Abstract:
The present invention provides an information processing appliance that is able to prevent a recording medium thereof from experiencing an excessive impact shock, thereby acquiring a high reliability. In the information processing appliance, a cartridge containing a recording medium is inserted into or removed out from a housing portion for housing the cartridge. The housing portion is separably provided inside the body unit and is supported in a floating manner or a rather rigid manner against the body unit by a buffer member disposed between the housing portion and the body unit. The information processing appliance further comprises a lock mechanism that supports the housing portion either in the floating manner when the cartridge is mounted therein or in the rather rigid manner when the cartridge is removed therefrom.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to an information processing appliance, specifically, such an information processing appliance that records or reads data on or from a recording medium housed in a detachable cartridge.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     In an information processing appliance such as a digital camera, a video camera, a note type personal computer, a portable music player, a personal digital assistance, or the like, a hard disc drive (HDD) utilizing a hard disc having a diameter of as small as one inch has come to be generally used as a detachable recording medium for such an information processing appliance, in addition to a conventional memory card including a compact flash (registered trademark) card. One example includes a micro drive (registered trademark) compatible to a compact flash card.  
         [0005]     Such a cartridge enjoys a plentiful storage capacity due to a built-in HDD so that is preferably used to record or play a moving image requiring a large amount of data. As an example of such an information processing appliance is cited a digital camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-369121.  
         [0006]     By the way, while the HDD-carrying cartridge is fully downsized, it is well known that such a cartridge has to be handled with care to keep the cartridge away from an impact shock or vibration applied thereon during its operation (Refer to Japanese Patent Application Publications Nos. 2002-369121 and 2003-297068 (for example the paragraph 0004 and so on)).  
         [0007]     This is because of its construction in which a head mechanism for recording or reading data on or from the hard disc has to be floated at the time of operation whilst the mechanism is secured stationary at the time of non-operation.  
         [0008]     Especially, an impact shock having a predetermined force or higher should be strictly avoided in the information processing appliance utilizing such a cartridge because such an impact shock may damage the HDD built-in in the cartridge.  
         [0009]     In concrete terms, a permissible value of an impact shock applied on a larger face of the cartridge is estimated as 2000 G or lower at the time of idle and as 200 G or lower at the time of operation. Therefore, an information processing appliance of such a type requires anti-shock performance complying with such estimation.  
         [0010]     By the way, since the cartridge is so small that the information processing appliance utilizing such a cartridge can be downsized, the appliance is easily handled. This may a disadvantage from a different viewpoint because an easy-to-handle appliance can be handled carelessly so that the cartridge may accidentally drop on a floor or hit a wall. As a result, the appliance and its cartridge may experience a strong impact shock.  
         [0011]     From measurements carried out, it has been found that such an appliance experiences an acceleration of 2000 G when a user uses the appliance in a casual manner. Therefore, unless some measures are taken to acquire an above-mentioned anti-shock performance, the HDD housed in the cartridge may be broken, thereby deteriorating reliabilities of an information processing appliance.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     Under these circumstances, the objective of the present invention lies in a provision of an information processing appliance having a high reliability that is capable of preventing a built-in cartridge from experiencing an excessive impact shock.  
         [0013]     In order to realize the objective, the present invention comprises as follows.  
         [0014]     A first aspect of the present invention provides an information processing appliance ( 500 ) in which a cartridge ( 20 ) containing a recording medium ( 20   h ) can be inserted in or removed out through an opening ( 18   a ) provided in a body unit ( 500 B) and thus information is recorded on or read from said recording medium ( 20   h ) of said cartridge ( 20 ) inserted. The information processing appliance ( 500 ) comprises a housing portion ( 18 ) separably provided inside of said body unit ( 500 B), said housing portion ( 18 ) housing said cartridge ( 20 ), a first support member ( 25 ) supporting said housing portion ( 18 ) allowing for a first permissible amount in a relative position of said housing portion ( 18 ) with respect to said body unit ( 500 B), a second support member ( 26   b ) supporting said housing portion ( 18 ) allowing for a second permissible amount or lower in a relative position of said housing portion ( 18 ) with respect to said body unit ( 500 B), said second permissible amount being smaller than said first permissible amount, and a switching mechanism ( 27   b ) switching between said first support member ( 25 ) and said second support member ( 26   b ) to support said housing portion ( 18 ), thereby changing between said first permissible amount and said second permissible amount in said relative position.  
         [0015]     A second aspect of the present invention provides an information processing appliance ( 500 ) according to the first aspect, wherein said first support member ( 25 ) is a buffer member ( 25 ) disposed between said housing portion ( 18 ) and said body unit ( 500 B) and wherein said second support member ( 26   b ) is a connection member ( 26   b ) joining said housing portion ( 18 ) and said body unit ( 500 B) restrictingly.  
         [0016]     A third aspect of the present invention provides an information processing appliance ( 500 ) according to the first aspect, wherein said switching mechanism ( 27   b ) comprises a cartridge restricting member ( 7 ) restricting an insertion/removal of said cartridge ( 20 ) with respect to said opening ( 18   a ) when selecting said first support member ( 25 ).  
         [0017]     A fourth aspect of the present invention provides an information processing appliance ( 500 ) according to the first aspect. The information processing appliance ( 500 ) further comprises an insertion/removal detector ( 29 ,  30   a ,  30   b ) detecting an insertion/removal of said cartridge ( 20 ) into/from said housing portion ( 18 ) to output a signal accordingly and a controller ( 15   a ,  30 ) controlling said switching mechanism ( 27   b ) based on the signal outputted from said insertion/removal detector.  
         [0018]     A fifth aspect of the present invention provides an information processing appliance ( 500 ) according to the third aspect, wherein said cartridge restricting member ( 7 ) is a cover ( 7 ) that is openable and closable with respect to said opening ( 18   a ).  
         [0019]     A sixth aspect of the present invention provides an information processing appliance ( 500 ) according to the second aspect, wherein said buffer member ( 25 ) has at least a pair of opposing faces, one face being attached on said housing portion ( 18 ) and the other face being attached on said body unit ( 500 B) so as to absorb forces exerted in a compression and a shear direction due to a relative movement between said housing portion ( 18 ) and said body unit ( 500 B) when the housing portion ( 18 ) is supported by the first support member ( 25 ).  
         [0020]     A seventh aspect of an information processing appliance ( 500 ) according to the first aspect, wherein said recording medium ( 20   h ) is a hard disc.  
         [0021]     According to the present invention, the cartridge is prevented from experiencing an excessive impact shock exerted from outside and being damaged, thereby acquiring a high reliability. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0022]     In the accompanying drawings:  
         [0023]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0025]      FIG. 3  is an explanatory view of the inside structure of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0026]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a cartridge mounted in the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0027]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a recording medium housing of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0028]      FIG. 6  is another perspective view of the recording medium housing of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0029]      FIG. 7  is an assembling drawing of the recording medium housing;  
         [0030]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a slot portion of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0031]      FIG. 9  is another perspective view of the slot portion of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0032]      FIG. 10  is a plane view of a slot lock mechanism of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0033]      FIG. 11  is a plane view of a substantial part of a slot lock mechanism of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0034]      FIGS. 12A and 12B  are an explanatory partial perspective view of a first and a second support state in the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0035]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of a switching mechanism of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0036]      FIG. 14  is an explanatory view of a modification of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0037]      FIG. 15  is a first explanatory view of another modification of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0038]      FIG. 16  is a second explanatory view of the another modification of the information processing appliance according to the present invention;  
         [0039]      FIG. 17  is a third explanatory view of the another modification of the information processing appliance according to the present invention; and  
         [0040]      FIGS. 18A and 18B  each are a perspective view of yet another modification of the information processing appliance according to the present invention.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0041]     Preferred embodiments along with modifications according to the present invention will be described referring to FIGS.  1  to  18  hereinafter.  
         [0042]     An information processing appliance according to the present invention is embodied into a vide camera in this embodiment, a schematic view of which is illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0043]     A vide camera  500  (referred to as appliance  500  when appropriate) is mainly composed of a lens unit  500 A and an L-shaped body unit  500 B.  
         [0044]     The two units each are an individual member that can separate from each other along a line connecting points  50   a ,  50   b , and  50   c . The lens unit  500 A has a pivot mechanism (not shown) that allows the lens unit  500 A to pivot around a pivot axis CL 2  within a predetermined range of angle.  
         [0045]     The lens unit  500 A is comprised of a zoom lens  1  having an optical axis CL 1 , an electric flash  2 , a stereo microphone  3 , a speaker  4 , a first group of operation switches  5  provided on a right side wall thereof and a first slot portion (not shown) provided on a bottom face. The first slot portion houses a memory card.  
         [0046]     The body unit  500 B is comprised of a zoom adjustor lever  6 , a hinge flip cover  7 , a lock lever  8 , a group of connector terminals  9 , a terminal cover  10  that conceals the group of connector terminals  9 , a liquid crystal display (LCD)  11 , a second group of operation switches  12  and a third group of operation switches  13 . The hinge flip cover  7  has a concave portion  7   a  suitable to be gripped by fingers of a user when he or she holds the video camera  500 .  
         [0047]     An internal configuration of the video camera  500  will be described in reference with  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  illustrates an external appearance of the video camera  500 , the view corresponding to  FIG. 1 , and a view of each block that constitutes the video camera  500  for easy understanding.  
         [0048]     In  FIG. 3 , the lens unit  500 A has the zoom lens  1 , an image pickup device  14  converting image into an electric signal, the image pickup device being arranged behind the zoom lens  1 , a substrate  15  on which an image processing circuit  15   b  is mounted, the substrate  15  being arranged beneath and left to the zoom lens  1  and the device  14 , and a first slot portion (not shown) arranged below the device  14 . On the substrate  15  is mounted a central processing unit (CPU)  15   a  that controls an entire operation of the video camera  500 .  
         [0049]     On the other hand, the body unit  500 B is constituted with the LCD  11  arranged in a rear portion thereof, a battery housing  16  and a recording media housing  17  arranged substantially parallel with the optical axis CL 1 , all of which are covered with an exterior cover  21 .  
         [0050]     In  FIG. 3 , the recording media housing  17  has a second slot portion  18  into which a cartridge  20  (described later) has been inserted.  
         [0051]     Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the hinge flip cover (cartridge restricting member)  7  can be opened by sliding the lock lever  8  to unlock a locking mechanism (not shown) so that an opening  18   a  ( FIG. 2 ) of the second slot portion  18  and an opening  16   a  ( FIG. 2 ) through which a battery (not shown) is set or removed are visible from above of the video camera  500 .  
         [0052]     Namely, the video camera  500  is configured so that the cartridge  20  and the battery are mounted from above of the video camera  500  by opening the hinge flip cover  7 .  
         [0053]      FIG. 2  illustrates the video camera  500  having the hinge flip cover  7  open in contrast with  FIG. 1 .  
         [0054]     The hinge flip cover  7  is engaged with a shaft (not shown) provided on a pivot axis CL 3  of the exterior cover  21 . The hinge flip cover  7  is pivotable (R 1 ) around the pivot axis CL 3 .  
         [0055]     When the hinge flip cover  7  is open, the cartridge  20  can be inserted or removed in an UP/DOWN direction (an arrow R 2  in  FIG. 2 ) in relation to the opening  18   a.    
         [0056]     The cartridge  20  will be described referring to  FIG. 4  that illustrates its external appearance.  
         [0057]     The cartridge  20  has substantially a flattened rectangular parallelepiped shape and incorporates a hard disc drive (HDD)  20   c  using a hard disc, as a recording medium  20   h.    
         [0058]     The cartridge  20  is provided with a female connector  20   b  on one side face portion  20   d  of the cartridge  20 , the connector  20   b  being used for signal exchanges between the HDD  20   c  and an external circuit.  
         [0059]     The female connector  20   b  can be inserted into or removed from a male connector (described later) of the appliance  500  in an insertion/removal direction (R 2  in  FIG. 2 ). In other side face portions  20   d   2 ,  20   d   2  that oppose each other, there are formed a step portion  20   a  extending along the R 2  direction.  
         [0060]     The step  20   a  is fitted with a guide portion provided in the second slot portion  18  of the appliance  500 , serving as a guide allowing a smooth insertion/removal of the cartridge  20 .  
         [0061]     The recording medium housing  17  that houses the cartridge  20  will be described in detail referring to FIGS.  5  to  7 .  
         [0062]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the recording medium housing  17  seen from obliquely behind, illustrating mainly a side that faces the lens unit  500 A.  
         [0063]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the recording medium housing  17  seen from obliquely behind, illustrating mainly a side that faces the battery housing  16 .  FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view.  
         [0064]     In FIGS.  5  to  7 , a REAR, a FRONT, an IN and an OUT direction shown by each arrow are provided in order to make understood a relative position of the recording medium housing  17  with respect to the video camera  500 .  
         [0065]     The recording medium housing  17  has a base frame  17   a  that has been shaped into substantially a frame shape having substantially a width of T by pressing and forming a thin metal sheet as a starting material. The recording medium housing  17  is composed by joining a first frame  17   a   1 , a second frame  17   a   2 , and a third frame  17   a   3 .  
         [0066]     The first frame  17   a   1  is formed into substantially a U-shape, being disposed so as to be a lower face of the recording medium housing  17 .  
         [0067]     The second frame  17   a   2  has a wide portion  17   a   4  supporting a slot lock mechanism  26  (described later). The first frame  17   a   1 , the second frame  17   a   2 , and the third frame  17   a   3  are joined all together by a screw (not shown) penetrating two fastening portions  17   b ,  17   b.    
         [0068]     The base frame  17   a  has two lobe portions  17   c ,  17   c  extending along the FRONT/REAR direction. The lobe portions  17   c ,  17   c  and the body unit  500 B of the video camera  500  are threadably combined with each other to be integrated.  
         [0069]     The second slot portion  18  (referred to as slot portion  18  hereinafter) has substantially a U-shaped main frame  18   m  having an open upper end and a main plate  18   b  composed of a print substrate fastened o the main frame  18   m . The main frame  18   m  is formed of metal.  
         [0070]     The main plate  18   b , a back plate  18   c  that opposes the main plate  18   b  and is formed of a thin metal sheet having a plurality of weight reducing holes  18   c   1  for making the back plate  18   c  lightweight, and a pair of side plates  18   d ,  18   d  disposed between the main plate  18   b  and the back plate  18   c  configures a housing portion  18   e  having a shape of substantially a flattened rectangular envelope.  
         [0071]     The side plate  18   d  includes a guide portion  18   d   1  that fits with the step portion  20   a  of the cartridge  20  and the guide portion  18   d   1  serves to guide the step portion  20   a  when the cartridge  20  is inserted or removed.  
         [0072]     A deeper portion (lower portion) of the housing portion  18   e  is provided with a male connector  22  fixated on the main plate  18   b . The connector  22  is electrically connected with a wiring pattern provided on the main plate  18  and then with the substrate  15  ( FIG. 3 ) of the video camera  500  via a flexible substrate  18   f  ( FIG. 7 ).  
         [0073]     In  FIG. 5 , a part of the back plate  18   c  is circularly removed only for the purpose of easy understanding of the configuration of the male connector  22 .  
         [0074]     When the cartridge  20  is inserted into the opening  18   a  of the slot portion  18  configured above, the cartridge  20  is guided along the insertion direction with the step portion  20   a  thereof fitted with the guide portion  18   d   1  and thus housed in the slot portion  18 .  
         [0075]     When the cartridge  20  is pressed further down by a finger of a user, the female connector  20   b  is engaged and electrically connected with the male connector  22 . As a result, the cartridge  20  becomes operable as a recording medium of the video camera  500  as an information processing appliance.  
         [0076]     A side plate  18   d  in a rear end of the slot portion  18  is provided with a release mechanism  24  (not shown in detail) to be used when the cartridge  20  is removed from the male connector  22 .  
         [0077]     In the release mechanism  24 , when the cartridge  20  is housed in the recording medium housing  17 , a downward movement of a release lever  23  allows an arm (not shown) connected to the release lever  23  by a linkage mechanism to raise the cartridge  20  up until the female connector  20   b  is disconnected from the male connector  22 . The cartridge  20  removed from the connector  22  can be taken away from the recording medium housing  17  by picking up the cartridge  20 .  
         [0078]     The mechanism  24  is able to work as above every time the cartridge  20  is removed therefrom, since the release mechanism  24  is re-set every time the cartridge  20  is inserted into the recording medium housing  17 .  
         [0079]     A structure for supporting the slot portion  18  in the recording medium housing  17  will be described in detail.  
         [0080]     In the video camera  500  according to this embodiment, in order to prevent an excessive acceleration from being applied to the cartridge  20  by absorbing an impact or shock from outside, the slot portion  18  for housing the cartridge  20  is configured so that the body unit  500 B and the recording medium housing  17  integrated with the body unit  500 B support the slot portion  18  via a buffer member (a first support member)  25 .  
         [0081]     The structure will be described in detail referring to FIGS.  5  to  9 .  
         [0082]      FIGS. 8 and 9  illustrate the slot portion  18  only, as is not the case with  FIGS. 5 and 6 .  
         [0083]     First of all, regarding the IN direction in  FIG. 8 , four buffer members  25 in 1 ,  25 in 2 ,  25 in 3 , and  25 in 4  each are attached on the vicinity of each of four corners of the back plate  18   c  as shown in  FIG. 8  so as to lie between the back plate  18   c  and the body unit  500 B.  
         [0084]     Regarding the FRONT direction, a buffer member  25   f  lies between the main frame  18   m  and the base frame  17   a . The buffer member  25   f  is attached on both frames  18   m ,  17   a.    
         [0085]     Regarding the REAR direction, a buffer member  25   r  lies between the main frame  18   m  and the base frame  17   a . The buffer member  25   r  is attached on both frames  18   m ,  17   a.    
         [0086]     Regarding the OUT direction, four buffer members  25 out 1 ,  25 out 2 ,  25 out 3 , and  25 out 4  each are attached in the vicinity of each of four corners of the main plate  18   b.    
         [0087]     Among these four buffer members, the upper two buffer members  25 out 1  and  25 out 2  are attached on a lock mechanism supporting portion  17   a   4  and the main plate  18   b , respectively, so as to stay therebetween.  
         [0088]     On the other hand, the lower two buffer members  25 out 3 ,  25 out 4  are attached on the main plate  18   b  and the body unit  500 B so as to stay therebetween.  
         [0089]     Regarding the DOWN direction, two buffer members  25   b   1  and  15   b   2  are attached on the main frame  18   m  and the base plate  17   a , respectively, so as to stay therebetween.  
         [0090]     Regarding the UP direction, two buffer members  25   t   1  and  25   t   2  are attached on an inner face of the hinge flip cover  7 . These two buffer members  25   t   1  and  25   t   2  abut the upper face of the cartridge  20  when the cover  7  is closed. It should be noted that each buffer member having a different suffix may be referred to collectively as a buffer member  25  hereinafter.  
         [0091]     By the way, the buffer member  25  is attached preferably using a double-sided adhesive tape. However, an adhesive agent, or the like can be used.  
         [0092]     With the above configuration, the slot portion  18  for housing the cartridge  20  is supported against the body unit  500 B of the video camera  500  only by buffer members  25 .  
         [0093]     In other words, since each buffer member  25  can deform in accordance with force exerted from outside so as to absorb the force, the slot portion  18  is practically floated or loosely supported so as to move in every direction in relation to the video camera  500  to some extent.  
         [0094]     Namely, when the slot portion  18  is supported in such a way, a permissible amount in a relative position of the slot portion (housing portion)  18  for housing the cartridge  20  with respect to a body portion (the body unit  500 B) of the video camera  500  is set to be larger compared with when the slot portion  18  is rigidly supported.  
         [0095]     As the buffer member  25  is used a commercially available buffering material such as but not limited to rubber, elastmer, gel, which are all used for the purposes of shock absorbing. In order to downsize the appliance  500 , the buffer member  25  is preferably thinner as far as a predetermined anti-shock performance is obtained. Under this circumstance, a so-called gel material having an excellent buffering performance is better used.  
         [0096]     In the video camera  500  according to this embodiment, each buffer member  25  should preferably be 5 millimeters (mm) thick or less in order to miniaturize the camera  500  as much as possible, while ensuring a predetermined shock-absorbing performance. In other words, an impact shock caused on the cartridge  20  by a fall of 70 centimeters (cm) has to be 200 gravitational acceleration (G) or less.  
         [0097]     In this embodiment, a low hardness gel material having a thickness of 2 to 3 mm and a contact area of 25 meters square (mm 2 ) is used as the buffer member  25 .  
         [0098]     It is confirmed that this buffer member  25  satisfies the above shock-absorbing performance.  
         [0099]     By the way, each face of the cartridge  20  has a different permissible value of impact shock. For example, a permissible value of impact shock exerted on the larger face of the cartridge has to be smaller than on the smaller face that constitutes a side face of the cartridge  20 .  
         [0100]     Therefore, the buffer member  25  that is to absorb an impact shock exerted on the larger face has to have a higher shock-absorbing performance.  
         [0101]     For example, the buffer members  25  that are attached on the main and the back plate  18   b ,  18   c  can be larger or thicker.  
         [0102]     In addition, the position of the buffer members  25  on the plate  18   b ,  18   c , the number of the materials  25 , and properties (elasticity, hardness or the like) of the materials  25  can be varied to optimize the shock-absorbing performance.  
         [0103]     By the way, the buffer member is shaped of a rectangular parallelepiped, one face of which is attached on the slot portion  18  and the opposing face of which is attached on the body unit  500 B. Therefore, the buffer member can absorb an impact shock exerted thereon in a direction perpendicular to the face thereof by its own contraction or expansion and in a direction parallel to the face thereof by its shear resistance.  
         [0104]     In other words, the slot portion  18  is practically floated or loosely supported using both buffering action demonstrated by the contraction/expansion and by the shear resistance of the buffer member in this embodiment.  
         [0105]     The buffer members  25   f ,  25   r ,  25   b   1 , and  25   b   2  attached on a front face, a rear face, a front bottom portion, and a rear bottom portion, respectively, can exhibit buffer action by a shear resistance against the impact shock in the IN/OUT direction so that the four buffer members  25 out 1  to  25 out 4  attached on the main plate  18   b  and the other four buffer members  25 in 1  to  25 in 4  attached on the back plate  18   c  can be thinner. Therefore, the video camera  500  according to this embodiment is downsized in width (in a right to left direction).  
         [0106]     On the other hand, the buffer members  25 out 1  to  25 out 4  attached on the main plate  18   a  and the buffer members  25 in 1  to  25 in 4  attached on the back plate  18   c  have a low hardness of 6 in a unit of JIS A and are made of a material excellent in vibration absorbing performance.  
         [0107]     The buffer members  25   f ,  25   r ,  25   b   1 ,  25   b   2 ,  25   t   1 , and  25   t   2  are made of a low hardness buffering material having a hardness of 80 in a unit of ASKER FP, which corresponds to about 8 in a unit of JIS A.  
         [0108]     As described above, since the buffer members for absorbing an impact shock exerted along the IN/OUT direction has better vibration suppression than those for absorbing an impact shock exerted along the UP/DOWN or the FRONT/REAR direction, an impact shock applied to the main plate  18   b  and the back plate  18   c  having a lower permissible value is effectively absorbed.  
         [0109]     By the way, it is known that low molecular weight siloxane vaporized from silicone rubber or adhesive agent can cause troubles in electrical contacts of switches or the like.  
         [0110]     The buffering material may contain silicone and its compounds in order to have a suitable property as a buffering material.  
         [0111]     Since the cartridge such as a microdrive mentioned above is not completely sealed, low molecular weight siloxane may have an adverse effect on the built-in HDD. In addition, since an information processing appliance has many switches for its operation, troubles in electrical contacts may occur by the chemical.  
         [0112]     Therefore, the buffer member used is preferably made of non-silicone material that has no influence on electrical contacts.  
         [0113]     As stated above, the cartridge  20  has the female connectors  20   b  for electrical connection on one face thereof and is mounted on and off the slot portion  18  by inserting the female connectors  20   b  in and out the male connectors  22  provided in the slot portion  18 .  
         [0114]     Therefore, the male connector  22  of the appliance  500  needs to be firmly supported so as to assure the electrical connection when the cartridge  22  is mounted and at the same time the connector  22  needs to be supported so as to allow prompt removal of the cartridge  20  when the cartridge  20  is removed.  
         [0115]     Since the slot portion  18  is supported in a floating manner, it is not very easy to insert the cartridge  20  only by guiding the step portion  20   a  along the guide portion  18   d   1  when the cartridge  20  is inserted into the slot portion  18 . Therefore, the cartridge  20  may not be inserted quickly.  
         [0116]     In addition, there may arise a disadvantage in that the cartridge  20  is not removed easily, because the connector is not rigidly supported or because the cartridge  20  is shaky at the time of removal of the cartridge  20 .  
         [0117]     Furthermore, if the cartridge  20  is forced to be inserted into the slot portion  18 , the connector  20   b  may be damaged, thereby deteriorating reliability.  
         [0118]     The video camera  500  according to this embodiment has a configuration that can eliminate the above-mentioned possible disadvantages.  
         [0119]     Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 10 , there will be described a slot lock mechanism  26  that makes it possible to insert the cartridge  20  in and out assuredly and easily.  
         [0120]     The slot lock mechanism  26  is provided on a lock mechanism support portion  17   a   4  that is a wide portion of the second frame  17   a   2  of the recording medium housing  17 .  
         [0121]     The slot lock mechanism  26  is configured to have a pair of parallel shafts  26   a ,  26   a  each penetrating two shaft support holes  17   d   1 ,  17   d   1  each made in two protrusions  17   d ,  17   d  extending from the second frame  17   a   2 , a pair of substantially an L-shaped lock plates (a second support member)  26   b ,  26   b  that receive an end portion of the shafts  26   a ,  26   a  and allows the shafts  26   a ,  26   a  to slide along the longitudinal direction thereof, a pair of spring support portions  26   c ,  26   c  that are formed by severing a part of the second frame  17   a   2  and raising the part, a pair of spring coils  26   d ,  26   d , one end of which is connected to the spring support portion  26   c  and the other end of which is connected to the lock plate  26   b , the spring coils biasing the lock plate  26   b  on both ends of the shaft  26   a , a pair of rack boards  26   e ,  26   e  that are secured on one lock plate  26   b  and extends toward the other lock plate  26   b , the pair of rack boards  26   e ,  26   e  having rack portions  26   e   1 ,  26   e   1  opposing laterally each other, and a gear  26   f  that is engaged with the pair of the rack portions  26   e   1 ,  26   e   1  and transmits a movement of one rack board  26   e  along the shaft  26   a  to cause the other rack board  26   e  to move in the opposite direction.  
         [0122]     Therefore, one lock plate  26   b  and the other lock plate  26   b  move in the opposite direction with respect to each other.  
         [0123]     In the slot lock mechanism  26 , the shaft  26  is threadably secured on a lock mechanism support portion (wide portion)  17   a   4  using a flat-headed screw  31 .  
         [0124]     The lock plate  26   b  is made of metal such as but not limited to Aluminium.  
         [0125]     The lock plate  26   b  is biased outward by a biasing force exerted thereon by the spring coil  26   d . However, the lock plate  26   b  comes to halt in a predetermined position as shown in  FIG. 10  by a positioning means (not shown). This situation shown in  FIG. 10  is referred to as a first support state hereinafter.  
         [0126]     Under the first support state, when the force that opposes the biasing force exerted from the spring coil  26   d  is applied on the left lock plate  26   b  in  FIG. 10 , for example, this lock plate  26   b  moves accordingly along the shaft  26   a.    
         [0127]     With this movement, the rack board  26   e  secured on the lock plate  26   b  also moves in the D1 direction in  FIG. 10 , thereby rotating in a counter-clock direction the gear  26   f  with which the rack portion  26   e   1  is engaged.  
         [0128]     Then, the other (right) rack board  26   e  with which the gear  26   f  is engaged moves in the D2 direction, thereby shifting the other lock plate  26   b  on which this rack board  26   e  is secured in the D2 direction.  
         [0129]     Due to this movement, both lock plates  26   b ,  26   b  come closer by a given distance of L as shown in  FIG. 11 . This situation as shown in  FIG. 11  is referred to as a second support state hereinafter.  
         [0130]     The lock plate  26   b  has an arm portion  26   b   1  extending from its body portion so as to form an L-shape and is engaged with the shaft  26   a . On an inner face of the arm portion  26   b   1 , a protrusion  26   b   2  is formed so as to extend in substantially a cone shape.  
         [0131]     The protrusion  26   b   2  is configured so as to be engaged with lock holes  18   m   1 ,  18   m   2  provided on the main frame  18   m.    
         [0132]     How the protrusion  26   b   2  is engaged with the lock holes  18   m   1 ,  18   m   2  will be described referring to  FIGS. 12A and 12B .  
         [0133]      FIGS. 12A and 12B  are an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the arm portion  16   b   1  of the lock plate  26   b  and the lock hole  18   m   1  of the main frame  18   m . The arm portion  16   b   1  and the lock hole  18   m   1  in  FIG. 12  are those positioned near the front end of the recording medium housing  17  illustrated in  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 12A  illustrates the first support state.  FIG. 12B  illustrates the second support state.  
         [0134]     As shown in  FIG. 12A , the protrusion  26   b   2  is positioned away from the main frame  18   m  in the first support state. Therefore, the slot portion  18  is supported in a floating manner only by each buffer member  25 .  
         [0135]     On the other hand, in the second support state as shown in  FIG. 12B , the lock plate  26   b  shifts along the shaft  26   a  in the D1 direction and thereby the protrusion  26   b   2  comes to an engagement with the lock hole  18   m   1  of the main frame  18   m.    
         [0136]     Therefore, the main frame  18   m  is restricted against the lock plate  26   b  and supported integrally and rigidly. In other words, the slot portion  18  and the body unit  500 B come to be substantially integrated.  
         [0137]     Therefore, when the cartridge  20  stays mounted in the video camera  500 , the cartridge  20  is supported in a floating manner since the lock plate  26   b  takes the first support state. However, when the cartridge  20  is inserted or removed, the cartridge  20  is supported rigidly, because the lock plate  26   b  takes the second support state and thus the male connector  22  is not excessively shaky. As a result, the cartridge  20  can be inserted assuredly and smoothly, thereby preventing damage and connection failure in the connectors.  
         [0138]     In addition, since the cartridge  20  does not excessively shake at the time of removal, the cartridge  20  can be easily pinched by fingers and thus removed easily and smoothly.  
         [0139]     Whilst the second support state does not necessarily require that the slot portion  18  stay completely stationary with respect to the body unit  500 B without leaving any allowance, the slot portion  18  is supported substantially rigidly in the second support state.  
         [0140]     In other words, the cartridge  20  can move only slightly so that the connector  20   b  is inserted easily and securely. It is only required that when the cartridge  20  is inserted into the slot portion  18  the second support state enables the cartridge  20  to be restricted allowing for less shaky movement of the cartridge  20  compared with the first support state.  
         [0141]     In summary, a permissible amount of shift in a relative position of the slot portion  18  for housing the cartridge  20  in relation to the body unit  500 B of the video camera  500  is much smaller in the second support state than in the first support state.  
         [0142]     The permissible amount of shift in the second support state is determined by the size of the protrusion  26   b   2  and the lock hole  18   m   1 . Namely, the permissible amount corresponds to a clearance between a diameter of the protrusion  26   b   2  and an inner diameter of the lock hole  18   m   1  when the lock plate  26   b  stays in the second support state in which the protrusion  26   b   2  penetrates the lock hole  18   m   1 .  
         [0143]     Next, how the first support state is switched to the second support state and conversely will be described referring to  FIG. 13 .  
         [0144]     As described above, the second support state is realized at the time of inserting the cartridge  20 . Switching between the two states are carried out by an open/close movement of the hinge flip cover  7  in this embodiment.  
         [0145]      FIG. 13  illustrates the vicinity of the hinge flip cover  7  and the recording medium housing  17  shown is  FIG. 2 .  
         [0146]     In this video camera  100 , the cartridge  20  is inserted or removed after the hinge flip cover  7  is opened. The first support state is realized when the hinge flip cover  7  is closed, whilst the second support state is realized when the hinge flip cover  7  is opened.  
         [0147]     Specifically, in an inner front portion of the hinge flip cover  7  is attached a hinge base portion  27   a  to which a hinge arm (switching mechanism)  27   b  is connected. The hinge arm  27   b  is pivotable around a fastening portion (pivot)  27   a   1 .  
         [0148]     There is provided a slide pin  27   c  at the front portion of the hinge arm  27   b.    
         [0149]     In a hinge guide  28  provided on the body unit  500 B, there is provided a guide hole  28   a  having a shape of slit extending along the IN/OUT direction. With the guide hole  28   a  receives the slide pin  27   c  of the hinge arm  27   b.    
         [0150]     With this configuration, when the hinge flip cover  7  is pivoted around the pivot axis CL 2  and closed, the slide pin  27   c  is guided along the guide hole  28   a  and thus the hinge arm  27   b  moves horizontally in the IN direction.  
         [0151]     On the other hand, there is formed a slope portion  27   d  near the lock plate  26   b  and on the hinge arm  27   b . The slope portion  27   d  is sloped so that a distance between a slope face  27   d   1  thereof and the hinge arm  27   b  increases gradually toward the IN direction.  
         [0152]     When the hinge flip cover  7  is opened, the slope face  27   d   1  of the slope portion  27   d  abuts and moves the lock plate  26   b  in the REAR direction. As a result, the lock plate  26  comes to be in the second support state (see  FIG. 12B ).  
         [0153]     When the hinge flip cover  7  is closed, the hinge arm  27  moves the slope portion  27   d  in the IN direction. Thus, the lock plate  26   b  slides in relation to the shaft  26   a  toward the FRONT direction by a biasing force exerted from the spring coil  26   d . As a result, the lock plate  26   b  comes to stay away from the main frame  18   m . In other words, the lock plate  26   b  comes to be in the first support state (see  FIG. 12A ).  
         [0154]     In this embodiment, the first support state and the second support state are switched reciprocally depending on the opening/closing of the hinge flip cover  7 .  
         [0155]     By the way, the switching is not limited to the embodiment described above but can be altered.  
         [0156]     For example, the following configuration is possible as a first modification. Namely, while there is provided on the base frame a pressure sensor  29  that detects a pressure exerted on the male connector  22  along the insertion/removal direction, the body unit  500 B is provided with a central processing unit (CPU)  30  that determines whether the first support state or the second support state is realized based upon the signal from the pressure sensor  29  and thus outputs an instruction signal, and a driver  31  that shifts the lock plate  26   b  into the determined support state based upon the signal outputted from the CPU  30 .  
         [0157]     In this first modification, when the pressure sensor (insertion/removal detector)  29  detects a pressure of a predetermined value or higher, the sensor  29  determines that the cartridge  20  is being inserted or removed and thus the CPU  30  controls to shift the lock plate  26   b  into the second support state. When the pressure sensor  29  stops detecting the pressure, the CPU  30  realizes the first support state.  
         [0158]     This modification is preferable when the hinge flip cover that covers the opening of the slot portion is not provided in an information processing appliance. Nothing to say that the CPU  15   a  mounted on the substrate  15  can be used instead of the CPU  30 .  
         [0159]     Next, a second modification will be described referring to FIGS.  15  to  17 . This second modification has the CPU  30  ( 15   a ) and the driver  31  (not shown) as is the case with the first modification.  
         [0160]     FIGS.  15  to  17  are a schematic side view of the slot portion  18 , each illustrating a different position of the cartridge  20  along the direction shown by an arrow in the figures. In addition, the first support state is a norm in this modification.  
         [0161]      FIG. 15  illustrates where the cartridge  20  is inserted halfway into the male connector  22 .  
         [0162]     In the second modification, there are provided a first position sensor  30   a  and a second position sensor  30   b  that are arranged on the main plate  18   b  as a substrate, leaving a predetermined distance therebetween. The sensors  30   a ,  30   b  transmit an output signal to the CPU  30  ( 15   a ).  
         [0163]     In the configuration shown in  FIG. 15 , since the cartridge  20  stays away from the two position sensors  30   a ,  30   b , no detection signal is transmitted.  
         [0164]      FIG. 16  illustrates where the cartridge  20  is pressed further down.  
         [0165]     In this situation shown in  FIG. 16 , the cartridge  20  stays close enough to trigger the first position sensor  30   a  to output a detection signal.  
         [0166]      FIG. 17  illustrates where the cartridge  20  is pressed yet further down compared with that shown in  FIG. 16  and the female connector  20   b  of the cartridge  20  is fully inserted into the male connector  22 .  
         [0167]     When the cartridge  20  is being moved from the position shown in  FIG. 15  to that in  FIG. 16 , the cartridge  20  comes close to the second position sensor  30   b  and thus the sensor  30   b  as well as the sensor  30   a  outputs a detection signal.  
         [0168]     Therefore, since the first position sensor  30   a  outputs the detection signal first and next the second position sensor  30   b  outputs the detection signal, the CPU  30  ( 15   a ) can determine that the cartridge  20  is being pressed down and allow the driver  31  to control the lock plate  26   b  into the second support state.  
         [0169]     When the cartridge  20  is removed, the release lever  23  is pressed down in a direction shown by an arrow and thus the cartridge  20  is raised until the female connector of the cartridge  20  is removed from its mating connector provided in the slot portion  18 . At this time, the cartridge  20  comes to assume a position again as shown in  FIG. 16 .  
         [0170]     In this modification, there is provided a sensor (not shown) that detects depression movement of the release lever  23 . When the sensor detects the movement, the CPU  30  ( 15   a ) determines that the cartridge  20  is being removed and allows the driver  31  to control the lock plate  26   b  accordingly.  
         [0171]     After the cartridge  20  was mounted into the slot portion  18  of the video camera  500  (weighted of 320 grams with batteries included) according to the above-stated embodiment and the hinge flip cover  7  was closed, a drop test of 70 cm was carried out in order to measure an impact shock (acceleration G) exerted on the cartridge. The test was carried out six times, in each of which each one of six sides of the video camera hit the floor.  
         [0172]     Since the cartridge  20  was mounted and the hinge flip cover  7  was closed, this drop test was carried out for the video camera  500  in which the first support state is realized. Specifically, the impact shock was measured with a small acceleration switch having a diameter of 2 mm attached on three different faces of the cartridge  20 , the three different faces being orthogonal to one another.  
         [0173]     The buffer members attached on the faces perpendicular to the FRONT/REAR direction have a thickness of 2 mm and their total area is about 30 mm 2 . The buffer members attached on the faces perpendicular to the UP/DOWN direction have a thickness of 2 mm and their total area of about 60 mm 2 .  
         [0174]     On the other hand, the buffer members attached on the faces perpendicular to the IN/OUT direction have a thickness of 3 mm and their total area is about 30 mm 2 .  
         [0175]     By the way, for a comparison purpose, a video camera was manufactured in which a slot portion and a recording medium housing, both of which correspond to the slot portion  18  and the recording medium housing  17  in the embodiment according to the present invention, were combined firmly with each other by an epoxy adhesive. Then, the same drop test was carried out to measure an impact shock using this video camera for the comparison.  
         [0176]     From the measurement results in the drop test, it has been found that the impact shock exerted on the cartridge  20  in the video camera for a comparison exceeds a permissible value of 200 G that is required for the cartridge  20  in operation, thereby possibly causing a damage on the cartridge  20 , whilst the cartridge  20  in the video camera  500  experiences only an impact shock lower than 200 G in every one of the six tests, thereby being free of damage.  
         [0177]     Referring to the above embodiment, the present invention has been disclosed. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment above and can be altered or modified without departing from the scope of the invention.  
         [0178]     For example, although the cartridge is inserted downwardly into or removed upwardly from the slot portion in the video camera according to the above embodiment, the video camera can be configured so that the cartridge is inserted or removed from the rear face (the face facing a user of the camera), the configuration of which is illustrated in  FIG. 18  as another embodiment.  FIG. 18A  illustrates a part of the video camera in which a hinge flip cover is closed.  FIG. 18G  illustrates a part of the video camera in which the cover is opened.  
         [0179]     In  FIG. 18A , the video camera  501  is comprised of a body  501 A equipped with a zoom lens  101 , an liquid crystal display  111 , an operation button  112 , and a hinge flip cover  109 .  
         [0180]     The hinge flip cover  109  has a pivot axis CL 3  in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis CL 1 .  FIG. 18A  illustrates where the liquid crystal display  111  is retracted in the body  501 A whereas the display  111  can be located as shown in  FIG. 18A  by a pivotal movement  11   b ,  111   c  thereof around a hinge portion  111   a.    
         [0181]     When the cover  109  is opened, a slot portion  18  disposed inside is seen. The cartridge  20  can be inserted into or removed from the opening portion  18   a  in a direction of the optical axis CL 1 .  
         [0182]     Namely, the cartridge  20  has to move along the same direction of the optical axis CL 1  at the time of insertion and removal, as is not the case with the above-stated embodiment in which the cartridge  20  moves in a direction different from the optical axis CL 1 .  
         [0183]     The above embodiment and modifications describe the video camera into which the present invention is embodied. However, the present invention is embodied into any information processing appliance such as but not limited to a digital camera, a note-type personal computer, a document presenter, a portable music player, a personal digital assistance, a game console, a video player, and a disc recorder utilizing a Digital Versatile Device, a Bru-Ray disc or the like. In other words, the information processing appliance here means an apparatus that records or reads data on or from a recording medium.  
         [0184]     In addition, the information processing appliance into which the present invention is embodied includes not only a carriageable appliance listed above but also a desktop type apparatus.  
         [0185]     Moreover, whilst a hard disc is utilized as a recording medium built-in in a cartridge in the above embodiment, the medium is not limited to a hard disc but may be an optical disc or the like. In other words, the cartridge may house a driver that drives such discs.  
         [0186]     Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.