Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Dynamic mechanism subsystem – Specific detail of storage medium support or motion production
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-19
2003-12-23
Heinz, A. J. (Department: 2653)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Dynamic mechanism subsystem
Specific detail of storage medium support or motion production
C369S219100, C369S244100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06667945
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the technical field of a disk drive device which is suitable for use as an optical disk device for performing a recording operation and/or a reproducing operation on an optical disk, such as a compact disk (CD) and a digital versatile disk (DVD).
2. Description of the Related Art
The applicant of the present invention previously filed an application for a tray-system optical disk device
1
, such as that shown in
FIGS. 35
to
42
, as an optical disk device which is one example of a disk drive device.
As shown in
FIG. 35
, an optical disk
1
, such as a CD or a DVD, which is a disk-shaped recording medium, is placed horizontally inside a recess
3
formed in the top surface of a tray body
2
a
of a disk tray
2
. Then, when a tray front panel
2
b
of the disk tray
2
is lightly pushed in the direction of direction a, a loading switch (not shown) is turned on. A loading mechanism unit
27
(described later) causes the disk tray
2
to be horizontally drawn into a disk device body
6
of an optical disk device
5
from a tray entering-and-exiting opening
4
in a front panel
6
a
in the direction of arrow a which is the loading direction, as shown in FIG.
36
. As described below, this causes the optical disk
1
to be automatically loaded horizontally onto a disk table of a spindle motor.
In the structure, after the loading, for example, a recording command signal and/or a reproducing command signal from a host computer causes the optical disk
1
to be rotationally driven at a high speed by the spindle motor in order for an optical pickup, which is a data pickup means, to record and/or reproduce data onto/from the optical disk
1
. Then, after the recording operation and/or the reproducing operation on the optical disk
1
, when an eject button
7
on the front panel
6
a
is pushed, the loading mechanism unit
27
(described later) causes the disk tray
2
to be automatically unloaded out of the disk device body
6
from the tray entering-and-exiting opening
4
in the direction of arrow b which is the unloading direction, as shown in FIG.
35
.
As shown in
FIGS. 35
to
42
, the horizontal tray body
2
a
of the disk tray
2
and the vertical tray front panel
2
b
, which is at right angles to the directions of arrows a and b, are formed of, for example, synthetic resin. From the center of the recess
3
of the tray body
2
a
to the back end (that is, the end towards which the arrow a points), a slot-shaped bottom surface opening
8
is formed along a tray centerline P
1
which is horizontal to the directions of arrows a and b which are the loading and unloading directions, respectively. The disk tray
2
is constructed so as to be actuated by a tray moving mechanism (not shown) of a loading mechanism in such a manner as to horizontally move into and out of the disk device body
6
in the directions of arrows a and b. Four disk holding sections
3
a
are mounted to four corresponding locations of the outer periphery of the recess
3
of the disk tray
2
so as to be rotationally adjustable. The disk-holding sections
3
a
are constructed so that, when the optical disk device
5
is used in a vertical posture, they can hold the optical disk
1
inserted vertically into the recess
3
.
In the structure, a shallow, almost box-shaped chassis
14
, which is formed of, for example, synthetic resin, is provided inside the disk device body
6
. An ascending-and-descending frame
16
, which is formed of, for example, synthetic resin or sheet metal, is mounted inside a large, substantially rectangular opening
14
b
formed in a bottom portion
14
a
of the chassis
14
. A total of four substantially gourd-shaped insulators
19
and insulators
20
are mounted to the ascending-and-descending frame
16
, the two insulators
19
being mounted at the left and right sides of a back end portion
16
a
, and the two insulators
20
being mounted at the left and right sides of a front end portion
16
b
. The insulators
19
and the insulators
20
are shock absorbers formed of resilient material such as rubber. The pair of left and right insulators
19
mounted to the back end portion
16
a
of the ascending-and-descending frame
16
are mounted to the upper portion of the back end side of the bottom portion
14
a
of the chassis
14
by setscrews
21
which are inserted into the centers thereof. The left and right insulators
20
mounted to the front end portion
16
b
of the ascending-and-descending frame
16
are mounted to the lower portion of the left and right sides of an ascending-and-descending actuation frame
23
by setscrews
22
which are inserted into the centers thereof. By the ascending-and-descending actuation frame
23
, the front end portion
16
b
of the ascending-and-descending frame
16
is actuated so as to move upward and downward in the directions of arrows c and d through the pair of left and right insulators
20
by an upward rotational motion and a downward rotational motion on the pair of left and right insulators
19
at the back end portion
16
a
serving as rotational fulcra.
The loading mechanism unit
27
is mounted to the upper portion of the front end side of the bottom portion
14
a
of the chassis
14
. The loading mechanism unit
27
comprises a cam lever
34
which is rotationally driven by a loading motor
28
through a belt transmission mechanism
29
and a gear transmission mechanism
30
. The ascending-and-descending actuation frame
23
is mounted at the front-end-side left and right sides of the opening
14
b
of the chassis
14
by a pair of left and right support pins
24
, one being provided at the left side and the other at the right side of the back end of the ascending-and-descending actuation frame
23
. The ascending-and-descending actuation frame
23
is mounted so as to be rotatable upward and downward. A pair of left and right ascending-and-descending guide pins
25
are mounted closer to the front side than the pair of left and right pair of support pins
24
, one at the left side and one at the right side of the ascending-and-descending actuation frame
23
. A cam driven pin
36
which is mounted to substantially the center portion of the front end of the ascending-and-descending actuation frame
23
is inserted inside a cam groove
35
of the cam lever
34
.
When loading, the loading motor causes the disk tray
2
to be horizontally drawn in the direction of arrow a to a loading position (shown in
FIG. 35
) inside the optical disk device
5
from an unloading position (shown in
FIGS. 36 and 38
) outside the optical disk device
5
. Thereafter, as shown in
FIG. 39
, by the cam groove
35
of the cam lever
34
which is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow c′, the cam driven pin
36
at an end of the ascending-and-descending actuation frame
23
is actuated upward in the direction of arrow c that is the upward direction. Through the insulators
20
, the ascending-and-descending actuation frame
23
causes the ascending-and-descending frame
16
to be actuated upward in the direction of arrow c to an ascended position where the ascending-and-descending frame
16
is horizontally positioned (shown in
FIG. 38
) from a descended position where the ascending-and-descending frame
16
is tilted obliquely downward (shown in FIG.
37
), with the pair of left and right insulators
19
serving as centers.
In the structure, when the disk tray
2
is unloaded, the component parts move in a direction opposite to that when the disk tray
2
is loaded. By the cam groove
35
of the cam lever
34
which is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow d′ (see FIG.
39
), the cam driven pin
36
is driven downward in the direction of arrow d which is the downward direction. Through the left and right insulators
20
, the ascending-and-descending actuation frame
23
causes the ascending-and-descending frame
16
to be actuated downward in the direction of arrow d from the ascended position (shown in
FIG. 38
) to the descended position
Blouin Mark S
Heinz A. J.
Maioli Jay H.
Sony Corporation
LandOfFree
Disk drive device does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Disk drive device, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Disk drive device will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3149890