RECORD DISK ASSEMBLY

Abstract: A record disk assembly for use on a disk drive unit wherein the assembly comprises an enclosure (36) (38) and a record disk (10) therein. The enclosure has aperture means (42) (44) for insertion therethrough of a transducer head of the disk drive unit and through which the record disk (10) can be engaged for rotation. A shutter mechanism (46) (48) associated with the aperture means (42) (44) is movable between a first position at least partially closing the aperture means and a second position opening the aperture means. The shutter mechanism (46) (48) is biased toward its aperture-closing position. An abutment member (54) of the disk drive unit enters into the enclosure (36) (38) to a position within the outer circumference of the record disk (10). The abutment member (54) engages surface means (56) (58) associated with the shutter mechanism to move the shutter mechanism from its aperture-closing position to its aperture-opening position.

Description: RECORD DISK ASSEMBLY Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to record disk assemblies for information storage and retrieval, and more particularly to such assemblies including enclosures having means for protecting one or more recording surfaces of a record disk from dust and other contaminants. Description of the Prior Art Record disks have been used for many years to store information for use in various types of devices, such as for example word processors and computer systems. In many cases, such disks are carried in rigid or semi-rigid enclosures to protect the record disk from physical damage and from dust, fingerprints, and other contaminants. An inner enclosure or liner may also be provided to afford further protection against contamination and abrasion of the disk. In such a disk assembly, at least one aperture is provided in the enclosure through which a read and/or write head can be received so that the record disk need not be removed from the enclosure during use. When using such an enclosure, however, dust as well as other contaminants can reach the record disk surface through the aperture. To inhibit this, an openable shutter is sometimes provided, as shown in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,593,327; 4,120.012; and 4.471,397. In the type of construction to which the present invention is directed, the shutter is spring loaded to its closed position and is opened by the act of moving the enclosure endwise into a disk drive unit in which it is to be used. Because the force required to open the shutter is derived from the endwise enclosure movement, and tends to resist insertion, the maximum force required will be inversely related to the distance through which the enclosure moves endwise while effecting the shutter opening operation. In the construction shown in U.S. Patent 4,131,199. for example, the actuating element of the shutter blade is engaged near the center of the inserted end of the enclosure by a fixed abutment member in the machine. However, to prevent the abutment member from damaging the disk, the former does not enter the region of the enclosure occupied by the disk, thus severely limiting its effective movement of the actuating element and requiring a correspondingly high insertion force. Alternatively, to reduce the insertion force, some prior art enclosures include an internal linkage operable by an actuating member that is movable along a substantial portion of one edge of the enclosure, beyond the region occupied by the shutter. This type of construction obviously entails substantial complication of the enclosure construction and, because the resisting force is along one edge, also tends to cause the enclosure to cock or rotate it when it is inserted in the machine, because the resisting force is along one edge. This is particularly significant in the case of a relatively small enclosure intended to be loaded with one hand. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to improve a record disk assembly having an enclosure with a shuttered aperture and with a shutter opening mechanism by making it reliable and economical to manufacture while at the same time improving the ease with which it can be loaded into a disk recorder, disk player or similar disk drive unit. The objects of the invention are accomplished by a record disk assembly for use installed on a disk drive unit having a transducer head, a drive member, and an abutment member. The record disk assembly comprises an enclosure, a record disk within the enclosure, and aperture means in the enclosure for insertion therethrough of the transducer head of such a disk drive unit and through which the record disk can be rotated by the drive member. The improvement in the record disk assembly further comprises: a shutter mechanism associated with the aperture means and movable between a position at least partially closing the aperture means and a position opening the aperture means; biasing means for urging the shutter mechanism toward its aperture-closing position; and surface means associated with the shutter mechanism for engagement by the abutment member of such a disk drive unit, movement of the abutment member into the enclosure to a position within the cylindrical projection of the outer circumference of the record disk being effective to move the shutter mechanism from its aperture-closing position to its aperture-opening position. The present invention is further directed to a record disk assembly for use on a disk drive unit wherein the abutment member of the disk drive unit enters into the enclosure through a slot extending parallel to the edges of the enclosure from the central portion of its insertion end to, or even beyond, a central enclosure opening through which the disk is engaged by the drive unit for impacting rotation to the disk. A liner member, enclosed within the enclosure, is interposed between the slot and the disk, thereby protecting the disk from the abutment member. Consequently, the disk face can move with the enclosure adjacent the abutment member without being damaged thereof and can thus have a relatively long effective travel to minimize the resisting force created by opening the shutter and overpowering its biasing spring. Furthermore, the actuating element of the shutter member cooperates with the abutment member in such a way as to retract the shutter away from the disk, thus allowing access to record disk. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described with respect to the drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the record disk and liner portion of the record disk assembly in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of a portion of the record disk and liner shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a record disk assembly in accordance with the present invention with the shutter mechanism in its aperture-closing position; Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the record disk assembly as shown in Fig. 3 with the shutter mechanism in its aperture-closing position; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 with the shutter mechanism in its aperture-opening position; Fig. 6 is a side sectional view of an edge portion of the record disk assembly shown in Fig. 4; and Fig. 7 is a side sectional view of a central portion of the record disk assembly shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the record disk assembly shown in Fig. 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Because record disk assemblies and disk drive units used therewith are well known, the present description will be directed in particular to elements forming part of, or cooperating directly with, apparatus in accordance with the present invention. It is to be understood that elements not specifically shown or described may take various forms well known to those skilled in the art. Figs. 1 and 2 show a record disk 10 and a jacket/liner 12 in which the record disk is sealed. For purposes of illustration, the record disk is shown as a magnetic floppy disk, but other types of recording media may be used in accordance with the present invention. Disk 10 has a circular aperture which is concentric with the outer circumference of the disk. A central hub 16 is located within the aperture and has centering and drive features 18 and 20 for engagement by a disk drive unit. Liner 12, into which record disk 10 is inserted and sealed, is formed from a sheet of material fabricated by bonding a liner of porous, fiberous. low-friction, anti-static material 22, to a layer 24 of solid, outer material. The liner has a circular aperture 26 located at its center and generally coaxially with hub 16 of record disk 10, although the record disk is somewhat movable within the liner. An oval aperture 28 is located symmetrically along a line from the center of circular aperture 26 orthogonal to a side 30 of the liner. Similar apertures may be provided on the other liner wall and aligned with apertures 26 and 28. By placing record disk 10 into a protective member such as liner 12, handling operations before final assembly are facilitated. Liner 12 also provides a protective barrier between the cartridge shutter mechanism and the fragile record disk, as will become apparent later in this specification. Referring to Figs. 3, 4, and 8 a record disk assembly is shown in top and bottom views, respectively. The disk assembly comprises a record disk and liner combination, as described above with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, within an enclosure 34. The enclosure is formed of top and bottom halves 36 and 38, respectively, which are hingably connected at edge 40. Top and bottom halves 36 and 38 are preferably formed of rigid molded material to protect record disk 10 therein. Once loaded and closed, the enclosure halves can be sealed together such as by adhesive or ultrasonic bonding to prevent removal of the record disk and liner. Top and bottom halves 36 and 38 include aperture means for insertion therethrough of a transducer head of a disk drive unit and through which record disk 10 can be rotated by the drive member of such a disk drive unit. The aperture means includes an opening 42 in top half 36 and an opening 44 in bottom half 38. Openings 42 and 44 are aligned with oval apertures 28 in liner 12, whereby access is provided to the record disk through the openings and those apertures. Further, opening 44 in bottom half 38 is enlarged to align with hub 16 of the record disk so that centering and drive features 18 and 20 can be engaged by the drive member of a disk drive unit. A shutter mechanism is provided for closing off openings 42 and 44 to protect the record disk from physical damage from dust, fingerprints, and other contaminants. The shutter mechanism includes top and bottom shutter blades 46 and 48. respectively, which are joined at a pin 50 for simultaneous rotation about the axis of the pin. The shutter mechanism is urged toward an aperture-closing position as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 by a torsion spring 52 shown in Fig. 4. In that position, the shutter mechanism underlies openings 42 and 44 to protect the record disk and to inhibit insertion through the openings of foreign objects. Referring now to Figs. 4-6. it can be seen that opening 44 in bottom half 38 extends to the edge 53 of the enclosure which is opposite hinged edge 40. This permits entry into opening 44 of an abutment member 54 of a disk drive unit as the record disk assembly is loaded into the disk drive unit. The abutment member enters opening 44 along a path parallel to. and on one side of a diametrical cord passing through the center of record disk 10. The path of abutment member 54 is on the opposite side of the diametrical cord from pin 50 about which top and bottom shutter blades 56 and 58 rotate. As abutment pin enters opening 44, it makes engagement with surface means associated with the shutter mechanism. Further movement of the abutment member into the enclosure to a position within the cylindrical projection of the outer circumference of record disk 10 is effective to move the shutter mechanism from its aperture-closing position to its aperture-opening position. The surface means associated with the shutter mechanism includes first and second, substantially orthogonal surfaces 56 and 58, respectively, of bottom shutter blade 48. First surface 56 is substantially perpendicular to a radius of record disk 10. Movement of abutment member 54 into the enclosure causes bottom shutter blade 48 to rotate about the axis of pin 50 against the return force of spring 52 as surface 56 of the shutter blade moves along the abutment member and then as surface 58 moves along the abutment member. Until the abutment member has reached the position shown in Fig. 5, at which time the shutter blades are fully opened to provide access to the record disk and its hub. Referring specifically to Fig. 6, it can be seen that abutment member 54 is preferably provided with an enlarged head 60 to prevent bottom shutter blade 48 from riding over the top of the abutment member. As can be seen in Fig. 7. top half 36 of enclosure 34 has a depending annular rib 62 which serves to center hub 16 of record disk 10 to inhibit lateral shifting of the record disk and to thereby prevent possible damage to the circumference thereof. Top shutter blade 46 has been provided with a recess 64 to accommodate annular rib 62 when the shutter blade is in its aperture-closing position.

Claims: Claims 1. In a record disk assembly for use installed on a disk drive unit having a transducer head, a drive member, and an abutment member (54); wherein the record disk assembly includes an enclosure (36) (38), a record disk (10) within the enclosure, aperture means (42) (44) in the enclosure for insertion therethrough of the transducer head of such a disk drive unit and through which the record disk can be rotated by the drive member; the improvement wherein said record disk assembly further comprises: a shutter mechanism (46) (48) associated with said aperture means (42) (44) and movable between a position at least partially closing said aperture means and a position opening said aperture means; biasing means (52) for urging said shutter mechanism toward its aperture-closing position; and surface means (56) (58) associated with said shutter mechanism for engagement by the abutment member (54) of such a disk drive unit, movement of the abutment member into said enclosure to a position within the cylindrical projection of the outer circumference of said record disk being effective to move said shutter mechanism from its aperture-closing position to its aperture-opening position. 2. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein said shutter mechanism (46) (48) inhibits insertion through said aperture means (42) (44) of both the transducer head and the drive member of such a disk drive unit. 3. The improvement as defined in claim l wherein said surface means comprises first and second, substantially orthogonal surfaces (56) (58) respectively which are engaged in sequence by the abutment member (54). 4. The improvement as defined in claim 3 wherein said first surface (56) is substantially perpendicular to a radius of said record disk (10). 5. The improvement as defined in claim 4 wherein: the abutment member (54) of such a disk drive unit enters said enclosure (36) (38) along a path parallel to and on one side of a predetermined diametrical cord of said record disk (10); and said shutter mechanism (46) (48) is supported for rotation about a second axis parallel to said axis of rotation of said record disk, said second axis being on the side of said diametrical cord opposite to said abutment member path. 6. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein: said aperture ' means (42) (44) includes apertures on both sides of said record disk; said shutter mechanism includes (1) a pair of shutter blades (56) (58) on opposed sides of said record disk (10). and (2) means interconnecting said shutter blades for common movement; and said surface means (56) (58) is associated with only one of said shutter blades, whereby an abutment member (54) entering into said enclosure on one side of said record disk will effect movement of both of said shutter blades to said shutter-opening position.

Inventors: COVINGTON ROGER GALEN, HARRIS CLARK EUGENE, COVINGTON, ROGER, GALEN, HARRIS, CLARK, EUGENE
Applicants: EASTMAN KODAK CO, EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
Application year: 1986
Main classification: G11B23
IPC codes: G11B23