JP3302621B2 - Disk cartridge - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a disk-shaped medium,
In particular, the present invention relates to a disk cartridge in which a recordable / reproducible optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, and the like are rotatably housed in a case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an information medium, for example, a disk medium such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk or a magneto-optical disk is used as a disk cartridge housed in upper and lower cases. It is known to include a shutter for opening and closing the opening of the shutter. In this conventional disk cartridge, a metal shutter is fixed to a slider with a screw, and the slider engages with a case to slide and guide. A shutter opening / closing member of a recording / reproducing apparatus is brought into contact with an end of the slider to open / close. There is a method of operating (JP-A-7-226046). Also,
For a disk cartridge in which a recordable / reproducible disk-shaped medium is stored on both sides, a number of methods of opening a shutter in both directions have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Publication 7-15322
In No. 1, return spring members are provided on both sides of the sliding shutter independently to urge the shutters in the closing direction.

[0003]

However, in the former method, it is difficult to reduce the size because the distance to the shutter opposite to the end of the slider is long, and if such a slider is used, the shutter can be moved in both directions. Because it cannot be applied to a disk cartridge with a mechanism that opens to the head, and because it is fixed with screws, the number of parts and the number of assembly steps increase,
Since the assembling direction is changed, there is a problem that the assembling becomes complicated. In the latter type of the double-opening type, the assemblability of the shutter is not considered, and the assembling of the upper and lower cases, the shutter and the return spring is extremely difficult, and the mass productivity is extremely poor. For example, if you want to incorporate the spring member before combining the upper and lower cases, lock the spring on the slider,
The spring is detached from the case due to the elastic force, which makes it very difficult to automate the assembly and save labor. In addition, in the configuration where the spring is incorporated after combining the upper and lower cases, the above problem does not occur, but the front side of the case It is necessary to widen the opening to insert the spring on the side, there is a problem of intrusion of dirt inside, and since the slider etc. is exposed to the outside, there is a risk that the user may touch it carelessly and damage it, and it is durable In addition, there is a problem that the disk cartridge is inferior in performance, and it is difficult to reduce the size of the disk cartridge. The present invention is intended to eliminate these conventional disadvantages, and it is possible to use an inexpensive resin for the shutter material with a miniaturized shutter mechanism, and to open and close the shutter on one side or both sides,
In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a disk cartridge having a good shutter opening / closing operation and a greatly improved assemblability.

[0004]

According to the present invention, a recordable / reproducible disk-shaped medium is rotatably housed in a case having an opening through which a recording / reproducing head or a drive shaft can be inserted. A disk cartridge having a shutter for opening and closing the opening, having an upper plate, a lower plate, and a connecting plate connecting the upper and lower plates and having a substantially U-shaped cross section, wherein the shutter includes a slider for sliding guide. A guide formed at an intermediate portion of a connecting plate of the shutter, an engaging hole provided on at least one of upper and lower surfaces of the projecting portion, and a slider for sliding guide of the shutter provided on a case. A first slider having a ridge slidably fitted into the groove, a resiliently deformable projection fitted into the engagement hole of the shutter, and a reinforcing portion fitted to the inner surface of the projection; At both ends of the first slider, A first projection including a projection that fits into a first guide groove into which the projection of the first slider fits, a projection that fits into a second guide groove provided in parallel with the first guide groove, and a spring locking portion. The two sliders are formed by holding and holding a spring at both ends of the first slider. Further, the shutter includes a convex portion having an inclined surface which is engaged with an elastically deformable projection protruding from the first slider, and is provided near an engagement hole provided on upper and lower surfaces of the projection of the shutter. Is also a feature.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the embodiment of the present invention, the shutter is made of resin and has a substantially U-shaped cross section by a connecting plate and slides over the front end of the upper and lower cases. Is provided with a protruding portion in the middle portion, and provided with an engagement hole on at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the protruding portion,
By providing the first slider with an elastically deformable projection that enters the engagement hole, the slider fixed to the shutter guides the slide from the closed state to the open state of the shutter by the guide groove on the inner surface of the case. I do. The shutter is slidably guided by a first slider that slides and engages with a guide groove provided in the case, and a spring is movably disposed inside the case and substantially at both ends in the width direction of the shutter. A pair of second sliders are engaged by a spring locking portion,
The first slider is sandwiched between a pair of second sliders by a spring, and can be incorporated into one of the upper and lower cases while being engaged with both ends of the first slider against a spring elastic restoring force. After the upper and lower cases are fixed, the shutter
The shutter can be fixed to the slider and the assemblability can be greatly improved, and the opening and closing direction of the shutter can be either one side or both sides, and the movement of the shutter is smooth,
Moreover, it is durable and can be used safely.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to an example of a disk cartridge accommodating an optical disk shown in FIGS. 1 to 6. A disk comprising an upper case 1 and a lower case 2 is capable of recording and reproducing. A shutter 4 for opening and closing the openings is provided in an outer surface of the case in which a disk-shaped medium 10 as an information medium is rotatably accommodated and openings such as head insertion holes 12 and 22 and drive shaft insertion holes 11 and 21 are formed. A cartridge slidably provided in a shutter sliding area 5 which is one step lower, wherein the shutter 4 has a cross section substantially formed by an upper plate 41, a lower plate 42, and a connecting plate 43 connecting the upper and lower plates 41, 42. The shutter 4 is provided with a first slider 6 and a second slider 7 for sliding guide, and a spring 8 of an elastic member for urging the shutter 4 in a closing direction.
A first slider 6 to slide engages with the first guide groove 9 provided on the case 1 to the shutter 4, engages with the second guide groove 9 ₁ provided on the case 1 slide In addition, a projection 44 is formed in the middle of the connecting plate 43 of the shutter 4 so as to provide a pair of second sliders 7 and 7 held at both ends of the first slider by a spring 8. An engaging hole 45 is provided on at least one of the upper and lower surfaces.
An elastically deformable protrusion 63 fitted on the first slider 6 is provided opposite to the first slider 6 and is integrally connected.

That is, at the time of assembling, the disk-shaped medium 10, the erroneous erasure prevention member 13, the first slider 6, the second slider 7, and the coil spring 8 are incorporated into one of the upper and lower cases 1 and 2.
A spring 8 for restoring the shutter 4 to a closed position and sliders 6 and 7 for guiding the shutter 4 are provided by fixing the upper and lower cases 1 and 2 and finally attaching the shutter 4 to the first slider 6. Is easy to assemble, and a screw for fixing the shutter 4 is unnecessary, and it is sufficient to simply push the shutter 4 in the direction of the first slider 6.

In this case, the first slider 6 and the second slider 7 are engaged and disengaged from each other by fitting the ends of the first slider 6 on both sides of a spring locking portion 71 provided on the second slider 7. Enclosing walls 72, for example, substantially reverse L-shaped walls that cover the ends of the first slider are opposed to each other around the spring engaging portion 71, and the second sliders 7, 7 are provided at both ends of the first slider 6. The second sliders 7, 7 are pressed and fixed to the stopper protruding walls provided in the case along both ends of the opening at the center of the case, and the shutter 4 is opened and closed in both directions. is there. The first slider 6 is provided with a ridge portion 64 slidably fitted in the first guide groove 9 and a reinforcing portion 62 fitted on the inner surface of the projection portion 44 to open and close the shutter. A contact portion with an operation member (not shown) is reinforced to increase durability, and the second slider 7 is provided with a ridge fitted into the first guide groove 9 with which the first slider 6 engages. a part 73, the opening and closing operation of the first guide second guide grooves 9 ₁ is arranged a protrusion 73 ₁ fitted to be stable sliding on the inner surface of the case the shutter 4 provided in parallel with the grooves 9 Good.

The shirt 4 has a substantially U-shaped cross section and slides over the front end of the upper case 1 and the lower case 2. The shirt 4 and the first slider 6 are joined together. The guide is slidably guided from the closed state to the open state by the key-shaped unevenness of the first slider 6 and the groove on the inner surface of the case. Further, the second slider 7
Are arranged at both ends of the first slider 6, and the coil spring 8 is locked so that an elastic restoring force acts in a direction in which both the second sliders are drawn. The mechanism for urging the shutter 4 to the closing position will be described. When the shutter 4 opens, for example, rightward, the second slider 7 on the left is in contact with the wall at the left end of the head insertion hole of the case. The second slider 7 on the right moves with the first slider to the right. As a result, an elastic restoring force is generated that increases the dimension between both ends of the coil spring 8 and urges the coil spring 8 toward the closing position.

Further, the first slider 6 and the second slider 7 have a vertically symmetrical structure, and the second slider 7 holds the first slider 6 with a spring 8 so as to be pressed. After assembling the upper and lower cases 1 and 2 after assembling them into one of the cases 1 and 2, the shutter 4 is fixed to the first slider 6. That is, the shutter 4
It is fixed to the slider 6 and moves at the same time. Also,
Second sliders 7, 7 are provided at both ends of the first slider 6 so as to sandwich the first slider 6, and the two sliders 6, 7 receive a tensile elastic force by a spring 8 to urge the first slider 6 to a closing position. ing.

In this case, both ends of the first slider 6 are formed in a substantially U-shaped section 61 having a gap through which the spring 8 is inserted, and the first slider 6 is engaged in a direction in which the second slider 7, 7 is drawn. The spring 8 to be stopped uses a tension coil spring, and the center of the coil spring 8 and the surrounding wall 72 are
The shutter 4 can be smoothly moved as a configuration in which the center of the portion covered by the shape substantially coincides. Further, the guide slide 3 is provided by a fixing means such as fusion or adhesion, and the shutter slide area 5 in which the shutter 4 slides in the case is provided. The guide slide 3 may be formed integrally with the case. The first slider 6 provided on the shutter 4 that slides over the front end of the upper and lower cases 1 and 2 also serves as a presser for the free ends of the shutter upper and lower plates. Reinforcement portions 62 for reinforcement are provided at both ends,
It is preferable to provide a projection 63 that fits into the engagement hole 45 provided in the shutter 4.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the first slider 6 has a U-shaped portion 6 on both sides of which the second slider 7 abuts.
A spring 8 is inserted through a U-shaped gap 1 and a projection 63 is provided in the middle of the spring 8. The projection 63 enters the projection 44 of the shutter 4, and is further attached to the shutter 4 by an elastic arm 65 between the two projections 63. Fixed. FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the second slider 7. The second slider 7 has a spring locking portion 71 for locking the spring 8 and a U-shaped portion 61 of the first slider 6 wrapped from the outside. Projections 73, 7 having a wall 72 and fitted into the _first and second guide grooves 9, 91 on the inner surface of the case.
3 _1,支杆7 that fits into the recess of the first slider 6
The first slider 6 and the second slider 7 are integrated with each other to make the movement of the shutter 4 smooth, and the durability is also improved.

With such a configuration of the first and second sliders 6 and 7, when the shutter 4 is opened, the first and second sliders 6 and 7 can be integrally opened and closed. During assembly, the first slider 6, the second slider 7 (two pieces), and the spring 8 are temporarily assembled and easily assembled into the lower case 2 (one of the upper and lower cases). it can. Further, the pressed portion at the end of the first slider 6 covered by the surrounding wall 72 is formed to have a substantially U-shaped section 61 so as to cover the coil spring 8, and the surrounding wall 72 substantially coincides with the center of the coil spring 8. By doing so, consideration is given to the stabilization of the temporary assembly during the assembling and the stabilization of the operation by opening and closing the shutter 4 after the assembling.

[0014] Incidentally, the shutter 4 is fixed to the first slider 6, for example, ridges 64 and the first case the inner surface of the first slider 6, the shutter 4 is closed by the second guide grooves 9, 9 ₁ Guide sliding from the state to the open state.
Further, an erroneous erasure prevention member 13 for selectively setting whether or not recording on the disk is possible is provided movably inside the case. Further, the shutter 4 is formed by injection molding using a polyacetal resin or the like to have a substantially U-shaped cross section. However, if a resin is used, the shutter 4 is less expensive and lighter than a metal (eg, stainless steel or surface-treated aluminum). In addition, there is an advantage that even a complicated shape can be made relatively easily.

A shutter opening / closing member of the recording / reproducing apparatus is utilized by utilizing the resin feature of the shutter 4 and utilizing the wall of the stepped portion provided at the intermediate portion of the connecting plate 43 and the other surface. (Not shown), and a first slider 6 is fitted and arranged on the inner surface side of the shutter. The first slider 6 guides the sliding of the shutter 4. However, the shutter 4 has a relatively thin plate thickness by a reinforcing portion 62 which is provided with a portion which is in contact with the inner wall of the projecting portion of the shutter 4 and which reinforces the contact portion with the shutter opening / closing operation member. As a result, appearance quality and dimensional stability can be improved, and appearance defects such as sink marks can be eliminated.

The spring 8 for urging the shutter 4 uses a tension coil spring. The reinforcing portion 62 of the first slider 6 is in contact with the inner wall of the projecting portion 44 provided on the connecting portion 43 of the resin shutter 4. It is preferable that the first slider 6 is brought into contact with only a vertical surface.

In the figure, 19 is a label area, and 20 is a positioning hole for a disc cartridge.

In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to 12, in order to prevent the shutter from coming off when an impact is applied, the second embodiment is engaged with the elastically deformable projection 63 provided on the first slider 6. An engagement hole 45 provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the protrusion 44 of the shirt 4
This is a preferred example in which a notch 66 is provided at a portion of the first slider 6 corresponding to the convex portion 46 as necessary to prevent the shirt from being easily removed by an impact. FIG.
When the engagement projection 63 provided on the first slider 6 and the projection 46 having a slope formed on the inner surface of the projection 44 of the shirt 4 are engaged with each other as shown in FIG. Will not come off. In each of the embodiments, a disc cartridge containing a disk medium that can be used on both sides is described. However, the present invention can also be used for a disc cartridge containing a disc medium that can be used only on one side.

[0019]

According to the present invention, a recordable / reproducible disk-shaped medium is rotatably housed in a case having an opening through which a recording / reproducing head or a drive shaft can be inserted, and the opening is provided. The upper and lower plates are shutters that open and close,
A disk cartridge having a substantially U-shaped cross section from the connecting plate connecting the upper and lower plates, the slider including a slider for sliding guide and a spring for urging the shutter in a closing direction of the shutter, A guide groove formed in a middle portion of the connection plate of the shutter, an engagement hole provided in at least one of upper and lower surfaces of the projection portion, and a slider for sliding guide of the shutter provided in a case; A first slider having a protrusion that is slidably fitted into the first slider, an elastically deformable projection that is fitted into the engagement hole of the shutter, and a reinforcing portion that is fitted into the inner surface of the projection. A projection that fits into a first guide groove into which a ridge of the first slider fits, a projection that fits into a second guide groove provided in parallel with the first guide groove, and a spring at both ends of the first slider; A second slider having a locking portion is attached to both ends of the first slider. The shutter mechanism is compact, and the shutter material can be made of inexpensive resin, and the shutter can be opened or closed on either side or on both sides. Since the first slider and the second slider and the spring at both ends thereof can be temporarily assembled and stabilized first,
The assembled product can be assembled in the lower case or upper case, and then combined with the other case and fixed.This greatly improves the assemblability, and enables stable production with less assembly defects even in automatic assembly. Temporary assembly during assembly is stabilized by a shutter mechanism including the first and second sliders that have been miniaturized, and inexpensive resin can be used for the shutter material. The shutter can be opened or closed in one direction or both sides. It is possible to provide a disk cartridge which is highly reliable in opening and closing the shutter. Also,
The structure is such that the elastically deformable engaging projection provided on the first slider and the convex portion having a slope provided on the inner surface of the protruding portion of the shirt are locked to each other, so that the shirt does not easily come off due to an impact or the like, and it is safe. Can greatly enhance the performance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a separated state showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the shutter of FIG. 1 in a separated state.

3 (a) is a front view, FIG. 3 (b) is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line AA, FIG. 3 (c) is a plan view, FIG. 3 (d) is a side view, e) is a bottom view.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the example of FIG. 3, (a) is an overall perspective view,
(B) is a partial perspective view cut from the center.

5A and 5B show a second slider of the example of FIG. 2, wherein FIG. 5A is a plan view, FIG. 5B is a front view, FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional plan view taken along line BB, and FIG. It is a perspective view.

6A and 6B show a part of a lower case in detail, wherein FIG. 6A is an enlarged perspective view of the lower case, and FIG. 6B is a cutaway perspective view taken along the line DD.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an inner surface of a shutter according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

8A and 8B show an example in which a locking projection is provided on the inner surface of the projection of the shutter in the example of FIG. 7, wherein FIG. 8A is a perspective view in which the projection is partially cut away, and FIG. FIG. 7C is an enlarged perspective view of a notch in a front state, and FIG. 9C is an enlarged perspective view of a notch showing an assembled state with a first slider.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the first slider of the example of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the assembled state from which the upper case used in the example of FIG. 8 has been removed.

11A and 11B are cross-sectional views of the example of FIG. 10, in which FIG. 11A is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken along line AA, and FIG. 11B is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken along line BB.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the example of FIG. 10 in an assembled state in which the guide is partially cut away.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper case 2 Lower case 3 Guide 4 Shutter 5 Shutter sliding area 6 First slider 7 Second slider 8 Spring 9, 9 ₁ First and second guide grooves 10 Disk 11, 21 Drive shaft insertion hole 12, 22 Head insertion Hole 13 Erroneous erasure prevention member 20 Positioning hole 23, 24 Stopper projection wall 41 Upper plate 42 Lower plate 43 Connecting plate 44 Projection 45 Engagement hole 46 Projection 61 U-shaped portion 62 Reinforcement portion 63 Projection 64 Projection 65 Elasticity Arm 66 Notch 71 Spring engaging part 72 Surrounding wall 73, 73 ₁ Projection 74 Support rod

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-10-106212 (JP, A) JP-A-6-251534 (JP, A) JP-A-9-330576 (JP, A) JP-A-1- 165082 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G11B 23/03

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A recording / reproducing disk-shaped medium is rotatably housed in a case having an opening through which a recording / reproducing head or a drive shaft can be inserted, and a shutter for opening and closing the opening is provided. In a disk cartridge having an upper plate, a lower plate, and a connecting plate for connecting the upper and lower plates and having a substantially U-shaped cross section, the shutter having a slider for sliding guide, the intermediate portion of the shutter connecting plate. Projecting
Forming at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the projecting portion.
The surface is provided with an engagement hole, and a slide guide for sliding the shutter is provided .
Boss that slidably fits into the guide groove provided in the case.
A ridge and an elastically deformable fitting fitted into the engaging hole of the shutter
And a reinforcing portion fitted to the inner surface of the protrusion and the protrusion.
A first slider, and the first slider at both ends of the first slider.
Projection that fits into the first guide groove into which the projection of the rider fits
And a second guide groove provided in parallel with the first guide groove.
The second slider provided with a projecting portion
(1) A disk cartridge formed by holding and holding springs at both ends of a slider . 2. The shutter according to claim 1, wherein the shutter has a protrusion having an inclined surface which is engaged with an elastically deformable protrusion protruding from the first slider, the protrusion being proximate to engagement holes provided on upper and lower surfaces of the protrusion of the shutter. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The disk according to claim 2, wherein the first slider has a notch at a position corresponding to a projection having an inclined surface provided near an engagement hole formed on an inner surface of the projection of the shutter. cartridge.