JPH0435834B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a disk cassette used as a recording medium for a magnetic recording/reproducing device such as a disk recorder. The present invention relates to a disk cassette that is attached to a recording/reproducing device with the disks housed in the cassette body.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, extremely thin magnetic disks, for example, about 40 μm in thickness, have been used as recording media for recording and reproducing devices such as disk recorders. Since such thin magnetic disks are extremely fragile, they are easily damaged during handling and easily damage the signal recording surface.

Therefore, in order to prevent damage to at least the signal recording surface of this type of magnetic disk 2, as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the disk cassette 3 is constructed by being housed in a thin rectangular cassette body 1, and can be handled while being housed in the cassette body 1, and can be used in a recording/playback device while being housed in the cassette body 1. It is configured so that it can record and/or reproduce a predetermined information signal when it is attached.

That is, the cassette main body 1 is provided with a window 4 through which the signal recording surface 2a of the magnetic disk 2 housed therein is exposed outward in the radial direction. A magnetic head 5 that is in sliding contact with the signal recording surface 2a of the magnetic head 2 is faced.

The magnetic disk 2 is mounted on a rotation operation means provided on the apparatus side and rotated at high speed, and a predetermined information signal is recorded or recorded by the magnetic head 5 slidingly contacting the signal recording surface 2a. The recorded signal is played back.

By the way, since this type of disk cassette 3 and the magnetic disk 2 housed therein are relatively large in size, when the magnetic disk 2 is rotated at high speed within the cassette body 1, the 16th disk cassette 3 is As shown in Figure C, the magnetic disk 2 and the upper and lower halves 1a that constitute the cassette body 1,
In the space between 1b, an air film layer is formed due to the air flow as shown by the arrow in the figure due to high speed rotation, or the magnetic disk 2 itself is sufficiently rotated in the outer radial direction due to the centrifugal force during its rotation. It becomes a state of tension. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16B, the magnetic head 5 is advanced into the magnetic disk 2 from a direction perpendicular to the signal recording surface 2a, and a predetermined pressing force is applied to the magnetic disk 2 from the direction of arrow A in the figure. Even if the magnetic disk 2 is attached, the magnetic disk 2 does not separate from the magnetic head 5, and a stable head sliding state can be obtained.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Incidentally, in order to facilitate handling and storage, there is a demand for further miniaturization of this type of disk cassette.

Therefore, there is a need for a disk cassette that is so small that it can be placed in the palm of one's hand, for example, with a side of about 5 cm.

However, in a disk cassette constructed to meet such demands for miniaturization, only the overall dimensions are reduced, for example, to a compact size of around 5 cm on a side. The size is extremely small, only about 2 cm. Therefore, in such a compact disk cassette, the effective laminar flow effect within the cassette body 1 shown in FIG. 16C and the magnetic disk 2
It becomes difficult to obtain an effective centrifugal force on itself. Therefore,
A magnetic head 5 is mounted on the magnetic recording surface 2a of the magnetic disk 2.
If an attempt is made to make contact with the magnetic disk 2, the magnetic disk 2 will escape in the direction opposite to the magnetic head 5, and stable sliding contact with the magnetic head 5 will no longer be achieved. Unless stable sliding contact is achieved between the magnetic disk 2 and the magnetic head 5 during high speed rotation, highly reliable recording and/or reproduction cannot be performed.

Furthermore, in the case of small disk cassettes, there is a need for high recording density of information signals, and high precision is also required for the relative positional relationship between the magnetic disk and the magnetic head that slides thereon. In order to meet this requirement, the disk cassette must be positioned and mounted in the recording/reproducing apparatus with high precision.

Furthermore, when a disk cassette becomes extremely small, it becomes difficult to determine the direction in which it is installed in a recording/reproducing device.

Accordingly, the present invention is capable of achieving highly accurate positioning and being able to be mounted on a recording/reproducing device, and also provides stable sliding contact between the disk and the head for recording/reproducing information signals, thereby achieving good recording performance. This was proposed for the purpose of providing a disk cassette that can provide good playback characteristics, easily determine the direction of adhesion to a recording/playback device, and prevent erroneous insertion.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the disk cassette according to the present invention is a disk cassette in which a disk-shaped disk is rotatably housed, and a disk cassette for signal recording and/or reproduction in which at least a part of the disk is exposed to the outside. A slanted notch is provided in at least one corner of the front end surface of the cassette main body, in which the window portion is provided at a position substantially in the center in the left-right direction and close to the front end surface, and a positioning member is provided across the window portion. An oval positioning adjustment hole is provided to enable adjustment of the relative engagement position between the circular positioning reference hole and the positioning member that engage with each other.

[Effect]

When the disk cassette according to the present invention is installed in a recording/reproducing apparatus, the recording/reproducing head enters through the window provided in the cassette body and comes into sliding contact with the disk, and the positioning member provided on the apparatus side forms a circular shape. It engages with the positioning reference hole, the mounting position is regulated by this positioning reference hole, and another positioning member provided on the device side adjusts the relative engagement position and engages with the oval-shaped positioning adjustment hole. .

Furthermore, by providing the cassette main body with an inclined notch, the cassette body has an asymmetrical shape, and the direction of insertion can be restricted.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a disk cassette 6 according to the present invention is constructed by rotatably housing a magnetic disk 8, which is a disk-shaped recording medium, in a cassette body 7.

This disk cassette 6 is a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus that records, for example, still image information signals on recording tracks formed concentrically on the signal recording surface of a magnetic disk 8, and that reproduces the recorded information signals. It is used as a recording medium and is formed to a size that fits within the palm of the hand.

The cassette body 7 is provided with a window 9 through which the signal recording surface of the magnetic disk 8 housed here is partially exposed outward in the radial direction. A pair of windows 9 are provided on both upper and lower surfaces of the cassette main body 7 so as to face each other at the center in the left-right direction, extending from near the center to the front end surface. The cassette main body 7 is provided so that its surface faces outward in the radial direction.

Further, the magnetic disk 8 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
As shown in the figure, it is formed in the shape of an extremely thin disk of, for example, about 40 μm. A shaft fitting member 11 having a fitting hole 10 into which a rotating shaft of a disk rotation drive device on the recording/reproducing apparatus side is fitted is integrally attached to the center portion thereof. This shaft-fitting insertion member 11 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin material, and is constructed by integrally abutting and connecting a pair of upper and lower center bosses 12 and 13. That is, the pair of center bosses 12 and 13 sandwich the periphery of the center hole 14 of the magnetic disk 8 by the flange portions 15 and 16 protruding from the outer periphery of opposing surfaces, and the opposing abutments The shaft fitting member 11 is constructed by integrating the surfaces by welding, etc., and is attached to the magnetic disk 8.

In addition, on the upper and lower end surfaces of this shaft-fitting insertion member 11,
Annular metal rings 17 and 18 are attached, and when the magnetic disk 8 is mounted on a rotary table of a disk rotation drive device, it is configured to be magnetically attracted to an annular magnet 20 provided on the rotary table. .

On the other hand, the cassette body 7 which rotatably accommodates the magnetic disk 8 is constructed by overlapping three top plates 21, a middle plate 22 and a bottom plate 23 and integrally joining them, as shown in FIG. It is made up of. Each of the top plate 21, middle plate 22, and bottom plate 23 is formed into a thin plate shape from a material such as a synthetic resin, and the outer diameters thereof are all formed to be approximately the same.

A stepped hole 24 is provided in the center of the upper plate 21, and the intermediate plate 2 of the stepped hole 24 is provided with a stepped hole 24.
An annular step portion 24a is formed on the inner surface side facing 3. Further, a cutout recess 25 for forming the window 9 is formed in the center portion of the front end surface of the upper plate 21 in the left-right direction. Also,
On both sides of the notched recess 25, there are circular positioning reference holes 78 that engage with a positioning member provided on the recording/reproducing device side when configured as a disk cassette 6, and a positioning reference hole 78 that is also provided on the device side. An elongated hole 26 and a small circular hole 27 are drilled to form an oval positioning adjustment hole 77 that allows adjustment of the relative engagement position with the member.

The middle plate 22 is interposed between the top plate 21 and the bottom plate 23, as shown in FIG. 8 is formed. Therefore, this middle plate 22 is
In order to allow the magnetic disk 8 to rotate in a stable state, it is formed to be thicker than the wall thickness of the disk 8, and the magnetic disk 8 is formed in the central part.
A large circular hole 29 is formed which is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the hole. Note that a protective arm portion 30 is integrally formed approximately at the center of the front end surface of the intermediate plate 22 . This protective arm portion 30 includes a notch recess 25 of the top plate 21 and a notch recess 31 of the bottom plate 23, which will be described later.
The magnetic disk 8 is protected by restricting movement in the radial direction of the magnetic disk 8 facing inside the window 9 formed by the above. Further, on both sides of the arm portion 30, a long hole 32 and a small circular hole 3 of the same shape corresponding to the long hole 26 and the small circular hole 27 of the upper plate 21 are provided.
3 is drilled.

Furthermore, the bottom plate 23 is formed to be symmetrical with respect to the top plate 21, and has a stepped hole 34 in the center portion.
is opened, and an annular stepped portion 34a is formed on the inner surface side facing the intermediate plate 22. Also, this bottom plate 2
A notch recess 31 for forming the window 9 is provided approximately in the center of the side of the front end surface of 3. Note that the upper plate 2 is also provided on both sides of this notch recess 31.
Similar to 1, a circular positioning reference hole 78 engages with a positioning member provided on the recording/reproducing device side.
and a long hole 35 and a small circular hole 3 that constitute an oval positioning adjustment hole 77 that allows adjustment of the relative engagement position with a positioning member also provided on the device side.
6 is bored.

These top plate 21, middle plate 22, and bottom plate 2
The cassette body 7 is constructed by integrating the parts 3 in a laminated manner. That is, the protective arm 30 is positioned within the notch recess 31 of the bottom plate 23, the middle plate 22 is superimposed on the bottom plate 23, and the protective arm 30 is placed over the middle plate 22 in the notch recess 31 of the top plate 21. 25, and the upper plate 2
The cassette body 7 is constructed by overlapping the cassettes 1 and integrally joining them.

At the corner portion of the front end face side where the window portion 9 of the cassette main body 7 constructed in this way is formed, there is a first
As shown in the figure, inclined notches 79 and 80 are formed. Therefore, the front end surface side corner portions of the upper plate 21, middle plate 22, and bottom plate 23 that constitute the cassette body 7, which correspond to the inclined notches 79 and 80, have similar slopes as shown in FIG. Notch 21
a, 21b, 22a, 22b and 23a, 23b
is preformed. The above-mentioned inclined notch 79, 8
0 is formed, the cassette body 7 becomes
The front end surface side where the window portion 9 is formed and the rear end surface side have different shapes and are asymmetrical.

A magnetic disk 8 is rotatably housed in a disk storage space 28 formed within the cassette body 7. Incidentally, at this time, the flanges 15 and 16 formed on the insertion member 11 of the magnetic disk 8 have an annular shape formed by the stepped portions 24a and 34a of the top plate 21 and the bottom plate 23, as shown in FIG. The insertion member 1 is located in the recess 37 and
The outer peripheral portions 38, 38 at both upper and lower ends of 1 are disposed in a loosely fitted state in the stepped holes 24, 34 of the top plate 21 and the bottom plate 23, respectively. Further, the magnetic disk 8 has a first
As shown in the figure and FIG. 2, the top plate 21 and the bottom plate 23
The window 9 formed by the notch recesses 25 and 31 faces the outside of the cassette main body 7, and the magnetic head slides over the range from _T1 to _T0 shown in FIG. Information signals are recorded and reproduced.

By the way, in this embodiment, the positioning reference hole 78 and the positioning adjustment hole 77, which are provided in the disk cassette 6 and are engaged with the positioning member on the device side,
are provided on both sides of the magnetic disk 8 facing the window 9. In addition, the positioning reference hole 78 and the positioning adjustment hole 7
7 is provided so as not to be located within the rotation area of the magnetic disk 8.

〔Effect of the invention〕

When the disk cassette according to the present invention is installed in a recording/reproducing device, the positioning member provided on the device side engages with the circular positioning reference hole, and the mounting position is regulated by this positioning reference hole. Since the other positioning members can be engaged with the oval positioning adjustment hole by adjusting their relative engagement positions, even if the cassette side is deformed, the device can be accurately adjusted based on the positioning reference hole. It can be mounted with its position regulated by the side positioning member.
Therefore, the disk is mounted in the recording/reproducing device with high precision positioning, the relative positional relationship between the disk and the head is maintained with high precision, and information signals can be recorded and reproduced with good characteristics. .

Furthermore, since the cassette main body is provided with an inclined notch so that it has an asymmetrical shape, it is possible to easily determine the direction in which the cassette is installed in the recording/reproducing apparatus, and to easily prevent erroneous insertion.

In this way, the disk cassette according to the present invention can be easily and reliably installed into the recording/reproducing apparatus, and can be installed in the recording/reproducing apparatus with high precision positioning.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a disk cassette according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the disk cassette, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a magnetic disk accommodated in the disk cassette. , FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the magnetic disk,
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the cassette body, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the disk cassette. 7th
Figure A is a perspective view of the rear side of a conventional disk cassette, Figure 7B is a partially schematic side view showing the state of sliding contact between the magnetic head and the magnetic disk, and Figure 7C is a perspective view of the disk cassette. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the cassette. 6...Disk cassette, 7...Cassette body, 8...Magnetic disk, 9...Window part, 77...
Positioning adjustment hole, 78...Positioning reference hole, 7
9, 80... Inclined notch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A disc-shaped disk is rotatably housed, and a window for signal recording and/or reproduction that exposes at least a part of the disk to the outside is located approximately at the center in the left-right direction and close to the front end surface. A slanted notch is provided in at least one corner of the front end surface of the cassette body provided at the position, and relative engagement between the positioning member and a circular positioning reference hole that is engaged with the positioning member across the window. A disk cassette with an oval positioning adjustment hole whose position can be adjusted.