Abstract:
Disclosed is a disk recording/reproducing apparatus including: a body of the disk recording/reproducing apparatus; a disk tray mounted to be come in and out of the body, the disk tray including a seat unit in which a disk cartridge is safely seated; a cartridge holder movably mounted to the disk tray, to come in and out of the seat unit, the cartridge holder contacting and supporting the disk cartridge safely seated in the seat unit; an elastic member for pressing the cartridge holder to the seat unit; and a clamp mounted to operate in association with the disk tray when the cartridge is moved, the clamp clamping the disk cartridge safely seated in the seat unit.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-54682, filed on Jul. 14, 2004, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a disk recording/reproducing apparatus, and more particularly, to a device for holding a disk cartridge in the disk recording/reproducing apparatus  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     In general, as a disk recording/reproducing apparatus, there is a CD-ROM driver, a video disk apparatus, a digital audio disk apparatus, a DVD player, and others.  
         [0006]     Such a disk recording/reproducing apparatus includes a disk tray for loading a disk, which is mounted to come in and out of a machine body; a turn table in which a loaded disk is safely seated; a chucking unit for chucking the disk seated in the turn table; a spindle motor for revolving the disk and the turn table together; and an optical pickup for recording and reproducing information on and from the disk as revolved.  
         [0007]     In the structure described above, the disk tray is ordinarily provided with a seat unit in which a disk of 120 mm or 80 mm is safely seated. The seat unit is designed to directly and safely seat a low-capacity disk, which is relatively less affected by any alien substance or scratch because ordinary recording capacity is low.  
         [0008]     Recently, however, the recording capacity of a disk has increased and high-density optical disks such as blue ray disks are available. As a high-density optical disk is sensitive to alien substances, scratches or a user&#39;s fingerprints, it has to be kept in an additional disk cartridge for use. Therefore, the disk tray is provided with a seat unit in which the disk cartridge is safely seated, and a holding device for holding the disk cartridge in the disk tray is required.  
         [0009]     As an example of a device for holding a disk cartridge, a tension unit by molding is provided at the cover of the machine body such that the disk tray inserted into the machine body is elastically supported in the upper part of the disk cartridge. That is, in such a structure, the disk cartridge is fixed by using the frictional force of the tension unit.  
         [0010]     However, such a conventional structure has the problem that dust is generated by friction between the disk cartridge and the tension unit and load is increased due to the friction.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.  
         [0012]     An aspect of the invention is to solve the foregoing problems by providing a device for holding a disk cartridge in a disk recording/reproducing apparatus, which makes it possible to easily hold a disk cartridge safely seated in a disk tray.  
         [0013]     The above aspect is achieved by providing a device for holding a disk cartridge in a disk recording/reproducing apparatus, including a disk tray that includes a seat unit in which a disk cartridge is safely seated, the disk tray mounted to come in and out of the body of a disk recording/reproducing apparatus; a cartridge holder for contacting and supporting the disk cartridge as safely seated in the seat unit, the cartridge holder movably mounted to the disk tray, to come in and out of the seat unit, the cartridge holder contacting and supporting the disk cartridge safely seated in the seat unit; and a clamp for clamping the disk cartridge when safely seated in the seat unit, the clamp mounted to operate in association with the disk tray when the cartridge holder is moved.  
         [0014]     The clamp may include a pivoting member mounted to be pivotal about the cartridge holder, and when the pivoting member moves with the cartridge holder, one end of the pivoting member pivots, in association with the disk tray, and the other end clamps the disk cartridge seated in the seat unit.  
         [0015]     The disk tray may include a slope positioned to be in contact and in association with one end of the pivoting member.  
         [0016]     The center of the pivoting member may be inclined toward the other end for clamping the disk cartridge.  
         [0017]     The pivoting member may be provided, in pairs, to be parallel to the direction in which the disk tray comes in and out.  
         [0018]     A hole through which the other end of the pivoting member is exposed may be formed at the upper part of the disk holder such that the other end of the pivoting member clamps the upper part of the disk cartridge when safely seated in the seat unit.  
         [0019]     Another aspect of the invention is achieved by providing a disk recording/reproducing apparatus including a body of the disk recording/reproducing apparatus; a disk tray including a seat unit in which a disk cartridge is safely seated, the disk tray mounted to come in and out of the body; a cartridge holder for contacting and supporting the disk cartridge seated in the seat unit, the cartridge holder mounted to come in and out of the seat unit so as to be movable in the disk tray; an elastic member for pressing the cartridge holder toward the seat unit; and a clamp for clamping the disk cartridge seated in the seat unit, the clamp mounted to operate in association with the disk tray when the cartridge holder is moved.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]     The above aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent by describing certain embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a schematic side sectional view illustrating a device for holding a disk cartridge in a disk recording/reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating the device for holding a disk cartridge as shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view of essential parts of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is a side sectional view illustrating a disk cartridge clamped in the disk recording/reproducing apparatus; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the essential parts of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]     Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.  
         [0027]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a device for holding a disk cartridge in a disk recording/reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a disk tray  20  to come in and out of a machine body  10 ; a cartridge holder  30  movably mounted on the disk tray  20 ; an elastic member  40  for pressing the cartridge holder  30  in an unloading direction B; and a clamp for clamping the disk cartridge  60  when seated in the disk tray  20 . In one embodiment of the present invention, the clamp includes a pair of pivoting members  51  pivotally mounted on the cartridge holder  30 .  
         [0028]     The machine body  10  of the disk recording/reproducing apparatus is provided with an optical pickup, a spindle motor, a turntable and a disk chucking unit inside. The explanation of these constitutional elements is omitted in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments since these elements are known to those killed in the art.  
         [0029]     The disk tray  20  is movably mounted on the machine body  10  in a loading direction (A) or an unloading direction (B) by a loading/unloading unit. The disk tray  20  is provided with a cartridge seat unit  21  in a predetermined shape, in which the disk cartridge  60  is safely seated.  
         [0030]     The disk cartridge  60  in which the disk is received to safely seat in the seat unit  21  is inserted into the machine body  10 . The disk cartridge  60  varies with respect to shape and size, and the structure of the disk cartridge also varies accordingly. Therefore, the explanation of the structure of the disk cartridge is omitted here.  
         [0031]     The cartridge holder  30  is slidably mounted on the disk tray  20 . Specifically, the cartridge holder  30  is mounted to come in and out of the seat unit  21 . Therefore, the cartridge holder  30  is pushed to move in the loading direction (A) by the front end of the disk cartridge  60  as seated in the seat unit  21 .  
         [0032]     The elastic member  40  may be a torsion spring mounted on the disk tray  20  for pressing the cartridge holder  30  in the unloading direction (B). As the elastic member  40  presses the cartridge holder  30  in the unloading direction (B), the cartridge holder  30  contacts and presses the disk cartridge  60  when seated in the seat unit  21  such that the movement in the loading/unloading direction (A, B) is fixed.  
         [0033]     The pivoting members  51  are provided to be spaced at a predetermined distance and to be parallel to the direction (A, B) in which the disk tray  20  is loaded/unloaded. Each pivoting member  51  is mounted to be upwardly or downwardly pivoted about a pivot shaft  51 a as shown in  FIG. 3 . One end  51   b  of the pivoting member  51  is positioned between the cartridge holder  30  and the disk tray  20 , and the other end  51   c  is positioned on the upper part of the seat unit  21  to be exposed on the upper side of the cartridge holder  30 . The cartridge holder  30  is provided with a hole  31  through which the other end  51   c  of the pivoting member  51  is exposed. The pivot shaft  51   a  of the pivoting member  51  declines toward the other end  51   c.  Therefore, the one end  51   b  of the pivoting member  51  is maintained in place on the upper side of the disk tray  20  by its own weight. As the other end  51   c  of the pivoting member  51  is maintained in the state of being upwardly raised in the seat unit  21 , the disk cartridge  60  is safely seated in the seat unit  21  without any interference.  
         [0034]     The disk tray  20  has a slope  23  formed therein for pivoting the pivoting member  51 . If the cartridge holder  30  is moved in the loading direction (A), the pivoting member  51  is also moved. One end  51   b  of the pivoting member  51  contacts the slope  23  and is upwardly guided and pivoted. Accordingly, the other end  51   c  of the pivoting member  51  is downwardly lowered so that it presses the upper side of the disk cartridge  60  placed in the seat unit  21  and clamps the disk cartridge  60  in place. Thereby, the disk cartridge  60  is fixed in upward and horizontal directions.  
         [0035]     The device for holding a disk cartridge in a disk recording/reproducing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention having the structure described above is explained in detail with respect to the effects acting on the disk cartridge  60  below.  
         [0036]     To mount the disk cartridge  60 , the disk tray  20  is taken out of the body  10  as shown in  FIG. 1 . In this state, the cartridge holder  30  is pushed by the elastic member  40  toward the unloading direction (B).  
         [0037]     The disk cartridge  60  is placed in an inclined attitude on the seat unit  21  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The cartridge holder  30  inclining toward the seat unit  21  is pushed by the disk cartridge  60  as seated in the seat unit  21  to move in the loading direction (A). The front end of the disk cartridge  60  is positioned on the lower side of the other end  51   c  of the pivoting member  51  as shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0038]     As shown in  FIG. 4 , if the disk cartridge  60  is completely and safely seated in the seat unit  21 , the disk cartridge  60  is completely pushed in the loading direction (A) by the disk cartridge  60 . Then, one end  51 b of each of the pivoting members  51  is guided to the slope  23  such that the pivoting member  51  is pivoted counterclockwise. Therefore, the other end  51   c  of the pivoting member  51  as pivoted presses the upper side of the disk cartridge  60  to clamp the disk cartridge  60  as illustrated in detail in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0039]     The pivoting member  51  is of molded construction using quality plastic materials, in which one end  51   b  has elasticity to a certain extent. Therefore, elasticity is generated to a certain extent at one end  51   b  guided to the slope  23 . The elastic force as generated at one end  51   b  acts upon the other end  51   c  such that the other end  51   c  elastically presses the upper side of the disk cartridge  60  to be clamped.  
         [0040]     As described above, the disk cartridge  60  is seated in the seat unit  21  and concurrently clamped by the pivoting member  51  so that it is loaded into the body  10  in a stable state. This is different from the conventional art, as the disk cartridge  60  is in the clamped state by the pivoting member  51 , it is not necessary to additionally mount an additional fixing member on the body  10 . Therefore, there are advantages in that it is possible to prevent dust from being generated by friction and load being increased as a result of the friction.  
         [0041]     If the disk cartridge  60  is separated from the seat unit  21 , the cartridge holder  30  moves in the unloading direction (B) by the elastic member  40  to its original position. Then, the pivoting member  51  is separated from the slope  23 . As one end  51   b  is longer than the other end  51   c,  the pivoting member  51  is biased towards the one end  51  b. As the pivoting member  51  is rotated clockwise to its original position by gravity, the other end  51   c  is separated from the disk cartridge  60  and is provided with a space where the front end of the disk cartridge  60  is inserted.  
         [0042]     As described above, according to the present invention a device for holding a disk cartridge in a disk recording/reproducing apparatus is provided where the disk cartridge is held at the point of time when the disk cartridge is safely seated in the disk tray.  
         [0043]     Therefore, when loading the disk tray, it is not necessary to hold the disk cartridge by frictional contact as in the conventional art.  
         [0044]     Consequently, it is possible to improve the quality of the machine since it is possible to prevent dust from being generated by friction.  
         [0045]     Further, it is possible to improve the reliability of the product by performing a stable loading/unloading operation since it is possible to prevent the load by friction from being increased.  
         [0046]     Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.