Disc cartridge

Abstract: The present invention relates to a disc cartridge for accommodating a disc therein, which comprises a spindle hole into which a spindle is inserted to rotate the disc, a head insertion hole into which a read and/or write head is inserted and which is located adjacent to the spindle hole, and a shutter for closing and opening the head insertion hole which is slidingly moved along a guide portion formed at a front end of the cartridge opposed to a reproducing apparatus, the shutter being urged by an elastic member in the direction where the head insertion hole is closed, accommodated in an elastic member accommodating space having an elastic member insertion inlet through which the elastic member is inserted. The disc cartridge is improved in that an inner wall of the cartridge for defining the elastic member accommodating space has a reinforcing rib for reinforcing the inner wall in addition to a surrounding wall for surrounding the disc when the disc is accommodated in the cartridge.

Description: The present invention relates to a disc cartridge according to the preamble of claim 1, especially to a disc cartridge for encasing a recording medium such as an optical disc or a magnetic disc. In general, a magnetic disc or an optical disc is encased in a cassette case made of two shell halves. A hole into which a spindle for rotating the disc is to be inserted is formed in a central portion of the cassette case. Adjacent to the spindle hole, a head insertion hole into which a write and read head is to be inserted is formed in the radial direction to traverse the recording surface of the disc. The head insertion hole is opened and closed by a shutter having an opening corresponding to the head insertion hole. However, in this disc cartridge, only the head insertion hole is closed by the shutter in a state wherein the spindle hole is exposed to the atmosphere. In this manner, if the spindle hole is exposed to the atmosphere, dust enters inside the cartridge to contaminate the surface of the disc. Moreover, since an opening of the shutter for opening and closing the spindle hole is simply formed so as to cut a rectangle portion of a planar plate of the cartridge, a write and read head cannot be inserted close to the surface of the disc when the head is inserted into the head insertion hole along the surface of the cartridge. In addition, the shutter is reciprocatingly moved, along a guide portion of the cartridge, by a drive pin provided in a recording and reproducing apparatus (player) and, however, the shutter cannot be smoothly moved because of various defects of the guide portion thereof. In conventional disc cartridges as disclosed in EP 0 264 237 A3, the shutter for closing and opening the head insertion hole is usually biased by an elastic member such as a coil spring towards a position for closing said head insertion hole. The elastic member is accommodated in an elastic member accommodating space which is defined inside the cartridge enclosed to the front end of the cartridge, along which the shutter is moved. Owing to the elastic forces of the spring acting on the walls of the cartridge, said walls close to the guide portion at the front end of the cartridge are deformed. Therefore, the shutter gets stuck and cannot be moved towards its opened position, so that the cartridge cannot be inserted duly into a recording and reproducing apparatus such as a drive of a computer. From a prior art document EP-A2-0 260 876 a disc cartridge casing is known. Said casing comprises a spindle hole for inserting a spindle to rotate a disc accommodated within the casing. A head entry aperture is provided at said casing adjacent to said spindle hole. A shutter is provided for opening and closing the head entry aperture and is slidingly movable along a guide means formed at a front end of the cartridge. A spring means is provided for urging the shutter in a direction where the head entry aperture is closed. Said spring means is accommodated within a spring storage section of the casing. At said spring storage section, a pin-shaped boss is provided at the casing which supports a coil part of the spring means to hold said part in place while the spring means urges the movable shutter towards the closed position thereof. It is an objective of the present invention to provide an improved disc cartridge of the type as indicated above, so that the shutter can be smoothly and reliably moved so as to open and close the openings of the disc cartridge. According to the present invention, this objective is solved by a disc cartridge for accommodating a disc therein, which comprises: a spindle hole into which a spindle is inserted to rotate the disc; a head insertion hole into which a read and/or write head is inserted and which is located adjacent to the spindle hole; and a shutter for closing and opening the head insertion hole which is slidingly moved along a guide portion formed at a front end of the cartridge, opposed to a reproducing apparatus, the shutter being urged by an elastic member in the direction where the head insertion hole is closed, accommodated in an elastic member accommodating space having an elastic member insertion inlet through which the elastic member is inserted thereinto, wherein the elastic member has a coil portion which is moved in the accommodating space in accordance with opening and closing operation of the shutter along an arc moving locus, an inner wall of the cartridge for defining the elastic member accommodating space having a lengthy reinforcing rib for reinforcing the inner wall and for guiding the coil portion thereof along the arc moving locus in addition to a surrounding wall for surrounding the disc when the disc is accommodated in the cartridge. The provision of the reinforcing rib can prevent the walls defining the spring accommodating portion from being deformed, thereby permitting the shutter to be moved smoothly without getting stuck. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a reinforcing rib is provided on each of the inner walls defining the elastic member accommodating space. Further preferred embodiments of the present invention are laid down in further dependent claims. Hereinafter, the present invention is illustrated and explained in greater detail by means of preferred embodiments thereof in connection with accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG.1 is a perspective view of a cartridge, as viewed from the side of an upper shell half, showing a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a perspective view, as viewed from the side of a lower shell half, showing the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shutter as viewed in a certain direction; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the shutter in FIG. 3 as viewed in another direction; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cartridge showing a second embodiment; FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a shutter as viewed in a certain direction; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the shutter in FIG.6 as viewed in another direction; FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a cartridge in which a shutter is opened; FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a cartridge of double-side disc type, showing a third embodiment; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a shutter for a cartridge of double-side disc type; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a shutter for a cartride of write and read type, showing a fourth embodiment; FIG. 12 is a perspective wiew of a cartridge provided with the shutter in FIG. 11; FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a cartridge of one-side type, showing a fifth embodiment; FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of an elongated arm of the cartridge of FIG. 13; FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a cartridge of double-side type, showing a sixth embodiment; FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of an elongated arm of the cartridge in FIG. 15; FIG. 17 is a partial perspective view of another elongated arm; FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the elongated arm in FIG. 17; FIG. 19 is a plan view of a lower shell half of a cartride, showing a seventh embodiment; FIG. 20 is an enlarged view of a recess for receiving a drive pin; FIG. 21 is an enlarged view of a spring accommodating space of a cartridge, showing a ninth embodiment; FIG. 22 is a perspective view of an upper shell half of a cartridge having a reinforcing rib; FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a lower shell half of a cartridge having a reinforcing rib; FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a lower shell half of a cartridge having a reinforcing rib in another form; FIG. 25 is a perspective view of an upper shell half of a cartridge having a reinforcing rib in still another form; FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a lower shell half of a cartridge having a reinforcing rib in still another form; FIG. 27 is an elevational view of a spring accommodating space of a cartridge formed by the upper and lower shell halves in FIGS 25 and 26, respectively; FIG. 28 is an elevational view of a spring accommodating space of a cartridge whose upper shell half has a reinforcing rib; FIG. 29 is a plan view of a cartridge as viewed from the upper shell half thereof, showing a tenth embodiment; FIG. 30 is a plan view of a cartridge as viewed from the lower shell half thereof; FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 29; FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view talken along the line B-B of FIG. 29; FIG. 33 is a perspective view of a cartridge and a case, showing an eleventh embodiment; FIG. 34 is an elevational view of a case wall of a case in FIG. 33; and FIG. 35 is a perspective view of a bag accommodating therein the cartridge and the case in FIG. 33. FIG. 1 shows the front side of a cartridge C of one-side type in which informations are recorded on only one side of an optical disc or a magnetic disc, and FIG. 2 shows the back side of the cartridge C. The cartridge C has an upper shell half 1 and a lower shell half 2 in alignment with each other. At the center portion of the lower shell half 2 is formed a spindle hole 3 into which a spindle is inserted for rotating a disc d accommodated therein. A hub 20 provided at the center portion of the disc d is engaged with the spindle hole 3. A head insertion hole 4 is formed adjacent to the spindle hole 3 so that a write and read head is inserted into the spindle hole 3. The write and read head may be a read head which is not provided with a writing function. The upper shell half 1 has a magnetic bias hole 5 into which a magnetic head is inserted when informations are recorded again. In this cartridge, a spindle hole is not formed on the upper half shell 1. A shutter 7 is slidably provided at a guide portion G located at the end portion on the side of a recording and reproducing apparatus (player) in order to open and close the three holes. The shutter 7 is formed of a single metal sheet such as a stainless plate as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The shutter 7 has a long closing plate 8 whose lower end is guided by a retainer plate 6 (FIG.2). A short closing plate 12 is provided opposite to the long closing plate 8 whose lower end forms a guiding side ℓ 1 abutting against a guiding side ℓ 0 provided on the upper shell half 1 of the cartridge C (FIG.1). At the bent portion of the shutter 7 is formed a slide portion 13 which has an elongated arm 13a extended from the bent portion. The slide portion 13 engages with the guide portion G formed at the end portion of the cartridge C on the side of a recording and reproducing apparatus when the cartridge C is inserted thereinto. The slide portion 13 has a guide groove engagement part 11 at its one end while the slide portion 13 has a spring engagement part 14 at the opposite side of the guide groove engagement part 11, to which one end of a spring 15 is fixed for urging the shutter 7 in one direction. In this manner, if the slide portion 13 is formed long and if the shutter 7 is slidingly moved while the guide groove engagement part 11 located at its distal end is engaged with a guide groove go of the guide portion G, the shutter 7 can be stably slid. In addition, as the guide side ℓ 1 is guided by the guide side ℓ 0 formed on the upper shell half 1, the shutter 7 can be smoothly slid. The elongated arm 13a of the slide portion has a cutout 16 through which the write and read head H can be smoothly inserted into the head insertion hole 4 along the elongated direction of the cartridge C as shown in FIG.8. At the front end of the cartridge C is formed a cutout 22 corresponding to the cutout 16 of the elongated arm 13a. These structures of the cartridge C make it possible to simultaneously close the spindle hole and the head insertion hole and to stably move the shutter. Further, the write and read head can be smoothly inserted into the head insertion hole 4 in its longitudinal direction. Hereinafter, the spring mechanism is explained in greater detail. As shown in Fig. 21, at the end face of a spring accommodating portion 70 is provided a spring insertion inlet 71 through which the spring 15 is inserted thereinto. A wall defining the portion 70 has a reinforcing rib S which is formed not so as to obstruct the movement of the spring 15 as shown in FIGS. 21 to 28. The formation of the reinforcing rib S can prevent the deformation of the walls defining the spring accommodating portion 70 thereby to enable the shutter to move smoothly. Two reinforcing ribs S formed on the upper and lower shell halves, respectively, may be intersected when the upper and lower shell halves are assembled. That is, one rib S is provided with the upper shell 1 to form a triangle corner together with the two end sides of the upper shell half as shown in FIG. 22 while the other rib S is provided with the lower shell 2 along a diagonal line as shown in FIG. 23. Further, as shown in FIG. 24, the reinforcing rib S may be in the form of a cross. As shown in FIGS. 25 to 28, a reinforcing rib S may be in the form of an arc extending along the moving locus of a coil portion 15a of the coil spring 15 when the coil spring 15 is expanded and shrunken. The rib S may be formed on not only both shell halves 1, 2 but also either shell half 1 or 2. The rib S reinforces the wall of the cartridge and guides the coil portion 15a of the coil spring 15 thereby to enable the coil spring 15 to expand and shrink smoothly. This smooth movement of the spring 15 enables the shutter to move smoothly and steadily. FIGS. 29 and 30 shows two plan views of one-side cartridge as viewed from the front side and the back side, respectively. On the inner surfaces of the upper and lower shell halves 1, 2 are formed two annular ribs 81, 81, respectively, in which a disc is accommodated. The inner surface of the upper shell half 1 has an annular rib 83 at its center portion, the diameter of which is slightly larger than that of the hub 20 of the disc d. The rib 83 is opposed to a non-recording portion of the disc d, on which informations are not recorded (FIGS. 31 and 32). The height of the rib 83 projected from the inner surface 1b of the upper shell half 1 is determined at e. g., 0.3mm and the depth of the recess, surrounded by the rib 83, dropped from the lower surface of the rib 83 is determined at e. g., 0.6mm. In a normal disc, the height of the hub 20 projected from the surface of the disc d is about 0.6mm. Accordingly, when the disc d is moved upwardly, the rib 83 abuts against the upper surface of the disc d to maintain a proper space between the disc d and the inner surface of the upper shell half 1. At this time, the hub 20 does not abut against the inner surface of the recess surrounded by the annular rib 83. The hub 20 is projected into the spindle hole 3 defined by an annular rib 82 thereby to refrain the movement of the disc d in its radial direction. FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 shows another embodiment of a shutter. The shutter 107 has a window frame 10 integrally formed on the short closing plate 12. The window frame 10 defines a window 9 which is opposed to the magnetic bias hole 5 when the shutter 107 is opened. The lower ends of the short closing plate 12 and the window frame 10 form a long guide side ℓ 10 which abuts against a guide side ℓ 0 formed on the upper shell half 1 of the cartridge C. FIG.9 show an embodiment of a cartridge of double-side type. This type of cartridge can be adapted for a double-side optical disc of 3.5 inches. The spindle hole 3 and the head insertion hole 4 are opened and closed by a shutter 30 (FIG.10) whose lower end is guided by a retainer plate 31. The shutter 30 is formed in such a manner that a sheet of stainless plate is bent at itscenter portion. The shutter 30 has a pair of closing plates 32, 32 opposed to each other and a slide portion 33 at its bent portion. The slide portion 33 engages with the front side of the cartridge C 1 . Each closing plate 32 has a window 34 at a position opposed to each of the spindle hole 3 and the head insertion hole 4. When the two windows 34 are opposed to the two holes 3, 4, respectively, the two holes 3, 4 are opened. The shutter 30 is urged by a spring (not shown) in the direction where the two holes 3, 4 are closed. The slide portion 33 has a recess 115 for receiving a drive pin P 1 of the recording and reproducing apparatus. The shutter 30 is slidingly moved by the drive pin P 1 and is returned to an original position to close the two holes 3, 4 when the drive pin P 1 releases the shutter 30. At one end of the slide portion 33 is formed a slanting surface 35 for guiding smoothly a so-called useless pin, i.e., unnecessary opening and closing pin P o . The slide portion 33 has an elongated arm 36 at a position corresponding to the windows 34. The opposite ends of the elongated arm 36 in its lateral direction are provided with a pair of cutouts 37, 37 each of which correspond to the cutout 22 of the front end of the cartridge (FIG.9). These cutouts 22, 37 make it possible to guide smoothly the write and read head H into the head insertion hole 4. The elongated arm 37 has a guide groove engagement portion 39 at its distal end. FIG. 11 shows a modified embodiment of the shutter shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. A shutter 40 has an elongated arm 41 whose opposite sides are cut away to form a pair of cutouts 42, 42, respectively. The function of the shutter 40 will now be explained with respect to FIG. 12. First, when the informations on the disc d are read, the shutter 40 is moved by a drive pin (not shown) to open the head insertion hole 4. Then, the write and read head H is inserted into the head insertion hole 4 in the direction indicated by an arrow A. The head H reads the informations on the disc d accommodated in the cartridge C 2 . At this time, the formation of the two cutouts 22, 42 make it possible to guide the head H close to the surface of the disc d. Further, when informations on the disc d are written, a magnetic head M is inserted into the magnetic bias hole 5 in the direction indicated by an arrow B at the same time when the write and read head H is inserted into the head insertion hole 4. Also, at this time, the formation of the cutout 42 makes it possible to guide the head M close to the surface of the disc d thereby to increase ability for writing and reading the informations. In case that the above elongated arms have the cutouts, the strength of the arms become low. Therefore, it is desirable to reinforce the weak elongated arms as shown in FIGS. 13 to 18. In FIGS. 13 and 14, the elongated arm 13a has a reinforcing piece 50 at its one side, which is formed in a manner that a cutout poirtion 13d is bent downwardly. The reinforcing piece 50 can effectively prevent the deformation of the elongated arm when the drive pin P pushes the guide groove engagement portion to move the shutter 55. Moreover, the reinforcing piece 50 is bent perpendicular to the surface of the elongated arm to avoid obstruction of smooth insertion of the head H. The shutter 55 in FIG. 13 is of the one-side type. In contrast, FIG. 15 shows a shutter 56 of double-side type. The shutter 56 has a pair of long closing plates 8, 54 opposed to each other, and its elongated arm 13a has a pair of reinforcing pieces 51, 51 at its both ends, which are formed in a manner that a pair of cutouts 13e, 13e are bent perendicular to the surface of the elongated arm 13a (FIG. 16). The reinforcing pieces can guide the head H close to the surface of the disc d. An elongated arm 57 shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 has a configuration of an inverted mountain. In this case, the opposite end faces of the elongated arm 57 are extended in the direction of the insertion of the head H. The guide portion G of the cartridge C 3 has, as shown in FIG. 19, a first guide surface 30 located at a downward position dropped from the upper end of the cartridge C 3 and a second guide surface 31 at an upward position opposite to the first guide surface 30 with respect to the head insertion hole 4. Between the first and second surfaces 30, 31 is formed the cutout 22 corresponding to the cutouts of elongated arms of the above shutters 7, 30, 40, 55, 56 107. A recess 115 for receiving the drive pin P is formed between the first surface 30 and the cutout 22. The drive pin P drops into the recess 115 when a shutter is moved to the right as viewed in FIG. 19 thereby to open completely the head insertion hole 4. Near the guide portion G of the lower shell half 2 are formed a first guide groove 120 and a second guide groove 121 located opposite to the first guide groove 120. These two grooves 120, 121 are extended through substantially total length of left and right parts of the cartridge C 3 . The first guide groove 120 is engaged with the guide groove engagement portion 11 of the shutter 7, 40, 55, 56 107, while the second guide groove 121 is engaged with a guide groove engagement portion 13b (FIGS. 4 and 7) located opposite to the portion 11. The first guide groove 120 is formed at a position lower than the bottom of the recess 115 while the second guide groove 121 is formed at a position upper than that of the first guide groove 120. The arrangement of the first and second guide grooves 120, 121 makes it possible to move the shutter steadily. The recess 115 has, as shown in FIG. 20, a first guide face 60 for guiding the drive pin P and a second guide face 61 opposite to the first guide face 60 and a bottom face 62. At an intersecting position of the first guide surface 30 and the first guide face 60 is formed a curved surface 63 having a radius of r. The curved surface can guide smoothly the drive pin P into the recess 115 and, further, the amount of wear of the intersecting portion between the first guide surface 30 and the first guide face 60 becomes less to avoid the contamination of the disc surface due to dust caused by the movement of the shutter. In addition, the smooth movement of the drive pin P makes it possible to slide the shutter smoothly. In Fig. 30, at the left front corner of the cartridge C is formed a slanted corner 90 which is located at a position opposite to that of a slanted corner of a conventional magnetic disc cartridge. The cartridge C is normally adapted for a optical disc. Therefore, there is no fear that an operator inserts, by mistake, a conventional magnetic disc into a recording and reproducing apparatus for a optical disc. The cartridge C is accommodated in a case 93, as shown in FIG.33, which is made of polypropylene having a thickness of about 0.5mm. The case 93 has an inlet 93a which is provided with a pair of pick-up recesses 93b. When a user takes the cartridge out of the case 93, he holds the cartridge with his fingers through the pick-up recesses 93b. The inner wall of the case 93 is rough (sand-like surface) to prevent the slip of the cartridge from the inside of the case 93 (FIG. 34). A side surface 93c and a bottom surface 93d are bonded by a supersonic sealing operation. The case 93 accommodating the disc cartridge C may be covered with a bag made of drawing polypropylene. Adhesive is applied to the covering piece 96a of the bag 96 to reliably close the inlet of the bag 96.

Claims: A disc cartridge for accommodating a disc therein, which comprises: a spindle hole (3) into which a spindle is inserted to rotate the disc (d); a head insertion hole (4) into which a read and/or write head (H) is inserted and which is located adjacent to the spindle hole (3); and a shutter (7,40,55,56) for closing and opening the head insertion hole (4) which is slidingly moved along a guide portion (G) formed at a front end of the cartridge, opposed to a reproducing apparatus, the shutter being urged by an elastic member (15) in the direction where the head insertion hole (3) is closed, accommodated in an elastic member accommodating space (70) having an elastic member insertion inlet (71) through which the elastic member is inserted thereinto, characterized in that the elastic member has a coil portion (15a) which is moved in the accommodating space (70) in accordance with opening and closing operation of the shutter along an arc moving locus, an inner wall of the cartridge for defining the elastic member accommodating space (70) having a lengthy reinforcing rib (S) for reinforcing the inner wall and for guiding the coil portion (15a) thereof along the arc moving locus in addition to a surrounding wall for surrounding the disc when the disc is accommodated in the cartridge. A disc cartridge according to claim 1, characterized in that the reinforcing rib (S) is provided on each of inner walls for defining the elastic member accommodating space (70). A disc cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reinforcing rib (S) is formed in the form of an arc extending along a moving locus of the coil portion of the coil spring. A disc cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reinforcing rib (S) has a shape of a cross. A disc cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that one inner wall of the elastic member accommodating space (70) has a reinforcing rib disposed diagonally on the cartridge, the other inner wall thereof has a rib disposed in a direction to intersect with each other when the two inner walls are opposed. A disc cartridge according to claim 5, characterized in that the reinforcing rib (S) provided at an upper shell half (1) defines a triangular corner portion together with the two end margins of the upper shell half (1) while the other reinforcing rib (S) provided at the lower shell half (2) is disposed along a diagonal line of the cartridge. A disc cartridge according to at least one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the wall surrounding the elastic member accommodating space (70) for accommodating the elastic member (15) comprises a reinforcing structure. A disc cartridge according to at least one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said shutter (7, 30, 40, 55, 66, 107) comprises a sliding portion (13, 33) for sliding along said guide portion (G), said slide portion (13, 33) integrally providing at one side thereof an elongated arm (13a, 36, 41) and comprises at an opposite side a recessed and inwardly bent spring engagement member for engaging the coil spring (15). A disk cartridge according to claim 8, characterized in that said elongated arm (13a, 36, 41) has a first guide groove engagement portion (11) at its forward end for slidably engaging a guide groove (g o , 120) formed on the guide portion of the cartridge, that at least one side of the elongated arm comprises a recessed cut-out section (13d, 16, 37, 13e, 42) from which the guide groove engagement portion (11) at the forward end of the elongated arm (13a, 36, 41) projects, a cut-out (22) being formed at the front end of the cartridge corresponding to the cut-out of the elongated arm (13a, 36, 41) and that a second guide groove engagement portion (13b) is bent inwardly at said opposite side for engaging another guide groove (121) of the cartridge. A disc cartridge according to at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said shutter (7, 30, 40, 55, 66, 107) comprises a pair of opposite closing plates (8, 12, 32, 54) for closing the read and/or writing head insertion hole (4) and the spindle hole (3) simultaneously, said opposite closing plates (8, 12, 32, 54) being connected by said sliding portion (13, 33). A disc cartridge as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the inner surfaces of the upper and lower shell halves (1, 2) comprise annular rib portions (81) defining a disc accommodation area of the cartridge. A disc cartridge as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the upper shell half (1) comprises an annular rib (83) at its centre portion, the diameter of which is slightly larger than that of a hub (20) of the disc. A disc cartridge as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the spindle hole (3) at the lower shell half (2) is defined by an annular rib (82) of the lower shell half (1).

Inventors: AKIYAMA NOBORU, AKIYAMA, NOBORU, AKIYAMA, NOBORU, NO. 24, MINAMIGEBANO-CHO
Applicants: DAINIPPON PRINTING CO LTD, DAI NIPPON INSATSU KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1989
Main classification: G11B23
IPC codes: G11B23