JPH0379795B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a disk cassette having a disk as a recording medium such as a flexible magnetic disk inside a case, and sometimes to a holding structure for an elastic member for urging a shutter.

Conventional flexible magnetic disks and other disks are housed in a case with an opening such as a door window, which makes it easy for dust to enter the case and adhere to the disk through the opening, and it is difficult to hold the disk with your fingers through the opening. When this occurs, fingerprints are left on the disk. If dust or fingerprints adhere to the disk, dropouts are likely to occur in the signal reproduced from the disk. For this reason, extreme care must be taken when handling the case.

In order to prevent dust from entering the case and fingerprints from sticking to the disc, a torsion coil spring is built into the case with its coil part in an unrestrained state, and its restoring force ensures that the shutter is closed. As an example of the structure, the disk cassettes shown in FIGS. 1a, b, and c have been proposed by the inventors of the present invention. This disk cassette includes cases 1 and 6, shutters 3 and 8, a disk 4, a shutter opening/closing member 9 as an example of shutter opening/closing means, and a torsion coil spring 1 as an elastic member.
1. Shutters 3 and 8 are
It is rotatably attached to the inside of the cases 1 and 6, and covers the head windows 2 and 7 when the disk cassette is not in use. The disk 4 has a hub 5 at its center, and when the disk 4 is driven to rotate, the hub 5 receives driving force and at the same time functions to accurately locate the center of the disk 4. The torsion coil spring 11 is arranged in a corner region 15 of the case (a region including the corner 16 of the case and formed between the outer edge forming the corner 16 and the outer edge of the disk). One end of the shutter opening/closing member 9 is connected to the outer periphery of the shutters 3, 8, and opens and closes the shutters 3, 8. The other end of the shutter opening/closing member 9 has a convex portion 10 as a portion receiving external force. The convex portion 10 protrudes toward the outside of the cases 1 and 6, and at least its tip surface is exposed to the outside of the case. A recess 13 is formed on the back side of the protrusion 10, one end of the torsion coil spring 11 is inserted into the recess 13, and the other end of the spring 11 is pressed against the inner corner of the case 6. FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. Indicates the condition. When this disk cassette is loaded into a disk drive device (not shown), the claw portion 14 provided on the disk drive device side moves against the guide surface provided on the side surface of the disk cassette as the disk cassette moves such as insertion. 12 is used as a guide means to push down the convex portion 10 linearly downward in the figure. As a result, the shutter opening/closing member 9 slides to rotate the shutters 3, 8 and open the head windows 2, 7. On the other hand, when the disk cassette is removed from the disk drive device, the external force exerted by the claw portion 14 is released from the convex portion 10, so that the torsion coil spring 11 expands with restoring force and pushes the shutter opening/closing member 9 upward in the figure. Shutter 3,
8 to close the head windows 2 and 7. As shown in FIG. 2, in this example, one end of the torsion coil spring 11 is only inserted into the recess 13, so it is easily removed from the recess 13. When the end of the torsion coil spring 11 comes off, the shutters 3 and 8 are left in a free state, and if the shutters 3 and 8 open due to vibration, or if the disk cassette is removed from the disk drive device, the head window will not open. There is a drawback that 2 and 7 are not closed and remain open. In addition, torsion coil spring 1
Since the other end of the torsion coil spring 11 is only pressed against the inner corner of the cases 1 and 6, the other end of the torsion coil spring 11 may be damaged by vibrations during opening and closing of the shutters 3 and 8 and during transportation. There is a drawback that the torsion coil spring 11 is likely to move from the inner corner, and the torsion coil spring 11 as a whole is not positioned and held at a predetermined position within the cases 1 and 6, but is loose and cannot perform its predetermined function.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the above-mentioned techniques,
To provide a disk cassette which can surely hold the end of an elastic member such as a torsion coil spring in a predetermined position under any condition and always bias a shutter in the direction of closing a head window.

In order to achieve the above object, in the disk cassette according to the present invention, (a) the case (corresponding example code 6) has a first locking member having an opening on the side of the elastic member (corresponding example code 11); (2) The shutter opening/closing means is movable in a straight line along the outer edge of the case forming the corner and has an opening. Second locking part (corresponding embodiment code 20,
22) near the outer edge of the case; The first end is longer than the distance between the locking part of the case and the corner area including the corner of the case (corresponding embodiment code 15 (including the outer edge of the case)). (corresponding embodiment code 11a) is attached to the first locking part, and the second end part (corresponding embodiment code 11a) is attached to the first locking part.
b) is held by the second locking portion in an inserted state in each of the openings, and the second end is attached to the second locking portion with an intermediate portion between the two end portions not being restrained; According to the linear movement of the disk, the disk is moved outside the outer edge of the disk (corresponding embodiment code 4).

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the structure of one embodiment of the disk cassette of the present invention. In this embodiment, the other parts of the disk cassette that are not shown in FIG. 3 are the same as the conventional structure example already detailed in FIGS. 1 and 2, so their explanation will be omitted here. The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is a structure of an opening/closing driving section for the shutters 3 and 8, which includes a case 6, a shutter opening/closing member 9 as an embodiment of shutter opening/closing means, and a spring 11 as an elastic member. The case 6 is attached to the end of the shutter opening/closing member 9.
A protrusion 19 is formed at right angles to the shutter opening/closing member 9 toward the inside of the shutter. The protrusion 19 is provided with a small hole 20 and a slit 22 as a second locking part, and the one end 11b of the torsion coil spring 11 is
(the second end) is bent into a U-shape or a V-shape and fits into the small hole 20, and the protrusion 1
9 is gently inserted. The one end (second end) 11b of the torsion coil spring 11 and the small hole 20 form a smooth joint in which the torsion coil spring 11 rotates around the small hole 20, and the spring 11 is simultaneously This is a part that securely connects to the opening/closing member 9 and prevents it from coming off due to vibration or the like. The width of the slit 22 is the small hole 20
smaller than the width of . The projection 19 moves linearly along the outer edge of the case together with the second end 11b of the torsion coil spring 11 to open and close the shutters 3 and 8. Further, the other end 11a (first end) of the torsion coil spring 11 is connected to a recess 21 as a first locking part provided in an internal corner of the case 6 and having an opening on the torsion coil spring 11 side. It has been inserted. The first end 11a is inserted and pressed into the recess 21 by the restoring force of the torsion coil spring 11, and its movement is also restricted by the inner wall of the recess 21, so that it is not affected by vibrations or the like. Also, the shutter opening/closing member 9 is always given the restoring force of the torsion coil spring 11, and the windows 2 and 7 are always securely opened by the shutters 3 and 8 when the disk cassette is not in use. will be closed. Both ends 11 of torsion coil spring 11
The intermediate part between a and 11b, especially the coil part 11c,
Similar to the conventional example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the disk 4 is moved outside the outer edge of the disk 4 in an unrestrained state as the second end portion 11b moves linearly.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the convex portion 1
This is a configuration example in which the shutter opening/closing member 9 and the projection 19 are provided at positions separated from each other in the moving direction of the shutter opening/closing member 9. The torsion coil spring 11 can be rotated smoothly into a small hole 20 formed in the protrusion 19, and the end (second end) of the torsion coil spring 11 is bent into a square shape. Since the structure is such that the torsion coil spring 11 is held in the small hole 20, the torsion coil spring 11 does not come off the protrusion 19. Furthermore, by providing the protrusion 10 and the protrusion 19 at positions separated from each other in the movement direction, the position design of the protrusion 10 and the protrusion 14 can be performed independently of each other.
Greater freedom in design and manufacturing.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a slit 22 is provided following a small hole 20 in the direction in which a protrusion 19 provided on the shutter opening/closing member 9 projects. In the case of this embodiment, the width of the slit 22 is narrower than the diameter of the strands of the torsion coil spring 11. By making the shutter opening/closing member 9 from plastic or the like, the protrusion 19 can have an elastic structure, so even if the slit 22 is smaller than the diameter of the wire of the torsion coil spring 11, the torsion coil spring 11 can be The bent portion can be inserted into the small hole 20 by expanding the slit 22. In addition, the restoring force of the spring 11 is divided into a component in the upward longitudinal direction of the shutter opening/closing member 9 and a component in the direction of the convex portion 10 at right angles to the component in the same figure. If the direction is within the range connecting the lower part of the protrusion 19 (lower longitudinal direction of the shutter opening/closing member 9) and the perpendicular direction thereof (the protruding direction of the protrusion 19), the spring 11 will not come out of the small hole 20. . According to this embodiment, the torsion coil spring 1
1 and the shutter opening/closing member 9 can be dramatically improved. As detailed above, according to the present invention, the connection of the elastic member to the shutter opening/closing means can be made smooth and reliable, and the retention of the elastic member to the case can be made simple and reliable. can. Furthermore, the ease of assembly when assembling the elastic member into the case is dramatically improved, the shutter can be closed reliably, and the intrusion of dust and the adhesion of fingerprints can be reliably prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1a, b, and c are perspective views of the structure of a conventional disk cassette, FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a spring holding structure in the structure of FIG. 1, and FIG. A partial perspective view showing an embodiment of the fourth embodiment.
This figure is a partial perspective view showing a second embodiment of the disk cassette of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing a third embodiment of the disk cassette of the present invention. 1, 6... Case, 3, 8... Head window, 4... Disk, 9... Shutter opening/closing member (shutter opening/closing means), 11... Torsion coil spring (elastic member), 19... Protrusion part , 20...
Small hole, 21... recess, 22... slit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A recording medium disk is contained in a substantially square case, and the shutter is moved together with the shutter opening/closing means by the restoring force of an elastic member, and the head window of the case is closed. In the disk cassette, the case is provided with a first locking part at a corner having an opening on the side of the elastic member, and the shutter opening/closing means is arranged along an outer edge of the case having the opening and forming the corner. A linearly movable second locking portion is provided near the outer edge of the case, and the elastic member is configured to generate an elastic restoring force by bending deformation, and the distance between both ends before bending deformation is equal to the first locking portion. longer than the distance between the stop portion and the second locking portion, is arranged in a corner area including the corner of the case, and has a first end connected to the first locking portion; Also the second
The end portions of the second locking portions are held in the respective openings by the second locking portions, and the intermediate portions between the two end portions are unrestricted and attached to the second locking portions.
A disk cassette characterized in that the disk cassette is configured to be moved outside the outer edge of the disk according to the linear movement of the end of the disk. 2. The disk cassette according to claim 1, wherein the shutter opening/closing means has a structure in which the second locking portion has a portion where the opening width is widened inside the opening. 3. The shutter opening/closing means according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shutter opening/closing means has a protrusion that protrudes from the outer edge of the case toward the disk and has the second locking portion formed therein. disk cassette. 4 The elastic member has a bent portion at the first end and the second end, and the bent portion abuts the first locking portion and the second locking portion, respectively. 4. A disk cassette according to claim 1, 2 or 3, which is configured to be held. 5. The disk cassette according to claim 4, wherein the elastic member has a bent portion at the second end that is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the plane of movement of the shutter. 6. The case has a main opening at the outer edge of the corner area, which is continuous with the openings of the first locking part and the second locking part and communicating the openings to the outside of the case. Claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 which is a structure
The disk cassette described in section. 7. The disk cassette according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, wherein the elastic member is a torsion coil spring.