JPH11203815A - Disk cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enlarge an opening part for inserting a recording/reproducing head etc., without enlarging a disk cartridge even in the case that a miniature disk-like medium is housed. SOLUTION: A shutter is constituted in the manner of bisecting it to shutters 50A and 50B, sliders 52A, 52B are provided at the inner surface sides of back parts of the shutters 50A, 50B, also engaging parts 53 formed on the sliders 52A, 52B are engaged with groove parts 34 of a case so that the shutters 50A, 50B are made freely to slide along the groove parts 34, then, a coil spring 65 is spread between restraining parts respectively provided on the sliders 52A, 52B to energize the shutters 50A, 50B in the mutually approaching direction and also an opening part 31 is opened by making the shutters 50A, 50B slide in the mutually aparting direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disk cartridge for rotatably storing a disk-shaped medium such as an optical disk or a magneto-optical disk, and more particularly, to an 8 cm-sized CD.
The present invention relates to a disk cartridge suitable for storing a small disk-shaped medium such as a single disk medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Disc-shaped media such as optical disks and magneto-optical disks which have been conventionally known can be classified according to their disk diameters, such as 5 inches or 3.5 inches of a magnetic disk or 6.5 cm (MD) of an optical disk. , 8cm (CD
Single), 12 cm (CD), etc. Among them, the 12 cm CD and the 8 cm CD single have the same data recording method and differ only in the diameter. Although the original playback device standardized a 12 cm CD, it was also possible to use an 8 cm CD single by attaching an adapter or the like.
CD single and 12 cm CD can be used.

On the other hand, there is known a disk cartridge in which a disk-shaped medium is rotatably stored. In this type of disc cartridge, the case is composed of an upper case and a lower case, and an opening for inserting a recording / reproducing head or the like is formed in each of the upper case and the lower case, and a cross section for opening and closing the opening is provided. In general, a U-shaped shutter is slidably provided. And the diameter 12
In the case of optical discs having a diameter of 12 cm, such as a CD, which is mounted on a reproducing apparatus nakedly, a DVD-RA in which an optical disc having a diameter of 12 cm is housed in the above-described case has recently been used.
M has been proposed.

[0004]

When an optical disk having a diameter of 12 cm is stored in a case (hereinafter, referred to as a "12 cm disk cartridge"), an opening of the case is restricted due to the size of a recording / reproducing head on the apparatus side. A width of about 4 cm is required. The width of the shutter must be at least larger than the width of the opening of the case, and when the opening is in the open state, the shutter must not be positioned over the opening. In the case of a 12 cm disk cartridge, even if an opening with a width of 4 cm is formed, a space of at least 4 cm is formed on each of the left and right sides. Therefore, a retracting space for the shutter for opening the opening is provided. Can be.

On the other hand, when an optical disk having a diameter of 8 cm is stored in a case (hereinafter referred to as "8 cm disk cartridge").
That. In), when the recording / reproducing apparatus of the 12 cm disk cartridge can also use the 8 cm disk cartridge, the recording / reproducing head of the recording / reproducing apparatus must be formed so as to enter the opening. It is necessary to form an opening having a width of 4 cm even in an 8 cm disk cartridge.

Since the outer dimensions of the disk cartridge are preferably smaller, an 8 cm disk cartridge ideally has a width of about 9 cm. However, for example, when an opening having a width of 4 cm is formed in the case of a width of 9 cm, only a space of about 2.5 cm can be formed on both left and right sides. Therefore, in order to cover the opening having a width of 4 cm, a shutter having a width of at least 4 cm is required. However, there is a problem that it is not possible to provide a retreat space for the shutter for opening the opening.

To solve this problem, for example,
It is conceivable to provide a two-parted double-opening shutter as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4752/75. However, as described in this publication, two guide bars must be provided, and a spring must be provided for each shutter, resulting in a problem that the number of parts increases and the cost increases. Further, since springs and the like must be arranged at both corners inside the disk cartridge, it is difficult to reduce the size of the disk cartridge, and there is a problem that the merit of the compactness of a CD single cannot be utilized.

Accordingly, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to increase the size of the opening for inserting a recording / reproducing head without increasing the size of a disk cartridge even when a small disk-shaped medium is stored. That is, the recording / reproducing apparatus of the disk cartridge can be used.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an upper case and a lower case are connected to each other, a disk-shaped medium is housed therein, and the upper case and the lower case are provided. In a disc cartridge provided with an opening for inserting a recording / reproducing head and an opening for inserting a drive shaft in a case, and having a slidable U-shaped shutter for opening and closing each of the openings, the left shutter and the right shutter And a slider is provided on the inner surface of the back of the left shutter and the right shutter, and an engaging portion formed on the slider is engaged with a groove formed by the upper case and the lower case. Then, the shutter is slidable along the groove, and the shutter is provided on each of the sliders of the left shutter and the right shutter. The left shutter and the right shutter are urged in a direction approaching each other by extending a coil spring between the engaging portions, and the left shutter and the right shutter are brought into contact with the urging force of the coil spring. The opening is closed by closing the opening and sliding the left shutter and the right shutter in directions away from each other against the tension of the coil spring.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the disk cartridge according to the first aspect, the engaging portion comes into contact with an end wall of the groove at a position where the shutter closes the opening. And The invention of claim 3 is
2. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a stopper formed on the slider abuts a protrusion formed on the upper case and the lower case at a position where the shutter closes the opening. .

[0011]

In the present invention, the opening of the disk cartridge is closed by the left and right shutters divided into two parts. The opening is opened by the left shutter and the right shutter sliding against each other in the direction away from each other against the urging force of the coil spring. Therefore, by making effective use of the slidable range of the shutter,
The opening can be enlarged while the size of the disk cartridge is reduced. Further, a double opening shutter can be provided without increasing the number of parts.

[0012]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 7 are views showing a first embodiment of a disk cartridge according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the disk cartridge. In FIG. 1, the disk cartridge 10 is
0 and the lower case 30 are connected, and a disk-shaped medium 40 is rotatably mounted inside. The disk-shaped medium 40 is an optical disk (more specifically, a DVD) in the present embodiment, and is of a type capable of recording and reproducing on both surfaces thereof.

The upper case 20 and the lower case 30 have openings 2 for inserting a recording / reproducing head and inserting a drive shaft, respectively.
1 and 31 are provided. Here, of the openings 21 and 31, a substantially semicircular opening is used for inserting a drive shaft, and a substantially rectangular opening is used for inserting a recording / reproducing head. Examples of the material of the upper case 20 and the lower case 30 include acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) resin, and both are connected by ultrasonic welding or the like.

The shutter 50 is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section, and is divided into two (left) shutter 50A and (right) shutter 50 at the center position of the disk cartridge 10.
B, and are attached so as to straddle the upper case 20 and the lower case 30, respectively. The coil spring 65 is a tension coil spring for urging the shutters 50A and 50B in directions approaching each other.

The guides 61 and 62 are fixed to the upper case 20 and the lower case 30 by welding or bonding, respectively, and guide the lower ends of the upper plate and the lower plate of the shutter 50, respectively. In this embodiment, an erroneous erasure prevention plug for selectively setting whether or not information can be recorded on the disk-shaped medium 40 is not provided, but may be provided if necessary. Then, in the case of recording and reproduction on both sides of the disk-shaped medium 40 as in the present embodiment, it is sufficient to provide two for the A side and the B side.

FIG. 2 shows the disk cartridge 10 of FIG.
(A) is a plan view, and (b) and (c) are side views. In the present embodiment, the diameter L1 of the disc-shaped medium 40 is 8 cm, which is the same as that of a CD single. Also,
The width L2 of the openings 21 and 31 of the upper case 20 and the lower case 30 is about 4 cm. Further, the shutter 50 (a state in which the shutters 50A and 50B are in contact with each other) is formed so as to cover the openings 21 and 31, and the width L3 thereof is
It is slightly larger than the width L2 of the openings 21 and 31 and is about 4.1 cm. The width L6 of the disk cartridge 10 is about 9.1 cm, and the shutter 50A,
The sliding range L5 of 50B is about 8.3 cm. Therefore, the sliding range L4 provided on both the left and right sides of the shutter 50 is about 2.1 cm.

Therefore, when the shutter 50 is formed of a single member, only about half of the openings 21 and 31 can be opened even when the shutter 50 is moved to the left and right ends. However, in the present invention, the shutter 50 is
The shutters 50A and 50B are configured so that the shutters 50A and 50B are moved in directions away from each other when the openings 21 and 31 are opened. Therefore, the shutters 50A and 50B fall within the sliding range L4, and the openings 21 and 31 can be completely opened. Therefore, the diameter 12c
In a recording / reproducing apparatus for a disk cartridge containing m disk-shaped media, a disk cartridge 10 containing a disk-shaped medium 40 having a diameter of 8 cm can be used.

FIG. 3 shows that the shutter 50 has a coil spring 65.
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state where the upper case 2 is attached.
The value excluding 0 is shown. Referring to FIG.
Projections 51A and 51B are provided at the left end of the back of A and the right end of the back of the shutter 50B, respectively. Sliders 52 (52A and 52B) are formed on the inner surfaces of the backs of the shutters 50A and 50B, respectively. In the first embodiment, the shutter 5
Reference numeral 0 denotes a molded product formed by injection molding or the like, and the slider 52 is formed integrally with the shutter 50. The sliders 52A and 52B have a symmetrical shape.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing the shutter 50A and the slider 52A. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the BB cross section of FIG. 3, including the upper case 20. The engagement portion 53 of the slider 52A is
These portions protrude toward the upper case 20 and the lower case 30 and engage with rail-shaped grooves 24 and 34 formed near the upper outer edges on the inner surfaces of the upper case 20 and the lower case 30, respectively. The locking portion 54 is a portion where the hook 65a at the tip of the coil spring 65 is hooked.

When the upper case 20 and the lower case 30 are connected to each other, the respective grooves 24 of the upper case 20 and the lower case 30 are connected.
And 34 are opposed to each other, and these grooves 24
And 34, the engaging portion 53 of the slider 52 enters, and the shutters 50A and 50B
Slidable along. Also, shutters 50A and 5
When the coil spring 65 is applied to each of the locking portions 54 of the OB,
The shutters 50A and 50B are urged in directions approaching each other. The coil spring 65 is located above and outside the area where the disk-shaped medium 40 is arranged, and its expansion and contraction direction coincides with the sliding direction of the shutter 50.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the relationship between the groove 34 of the lower case 30 and the engaging portion 53 of the slider 52.
An end wall 34 a for restricting the movement of the engaging portion 53 is provided at the center of the groove 34. Although not shown, the end wall 24a is similarly formed in the groove 24a of the upper case 20.
Is provided. The shutter 50 has the openings 21 and 3
6, the engaging portion 53 of the slider 52 comes into contact with the end walls 24a and 34a of the grooves 24 and 34, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the shutters 50A and 50B do not move further to the opposite side than the position where the openings 21 and 31 are closed.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a section taken along the line AA of FIG. Steps 55A and 55B are formed at the outer edges on the center side of the shutters 50A and 50B, respectively. When the openings 21 and 31 are closed, the steps 55A and 55B between the shutters 50A and 50B are over. Wrap. Thereby, the openings 21 and 31 can be reliably closed. The outer edges of the shutters 50 </ b> A and 50 </ b> B may be merely abutted without forming in this manner.

When the shutter 50 is opened, as shown in FIG. 3, a shutter opening pin P provided on the recording / reproducing apparatus side is located inside the protrusions 51A and 51B on the back of the shutters 50A and 50B, respectively. The projections 51A and 51B respectively come into contact with each other and move outward. This allows the shutter 5 to resist the urging force of the coil spring 65.
0A and the shutter 50B are moved in directions away from each other, and the shutter 50 is opened. When the shutter 50 is closed, the operation is reversed. According to the above configuration, the slider 52 is integrally formed with the shutter 50, and only the coil spring 65 is used as another component necessary for opening and closing the shutter 50. Therefore, the number of components does not increase. In addition, since the coil spring 65 is arranged above the disc-shaped medium 40 so that the direction of expansion and contraction of the coil spring 65 matches the direction of sliding of the shutter 50, space can be saved.

(Second Embodiment) FIGS. 8 to 12 show a disk cartridge according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the disk cartridge, and FIGS. 9A and 9B are a plan view and a side view showing the disk cartridge 10 'of FIG. 8, respectively. 8, the disc cartridge 10 'of the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a slider 70 (70A, 70B) is provided. The slider 52 shown in the first embodiment is not provided on the shutter 50 '(50A' and 50B '). That is, nothing is provided on the inner surface side of the shutter 50 '. The shutter 50 'is formed with a hole 56 into which the slider 70 fits.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are perspective views showing the slider 70A in detail, and FIGS. 10A and 10B are views seen from the diagonally left and right directions, respectively. Although the slider 70B is not shown in FIG. 10, the slider 70B has a substantially symmetric shape with the slider 70A. FIG. 11 shows that a slider 7
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state where the upper case 0 and the coil spring 65 are attached, and is a view showing a state where the upper case 20 is removed.
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a main part of FIG. 11 in detail. The engaging portions 71 and 72 of the slider 70 are formed by rail-shaped grooves 34 and 35 provided in the lower case 30 and grooves 24 and 25 similarly provided in the upper case 20.
(Not shown) for supporting the slider 70 slidably on the upper case 20 and the lower case 30.

A substantially U-shaped section 76 is provided on the upper side of the slider 70, and holding sections 76a projecting outward in a substantially oval shape are provided at both ends. . The holding portion 76a fits into the hole 56 formed in the shutter 50 'to hold the slider 70 on the shutter 50'. Since the substantially U-shaped section 76 can elastically bend, if this section is bent and inserted into the inner surface side of the shutter 50 ′, the holding section 76 a is inserted into the hole 56 of the shutter 50 ′. Can be fitted.

The contact portion 73 is a portion that comes into contact with the inner surface of the back of the shutter 50 ′, and is for positioning the slider 70 to the shutter 50 ′. The stopper 74 is a portion that comes into contact with the projection 36 (see FIG. 12) provided on the lower case 30, and restricts the further movement of the slider 70 when the shutter 50 'is at the closed position. Note that the protrusion 36 is also provided on the upper case 20.
The same projection as that described above is provided.

The locking portion 75 is a hook 6 of the coil spring 65.
5a is a portion to be engaged. The engagement portion 77 is a portion formed such that the engagement portions 77 of the sliders 70A and 70B overlap when the shutter 50 'is at the closed position. The engagement of the engagement portions 77 prevents the disk cartridge 10 ′ from being deformed even if it is twisted or bent. As shown in FIG. 10, since the engagement portion 77 of the slider 70A is concave, the engagement portion 77 of the slider 70B is convex.

In the above-described second embodiment, the shutter 50 'is slid and the opening 21
And 31 can be opened and closed. In the second embodiment, since the shutter 50 'and the slider 70 are separate members, the number of components is increased by one as compared with the first embodiment.
It becomes easy to attach to 0. Further, in the second embodiment,
Even if the slider 70 is a molded product, the shutter 50 ′
Can be formed from a metal plate.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the present embodiment, the disc-shaped medium 40 capable of recording / reproducing on both sides is described as an example, but the present invention can be similarly applied to a disc-shaped medium capable of recording / reproducing on one side.

[0031]

According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively utilize the slidable range of the shutter and to enlarge the opening while reducing the size of the disk cartridge. Further, a double opening shutter can be provided without increasing the number of parts. Furthermore, since a coil spring is provided between the left shutter and the right shutter on the inner surface side of the back of the shutter, space can be saved.

In particular, if the shutter and the slider are integrally formed, additional components necessary for opening and closing the shutter can be added only by the coil spring, and the number of components can be reduced. On the other hand, if the shutter and the slider are formed from different parts, the assemblability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a view showing the disk cartridge of FIG. 1;
(A) is a plan view, and (b) and (c) are side views.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which a coil spring is attached to a shutter, and shows a state where an upper case is removed.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing a shutter and a slider.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a BB cross section of FIG. 3, including the upper case.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a relationship between a groove portion of a lower case and an engagement portion of a slider.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing an AA section of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a second embodiment of the disk cartridge according to the present invention.

9 is a diagram showing the disk cartridge of FIG. 8,
(A) is a plan view, and (b) is a side view.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a slider in detail;
(A) and (b) are the figures seen from diagonally left and diagonally right, respectively.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which a slider and a coil spring are attached to a shutter, and shows a state in which an upper case is removed.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a main part of FIG. 11 in detail.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Disc cartridge 20 Upper case 21 Opening 24 Groove 30 Lower case 31 Opening 34, 35 Groove 34a End wall of groove 34 Protrusion 40 Disc-shaped medium 50A, 50A '(Left) Shutter 50B, 50B' (Right) Shutter 51A , 51B Projection 52A, 52B Slider 53 Engagement 54 Engagement 65 Coil Spring 70A, 70B Slider 71, 72 Engagement 74 74 Stopper 75 Engagement

Claims (3)

[Claims] An upper case and a lower case are connected to each other, a disk-shaped medium is housed therein, and an opening for inserting a recording / reproducing head and an opening for inserting a drive shaft are provided in the upper case and the lower case. A disk cartridge provided with a slidable U-shaped shutter that opens and closes an opening, wherein the shutter is divided into two parts, a left shutter and a right shutter, and a back inner surface side of the left shutter and the right shutter. A slider is provided, and an engaging portion formed on the slider is engaged with a groove formed by the upper case and the lower case so that the shutter is slidable along the groove. A coil spring is stretched between locking portions provided on the slider of the right shutter, and the left shutter and the right The side shutters are biased in a direction to approach each other, and the left shutter and the right shutter are closed by closing the opening by contacting the right shutter with the biasing force of the coil spring. A disk cartridge wherein the opening is opened by sliding a left shutter and a right shutter in directions away from each other. 2. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the engaging portion abuts on an end wall of the groove at a position where the shutter closes the opening. 3. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a stopper formed on the slider contacts a protrusion formed on the upper case and the lower case at a position where the shutter closes the opening. A disk cartridge characterized by the above-mentioned.