JPH05250837A - Disk cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To protect a disk housed in a cartridge main body and to smoothly and easily open a shutter by securely holding the shutter for closing an opening parts provided on the cartridge main body housed with the disk in a closing position. CONSTITUTION:An engagement part 21 is provided on the shutter 14 fitted movably to the cartridge main body 1 in order to open and close the opening parts 12 and 13 formed on the cartridge main body 1 housed with the disk 2. Then, a lock member 22 for engaging the engagement part 21 of the shutter 14 when the shutter 14 is situated in the closing position of the opening parts 12 and 13 is provided in the cartridge main body 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disc cartridge containing a disc-shaped information recording medium such as a magnetic disc in which a predetermined information signal is recorded, and more particularly to an information signal provided in the cartridge body. And a shutter provided with an opening / closing opening for recording and / or reproducing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, for example, a magnetic disk which is a disc-shaped information recording medium on which a predetermined information signal is recorded,
Since it is formed by depositing a magnetic recording layer on a thin film sheet, it is fragile and extremely susceptible to damage. In particular, when the magnetic recording layer is damaged, a signal is lost during recording and / or reproduction, and good recording / reproducing characteristics cannot be obtained.

Therefore, in order to protect a magnetic disk which is fragile and easily damaged, and to facilitate handling and storage, the magnetic disk is housed in a cartridge body in the shape of a thin rectangular box. A disk cartridge is used which can be mounted in a recording / reproducing apparatus in a state of being stored.

In the conventionally proposed disk cartridge, an opening for exposing at least a part of the signal recording area of the magnetic disk to the outside in the radial direction is provided in a cartridge body that rotatably accommodates the magnetic disk. A shutter that opens and closes the opening is provided so as to be movable and provided.

The shutter is biased in the direction of closing the opening by the elastic restoring force of a spring member incorporated in the cartridge main body to close the opening, and dust or the like enters the cartridge main body. The magnetic disk is configured to be protected from damage. Further, this shutter is engaged with a shutter opening member provided on the above-mentioned device side when the disc cartridge is inserted into a predetermined mounting portion in the magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus, and further the insertion of the spring member causes the spring member to move. The opening is slid to open the opening against the biasing force.

As described above, the shutter movably attached to the cartridge body is elastically urged by the spring member attached to the cartridge body to close the opening provided in the cartridge body. According to the cartridge, the shutter can be moved and the opening / closing operation of the opening provided in the cartridge main body can be performed in association with the loading / unloading operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus.

[0007]

In the disk cartridge constructed as described above, since the shutter simply closes the opening of the cartridge body only by the urging force of the spring member, it is easy. It will be moved to and accidentally open the opening.
Further, the protection of the magnetic disk housed in the cartridge body cannot be sufficiently achieved.

Further, in the disk cartridge in which the shutter is biased by using the spring member, the mounting work for mounting the spring member such as the torsion coil spring in the cartridge body becomes extremely complicated and the assembly efficiency is extremely deteriorated. ing.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even if a spring member such as a torsion coil spring is not used, the shutter for closing the opening provided in the cartridge main body is securely held at the closed position of the opening and stored in the cartridge main body. The present invention has been proposed for the purpose of providing a disk cartridge which can sufficiently protect the disk and can smoothly and easily perform the opening operation of the shutter.

[0010]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The disk cartridge according to the present invention is capable of rotating a disk-shaped information recording medium in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional one and to achieve the above object. The cartridge body stored in
A shutter movably attached to the cartridge body so as to open and close an opening for recording and / or reproducing an information signal formed in the cartridge body, the shutter of the shutter of the cartridge body being provided. An engaging portion extending in the depth direction of the groove portion provided on the moving side portion is provided, a lock member is provided in the cartridge main body so that at least a part thereof faces the groove portion, and the shutter is provided with the opening portion. When in the closed position, the engaging portion engages with the lock member to prohibit movement of the shutter.

[0011]

In the disk cartridge according to the present invention, when the shutter reaches the position where the opening provided in the cartridge body is closed, the engaging portion provided in the shutter is engaged with the lock member provided in the cartridge body. Then, the careless movement of the shutter is prohibited.

When the locking member is pressed by the shutter opening means arranged on the side of the recording / reproducing apparatus in which the disc cartridge is mounted, the portion where the engaging portion is engaged inside the cartridge body. And the engagement of the engaging portion is released.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An example in which the present invention is applied to a disk cartridge containing a magnetic disk as a disk-shaped information recording medium for recording information signals will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the disc cartridge according to the present invention has a disc-like shape in a cartridge body 1 formed by abutting and coupling a pair of upper and lower halves made of synthetic resin or the like. The magnetic disk 2 is stored rotatably. The cartridge body 1 accommodating the magnetic disk 2 is formed as a small size that can be held by the palm.

Further, at the center of rotation of the magnetic disk 2, a center core 4 into which a rotary drive shaft provided on the side of a recording / reproducing device for rotating the magnetic disk 2 is inserted and engaged.
Is installed. A drive hole 3 for engaging the rotary drive shaft is formed in the center of the center core 4, and when the magnetic disk 2 is housed in the cartridge body 1, a circular central opening provided in the cartridge body 1. 5 is engaged. Further, a display mechanism 6 for displaying the number of annular recording tracks formed on the magnetic disk 2 by recording a predetermined video signal is provided at the rear end side corner portion of the cartridge body 1. . The display mechanism 6 includes a disk-shaped dial display member 8 having a keyhole-shaped display hole 7 as shown in FIG. 2, and a rotary gear 9 integrally attached to the dial display member 8.
And a stopper member 11 having an engaging portion 11a that elastically engages with the gear-shaped portion 10.

On both sides of the cartridge body 1, a substantially rectangular information signal for exposing a part of both main surfaces of the magnetic disk 2 housed in the cartridge body 1 outward in the radial direction is provided. Recording and reproducing openings 12 and 13 are provided. These openings 12 and 13 are provided between the central opening 5 of the cartridge body 1 and the front side surface and have a width W ₁ sufficient to at least expose the signal recording area of the magnetic disk 2 outward in the radial direction. Has been formed. An information signal for recording a predetermined information signal on the signal recording surface of the opening 12 facing the signal recording surface side of the magnetic disk 2 of the openings 12, 13 or reproducing the recorded information signal. A magnetic head as a recording / reproducing means enters and makes sliding contact with the magnetic disk 2.

The cartridge body 1 is provided with the openings 12, 1 provided in the cartridge body 1.
A shutter 14 for opening and closing 3 is attached so as to be movable in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The shutter 14 is formed by bending a metal plate such as a thin stainless plate having elastic force into a U-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. That is, the shutter 14 includes a pair of lid plates 15 and 16 facing each other in parallel and having a size large enough to close the openings 12 and 13 from the outer surface side, and one end of each of the lid plates 15 and 16. It has a connecting plate 17 for connecting the edges, and is formed to have a U-shaped cross section as a whole.

The shutter 14 has the opening 1
The lid plates 15 and 16 are extended to the concave sliding area portions 18 and 18 formed on both side surfaces of the cartridge body 1 over one side edge of the cartridge body 1 including the peripheral edges 2 and 13.
The cartridge body 1 is attached so as to be fitted from the front side surface side. At this time, the shutter 14 is provided on the one cover plate 1
The engaging protrusions 19 and 19 formed by bending inward on the side of the connecting portion of the connecting plate 17 with the connecting plate 17 are engaged with the guide groove 50 formed on the front side surface side of the one sliding area portion 18. By fitting them together, the cartridge body 1 is prevented from coming off and attached.

The shutter 1 mounted as described above
4 is slid over the range of the sliding area portions 18, 18, and the opening portions 12, 13 of the sliding area portions 18, 18 are moved.
As a result of being moved until one side of the lid plates 15 and 16 comes into contact with the rising edge 18a on the side, as shown in FIG.
2 and 13 are closed, and the sliding area portion 18,
The opening 1 is moved by contacting the rising edges 18b on the side of one side of the cover plate 18 with one side of the cover plates 15 and 16.
2 and 13 are opened.

Further, at one end on the left side in FIG. 2 of the connecting plate 17 of the shutter 14, the shutter 1 having a U-shaped tip is formed.
4, an engaging piece 21 serving as an engaging portion provided with a locked claw 21a formed by being bent inward. The engagement piece 21 engages the locked claw 21a with the lock member 22 disposed in the cartridge body 1 when the shutter 14 reaches the position where the shutter 14 closes the openings 12 and 13 to cause the shutter 14 to move. It locks so that movement is prohibited. The connecting plate 17 is the cartridge body 1
It is located in the notch recess 20 formed on the front side surface of the and is moved along the notch recess 20.

The shutter 14, which is movably attached to the cartridge body 1 as described above, is provided with the openings 12, 1.
The lock member 22 for holding 3 in the closed position is integrally formed of an elastic synthetic resin or the like,
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a support portion 23 that serves as a mounting portion on the inner side surface of the cartridge body 1, and the support portion 2
The shutter 14 is provided so as to project laterally from the tip side of the shutter 3.
And an elastic displacement portion 24 facing between the respective cover plates 15 and 16, and is formed in a substantially L shape as a whole. The connecting portion 24a of the elastic displacement portion 24 to the support portion 23 has a small diameter,
The connecting portion 24a is formed so as to serve as an elastic displacement point. Then, the upper end surface side of the elastic displacement portion 24 is projected so as to bulge, and an engaging portion which is an engaging portion with which the locked claw 21a at the tip of the engaging piece 21 provided on the shutter 14 engages near the top portion thereof. A recess 27 is provided. This engaging recess 2
On both sides of 7, a first inclined surface portion 25 inclined toward the connecting portion 24a side and a second inclined surface portion 26 inclined toward the tip end side are formed. Further, a long hole 31 having a major axis in the elastic displacement direction is formed in the inner portion of the elastic displacement portion 24.

Lock member 2 formed as described above
Reference numeral 2 denotes an inner side surface of the cartridge body 1 in which the elastic displacement portion 24 is extended to the front side surface side of the cartridge body 1 and the displacement guide pin 32 erected in the cartridge body 1 is engaged with the elongated hole 31. By fixing one side of the support portion 23 to the cartridge main body 1, it is attached to the cartridge body 1 as shown in FIGS. The displacement guide pin 32
Is engaged with the long hole 31 to lock the lock member 22.
Is a regulating means for regulating the elastic displacement position of

At the position on the front side surface of the cartridge body 1 where the elastic displacement portion 24 of the lock member 22 extends, the guide groove portion 28 is continuous with the cutout recess 20.
The engaging recess 27 side of the elastic displacement portion 24 is projected to the front side surface side of the cartridge body 1 through a notch opening formed in the bottom portion of the guide groove portion 28. The guide groove portion 28 has an opening end on one side surface orthogonal to the front surface side of the cartridge body 4, and is formed along the front surface side of the cartridge body 4.

Further, at a substantially central position in the length direction of the connecting plate 17 of the shutter 14, the disc cartridge is mounted on a predetermined mounting portion of the recording / reproducing apparatus, for example, a cartridge holder provided in the apparatus. The shutter 14, which has been moved to a position where the openings 12 and 13 of the cartridge body 1 are thereby opened, is closed in association with the operation of pulling out the shutter 14 from the mounting portion of the recording and reproducing apparatus. A notch 34 is formed to engage with a shutter closing means that operates in the direction in which the shutter is closed. This notch 3
In the present embodiment, 4 is provided by forming a concave notch on the outer surface of the connecting plate 17, but the shutter closing means provided on the recording / reproducing apparatus side can be engaged. Any material may be used, and it may be formed as a through hole.

In the disk cartridge configured as described above, when the shutter 14 is moved to a position where the openings 12 and 13 of the cartridge body 1 are closed, the tip of the engaging piece 21 provided at one end of the shutter 14 is moved. Locking member 2 in which the locked claw 21a of the
2 is engaged with the engaging recess 27, and the closed state of the openings 12 and 13 by the shutter 14 is maintained.
Ingress of dust and the like through 2 and 13 is prevented, and protection of the magnetic disk 2 can be achieved.

Next, the opening / closing operation state of the shutter 14 when the disk cartridge is loaded / unloaded to / from a predetermined mounting portion of the recording / reproducing apparatus will be described. First, to mount the disc cartridge in the mounting portion of the recording / reproducing apparatus, the shutter 14 is engaged with the lock member 22 and the openings 12 and 13 of the cartridge body 1 are closed.

When the disc cartridge is inserted into a mounting portion such as a cartridge holder provided in the recording / reproducing apparatus from the front side surface on which the shutter 14 is mounted, the shutter projecting on one side of the mounting portion is provided. The shutter opening member 35, which is a protrusion for unlocking the shutter 14 and performing the opening operation of the shutter 14, is the cartridge body 1.
Engages with the guide groove 28 formed on the front side of the. Here, when the cartridge body 1 is further inserted into the mounting portion, the first sloping surface portion 25 of the lock member 22 is pressed by the shutter opening member 35, so that the elastic displacement portion 24 moves inwardly of the cartridge body 1. It is pressed and displaced. When the elastic displacement portion 24 is pressed and displaced, the locked claw 21a at the tip of the engagement piece 21 provided on the shutter 14 is disengaged from the engagement recess 27 of the lock member 22 as shown in FIG. 5, and the shutter 14 is slid. It becomes movable.

Thus, the lock member 22 of the shutter 14
When the engagement with is released, the shutter opening member 35
The shutter pressing operation portion 35a at the tip comes into contact with the tip surface of the engagement piece 21 of the shutter 14, and the sliding of the shutter 14 is restricted.

Further, on one side of the mounting portion of the recording / reproducing apparatus, there is engaged a notch portion 34 provided in the connecting plate 17 of the shutter 14 positioned in front of the shutter opening member 35 on the disc cartridge insertion side, When pulling out the disc cartridge from the mounting portion, the opening 1 of the cartridge body 1
There is provided a shutter closing projection 36 which constitutes a shutter closing means for slidingly operating the shutter 14 placed at a position where the openings 2 and 13 are opened in a direction to close the openings 12 and 13. The shutter closing projection 36 is made of an elastically displaceable material, and the shutter 14 is connected when the shutter pressing operation portion 35 a at the tip of the shutter opening member 35 comes into contact with the engaging piece 21 of the shutter 14. It is elastically abutted on the plate 17.

When the cartridge body 1 is further inserted, the shutter 14 is opened by the shutter opening member 3.
Since the sliding is regulated by 5, it moves relative to the cartridge body 1 and gradually opens the openings 12 and 13 as shown in FIG. Here, when the cartridge body 1 is further inserted into the mounting portion and pushed to a predetermined mounting position, the shutter 14 is relatively moved to a position where the openings 12 and 13 are opened as shown in FIG. Becomes And
As shown in FIG. 7, the shutter closing projection 36, which has been placed in pressure contact with the upper surface of the connecting plate 17 of the shutter 14 so far, elastically returns to the notch of the connecting plate 17 and engages with it. Then, when the mounted disk cartridge is positioned at a predetermined position of the recording / reproducing apparatus and the cartridge body 1 is locked in the mounting portion, the shutter 14 is released.
Is held in contact with the shutter opening member 35, and is pressed and supported by the shutter closing projection 36 to hold the openings 12 and 13 open. The shutter 14 is prevented from being inadvertently slid at the time of recording / reproducing to close the openings 12 and 13.

When the cartridge main body 1 is gradually pulled out from the mounting portion in order to remove the disc cartridge mounted in the predetermined mounting portion as described above, only the cartridge main body 1 is pulled out as shown in FIG. Shutter 1
4 is held in the same position. That is, the shutter 14 is held at the position when the disc cartridge is positioned and mounted in the mounting portion because the shutter closing projection 36 is engaged with the notch 34 provided in the connecting plate 17, and the movement of the shutter 14 is restricted. It is left as it is. When the cartridge main body 1 is further pulled out in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 8, the shutter 14 is moved relative to the cartridge main body 1 and the openings 12, 1 of the cartridge main body 1 are moved.
Close 3

When the openings 12 and 13 of the cartridge body 1 are closed in this way, the shutter 14 abuts on the rising edges 18b of the sliding areas 18 and 18 of the cartridge body 1 on the side of the openings 12 and 13, respectively. It becomes possible to move integrally with the cartridge body 1. Here, when the cartridge body 1 is further pulled out in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 9, the shutter closing projection 36 is elastically displaced and comes out of the notch 34. Then, the shutter opening member 35 is also released from the guide groove portion 28, and the pressing of the elastic displacement portion 24 of the lock member 22 is released. Thus, when the pressing of the elastic displacement portion 24 is released, the elastic displacement portion 24 projects into the guide groove portion 28 by the elastic return force, and the locked claw 21a at the tip of the engagement piece 21 of the shutter 14 elastically displaces. The shutter 14 is engaged with the engaging recess 27 of the portion 24, and the shutter 14 is locked by the lock member 22 to hold the openings 12 and 13 in the closed state.

When the locked claw 21a at the tip of the engagement piece 21 of the shutter 14 is engaged with the engagement recess 27 of the lock member 22, the tip of the locked claw 21a moves to the first position of the elastic displacement portion 24. Since the elastically displacing portion 24 is elastically displaced inwardly of the cartridge body 1 by riding on the second inclined surface portion 26, a smooth engaging operation can be achieved.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, an example in which the invention is applied to a disk cartridge containing a magnetic disk has been described. However, the present invention is a disk containing a disc-shaped information recording medium on which a predetermined information signal is recorded. The present invention can be widely applied to cartridges and can achieve the same effects as those described in the above embodiment.

Further, the disk cartridge according to the present invention may be applied to a disk cartridge provided with a spring member for biasing the shutter 14 in the direction of closing the openings 12, 13 of the cartridge body 4. However, it is effective for surely closing the openings 12 and 13 of the shutter 14.

[0036]

As described above, in the disk cartridge according to the present invention, when the shutter closes the opening provided in the cartridge body, the disk cartridge is locked by the lock member provided in the cartridge body. Therefore, careless opening of the opening is prevented and reliable protection of the disc is achieved. Further, since the shutter maintains the state in which the opening is closed, it is not necessary to use the urging force of the spring member such as the torsion coil spring, so that the assembly can be facilitated. Particularly, in the present invention, when the shutter reaches the position where the opening of the cartridge body is closed, the shutter is locked by the lock member provided on the cartridge body side.
Reliable closing of the opening by the shutter is achieved. Further, since the lock member is arranged inside the cartridge body, it is possible to prevent the lock member from being inadvertently operated, and to securely lock the shutter.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a disc cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a part of the inside of the disc cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the front side of the disc cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a mounting portion of a lock member.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the disc cartridge is mounted in the mounting portion of the magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus, and the shutter is about to open the opening of the cartridge body.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state where the shutter is opening the opening of the cartridge body.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state where the shutter opens the opening of the cartridge body.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a state in which the disc cartridge is pulled out from the recording / reproducing apparatus side, and the shutter partially closes the opening of the cartridge body.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state in which the shutter closes the opening of the cartridge body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cartridge Main Body 2 Magnetic Disk 12, 13 Opening 14 Shutter 21 Engaging Piece 21a Locked Claw 22 Locking Member 27 Engaging Recess of Locking Member 28 Guide Groove

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cartridge body that rotatably accommodates a disc-shaped information recording medium, and a cartridge body that opens and closes an opening for recording and / or reproducing an information signal formed in the cartridge body. A shutter mounted movably, the shutter having an engaging portion extending in a depth direction of a groove provided on a moving side portion of the shutter of the cartridge body, and the shutter inside the cartridge body. At least a part of the groove is provided with a lock member, and when the shutter is in a position where the opening is closed, the engaging portion engages with the lock member to prohibit movement of the shutter. Disc cartridge.