Patent Publication Number: US-2012042329-A1

Title: Jam-proof device of slot-in optical disk drive

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION 
     This patent application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) application of a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/727,427 filed Mar. 19, 2010, listing Yao-Ching Tsai and Jen-Chen Wu as inventors. The contents of the related patent application are incorporated herein for reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a slot-in optical disk drive, and particularly to a jam-proof device of a slot-in optical disk drive to prevent a small-sized 8-cm optical disc from entering and causing jam in the slot-in optical disk drive. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Typically, optical discs for data storage are categorized in accordance with the diameters of the discs, including the large-sized 12-cm optical discs and the small-sized 8-cm optical discs. The 8-cm optical disc is easy to carry due to its size, but the 12-cm optical disc has a large data storage amount and is the main stream of optical storage in the current market. To reduce complexity and cost of the mechanism, a slot-in optical disk drive is generally compatible to the 12-cm optical discs, and utilizes signs of warning or blocking mechanisms to prevent the 8-cm optical discs from entering and causing jam in the slot-in optical disk drive. 
       FIG. 1  shows an example of a slot-in optical disk drive  10 , which appears in the Taiwan Patent Publication No. 200805260 as a related art. The slot-in optical disk drive  10  has a traverse  11  in a hollow casing, and the traverse  11  has a spindle motor  12  substantially positioned at the center of the slot-in optical disk drive  10 . A block  14  protrudes inwardly from one side of the casing  13  of the slot-in optical disk drive  10  and opposite to an unloading bar  15  on the other side of the casing  13 , with the spindle motor  12  positioned between the block  14  and the unloading bar  15 . The unloading bar  15  extends toward one end of the spindle motor  12 , and a distance between the unloading bar  15  and the block  14  is shorter than the diameter of the 8-cm optical disc  16  to prevent the 8-cm optical disc  16  from entering the slot-in optical disk drive  10  in a deviated way. 
     Normally, a front edge of the 8-cm optical disc  16  inserted in the slot-in optical disk drive  10  pushes the unloading bar  15  backwards but can not reach an activation switch (not shown). Thus, even though the 8-cm optical disc  16  is forced to enter the slot-in optical disk drive  10 , the unloading bar  15  moves back to the default position and pushes the released 8-cm optical disc  16  out so that no jam occurs. However, when the 8-cm optical disc  16  inserted in the slot-in optical disk drive  10  in a deviated way, the unloading bar  15  and the block  14  stops the 8-cm optical disc  16  at a position near the center of the slot-in optical disk drive  10 . Thus, when the 8-cm optical disc  16  is pushed back, only a little portion of the 8-cm optical disc  16  is exposed for a user to pull it out from the slot-in optical disk drive  10 . If the 8-cm optical disc  16  is forcibly inserted deep into the slot-in optical disk drive  10 , the 8-cm optical disc  16  may be jammed in and require tools to be removed from the slot-in optical disk drive  10 , thus creating inconvenience and the risk of damaging the optical disc. Accordingly, to increase the exposed portion of the 8-cm optical disc  16  when it is pushed back for easier removal of the jammed disc, a design to move the block  14  to the front end of the slot-in optical disk drive  10  or to increase the horizontal protrusion height h of the block  14  toward the spindle motor  12  is desired. 
     However, a loading bar  17  is disposed at the front of the block  14 , and moving the block  14  to the front end of the slot-in optical disk drive  10  may affect rotation of the loading bar  17 , thus restricting the position that the block  14  can be moved forward to. On the other hand, the increases of the horizontal protrusion height h of the block  14  may block the 12-cm optical disc  18  to enter the passage of the slot-in optical disk drive  10 , thus creating a problem that the 12-cm optical disc  18  has a difficulty to enter or exit from the slot-in optical disk drive  10 . With all these limitations, the block  14  can not fully prevent the 8-cm optical disc  16  from entering the slot-in optical disk drive  10 . Hence there is a problem to be solved in the slot-in optical disk drive to prevent from jam of the 8-cm optical discs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An objective of the present invention is to provide a jam-proof device of a slot-in optical disk drive to increase the exposed portion of the 8-cm optical disc when it is pushed back for easier removal of the jammed disc by providing a block on the loading bar. 
     A further objective of the present invention is to provide a jam-proof device of a slot-in optical disk drive to provide a block on the loading bar which rotates to form a position-variable block according to the angle of the loading bar. In this way, the position-variable block protrudes and forms a block for blocking the 8-cm optical disc and moves to give way to enable entering of the 12-cm optical disc. 
     A further objective of the present invention is to provide a jam-proof device of a slot-in optical disk drive to form the block integrally on the loading bar so that the assembly and manufacturing cost is reduced. 
     In order to achieve the foregoing objectives of the invention, in a jam-proof device of a slot-in optical disk drive of the invention, a contact pin protrudes from one end of the loading bar, the other end of the loading bar is pivoted with a pivot on a first side of the casing, and a block protrudes adjacent to the pivot. One end of the unloading bar is pivoted on a second side of the casing opposite to the first side, and a reception end is formed at the other end of the unloading bar to extend to a center of the casing. A distance between the block and the reception end at a default position is shorter than a diameter of an 8-cm disc. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the pivot can be positioned between the contact pin and the block, and the block can be a position-variable block moving away from or close to the first side of the casing in response to rotation of the loading bar. The distance between the position-variable block and the reception end at the default position can be maintained shorter than the diameter of the 8-cm disc when the position-variable block is moving. Thus, the position-variable block prevents the 8-cm optical disc from entering the slot-in optical disk drive and moves to give way to enable entering of the 12-cm optical disc. 
     In the jam-proof device of the slot-in optical disk drive of the invention, the block can formed integrally on the loading bar. The block can also be positioned at the pivot or adjacent to the first side of the casing, so that the block is movably positioned toward the front end of the slot-in optical disk drive to increase the exposed portion of the 8-cm optical disc when it is pushed back for easier removal of the jammed disc. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an upper view of a slot-in optical disk drive in the related art; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a slot-in optical disk drive according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of part A in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view showing position change of the position-variable block according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is an upper view of a slot-in optical disk drive with an 8-cm optical disc inserted therein according to the embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is an upper view of a slot-in optical disk drive with a 12-cm optical disc inserted therein according to the embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 7  is a partially enlarged view of a jam-proof device of a slot-in optical disk drive according to another embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The techniques employed by the present invention to achieve the foregoing objectives and the effects thereof are described hereinafter by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 2  shows a slot-in optical disk drive  20  according to an embodiment of the invention, and  FIG. 3  shows an enlarged view of part A in  FIG. 2 . The slot-in optical disk drive  20  has a casing  21 , a traverse  22 , a power unit  23 , a loading mechanism  24  and an unloading mechanism  25 . The casing  21  is hollow and has an opening  26  at the front end. The traverse  22  is disposed in the casing  21 , with its one end pivoted on one side of the casing  21  and the other end provided with a spindle motor  27  and extending toward the center of the casing  21 . The power unit  23  is disposed in the casing  21  adjacent to the traverse  22  to drive a sliding element  28  to move along the side of the casing  21  and to supply the power for the slot-in optical disk drive  20 . 
     The loading mechanism  24  has a loading bar  30  and a driving bar  31 . The loading bar  30  has two ends. One end of the loading bar  30  is pivoted with a pivot  32  on the side (a first side) of the casing near the opening  26 . A contact pin  33  protrudes from the other end of the loading bar  30  and extends toward the opening  26  in an original position. The driving bar  31  is driven by the sliding element  28  and connects to the loading bar  30  to drive the loading bar  30  to rotate in an angle to push the optical disc into the optical disk drive. The unloading mechanism  25  has an unloading bar  34  and a linkage bar set  35 . The unloading bar  34  has two ends. One end of the unloading bar  34  is pivoted on a second side of the casing  21  opposite to the loading bar  30  (the first side), and a reception end  36  is formed at the other end of the unloading bar  34  to extend to the spindle motor  27  at the center of the casing  21  in a default position. The linkage bar set  35  is driven by the sliding element  28  and connects to the unloading bar  34  to drive the unloading bar  34  to rotate in an angle to push the optical disc out from the optical disk drive. The technology to utilize the power unit  23  to drive the loading bar  30  and the unloading bar  34  to rotate and push the optical disc into or out from the optical disk drive is well-known and therefore not described hereinafter in detail. 
     In the loading bar  30  and the unloading bar  34  of the jam-proof device of the embodiment, a block  37  protrudes upward at the end of the pivot  32  of the loading bar  30 . The block  37  is on the back side and adjacent to the pivot  32 , and the pivot  32  is positioned between the contact pin  33  and the block  37 . The block  37  can protrude by connection or integrally from the loading bar  30 . The block  37  can be a position-variable block moving away from or close to the first side of the casing  21  in response to rotation of the loading bar  30 . When the position-variable block  37  is moving, the distance between the position-variable block  37  and the reception end  36  of the unloading bar  34  at the default position is maintained shorter than the diameter of the 8-cm disc. The position-variable block  37  allows a 12-cm disc to enter and exit the slot-in optical disk drive  20  in a process of moving toward or away from the first side of the casing  21 . 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic view showing the position change of the position-variable block  37 . The driving bar  31  drives the loading bar  30  to rotate so that the loading bar  30  rotates around the pivot  32  for an angle from the original position  30 ′, shown in dotted line, to the position of the loading bar  30  shown in solid line. At the same time, the block  37  at the back side of the pivot  32  moves around the pivot  32  accordingly. When the loading bar  30  moves to the original position  30 ′ near the opening, the block  37  moves toward the first side of the casing  21 ; and when the loading bar  30  moves toward the first side of the casing  21 , the block  37  moves away from the first side of the casing  21 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , where  FIG. 5  shows a slot-in optical disk drive  20  with a 8-cm optical disc  40  inserted in a deviated way therein. When the 8-cm optical disc  40  is inserted into the slot-in optical disk drive  20 , the edge of the 8-cm optical disc  40  faces and rebuts the reception end  36  at one end of the unloading bar  34 , as shown in the arrow B. Thus, the unloading bar  34  is unable to rotate, and the loading bar  30  rotates around the pivot  32  to turn toward the first side of the casing  21  to make the block  37  on the other side of the pivot  32  to move away from the first side of the casing  21  and toward the reception end  36  of the unloading bar  34 . Accordingly, the distance therebetween is shortened to prevent the 8-cm optical disc  40  from entering the slot-in optical disk drive  20 . The block  37  moves forward to the loading bar  30  so that the 8-cm optical disc  40  is unable to move deep into the slot-in optical disk drive  20 , thus exposing a portion of the 8-cm optical disc  40  for easier removal of the jammed disc. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 6 , where  FIG. 6  shows a slot-in optical disk drive  20  with a 12-cm optical disc  41  inserted therein. When the 12-cm optical disc  41  is inserted into the slot-in optical disk drive  20 , the edge of the 12-cm optical disc  41  rebuts one side of the slot-in optical disk drive  20 , and the other side pushes the loading bar  30  to rotate around the pivot  32  and turn toward the first side of the casing  21  to make the block  37  on the other side of the pivot  32  to move away from the first side of the casing  21  and toward the reception end  36  of the unloading bar  34 . Accordingly, the distance therebetween is shortened but does not jam the front edge of the 12-cm optical disc  41 . The front edge of the 12-cm optical disc  41  pushes the reception end  36  of the unloading bar  34  to rotate the unloading bar  34  so that the 12-cm optical disc  41  can keep entering the slot-in optical disk drive  20 . When the contact pin  33  of the loading bar  30  passes the middle point of the 12-cm optical disc  41 , it moves away from the side of the casing  21  along the back edge of the 12-cm optical disc  41  and forces the block  37  moves toward the side of the casing  21  and away from the passage of the 12-cm optical disc  41 . In this way, the 12-cm optical disc  41  can keep moving into the slot-in optical disk drive  20  without creating a jam. 
     Accordingly, by providing a block on the rotating loading bar, the jam-proof device of the slot-in optical disk drive allows the block to move forward to the front side of the optical disk drive and forms a position-variable block according to the rotation of the loading bar. The position change of the block allows increase of the exposed portion of the 8-cm optical disc for easier removal of the jammed disc. Also, by forming the block all-in-one on the loading bar, the assembly and manufacturing cost is reduced. 
       FIG. 7  shows another embodiment of the jam-proof device of the slot-in optical disk drive. The basic mechanism of the slot-in optical disk drive in this embodiment is substantially similar to the previous embodiment, and the elements of the same structure utilize the same numeral in the drawings. The distinction between the embodiments is that the block  50  in this embodiment is moved forward and disposed on the loading bar  30  to be positioned at the pivot  32  or adjacent to the first side of the casing  21  so that the block  50  moves along with the rotation of the loading bar  30  and does not protrude to block the passage of the 12-cm optical disc. The distance between the block  50  and the reception end at a default position is maintained shorter than a diameter of an 8-cm disc. Thus, the block can increase the exposed portion of the 8-cm optical disc for easier removal of the jammed disc. 
     The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in the examples. However the examples should not be construed as a limitation on the actual applicable scope of the invention, and as such, all modifications and alterations without departing from the spirits of the invention and appended claims shall remain within the protected scope and claims of the invention.