Title: Cartridge for an information recording medium
Abstract: A cartridge for an information recording medium includes a cartridge case, an opening cover, detachably mounted to a rear side opening of the cartridge case, for enabling the information recording medium to be withdrawn or inserted with respect to the cartridge case, and a holding unit for preventing movement of the information recording medium by supporting the information recording medium when the information recording medium is received and/or withdrawn into/from the cartridge case. The holding unit includes a pair of elastic pressure parts, elastically formed on the opening cover, for elastically supporting the information recording medium to prevent movement of the information recording medium when the opening cover is not attached to the cartridge case, and a release unit for releasing the pair of elastic pressure parts when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case so that the information recording medium is rotatable in the cartridge case.
Patent Number: 6,912,724 Issued on 06/28/2005 to Park, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Park; Jong-pil (Suwon, KR);
Park; In-sik (Suwon, KR);
Seo; Young-sun (Sungnam, KR);
Ko; Jung-wan (Yongin, KR);
Choi; Han-kook (Suwon, KR)
|
| Assignee:
|
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Suwon-si, KR)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
677220 |
| Filed:
|
October 3, 2003 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Sep 09, 1919[KR] | 98-37104 |
| Mar 23, 1998[KR] | 98-18684 |
| Aug 26, 1998[KR] | 98-34561 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
720/733; 720/737 |
| Intern'l Class: |
G11B 023/03 |
| Field of Search: |
720/725,728,732,733,737
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
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| |
Other References
U.S. Appl. No. 09/949,870, (6,728,200), filed Sep. 12, 2001, Jong-pil Park, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 09/313,787 (Issued as U.S. Patent No. 6,445,677), filed May 17,
1999, Jong-pil Park, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 09/964,632 (Issued as U.S. Patent No. 6,438,099), filed Sep. 28,
2001, Jong-pil Park, et al.
U.S. Appl. No. 10/678,257, filed Oct. 6, 2003, Jong-pil Park, et al.
|
Primary Examiner: Klimowicz; William J
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Stein, McEwen & Bui, LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/949,870,
filed Sep. 12, 2001 in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which is now U.S.
Pat. No. 6,728,200, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/313,787,
filed May 17, 1999 and which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,677, which claims the
benefit of Korean Application Nos. 98-18684, filed May 23, 1998; 98-34561, filed
Aug. 26, 1998; and 98-37104, filed Sep. 9, 1998 in the Korean Patent Office, the
disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Claims
1. A cartridge for an information recording medium, comprising:
a cartridge case having an opening to receive the information recording medium;
an opening cover, detachably mounted to the cartridge case at the opening, to
enable the information recording medium to be withdrawn or inserted with respect
to the cartridge case, the opening cover having supporting ribs to support the
information recording medium on an inner surface thereof;
a pair of elastic pressure parts, elastically formed on the opening cover, to
elastically support the information recording medium to hold the information recording
medium relative to the opening cover when the opening cover is not attached to
the cartridge case;
receiving ribs integrally formed on leading ends of the pair of elastic pressure
parts, respectively;
intervening members, formed on opposite inner sidewalls of the cartridge case,
to slidably contact the receiving ribs, respectively, so as to push the receiving
ribs when the opening cover is inserted into the cartridge case so that the pair
of elastic pressure parts widen in a lateral direction of the information recording
medium relative to each other;
means for firmly fastening the opening cover to the cartridge case to prevent
a gap between the opening cover and the cartridge case when the opening cover is
attached to the cartridge case; and
positioning means for positioning the information recording medium, which is
accommodated in the cartridge case, upward/downward at an exact position.
2. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the opening cover comprises a
gripping part formed on a front surface thereof, to enable the user to pull the
opening cover away from the cartridge case.
3. The cartridge as claimed in claim 2, wherein the gripping part includes at
least one symbol printed on the gripping part to indicate first and second sides
of the information recording medium.
4. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information recording medium
is a disc on and/or from which information is optically recorded and/or reproduced.
5. The cartridge as claimed in claim 4, wherein:
the cartridge case comprises
a spindle opening and an extended opening to permit an optical pickup to access
the disc by exposing a predetermined portion of the disc accommodated in the cartridge
case, and
a shutter, slidably disposed with respect to the cartridge case, to selectively
open/close the spindle opening and the extended opening.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cartridge for accommodating and protecting
an information recording medium such as an optical disc so that information is
recordable/reproducible on/from the optical disc. More particularly, the present
invention relates to a cartridge which has an information recording medium holding
means that enables a user to replace the information recording medium without directly
touching the same, and prevents the information recording medium from separating
from the cartridge while the user replaces the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As it is generally known, a disc cartridge protects a disc such as an optical
disc from dust, fingerprints, scratches, etc., so that information may be recorded/reproduced
on/from the disc without an error. Such a cartridge includes a case which is generally
made from a synthetic resin, and an opening cover which selectively opens/closes
a disc entry opening of the case.
One example of a conventional disc cartridge is shown in FIG.
1. In FIG.
1, a reference numeral
10 refers to a cartridge case, which has an upper
shell and a lower shell that are coupled with each other to define a space therebetween.
A disc d is accommodated in the space defined by the upper and lower shells. A
spindle opening
10a and an extended opening
10b are
formed in the upper and lower shells. Thus, a turntable and a chucking clamper
of an optical recording/reproducing device (not shown) are advanced through the
spindle opening
10a, and a recordable side of the disc d is exposed
to an optical pickup through the extended opening
10b. A shutter
12 is slidably disposed on the cartridge case
10, to selectively
open/close the spindle opening
10a and the extended opening
10b.
The shutter
12 is automatically opened/closed in response to the inserting
and withdrawing actions of the disc cartridge with respect to the optical recording/reproducing device.
Further, a plurality of sensing holes
10c, 10d,
10e, and
10f are formed in the cartridge case
10,
corresponding to a plurality of sensing switches of the optical recording/reproducing
device which are to be selectively inserted thereinto. Accordingly, the states
of the disc d are detected. The sensing holes
10c, 10d,
10e, and
10f are divided into an A1 hole
10c
for detecting whether or not the disc d has been withdrawn from the cartridge
case
10, an A2 hole
10d for detecting whether the disc d is
a single-sided or a double-sided, a spare hole
10e which is available
for use for an additional function, and a protection hole
10f for
preventing information from being recorded on the disc d. In addition to the sensing
holes
10c, 10d, 10e, and
10f,
additional holes such as a position hole are formed in the cartridge case
10,
albeit they are not shown in the drawings.
Further, an opening cover
14 is hinged to a rear side of the cartridge
case
10 to permit the disc d to be inserted or withdrawn with respect to
the cartridge case
10. A plurality of holes
14a are formed
in the opening cover
14 to correspond to the sensing holes
10c,
10d, 10e, and
10f, respectively.
A lock lever
14b is disposed on the opening cover
14 to be
locked into a lock hole
10g of the cartridge case
10, and
a protector arm as well as a protector rib (not shown) are integrally formed on
the cartridge case
10 by injection molding. The protector arm is positioned
in the protection hole
10f, and the rib is to be locked with the
protector arm.
Initially, the A1 hole
10c is closed by the protector rib.
Then, if the disc d is withdrawn from the cartridge case
10, the rib is
eliminated so that the A1 hole
10c is opened. Accordingly, the sensing
switch of the optical recording/reproducing device is inserted into the A1 hole
10c when the disc cartridge is inserted into the optical recording/reproducing
device, so that it is determined that the disc d has been exchanged. As a result,
the verification process on the disc d is carried out. The A2 hole
10d
is excluded if the disc d accommodated in the cartridge case
10 is single-sided,
or when the disc cartridge is one that does not allow the disc d to be exchanged.
Thus, when the conventional disc cartridge constructed as above is inserted
into the optical recording/reproducing device, the shutter
12 of the cartridge
case
10 is moved in a predetermined direction (upper left in FIG. 1) by
a shutter opening/closing device (not shown), and accordingly, the spindle opening
10a and the extended opening
10b of the cartridge case
10 are opened. Simultaneously, the turntable and the chucking damper of
the optical recording/reproducing device are advanced through the spindle opening
10a so that the disc d is positioned and chucked.
Further, a position pin (not shown) of the optical recording/reproducing
device is inserted into the position hole so that the position of the disc cartridge
with respect to the optical recording/reproducing device is determined. Continuously,
the sensing switches of the optical recording/reproducing device are selectively
inserted into the sensing holes
10c, 10d, 10e,
and
10f and their respective corresponding holes
14a
of the opening cover
14, so that the states of the disc d are determined.
When the sensing switch corresponding with the A1 sensing hole
10c is
not inserted into the A1 sensing hole
10c, then it is determined
that the disc d has never been exchanged, so that information can be directly recorded
on the disc d without the verification process. When the corresponding sensing
switch is inserted into the A1 hole
10c, then it is determined that
the disc d has been exchanged, so that the verification process is carried out
and then the information is recorded on the disc d. Further, when the corresponding
sensing switch corresponding with the A2 hole
10d is inserted into
the A2 hole
10d, it is determined that the disc d is double-sided,
and if not, it is determined that the disc d is single-sided. When the corresponding
sensing switch is inserted into the protection hole
10f, it is determined
that the function for preventing information recording/elimination is selected.
Meanwhile, in the above-described disc cartridge, the disc d accommodated
within the cartridge case is exchangeable. When exchanging the disc d, first, the
user opens the opening cover
14 which is hinged at the rear side of the
cartridge case
10. Then, the user tilts the cartridge case
10 and
pulls out the disc d manually so as to slide the disc d out of the cartridge case
10. The user has to hold the disc d with his/her hand, too, when placing
the disc d into the cartridge case
10.
Accordingly, after opening the opening cover
14 in order to exchange
the disc, the user holds the recordable side of the disc by his/her hand while
he/she takes out or inserts the disc with respect to the cartridge case. Accordingly,
a problem arises in that the recordable side of the disc may be damaged due to
scratches, fingerprints, etc., which are made by the user while he/she exchanges
the disc.
Further, in the event that the cartridge case and the opening cover are
deformed in the manufacturing process, a gap is formed between the cartridge case
and the opening cover so that foreign substances such as dust may reach the disc
through the gap. Accordingly, an error may occur in recording/reproducing the information
on/from the disc.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been developed to overcome the above-described problems
of the related art, and accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a cartridge for attaching/detaching an opening cover with respect to a
cartridge case so as to place/withdraw the disc in/from the cartridge case automatically,
so that damage to the disc which is caused by a manual exchange is prevented.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cartridge for preventing
foreign substances from entering an inner portion of the cartridge case by ensuring
that there is not any gap between the cartridge case and the opening cover when
the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case (in a closed state over (blocking)
the opening of the cartridge case which receives the disc).
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in
part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description,
or may be learned by practice of the invention.
The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be achieved
by providing a cartridge for an information recording medium which includes a cartridge
case, an opening cover, detachably mounted to a rear side opening of the cartridge
case, for enabling the information recording medium to be withdrawn or inserted
with respect to the cartridge case, and holding means for preventing movement of
the information recording medium by supporting the information recording medium
when the information recording medium is received and/or withdrawn into/from the
cartridge case.
Here, the holding means includes a pair of elastic pressure parts, elastically
formed on the opening cover, for elastically supporting the information recording
medium to prevent the movement of the information recording medium when the opening
cover is not attached to the cartridge case, and release means for releasing the
pair of elastic pressure parts when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge
case so that the information recording medium is rotated in the cartridge case.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a space between the pair
of elastic pressure parts is widened to a maximum value that is less than the width
of the cartridge case. The holding means further includes supporting ribs which
have guide grooves for guiding the information medium while the information recording
medium is fixed with respect to the opening cover.
The release means includes receiving ribs integrally formed on leading ends of
the pair of elastic pressure parts, respectively, and intervening members, formed
on opposite inner sidewalls of the cartridge case, for slidably contacting the
receiving ribs so as to push the receiving ribs when the opening cover is inserted
into the cartridge case so that the pair of elastic pressure parts widen in a lateral
direction of the information recording medium. Here, the receiving ribs have outwardly
inclined surfaces that have a predetermined degree of inclination, and the intervening
members have receiving recesses which have the inclined surfaces corresponding
to the outwardly inclined surfaces. The intervening members may be wedge-shaped
or cylindrical-shaped.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the cartridge further
includes means for firmly fastening the opening cover to the cartridge case to
prevent a gap between the opening cover and the cartridge case when the opening
cover is attached to the cartridge case.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the cartridge
further includes positioning means for positioning the information recording medium
accommodated in the cartridge case upward/downward at an exact position.
Further, the cartridge of the present invention further includes a gripping
part formed at the front portion of the opening cover. Symbols or characters are
printed on the gripping part to indicate a first side and a second side of the
information medium.
Meanwhile, a disc is preferably used as the information recording medium
on/from which information is optically recorded and/or reproduced. A shutter for
selectively opening/closing the spindle opening and the extended opening formed
in the cartridge case, is slidably disposed with respect to the cartridge case.
Accordingly, the information recording medium can be inserted or withdrawn
with respect to the cartridge case via the opening cover which supports the information
recording medium with the holding means and attached or detached with respect to
the cartridge case. As a result, the user does not have to touch the information
recording medium, directly, so that disc damage caused by fingerprints, scratches,
etc., is prevented.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above objects and advantages will be more apparent by describing the present
invention with reference to the accompanied reference drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional disc cartridge;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a disc cartridge according to an embodiment
of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view showing the disc cartridge of FIG.
2 fully assembled;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 3, showing an
opening cover which is coupled with a cartridge case of the disc cartridge according
to the embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line II-II of FIG. 3, showing the
states of a disc which is accommodated in an inner portion of a cartridge case
of the disc cartridge shown in FIG. 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now made in detail to the present preferred embodiments
of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying
drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout.
The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by
referring to the figures.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a disc cartridge according to an embodiment
of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows the disc cartridge fully assembled.
FIG. 4 shows an opening cover coupled with the disc cartridge, and FIG. 5 is a
sectional view showing a disc accommodated in the inner portion of a cartridge
case shown in FIG.
2.
Throughout the description of the preferred embodiment of the present
invention, an information recording medium is referred to as a disc. It will be
noted, however, that the information recording medium is not exclusively limited
to the disc in the present invention.
As shown in the figures, the disc cartridge according to the preferred embodiment
of the present invention includes a cartridge case
30, a shutter
50,
and an opening cover
70. A space is defined within the cartridge case
30
and a disc d is accommodated in the space. The shutter
50 is disposed on
the cartridge case
30 to selectively open/close a spindle opening
30a
and an extended opening
30b of the cartridge case
30.
The opening cover
70 is detachably mounted to a disc entry opening
37
at a rear side of the cartridge case
30.
Further, the disc cartridge according to the embodiment present invention
includes a plurality of sensing holes
30c, 30d, 30e,
and
30f, opening/closing means, and disc holding means. The plurality
of sensing holes
30c, 30d, 30e, and
30f
perform the same functions as the plurality of sensing holes
10c,
10d, 10e, and
10f, respectively.
Accordingly, as a plurality of sensing switches (not shown) provided to an optical
recording/reproducing device are selectively inserted into the sensing holes
30c,
30d, 30e, and
30f, the states of
the disc d are determined. The opening/closing means selectively opens/closes the
sensing holes
30c, 30d, 30e, and
30f,
based on the states of the disc d. The disc holding means is provided to the
opening cover
70 to hold the disc d while the disc is exchanged, thereby
enabling the disc d to be withdrawn and/or inserted from/to the cartridge case
30 via the opening cover
70.
Here, the shutter
50, the sensing holes
30c, 30d,
30e, and
30f, and the sensing hole opening/closing
means are not considered to be essential elements in the embodiment of the present
invention. Accordingly, the elements are exclusive, but the disc holding means
will be described in greater detail hereinafter.
An arc rib
32 is formed on an inner side of the cartridge case
30
by injection molding to support the disc d. The plurality of sensing holes
30c,
30d, 30e, and
30f are formed in a
diagonal direction on upper and lower shells of the cartridge case
30, so
that the states of the disc d which is accommodated in the cartridge case
30
are sensed by an optical recording/reproducing device (not shown). It is preferable
that the plurality of sensing holes
30c, 30d, 30e
and
30f may be formed on the upper or lower shell of cartridge
case
30 for the cartridge case for a single-sided disc. Additionally, locking
recesses
30h are formed at opposite inner sidewalls of the cartridge
case
30, more particularly, at a place adjacent to the disc entry opening
37 where the opening cover
70 is attached. Here, the arc rib
32
has a diameter greater than the diameter of the disc d, in order to permit the
accommodated disc d in the cartridge case
30 to be smoothly rotated.
The shutter
50 is for opening the spindle opening
30a and
the extended opening
30b of the cartridge case
30. When the
disc cartridge is inserted into the optical recording/reproducing device, the shutter
50 is moved in a predetermined direction by shutter opening/closing means
(not shown) so that the spindle opening
30a and the extended opening
30b are opened. Here, the width W of the shutter
50 is greater
than the diameter D of spindle opening
30a, and the diameter D of
the spindle opening
30a is greater than the diameter of a turntable
and a chucking damper (not shown) for rotating and chucking the disc d, so that
the turntable and the chucking damper are advanced through the spindle opening
30a, smoothly.
Like a drawer, the opening cover
70 is attached/detached to/from the
cartridge case
30 by being pulled out/pushed in, and a pair of locking projections
46 are formed at opposite sides of the opening cover
70 to correspond
with the locking recesses
30h of the cartridge case
30. Accordingly,
when the opening cover
70 is pushed into the disc entry opening
37
of the cartridge case
30, the locking projections
46 of the opening
cover
70 are fixedly locked in the locking recesses
30h of
the cartridge case
30, respectively, so that the opening cover
70
is securely attached to the cartridge case
30. Also, tension ribs
48
are formed on both sides of the opening cover
70 to release the locking
projections
46 when the opening cover
70 is to be detached from the
cartridge case
30. More specifically, if the user pushes the tension ribs
48 while pulling out the opening cover
70, the locking projections
46 are unlocked from the respective locking recesses
30h so
that the opening cover
70 is detached from the cartridge case
30.
Meanwhile, opening/closing means for selectively opening/closing the A1
holes
30c is provided to both sides of the opening cover
70,
and more particularly, at the places corresponding with the sensing holes
30c,
30d, 30e, and
30f, particularly corresponding
to the A1 holes
30c. The opening/closing means includes movement
holes
30g, rotary arms
52, and tension levers
54. The
movement holes
30g are formed in the opening cover
70, in
a manner that the movement holes
30g include the A1 holes
30c,
respectively. In other words, one A1 hole
30c, as shown in FIGS.
2 and 3, is formed at a portion of the movement hole
30g. Each of
the A1 holes
30c is communicated with each of the movement holes
30g which provides a space for the rotary arms
52 to move
therein. The rotary arms
52 are movably disposed on the opening cover
70,
at a place corresponding with the movement holes
30g. The tension
levers
54 are extended from the opening cover
70 to movably support
the rotary arms
52 and to return the rotary arms
52 to their initial
positions. Stopping projections
56, as shown in FIG. 3, are integrally formed
on the rotary arms
52, and stopping ribs
58 corresponding to the
stopping projections
56 as shown in FIG. 3, are formed on the opening cover
70, adjacent to a place corresponding with the A1 holes
30c. Accordingly,
when the rotary arms
52 are moved to the A1 holes
30c, the
stopping projections
56 are stopped by the stopping ribs
58, so that
the rotary arms
52 are maintained in a place to where the rotary arms
52
are moved. When the rotary arms
52 are pushed, the stopping projections
56 are released from the stopping ribs
58 so that the rotary arms
52 are returned to their initial positions by the tension of the tension
ribs
54.
Further, disc holding means, which is the main feature of the present invention,
is provided on the opening cover
70 and the cartridge case
30. The
disc holding means includes a pair of elastic pressing parts
44, supporting
ribs
38 and
40, and release means. The elastic pressure parts
44
are extended from both sides of the opening cover
70 to define a space (disc
accommodating space) therebetween, and have an elasticity toward a middle portion
of the opening cover
70 to elastically support the disc d in a lateral direction.
The supporting ribs
38 and
40 are formed along a disc supporting
part of the opening cover
70, and have guide grooves for receiving the edge
of the disc d. The release means widens the space between the elastic pressure
parts
44 elastically supporting the disc d so that the disc d can be rotated
smoothly when the opening cover
70 is attached to the cartridge case
30.
The release means includes receiving ribs
42 formed on the opening cover
70, and intervening members
34 formed on the cartridge case
30.
The receiving ribs
42 have outwardly inclined surfaces
42a, respectively,
which are formed on leading ends of the elastic pressure parts
44. The intervening
members
34 are wedge-shaped, and are formed on opposite inner sidewalls
of the cartridge case
30 at positions corresponding to the receiving ribs
42. The intervening members
34 have receiving recesses
34a
which have inclined surfaces
34b that correspond with the outwardly
inclined surfaces
42a of the receiving ribs
42. Thus, when
the opening cover
70 is attached to the cartridge case
30, the outwardly
inclined surfaces
42a of the receiving ribs
42 and the inclined
surfaces
34b of the intervening members
34 come in contact
with each other, so that the receiving ribs
42 are inserted into the receiving
recesses
34a of the intervening members
34, respectively.
Accordingly, the elastic pressure parts
44 are forced outward from each
other in a lateral direction. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the supporting ribs are
respectively formed as first supporting ribs
38 formed at both elastic pressure
parts
44 to support the disc d on the intermediate portion thereof in a
lateral direction, and as a second supporting rib
40 formed at the opening
cover
70 to support the disc d from the rear part of the cartridge case
30. Alternatively, the first supporting ribs
38 may be respectively
extended to the second supporting rib. Therefore, the supporting ribs
38
and
40 may be integrally formed along the disc supporting part of the opening
cover
70, although such is not shown in the figures.
Further, the intervening members
34 may be wedge-shaped having the
receiving recesses
34a as shown in the figures, or, alternatively,
the intervening members
34 may be in cylindrical-shaped, although such is
not shown in the figures. The cylindrical intervening members push the receiving
ribs
42 while the intervening members are slid along the outwardly inclined
surfaces
42a of the receiving ribs
42.
By employing the opening cover
70 having the disc holding means as above,
the disc d can inserted or withdrawn into/from the cartridge case
30 without
directly touching the disc d. More specifically, when replacing (or exchanging)
the disc d, the opening cover
70 is detached from the cartridge case
30
so that the disc d is withdrawn from the cartridge case
30 together with
the opening cover
70 while the disc holding means supports the disc d. It
is because when the opening cover
70 is attached to the cartridge case
30,
the receiving ribs
42 on the leading ends of the elastic pressure parts
44 widen in the lateral direction by insertion of the receiving ribs
42
into the receiving recesses
34a of the intervening members
34 of
the cartridge case
30. When the opening cover
70 is pulled so as
to be detached from the cartridge case
30, the elastic pressure parts
44
are returned to their initial positions by withdrawing of the receiving ribs
42
from the receiving recesses
34a of the intervening members
34
so that the elastic pressure parts
44 elastically support the disc d. After
replacing the disc d with a new one so as to be supported by the disc holding means
of the opening cover
70, the opening cover
70 including the disc
d is attached to the cartridge case
30, so that the receiving ribs
42
of the elastic pressure parts
44 are inserted into the receiving recesses
34a of the intervening members
34 of the cartridge case
30.
Accordingly, the elastic pressure parts
44 are forced outward from each
other and the disc d can be rotated in the cartridge case smoothly. Here, it is
preferable that the maximum width between the elastic pressure parts
44
is less than the width of the cartridge case
30, when the elastic pressure
parts
44 are forced outward from each other by the release means.
Due to the structure and operation of the disc holding means, the disc d which
is accommodated in the cartridge case
30 can be withdrawn via the opening
cover
70 without being damaged.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 3 showing the
opening cover
70 which is coupled to the cartridge case
30. As shown
in FIG. 4, the disc cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention
further includes means for firmly fastening the opening cover
70 to the
cartridge case
30, thereby preventing a gap between the opening cover
70
and the cartridge case
30. The fastening means includes coupling ribs
81
and rib recesses
82. The coupling ribs
81 are formed on upper and
lower shells
36a, 36b of the cartridge case
30,
respectively, and more specifically at places corresponding to part of the opening
cover
70 that attaches to the cartridge case
30. The rib recesses
82 are formed in the opening cover
70 to receive the coupling ribs
81. Due to the incorporation of the coupling ribs
81 within the rib
recesses
82, there is no gap defined between the opening cover
70
and the cartridge case
30 when the opening cover
70 is attached to
the cartridge case
30. Accordingly, foreign substances such as dust, etc.,
do not enter the cartridge case
30.
Further, the disc cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention
further includes positioning means for positioning the disc d received in the cartridge
case
30 upward/downward at an exact position. As shown in FIG. 5, the positioning
means includes stepped parts
91 and
92 which are formed on upper
and lower inner surfaces of the cartridge case
30 at predetermined heights,
respectively. Further, the positioning means may include circular bands having
a predetermined height that are attached to the upper and lower inner surfaces
of the cartridge case
30. Here, the heights of the stepped parts
91
and
92, or the height of the circular bands is equal to, or greater than
the thickness of the supporting ribs
38.
Due to the positioning means of the cartridge case
30 having the stepped
parts
91 and
92, or the circular bands, the disc d accommodated in
the cartridge case
30, is adjusted upward/downward and positioned at the
exact position. Accordingly, when the user attempts to take out the disc d accommodated
in another cartridge case by using the opening cover
70 which includes the
holding means according to the embodiment of the present invention, the user may
simply attach the opening cover
70 to the cartridge case
30 of the
other disc cartridge. Then, the disc d is withdrawn from the other disc cartridge,
while being supported by the holding means of the opening cover
70 of this
cartridge case
30.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the disc cartridge according to the
embodiment of the present invention further includes a gripping part
93
which is formed on the front surface of the opening cover
70. Accordingly,
the user grips the gripping part
93 by his/her hand and attaches/detaches
the opening cover
70 to/from the cartridge case
30 using the gripping
part
93. Symbols or characters may be printed on the gripping part
93
to indicate a first side and a second side of the disc d. Accordingly, the user
may easily distinguish each side of the disc d.
Hereinafter, the operation of the disc cartridge which is constructed
as described above will be described in greater detail.
First, descriptions of the processes which follow the insertion of the disc
cartridge into the optical recording/reproducing device, i.e., the process of shutter
50 opening, disc d positioning and chucking, disc states detecting, etc.,
will be omitted, since they have been described earlier in the description of the
related art. Hereinafter, the operation of the disc holding means will be described.
In order to replace the disc d with the bare disc d whose states are verified
in the cartridge case
30, the user eliminates a protector rib to protect
the information recorded on the disc d, and presses the tension ribs
48
on the opening cover
70 inward and pulls the opening cover
70 out,
manually. Accordingly, the locking projections
46 locked into the locking
recesses
30h are released, and the opening cover
70 is detached
from the cartridge case
30.
In such a situation, the elastic pressure parts
44 are returned to their
initial positions, so that the disc d is elastically supported by the elastic pressure
parts
44 and withdrawn together with the opening cover
70. More specifically,
when the user slightly pulls out the opening cover
70 while pressing on
the tension ribs
48 of the opening cover
70, the receiving ribs
42
are separated from the receiving recesses
34a of the intervening members
34, and accordingly, the elastic pressure parts
44, which have been
forced outward from each other in the lateral direction, approach each other to
hold the disc d securely.
In such a situation, the user separates the disc d from the opening cover
70,
and places the bare disc d whose states are verified to be supported by the disc
holding means of the opening cover
70. Then, the user pushes the opening
cover
70 into the disc entry opening
37 of the cartridge case
30
until the locking projections
46 of the opening cover
70 are locked
into the locking recesses
30h of the cartridge case
30. Accordingly,
the outwardly inclined surfaces
42a of the receiving ribs
42
of the elastic pressure parts
44 come in contact with the inclined surfaces
34b of the intervening members
34, and then received into
the receiving recesses
34a of the intervening members
34.
As a result, the elastic pressure parts
44 widen outward from each other
in the lateral direction, so that the disc d can be rotated in the cartridge case
30, smoothly.
Meanwhile, the opening cover
70 of the disc cartridge of the present
invention is useful in an adaptor for using a disc of a diameter of 8 cm in an
optical recording/reproducing device for a disc of a diameter of 12 cm.
As described above, according to the disc cartridge of the present invention,
the user can accommodate or withdraw a disc into or from the disc cartridge via
an opening cover, by attaching or detaching the opening cover, which is capable
of holding the disc, with respect to the cartridge case. Accordingly, the user
does not need to touch the disc directly while replacing the disc. As a result,
the disc is protected from damage which is caused due to the fingerprints, scratches, etc.
Further, according to the disc cartridge of the present invention, there
is no gap between the cartridge case and the opening cover, so that errors in recording
and reproducing information onto/from the disc do not occur due to the prevention
of the entrance of foreign substances.
Still further, according to the disc cartridge of the present invention, the
user has greater convenience in handling the disc without directly touching the
disc d by using the opening cover.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with
reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled
in the art that various changes in form and details may be effected therein without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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