JP3298912B2 - Disk cartridge - 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 cartridge containing a disk-shaped recording medium such as an optical disk capable of recording an information signal such as a musical sound signal and a video signal, and more particularly to a disk cartridge having a disk-shaped recording medium. The present invention relates to a device having a shutter member that opens and closes an opening that exposes at least a part of a recording surface radially outward.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, discs such as optical discs and magneto-optical discs, which are disc-shaped recording media capable of recording information signals such as tone signals and video signals, have dust or dirt on fingers adhered to the signal recording surface. Or if it is slightly scratched,
There is a possibility that recording and reproduction of information signals cannot be performed.

[0003] Therefore, the above-mentioned optical disk and magneto-optical disk are stored in a cartridge body as a protective storage housing in order to prevent dust and dirt from being attached to the fingers and to prevent scratches and to simplify handling. Thus, the disk cartridge is configured.

[0004] The disc stored in the cartridge main body is mounted on the recording / reproducing apparatus while being stored in the cartridge main body, and rotated in the cartridge main body. Therefore, the cartridge body is provided with a clamp opening which exposes a portion to be clamped, which is clamped by a disk rotation driving device provided on the recording / reproducing device side provided at the center of the disk, to the outside. I have.
Further, the cartridge body is provided with a recording / reproducing opening for exposing a part of the signal recording surface of the disc to the outside in the radial direction.

That is, the disk accommodated in the cartridge body is clamped by a disk rotation drive device via a clamp opening and rotated, and is opposed to a signal recording surface of the disk via the recording / reproducing opening. The information signal is recorded and reproduced by the signal recording and reproducing means.

When the opening is formed in the cartridge main body as described above, it is ensured that dust does not enter the cartridge main body or inadvertent contact of the finger with the disk surface during non-use such as storage, which is not attached to the recording / reproducing apparatus. Can not be prevented. Therefore, a shutter member that closes the opening when the disc cartridge is not mounted on the recording / reproducing apparatus is attached to the cartridge body.

The shutter member 1 is formed by punching a metal plate such as a thin stainless steel plate and bending it into a U-shaped cross section.
As shown in FIG. 7, a pair of upper and lower halves 2 and 3 formed by molding a synthetic resin are butt-connected and slid so as to fit from the front side to the outside of a cartridge body 4 containing a disk formed therein. It is mounted so as to be capable of opening and closing a recording / reproducing opening formed on the opposing main surfaces of the cartridge body 4.

The shutter member 1 has a retaining piece 6 which engages with an engagement groove 5 having a slide guide function of the shutter member 1 formed on the outer surface of the lower half 3 constituting the cartridge body 4. When it is bent and attached to the cartridge body 4, as shown in FIG. 7, the stopper piece 6 is engaged with the engagement groove 5 to prevent the cartridge body 4 from coming off. It becomes.

On the front side of the cartridge body 4 where the shutter member 1 slides, the shutter member 1 is provided.
There is formed a groove 7 for inserting a shutter opening operation member into which a shutter opening member for sliding operation is inserted. The groove 7 for inserting the shutter opening operation member is provided as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the cartridge body 4 is constructed by opening the front side.

[0010]

In the disk cartridge constructed as described above, the cartridge body 4 made of synthetic resin easily bends when dropped or the like during handling and when an impact or the like is applied. Would be better. The front side of the cartridge body 4, which is also the mounting side of the shutter member 1 in the open state where the groove 7 for inserting the shutter opening operation member is formed, is more easily bent and deformed than the other parts having the peripheral wall. Resulting in. For example, the front sides of the upper and lower halves 2 and 3 are bent in directions approaching each other as shown in FIG. As a result, the retaining piece 6 formed on the shutter member 1 is separated from the engagement groove 5 formed on the cartridge body 4. As a result, the shutter member 1 is easily dropped without being held by the cartridge body 4.

Further, since the shutter member 1 is also formed of a thin metal plate, it is easily bent when an impact is applied as described above, and the retaining piece 6 is detached from the engaging groove 5. It can be lost. Even in such a case, the shutter member 1 is easily dropped without being held by the cartridge body 4.

As described above, if the shutter member 1 falls off from the cartridge body 4, the recording / reproducing opening formed in the cartridge body 4 cannot be closed and held, and dust and the like in the cartridge body 4 cannot be kept. Cannot be prevented, and the cartridge body 4
Dust on the signal recording surface of the disc stored in the
Otherwise, damage such as scratching may be caused.

If dust or the like adheres to the signal recording surface of the disk or damages such as scratches occur, there is a possibility that information signals cannot be recorded or reproduced on the disk.

Therefore, the present invention can prevent a shutter member for opening and closing a recording / reproducing opening formed in a cartridge main body from easily falling off the cartridge main body, and can securely hold the shutter member in the cartridge main body. The present invention has been proposed for the purpose of providing a disk cartridge capable of reliably closing the recording / reproducing opening and protecting the disk housed in the cartridge body more reliably.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, a disk cartridge according to the present invention is formed by butt-connecting a rectangular upper half and a lower half to rotate a disk-shaped recording medium. The cartridge main body, in which the cartridge main body is formed so as to be capable of being housed, and has at least a part of the signal recording surface of the disc-shaped recording medium facing the main surface opposite to each other so as to face outward in the radial direction. A shutter member slidably mounted and having a shutter portion for opening and closing the opening. The shutter member has slide guide portions at both ends of a connecting piece for connecting the shutter portion, and each of the slide guide portions extends to one of the upper and lower halves on the outer main surface. A tip end is inserted between the cartridge holding piece and the upper and lower halves provided with a retaining engagement piece that engages with an engagement groove formed on the main surface on the distal end side, and the distal end side is separated from the retaining engagement piece. An insertion holding piece having a length to enter the inside of the cartridge body,
One of the upper and lower halves is held by the cartridge holding piece and the insertion holding piece, and is slidably attached to the cartridge body.

[0016]

In the disk cartridge according to the present invention, the shutter member is fitted from the front side of the cartridge main body so as to cover the opening formed in the cartridge main body, and the shutter member is attached to the front end side of the cartridge holding piece. The formed retaining engagement piece is engaged with an engagement groove formed on one of the outer main surfaces of the upper and lower halves constituting the cartridge body, and the insertion holding piece is inserted between the upper and lower halves. To be slidably attached to the cartridge body. The shutter member, when attached to the cartridge body, holds one of the upper and lower halves by the cartridge holding piece and the insertion holding piece.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The disk cartridge described below contains an optical disk capable of re-recording an information signal as a disk-shaped recording medium. As shown in FIG. 1, a disk cartridge housing the optical disk 11 has an upper half 12 and a lower half 13 which are formed in a rectangular shape by molding a synthetic resin or the like, and are joined together in a cartridge body 14. And an optical disk 11 as a disk-shaped recording medium. Inside the cartridge body 14, a disk storage position regulating wall 1 which forms a disk storage portion 15 and regulates a storage position of the optical disk 11 stored therein is formed in an arc shape.
6 is formed so as to be inscribed in the outer peripheral edge of the cartridge body 14. This disc storage position regulating wall 16
Are formed by abutting the storage position regulating wall halves 16a, 16b, which are formed on the inner surfaces of the upper and lower halves 12, 13 so as to face each other.

The cartridge body 14 has a disk table entry opening 17 into which a disk table of a disk rotation drive for rotating the optical disk 11 when the disk cartridge is mounted on a recording / reproducing apparatus. ing. The disk table entry opening 17 is, specifically,
As shown in FIG. 3, the lower half 13 is formed so that an inner peripheral portion including a metal plate 18 for disk chucking, which is mounted to cover the center hole 11 a of the optical disk 11 stored in the optical disk 11, can face outward. It is formed with a circular opening in the center.

The upper and lower surfaces, ie, the upper and lower halves 12 and 13, which are opposite main surfaces of the cartridge body 14.
Are provided with information signal recording / reproducing openings 19 and 20 for exposing at least a part of the signal recording area of the optical disk 11 accommodated therein to the outside over the inner and outer peripheries.
As shown in FIG. 1, the information signal recording / reproducing openings 19 and 20 extend from the position close to the disk table entry opening 17 to the front end face side of the cartridge body 14 in the left-right direction of the cartridge body 14. It is formed in a square shape at a substantially central position.

The cartridge body 1 formed as described above
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a shutter member 21 for opening and closing the information signal recording / reproducing openings 19, 20 has a front end face on which the information signal recording / reproducing openings 19, 20 are formed. Are arranged so as to fit from each other.

By the way, on the front end side of the cartridge body 14 where the shutter member 21 moves, a shutter member 21 is provided.
And a groove 22 for inserting a shutter opening operation member into which a shutter opening operation pin provided on the recording / reproducing apparatus side for moving and operating the shutter member 21 enters. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the groove 22 for inserting the shutter opening operation member has an opening end 22 a on one side surface orthogonal to the front end surface of the cartridge body 14 and extends in the moving direction of the shutter member 21. Formed.

A groove 2 for inserting the shutter opening operation member.
Inside 2, a shutter slide guide wall 23 is formed to ensure stable sliding of the shutter member 21 movably attached to the cartridge body 14. The shutter slide guide wall 23 is formed upright on the inner surface of the lower half 13.

An inner surface of the front edge side of the information signal recording / reproducing opening 19 formed in the upper half 12 has a groove 22 for inserting the shutter opening operation member in contact with the inner surface of the lower half 13. A butting wall 24 which functions to prevent the cartridge body 14 from bending in the thickness direction at the time of the above is formed upright.

The information signal recording / reproducing openings 19,
A shutter member 21 for opening and closing the shutter 20 is formed by punching and bending a thin metal plate, and includes shutter portions 21a and 21b for closing the information signal recording / reproducing openings 19 and 20, respectively, and these shutters. Parts 21a, 21b
And a connecting piece 21c for connecting the base end side of the base member, and is formed in a U-shaped cross section as a whole.

At both ends of the connecting piece 21c of the shutter member 21, first and second slide guide portions for guiding the shutter member 21 to move stably in parallel along the front side of the cartridge body 14. 25 and 26 are respectively protruded. These first and second slide guide portion 25 and 26, formed by forming bent so as to form an U-shaped cross-section having a substantially corresponding height H ₂ to the height H ₁ of the front side of the lower half 13 .

Then, the first slide guide 25
The shutter member 21 is attached to the leading end of the cartridge body 1.
4, the cartridge is inserted into a shutter opening operation member insertion groove 22 formed on the front side of the cartridge body 14 and relatively engages with a shutter lock member 27 provided in the cartridge body 14. The lock piece 28 is bent.

The first and second slide guides 2
The leading ends of the cartridge holding pieces 25a and 26a extending toward the lower half 13 of the lower half 13 engage with the engagement grooves 29 formed on the outer surface side of the lower half 13, and the shutter member 2
The stopper engagement pieces 30, 31 for guiding the movement direction of the shutter member 1 and for preventing the shutter member 21 from coming off from the cartridge body 14 are bent.

Further, the first and second slide guides 25, 26, on the side opposite to the cartridge holding pieces 25a, 26a, are provided with a groove formed between the upper and lower halves 12, 13 for inserting a shutter opening operation member. The insertion holding pieces 25b and 26b to be inserted into the base 22 are formed. When these insertion holding pieces 25b, 26b are inserted between the upper and lower halves 12, 13, as shown in FIG. 5, the leading ends of the insertion holding pieces 25b, 26b enter the cartridge body 14 from the retaining engagement pieces 30, 31. It is formed with a sufficient length.

The shutter member 21 constructed as described above
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each shutter 21a,
The cartridge 21 is fitted from the front side of the cartridge body 14 so as to extend over the information signal recording / reproducing openings 19 and 20. At this time, the first and second slide guide portions 25, 26 are attached to the cartridge holding pieces 25a, 26a.
Is extended over the outer surface of the lower half 13 to engage the retaining guide pieces 30, 31 with the engagement grooves 29, and insert the insertion holding pieces 25b, 26b into the groove 22 for inserting the shutter opening operation member. The insertion holding pieces 25b and 26b are extended on the upper end surface of the shutter slide guide wall 23.

As described above, by supporting the first and second slide guide portions 25 and 26 on the lower half 13 side, the shutter member 21 can move the cartridge holding pieces 25a, 26a and Insertion holding piece 25b,
26b, the lower half 13 is attached to the cartridge body 14 while supporting the front side of the lower half 13 therebetween. When the shutter member 21 is attached as described above, the lock piece 28 formed by bending the first slide guide portion 25 projects into the groove 22 for inserting the shutter opening operation member.

When the shutter member 21 is fitted to the cartridge body 14, the stopper member is engaged with the lower surface of the cartridge body 14 to which the shutter member 21 is fitted. The pieces 30 and 31 are easily engaged with the engagement grooves 29
The inclined guide surface 30a which guides so as to be able to be engaged with is formed as shown in FIG.

The cartridge holding pieces 25a, 25 formed on the first and second slide guides 25, 26 in this manner.
6a and the lower holding half 13 by the insertion holding pieces 25b and 26b.
The shutter member 21 fitted to the cartridge body 14 so as to hold the front side of the
The sliding direction is guided by the engaging groove 29 in which the 0 and 31 are engaged, and the shutter slide guide wall 23 restricts the swinging of the first and second slide guide portions 25 and 26 during sliding, thereby recording the information signal. Reproduction opening 1
It is slidably attached to the cartridge body 14 between an opening closing position where the openings 9 and 20 are closed and an opening opening position where the information signal recording / reproducing openings 19 and 20 are opened.

The information signal recording / reproducing opening 19, in which the shutter member 21 of the cartridge body 14 slides,
In the region extending from the peripheral edge of the cartridge 20 to one side surface and the front end surface side of the cartridge body 14, concave portions 32, 33, and 34 for shutter sliding having a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the plate member forming the shutter member 21 are provided. Are formed. By forming the shutter slide recesses 32, 33 and 34 in this manner, the shutter member 21 can be fitted and disposed flush with the surface of the cartridge body 14, and the shutter member 21 can be fitted and disposed. This prevents the cartridge body 14 from becoming thick.

On the other hand, a shutter member 21 attached to the cartridge
A shutter lock member 27 is provided to hold the information signal recording / reproducing openings 19 and 20 at the closed position where the openings 19 and 20 are closed. The shutter lock member 27 includes a support shaft 35 having a pivot portion 37 on the base end side set on the inner surface of the lower half 13.
And a lock arm 39 provided on the top with an engaging portion 38 with which the lock piece 28 of the shutter member 21 is relatively engaged so as to face the groove 22 for inserting the shutter opening operation member. .

The shutter lock member 27 locks the shutter member 21 at the opening closing position by engaging the lock piece 28 with the engaging portion 38 when the shutter member 21 is moved to the opening closing position. I do.

As described above, the disk cartridge constructed by attaching the shutter member 21 to the cartridge body 14 receives an impact due to an inadvertent drop or the like, and the shutter member 21 of the cartridge body 14 is attached as shown in FIG. Even if the bent side is bent and a deformation occurs in a direction to narrow the groove portion 22 for inserting the shutter opening operation member, the shutter member 21 is not moved by the cartridge holding pieces 25a and 26a and the insertion holding pieces 25b and 26b. Since the front side is supported so as to be clamped, it is possible to prevent the cartridge from falling off from the deformable cartridge body 14.

In the state shown in FIG.
Although the side is bent, even when the lower half 13 is bent, the shutter member 21 is prevented from falling off from the cartridge body 14. That is, the shutter member 21 is supported on the lower half 13 side.

In the embodiment described above, the shutter member 21
Is formed by punching and bending a metal plate, but may be formed by molding a synthetic resin.

Further, the cartridge holding pieces 25a, 26
a and the insertion holding pieces 25b and 26b
The side holding the cartridge 1 with respect to the cartridge main body 14 may be any of the upper and lower halves 12 and 13. That is, the cartridge holding pieces 25a, 26a and the insertion holding piece 25
The upper half 12 may be configured to be held by b and 26b.

In the above-described embodiment, the optical disk 1
In the above description, an example is described in which the present invention is applied to a disk cartridge storing the disk cartridge 1. However, the disk member stores not only the optical disk 11 but also a disk-shaped storage medium on which a predetermined information signal is recorded. The present invention can be widely applied to a disk cartridge having a cartridge body provided and opened.

[0041]

As described above, in the disk cartridge according to the present invention, the shutter member is fitted from the front side of the cartridge body so as to cover the opening formed in the cartridge body. The retaining engagement piece formed on the distal end side of the cartridge holding piece is engaged with the engagement groove formed on the outer main surface of one of the upper and lower halves constituting the cartridge body, and the insertion holding piece is further inserted. When inserted between the upper and lower halves and slidably attached to the cartridge body, one of the upper and lower halves is held by the cartridge holding piece and the insertion holding piece. That is, since the shutter member is configured to be supported by the cartridge body only in one half, the shutter member is dropped during handling of the disk cartridge, the upper and lower halves are bent, and the mounting side of the shutter member is deformed. Even if one half is held, it is possible to prevent the cartridge from falling off from the cartridge body.

Further, in the shutter member, in each slide guide portion formed at both ends of the connecting piece, one half side is held by the cartridge holding piece and the insertion holding piece inserted between the upper and lower halves. Therefore, the cartridge can be slid smoothly without swinging with respect to the cartridge body. In addition, of the cartridge holding piece that holds one of the upper and lower halves and the insertion holding piece, the insertion holding piece that is inserted between the upper and lower halves is a retaining engagement piece that is provided on the distal end side of the cartridge holding piece. Since it is formed to a length that can enter the inside of the cartridge body further, one half side is more securely held,
A more stable slide with respect to the cartridge body can be realized. As described above, according to the present invention, the shutter member can be securely held to the cartridge main body, and the recording / reproducing opening formed in the cartridge main body can be securely closed. As a result, the disc-shaped recording medium housed in the cartridge body can be reliably prevented from being damaged, and the disk housed in the cartridge body can be more reliably protected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a disk cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the disk cartridge according to the present invention as viewed from the upper surface side.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the disk cartridge according to the present invention as viewed from the lower surface side.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a shutter member constituting the disk cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a front end face side portion of the disk cartridge and along a portion of a retaining engagement piece.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a portion of a retaining engagement piece showing a state in which a mounting portion side of a shutter member of the cartridge body is deformed.

FIG. 7 is a partial longitudinal sectional view showing a front end surface side portion of a conventional disk cartridge to which a shutter member is attached.

FIG. 8 is a partial longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a front end side portion of a cartridge main body constituting a conventional disk cartridge is deformed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Optical disk 12 Upper half 13 Lower half 14 Cartridge main body 16 Disk storage position regulation wall 19, 20 Information signal recording / reproducing opening 21 Shutter member 22 Groove formed on front end face side of cartridge main body 25 First slide guide part 26 First 2 slide guide portions 25a, 26a Cartridge holding pieces 25b, 26b Insertion holding pieces 29 Engagement grooves 30, 31 Detachment engagement pieces

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An upper half and a lower half having a square shape are formed by butt-joining, and a disc-shaped recording medium is rotatably accommodated in the disc-shaped recording medium. A cartridge body having openings facing the outside over the main surfaces thereof, and a shutter member slidably mounted on the cartridge body and having a shutter for opening and closing the opening. The shutter member has slide guide portions at both ends of a connecting piece for connecting the shutter portion, and each of the slide guide portions extends to one of the upper and lower halves on the outer main surface. together they are inserted between the front end side to the cartridge holding piece provided with the retaining engagement pieces missing engages the engaging groove formed in the main surface and the upper and lower half with
The leading end side of the cartridge is separated from the retaining engagement piece by the cartridge.
An insertion holding piece having a length to enter the inside of the main body is provided, and one of the upper and lower halves is held by the cartridge holding piece and the insertion holding piece so as to be slidably attached to the cartridge main body. Disk cartridge.