JP2003157643A - Small magnetic disk cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a magnetic disk cartridge suitably loadable in a card disk drive, when the card disk drive loadable in an electronic instrument has a pair of head suspensions for supporting a magnetic head, and a suspension opening and closing member provided with a wedge-shaped part which opens and closes the pair of head suspensions by movement of cross direction. SOLUTION: The magnetic disk cartridge 30 is provided with a contact part 33a which moves a wedge-shaped part 24 by being abutted to a suspension opening and closing member 22 when the contact part 33a is loaded in the disk drive 6.

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention can be loaded into a small magnetic disk drive that can be loaded into a card slot of an electronic device such as a digital still camera, a digital video camera, or a notebook personal computer. The present invention relates to a small magnetic disk cartridge. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various recording media are removably loaded in a card slot of an electronic device such as a digital still camera, a digital video camera, a notebook personal computer, and the like for recording and reproduction. . As such a recording medium, a semiconductor memory type, a hard disk type, an optical disk type, a small magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk, etc.
Various things are in practical use. Among them, the semiconductor memory is easy to handle and the recording capacity is suitably large, so it is the most popular but relatively expensive. Therefore, in a digital camera or the like using these memories, it is common to transfer the captured image data to a personal computer or the like, and then delete the data and use the recording medium repeatedly. As a hard disk type, 340
Those with a capacity of MB or 1 GB are known, but this is also expensive, and the data is transferred and stored elsewhere, and the recording medium is repeatedly used. The optical disk type has a large recording capacity for its size, and can record 256 MB of data in a size of 35 mm × 41 mm × 11 mm, for example.
A device with a recording capacity of 12 MB is also being realized. However, since the optical disk takes time to write, there is a drawback that the recording speed is slow. On the other hand, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk can be made as small as about 50 mm × 55 mm × 2 mm and can be exchanged into a disk drive of a size that can be inserted into a card slot of a personal computer or the like. Is also known, but this has a capacity of 40
It's as small as MB, and it has insufficient capacity in terms of recording camera images, and its size is not suitable for digital cameras. In recent years, digital cameras have been in conflict with the social background in which personal computers have become popular, such as ease of recording, improved image quality through the development of image sensors, possibility of data deletion and transfer, and large recording capacity. Thus, although it is rapidly widespread, recording media (hereinafter referred to as media) are limited in terms of price and capacity as described above, and thus there are limitations on the manner of use. For example, because the media is expensive, 1
As mentioned above, it is normal to use a single piece of media repeatedly, such as transferring to a computer and deleting it when the data is full, without having multiple pieces of media in one camera. It is. For this reason, there may be a shortage of recording media on the road, and it is not possible to store the media containing the data as it is or upload it to a person. Therefore, it is desired to realize a large-capacity and inexpensive small medium so that data taken with a digital camera can be stored as it is or can be easily uploaded to a person. In addition, in a personal computer, it is desired to realize a large-capacity and inexpensive small medium capable of storing data and passing it to a person. [0009] In response to such a demand, a personal computer or a small-sized, low-capacity medium that can store data taken with a digital camera or personal computer data as it is, or can be easily uploaded to a person. A medium comprising a card type disk drive that can be loaded into an electronic device such as a digital camera and a magnetic disk cartridge that can be loaded into the disk drive is conceivable. That is, as such a magnetic disk cartridge, a flexible magnetic disk capable of high-density magnetic recording is rotatably accommodated in a housing having an open / close shutter, and for example, a magnetic disk cartridge having a recording capacity of 200 MB or more is obtained. It is possible. As a high-density magnetic recording medium for that purpose, a metal-deposited one, a barium ferrite powder or a metal powder, or the like can be used. Examples of those using barium ferrite powder include Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-3 filed by the present applicant.
There is No. 12864. “High recording density magnetic recording medium using barium ferrite powder” is a magnetic disk containing barium ferrite powder in the magnetic layer, and using a material capable of realizing high recording density. For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 20
A nonmagnetic layer containing a nonmagnetic powder and a binder, a ferromagnetic metal powder or a hexagonal ferrite powder and a binding on at least one surface of the nonmagnetic support disclosed in No. 01-205290 And a magnetic layer containing an agent in this order, wherein the nonmagnetic layer has an average particle size of 10 to 10
10 to 50 parts by mass of carbon black of 30 nm with respect to 100 parts by mass of the nonmagnetic powder, the thickness of the magnetic layer is 0.2 μm or less, and the average of elements caused by ferromagnetic powder by electron beam microanalysis The magnetic standard deviation b with respect to the intensity a is 0.03 ≦ b / a ≦ 0.4, and the magnetic layer has a center plane average roughness Ra of 5 nm or less and a 10-point average roughness Rz of 40 nm or less. It is a recording medium. For a magnetic disk using this material, information is recorded and reproduced using a magnetic head such as an MR head capable of high recording density. According to the above media, the recording capacity is 200 MB.
As described above, it is possible to realize a medium with a high recording density of preferably 500 MB or more, which makes it possible to record 500 sheets, for example, about 1 MB for a still image and about 30 minutes for a moving image. Video content can be recorded. Accordingly, it is possible to record a moving image shot by a digital camera, a moving image distributed by a mobile phone, and the like, and it is possible to improve user convenience when using content. Of course, it can be conveniently used as an inexpensive large-capacity data storage medium in a personal computer, and its convenience is great. Note that a card-type disk drive that can be loaded into an electronic device is generally shown in FIG.
As shown to (a), it is the disk drive 6 electrically connected and loaded to the socket 4 of the receiving part of the card | curd 2 inserted in the card slot of a PC card, and small electronic devices, such as the digital camera 3. In the case of FIG. 8 (b)
As shown in FIG. 2, the disk drive 6 is electrically connected to the socket of the receiving portion 5 on the electronic device side and loaded.
Accordingly, the disk drive 6 is extremely small, for example, a length of 38 mm to 55 mm and a length of 35 mm to 51 mm.
The magnetic disk cartridge 8 having a width of 3 mm and a thickness of 3 mm to 5 mm and inserted from the cartridge insertion slot of the disk drive 6 is, for example, 25 mm to 36 mm.
It has a length and width of mm and a thickness of 1 mm to 3 mm. By the way, in the card type disk drive that can be loaded into the card slot of the electronic device as described above, generally, a pair for accessing both sides of the magnetic disk of the magnetic disk cartridge inserted from the cartridge insertion slot. Magnetic head
Each of the head suspensions is provided so as to face each other, but until the magnetic disk cartridge is loaded, the magnetic head does not interfere with the magnetic disk of the magnetic disk cartridge loaded in the insertion mode. The pair of head suspensions are opened and the magnetic heads are held apart from each other. When the magnetic disk cartridge is loaded, the head suspension is closed and the pair of magnetic heads are moved toward each other. It is necessary to let However, when a disk drive having a horizontally long shape with respect to the insertion direction of the magnetic disk cartridge is required as shown in FIG. When the head assembly including the moving mechanism is provided at the back side in the insertion direction of the magnetic disk cartridge, the cartridge size must be further reduced, and a magnetic disk cartridge having a large-capacity magnetic disk is loaded. Therefore, the head suspension moving mechanism must be provided in a space lateral to the insertion direction of the magnetic disk cartridge to be loaded. In that case, it is difficult to provide a head suspension opening / closing mechanism so as not to hinder the insertion operation of the magnetic disk cartridge. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a small magnetic disk drive having a head suspension opening / closing mechanism suitable for such a case. The present invention is a magnetic disk cartridge that can be loaded into a card-type disk drive that can be loaded into an electronic device, wherein the disk drive supports a pair of heads. A suspension and a suspension opening / closing member having a wedge-shaped portion that opens and closes the pair of head suspensions by moving in the front-rear direction, and the magnetic disk cartridge cooperates with the wedge-shaped portion when loaded into a disk drive. A contact portion is provided. The "front-rear direction" means the direction in which the magnetic disk cartridge is inserted into the disk drive and the opposite direction. In this case, the pair of head suspensions are composed of two spring plates extending in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the magnetic disk cartridge, and the wedge-shaped portion is tapered toward the cartridge insertion slot. A suspension opening / closing member provided with an engagement surface and abutted against the abutting portion of the magnetic disk cartridge to be inserted and moved in the inserting direction of the magnetic disk cartridge is provided. When not loaded, the head suspension is elastically opened by interrupting between the pair of head suspensions, and the contact portion of the magnetic disk cartridge inserted from the cartridge insertion slot contacts the suspension opening / closing member. Escape from between the suspension It is preferred that head suspension is configured to close elastically. According to the magnetic disk cartridge of the present invention constructed as described above, the contact portion cooperating with the wedge-shaped portion at the time of loading into the disk drive is provided. With a simple structure, a pair of head suspensions can be opened and closed with a single action, and it is extremely thin and applied to a magnetic disk cartridge that is loaded in an insertion manner into a disk drive having a shape that is horizontally long with respect to the insertion direction of the magnetic disk cartridge. It can be said that this is a suitable configuration. According to the present invention, for example, a disk cartridge having a thickness of about 2 mm in which a magnetic disk having a diameter of about 28 mm is accommodated in a disk drive having a size about one third of the size as viewed from the front of the digital camera. It is possible to realize a magnetic media that can be loaded, and can be easily carried and used in a portable manner. Also, by using a magnetic disk containing barium ferrite powder in the magnetic layer, it is possible to give the above-mentioned magnetic disk a recording capacity of, for example, 500 MB. 500 photos can be recorded on this disc, and can be realized at a very low cost, and the practical effect is extremely great. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a magnetic disk cartridge according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a disk drive loaded with a magnetic disk cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a schematic plan view, and FIG. ) Is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. The disk drive 6 includes a cartridge insertion slot 6a and a cartridge housing space 7 in the center of the inside, and is formed horizontally long with respect to the cartridge insertion direction. 10 is provided. Further, the disk drive 6 includes a drive mechanism that rotates a magnetic disk 36 (see FIG. 3) of a magnetic disk cartridge 30 to be loaded, and a magnetic head 20 and a head suspension moving mechanism 10 that are electrically connected to an electronic circuit in an electronic device. With an electrical connection for connecting to
The illustration and detailed description thereof are omitted. Each head suspension moving mechanism 10 includes:
A support 14 slidably attached along the guide rod 12 in the front-rear direction, an electromagnetic coil 16 having an axis in the front-rear direction fixed to the support 14, and the electromagnetic coil 1
6 and a rod-like permanent magnet 17 that is fixedly provided so as to extend in the front-rear direction through the axial direction. The upper and lower head suspensions 18 and 18 made of an elastic spring plate are bridged between the supports 14 and 14, and a magnetic head 20 is provided at the center of the upper and lower head suspensions 18 and 18. , 20 are fixed so as to face each other. Inside each head suspension moving mechanism 10 are two upper and lower head suspensions 18, 18.
Suspension opening and closing member 2 that opens and closes in a vertical direction so that the pair of magnetic heads 20 and 20 are close to and away from each other.
2 is provided to be movable in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 2A, the suspension opening / closing member 22 includes engagement surfaces 24a and 24a having a tapered cross-section toward the cartridge insertion slot 6a, and enters and exits between the head suspensions 18 and 18. A wedge-shaped portion 24, a connecting portion 25 extending outward from the wedge-shaped portion 24, and a leg portion 26 extending from the outer end of the connecting portion 25 between the head suspensions 18 and 18 toward the cartridge insertion slot 6a. The wedge-shaped portion 24 is configured such that when it enters between the head suspensions 18, 18, the upper and lower engagement surfaces 24 a, 24 a engage with the head suspensions 18, 18 to open the head suspensions 18, 18. ing. Further, an engagement surface 26 a for a contact portion 33 a provided in a case 32 of a magnetic disk cartridge 30 described later is formed at the tip of the leg portion 26 of the suspension opening / closing member 22. The suspension opening / closing member 22 is urged by a spring 28 toward the cartridge insertion slot 6a. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a first embodiment of the magnetic disk cartridge 30 of the present invention configured to be loaded into the disk drive 6 of FIG. 1, and FIG. The state where the shutter is closed is shown in FIG.
Indicates the state in which the shutter is open. The case 32 of the cartridge 30 has, on the front side thereof, an opening 33 that is wide open over an angular range close to 180 degrees in order to secure a moving path for the head suspensions 18, 18. Two shutters 34, 34 that open and close dynamically are mounted.
In the case 32, a magnetic disk 36 having a center hub 35 is rotatably provided. And opening 33
The suspension opening / closing member 22 is provided at the outer ends of both end edges of the suspension opening / closing member 22.
Abutting portions 33a and 33a with respect to the engaging surface 26a are formed. In the state shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B in which the disk drive 6 is not loaded with the magnetic disk cartridge 30 in the above configuration, the suspension opening / closing member 22 is moved into the cartridge insertion slot by the biasing force of the spring 28. 6a, the wedge-shaped portion 24 of the suspension opening / closing member 22 is moved to the head suspension 18, 1 as shown in FIG.
8 between the head suspensions 18, 18
Are elastically pushed up and down, so that the magnetic heads 20 and 20
The gap is wide open. Next, as shown in FIG. 4A, the magnetic disk cartridge 30 is inserted into the cartridge insertion slot 6a.
Is inserted into the disk drive 6, the shutters 34 and 34 are opened to the right and left accordingly (shutter 3
The structure and detailed description of the mechanism for opening 4, 34 are omitted.) The state shown in FIG. 3B is obtained, and the abutting portions 33a, 33 of the magnetic disk cartridge 30 to be inserted are provided.
Since a is in contact with the engagement surface 26a of the suspension opening / closing member 22, the suspension opening / closing member 22
8 moves against the side of the cartridge insertion slot 6a against the urging force. Along with this, BB in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2B, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line, the wedge-shaped portion 24 moves to the left in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4B, the head suspensions 18 and 18 are closed to each other by their own elasticity, and the magnetic heads 20 and 20 access both sides of the magnetic disk 36, respectively. To do. And the electromagnetic coil 1 of the head suspension moving mechanisms 10, 10
6 and 16, the control bodies 14 and 14 are moved along the guide rods 12 and 12 by causing the control currents to synchronize with each other. Information can be recorded / reproduced on / from the disk 36. In the above-described embodiment, each of the pair of head suspension moving mechanisms 10 and 10 and the suspension opening / closing members 22 and 22 has a magnetic disk housing space 7.
However, in the embodiment described below, one head suspension moving mechanism 10 and one suspension opening / closing member 22 are disposed only on the right side of the magnetic disk housing space 7. is there. That is, FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a disk drive loaded with a magnetic disk cartridge according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 (a) shows the disk drive in FIG. FIG. 5B is a schematic plan view corresponding to a), and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 5A. FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing the magnetic disk cartridge 30 of the second embodiment of the present invention loaded in the disk drive 6 of FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 (a) shows a state in which the shutter is closed. FIG. 6B shows a state where the shutter is opened. Further, FIG. 7 (a) is shown in FIG.
4B is a schematic plan view showing the state in which the magnetic disk cartridge 30 shown in FIG. 4 is loaded in the disk drive 6 in correspondence with FIG. 4A, and FIG. 7B is along the line CC in FIG. FIG. In the present embodiment, the support 14 of the single head suspension moving mechanism 10 is supported by the two guide rods 12 and slides, and the head suspensions 18 and 18 are cantilevered magnetic heads. Since it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment mentioned above except having supported 20, it attaches | subjects the same code | symbol to a corresponding element, and abbreviate | omits detailed description. The magnetic disk cartridge 30 shown in FIG. 6 is also provided with a single opening type shutter 34 in accordance with the change of the disk drive 6, and one end edge of the opening 33 is provided. An abutting portion 33a for the suspension opening / closing member 22 is formed at the outer end. As is clear from the above description, according to the above-described embodiment, the pair of head suspensions 18, 1
8 is a pair of engagement surfaces 24 which are composed of two spring plates extending in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the magnetic disk cartridge 30 and taper toward the cartridge insertion slot.
The wedge-shaped portion 24 having a and 24a is provided on the suspension opening / closing member 22 which is brought into contact with the contact portion 33a of the magnetic disk cartridge 30 to be inserted and moved in the inserting direction of the magnetic disk cartridge 30. 24, when the magnetic disk cartridge 30 is not loaded, as shown in FIG.
8, 18 between the head suspension 18,1
8 is elastically pushed open, and the cartridge insertion slot 6a
The abutting portion 33a of the magnetic disk cartridge 30 inserted from above contacts the engaging surface 26a of the suspension opening / closing member 22, so that the wedge-shaped portion 24 escapes from between the head suspensions 18, 18, and the head suspension 18,
Since 18 is configured to be closed elastically, the pair of head suspensions can be opened and closed with one action by a very simple configuration, is extremely thin, and has a horizontally long shape with respect to the insertion direction of the magnetic disk cartridge. It can be said that this configuration is suitable for application to a magnetic disk cartridge loaded in a disk drive having a disk drive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a disk drive loaded with a magnetic disk cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a schematic plan view. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1A. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operation of the suspension opening / closing member provided in the disk drive of FIG. Figure 1
FIG. 2B is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 4A, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 3A and 3B are diagrams schematically illustrating a configuration of a magnetic disk cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 3A is a schematic view of a state in which the shutter is closed, and FIG. 4 schematically shows a state in which the magnetic disk cartridge of FIG. 3 is loaded in the disk drive of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 (a) is a schematic plan view, and FIG. 4 (b) is FIG. 4 (a). A
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a disk drive loaded with a magnetic disk cartridge according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a schematic plan view. FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 5A. FIG. 6 shows a magnetic disk cartridge according to the second embodiment of the present invention loaded in the disk drive of FIG. 6A is a schematic plan view of the disk drive of FIG. 6. FIG. 6A is a schematic plan view of a state in which the shutter is closed, and FIG. 6B is a schematic plan view of the state in which the shutter is open. FIG. 7A is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a magnetic disk cartridge is loaded, and FIG. 7B is a schematic plan view of FIG. 7B.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C. FIG. 8 is a schematic explanatory view showing a disk drive as a premise of the present invention together with an electronic device having a card slot into which the disk drive is loaded. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Head suspension moving mechanism 12 Guide rod 14 Support body 16 Electromagnetic coil 17 Permanent magnet 18 Head suspension 20 Magnetic head 22 Suspension opening / closing member 24 Wedge-like part 28 Spring 30 Magnetic disk cartridge 32 Cartridge case 33a Contact part 34 Shutter 36 Magnetic disk

Claims (1)

1. A magnetic disk cartridge that can be loaded into a card-type disk drive that can be loaded into an electronic device, wherein the disk drive includes a pair of head suspensions that support a magnetic head, and a longitudinal direction. A suspension opening / closing member provided with a wedge-shaped portion that opens and closes the pair of head suspensions by movement of the magnetic disk cartridge; A small-sized magnetic disk cartridge characterized by comprising: