JPH0516698Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] A. Industrial application field The invention is a system in which a disk such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk on which a predetermined information signal is written is housed, and a part of the housed disk is made to face outward. Regarding a disk cartridge in which a cartridge main body provided with a window is provided with a sliding shutter for opening and closing the window, the sliding shutter closes the window by a torsion spring disposed in the cartridge main body. It relates to something that is biased in a direction.

B. Overview of the invention The invention is based on a cartridge body in which a disk, such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk, on which a predetermined information signal is written, is housed, and a cartridge body is provided with a window that allows a part of the stored disk to be exposed to the outside. In the disk cartridge provided with a sliding shutter for opening and closing the window, the cartridge main body, a first rack gear provided on a slide member that slidably supports the sliding shutter on the cartridge main body, and a first rack gear provided in the cartridge main body. A torsion spring is disposed between a pinion gear interposed between fixedly disposed second rack gears, and supports an end of a torsion spring that biases the sliding shutter in a direction to close the window portion. A lifting prevention portion for the torsion spring is provided in the fitted spring holder, and the torsion spring, which is deflected and moved when the sliding shutter opens and closes the window portion due to the rolling of the pinion gear, is prevented from lifting. This prevents contact with the inner wall of the cartridge body.

C. Prior Art Conventionally, a cartridge body in which a disk on which a predetermined information signal is written is housed and is provided with a window that exposes the housed disk to the outside is provided with a sliding shutter that opens and closes the window. In the disk cartridge, a guide rail is provided on the front side of the cartridge main body and on the outer edge of the window, and the shutter is slidably attached via the guide rail, and the shutter is attached to one side of the shutter. A torsion spring is interposed between the corner of the cartridge body and the shutter is always biased in the direction of closing the window by using the biasing force of the torsion spring to maintain the window in the closed state. has been proposed.

In the disk cartridge configured in this way, the torsion spring that biases the sliding shutter toward the side that closes the window is located between one side of the shutter and one side wall of the cartridge main body.
In other words, since it flexes and moves over the entire area of the space at the corner of the cartridge body following the opening/closing operation of the shutter, there is a screw for securing the upper and lower halves of the cartridge body within the space. Boss parts etc. cannot be installed protrudingly. Therefore, the upper and lower halves constituting the cartridge body must be joined by ultrasonic welding, adhesive bonding, or the like. If such a joining method is used, it becomes impossible to separate the upper and lower halves, making it extremely difficult to replace the stored disk. Furthermore, the cartridge itself cannot be reused.

In order to solve these problems, the applicant has provided a window section in which a disk, such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk, on which a predetermined information signal is written, is housed, and the disk to be housed is exposed to the outside. In a disk cartridge in which the cartridge body is provided with a sliding shutter for opening and closing the window, the shutter is attached to a slide member that is slidably supported by the cartridge body and has a first rack gear on one side. A second rack gear is slidable relative to the cartridge body, and a second rack gear is fixedly disposed within the cartridge body so as to face the first rack gear, a pinion gear is interposed between these rack gears, and one end is supported within the cartridge body. and a torsion spring whose other end is supported by a spring holder rotatably fitted to the pinion gear, and configured to constantly bias the sliding shutter in a direction to close the window. is proposed.

In the disk cartridge proposed by the applicant mentioned above, when the disk is not in use, the pinion gear interposed between the first rack gear of the slide member and the second rack gear on the side of the cartridge body operates as described above by the biasing force of the torsion spring. By pressing and sliding a slide member that is rolled against the second rack gear and meshes with the pinion gear,
The sliding shutter attached to this sliding member closes the window provided in the cartridge body.

When the disk is in use, for example, when the slide type shutter is slid by the shutter opening/closing mechanism of the recording and/or playback device, the slide member slides and the pinion gear is connected to the cartridge by the first rack gear provided on the slide member. Roll it against the second rack gear on the main body side. At this time, the pinion gear rolls in a roller-like manner, so the rolling distance is approximately half the stroke of the slide member, and the slide shutter slides until it completely releases the window. The pinion gear is located between the window and one side wall of the cartridge body. Therefore, the torsion spring disposed between the pinion gear and the cartridge body is deflected and moved only during approximately half of the sliding stroke of the slide member.

D Problems to be Solved by the Invention As mentioned above, according to the disk cartridge proposed by the applicant, the range of deflection movement of the torsion spring is reduced, so the cartridge body can be placed in the space at the corner of the cartridge body. It is possible to provide a space sufficient for protruding a screw-fastening boss or the like for joining the upper and lower halves, and it is possible to employ screw-fastening for joining the cartridge main body.

However, the torsion spring that biases the sliding shutter in the direction of closing the window is constructed by extending arm parts from the upper and lower ends of a spirally twisted torsion coil part, and the ends of these arm parts Since the arm part is supported and attached to a spring holder fitted to the cartridge body and pinion gear, the spring force increases when the arm part is moved to close as the sliding shutter moves. As the arm parts expand in the axial direction of the torsion coil part, in other words, when they are attached to the cartridge body, they become floating so as to spread in the thickness direction of the cartridge body. It comes into pressure contact with the inner surface. Therefore, when the sliding shutter moves to open and close the window, the arm portion of the torsion spring supported by the rolling pinion gear moves while slidingly contacting the inner surface of the cartridge body. This may cause scratches and may even scrape off a portion of the cartridge body, causing so-called powder to fall off. The abrasion powder scraped off from the cartridge body adheres to the signal recording surface of the disk housed in the cartridge body, causing signal loss when writing or reading information signals, resulting in good recording and reproducing characteristics. There is a risk that it will not be possible to maintain the

In addition, since the arm portion of the torsion spring comes into sliding contact with the inner surface of the cartridge body, the load when opening and closing the sliding shutter becomes large, and a large force is required to open and close the shutter. This may lead to an increase in the size of the mechanism, and may also make it difficult to smoothly open and close the shutter.

Therefore, the present invention prevents the arm part of the torsion spring from lifting up from the spring holder and slidingly contacting the inner surface of the cartridge body during the opening/closing operation of the sliding shutter, thereby preventing the arm part from scraping the cartridge body. This was proposed for the purpose of providing a disk cartridge that eliminates the occurrence of wear particles, prevents deterioration of recording and reproducing characteristics due to this abrasion powder, and enables smooth shutter opening/closing operations.

E. Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the above object, the present invention is designed to accommodate a disk on which information signals are written and to expose a part of the disk to the outside. A cartridge body provided with a facing window, a sliding shutter for opening and closing the window, and a sliding member that slidably supports the sliding shutter with respect to the cartridge body and has a first rack gear on one side. and,
a second rack gear fixedly disposed within the cartridge body so as to face the first rack gear; a pinion gear interposed between the first rack gear and the second rack gear; one end supported within the cartridge body; and a torsion spring whose other end is supported by a spring holder fitted to the pinion gear and urges the sliding shutter in a direction to close the window, the other end of the torsion spring being supported by a spring holder fitted to the pinion gear. The supported spring holder is provided with a lifting prevention portion that presses and supports the other end side of the torsion spring supported by the spring holder.

F. Effect The present invention is characterized in that a pinion gear supported by an end of a torsion spring that biases and biases a sliding shutter that is slidably attached to a cartridge body in a direction that closes a window provided in the cartridge body rolls. When the shutter opens and closes the window, the end portion of the torsion spring that flexibly moves is pressed and supported by a lifting prevention portion provided on a spring holder fitted to the pinion gear, thereby preventing lifting.

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

As shown in FIG. 2, the disk cartridge according to the present invention includes a cartridge body 2 in which a disk 1 such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk on which a predetermined information signal is written is stored, and a cartridge body 2 that can be slid into the cartridge body 2. It consists of a sliding shutter 5 formed by bending a thin metal plate into a substantially U-shape to open and close window portions 3 and 4 which are attached and allow the disk 1 to face the outside of the cartridge body 1.

The cartridge main body 2 is constructed by abutting and joining a pair of rectangular upper half 6 and lower half 7. These upper and lower halves 6 and 7 are
The screws 10 are screwed into bosses 8 and 9 for screw fixing provided in the corner surfaces of the four corners to connect the four corners.
Further, in the center portions of the upper and lower halves 6, 7 in the left-right direction, the window portions 3, 4 are provided from the front edges to the center portions.
is formed. These windows 3 and 4 are connected to a hub 11 for tracking provided in the center of the disk 1.
The signal recording surface is formed in such a size that it can face the outside of the cartridge body 2 in the radial direction. Further, on the outer side of the upper and lower halves 6, 7, guide surface portions 12, 13 of the sliding shutter 5 for opening and closing the window portions 3, 4 extend to one side including the periphery of the window portions 3, 4. It is formed as follows. Furthermore, a slide member 14 that supports the slide type shutter 5 slidably with respect to the cartridge main body 2 is engaged with the inner surface of the front edge side of the upper and lower halves 6 and 7 at positions corresponding to these guide surfaces 12 and 13. Matching guide grooves 15 and 16 are formed. Therefore,
The slide member 14 has the engagement guide groove 15,
16, and is slidably mounted while being guided by these engagement guide grooves 15, 16.

A first rack gear 17 is provided on one side of the slide member 14 located on the inner side of the cartridge body 2, and the first rack gear 17 is provided on the front edge side of the lower half 7 between the window portion 4 and one side wall. A second rack gear 18 is arranged parallel to and opposite to the first rack gear 17.
is fixedly placed. The first rack gear 1
7 and the second rack gear 18 is a pinion gear 1.
9 is rotatably interposed. The rolling of the pinion gear 19 and the sliding of the slide member 14 are made relative to the second rack gear 18. A torsion spring 21 is stretched between the eccentric position of the spring holder 20 rotatably fitted to the pinion gear 19 and the corner of the corner surface of the lower half 7, and the pinion gear 19 is connected to the second The rack gear 18 is always rolled and biased in the direction of the window 4, and the slide member 14 is slid to a position corresponding to the front edge side position of the window 4. Therefore, the slide type shutter 5 attached to the slide portion 14 is attached to the torsion spring 2.
1, the cartridge body 2 is urged to slide in a direction to close the windows 3 and 4 of the cartridge body 2.

By the way, since the slide member 14 is moved by relative movement with the rolling motion of the pinion gear 19, the pinion gear 19 is moved relative to the rolling motion of the pinion gear 19.
4 escapes from the position corresponding to the window part 4, that is, the sliding shutter 5 moves the said sliding member 14 to the window part 4 only by rolling within approximately half of the range of moving to the position where the sliding shutter 5 moves to the position corresponding to the window part 4. can be moved to a position away from the position corresponding to the position. Therefore, the second
The length of the rack gear 18 is approximately half the range of movement of the sliding shutter 5, and it is possible to protrude the bosses 8 and 9 for screw fixing into the corner surface of the cartridge body 2.

The torsion spring 21 has an end portion of one arm portion 21b extending from one end of the torsion coil portion 21a attached to a corner of a corner surface on the front edge side of the lower half 7 adjacent to the screwing boss portion 9. The other arm portion 21 is locked to a spring locking portion 22 protruding from the torsion coil portion 21a and extends from the other end of the torsion coil portion 21a.
The end portion of c is supported by a spring holder 20 that is rotatably fitted to the pinion gear 18.

By the way, the spring holder 20 has a small-diameter fitting portion 23 provided on the lower end side that is fitted into a fitting hole 19a provided in the center of the pinion gear 19, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. It is rotatably attached to the pinion gear 19. A concave notch 24 is provided on one side of the upper end of the spring holder 20, and the other arm 21c of the torsion spring 21 is provided on the bottom surface of the notch 24.
An engagement hole 25 is formed in which a locking portion 21d formed by bending the end of the hole 21 is engaged. This engagement hole 2
5 is provided at a position eccentric from the axis of the spring holder 20 in order to allow the spring holder 20 to rotate relative to the pinion gear 19 when the torsion spring 21 bends and moves. The spring holder 20 also includes a torsion spring 21 that is supported by engaging the locking portion 21d with the engagement hole 25.
Pressing and supporting the other arm portion 21c from above,
A lifting prevention portion 26 is provided to prevent the arm portion 21c from lifting up. The lifting prevention portion 26 is located on the upper end side of the cutout portion 24, and when the torsion spring 20 is disposed inside the cartridge body 2 as shown in FIG. The notch 24 from the side extending to
It is provided so as to protrude inward as shown in FIG. A molding die used for integrally molding the lifting prevention part 26 to the spring holder 20 is provided at a position corresponding to the lifting prevention part 26 and continuous in the axial direction of the outer peripheral surface of the spring holder 20. A recess 27 for extraction is provided.

The pinion gear 19 and the spring holder 20 are made of a resin that does not cause so-called powder to fall off when they rotate in sliding contact with each other, for example, a resin such as polyasere resin.

Further, a corner surface on the front edge side opposite to the side where the torsion spring 21 is disposed in the cartridge main body 2 is provided with a sliding shutter 5 that closes the window portions 3 and 4 when the slide shutter 5 reaches the state where the window portions 3 and 4 are closed. A locking member 28 is attached to lock it in position.
This lock member 28 has an elastic displacement portion 31 provided with an engagement recess 30 that is engaged with a lock piece 29 provided in a slide guide portion 5a protruding from the front edge side of the shutter 5. It is installed so that it extends in the direction of extension.

The disk cartridge configured as described above has the upper and lower halves 6,
7 with butt setscrews 10 to assemble the cartridge main body 2, and then insert the sliding shutter 5 from the front edge side of the cartridge main body 2 so as to correspond to both windows 3 and 4, and engage the upper and lower halves 6 and 7. It is assembled as shown in FIG. 3 by fixing to the front side of the slide member 14, which is disposed in engagement with the mating guide grooves 15 and 16, with fixing screws 32.

In the disc cartridge configured as described above, when the sliding shutter 5 is in a state of closing each window 3, 4 of the cartridge main body 2 when not in use, the sliding member 14 is moved by the torsion spring 21 of the pinion gear 19. Due to the biased rolling movement, the engagement guide grooves 15 and 16 are moved to the ends of the windows 3 and 4, and the lock piece 29 of the shutter 5 is engaged with the engagement recess 30 of the lock member 28, thereby eliminating the need for the shutter 5. The device is locked in a closed state to prevent unauthorized opening.

Therefore, when this disk cartridge is loaded into a recording and/or playback device, the shutter opening/closing pin that constitutes the shutter opening/closing mechanism provided on the device side engages with the engagement recess 30 provided on the front side of the sliding shutter 2. The elastic biasing member 31 of the locking member 28 that locks the shutter 5 is pressed to disengage the locking piece 29 from the engagement recess 30, and the shutter 5 is also pressed in the direction of opening the windows 3 and 4. Such a sliding shutter 5
When is pressed, the slide member 14 slides along the engagement guide grooves 15 and 16 of the cartridge body 2, and this sliding causes the pinion gear 19 to engage the second rack gear 18 against the elastic biasing force of the torsion spring 21. The torsion spring 21 flexes and moves within the corner surface of the cartridge body 2 as the cartridge rolls against the cartridge body 2 . This rolling of the pinion gear 19 is carried out freely with respect to the spring holder 20 in which the end of the other arm portion 21c of the torsion spring 21 is engaged, so that it is carried out smoothly with respect to both the racks 17 and 18. When the sliding shutter 5 is moved to completely open the windows 3 and 4, the sliding member 14 is slid to the end of the side wall of the cartridge body 2 of the engagement guide grooves 15 and 16. It is locked. In this state, the pinion gear 19 only reaches approximately half of the sliding stroke of the slide member 14 as described above, so the torsion spring 21 only flexes and moves to approximately the center of the corner surface as shown in FIG. Therefore, the screw stopper located near the side wall of the corner surface of the cartridge main body 2 is not crossed.

By the way, when the sliding shutter 5 is moved to open the windows 3 and 4 of the cartridge main body 2, the torsion spring 21
b, 21c are bent so as to close the legs.

At this time, each of the arm parts 21b and 21c receives a force that spreads in the axial direction of the torsion coil part 21a, and the other arm part 21c, which is supported by the rolling pinion gear 19, comes to float from the spring holder 20. However, since the spring holder 20 is pressed and supported by the floating prevention portion 26, it does not come out of the engagement hole 25 of the spring holder 20 and does not come into contact with the inner surface of the cartridge body 2. Furthermore, even when the sliding shutter 5 is moved in the direction of closing the windows 3 and 4, the other arm 21c of the torsion spring 21 does not come into contact with the inner surface of the cartridge body 2. That is, the torsion spring 21
Since the other arm portion 21c, which is the movable side supported by the pinion gear 19, is mounted and supported under pressure by the lifting prevention portion 26, the inner surface of the cartridge main body 2 is protected by the other arm portion 21c when the arm portion 21c is bent and moved. It will not cause any damage or powder drop.

Spring holder 20 used in the above embodiment
is the other arm portion 21c of the torsion spring 21
Since there are only one engagement hole 25 and one lifting prevention part 26, which are engaged with the engagement part 21d provided at the end of the When the above spring holder 2
The engagement operation becomes difficult due to the zero orientation. That is, the spring holder 20 is attached to the pinion gear 1 so that the engagement hole 25 faces the locking portion 21d.
9, it becomes necessary to perform a rotational operation. Therefore,
In order to solve these problems, Fig. 6A,
As shown in B and C, the spring holder 2 is provided with two engaging holes 25, 25 and lifting prevention parts 26, 26 symmetrically about the center line.
It is sufficient to configure 0. In this way, the engagement holes 25, 2
5 and two lifting prevention parts 26, 26, the locking part 21 is provided at the end of the other arm part 21c of the torsion spring 21.
d can be engaged with the engagement hole 25 with substantially no directionality.

H. Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention is characterized in that the end of the torsion spring that biases and urges the sliding shutter, which is slidably attached to the cartridge body, in the direction of closing the window provided in the cartridge body, is supported. When the pinion gear rolls and the shutter operates to open and close the window, the end of the torsion spring that flexes and moves is pressed and supported by a lifting prevention part provided on a spring holder fitted to the pinion gear to prevent lifting. Therefore, the torsion spring that causes the end portion to rise when the cartridge is deflected and moves prevents the inner surface of the cartridge body from being scraped off, thereby eliminating the generation of abrasion powder and preventing this abrasion powder from adhering to the signal recording surface of the disk. Accordingly, it is possible to construct a disk cartridge that prevents the deterioration of recording and reproducing characteristics caused by the torsion spring and also prevents an increase in load due to sliding contact of the torsion spring with the inner surface of the cartridge body, thereby enabling smooth opening and closing operations of the shutter.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state in which a torsion spring is attached to a disk cartridge according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the disk cartridge, and FIG. 3 is a plan view in an assembled state. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the pinion gear and the spring holder. 6A, B, and C show other examples of the spring holder, in which FIG. 6A is a side view, FIG. 6B is a plan view, and FIG. 6C is a side view of the spring holder.
is a sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG. 6B. 1...Disk, 2...Cartridge body,
3, 4... Window section, 5... Sliding shutter, 1
4... Slide member, 17... First rack gear, 18... Second rack gear, 19... Pinion gear, 20... Spring holder, 21... Torsion spring, 26... Lifting prevention portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A cartridge body that houses a disk into which information signals are written and is provided with a window that allows a part of the disk to be exposed to the outside; a sliding shutter that opens and closes the window; a slide member that slidably supports the sliding shutter with respect to the cartridge body and has a first rack gear on one side; a second rack gear; a pinion gear interposed between the first rack gear and the second rack gear; one end supported within the cartridge body and the other end supported by a spring holder fitted to the pinion gear; In a disc cartridge comprising a torsion spring that biases the shutter in a direction to close the window, the other end of the torsion spring is supported by the spring holder, and the other end of the torsion spring supported by the spring holder is attached to the spring holder. A disk cartridge equipped with a lifting prevention part that presses and supports the end side.