JPS61206984A - Disk cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the damage of a head and to shorten a head stroke by setting the direction of energizing of a shutter by a spring in an opening direction inversely to conventional one. CONSTITUTION:When a disk cartridge is mounted in a drive, a shutter release operation rod 23 that enters a groove 19 comes into pressure contact with the pressed part 16 of a lock lever 11, and shakes the tip of the lock lever 11 forward around a fulcrum 12. By this shaking, a locking click 15 comes out from a locking hole 14, and at the same time, a shutter 5 is slid by the force of a spring 9 automatically in opening direction and opens a head insertion window 4. The operation of opening the shutter 5 is made instantaneously through an energizing means for opening at the time of mounting to the drive. Accordingly, the shutter is fully opened before the disk cartridge is pushed in to a position where the head insertion window 4 coincides with the waiting position of the head of the drive side. Accordingly, the accident of abutting and interfering of the head with the shutter 5 can be prevented beforehand.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a disk cartridge in which a disk as a recording medium is rotatably housed in a cartridge case having a head insertion window, and a shutter mechanism for opening and closing the head insertion window. This is an improvement on the .

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as this type of disk cartridge, there is one equipped with a shunter as shown in FIG. In this case, a disk 2 is rotatably housed in a cartridge case 1, and a head insertion window 4 is opened in the cartridge case L. If the head insertion window 4 is left open when not in use, dirt and dust will come out from there. may enter the case and adhere to disc 2.

In addition, problems such as fingerprints from touching the disc 2 may occur. Therefore, a shutter 5 having a U-shaped cross section is mounted on the head insertion window 4 of the cartridge case 1 so as to be slidable in the opening and closing directions. Under normal conditions, a spring member (not shown) applied between the shutter 5 and the cartridge case 1 always biases the shutter 5 in the closing direction, so that when the cartridge is pushed into the drive and loaded, the shutter 5 is opened by the shutter opening operation member on the drive side. It has become.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In this conventional type, since the shutter 5 is always biased by the spring in the closing direction, the shutter 5 is automatically closed at the same time as the opening operation by the shutter opening operation member on the drive side is released. The following difficulties arise. First, when loading a disk cartridge into a drive, the opening operation member on the drive side may not operate smoothly due to, for example, the spring force that biases the shutter 5 to close, or some other reason. The head approaches the head insertion window before the shutter 5 is completely opened, and at this time the head closes the shutter 5.
There is a risk of damage due to contact interference. Second, as mentioned above, the disk cartridge is pushed into the drive side and loaded, but the shutter 5 does not open completely until it reaches the end position of the push. The distance between the head and the pad must be set to a sufficient distance to avoid contact interference between the head and the shutter, which increases the head stroke, especially when the track density is increased. It is difficult to respond (it is very difficult to deal with it).
In order to shorten the head stroke, it is better not to have a shutter, but this causes the problems of dust intrusion and fingerprints as described above.

The present invention has focused on this fact and aims to provide a disk cartridge with a shutter that can prevent damage to the head and shorten the head stroke.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention sets the spring biasing direction of the shutter in the opening direction opposite to that of the conventional shutter.

That is, assuming that the shutter 5 for opening and closing the head insertion window 4 of the cartridge case 1 is externally mounted on the cartridge case 1 so as to be slidable in the opening and closing direction, the shutter 5 is installed between the cartridge case 1 and the shutter 5. The shutter 5 is provided with means for always biasing a spring in the opening direction, and a locking means that can be switched between a locked state in which the shutter 5 is locked in the closed position and an unlocked state in which the shutter 5 is released. 5 is designed to open.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention as described above, since the shutter 5 is always biased by the spring in the opening direction, if the shutter 5 is released from the locked state by the locking means due to an artificial source or loading operation to the drive. At the same time, the shutter 5 is automatically opened quickly and reliably. Therefore, shutter 5
In addition, the head insertion window must be closed before the disk cartridge reaches the position between the upper and lower heads or between the head and the pad in the drive. 4
Since the gap between the upper and lower heads can be reduced to the case thickness without a shutter, the head stroke can be reduced by the amount minus the thickness of the shutter, allowing for high-density tracks. To improve head touch even in

[Embodiment 1] Figures 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of a disk cartridge according to the present invention, in which the disk cartridge is integrally joined by abutting upper and lower plastic cases 1a and 1b. A disk 2 is rotatably housed in a cartridge case 1 made of a. Cartridge case 1
A drive shaft insertion window 3 is opened approximately in the center thereof, and a long hole-shaped head insertion window 4 is opened in front of the drive shaft insertion window 3, and the head insertion window 4 can be opened and closed by a shutter 5.

The shutter 5 is formed into a U-shape in cross section, and has upper and lower surface plates 5a and 5.
b, and a front plate 5a that connects the front ends of the upper and lower plates 5a and 5b, and the upper and lower plates 5a and 5b are overlapped on the outside of the upper and lower surfaces of the front part of the cartridge case 1, and the upper and lower plates 5a and 5b are connected to each other. The head insertion window 4 is slidable in the left and right direction between a closed position and an open position.

The shutter 5 includes a means that is always biased by a spring in the opening direction, and a locking means that can be switched between a locked state in a closed position and an unlocked state for releasing it.

Specifically, the spring biasing means includes a claw 7 provided on the front plate 5c of the shutter 5 in the cartridge case 1 and a front side wall 1.
A tension spring 9 is applied across the pin 8 provided inside the shutter 5 on the right side, and the tensile force of this spring 9 constantly urges the shutter 5 in the opening direction until it comes into contact with the right step 10a of the front wall 10. Configure it as follows.

In the illustrated example, the locking means includes a locking lever 11 which is pivotably attached to the front left corner of the cartridge case J with a support shaft 12, and which can be freely engaged and detached from the shutter 5. lock lever
Reference numeral 11 has a tip portion on the right side of the support shaft 12 that protrudes forward and outward from the opening 13 of the front side wall 10, and this protruding tip is removably engaged with a locking hole 14 provided on the left side of the front plate 5C of the shutter 5. A retaining claw 15 is provided. Support shaft 12 of lock lever 11
A tapered pressed portion 16 is provided at the rear end in the leftward direction, and the pressed portion 16 faces through an opening 18 into a groove 19 provided on the outside of the left side wall 17 in the front-rear direction. The lock lever 11 has a locking position in which the locking pawl 15 at its tip engages in the locking hole 14 of the shutter 5 in the closed position, and a locking position in which the locking pawl 15 at the tip engages in the locking hole 14 of the shutter 5 in the closed position.
The lever 11 is configured to be able to swing back and forth around the support shaft 12 so that it can be switched to the unlocked position in which the lever 5 is released forward from the locking hole 14. It is biased in the locking direction.

On the other hand, the drive side is provided with a shutter lock release operating rod 23 that enters into the left groove 19 of the cartridge case 1 when loading a disk cartridge, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Also, in the process of taking out the disc cartridge, the shutter 5
A shutter closing operation member 22 that engages with a loading hole 21 provided in parallel with the locking hole 14 is provided on the front plate 5c.

In such a case, when the 9-disc cartridge is not in use, that is, in the normal state, the shutter 5 is biased in the opening direction by the spring 9, but the locking claw of the lock lever 11 is inserted into the locking hole 4 of the front plate 5c. 15 is engaged, movement in the opening direction is prevented, thus maintaining the closed state of the Rad insertion window 4. When a disk cartridge is loaded into the drive,
As shown in FIG. 4 (bl), the shutter lock release operating rod 23 entering the groove 19 presses against the pressed portion 16 of the lock lever 11 and moves the tip of the lock lever 11 forward around the support shaft 12. Swing 9 This swing causes the locking pawl 1 to
5 is pulled out from the locking hole 14, the shutter 5 automatically slides in the opening direction by the force of the spring 9 to open the head insertion window 4.

Since the opening operation of the shutter 5 is instantaneously performed via the opening biasing means when loading the disk cartridge into the drive, the opening operation of the shutter 5 is performed instantaneously through the opening urging means, so that the opening operation of the shutter 5 is performed instantly by the time when the disk cartridge is pushed into the head insertion window 4 to a position that matches the standby position of the head on the drive side. The shutter 5 has already been completely opened. Therefore, an accident in which the head contacts and interferes with the shutter 5 can be prevented. Also, at the head position, the shutter is already 5
Since the opening is open, the head can be positioned as close as possible to the disk 2 within the head insertion window 4, and as a result, the head stroke can be reduced.

This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of chucking the disk 2 by the head and to reduce the impact on the disk 2.

In the illustrated example, in order to further reduce the head stroke, the front wall 10 of the head insertion window 4 is cut out to form the head entrance path 4a lower than the outer surface of the case.

When the disk cartridge is taken out from the drive, as shown in FIG. When the shutter 5 is slid and reaches the closed position, the locking pawl 15 of the lock lever 11 falls into engagement with the locking hole 14 by the spring 20, thereby holding the head insertion window 4 in the closed state.

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which differs from the first embodiment in the specific structure of the locking means.

That is, in this case, the locking means is provided with an elastically deformable locking lever 11 on the shutter 5 in a cantilevered manner.
The locking pawl 15 provided on the free end side of the case 1 can be freely engaged and detached from the locking hole 14 provided on the case 1 side, and the locking pawl 15
The pressed portions 16 arranged on the outside of the sleeve face the groove 19, and the other configurations of the spring biasing means and the method of opening and closing the shirt shirt are completely the same as in the first embodiment.

The entire details of the illustrated embodiment are as described above.

The present invention is not limited to this. for example.

As a locking means for the shutter 5, a magnet is provided between the shutter 5 and the case 1, and the shutter 5 is held in a closed state by the magnetic suction force, and at the same time when the suction force is released, the spring biasing means automatically locks the shutter 5. The shutter 5 may be opened. In addition, instead of the method in which the locking and unloading operations by the locking means are performed automatically in conjunction with the operation for attaching and removing the disk cartridge to the drive as in the above embodiment, the locking and unloading operations by the locking means are performed manually before loading the disk cartridge into the drive. It is also possible to release the locked state, take it out from the drive, and then slide the shutter 5 in the closing direction by manual operation.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 5 show a first embodiment of a disk cartridge according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of the disk cartridge with the shutter closed and locked, and FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the disk cartridge with the shutter open. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the disk cartridge shown in the state shown in FIG. Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line mm in Figure 1, and Figure 4 (
a) is a partially enlarged plan view showing the state before the shutter is opened in the drive; FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged plan view showing the shutter in the open state; FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged plan view showing the shutter closing process FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged plan view of a disk cartridge showing a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a plan view of a conventional disk cartridge. 1...・Cartridge case. 2...Disc. 4...Head insertion window. 5...Shutter. 9...Spring. 11...Lock lever-0

Claims (1)

[Claims] A disk 2 is rotatably housed in a cartridge case 1 having a head insertion window 4, and a shutter 5 for opening and closing the head insertion window 4 is mounted on the outer surface of the cartridge case 1 so as to be slidable between an open position and a closed position. Between the cartridge case 1 and the shutter 5, there is provided a means for always biasing the shutter 5 in the opening direction with a spring, and a locking means that can be switched between a locked state for locking the shutter 5 in a closed position and an unlocked state for releasing the lock. A disk cartridge characterized by: