Patent ID: 7350220
Filing Date: 2008-03-25
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
1. A disk drive unit comprising: a housing; a tray for receiving a disk-shaped recording medium or a disk cartridge, and which travels between a retracted position in which the tray is drawn into the housing to perform recording or reproduction and an ejected position in which the tray is drawn out of the housing to load or unload the disk-shaped recording medium or the disk cartridge; a pickup, provided in the housing and positioned at a recording/reproducing position which faces the bottom surface of the disk-shaped recording medium at the tray retracted position and where information is recorded and/or reproduced in and/or from the disk-shaped recording medium or disk cartridge; driving means for rotating the disk-shaped recording medium when recording and/or reproducing the information; and a cover configured to cover the top of the pickup while the tray is at the retracted position, the cover is positioned on the upstream side relative to the rotational direction of a disk-shaped recording medium, wherein a cutout is provided in the bottom surface of the tray such that it extends along a travel track of the pickup from the center of the disk-shaped recording medium or disk cartridge of the tray, the cutout being provided for recording and/or reproducing information in and/or from the disk-shaped recording medium.