Patent ID: 6522621
Filing Date: 2003-02-18
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
A disc cassette for use in a disc player having a head carriage, the cassette comprising:a case receiving a rotatable disc recording medium and having an opening through which an information recording area of said medium is exposed; a bridge defined by said case and formed in a front surface thereof extending across a mouth portion of said opening parallel to said front surface of said case and being offset therefrom in a direction toward a center of said disc recording medium; a slide bar having a width in a direction perpendicular to a top surface of said disc smaller than a width of said case in said direction perpendicular to the top surface of said disc and slidably mounted beside said bridge for moving axially therealong; and a shutter connected to said slide bar for moving therewith to selectively open and close said opening in accordance with axial movement of said slide bar, wherein a front surface of said shutter is flush with said front surface of said case, and wherein when said shutter is moved to open said opening, said front surface of said shutter forms a continuous line along said front surface of said case with an edge of said case, and wherein said slide bar has a base portion which overlaps an entire length of said bridge when said shutter is in an open position, said base portion being formed with a recess which faces in a direction away from the center of said disc recording medium and adapted to mate with a front face of said head carriage of said disc player when said head carriage comes to its innermost position, and wherein said recess is defined between a front surface of said base portion of said slide bar and said front surface of said shutter, thereby increasing a stroke of the head carriage in an inward radial direction of said disc recording medium when said shutter is in said open position.