JP3127186B2 - Cartridge loading mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cartridge loading mechanism in which a shutter for protecting a disk is formed on both sides, and more particularly to a cartridge loading mechanism having an improved arrangement of loading rollers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, disk cartridges (hereinafter, referred to as "cartridges") containing information recording disks, such as mini disk cartridges and floppy disk cartridges, have been proposed. FIG. 7 shows an example of this type of cartridge, and is a plan view of a cartridge for a magneto-optical recording type mini disk (hereinafter, referred to as "MD"). The cartridge 1 includes an MD 2 housed therein, an access hole 3 provided on the right side of the cartridge, and a shutter 4 for opening and closing the access hole 3. In such a cartridge 1, the shutter 4 closes the access hole 3 when not in use,
The internal MD can be protected from the external environment, and excellent practicality and durability can be ensured.

The types of the cartridge 1 include a read-only pre-mastered type and a writable recordable type. The pre-mastered type shutter 4 is provided only on one side of the case 1. On the other hand, the recordable type shutter 4 is provided integrally on both sides of the case 1.

As a device for recording / reproducing the MD in the cartridge as described above, a disk device accommodating a plurality of cartridges at the same time can be considered. In such a disk device, a plurality of cartridges are housed in advance, and a desired one of the cartridges can be recorded / reproduced. Therefore, it is possible to omit a cartridge replacement operation when using a plurality of cartridges. it can. Therefore, it is suitable for in-vehicle disk devices and the like that require high operability.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of this type of disk drive. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a main body case of the disk device, 12 denotes a cartridge insertion slot, 13 denotes a stocker capable of stacking and storing four cartridges 1, 14 denotes a drive unit for recording and reproducing MD, and 15 denotes a cartridge that holds and moves. Cartridge carrier (also called cartridge holder)
It is. Of these, the insertion slot 12 is at the upper front side of the case 11, the stocker 13 is at the back side of the case 11, the drive unit 14 is at the lowermost side at the front side of the case 11, and the carrier 1 is
5 are arranged above the drive unit 14, respectively. Further, the stocker 13 is configured by stacking four storage sections 13a for storing only one cartridge 1, and each storage section 13a has a retraction mechanism for drawing the cartridge 1 discharged from the carrier 15 into the storage section 13a. ,
An extruding mechanism for extruding the cartridge 1 from the storage section 13a to the carrier 15 side is provided (both are not shown).

The carrier 15 will be described with reference to FIG. The carrier 15 has a guide 22 on its lower surface for holding the cartridge 1 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction.
A loading roller 23 for driving the cartridge 1 in the front-rear direction is provided on the upper surface. The roller 23 is a roller shaft 2
4 are mounted near both ends. This roller shaft 2
A support arm 25 having a rotation fulcrum 27 on the carrier 15 is fixed to both ends of the carrier 4, and the roller shaft 24 is configured to move up and down on the carrier 15.
The support arm 25 is provided with a spring 26 for urging the support arm 25 downward.

Although not shown, the carrier 15 has a roller driving mechanism for driving the roller 23,
A cartridge sensor for detecting the position of the cartridge 1 in the cartridge 5, an opening claw that engages with and opens the shutter 4 of the cartridge 1 are provided. Also carrier 15
Is configured to be moved up and down from a position horizontal to the insertion port 12 to a position where the cartridge 1 is mounted on the drive unit 14 by an elevating mechanism (not shown).

In the disk drive having the above structure, when the cartridge 1 is stored in the stocker 13, first, the carrier 15 is moved by the action of the elevating mechanism.
It moves to a position facing the insertion slot 12. In this state, the operator inserts the cartridge 1 from the insertion opening 12 in a direction in which the shutter 4 is located on the lower right side. And career 1
When the cartridge sensor No. 5 detects insertion of the cartridge 1, the roller 23 rotates by the action of the roller driving mechanism, and the guide 22 carries the cartridge 1 to a predetermined holding position while guiding the lower surface of the cartridge 1. At this time, the support arm 25 rotates about the rotation fulcrum 27 by the urging force of the spring 26, and the roller shaft 24 supported by the support arm 25 presses the roller 23 downward. The upper surface can be pressed.

When the loading operation to the carrier 15 is completed, the roller 23 temporarily stops, and the carrier 15 moves to a position facing the desired storage portion 13a by the action of the lifting mechanism. At this point, the roller 23 rotates again, and the cartridge 1 is discharged to the storage section 13a. Then, the retracting mechanism on the side of the storage section 13a draws the cartridge 1 into the storage section 13a. When the cartridge 1 of each storage section 13a is pushed out to the carrier 15 side, the pushing mechanism operates. When the cartridge 1 in the carrier 15 is taken out from the insertion slot 12, each part of the disk device operates in the opposite manner.

When recording / reproducing an MD in the cartridge 1, the carrier 15 is lowered while the cartridge 1 is held by the action of the lifting mechanism. Then, the shutter opening claw projects into the transport area of the cartridge 1 and engages with the shutter 4. After the shutter 4 is released, the carrier 15 descends until the cartridge 1 is mounted on the drive unit 14. Perform the recording / reproducing operation of the MD.

The roller 23 is divided at both ends of the carrier 15 and the conventional loading roller is generally provided with the shutter 4 of the cartridge 1.
Irrespective of the position of the cartridge 1, the cartridge 1 is disposed symmetrically with respect to the center axis in the transport direction. As a result,
The roller 23 had to contact the shutter 4 on the upper surface side of the cartridge. Therefore, when the shutter 4 is integrally formed on both surfaces of the cartridge 1 as in the recordable type MD cartridge, the opening and closing of the entire shutter 4 is hindered by the rollers 23. Further, there is a possibility that the shutter 4 is opened by the rotation of the roller 23 during the transport to the carrier 15, or the rotating roller 23 may damage the recording surface of the MD 2 exposed from the access hole 3 on the upper surface.

Therefore, there has been a long wait for an excellent cartridge loading mechanism capable of reliably transporting a recordable type cartridge having a shutter on the upper surface side. In view of such a situation, the applicant of the present invention
0 (see Japanese Patent Application No. 4-2).
No. 80052). This carrier 21 is employed in the disk device shown in FIG. 8, and is characterized by having loading rollers 33A and 33B biased to a position where it does not contact the shutter 4 of the cartridge 1. The roller 33A is located almost at the center of the roller shaft 24,
Are attached to the left end of the roller shaft 24, respectively.

In the carrier 21 having such a configuration, even when the shutter 4 is located on the upper surface side of the cartridge 1, the rollers 33A and 33B do not hinder the opening and closing of the entire shutter 4, and the carrier 4 is reliably removed. Could be transported. When the shutter 4 is open, the rollers 33A, 3A
Even if 3B rotates on the cartridge 1, the rollers 33A,
33B does not touch the recording surface of MD2, and there is no possibility of damaging MD2.

[0014]

Since the thickness of the cartridge 1 is small, the thickness of the shutter 4 and the thickness of the opening claw engaged therewith are also small. Although the inside dimension of the carrier 21 is set slightly larger than the outer dimension of the cartridge 1, the clearance increases or decreases due to the dimensional tolerance of the cartridge 1. Therefore, when the clearance is large, the space in which the cartridge 1 swings in the carrier 21 becomes large. Here, from the viewpoint of the reliability of the shutter opening operation, when considering a cartridge loading mechanism employing the above-described carrier 21, the conventional example can be said to have the following problems.

That is, since the rollers 33A and 33B are located at positions distant from the shutter 4, the pressing force applied to the shutter 4 from the rollers 33A and 33B is weak. Since the pressing force acts as a position regulating force on the shutter 4, if the space in which the cartridge 1 in the carrier 21 swings in a state where the force is weak is large, the thickness of the shutter 4 is similarly reduced with respect to the shutter 4 having a small thickness. It is very difficult to engage a thin open claw. Therefore, the shutter opening operation may be uncertain. In particular, when the conventional example is adopted for a vehicle-mounted disk device, since the traveling vibration of the vehicle is applied to the carrier 21, it is more difficult to accurately perform the shutter opening operation. Therefore, in the prior art, the reliability of the opening operation of the shutter is ensured by increasing the dimensional accuracy of each member or the accuracy of the assembling work. However, since high precision is required for the dimensions of the members and the assembling work, a new problem has arisen that the production cost rises.

In addition, if the operation stroke of the opening claw with respect to the shutter 4 is large, the difficulty of engaging the opening claw with the shutter 4 increases accordingly. For example, as in the disk device described above, the stocker 1
When the cartridge 3 is provided, it is necessary to allow the cartridge 1 to pass through the carrier 15, and therefore, it is general to arrange the open claw so as to be able to protrude and retract from the cartridge passage area in the carrier 15. In the cartridge loading mechanism including such an opening claw, the operation stroke of the opening claw with respect to the shutter 4 is increased by an amount corresponding to the projecting and retracting. Therefore, in order to accurately engage the opening claw with the shutter 4, the size of the members and the accuracy of the assembling work must be further increased, which is economically disadvantageous.

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. It is an object of the present invention to transport a cartridge having a disk protection shutter formed on both sides thereof, as well as to measure a member size and the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a cartridge loading mechanism that can reliably perform a shutter opening operation without increasing the accuracy of assembly work.

[0018]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a cartridge carrier for holding an information recording disk and holding a cartridge having a slidable shutter for protecting the disk. And a loading roller for transporting the cartridge to the cartridge carrier, and an opening claw provided to engage and open the shutter of the cartridge located in the cartridge carrier. A shutter opening mechanism for opening the shutter by the opening claw is provided on a chassis to which the loading roller is attached, and the loading roller is disposed at a position where the shutter is not in contact with the shutter. Features.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cartridge for storing an information recording disk and having a slidable shutter for protecting the disk.
A cartridge carrier for holding the cartridge,
In a cartridge loading mechanism having a loading roller that transports the cartridge to the cartridge carrier and an opening claw that engages with and opens the shutter of the cartridge located in the cartridge carrier, the loading roller includes the shutter The cartridge is disposed at a position in contact with the side edge of the cartridge having the side and close to the shutter, and not to hinder the sliding operation of the shutter.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the cartridge loading mechanism of the second aspect, a cartridge passage area through which a cartridge can pass is provided in the cartridge carrier, and an opening claw of a shutter is provided to the cartridge passage area. It is characterized by having an open claw protruding / retracting means for protruding and retracting.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the cartridge loading mechanism of the second or third aspect, a roller pressing means for pressing the loading roller against the cartridge is provided.

[0022]

In the present invention having the above structure,
Since the loading roller is located at a position where it does not come into contact with the shutter, the loading roller does not obstruct the opening and closing of the entire shutter, and the cartridge is reliably transported. At the same time, no unreasonable stress is applied to the lock mechanism of the shutter during the conveyance of the cartridge, so that the lock mechanism is prevented from being damaged. Further, there is no possibility that the loading roller touches the recording surface of the disk and damages the disk with the shutter opened. Further, since a shutter opening mechanism for opening the shutter by the opening claw is provided on the chassis on which the loading roller is mounted, the shutter is easily assembled and the configuration is simplified.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the loading roller is in contact with the side edge of the cartridge provided with the shutter, even if the loading roller rotates on the cartridge with the shutter opened, The loading roller does not contact the disk. Therefore, there is no fear that the loading roller damages the disk. Further, since the loading roller is located at a position close to the shutter, it is possible to increase the position regulating force on the shutter by the loading roller. Therefore, it is possible to easily engage the opening claw having the same small thickness with the shutter having the small thickness. This makes it possible to reliably perform the shutter opening operation. Furthermore, since the loading roller does not hinder the sliding operation of the shutter, the shutter can reliably perform the sliding operation.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible for the opening claw to be engaged with the shutter of the cartridge conveyed into the cartridge passage area and to be released by engagement with the opening claw that is retracted by the opening claw retracting means. Therefore, the cartridge can appropriately pass through the inside of the cartridge carrier.

Further, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the roller pressing means presses the loading roller against the cartridge, the rotational force of the loading roller is sufficiently transmitted to the cartridge as a conveying force. Therefore,
According to the present invention, the cartridge can be reliably transported.

[0026]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS. Note that this embodiment is different from FIG.
In the cartridge loading mechanism employed in the disk drive shown in FIG. 1, the same members as those in the conventional example shown in FIG.

(1) Configuration of the present embodiment [Main components of the present embodiment] See FIGS. 1 and 2 The main characteristic configuration of the present embodiment is that the loading roller 42 provided on the carrier 40 is disposed at a position where the loading roller 42 is disposed. is there. That is, the loading roller 42 is connected to the upper roller shaft 4 in FIG.
1 is attached to the right end. The loading roller 42 is provided on the cartridge 1 having the shutter 4.
The shutter 4 is located at a position that does not hinder the sliding operation of the shutter 4 while being in contact with the right edge of the shutter 4. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, when the roller shaft 41 is not pressing the cartridge 1, the right side is arranged to be lowered by the dimension A on the right side. The dimension A is the height of the chip formed on the upper surface side of the recordable type MD cartridge. The missing part a is formed to secure the sliding operation of the shutter 4. Thus, the roller shaft 41 inclined to the lower right side serves as a roller pressing unit that presses the loading roller 42 downward.

[Structure and operation of shutter opening mechanism]
3 to 6 By the way, the stocker 13 is arranged behind the carrier 40. Therefore, the cartridge 1 passes through the carrier 40. The shutter opening mechanism described below is a mechanism that includes an opening claw retracting unit that causes an opening claw that opens the shutter 4 to enter and exit the carrier 40. The shutter opening mechanism includes the carrier 40
From the upper surface of the cartridge 1 to the side surface on the shutter side of the cartridge 1. The shutter opening gear 35, the transmission gear group 50, the cam gear 51, the opening link 52, the opening claw member 53, the lock release lever 54, and the connecting portion 55 Be composed. The carrier 40 has openings on the front side and the back side through which the cartridge 1 can pass, and the inside thereof is a cartridge passage area. The shutter opening gear 35 meshes with the cam gear 51 via the transmission gear group 50. A spindle-shaped cam 5 is provided on the upper surface of the cam gear 51.
1a is provided, and a cam pin 51b is provided at an end thereof. The cam 51a has three types of diameter lengths from the center to the peripheral portion, that is, a long diameter portion, a short diameter portion, and a middle diameter portion in the middle thereof. Detect the closed state. Cam 51
a is a switch link 60 that rotates about a support shaft 60a.
Is abutted. By the switch link 60, a detection sensor 61 (three-position detection microswitch) for detecting the open / closed state of the shutter 4 of the cartridge 1 is controlled. The open link 52 is disposed rotatably about the support shaft 52a. A slide groove 52b is formed at the left end of the open link 52 in the drawing, and the cam pin 51b of the cam gear 51 is inserted through the slide groove 52b. Open link 52
The guide pin 55a of the connecting portion 55 is engaged with the right end in the drawing. The connecting portion 55 is a member that connects the opening claw member 53 and the lock release lever 54, and has a cam pin 55b at the right end in addition to the guide pin 55a. The open claw member 53 is fixed to the connecting portion 55 and includes a leaf spring 56 and an opener 57. Leaf spring 5
Numeral 6 is fixed to the connecting portion 55, and a wedge-shaped opener 57 is provided at the distal end thereof. By the way, carrier 4
A guide plate 58 is disposed on the right side edge portion in FIG. The guide plate 58 is formed with a guide groove 58a and a cam groove 58b, through which the guide pin 55a and the cam pin 55b of the connecting portion 55 are inserted. The guide groove 58a is a linear groove, and the cam groove 58b
Is a groove which draws a gentle curve outward near the inner end (upper side in the figure). The lock release lever 54 is connected to the support shaft 5
The guide plate 58 is rotatably provided around the guide plate 4a, and is urged in a counterclockwise direction by a torsion coil spring 54z. A release claw 54b is formed at a rear end of the lever 54. The release claw 54b
This is a member for releasing the lock member R for locking the shutter 4 in the closed position. The lock release lever 54 is formed with a J-shaped claw 54c (see FIG. 6). The claw 54c is adapted to engage with the guide pin 55a of the connecting portion 55. Elongated holes are formed in the side surface of the carrier 40 at positions opposing the lock release lever 54 and the opener 57 in the direction in which the disk is transported.

The shutter opening mechanism having the above configuration operates as follows. First, as shown in FIG.
When the claw 54c is inserted into the guide pin 55a, the lock release lever 54 and the connecting portion 5
5 are both located at the innermost side. At this time, the release claw 5
4b and the opener 57 do not protrude into the carrier 40 through the elongated hole. The middle diameter portion of the cam 51a is in contact with the switch link 60, and the detection sensor 61 detects the fully closed state of the shutter 4 based on the rotational position of the open link 52. From such a state, the power transmission path is changed by the power switching mechanism (not shown) to the loading rollers 33A,
When switching from the 33B and 42 sides to the shutter opening gear 35 side, the drive motor is energized and the shutter opening gear 3
5 is transmitted to the cam gear 51 via the transmission gear group 50.
Transmitted to. Therefore, the cam gear 51 rotates counterclockwise in the drawing (see FIG. 4). At this time, since the shutter opening gear 35 is a worm gear, excellent operation accuracy can be exhibited.

When the cam gear 51 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the figure, the cam pin 51b pushes the sliding groove 52b of the open link 52 to the back side (upward in the figure) while sliding it to the right in the figure. Therefore, the open link 52 rotates around the support shaft 52a in the clockwise direction in the drawing. Therefore, the connecting portion 5 provided at the right end in the drawing of the open link 52
5 starts moving toward the near side (lower side in the figure). Then, the guide pin 55a and the cam pin 55b of the connecting portion 55 move along the guide groove 58a and the cam groove 58b of the side plate 58. When the cam pin 55b passes through the curved portion of the cam groove 55b, the connecting portion 55 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. The claw 54c is pushed forward by the movement of the guide pin 55a, and the lock release lever 54
Rotates around the support shaft 54a in the counterclockwise rotation direction in the figure.
Thereby, the release claw 54b of the lock release lever 54
And the opener 57 projects into the carrier 40 (FIG. 5).
reference). Then, the release claw 54b contacts the lock member R,
The opener 57 is fitted into a hole (not shown) provided in the shutter 4. When the cam gear 51 continues to rotate and the tip of the open link 52 moves further forward, the release pawl 5
4b pushes the lock member R to unlock the shutter R.

When the cam gear 51 further rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the figure and the open link 52 further rotates in the clockwise direction in the figure about the support shaft 52a, the claw 5 of the connecting portion 55
4c is separated from the guide pin 55a, the connecting portion 55 and the lock release lever 54 are separated, and the connecting portion 55 and the release claw member 53 move to the near side. With this movement, the opener 57 opens the shutter (the state of FIG. 6). When the cam gear 51 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing and the portion that contacts the switch link 60 shifts from the middle diameter portion to the short diameter portion (from FIG. 3 to FIG. 4), the switch link 60 is turned counterclockwise in the drawing. Rotate clockwise. In this case, the detection sensor 61 detects that the shutter 4 is moving. Then, the cam gear 5 that contacts the switch link 60
1 shifts from the short diameter portion to the long diameter portion (FIGS. 5 to 6
F), the switch link 60 rotates clockwise in the figure. In this case, the detection sensor 61 detects that the shutter 4 is fully open.

In the above-described shutter opening mechanism, since the opener 57 and the lock release lever 54 protrude into the carrier 40 after the cartridge 1 has been conveyed into the carrier 40, the cartridge 1 is appropriately moved inside the carrier 40. You can get through. Therefore, it is possible to arrange the stocker 3 behind the carrier 40. Also, even if the opener 57 is overloaded, such as when the cartridge 1 is inserted with the shutter 4 opened, the leaf spring 56 supporting the opener 57 absorbs this, and the open claw member 53 may be damaged. There is no. In this case, the movement of the opener 57 eventually causes the opener 57 to move.
Can be fitted into the hole of the shutter 4, and thereafter the shutter opening / closing operation is performed without any trouble. Further, even if the cartridge 1 is inserted in a state of being slightly inclined with respect to the carrier 40, the side surface of the wedge-shaped opener 57 serves as a guide, so that the opener 57 and the shutter can be reliably engaged. Further, in the present embodiment, the loading rollers 33A,
Since the power switching mechanism and the shutter opening / closing mechanism are integrated into the carrier 40, the assembling is easy and the configuration can be simplified.

(2) Operation and Effect of the Embodiment The embodiment having the above-described configuration has the following operation. That is, since the loading roller 42 is in contact with the right edge of the cartridge 1 having the shutter 4, even if the loading roller 42 rotates on the cartridge 1 with the shutter 4 opened, the loading roller 42 Never touch. Therefore, M
There is no danger of damaging D2, and safety is improved. Also,
Since the loading roller 42 is located at a position close to the shutter 4, a large position regulating force can be secured for the shutter 4. Therefore, the opening claw member 53 and the lock release lever 54, which are similarly set to be thin, can be easily engaged with the shutter 4 having a small thickness. Thus, the opening operation of the shutter 4 can be reliably performed. In particular, in the present embodiment, a shutter opening mechanism in which the opening claw member 53 and the lock release lever 54 operate laterally with respect to the shutter 4 is employed. However, since the position regulating force on the shutter 4 is large, the shutter 4 is opened. The reliability of operation does not decrease. Further, since the loading roller 42 does not hinder the sliding operation of the shutter 4, the shutter 4 can surely perform the sliding operation.

In this embodiment, since the roller shaft 41 is inclined to the lower right side in advance and presses the loading roller 42 against the cartridge 1, the roller 42 is pressed.
Is dropped into the notch a (the portion having the notch height A) on the upper surface of the cartridge 1, the rotational force of the loading roller 42 is sufficiently transmitted to the cartridge 1 as a conveying force.
Therefore, the driving force for the cartridge 1 is not insufficient, and the cartridge 1 can be reliably transported. The springs for biasing both ends of the roller shaft 41 may have the same elasticity, but the elasticity of the spring on the roller 42 side may be increased.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to increase the dimensions of the members and the accuracy of the assembling work in order to accurately engage the release claw member 53 and the lock release lever 54 with the shutter 4. The cost was able to be reduced, and the transport operation of the cartridge 1 and the opening operation of the shutter 4 could be reliably performed.

(3) Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but includes the following other embodiments. For example, the cartridge holder can be applied not only to the MD but also to a floppy disk and other cartridges. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a disk device having the configuration as in the conventional example but also to a disk device having another configuration. For example, as an example of a disk device, a cartridge stocker is provided in the front of the housing, and a plurality of cartridge insertion openings for inserting MDs into each cartridge storage portion of the cartridge stocker are formed on the front surface of the housing, and a drive unit and a cartridge holder are provided. May be provided at the rear in the housing, or a removable disk magazine may be mounted on a cartridge stocker portion provided at the front of the housing.The cartridge loading mechanism of the present invention is such a device. It can be used for any disk device such as a disk device. Further, as a pressing means for the loading roller,
It can be changed as appropriate, such as changing the strength of the urging spring to the roller or increasing the roller diameter.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The loading roller is brought into contact with the side edge of the cartridge provided with the shutter and is brought close to the shutter,
In addition, the simple configuration of disposing the shutter at a position that does not hinder the sliding operation of the shutter reduces the production cost without increasing the dimensions of the members and the accuracy of the assembly operation. The opening operation can be reliably performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cartridge carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of main components of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view (state) illustrating a shutter opening mechanism included in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view (state) illustrating a shutter opening mechanism included in the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view (state) illustrating a shutter opening mechanism included in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view (state) illustrating a shutter opening mechanism included in the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of an MD cartridge according to the related art and the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional disk device cut along a vertical cross section in the front-rear direction.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a conventional carrier.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a conventional carrier.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Cartridge 2: MD 3: Access hole 4: Shutter 11: Case 12: Cartridge insertion slot 13: Cartridge stocker 14: Drive unit 15, 21, 40: Carrier 23, 33A, 33B, 42: Loading roller 24, 42: Roller Shaft 25: Support arm 26: Spring 27: Rotating fulcrum 35: Shutter release gear 50: Transmission gear group 51: Cam gear 52: Open link 53: Open claw member 54: Lock release lever 55: Connecting portion 56: Leaf spring 57 ： Opener 58 ： Guide plate 60 ： Switch link 61 ： Detection sensor

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Osamu Sakurai 5-35-2 Hakusan, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo Clarion Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-63-291256 (JP, A) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G11B 17 / 04,17 / 26

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cartridge carrier for holding a cartridge for storing an information recording disc and having a slidable shutter for protecting the disc, a loading roller for conveying the cartridge to the cartridge carrier, and a cartridge inside the cartridge carrier. A cartridge loading mechanism having an opening claw provided so as to be able to engage with and open the shutter of the cartridge located, wherein the shutter is opened by the opening claw on a chassis on which the loading roller is mounted. Wherein the loading roller is disposed at a position not in contact with the shutter. 2. A cartridge provided with a slidable shutter for accommodating an information recording disk and protecting the disk, the cartridge carrier holding the cartridge, and the cartridge being transported to the cartridge carrier. In a cartridge loading mechanism having a loading roller and an opening claw that engages with and opens the shutter of the cartridge located in the cartridge carrier, the loading roller is provided on the side of the cartridge on which the cartridge is provided with the shutter. A cartridge loading mechanism, wherein the cartridge loading mechanism is arranged at a position in contact with the edge portion, near the shutter, and not obstructing a sliding operation of the shutter. 3. A cartridge passage area through which the cartridge can pass is provided in the cartridge carrier, and an opening claw retracting means for causing the opening claw to protrude and retract from the cartridge passage area is provided. 3. The cartridge loading mechanism according to 2. 4. The cartridge loading mechanism according to claim 2, further comprising roller pressing means for pressing said loading roller against said cartridge.