JPH0727704B2 - disc cartridge - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a disk cartridge that rotatably houses a disk such as a recordable optical disk.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, discs such as recordable optical discs have been housed in a predetermined cartridge to prevent errors in writing and reading information signals caused by contamination due to the adhesion of dust and the like when the disc is not being used and not loaded into a recording and/or reproducing device, or damage due to contact with other objects, etc. This type of cartridge, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-3015, has openings on both the upper and lower plates through which a part of the signal recording portion of the disc housed in the cartridge and a chucking portion provided at the center of rotation are exposed to the outside, and the cartridge has protruding ribs formed integrally therewith for supporting the disc so that at least the signal recording portion of the disc does not come into contact with the inner wall surface of the cartridge, and these ribs support the disc at its non-signal recording portion.

In conventional disc cartridges constructed as described above, discs supported by ribs integral with the cartridge lack a cushioning effect for the disc, and there is a risk of the disc being damaged when subjected to impacts during transport, etc. Therefore, if a resilient cushioning piece such as a rubber plate is provided on the inner surface of the cartridge and the disc is supported by this cushioning piece, it is possible to prevent damage from impacts as described above, but when the disc is loaded, it bends and the disc adheres to the cushioning piece, which may prevent smooth rotation when the disc is inserted into a recording and/or playback device and rotated. This adsorption phenomenon is particularly pronounced when the cushioning piece is made of a sufficiently flexible material such as silicone rubber in order to enhance the cushioning effect.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In the present invention, when supporting a disc within a cartridge, even if the disc support member is made of silicone rubber or the like which has sufficient flexibility and a high cushioning effect, adhesion between the disc and the disc support member does not occur,
The object of the present invention is to provide a disk cartridge which enables a disk to start rotating smoothly when the disk is mounted in a recording and/or reproducing device and rotated, and in which a disk support member is securely and stably fastened.

A disk cartridge according to one embodiment of the present invention is a disk cartridge in which a disk (5) on which information is recorded is rotatably housed in a cartridge (4), and has suction prevention sections (27) or (37) on the disk receiving surface side on the inner wall surface of the cartridge (4) corresponding to non-signal recording sections on the inner and outer circumferential sides of the disk (5).
The disk support member (25), (26) or (3
5), (36) are fixed by adhesive or crimping, etc., and these disk support members (25), (26) or (35), (36) are used to
It is configured to support the disc (5).

According to the present invention, the disc (5) housed in the cartridge (4) has a suction prevention part (2) on the disc receiving surface side.
a disk support member (25) provided with a disk support member (37) or (37);
Since the disk (5) is supported by the disk support members (25), (26) or (35), (36), the disk (5) is effectively prevented from being damaged by impact, and the disk support members (25), (26) or (35), (36)
Even if the disk (5) is deflected by the load,
The suction prevention portion (27) or (37) prevents suction, and the disk support member (25), (26) or (35),
(36) is securely adhered to the inner wall surface of the cartridge (4) without the adhesive seeping out, or is stably fastened by caulking.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a lower half of a disc cartridge according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the entire disc cartridge, Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the disc cartridge, Fig. 4 shows a circular disc support member used in the present invention, A is a perspective view from above, and B is a perspective view from below, Fig. 5 shows a rectangular disc support member used in the present invention, A is a perspective view from above, and B is a perspective view from below, Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the disc support member disposed in the inner concave holding portion, Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the disc support member disposed in the outer concave holding portion FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another example of a disc support member, FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing yet another example of a disc support member, FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing yet another example of a disc support member, FIG. 11 shows yet another example of a circular disc support member used in the present invention, A is a perspective view from above and B is a perspective view from below, FIG. 12 shows yet another example of a rectangular disc support member used in the present invention, A is a perspective view from above and B is a perspective view from below, FIG. 13 is a plan view of the disc support member shown in FIG. 11 placed in an inner peripheral concave holding portion, and FIG. 14 is a plan view of the disc support member shown in FIG.
13 is a cross-sectional view of the disk support member shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 15 is a plan view of the disk support member shown in FIG. 11 in a state where the disk support member is disposed in the outer peripheral concave holding portion, and FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the disk support member shown in FIG. 11,
17 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 15, and FIG. 17 is a plan view of the disk support member shown in FIG. 12, in a state where it is disposed in the inner peripheral concave holding portion.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION One embodiment of a disk cartridge according to the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.

The disk cartridge according to the present invention is shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, the cartridge (4) is comprised of a rectangular upper half (1) and a lower half (2) butted together and fastened together with a plurality of screws (3), and rotatably accommodates a disk-shaped disc (5), such as a recordable optical disc. Chucking mechanism insertion openings (7) and (8) are formed in the center of each of the upper and lower halves (1) and (2) that make up the cartridge (4), respectively, through which a chucking hub (6) located at the center of the disc (5) to be accommodated faces outward. Openings (9) and (10) are formed at a predetermined distance from the insertion openings (7) and (8) toward the front edge, allowing the signal recording portion of the disc (5) to face outward in the radial direction, and through which an information signal writing/reading means, such as an optical pickup, which writes and reads predetermined information signals to and from the disc (5) faces.

The cartridge 4 is also fitted with a sliding shutter 11 for opening and closing the chucking mechanism insertion ports 7, 8 and the openings 9, 10. The shutter 11 is formed by bending a thin metal plate such as a stainless steel plate into a U-shape, is arranged to fit onto the outer surface of the cartridge 4, and is fixed to a slide base 12 engaged between the front edges of the cartridge 4 so as to be slidable laterally. The shutter 11 is attached so as to be slidable together with the slide base 12 in the direction of opening and closing the chucking mechanism insertion ports 7, 8 and the openings 9, 10. The slide base (12) to which the shutter (11) is fixed is always biased in a direction that opens and closes the chucking mechanism insertion openings (7), (8) and the openings (9), (10) by a tone spring (16) via an interlocking mechanism consisting of a first rack gear (13) formed on one side of the inner side of the slide base (12), a second rack gear (14) provided on the lower half (2), and a pinion gear (15) that is freely rotatably engaged between these rack gears (13), (14).

Furthermore, the lower half (2) constituting the cartridge (4)
A locking member (17) for locking the shutter (11) in the closed position when the shutter (11) is in the closed position is attached to the shutter (11) in correspondence with the closed end of the shutter (11).

Incidentally, the inner wall surfaces of the upper and lower halves (1) and (2) constituting the cartridge (4), in the inner peripheral region surrounding the chucking mechanism insertion openings (7) and (8), are provided with a plurality of circular frame-shaped ribs (18) at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction corresponding to the inner peripheral non-signal recording portions (5a) of the disk (5).
A rectangular frame-shaped rib (19) protrudes from the outer wall of the upper and lower halves (1) and (2), forming inner concave holding portions (20) and (21), and a plurality of circular outer concave holding portions (24) are formed in a counterbore shape in correspondence with the outer non-signal area (5b) of the disc (5) in the outer region corresponding to the circumference where the arc-shaped rib (23) protrudes and is approximately inscribed on the outer wall of the upper and lower halves (1) and (2), forming the disc storage portion (22).

As shown in FIG. 4, a circular disc support member (25) is fitted into the circular inner peripheral concave holding portion (20) and the circular outer peripheral concave holding portion (24), and as shown in FIG. 5, a rectangular disc support member (25) is fitted into the rectangular inner peripheral concave holding portion (21).
6) are fitted and arranged.
The disk support members (25), (26) are made of silicone rubber having sufficient elasticity.
The upper surface of the disk receiving surface of (26) is provided with a suction prevention part (2) which is made of a rough surface with fine irregularities.
7) is provided. That is, this suction prevention part (2
7) is a rough, matte surface with fine irregularities, and therefore when a disc (5) is placed on the disc receiving surface of the disc support members (25), (26), the close contact between the disc receiving surface and the surface of the disc (5) is hindered.

The disk support members (25, 26) are formed in a generally cup-like shape with peripheral walls (25a, 26a) that hang down from the periphery and recesses (25b, 26b) for filling adhesive on the rear side. The peripheral walls (25a, 26a) are provided with a plurality of grooves (25c, 26c) extending from the inner periphery to the outer periphery for escaping excess adhesive that is filled in the recesses (25b, 26b). The disk support members (25, 26) thus formed are slightly thicker and smaller than the depths of the inner peripheral concave holding portion (20) and the outer peripheral concave holding portion (24). When the disk support members (25, 26) are fitted into the holding portions (20, 24), their upper surfaces, which serve as disk receiving surfaces, protrude from the holding portions (20, 24), and are spaced apart from the peripheral walls (25a, 26a).
(26a) so that a small gap is formed between it and the inner periphery of (26a).

Each disk support member (25) formed in this way,
The disk support member (25) is inserted into the inner peripheral concave holding portions (20) and (21) with the adhesive filling recesses (25b) and (26b) filled with a silicone adhesive (28), and is bonded to the bottom surface of each holding portion (20) and (21) with the adhesive (28), as shown in Fig. 6. Similarly, the disk support member (25) is inserted into the outer peripheral concave holding portion (24) with the adhesive filling recesses (25b) filled with a silicone adhesive (28), and is bonded to the bottom surface of each holding portion (24) with the adhesive (28), as shown in Fig. 7. The peripheral walls (25a) and (26a) of the disk support members (25) and (26) are provided with a plurality of grooves (25c) and (26c) for escaping excess adhesive, extending from the inner to the outer periphery, so that the recesses (25b) and (26c) are easily adhered to the bottom surface of each holding portion (20) and (21).
Even if the adhesive (28) is filled in excess of the required amount in the gap (6b), the excess adhesive is absorbed by the escape grooves (25c), (26c),
Furthermore, the disk support members (25) and (26) are formed smaller than the respective concave holding portions (20), (21) and (24), so that the grooves (25c) and (26) for escaping the excess adhesive are formed.
Any adhesive (28) that is not absorbed in step c) is absorbed in the spaces between the concave holding portions (20), (21) and (24), preventing it from seeping out to the inner surface of the cartridge (4) and preventing it from soiling the disc, etc.

As described above, each of the concave holding portions (20), (21) and (24)
The disk support members (25), (26) are inserted into the
Since the thickness is greater than the depth of the holding portions (20), (21) and (24), the upper disc support surface is in a protruding state as shown in Fig. 3. In addition, the inner peripheral concave holding portion (20),
The (21) is formed by protruding frame-shaped ribs (18) and (19) from the inner wall surfaces of the upper and lower halves (1) and (2), and the outer concave holding portion (24) is formed by drilling a counterbore into the inner wall surfaces of the upper and lower halves (1) and (2), so there is a difference in the bottom height. Therefore, the disc support surfaces on the upper surfaces of the disc support members (25) and (26), which are formed to the same thickness, are higher on the inner periphery and lower on the outer periphery. Therefore, the disc (5) stored in the cartridge (4) is placed in the third position.
As shown in the figure, when the disk (5) is not in use and is not chucked on the disk table of the recording and/or reproducing device, the inner periphery of the disk is supported by the disk support members (25) and (26). If the disk (5) is warped, the outer periphery is supported by the outer disk support member (25) to suppress the warp.

In this embodiment, the disk receiving surfaces on the upper surfaces of the disk support members (25, 26) are formed with a matte rough surface to provide the absorption prevention portion (27).
7) is the adhesion between the disc receiving surface and the disc (5),
For example, a disk (5) is placed on the disk receiving surface,
Any structure may be used as long as the disc receiving surface side is deflected and prevents the formation of a suction cup structure between the disc (5) surface and the disc receiving surface. For example, as shown in Fig. 8, grooves are drilled radially from the center on the disc receiving surface on the top surface of the disc support member (25) to form a suction prevention portion (27) that prevents adhesion due to suction between the disc (5) and the disc support member (25), or as shown in Fig. 9,
5) A suction prevention part (27) having a similar effect may be formed by providing ridges radially from the center on the upper disc receiving surface. The grooves and ridges may be formed spirally. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 10, the central part of the disc receiving surface on the upper surface of the disc support member (25) may be formed to bulge out in advance, and support legs (30) may be provided on the lower surface corresponding to the bulge. This prevents the disc receiving surface from being bent when the disc (5) is placed on it, thereby forming a suction prevention part (27).

Next, still another embodiment of the disk support member will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 11 shows the upper and lower halves (1),
FIG. 12 shows a circular disk support member (35) that is fitted into the circular inner peripheral concave holding portion (20) and the outer peripheral concave holding portion (24) of FIG. 12, and FIG. 13 shows a rectangular disk support member (36) that is fitted into the rectangular inner peripheral concave holding portion (21). These disk support members (35) and (36) are also made of silicone rubber, and on their upper surfaces that serve as disk receiving surfaces, there are provided suction prevention portions (37) with a finely textured, matte-like rough surface, as in the previously described embodiments.

A pair of horizontal legs (38, 39) are integrally formed on the peripheral surface, and mounting holes (38) are inserted into the horizontal legs (38, 39).
The horizontal legs (38) are formed opposite each other in the diametric direction in the circular disk support member (35), and opposite each other in the longitudinal direction in the rectangular disk support member (36).

The disk support members (35, 36) have peripheral walls (35a) hanging down from the periphery on their lower surfaces, similar to the previously described embodiment.
(36a) to form a recess for filling adhesive (35b),
The peripheral walls (35a, 36a) are provided with a plurality of grooves (35c, 36c) for escaping excess adhesive, which are formed on the inner and outer peripheries of the peripheral walls (35a, 36a). The horizontal legs (38, 39) have a thickness approximately half that of the peripheral walls (35a, 36a).
a), (36a) and (36b) are integrally formed so as to be flush with the lower surface of the latter.

The disk support members (35, 36) thus formed
The concave holding portions (20), (21) and (2
4) has mounting holes (38a) for the horizontal legs (38) and (39),
A pair of pins (40), (41) and (4) are inserted into (39a).
2) is protruding.

That is, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14, in the circular inner peripheral concave holding portion (20), a pair of notches (18a) are formed in the circular frame-like rib (18) that forms the circular inner peripheral concave holding portion (20), into which the horizontal leg portion (38) of the disk support member (35) can be inserted in the diameter direction, and a pin (4) is positioned approximately in the center of both notches (18a).
17, the rectangular frame-shaped rib (19) that forms the rectangular inner peripheral concave holding portion (21) has an extension (19a) at both ends in the longitudinal direction, into which the horizontal leg (39) of the disk support member (36) is inserted.
On the other hand, a pair of recesses (24a) into which a pair of horizontal leg portions (38) of the disk support member (35) are fitted are formed diametrically opposite to the circular counterbore portion in the circular outer peripheral concave holding portion (24), and pins (42) are protruding from both recesses (24a).

A circular disc support member (35) is inserted into the circular inner peripheral concave holding portion (20) and the circular outer peripheral concave holding portion (24) formed in this manner, and the horizontal leg portion (38)
The pins (40) and (42) are fitted into the mounting holes (38a) of the horizontal leg portion (39) and the tip ends of the pins (40) and (42) are crimped. Also, the rectangular disk support member (36) is fitted into the rectangular inner peripheral concave holding portion (21). At the same time, the pin (41) is fitted into the mounting hole (39a) of the horizontal leg portion (39) and the tip end of the pin (41) is crimped.
(21) and (24) for each disk support member (35),
(36) is fixed.

In this embodiment, the disk support surfaces on the upper surfaces of the disk support members (35) and (36) also protrude beyond the respective concave holding portions (20), (21) and (24), and are higher on the inner periphery and lower on the outer periphery.

In addition, the disk support members (35, 36) are fixed to the respective concave holding portions (20, 21, and 24) by filling the adhesive filling recesses (35a, 36a) with a silicone adhesive (28) in the same manner as in the previous embodiment.
In this case, excess adhesive is sucked into the grooves (35c) and (36c), and the adhesive (28) that is not absorbed here is absorbed by the concave holding portions (20), (21) and (2
4) is absorbed in the gaps within the

In this embodiment, the disk support members (35, 36) can be attached in three ways: by caulking with pins (40, 41, 42), by bonding with adhesive (28), or by a combination of caulking and bonding.
By combining caulking with (41), (42) and bonding with adhesive (28), each disk support member (35), (3
6) can be more securely fastened to the respective concave holding portions (20), (21) and (24), and can support the disk (5) more stably.

In this embodiment, each disk support member (35),
The suction prevention portion (37) of the horizontal leg portion (36) can be configured as shown in Figs. 8 to 10.
8), (39) are not limited to a pair, but may be three or more, and by forming them around the entire circumference, they can be fastened by crimping at three or more points.

In this embodiment, each disk support member (35),
(36) is secured to each of the concave holding portions (20), (21) and (24) by means of pins (40), (41) and (42), so that it can be stably secured for a long period of time with almost no change over time. In particular, when it is secured by means of caulking alone, the height accuracy of the disk support surface can be ensured, and the disk (5)
This has the advantage of being able to provide uniform and stable support.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various other configurations can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention.

According to the present invention, a disc stored in a cartridge is stably supported by a support member that is sufficiently flexible when not in use, and a suction prevention portion is provided on the disc receiving surface of this support member, so that even if the support member is bent by the weight of the disc, suction is prevented by the suction prevention portion and the disc supported by the support member does not stick to each other, thereby providing a disc cartridge that allows the disc to start rotating smoothly when it is attached to a recording and/or playback device and rotated.

Furthermore, since the support member is securely and stably fastened to the inner surface of the cartridge half, the disk can be safely held for a long period of time, and a cartridge can be provided which does not cause damage to the disk during transportation.

Claims (15)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A disk cartridge comprising a pair of upper and lower cartridges joined together and rotatably housing a recording/playback disk, characterized in that support members are attached to the inner surface of the cartridge halves at positions corresponding to non-recording signal portions on the inner and outer peripheries of the disk, and when the disk is not in use, it is supported by abutting against the support members on either one of the cartridge halves. 2. The disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the support member is made of silicone rubber. 3. The disc cartridge according to claim 2, wherein a disc suction prevention portion is provided on the disc receiving surface of said support member. 4. The disk cartridge according to claim 3, wherein concave holding portions are formed on the inner surface of the cartridge half at positions corresponding to non-recording signal portions on the inner and outer peripheries of the disk. 5. The disc cartridge according to claim 4, wherein said support member is attached so as to protrude slightly beyond said holding portion. 6. The disk cartridge according to claim 5, wherein said support member has a recess formed on the rear surface thereof, and said support member is fixed to said holding portion by filling said recess with adhesive. 7. The disc cartridge according to claim 6, wherein a groove is provided outward from the recess of said support member. [Claim 8] A disk cartridge as described in claim 3, characterized in that the support member is formed with a pair of legs having mounting holes, and is secured by inserting a pair of pins formed in the holding portion into the mounting holes and crimping the upper ends of the pins. 9. The disc cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the disc suction prevention portion has a matte finish. 10. The disc cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the disc suction prevention portion is a radial groove. 11. The disc cartridge according to claim 3, wherein said disc suction prevention portion is a radial rib. 12. The disc cartridge according to claim 3, wherein said disc suction prevention portion is a protrusion whose central portion protrudes from the peripheral portion. [Claim 13] A disk cartridge as described in claim 8, characterized in that the support member is attached to holding portions formed on the inner surface of the cartridge half at positions corresponding to the non-signal recording portions on the inner and outer circumferences of the disk. 14. The support member has a recess formed on the rear surface thereof,
14. The disc cartridge according to claim 13, wherein the recess is filled with an adhesive to fasten the disc to the holding portion. 15. The disc cartridge according to claim 14, wherein a groove is provided outward from the recess of said support member.