Optical disk player

An optical disk player with improved opening and closing of a door, transport of a tray, and an improved pivoting structure of a chassis to pivot a turntable. The optical disk player includes: a body; a tray to move in and out of the body so as to transport an optical disk; a chassis installed to pivot inside the body; an optical pickup, which is installed to be able to move back and forth in the chassis, to record/reproduce information onto/from the optical disk that is rotatably placed on the turntable; a cover installed on a front of the body, the cover including: a door holder with an aperture through which the tray moves; a door to be able to slide along the door holder so as to open and close the aperture; and a cam driving device to activate the tray, to pivot the chassis, and to open and close the door by sliding.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-8637, filed on Feb. 10, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an optical disk player, and, more particularly, to an optical disk player with improved opening and closing operations of a door, and improved transport of a tray, and an improved pivoting structure of a chassis to pivot a turntable.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, an optical disk player records information on an optical disk by emitting light to the optical disk, which is a recording medium, or reproduces information that has been recorded on the optical disk from the optical disk.

Referring toFIG. 1, a conventional optical disk player includes a body10, a frame20installed within the body10to be able to pivot, a chassis30mounted on the frame20, and a tray40. The tray40includes a placing surface41where an optical disk D is placed. The tray40moves in and out of the body10so as to transport the optical disk D. Also, the conventional optical disk player includes a turntable32on which the optical disk D is placed and an optical pickup31that records/reproduces information on/from the optical disk D that is placed on the turntable32. The optical pickup31is installed to be able to reciprocate in the chassis30.

For a reciprocating movement of the tray40from the body10, the body10has a loading motor11and power transmission units13athrough c including a belt and a plurality of intermediate gears to transmit the power of the loading motor. In addition, a rack gear42is placed on a bottom surface of the tray40. Thus, power provided from the loading motor11is transmitted to the rack gear42through the power transmission units13athrough c so as to cause the tray40to reciprocate.

The frame20is installed to be able to move the body10up and down with a pivot22supported by the body10.

To this end, a cam element12that is installed in the body10receives the power of the loading motor11so as to reciprocate in a sideways direction. The cam element12has a cam hole12athat is slanted in a height direction in which a cam protrusion21of the frame20is inserted. Here, the cam protrusion21is installed in the frame20to be able to move up and down so that the cam element12is able to ascend and descend along a trajectory of the cam hole12a. The power provided to the cam element12is able to be transmitted or not transmitted according to the location of the tray140. In other words, the cam element12receives power only when the tray40is almost loaded into the body10or when the tray240is completely loaded. The power is blocked in all other instances.

To this end, a protrusion12cis formed on the cam element12. The protrusion12ccomes in contact with an inclined portion43aof a guide rail43and slides when the tray40is loaded into the body10. That is, the cam element12moves to one side and a gear12binterlocks with the power transmission unit13cas the inclined portion43aand the protrusion12ccome in contact with each other when the tray40is almost completely loaded into the body10. Accordingly, the power of the loading motor11that loaded the tray40is changed in the sliding direction of the cam element12.

Additionally, in order to prevent, for example, dust from entering into the body10after the tray40is loaded, a cover50with an aperture51and a door55to pivot within the aperture are installed on the front of the body10where the tray40enters. Here, opening and closing operations of the door55are carried out by a cooperation between a movement of the tray40and a restoring force of a spring53that is located at one side of the cover50. In other words, when the tray40is located within the body10, the door55does not interfere with the tray40and closes the aperture51by the restoration force of the spring53.

On the other hand, when unloading the tray40, an end40aof the tray40comes in contact with the inner surface of the door55as the tray40is being ejected to the outside by being driven by the loading motor11. Accordingly, the door55overcomes an elastic force of the spring53and pivots around a hinge so as to open the aperture51.

When the tray40with the optical disk D placed thereon is loaded into the body10, the frame20ascends as the cam element12slides. Then, the optical disk D is placed on top of the turntable32. The ejection operation of the tray40is carried out conversely to the previously described operation.

The door55remains in the opened state when the tray40is unloaded or being loaded. Additionally, after the loading operation is completed, the door55does not contact the tray40and the aperture51is closed, which prevents, for example, dust from entering into the body10.

The conventional optical disk player has a structure in which the door55is closed by the restoration force of the spring53, and the door55is opened by a pushing force of the tray40. Therefore, the loading motor11, which provides power to unload the tray, may be overloaded by the restoration force of the spring53and a friction between the tray40and the body10during the unloading operation. Furthermore, noise is produced when opening and closing the door55.

In addition when the end40aof the tray40is designed to be round for the convenience of placing a cartridge-type optical disk, the entire surface of the door55does not come in contact with one side of the tray40simultaneously. That is, the door55could bend during the opening and the closing operations because only a part of the door55contacts the end40aof the tray40.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an optical disk player with a structure that reduces a load that is applied to a driving source and which reduces the possibility of a bending of a door as a result of opening and closing operations of the door using power from the driving source to transport a tray and to pivot a chassis.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an optical disk player having a turntable therein includes a body; a tray to move in and out of the body so as to transport an optical disk; a chassis installed to pivot inside the body; an optical pickup to be able to move back and forth in the chassis so as to record/reproduce information onto/from the optical disk rotatably placed on the turntable; and a cover installed on a front of the body. The cover includes a door holder with an aperture through which the tray moves; a door to be able to slide along the door holder so as to open and close the aperture; and a cam driving device that activates the tray, pivots the chassis, and opens and closes the door by sliding.

The cam driving unit includes a loading motor installed inside the body; a power transmission unit to transmit power provided by the loading motor; a sliding cam driver to slide back and forth by selectively receiving power from the power transmission unit so as to guide the opening and closing of the door by sliding and the pivoting of the chassis; and a tray driving unit to drive the tray in and out of the body by selectively receiving power from the power transmission unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring toFIGS. 2 through 4, an optical disk player according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a body100, a tray110to load/unload an optical disk D and to move in and out of the body100, a chassis120installed to be able to pivot inside the body100, an optical pick up130to record/reproduce information on/from the loaded optical disk D, and a cover140installed on the front of the body100. Also, the optical disk player includes a cam driving device200to move the tray110in and out of the body100, to pivot the chassis120, and to open and close a door145by sliding. The door145is a part of the cover140.

The tray110includes a placing surface113where the optical disk D is placed. The placing surface113has a structure in which both cartridge-type optical disks and a type of optical disks with a recording surface exposed to the outside can be accommodated. In other words, the placing surface113has a rectangular placing groove113athat matches the size of the cartridge, and circular placing grooves113band113cwith a diameter of 120 mm and 80 mm, respectively.

The tray110moves between the inside and outside of the body100via the cam driving device200. To this end, a tray driving unit115, shown inFIG. 4and acting as one feature of the cam driving device200, is provided at one side of the tray110, i.e., at a bottom surface of the placing surface113. The tray driving unit115includes a tray rack gear116that reciprocates the tray110by receiving a driving power from a loading motor210and a main guide groove117that guides the tray110and converts the driving power. In addition, the tray driving unit115may further include a supplementary guide groove118formed on one side of the tray110which guides a sliding cam230. The detailed structure and operation of the tray driving unit115will be described later.

A turntable121with the optical disk D transported by the tray100placed thereon, and the optical pickup130are installed on the chassis120. The turntable121is installed on a rotating axis of a spindle motor123which provides a rotating power. The turntable121is rotated when recording/reproducing information on/from the optical disk D.

The optical pickup130is to be able to reciprocate along a guide shaft135that is placed in the chassis120. The optical pickup130moves along a surface of the optical disk D placed on the turntable121in a radial direction and is guided by the guide shaft135. The optical pickup130emits light to the optical disk D, receives light reflected from the optical disk D, and records/reproduces the information on/from the optical disk D. The structure and operation of the optical pickup130is well-known to those skilled in the art. Thus, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The chassis120is reciprocated in the body100via a coupling of the chassis120to the cam driving device200. In other words, the chassis120ascends when the tray110has fully entered inside the body100to load the optical disk D to the turntable121. In other cases, the chassis120descends such that the chassis does not interfere with the movement of the tray110that moves in and out of the body100. To this end, the chassis120includes a pivot125coupled to a predetermined location of the body100to be able to pivot. The chassis120further includes chassis pivoting guide pins127to guide ascension and descension of the chassis120. The chassis pivoting guide pins are connected to pivoting guide cam holes233of the sliding cam230.

The cover140has a door holder141with an aperture141ain which the tray110moves, and the door145installed on the door holder141to be able to slide on the door holder141to open and close the aperture141a.

Door guide grooves147are formed on the one surface of the door145that faces the cam driving device200. The door guide grooves147guide the ascension and descension of the door145according to the location of the cam driving device200. Thus, at least a portion of the door guide grooves147is formed in a slanted direction. Consequently, the door145moves vertically according to a horizontal movement of the sliding cam230. That is, the door145ascends to close the aperture141awhen the entrance of the tray110into the body100is completed. As a result, an entrance of foreign substances from outside the body100into the body100is prevented. In another case, the door145descends to open the aperture141aaccording to a horizontal movement of the sliding cam230.

The door holder141may include a guide rail142to guide the ascension and descension of the door145. The guide rail142formed within the aperture141ais coupled to the door145so that the door145is able to ascend and descend along the guide rail142. Additionally, a stopper144is formed on one side of the aperture141aof the door holder141to prevent an improper insertion of the door145when assembling the door145to the door holder141, and may have a hanger sill148formed on at least one side of the lower portion of the door145. Therefore, the hanger sill148interferes with the guide rail142or the stopper144. Therefore, an improper insertion of the door145is prevented. Furthermore, along with the improper insertion prevention structure and/or instead of the structure, a distinguishing indicator149may be formed on the door145to illustrate an assembling direction of the door145. Therefore, an assembly-person or an assembling machine incorrectly assembling the door145to the door holder141may be prevented from doing so by distinguishing the assembling direction with the distinguishing indicator149.

The cam driving device200drives the tray110, the chassis120, and the door140with the power provided from one driving source. Of course, it is understood that this one driving source may itself comprise additional driving sources. As such, the cam driving device200includes the loading motor210and a power transmission unit220installed inside the body100, the sliding cam230installed to be able to slide inside the body100, and the tray driving unit115installed on the tray110.

The power transmission unit220that is installed inside the body100selectively transmits power provided from the loading motor210to the sliding cam230and the tray driving unit115.

FIG. 5is one example of the power transmission unit220with a structure that reduces and transmits power that is provided from the loading motor210. Referring toFIG. 5, the power transmission unit220includes a first pulley221mounted on a rotating axis of the loading motor210, a second pulley222with a larger diameter than the first pulley221, a belt223installed between the first and second pulleys221and222, intermediary gears224and225of single or double layer structure, and a pinion gear227. Thus, the power from the loading motor210is transmitted to the pinion gear227through the belt223and intermediary gears224and225.

As shown inFIG. 4, the pinion gear227selectively meshes with a sliding rack gear235provided at a plate of the sliding cam230and the tray rack gear116to selectively transmit power to the sliding cam230and the tray110. The power transmission and interception process through the pinion gear227will be described later.

The power transmission unit220may be configured in various ways besides the one presented herein byFIG. 5. For example, having a structure where a pinion gear227is directly installed on the rotating axis of the loading motor210is possible.

The reciprocating sliding drive of the sliding cam230guides the opening and closing of the door145through sliding and the pivoting movement of the chassis120by selectively receiving the power from the power transmission unit220.

Besides moving the tray110in and out of the body100, the tray driving unit115selectively transmits the power received through the pinion gear227to the sliding cam230and the tray110. To this end, the tray driving unit115includes the tray rack gear116to reciprocally move the tray110, the main guide groove117to guide the reciprocating transport of the tray110and to perform power transmission, and the supplementary guide groove118to guide the transport of the sliding cam230.

The main guide groove117guides a main guide boss237included in the sliding cam230and may be divided into a tray guide portion117a, a clutch portion117b, and a sliding cam transport guide portion117caccording to an arrangement structure and operation thereof.

The tray guide portion117ais formed in line with the reciprocal transportation direction of the tray110. The clutch portion117bis inclined relative to the movement direction of the tray110. Therefore, during the loading operation, i.e., when the tray110enters inside the body100, the clutch portion117bmoves a sliding plate231horizontally towards the pinion gear227. Accordingly, the sliding rack gear235meshes with the pinion gear227so as to transmit the power to the sliding plate231. Here, the pinion gear227does not mesh with the tray rack gear116. On the other hand, during the unloading operation, the clutch portion117bmoves the tray110a predetermined distance to separate the pinion gear227from the sliding rack gear235, and at the same time, meshes the pinion gear227with the tray rack gear116.

The sliding cam transport guide portion117cis formed in line with the transport direction of the sliding plate231to guide the transport of the sliding plate231.

The supplementary guide groove118is formed on one side of the tray110in which the main guide groove117is formed to assist the guide of the sliding plate231.

The sliding cam230guides the opening and the closing of the door145by sliding and by the movement of the chassis120. The sliding cam includes the sliding plate231, the main guide boss237, and door ascending/descending guide pins239.

The sliding plate231, installed to be able to repeatedly move vertically with respect to the movement direction of the tray110, includes the pivoting guide cam holes233that guide the movement of the chassis120and the sliding rack gear that selectively meshes with the pinion gear227.

The pivoting guide cam holes233are formed to face one side of the chassis120on a surface extended downward from one part of the top surface of the sliding plate231. As illustrated inFIG. 10, a portion of the pivoting guide cam holes233is slanted. The chassis pivoting guide pins127are inserted into the pivoting guide cam holes233. Thus, the vertical location of the chassis pivoting guide pins127is decided within the movement guide cam groove233according to the location of the sliding plate231. As previously described, the chassis120ascends after the tray110is inserted into the body100, and the chassis120descends in the other occasion by having the pivoting guide cam holes233and the chassis pivoting guide pins127cooperate with each other.

The sliding rack gear235meshes with the pinion gear227selectively and transforms a rotary motion of the pinion gear227into a straight-line motion. Thus, the sliding plate231may be reciprocatingly transported in a straight line by the power from the loading motor210.

The main guide boss237, formed on a predetermined location of the sliding plate231, is inserted into the main guide groove117, as previously described. Thus, when the power is changed, the pinion gear227is selectively meshed with the tray rack gear116or the sliding rack gear235as a result of an interaction of the main guide boss237with the clutch portion117b.

The door ascending/descending guide pins239, formed in a protrusion on the one side of the sliding plate231that faces the door145, are coupled to the door guide grooves147to guide the ascent and descent of the door145. That is, the door ascending/descending guide pins239cause the door145to ascend or descend according to the horizontal movement of the sliding plate231.

The supplementary guide boss238, formed in a protrusion on the one side of the sliding plate231that faces the tray110, is inserted into the supplementary guide groove118to guide the transport of the tray110.

Below, loading and unloading operations of the optical disk player according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 6 through 12.

Referring toFIG. 6, the operation of placing the optical disk D is performed when the door145is completely opened and the tray110is completely outside the body100while the chassis120descends. In this case, the placing surface113of the tray110is exposed to the outside and the optical disk D inside an optical cartridge or an optical disk without the optical cartridge (not shown) to record and reproduce information is placed on the placing surface113. Here, the pinion gear227is meshed with one part of the tray rack gear116. In addition, the main guide boss237is placed at an end of the tray guide portion117athat is opposite the leading edge of the tray when the tray is unloaded from the body100.

When performing loading in this current state, the power from the loading motor210rotates the pinion gear227through the power transmission unit220. The tray220moves into the body100when the power is transmitted to the tray110through the tray rack gear116, as illustrated inFIG. 7.

Referring toFIG. 7, as the tray110continues to load into the body100, the main guide boss237meets with the clutch portion117bof the tray guide portion177a. At this time, the sliding plate231does not move because the sliding rack gear235remains separated from the pinion gear227. Consequently, the door145remains opened, and the chassis129remains descended.

The main guide boss237continues to enter the clutch portion117bwhile the tray110continually moves, as illustrated inFIG. 8. Here, the main guide boss237receives a force in a vertical direction while being restricted in the moving direction of the tray110as a result of contact between the slanted side of the clutch portion117band the main guide boss. Through this force, the sliding rack gear235is forced to mesh with the pinion gear227as the sliding plate231moves. Here, a continued movement of the tray110releases the meshing of the tray rack gear116and the pinion gear227.

As such, when the main guide boss237moves as necessary under the guidance of the clutch portion117b, the chassis pivoting guide pins127move through the horizontal portion of the pivoting guide cam holes233, as illustrated inFIG. 10. Thus, the chassis120maintains a descension pivoting state as illustrated inFIG. 11.

Also, the door ascending/descending guide pins239move through the horizontal portions of the door guide grooves147, as illustrated inFIG. 8. Thus, the door145still remains opened.

FIG. 9shows the completed loading operation. Referring toFIG. 9, once the main guide boss237has passed the clutched portion117band entered the sliding cam transport guide portion117c, the meshing of the pinion gear227to the tray rack gear116is released. Thus, the tray110is inside the body100. In this case, the pinion gear227is meshed with the sliding rack gear235and the sliding plate231moves to the right direction, as shown inFIG. 9after receiving the power of the loading motor210.

In this case, the chassis pivoting guide pins127, as shown inFIG. 10, moves in the slanted portion of the pivoting guide cam holes233. In other words, when the sliding plate231moves in the direction of arrow “A” shown inFIG. 10, the chassis120moves upward because the chassis120is restricted on the other side. Thus, as illustrated inFIG. 12, the turntable121installed on the chassis120ascends as the chassis120pivots upward with the pivot125as a center. Accordingly, the optical disk D is distanced from the placing surface113as the optical disk D placed on the placing surface113is located above the turntable121. The optical disk D placed on the turntable121rotates as a result of the rotating force of the spindle motor123. Here, the bottom surface of an optical disk that is mounted in a cartridge type on the tray110is exposed by a shutter opener (not shown) that opens a shutter of the cartridge and placed on the turntable121. As such, the optical pickup130moves in the radius direction of the optical disk D along the guide shaft135(seeFIG. 2) and performs recording/reproducing of information of the optical disk D while the optical disk D is placed on the turntable121.

Additionally in this case, the door ascending/descending guide pins239move through the slanted portions of the door guide grooves147, as illustrated inFIG. 9. Here, the door145closes the aperture141aby ascending along the guide rail142because the other side of the door145is restricted. Therefore, by closing the aperture141a, an entry of foreign substances inside the body100while the optical disk player is operating is prevented.

The unloading operation as illustrated inFIG. 6from the current loading state is performed in reverse to the previously described loading operation.

An optical disk player according to the present invention transformed an opening and closing operations of a door installed on a cover into a sliding type, and opens and closes the door using power from a loading motor involved in transporting a tray and pivoting a chassis on which a turntable installed.

Therefore, compared to the conventional optical disk player with a pivoting type door that pivots to open and close the door by contacting a tray and a restoring force of a spring, the present invention has an advantage that load applied to the loading motor when loading and noise may be reduced. In addition, less overall space is needed because a separate space to open and close the door is not required. Also, a possibility that the door would be bent may be fundamentally prevented by opening and closing the door using a sliding-type of door.