JP3153932B2 - Disk drive device and information equipment using this device - 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 drive storage device used as an external storage device of a computer and an information device using the device, and more particularly to a so-called integrated circuit chip in which an information signal is stored in a thin plate member. The present invention relates to a disk drive device capable of selectively using an information memory card and an information device using the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, a small and lightweight personal computer having the same planar shape as a laptop or A4 size book has been used. In this type of personal computer, further reduction in size and weight of the device body is required. In order to satisfy the demand for miniaturization and weight reduction, an information memory card 101 as shown in FIG. 8 is used instead of a disk drive device using a 3.5-inch floppy disk, which is widely used as an external storage device, as a storage medium. Is used.

As shown in FIG. 9, this information memory card 101 has a built-in printed circuit board 104 on which an integrated circuit chip 103 such as DRAM or SRAM is mounted in a thin card body 102, and An open surface side on which the printed circuit board 104 is mounted is covered with a cover plate 105 made of a thin plate. As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG.
A connector 106 having a large number of cylindrical terminal portions 106a serving as connection portions to a personal computer is provided. The information memory card 101 having the integrated circuit chip 103 built therein and used as an external storage device of a personal computer has a length (L ₁ ) of 85.6 m.
m, width (W ₁ ) is 54 mm, and thickness (D ₁ ) is 3.3 mm
It is formed in a rectangular thin plate shape.

[0004] The information memory card 101 thus formed is inserted and mounted in a card holder 111 provided in a personal computer and connected to a computer. The card holder 111 has, for example, a U-shaped cross section having an insertion space (H ₁ ) substantially corresponding to the thickness (D ₁ ) of the information memory card 101 on both sides of the card mounting plate 112 as shown in FIG. A pair of card holders 113 and 114 are formed. The space between the card holders 113 and 114 is open.

A connector 106 provided on the information memory card 101 is electrically connected to an inner end opposite to the card insertion / removal opening 115 on the front end face where the information memory card 101 is inserted / removed. Many terminal pins 1
A plug 116 having 16a is provided. Then, the information memory card 101 is inserted into the card holder 111 through the card insertion / removal opening 115 so that both sides in the longitudinal direction are inserted and engaged with the card holding portions 113 and 114, and as shown in FIG. When the connector 111 is inserted to the inner end, the terminal 106 a of the connector 106 is connected to the terminal pin 116 a of the plug 116, and the terminal 106 a is attached to the card holder 111.

[0006] The information memory card 101 mounted on the card holder 111 is stably held in the card holder 111 by the fitting connection of the connector 106 to the plug 116 and the support of the card holders 113 and 114. Become. That is, the information memory card 101 is supported by the card supporting piece 118 formed by bending the leading end side of the rising piece 117 of the card holding units 113 and 114 so as to face the mounting plate 112, thereby placing the information memory card 101. The card holder 111 is mounted on the card holder 111 in a stable state in which floating from the plate 112 is prevented.

The information memory card 101 mounted on the card holder 111 is protruded from the card holder 111 when the eject operation button 119 provided on the card holder 111 is pressed.
The portion protruding from the card insertion / removal opening 115 can be removed from the card holder 111 by grasping and pulling out the portion.

[0008]

The information memory card used conventionally uses an integrated circuit chip for the storage means of the information signal, so that a sufficient storage capacity cannot be secured.

Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to use the information memory card configured as described above in a compatible manner and to use a disk capable of achieving an increase in storage capacity as a storage medium. An object of the present invention is to provide a disk drive device capable of guaranteeing a sufficiently large storage capacity as compared with a memory card, and an information device using the device.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a disk drive according to the present invention has a width of 5 mm.
A housing in which a groove is formed at a height of about 3.3 mm from one main surface along at least one side surface in a longitudinal direction of at least one side surface, and a disk housed in the housing and having a diameter of 54 mm or less Disk drive means for driving the disk to rotate; information signal recording / reproduction means for recording an information signal on the disk or reproducing the information signal recorded on the disk; and information signal recording / reproduction means for the disk. The housing includes a driving means for a recording / reproducing means for moving the inner and outer circumferences, and a connector disposed on one end side of the housing.

Further, an information device according to the present invention has a holding portion for accommodating the disk drive device, and a plug connected to a connector provided inside the holding portion,
An information signal is transmitted and received between the disk drive device via the connection between the connector and the plug.

[0012]

In the disk drive device according to the present invention, the housing as the exterior body has a width of not more than 54 mm, and is located at a height of about 3.3 mm from one main surface along at least one side surface in the longitudinal direction. Since the groove is formed, it becomes possible to insert the information memory card into a card holder. Since the connector is provided on one end surface of the housing, it can be connected to a connector provided on one end surface of the card holder by being inserted into the card holder.

An information signal from a personal computer is recorded on a disk built in the housing via information signal recording / reproducing means, or the information signal recorded on the disk is read, and the personal computer is read via a connector. Transmission to the side.

[0014] Information is exchanged with the disk drive device via a connection between a connector provided inside the holding portion for accommodating the disk drive device and a plug connected thereto.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A disk drive according to the present invention and information equipment using the disk drive will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The disk drive 1 according to the present invention comprises:
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, a housing 2 is provided which forms an apparatus main body formed in a rectangular shape. The housing 2 constitutes a peripheral wall portion of the housing 2, and includes a hard disk described later, a disk rotation driving mechanism for rotating the hard disk, and a disk drive such as an information signal recording / reproducing mechanism for recording / reproducing information signals on / from the hard disk. A frame unit 3 that constitutes a mechanism unit necessary for configuring the apparatus and a storage unit for an integrated circuit chip or the like that is a recording medium, a thin plate-shaped support substrate 4 that closes an opening on the bottom side of the frame unit 3, And a thin cover plate 5 for closing the opening on the upper surface side of the frame portion 3.

The support substrate 4 is attached to the bottom surface of the frame portion 3 via fixing screws 6, and the lid plate 4 is joined to the upper surface side of the frame portion 3 by using an adhesive or the like. An integral housing 2 is formed. The housing 2 is formed with a width information memory card 101 described above _{(W 1)} and identical or information memory card 101 having a width _{(W 1)} is smaller than the width _{(W 2).} That is, the housing 2 is formed to have a width (W ₂ ) of about 54 mm in this embodiment.
In addition, the length (L ₂ ) of the information memory card 10
The length (L ₁ ) is equal to or smaller than _one length (L ₁ ). That is, in this embodiment, the housing 2 is approximately 85.
It is formed with a length (L ₂ ) of 6 mm. As described above, the housing 2 is formed to have the same or smaller plane size as the information memory card 101.

The housing 2 has a size of approximately 9 mm to 15 m.
m, and in this embodiment, in particular, it is formed to a thickness (D ₂ ) of 10 mm or less.

On opposite side surfaces 6, 7 of the housing 2, grooves 8, 9 are provided over the entire length of the housing 2 in the longitudinal direction. The grooves 8 and 9 are provided by drilling opposing side surfaces of the frame 3 constituting the housing 2.

Incidentally, each of the grooves 8 and 9 has a thickness (D ₂ ) sufficiently larger than the thickness (D ₁ ) of the information memory card 101 described above. Are provided so as to allow attachment to the card holder 111 to be attached. That is, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, each of the grooves 8 and 9 is formed by setting the cover plate 5 side, which is one of the main surfaces of the disk drive device 1, as a mounting surface on the mounting plate 112 of the card holder 111. When the disk drive device 1 is mounted on the card holder 111, the card support pieces 118 formed on the card holders 113 and 114 of the card holder 111 are allowed to enter, and the disk drive device 1 can be mounted on the card holder 111. is there. Therefore, each of the grooves 8 and 9 is formed at a position where the insertion portion of the disk drive device 1 into the card holder 111 has a thickness (D ₃ ) substantially equal to the thickness (D ₁ ) of the information memory card 101. Become. That is, each of the groove portions 8 and 9 is provided on the cover plate 5 which is one main surface of the housing 2.
It is formed so that one rising edge 8a, 9a located on the lid plate 5 side, which is one main surface side, is located at a height of about 3.3 mm from the surface side.

The grooves 8 and 9 are provided with card supporting pieces 118.
Is formed with a width and a depth that allow the intrusion.

Also, on one end side of the housing 2,
A plurality of cylindrical terminal portions 10a having the same size and configuration as the connector 106 provided on the information memory card 101 are provided so as to be located closer to the cover plate 5 than the positions where the grooves 8, 9 are formed. A connector 10 is provided.

The portion of the housing 2 of the disk drive device 1 configured as described above from the position where the grooves 8 and 9 are formed to the cover plate 5 side is attached to the card holder 111 similarly to the information memory card 101 described above. It has the connector 10 connected to the plug 116 to be provided, and has the same size.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the housing 2 having the outer shape described above
Hard disk 11 on which a desired information signal is recorded via storage section 18 constituted by frame section 3 constituting
Is stored. This hard disk 11 has a width (W
₂ ) is small enough to be housed in the housing 2 having a diameter of 54 mm or less, and has a diameter (R) of 54 mm or less. In the present embodiment, a hard disk 11 of 50.8 mm is housed in the housing 2.

The hard disk 11 is integrally supported by a disk drive motor 13 constituting a disk rotation drive mechanism 12 disposed in the housing 2, and is directly driven to rotate by the disk rotation drive motor 13.

The disk drive motor 13 for rotating the hard disk 11 has a support shaft 15 mounted on a shaft support substrate 14. As shown in FIG. 4, the shaft support substrate 14 on which the support shaft 15 is erected is attached to the support substrate 4 so as to fit into an opening 4a formed in the support substrate 4 constituting the housing 2. ing. Further, a rotor 16 constituting the disk drive motor 13 is attached via a support shaft 15. The rotor 16 is supported via a bearing 17 so as to be rotatable with respect to the support shaft 15, and a rotor magnet is integrally attached to an outer peripheral portion thereof. The stator coil, which is opposed to the rotor magnet and supplied with a drive current for generating a rotational driving force in cooperation with the rotor magnet, is provided on one side of the printed circuit board 20 disposed on the inner side of the support substrate 4. It is provided. That is, the stator coil is formed as a printed coil on one side surface of the printed circuit board 20.

A drive current for driving the disk drive motor 13 is supplied to the stator coil via a wiring pattern formed on the printed circuit board 20.

On the tip side of the rotor 16 constituting the drive motor 13, a hard disk 11 is provided with a center hole 21.
A disk fitting projection 22 fitted through the hole is formed. A disk mounting step 23 is provided on the base end side of the fitting projection 22.
Are formed. The hard disk 11 is mounted on the disk mounting step 23 while the center hole 21 is fitted into the disk fitting protrusion 22 and is disposed on the rotor 16. The hard disk 11 placed on the rotor 16 is pressed and supported by a ring-shaped disk hub 24 fitted and disposed on the disk fitting projection 22 and integrated with the rotor 16, and synchronized with the rotor 16. And is rotatably supported.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, information signals are recorded on the hard disk 11 in the storage section 18 formed by the frame section 3 constituting the housing 2, and are recorded on the hard disk 11. The information signal recording / reproducing mechanism 25 for reproducing the information signal is stored.

The information signal recording / reproducing mechanism 25 comprises a pair of magnetic heads 2 which are moved and operated over the inner and outer peripheries of signal recording areas formed on both main surfaces of the hard disk 11, respectively.
6, 27 are provided. These magnetic heads 26 and 27
As shown in FIG. 4, an arm support 29 rotatably supported by an arm support shaft 28 erected on the support substrate 4.
Are attached to the tips of a pair of head support arms 30, 31 supported by the head.

The arm support shaft 28 for rotatably supporting the arm support 29 is fixed to the support substrate 4 by fixing screws 32. A bearing 33 is fitted on the arm support shaft 28, and an arm support fitting cylinder 34 is fitted via the bearing 33.
The arm support 29 is tightly fitted to the arm support fitting tube 34, so that the arm support 29 is rotatably supported on the arm support shaft 28.

Then, on one side of the arm support 29,
A pair of arm support pieces 35 and 36 are provided projecting vertically. A pair of head support arms 30, 31 are attached to the arm support pieces 35, 36, respectively, with their base ends fixed by fixing pins 37. Accordingly, the magnetic heads 26 and 27 attached to the tips of the pair of head support arms 30 and 31 respectively have the arrow A in FIG. 3 around the arm support shaft 28 that rotatably supports the arm support 29. By rotating in the direction and the arrow B direction, the moving operation is performed over the inner and outer peripheries of the signal recording area on both main surfaces of the hard disk 11.

The arm support piece 3 of the arm support 29
On the other side opposite to the one side on which the protrusions 5 and 36 are provided, a drive coil mounting piece 38 is provided in a protruding manner, and the magnet 3 provided on the support substrate 4 via the drive coil mounting piece 38 is provided.
A drive coil 41 that constitutes a head rotation drive unit 40 in cooperation with the drive coil 9 is mounted. This drive coil 41 includes:
A drive current is supplied via a flexible printed circuit board 42 extending into the housing 2, and the arm support 29 is rotated in the directions of arrows A and B in FIG. 3 around the arm support shaft 28. , A pair of head support arms 3
The magnetic heads 26, 27 at the tips 0, 31 are moved over the inner and outer peripheries of the signal recording areas on both main surfaces of the hard disk 11.

Then, a pair of head support arms 30, 3
1 is provided on both sides of the drive coil mounting piece 38 projecting from the arm support 29 supporting the arm support 29.
Pressing springs 43 and 44 for restricting excessive rotation of are provided, respectively. These pressing springs 43 and 44 rotate the arm supporting body 29 and move the head supporting arms 30 and 31.
Excessive rotation when the tip magnetic heads 26 and 27 are moved to the inner and outer peripheral sides of the hard disk 11 is restricted, and the magnetic heads 26 and 27 are rotated to the outside of the main surface of the hard disk 11. It regulates that.

The supply of recording information signals to the magnetic heads 26 and 27 at the tips of the head support arms 30 and 31 and the reproduction information signals from the magnetic heads 26 and 27 are extended onto the head support arms 30 and 31. This is performed via a lead wire 45 connected to the flexible printed circuit board 42.

As shown in FIG. 4, the housing 2 is formed of a sheet metal so as to cover the upper surfaces of the disk rotation drive mechanism 12 and the information signal recording / reproducing mechanism 25 provided in the housing 2. A covered plate 46 is provided. The cover plate 46 is used for the disk rotation drive mechanism 1.
2, the hard disk 11 is securely integrated with the rotor 16, and the support arm 29, which constitutes the information signal recording / reproducing mechanism 25, is removed from the arm support shaft 28. It is to prevent. That is, the cover plate 46 integrates the hard disk 11 with the rotor 16 without using fixing screws or the like, and prevents the arm support 29 from dropping off from the arm support shaft 28.

The cover plate 46 is supported by the locking step 47 of the frame 3 constituting the housing 2 and is disposed on the inner surface of the lid plate 5 constituting one main surface of the apparatus. It is pressed and supported by a support projection 49 projecting from the holding plate 48.

The cover plate 5 is integrated with the housing 2 by joining the peripheral edge thereof to a fitting step 50 formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the frame 3.

A storage space formed between the cover plate 5 and the cover plate 46 provided in the housing 2 includes a drive control circuit for the disk rotation drive mechanism 12 and the information signal recording / reproduction mechanism 25 and an external control circuit. A printed circuit board 52, which is a first circuit board on which a plurality of integrated circuit chips 51 constituting an interface circuit or the like for interfacing with the computer unit, is mounted. Since the integrated circuit chip 51 mounted on the printed circuit board 52 is disposed in a small storage space in the housing 2, a thin one having a height of 1.5 mm or less is used.

A connector 10 is connected to one end of the printed circuit board 52 on which the integrated circuit chip 51 is mounted, which serves as a connection portion when connecting the disk drive 1 to a personal computer or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 10 connected to the printed circuit board 52 has a cylindrical terminal portion 10a facing one end surface of the housing 2, and a frame portion 3 and a cover plate 5 as shown in FIG.
And are disposed in the housing 2.

It should be noted that between the printed circuit board 52 and the printed circuit board 20 which is the second circuit board disposed on the support substrate 4 constituting the other main surface of the device, these printed circuit boards 52, 20 The electrical connection is achieved by the circuit board connecting connector 53 and the connector pin 54 provided respectively. Further, the magnetic heads 26 and 2
The flexible printed circuit board 42 to which the lead wire 45 drawn out from 7 is connected is connected to a printed circuit board 52 on which an integrated circuit chip 51 is mounted.

As described above, the hard disk 11 and the disk rotation drive mechanism 12 for rotating the hard disk 11 are built in the housing 2 and the information signal recording / reproduction mechanism 25 for recording / reproducing information signals to / from the hard disk 11 is provided. In the disk drive device 1 according to the present invention having the built-in structure, the size of the plane of the housing 2 is formed to be the same as or smaller than the conventionally used information memory card 101, and the card holder 111 on which the information memory card 101 is mounted. Grooves 8 and 9 are provided to allow mounting on the information memory card 1.
01 which is the same as connector 106 provided in
Is arranged between the grooves 8 and 9 having substantially the same thickness as the information memory card 101 and the cover plate 5 so that the information memory card 10
1 can be attached with compatibility.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the disk drive device 1 according to the present invention has a cover plate 5 as one main surface.
When the card holder 111 is inserted into the card holder 111 through the card insertion slot 115, one side of the card holder 111 on which the connector 10 is mounted is used as the insertion end of the card holder 111. The card holders 113, 1 are inserted into the grooves 8, 9 formed on both sides of the housing 2.
Fourteen card support pieces 118, 118 are exposed. At this time, the disk drive device 1 is configured to store the information memory card 101 from the portion where the grooves 8 and 9 are formed to the cover plate 5 side.
Is inserted into the card holder 111, and a portion extending from the portion where the grooves 8 and 9 are formed to the support substrate 4 is inserted from the portion opened between the card holding portions 113 and 114 to the card holder 111. Is projected upward.

Then, when the one end on which the connector 10 is provided faces the card insertion / ejection opening 115 of the card holder 111 and is further inserted into the card holder 111, the disk drive device 1 is turned on as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the portions of the grooves 8, 9 are supported by the card support pieces 118, 118, and the portion extending from the portion where the grooves 8, 9 are formed to the support substrate 4 protrudes from between the card holding portions 113, 114. In this state, the card holder 111 is mounted at a predetermined mounting position. At this time, the connector 10 on the insertion end side
Is a plug 1 provided at the inner end of the card holder 111.
16 is connected.

As described above, the disk drive device 1 according to the present invention uses the conventional information memory card 1
01 can be mounted on the card holder 111 on which the information memory card 101 is compatible.

Therefore, in the disk drive device 1 according to the present invention, the card holder 111 in which the information memory card 101 is mounted is provided in a personal computer or the like, so that it can be mounted in the personal computer or the like with compatibility with the information memory card 101. It becomes possible.

The disk drive device 1 according to the present invention is mounted on a personal computer or the like provided with the card holder 111 so that an information device that exchanges information signals with the personal computer or the like can be used. Constitute. Then, the disk rotation drive mechanism 12 is driven to start the rotation drive of the hard disk 1 and the head rotation drive unit 4 of the information signal recording / reproduction mechanism 25
0 starts driving and a pair of head support arms 30, 31
Are operated to move the magnetic heads 26 and 27 at the tips of the head support arms 30 and 31 from the initial position located on the outer peripheral side of the hard disk 1 shown in FIG. 3 to the inner peripheral side shown in FIG. As a result, information signals from a personal computer or the like are recorded, or information signals recorded on the hard disk 1 are read and reproduced.

[0048]

As described above, the disk drive device according to the present invention can be interchangeably mounted on a conventionally used card holder on which an information memory card is mounted, and has a very large storage capacity on a recording medium. Since a disk whose capacity can be guaranteed is used, a sufficiently large storage capacity can be secured as compared with an information memory card, and the storage capacity of information equipment using this disk drive device can be increased. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from the upper surface side showing a disk drive device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view from the bottom side showing the disk drive device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the disk drive device according to the present invention and showing a state where the magnetic head is moved to a position on the outer peripheral side of the hard disk.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the disk drive device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where the disk drive device according to the present invention is mounted on a card holder on which an information memory card is mounted.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state where the disk drive device according to the present invention is mounted on a card holder on which an information memory card is mounted.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state where the magnetic head has been moved to a position on the inner circumference side of the hard disk;

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view showing a conventionally used information memory card.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the information memory card.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a card holder in which the information memory card is mounted together with the information memory card.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state where the information memory card is mounted on the card holder.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 disk drive device, 2 housing, 3
Frame part, 4 support substrate, 5 lid plate, 8, 9
Groove, 10 connectors, 11 hard disk,
12 disk rotation drive mechanism, 13 disk drive motor, 25 information signal recording / reproduction mechanism, 26, 27 magnetic head, 29 arm support, 30, 31 head support arm, 51 integrated circuit chip, 101 information memory card, 111 card holder, 111
plug

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A width of not more than 54 mm, and at least approximately 3.3 mm from one main surface along a longitudinal direction of at least one side surface.
A housing having a groove formed at the height of the disk, a disk housed in the housing and having a diameter of 54 mm or less, disk driving means for rotating the disk, and recording an information signal on the disk or the disk An information signal recording / reproducing means for reproducing the information signal recorded on the disk; a driving means for the recording / reproducing means for moving the information signal recording / reproducing means over the inner and outer peripheries of the disk; and an end portion of the housing. A disk drive device comprising an installed connector. 2. A control circuit for controlling at least one of the disk drive means and the drive means for the recording / reproducing means, and an interface circuit for interfacing with an external computer unit are mounted. 2. The disk drive according to claim 1, further comprising a first circuit board connected to said connector. 3. A second circuit board mounted with at least one drive coil of the disk drive means and the drive means of the recording / reproducing means, and disposed inside the housing and near the other main surface of the housing. 3. The disk drive device according to claim 2, comprising: 4. The disk drive according to claim 3, further comprising a board connection connector for connecting each of said first and second circuit boards. 5. The information signal recording / reproducing means has a pair of heads corresponding to both sides of the disk, and has a thickness of 10
2. The disk drive according to claim 1, wherein the diameter is equal to or less than mm. 6. The disk drive according to claim 1, wherein said disk is a hard disk. 7. The width is not more than 54 mm, and at least one
About 3.3 mm from one main surface along the longitudinal direction of the side surface
A housing having a groove formed at the height of the disk, a disk housed in the housing and having a diameter of 54 mm or less, disk driving means for driving the disk to rotate, and recording an information signal on the disk or the disk An information signal recording / reproducing means for reproducing the information signal recorded on the disk; a driving means for the recording / reproducing means for moving the information signal recording / reproducing means over the inner and outer peripheries of the disk; and an end portion of the housing. And a plug provided inside the holding portion and connected to the connector . The connector includes a holding portion for housing a disk drive device including the provided connector, and a plug connected to the connector. Information apparatus for exchanging information signals with the disk drive device. 8. The information device according to claim 7, wherein said holding portion includes an engaging portion which engages with a groove of said disk drive device, and regulates a holding position of said disk drive device.