Patent ID: 7684294

Claim:
A recording or reproduction apparatus for use with a cartridge recording medium wherein a recording medium is accommodated in a cartridge in such a manner as to be exposed/covered by opening/closing of a shutter mechanism formed in said cartridge, comprising: driving means for driving the recording medium of the cartridge recording medium to perform recording or reproduction action; head means for recording or reproducing information on or from the recording medium driven by said driving means; loading means for opening the shutter mechanism of the cartridge recording medium inserted therein and loading the cartridge recording medium into a state wherein the recording medium can be recorded or reproduced by said driving means and said head means; and control means for controlling action of said loading means, driving means and head means; said control means being operable to control an action mode of said loading means to a shutter close mode wherein at least the recording medium is not driven by said driving means and the shutter mechanism is closed as one of modes during transition between an eject mode wherein the cartridge recording medium is not inserted in said loading means and a drive on mode wherein the recording medium in the cartridge recording medium is driven by said driving means, wherein said control means issues, when a request to discharge the cartridge recording medium is issued, at least a shutter close instruction to said loading means to close the shutter mechanism into the closed state and then issues an eject instruction to said loading means to establish the eject mode, and wherein, if said control means detects, when the request to discharge is issued, that a recording or reproduction request is issued at a point of time before the eject instruction is issued, then said control means interrupts the control triggered by the request to discharge and then issues a drive on instruction to said loading means to establish the drive on mode, and then controls said head means to start recording or reproduction action on or from the recording medium.