JPH04318370A - Loading device for cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely set a cartridge in the prescribed recording/reproducing position with a weak driving force for loading motor and a preloading spring force by overcoming the resistance of positioning pins for the facial direction of a disk device. CONSTITUTION:Among height positioning surfaces 9a-9d at four places accepting the height reference surfaces of four corners of the cartridge 1, the heights of surfaces 9a, 9b provided with the positioning pins 8a, 8b in the facial direction (to be inserted to reference holes at the two corners of cartridge) are made slightly lower than those of the surfaces 9c, 9d without pins. By this arrangement, in the comparatively earlier period when the reference holes of cartridge are unaffected yet by a large resistance force from the taper parts of pins 8a, 8b at the loading time, the reference surfaces of cartridge are fitted up to the positioning surfaces 9c, 9d, then a leverage providing this fitted point as a fulcrum, the pins 8a, 8b as load points, and the mounting position of preloading spring 11 as one of working force applying points, is generated, therefore, the setting can be made with weak forces.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a loading device for loading and unloading a cartridge containing a recording medium such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk into a recording/reproducing device (loading position) in a recording/reproducing device. In particular, the present invention relates to a cartridge loading device that can reliably load a cartridge to a predetermined recording/reproducing position.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional loading devices for cartridges such as optical disks load a cartridge in its surface direction (horizontal direction A positioning pin that fits into a reference hole formed on the front side of the cartridge in order to position the cartridge in the forward and backward directions), and a positioning pin that engages with reference surfaces formed in the four corners of the cartridge in order to position the cartridge in the height direction. and a positioning surface. The heights of these positioning surfaces on the device are generally designed to be the same height (coplanar).

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-mentioned conventional cartridge loading device, the height of the positioning surfaces at the four corners for positioning the cartridge in the height direction is the same, and the cartridge is The effect of the locating pin that positions the cartridge in the direction (direction) and the preload force applied to the cartridge receiving part are not taken into consideration, nor is the relationship between the setting force for fitting the cartridge to the locating pin during loading and the preload force on the cartridge. Also, no consideration is given to the influence of load force (resistance force) on the loading operation during loading.

For this reason, it has been found that the conventional apparatus has a problem in that the cartridge is not correctly set at a predetermined loading position (recording/reproducing position) due to the influence of the increased load force caused by the positioning pin. That is, during loading, a situation occurred in which the cartridge was caught in the middle of the tapered portion of the positioning pin of the device, and the cartridge could not be pushed to the height direction positioning surface (predetermined loading position) at the base of the positioning pin. In particular, in a small recording/reproducing device such as a 5-inch optical disk device, it is difficult to apply a strong setting force using a large loading motor with a large driving force due to the mounting space. Furthermore, even if an attempt is made to hold the cartridge at a predetermined loading position by applying a preload force (which also acts as part of the setting force) to the cartridge using a preload spring, it is difficult to use a large and powerful spring;
It is necessary to use a small, low-torque loading motor and a weak preload spring. With such a weak setting force (including preload force), the load force received from the positioning pin (
It becomes difficult to overcome this resistance force and reliably set the cartridge on the positioning surface in the height direction. The load force received from the locating pin during loading becomes even greater when the cartridge attempts to enter the locating pin at an angle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and to overcome the load force that the cartridge receives from the positioning pins in the planar direction when the cartridge is loaded into the recording/reproducing device position. To provide a cartridge loading device capable of reliably setting a cartridge on a positioning surface in the height direction even with a weak cartridge setting force caused by a motor having a small mounting volume and a relatively small driving force.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a system in which a recording medium is housed, reference surfaces for regulating the height direction position are formed at four corners, and two adjacent corners (for example, A loading means for moving the cartridge from its insertion position (into the device) to a loading position (recording/reproducing position); In a cartridge loading device, the cartridge loading device includes four height positioning surfaces that engage with the reference surface at the position, and two planar positioning pins (for example, on the left and right of the front part) that fit into the reference holes, The height of the height direction positioning surface on the side where the surface direction positioning pin is located (for example, on the front left and right sides) is made lower than the height of the remaining height direction positioning surfaces (for example, on the rear left and right sides).

Further, a preload spring that applies a cartridge preload force to the height direction positioning surface is disposed near the positioning pin.

[0008]

[Operation] The operation based on the above configuration will be explained.

According to the present invention, the height of the height direction positioning surface on the loading device (recording/reproducing device) side that receives the height direction reference surface of the cartridge is lowered on the positioning pin side.
Since the height is increased on the side without the positioning pin, the reference surface of the cartridge is locked to the height direction positioning surface on the side without the positioning pin at a relatively early stage when a large load force is not generated by the positioning pin during loading. As a result, a lever action is activated using this locking point as a fulcrum and the positioning pin as a load point, and even with a relatively weak setting force (including the driving force of the loading motor and the preload force from the preload spring),
The cartridge overcomes the load force exerted by the positioning pin and is pushed to a predetermined loading position without being caught in the middle of the pin and is securely set.

[0010] Furthermore, if a preload spring that provides a preload force to hold the cartridge at a predetermined loading position is disposed near the positioning pin in the front-rear direction, the point of action of this lever action (the point where the preload is applied) can be reduced. The moment becomes larger, and the effective preload force can be increased.

[0011]

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the cartridge used in this embodiment, with the mounting surface facing upward. In the same figure,
Reference numeral 1 designates a cartridge for storing an optical disk therein, reference holes 2 and 3, and reference surfaces 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d. The reference hole 2 is provided so that when the cartridge 1 is installed in an optical disk device, the position of the cartridge with respect to the optical disk attached to the spindle will not shift in the left-right direction (direction connecting 2 and 3) and will not come into contact with each other. , position the cartridge in the left and right direction. Reference hole 3 is reference hole 2
On the other hand, position the cartridge in the front-rear direction (or left-right direction) (the side with 2 and 3 is the front, the side with 4c and 4d is the rear), and the disk inside is aligned with the cartridge in the front-rear direction. Avoid contact. Also,
In order to prevent the disk from contacting the cartridge in the height direction, reference surfaces 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d in the height direction are provided.
are provided at the four corners of the cartridge 1. 5 is a shutter, and access to the disk in cartridge 1 is as follows.
This is made possible by opening the shutter 5 when the cartridge is inserted into the optical disk device, thereby making it possible to perform recording and reproduction.

Next, the configuration and operation of the optical disk device of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view before the cartridge is inserted into the optical disk device, and FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view when the cartridge 1 is loaded into the optical disk device.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 6 denotes an optical disk device, and the optical disk device 6 includes a mechanism (cartridge holder) 7 for holding and loading the cartridge 1, and a mechanism (cartridge holder) 7 for holding and loading the cartridge 1. Positioning pins 8a, 8b for positioning in the left-right direction and front-back direction, and positioning surfaces 9a, 9b, 9c, and 9d for positioning the cartridge 1 in the height direction by engaging with reference surfaces 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d. Then, the cartridge 1 is preloaded onto the reference surfaces 9a to 9d.
a preload spring 11 (which is pressed against a to 9d), a sensor 15 that detects whether a cartridge is set, a spindle motor 12 that rotates the disk, an optical head 10 that performs recording and reproduction, and a drive motor 1 that drives the head 10.
4 and a base 13 that supports each of these members.

As a feature of this embodiment, the height of the front height direction positioning surfaces 9a and 9b is slightly lower than the height of the rear (rearward) height direction positioning surfaces 9c and 9d. Configure to lower. In this case, the reference holes 2 of the cartridge are placed at the front positioning surfaces 9a and 9b.
and a left-right and front-back positioning pin 8a that fits into 3.
and 8b are provided, while rear positioning surfaces 9c and 9
This is the case where no such positioning pin exists at location d. It is assumed that the reference surfaces 4a to 4d of the cartridge 1 are all on the same plane (at the same height).

Next, before explaining the operation of this embodiment, let us first explain the case of the prior art which does not have the above features, that is, the height of the front positioning surfaces 9a, 9b and the rear positioning surfaces 9c, 9d are the same. The operation in the case will be explained. In the loading operation, the cartridge 1 is first inserted into the loading mechanism 7 from the front. When the insertion of the cartridge 1 is detected by a detection means (not shown), the loading mechanism 7 is moved downward by a drive motor, that is, a loading motor (not shown). At this time, the loading mechanism lowers the cartridge 1 while keeping it in a substantially horizontal state. During loading, the left and right positioning reference holes 2 and the front and rear positioning reference holes 3 on the front side of the cartridge 1 fit into the positioning pins 8a and 8b on the front side of the disk device, and the cartridge 1 The reference surfaces 4a and 4b around the reference holes 2 and 3 are engaged with the positioning surfaces 9a and 9b while riding on the tapered portion and receiving the load force (reaction force and resistance force against fitting) due to this tapered portion. It is pushed until it is. The magnitude of this load force is determined by the pins 8a, 8
It increases almost in proportion to the taper angle α of b (see FIG. 4) (strictly speaking, the load force is proportional to sin α). On the other hand, since no such pin exists, the rear side of the cartridge is not subjected to any load force and descends until the reference surfaces 4c, 4d directly engage with the positioning surfaces 9c, 9d.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the detailed state of the cartridge 1 and positioning pins 8a, 8b at this time, viewed from the same direction as FIG. In Figure 4, the left side shows the front and the right side shows the back. When the cartridge is caught in the middle of the tapered portions of the positioning pins 8a and 8b due to the load force, the cartridge 1 is moved so that only the rear side portions (reference surfaces 4c and 4d
(until it engages with the positioning surface), and as a result, it tilts in the front-back direction as shown in FIG. Then, the load force further increases approximately in proportion to the inclination angle θ of the cartridge. Strictly speaking, the load force at this time is proportional to sin(α+θ). In the conventional device, the front positioning surfaces 9a, 9b and the rear positioning surfaces 9c, 9d are at the same height (on the same plane), so during the descent, the rear cartridge reference surfaces 4c, 4d The reference hole 2 on the front side of the cartridge 1 is
, 3 are caught in the middle of the tapered portions of the pins 8a, 8b, and once the catch occurs, the reference surfaces 4c,
4d comes into contact with the positioning surfaces 9c and 9d, at this time the above-mentioned inclination angle θ becomes large, and the relatively small setting force of the loading motor and the relatively weak preload force of the preload spring 11 generate a relatively large amount of force. This results in a situation where the cartridge cannot be pushed down to a predetermined loading position by overcoming the large load force. Alternatively, a large torque loading motor or a strong preload spring 11 is required to set it at a predetermined loading position.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the front side (front)
Since the rear (rear) positioning surfaces 9c and 9d are higher than the positioning surfaces 9a and 9b of the pin 8a,
, 8b, the rear cartridge reference surfaces 4c, 4d are locked to the rear positioning surfaces 9c, 9d at an early stage when no load force is generated, or even if it is generated, it is small. Once this locking occurs, the cartridge 1 (or cartridge holder 7) uses the locking points, that is, the higher height positioning surfaces 9c and 9d as fulcrums, and the positions of the pins 8a and 8b as load points. (In that case, the point of action of the preload force by the preload spring 11 is the attachment position of the preload spring 11 to the holder 7.) Therefore, from then on, the relatively weak setting force of the loading motor is required. Even with the preload force of the preload spring 11, the effective setting force can be increased.
The cartridge 1 can be reliably moved to the predetermined loading position (cartridge reference surface 4a) by overcoming the load force exerted by the pins 8a and 8b without getting caught in the middle of the taper of the cartridge or increasing the inclination angle θ of the cartridge. , 4b are pressed against the positioning surfaces 9a, 9b of the device). In particular, the mounting position of the spring 11, which is the point of application of the preload force, is the load point of the pins 8a and 8.
The closer to the position b, the greater the moment of the acting force is, so
This can be done with a weak spring 11.

When the cartridge descends against the load force and reaches a predetermined loading position (recording/reproducing position), the loading completion detection sensor 15 is activated, thereby stopping the loading mechanism. At this time, since the cartridge 1 is completely set on the positioning surfaces 9a to 9d, the disk can rotate within the cartridge with a clearance.

In this embodiment, the difference in height between the higher positioning surfaces 9c, 9d and the lower positioning surfaces 9a, 9b is approximately 0.5 mm. This is done in consideration of the fact that the permissible dimensional error (allowable distortion) of the surface of the cartridge currently in use is within 0.3 mm, and that if this error range is covered, the setting will be stable and reliable.

In the above embodiment, the front positioning surface 9a,
Although 9b was lower than the rear positioning surfaces 9c and 9d,
For devices that have a positioning pin at the rear that fits into the cartridge reference hole, the rear positioning surface only needs to be lower than the front positioning surface.In short, the height of the vertical positioning surface on the side where the positioning pin is located should be The height may be lower than the height of the height direction positioning surface on the side without the positioning pin. Further, in the above embodiment, the reference planes 4 at the four corners of the cartridge used are
Although a to 4d are all on the same plane, in the case of cartridges in which the heights of these reference planes are different, it goes without saying that it is necessary to take this difference into consideration when determining the height of the positioning surfaces 9a to 9d. .

Furthermore, the present invention is applicable to a loading device using a cartridge for not only optical disks but also other recording media such as magnetic disks.

[0023]

As explained in detail above, according to the present invention, the height of the cartridge height direction positioning surface of the loading device is made higher on the side without the locating pin and lower on the side with the locating pin. Even with a small loading motor with a weak driving force and a weak setting force from a preload spring with a weak preload force, the cartridge can be set at a predetermined recording/playback position by overcoming the load force from the positioning pin, and the loading speed is improved. This has the effect of improving reliability.

[0024] Also, since it can be set with a weak setting force,
This has the effect that the loading motor can be made smaller and cheaper.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a cartridge used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of an optical disk device according to an embodiment of the present invention immediately before cartridge loading.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of an optical disk device according to an embodiment of the present invention after cartridge loading.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view showing the relationship between the cartridge and positioning pins during loading.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Cartridge 2 Positioning hole (left/right reference hole) 3 Positioning hole (front/back reference hole) 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d Height reference surface 5 Shutter 6 Optical disk device 7 Loading mechanism (loading means) 8a, 8
b (Left and right) positioning pins 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d
Height positioning surface 10 Optical head 11 Preload spring 12 Spindle motor 13 Base 14 Head drive motor 15 Sensor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cartridge is used in which a recording medium is housed, reference surfaces for regulating the height direction position are formed at four corners, and reference holes for regulating the surface direction position are formed at two adjacent corners; loading means for moving the cartridge from its insertion position to a loading position; four vertical positioning surfaces that engage with the reference surface at the loading position; and two planar positioning pins that fit into the reference holes. The cartridge loading device is characterized in that the height of the height direction positioning surface on the side where the planar direction positioning pin is located is lower than the height of the remaining height direction positioning surface. .