JPH0684315A - Disk cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce an area occupied by a mechanism member and to make the capacity thereof smaller by elastically pressing a shielding means corresponding to two aperture parts in a closing direction. CONSTITUTION:A disk cartridge is inserted in a drive device and passes through the aperture part 23a provided on an upper case 22a in a state where the aperture part 23a is perfectly opened, so that information can be recorded/reproduced on one side of an optical disk 21. A shutter 24b is in a state where it closes the aperture part 23b. Meanwhile, in the case of taking out the disk cartridge from the driving device, a releasing mechanism 32 moves along a guide groove 30a in a direction opposite to that in the case of inserting the disk cartridge. When the releasing mechanism 32 is separated from a projection part 29b and a movable member 27a becomes in a slidable state, the shutter 24a is moved in the closing direction by the elastic pressing force of a tension spring 25 in an elongated state, and the aperture part 23a is automatically closed.

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 (hereinafter referred to as a disc).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, magnetic disks such as floppy disks and optical disks such as phase change optical disks or magneto-optical disks have been used by accommodating the above-mentioned disks in a strong container as the density of recorded information becomes higher. There is more to do. These disc cartridges
Since it can be mounted and used as it is inside the drive device, it is easy to handle. Further, the surface of the disk cartridge needs an opening into which a head for recording or reproducing information for the internal disk can be inserted, and the above-mentioned opening is used to prevent foreign matter such as dust from entering through this opening. Generally, a shielding member that shields the opening is provided. Currently, in order to increase the recording capacity of the disc, recording / recording of information on both sides of the disc
In many cases, openings are provided on both sides of the disc cartridge so that the disc cartridge can be reproduced.

However, the conventional Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-210486
In the disk cartridge disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-242242, since the openings on both sides are open when recording / reproducing information on / from a magnetic sheet, foreign matter such as dust is introduced from one unnecessary opening where the magnetic head is not inserted. When a disc cartridge in an open state is left in the drive device for a long time, dust or the like may be attached to the surface of the disc and interfere with information recording / reproduction.

Therefore, in order to minimize the entry of foreign matter such as dust into the disk cartridge through the openings on the unused surfaces, the shielding means proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-179352 is used for the openings on both sides. Corresponding to each other, each of them is independently movable, and when one of the two shielding means is driven to open the corresponding opening, the other opening is opened. Disc cartridges have been devised which can be closed by a corresponding shielding means.

As for the method of closing the opening by the shielding means, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-30709, one shielding means is elastically biased in the closing direction by one torsion spring. In general, the structure is such that the opening automatically returns to the closed state.

[0006]

However, the shielding means proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-179352 is divided into two corresponding to the openings on both sides, and each of them is independently movable, and two In a disk cartridge in which one of the shielding means is driven to open the corresponding opening, the other opening can be closed by the corresponding shielding means. If the torsion spring is used to elastically bias in the closing direction, two torsion springs are required for the two shielding means, which not only increases the number of mechanical members constituting the disc cartridge, but also increases the number of torsion springs and the like. There is a drawback that the area occupied by the mechanical member increases and the entire volume of the disk cartridge increases.

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional disk cartridge, it is an object of the present invention to provide a disk cartridge composed of a simplified mechanical member. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a structure for enhancing the reliability of the elastically biased shielding means in the disc cartridge during the opening / closing operation.

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, the disk cartridge of the present invention has a disk-shaped recording medium capable of recording / reproducing information on both sides thereof rotatably incorporated therein. A first opening for recording / reproducing information on one side of the disc-shaped recording medium, and a second opening for recording / reproducing information on the other side of the disc-shaped recording medium. Opening, a first shielding means for shielding the first opening when necessary, and a first shielding means movable independently of the first shielding means for shielding the second opening when necessary. 2 shielding means, provided between the first shielding means and the second shielding means for elastically urging each of the shielding means in the shielding direction, one end of which is the first shielding means, Elastic biasing with the other end locked to the second shielding means It is made of the stage.

The elastic biasing means, the other end of which is locked to the second shield means, is not applied to the first shield means at the time of opening / closing each of the shield means so as to prevent an excessive stress. It also has a restricting means for restricting the separation distance of each shielding means to a predetermined length or less.

[0010]

With the above construction, in the disk cartridge of the present invention, the elastic urging means is provided between the two shielding means, and each shielding means is urged in the closing direction, so that the number of mechanical members constituting the disk cartridge is increased. And the area occupied by the mechanical member can be reduced, and the volume of the disk cartridge can be minimized.

Further, when opening and closing each of the shielding means, the allowable stress of the elastic biasing means may be exceeded by limiting the distance between the shielding means to a predetermined length or less in any case. Moreover, it is possible to prevent the elastic biasing means from being damaged by the plastic deformation.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a disc cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which two shielding means of the disc cartridge close corresponding openings, and FIG. 3 shows the same. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which one shielding means opens a corresponding opening portion in the disk cartridge, FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which two shielding means are moved in the opposite directions by a maximum amount, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the inside of the disk cartridge of section A in FIG.

In FIG. 1, the case 22 has a disk-shaped recording medium (hereinafter referred to as an optical disk 21) capable of optically recording / reproducing information on both sides thereof, which is rotatably incorporated therein. The case 22a and the lower case 22b are combined together. Upper case 22a and lower case 2
2b are provided with openings 23a and 23b, respectively, and an optical head for recording / reproducing information on / from the optical disc 21 and a driving means for rotationally driving the optical disc 21 can be inserted therein. Also, the upper case 22
The a and the lower case 22b are provided with shutters 24a and 24b corresponding to the openings 23a and 23b so as to open or close the openings 23a and 23b when necessary. Here, in order to open the openings 23a and 23b, the shutter 24
The directions in which a and 24b move are opposite to each other.
The shutters 24a and 24b are thin metal plates whose one end is bent in a U shape and slidably engaged with the end surfaces of the upper case 22a and the lower case 22b, and between the shutters 24a and 24b. Is provided to the shutter 24a, and the other end is elastically urged in a direction of closing the openings 23a and 23b by a tension spring 25 locked to the shutter 24b. Therefore, in a normal state where information is not recorded / reproduced, the opening 23
The shutters a and 23b are closed by the shutters 24a and 24b. Further, the shutter 24a is provided with a plate-shaped stopper 26a, and the shutter 24b is provided with an L-shaped stopper 26b. In any case, the separation distance between the shutters 24a and 24b is the tension spring 25.
Is less than the allowable elongation length that does not cause plastic deformation.

The strip-shaped flexible members 27a and 27b are made of a flexible resin such as vinyl chloride, and both side edges thereof are provided on the inner surfaces of the upper case 22a and the lower case 22b so as to face each other. Flexible member guide grooves 28a, 28b
It is located inside and is slidably guided in the longitudinal direction. The flexible members 27a, 27b are engaged with the shutters 24a, 24b at one end in the longitudinal direction in the disc cartridge, and have protrusions 29a, 29b at the other ends. In addition, the flexible members 27a and 27b
Is a shutter 24a in the disk cartridge,
The line 24b has a straight line shape in the moving direction, is bent in the middle and continues to the outside of the disk cartridge, and the exposed part thereof has a straight line shape substantially parallel to the side surface part of the disk cartridge.

Next, the operation of inserting and removing the disk cartridge of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the disc cartridge is not inserted in the drive device,
The openings 23a and 23b are shutters 24a corresponding to the respective openings.
And 24b are both closed.

First, when the present disk cartridge is inserted into the drive device, the release mechanism 32 provided inside the drive device is provided with a guide groove 30a formed on the side surface of the disk cartridge and having a U-shaped cross section. The protrusion 29a at the end of the flexible member 27a while engaging
Engage with. Further, as the disc cartridge is inserted, the projection 29a is pushed by the release mechanism 32 and moved in the direction opposite to the disc cartridge insertion direction, whereby the shutter 24a connected to the flexible member 27a is opened. , Moves in the direction of opening the opening 23a against the elastic biasing force of the tension spring 25. At this time, the shutter 24b is in contact with the opening side surface 31b of the lower case 22b, and the opening 23b is in a closed state.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the disc cartridge is inserted into the drive device and the opening 23a is completely opened. In this state, information can be recorded / reproduced on one surface (the upper surface in FIGS. 2 and 3) of the optical disk 21 through the opening 23a provided in the upper case 22a. Further, the shutter 24b is in a state in which the opening 23b is closed.

Next, when the disk cartridge is taken out from the drive device, the release mechanism 32 is operated by the guide groove 30a.
When the release mechanism 32 moves away from the protrusion 29b and the flexible member 27a becomes slidable, the shutter 24a moves.
Moves in the closing direction by the elastic biasing force of the tension spring 25 in the extended state, and automatically closes the opening 23a.

When information is recorded / reproduced on the other surface of the above-mentioned optical disk 21 (the lower surface in FIGS. 2 and 3), the disk cartridge is reversed and inserted when the drive is inserted. The release mechanism 32 engages with the projection 29b and thus opens and closes the shutter 24b, but its operation is omitted because it can be easily analogized from the case of the opening and closing operation of the shutter 24a.

By thus providing the tension spring 25 between the shutters 24a and 24b, the two shutters can be elastically urged by one spring in the direction of closing each opening, and foreign matter such as dust can be obtained. Not only to prevent the disk cartridge from entering the inside of the disk cartridge, but also to reduce the number of mechanical members constituting the disk cartridge and to reduce the occupied area of the mechanical members, so that it is possible to inexpensively manufacture a disk cartridge having a minimum volume. it can.

The case where the user intentionally moves the shutter 24a and the shutter 24b in the opening direction, that is, in the opposite direction, will be described below with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 4, the shutter 24a and the shutter 24b
4 shows the state in which the disk cartridges are moved in the opening direction, that is, in the opposite direction, and FIG. As shown in this figure, when the shutter 24a and the shutter 24b are respectively moved in the opening direction, that is, in the opposite direction, the plate-shaped stopper 26a and the L-shaped stopper 26b are brought into contact with each other to engage with each other, so that the shutter 24a The mechanism is such that 24b does not move further in the opening direction, that is, in the opposite direction.

As described above, the user intentionally shutters 24a.
Even when the shutter 24b and the shutter 24b are moved in the opening direction, that is, in the opposite directions, the shutters 24a and 24b are regulated so that the separation distance between the shutters 24a and 24b is equal to or less than the allowable extension length in which the tension spring 25 does not cause plastic deformation.
By providing the stoppers 26a and 26b on b, it is possible to prevent the tension spring 25 from being damaged by exceeding the allowable extension length of the tension spring 25.

[0024]

As described above, in the disk cartridge of the present invention, one end is the first shielding means and the other is the other between the first and second shielding means corresponding to the two openings. One elastic biasing means is provided so that the end of the disk is locked to the second shielding means, and each shielding means is elastically biased in the closing direction, so that not only the number of mechanical members constituting the disk cartridge can be reduced, but also The area occupied by the mechanical members can be made smaller, and therefore cheaper,
It is possible to realize a disk cartridge having a smaller volume.

Further, when the shielding means are opened and closed, by providing a regulating means for regulating the separation distance of the shielding means to be a predetermined length or less in any case, the allowable expansion of the elastic biasing means is provided. It is possible to realize a highly reliable disc cartridge which does not exceed the length and does not damage the elastic biasing means.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a disk cartridge showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a disk cartridge showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway plan view of a disk cartridge showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a disk cartridge showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the inside of the disk cartridge of section A shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 optical disk 22a upper case 22b lower case 23a, 23b opening 24a, 24b shutter 25 tension spring 26a, 26b stopper 27a, 27b flexible member 29a, 29b protrusion 30a, 30b guide groove 31a, 31b side of opening

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A disc-shaped recording medium capable of recording / reproducing information on / from both sides thereof is rotatably incorporated therein, and information recording / reproducing is performed on one side of the disc-shaped recording medium. And a second opening for recording / reproducing information with respect to the other surface of the disc-shaped recording medium, and the first opening is shielded when necessary. First shielding means for moving the second opening, the second shielding means being movable independently of the first shielding means for shielding the second opening when necessary, and each of the shielding means elastic in the shielding direction. The first shield means and the second shield for biasing
A disk cartridge which is provided between the shield means and one end of which is elastically biased by the first shield means and the other end of which is elastically biased by the second shield means. 2. A disc-shaped recording medium capable of recording / reproducing information on both sides thereof is rotatably incorporated inside, and information recording / reproducing is performed on one side of the disc-shaped recording medium. And a second opening for recording / reproducing information with respect to the other surface of the disc-shaped recording medium, and the first opening is shielded when necessary. First shielding means for moving the second opening, the second shielding means being movable independently of the first shielding means for shielding the second opening when necessary, and each of the shielding means elastic in the shielding direction. The first shield means and the second shield for biasing
The elastic biasing means provided between the shielding means and one end of which is locked to the first shielding means and the other end of which is locked to the second shielding means, and the distance between each of the shielding means is predetermined. A disc cartridge comprising a regulation means for regulating the length to be equal to or less than the length.