Optical disk cartridge

Details Optical disk cartridge Optical disk cartridge

2000-01-06

2004-06-15

Whitehead, Jr., Carl (Department: 2813)

Dynamic information storage or retrieval

Storage medium structure

Adjuncts or adapters

Reexamination Certificate

active

06751186

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk cartridge for DVD-RAMs (digital versatile disk RAMs), and more particularly, relates to an optical disk cartridge suitable for use with 80 mm disks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some optical disks, such as some CDs and DVDS, used while being accommodated in an optical disk cartridge.
A conventional disk cartridge for accommodating therein large (120 mm) disks will be described with reference to
FIGS. 30 and 31
.
Top and bottom faces of a casing
21
are formed with clamping windows
21
a
opposing the center of the casing
21
, and are formed with reading and writing windows
21
b
connected to the clamping windows
21
a.
Each of the clamping windows
21
a
consists of a semicircular portion (R
1
is about 17 mm) and a portion connected from the circular portion to each of the reading and writing windows
21
a.
When an optical disk cartridge is loaded on a disk driving apparatus
22
, as shown in
FIG. 31
, a shutter is moved to open the clamping windows
21
a
and the reading and writing windows
21
b.
When the disk D is loaded, a table
23
enters into the clamping window
21
a
formed in the bottom face of the casing
21
, and a clamper (not shown) enters into the clamping window
21
a
formed in the top face of the casing
21
, whereby the disk D in the casing
21
is clamped while being slightly raised.
An optical head
24
is moved along the reading and writing windows
21
b
, whereby information is read from the disk D and is written on the disk D.
In order to smoothly insert the table
23
and the clamper into the clamping windows
21
a
, it is necessary to form opening areas of the clamping windows
21
a
larger than the table
23
or the clamper with clearance therebetween.
In particular, in an optical disk cartridge in which the table
23
is rotated about a fulcrum
25
to enter the clamping windows
21
a
, as shown in
FIG. 31
, a terminal edge
26
of the table
23
easily interferes with the peripheries of the clamping windows
21
a
, and it is necessary to form the clamping windows
21
a
larger than the table
23
with sufficient clearance.
According to an optical disk cartridge for accommodating therein small (80 mm) disks, it is difficult to form large (equivalent to 120 mm) clamping windows
21
a
. If the clamping windows
21
a
are enlarged, the width of the shutter for closing the clamping windows
21
a
is correspondingly increased, and side edges of the shutter may be extruded from the casing
1
when the shutter is slid to an opening position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical disk cartridge which can form a large clamping window while preventing a shutter at an opening position from being extruded from a casing.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an optical disk cartridge including a casing having a pair of walls for accommodating an optical disk therein; wherein the walls of the casing are formed with clamping windows for clamping the disk at the central portions thereof, and are formed with reading and writing windows for reading information from the disk and writing information on the disk from the clamping windows to side edges of the casing; a shutter capable of opening and closing the clamping windows and the reading and writing windows is slidably provided, and the horizontal size of the clamping windows along a sliding direction of the shutter is formed shorter than the vertical size thereof orthogonal to the sliding direction of the shutter.
In the optical disk cartridge of the present invention, the clamping windows may be formed by linear parts opposing along the sliding direction of the shutter, and arcuate parts connecting the linear parts, and a distance between the linear parts may be shorter than a diameter of the arcuate parts.
In addition, the diameter of the arcuate parts of the clamping windows may be ±2 mm of 28 mm, and the distance between the linear parts may be ±2 mm of 27.4 mm.
In the optical disk cartridge of the present invention, projections for narrowing the width of the reading and writing windows may be formed on the border of the clamping windows and the reading and clamping windows.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5166922 (1992-11-01), Akiyama et al.
patent: 5175726 (1992-12-01), Imokawa
patent: 5903541 (1999-05-01), Mizutani et al.
patent: 6057995 (2000-05-01), Yamashita et al.
patent: 0 358 269 (1990-03-01), None
patent: 0 368 347 (1990-05-01), None
patent: 0 421 775 (1991-10-01), None
patent: 0 657 882 (1995-06-01), None
patent: 0 669 615 (1995-08-01), None

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