JPH0535477Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a locking mechanism for a recording medium storage cartridge, which forms means for preventing the cartridge from falling off during loading.

[Background Art] In recent years, industries related to information such as computers have made remarkable progress, and the amount of information handled is rapidly expanding.

For this reason, a disk-shaped recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a disk) is created using a laser beam instead of a conventional magnetic head.
Optical recording and reproducing devices that can optically record information at high density and reproduce information at high speed are attracting attention.

As mentioned above, when recording information at a high density or reading information recorded at a high density, the presence of dust on the disk may cause incorrect recording or playback, so the disk is generally stored in the cartridge. It is stored in. Furthermore, when this cartridge is not installed in a recording or reproducing device, it covers the recording surface (generally the screen) of the disk, and when it is installed in the device, at least the portion along the radial direction and the center hole portion of the disk are exposed. A shutter is provided so that you can When the disk is rotated by opening the shutter and exposing the opening that was previously closed by the shutter, all of the concentric or spiral tracks can be set to face the opening. In this state, any track can be accessed by focusing a light beam using an optical pickup, and information can be written or read.

When a cartridge containing the above-mentioned disk is inserted from the insertion slot, it is necessary to prevent the cartridge from falling off when transporting it, in case of automatic loading in which the loading motor is driven and the cartridge is set at a predetermined mounting position. be.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, in the conventional example, after the cartridge is inserted, the position of the cartridge becomes unstable at the start of the loading operation, and it is difficult to ensure sufficient reliability of the operation to set the cartridge at a predetermined loading position. There was a particular difficulty.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a locking mechanism for a recording medium storage cartridge that can reliably lock an inserted cartridge at a predetermined position and perform loading. .

[Means and effects for solving the problem] The locking mechanism of the recording medium storage cartridge of the present invention irradiates convergent light onto a disk-shaped recording medium on which information is recorded in a track shape, and reads the information using the reflected light. , the cartridge holder is configured to be moved by a first driving means in two directions, a first direction parallel to the medium surface of the recording medium and a second direction substantially perpendicular to the medium surface of the recording medium; A cartridge containing a recording medium is inserted, and a locking member substantially disposed movably relative to the cartridge holder is engaged with a recess formed in the cartridge to lock the cartridge into the cartridge holder. Further, the cartridge holder is moved by the first drive means, and the recording medium in the cartridge holder is moved to a second drive means for rotationally driving the cartridge holder.
In the locking mechanism for a recording medium storage cartridge in an information reading device that engages with a drive means of the first drive means, when the lock member engages with the recess, driving of the first drive means is started. It is characterized by:

[Example] The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 5 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a magneto-optical recording and reproducing apparatus in which the first embodiment is formed, and FIG. 3 is a side view showing the main parts of FIG. 1 excluding gears, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the main parts of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the cartridge.

As shown in FIG. 2, the magneto-optical information recording/reproducing apparatus 1 in which the first embodiment is formed has a base 3 fixed in a housing 2 via a support (not shown).
This base 3 has a cartridge holder 7 (disk) provided with an opening that serves as an insertion slot 6 (see FIG. 1) for a disk cartridge 5 that stores a disk 4 (see FIG. 5) as a disc-shaped recording medium. It is attached so that it can move in the insertion direction C of the cartridge 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cartridge holder 7 has a generally square or rectangular upper surface, and both sides are bent into a U-shape to form a storage space inside into which the cartridge 5 can be inserted.

Further, a shutter opening/closing mechanism (to be described later) is formed in the deep side of the insertion opening 6 of the cartridge holder 7.

Approximately at the center of the upper surface of the cartridge holder 7, there are provided a substantially rectangular opening 9a whose longitudinal direction is the insertion direction (of the cartridge 5), and a circular opening 9b communicating with the opening 9a. A bias magnetic field applying device 10 for applying a magnetic field during magneto-optical recording or erasing is retractably attached to this rectangular opening 9a.

The base 3 on which the cartridge holder 7 is movably attached is made by folding both ends of a rectangular flat plate at right angles to form a U-shaped cross section. It allows you to store various parts. Further, the end (front end) of the disk 4 (or cartridge 5) opposite to the insertion opening 6 is folded downward to prevent dust from entering. This base 3 has a through hole at a position near the center in the width direction and a little closer to the insertion port 6, through which the rotating shaft of the spindle motor passes, and a dovetail-shaped hole is formed around the upper surface of this through hole. The turntable 12 is formed into a concave shape.
It is designed so that it can be installed. Then, the disk 4 is attached to the top of this turntable 12,
Rotationally driven by a spindle motor.

A rectangular opening 14 is provided from a portion adjacent to the turntable 12 to a front end portion on the deep side of the disk 4 in the insertion direction. An optical pickup (not shown) is attached to a carriage and movable along the longitudinal direction of the opening 14 in the base 3 below the opening 14. This carriage is moved by a coarse movement mechanism such as a voice coil motor, and when the optical pick-up attached to this carriage is moved, the objective lens faces the four surfaces of the disk mounted on the upper side through the aperture 14 at a close distance. A light beam focused by this objective lens is irradiated onto the disk 4. Note that the carriage is moved along the guide rail.

Further, an autoloading motor 15 (see FIG. 4) is housed in a lower portion near the rear end of the base 3 on the side of the insertion port 6 of the cartridge 5.

By the way, the cartridge 5 has a structure as shown in FIG. 5, for example.

That is, the cartridge 5 housing the disk 4 inside has an upper cartridge part and a lower cartridge part integrated to form a hollow cartridge main body 5A. This cartridge main body 5A has a circular opening 27 in its center so that the disk 4 can be clamped from both upper and lower sides when installed, and from this opening 27 (when inserted).
Apertures 28 for recording and reproducing are provided on both the upper and lower sides toward the tip end side.

On the outside of the openings 27, 28, the openings 27,
A shutter (blade) 29 folded back in a U-shape so as to cover each side of the disk 4 facing the disk 28 is attached so as to be movable in a direction (indicated by V) orthogonal to the direction of insertion into the device 1. This shutter 29 is movable by having its U-shaped folded end inserted into guide plates 31a, 31a (only one shown) provided on both upper and lower surfaces. Further, one end of a spring 32 housed in the cartridge 5 is fixed to the U-shaped portion of the shutter 29, and the other end is fixed to a corner of the cartridge main body 5A. The elastic force of the spring 32 causes the shutter 29 to move toward the opening 2.
7 and 28 are biased in the closing direction. In addition, the U-shaped portion to which one end of the spring 32 is attached is
A small opening 33 is provided, and a pawl 34 is provided to protrude toward the inside of the cartridge 5. By engaging this pawl 34 in a groove of a shutter lock member 35 housed in the cartridge 5, the shutter 29 is prevented from opening accidentally. That's what I do. The shutter lock member 35 is bent and the grooved end is biased so that the pawl 34 is engaged therewith. Thus, the end facing the opening 33 (the cartridge 5
), and when the end portion is retracted inward, the claw 34 that has been engaged in the groove is unlocked, and the shutter 29 is moved into the guide plates 31a and 31a.
It is designed to be movable in the longitudinal direction of 1a (that is, in the V direction).

Also, in the cartridge 5 (insertion into the device)
The distal end side has a tapered notch shape so that the width at both ends becomes slightly smaller, making it easier to insert into the insertion opening 6. Furthermore, grooves 36 are formed at the center in the thickness direction on both sides of the tip, and arc-shaped recesses 37 are formed at predetermined positions in each groove 36.

Thus, a locking mechanism 38 is formed that utilizes the recesses 37, 37 to lock the cartridge 5 to the cartridge holder 7 to prevent it from falling off.

For example, a rectangular opening 41 is provided on both sides near the front end on the deep side of the insertion port 6 of the cartridge holder 7.
41 is provided. A bearing member 42 is fixed to the inner side wall near each opening 41 with a screw or the like, and a cartridge lock member 43 that can be freely inserted into the opening 41 is rotatably supported on each bearing member 42. ing.

Each cartridge locking member 43 is formed with an arcuate protrusion 44 that can fit into the recess 37 of the cartridge 5. When the cartridge 5 is inserted from the insertion opening 6 into the deep side of the insertion opening 6, Recesses 37, 37 formed on both sides near the tip side
In addition, each of the arcuate protrusions 44, 44 is in an insertable state.

When the cartridge holder 7 and the cartridge 5 are moved slightly forward together with the protrusions 44 facing the recesses 37 so that they can be inserted into the recesses 37, the protrusions 44 and the cartridge holder 7 are moved forward slightly, and the protrusions 44 are opened upright on the base 3 near the opening 41 or the locking member 43. The locking plate 45 presses the sloped surface of the locking member 43 protruding outward from the opening 41 inward, and the protrusion 44 is locked into the recess 37. Therefore, by driving the loading motor 15 to move the cartridge holder 7 before it is locked, and then lowering it, the cartridge 5 can be transported without falling off, and the disk 4 can be moved onto the turntable. This means that it can be installed on the 12th.

The loading mechanism for transporting the cartridge holder 7 by the loading motor 15 has the following structure.

As shown in Figure 1, there are shafts 4 on both sides of the base 3.
6, 47, 46, 47 are pivotally supported, and these shafts 4
Gears 48 and 49 with large diameters are attached to gears 6 and 47, and these gears 48 and 49 are connected to gears 52 and 52 with small diameters attached to both ends of a shaft 51 that is horizontally suspended below the center of both gears. It is interlocked with
By rotationally driving the gears 52, 52,
Gears 48, 48, 49, and 49 having the same diameter can be rotationally driven.

A gear (not shown) is attached to the intermediate portion of the shaft 51, and this gear meshes with a gear attached to the rotating shaft of the autoloading motor 15 (see FIG. 4).

The motor 15 is fixed to the base 3 via an L-shaped fixing plate or the like.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3, a pair of guide pieces 55 and 56 are provided at two locations on the front and rear sides of each side of the cartridge holder 7 to protrude downward. Each guide piece 55 or 56 is bent and protrudes inward from both ends of the cartridge holder 7 to prevent the width of the device from increasing.

Each of the guide pieces 55 and 56 has a pin 58 or 59 projecting outward in the horizontal direction. has been involved.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, holes are provided in portions facing the inner ends of the shafts 46 and 47, which are arranged in parallel in the front and rear, so that the cartridge can be mounted in a state in which the shafts 46 and 47 can rotate. Guide plates 63 for guiding the movement of the holder 7 are symmetrically attached to both sides of the base 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the guide plate 63 has a linear hole 64 that extends linearly in the front-rear direction in a horizontal plane, and communicates with the linear hole 64 at an angle of approximately 90°.
A pair of guide holes 66 are provided at the front and rear, and each of the pins 58 and 59 is passed through the guide hole 66 (numerals 64 and 65 are third and third holes). (Only shown in the figure.) Therefore, the autoloading motor 15 is rotated to rotate the small diameter gears 52, 52, and the large diameter gears 48, 4 meshing with the gears 52, 52 are rotated.
9, 48, 49 are rotated, the pins 58, 59 protruding from the respective guide pieces 55, 56 of the cartridge holder 7 engage the gears 48, 49, 48, 49.
The guide hole 66 of the guide plate 63 can be moved by being pressed by the side walls of the elongated holes 61 and 62. By moving each of the guide pieces 55 and 56 along the guide hole 66, the cartridge 5 inserted from the insertion opening 6 of the cartridge holder 7 is moved forward together with the cartridge holder 7, and then rotated. The disc 4 can be placed on the turntable 12 by lowering the disc 4 while doing so.

By the way, the shutter opening/closing mechanism that opens the shutter 39 of the cartridge 5 by inserting the cartridge 5 from the insertion opening 6 and loading the cartridge 5 has the following structure.

As shown in FIG. 2, shafts 70A and 70B are protruded from both corners of the front end of the cartridge holder 7, and the bases of main levers 71A and 71B that are rotated are attached to each shaft 70A and 70B. It is attached to the outside so that it can move freely. Sub-levers 73A, 73B are further rotatably supported at the tips of these main levers 71A, 71B. Each sub-lever 73A, 73B has a protrusion 74 that engages with the opening 33 on each side of the cartridge 5 inserted from the insertion port 6.
A and 74B are formed respectively.

The base side of each of the secondary levers 73A, 73B is connected to a spring 7 attached to the tip side of the main levers 71A, 71B.
The secondary lever 73 is pulled by 5A and 75B.
A and 73B are urged to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise at respective pivot positions O _A and O _B . The urging force that acts to rotate these secondary levers 73A, 73B is formed on the base side of the secondary levers 73A, 73B, and includes a protruding piece 76A that is bent so as to come into contact with the side of the main levers 71A, 71B.
The rotation is regulated by 76B, and the main levers 71A, 71
It is designed to maintain a predetermined angle with B.

Further, each base side of the main levers 71A, 71B is provided with a coil spring 78 loosely fitted to the shafts 70A, 70B, for example.
A and 78B are biased to rotate counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively. The two main levers 71A and 71B have different pivot positions so that they can be rotated at different heights.

Thus, with the secondary levers 73A, 73B held by the springs 75A, 75B at an angular position where the protrusions 76A, 76B contact the main levers 71A, 71B, the main levers 71A, 71B are held by the coil springs 78A, 78B. When rotationally biased in the counterclockwise and clockwise directions by ,7
9B is perpendicular to the insertion direction C and parallel to the front end surface of the cartridge 5 to be inserted.
In this state, one of the protrusions 74A and 74B is positioned opposite to the opening 33 of the cartridge 5 inserted from the insertion port 6, and the lock in the opening 33 is locked by being inserted into the deep side. By pressing the end of the member 35, the pawl 34 engaged in the groove can be unlocked to retract the groove (into the cartridge 5). The sub-levers 73A and 73B on which the protrusions 74A and 74B are formed have a longer length of the contact portion with the distal end surface of the cartridge 5 to improve positioning accuracy, and one of the protrusions 74A and 74B is attached to the cartridge 5. It is designed to be securely inserted into the opening 33 of.

When the protrusion (for example, 74A) is engaged in the opening 33, the end surface 79 on the protrusion 74A, 74B side
A, 79B are in contact with the front end surface of the cartridge 5,
When the cartridge 5 is further inserted into the deep side from this state, the main levers 71A and 71B are rotated as shown by arrow D toward the position shown by the two-dot chain line (in FIG. 2, one main lever 71A (The other main lever 71B is also rotated in the same way.), as well as the main levers 71A and 71B.
A secondary lever 73A rotatably supported on the tip side,
73B is also pressed by the front end surface of the cartridge 5,
This is shown by the two-dot chain line.

From the position where the main lever 71A is indicated by the solid line,
When rotated to the position shown by the dotted chain line, the secondary lever 7
Each protrusion 74A of 3A is moved by L in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction C. The amount of movement L is made to match the amount of shutter movement required to open the opening 27 of the cartridge 5.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the cartridge holder 7
The bias magnetic field applying device 10 attached to the mounting bracket 81 faces the opening 9a on the upper surface, and the coil springs 82, 82, 82, 82 open the opening 9a.
It is biased to protrude inward. When the cartridge 5 is inserted by the evacuation guide members 83, 83 attached to the front and rear of the yoke around which a coil (not shown) is wound, the inclined surface of the evacuation guide member 83 is pressed, and the bias The magnetic field application device 10 is designed to be retractable upward.

In the magneto-optical recording and reproducing apparatus 1 equipped with the locking mechanism 38 of the first embodiment configured as described above, when the cartridge 5 is inserted from the insertion slot 6, the secondary cartridge 5 is inserted into the opening 33 formed on the front end surface of the cartridge 5. The protrusion 74A of the lever 73A is engaged, and the shutter 29
The lock mechanism that closes the shutter 29 is released, and the shutter 29 is then opened by rotating the main lever 71A.

When the cartridge 5 is inserted from the insertion port 6, the openings 41 on both sides of the cartridge holder 7,
The protrusions 44, 44 of the cartridge locking members 43, 43 facing the cartridge 41 are pushed by the distal end side of the cartridge 5, and are pushed toward the outside of the openings 41, 41, for example, as shown by two-dot chain lines E to F in FIG. Rotate and retreat.
When the front end surface of the cartridge 5 reaches a predetermined position (the position indicated by the symbol G in FIG. 4, and this position is also the position where the shutter 29 is fully opened, the position indicated by the two-dot chain line G in FIG. 2), , each protrusion 44
is in a state where it faces the recess 37 of the cartridge 5, and can be inserted into the recess 37.

In this state, each lock plate 45 is provided close to each protrusion 44, so when the cartridge 5 is inserted to the predetermined position, the tip of the cartridge 5 presses the lever of the micro switch, etc., and the loading motor is activated. 15 operates, and the cartridge holder 7
When the lock members 43 are transported to the deep side in the insertion direction C, the outer slopes of the lock members 43 that protrude outward from the openings 41 are pushed inward by the ends of the lock plates 45, and the protrusions 44 is engaged in each recess 37, and thereafter the engaged state is maintained on the inner surface of the lock plate 45. In other words, each locking member 43 provided on the cartridge holder 7 holds the cartridge 5 in a locked state in the cartridge holder 7. In this lock mechanism 38, each protrusion 44 is at a predetermined position facing the recess 37 of the cartridge 5, and when the cartridge holder 7 is moved by the loading motor 15 operating at this predetermined position, the lock plate 45 is moved. It will be locked immediately,
Cartridge 5 at the start of loading operation
The position of the lock will not become unstable, and the lock position will not vary.

When the loading motor 15 operates,
In FIG. 3, the pin protruding from the cartridge holder 7 is transported (moved) from the position shown by the two-dot chain line to the position shown by the solid line (this position corresponds to the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 4). By this transportation, the disk 4 is placed in a predetermined operating state, that is, placed on the turntable, and after this placement, a clamp mechanism (not shown) is lowered and the disk 4 is held on the turntable 12.

The lock mechanism 38 of the first embodiment has a simple structure in which a small lock member 43 is rotatably supported near a small opening 41, and a lock plate 45 is provided near the opening 41. Can be stored within the space.

FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the second embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 7 shows a side view. In FIG. 6, the cartridge holder 7 is shown with the upper plate 7A removed.

In this second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a pin serving as a support shaft 91 is provided at a corner of the upper surface of the cartridge holder 7 to protrude downward, and as shown in FIG. 8, it is approximately L-shaped. A pin serving as the support shaft 91 is passed through a pin hole provided near the bent portion of this L-shape, and a lock lever 92 is rotatably supported. 6th
As shown in the figure, an arc-shaped protrusion 93 that engages in the recess 37 of the disk cartridge 5 is formed at one end of the lock lever 92 that protrudes toward the side of the cartridge holder 7. . A pin 94 is provided upwardly at the end of the lever piece of the lock lever 92 that protrudes in the direction of the end surface of the front end of the cartridge holder 7. The other end of a spring 97 is fixed to a pin 96 that passes through a shaped opening 95 and protrudes at a position on the rear side (closer to the insertion port) of this opening 95. An elastic force is applied to one end of the insertion port 6 to draw it toward the insertion port 6. Therefore, when the cartridge 5 is not inserted, the spring 97 causes one end of the lock lever 92 to be held against the pin 96.
Since the lock lever 92 is pulled toward the side, the lock lever 92 rotates around the support shaft 91 (clockwise in FIG. 6), and the pin 94 moves inside the opening 95 toward the insertion port 6 and comes into contact with the wall surface of the opening 95. The state will be as follows. This state is shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

Note that the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6 is shown offset from the solid line, and the opening 95 indicated by the one-dot chain line and the opening 95 indicated by the two-dot chain line are originally at the same position.

When the cartridge 5 is not inserted, the lock lever 92 is in the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. When inserted, the cartridge 5 is retracted outward from the side surface where the recess 37 is formed.

Further, this state is schematically shown in FIG. 9a.

However, the disk cartridge 5 is inserted into the insertion slot 6.
When the distal end surface of the cartridge 5 inserted into the deep side of the insertion port 6 presses the other end of the lock lever 92, the lock lever 92 rotates around the support shaft 91 (counterclockwise in FIG. 6). ,2
The protrusion 93 shown by the dotted chain line rotates as shown by the arrow a. By rotating the protrusion 93 in the direction of arrow a, the protrusion 93 can be inserted into the recess 37 facing the protrusion 93. This state is shown in FIG. 9b.

At the same time as the protrusion 93 engages in the recess 92,
At the tip of the inserted disk cartridge 5,
A micro switch attached to the deep side of the cartridge holder 7 is turned on. Further, in this case, the stepped surfaces of each groove 36 of the cartridge 5 abut against stoppers 7B formed on each side of the cartridge holder 7,
Positioned. Each stopper 7B is formed by bending the end of the side surface of the cartridge holder 7 toward the storage space. When this micro switch is turned on, the loading motor is activated, moves the cartridge holder 7 deeper and then lowers it, placing the disk 4 on the turntable to a state where recording or playback can be performed. is set to A state in which the micro switch is turned on and the cartridge holder 5 is slightly moved is shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, or in FIGS. 7 and 9c.

By the way, a lock plate 98 is provided upright on the base 3, and when the disk cartridge 5 is not inserted, the end portion of the lock plate 98 is as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6 or as shown in FIG. 9a. It is located close to the lock lever 92, and when the disk cartridge 5 is inserted and pushed into the pin 94, the protrusion 93 engages in the recess 37 and the micro switch is turned from OFF to ON. It comes into contact with the outermost surface of the lever 92 as shown in Figure b. Therefore, when the micro switch is turned on from this state and the loading motor is activated, the cartridge holder 5 is moved to the deeper side (this state of slightly moved to the deeper side is indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6 or the solid line in FIG. 7). (and shown in FIG. 9c), the protrusion 93 is held in the locked state in the recess 37 by the lock plate 98 and transported, and the disk 4 is
is placed on the turntable. The operation of the loading motor after inserting the disk cartridge 5 is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

Further, in this embodiment, the spring 97 forms an ejection assist mechanism that facilitates ejection of the disk cartridge 5.

When the eject operation is performed, the loading motor rotates in the opposite direction to that used during loading, and the cartridge holder 7 is raised along a path opposite to that of loading, and then the cartridge holder 7 is moved toward the insertion port 6 side. and move horizontally. After passing through the solid line in Fig. 6 or the state shown in Fig. 7 and reaching the position shown in Fig. 9b, and moving slightly from this position, the micro switch is turned off and the eject conveyance of the loading motor is stopped. However, the spring 97 presses the distal end surface of the cartridge 5 toward the insertion port 6 side. Also, due to inertia during eject transport, the cartridge holder 7
At the same time, the cartridge 5 is moved slightly toward the insertion port 6 side. When the cartridge 5 is moved slightly toward the insertion slot 6 from the state shown in FIG. 9b, the lock lever 92 is locked by the lock plate 98.
rotation is released. When the rotation of the lock lever 92 by the lock plate 98 is released, the spring 97
The lock lever 9 is rotated around the support shaft 91 by
2 rotates clockwise, and the lever side on which the protrusion 93 is formed is in the recess 3 as shown by arrow b in FIG.
7 and release the lock (which locks the cartridge 5 to the cartridge holder 7 by engaging the protrusion 93 in the recess 37). When the lock is released, the spring 97 pushes the cartridge 5 toward the insertion port 6 at the other end of the lock lever 92 when rotating the lock lever 92 clockwise about the support shaft 91. Therefore, the cartridge 5 protrudes from the insertion opening 6, and the cartridge 5 can be easily taken out.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the cartridge 5 can be locked in the cartridge holder 7 during loading, and the locking mechanism can be reliably released during ejection, and the cartridge 5 can be easily pushed out toward the insertion port 6. The cartridge 5 can be taken out.

FIG. 11 shows a plan view of the main part of a cartridge holder in a loading device according to a third embodiment of the present invention with the top plate removed, and FIG. 12 shows a side view.

In this third embodiment, a lock lever 101 having a substantially L-shaped leaf spring is fixed to a corner of the upper plate 7A of the cartridge holder 7 with screws 102, 102. Lever piece 1 of this lock lever 101 projects to the side of cartridge holder 7
01A has its center part slightly protruding outward,
A protrusion 103 bent into a substantially semicircular shape is formed at the end. The other lever piece 101B of this lock lever 101 has its end protruding toward the insertion port 6 side, and when this end is pressed by the inserted cartridge 5, this lever piece 101B
The protrusion of the lever piece 101A integrated with the 11th
It moves as shown by arrow a from the state indicated by the one-dot chain line in the figure, and engages in the recess 37 of the cartridge 5. When the loading motor is in operation, the lock plate 104 maintains the locked state in which the protrusion 103 is engaged with the recess 37.

Further, during the eject operation, the loading motor is reversely rotated to transport the cartridge holder 7 with the cartridge 5 locked to the insertion port side,
When the loading motor is turned off, the protrusion 103 of the other lever piece 101A retreats from the recess 37 due to the elastic force of the lever piece 101B formed by a leaf spring, and is pressed by the lever piece 101B to easily move the cartridge 5. can be discharged.

The effects of this third embodiment are almost the same as those of the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows the lock mechanism portion of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Lock plate 1 is similar to the lock mechanism of the first embodiment.
01 on the base, and lock lever 1
11 is rotatably supported around a support shaft 112, and in this embodiment, a spring 113 is loosely fitted to the support shaft 112, and one end of this spring 113 protrudes from the side surface of the cartridge holder 7. pin 114
The other end of this spring 113 is fixed with a pin 115 protruding from the lock lever 111, and a biasing force is constantly applied to rotate the lock lever 111 clockwise around the support shaft 112 as shown by arrow c. It is being Therefore, the tip of the lock lever 111 has a protrusion 1 that engages in the recess of the cartridge.
16 are formed. However, cartridge 5
A lock plate 110 is attached to the outer part of the lock lever 111 where the cartridge is moved to the deep side by inserting the cartridge.
, rotates around the support shaft 112 and the protrusion 11
6 is inserted into the recess of the cartridge and can be set to the locked state.

In addition to having almost the same effect as the first embodiment, this fourth embodiment also biases the distal end side of the lock lever 111 in the direction of retreating from the storage path into which the cartridge is inserted. The problem is that the protrusion 1 of the lock lever 111 may hit the cartridge and get in the way when it is ejected.
It is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of cases in which the part 16 is not smoothly retracted from the recess.

FIG. 14 shows the locking mechanism portion of the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

In this fifth embodiment, the arm 122 portion of the lock lever 121 is formed of a leaf spring, and the base side of the lock lever 121 is fixed to the side surface of the cartridge holder. However, this fixation is
23 is formed in a state where it is retracted from the storage path where the cartridge is inserted and removed, and the function of the spring 113 of the fourth embodiment is realized by the arm 122 made of a plate spring, and its operation and effect are as follows. This is almost the same as the fourth embodiment described above. Furthermore, since the function of the spring 113 is formed by the arm 122, there is no need for the spring 113 or the support shaft 112, etc.
The structure can be made simple, and the space for providing these elements is unnecessary, making it possible to reduce the size.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is formed in a magneto-optical recording and reproducing device, but it can be widely applied to optical recording and reproducing devices.

Further, in the above embodiment, an electromagnet may be used instead of the elastic force used for urging.

[Effects of the invention] As described above, in the present invention, when the locking member is engaged with the recess formed in the cartridge, the driving of the first driving means is started, so that the lock position and the first driving means are As a result, the cartridge is reliably transported without falling off, and the recording medium in the cartridge can be engaged with the second drive device with high precision.

On the other hand, when the locking member engages with the recess of the cartridge, the cartridge, locking member, cartridge holder, and first driving means are connected to each other. Therefore, if a manual force in the direction of cartridge insertion continues to be applied to the cartridge even after it has been locked, unreasonable force will be applied to each of these members, potentially damaging the device.

In this regard, in the present invention, after the locking member engages with the recess of the cartridge, the first driving means is started and the cartridge is automatically transported. There is no need to worry about excessive force being applied to the drive means when inserting the cartridge. As a result, the device of the present invention has the advantage that it has excellent durability and that manual insertion of the cartridge into the device is extremely smooth.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 5 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a magneto-optical recording and reproducing apparatus in which the first embodiment is formed, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of FIG. 1. Fig. 3 is a side view showing the main parts of Fig. 1 excluding gears, etc. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the main parts of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the cartridge, Fig. 6 7 is a side view of the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a side view of FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the locking lever of the second embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the locking state. 10 is a flowchart showing the locking process, FIG. 11 is a plan view of the main part of the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the locking process.
13 is an explanatory view showing the main part of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing the main part of the fifth embodiment of the present invention. 1...Recording/playback device, 3...Base, 4...Disk, 5...(disk) cartridge, 6...
...Insertion slot, 7...Cartridge holder, 12...
turntable, 29...shutter, 37...recess, 38...lock mechanism, 41...opening, 43...
...Lock member, 44...Protrusion, 45...Lock plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] In order to irradiate a disk-shaped recording medium on which information is recorded in the form of tracks with convergent light and read the information using the reflected light, a first beam parallel to the medium surface of the recording medium is provided. A cartridge containing the recording medium is inserted into a cartridge holder which is moved by a first driving means in two directions: a first direction and a second direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the recording medium; a locking member substantially disposed movably relative to the cartridge holder is engaged in a recess formed in the cartridge to retain the cartridge in the cartridge holder; A locking mechanism for a recording medium storage cartridge in an information reading device, wherein the cartridge holder is moved by a means, and the recording medium in the cartridge holder is engaged with a second driving means for rotating. A locking mechanism for a recording medium storage cartridge, characterized in that when the locking member engages with the recess, driving of the first driving means is started.