Patent ID: 6411584
Filing Date: 2002-06-25
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
A cartridge unloading apparatus for a disk drive having a cartridge loading end, a remote end, and a base plate, the apparatus for tiltably unloading a disk from a spindle magnet with a peeling action, the apparatus comprising in combination:a 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, said first slider further having only one S-shaped slot formed therein; a 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, said second slider further having only one S-shaped slot formed therein; a tiller having a first end and a second end, said first end of said tiller being swingably linked with said forward end of said first slider, and said second end of said tiller being swingably linked 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 a disk with a central hub, said cartridge receiver being moveable between an upper position and a lower position when said sliders are driven by said tiller; and a first lifting pin and a second lifting pin associated with said cartridge receiver, said first lifting pin slidably fitting into one of said S-shaped slots, and said second lifting pin slidably fitting into the other S-shaped slot, said lifting pins being non-coplanar with a plane that is parallel to the ends of the disk drive and perpendicular to a base plate, and that passes through substantially the center of the spindle magnet.