Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval – Record medium – In container
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-20
2001-10-23
Klimowicz, William (Department: 2652)
Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval
Record medium
In container
Reexamination Certificate
active
06307712
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a disc cartridge housing therein a disc employed as a recording medium for information signals. More particularly, it relates to a disc cartridge having its outer shape substantially in common with other sorts of disc cartridges with different recording capacities and yet capable of distinguishment from these other disc cartridges by a discrimination hole.
BACKGROUND ART
Up to now, a disc cartridge has been in use which holds a flexible magnetic disc as a disc used as a recording medium for information signals. This flexible magnetic disc is hereinafter referred to as a magnetic disc.
As a disc cartridge holding a magnetic disc, a first disc cartridge holding a magnetic disc having a recording capacity of 1 megabyte (MB) and a second disc cartridge holding a magnetic disc having a recording capacity of 2 megabyte (MB) are currently in use. The second disc cartridge, housing the 2 MB magnetic disc, is standardized as MF2HD.
These first and second disc cartridges have the thickness, outer size and the structure of a shutter used for opening/closing an recording and/or reproducing aperture formed in a main cartridge body portion in common for enabling the use of a common disc drive device interchangeably.
A first disc cartridge
1
, holding a magnetic disc of a recording capacity of 1 MB, and a second disc cartridge
2
, holding a magnetic disc of a recording capacity of 2 MB, are each provided with a main cartridge body portion
5
and a magnetic disc
6
with a diameter of 3.5 inch rotatably housed in the main cartridge body portion
5
, as shown in
FIGS. 1
to
4
. The main cartridge body portion
5
is made up of a rectangular-shaped upper cartridge half
3
and a rectangular-shaped lower cartridge half
4
abutted and connected to each other.
The magnetic disc
6
, held in the main cartridge body portion
5
, is fitted with a center hub
7
formed as a magnetic metal plate and which is adapted for being clamped to a disc table of a disc rotating/driving unit provided on a disc driving device. This hub
7
is exposed to outside via a center aperture
8
bored in the lower cartridge half
4
of the main cartridge body portion
5
.
The outer four sides of the rectangular-shaped main cartridge body portion
5
are constituted by a front wall section
9
, a back side wall section
10
and left and right sidewall sections
11
,
12
. The front wall section
9
serves as the inserting side end of the main cartridge body portion
5
into the disc driving device as indicated by arrow A in
FIGS. 1
to
4
. The back side wall section
10
is the side lying opposite to the front wall section
9
and which operates as an ejection leading end when ejecting the main cartridge body portion
5
. In a corner on the front wall section
9
of the main cartridge body portion
5
is formed a mistaken insertion inhibiting unit
13
operating as an inclined surface for preventing mistaken insertion of the disc cartridge into the disc driving device.
The upper and lower surfaces of the main cartridge body portion
5
, provided by the upper and lower cartridge halves
3
and
4
, are formed with rectangular-shaped recording and/or reproducing apertures
14
and
15
, at mid portions thereof in the left-and-right direction, for exposing a portion of a signal recording area of the magnetic disc
6
held in the main cartridge body portion
5
to outside across the inner and outer rims of the magnetic disc
6
.
On the main cartridge body portion
5
is movable mounted a shutter member
17
adapted for opening/closing recording and/or reproducing apertures
14
,
15
provided in the main cartridge body portion
5
. The shutter member
17
is U-shaped in cross-section section and is fitted on the front wall section
9
of the main cartridge body portion
5
for overlying the recording and/or reproducing apertures
14
,
15
formed in the main cartridge body portion
5
. The shutter member
17
is biased by a torsion coil spring, not shown, provided in the main cartridge body portion
5
, into movement in a direction of closing the recording and/or reproducing apertures
14
,
15
as indicated by arrow D in
FIGS. 1
to
4
.
The main cartridge body portion
5
is also provided with a shutter movement recess
18
, defining a movement area for the shutter member
17
, for extending from the upper and lower sides to the front wall section
9
. The main cartridge body portion
5
is also provided with a label bonding recess
19
extending from a mid portion on the upper surface to the back side wall section
10
and thence to the lower surface of the main cartridge body portion
5
.
In both corner areas on the lower surface of the main cartridge body portion
5
surrounded by the front wall section
9
, both sidewall sections
11
,
12
and the outer rim of the magnetic disc
6
housed in the main cartridge body portion
5
, in the inserting side into the disc drive device, and in both corner portions on the lower surface of the main cartridge body portion
5
surrounded by the back wall section
10
, both sidewall sections
11
,
12
and the outer rim of the magnetic disc
6
housed in the main cartridge body portion
5
, on the ejecting side from the disc drive device, there are formed height reference planes
21
,
22
, first and second positioning reference holes
23
,
24
and a mistaken recording inhibiting unit
26
, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 4
. The height reference planes
21
,
22
serve for setting the mounting height level when the first or second disc cartridge
1
or
2
is loaded on the disc drive device. The first and second positioning reference holes
23
,
24
are engaged by positioning pins provided on the disc drive device for setting the horizontal mounting position.
The lower side of the second disc cartridge
2
is also formed with a first capacity discrimination hole
27
in the opposite side corner towards the back side wall section
10
for specifying that the magnetic disc
6
with the recording capacity of 2 MB has been housed therein, as shown in FIG.
4
.
Further, in the left and right sidewall sections,
11
,
12
towards the front wall section
9
of the main cartridge body portion
5
, there are formed engagement recesses
25
,
25
engaged by engagement portions of a loading mechanism for the disc cartridge provided on the disc drive device, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 4
.
Specifically, in the four corner portions on the lower surface of the main cartridge body portion
5
, there are formed four left and right paired height reference planes
21
,
22
so as to clear the shutter movement recess
18
and the label bonding recess
19
. Within the left and right paired height reference planes
21
,
22
towards the front wall section
9
of the main cartridge body portion
5
are symmetrically formed first and second positioning reference holes
23
,
24
in the left-and-right direction. The first positioning reference hole
23
is of a true circular shape, while the second positioning reference hole
24
is of an elliptical shape having the direction perpendicular to the inserting direction of the first and second disc cartridges
1
,
2
into the disc drive device as its long axis.
The engagement recesses
25
,
25
are formed to a semicircular profile in corner portions towards the front wall section
9
of the main cartridge body portion
5
with left-and-right position symmetry, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 4
. These engagement recesses
25
,
25
are provided between the front wall section
9
and the left and right paired positioning reference holes
23
,
24
of the main cartridge body portion
5
and are formed for extending from the lower surface to the sidewall sections,
11
,
12
of the main cartridge body portion
5
.
The mistaken recording inhibiting unit
26
is provided between the back side wall section
10
and the height reference plane
22
of the main cartridge body portion
5
, and includes a recording inhibition discriminating hole
26
a
and a mistaken recording inhibiting member
26
b.
The recording inhibition discrim
Fujita Yasushi
Kumagai Hideaki
Meguro Hiroshi
Frommer William S.
Frommer & Lawrence & Haug LLP
Klimowicz William
Ryan Matthew K.
Sony Corporation
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