Disc cartridge and system

Details Disc cartridge and system Disc cartridge and system

2001-11-16

2004-04-20

Watko, Julie Anne (Department: 2652)

Dynamic information storage or retrieval

With particular cabinet structure

Slotted for edgewise insertion of storage disc

C369S272100, C360S133000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06724709

ABSTRACT:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2001-30081, filed May 30, 2001, in the Korean Industrial Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc cartridge to receive an information recording/reproducing medium such as a disc, and more particularly, to a disc cartridge which is highly resistant to dust.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, a known disc cartridge
10
receives a disc D to be used in an information recording/reproducing apparatus
100
. The disc cartridge
10
includes upper and lower cases
11
and
12
spaced to receive the disc D. A holder
13
is inserted into and is combined with the upper and lower cases
11
and
12
and holds the disc D. A shutter
14
selectively opens and shuts apertures
11
a
and
12
a
, which are formed on the upper and lower cases
11
and
12
, respectively, so that a pickup
130
of the information recording/reproducing apparatus
100
can access the disc D. Here, the reference numerals
11
b
and
12
b
denote receiving holes that are formed to be connected with the apertures
11
a
and
12
a
, so that a clamping domain D
1
of the disc D can be clamped by a turntable
110
of the information recording/reproducing apparatus
100
and a damper
120
. The receiving holes
11
b
and
12
b
and the apertures
11
a
and
12
a
are open or shut by opening or shutting the shutter
14
. Reference numerals
11
c
and
12
c
denote locking grooves that are formed on the upper and lower cases
11
and
12
, respectively, to hook a locking projection
13
a
that is formed on the holder
13
. When combining the holder
13
with the cases
11
and
12
, the locking projection
13
a
is elastically hooked into the locking grooves
11
c
and
12
c
. The locking projection
13
a
is slipped out of the locking grooves
11
c
and
12
c
by pressing and pulling a pressing unit
13
b
, which is extended past the locking projection
13
a
, so that the holder
13
is pulled from the locking grooves
11
c
and
12
c.
The information can be recorded on both sides of the disc D, as well as on a single side. For this reason, the disc cartridge
10
is formed so that the upper and lower cases
11
and
12
are symmetrical to each other, thereby allowing both sides of the disc D to be used. In other words, as shown in
FIG. 2
, the apertures
11
a
and
12
a
and the receiving holes
11
b
and
12
b
are identical and are formed symmetrically on the upper and lower cases
11
and
12
, so that the pickup
130
can access one side of the disc D or the other side of the disc D by turning the cartridge
10
upside down.
The disc D is used while being stored in the cartridge
10
in order to protect the disc D from foreign substances such as dust. That is, a foreign substance such as dust can attach itself to the surface of the disc D, which can obstruct accurate signal processing during recording and reproducing operations, especially in the case of a high-density disc. However, it is inevitable that dust will enter the cartridge
10
through the upper and lower apertures
11
a
and
12
a
, because the shutter
14
must be open for access of the pickup
130
during information recording or reproducing operations, as described above. Even though an aperture
11
a
or
12
a
of the unused side of the disc D is not accessed by the pickup
130
, dust nevertheless passes through the unused aperture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved disc cartridge which is highly resistant to dust.
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.
Accordingly, to achieve the above and other objects, there is provided a disc cartridge including a case to form a space in which a disc is received and a shutter to selectively open and shut an aperture formed on the case, wherein the aperture is formed on only one side of the case.


REFERENCES:
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patent: 4206926 (1980-06-01), Stave
patent: 4419710 (1983-12-01), Sugiyama et al.
patent: 4812633 (1989-03-01), Vogelgesang et al.
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patent: 5963537 (1999-10-01), Fujisawa
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patent: 6307743 (2001-10-01), Aizawa et al.
patent: 6411597 (2002-06-01), Nishino et al.

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