MXPA99008925A - Disc cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

A disc cartridge storing a flexible magnetic disc of the recording capacity of 100MB or above, provided with:first and second positioning reference holes in the lower face of the main body of the cartridge at the right and left corners respectively surrounded by the front face wall which is on the front side when the cartridge is inserted into a disc drive, the right and the left side wall which cross at right angles with the front face wall, and the periphery of the magnetic disc;a first capacity detecting hole and an erroneous recording protection hole at the right and left corners respectively surrounded by the rear face wall of the main body of the cartridge, the right and left side walls which cross at right angles with the rear face wall, and the periphery of the magnetic disc;and a second capacity detecting hole formed on the peripheral side of the magnetic disc near the first positioning reference hole. By forming these holes, parts to be detected by a detection switch are distributed in the lower face of the main body of the cartridge to thereby detect the condition of the disc cartridge such as the type of magnetic discs without fail.

Description

"DISC CARTRIDGE" TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a disk cartridge housing therein a disk used as a recording medium for information signals. More particularly, it relates to a disk cartridge having its external shape essentially in common with other kinds of disk cartridges with different recording capacities and yet able to distinguish these other disk cartridges by means of a discrimination hole.

ANTECEDENTS OF THE TECHNIQUE So far, a disk cartridge has been in use which retains a flexible magnetic disk as a disk used as a recording medium for information signals. This flexible magnetic disk will be referred to below as a magnetic disk. Like a disk cartridge that holds a magnetic disk, a first disk cartridge that retains a magnetic disk that has a recording capacity of 1 megabyte (MB) and a second disk cartridge that retains a magnetic disk that has a recording capacity of 2 megabytes (MB) are currently used. The second disk cartridge, which houses the 2MB magnetic disk, has been standardized as MF2HD. These first and second disk cartridges have the thickness, external size and structure of a shutter used to open / close a recording opening and / or reproduction formed in a portion of the main cartridge body in common to allow the use of a device common disk impeller, interchangeably. A first disk cartridge 1 which retains a magnetic disk with a recording capacity of 1 MB, and a second disk cartridge 2, which retains a magnetic disk of a recording capacity of 2 MB, each provided with a portion of a disk. of main cartridge body and a magnetic disk 6 with a diameter of 8.89 centimeters rotatably housed in the main cartridge body portion 5, as shown in Figures 1 to 4. The body portion 5 of the main cartridge is comprised of a rectangular upper cartridge half 3 and rectangular lower cartridge half 4 which abuts against and connects with one another. The magnetic disk 6 retained in the main cartridge body portion 5 is fitted with a central hub 7 formed as a magnetic metal plate and adapted to be held in a disk table of a rotary drive / disk drive provided in a disk drive device. This hub 7 is exposed to the outside through a central opening 8 perforated in the lower cartridge half 4 of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge. The four outer sides of the portion 5 of the rectangular-shaped main cartridge body which are constituted by a front wall section 9, a rear side wall section 10 and left and right side wall sections 11, 12. The front wall section 9 serves as the insertion side end of the main cartridge body portion 5 towards the disk drive device as indicated by arrow A in Figures 1 to 4. The rear side wall section 10 is the side which is opposite the front wall section 9 and which functions as a front ejection end when the main cartridge body portion 5 is ejected. In a corner the front wall section 9 of the main cartridge body portion 5 is formed in a wrong insertion inhibitor unit 13 which functions as a sloping surface to prevent the wrong insertion of the disc cartridge into the disc drive device. The upper and lower surfaces of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge, which are provided - by the upper and lower cartridge halves 3 and 4 are formed with rectangular and / or rectangular recording and / or reproducing openings 14 and 15 in the intermediate portions thereof in the left and right direction, to expose a portion of a recording area of signals from the magnetic disk 6 retained in the body portion 5 of the main cartridge to the outside through the internal and external flanges of the magnetic disk 6. In the portion 5 of the main cartridge body a shutter member 17 is movably mounted, adapted to open and close the registration and / or reproduction openings 14, 15 provided in the portion 5 of the main cartridge body. The shutter member 17 is "U" shaped in cross section and is placed in the front wall section 9 of the portion 5 of the main cartridge body to be above the formed recording and / or reproducing openings 14. in the portion 5 of the body of the main cartridge. The obturator member 17 is pushed by a twisted spiral spring not shown, which is provided in the portion 5 of the main cartridge body, moving in a closing direction of the recording and / or reproducing openings 14, 15 as it is indicated by arrow D in Figures 1 to 4.

- The body portion 5 of the main cartridge is also provided with a shut-off recess 18 which defines a movement area for the sealing member 17, to extend from the upper and lower sides to the front wall aection 9. The body portion 5 of the main cartridge is also provided with a label attachment recess 19 extending from an intermediate portion on the upper surface to the rear side wall section 10 and thence to the lower surface of the portion 5 of body of the main cartridge. In both corner areas on the lower surface of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge, surrounded by the front wall section 9, both lateral wall sections 11, 12 and outer flange of the magnetic disk 6 housed in the body portion 5 of the main cartridge, on the insertion side in the disc drive device, and in both corner portions on the lower surface of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge surrounded by the rear wall section 10, both sections 11, 12 of side wall and the outer flange of the magnetic disk 6 housed in the body portion 5 of the main cartridge on the ejection side of the disk drive device, height reference planes 21, 22 are formed, first and second holes 23, 24 of positioning reference and a wrong register inhibiting unit 26 or shown in Figures 2 and 4. The height reference planes 21, 22 serve to adjust the level of mounting height c When the first or second disk cartridge 1 or 2 is loaded into the disk drive. The first and second positioning reference holes 23, 24 are coupled by positioning pins which are provided in the disk drive device for adjusting the horizontal mounting position. The lower side of the second disk cartridge 2 is also formed with a first capacity discrimination hole 27 in the opposite side corner towards the rear side wall section 10 to specify the magnetic disk 6 with the recording capacity of 2 MB. housed therein, as shown in Figure 4. Furthermore, in the sections 11, 12 of left and right side wall towards the front wall section 9 of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge the recesses 25,25 are formed. of coupling coupled by coupling portions of a loading mechanism for the disk cartridge that is provided in the disk drive device, as shown in Figures 2 and 4. Specifically, in the four corner portions where the lower surface of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge, four height reference planes 21, 22 are formed in left and right pairs in order to clear the movement recess 18 of shutter and recess 19 of label binding. Within the reference planes 21, 22 of height in left and right pairs towards the front wall section 9 of the portion 5 of the main cartridge body, first and second reference positioning holes 23, 24 are symmetrically formed in the direction left and right. The first positioning reference hole 23 is of a true circular shape, while the second positioning reference hole 24 is of an elliptical shape having the direction perpendicular to the direction of insertion of the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2 towards the disk drive device as its long axis. Coupling recesses 25, 25 are formed in a semicircular profile in the corner portions towards the front wall section 9 of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge with the left and right position symmetry, as shown in Figures 2 and 4. These coupling recesses 25, 25 are provided between the front wall section 9 and the left and right pairing reference holes 23, 24 of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge and are formed to extend from the bottom surface of sections 1112 of the side wall of the portion 5 of the main cartridge body. The wrong register inhibiting unit 26 is provided in the rear side wall section 10 and the height reference plane 22 of the body section 5 of the main cartridge and includes a register inhibition discrimination hole 26a and a member 26b of inhibition of wrong registration. The register inhibition discrimination hole 26a is passed through the upper and lower halves 3, 4 of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge and the wrong registration inhibitor member 26b is movably assembled between the upper halves 11, 12 and lower to open / close the register inhibition discrimination hole 26a. The first disk cartridge 1, which retains the magnetic disk 6 with the recording capacity of 1 MB, is not provided with a capacity discrimination portion for specifying the type of the magnetic disk 6 housed therein as shown in the Figures. 1 and 2. In contrast, the second disk cartridge 2, which retains the magnetic disk 6 with the recording capacity of 2 MB, is provided with the first specific capacity discrimination hole 27 that the magnetic disk 6 with the capacity 2 MB recording is housed therein, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The first capacity discrimination hole 27 is provided in a corner towards the side surface 11 towards the rear side wall portion 10 of the portion 5 of the main cartridge body as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The first capacity discrimination hole 27 is formed as a rectangular-shaped through-hole passing through the halves 3, 4 of upper and lower cartridge in left and right symmetry with respect to the register inhibition discrimination hole 26a of the wrong service inhibiting unit 26. A disk drive device 30, wherein the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2 described above are selectively mounted interchangeably, consists of a base block 32 of a metal plate placed in the main body portion 31 and a cartridge load unit 36 mounted on the base block. The first or second disk cartridge 1 or 2 is adapted to be loaded into a cartridge loading unit 33. The disk drive device 30 is also provided in a rotary drive / disk drive 34 in an intermediate portion of the cartridge loading unit 33. The rotary / disk drive unit 34 is adapted to rotationally drive the magnetic disk 6 housed within the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2. The rotary / disk drive unit 33 includes a spindle motor 35 - mounted on the base block 32 and a disk table 36 mounted as one with a spindle arrow 35a of the spindle motor 35. In the base block 32, supports 39, 40 adapted to support the height reference planes 21, 21 are provided on the flange of the first and second reference positioning holes 23, 24 of the first or second disk cartridges 1, 2 loaded in the cartridge loading unit 33, and the height reference planes 22, 22 towards the rear side wall section 10. These supports 39, 40 are placed with left and right symmetry to surround the spindle motor 35 around the spindle arrow 35a as the center. These supports 39, 40 are formed by enhancements by partially segmenting the base block 32 or by pins placed vertically in the base block 32. Centrally the supports 39, 39, holding the height reference planes 21, 21 in the rim of the first and second reference positioning holes 23, 24 of the first or second disk cartridge 1 or 2, the pins 37, 38 are placed of vertical positioning coupled with the first and second positioning reference holes 23, 24 for adjusting the horizontal loading position for the first and second disk cartridges 1 or 2, with respect to the cartridge loading unit 33, as shown in Figure 6. These positioning pins 37, 38 are tapered as shown in Figure 6. In the base block 32, a cartridge load sensing switch 44 and a wrong registration detection switch 45 are placed in a cartridge insertion / insertion opening 43 on the front side of the main body portion 31 and towards a lateral side 31a of the portion 31 of the main body, for detecting the loading of the first or second cartridge 1 or 2 disk in the cartridge load unit 33. Towards the side wall section 31b of the opposite side a first capacitance sensing switch 46 is placed. The wrong register detection switch 45 and the first capacity detection switch 46 are placed with left and right symmetry on both sides of the spindle arrow 35a of the spindle motor 35, as shown in Figure 5. Towards the switch 46 of first capacity detection in proximity to the wrong registration detection switch 45, a cartridge load detection switch 44 is mounted. The switches 44, 46 are of the push type and are mounted on a printed circuit board 48 that is provided on the bottom surface of the base block 32, as shown in Figure 6. These switches 44 through 46 are provided with elements of push 44a, 45a, 46a respectively projecting towards the cartridge loading unit 33 that is provided on the upper surface of the base block 32 through an opening 49 formed in the base block 32. At an inner end of the printed circuit board 48 is provided a connection terminal 50 connected with a connecting plug which interconnects the disk drive device and an external processing device, such as a computer, as shown in Figure 5. The first and second disk cartridges 1, 2 are loaded into the disk drive device 30 configured as described above to record and / or reproduce the information signals on or from the magnetic disk 6 retained in the portion 5 of body of the main cartridge. The first or second disk cartridge 1 or 2 is inserted in a horizontal position toward the main body portion 31 through the cartridge insertion / removal aperture 43, in a direction indicated by the arrow A in Figure 5, with the front wall section 9 of the portion 5 of the main body or cartridge carrying the sealing member 17 as the insertion end. When the first or second disc cartridge 1 or 2 is inserted into the main body portion 31, the obturator member 17 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow C in Figure 5., by the cartridge loading unit that is provided in the portion 31 of the main body, against the twisting spiral spring force to open the recording and / or reproducing openings 14, 15. When inserted to the oriented position in the cartridge loading unit 33, the first or second disk cartridge 1 or 2 is lowered to the recording / reproducing position of the registration and / or reproduction information signals on or from the magnetic disk 6, so as to have the height reference planes 21, 22 supported by the supports 39, 40 while having the positioning pins 37, 38 engaged in the first and second positioning reference holes 23, 24 to be loaded in a correct height and horizontal placement in the cartridge loading unit 33. During this time, the magnetic disk 6 retained in the body portion 5 of the main cartridge has its hub 7 mounted on and rotated in unison with the disk table 36. In the registration and / or reproduction openings 16 on the upper and lower sides of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge, which opens as a result of the movement of the sealing member 17, the magnetic heads in upper and lower pairs, do not - - shown are brought into contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the magnetic disk 6. Since the magnetic disk 6 is operated in rotation by the spindle motor 35, the information signals are recorded or reproduced on or from the upper and lower sides of the magnetic disk 6 by the magnetic heads in pairs. Returning to the disk drive device 30, when the first or second disk cartridge 1 or 2 is loaded into the cartridge loading unit 33, the pusher elements 44a, 45a, 46a of the cartridge charge detection switch 44, the the wrong register detection switch 45 and the first capacity detection switch 46 is selectively operated by the lower surface of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge in order to detect that the disk cartridge 1 or 2 has been loaded or not , the information signals have been recorded or not in the magnetic disk 6 and what is the registration capacity of the magnetic disk 6 housed in the loaded cartridge 1 or 2. That is, if the registration inhibiting hole 26a of the wrong registration inhibiting unit 26 is closed by the wrong registration inhibiting member 26b, the pushing member 45a is pushed by the wrong registration inhibiting member 26b to connect the wrong record detection switch 45, allowing this - way to recognize the 'recordable state' where the information signals on the magnetic disk 6 can be recorded. If the registration inhibiting discrimination hole 26a is opened, the pushing element 45a is not introduced into the record inhibiting hole 26a without being pushed, with the wrong record detecting switch 45 continuing to be disconnected to allow recognition of the state of record inhibition 'where the recording of information signals on the magnetic disk is inhibited. When the first disk cartridge 1 is loaded in the cartridge loading unit 33, the pushing member 46a is pushed through the flat bottom surface of the body portion 5 of the main cartridge to connect the first capacity sensing switch 46 enabling in this way, recognizing that the first disk cartridge 1 holding the magnetic disk 6 with the recording capacity of 2 MB has been loaded. When the second disk cartridge 2 retaining the magnetic disk 6 with the recording capacity of 2 MB is loaded into the disk drive device 30, the cartridge charge detection switch 44 and the wrong register detection switch 45 perform the same detection operation as when the first disk cartridge 1 is loaded. However, the pushing element 46a is inserted into the hole 27 for discrimination - - of first capacity without being pushed. The first capacity sensing switch 46 continues to be pushed outwardly to allow recognition of the load of the second disk cartridge 2 which retains the magnetic disk 6 of the 2 MB recording capacity. In this way, the first capacity detection switch 46 detects the possible presence of the first capacity discrimination omens 27 of the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2 to detect the types of the loaded disk cartridges 1, 2. Meanwhile, with a disk cartridge retaining a flexible magnetic disk, the recording capacity is raised up to, for example, not less than 100 MB. With the disk cartridge of this type retaining the magnetic disk of increased recording capacity, it has been decided to use the disk cartridge in a disk drive device interchangeably in common with the aforementioned first and second disk cartridges and simultaneously allow which is distinguished from the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2 and the recognition of the recording capacity of the magnetic disk retained in the main cartridge body portion. To distinguish the disk cartridge retaining a magnetic disk having a recording capacity increased by not less than 100 MB from the first disk cartridge 1 retaining the magnetic disk 6 with a capacity of 1 MB and the second cartridge 2 with disk retains magnetic disk 6 with capacity of 2 MB, interchangeable with the disk cartridge retaining the magnetic disk of increased capacity, it can be proposed to provide a second capacity distinction hole to distinguish the increased capacity independently of the first capacity discrimination hole 27 that is provided in the second cartridge 2 of disk, and to detect the possible presence of the second capacity discrimination hole by means of a capacity discrimination detecting switch that is provided in the disk drive device in the same manner as by the first capacity discrimination hole 27 which is provided in the second disk cartridge 2. However, in this case, special considerations regarding the position of the second capacity discrimination hole need to be taken into account. Specifically, in the disk drive device 30 currently used, only the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2 being properly used, a thrust spring is provided in the cartridge loading unit, as shown in the Figure 6. This pusher spring pushes the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2 loaded in the cartridge loading Figure 33 into the supports 39, 40 that are provided in the cartridge loading unit 33. The compressive pressing force Fj_ of the pushing spring, which presses the portion 5 of the body of the main cartridge against the supports 39, 40 in its entirety, is usually 300 to 400 grams, with the pressure force distributed acting on the four supports 39, 40 being within the order of a quarter of the force F ^ of compression pressure, or 90 to 100 grams. The pushing force F3 of each of the push elements 44a, 45a, 46a of the cartridge load sensing switch 44, the wrong register detection switch 45 and the first capacity detection switch 46 that is provided in the disc drive device 30, is approximately 36 grams. Therefore, if three or more push type detection switches are provided each having one thrust element in proximity to another in the vicinity of one of the supports 40, for example, of the four supports 39, 40, the sum total of the pushing force F3 pushing the pushing segment of these three or more sensing switches, i.e., a total pushing force F4 needs to exceed 108 grams, thus exceeding the upper limit of the force F2 of Pressure - - distributed to the single support 40. This leads to a phenomenon of cartridge flotation wherein the main cartridge body portion 5 is floated upwards from the single support 40 by the total force F with which the push elements of the Detection switches act to move the portion 5 of the main cartridge body away from the cartridge loading unit 33, against the thrust spring thrust. When this cartridge flotation phenomenon occurs, the failure for retention of the magnetic disk 6 with respect to the disk table 36 or in the rotation drive of the magnetic disk 6 by the spindle motor 6 results. Furthermore, with the recent tendency to reduced thickness of the disk drive device 30, the detection switches also tend to shrink in size with the result that the thrust elements that are provided in the detection switches also tend to be reduced in the movement races. If the flotation phenomenon occurs from the cartridge load unit 33 of the cartridge 1 or 2, there may be fear that the detection of the possible charge to the cartridge 1 or 2 of the disk in the cartridge loading unit 33 or the possibility of recording the information signals in the magnetic disk 6 or the discrimination of the types of - loaded disk cartridge, in such a way that the recording capacity can not be reliably achieved. The width of the track of the record tracks for the information signals formed on the magnetic disk having the recording capacity of not less than 100 MB, is much more critical than the track width of the record track formed in the magnetic disk with the capacity of recording of 1 MB or 2 MB. Therefore, if the disk cartridge retaining the magnetic disk of the increased capacity and the narrow rail width is erroneously loaded into a disk drive using only the first and second disk cartridges mentioned above that retain the magnetic disk with the recording capacity of 1 or 2 MB, the risk is high that the information recorded in the magnetic disk of the increased capacity is erased by the magnetic head adapted to record the information signals in the magnetic disk with the capacity to record 1 or 2 MB. It is therefore important that, if a disk cartridge retaining the magnetic disk of increased capacity is erroneously loaded into a disk drive device dedicated to the first and second disk cartridges that hold the magnetic disks of the record capacity of 1 or 2 MB, that the 'non-registrable state' can be recognized at all times.

EXHIBITION OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a novel disc cartridge that allows to correctly distinguish from the first and second conventional disc cartridges that hold the magnetic discs with the recording capacity of 1 MB or 2 MB. Another object of the present invention is to provide a disk cartridge in which the disk cartridge retaining a disk of increased capacity can be correctly discriminated to allow correct registration and / or reproduction of the information signals in accordance with the capacity of record of the disc. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a disk cartridge that retains a disk of increased capacity in which even when the disk cartridge is mistakenly inserted into a disk drive device that employs only a first disk cartridge that retains a magnetic disk with a recording capacity of 1 MB or a second disk cartridge that holds a magnetic disk with a recording capacity of 2 MB, so that the information signals registered on the disk can be reliably protected without the risk of being erased inadvertently. The present invention provides a disk cartridge that includes a main cartridge body portion that retains a disc-shaped recording medium of increased capacity., first and second positioning reference holes formed in the left and right corners on the lower surface of the main cartridge body portion surrounded by the front wall section in the insertion direction of the main cartridge body portion towards a disc drive device, left and right side wall sections extending perpendicular to the front wall section and through the outer rim of the disc shaped recording medium housed in the body portion of the main cartridge, a first hole of discrimination of capacity and a wrong registration inhibiting unit, which are provided in the left and right corners surrounded by the rear side wall section of the main cartridge body portion, left and right side wall sections extending perpendicular to the section of rear side wall and by external flange of the medi or disk-shaped register housed in the cartridge body portion, and a second capacity-discriminating hole towards the outer flange of the disc-shaped recording medium housed in the body portion of the main cartridge in proximity to the first hole reference of placement. The first and second positioning reference holes and the first and second capacity discrimination holes of the wrong register inhibiting unit, at least are holes formed in the lower surface of the body portion of the main cartridge. The body portion of the main cartridge includes a recording and / or reproducing opening in each of the upper and lower surfaces thereof for radially exposing a portion of the signal registration area of the disc-shaped recording medium to the outside. from the front wall section to the proximity of the intermediate portion thereof, and a shutter member movably mounted along the front wall section to open / close the recording and / or reproduction opening. The positioning reference hole and the first and second capacity discrimination holes are placed essentially in a row along one of the side wall sections of the body portion of the main cartridge. The record inhibition unit - The wrong part is placed in the opposite side wall section of the main cartridge body portion. The first positioning reference hole is in the form of a true circle and the second positioning reference hole is in the form of an ellipse having its long axis extending in a direction perpendicular to the insertion / separation direction or from the disk drive Through the distributed arrangement of the first and second capacity discrimination holes detected by the push type detection switch and the wrong registration inhibiting holes of the wrong registration inhibitor unit in the disc cartridge according to the present invention, the uniform thrust on the sensing switches placed in a distributed manner by the thrusting pressure of the thrust support mechanism adapted to push and hold the disc cartridge, thereby enabling reliable detection of the recording capacity of the medium disk record or disk cartridge status by a small size detection switch. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments and the claims.

- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first disk cartridge retaining a magnetic disk with a recording capacity of 1 MB, oriented from the side of the upper surface. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the disk cartridge of Figure 1, oriented from the side of the bottom surface. Figure 3 is a perspective view of a first disk cartridge retaining a magnetic disk with a recording capacity of 1 MB, oriented from the side of the bottom surface. The figure. 4 is a perspective view of the disk cartridge of Figure 1, oriented from the side of the top surface. Figure 5 is a plan view showing the state in which the first or second disk cartridge is loaded in a conventional disk drive device. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional side view showing the state in which the first or second disk cartridge is loaded in a conventional disk drive device.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a disc cartridge according to the present invention, oriented from the side of the top surface. Figure 8 is a perspective view of the disc cartridge of Figure 7, oriented from the side of the top surface. Figure 9 is a detailed perspective view of the disk cartridge of Figure 7. Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of a disk cartridge in accordance with the present invention. Figure 11 is a bottom plan view showing the bottom surface of the disc cartridge according to the present invention with a recording and / or reproduction aperture being open. Figure 12 is a plan view showing the state in which a disk cartridge according to the present invention is loaded into a disk drive device in which the first or second disk cartridge and the disk cartridge, In accordance with the present invention, they can be selectively charged. Figure 13 is a cross-sectional side view showing the state in which a disc cartridge according to the present invention is loaded in a disc drive device, wherein the first or - second disk cartridge and disk cartridge, in accordance with the present invention, can be selectively charged.

BEST WAY TO CARRY OUT THE INVENTION With reference to the drawings, a disc cartridge according to the present invention is explained in detail. A disk cartridge 51 in accordance with the present invention includes a main cartridge body portion 54 comprising an upper half 52 and a lower half 53 which is bumped and combined with each other, as shown in Figures 7 to 9. These halves 52, 53 are essentially rectangular in profile and are obtained by injection molding a synthetic resin material. Within this main body portion 54 of the main cartridge is housed a magnetic disk 55 operating with a recording medium for the information signals. The magnetic disc 55 includes a main disc member 56 with a diameter of approximately 8.89 centimeters comprising a thin flexible film of a synthetic resin and a magnetic layer formed on both sides of the thin film. The member 56 of disk - The main one has a central opening 57, as shown in Figure 9. In this central opening 57 a central hub or core 58 is tightly adjusted. The core core 58 is formed of a magnetic material such as metal, such that when the magnetic disk 5 is loaded into the disk drive / rotation unit mounted on the disk drive device, the core core 58 is magnetically attracted by a magnet that is provided in the rotary drive / disc drive. Referring to Figure 9, the central core 58 has a flat tubular outwardly swollen portion 59 in its intermediate portion. The upper end of the outwardly swollen portion 59 is formed as one with a flange 60 that functions as a mounting portion on the member 56 of the main disc. On the undersurface of the outwardly swollen portion 59, a spindle arrow coupling hole 61 and a driving pin coupling hole 62 are drilled. In the spindle shaft coupling hole 61 and in the driving pin coupling hole 62, a spindle arrow of the rotary drive / disc drive and a drive pin provided in the rotary drive / disk drive are coupled, respectively. The central core 58 is mounted on the main disc member 56 by adjusting the swollen portion 59 toward - outside in the central opening 57 of the main disc member 56, by adjusting the flange 60 on a surface of the main disc member 56 and attaching the flange 60 to the main disc member 56 with an adhesive. The magnetic disk 5 has a recording capacity of not less than 100 MB and is loaded into the rotary drive / disk drive in order to be rotated at one revolution per minute exceeding 3000 revolutions per minute. The main cartridge body portion 54 retaining the magnetic disk 55, as described above, is formed by biasing and halving the upper and lower halves 52, 53, one on the other, as shown in FIGS. 9. These halves in pairs 52, 53 are essentially rectangular in profile and are molded by injection molding of synthetic resin. On the outer rims of the upper and lower halves 52, 53 constituting the portion 54 of the main cartridge body are formed the wall sections 69, 70 which are bumped into each other to provide a front wall section 65, rear side wall section 66 and side wall sections 67, 68 oriented from portion 54 of the main cartridge body, as shown in Figure 9.

- On the inner, oriented sides of the upper half 52 and the lower half 53, the wall sections 73, 74 defining the vertical partition wall constituting a dividing wall section 72 are defined which delimits a disk housing section 71 adapted for rotatingly housing a magneto-optical disc 55, as shown in Figure 10. These wall sections 73, 74 defining the dividing wall are arcuately configured to inscribe the upper and lower halves 51, 52 in rectangular shape are made to bump one against the other to form the dividing wall section 72, as shown in Figure 10. The disk housing section 71 is a limited area by this dividing wall section 72. Since the dividing wall section 72 constituting the disk housing section 71 is defined by abutting the wall sections 73, 74 defining the arcuate dividing wall which inscribe the upper and lower halves 51, 52 in rectangular shape , the partition wall section 72 surrounds all the flange of the magnetic disk 55 housed within the disk housing section 71. Centrally of the lower half 53, forming the lower surface of the portion 54 of the body of the main cartridge, a central opening 75 is formed in a circular shape adapted to be exposed to the - outside the portion 59 swollen outwardly of the hub 58 mounted on the magnetic disk 55 housed within the portion 54 of the body of the main cartridge. The central opening 75 is formed only in the lower half 53, while the central portion of the upper surface of the body portion 52 of the main cartridge, constituted by the upper half 52 is closed, as shown in Figures 7 and 8 In the upper half 52 constituting the upper surface of the portion 54 of the body of the main cartridge and the lower half 53 are formed first and second registration and / or reproduction openings 76, 77 which coincide with each other and which are adapted to be exposed to the outside of at least a portion of the signal registration area of the magnetic disk housed within the main cartridge body portion 54, as shown in Figures 7 to 9. These registration openings 76, 77. FIG. essentially rectangular-shaped reproduction are placed in an intermediate portion of the left-and-right direction of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body and extend from the vicinity of the central opening 75 up to the vicinity of the front wall section 65 of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body. These first and second registration and / or reproduction openings 76, 77 are formed to extend from the disk housing section 71 to a position close to the front wall section 65 so that the magnetic couple of the recording medium / reproduction for the information signals, introduced in the portion 54 of the main cartridge body are able to scan the magnetic disk 55 housed in the portion 54 of the body of the main cartridge through those openings 76, 77 to the outer rm of the disk 55 magnetic, as shown in Figure 9. The portion 54 of the main cartridge body is movably mounted to a sealing member 78 adapted to open / close the first and second registration and / or reproduction openings 76, 77, as shown in Figures 7 and 8. This shutter member 78 formed by segmenting and warping a thin metal sheet includes a first sealing section 79, a second sealing section 80 and a connecting plate section 81, as shown in Figure 9. The first sealing section 79 is adapted to open / close the first registration and / or reproduction opening 76 formed on the upper surface of the body portion 54 of the main cartridge, while the second sealing section 80 is adapted to open / close the second registration and / or reproduction opening 77 formed in the lower surface of the portion 54 of the cartridge body - - principal. The connecting plate section 81 interconnects the proximal ends of the first and second sealing sections 79, 80, essentially parallel to one another. The connecting plate section 81 is configured to protrude on both sides of the first and second sealing sections 79, 80 so that when the sealing member 78 is mounted on the body portion 54 of the main cartridge, the plate section 81 connection will extend lengthwise in the front wall section 65 of the main cartridge body portion 54. These protruding portions are formed as the first and second cartridge retaining portions 82, 83. These cartridge retaining portions 82, 83 are formed as "U" shaped projections in cross section to fit the front wall section 65. of the portion 54 of the main body. Specifically, these projections are formed on opposite sides of the connecting plate section 81 which interconnects the first and second sealing sections 79, 80 to extend in the extension direction in the first and second sealing sections 79, 80, as it is shown in Figures 7 and 8. These projections, which constitute the first and second cartridge retention portions 82, 83 and which extend parallel to the second sealing section 80, are partially segmented to form a pair of coupling parts 86. , 87 - - configured to engage with the movement guide slots 84, 85 that are formed in the lower surface of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body to extend on both sides of the second registration / reproduction aperture 77. The plug member 78 described above is mounted to the body portion 54 of the main cartridge by adjusting the first and second sealing sections 79, 80 in the portion 54 of the main cartridge body from the front wall section 65 to extend above the first and second recording / reproducing openings 76, 77, respectively, by adjusting the first and second cartridge retaining portions 82, 83 in the front wall section 65 of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body and engaging the parts 86, 87 of engagement in the movement guide slots 84, 85, respectively, as shown in Figures 7 and 8. The sealing member 78 mounted in this manner in the main cartridge body portion 54 moves in the direction indicated by the arrows E and F in Figures 7 and 8, between a position in which the first and second sealing sections 79, 80 close in the first and second registration / reproduction openings 76, 77 respectively, and a position in which the first and second sealing sections 79, 80 open the first and - second registration / reproduction openings 76, 77, respectively, with the coupling parts 86, 87 being guided by the movement guide slots 84, 85. On the upper and lower surface of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body, the sealing movement recesses 88, 89 are formed to extend from the flange the first and second registration / reproduction openings 76, 77 towards the side wall section 66. of the body portion 54 of the main cartridge, as shown in Figures 7 and 8. In the front wall section 65 of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body, a recess 90 of movement corresponding in depth to the thickness of the connecting plate section 81 is formed above a movement scale of shutter member 78. The sealing member 78 is mounted almost flush with the body portion 54 of the main cartridge without presenting any protruding portions from the surface of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body, the first and second saturating sections 79, 80 having recesses of shutter movement 88, 89 and engaging the connecting plate section 81 in the movement recess 90. The sealing member 78 mounted on the portion 54 of the main cartridge body is pushed in the direction - of closing the first and second registration / reproduction openings 76, 77 as indicated by the arrow F in Figures 7 and 8, by a torsion spring 93 which is a thrust member positioned in the portion 54 of the body of main cartridge. This torsion spring 93 is placed in a corner of the portion 53 of the body of the main cartridge where the sealing member 78 is placed when the first and second registration / reproduction openings 76, 77 are opened, as shown in Figure 9. This torsion spring 93 has one end and its other end retained by the main cartridge body portion 54 and by a spring retainer that is provided in the retaining portion 82 of the first cartridge respectively, for pushing the sealing member 78 in the closing direction of the first and second registration / reproduction openings 76, 77, as indicated by arrow F in Figures 7 and 8. On the flat inner sides of the upper half 52 and the lower half 53 are placed the protective sheets 99, 101 for the magnetic disk 55 formed, for example, of a non-woven fabric or a lubricating sheet. These protective sheets 99, 101 are directly bonded to the inner surfaces of the upper and lower halves 52, 53 by thermal fusion, ultrasonic bonding or an adhesive. Since the protective sheets 99, 101 are - - bonded directly to the flat inner surfaces of the upper and lower halves 52, 53, the sides of the upper and lower halves 52, 53 facing the main disc member 56 have flat surfaces. The portions of the protective sheets 99, 101 that coincide with the first and second registration / reproduction openings 76, 77 are cut at 99a, 101a to open the openings, as shown in Figure 9. Within the portion 54 of the body of the main cartridge formed by bumping the upper and lower halves 52, 53 where the protective sheets 99, 101 are placed to present flat surfaces oriented towards the main disk member 56, the disk housing section 71 is defined in a fairly spacious to allow rotation of the magnetic disk 55 without coming into contact with the inner surface of the body portion 51 of the main cartridge, as shown in Figure 10. The upper and lower halves 52, 53 constitute the portion 54 of the body of the main cartridge causing the welding lugs 116 to be bumped which is provided at the corners of the inner surfaces of the halves 52, 53 by bumping the wall sections v 70, 70 and welding the welding lugs 116 and the vertical wall sections 69, 70 by for example ultrasonic welding, as shown in the Figure The lower surface of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body of the disc cartridge 51 in accordance with the present invention is formed with first and second positioning reference holes 109, 110 engaged by positioning pins, not shown, which are provided in FIG. the disc drive device for adjusting the loading position of the disc cartridge 51, as shown in Figures 8 and 11. These positioning reference holes 109, 110 are formed towards the front wall section 65 on both sides in the direction of movement of shutter member 178. The first positioning reference hole 109 is a circular hole corresponding to the positioning pin of a circular cross section, while the second positioning reference hole 110 is configured as an ellipse having its long axis, extending along the length of direction of movement of the shutter member 178 to allow correction of the coupling position and the positioning pin therein. The flange of the first and second positioning reference holes 109, 110 is designed to function as height adjustment planes 106, 106 carried by the supports that are provided in the disk drive device for adjusting the level of 3. loading height when the disc cartridge 51 is loaded therein. Similar height level adjustment planes 107, 107 are provided at the corners to the rear side wall section 66 for adjusting the load height level and during loading of the disc cartridge 51 in the disc drive device. The first and second positioning reference holes 109, 110 are formed with the centers thereof, essentially coinciding with a longitudinal center line P_ passing through the centers of the recording and / or reproduction openings 76, 77 leading to the front wall section 65 of the body portion 54 of the main cartridge, so that the first and second positioning reference holes 109, 110 will be symmetrical relative to the center line in the left and right direction of the portion 54 of the body of the main cartridge. By providing the first and second positioning reference holes 109, 110 in this manner, portions of the magnetic disk 55 housed in the portion 54 of the body of the main cartridge remaining on the edge centered along the radius of the magnetic disk 55 are held by means of the positioning pins so that the magnetic disk 55 retained by the rotary drive / disc drive is correctly positioned relative to the portion 54 of the main cartridge body to enable the rotation of the magnetic disk 55 in a free-flowing manner. contact with the inner surface of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body. In a corner on the bottom surface of portion 54 of the main cartridge body, positioned towards the side wall section 67 until the back side wall section 66 is provided in a wrong register inhibitor unit 111, as shown in Figures 8 and 11. The wrong register inhibitor unit 111 is placed between the section 66 of the rear side wall of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body and a height reference plane 107 and consists of a register inhibition discrimination gap Illa and a wrong registration preventive member lllb, as shown in FIGS. and 11. The register inhibition discrimination hole Illa is passed through the upper and lower halves 52, 53 which constitute the body portion 54 of the main cartridge, while the wrong registration preventive member lllb is movably assembled between the upper and lower halves 52, 53 to open / close the Illa registration inhibition discrimination hole. The wrong register inhibiting unit 111 opens or closes the record inhibition discrimination hole Illa punctured in the portion 54 of the main cartridge body by the wrong registration preventive member lllb, by making a selection between the training record of state of the information signals on the magnetic disk 55 and the state that obstructs the recording of the information signals. At the opposite side corner of the lower surface of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body towards the opposite side wall section 68 to the rear side wall section 66, in the vicinity of the first positioning reference hole 109 the holes are provided of first and second capacity discrimination 113, 114 specifying the magnetic disk registration capability 55 housed in the disk cartridge 51, as shown in Figures 8 and 11. The first capacity discrimination hole 113 is provided in the opposite corner towards the section 68 of opposite side wall to the section 56 of the rear side wall. Specifically, the first capacity discrimination hole 113 is provided in a left and right symmetry position with respect to the registration inhibition discrimination gap Illa, which is provided on one side of the corner. The first capacity discrimination hole 130 of the disc cartridge 51 of the present invention is provided in an opposite position in the left and right direction relative to the first capacity discrimination hole 27 that is provided in the second disc cartridge 2 previously mentioned. Also, the second capacity discrimination hole 114 is provided in the vicinity of the first laying hole 109, and is in a gap within the order of 2 to 4 millimeters from the first laying hole 109, in a side-by-side relationship with with respect to the insertion / separation division of the disk cartridge 51 towards or from the disk drive device. That is, the second capacity discrimination hole 114 is positioned closer to the rear side wall section 66 than the first positioning hole 109. The first positioning hole 109, the second capacity discrimination hole 114 and the hole of first rate discrimination 113 are provided along the opposite side wall section 68 of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body so that the respective centers are essentially coincident with one another. Specifically, the first placement hole 109, the second capacity discrimination hole 114, and the first capacity discrimination hole 113 are provided so that the respective centers lie in a straight line P2 that extends to- parallel to the opposite side wall section 68 of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body, as shown in Figure 11. In a corner, in the upper surface towards the front wall section 65 of the portion 54 of the cartridge body A load control section 115 for inhibiting loading of the disc cartridge 51 of the present invention is provided in a disk drive device dedicated to a disk cartridge that retains a magnetic disk having a recording capacity different from that of the magnetic disc 55 of the disc cartridge 51. This load control section 115 is formed as a recess adapted to open the front wall section 65 of the body portion of the main cartridge 54. A disk drive device 230, which makes interchangeable use of the first disk cartridge 1 possible. housing an ammonia disk 6 with a recording capacity of 1 MB, a second disk cartridge 2 housing a magnetic disk 6 with a recording capacity of 2 MB and the disk cartridge 51 housing the magnetic disk 55 having the Record capacity exceeding 100 MB, in accordance with the present invention, will be explained below.

The portions of the disk drive device 230 having the basic structure in common with that of the disk drive device 30 employing the first and second disk cartridges 1 and 2 that retain the magnetic disks 6 of the logging capabilities of 1 or 2 MB, are illustrated by the common reference numbers and the detailed description for them is omitted for reasons of simplification. The disk drive device 230 includes a second capacity detection switch 243 adapted to detect the second capacity discrimination hole 114 of the disk cartridge 51 which retains the magnetic disk 55 of the increased capacity, in accordance with the present invention. This second capacity sensing switch 243 is provided closer to the cartridge insertion / separation aperture 43 of the main body portion 31 than the first positioning pin 38 inserted into the first positioning reference hole 109. Similarly to the cartridge load sensing switch 44, the wrong register detection switch 45 and the first capacity detection switch 46, the second capacity detection switch 243 is designated as a push type switch having a pushing element 243a.

- Referring to Figure 4, an aperture 248 is formed by segmenting the support 39, which has the first positioning pin 38 fitted therein and biasing the segmented portion towards the cartridge loading unit 33 formed on the upper surface of the block. base 32. In this way, the push element 343a that is placed vertically in the second capacity sensing switch 243 can be sufficiently close to the first positioning pin 38 to close as only 2 to 4 millimeters having the sensing switch 243 second capacity mounted on the printed circuit board 48 from below to the opening 248 to below the support 39. Therefore, the pushing element 243a can accurately and reliably detect the second capacity discrimination hole 114 that is provided in the disc cartridge 51, in accordance with the present invention. Since the wrong register inhibiting unit 111 and the first capacity discrimination hole 113 for the disk cartridge 51 of the present invention are provided in inverted positions in the left and right direction with respect to the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2 mentioned above, the wrong register detection switch 45 and the first capacity detection switch 46 of the disk drive device 230 are provided in reversed positions in the left and right direction with respect to the disk drive device 30. The cartridge 51 disk and disk drive 230 allow its loading, in accordance with the present invention, and configured as described above so that if the disc cartridge of the present invention is loaded in the disc drive device 230 designed to interchangeably load the disc cartridge 51 and the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2, is loaded in position in a manner similar to the loading of the disk cartridges 1, 2, as shown in Figures 12 and 13. That is, reference planes 106, 107 of height provided at the corners on the lower surface of the body portion 54 of the main cartridge are pressed by four supports 39, 40 of the disk drive 230 from above, while the first and second positioning pins 37, 38 are coupled from below in the first and second positioning reference holes 109, 110. In this way, the disc cartridge 51 is loaded into the cartridge loading unit 33 that is provided in the block. e of base 32, such that the body portion 54 of the main cartridge is correctly positioned along the - - height and in the horizontal direction. During this time, the magnetic disk 55 is placed by the hub 58 on the disk table 36 in the disk rotary / drive unit 34, at the same time that the upper and lower magnetic heads in pairs, not shown, are introduced through of the upper and lower registration and / or reproduction openings 76, 77 in pairs in contact with the upper and lower surface of the magnetic disk 55. During this time, the first positioning reference hole 109 of the true circular shape is coupled by the first positioning pin 37 in a substantially play-free state, while the second positioning reference hole 110 having the shape of an ellipse, the long axis of which is the direction perpendicular to the direction of insertion in the disk drive 230, as indicated by the arrow A in Figure 12, is loosely coupled by the second positioning pin 38 in an essentially exempt state. e play in the direction of insertion of the cartridge, even if it has play in the direction of the long axis. Therefore, the positioning reference (placement center) of the disc cartridge 51 of the present invention in the four height reference planes 106, 107 is the first positioning reference hole 109 so that the disc cartridge 51 , in accordance with the present invention is correctly positioned around the first positioning reference hole 109 as a center by the first and second positioning reference holes 109, 110 in a two-dimensional direction defined by the direction of the arrow A and the direction perpendicular thereto, in Figure 12. The push member 44a of the cartridge load sensing switch 44 is pushed down through the lower surface of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body in order to connect the switch to detecting the loading of the disc cartridge 51 in the cartridge loading unit 33. The pusher member 45a of the regist detection switch 45 The wrong one detects the possible opening of the hole Illa of registration inhibition discrimination Illa of the wrong register inhibiting unit 111 to discriminate that the current state 'the possible state of registration' or 'the state not registrable'. The push element 243a of the second capacity detection switch 243 is inserted from below into the second capacity discrimination hole 114 to maintain the OFF state to discriminate the magnetic disk 51 retained in the large capacity type cartridge 51. with the registration capacity that exceeds 100 MB.

- Since the second capacity discrimination hole 114 is provided in proximity to the first positioning reference hole 119, the wrong registration detection switch 45, the first capacity detection switch 46 and the second capacity detection switch 243 of the disc drive 230 can be distributed in the three corners of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body of the disc cartridge 51, in accordance with the present invention. Therefore, if the compressive force F] _ applied from above to press the main cartridge body portion 54 to the total sum of four supports 39, 40 by the spring force of the thrust spring provided in the unit of cartridge loading, as shown in Figure 3, at 300 to 400 grams, the pressure force F2 distributed to the four supports 39, 40 is 90 to 100 grams. In this way, if the pushing force F3 applied to each of the push elements 45a, 46a, 243a, of the wrong register detection switch 45, of the first capacity detection switch 46 and the second detection switch 243 capacity is about 36 grams, the force F3 pressure, of about 36 grams, applied to each of the push elements 45a, 46a, 243a and the wrong register detection switch 45, the first capacity detection switch 46 and the second capacity detection switch 243, can be distributed in a good way balanced to the three corners of the body portion 54 of the main cartridge. Therefore, the cartridge lifting force F5 acting on each of the three height reference planes 106, 107, 107 in the vicinity of the three switches 45, 46, 243 on the bottom surface of the portion 54 of The main cartridge body by the pushing force F3 applied by the push elements 45a, 46a, 143a of the switches 45, 46, 243 is not greater than 36 grams. It will be noted that the combined force of the cartridge lifting force F3 applied by each of the push elements 46a, 44a acts on the height reference plane 107 in the vicinity of the switches 46, 44 because the switch 44 cartridge load sensing is provided in the vicinity of the first capacity detection switch 46. However, this combined force is 2F = 76 grams or less. The result is that the cartridge lifting force F5, applied to the total sum of the four height reference planes 106, 107 on the lower surface of the body portion 54 of the main cartridge can be suppressed to a smaller value than the distributed pressure force F2 of 90 or 100 grams or less, applied to each of the total sum of the four supports 39, 40. Consequently, the phenomenon of cartridge flotation wherein the body portion 54 of the main cartridge pressed against the four supports 39, 40 is applied upwards from these supports, it can be suppressed in spite of the fact that the number of push type detection switches of the disk drive device 230 is increased from three to four, as in the above mentioned disc drive device explained above with reference to the prior art system. Therefore, there is no risk of failure in the placement of the magnetic disk 55 on the disk table 36 or for the rotary drive of the magnetic disk 55 otherwise caused by the phenomenon of cartridge flotation. Furthermore, since the phenomenon of cartridge flotation does not occur, the detection of the possible presence of the face of the disk cartridge 51 in the cartridge loading unit 33, the decision as to the recording capacity of the information signals. in the magnetic disk 51 or the class discrimination of the loaded disk cartridge, such as the recording capacity, can be reliably made even when the movement stroke of the thrust element is reduced to keep up with the tendency to reduction in thickness of the disk drive 230. In particular, the second capacity discrimination hole 114 is placed in an extremely small space between the first positioning reference hole 109 and the outer flange of the magnetic disk 55. It will be noted that the first criteria for adjusting the loading position of the position 54 of the main cartridge body in the cartridge loading unit 33 in case the disk cartridge 51 of the present invention is loaded in the disk drive device 230, is the first positioning reference hole 109 coupled by the first positioning pin 38. In addition, the internal diameter and the flat shape of the lower surface around the flange of the first positioning reference hole 109 are adjusted by machining up to the maximum possible accuracy and the maximum possible tenacity to achieve the first criterion. The distributed pressure force F2 with which the lower surface of the portion 54 of the main cartridge body presses the height reference plane 106 into a corner of the main cartridge body portion 54 formed with the first positioning reference hole 109 against the support 39 having the first positioning pin 38 fitted therein is also adjusted to be larger - that the force F2 of pressure in the other three height reference planes 106, 107, 107. Therefore, by placing the second capacity discrimination hole 114 in proximity to the first positioning reference hole 109, the relative position between the second capacity discrimination hole 114 and the second capacity detecting switch 243 in the disk drive 230 can be adjusted more accurately so that even when the second capacity discrimination hole 114 is smaller in size than the others Space-matching glass discrimination holes, the push element 243a of the second capacity detection switch 243 can accurately discriminate the second capacity discrimination hole 114 at all times. Also, the aforementioned first and second disk cartridges are selectively loaded into disk drive device 230, adapted to use interchangeably the disk cartridge 51 of the present invention, and the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2, does not occur the phenomenon of cartridge flotation in which the height reference plane 21 of the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2 are floated upwardly from the support 39 under the cartridge thrust force F3 of the push element 243a or the second capacity detection switch 243.

- - Next, if the first disk cartridge 1 retaining the magnetic disk 6 having the recording capacity of 1 MB is loaded into the disk drive device 230, adapted to allow the disk cartridge 51 of the present invention to be used interchangeably with the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2 mentioned above, the loading or non-loading of the disk cartridge in the cartridge loading unit 33 is detected in the same way by the cartridge charge detection switch 44, as previously. However, the corner portion on the bottom surface of the portion 5 of the main cartridge body presses down the pusher member 243a of the second capacity detecting switch 243 to connect the switch 243 in order to discriminate that the registration capability of the magnetic disk 6 is no longer greater than 100 MB. When the second capacity detection switch 243 is switched on, the detection object of the wrong registration detection switch 45 and the first capacity detection switch 46 is switched in such a way that the push element 46a of the first detection switch 46 capacity detects the registration capability of the wrong record inhibiting unit 26 to discriminate the 'recordable state' or 'the non-registrable state', while the push element 45a of the wrong record detection switch 45 is pushed down by the opposite side corner by means of the lower surface of the portion 5 of the main cartridge body to be connected in order to indicate that the recording capacity of the magnetic disk 6 is 1 MB. Then, if the second disk cartridge 2 retaining the magnetic disk 6 having the recording capacity of 2 MB is loaded in the disk drive 230, the state of charge or no charge in the cartridge loading unit 33 it is detected in the same way by the cartridge charge detection switch 44, as above. However, the corner portion on the bottom surface of the main cartridge body portion 5 presses down the push element 243a of the second capacity sensing switch 243 to connect the switch 243 in order to discriminate that the registration capability of the magnetic disk 6 is not greater than 100 MB. Through * the connection of the second capacity detection switch 243, the object of the detection of the wrong registration detection switch 45 and the first capacity detection switch 46 is switched in such a way that the pushing element 46a of the switch 46 of first capacity detection detects the open or closed state of hole 26a of wrong record inhibition to discriminate the 'recordable state' or the - "non-registrable state", while the pushing element 45a of the wrong registration detecting switch 45 is pushed downwards by the nterior surface of the portion 5 of the body of the main cartridge to be inserted from below into the hole 27 for discrimination of first capacity in the opposite side corner to maintain the DISCONNECTED state to indicate that the recording capacity of the magnetic disk 6 is 2 MB. Meanwhile, the upper and lower magnetic heads that are provided in the disk drive 230 that allows the disk cartridge 51 of the present invention to be used interchangeably with the first and second disk cartridges 1, 2 mentioned above includes two spaces magnetic free space, namely a magnetic free space for recording and / or reproducing the information signals on or from the magnetic disks 6 for 1 MB / 2 MB and a magnetic free space for recording and / or reproducing the information signals in or from the magnetic disks 55 to not less than 100 MB, and switches between these two magnetic spaces based on the recognition of whether the recording capacity of magnetic disk 6 or 55 is 1 MB / 2 MB or not less than 100 MB, purpose of selectively switching between recording and / or reproducing the information signals by means of the format of 1 MB / 2 MB and that using no less than 100 MB format. It will be noted that, in the disk cartridge 51 according to the present invention, the relative positioning of the wrong register inhibiting unit 111 and the first capacity discrimination hole 114 is reversed in the left and right direction of that of the unit wrong registration inhibitor 26 and the first capacity discrimination hole 27 of the first disk cartridge 1, retaining the magnetic disk 6 with the recording capacity of 1 MB or the second disk cartridge 2 retaining the magnetic disk 6 with the capacity of 2 MB disk, so that if the disk cartridge 51 of the present invention is erroneously loaded in the disk drive device 30 of Figure 5, the first capacity discrimination hole 130 of the disk cartridge 51 of this invention is coupled by the push member 45a of the wrong registration detecting switch 45 of the disk drive device 30 shown in Figure 5, in order to keep the wrong register detection switch 45 switched off at all times to allow the 'record inhibitor state' to be recognized at all times. Therefore, the 'inhibitor state of registration' can be recognized through the discrimination hole of first capacity 113, without - take into account whether the wrong register inhibiting unit 111 of the disk cartridge 51 of the present invention has been switched to the 'recordable state' to the 'non-registrable state' to prevent inadvertent deletion of the information signals recorded on the magnetic disk 55 , in case the disk cartridge 51 of the present invention has been erroneously loaded in the disk drive device 30 shown in Figure 5. Although the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiments, the present invention may to be modified within the scope of the invention which is limited only by the claims; For example, the present invention can be applied, for example, to a variety of magnetic discs that retain disc cartridges, optical discs or magneto-optical discs.

Industrial Applicability A disk cartridge in accordance with the present invention includes a portion of the main cartridge body that retains a disc-shaped recording medium of increased capacity, first and second positioning reference holes formed in the left and right corners on the lower surface of the main cartridge body portion surrounded - - by the front wall section in the direction of insertion of the main cartridge body portion towards the disk drive device, left and right side wall sections extending perpendicular to the front wall section and the outer rim of the disc shaped recording medium housed in the main cartridge body portion, a first capacity discrimination hole and a unit wrong register inhibitor provided in the left and right corners surrounded by the rear side wall section of the body portion of the main cartridge, left and right side wall sections extending perpendicular to the rear side wall section and the outer flange of the disk-shaped recording medium housed in the body portion of the main cartridge, and the second capacity discrimination hole toward the outer flange of the disc-shaped recording medium housed in the body portion of the main cartridge in proximity to the first hole of reference and placement. The portions detected by the detection switches are placed in a distributed manner on the lower surface of the body portion of the main cartridge, in order to reliably detect the state of the disc cartridges such as the magnetic disc classes.

Claims (6)

- CLAIMS:

1. A disk cartridge comprising: a main cartridge body portion that retains a disc-shaped recording medium of increased capacity; first and second reference holes formed in the left and right corners on the lower surface of the main cartridge body portion surrounded by the front wall section in the direction of insertion of the body portion of the main cartridge into a driving device of disc, left and right side wall sections extending perpendicular to the front wall section and the outer rim of the disc shaped recording medium housed in the main cartridge body portion; a first capacity discrimination hole and a wrong registration inhibiting unit provided in the left and right corners surrounded by the rear side wall section of the main cartridge body portion, extending left and right side wall sections perpendicular to the rear side wall section and the outer rim of the disc shaped recording medium housed in the main cartridge body portion; Y - - a second capacity discrimination hole towards the outer flange of the disk-shaped recording medium housed in the body portion of the main cartridge in proximity to the first positioning reference hole; the first and second capacity discrimination holes and the wrong registration inhibiting unit being positioned in a distributed manner. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first and second positioning reference holes and the first and second capacity discrimination holes of the wrong register inhibiting unit are at least holes formed in the surface bottom of the body portion of the main cartridge. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the main cartridge body portion includes a recording and / or reproducing opening in each of the upper and lower surfaces thereof for radially exposing a portion of the cartridge to the outside. from the signal registration area of the disc-shaped recording medium from the front wall section to the vicinity of the intermediate portion thereof, and a shutter member movably mounted along the front wall section to open / close the opening of registration and / or reproduction. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first positioning reference hole and the first and second capacity discrimination holes are placed essentially in a row along one of the side wall sections of the body portion of the main cartridge and wherein the wrong register inhibiting unit is placed in the opposite side wall section of the body portion of the main cartridge. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first positioning reference hole is in the shape of a true circle and the second positioning reference hole is in the shape of an ellipse having its long axis extending in a direction perpendicular to the direction of insertion / separation towards or from the disk drive device. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the disk-shaped recording medium is a flexible magnetic disk having a recording capacity of not less than 100 MB. - - SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A disk cartridge that holds a flexible magnetic disk with a recording capacity that exceeds 100 MB. The disc cartridge includes a main cartridge body portion that retains a disc-shaped recording medium of increased capacity, first and second positioning reference holes formed at the left and right corners on the undersurface of the portion of main cartridge body surrounded by the front wall section in the direction of insertion of the body portion of the main cartridge into a disk drive device, left and right side wall sections extending perpendicular to the front wall section and the outer rim of the disc shaped recording medium housed in the body portion of the main cartridge. The disk cartridge includes a first capacity discrimination hole and a wrong registration inhibitor unit that is provided in the left and right corners surrounded by the rear side wall section of the main cartridge body portion, left side wall sections and right which extend perpendicular to the rear sidewall section and the outer flange of the disc-shaped recording medium. housed in the main cartridge body portion, and a second capacity discriminating hole towards the outer flange of the disc shaped recording medium housed in the body portion of the main cartridge in proximity to the first positioning reference hole. The portions detected by the detection switches are placed distributed on the lower surface of the body portion of the main cartridge, in order to reliably detect the state of the disk cartridges such as the magnetic disk classes.