Abstract:
An optical disk drive, including a body, a tray, a panel, and at least one soundproof member. The tray is moveably disposed in the body. The panel is connected to the body, the connection therebetween is sealed by the least one soundproof member, thereby lowering noise produced by high rotational speed of the disk drive.

Description:
This Nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No. 091221691 filed in TAIWAN on Dec. 31, 2002, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to an optical disk drive, and in particular to an optical disk drive reducing noise generated by high speed rotation. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Technical advances have enabled optical disk drives to rotate faster to meet high speed demands. High speed optical disk drive operation, however, generates excessive noise and further improvement is required. 
     FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b  are schematic views of a conventional optical disk drive. The conventional disk drive  10  has a body  11 , a panel  12 , and a tray  14 . The tray  14  is slidably disposed in the body  11 , and supports an optical disc  16 . The optical disc drive  10  further comprises an optical pickup, several motors, and other elements. Since such devices are not directly related to this invention, their detailed description is omitted. 
   Recently, the rotational speed of optical disc drives has increased to meet high performance requirements. However, when an optical disc is placed in a high-speed optical disc drive, noise is generated by air flow created by high-speed rotation, and from operation of the motor. Noise escapes through gaps between the body  11  and the panel  12 , such as gaps at connections between the body  11  and the panel  12 , and between the panel  12  and the buttons  13 , causing noise to be carried by air through the gaps. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1   b , the conventional optical disk drive  10  does not contain any soundproof members, hence, high speed optical disk drive operation inevitably generates excessive noise. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Thus, an object of the invention is to provide an optical disk drive with soundproof members, filling gaps therein to block air movement, thereby reducing noise level generated by high rotational speed. 
   The present invention provides an optical disk drive, including a housing and at least one soundproof member. The housing includes a body. The tray is slidably disposed in the body, and the optical disc is disposed on the tray. There are gaps formed in the housing and as a result noise is transmitted to outside by air. The soundproof member is used to fill or cover any gaps in the housing, thereby reducing the noise level. 
   The housing further includes a body and a panel and a gap exists at the connection between the body and the panel. Thus, the soundproof member is disposed in and surrounds the gap between the body and the panel. 
   The present invention also provides an optical disk drive with a soundproof member, disposed between a first face of the body and the second face of the panel. 
   The soundproof member is further disposed in the gap around the button on the first face of the panel. 
   The soundproof member can be a sound absorption material, tape, paper, adhesive strip, glue, or a combination thereof. 
   Further scope of the applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will become more fully understood from the subsequent detailed description and the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: 
       FIG. 1   a  is a schematic view of a conventional optical disk drive; 
       FIG. 1   b  is a schematic view of the conventional optical disk drive with tray ejected; 
       FIG. 2   a  is a schematic view of an optical disk drive according to the invention; 
       FIG. 2   b  is an exploded view of the optical disk drive according to the invention; 
       FIG. 3   a  is a schematic view of the optical disk drive according to the first embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 3   b  is a schematic view of the optical disk drive with an ejected tray according to the first embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 3   c  is a front view of the optical disk drive according to the first embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 4  is an exploded schematic view of the optical disk drive according to the second embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 5   a  is a front view of the panel of the optical disk drive according to the invention; and 
       FIG. 5   b  is a rear view of the panel according to the third embodiment of the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b  are schematic views of an optical disk drive of the present invention. The optical disk drive has a housing  25 , composed of a tray  24 , a panel  22 , and a body  21 . The panel  22  has a slot, allowing a tray-type or a slot-type CD-ROM or DVD-ROM to load or unload an optical disk (not shown). Several types of barely visible gaps are formed in different portions in the housing  25 , such as a linear gap  201  (in  FIG. 2   a ), located on the joint between the panel  22  and the body  21 , and a button gap  100  (in  FIG. 2   b ), formed between the panel  22  and buttons  29 . 
   Specifically, the panel  22  of the housing  25  has a first face  27  (connecting surface) and an exposed surface  271  opposite thereto, and the body  21  has a second face  23 . When the panel  22  and the body  21  are engaged, the first face  27  contacts the second face  23 . As the panel  22  and the body  21  meet, since the first face  27  and the second face  23  are not integrally formed, the connection between the panel  22  and the body  21  forms a linear gap  201 . In addition, several holes, accommodating the buttons  29 , are also formed on the panel  22 . As a result, the surrounding area between the panel  22  and the button  29  forms a button gap  100 . As the optical disk drive begins rotating, noise escapes from the housing  25  through the linear gap  201  or the button gap  100 . Henceforth, the present invention introduces soundproof members  38 , inserted in or covering the gaps such as gaps  100  and  201 , to reduce the level of noise escaping from the inner housing  25 . The following describes the first embodiment of the present invention. 
   First Embodiment 
     FIGS. 3   a ,  3   b , and  3   c  illustrate the first embodiment of the optical disk drive  20 , generating a negligible noise level. In this embodiment, a soundproof member  28  is used to enclose the housing  25  to completely seal the linear gap  201 , thereby preventing noise from escaping through the linear gap  201 . Although the soundproof member  28  completely seals the gap  201  between the panel  22  and the body  21 , the soundproof member  28  does not hinder ejection of disk  26  from tray  24  from ejecting disk  26  from the panel  22  of the optical disk drive  20 , as shown in  FIG. 3   b .  FIG. 3   c  is the front view of the panel  22 . This figure shows that the body  21  is surrounded and covered by the soundproof member  28  (or just surrounding a part of the body  21 ) to completely or partially seal the gaps between the body  21  and the panel  22 , thereby reducing noise generated by high rotational speed. The laboratory recorded experimental noise level data is shown in Table 1. It should be noted that results can change due to measurement conditions, installation differences, room temperature, humidity, distance of sound recording, or control methods. The following is reference data collected from laboratory testing: 
   
     
       
             
           
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
           
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
           
         
             
               TABLE 1 
             
           
           
             
                 
             
             
               Noise Level (decibel, dB) 
             
           
        
         
             
                 
               Trial 1 
               Trial 2 
               Minimum 
               Maximum 
               Difference 
               Average 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
        
         
             
               With 
               41.1 
               41.6 
               41.1 
               41.6 
               0.5 
               41.4 
             
             
               sound- 
             
             
               proof 
             
             
               member 
             
             
               Without 
               44.2 
               44.5 
               44.2 
               44.5 
               0.3 
               44.4 
             
             
               sound- 
             
             
               proof 
             
             
               member 
             
             
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   When the gaps  201  are sealed by the soundproof member  28 , the average noise level is approximately 41.4 dB. Conversely, when not sealed, the level rises to about 44.4 dB. Therefore, when the gap  201  between the body  21  and the panel  22  is sealed by the soundproof member  28  of the present invention, the noise level can be reduced by approximately 3 dB. The data is recorded in an acoustic box, at room temperature with uncontrolled humidity level. Additionally, the microphone (recorder) is placed about fifty meters in front of the tested optical disk drive. Moreover, the optical disk drive is controlled to rotate at a constant speed. Consequently, when testing conditions are modified, the recorded dB level varies. The recorded data proves that by implementing the soundproof member  28  according to the first embodiment, in which the gap  201  between the body  21  and the panel  22  is sealed, the present invention reduces the noise level by 3 dB. In the first embodiment, the soundproof member  28  is a tape of imperforated material. It can be replaced by other materials such as paper, adhesive strips, glue, or a combination thereof. 
   Second Embodiment 
     FIG. 4  is an exploded schematic view of the optical disk drive according to the second embodiment of the invention. Since the interfaces on the first face  27  and the second face  23  between the panel  22  and the body  21  have uneven surfaces, the intersection of two faces creates a gap  201 . Therefore, in this embodiment, soundproof member  28 ′ (such as sound-absorbing cotton material) is disposed between the first face  27  of the panel  22  and the second face  23  of the body  21 , to directly fill in the gap  201  between the panel  22  and the body  21 , reducing noise from the housing  25 . Moreover, the soundproof member  28 ′ disposed between the first face  27  and the second face  23 , does not hinder the disk loading or unloading. Experimental noise level tests show that when the gap is not sealed, the average noise level is about 43.1 dB. When perfectly sealed, the noise level was recorded as 41.9 dB. Therefore, as the gaps between the first face  27  of the panel  22  and the second face  23  of the body  21  are filled with the soundproof member  28 ′, a noticeable noise level drop of 1.2 dB is achieved. Thus, by employing the second embodiment, sealing the first face  27  of the panel  22  and the second face  23  of the case  21 , a noise level reduction of approximately 1.2 dB can be attained. 
   In the second embodiment, the soundproof member  28 ′ can be a sound absorption material, tape, paper, adhesive strip, glue, or a combination thereof. 
   Third Embodiment 
     FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b  are schematic views according to the third embodiment.  FIG. 5   a  is a front view of the panel of the present invention.  FIG. 5   b  is a rear view of the panel. The gap  100  between the panel  22  and the button  29  is sealed by a soundproof member  28 ″ such as tape. Also the soundproof member  28 ″ is disposed on the first face  27  of the panel  22  to prevent noise from escaping from the gap  100 . Table 2 shows the laboratory results of noise level testing. The results may differ according to measurement conditions, installment differences, room temperature, humidity, distance of sound recording, or controlling methods. The following Table 2 shows the results of the laboratory testing: 
   
     
       
             
           
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
           
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
           
         
             
               TABLE 2 
             
           
           
             
                 
             
             
               Noise Level (dB) 
             
           
        
         
             
                 
               Trial 1 
               Trial 2 
               Trial 3 
               Trial 4 
               Minimum 
               Maximum 
               Difference 
               Average 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
        
         
             
               With 
               40.9 
               40.3 
               39.9 
               40.7 
               39.9 
               40.9 
               1.0 
               40.5 
             
             
               soundproof 
             
             
               member 
             
             
               Without 
               42.7 
               42.3 
               42.4 
               42.3 
               42.3 
               42.7 
               0.4 
               42.4 
             
             
               soundproof 
             
             
               member 
             
             
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   As the gap  100  is sealed by the soundproof member  28 ″, the average noise level is about 40.5 dB. When not sealed, the average noise level is about 42.4 dB. Therefore, by disposing a soundproof member  28 ″ on the first face  27 , sealing the gap  100 , average noise level is reduced by 1.9 dB. 
   The soundproof member  28 ″ of the third embodiment can be one of the sound absorption material, tape, paper, adhesive strip, glue, or a combination thereof. 
   Since there are gaps formed in the body or the panel of the optical disk drive, noise generated by high rotational speed inevitably escapes and is transmitted by air. According to the above embodiments, the soundproof members reduce the noise level by about 1.2 dB to 3 dB, as proved by experiment results. The calculation of the reduced noise level values of do not correspond to a linear scale of values, but rather to a logarithmic function that establishes noise intensity in accordance with the superposition of sounds and the distance at which they are produced. For example, if each embodiment lowers the noise level by about 2 dB, installing two types of soundproof members does not provide a linear reduction in noise level of 4 dB. Thus the use of soundproof members on the optical disk drive is an economical and an efficient method of drastically reducing noise level. 
   While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to body various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.