JPH0386987A - Compact optical disk cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a compact optical disk cartridge, which is made compact and light in weight, by specifying the external dimension of a resin-made case housing a compact optical disk to which information are recorded / reproduced. CONSTITUTION:A resin-made case 5 is provided to house a compact optical disk 2, to which the information are recorded / reproduced, and a sensor hole 5c is provided to be formed in the prescribed position of the case 5 and to discriminate the recording / reproducing control information, which are required when recording / reproducing is executed to the disk 2, as the presence and absence of a through hole. Then, the external dimension of the case 5 is set to be almost 64mm (2.5 inches) square. Thus, the compact optical disk cartridge can be made compact and light in weight. Further, for a compact optical disk device using this disk cartridge, the size is made compact, the weight is made light and energy consumption can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a small optical disc cartridge for recording/reproducing information.

(Prior Art) In recent years, optical disk devices such as magneto-optical disk devices have been used for recording computer data, document files, and the like.

The magneto-optical disk cartridge used in this magneto-optical disk device is a magneto-optical disk for recording/playback that can be freely erased and rewritten, and is made of resin for ease of handling and to make it removable from the recording/playback device. It is housed in a case. This magneto-optical disk has an outer diameter of 1
There are various sizes, from large 2 inches to small 5.25 inches and 3.5 inches, but in recent years, devices have become smaller.

With the trend toward lighter weight, this 3.5-inch type is attracting attention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a magneto-optical disk stored in the magneto-optical disk cartridge shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, which will be described later. FIG. 2 (A) is a bottom view, and FIG. figure,
FIG. 4 is an external perspective view showing an example of a conventional 3.5-inch magneto-optical disk cartridge, with FIG. 4(A) being a top perspective view and FIG. 4(B) being a bottom perspective view.

As shown in FIG. 4, a conventional 3.5-inch magneto-optical disk cartridge 21 has a magneto-optical disk 22 on which information is recorded/reproduced, and has a width of 90 m+m.

It consists of a thin box-shaped resin case 25 with a length of 94ffl+1 and a thickness of 6 mm, a shutter 26 made of a thin metal plate, and the like.

This magneto-optical disk 22 is made of Fe, Co,
A magneto-optical film (MO film) 22b made of Tb, Gd, etc. is formed, and a protective film 22 made of ultraviolet curing resin etc. is further formed thereon.
c is formed, and a hub 24 made of a thin metal plate for driving this disk 22 is fixed to the center thereof, and this disk 22 is housed in a case 25 as described above.

The outer diameter of the disk 22 is 86 mm, and a large number of spiral or concentric recording tracks are formed in the recording area 23 where information is recorded/reproduced on the magneto-optical film 22b.

A window 25a is formed at the center of the upper surface of the case 25, and a window 25b is formed at a position corresponding to the window 25a at the center of the lower surface of the case 25. ing. The windows 25a and 25b are closed by the shutter 26 when the disc cartridge 21 is not in use, and are opened by sliding the shutter 26 laterally when the disc cartridge 21 is in use. .

Further, at a predetermined position in one corner of the case 25, recording/reproduction control information necessary for recording/reproducing information in the recording area 23 of the D/S 22, for example, if the recording film is an Aρ film or an MO. A sensor hole 25c is formed in which information such as the film and the number of sectors, 21 or 22, is recorded as the presence or absence of a circular through hole.

In this embodiment, there are two types of recording/reproduction control information, and when each piece of information records a mode with a through hole, two through holes are formed adjacent to each other.

The conventional 365-inch magneto-optical disk cartridge 21 having the above-described configuration is installed and used in a magneto-optical disk device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a 3.5-inch magneto-optical disk device in which the disk cartridge shown in FIG. 4 is used. E
It is a schematic configuration diagram, and the disk cartridge 2 in the diagram is
1 shows a sectional view taken along the line Y-Y in FIG.

As shown in the figure, a 3.5-inch magneto-optical disk device 30 using a conventional disk cartridge 21 includes a rotary drive device 31, an electromagnet 32 for applying a bias magnetic field, a laser recording/reproducing device 33, and the sensor hole 25c. It is comprised of a transmission type optical reading device 34 for reading the disc cartridge 21, a holding device 35 for holding the disc cartridge 21, and the like.

When this disk cartridge 21 is installed in the device 30, the case 25 is held by a holding device 35 in a positioned state by a positioning hole (not shown), and the shutter 26 is held by a shutter opening/closing device (not shown) provided in this device 30. The windows 25a and 25b are opened by sliding laterally. Further, the sensor hole 25c is read by the optical reading device 34, and the recording/reproducing system is adjusted based on the recording/reproducing control information.

The hub 24 of the disk 22 passes through the window 25b,
It is chucked to a drive hub 31b fixed to the drive shaft of a spindle motor 31a of the rotational drive device 31, and the hub 24, and thus the disk 22, are rotationally driven by the rotational torque of the spindle motor 31a. Further, a bias magnetic field of a predetermined polarity is applied by the electromagnet 32 to the recording area 23 of the disk 22 through the window 25a as necessary.

Then, the laser recording/reproducing device 33 records/reproduces information at a desired position in the recording area 23 of the disk 22 through the window 25b.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Conventional 3.5-inch magneto-optical disk cartridge 21 and magneto-optical disk device 30 having the above configurations
In the field of personal use, the external dimensions and weight of this disk cartridge 21 are large, and therefore the external dimensions and weight of this device 30 are large, and the power consumption is large, making it difficult to use. Ta.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and can be used in small optical disk devices such as small magneto-optical disk devices that are compact, lightweight, and have low power consumption.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact optical disc cartridge such as a compact magneto-optical disc cartridge that is small in size and light in weight.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A small optical disc cartridge of the present invention provides a recording/recording of a lover.
A resin case that houses a small optical disc to be played; and presence or absence of a through hole for recording/playback control information necessary for recording/playback on the disc, which is formed at a predetermined position on the case. This is a small optical disc cartridge equipped with a sensor hole identified as 1, in which the case is constructed so that the outer short dimension of the case is approximately 64 mm (2.5 inches) square.

Further, in the small optical disc cartridge of the present invention, in the above-mentioned small optical disc cartridge, the sensor hole is a single through hole through which each piece of information can be identified even when there are two or more types of recording/playback control information. Or it is configured to be a blind hole.

(Example) For personal use, the external dimensions of the optical disk device are the external dimensions of a standard 8.5-inch hard disk device built into a conventional personal computer (width: 4 inches, depth: 5.8 inches). , 1 inch in height), two optical disk devices etc. can be installed in parallel in the space of this 3.5 inch hard disk device, improving the usability of this personal computer. This two-unit arrangement is a combination of a 2.5-inch magneto-optical disk device using a 2.5-inch magneto-optical disk cartridge, which is an embodiment of the small optical disk cartridge of the present invention, and a 2.5-inch hard disk device. In this case, the removability of the magneto-optical disk device and the high-speed transfer ability of the hard disk device are advantageous. For example, the width dimension of this magneto-optical disk device is 1/2 of the depth dimension of a 3.5-inch hard disk device.
The depth may be 4 inches, which is the width, and the height may be the same, 1 inch.

In order to set the width of this magneto-optical disk device to the above value, the width of the disk cartridge used must be approximately 2.5 inches.

The small optical disc cartridge of the present invention is made smaller and lighter by housing the small optical disc in a case with an external dimension of approximately 2.5 inches square, and the small optical disc device using this disc cartridge can also be used on the road. Planting arrangement (width dimension 2.9 inches, depth dimension 4 inches,
The external dimensions are 1 inch (1 inch in height), making it compact, lightweight, and low in power consumption, allowing two units to be installed side by side in the above-mentioned personal computer.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of a 2.5-inch magneto-optical disk cartridge, which is an embodiment of the small optical disk cartridge of the present invention, and FIG. 1A is a top perspective view;
The figure (B) is a bottom perspective view.

As shown in the figure, in a 2.5-inch magneto-optical disk cartridge 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, a magneto-optical disk 21 on which information is recorded/reproduced has a width dimension of 64n and a length dimension of 68m.
5. Thin box-shaped case made of resin with a thickness of 5 mm. It is composed of a shutter 6 etc. made of a thin metal plate.

As shown in FIG. 2, the magneto-optical disk 2 has a magneto-optical film 2b similar to the magneto-optical film 22b formed on one surface of a substrate 2a similar to the substrate 22a, and a magneto-optical film 2b similar to the magneto-optical film 22b. A protective film 2c similar to the protective film 22c is formed, and a hub 4 similar to the hub 24 is fixed to the center of the disc 2. As described above, the disc 2 is housed in the case 5. The outer diameter of the disk 2 is φ61 mm, and a large number of recording tracks are formed in a spiral or concentric manner in a recording area 3 in which information is recorded/reproduced on the magneto-optical film 2b.

The case 5 has the windows 25a and 25b shown in FIG.
Windows 5a and 5b similar to the above are formed, and when the disc cartridge 1 is not in use, the windows 5a and 5b are closed by the shutter 6, and when the disc cartridge l is in use, the shutter 6 is closed. It has a structure that can be opened by sliding 6 sideways. This case 5 is formed by combining two halves, an upper and a lower body.

Further, a sensor hole 5c corresponding to the sensor hole 25c shown in FIG. 4 described above is formed at a predetermined position in one corner of the case 5. Sensor hole 25c in this conventional example
As described above, when there are two types of recording/reproduction control information, and when each information records a mode with a through hole, two independent circular through holes are formed adjacent to each other. On the other hand, the case 5 according to the embodiment of the present invention is miniaturized as described above, and the space in which the sensor hole 5c is formed is narrow. must be smaller than in the case of

If two adjacent through-holes are formed by resin molding with such a small pitch, manufacturing costs will increase due to the difficulty of mold production and deterioration of moldability.

Therefore, in the sensor hole 5c according to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above case, the boundary portion between two adjacent through holes is removed, and a single elliptical through hole is formed. That is, when there are two or more types of recording/reproduction control information, and when each piece of information records a mode with a through hole, one through hole including a through part corresponding to each piece of information is used. The above-mentioned difficulties in manufacturing molds, deterioration in moldability, etc. are eliminated.

Note that the case 5 also has a write protection hole (not shown) formed therein.

The 2.5-inch magneto-optical disk cartridge 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration is installed and used in a magneto-optical disk device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a 2.5-inch magneto-optical disk device in which the disk cartridge shown in FIG. The figure is shown below.

As shown in the figure, a 2.5-inch magneto-optical disk device 1 in which a disk cartridge 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is used.
0 indicates a rotary drive device 11, an electromagnet 12 for applying a bias magnetic field, a laser recording/reproducing device 13, and the sensor hole 5c.
It is comprised of a transmission type optical reading device 14 for reading the disc cartridge 1, a holding device 15 for holding the disc cartridge 1, and the like.

This device 10 is smaller, lighter, and consumes less power than the conventional device 30 shown in FIG. 5, as the disk cartridge 1 is smaller and lighter.
Since the operations are the same, the explanation thereof will be omitted.

The 2.5-inch magneto-optical disk cartridge 1 and the magneto-optical disk device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention having the above-mentioned configurations, the disk cartridge 1 can be made smaller and lighter, and the device 10 can be made smaller and lighter. Since it is small, lightweight, and consumes less power, it is easier to use and suitable for personal use. In addition, since the external dimensions of the device 1o can be made 1/2 of the external dimensions of a standard 3.5-inch hard disk device built into a conventional personal computer, this 3.5-inch hard disk device Two units of this device 10 etc. can be installed side by side in the space of 1, improving the usability of this personal computer.

Note that for reading the recording/reproduction control information in the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the sensor hole 5c
is a through hole, and the optical reading device 14 is of a transmission type. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and when this sensor hole is a through hole or a blind hole, it may be read by a reflective optical reading device. I can do it. Also, due to contacts etc.
It is also possible to read it intuitively.

(Effects of the Invention) The compact optical disc cartridge of the present invention having the above-described structure is small and lightweight, and a compact optical disc device using this disc cartridge can be made small, lightweight, and low in power consumption. As a result, the disc cartridge and device have improved usability and are suitable for personal use.

In addition, it is possible to install two small optical disk devices side by side in the space of a standard 3.5-inch hard disk device built into a conventional personal computer, improving the usability of this personal computer. It becomes possible to do so.

Further, in the small optical disk cartridge of the present invention, since the sensor hole is a single through hole or a blind hole, the productivity and moldability of the mold for the case are improved, and manufacturing costs are reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of a 2.5-inch magneto-optical disk cartridge, which is an embodiment of the small optical disk cartridge of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bottom side, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the magneto-optical disk stored in the disk cartridge of FIGS. 1 and 4. FIG. 2 (A) is a bottom view, and FIG. Fig. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a 2.5-inch magneto-optical disk device in which the disk cartridge of Fig. 1 is used, and Fig. 4 shows an example of a conventional 3.5-inch magneto-optical disk cartridge. 5 is a perspective view of a 3- and 5-inch magneto-optical disk device in which the disk cartridge of FIG. 4 is used. FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example. 1...2.5 inch magneto-optical disk cartridge (small optical disk cartridge), 2...2.5 inch magneto-optical disk (small optical disk), 5...case, 5C...sensor hole, 10
...2.5-inch magneto-optical disk device (small optical disk device).

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A resin case containing a small optical disk on which information is recorded/played out, and a recording/playback control necessary for recording/playback on the disk formed at a predetermined position of the case. A small optical disc cartridge comprising a sensor hole for determining information as the presence or absence of a through hole, characterized in that the outer dimensions of the case are approximately 64 mm (2.5 inches) square. (2) Claims characterized in that the sensor hole is a single through hole or a blind hole that can distinguish each type of information even if there are two or more types of recording/reproduction control information. The small optical disc cartridge according to item 1.