JP2004326998A - Removable hard disk recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a removable hard disk recorder by which a hard disk (unit) can be easily simply mounted and extracted in/from a recorder main body without performing a troublesome operation that fits two connectors, that is, male and female connectors to each other. <P>SOLUTION: A hard disk connection terminal 4a provided in the recorder main body 2 and a terminal 3a for main body attachment provided in the hard disk unit 1 and for being connected to the connection terminal 4a are provided. When the hard disk unit 1 is attached to the recorder main body 2, the connection terminal 4a is brought into contact with the terminal 3a for main body attachment. In addition, the connection terminal 4a or the terminal 3a for main body attachment is provided with elastic mechanism so as to maintain a state in which the recorder main body 2 can electrically communicate with the hard disk unit 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a removable hard disk or a recording device including a removable hard disk unit, and more particularly to a removable hard disk recording device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art A conventional recording apparatus having a so-called removable hard disk (unit) (hereinafter, referred to as a removable hard disk recording apparatus) connects a hard disk unit and a recording apparatus main body with a connector as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2000-230960. When the hard disk unit is attached to the recording apparatus main body and the hard disk unit is detached from the recording apparatus main body, by pulling out the hard disk unit, the connector is released from the fitted state. I was doing it.
Therefore, when the hard disk unit is mounted on the main body of the recording apparatus, the connector on the main body side of the recording apparatus and the connector on the removable hard disk side are aligned, and both connectors are connected (inserted). That is, it has been difficult to easily insert and remove the hard disk (unit) from the recording apparatus main body.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-230960
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
A removable hard disk recording device according to the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and has as its object to solve the following problems.
The hard disk (unit) can be easily and easily removed from the recording apparatus main body without the troublesome operation of fitting two connectors, ie, a male and female connector, and pulling out both fitted connectors. Provided is a removable hard disk recording device which can be taken in and out.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A first invention of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is a removable hard disk recording device as described in claim 1, and is as follows.
A hard disk connection terminal provided on the recording apparatus main body side, and a main body mounting terminal joined to the connection terminal provided on the hard disk unit side, and when mounting the hard disk unit on the recording apparatus main body, the connection terminal and the The connection terminal or the main body mounting terminal has an elastic mechanism so that the main body mounting terminal is in contact with the main body mounting terminal, and the recording device main body and the hard disk unit maintain a state in which electric communication is possible. It is characterized by being.
[0006]
A second invention of the present invention for solving the above problems is a removable hard disk recording device as described in claim 2, which is as follows.
2. The removable hard disk recording device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic mechanism provided in the connection terminal is a spring.
[0007]
A third invention of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is a removable hard disk recording device as described in claim 3, which is as follows.
2. The removable hard disk recording device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic mechanism provided in the main body mounting terminal is a spring.
[0008]
A fourth invention of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a removable hard disk recording device as described in claim 4, and is as follows.
4. The removable hard disk recording device according to claim 1, wherein the hard disk unit is attached to the recording device main body when the hard disk unit is joined with the connection terminal and the main body mounting terminal. It is a configuration including a fixing mechanism for maintaining a state.
[0009]
A fifth invention of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is a removable hard disk recording device as described in claim 5, and is as follows.
5. The removable hard disk recording device according to claim 4, wherein the recording device main body includes an eject button, and by operating the button, the lock of the fixing mechanism is released and the hard disk unit can be taken out.
[0010]
A sixth invention of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is a removable hard disk recording device as described in claim 6, and is as follows.
The removable hard disk recording device according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, wherein the hard disk unit converts a signal format of a signal to be output to the outside. The signal is output to the body mounting terminal, and an input signal received via the body mounting terminal is converted in a signal format and taken in.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a removable hard disk recording device according to the present invention.
The removable hard disk recording device according to the present invention includes a recording device main body 2 and a hard disk unit 1. The hard disk unit 1 is detachable from the recording device main body 2. Further, the recording apparatus main body 2 may have a configuration in which two or more hard disk units 1 can be mounted.
FIG. 1 shows a state where the hard disk unit 1 is being mounted on the recording apparatus main body 2 and the main body mounting terminal 3a and the (hard spring) of the hard disk connection terminal 4a have just contacted. When the hard disk unit 1 is further pushed toward the recording apparatus main body 2, the state shown in FIG.
The hard disk connection terminal 4a is one terminal of a group of terminals provided in the recording apparatus main body 2, and is electrically connected to the main body mounting terminal 3a of the hard disk unit 1, which is one terminal of a group of terminals for mounting to the recording apparatus main body 2. This is a terminal for setting a connection state. Generally, in order to mount the hard disk unit 1 on the recording apparatus main body 2, at least ten and usually twenty and several terminals are required. Note that the functions of the dozens to twenty and several hard disk connection terminals provided in the recording apparatus main body 2 and the dozens to twenty and several main body mounting terminals provided in the hard disk unit 1 are the same. In this document, one embodiment is described with one terminal as a representative of each terminal group.
[0012]
In FIG. 1, the hard disk connection terminal 4a has a spring structure, and contacts the main body mounting terminal 3a in a biased state, thereby guaranteeing a communicable state between the two.
In order to attach the hard disk unit 1 to the recording apparatus main body 2 and maintain a communicable state between the two, the hard disk unit 1 is fixed so as not to be protruded by the lid 7 of the main body case. For this purpose, for example, fixing mechanisms (9a, 9b) are provided on both the cover 7 of the main body case and the recording apparatus main body 2, respectively.
[0013]
In the present invention, one or both of a terminal provided on the hard disk unit side for enabling communication with the recording apparatus main body side and a terminal provided on the recording apparatus main body side for enabling communication with the hard disk unit side are configured by an elastic mechanism. I do. Specifically, the terminals are made of a springy material. In general, one of the terminals may have a spring shape.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the removable hard disk recording apparatus according to the present invention, showing a state where the hard disk unit is mounted on the main body of the recording apparatus.
When the mounting of the hard disk unit 1 of FIG. 1 to the recording apparatus main body 2 is completed, the state shown in FIG. 2 is obtained. The hard disk connection terminal 4a composed of a spring is in a compressed state as compared with FIG. 1, and an electrical connection is provided between the hard disk connection terminal 4a (recording apparatus main body 2) and the main body mounting terminal 3a (hard disk unit 1). It can be understood that the communication state can be maintained.
When the hard disk unit 1 is ejected from the recording apparatus main body 2, the cover 7 of the main body case may be removed by a human hand, or the recording apparatus main body 2 may be provided with an eject button 5 and operated by a human. Alternatively, the ejection may be automatically enabled. For example, when the eject button 5 is pressed, an ejection request is input to the CPU 8, and the CPU 8 checks the state of the hard disk unit 1 via the communication interface unit 6, and is in a state in which the hard disk unit 1 may be ejected. If it is determined, an ejection command is issued to the fixing mechanism 9b. The locked state of both fixing mechanisms (9a, 9b) is released, and the hard disk unit 1 can be taken out.
[0014]
FIG. 3 is a side view schematically showing another embodiment of the removable hard disk recording device according to the present invention.
The recording apparatus main body 2 may have a configuration in which a hard disk unit insertion holding section 11 which is a member into which the hard disk unit 1 can be inserted and set. The hard disk unit insertion holding section 11 can be opened and closed because it can rotate by a predetermined angle about the rotation shaft 10. That is, the hard disk unit 1 inserted and set in the hard disk unit insertion holding section 11 can be loaded into the recording apparatus main body 2 or taken out from the recording apparatus main body 2.
FIG. 3 shows that the hard disk connection terminal 4 which is a terminal on the recording apparatus main body 2 side is a terminal having no elasticity, and the main body mounting terminal 3 on the hard disk unit 1 side has an elastic mechanism. Of course, this could be reversed.
When the hard disk unit insertion / holding section 11 is rotated to the left as viewed in the drawing and closed, the lock is mechanically locked by the fixing mechanism 9, and when the eject button 5 is pressed in this state, the lock is mechanically locked. May be removed. That is, the fixing mechanism 9 may be configured to be unlocked without using an electrical command (eject command) from a CPU (not shown in FIG. 3) or the like.
[0015]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of the removable hard disk recording device according to the present invention.
As described above, in general, that is, if standard products that are widely used in the world are to be used, in order to mount the hard disk unit 1 on the recording device main body 2, usually, more than ten to twenty and several Terminal is required for both. When at least one of the terminals is entirely formed of an elastic mechanism, when the hard disk unit 1 is mounted on the recording apparatus main body 2, there is a possibility that a problem may occur in terms of stability. Therefore, as described in claim 6, it is convenient to perform a signal (format) conversion in the hard disk unit 1 and communicate the converted signal with the recording apparatus main body 2. With such a configuration, both the number of hard disk connection terminals and the number of main body mounting terminals can be significantly reduced. For example, if the hard disk unit 1 and the recording apparatus main body 2 are to be communicated with each other via a USB (Universal Serial Bus), only four terminals are required as shown in FIG.
Here, it is assumed that the number of signal lines for external communication of the hard disk unit 1 is originally tens or more (for parallel communication, for example). All of the dozens of signal lines 13 are accommodated in the signal format converter 12. The signal format converter 12 converts the signals received from the dozens of signal lines 13 into a format suitable for communication on four signal lines (for example, for serial communication). Communication between the hard disk unit 1 and the recording apparatus main body 2 is performed by four signal lines via the main body mounting terminal 3a and the hard disk connection terminal 4a. Conversely, signals input to the signal format conversion means 12 via the CPU 8, the communication interface unit 6, the four hard disk connection terminals (4a), and the four main body mounting terminals (3a) are over ten signal lines. The signal format conversion means 12 converts the data into a format suitable for communication using the signal format 13.
In the embodiment using the signal format conversion means 12 as described above, since the hard disk unit 1 and the recording device main body 2 need only be provided with four or several terminals, the hard disk unit 1 and the recording device main body 2 are connected to the recording device main body 2. The hard disk unit 1 is more easily mounted, and is easily held stably without vibration after mounting.
[0016]
【The invention's effect】
Since the removable hard disk recording device according to the present invention has the configuration described above, the following effects can be obtained.
A terminal (hard disk connection terminal) for communicably connecting to a hard disk included in the recording apparatus main body, or a terminal of a hard disk unit detachable from the recording apparatus main body (a terminal for mounting the unit to the main body, that is, a main body mounting terminal) ) Is constituted by an elastic mechanism, for example, a spring (spring), and a structure of a recording device using a removable hard disk as a recording medium in which the recording device main body and the hard disk unit can electrically communicate with each other only by joining both terminals is proposed. did.
Therefore, it is possible to provide a removable hard disk recording device that can easily and easily put a hard disk (unit) in and out of the recording device main body without troublesome operation of fitting two connectors, that is, a male connector and a female connector. It became. Further, by implementing the present invention, it is easy to make the removable hard disk recording device a configuration in which the hard disk unit can be taken out of the recording device main body just by pressing the eject button.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a removable hard disk recording device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the removable hard disk recording device according to the present invention, showing a state where the hard disk unit is mounted on the main body of the recording device.
FIG. 3 is a side view schematically showing another embodiment of the removable hard disk recording device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of the removable hard disk recording device according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hard disk unit 2 Recording device main body 3, 3a Main body mounting terminal 4, 4a Hard disk connection terminal 5 Eject button 6 Communication interface unit 7 Main body case lid 8 CPU
9, 9a, 9b Fixing mechanism 10 Rotating shaft 11 Hard disk unit insertion and holding unit 12 Signal format conversion means 13 Dozens of signal lines

Claims (6)

A hard disk connection terminal provided on the recording device main body side,
A main body mounting terminal joined to the connection terminal provided on the hard disk unit side,
When the hard disk unit is mounted on the recording apparatus main body, the connection terminal and the main body mounting terminal are in contact with each other, and the recording apparatus main body and the hard disk unit maintain a state in which electrical communication is possible. Thus, the removable hard disk recording device, wherein the connection terminal or the main body mounting terminal has an elastic mechanism. 2. The removable hard disk recording device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic mechanism provided in the connection terminal is a spring. 2. The removable hard disk recording device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic mechanism provided in the main body mounting terminal is a spring. 3. The recording device main body according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing mechanism for maintaining the mounted state of the hard disk unit when the hard disk unit is joined with the connection terminal and the main body mounting terminal. Item 4. The removable hard disk recording device according to Item 3. 5. The removable hard disk recording device according to claim 4, wherein the main body of the recording device includes an eject button, and the operation of the button releases the lock of the fixing mechanism so that the hard disk unit can be taken out. The hard disk unit converts the signal format of a signal to be output to the outside, outputs the signal to the main body mounting terminal, and receives an input signal through the main body mounting terminal according to the signal format. 6. The removable hard disk recording device according to claim 1, wherein said recording device is configured to convert and convert the data.

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