JPH0922560A - Storage for electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve space efficiency by movably constituting a cap between a first position inserting/ejecting a recording medium or a cartridge and a second position loading the recording medium on a chassis side in a bucket system. SOLUTION: A useless space 10 the inside of a device by the parallel movement of the recording medium 1 required at a front loading time is eliminated by making the loading of the bucket system, and the space efficiency is improved. Further, by giving the cap 8 a function supporting the recording medium 1, the space efficiency in the directions of thickness and width are improved. Further, by putting a main substrate 2 into a disk drive, the matter that the disk drive is constituted so as to be full of the thickness of the memory card 1 is enabled, and the space efficiency is improved. In such a manner, the volume used for the disk drive as a storage of a memory card type is increased, and the storage of an electronic equipment with excellent space efficiency is obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a storage device for electronic equipment such as computers and electronic cameras.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, electronic devices have been remarkably miniaturized, lightened, thinned, and reduced in power consumption. Above all,
In the personal computer, the size and weight reduction from the desktop type to the laptop type and the notebook type are remarkable. In addition, new small information devices such as handheld information devices with excellent portability are emerging. In recent years, personal computers have come to be able to handle image information that could not be handled in the past, due to lower prices and larger capacities. Further, as a device for inputting image information into such a personal computer, there is an electronic camera, which stores a captured image as a digital signal in an information exchange medium and inputs the stored signal into the personal computer. Edit images,
It is to be processed.

In the field of such notebook type personal computers, small-sized information devices, and electronic cameras, a credit card size card type memory device having an IC memory card in which a semiconductor memory is mounted as a high density information exchange medium is adopted. Has been done. Compared with recording media such as floppy disks, hard disks, and optical disks, this IC memory card does not require a drive, allows downsizing of the device, has a wide allowable temperature / humidity range, and is resistant to vibration and shock. There are advantages such as. However, on the other hand, it has disadvantages that the storage capacity is at most several tens of megabytes and that it is expensive.

There are three types of PCMCIA standards for memory cards, type I, type II, and type III, all of which have a projected area (85.6 × 54.0 mm ² ).
Are the same, but the thickness of each card is 3.3m
m, 5.0 mm, 10.5 mm. Especially,
The one using the above-mentioned semiconductor memory is mainly constituted by type I and type II standard dimensions.

Type III is an I-type semiconductor memory device.
Some of them are equipped with a hard disk drive in order to cover the capacity side, which is a disadvantage of the C memory card. However, the price of the information exchange medium is still high in order to handle image information with such an information exchange medium such as a memory card.

Therefore, an attempt has been made to reduce the unit price of storage capacity by using a removable hard disk in the form of a memory card type III. Further, as such a structure, a structure as shown in FIG. 2 has been proposed.
It should be noted that the dimension in the vertical axis direction is an enlarged dimension with respect to the horizontal axis for ease of explanation.

Here, the memory card 50 is composed of a hard disk portion 51, a substrate portion 52, and a connector portion 53, on both sides of which a drive IC for a spindle motor or a head actuator, an IC for recording and reproducing, and
A CPU and the like are mounted, a hard disk is installed on the upper part thereof, and is connected to the substrate unit 52 via a connector (not shown). The connector 53 has data,
Signal lines of 68 terminals such as addresses are provided. Such a hard disk drive is a front loading type, and the hard disk cartridge 54 is inserted from the direction A in the drawing to record / reproduce data.

[0008]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
When a front-loading type disk drive is configured with the shape of III, the space required for the parallel movement of the recording medium from the insertion position to the recording / reproducing position is required, and space is required for the spindle motor and head drive system. As a result, the torque characteristic becomes insufficient, and the precision of the parts is forced to increase, which causes a cost increase. Further, since the hard disk drive is arranged on the upper part of the substrate, it was not possible to obtain a sufficient volume of the hard disk drive.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to adopt a bucket type loading system to eliminate an internal space accompanying the movement of a recording medium, and to provide a compact form as a whole with good space efficiency. A storage device of a memory card type electronic device is provided.

A second object of the present invention is to provide, in the first invention, a memory card type electronic in which space efficiency is improved by providing a lid as an exterior part with a function of supporting a recording medium. It is to provide a storage device for the device.

Further, a third object of the present invention is to provide a storage device of a memory card type electronic device which is space efficient by disposing the substrate in the disk drive.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a connector for exchanging information signals with an electronic device side, a spindle motor for driving a recording medium, and a recording / reproducing head. A head actuator for driving the motor, a drive IC provided on a substrate for the spindle motor and the head actuator, and the substrate,
What is claimed is: 1. A card-type storage device comprising: a flat chassis for accommodating a spindle motor and a head actuator; and a lid body fitted to the chassis, wherein the lid body has a predetermined position inside thereof. Between a first position for inserting and ejecting the recording medium or the cartridge thereof and a second position for loading the recording medium on the chassis side in a bucket type in order to drive the recording medium by a spindle motor. Is configured to.

In this case, the lid body is provided with a pivotal support portion pivotally supported with respect to the chassis at one end and an opening portion for inserting and ejecting the recording medium or a cartridge thereof at the other end. Preferably. Further, it is preferable that the lid body is provided with an elastic holding means for rotating the cover body about its pivotal support portion to elastically hold the lid in the first position and a locking means for locking the lid in the second position. Further, the board is equipped with the connector at one end thereof, and is preferably arranged so as to be sandwiched between the chassis and the lid.

[0014]

Therefore, unlike the front loading type in which the recording medium is moved in parallel within the drive, useless space inside due to this movement can be eliminated and the overall space efficiency can be improved.

Further, at the first position of the lid body, the recording medium can be inserted and ejected so that the recording medium can be inserted and ejected.
By providing the opening as the discharge part, it is possible to further improve the space efficiency.

[0016]

【Example】

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a memory card 1 (card type storage device) constituted by an optical disk drive according to the present invention.
A drive IC for driving the spindle motor 3, a drive IC for driving the head actuator 4, and
A recording / reproducing IC for reading / writing information via the optical head 5,
Then, a CPU and the like for controlling the entire card are arranged. A 68-pin connector 6 for exchanging and transmitting information signals with the electronic device is integrally provided at the left end of the board 2. Further, on the substrate 2, there is mounted a detection switch 17 which is integrally configured with a loading detection switch for detecting that the cartridge 11 accommodating the disk-shaped recording medium is loaded and a recording prohibition detection switch. .

The flat rectangular chassis 7 of the disk drive is arranged on the lower side of the substrate 2, and the lid body 8 also serving as the exterior portion is arranged on the upper side. ing. Further, the chassis 7 is provided with fastening portions 7-a for fastening the substrate 2 with screws at four corners thereof, and the bearing portion 9 of the spindle motor 3 and the bearing portion 10 of the head actuator 4 are provided. It is provided integrally.

Further, the upper surface of the upper edge portion 7-b of the chassis 7 functions as a surface for positioning the cartridge in the height direction at the recording / reproducing position. In addition, an opening 7-c is provided on one side surface of the chassis 7, and a protrusion 7-d is provided so as to follow the upper edge thereof.
A lock mechanism (not shown) provided inside the chassis 7 faces the opening 7-c so as to be retractable. This locking mechanism locks by engaging the lower edge of the cutout portion 8-c formed in the lid body 8 in a state where the lid body 8 is closed. Further, on the front side surface of the chassis 7, there is a positioning pin 7-f which is integrally configured, and engages with the positioning hole 11-a of the cartridge at the time of recording / reproducing.

The spindle motor 3 is provided with a chucking magnet 13 on the top thereof, and the chucking magnet 13 magnetically attracts the soft magnetic plate 12-a arranged on the hub portion of the optical disk 12. The optical disk is placed on the chucking surface 3-a,
By driving the spindle motor 3, it can be rotated at a predetermined rotation speed.

The head actuator 4 is rotatably supported with respect to the bearing portion 10. An optical head 5 that can be driven in the tracking direction and the focus direction is mounted on the tip end of the head actuator 4, and at the rear end thereof. Is integrally formed with a drive coil 14 for driving the head actuator 4.

The drive coil 14 is assembled in a state of being sandwiched between the upper yoke and the lower yoke 16 to which the drive magnet 15 is adhered, and the head actuator 4 is rotated by passing a current through the drive coil 14. Move.
The upper yoke and the lower yoke are fastened to the chassis 7 with screws.

A guide portion 18 for guiding the cartridge 11 on the lid body 8 by sandwiching the cartridge 11 with the top plate portion 8-a.
2 are provided on both sides 8-b of the lid body 8 so as to face each other. Further, the lid body 8 is provided with an eject spring 19 formed of a leaf spring, and is fixed to the back side of the top plate portion 8-a by the fixing portion 19-a, and
The portion 19-b adjacent to the fixed portion 19-a is bent in a direction away from the top plate portion 8-a, and the tip thereof is bent and raised in a direction substantially perpendicular to the top plate portion 8-a. The lever portion 19-c is formed, and at the tip thereof, an engaging portion 19-d that engages with an engaging hole 8-d provided in the top plate portion 8-a is provided.

A hole 8-e is formed at the rear end of the lid 8.
Is provided so as to face the side surface 8-b, and similarly, the hole portion 7-e provided so as to face the side surface of the chassis 7 is assembled so as to penetrate the shaft 20 at the same time. Axis 20
Is a pivotal support portion of the lid body 8, and is assembled at the same time with a torsion spring (not shown) serving as an elastic holding means for holding the lid body 8 open during the assembly.

When the cover 8 is open, the lower surface of the cutout 8-c of the cover 8 and the projection 7-d of the chassis 7 are provided.
Are in contact with each other and regulate the opening amount of the lid 8. The plate-shaped member 21 forming the exterior bottom portion is fastened with screws from the back side of the chassis 7 to satisfy a predetermined external shape.

In such a structure, when the cartridge 11 is not inserted, the lid body 8 is rotated around the shaft 20 and is in an open state, and the cartridge 11 is urged by the eject spring 19. When it is inserted from the direction B and is inserted up to a predetermined position, the eject spring 1
The engaging portion 19-d of 9 engages with the engaging hole 8-d to release the biasing force, and is held between the top plate portion 8-a and the guide portion 18.

Then, the lid 8 is pushed in the closing direction until it is locked to bring it into a locked state, where the optical disc is placed at a recordable / reproducible position. After that, PCMC
Insert the memory card 1 into the slot of a personal computer or electronic camera that has an IA type III card slot,
Connect the connector 6 and record / record in response to a command from the electronic device side.
The operation related to the reproduction is executed.

When the cartridge 11 is replaced, the memory card 1 is once pulled out from the main body of the apparatus, and the lock mechanism is released by using a finger or a protrusion so that the eject spring 19 is also unlocked. The lid 8 is unlocked. Then, the cartridge 11
Is in a state of protruding from the lid portion 8, so the cartridge is replaced there.

Although the member 21 is provided on the memory card 1 in this embodiment, the bottom surface of the chassis 7 can be used as it is as a bottom side exterior portion of the storage device. In this case, since the disk drive has a large volume, it is possible to adopt low-cost components for the drive system magnets and mounting components, thus reducing costs.

In this embodiment, an optical disk is used as an example of the rotating medium, but a magnetic disk may be used instead. In this case, since the head is small, it is possible to dispose the heads on both sides of the recording medium, and both sides of the recording medium can be used for recording / reproducing, so that the storage capacity can be doubled. The price of recording media will be slightly higher.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the volume used as a disk drive as a memory card type storage device is increased by three methods, and a storage device for electronic equipment with high space efficiency is provided. It is a thing. that is,
First of all, by adopting the bucket type loading, it is possible to eliminate the wasted space inside the apparatus due to the parallel movement of the recording medium, which was required at the time of front loading, and to improve the space efficiency. Secondly, what has conventionally required both the exterior part and the cartridge support part is
By providing the exterior part, that is, the lid with the function of supporting the recording medium, the space efficiency in the thickness direction and the width direction is increased, although it is one component. Third, by inserting the main board into the disk drive, the disk drive can be configured to the full thickness of the memory card in some cases, thus improving space efficiency. Further, the third method is effective even when the disk drive unit is front loading. (Second Embodiment) In this embodiment, the optical disk is exposed and no cartridge is used. Here, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 3, two optical disks 31 are attached to each other, and recording / reproduction can be performed on both surfaces. At the center of the optical disc 31, a soft magnetic plate 31-a is arranged substantially at the center in the thickness direction of the optical disc so that chucking can be performed from both sides. A photo sensor 32 is mounted on the substrate 2 as a detection switch for detecting the loaded state of the optical disc. Here, since the recording prohibition detection switch for mechanical operation as in the first embodiment cannot be adopted, the cue track is set on the optical disk, the recording prohibition information is written therein, and this is read by an appropriate means. I am trying.

A disk drive chassis 7 is arranged below the substrate 2, and a lid 8 also serving as an exterior is arranged above the substrate 7. Further, the positioning pin is integrally formed on the front side surface of the chassis 7 in the first embodiment, but this positioning pin is omitted in the second embodiment.

A guide portion 18 for guiding the optical disc 31 sandwiched between the lid 8 and the top plate portion 8-a is located on the side portion 8-b of the lid body 2, and two guide portions 18 are provided. It is provided facing each other. The lid 8 is formed of a plastic molded product so as not to damage the optical disc when it is inserted or ejected. Further, an eject spring 33 formed of a leaf spring is fixed to the lid body 8 by a fixing portion 33-a on the back side of the top plate portion 8-b, and the fixing portion 33-.
The portion 33-b adjacent to a is bent in a direction away from the top plate 8-a, and the tip end thereof is bent and raised in a direction substantially perpendicular to the top plate 8-a, so that the required lever portion 33-c is formed. Further, an engaging portion 33-d that engages with an engaging hole 8-f provided in the top plate portion 8-a is formed at the tip thereof.

Further, here, in order to prevent the recording medium from being scratched when the recording medium is inserted or ejected, a pad made of a woven cloth is provided in the medium contact portion 33-e that abuts the recording medium. 33-f is attached. Engagement hole 8-f
Is the spindle motor 3 in the insertion direction of the recording medium.
The ejecting force of the eject spring 33 acts in a well-balanced manner so as to eject the recording medium smoothly through the center of the optical disc.

In the above structure, when the optical disc 31 is not inserted, the lid body 8 rotates about the shaft 20,
In the opened state, the optical disc 31 is inserted therein from the direction B while resisting the biasing force of the eject spring 33. When the optical disc 31 is inserted to a predetermined position, the engaging portion 33-d of the eject spring 33 engages with the engaging hole 8-f, the urging force to the optical disc 31 is released, and at the first position. , The top plate portion 8-a and the guide portion 18
The optical disc 31 is held between the above and.

Then, the lid 8 is pushed in the closing direction until it locks. When the lid body 8 is locked, the movement of the lid body 8 causes the optical disc to be loaded into the second position, that is, the position where recording and reproduction are possible. After that, by inserting the connector 6 into a PC or electronic camera that has a PCMCIA type III card slot and connecting the memory card 30 (storage device), recording / playback operations are possible. Becomes

When replacing the optical disk 31, once,
The memory card 30 is pulled out from the main body of the electronic device, and the lock mechanism is operated by using a finger or a protrusion to unlock the lid 8 and unlock the eject spring 33. Then, the optical disc 31 is pressed by the eject spring 33, and is in a state of being half popped out from the insertion / ejection opening of the lid 8, so that the optical disc 31 is pulled out. And if necessary, change the front and back of the optical disc,
Alternatively, it may be replaced with a new optical disc and loaded again.

In the above-described embodiment, the photosensor is used as the optical disk 31 detection switch, but it is also possible to detect the loading of the optical disk 31 depending on whether or not a reproduction signal (including a servo signal) is obtained. . Also, the disc
By setting the same thickness as a normal cartridge, it becomes possible to load the storage device with a single disk or with a cartridge storage type disk.

[0039]

As described above, the present invention has a connector for exchanging and transmitting an information signal with an electronic device side,
A spindle motor for driving a recording medium, a head actuator for driving a recording / reproducing head, a drive IC provided on a substrate for the spindle motor and the head actuator, and the substrate, the spindle motor and the head actuator. A card-type storage device comprising a flat chassis and a lid fitted to the chassis, wherein the lid inserts a recording medium or a cartridge thereof into a predetermined position inside thereof. It is configured to move between a first position for ejecting and a second position for loading the recording medium in a bucket type on the chassis side in order to drive the recording medium by a spindle motor.

Therefore, unlike the front loading type in which the recording medium is moved in parallel in the drive, it is possible to eliminate the wasteful space inside due to this movement and improve the space efficiency as a whole.

Further, by providing the lid body as an exterior part with a function of supporting the recording medium, the lid body can insert and eject the recording medium at the first position thereof.
By providing an opening for inserting and ejecting the recording medium,
It is possible to further improve the space efficiency.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a storage device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional memory card.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a storage device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 memory card (storage device) 2 substrate 3 spindle motor 4 head actuator 7 chassis 8 lid 11 cartridge 12 optical disk

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A connector for exchanging information signals with an electronic device side, a spindle motor for driving a recording medium, a head actuator for driving a recording / reproducing head, and a spindle motor and a head actuator for these spindle motor and head actuator. A drive IC provided on the substrate, the substrate,
A card type storage device comprising: a flat chassis for accommodating a spindle motor and a head actuator; and a lid body fitted to the chassis, wherein the lid body is provided with respect to a predetermined position inside thereof. First position for inserting and ejecting the recording medium or its cartridge,
A second method of loading the recording medium in a bucket type on the chassis side in order to drive the recording medium with a spindle motor.
A storage device of an electronic device, wherein the storage device is configured to move to and from the position. 2. The lid body is provided with a pivotal support portion pivotally supported with respect to the chassis at one end and an opening portion for inserting and ejecting the recording medium or a cartridge thereof at the other end. The storage device of the electronic device according to claim 1. 3. An elastic holding means for rotating the lid body about its pivotal support portion to elastically hold it in a first position and a locking means for locking it in a second position. The storage device of the electronic device according to claim 2. 4. The storage device for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the board is equipped with the connector at one end thereof, and is arranged so as to be sandwiched between the chassis and the lid. .