JPH08315537A - Disc cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To lock a shutter surely through a simple structure by forming a spring part integrally at the front end part of slider in a disc cartridge. CONSTITUTION: At the time of opening/closing a shutter, a stretching part 7 slides along the lower surface of a protrusion provided on a case body. Since a spring part 5 is formed so that the stretching part 7 slides while being subjected to downward force and the stretching part 7 is provided with a notched part to be fitted with the protrusion on the case body upon closure of the shutter, when a slider slides at the time of closing the shutter and the stretching part 7 comes to a position being fitted in the notched part, the free end of the stretching part 7 jumps up through the action of the spring part 5 and the stretching part 7 is fitted in the notched part thus locking the shutter. At the time of opening the shutter, a protrusion 8 protrudes above the lowermost position of a pin at a position for inserting a shutter opening pin. Consequently, when the shutter is opened, the pin pushes down the protrusion 8 and the free end 6 is deformed downward to disengage the stretching part 7 and the protrusion thus opening the shutter.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disc cartridge. More specifically, it relates to a disk cartridge having a shutter locking mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are various types of disc cartridges, one of which is a so-called 5-inch disc in which two discs are stuck together to record information on both sides of the disc. There is a disc cartridge that contains the disc. This is composed of an upper piece and a lower piece each having an opening for accessing a reproducing head, and has a square shaped case body having an opening on one side surface, and is slidably attached to the opening of the case body. It has a slider, a shutter fixed to the slider for opening and closing the opening for accessing the reproducing head of the case body, and an urging spring for urging the slider in a direction in which the shutter closes the opening. . A guide portion, for example, a ridge or a groove, is formed on the case body to guide the sliding of the slider along the opening, and the side surface of the slider correspondingly engages with the guide portion. A mating portion, for example, a groove that fits into the ridge is formed. The front end of the slider is provided with a part where the shutter release pin on the drive side comes into contact when the shutter is opened.The opening pin comes into contact with the slider at this part and resists the force of the biasing spring. The shutter is released by pressing to the rear.

[0003]

As described above, the recording medium in which the disc is housed in the disc cartridge is urged by the urging spring in the direction in which the shutter is closed when not in use. When a strong force is applied, the shutter may open against the force of the spring. If the shutter is opened, dust may adhere to the recording surface of the disc. Therefore, a lock mechanism is attached to the shutter, and when the shutter is closed, the lock mechanism prevents the shutter from opening, and when a recording medium is inserted into the disc drive, the shutter release pin on the drive side automatically locks. It is desirable to release the mechanism to open the shutter. From this point of view, some locking mechanisms have been proposed and put into practical use. However, these require a locking mechanism component that is separate from the slider, which not only complicates the assembly of the disk cartridge but also increases the cost. Therefore, the present invention proposes a disk cartridge having a locking mechanism integrated with a slider.

[0004]

According to the present invention, a U-shaped spring portion having one end coupled to the slider and the other end being a free end from the front end portion of the slider toward the front side. And a locking portion that is a portion that engages with the case main body at this free end to block the movement of the slider and the shutter opening pin on the drive side when the shutter is opened and is displaced downward. Accordingly, by providing the releasing projection for releasing the engagement between the case body and the locking portion, it is possible to obtain the disk cartridge having the locking mechanism without using separate parts.

The present invention will be described in detail. In the present invention, in the conventional disk cartridge, the case main body is provided at the end of the slider where the drive-side shutter opening pin abuts when the shutter is opened. A locking mechanism that is engaged to prevent the shutter from opening is integrally formed with the slider. Usually, the slider with the locking mechanism is an injection-molded product of plastic, and as the plastic, polyacetal having good dimensional accuracy at the time of molding and good sliding property is preferable. In describing the slider in this specification, the side where the shutter opening pin on the drive side abuts is the front end portion, and the opposite side is the rear end portion (usually the biasing spring is engaged here), The surface facing the shutter opening pin is referred to as the upper side.

The present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a front end portion of an example of a slider constituting a disk cartridge of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view thereof. In the figure, 1 is the body of the slider,
A groove 2 is formed on the side surface. The case body is formed with a ridge that fits into the groove 2, and the two fit together to ensure smooth sliding of the slider. Reference numeral 3 denotes a portion with which the shutter opening pin on the drive side abuts when the shutter is opened. Reference numeral 4 denotes an inclined surface for guiding the insertion of the shutter opening pin. Reference numeral 5 denotes a spring portion which extends further forward from the front end portion of the slider main body 1 and which is inverted downward and returned to the vicinity of the portion 3 where the shutter opening pin abuts. It is a product. The end 6 of the spring portion 5 is a free end and is not fixed, and can be displaced vertically due to the elasticity of the spring portion 5. The free end 6 is formed with a laterally extending portion 7 and a protrusion 8. When the shutter is opened and closed, the projecting portion 7 slides along the lower surface of the ridge of the case body. Therefore, the spring part 5 is formed so that the overhanging part 7 slides while receiving a downward force, and the overhanging part is formed on the ridge of the case body at the part where the overhanging part 7 is located when the shutter is closed. If the notch 9 into which the 7 is fitted is provided, when the slider slides when the shutter is closed and the projecting portion 7 reaches the position where the notch 9 is fitted, the action of the spring 5 is exerted. Thus, the free end 6 jumps upward, the protruding portion 7 is fitted in the notch, and the shutter is locked. On the other hand, the protrusion 8
At the position where the shutter opening pin on the drive side is inserted when the shutter is opened, and the pin projects above the position where the pin is most lowered. Therefore, when the shutter is opened, the pin pushes down the projection 8, so that the free end 6 is displaced downward, and the engagement between the projecting portion 7 and the ridge of the case body is released, so that the pin resists the force of the biasing pin. Then you can open the shutter. Therefore, the protrusion height of the protrusion 8 must be sufficient to release the engagement between the notch of the ridge of the case body and the overhang 7.

The disk cartridge according to the present invention is not limited to the above, but a U-shaped spring member extends from the front end portion of the slider to the front side, and its end is a free end. Various modifications are possible as long as a member that engages with the case body to lock the shutter and a protrusion that cooperates with the shutter opening pin to release this engagement are provided. For example, when the case main body is provided with a guide groove and the slider is provided with a corresponding projection on the side surface, the shape of the spring portion is reversed upward to return. The protruding portion may be slid along the upper surface, and the protruding portion may be fitted in the notch provided on the upper surface of the groove. Further, as a further comment, a guide part of the free end of the spring part may be provided independently of the case body in addition to the guide part of the slider provided on the case body.

[0008]

According to the present invention, it is possible to lock the shutter with a simple structure by the simple and inexpensive method of integrally forming the spring portion on the front end portion of the slider of the conventional disk cartridge. It is possible to provide a locking device that can be used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an example of a slider that constitutes a disk cartridge according to the present invention.

2 is a side view of the slider of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a case body member that constitutes the disk cartridge of the present invention together with the slider of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operating state of the slider of FIG.
(A) shows a locked state, and (b) shows a released state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Slider body 2 Groove that engages with ridge of case body 3 Abutment part of shutter release pin 4 Slope for guiding shutter release pin 5 Spring part 6 Free end 7 Overhanging part 8 Release protrusion 9 Notch part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A case body for accommodating a disc having an opening for accessing a reproducing head and having an opening on one side surface, a slider slidably mounted on the opening, and fixed to a slider. Further, a shutter that opens and closes the opening is provided, a spring that biases the slider in a direction in which the shutter closes the opening, and a guide portion that guides the sliding movement of the slider is formed in the opening.
A disc cartridge in which an engaging portion that engages with this guide portion is formed on the side surface of the slider, and at the front end portion of the slider, there is provided a portion to which a shutter opening pin on the drive side abuts when the shutter is opened. In addition, the slider further has a U-shaped spring portion that extends forward from the front end portion and has a distal end that is a free end located in the vicinity of a portion where the shutter opening pin abuts,
Further, the free end is provided with a locking portion that engages with the locking engaging portion provided on the case body and a releasing projection for releasing this engagement, and when the shutter is closed, The locking engaging portion and the locking portion are engaged with each other to prevent the shutter from being opened, and the release projection is located above the position where the drive-side shutter opening pin bottom is inserted when the shutter is opened. A disk cartridge characterized in that, when the shutter is opened, the shutter opening pin pushes down the releasing projection to release the engagement of the locking portion. 2. A case main body for accommodating a disc having an opening for accessing a reproducing head and having an opening on one side surface, a slider slidably mounted on the opening, and fixed to a slider. In addition, a shutter that opens and closes the opening is provided, and a spring that biases the slider in the direction in which the shutter closes the opening is provided, and a ridge that guides the sliding of the slider is formed in the opening. Is a disc cartridge in which an engaging portion that engages with the ridge is formed, and a front end portion of the slider is provided with a portion to which a shutter opening pin on the drive side abuts when the shutter is opened. ,
The slider is further formed with a spring portion that extends forward from the front end portion and is then inverted so that the end portion is a free end portion located near the contact portion of the shutter opening pin, and this free end portion is formed. An overhanging portion that slides along the lower surface of the ridge of the case body and that engages with the cutout portion of the ridge, and a release projection for releasing this engagement are provided, and when the shutter is closed, the case is closed. The notch of the ridge of the main body engages with the overhanging portion to prevent the shutter from opening, and the release projection is located above the position where the shutter release pin bottom on the drive side is inserted when the shutter is opened. When the shutter is opened, the shutter opening pin pushes down on the release projection to release the engagement between the cutout portion of the ridge of the case body and the overhang portion. Do I disk cartridge. 3. A case body for accommodating a disk having an opening for accessing a reproducing head and having an opening on one side surface, a slider slidably mounted on the opening, and fixed to a slider. In addition, a shutter that opens and closes the opening is provided, and a spring that biases the slider in the direction in which the shutter closes the opening is provided, and a ridge that guides the sliding of the slider is formed in the opening. Is a disc cartridge in which a groove to be fitted with this ridge is formed, and a front end portion of the slider is provided with a portion with which a shutter opening pin on the drive side abuts when the shutter is opened. Further extends forward from the front end, then reverses downwards and returns, and the end is located near the part where the shutter opening pin abuts. An end is formed with a spring portion, and this free end slides along the lower surface of the ridge of the case main body, and an overhanging portion that engages with the notch of the ridge and this engagement is released. When the shutter is closed, the overhanging portion engages with the cutout portion of the ridge of the case main body to prevent the shutter from opening, and the releasing projection prevents the shutter from opening. When opening the shutter, the drive-side shutter release pin protrudes above the position that it reaches.When the shutter is opened, the shutter release pin pushes down the release projection to form the overhang and the ridge cutout. A disc cartridge, wherein the engagement of the disc cartridge is released.