Patent ID: 6201659
Filing Date: 2001-03-13
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
A cartridge loading apparatus for use with a disk drive having a cartridge loading end and a remote end, said cartridge loading apparatus comprising:a base plate having a first slider channel and a second slider channel;a first slider slidably associated with said first slider channel, said first slider having a forward end adjacent the cartridge loading end of the disk drive and a remote end adjacent the remote end of the disk drive;a second slider slidably associated with said second slider channel, said second slider having a forward end adjacent the cartridge loading end of the disk drive and a remote end adjacent the remote end of the disk drive, one of said first and second sliders having a notch formed therein;a bias coil arm rotatably secured to said base plate, said bias coil arm including a bias coil assembly and having a lever arm extending therefrom, said lever arm being engagable with said notch in said one of said first and second sliders so that when said one slider is activated, said bias coil arm turns to correspondingly position the bias coil assembly relative to an information storage disk having a central hub;a tiller having a first end and a second end, said first end of said tiller being swingably associated with said forward end of said first slider, and said second end of said tiller being swingably associated with said forward end of said second slider, so that a first rotation of said tiller in a first direction about a tiller axis drives said first slider toward the cartridge loading end of the disk drive while driving said second slider toward the remote end of the disk drive, and a second rotation of said tiller in a second direction about said tiller axis drives said first slider toward the remote end of the disk drive while driving said second slider toward the cartridge loading end of the disk drive;a cartridge receiver for receiving a respective cartridge containing the disk, said cartridge receiver being linked to said first and second sliders and tiltably moveable between an upper position and a lower position along a vertical path when said sliders are driven by said tiller;a cam operatively associated with said tiller for rotating said tiller about said tiller axis so that when said first and second sliders move said cartridge receiver between said upper and lower positions, said cartridge receiver, respective cartridge, and disk move along said vertical path so that the central hub is inclined relative to a spindle magnet for loading and unloading the disk thereon to thereby reduce the force needed to remove the central hub from the spindle magnet while coordinating movement of the bias coil assembly with the disk.