JPH0729346A - Disk cartridge, disk drive device and disk changer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a disk cartridge suitable for miniaturization and thin formation, the disk drive device and the disk changer for using this disk cartridge. CONSTITUTION:The disk cartridge consists of an upper case 3, a lower case 2 and a middle case 4, and a disk 1 is housed in the middle case 4, and the middle case 4 is slid in a gap formed by sticking the upper case 3 and the lower case 2 to each other, and then the disk 1 is drawn out more than half to be used. Consequently, since the disk cartridge is prevented from dropping in, and an optical pickup part is allowed to approach the disk, a dead space inside the drive device is minimized, and an installation space for a circuit part is secured, and then the miniaturization and thin formation of the drive device are feasible.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disc cartridge having therein an optical disc used for recording / reproducing information, a disc drive device therefor, and a disc changer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an optical disc device has been widely used as an audio disc, a video disc, and a data storage device of a computer. With the improvement of the recording density of the disc, a larger-capacity and compact optical disc device is provided. Is required. In particular, as the personal computer is becoming smaller and more portable as well as AV equipment, it is desired to make the optical disc device smaller and thinner.

Generally, in an optical disc device, after a disc cartridge is inserted into the device, the cartridge is moved toward a spindle motor and an optical pickup to chuck the disc on a turntable so that the disc can be recorded or reproduced. There is a need.

A loading mechanism of such an optical disk device will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of a loading mechanism of a conventional optical disk device, and FIG. 13 is a side view showing its operation.

12 and 13, the cartridge 1
Is inserted into the cartridge holder 2 from the front side of the apparatus. At this time, the slide shutter 21 of the cartridge 1
Slides by a link mechanism (not shown) incorporated in the cartridge holder 2 to expose the recording / reproducing portion of the disc. 4 on both sides of the cartridge holder 2.
There are individual guide rollers 4, which are inserted into guide grooves 5 provided on both side surfaces of the slider 3, and can be moved by a dimension D only up and down along a guide pole 8 implanted in the chassis 10. Is attached to.

The slider 3 is shaped so as to sandwich the cartridge holder 2 from below, and is attached so as to be slidable by a dimension S along the guide pin 7 embedded in the chassis 10 in the direction of arrow A. The slider 3 is always pulled in the direction A by the slider spring 6 with respect to the chassis 10, and the slider 3 is locked by a lock arm (not shown) so that the slider spring 6 stops in the most extended state in the initial state. There is. When the cartridge 1 is inserted, the lock arm is pushed by one corner of the cartridge and released. When the lock arm is released, the slider 3 slides in the A direction by the slider spring 6, and the guide groove 5
The guide roller 4 moves along with, and the cartridge holder 2 moves by the dimension D in the direction of the chassis 10 (arrow B). As the cartridge descends, the disk rides on the turntable provided on the spindle motor and is chucked, and approaches the optical pickup to a recording / playback distance.

When removing the cartridge from the device,
The slider 3 is pulled back against the tensile force of the slider spring 6 by the loading motor 9, the guide roller 4 is moved along the guide groove 5, and the cartridge holder 2 is raised to the initial position. As a result, the disc is separated from the turntable and the cartridge can be taken out.

[0009]

The conventional loading mechanism of the disc cartridge or the optical disc device has the following problems.

That is, since the cartridge is once inserted horizontally and then lowered toward the spindle motor, the disk is placed on the turntable so that the optical pickup can record and reproduce data. Has an empty space having a thickness of dimension D over the entire area of the cartridge. However, other parts such as a motor control circuit cannot be arranged in this space, which becomes a dead space in the device. Therefore, there is a limit to the thinning of the device.

Further, in such a loading mechanism, when the disc cartridge is inserted, the shutter is automatically opened. Therefore, if the disc is left in the drive, dust causing an error adheres to the disc. .

Considering the disc changer, there is a disc stocker for storing the disc, and the robot hand pulls out the cartridge from the stocker and inserts it into the drive, and a transport mechanism for carrying the cartridge in front of the stocker. Is required and the device becomes large,
Also, it is a difficult structure to increase the disc exchange speed.

The present invention provides a disk cartridge that solves the above-mentioned problems. Further, the disk cartridge can be loaded without creating a large dead space in the apparatus, and the overall size and thickness of the apparatus can be reduced. A disk drive device and a disk changer device are provided.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the disk cartridge of the present invention has a flat main surface, and edges are formed on three sides of the peripheral surface of the main surface. It comprises an upper case and a lower case, and an inner case having a peripherally formed four side edges and a bottom plate for supporting the disc, the inside of which is partially cut out. The disk is housed, and the middle case is slidable in a gap formed by joining the upper case and the lower case, and the disk can be pulled out by half or more.

The disk drive device of the present invention is
A disk drive device for mounting a disk cartridge of the present invention and recording or reproducing a signal on a disk, comprising: an unlocking claw for unlocking a locked state for holding the disk in the disk cartridge; It has a middle case pulling-out means for pulling out the middle case and a rotation driving means for rotationally driving the disc, and when the disc cartridge is loaded, the lock release claw is provided in a lock release hole formed in the disc cartridge. The disk cartridge is inserted and positioned, the inner case of the disk cartridge is pulled out by the inner case pulling-out means, and the disk holding portion constituting the rotation driving means is attached to the disk to rotate the disk. It is a thing.

Further, the disc changer device of the present invention comprises a disc stocker holding a plurality of the disc cartridges of the present invention arranged side by side, a middle case pull-out means for pulling out the middle case of the disc cartridge, and the disc cartridges arranged side by side. And a signal recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing a signal on / from the disc, the moving means moving the rotational driving means to a required disc cartridge position. Then, the inner case is pulled out from the disc cartridge by the inner case pulling-out means, and after the signal is recorded or reproduced on the disc by the signal recording / reproducing means, the inner case is stored in the original state. .

[0017]

The disk cartridge of the present invention comprises an upper case, a lower case, and an intermediate case. The disk is housed in the intermediate case, and the intermediate case slides in a gap formed by joining the upper case and the lower case. However, since the disk is used by pulling out more than half, it is not a dead space required for dropping the disk cartridge as in the past, but a dead space due to the vertical movement of the rotation drive means, so the required space is minimized. The installation space for the electric circuit section is secured, and the drive device can be made smaller and thinner.

When the disc cartridge of the present invention is to be taken out from the disc drive device, the lock spring engages with the lock protrusion of the middle case, so that the disc cannot be pulled out even if it is pulled with a strong force. In addition, since there is no head insertion window like the conventional disk cartridge, a large sticker or label can be freely attached to the surface of the case, and since the window cover with weak strength is close and the clearance is almost complete, it can be handled separately. Is the best

In order to construct a disc changer device using the disc cartridge of the present invention, a disc stocker in which the disc cartridges of the present invention are arranged at intervals slightly wider than the thickness of the disc cartridge, and a disc stocker in the direction in which the disc cartridges are arranged. Since the rotation driving means is composed of the moving means which can move, it is not necessary to provide anything in front of the disk stocker for arranging the disk cartridges, and it can be used as a disk storage rack. Further, the structure is the same as the structure of a single-use disk drive, parts can be shared, and only a half of the disk is pulled out, so the changer volume can be small.

[0020]

Embodiments of the disk cartridge of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a disk cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is an optical disk, 2 is a lower case, 3 is an upper case, and 4 is an intermediate case.

The disk 1 is housed in the middle case 4, and the middle case 4 slides in a gap formed by adhering the upper case 3 and the lower case 2 to pull out the disk 1 by half or more to use a disk cartridge. I am configuring. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the disc (the middle case) is stored, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the disc (the middle case) is pulled out.

The lower case 2 is provided on its three sides with a slightly thick edge 2-a so as to provide a gap into which the middle case 4 is inserted. The remaining one side is not provided with an edge because it serves as an entrance for sliding the middle case 4. Triangular or arcuate notch 2 in the center of that side
-G is provided. 2-f is a concave portion provided on both sides of the cutout 2-g, and the convex portions provided on the middle case 4 are fitted into the concave portion 2-g so that the middle case 4 can be pulled out or stored by a click action. Further, there are provided a release hole 2-c for the release lever, which is formed by cutting out the edge of the side on the sliding side, and a sliding groove 2-d for the middle case pull-out projection.

The upper case 3 is similar to the lower case 2. A fixing screw 7 connects the lower case 2 and the upper case 3.

Reference numeral 4 is a middle case, and a slightly thick edge 4-d is provided in the peripheral portion for reinforcement, but two corners are cut out in order to avoid the lock spring mechanism (4
-C part). A lock protrusion 4-a having an inclined surface and a right-angled surface is provided inside the tip of the sliding side surface, and a pull-out projection 4-b is provided outside. The central portion is almost cut out except for the portion 4-e supporting the disc 1 and there is nothing.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of portion A in FIG. In the vicinity of the center of the front surface that is perpendicular to the sliding side surface, a flat surface portion having a sufficient width to cover the cutout portions of the center portions of the lower case 2 and the upper case 3 and having the same height as the edge 4-d. 4-f is provided. On both sides of it, there is a protrusion 4-that is flush with the edges.
There is a g, and the arc-shaped projection 4-h is located above and below the projection.
There is. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the cross-sectional shape of the protrusion 4-h taken along the line BB. Reference numerals 2 and 3 are a lower case and an upper case, and these are provided with recesses 2-f and 3-f at positions contacting the protrusion 4-h when the middle case is housed, respectively. It is set by clicking action using the elasticity of.

Returning to FIG. 1, 5 is a lock spring and 6 is a release lever, the details of which are shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8.
Described in. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the lock spring 5. The lock spring 5 is a strip-shaped leaf spring, and the tip portion is bent twice to form a lock portion 5-a, and the other end is bent once to form a fixed portion 5.
-B. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the release lever 6, and a release protrusion 6-b is provided in contact with a part of the lever portion 6-a of the strip-shaped lever.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of these assembled states. Reference numeral 2 denotes a lower case, which represents the corner. 2-a
Is a slightly raised edge. Reference numeral 2-b is a lock spring mounting projection, which is provided with a slight gap from the edge 2-a. The fixing portion 5-b of the lock spring 5 is inserted into the gap to fix the lock spring. The release lever 6 is the lock spring 5
Between the lower case 2 and the edge 2-b of the lower case 2, and the release projection 6-b is inserted in a release hole 2-c cut out in the edge 2-b. Release protrusion 6-b from release hole 2-c
When is pressed, the elasticity of the lock spring 5 causes the lock spring 5 to retreat to the 5'position (the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line). 4-a is
It is a lock protrusion having a slope and a right angle surface provided at the tip of the edge 4-d on the sliding side surface of the middle case 4, and the lock spring 5 retracts beyond this lock protrusion. Can be pulled out in the direction of. Release projection 6-b
The lock spring 5 does not retreat unless is pressed. Therefore, when the release projection 6-b is not pushed, the lock portion 5-a is caught by the lock projection 4-a and the middle case 4
I can't escape. Reference numeral 4-b denotes a pull-out projection continuously provided on the edge 4-d of the middle case 4, and the middle case 4 is pulled out by grasping this portion. The lower case 2 is provided with a slide groove 2-d having a notch so that the pull-out projection 4-b can slide. 2-e is a screw hole for fixing the lower case 2 and the upper case 3.

FIG. 9 is a plan view and FIG. 10 is a side view showing an embodiment of a disk drive device using the disk cartridge according to this embodiment. 1 is an optical disc
Reference numeral 10 is the disk cartridge of this embodiment described above. A spindle motor 20 is fixed to a base 24, and a turntable 21 is fixed to its rotation shaft. An optical pickup 23 is fixed to a base 24 including a traverse mechanism.

When the disk cartridge is inserted in the direction of the arrow, the lock release claw 2 provided in the drive device
Reference numeral 5 holds the position of the cartridge at the same time as pushing the releasing projection 6-b through the releasing hole 2-c. Release projection 6-b
Since is pressed, the middle case 4 is pulled out. Medium case 4
When the disk is pulled out, the spindle motor, the optical pickup, and the base table on which the traverse is placed rises, the disk is clamped, and recording and reproduction are performed. At this time, the base is raised without dropping the disc cartridge as in the prior art. As shown in FIG. 10, the base table 24 is smaller than the disk cartridge 10, so
The dead space in the drive device due to the vertical movement is minimized, and the installation space for the electric circuit section is secured. As a result, the drive device can be downsized.

When the recording / reproduction is completed, the middle case 4 goes down.
It is stored in the upper case and is in a standby state. In this state, the release projection 6-b is pushed and the lock spring 5 is in the release position. However, the projection 4-h provided in the middle case 4 and the recesses 2-f provided in the upper and lower cases, It is in a light lock state with 3-f. When recording and reproducing again, the middle case 4 may be pulled out as it is. When trying to remove the cartridge from the drive device, the lock spring 5
The elastic force returns to the original state and the lock portion 5-a of the lock spring 5 and the lock protrusion 4-a of the middle case engage with each other, so that the middle case 4 cannot be pulled out even if it is strongly pulled.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of a disk drive changer using the disk cartridge of this embodiment described above.

In the figure, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a side view. As is apparent from the front view (b), this apparatus is provided in the disk stocker section 30 in which the disk cartridges of this embodiment are arranged at intervals slightly wider than the thickness of the disk cartridge, and in the rear section of the disk stocker section 30. The pickup unit 31 is movable in the direction in which the disk cartridges are arranged (X direction in (c)). Pickup part is 31
Is the spindle motor 20 fixed to the base 24.
And a turntable 21 fixed to the rotating shaft thereof, an optical pickup 23 including a traverse mechanism, and a base 24. The disk cartridge holding mechanism in the stocker unit 30 is exactly the same as that described for the drive device. When the recording / playback is completed, the middle case is stored in the lower and upper cases and is in a standby state. In this disc drive changer, most discs are in this standby state. In the case of recording / reproducing in accordance with a command from the controller, it suffices to select a required disc cartridge, directly pull out the inner case, and bring the pickup unit 31 close to the disc.

[0034]

As is apparent from the above embodiments, the disc cartridge of the present invention comprises an upper case, a lower case and a middle case, and the disc is housed in the middle case, and the middle case is the upper case and the lower case. Since it slides in the gap created by joining with the disk and pulls out the disk more than half, it is not the dead space required for dropping the disk cartridge as in the past, but the dead space due to the vertical movement of the rotation drive means. Therefore, the required space is minimized, the installation space for the electric circuit section is secured,
As a result, the drive device can be made smaller and thinner.

Further, the disk cartridge of the present invention is
Inside the single-use disc drive device and the multi-use disc changer device, the discs can be placed in a standby state with the discs housed in the upper and lower cases, so that they can be left inserted in the drive device or the changer device. , The dust that causes an error does not adhere to the disc.

When the disc cartridge of the present invention is to be taken out from the drive device, the lock spring engages with the lock protrusion of the middle case, so that the disc cannot be pulled out even if it is pulled with a strong force. Also, since there is no insertion window for the optical head like the conventional disk cartridge, a large sticker or label can be freely attached to the surface of the case, and since the window cover with weak strength is close and the clearance is almost perfect, it is a single item. Best for handling.

Further, in order to construct a disc drive changer device using the disc cartridge of the present invention, a disc stocker in which the disc cartridges of the present invention are arranged at intervals slightly wider than the thickness of the disc cartridge, and a direction in which the disc cartridges are arranged. Since the rotation driving means can be moved, it is not necessary to provide anything in front of the disk stocker for arranging the disk cartridges and it can be used as a disk storage rack. Further, the structure is the same as the structure of the disk drive device using one sheet, the parts can be commonly used, and the volume of the changer device can be small because the disk is pulled out only half strongly.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a state in which a disc is stored in the disc cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a used state of the disk cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of part A of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which a middle case is housed in an upper case and a lower case, which is cut along line BB in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a lock spring according to the disc cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a release lever according to the disc cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged view of the disc cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a disk drive device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a disk drive device according to an embodiment of the present invention seen through in a horizontal direction.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a disc changer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional disc cartridge and a disc drive device.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining a loading mechanism of a conventional disk drive device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Disc 2 Lower Case 3 Upper Case 4 Middle Case 5 Lock Spring 6 Release Lever 7 Mounting Screw 10 Disc Cartridge 20 of Present Invention 20 Spindle Motor 21 Turntable 23 Optical Pickup 24 Base Stand 25 Release Claw 30 Disc Stocker 31 Optical Pickup Section

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Hironori Okazawa 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An upper case and a lower case, each of which has a main surface of a flat plate shape, and edges of which are formed on three sides of a peripheral portion of the main surface,
An inner case having edges formed on four sides of the peripheral portion and having a bottom plate for supporting the disc, the inside of which is partially cut out; and the disc is housed in the middle case. The disk cartridge is characterized in that the disk can be pulled out by half or more by sliding in a gap formed by joining the upper case and the lower case. 2. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a corner portion on the back side of the middle case is cut, and a lock mechanism for preventing the middle case from being pulled out is provided at the corner portion. 3. A lock mechanism having a plate-like lock spring, one end of which is fixed to the lower case and the upper case, and the other end of which is bent to form a lock portion, and a sliding side edge portion of the middle case. 3. The disk cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the disk cartridge comprises a lock protrusion that engages with the lock portion. 4. A disk cartridge according to claim 3, wherein a lock releasing hole for releasing a lock is provided at an edge of the upper case or the lower case on the sliding side of the middle case. 5. A protrusion for pulling out the middle case is provided on an edge portion of the middle case on the sliding side, and the protrusion of the middle case is provided.
2. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a sliding groove of the pull-out projection is provided at an edge portion on the sliding side of the middle case. 6. At least one convex or concave portion is provided on the main surfaces of the upper case and the lower case, and at least one concave portion or convex portion that fits into the convex or concave portion is provided on the middle case. 2. The inner case is formed at a position where the middle case and the inner case are fitted together when the inner case is stored.
The described disc cartridge. 7. A disk drive device for mounting a disk cartridge according to claim 1 for recording or reproducing a signal on a disk, the unlocking claw for releasing a locked state for holding the disk in the disk cartridge. An unlocking hole formed in the disc cartridge when the disc cartridge is loaded, and an inner case pulling-out unit for pulling out the inner case of the disc cartridge, and a rotation driving unit for rotationally driving the disc. The unlocking claw is inserted into the disk to position the disk cartridge, the middle case withdrawing means pulls out the middle case of the disk cartridge, and the disk holding portion constituting the rotation driving means is mounted on the disk to drive the disk to rotate. Characterized by Disk drives equipment. 8. A disk stocker holding a plurality of the disk cartridges according to claim 1 side by side, a middle case drawing-out means for drawing out a middle case of the disk cartridges, and a rotation driving means in a direction in which the disk cartridges are arranged. And a signal recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing a signal on / from the disc, the moving means moving the rotation driving means to a required position of the disc cartridge, and the middle case pulling means. A disk changer device, wherein the middle case is pulled out from the disk cartridge by the above, and the middle case is stored in the original state after the signal is recorded or reproduced by the signal recording / reproducing means.