Registers – Records
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-05
2002-12-10
Lee, Michael G. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Records
C235S483000, C235S475000, C235S486000, C235S482000, C235S484000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06491227
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus such as a digital video camera recorder (or a camera integral type video tape recorder), an electronic still camera and an electronic book player, using an information recording medium such as IC recording medium normally referred to as a memory stick, a FD (floppy disk) in which a magnetic disk is stored or a disk-shaped recording medium in which an optical disk is stored. The present invention particularly relates to an erroneous insertion preventive mechanism for preventing an information recording medium from being erroneously inserted into an apparatus main body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, there have been hitherto known, as electronic apparatus for recording and/or reproducing an information signal using an information recording medium such as a cassette tape or an FD (floppy disk) having a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk or the like stored in a cassette housing, a camera integral type video tape recorder (to be referred to as “camera integral type VTR” hereinafter), and the like. This camera integral type VTR is constituted by providing a color camera and a video tape recorder integrally with each other and roughly consists of a camera block and a VTR block.
The camera block of the camera integral type VTR is comprised of a lens section fetching an image as a light, a photoelectric conversion section for converting an optical image passed through this lens section into an electric signal and a camera circuit section for processing the electric signal. Also, the VTR block is comprised of a mechanical deck section for holding a cassette tape serving as an information recording medium and recording and reading an information signal on/from a magnetic tape, a VTR circuit section for processing the information signal and a frame section for supporting the VTR circuit section and the mechanical deck section. The magnetic tape stored in the cassette tape is pulled out from within the cassette housing by a tape loading mechanism in the mechanical deck section, wound around a rotary drum and moved at a predetermined speed. A magnetic head attached to the rotary drum comes into contact with this magnetic tape while rotation. The information signal is written to the magnetic tape by this magnetic head or read from the magnetic tape.
As for such a camera integral type VTR or other electronic apparatus, a compact and highly reliable IC recording medium normally referred to as “a memory stick” has been recently developed and used as an information recording medium. By employing the memory stick as an expansion memory in addition to the cassette tape which is a conventional information recording medium, it has been possible to increase the recording capacity of recordable information. As a result, the recording capacity of a memory is increased by using the memory stick in, for example, a camera integral type VTR, many still images can be recorded with one memory stick and the convenience of the electronic apparatus of this type can thereby improve.
This memory stick has an outline as shown in
FIGS. 21A and 21B
. Namely, the memory stick
1
has a generally rectangular, thin, flat case main body
2
and a memory of mass storage capacity included in this case main body
2
. A notch portion
3
is provided in one of corners at a tip end side in the insertion direction in which the case main body
2
is inserted into the electronic apparatus, so as to prevent the case main body
2
from being erroneously inserted thereinto. This notch portion
3
is formed into a convex circular arc surface and a concave portion
3
a
opened forward and laterally is provided on one surface of the case main body
2
of this notch portion
3
. Also, many connector pins
4
are provided at the tip end side of the case main body
2
. These connector pins
4
are exposed to the same surface as that of the concave portion
3
a
of the case main body
2
. When the memory stick
1
is inserted, the connector pins
4
are connected to apparatus main body-side terminals inserted from a forward opening.
The memory stick
1
having such a configuration is detachably installed into an electronic apparatus from a recording medium insertion port
6
provided at the apparatus main body
5
. This recording medium insertion port
6
is a space section having a size corresponding to the memory stick
1
. A convex portion
6
a
engageable with the concave portion
3
a
of the memory stick
1
is provided in one of deepest corners of the insertion port
6
. This convex portion
6
a
is provided on one surface of the recording medium insertion port
6
and configured such that the convex portion
6
a
is engaged with the concave portion
3
a
only when the memory stick
1
is inserted into the recording medium insertion port
6
with a correct posture in correct insertion direction.
However, the electronic apparatus according to the above-stated prior art is configured to employ, as means for determining whether the memory stick
1
is inserted in a normal state or a wrong state, the concave portion
3
a
of the memory stick
1
and the convex portion
6
a
of the apparatus main body
5
. Whether the memory stick
1
is inserted normally or erroneously can be determined according to whether or not the concave portion
3
a
of the notch portion
3
is engaged with the convex portion
6
a
of the recording medium insertion port
6
. In addition, since the convex portion
6
a
is provided in the deepest portion of the recording medium insertion port
6
, the concave portion
3
a
does not reach the position of the convex portion
6
a
until the memory stick
1
is inserted up to the vicinity of the terminal end. Due to this, the electronic apparatus has problems that it is unclear whether the concave portion
3
a
is fitted into the convex portion
6
a
unless the memory stick
1
is inserted into the very end and that determination as to erroneous insertion cannot be made until the final stage.
That is to say, the depth of the notch portion
3
of the memory stick
1
(distance from the tip end of the memory stick
1
) is restricted by an internal structure such as a memory and the like stored in the case main body
2
and is actually as small as about 7 mm. As a result, the determination as to the erroneous insertion can be made only immediately before the insertion operation of the memory stick
1
(not beyond 7 mm) is completely finished. This causes a user to be slow to recognize that the insertion direction of the memory stick
1
is wrong during the insertion of the memory stick
1
.
Furthermore, the difference between the distance by which the memory stick
1
can be inserted into the apparatus main body
5
during erroneous insertion and the position of the memory stick
1
when the stick
1
is inserted correctly and insertion operation is completed is small (7 mm). For this, it is difficult to determine whether the memory stick
1
is inserted correctly or erroneously only from the insertion state of the memory stick
1
. Due to this, if a user makes an erroneous determination and inserts the memory stick
1
from the erroneous insertion position by force despite the fact that the stick
1
is erroneously inserted, then there is a fear that the memory stick
1
and/or the apparatus main body
5
are damaged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above-stated conventional problems. The object of the present invention is, therefore, to solve the above-stated problems by making it possible to determine the erroneous insertion of an information recording medium at a position close to an recording medium insertion port while utilizing a notch portion provided in the information recording medium.
To solve the above-stated problems and the like and to attain the above object, an electronic apparatus recited in claim 1 of the present invention is an electronic apparatus for recording and/or reproducing an information signal using an information recording medium,
Izumi Koji
Mami Hiroyuki
Lee Michael G.
Ryan Matthew K.
Walsh Daniel
LandOfFree
Erroneous insertion prevention mechanism does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Erroneous insertion prevention mechanism, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Erroneous insertion prevention mechanism will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2918984