Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Storage medium structure – Adjuncts or adapters
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-29
2004-04-27
Davis, David (Department: 2652)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Storage medium structure
Adjuncts or adapters
Reexamination Certificate
active
06728199
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a disk cartridge in which a disk-like recording medium such as an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk and a magnetic disk is accommodated within a cartridge housing so as to become freely rotatable. More particularly, this invention relates to a disk cartridge in which a shutter mechanism capable of opening an opening portion of a cartridge housing to expose a part of a disk-like recording medium includes a first shutter member and a second shutter member.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a disk cartridge in which a disk-like recording medium capable of recording and/or reproducing information such as audio data, video data or data of computers is accommodated within a cartridge housing so as to become freely rotatable, there has hitherto been known a disk cartridge having an arrangement shown in
FIG. 1
, for example. A disk cartridge, generally depicted by reference numeral
1
in
FIG. 1
, is a disk cartridge which houses therein a write once read many magneto-optical disk
4
on which users can record and write information such as data of computers later on.
FIG. 1
is a schematic perspective view showing an outward appearance of the disk cartridge
1
.
Specifically, as shown in
FIG. 1
, this disk cartridge
1
includes a cartridge housing
2
comprised of a pair of an upper shell
2
a
and a lower shell
2
b
, a magnetooptical disk
4
rotatably accommodated within a disk compartment
3
of this cartridge housing
2
, or the like. An opening portion
5
which extends from the center portion to one side is formed on both of the upper and lower surfaces of the cartridge housing
2
. This opening portion
5
can be opened and closed by a shutter member
6
which can slide along one side of the cartridge housing
2
. A presser member
6
a
is used to protect a tip end portion of the shutter member
6
from being disengaged out of both upper and lower surfaces of the cartridge housing
2
.
A disk-like center hub
7
made of a metal is provided at the center portion of the magneto-optical disk
4
. The center hub
7
is opposed to the inner end portion of the opening portion
5
. Although not shown, a turntable provided on the body of the information recording and reproducing apparatus is mounted on the center hub
7
. When the magneto-optical disk
4
is chucked to the turntable, the magneto-optical disk
4
can be rotated at a predetermined velocity (e.g., constant linear velocity). In this case, an information signal is recorded on or reproduced from the magneto-optical disk
4
by a magneto-optical pickup device the head portion of which is inserted into the opening portion
5
.
However, a conventional disk cartridge having the above arrangement, the shutter member
6
which opens and closes the opening portion
5
is formed as substantially a U-shape in cross section. This shutter member
6
is fitted into one side of the cartridge housing
2
and the shutter member
6
slides along the above one side of the cartridge housing
2
to open and close the opening portion
5
. As a consequence, a large space is produced between the cartridge housing
2
and the shutter member
6
so that very small dusts or the like cannot be prevented from entering into the disk cartridge
2
from the above large space.
In the current in which optical disks are increasing their storage capacities and are increasing their recording densities in recent years, the pitches of the recording patterns are becoming narrower and the linear density is increasing. When read or write beams are interrupted on the recording surface smudged by dusts or the like, or the information recording surface is scratched, information cannot be read out from or cannot be written in the optical disk or the magneto-optical disk normally. To solve this problem, in the disk cartridge according to the related art, as shown in
FIG. 1
, the shutter member
6
having substantially the U-shape cross section is attached to one side of the cartridge housing
2
so as to become slidable. When the shutter member
6
is slid along the above one side of the disk cartridge
2
, the opening portion
5
is opened or closed to protect the information recording surface of the optical disk or the like from being smudged or scratched by dusts or the like.
As the optical disk or the magneto-optical disk is increasing its storage capacity more and is also increasing its recording density more, very small dusts which had been negligible become more influential on the optical disk or the magneto-optical disk
4
when information is written in or read out from the optical disk or the magneto-optical disk
4
. The above shutter member
6
whose cross-section is substantially the U-shape cannot satisfactorily protect very small dusts or the like from entering into the cartridge housing
2
. In this case, when the information recording surface of the magneto-optical disk
4
is smudged by very small dusts or the like entered into the cartridge housing
2
, the information recording surface is brought to the state similar to the state in which the information recording surface is smudged and scratched by dusts or the like with the result that information cannot be normally read out or written in the information recording surface of the magneto-optical disk
4
.
In view of the above aspect, the assignee of the present application has previously proposed a patent application concerning a disk cartridge shown in
FIG. 2
(see Japanese patent application No. 11-195044). As shown in
FIG. 2
, a disk cartridge, generally depicted by reference numeral
8
, includes a cartridge housing
9
comprised of an upper shell
9
a
and a lower shell
9
b
, an optical disk
11
accommodated within a disk compartment
10
of this cartridge housing
9
, a shutter mechanism
13
for opening and closing an opening portion
12
which is formed through the cartridge housing
9
so as to expose a part of this optical disk
11
, a cover member
14
attached to the cartridge housing
9
so as to protect this shutter mechanism
13
, or the like.
The cartridge housing
9
is formed by joining and fastening the upper shell
9
a
and the lower shell
9
b
. The optical disk
11
is accommodated within the disk compartment
10
of this cartridge housing
9
so as to become freely rotatable. The cover member
14
is attached to the lower shell
9
b
of this cartridge housing
9
so as to cover the shutter mechanism
13
. This cover member
14
can protect the shutter mechanism
13
and can prevent the cartridge housing
9
from being smudged by dusts or the like.
The shutter mechanism
13
of the disk cartridge
8
is comprised of a first shutter member
15
and a second shutter member
16
. The first shutter member
15
is used to open and close the opening portion
12
defined on the cartridge housing
9
at its recording and/or reproducing opening portion into and from which an optical pickup device of a disk recording and reproducing apparatus is inserted and ejected. The first shutter member
15
is comprised of a shutter portion
15
a
and a belt-like portion
15
b
. The shutter portion
15
a
is shaped as substantially a trapezoid in which one oblique side is shaped as a circular arc. The belt-like portion
15
b
is extended from this circular arc-like oblique side. The belt-like portion
15
b
includes a circular arc-like guide portion
15
b
l continued to one side of the circular arc-like oblique side and which has a radius of curvature of approximately the same as that of the circular arc-like oblique side and a rectilinear guide
15
b
2
continued to the other side of the circular arc-like oblique side and which is protruded from the other side rectilinearly.
This belt-like portion
15
b
is movably accommodated within a guide portion
17
formed between an inner wall
9
a
l of the upper shell
9
a
and a peripheral wall
9
b
l of the lower shell
9
b
. The guide portion
17
is shaped like a circular arc so as to surround the disk compartment
10
. One end of this gu
Matsumura Mitsunori
Obata Manabu
Davis David
Frommer William S.
Frommer & Lawrence & Haug LLP
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