JPH02123581A - Disk cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the constitution of parts and to thin the thickness and also to improve the hermetic property for the subject disk cartridge by constituting it out of an outer case and a tray with a disk mounting part in a prescribed depth. CONSTITUTION:The disk cartridge is constitutive of the thin box-shaped outer case 11 and the tray 12 which is freely attachable and detachable to and form this case. This tray 12 is provided with the disk mounting part 14 of a recessed pattern in an approximately round shape with a head inserting hole 15 on the bottom surface, and on the periphery of the mounting part 14, a projecting shaped disk holding step 16 is provided to protect the recording surface of the disk, where the disk is positioned at approximately the same level of the upper surface of the tray 12 when the disk is mounted. Consequently, the depth of the recessed part is equivalent to the sum of the thickness of the disk and the height of a disk holding step, thus making the disk cartridge having simple constitution of parts, thinned overall thickness and promoted hermetic property.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a cartridge that houses a disk, which is an information recording carrier for recording, reproducing, and erasing information.

[Prior Art] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a conventional disk cartridge.
The disk D is rotationally driven within the cartridge 1, and it is necessary to provide a clearance between the disk D and the inner wall of the cartridge 1 for rotation.
The overall thickness of the cartridge 1 increases. Also, a shutter 3 that opens and closes the opening 2 for inserting the spindle table and the head, and a spring 4 that biases the shutter 3.
, the number of parts such as the shutter lock member 5 increases, which is undesirable in terms of the number of man-hours required to set up the processing program, and the sealing performance is not good.Furthermore, the disk D rattles within the cartridge 1 even during handling, causing damage to the recording section. Sometimes it happens. In order to prevent this wobbling, several disk holding members are sometimes used, but this poses a problem in that the number of assembled parts increases. Furthermore, in order to reduce the diameter of the disk relative to the head and spindle table, the structure of this conventional disk cartridge is disadvantageous.

FIG. 5 shows a disc cartridge in which a disc D is pulled out together with a tray 7 from an outer case 6. In order to charge and king a disc D in a recording/reproducing device, the tray 7 is housed in the outer case. 6 into the device, release the lock between the tray 7 and the outer case 6, and press the disc holder 8.
The chucking of the disk D is completed by releasing the outer case 6 and pulling out the outer case 6 from the device. In addition, in order to eject the disc D and tray 7 after use, insert the outer case 6 into the device, and after locking the disc holder 8, tray 7, and outer case 6, insert the tray 7 into the outer case 6.
Store and discharge.

As described above, this conventional disk cartridge has poor operability, and the structure of the disk cartridge and device is complicated, and the total number of parts increases. Further, there is a limit to the conventional disk cartridge in order to make the diameter of the disk D smaller than that of the head or the like.

[Objective of the Invention 1 The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, protect the disk from scratches and dust, simplify the component structure, have a thin thickness, have excellent sealing properties, and provide a structure that is not affected by the outer diameter of the disk. Our goal is to provide disc cartridges.

[Summary of the invention] The gist of the present invention is to achieve the above objects.

A substantially thin box-shaped outer case with a tray insertion slot on one side;
a tray that is housed inside the outer case and has a disk storage section; the upper surface of the tray has a substantially circular recess for placing the disk, and the bottom surface of the recess has an opening for recording and reproducing information. At the same time, a convex disk holding step is provided which contacts a non-recording portion of the information recording surface of the disk, and the depth of the recessed portion of the tray is approximately equal to the sum of the thickness of the disk and the height of the disk holding step. This disc cartridge is characterized by:

[Embodiments of the Invention] The present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line n--■ in FIG. 1. Outer case 11 and this outer case 11
The tray 12 housed in the disc D is made of a synthetic resin material, and the disc D has a non-recording surface Da and an information recording surface ob. The outer case 11 has a thin box-like shape with an insertion opening 13 through which the tray 12 is housed. The tray 12 is provided with a disk mounting section 14 consisting of a substantially circular recess, and an opening 15 for head insertion is provided on the bottom surface of the disk mounting section 14. A convex disk holding stage 16 for protecting the recording surface ob of the disk D is provided on the outer periphery of the disk mounting portion 14. Here, the depth of the disk mounting portion 14 is approximately equal to the sum of the thickness of the disk D and the height of the disk holding stage 16. In other words, when the disk D is placed on the tray 12, the depth of the disk D and the tray 12 are approximately equal to each other. The upper surfaces are arranged to be at approximately the same position.

A pair of left and right lock arms 17 that are easily elastically deformed are integrally formed on the tray 12, and lock holes 18 that engage with the lock arms 17 are provided on both sides of the outer case 11. Two protrusions 19 are provided on the upper surface of the tray 12 for pulling out the tray 12 from the outer case 11 when loading the recording/reproducing apparatus.
It is adapted to fit into the notch 20 of No. 1. The upper end surface of the protrusion 19 and the upper surface of the outer case 11 have the same height, and when the tray 12 is housed in the outer case 11, the protrusion 19 and the upper surface of the outer case 11 are on the same plane. This protrusion 19 is chaffed inside the device, and serves to pull out the tray 12 from the outer case 11 and also serves to prevent incorrect insertion. In addition, the tray 12 has a light protector mounting section 2.
1 is provided, and a light protector 22 is fitted therein and engaged so as to be slidable left and right.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tray 12 inserted about halfway into the outer case 11, viewed from below.
A notch 23 having a size at least larger than the moving width of the head is provided in communication with the tray 12 side.
A convex surface 24 that engages with the IB 23 is provided.

By providing this notch 23, the moving distance of the head can be increased, thereby making it possible to move the head to the vicinity of the outermost layer of the disk D. This configuration is also effective when reducing the disk diameter relative to the head.

With the structure described above, first the tray 12 is attached to the outer case 11.
When inserted into the disc cartridge, the top surface of the tray 12 and the non-recording surface Da of the disc D are almost the same surface, so the disc D is sandwiched between the inner wall surface of the outer case 11 and the disc holding stage 16, so that the disc D is not inserted into the disc cartridge. This prevents rattling, while also making it possible to make the disc cartridge thinner.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the disc cartridge according to the present invention has two main parts: the outer case and the tray, and the depth of the disc mounting portion of the tray is determined by the thickness of the disc and the height of the disc holding stage. Since the overall thickness is made almost equal to the sum of , the thickness of the recording/reproducing apparatus can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 3 show an embodiment of a disk cartridge according to the present invention, with Figure 1 being an exploded perspective view, Figure 2 being a sectional view, and Figure 3 being a partial perspective view of the outer case and tray. and
FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the conventional example. Reference numeral 11 is an outer case, 12 is a tray, 14 is a disk storage section, 16 is a disk holding stage, and D is a disk. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd. ■ Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. It consists of a generally thin box-shaped outer case with a tray insertion slot on one side, and a tray housed inside the outer case and having a disk mounting section, and a disk is placed on the top surface of the tray. A circular recess is provided, an opening for recording and reproducing information is provided at the bottom of the recess, and a convex disk holding stage is provided that comes into contact with a non-recording portion of the information recording surface of the disk,
A disk cartridge characterized in that the depth of the recessed portion of the tray is approximately equal to the sum of the thickness of the disk and the height of the disk holding stage.