JP2559717Y2 - Disk unit - Google Patents

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 recording or reproducing information on and from a disk, and more particularly, to a structure of a loading / unloading mechanism for a recording medium in the disk device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned disk device is a device for recording or reproducing information on or from a disk-shaped recording medium such as a magnetic disk or a laser disk. The disk is rotated by driving a motor, and recording or reproduction is performed while the head is moved in contact with or close to the disk. In this case, the head is mounted on a carriage and moved (seeked) along a radial direction of the disk by a motor.

In the above-mentioned disk device, an insertion / ejection means for mounting / discharging a disk cassette on a base for supporting each constituent member, a disk rotation driving means for rotating a disk by a motor, and a head along a radial direction of the disk. Head seek means for moving to an arbitrary track position, head load means for loading and unloading a head to and from a disk, and the like are provided. Further, a control circuit for controlling the entire disk device, a connector for power supply, and the like are provided, and the control circuit is connected to a host device or the like via an interface.

[0004] Such a disk device is used as an external storage device of an electronic device such as a personal computer or a word processor, and may be configured as an independent device, but is generally incorporated in the main body of the electronic device in many cases. .

A latch mechanism required for moving the cassette guide in such a disk drive in the vertical direction is provided fixedly on a pin of a latch lever provided on the cassette guide which moves vertically and on a base. It is configured to operate by engaging or disengaging a stopper provided.

[0006] Further, as electronic devices become smaller and more portable, there is a strong demand for smaller, lighter and thinner disk devices. On the other hand, since the descending amount of the cassette guide is required to be a predetermined amount, the pin and the stopper are always in contact with each other. It is necessary to set the engagement position at the unload position to the full limit where the contact relationship is not lost.

[0007]

However, in the above structure, since the pin and the stopper are set to the fullest extent that the contact relationship is not lost, depending on the processing accuracy and assembly accuracy of each part, FIG. As shown in FIG. 13B, when the cassette guide 115 is loaded, the pin 129 goes under the stopper 128, so that the cassette guide 115 cannot return to the unloaded state as shown in FIG. Could have happened.

The present invention has been made in view of such a technical problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a stable loading mechanism capable of reliably operating a latch mechanism with a simple configuration. Is to provide a disk device having the same.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems and to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cassette guide for accommodating a disk-shaped recording medium, and a method for inserting the cassette guide into and out of the recording medium. A base that is movably held in a vertical direction with respect to the base, a stopper provided on the base, a latch lever rotatably supported on the cassette guide, a pin provided on the latch lever, A spring for urging the latch lever in a predetermined direction so that the pin always contacts the stopper, a movement restricting member is provided at the top of the pin, and the pin and the stopper are disengaged from each other in the vertical direction. It is configured to prevent.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. 1 to 4
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a disk drive to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an internal configuration at the time of unloading with a cover omitted, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration at the time of loading of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view, FIG. 3 is a front view taken along line 3-3 in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a rear view as viewed from line 4-4 in FIG. 2.

In a box-shaped base 10 having an open top,
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each component is stored. The base 10 is formed of a thin metal body such as aluminum, for example, and its upper surface is provided with a cover (not shown) made of a thin plate of nonmagnetic material such as aluminum for magnetic shielding and dust prevention. Covered. As shown in FIG. 3, a front panel 13 having a cassette insertion opening 12 for inserting and ejecting a disk cassette 11 is attached to a front surface of the base 10. At the left end of the front panel 13, a push button (eject button) 14 which is operated when the loaded disk cassette 11 is ejected is provided.

1 and 2, a disc cassette 11 is inserted, ejected, and loaded into a base 10.
A cassette guide 15 for guiding unloading is held movably up and down and back and forth. The cassette guide 15 is provided for the disc cassette 1 inserted from the front.
1 has a cross-sectional shape for guiding and holding, and in the illustrated example, a notch 16
Is provided. Further, the cassette guide 15 is mounted at a position shifted to the right side (rightward shift position) with respect to the base 10, and a space for disposing other components is formed on the left side of the base 10. ing.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the area of the notch 16 of the cassette guide 15 is
1 is provided with a head seek mechanism 18 having a head 17 for recording or reproducing information on or from a disk (information medium) in the disk drive 1. This head seek mechanism 18
Is a mechanism for moving (seeking) the head 17 to an arbitrary track position along the radial direction of the disk.

A disk (magnetic disk or the like) serving as an information medium (media) stored in the disk cassette 11 is opened from a head receiving opening by opening a slidable shutter 19 provided in the disk cassette. It can be accessed from outside such as loading the head 17.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a shutter shaft 21 and a latch lever 22 which can swing about the shaft above the cassette guide 15 are provided on a vertical shaft 20 provided at the right rear portion of the cassette guide 15. It is pivoted. The shutter lever 21 is connected to the disc cassette 1.
The shutter 19 in the head receiving opening of the disk cassette 11 is opened and closed in conjunction with the insertion of the disk cassette 1. A pin 23 that can be abutted on the edge is provided. The shutter lever 21 is urged in the counterclockwise (leftward) direction in the figure by a spring 25 stretched between the shutter lever 21 and the cassette guide 15. Further, a groove 26 having a predetermined length is formed on the upper surface of the cassette guide 15 along the movement locus of the pin 23 so as to allow the pin 23 to move.

1 and 2, the latch lever 22 is urged in a counterclockwise (leftward) direction in the figure by a latch spring 27. In the unloaded state, as shown in FIG. A pin 29 provided at one end of the latch lever 22 is engaged with a front surface portion 28a of a stopper 28 formed on the base 10 to be in a latch state. Further, a movement restricting member 29a slightly larger than the diameter of the pin 29 is fixed to the top of the pin 29. The other end of the latch lever 22 is provided with a pin 30 with which the leading end of the disc cassette 11 to be inserted can abut. Thus, the opposite side of the notch 16 of the cassette guide 15, that is, the head seek mechanism 18
And the side on which the cassette loading mechanism 33 described later is disposed (the cassette guide 15 and the disk cassette 1).
The latch mechanism 22 is disposed on the side opposite to the side on which the space is formed by bringing the latch mechanism 22 apart.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing parts to be mounted on the bottom surface of the base 10 by removing the cassette loading mechanism and the head seek mechanism, and FIG. 6A is a plan view.
(B) is a front view as seen from line BB in (A), and (C) is a side view as seen from line CC in (A). In FIG. 6, a disk-shaped flat motor 31 for driving a disk is mounted substantially at the center of the bottom surface of the base 10. The motor 31 has a central hole (not shown) of the disk cassette 11 and A center shaft 81 to be fitted, a drive pin 82 to be engaged with a drive hole (not shown) provided near the center hole of the disk cassette 11, and a magnet 83 for holding a disk hub by suction are provided. I have.
A positioning pin 84 for positioning the disc cassette 11 in a loading state is provided behind the motor 31, and a part of the base 10 is cut and raised near the cassette insertion slot 12 (FIG. 3). A positioning surface 85 is provided. A circuit board 32 for controlling the disk device is joined to the periphery of the motor 31.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, in a space formed on the left side of the cassette guide 15 in the base 10, a cassette loading mechanism 33 for moving the cassette guide 15 to a load position and an unload position.
Are arranged. An operating lever 34 extending across the upper side of the cassette guide 15 and pivotally supported at both ends by the base 10 is mounted on the base 10. Button lever 3 of the loading mechanism 33
6 is constantly urged in the direction of the insertion opening 12 by the return spring 35 and can move rearward against the return spring 35 by pressing the eject button 14. The swing position of the operating lever 34 is regulated by the button lever 36, and the cassette guide 1 is
5 for driving the load 5 to the load position and the unload position.

FIGS. 7 to 10 are partial side views showing the cassette loading mechanism 33 during unloading and loading. FIG. 7 shows the state of the button lever 36 during unloading, and FIG. 8 shows unloading. FIG. 9 shows the state of the button lever 36 during loading, and FIG. 10 shows the state of the operating lever 34 during loading.
And the state of the cassette guide 15. The button lever 36 is slidably supported in the front-rear direction with respect to the base 10 by a sliding guide portion including a pin and a long hole, and is constantly urged leftward (forward) in the figure by a return spring 35. ing. The operation lever 34 is pivotally supported at both ends thereof so as to be able to swing about a fulcrum 37 provided on the base 10. Therefore, a notch 38 formed in the button lever 36 and a pin 39 provided on one side of the operation lever 34 are engaged.

The cam groove 4 is provided on both sides of the operating lever 34.
0 is formed, and stepped holding portions 41 are provided on both sides of the base 10. On the other hand, the cassette guide 15
The center pin 42 slidably engaged with the cam groove 40 of the operating lever 34 and the holding portion 41 of the base 10
The roller portion 43 is provided in contact with the roller portion 43. Since the cassette guide 15 has a cut-out shape in the left half portion as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the holding portion 41 and the roller portion 43 have a total of one portion on the left side and two portions on the right and left sides. It is provided in three places.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10, the operation of each unit when loading and unloading the disk cassette 11 will be described. Cassette insertion slot 1
When the disk cassette 11 is inserted from the disk cassette 2 (FIG. 3), the leading end of the disk cassette 11
1 and 2, the shutter lever 21 rotates clockwise (clockwise) in FIG. At this time, the pin 23 (FIGS. 1 and 2) of the shutter lever 21 abuts on the edge of the shutter 19 of the disk cassette 11, and the shutter 19 is returned by a spring ( (Not shown), the head receiving port is opened, and the head 17 can access the disk (media).

Next, when the leading end of the disk cassette 11 contacts the pin 30 of the latch lever 22 (FIGS. 1 and 2), and further presses the disk cassette 11 (in the insertion direction), the latch lever 22 is turned on by the clock shown in FIG. Clockwise), and the pin 29 of the latch lever 22 moves clockwise along the front surface 28a of the stopper 28 of the base 10,
The stopper 28 comes off the front surface 28a. With this release of the latch, the cassette guide 15 restrained by the pin 29 moves backward (to the right in FIG. 8) of the apparatus.
It can be moved. The position of the disc cassette 11 in the forward direction in the cassette guide 15 is regulated by the pin 23, the leading end of which contacts the rear end of the groove 26 (FIG. 2).

When the disc cassette 11 is further pushed, the cassette guide 15 also moves to the rear of the apparatus. At this time, the pin 29 of the latch lever 22 is
5 and moves in contact with the front surface portion 28b of the stopper 28 by the urging force of the spring 27.

As the guide 15 moves, the center pin 42 (FIGS. 8 and 10) of the cassette guide 15 horizontally moves the cam groove 40 of the operating lever 34 to the right (in the rear of the apparatus) in FIG. When the urging force of the return spring 35 acts on the pin 39 of the operation lever 34 via the button lever 36, the operation lever 34 rotates.
The operating lever 34 rotates clockwise (clockwise) from the position shown in FIG. At the same time, the roller portions 43 (three places) of the cassette guide 15 also move rearward along the horizontal portion 41b of the holding portion 41. Operating lever 3
Since the pin 39 moves to the left in the drawing by the rotation of 4,
The button lever 36 also moves in conjunction with it. When the disc cassette 11 is further pressed, the roller portion 43 of the cassette guide 15 is lowered by a predetermined amount so as to move along the lower vertical portion 41c of the stepped holding portion 41, and the cassette guide 1 is moved.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a cassette loading state (a state where the disk cassette 11 is at the loading position) shown in FIG. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5B, the base 10 (FIG. 1)
The stopper 28 provided on the upper part and the latch lever 22
Is in contact with the movement limiting member 29a of the pin 29,
The movement of the pin 29 together with the cassette guide 15 is restricted. Therefore, there is no possibility that the pin 29 goes under the stopper 28. Further, since the movement restricting member 29a has a disk shape, the pin 2
9 regardless of the contact position between the stopper 9 and the stopper 28.
To stop under the stopper 28. In addition,
The end of the latch lever 22 on the side where the pin 29 is provided is in a state of rising from the other end.

In the loading state in which the cassette guide 15 is lowered, the cassette guide 15 is brought into contact with the roller 43 of the cassette guide 15 and the lower holding surface (vertical surface) 41c of the holding portion 41 of the base 10. The front and rear position of is regulated. In this loading state, the disc cassette 11 is mounted on the positioning pins 8.
4 and the positioning surface 85, the cassette guide 15 is positioned in the mounted state.
4 is urged downward by the downward urging force. Therefore, the loading position of the cassette guide 15 is regulated by pressing and positioning the upper surface of the disk cassette 11 by the plurality of disk cassette pressing projections 86 (FIGS. 1 and 2) provided on the cassette guide 15. Is done. Then, when the cassette guide 15 is at the load position, the disk in the disk cassette 11 (specifically,
The hub (the hub portion) is magnetically attracted onto the rotor of the disk drive motor 31 (FIG. 6) and engages with the center shaft 81 and the drive pin 82 on the rotor, thereby positioning the disk (media) (high). Direction, rotation direction). That is, the disc is set to a loading state in which information can be recorded and reproduced on the disc.

In this loading state, the center pin 42 of the cassette guide 15 is
0 is urged obliquely downward and to the left in FIG. 10 by the top end side 40 a of the cassette guide 15, whereby the roller portion 43 of the cassette guide 15 is
c regulates the front and rear position, and the cassette guide 1
5 holds the disk cassette 11 in a stable state with respect to the base 10.

When ejecting the disc cassette 11 set in the disc device, the eject button 14
(FIGS. 3 and 9), the button lever 36 is moved rearward against the return spring 35. When the button lever 36 moves backward, first, the engagement of the notch 38 of the button lever and the pin 39 of the operation lever 34 causes the operation lever 34 to rotate counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. (Rotation) direction. Next, the center pin 42 is lifted by the cam groove 40, and the cassette guide 15 moves upward. When the eject button 14 is pressed further,
As the cassette guide 15 is raised, the roller portion 43 is disengaged from the lower holding portion (vertical portion) 41c, and the cassette guide 15 can be moved forward (to the left in FIG. 10).

When the eject button 14 is further depressed, the shutter lever 21 and the latch lever 22 are vigorously rotated counterclockwise (counterclockwise) by the urging forces of the respective return springs 25 and 27 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Then, the disc cassette 11 is ejected forward (ejected), and the cassette guide 15 is moved forward. At that time, an elastic member for urging the cassette guide 15 forward may be provided to assist the smooth movement of the cassette guide 15. In this embodiment, the operating lever 34 and the cassette guide 1
5, a spring member 87 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is attached. Further, the shutter spring 25 (FIGS. 1 and 2)
May be used. In that case, one end of the shutter spring 25 is attached to a fixed side of the base 10 or the like or to the operation lever 34. When the shutter lever 21 moves in the groove 26 and returns, the pin 23 of the shutter lever 21 comes into contact with the front end of the groove 26 to apply a return force to the cassette guide 15. Thus, first, the cassette guide 15 is returned to the initial position in FIG. So, eject button 1
4 is stopped, the urging force of the return spring 35 (FIGS. 7 and 9) causes the button lever 36 and the operating lever 34 to move.
Is returned to the initial position (unload position) shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a head seek mechanism 18 is provided in the area of the notch 16 of the cassette guide 15. FIG. 11 is a line 10-10 in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a head seek mechanism 18 along the line.
Next, the head seek mechanism will be described with reference to these drawings. In the illustrated example, a notch 16 extending over a substantially quarter area is provided on the left side of the rear half of the cassette guide 15.
However, in some cases, a notch corresponding to this may be provided on the right side of the rear half. In that case, a mechanism corresponding to the head seek mechanism 18 is also provided in the area of the notch on the right side. Will be.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 10, the cassette loading mechanism 3 comprising the button lever 36 and the like is shown.
The disk cassette 11 is located on the side where the cassette 3 is disposed, that is, near the side edge of the space formed by moving the cassette guide 15 to one side (the right side in the illustrated example) (the left side in the illustrated example). The cassette loading mechanism 33 is arranged along the edge in the insertion direction of the disc cassette 11.
Further, the head seek mechanism 18 is provided.

The head seek mechanism 18 includes a head driving motor 51 fixed to the rear wall of the base 10, a driving shaft 53 composed of a lead screw rotated by the motor 51 through a gear train 52, A head carriage 54 which engages with a lead groove of a shaft (lead screw) 53 and which can reciprocate by forward and reverse rotation of the drive shaft 53; and a guide bar 55 which fits with the head carriage 54 and guides the head carriage 54. A lower head 17B mounted on the distal end of the head carriage 54, a head arm 57 movably mounted on the head carriage 54 via a leaf spring 56, and a distal end of the head arm 57. And a head for urging the head arm 57 downward (toward the head load position). Is provided with a spring 58 for over soil, the.

On the notch 16 side of the cassette guide 15, there is provided a bar 61 which extends under the head arm 57. A holder 90 is attached to one end of the bar 61, and the other end is a cassette guide 15 6 for the head lift (unloading of the head) so that it is fixed to
1 is attached. And this bar 61 is shown in FIG.
2, the bottom 90a of the holder 90 is configured to engage with the base 10 when the head is unloaded.

With the above configuration, when the cassette guide 15 is unloaded to move upward, the head arm 57 is raised to the raised position as shown in FIG.
The upper head 17A is held at the unload position. At this time, in order to reduce the thickness of the device while taking into account the force against the urging force of the spring 58, the bar 61 supports the head arm 57 at a substantially central portion between its fixed point and the holding point of the head 17A. It has been made like that.

[0034]

[Effect of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, by employing the configuration according to the present invention, the engagement between the pin and the stopper is released, and the pin falls under the stopper.
This makes it possible to prevent the cassette from being unable to be ejected, and has ensured loading and unloading of the cassette.

Further, since the height of the pins can be made as short as possible, it is possible to provide a disk device capable of reducing the thickness of the device and achieving high reliability.

Further, since the movement restricting member has a disk shape, it prevents the pin from getting under the stopper regardless of the contact position between the pin and the stopper.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an unloaded state of a disk device according to an embodiment of the present invention, with a cover removed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where the disk device of FIG. 1 is loaded, with a cover removed.

FIG. 3 is a front view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are enlarged views of a main part of the embodiment, in which FIG. 5A shows a state when the cassette guide is unloaded, and FIG. 5B shows a state when the cassette guide is loaded.

6A and 6B are diagrams showing a configuration on the bottom surface of the base of the disk device of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 6A is a plan view, FIG. 6B is a front view seen from line BB in FIG. () Is a side view seen from line CC in (A).

FIG. 7 is a partial side view showing a state when the button lever in FIG. 1 is unloaded.

FIG. 8 is a partial side view showing a state when the operation lever and the cassette guide in FIG. 1 are unloaded.

FIG. 9 is a partial side view showing a state when the button lever in FIG. 2 is loaded.

FIG. 10 is a partial side view showing a state in which an operation lever and a cassette guide in FIG. 2 are loaded.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the head seek mechanism taken along line 10-10 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged explanatory view of a main part of the present embodiment.

13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams showing a conventional example, in which FIG. 13A shows a state when the cassette guide is unloaded, and FIG. 13B shows a state when the cassette guide is loaded.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Base 11 Disk cassette 14 Eject button 15 Cassette guide 18 Head seek mechanism 22 Latch lever 27 Latch spring 28 Stopper 29 Pin 29a Movement restricting member 33 Cassette loading mechanism

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A cassette guide for accommodating a disk-shaped recording medium, a base for holding the cassette guide so as to be movable in an insertion direction of the recording medium and in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction, and provided on the base. A stopper, a latch lever rotatably supported on the cassette guide, a pin provided on the latch lever, and a spring for urging the latch lever in a predetermined direction so that the pin always contacts the stopper. And a movement limiting member provided on the top of the pin to prevent the pin and the stopper from being disengaged from each other in the vertical direction. 2. The disk drive according to claim 1, wherein the movement restricting member has a disk shape.