Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Storage medium structure – Adjuncts or adapters
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-22
2001-04-10
Letscher, George J. (Department: 2754)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Storage medium structure
Adjuncts or adapters
Reexamination Certificate
active
06215760
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk storage and handling system and, more particularly, to an optical disk cartridge, an optical disk drive and driving method using the optical disk cartridge, and an optical disk changer and method for handling a plurality of optical disk cartridges.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical disks have been popular in recent years as a data storage medium for recording and reproducing music and audio-video works. Due to the random accessibility of optical disks, the optical disks have become popular for storing computer readable information. Recent developments resulting in increasing storage density of the optical disks have given rises to requirements that disk cartridges protect optical disks therein from dust and dirt which may cause errors.
In order to handle a large amount of information such as image data, an optical disk storage and handling system requires a very large storage capacity and must be capable of handling a large number of optical disks. Furthermore, as audio-video equipment and personal computers have been miniaturized and become portable, it has become necessary to reduce the size of the optical disk storage and handling system having a large storage capacity.
Conventional optical disk cartridges are standardized, for example, as described in ISO/IEC-10090 (Information technology—90 mm optical disk cartridges, read only and rewritable, for data interchange). Known disk drives used for handling conventional disk cartridges are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,056,073 and 5,062,093.
In general, a conventional disk cartridge includes a case consisting of an upper half and a lower half and a slidable shutter. An optical disk is housed within a case in a space between the upper and lower halves. The case has an opening for inserting an optical pickup and the slidable shutter is provided to cover the opening when the disk cartridge is not in use. The shutter protects the optical disk from dust and dirt by preventing dust from getting into the case and by protecting the optical disk surface from fingerprints of an operator, for example.
The disk cartridge has a write-protect mechanism including a hole of the disk cartridge and a sliding lever provided in the hole. The hole can be opened or closed depending on a position of the lever. Whether the disk cartridge is write-protected or not is determined by detecting whether the hole is opened or closed using a write-protect detecting mechanism.
Next, a disk loading mechanism of a conventional disk drive using such disk cartridges will be described. A disk cartridge is inserted into a cartridge holder through a slotted opening provided in the front face of the disk drive. During insertion, the disk cartridge shutter is slid open by a link mechanism incorporated in the cartridge holder, so that a read/write portion of the optical disk is exposed through the opening.
The disk cartridge moves inward together with the cartridge holder while being further inserted into the disk drive. The cartridge holder moves inward by a horizontal distance S and downward by a vertical distance D to a read/write position via a guiding mechanism including a guide roller, a guide groove and the like.
The disk cartridge moves downward with the cartridge holder and is ultimately fixed at a correct position for read/write operation by a positioning pin. The optical disk within the disk cartridge is placed on a turntable provided on a spindle motor and is chucked. Thus, loading of the optical disk is completed so as to keep the optical disk in an appropriate position for read/write operation with respect to the optical pickup.
When the disk cartridge is to be pulled out from the disk drive, the cartridge holder is moved upward by a loading motor which pulls a slider against a slider spring, whereby the optical disk is taken from the turntable. By reversing the loading procedures, the disk cartridge is returned to a position to be pulled out by an operator.
Nevertheless, the conventional disk cartridge and the loading mechanism of the conventional disk drive have the following problems:
The movement of the disk cartridge downward to the spindle motor after insertion in the horizontal direction results in an aperture in an upper portion of the slotted opening of the disk drive. Dust easily enters the disk drive through the aperture. The conventional loading mechanism opens the shutter automatically when the disk cartridge is inserted in the disk drive. Accordingly, when the disk cartridge remains in the disk drive, the optical disk is exposed to dust which may cause errors.
Furthermore, a conventional disk changer apparatus includes a disk stacker which houses a plurality of disk cartridges and a disk handling mechanism. The disk handling mechanism is, typically, formed in an arm-shape and picks up one of the disk cartridges from the disk stacker and then inserts it into a disk drive device which is fixed at a predetermined position in the disk changer apparatus. The size of the disk changer apparatus has to be large due to the disk handling mechanism which moves a selected disk cartridge from the disk stacker to the disk driving device. In addition, since the arm-shape handling mechanism is provided on a disk inserting side of the stacker, the handling mechanism is an obstacle to insertion of the disk cartridges into the stacker. In addition, it is difficult to change disk cartridges rapidly because each disk cartridge has to be transferred a relatively long distance between the disk stacker and the disk drive device to access the optical disk.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A disk cartridge according to the present invention comprises: an inner case for holing an optical disk; an outer case for accommodating the inner case, having an opening for allowing the inner case to come in and out; lock means for locking the inner case in the outer case, provided in a vicinity of the opening; and coupling mechanism for coupling the disk cartridge with another disk cartridge.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the outer case is formed into a substantially rectangular box configuration having an upper face, a lower face, and four side faces, the opening being provided in one of the side face, and the outer case has a bevel on each side perpendicular to the side face having the opening.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of the disk cartridges are coupled together by using the coupling mechanism so that the openings are aligned in one plain, whereby a concave portion is formed between adjacent disk cartridges by the bevels of the adjacent disk cartridges.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the coupling mechanism includes a coupling structure provided on the outer case for receiving a coupling member for engaging with at least two disk cartridges.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the lock mechanism includes a lock mechanism and a release mechanism, the lock mechanism comprising a lock cam provided in each corner portion of a pull-out side of the inner case, for engaging with the outer case at a locked position, and the release mechanism comprising a release lever provided on each side face of the outer case in a vicinity of the opening, for operating on the lock cam and for moving the lock cam to a released position where the lock cam is released from the outer case.
A method for using the disk cartridge according to the present invention comprising the steps of: pulling out the inner case from the outer case by more than a half of the inner case but not by entirety thereof; and holding the inner case at a position of being pulled out for reading/writing data on the optical disk.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the method comprises the steps of: a first release step for releasing the lock mechanism by using a first release mechanism; and a second release step for releasing the lock mechanism by using a second release mechanism.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the first releas
Goto Yoshikazu
Hanakawa Eiichi
Kurozuka Akira
Okazawa Hironori
Takeuchi Hiroyuki
Letscher George J.
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Renner Otto Boisselle & Sklar
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