JP2004039242A - Disk cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a disk cartridge which is small-sized, made of a small number of parts and easy to assemble. <P>SOLUTION: The disk cartridge of this invention consists of a nearly circular upper case and a lower case. The upper and lower cases having shapes of curved surface section nearly along with a disk periphery mark off a loading section of the disk by superposing them each other. The disk cartridge is opened and closed by rotating the upper case and the lower case relatively, starting from a moving part prepared on the upper case and/or the lower case, and the disk cartridge performs loading and unloading of an information recording disk in a state that the disk cartridge is opened. Also, in this disk cartridge, an aperture for exposing a central part and an information recording face of the information recording disk is prepared at an engaging part for engaging the upper case and the lower case mutually and at least on one of the surfaces of the upper case and the lower case. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

The present invention relates to a disk cartridge for accommodating a disk-shaped information recording medium such as a DVD or MO, and more particularly, to a small disk cartridge which allows easy insertion and removal of a disk.

As shown in FIG. 7, a disk cartridge 200 conventionally used for an information recording medium such as a DVD includes a disk holder 101 for holding a disk 102 and a cartridge case 100 for accommodating the disk holder 101. The cartridge case 100 is a case having a substantially square surface and a small thickness, and mainly includes an upper case and a lower case. The upper case and the lower case are formed of a synthetic resin, and a space is formed inside by overlapping the upper case and the lower case. An opening 106 is provided on one of the side surfaces of the cartridge case 100. The disc 102 is accommodated in the disc cartridge 200 by inserting the disc holder 101 holding the disc 102 through the opening 106 in the direction of the arrow AR7. An opening 103 is provided on one surface (for example, the upper case) of the cartridge case 100, and a slidable shutter 104 is provided so as to cover the opening 103. When a disc cartridge containing the disc 102 is inserted into the information recording / reproducing apparatus, a predetermined portion of the information recording / reproducing apparatus slides the shutter 104 in a direction orthogonal to AR7 to open the opening 103, and The information recording / reproducing surface of the disk 102 in 200 is exposed. Thereby, the recording / reproducing head of the information recording / reproducing apparatus can access the information recording surface of the disk 102.

However, the disk cartridge having the structure as shown in FIG. 7 has an area approximately 1.6 times the area of a disk-shaped disk. Space was used. This wasted space is one of the factors that reduce the degree of freedom in designing the information recording / reproducing apparatus itself and hinder miniaturization. Further, the conventional disk cartridge has a problem that the structure is complicated and the number of parts is large because the disk is held by the disk holder. This problem increases the manufacturing cost of the disk cartridge and makes it difficult to store or remove the disk.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a disk cartridge which is small in size and has a small number of parts and is easy to assemble.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disk cartridge for accommodating an information recording disk,
A substantially circular upper case having a first engagement portion;
A lower case having a substantially circular shape, having a second engagement portion engageable with the first engagement portion and overlapping the upper case to define a disk accommodating portion;
A movable portion that is provided on the upper case and / or the lower case and that relatively rotates the upper case and the lower case;
The upper case and the lower case have curved portions substantially along the outer peripheral shape of the disk,
Having an opening on at least one surface of the upper case or the lower case,
A disc cartridge is provided, wherein a bridge is provided at an end of the upper case and the lower case on the side where the opening is formed.

デ ィ ス ク The disk cartridge of the present invention comprises a substantially circular upper case and lower case. Since the upper case and the lower case have a shape having a curved surface substantially along the outer peripheral shape of the disk, the disk cartridge becomes compact, and the dead space of the disk recording / reproducing apparatus can be reduced. In addition, the upper case and the lower case are overlapped with each other to define a disk accommodating portion. The disk cartridge is opened and closed by the relative rotation of the upper case and the lower case starting from a movable portion provided on the upper case and / or the lower case, and in a state where the disk cartridge is opened, The information recording disk is accommodated and removed. In addition, the present disk cartridge is provided with first and second engagement portions (for example, a locking portion and an elastic piece engaged with the locking portion) for engaging the upper case and the lower case with each other. Thereby, the closed state of the disk cartridge is maintained. Further, at least one surface of the upper case and the lower case is provided with an opening for exposing a central portion of the information recording disk provided with the spindle hole and the information recording surface. Through this opening, a spindle for rotating the disk is inserted, and the recording / reproducing head accesses the information recording surface of the disk. Further, a bridge is provided at an end of the upper case and the lower case on the side where the opening is formed. Note that the disk cartridge of the present invention can further accommodate a disk. The disk cartridge of the present invention is provided in a form in which an information recording disk is housed in a single disk cartridge or in a disk cartridge.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[Structure of disk cartridge]
FIG. 1A is a six-view drawing of a disk cartridge 1 in a state where a disk is stored in the present invention. The disc cartridge 1 is a disc-shaped case, and includes an upper case 2 and a lower case 3. The disk 5 is housed in a space formed by overlapping and combining the upper case 2 and the lower case 3. The upper case 2 and the lower case 3 are both formed of a synthetic resin, for example, a molded body of polycarbonate, have a substantially circular shape having a plurality of arcs having a radius of 40 to 55 mm, and are formed in substantially the same shape. Further, flat portions 61 facing each other and extending in parallel are formed on the outer peripheral portions of the upper case 2 and the lower case 3, respectively. For convenience of explanation, a plane passing through the center position X of the cartridge 1 and parallel to the flat portion 61 is defined as a center plane AX. The disk 5 is an information recording medium having an outer diameter of 80 mm, an inner diameter (spindle hole diameter) of 15 mm, and a thickness of 1.2 mm, and has an information recording surface formed in an area having a radius of 24 mm to 38 mm.

Next, details of the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2A, a concave portion (a cutout portion) 25 which is depressed in a rectangular shape toward the center X of the upper case 2 is formed at one end 22 of the center plane AX in the upper case 2. ing. Pins 25'a are formed to project from the opposing side walls 25 'defining the recess 25, respectively. Further, in the lower case 3, as shown in FIG. 2B, one end 32 of the center plane AX is formed to be flat over a predetermined length so as to be orthogonal to the center plane AX. The end portion 32 is formed with a convex portion 35 in the thickness direction of the lower case 3 (perpendicular to the paper surface) and in the direction in which the lower case 3 is combined with the upper case 2. Holes 35 ′ a into which the pins 25 ′ a of the upper case 2 can be inserted are formed in both side walls 35 ′ of the protrusion 35. By fitting the pin 25'a into the hole 35'a, the pin 25'a and the hole 35'a form a hinge (movable part) 7 of the disc cartridge 1 as shown in FIG. The upper case 2 and the lower case 3 rotate relative to each other about the rotation axis 7 to open and close the disk cartridge 1.

開口 As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, openings 20 and 30 are provided on the surfaces of the upper case 2 and the lower case 3. The openings 20 and 30 include a semicircular portion centered on the center X of each case and a rectangular portion extending from the semicircular portion to the other ends 24 and 34 of the center plane AX. With the openings 20 and 30, the spindle hole 51 and the information recording surface 53 of the disk 5 housed in the cartridge 1 are exposed. Bridges 21 and 31 extending in the circumferential direction are formed at the other ends 24 and 34, respectively. These bridges 21 and 31 define openings 20 and 30, and have openings 20 and 30 having a relatively large area. The reduction in rigidity of the disk cartridge having the above is reinforced.

As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, the bridges 21 and 31 are formed such that the bridges 21 are arranged outside the bridge 31 in a state where the disc cartridge 1 is closed. That is, the bridge 21 and the bridge 31 are provided in the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 at positions where the outer surface of the bridge 31 overlaps with the inner surface of the bridge 21, and the inner surface and the outer surface are formed at the same inclination angle. . Thus, the disk cartridge 1 can be opened and closed without causing the bridge 21 and the bridge 31 to interfere with each other. The bridges 21 and 31 are formed thinner than the respective thicknesses of the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1A, flat portions 63 extending in a direction perpendicular to the center plane AX are formed at the junction between the bridge 21 and the upper case 2 and at the junction between the bridge 31 and the lower case 3. ing.

Next, the opening and closing mechanism of the disk cartridge 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2A, two locking portions 23 are provided on the outer peripheral portion of the upper case 2 near the bridge 21 so as to be symmetrical with respect to the plane AX. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the lower case 3 is provided with two locking elastic pieces 33 on the outer peripheral portion near the bridge 31 so as to be symmetrical with respect to the plane AX. The locking elastic piece 33 is formed at a position where it engages with the locking portion 23 when the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 are overlapped via a hinge. By providing two engaging portions, the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 are securely fixed, and the disk cartridge is prevented from being erroneously opened due to an external impact. The engaging portion may be formed so as to be flush with the outer surface of the disk cartridge 1 or inside the outer surface.

係 止 As shown in FIG. 3, the locking portion 23 is an arm like a cantilever spring extending along the outer periphery of the upper case 2, and a hole 23 ′ is formed in the arm. The locking elastic piece 33 is also an arm like a cantilever spring extending along the outer periphery of the lower case 3, and a projection 33 ′ that fits into the hole 23 ′ is formed at the tip of the arm. I have. When the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 are overlapped with each other via a hinge, that is, when the disc cartridge 1 is closed, as shown in FIGS. The projection 33 'of the locking elastic piece 33 is fitted to the'. Thus, the closed state of the disk cartridge 1 is maintained. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3D, when the disk cartridge 1 is opened, the elastic piece 33 is pressed about the base by pressing the elastic piece 33 for locking in the direction of the arrow AR3. The projection 33 'is elastically deformed, and the projection 33' comes off the hole 23 'of the locking portion 23. Thereby, the engagement between the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 is released. The projections 33 'and the locking portions 23 are formed in a tapered shape such that the portions that first come into contact with each other expand toward the outer surface of the case. Thereby, when the disc cartridge 1 is closed, the projection 33 'slides on the inner wall of the locking portion 23 and is easily fitted into the hole 23'. Once the projection 33 'is fitted into the hole 23', the projection 33 'does not come out of the hole 23' unless the elastic piece 33 is urged as shown in FIG. Locking each other.

[Storage / removal of disk in disk cartridge]
Next, storage and removal of the disk 5 from the disk cartridge 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a state in which the disk 5 is stored with the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 of the disk cartridge 1 opened. The disk 5 is placed on the lower case 3 using the inner wall portion of the rib 39 on which the outer peripheral end of the disk 5 is formed on the lower case 3 on which the bridge 31 and the locking elastic piece 33 are formed (arrow AR4). . Next, the upper case 2 is superimposed on the lower case 3 while being rotated about the hinge 7 as a rotation axis in the direction of arrow AR4 '. As described above, the projection 33 ′ of the locking elastic piece 33 of the lower case 3 is engaged with the hole 23 ′ of the locking portion 23 of the upper case 2, so that the disc cartridge 1 is closed. As a result, the disk 5 is stored in the disk cartridge 1 as shown in FIG.

When removing the disk 5 from the cartridge 1, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the locking elastic piece 33 of the disk cartridge 1 in which the disk 5 is stored is pressed in the direction of the arrow AR5 which is the inner direction of the disk cartridge 1. I do. As a result, the projection 33 'of the lower case 3, which has been engaged with the locking portion 23 of the upper case 2 as described above, moves toward the center of the disk cartridge, and the projection 33' is removed from the hole 23 'of the locking portion 23. Then, the engagement between the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 is released. Next, the upper case 2 is rotated about the hinge 7 to be separated from the lower case 3 and the disc cartridge 1 is opened. In this state, the disk 5 stored in the disk cartridge 1 can be easily taken out.

[Insertion of disc cartridge into information recording / reproducing device]
Next, insertion of the disc cartridge 1 into the information recording / reproducing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The insertion direction of the disc cartridge 1 can be changed according to the information recording / reproducing device to be used. As shown in FIG. 6, a flat portion 61 parallel to the center plane AX is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the disk cartridge 1. When the disc cartridge 1 is inserted into the information recording / reproducing device (not shown) from the side where the bridges 21 and 31 are formed (in the direction of the arrow AR6), the flat portion 61 functions as a guide when the disc cartridge 1 is inserted. As a result, the disk cartridge 1 can be reliably inserted into the information recording / reproducing apparatus. Flat portions 62 and 63 are formed near the hinge 7 of the disk cartridge 1 and near the joint between the bridges 21 and 31, respectively. These flat portions 62 and 63 are formed so as to be orthogonal to the plane AX and parallel to the plane BX passing through the center X of the disk cartridge 1. When the disk cartridge 1 is inserted into the information recording / reproducing apparatus in one direction of the surface BX (the direction of the arrow AR6 '), these flat portions 62 and 63 can be used as a guide. In this embodiment, the width a between the flat portions 61 is 80.5 mm, and the width b between the hinge 7 and the flat portion 63 is 79.5 mm. The thickness c of the bridge 21 (or 31) is 2.4 mm, which is smaller than the thickness d of the disk cartridge 1 of 5 mm. By forming the bridge portion thinner than the thickness of the disk cartridge, erroneous insertion of the disk cartridge 1 into the information recording / reproducing device can be prevented. Specifically, the depth of the insertion portion of the disc cartridge or the shape of the insertion opening in the information recording / reproducing apparatus is set to a structure having a dimension that can accept only the thickness of the bridge 21 (or 31). As a result, even if the user attempts to insert the disk cartridge 1 back and forth or left and right, the disk cartridge cannot be installed at the final installation position, or the disk cartridge itself cannot be inserted into the insertion opening, and Insertion can be reliably prevented. When the disc cartridge 1 in this embodiment is inserted into an information recording / reproducing device (not shown), the recording / reproducing head of the information recording / reproducing device is inserted from the bridge 21 (or 31) side.

As shown in FIG. 6, elongated hole-shaped alignment holes 65 and 65 'and a perfectly circular location hole 67 can be provided on the surface near the outer peripheral portion of the disk cartridge 1. The alignment hole 65 is formed such that the major axis is arranged in the plane AX direction. The alignment hole 65 'is formed such that the major axis is arranged in the surface BX direction. These alignment holes 65, 65 'and the location hole 67 are provided for positioning the disc cartridge 1 in the information recording / reproducing apparatus when the disc cartridge 1 is inserted into the information recording / reproducing apparatus. When the disc cartridge 1 is inserted into the information recording / reproducing apparatus, the reference pins provided in the information recording / reproducing apparatus correspond to the alignment holes 65, 65 'and the location holes 67, respectively. By fitting into the hole 67, the positioning of the disk cartridge 1 is performed.

In the above embodiment, the shape of the disk cartridge is substantially circular. However, it is sufficient that a part of the outer shape of the disk cartridge has a curved surface substantially along the outer peripheral shape of the disk. The portion may be fan-shaped or semi-circular.

In the above embodiment, the separately formed upper case 2 and lower case 3 are connected via the hinge 7, but the hinge portion may be formed in advance together with the upper and lower cases by integral molding. As a result, the number of parts becomes 1, and the manufacturing process can be simplified and the assembling process can be omitted.

In the above embodiment, the openings are provided in both the upper case 2 and the lower case 3. However, in the case of a medium for recording and reproducing information from only one side of the disk, one of the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 is used. The opening may be provided only on the surface.

In the above embodiment, the engaging portion for engaging the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 is provided in the vicinity of the bridge opposite to the hinge, but the position of the engaging portion is arbitrary unless the engaging portion is easily released. It is. Further, the mechanism of the engaging portion is not limited to the above-described arm-type structure, but may take various forms such as pins and holes. The number of engaging portions is not limited to two, but may be one, or two or more, for example, three or four. When the number of the engaging portions is one, for example, the engaging portion may be provided on the bridge, or a rotating shaft may be provided near both ends of the bridge, and the engaging portion may be provided on the side opposite to the bridge.

Since the disk cartridge of the present invention has a simple structure that has a curved surface portion substantially along the outer peripheral shape of the disk and does not have a shutter and a disk holder, it is small in size, has a small number of parts, simplifies the manufacturing process, and reduces the manufacturing cost. Becomes possible. In addition, since the disk can be easily stored in the disk cartridge, the risk of handling problems can be eliminated.

The disk cartridge of the present invention is assembled with a hinge and two engagement portions, and suppresses opening of the cartridge due to an external impact. Further, since this cartridge is a thin plate molded product made of a synthetic resin such as polycarbonate, deformation such as floating or warpage of the end face is prevented.

(A) is a six-view drawing showing a disk cartridge in an example of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the disk cartridge taken along line AA of FIG. (C) is an enlarged view of A 'part of (b). FIG. 2A is a six-view drawing of an upper case constituting the disk cartridge of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a view showing a lower case constituting the disk cartridge of FIG. (A) and (b) are enlarged views near the engaging portion of the disk cartridge, and (c) and (d) are cross-sectional views taken along the line BB corresponding to (a) and (b), respectively. is there. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state where a disk is stored in a disk cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a disk is taken out from a disk cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention. (B) is an enlarged view of A "part in (a). FIG. 5 is a diagram used for explaining the insertion of the disc cartridge into the information recording / reproducing device in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a view showing a conventional information recording medium disk cartridge.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Disc cartridge 2 Upper case 3 Lower case 5 Disk 7 Hinge 20,30 Opening 21,31 Bridge 23 Locking part 23 'Hole 25 Depression 27,37 Rib 33 Locking elastic piece 35 Convex part 35' Projection 65,65 ' Alignment hole 67 Location hole 100 Cartridge case 101 Disk holder 102 Disk 103 Opening 104 Shutter 108 Disk holding part AX, BX Center plane

Claims (2)

A disc cartridge for accommodating an information recording disc,
A substantially circular upper case having a first engagement portion;
A lower case having a substantially circular shape, having a second engagement portion engageable with the first engagement portion and overlapping the upper case to define a disk accommodating portion;
A movable portion that is provided on the upper case and / or the lower case and that relatively rotates the upper case and the lower case;
The upper case and the lower case have curved portions substantially along the outer peripheral shape of the disk,
Having an opening on at least one surface of the upper case or the lower case,
A disc cartridge, wherein a bridge is provided at an end of the upper case and the lower case on a side where the opening is formed. 2. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a disk.

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