Abstract:
An ejection device of a slot-in optical disc drive includes a rotating plate and an elastic unit. The rotating plate is installed on the slot-in optical disc drive and attached to an actuating gear of a feeding gear unit. The actuating gear is capable of following the rotation of the rotating plate to disengage from the feeding gear unit of the slot-in optical disc drive. The elastic unit is attached to the rotating plate to keep the actuating gear engaged with the feeding gear unit. A push wall of the rotating plate and a push block of a sliding piece, connected with the output of the feeding gear unit, are located sequentially on the path of a hole penetrating into the optical disk drive. A stick can be inserted into the hole to activate the ejection device.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The invention relates to a slot-in optical disc drive, and more particularly, to a slot-in optical disc drive with an ejection device which can eject an optical disc when the optical disc drive is in a breakdown or in a power failure. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   Optical disc drives can be divided into tray-type and slot-in-type drives according to how an optical disc is loaded into the optical disc drive. The tray-type optical disc drive loads the optical disc on a tray. When the tray-type optical disc drive fails, triggering a lock apparatus of the tray can eject the tray and the optical disc can be taken off of the tray. On the other hand, the slot-in optical disc drive utilizes a gear unit to drive levers, rollers, or rim bands to eject or insert the optical disc. When the slot-in optical disc drive fails, the optical disc cannot be ejected unless the housing of the optical disc drive is opened. However, opening the delicate slot-in optical disc drive is not easy for users, especially if the slot-in optical disc drive is installed in a car, a computer, or an advanced media apparatus. It may require engineers to open the housing of the slot-in optical disc drive so as to take the optical disc out and cause inconvenience. 
   To solve inconvenient ejection when the slot-in optical disc drive fails, please refer to  FIG. 1  showing the R.O.C. patent application serial number 092108324 (corresponding to U.S. patent publication number 20040202060), titled “DISK FORCE-REJECTION AND FORCE-LOADING DEVICE FOR USE IN AN OPTICAL DISK READING DEVICE.” The ejection device  1  according to the prior art includes a power supply unit for providing electric power to a driving unit to rotate a drive gear  2  installed in front of the ejection device  1 . The ejection device  1  further includes a control switch  3  for starting or stopping rotation of the driving unit. Then, the drive gear  2  of the ejection device  1  is inserted into an orientation hole  5  in the front of the slot-in optical disc drive  4  to engage the drive gear  2  with an active gear of a motor of the optical disc drive  4  installed nearby the orientation hole  5 . By turning on the control switch  3  to rotate the drive gear  2 , the drive gear  2  can drive the active gear of the motor of the optical disc drive  4 , so that the optical disc is ejected from an entrance  6  of the optical disc drive  4 . 
   The ejection device  1  can force the optical disc drive to eject the optical disc, but the ejection device  1  is a specific tool utilizing electric power to rotate the drive gear  2  and is not widely available for purchase. Users also do not want to spend the extra cost to buy the ejection device  1  and take the ejection device  1  with them. When the optical disc drive fails, the users cannot find the tool immediately so they will send the optical disc drive back for repair. For engineers, if they do not have the ejection device  1 , they will open the housing of the optical disc drive to take the optical disc out. Without the ejection device  1 , taking the optical disc out is still inconvenient for the slot-in optical disc drive when the optical disc drive fails. 
   Moreover, the slot-in optical disc drive according to the prior art drives the optical disc by many gear units, so the difference of the torque between the output of the gear units and the difference of the rotating speed are large. More electric power and time are required for the ejection device to drive the active gear of the motor and the gear of the slot-in optical disc drive. Therefore, the ejection device of the slot-in optical disc drive according to the prior art should be improved. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   One objective of the present invention is therefore to provide a slot-in optical disc drive with an ejection device which can conveniently utilize a general tool to eject the optical disc without electric power. 
   Another objective of the present invention is to provide a slot-in optical disc drive with an ejection device with a simple structure to reduce a torque of a feeding gear unit of the ejection for convenient operation. 
   Another objective of the present invention is to provide a slot-in optical disc drive with an ejection device which can directly drive a sliding piece of the optical disc drive so as to eject the optical disc immediately. 
   To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides an ejection device of a slot-in optical disc drive comprising a rotating plate installed on the slot-in optical disc drive and attached to an actuating gear of a feeding gear unit, the actuating gear capable of following the rotation of the rotating plate to disengage from the feeding gear unit of the slot-in optical disc drive, and an elastic unit attached to the rotating plate to keep the actuating gear engaged with the feeding gear unit. 
   These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of utilizing an ejection device of a slot-in optical disc drive according to the prior art. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a slot-in optical disc drive with an ejection device according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of the ejection device of the slot-in optical disc drive in the  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates enabling the ejection device of the slot-in optical disc drive in the  FIG. 2 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Please refer to  FIG. 2  showing an ejection device  30  of a slot-in optical disc drive  20  according to the present invention. The slot-in optical disc drive  20  includes a drive motor  21 , a feeding gear unit  22 , a guide apparatus  23 , an orientation apparatus  24 , and a traverse  25 . An optical disc (not shown) is inserted into an entrance  27  of a panel  26  as indicated. When the slot-in optical disc drive  20  detects the optical disc, the optical disc drive  20  starts the drive motor  21  to rotate the feeding gear unit  22 . The drive motor  21  drives a worm gear  221 , a first gear  222 , a second gear  223 , and a third gear  224  in a sequence. Then, the third gear  224  drives a rack of a sliding piece  225  so that the sliding piece  225  moves in reciprocation to swing a lever of the guide apparatus  23 . The lever pushes the edge of the optical disc so that the front of the optical disc can reach the orientation apparatus  24  and the center hole of the optical disc can be guided. The feeding gear unit  22  drives the orientation apparatus  24  inward so as to locate the center hole of the optical disc over the spindle motor  251  of the traverse  25 . The feeding gear unit  22  drives the traverse  25  upward along a groove (not shown) until the spindle motor  251  clamps the center hole of the optical disc. The spindle motor  251  rotates the optical disc and a pickup head  252  of the traverse  25  reads data of the optical disc. 
   When ejecting the optical disc, the drive motor  21  drives the feeding gear unit  22  to rotate in a reverse direction. The traverse  25  is driven downward and the spindle motor  251  departs from the center hole of the optical disc. The orientation apparatus  24  drives the optical disc to the entrance  27  in the front of the slot-in optical disc drive  20  so that the optical disc can be taken out. The optical disc loading of the slot-in optical disc drive  20  is simply illustrated as above. Please refer to the prior art for more details regarding how the drive motor rotates the feeding gear unit  22  to drive the optical disc. 
   The ejection device  30  according to the present invention is installed in the slot-in optical disc drive  20  and near to the feeding gear unit  22 . For convenient adjustment, the ejection device  30  is installed in the front of the slot-in optical disc drive  20  in this embodiment. A hole  28  is formed in the front of a panel  26  of the slot-in optical disc drive  20 , which is near to the feeding gear unit  22 . A thin stick  40  can be inserted into the hole  28  to trigger the ejection device  30  installed in the slot-in optical disc drive  20  according to the present invention. Please refer to  FIG. 3  showing an enlarged view of the back of the feeding gear unit  22  of the slot-in optical disc drive  20 . The first gear  222 , the second gear  223 , and the third gear  224  include a large gear and a small gear respectively. The large gear and the small gear are engaged with each other. The large gear of the first gear  222  engages with the worm gear  221  of the drive motor  21 , and the small gear of the third gear  224  engages with the rack of the sliding piece  225 . The axles of the first gear  222  and the third gear  224  are fixed in the slot-in optical disc drive  20 . The ejection device  30  according to the present invention is installed in the back of the feeding gear unit  22 , and includes a rotating plate  31 , an elastic unit  32 , and a groove  33 . The rotating plate  31  has a first fixing hole  34 , a second fixing hole  35 , and a support hole  36  arranged in proper intervals. The first fixing hole  34  is mounted on the axle of the first gear  222 . The first gear  222  can rotate, and is installed on the slot-in optical disc drive  20 , so that the rotating plate  31  can rotate around the first fixing hole  34 . The axle of the second gear  223  is fixed in the second fixing hole  35  so that the second gear  223  can move with the second fixing hole  35  as an actuating gear moving around the first fixing hole  34 . The large gear of the second gear  223  always engages with the small gear of the first gear  222  when the second gear  223  moves. 
   In addition, one end of the elastic unit  32  of the ejection device  30  is fixed on the slot-in optical disc drive  20 , and the other end is attached to the support hole  36 . Because the elastic unit  32  pulls the support hole  36 , the ejection device  30  can use the first fixing hole  34  as a fulcrum so that the second gear  223  can engage the first gear  222  and third gear  224  closely. On the other hand, the ejection device  30  resists the force of the elastic unit  32  so that the small gear of the second gear  223  can disengage from the third gear  224 . The rotating plate  31  has a push wall  37  formed on the edge, and the push wall  37  can be formed by bending the edge of the rotating plate  31 . The push wall  37  is located in the path of the stick  40  inserted into the hole  28 , and can be pushed by the stick  40  to rotate the rotating plate  31 . In addition, the hole  28  can guide the stick  40  to push the push wall  37 , and the groove  33  formed on the path of the stick  40  inserted into the hole  28  and extending to one end of the sliding piece  225  can also guide the stick  40  to push the push wall  37  until it reaches a push block  226  of the sliding piece  225 . 
   Please refer to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  illustrates enabling the ejection device  30 . When the slot-in optical disc drive  20  is in a breakdown or in a power failure, for taking the optical disc out immediately, the stick  40  is inserted into the hole  28 . With guidance from the hole  28  and the groove  33 , the stick  40  will reach the push wall  37  and push the push wall  37  so that the rotating plate  31  can resist the force of the elastic unit  32  to rotate around the first gear  222 . Then, the small gear of the second gear  223  disengages from the third gear  224  so as to reduce the number of gears driven to eject the optical disc and break up the resistance of gears having a low rotation rate and large torque, such as the worm gear  221 , so that the force of the ejection can be reduced. The stick  40  is held to disengage the second gear  223  from the third gear  224  until the stick  40  reaches the push block  226  of the sliding piece  225 , and the stick  40  is utilized to push the push block  226  to drive the sliding piece  225 . At this time, the sliding piece  225  only needs to rotate the third gear  224  of the feeding gear unit  22 , so that force and time are saved. Moving the sliding piece  225  can directly drive the traverse  25  downward to disengage the spindle motor  251  from the optical disc and drive the orientation apparatus  24  to eject the optical disc. Therefore, the optical disc can be ejected immediately. 
   By means of the ejection device  30  of the slot-in optical disc drive  20  according to the present invention, the user can utilize a general tool instead of the specific electric tool of the prior art to eject the optical disc immediately when the optical disc drive  20  fails. Moreover, the ejection device  30  has a small and simple structure, so the ejection device  30  needs less cost and less space and can be applied to more types of optical disc drives. In addition, the ejection device  30  utilizes the ejection device to break up the resistance of the gears having low rotation rate and large torque so as to reduce the force of the ejection for convenient operation. The ejection device utilizes the stick  40  to drive the sliding piece  225 , so that the resistance of the feeding gear unit  22  can be reduced, and the traverse  25  and the orientation apparatus  24  are directly driven to eject the optical disc. 
   As mentioned above, the ejection device according to the present invention is illustrated by utilizing the lever to drive the optical disc in the slot-in optical disc drive. However, the slot-in optical disc drive is not a restriction of the present invention. For example, a slot-in optical disc drive utilizing the feeding gear unit to drive levers, rollers, or rim bands to eject or insert the optical disc is also applicable. Furthermore, if the slot-in optical disc drive is designed to drive in a different direction, the ejection device can be modified to adapt; for example, the stick pushing the sliding piece can be changed to pull the sliding piece. 
   Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.