JPH046687A - cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a cleaning device for a card-shaped information recording medium such as a cash card or a credit card, and in particular, the present invention relates to a cleaning device for a card-shaped information recording medium such as a cash card or a credit card. This relates to a cleaning device for removing dirt such as dust, fingerprints, oil, etc. that adheres to the surface of the device when the device is loaded.

(Prior Art) In an information recording/reproducing apparatus, if dirt such as dust, fingerprints, oil, etc. adheres to the surface of the information recording medium, the recording/reproducing head may be damaged or the dirt may scatter inside the apparatus.
This may cause a malfunction. Therefore, in an information recording/reproducing apparatus for a card-shaped information recording medium, a device is generally used that cleans the surface of the recording medium when the recording medium is loaded and/or during a tracking operation.

Such a leaning device is, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 902, cleaners made of a soft material are provided oppositely so that convex portions and concave portions are alternately arranged on the conveyance path of the information recording medium, and these cleaners are used to clean the information recording medium. A device that cleans by sandwiching the material is known.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in this type of cleaning device, the cleaner itself is fixedly placed, and the cleaning device operates when the recording medium is carried into the information recording/reproducing device and/or when the recording medium is trunked. Because it wipes the surface of the recording medium in motion,
Unable to remove dirt sufficiently. Furthermore, since the direction in which the cleaner sweeps the recording medium coincides with the tracking direction, there is a risk that dust adhering to the cleaner may cause scratches on the surface of the recording medium in the tracking direction. There is a risk that an error signal may be generated during recording or playback.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to move the cleaner itself on the surface of the recording medium to perform sufficient wiping, and to move the wiped dust out of the cleaning area. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device with a relatively simple configuration that can be swept out.

(Means for Solving the Problems) Therefore, in the present invention, the surface of the information recording medium is placed in an information recording/reproducing apparatus and is placed on a card-shaped information recording medium when the information recording medium is carried in and/or during tracking operation. In the cleaning device that wipes away dust and the like by contacting the information recording medium, the cleaning member whose cleaning surface comes into contact with the surface of the information recording medium is attached to a rotation drive means so as to be rotated about an axis perpendicular to the cleaning surface. The rotational driving means is used for carrying in and/or the above-mentioned information recording medium.
Alternatively, it is configured to operate in conjunction with the tracking operation.

(Function) Therefore, since the cleaning member itself wipes the surface of the information recording medium at a predetermined number of rotations, it removes sufficient dust compared to the conventional cleaning method that relies on simply carrying in the information recording medium and/or trunking operation. etc. can be removed. Further, in the process of the turning operation, dust can be swept out of the cleaning area and no dust is left on the surface of the cleaning member, so that the surface of the recording medium is not scratched by dust or the like. Further, there is also an advantage that the structure can be constructed relatively easily.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 show a cleaning device including one cleaning member together with a part of an information recording/reproducing device to which the cleaning device is attached. Here, a tray L that can be taken in and out of the main body frame 3 through an insertion slot is provided, and a recessed portion into which an optical card 2 as an information recording medium is loaded is formed in this tray. The main body frame 3 is provided with a guide rail 4 extending in the direction of transport and/or tracking of the optical card 2, so that the tray 1 can reciprocate along the guide rail 4.

Further, an example of the tray 1 is provided with a linear motion transmission member 5 parallel to the guide rail 4, and this includes a driving roller 7 and a driven roller 6 that are pivotally supported on the main body frame 3 side. They are in rotational contact so that the linear motion transmission member 5 is sandwiched therebetween.

A shaft 8 of the driving roller 7 is supported by bearings 13 and 14, and a belt pulley 9 is attached to the shaft 8. A corresponding belt pulley 16 is provided on a cleaning rotary shaft 15 located at the center of the retracting width of the optical card 2 and supported parallel to the shaft 8. Bell) 10 is wound. The rotating shaft 15 is supported via a bearing 19 on a plate 11 provided on the main body frame, and is also supported via a bearing 20 on a disc-shaped support 28. The body 28 has a male thread formed on its circumferential surface screwed into the sub-plate 12 provided on the main body frame 1. A compression coil spring 17 is interposed between the upper end of the belt pulley 16 and the support body 28 via a spring, and applies a downward thrust to the rotating shaft 15. 15 penetrates the plate 12 and projects downward, and the cleaner holder 21 is attached to it. The cleaner holder 21 includes an annular fitting flange 27, in which deep grooves 27a opening downward are formed at predetermined intervals. On the other hand, the cleaning member 18 that is fitted into the fitting flange 27 of the cleaner holder 21 has a retaining pin 26 that extends in the radial direction implanted in its periphery, and is inserted into the deep groove 27a. This makes it possible to lock the cleaner holder 21 in the rotational direction.

The cleaning member 18 has a donut-shaped elastic member (sponge, urethane foam, etc.) 23 mounted below the support plate 24 to which the engagement pin 26 is attached, and a collar 25.
A cleaning sheet 22 is stretched over the surface of the elastic member 23.

In such a configuration, when the tray 1 is loaded into the recording/reproducing apparatus along the guide rail 4 with the optical card 2 loaded in the recessed part of the tray 1, the drive roller 7 is transferred via the linear motion transmission member 5. is rotated, and the rotating shaft 15 is rotated at an increased speed via the heald transmission system, that is, the Boo+J9, 16, and the belt 10. As a result, the cleaning member 18
The cleaning sheet 22 on the lower surface is brought into contact with the surface of the optical card 2 to wipe away dust, fingerprints, grease, etc. adhering thereto. In this case, as is clear from the drawing, the cleaning member 1
Since the diameter of the contact surface 8 is set large, dust and the like are swept out of the card cleaning area. Furthermore, the contact trajectory of the cleaning member with respect to the optical card 2 is as follows:
Since it has an arc shape and crosses the direction of tracking, that is, the direction of movement of the tray 1 on which the optical card 2 is placed, there will be no deviation in the tracking direction, and errors will be avoided during recording and playback. There is no risk of generating a signal.

In this embodiment, when the support body 28 is rotated, the male thread on its circumferential surface causes the support body 28 to spiral in the vertical direction with respect to the sub-plate 12, so that the support body 28 moves up and down.
The downward thrust applied to 5, i.e. spring 1
7 can be adjusted, and the contact pressure of the cleaning member 22 to the surface of the optical card 2 can be adjusted.

In this embodiment, the optical card 2 is cleaned when the tray 1 is loaded into the recording/reproducing apparatus, but the cleaning is performed in conjunction with the tracking control operation within the apparatus. Good too. Further, it goes without saying that other means such as a motor may be used instead of the linear motion transmission member 5 as the rotational drive means for the cleaning operation.

In another embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, linear motion transmission members 5 are provided on both sides of the tray 1, correspondingly respectively a driving roller 7, a driven roller 6, a belt transmission system, and a rotating The shaft 15, cleaner holder 21, cleaning member 18, etc. are arranged symmetrically. Therefore, each cleaning member 18 is rotated clockwise and counterclockwise, respectively, as seen in FIG. 7 in plan view.

In this way, the cleaning member 18 is moved along an arcuate trajectory almost intersecting the direction of tracking of the optical card.
By rotating them in opposite directions, dust and other particles adhering to the surface of the optical card can be completely and reliably wiped away.

In this embodiment, the rotational speeds of the cleaning members 18 are the same, but the rotational driving means may be set so that the cleaning members 18 have different rotational speeds.

In either of the above embodiments, the cleaning member simply consists of the support plate 24, the elastic member 23, and the cleaning sheet 22, so even if it is replaced frequently, the cost will not be high. .

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention is as detailed above, and since the cleaning member itself wipes the surface of the information recording medium at a predetermined number of rotations,
Compared to conventional wiping methods that simply rely on carrying in the information recording medium and/or tracking operation, dust and the like can be removed sufficiently.

Further, in the process of the turning operation, dust can be swept out of the cleaning area and no dust is left on the surface of the cleaning member, so that the surface of the recording medium is not scratched by dust or the like. Furthermore, the structure is relatively simple and costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, showing an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof; FIG. 3 is a front view showing a cleaning member and its rotational drive means; The figure is an enlarged sectional view of the cleaning member, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the cleaning member, FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing another embodiment, and FIG.
The figure is a plan view of the same, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the cleaning member. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Tray, 2... Optical card, 3... Main body frame, 4... Guide rail, 5... Linear motion transmission member, 6... Followed roller, 7... Drive roller, 8...
・Shaft, 9...Belt pulley, 10...Endless transmission belt, 11.12...Plate, 13.14...Bearing, 15...Rotating shaft, 16...Belt pulley, 17.
...Spring, 19°20...Bearing, 21...Cleaner holder, 18...Cleaning member

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a cleaning device that is disposed in an information recording/reproducing device and wipes off dust by contacting the surface of a card-shaped information recording medium during loading and/or tracking operation, The cleaning member, whose cleaning surface is in contact with the surface of the information recording medium, is attached to a rotational drive means so as to be rotated around an axis perpendicular to the cleaning surface, and the rotational drive means is used for loading and unloading the information recording medium. A cleaning device characterized in that it is configured to be operated in conjunction with/or a tracking operation. (2) The cleaning according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the cleaning members are arranged in parallel in the conveying and/or tracking direction of the information recording medium, and the rotating directions thereof are reversed. Device.