Abstract:
A computer drive assembly for receiving portable disks containing computer data. The computer drive assembly has a housing defining a cavity, an ejection mechanism that engages with the disk and at least one roller member. The cavity is sized so as to receive a portable disk through an opening in the housing such that when the disk is positioned in a first position in the cavity, computer data stored in the disk can be accessed. When the disk is in the first position, the ejection mechanism urges the disk along a first path toward the opening so as to eject the disk from the cavity. At least one roller member is positioned along the first path so that the at least one roller member contacts the disk as it is being urged along the first path and retains the disk in the housing so that only a portion of the disk extends out of the opening in the housing. At least one roller member is adapted to permit a user to remove the disk from the housing by grasping the portion of the disk that extends out of the opening and pulling the disk from the housing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention generally relates to computer diskdrives and, more particularly, concerns loading and unloading mechanisms for such disks. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Computers which are used extensively in homes and business conventionally include a monitor, a keyboard and a chassis called either the system unit or central processing unit (CPU). The system unit is a cabinet that contains many subsystems, such as a microprocessor chip, memory chips and ports to which other peripherals can be connected. Besides providing a convenient place for these components, the system unit also contains data storage/retrieval devices which are often referred to as drives. Drives are used to both store data onto and to retrieve stored data from various types of data recording mediums. In general, drives are labeled with their associated recording medium such as hard-drive, CD-drive, tape-drive or diskdrive. 
     Most of today&#39;s computers, including desktop, laptop, notebook and portable computers, are equipped with at least one diskdrive capable of reading data from or writing data to computer disks. Due to the portability of the disks, diskdrives have become extremely important components of computers. 
     A typical diskdrive includes a carriage that receives the disk and is movable into a position where information can either be stored or retrieved from the disk via a magnetic read/write head. The diskdrive also includes an ejection mechanism that, when actuated by the user, results in the disk being ejected out of the diskdrive. Typically, the ejection mechanism is comprised of one or more spring loaded members that engage with the carriage and disk so that when the ejection mechanism is actuated by the user, the disk is moved outwardly so as to eject the disk out of the drive. 
     The ejection mechanism is generally actuated by the user depressing a button on the front surface of the computer which results in the spring loaded member being released so as to propel the disk out of the front of the drive. However, unless the manufacturing tolerances are very tightly controlled, ejection mechanisms can eject disks at a variety of distances out of the front of the diskdrive. For example, some drives cannot eject the disk far enough to allow the disk to be easily removed by hand. Other drives may eject the disks so forcefully that the disk can land on the floor, which can inconvenience the user and even damage the disk. 
     Moreover, as the diskdrive ejection mechanism is used, the spring that is actuating the ejection mechanism can weaken over time, thereby resulting in the diskdrive failing to adequately eject the disk from the drive. To address this problem, the spring mechanism is often made stronger than necessary to compensate for the spring fatiguing over time to ensure that the disks are adequately ejected. However, this can result in the disks being too forcefully ejected from the drive. 
     One approach to the problem of inconsistent ejection of the disks by the diskdrive ejection mechanism is to impose stringent manufacturing tolerances on the springs and other components used in the ejection mechanism to ensure that the disks are properly ejected. However, this approach still has the difficulty of components becoming fatigued through use affecting the subsequent operation of the mechanism. Moreover, strict tolerances on component parts increases the cost and completely of these component parts and thereby increases the overall cost and complexity of the drive. 
     Thus, in the computer industry, there is a need to develop new diskdrives which are capable of providing convenient removal of the computer disks. To this end, there is a need for a diskdrive that controls the degree of ejection of the disk from the diskdrive without requiring as precise of tolerances be used to manufacture the ejection mechanism. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The aforementioned needs are satisfied in one embodiment by a diskdrive assembly that comprises a chassis defining a receptacle having an opening at a first end, the receptacle adapted to receive a disk. The diskdrive further includes an ejection mechanism having a user member wherein the ejection mechanism ejects the disk from the receptacle out of the opening at the first end in response to the user manipulating the user member and an ejection control mechanism that engages with the disk after the user has manipulated the user member so as to partially retain the disk in the receptacle with a portion of the disk extending out of the receptacle, wherein the ejection control mechanism is adapted to allow the user to fully extract the partially ejected disk form the opening of the receptacle. 
     In another embodiment the invention comprises an ejection control mechanism for a computer diskdrive that prevents the computer disk from being fully ejected from the diskdrive upon user actuation of an ejection mechanism of the diskdrive, the ejection control mechanism comprising at least one roller mounted about a shaft at a position adjacent an opening to the diskdrive wherein the roller is adapted to rotate a fixed rotational distance upon ejection of the disk and wherein the disk and the at least one roller member engage with each other during ejection of the disk so that the rotational movement of the at least one roller member urges the disk partially out of the diskdrive into a partially ejected position and wherein the frictional engagement between the disk and the roller member after the roller member has rotated the fixed rotational distance at least in part retains the disk in the diskdrive in the partially ejected position. 
     The ejection control mechanism thereby prevents the disks from being fully ejected from the diskdrive while allowing the diskdrive ejection mechanism to use component parts having a range of tolerances. These and other objects and advantages will become more fully apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary computer work station; 
     FIG. 2A is a top plan view of one embodiment of a diskdrive assembly showing the configuration of an ejection mechanism without a disk being positioned in the diskdrive; 
     FIG. 2B is a top plan view of the diskdrive assembly of FIG. 2A, showing the configuration of the ejection mechanism with a disk being positioned in the diskdrive; 
     FIG. 3A is a side plan view of the diskdrive assembly of FIG. 2A, showing the configuration of the ejection mechanism without a disk being positioned in the diskdrive; 
     FIG. 3B is a side plan view of the diskdrive assembly of FIG. 2A, showing the configuration of the ejection mechanism with a disk being positioned in the diskdrive; 
     FIG. 4A is a top plan view of the ejection control mechanism of the diskdrive assembly; 
     FIG. 4B is a front cross-sectional view of the ejection control mechanism of FIG. 4A taken along the line  4 B— 4 B in FIG. 4A; and 
     FIGS. 5A-5D are partial top plan views showing several stages in the operation of the ejection control mechanism. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. FIG. 1 illustrates a computer  100  incorporating one embodiment of a diskdrive ejection control mechanism. The computer  100  includes a display  102 , a user input device  104 , which in this embodiment is comprised of a keyboard, and a system unit  106  which incorporates a diskdrive  110 . It will be appreciated from the following description that the diskdrive ejection control mechanism described herein can be used in conjunction with a diskdrive that is adapted to be used with any of a number of different types of computers including desk-type computers, laptop computers, notebook computers, word processors or any type of computing device which incorporates a diskdrive. As shown in FIG. 1, a disk  112  is extending out of the diskdrive  110  so that a portion of the disk  112  extends beyond a front face  114  of the system unit  106  to thereby allow a user to grasp the exposed portion  114  of the disk  112  and pull the disk  112  away from the front face  116  of the system unit  106 . 
     FIGS. 2A,  2 B,  3 A and  3 B illustrate an exemplary diskdrive  110  which incorporates a diskdrive ejection control mechanism  120 . It will be appreciated from the following description that the ejection control mechanism  120  can be used in conjunction with any of a number of diskdrives without departing from the spirit of the invention. However, to facilitate an understanding of the operation of the ejection control mechanism  120 , the diskdrive  110  illustrated in FIGS. 2A,  2 B,  3 A and  3 B will be described in some detail. 
     In particular, referring to FIG. 2A and 2B, the diskdrive  110  is generally mounted within a chassis  122  that has an opening  124  through which the disk  112  is to be inserted. The chassis  122  further defines a receptacle  126  that is to receive the disk  112  in its fully inserted position (see FIGS. 2B and 3B) so that a read/write head assembly  130  can read information from and write information to the disk positioned within the receptacle  126 . Typically, the disk  112  is positioned on a carriage  132  so that a rotating member  134  can engage with the disk to thereby allow the disk to be spun so that the read/write head assembly  130  can transfer information to and from the disk  112 . The exact operation of the transferring of data from the read/write head assembly  130  to the disk  112  can be performed in any of a number of manners that are well-known in the art. The diskdrive  110  also includes an ejection mechanism generally designated  136 . The ejection mechanism  136  includes an ejection member  140  and a plunger mechanism  142 . 
     The ejection member  140  is mounted so as to be rotatable about a post  144  that is mounted to the chassis  122  of the diskdrive  110 . The ejection member  140  includes a contact arm  146  which generally extends into the area of the receptacle  126  that is adapted to receive the disk  110 . As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the contact arm  146  is initially positioned adjacent the carriage  132  and when the disk  112  is inserted into the carriage  132  and makes contact with the contact arm  146 , the disk  112  causes the ejection member  140  to rotate about the post  144  in a clockwise direction. However, the ejection member  140  is biased in a well-known manner, such as by a spring that is mounted about the post  144 , so that the ejection member  140  is biased to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction about the post  144 . 
     The plunger mechanism  142  engages with the ejection mechanism  140  so that manipulation of the plunger mechanism  142  results in the ejection mechanism  140  ejecting a disk  112  positioned in the carriage  132 . In this embodiment, the plunger mechanism  142  includes a plunger  152  that is mounted so as to extend outward of the front face  116  of the system unit  106 . The plunger  152  is mechanically connected to a slider member  154  so that depression of the plunger  152  results in the slider member  154  moving away from the opening  124  at the front of the diskdrive  110 . 
     A distal end  156  of the slider member  154  is adapted to engage with the ejection member  140  so that the spring biased ejection member  140  is actuated by the manipulation of the plunger  152 . Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a retaining post  160  is formed on the distal end  156  of the slider member  142 . The retaining post  160  is adapted to engage with the retaining arm  150  of the ejection member  140  in two positions of the slider member  154 . 
     In particular, referring to FIG. 2A, the ejection member  140  is spring biased so as to be in the position shown in FIG. 2A when the disk  112  is not loaded in the diskdrive  110 . In this position, the retaining arm  150  of the ejection member  140  contacts a front face  161  of the retaining post  160  of the slider member  154 . As shown in FIG. 3A, a spring  162  biases the slider member  154  in the direction of the opening  124  of the diskdrive  110 . However, the engagement between the retaining arm  150  of the ejection member  140  and the retaining post  160  of the slider member  154  prevents the slider member  154  from moving in the direction of the opening  124  of the diskdrive  110 . 
     However, when the disk  112  is inserted into the opening  124  of the diskdrive  112  so as to be loaded into the carriage  132 , a first surface  164  (FIG. 2B) of the disk  112  engages with the contact arm  146  of the ejection member  140  causing the ejection member  140  to rotate in a clockwise direction, as illustrated by the arrow in FIG. 2B, so that the retaining arm  150  is disengaged from the front face  161  of the retaining post  160 . The spring  162  then urges the slider member  154  in the direction of the opening  124  of the diskdrive  110  so that the retaining arm  150  of the ejection member  140  is captured by the retaining post  160  so as to retain the ejection member  140  in the position shown in FIG. 2B and 3B and prevent rotation of the ejection member  140  in the counterclockwise direction. 
     The spring  162  that urges the slider member  154  in the direction of the opening  124  of the diskdrive  110  also results in the plunger  152  extending outward from the front face  116  of the system unit  106 . Depression of the plunger  152  results in the slider member  154  being urged away from the opening  124  thereby removing the retaining post  160  of the slider member  154  from engagement with the side of the retaining arm  150  of the ejection member  140 . 
     As discussed above, the ejection member  140  is spring biased so as to rotate in a counterclockwise direction. Removal of the retaining post  160  of the slider member  154  from contact with the side of the retaining arm  150  of the ejection member  140  results in the ejection member  140  rotating counterclockwise and thereby urging the disk  110  out of the carriage  132  so that the exposed portion  114  of the disk  112  extends beyond the front surface  116  of the system unit  106  in the manner shown in FIG.  1 . The spring that biases the ejection member  140  so as to rotate in the counterclockwise direction is relatively strong so that an impulse is provided to the disk  112  from the contact arm  146  to the front edge  164  of the disk  112  to thereby urge the disk  112  out of the opening  124  of the diskdrive  110 . 
     The foregoing discussion relating to the diskdrive  110  and, in particular, the ejection mechanism  136  and the plunger mechanism  142 , is simply illustrative of an ejection mechanism of one commonly available diskdrive assembly  110 . As discussed above, the diskdrive  110  of this embodiment includes an ejection control mechanism  120  which engages with the disk  112  following ejection from the carriage  132  by the ejection member  140  so that the disk  112  is not ejected completely out of the diskdrive and is retained in the diskdrive  110  with only the exposed portion  114  of the disk  112  extending beyond the front face  116  of the system unit  106 . 
     Referring initially to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the ejection control mechanism  120  is comprised of a first ejection control roller  170  and a second ejection control roller  172 . The first and second ejection control rollers  170 ,  172  are positioned in a space  174  that is interposed between the opening  124  in the diskdrive  110  and the carriage  132  of the diskdrive  110 . The ejection control mechanism  120  will now be described in greater detail in reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B. 
     As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the ejection control rollers  170 ,  172  are spaced so that an outer surface  176  of the first ejection control roller  170  and an outer surface  180  of the second ejection control roller  172  are spaced apart a distance that is substantially equal to the width of the disk  112  so that lateral surfaces  182  and  184  of the diskdrive frictionally engage with the outer surfaces  180  and  176  of the rollers  172  and  170 , respectively, during both insertion and ejection of the disk  112  from the diskdrive  110 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the roller  172  is mounted on a pin  186  that is captured within two recesses defined by recess housings  190   a  and  190   b  so that the pin  186  extends in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the diskdrive and is retained therein by a bushing  191 . Generally, the roller  172  is made of some rigid material, such as nylon or plastic, and the shaft  186  is captured within the recesses  190   a  and  190   b  so as to be right-hand threaded. 
     The first ejection control roller  170  is also mounted about a shaft  200  which is captured within cavities defined by recess housings  202   a  and  202   b  so that the shaft  200  extends in a direction that is normal to the plane of the diskdrive  110 . As illustrated in FIG. 4B, a spring  264  is mounted about the recess housing  202   a  and is anchored in the chassis  122  of the diskdrive  110  and in the first ejection control roller  170  so as to bias the roller  170  to rotate in a first rotational direction. In this embodiment, the spring is adapted to bias the first roller member  170  so that the first roller member is inclined to rotate about the shaft in a counterclockwise direction. 
     The first roller member  170  is comprised of a first radial member  210  which is preferably formed of a compressible material, such as rubber or the like, and a second radial member  212  which in this embodiment is made of a more rigid material, such as a plastic or polymer material, such as the material sold under the trademark name Delrin™. A threaded bushing  214  is coaxially disposed between the first radial member  210  and the housing for the recess  202   a  in the manner that is shown in FIG.  4 A. 
     As shown in FIG. 4B, a retaining pin  216  is mounted in the second radial member  212  so as to extend outwardly from a bottom face of the first roller member  170 . The pin  216  is adapted to engage with a recess  220  formed on the recess housing  202   b  when the roller member  170  is in a rotational position such that the pin  216  is aligned with the recess  220  in a manner that is shown in greater detail in FIG. 5B herein below. 
     The use of a compressible inner radial member  210  means that the exertion of a force against one side of the first control roller  170  means that the rigid outer radial member  212  of the first control roller  170  is laterally movable with respect to the axis defined by the shaft  200 . As will be described in greater detail below, the retaining pin  216  can be dislodged from the recess  220  formed on the recess housing  202   b  as a result of a protrusion  230  formed on the plunger  152  contacting a first side  232  of the rigid outer radial member  212  of the first ejection control roller  170  and urging the rigid outer radial member  212  laterally towards the second control roller  172  as a result of compression of the inner radial member  210  about the shaft  200 . 
     In particular, the operation of the ejection control mechanism  120  will now be described in reference to FIGS. 5A through 5D. In particular, the spring  264  biases the first roller  170  into the rotational position shown in FIG. 5A wherein the retaining pin  216  is positioned 180 degrees from the recess  220  when the disk  112  is not positioned in the diskdrive  110 . However, when the disk  112  is inserted into the opening  124  of the diskdrive  110 , so as to be positioned between the first roller  170  and the second roller  172 , the edges of the disk  182  and  184  engage with the outer surface of the control rollers  170  and  172 , respectively, so as to cause the rollers  170  and  172  to rotate. 
     Specifically, the engagement of the lateral edge  182  of the disk  112  with the outer surface  176  of the first ejection control roller  170  induces the roller  170  in this embodiment to rotate in a clockwise direction against the bias of the spring  264 . The pin  216  and the recess housing  202   b  are respectively positioned so that the pin  216  travels about the outer perimeter of the recess housing  202   b  until it reaches the recess  220 . The resiliency of the inner radial member  210  of the roller member allows the pin  216  to be captured within the recess  220  in the manner shown in FIG.  5 B. Once the pin  216  is captured within the recess  220 , the roller  170  is retained by the pin  216  in the recess  220  in the rotational position shown in FIG.  5 B. However, it will be understood that the spring  264  (FIG. 4A) is biasing the roller member  170  so as to rotate in a counterclockwise direction upon the release of the pin  216  from the recess  220 . 
     When the operator chooses to eject the disk  112  from the diskdrive  110 , the operator will depress the plunger  152  inward into the diskdrive  110 . This results in the retaining post  160  of the slider member  154  disengaging with the retaining arm  150  of the ejection member  140  so that the ejection member  140  rotates so that the disk  112  is urged in the direction of the opening  124  in the manner that was described above in conjunction with FIGS. 2A,  2 B,  3 A and  3 B. Simultaneously, the protrusion  230  exerts a lateral force against the rigid outer radial member  212  of the first roller  170  thereby compressing the inner compressible radial member  210  about the shaft  200  in the manner shown in FIG.  5 C. This results in the outer radial member  212  moving translationally with respect to the axis defined by the shaft  200  so that the pin  216  is disengaged from the recess  220 . The spring  204  then induces the first roller member  170  to rotate counterclockwise back to the position that is shown in FIG.  5 A. 
     However, as shown in FIG. 5D, upon disengagement of the pin  216  from the recess  220 , the disk  112  is already moving in the direction of the opening  124  of the diskdrive, i.e., in the direction of the arrow  238  in FIG. 5D, such that the lateral edge  182  of the disk comes in contact with the rotating first control roller  170 . The rotation of the roller  170  180° exerts an outward force in the direction of the arrow  238  against the lateral edge  182  of the disk  112  further urging the disk  112  out of the diskdrive  110  until the first control roller  170  stops rotating. At that time, the frictional engagement of the lateral surfaces  182  and  184  of the disk  112  with the outer surfaces  176  and  180  of the rollers  170  and  172 , respectively, halt the movement of the disk  112  in the direction of the arrow  238 . 
     It will, therefore, be appreciated that the positioning of rotating control rollers  170 ,  172  adjacent the opening  124  in the diskdrive  110  serve to slow the lateral movement of the disk  112  as it is being ejected from the diskdrive  110  in a well-known manner. This distance that the disk  112  will be ejected from the diskdrive  110  can be controlled based upon the radius of the first roller member  170  and the degree of rotation that the roller member  170  will be allowed to have. The roller members  170  and  172  are preferably spaced so that the frictional engagement between the first roller member  170  and the second roller member  172  with the lateral edges  182  and  184  of the disk is sufficient to halt the outward movement of the ejected disk. However, the frictional engagement should be such that a user could grasp the exposed portion  114  of the disk  112  and fully extract the disk from the diskdrive  110 . 
     Using an ejection control mechanism such as the mechanism described above means that stronger springs can be used in the ejection mechanism to eject the disk while reducing the problems associated with the ejection mechanism ejecting the disk so strongly that the disks are completely dislodged from the diskdrive and fall onto the floor. Being able to use stronger springs also reduces the problems associated with the ejection mechanism springs fatiguing over time and not being sufficiently strong so as to be able to properly eject the disk. Moreover, since at least one of the control rollers is spring biased to rotate in a direction which further urges the disk  112  out of the drive  110 , fatiguing of the ejection springs can be at least partially accommodated by the force provided by the rotating control member to ensure the disk is adequately ejected from the diskdrive. 
     Hence, although the foregoing description of the invention has shown, described and pointed the fundamental novel features of the invention, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the detail of the apparatus as illustrated, as well as the uses thereof, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Consequently, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the foregoing discussions, but should be defined by the appended claims.