush provided on a part of the back surface of the disk to the turntable as in the prior art. This is unnecessary, and dust adhering to the optical lens is quickly and easily cleaned by the cleaning means.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 5 show a structure relating to an optical lens cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a lid of a disk device is opened, and FIG. 2 is a compact disk when the lid is closed (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “disk”).
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which is chucked and the pickup is stopped at an initial position. The acoustic device of the present embodiment is provided with a disk device, a radio cassette recorder, and the like, and the disk device is of a type that holds a disk in a horizontal direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, a disk device 10 is disposed above the acoustic device S, and a lid 12 is disposed on the disk device 10 so as to rotate via a hinge (not shown). Then, the lid 12 in the closed state is
Is substantially flush with the upper panel of the acoustic device S.
Is rotated to open and close the storage section 16 for storing the disk 14 (indicated by imaginary lines in FIG. 1).

The storage section 16 is recessed in the upper portion of the acoustic device S. A substantially cylindrical body 17A and a disk-shaped and iron-made mounting section 17B are provided substantially at the center of the bottom plate 16A of the storage section 16.
Is rotatably arranged. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, a spindle 18 of a spindle motor SM is connected to a body 17A of the turntable 17, and the turntable 17 is rotated by driving the spindle motor SM. The bottom plate 1
6A has a hole 16B slightly larger in diameter than the diameter of the mounting portion 17B of the turntable 17.

A pickup 21 for irradiating a laser beam is disposed on the left side of the storage section 16, and an optical lens 22 for converging light on the disk 14 is disposed on the pickup 21. The bottom plate 16A has a long hole 2
4 is formed radially around the turntable 17, and the pickup 21 moves radially from the initial position shown in FIGS. The recorded information is reproduced. In addition, the long hole 24 is formed so as to be continuous with the hole 16B.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a brush member 19 as a cleaning means is annularly arranged on the back surface of the mounting portion 17B of the turntable 17 along the outer peripheral edge of the turntable 17. The brush member 19 includes a brush bristles 20A and a sheet 20 on which the brush bristles 20A are planted.
B. Then, an adhesive is applied to the back surface of the sheet 20B and the sheet 20B is attached to the back surface of the turntable 17, whereby the brush member 19
Fixed to

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
Flocked length L in the radial direction on the turntable 17 of 0A
1 is longer than the diameter of the optical lens 22. In addition, the length L2 of the brush bristles 20A is such that the brush bristles 20A are in a state where the optical lens 22 faces the brush bristles 20A.
Are set to a length such that the tip of the lens does not contact the optical lens 22. The brush bristles 20A are formed of natural hair such as horse hair or artificial hair made of synthetic fiber such as nylon.

A clamper 26 as a chucking member is disposed on the lid 12 so as to face the turntable 17, and the clamper 26 is a holder 1 of the lid 12 shown in FIG.
Floatable to 2A. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the clamper 26 includes a substantially disk-shaped base plate 28 disposed opposite the stopper 13 formed in the L-shaped cross section of the holder portion 12 </ b> A, a donut-shaped magnet 30,
A substantially disk-shaped holding portion 32 that supports the magnet 30 with the base plate 28 is provided.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First, in the present embodiment, the disk 14 is mounted on the turntable 17. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, after the lid 12 is opened, the disk 14 is placed on the turntable 17 and the lid 12 is closed. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower surface of the holding portion 32 abuts on the disk 14 and the disk 14 is held by the holding portion 32 (including the magnet 30).
And the mounting portion 17 </ b> B of the turntable 17. The disc 14 has a hole 14A formed in the body 17A.
And movement in the radial direction is restricted.

When a play button (not shown) is operated, the pickup 21 located at the initial position (the position shown in FIG. 2) is moved to the turntable 17 as shown in FIG.
Slide to the axis side of. That is, the pickup 21 moves from the position of the imaginary line shown in FIG. 4 to the position of the solid line, and the optical lens 22 faces the brush member 19.

Subsequently, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, the pickup 21 is raised, and the optical lens 22 is moved to the brush member 19.
(That is, the brush hair 19A). When the pickup 21 is raised, the spindle motor SM is driven and the turntable 17 is rotated. That is, the optical lens 22 comes into contact with the moving brush bristles 19A, so that dust adhering on the optical lens 22 is removed from the optical lens 22 and cleaned.

Here, the rising time during which the pickup 21 is rising is predetermined, and is set to, for example, 5 seconds. After the elapse of the ascent time (5 seconds), the pickup 21 descends (see the imaginary line in FIG. 5) and returns to the initial position. Then, the pickup 21
Playback processing for reading the information recorded in the.

In the present embodiment, the optical lens 22 is cleaned by the brush member 19 every time as a series of operations in the reproduction process of the disk 21. Further, in the present embodiment, during the reproduction processing of the disk 21, the pickup 21 located at the initial position is moved to the brush member 19 arranged on the back surface of the turntable 17, and the optical lens 22 is automatically cleaned.

That is, according to the present embodiment, the brush member 1
9 is the turntable 1 which is the moving end of the pickup 21
7, the optical lens 22 is cleaned by the brush member 19. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, dust adhered on the optical lens 22 is eliminated by the brush member 19 disposed on the turntable 17, so that the light quantity to a photodetector (not shown) does not decrease, and reading defects are prevented. Is done.

Also, according to the present embodiment, the brush member 1
9 is arranged on the outer peripheral edge of the back surface of the turntable 17,
This eliminates the need for attaching and detaching a lens cleaner having a brush provided on a part of the back surface of the disk to and from the turntable, and dust attached to the optical lens 22 is quickly and easily removed by the brush member 19 of the turntable 17. Is cleaned. (Second Embodiment) FIGS. 6 and 7 show an optical lens cleaner according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is an example in which a discharge mechanism for discharging dust removed from the optical lens 22 by the brush member 19 to the storage unit 16 is provided. FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a state where the pickup faces the brush, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a fan 40 connected to the turntable 17. Although the clamper is not shown in FIG. 6, the clamper shown in FIG. 2 is arranged in this embodiment. 6, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The discharge mechanism of the present embodiment includes a hole 17C formed in the center of the upper part of the body 17A of the turntable 17, and a fan 40 disposed at a connection portion between the turntable 17 and the spindle 18. The fan 40 removes dust removed from the optical lens 22 by the brush member 19 into the hole 17.
The spiral is formed so as to be discharged to the storage section 16 side via C (see FIG. 7). That is, the turntable 17 is provided at the outer periphery of the tip of the fan 40 (see the cross-sectional portion shown in FIG. 7)
And the upper part of the trunk 17A are connected.

In this embodiment, since the fan 40 and the hole 17C as the discharge mechanism are provided, the brush member 19 is provided.
As a result, the dust removed from the optical lens 22 is forcibly discharged to the storage section 16 through the hole 17C. That is, in the present embodiment, the turntable 17, ie, the fan 40
Is rotated, as shown by the arrow WR in FIG.
It passes through the body 17A of the turntable 17 and
A wind that moves into the storage unit 16 via C is generated.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the dust removed from the optical lens 22 passes through the hole 17C and is stored in the storage section 16.
The dust is forcibly discharged into the
For example, it does not adhere to pickup driving means (not shown). Note that the other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus the description is omitted. In addition, the shape of the fan and the connection structure between the turntable and the spindle can be arbitrarily changed.

In each of the above embodiments, a clamper is provided as a means for mounting the disk 14 on the turntable 17, but in the present invention, for example, a ball chuck mechanism is provided on the body 17A of the turntable 17 so that the clamper is unnecessary. The present invention can be similarly applied to a disk device provided with.

In each of the above embodiments, the brush member 19 is arranged at the outer peripheral end of the back surface of the turntable 17 which is the moving end of the pickup 21. May be provided. That is, the moving end of the pickup of the present invention includes both the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side of the disk on which the pickup moves.

In each of the above embodiments, the brush member 19 is provided annularly on the outer peripheral end of the back surface of the turntable 17, but in the present invention, the brush bristles 19A may be provided partially. In each of the above embodiments, the optical lens 22
In this example, the pickup 21 is lifted after the pickup 21 is opposed to the brush member 19, but the present invention may be configured so that the pickup can be simply brought into contact with the cleaning means to be cleaned. For example,
In each of the above embodiments, by increasing the length of the brush bristles, the brush bristles are brought into contact with the slid optical lens.

In the above embodiments, the cleaning means is the brush member 19, but the cleaning means of the present invention may be, for example, a sponge. Further, according to the present invention, when the optical lens is cleaned by the cleaning means, the pickup 21 may be set so as to not only raise the pickup 21 once but also repeat the raising and lowering operation. Further, in each of the above embodiments, the cleaning operation is performed within a series of operations in the reproduction processing of the disk 21. However, the present invention uses the operation time of a microcomputer (not shown) to count the reproduction time, In such a case (after a predetermined reproduction time has elapsed), the cleaning operation may be performed.

In each of the above embodiments, an example of an optical lens cleaner for a compact disk has been described. However, the optical lens cleaner of the present invention can be applied to any type of disk (for example, a so-called mini disk, digital video disk, etc.). The same applies to an optical lens.

In each of the above embodiments, the lid 12 is rotated via a hinge. However, in the present invention, a drawer-type tray or the like may be used. The disk device includes a portable device in addition to a stationary type. Further, a device to which the optical lens cleaner according to the present invention is applied includes a personal computer having a disk device.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, according to the present invention, since the cleaning means is disposed at the moving end of the pickup, the pickup is moved to a position corresponding to the cleaning means, thereby providing an optical lens. Is cleaned by the cleaning means.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the cleaning means is arranged at the moving end of the pickup, so that it is troublesome to attach and detach the lens cleaner having a brush provided on a part of the back surface of the disk to the turntable as in the conventional case. Becomes unnecessary, and dust adhering to the optical lens is quickly and easily cleaned by the cleaning means.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disk device according to a first embodiment of the present invention in a state where a lid is opened.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the disk is chucked and the pickup is stopped at an initial position when the lid shown in FIG. 1 is closed.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the turntable shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the pickup illustrated in FIG. 2 has moved to a position facing a brush member.

5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the pickup illustrated in FIG. 4 is raised and an optical lens is in contact with a brush member.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an optical lens cleaner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the fan shown in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Disk device 14 Disk 17 Turntable 19 Brush member (cleaning means) 21 Pickup 22 Optical lens

Claims (1)

[Claims] A turntable on which a disc is placed;
An optical lens cleaner applied to a disk device having an optical lens for converging light on the disk and having a pickup that moves in a radial direction around the turntable, wherein cleaning means is provided at a moving end of the pickup. An optical lens cleaner provided to correspond to the optical lens.