JPH07176160A - Cartridge for optical disk - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always stably execute the opening and closing action of a shutter. CONSTITUTION:This cartridge for an optical disk C1 is provided with an almost flat shell 1 housing an optical disk D, the shutter 2 opening and closing an aperture window 1a formed one main surface of the shell 1 and a plate-like shutter guide 3 always covering one end part of the shutter 2 and guiding the opening and closing action of the shutter 2. As for the cartridge C1, the guide length W2 of the guide 3 is set to be the length equal to or longer than the opening and closing action range W1 of the shutter 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical disk cartridge containing an optical disk, and more particularly to an optical disk cartridge capable of stably opening and closing a shutter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a CD-ROM, a write-once type optical disc, a rewritable type optical disc, etc., an optical disc cartridge (hereinafter also referred to as a cartridge) containing an optical disc is generally a generally flat shell as shown in FIG. 11 and a shutter 12 capable of opening and closing an opening window 11a formed on the main surface of the shell 11 in order to protect the optical disc housed in the shell 11 and perform recording and reproduction on the optical disc. The shell 11 is arranged so as to straddle both the front and back surfaces of the shell 11 while being biased by a spring (not shown).

Further, one end of the shutter 12 is the shell 11
Of the shutter 12 from the main surface of the shutter.
In order to prevent the shutter from coming off accidentally, a shutter guide 13 which is a member separate from the shell 11 is generally attached to the outer surface of the shell 11 with an adhesive tape or the like so as to cover one end of the shutter 12. Is. Here, in the range in which the shutter 12 is opened and closed, the surface of the shell 11 other than the opening window 11a is a low surface portion, and the shutter guide 13 is provided to facilitate attachment of the shutter guide to this low surface portion. The guide length W2 of the shutter 12 is
Is shorter than the opening / closing operation range W1.

[0004]

Therefore, when the shutter guide 13 is attached to the shell 11, the shutter guide 13 may be attached, for example, in the opening direction of the shutter 12, and the shutter 1 may be inserted through the gap G.
Since 2 is visible, it is not desirable in appearance, and if the cartridge C0 is left in an environment where dust or the like is generated in this state, foreign matter such as dust enters through the gap G and the cartridge C0 is inserted into the disk drive for use. When doing so, malfunctions such as the shutter 12 not opening and closing normally were likely to occur.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical disk cartridge capable of always performing stable opening and closing operations of a shutter. To do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an optical disk cartridge of the present invention comprises a substantially flat shell for accommodating an optical disk and a shutter for opening and closing an opening window formed on one main surface of the shell. And a plate-shaped shutter guide that constantly covers one end of the shutter and guides the opening / closing operation of the shutter, wherein the guide length of the shutter guide is longer than the opening / closing operation range of the shutter. It is characterized by Sato.

A curved portion substantially parallel to the opening / closing operation direction of the shutter may be formed on at least one main surface side of the shutter guide. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the shutter guide from being deformed as much as possible when it is attached, and when inserting the cartridge into the disc drive device,
It is possible to prevent the trouble of loading and unloading as much as possible by the catching of this portion.

Further, projections or recesses (or openings) may be formed at both ends of the shutter guide, and recesses or projections corresponding to these projections or recesses may be formed and fixed on the shell side. By doing so, it becomes possible to prevent the positional deviation from occurring as much as possible when the shutter guide is attached to the shell.

Further, one or more elastically deformable engaging pieces projectingly provided on the rear surface side of the shutter guide are formed, and a fixing means including an engaging step portion formed on the shell side corresponding to these engaging pieces is provided. The shutter guide may be securely fixed to the shell without sticking by engaging the engaging step portion on the shell side while elastically deforming the engaging piece of the shutter guide. By doing so, the shutter guide can be easily and quickly assembled to the shell manually and with one touch, and the displacement of the shutter guide can be prevented.

Further, a material that is easily elastically deformed may be used for the shutter guide, and the entire shutter guide may be elastically deformed and engaged with the shell. As a result, the shutter guide can be easily attached, the efficiency of the attaching process can be improved, and the attachment can be easily performed again.

[0011]

According to the optical disk cartridge having the above structure, the guide length of the shutter guide is longer than the opening / closing operation range of the shutter so that the appearance is good and the opening / closing operation of the shutter is always stable. It becomes possible to do. That is, unlike the conventional case, the shutter is not visible through the gap between the shell and the shutter guide, so that the appearance is good, and foreign matter such as dust is prevented from entering through the gap. In doing so, the opening / closing operation failure of the shutter is eliminated.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, an optical disk cartridge C
Reference numeral 1 denotes a polycarbonate shell 1 that accommodates the optical disc D and an opening window 1a of the shell 1.
a shutter 2 made of stainless steel for opening and closing a, and a shutter guide 3 made of stainless steel for guiding the opening and closing of the shutter 2.
Etc. The cartridge C1 accommodates an ISO standard φ90 (mm) optical disk. In addition to the above materials, ABS resin or the like can be used as the material of the shell 1, and resin such as polyacetal can also be used for the shutter 2. The shutter guide 3 can also be made of polycarbonate, ABS resin, or the like.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shutter guide 3 is formed such that the end of the shutter 2 on the closing direction side is slightly wider, and the guide length W2 is equal to or larger than the opening / closing operation range W1 of the shutter 2. Is formed (W1 ≦ W2).
By doing so, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the shell 1 from the outside as much as possible. In addition, the shaded portion 3a in the figure indicates the sticking surface.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the attaching surface 1b of the shell 1 of the shutter guide 3 is formed slightly higher than the lower surface 1c of the shell, and the upper surface 1d of the shell 1 is formed. It is formed lower. The adhesive tape 4 is attached to the attaching surface 1a, and the attaching surface 3 of the shutter guide 3 is further attached.
Press a and attach the shutter guide 3.

Next, the cartridge C1 thus constructed (opening / closing operation range of the shutter 2 W1 = 49.1 ± 0.11)
mm, guide length of shutter guide 3 W2 = 50.0 ± 0.1 mm
) And a conventional cartridge C0 (shutter opening / closing operation range W1 = 49.1 ± 0.11 mm, shutter guide guide length W2 = 48.6 ± 0.1 mm), ISO / IEC-10
Two 90 mm MO discs defined in 090 were prepared. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, each of these four cartridges has a diameter of about 20 mm at the center of the test stand 5.
cm, output about 30W speaker set, test stand 5
While rotating at 2400 rpm, noise was randomly generated from the speaker, and JIS-Z8901 Type 11 (Kanto ROHM) was put in from the dust supply port above the speaker to create a dust environment. After leaving the cartridge for 24 hours in this state, take out each cartridge, blow the outside of the cartridge, wipe it with isopropyl alcohol attached to the cleaning cloth, and rotate the optical disk with the shutter open. Then, the shutter opening / closing test was performed about 100 times for each of 10 cartridges.

The cartridge subjected to the above-mentioned treatment was put into the drive device, and the PDL inspection (defective sector inspection) of the optical disk was carried out. However, in this embodiment, the number of defective sectors is about 10 at the maximum, which is a good result.

Next, a modified example of the shutter guide 3 in which the guide length is formed to be longer than the opening / closing operation range of the shutter 2 as in the above embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 (a),
As shown in (b), the end portion of the shutter guide 3 on the non-sticking portion side is a rounded portion 3b that is substantially parallel to the opening / closing operation direction of the shutter 2.
6A or 6B, or as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a convex or concave linear curved portion 3c is formed substantially in parallel with the opening / closing operation direction. Linear protrusion 3 as shown
The bending strength of the shutter guide 3 may be increased by forming a linear protrusion such as d. By doing so, deformation of the shutter guide 3 when it is attached is prevented as much as possible, and when loading the cartridge into the disk drive device, it is possible to prevent problems of loading and unloading due to being caught at this location. Is possible.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, columnar projections 3e, square projections 3f, circular recesses (or openings) 3g, etc. are formed at both ends of the shutter guide 3 and these are formed. It is also possible to form and fix a concave portion or a protrusion corresponding to the protrusion or the concave portion on the shell 1 side. By doing so, it becomes possible to prevent the positional deviation from occurring as much as possible when the shutter guide 3 is attached to the shell 1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, one or more rectangular cutouts 3h may be formed in the shutter guide 3 and a convex portion to be matched therewith may be formed on the shell 1 side. By doing so, it becomes possible to prevent the positional deviation when the shutter guide 3 is attached. Here,
As shown in FIG. 12, the notch 3h may be formed also at both ends of the shutter guide 3 positioned in the opening / closing operation direction of the shutter 2, and the shape thereof may be circular.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, elastically deformable engaging pieces 3i and 3j formed on the rear surface of the shutter guide 3 are formed, and the shell 1 side corresponding to these engaging pieces is formed. The fixing means including the engaging step portion formed in
Even if the engaging pieces 3i and 3j of the shutter guide 3 are elastically deformed to be engaged with the engaging step portion on the shell 1 side, the shutter guide 3 can be securely fixed to the shell 1 without sticking. Good. By doing so, the shutter guide 3 can be easily and quickly assembled to the shell 1 with one touch even by manual work, and the displacement of the shutter guide 3 can be prevented. As shown in FIG. 15, the engagement pieces may be formed at both ends of the shutter guide 3 which are located in the opening / closing direction of the shutter 2.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the shutter guide 3 is made of a material such as polypropylene which is easily elastically deformed, and the shutter guide 3 is elastically deformed as a whole to be engaged with the recess of the shell 1. Good. This allows
The shutter guide 3 can be easily attached, the efficiency of the attachment process can be improved, and the attachment can be easily performed again.

In the above embodiment, an example of a φ90 (mm) optical disk cartridge is shown.
Large cartridges for 0 (mm) discs, φ90
A cartridge smaller than the one for a (mm) disk can be appropriately modified and implemented. Further, the shapes and materials of the shell 1 and the shutter 2 are not limited to those of the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be appropriately changed and implemented without departing from the scope of the present invention. Further, the shutter guide 3 formed integrally with the shell 1 may be provided on the back surface side of the shell 1 (usually the non-clamping side without the shutter guide).
By doing so, it is possible to further ensure the opening / closing operation of the shutter 2 and to provide an optical disk cartridge that is robust against impacts and the like.

[0023]

According to the optical disk cartridge of the present invention, by setting the guide length of the shutter guide to be longer than the opening / closing operation range of the shutter, the opening / closing operation of the shutter can always be stably performed. In addition, the shutter is no longer visible through the gap between the shell and the shutter guide, which makes it look good, and foreign matter such as dust does not enter through this gap. In doing so, malfunctions such as the shutter not opening and closing can be prevented as much as possible, and a highly reliable optical disk cartridge can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating an embodiment of a cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a shutter guide.

3A is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3B is FIG.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line BB of

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a dust test.

5A is a plan view of a shutter guide of another embodiment, and FIG. 5B is a side view thereof.

6A is a plan view of a shutter guide of another embodiment, and FIG. 6B is a side view thereof.

7A is a plan view of a shutter guide of another embodiment, and FIG. 7B is a side view thereof.

8A is a plan view of a shutter guide of another embodiment, and FIG. 8B is a side view thereof.

9A is a plan view of a shutter guide of another embodiment, and FIG. 9B is a side view thereof.

10A is a plan view of a shutter guide of another embodiment, and FIG. 10B is a side view thereof.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a shutter guide of another embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a shutter guide of another embodiment.

13A is a plan view of a shutter guide of another embodiment, and FIGS. 13B and 13C are side views thereof.

FIG. 14A is a plan view of a shutter guide of another embodiment, and FIGS. 14B and 14C are side views thereof.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a shutter guide of another embodiment.

16A to 16C are diagrams illustrating how the shutter guide is elastically deformed to be attached to the shell.

FIG. 17 is a plan view illustrating a conventional cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ・ ・ ・ Shell 2 ・ ・ ・ Shutter 3 ・ ・ ・ Shutter guide 3a ・ ・ ・ Adhesive part C1 ・ ・ ・ Optical disk cartridge D ・ ・ ・ Optical disk W1 ・ ・ ・ Shutter opening / closing operation range W2 ・ ・ ・ Shutter guide Guide length of

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiyuki Hayashi 6 1166, Haseno, Namizo-cho, Yokaichi-shi, Shiga Prefecture 6 Kyocera Corporation Shiga factory (72) Hiroki Tanaka 1166, Haseno, Jizo-cho, Yokaichi-shi, Shiga Prefecture 6 Kyocera Corporation Shiga Factory

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A substantially flat shell for accommodating an optical disk, a shutter for opening and closing an opening window formed on one main surface of the shell, and a plate-like member for always covering one end of the shutter and guiding the opening / closing operation of the shutter. An optical disc cartridge having a shutter guide, wherein the guide length of the shutter guide is set to a length equal to or longer than an opening / closing operation range of the shutter.