JPH0855455A - Recording medium cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the operability of ejecting a cartridge by forming its rear end side in the inserting direction into a cartridge loading and unloading device with a rear part area having a shorter dimension than the max. stroke length of the inserting direction. CONSTITUTION:When an ejection button 41 is pressed by a finger 100, a hard disk cartridge 9 is ejected out of the loading and unloading device 1. In this case, the hard disk cartridge 9 is situated in the same position as a pressing surface 41a of the ejection button 41 or a notched part 9i of the hard disk cartridge 9 as shown in the figure (B). Consequently, at the time of ejecting the hard disk cartridge 9 from the inside of the loading and unloading device 1, the pressing operation of the finger 100 against the ejection button 41 is not obstructed by the ejecting hard disk cartridge 9. Therefore, the operability of ejecting the hard disk cartridge 9 can be enhanced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording medium cartridge, and more particularly to a cartridge mounted in a cartridge mounting / demounting device for recording or reproducing information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a media type exchangeable recording medium cartridge such as a hard disk cartridge, a floppy disk cartridge, a floppy disk cartridge, and a magneto-optical disk cartridge has been conventionally attached to and detached from a desktop personal computer (personal computer). A device (cartridge attaching / detaching device) is provided.

The mounting of the cartridge in the conventional cartridge attaching / detaching device is performed by inserting the cartridge from the insertion opening of the attaching / detaching device. By this, the cartridge is connected to the personal computer.

The cartridge is detached from the cartridge attaching / detaching device by ejecting the cartridge from the insertion port of the attaching / detaching device by pressing the eject button of the ejecting means. Since such a cartridge attaching / detaching device is required to be downsized, an eject button is provided near the insertion opening.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional cartridge attaching / detaching device, when a different-shaped cartridge different from the designated cartridge is inserted into the insertion opening,
In particular, when a cartridge with a short depth was inserted, the inserted short cartridge could not be taken out.

That is, since the conventional cartridge attaching / detaching device is provided only with the ejecting means capable of ejecting only the designated cartridge, the cartridge other than the designated cartridge cannot be taken out.

Especially in recent desktop type personal computers,
A 3.5-inch floppy disk cartridge (so-called micro FD in which a 3.5-inch magnetic disk body is protected by a rigid cartridge) and a 3.5-inch hard disk package are inserted into different insertion openings and used respectively. Tend to

Although the 3.5-inch floppy disk cartridge and the 3.5-inch hard disk package have different thicknesses and depths, the cartridge widths are almost equal. They are almost equal.

Therefore, it often happens that the 3.5-inch floppy disk cartridge cannot be inserted by mistake into the insertion slot for the 3.5-inch hard disk package and cannot be taken out.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9 (A), when the cartridge 101 inserted in the insertion port 104 provided near the eject button 103 in the cartridge attaching / detaching device 102 is ejected, as shown in FIG. 9 (B). The eject button 103 in the ejecting means in the direction of arrow C in the figure.
Press with, and the cartridge 101
Is discharged in the direction.

At this time, since the cartridge 101 moving in the B direction pushes the finger 100 in the B direction opposite to the C direction, the operability when the eject button 103 is pushed in the C direction by the finger 100 is deteriorated. became.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium cartridge capable of improving the operability of ejecting the cartridge in the cartridge attaching / detaching device.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a recording medium cartridge in which at least one of recording and reproduction of information is performed on a medium by being inserted into the cartridge attaching / detaching device, an inserting direction with respect to the cartridge attaching / detaching device. On the rear end side in, the end region having a dimension shorter than the maximum length in the insertion direction is formed.

[0014]

In the recording medium cartridge according to the present invention, since the end region having a dimension shorter than the maximum length in the inserting direction is formed at the rear end side in the inserting direction with respect to the cartridge attaching / detaching device, When the eject button is pressed with a finger to eject the cartridge, the end area of the recording medium cartridge ejected in the direction opposite to the pushing direction can be prevented from coming into contact with the finger,
The operability of discharging the cartridge can be improved.

[0015]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a side sectional view for explaining a cartridge attaching / detaching method using a cartridge attaching / detaching device (hereinafter, simply referred to as “attaching / detaching device”) according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the attaching / detaching device of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the attaching / detaching device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a confirmation means at the time of mounting the cartridge in the attaching / detaching device of FIG. It is a figure for explaining an operation. The guide rail 3 is not shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The attachment / detachment device 1 includes an insertion opening 2, guide rails 3 serving as guide means and holding means, an eject lever 4, eject arm 5 and eject plate 6 serving as first ejecting means, and second ejecting means. Coil spring 61
And a connector section 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, the insertion slot 2 is formed in the center of the front surface of the attachment / detachment device 1, and the hard disk cartridge 9 shown in FIG. Like so.

The guide rails 3 are arranged on both left and right sides of the frame 81 in the attachment / detachment device 1 so as to extend in the front-back direction of the attachment / detachment device 1 (directions of arrows B and C in FIG. 2) as shown in FIG. There is.

The guide rail 3 has a U-shaped cross section, and the hard disk cartridge 9 inserted from the insertion slot 2 is connected to the connector portion 7 by the guide rail 3.
It is designed to be guided and held up to.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the eject lever 4 is slidably supported in the front-rear direction by two fixing pins 42 and a slit 43 which are fixed to the frame 81.

An eject button 41 is attached to a base end portion of the eject lever 4, and a bent engaging portion 44 is provided in a portion between the slit portions 43 of the eject lever 4.

Although not shown, the eject lever 4
Is always urged in the direction of arrow C in the figure.

The eject arm 5 is rotatably supported by a shaft 51 fixed to the frame 81. Further, a slit portion 52 that is inserted into the engaging portion 44 is formed at one end of the eject arm 5. On the other hand, the other end of the eject arm 5 has protrusions 53, 5 facing each other in the front-rear direction.
A hole having 4 is formed.

The eject plate 6 is slidably supported in the front-rear direction by three fixing pins 64 fixed to the frame 81, a shaft 51, and slit portions 65, 66.

The eject plate 6 is constantly urged in the direction of arrow B in the drawing by a coil spring 69 having one end locked to the frame 81 and the other end locked to the tip of the eject plate 6.

At the base end of the eject plate 6, a bent engaging portion 67 is provided in a hole of the eject arm 5 having the opposing projections 53 and 54, and a central portion of the eject plate 6 is provided with a drawing. Protrusion 6 protruding in the direction of the middle arrow C
A hole having 2 is formed.

The projection 62 has a pair of inclined surfaces 62a.
And a pair of constricted surfaces 62b are formed symmetrically.

A leaf spring 63 is arranged so as to face the left and right inclined surfaces 62a of the protrusion 62. Leaf spring 6
3 is a fixed portion 63c fixed to the frame 81, and a pair of leaf spring main bodies 63a and 63b whose tips are separated from each other by a predetermined distance.
It consists of and.

At the tips of the leaf spring bodies 63a and 63b,
Bent portions 63d and 63 that are bent to face each other
e are formed respectively.

The projecting portion 62 and the leaf spring 63 constitute a confirmation means at the time of mounting.

Both ends of a coil spring 61, which is an elastic member, are locked to the central tip of the eject plate 6. At the center of the coil spring 61, a curved portion 61a curved in a U shape is formed. This curved portion 61a is shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), it extends to the insertion port 2.

The left and right tips of the eject plate 6 are
The contact portion 68 is formed by being bent in the insertion opening 2.

The slit portion 52 of the eject arm 5 having the above-described structure is always engaged with the engaging portion 44 of the eject lever 4, and the protrusion 53 of the eject arm 5 is mounted inside the attaching / detaching device 1. When not attached, the protrusion 54 engages with the engaging portion 67 of the eject plate 6,
When the hard disk cartridge is mounted inside, it engages with the engaging portion 67.

The engaging portion 67 is formed by the eject arm 5
The inside of the holes forming the protrusions 53, 53 in FIG.
It is possible to move in the direction C or the direction C.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 7 is a connector portion on the main body (for example, a personal computer) side (not shown) which is provided so as to project into the attachment / detachment device 1.

The internal connector 7 in this connector section 7
The hard disk cartridge and the personal computer are connected to each other by fitting the connector 9f provided on the hard disk cartridge 9 and the connector provided on the personal computer to the external connector 1 and the external connector 72.

By inserting the hard disk cartridge 9 into the attachment / detachment device 1 having the above-described structure, fitting the internal connector 71 and the hard disk cartridge 9 and turning on the power switch provided in the personal computer, When the power supply of the personal computer and the attachment / detachment device 1 are connected,
The attachment / detachment device 1 is powered on.

By this, the personal computer main body and the hard disk cartridge 9 are connected to each other so that data recording / reproduction can be performed.

When the hard disk cartridge 9 is inserted in the insertion port 2 of the attachment / detachment device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 (A) and 4 in the direction of arrow C in the drawing, the hard disk becomes as shown in FIG. 1 (B). While the cartridge 9 pushes up the curved portion 61a of the coil spring 61, the eject plate 6
Abutting portion 68 of the.

Further, when the hard disk cartridge 9 is continuously inserted in the direction of arrow C in the figure, the connector 9f of the hard disk cartridge 9 is moved while moving the eject plate 6 in the direction of arrow C in the figure as shown in FIG. 1 (C). Fits into the internal connector 71.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, when the eject plate 6 moves in the direction of arrow C in the figure, the engaging portion 67 pushes the projection 54 of the eject arm 5 in the direction C.

As a result, the eject arm 5 rotates about the shaft 51 in the direction of arrow E in the figure, and the slit portion 52 slides the eject lever 4 in the direction of arrow B through the engaging portion 44. The eject button 41 projects from the front bezel 82.

Further, in order to eject the hard disk cartridge 9 from the inside of the attachment / detachment device 1, when the eject button 41 is pressed in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 5 and the eject lever 4 is slid in the same direction, the eject arm 5 is ejected. Rotates about the shaft 51 in the direction of arrow D in FIG.

As a result, the protrusion 54 of the eject arm 5 pushes the engaging portion 67 of the eject plate 6 in the direction of arrow B in the figure, the eject plate 6 slides in the direction of arrow B in the figure, and the hard disk cartridge 9 separates from the internal connector 71.

After this, the eject plate 6 is replaced by the coil spring 6
9 is urged in the direction of arrow B in the figure, so that the engaging portion 6
7 separates from the protrusion 54 of the eject arm 5 and moves in the direction B until it hits the protrusion 53.

At this time, the hard disk cartridge 9
The rear end portion 9j projects from the front bezel 82.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1D, a floppy disk cartridge 91 having a different shape from the designated hard disk cartridge 9 is mistakenly inserted into the insertion slot 2 of the attachment / detachment device 1 as described above. The case will be described.

This floppy disk cartridge 91
The depth length D2 is shorter than the depth length D1 in the hard disk cartridge 9.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1 (E), even if the floppy disk cartridge 91 (so-called floppy disk) is completely inserted into the attachment / detachment device 1 by the finger, the bending portion 61a of the coil spring 61 is pushed up. However, the force in the direction of arrow B in the figure is applied to the floppy disk cartridge 91.

As a result, when the finger is released from the floppy disk cartridge 91, the rear end of the floppy disk cartridge 91 projects from the front bezel 82.

Therefore, even if the floppy disk cartridge 91 having a different shape from the designated hard disk cartridge 9 is mistakenly inserted, the floppy disk cartridge 91 can be taken out from the removable device 1.

Next, the confirmation means for mounting the cartridge will be described in detail. When the hard disk cartridge 9 is inserted into the attachment / detachment device 1 shown in FIG. 4, the eject plate 6 slides in the direction of arrow C in the figure.

At this time, the projection 62 also moves in the direction of arrow C in the figure. As a result, the protrusion 62 expands the leaf spring bodies 63a and 63b while contacting the bent portions 63d and 63e of the fixed leaf spring 63.

Further, when the hard disk package 9 is moved in the C direction by a finger, the protrusion 62 of the eject plate 62 is further moved in the C direction, and the bent portions 63d and 63e of the leaf spring 63 are respectively constricted portions of the protrusion 62. 62
reach b.

At this time, a clicking sound is heard, a "click" feeling is transmitted to the finger, and the hard disk package 9 is fitted into the internal connector 71.

Therefore, the hard disk package 9
It will be confirmed that is securely attached to the attachment / detachment device 1.

Next, a method of mounting the guide rail 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the method of attaching the guide rail in the attachment / detachment device 1.

As shown in FIG. 6 (A), the guide rail 3
A protrusion 31 is formed on the projection 31 and a tapered surface 31a and a fitting surface 31b are formed on the projection 31. Further, the frame 81 is formed with a notch 81a.

First, as shown in FIG. 6B, the contact surface 32 of the guide rail 3 is brought into contact with the end of the lower surface 81c of the cutout 81a in the frame 81, and the protruding portion 31 is attached to the end of the upper surface 81b of the cutout 81a. The taper surface 31a of is contacted.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (C), the guide rail 3 is pushed down so that the contact surface 32 of the guide rail 3 is completely brought into contact with the lower surface 81c of the cutout 81a of the frame 81, and the upper surface of the cutout 81a. The fitting surface 31b of the protrusion 31 is fitted to 81b.

By providing the tapered surface 31a on the projection 31 of the guide rail 3 as described above, the attachment to the frame 81 becomes easy.

Next, the method of ejecting the hard disk cartridge 9 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the hard disk cartridge 9 that is attached to and detached from the attachment / detachment device 1, FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of ejecting the cartridge using the attachment / detachment device 1, and FIG. 8A is a plan view. B) is a side view.

The hard disk cartridge 9 includes a shock sensor display portion 9a, a magnetic head 9b, a head arm 9c, a magnet 9d, and a drive coil 9e.
A connector 9f for fitting into the internal connector 71 of the attachment / detachment device 1, a substrate 9g, a magnetic disk 9h, and a cutout portion 9i.

This notch 9i is an end region A having a dimension L2 on the rear end side 9k which is shorter than the maximum length L1 in the insertion direction. The rear end portion 9j is configured so as to project from the cutout portion 9i.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the eject button 41 is pressed with the finger 100, the hard disk cartridge 9 is ejected from the inside of the removable device 1. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8B, the pushing surface 41a of the eject button 41 when the eject button 41 is pushed to the end is at the same position as the cutout portion 9i of the hard disk cartridge 9.

Therefore, the hard disk cartridge 9
When ejecting from the inside of the attachment / detachment device 1, the ejected hard disk cartridge 9 does not obstruct the operation of pressing the eject button 41 with the finger 100. Therefore, the operability of ejection in the hard disk cartridge 9 can be improved.

[0067]

According to the first aspect of the invention, since the end region having a dimension shorter than the maximum length in the inserting direction is formed on the rear end side in the inserting direction with respect to the cartridge attaching / detaching device, the ejecting device in the attaching / detaching device is ejected. When the button is pushed with a finger to eject the cartridge, the end area of the recording medium cartridge ejected in the direction opposite to the pushing direction can be prevented from coming into contact with the finger, thus improving the operability of ejecting the cartridge. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view for explaining a cartridge attaching / detaching method using a cartridge attaching / detaching device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cartridge attaching / detaching device of FIG. 1 seen from the back side.

3 is a front view showing the cartridge attaching / detaching device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the cartridge attaching / detaching device of FIG.

5A and 5B are views for explaining the action of the confirmation means when the cartridge is attached in the cartridge attaching / detaching device of FIG.

6A and 6B are views for explaining a guide rail attaching method in the cartridge attaching / detaching device of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a hard disk cartridge that is attached to and detached from the cartridge attaching / detaching device of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a method of ejecting a cartridge using the cartridge attaching / detaching device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a method of ejecting a cartridge using a conventional cartridge attaching / detaching device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cartridge Attaching / Detaching Device 2 Insertion Port 3 Guide Rail 31 Protrusion 31a Tapered Surface 31b Fitting Surface 4 Eject Lever 41 Eject Button 42 Pin 43 Slit 44 Interlock 5 Eject Arm 51 Pin 52 Slit 53, 54 Protrusion 6 Eject Plate 61 Coil spring 61a Curved part 62 Projection part 63 Plate spring 63a, 63b Plate spring body 63c Fixed part 64 pin 65 Slit part 66 Slit part 67 Engagement part 7 Connector part 71 Internal connector 72 External connector 81 Frame 81a Notch 81b Upper surface 81c Lower surface 82 Front bezel 9 Hard disk cartridge 9i Cutout 9k Rear end side A End area

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A recording medium cartridge in which at least one of recording and reproduction of information is performed on a medium by being inserted into a cartridge attaching / detaching device, wherein a maximum length in the inserting direction is at a rear end side in the inserting direction with respect to the cartridge attaching / detaching device. A recording medium cartridge, characterized in that an end region having a dimension shorter than the length is formed.