Patent ID: 6414928
Filing Date: 2002-07-02
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
A tray accommodating apparatus comprising a disc tray for holding a recording and/or reproducing disc and a tray accommodating case for accommodating said disc tray, whereinsaid disc tray has an overall body formed into a thin plate-like shape and includes a disc-receiving recess having an inner diameter larger than the diameter of a recording and/or reproducing disc and a depth larger than the thickness of the disc and arranged to removably hold the disc while having gaps in a direction in parallel with the surfaces of the disc and in a direction of the thickness of the disc, a bottom opening formed along the widthwise directional center of said disc tray in a range from substantially the central portion of the bottom portion of said disc-receiving recess to an end of the bottom portion and having a shape that said end of the bottom is opened, and a plurality of disc-separation-preventive portions formed to project into said disc-receiving recess from outside of said disc-receiving recess in such a manner that gaps at least permitting insertion of the disc are formed from the bottom portion of said disc-receiving recess and in such a manner that said gaps include a gap in which the disc can rotate and which is formed between the disc-separation-preventive portions and the bottom portion of the disc-receiving recess and wherein the disc-separation-preventive portions are elastically deformable in the direction of the depth of the dis-receiving recess, and said tray accommodating case has a tray accommodating portion closed by opposite upper and lower surfaces, opposite side surfaces perpendicular to said upper and lower surfaces, a front surface and a rear surface perpendicular to said side surfaces and having a horizontally extending tray insertion/removal opening formed in the front surface opposite to said rear surface for slidably inserting said disc tray therethrough, and a tray engagement portion formed in said tray accommodating portion and arranged to removably be engaged to an engagement portion provided for a disc tray which is inserted through said disc tray insertion/removal opening so as to engage said disc tray to an accommodating position.