Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval – Record medium – In container
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-28
2001-05-22
Letscher, George J. (Department: 2754)
Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval
Record medium
In container
Reexamination Certificate
active
06236540
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a disc cartridge housing a disc-shaped recording medium, such as a magnetic disc. More particularly, it relates to a connecting structure for upper and lower cartridge halves making up a main cartridge body portion adapted for housing a disc-shaped recording medium.
BACKGROUND ART
A disc cartridge holding a disc-shaped recording medium, such as a magnetic disc or a magneto-optical disc, has its main cartridge body portion combined from paired upper and lower cartridge halves, and a disc-shaped recording medium is rotatably housed in a disc housing section formed in the main cartridge body portion.
In the main cartridge body portion, recording/reproducing apertures are formed facing each other for exposing a portion of the signal recording area of the disc-shaped recording medium held in the disc housing section to outside across the inner and outer rims of the disc, and into which is intruded recording/reproducing means provided on a recording/reproducing apparatus. A shutter member is mounted on the main cartridge body portion for opening/closing these recording/reproducing apertures.
In the lower cartridge half constituting the lower surface of the main cartridge body portion is formed a circular center opening into which is intruded a turntable of the recording/reproducing apparatus. This center opening permits a center hub mounted at the center of the disc-shaped recording medium housed in the main cartridge body portion to be exposed to outside from the lower cartridge half.
On the inner surfaces of the main cartridge body portion are arranged protective sheets of, for example, a non-woven fabric, for protecting the disc-shaped recording medium housed therein. These protective sheets are arranged in the inner surfaces of the main cartridge body portion for sandwiching the disc-shaped recording medium in-between.
The inner surfaces of the upper and lower cartridge halves, making up the main cartridge body portion, are provided with plural fitting recesses and projections which are interengaged and ultrasonically welded to one another by ultrasonic welding means to complete a unified main cartridge body portion. These ultrasonic welding means generate mechanical vibrations on the abutting surfaces of the fitting recesses and projections to fuse the abutment surfaces by the heat of friction generated by mechanical vibrations.
In keeping up with recent tendency towards multi-media, the information signals, such as picture data or speech data, are diversified and increased in volume, thus increasing the recording capacity of the disc cartridge. For recording the information signals of the increased volume, there is proposed a disc cartridge having an increased recording density for information signals.
The main cartridge body portion housing the disc-shaped recording medium, such as the disc cartridge, is produced by interconnecting the upper and lower cartridge halves by ultrasonic welding means, so that contaminants, such as dust and dirt, are produced from the protective sheets, such as non-woven cloths, provided on the inner surfaces of the main cartridge body portion, or the upper and lower cartridge halves.
With the disc-shaped recording medium, increased in recording density, if dust and dirt of the smallest size become affixed to the signal recording area, recording and/or reproducing errors are produced at the time of recording and/or reproduction of information signals.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a disc cartridge in which a disc-shaped recording medium housed in a main cartridge body portion can be reliably protected in interconnecting the upper and lower cartridge halves making up the main cartridge body portion.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a disc cartridge in which contaminants, such as dust and dirt, can be reliably prevented from being produced at the time of interconnecting the upper and lower cartridge halves of the main cartridge body portion to prevent deterioration of the recording and/or reproducing characteristics of the disc-shaped recording medium due to deposition of the dust and dirt.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a disc cartridge in which the upper and lower cartridge halves constituting the main cartridge body portion can be unified together strongly.
For accomplishing the above objects, the present invention provides a disc cartridge housing a magnetic disc therein. The disc cartridge includes an engagement projection formed in the vicinity of a corner of one of the upper and lower cartridge halves so that the distal end of the engagement projection is engaged with the other cartridge half, an insertion hole formed in the other cartridge half so as to be passed through by the engagement projection of the one of the upper and lower cartridge halves and an abutment protuberantly formed around the engagement projection for compressing against the rim portion of the insertion hole formed in the other cartridge half. The engagement projection protruded from the insertion hole has its distal end heated and swollen out by a non-vibration type heating system to form a retainer.
With the present disc cartridge, the engagement projection formed in one of the cartridge halves is passed through the insertion hole formed in the other cartridge half, at the same time as the distal end of the abutment compresses against the rim portion of the insertion hole. The engagement projection passed through and protruded from the insertion hole is fused by heat produced by a non-vibration type heating system so as to be swollen out around the insertion hole to form the retainer.
The retainer formed at the distal end of the engagement projection is retained by the rim portion of the insertion hole. Thus, the upper and lower cartridge halves combined with each other are coupled together to form a main cartridge body portion by the rim portion of the insertion hole clinched between the retainer and the distal end of the insertion hole.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4970618 (1990-11-01), Kato et al.
patent: 5362172 (1994-11-01), Hubbling
patent: 5629823 (1997-05-01), Mizuta
patent: 5682286 (1997-10-01), Mizuta
patent: 0 498 606 A2 (1992-08-01), None
Frommer William S.
Frommer Lawrence & Haug LLP.
Letscher George J.
Ryan Matthew K.
Sony Corporation
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