Dynamic information storage or retrieval – With particular cabinet structure – Slotted for edgewise insertion of storage disc
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-25
2001-04-10
Korzuch, William R. (Department: 2652)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
With particular cabinet structure
Slotted for edgewise insertion of storage disc
Reexamination Certificate
active
06215753
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording-medium loading apparatus and, more particularly, to a recording-medium loading apparatus to which a recording medium can be attached by a smooth operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a recording medium for recording information such as a database or software, a disc-like recording medium reproduced by a laser pickup of an optical disc apparatus is used. Optical discs on the market are classified into the following three types.
1) A “read only type” disc such as a CD (compact disc) or a CD-ROM which is exclusive for reading information recorded on the disc.
2) A “writable type” disc such as a recordable disc (CD-R) which is writable only once.
3) A “rewritable type” disc such as a phase change disc (PD, CD-RW) which can be rewritten many times.
A conventional optical disc apparatus is exclusive for each of the discs of the above-mentioned types 1) to 3). Accordingly, if one uses different types of discs, a plurality of optical disc apparatus are needed. In order to eliminate such inconvenience, a disc apparatus in which different types of optical discs can be attached on the same tray has been developed. As such a conventional disc apparatus to which different discs can be loaded, there is an apparatus in which a CD-ROM and a disc cartridge in which a PD is accommodated can be attached on the same tray.
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a conventional apparatus to which a CD-ROM or a disc cartridge can be loaded.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, a turntable
2
on which a disc is clamped and an optical pickup
3
are provided on a chassis
1
. A tray
4
is slidably provided on the chassis
1
. A CD-ROM or a disc cartridge (not shown in the figure) is placed on the tray
4
. The tray
4
has a dual structure which comprises an inner tray
4
a
on which the CD-ROM is placed and an outer tray
4
b
on which the disc cartridge is placed. The inner tray
4
a
is provided inside the outer tray
4
b
so that the inner tray
4
a
is movable up and down relative to the outer tray
4
b.
When loading the disc cartridge, the disc cartridge is placed on the inner tray
4
a.
At this time, the inner tray
4
a
serves as a placing part. Since the disc cartridge is inserted inside the outer tray
4
b
without a play therebetween, a notch
4
c
is provided on a front side of the inner tray
4
a.
When the disc cartridge is removed from the tray
4
, a front side of the disc cartridge is lifted from the inner tray
4
a
by inserting a finger into the notch
4
c
from under side of the tray
4
. Then, the part of the disc cartridge upwardly protruding from the tray
4
is held so as to remove the disc cartridge from the outer tray
4
b.
The inner tray
4
a
comprises a small diameter disc placing part
4
a
1
on which a disc having a diameter of 8 cm is placed and a large diameter disc placing part
4
a
2
on which a disc having a diameter of 12 cm is placed. The inner tray
4
a
is normally located at a position at which the CD-ROM is supported. However, the inner tray
4
a
is mounted so at to be moved downwardly when the disc cartridge is attached.
A support plate
5
is mounted above the tray
4
so that the support plate
5
covers a space above the chassis
1
. A shutter opening lever
6
is supported on a bottom surface of the support plate
5
so a to open a shutter of the disc cartridge.
In the conventional apparatus as constructed above, when removing the cartridge, there is a problem in that an operation for removing the cartridge is inconvenient since the cartridge must be lifted by inserting a finger into the notch
4
c
from under side of the tray
4
.
FIGS. 2A and 2B
are cross-sectional views of the conventional apparatus for showing an interior of the apparatus when a disc cartridge is loaded.
FIGS. 3A and 3B
are cross-sectional views of the conventional apparatus for showing an interior of the apparatus when a disc is loaded.
As shown in
FIGS. 2A and 2B
, in the conventional apparatus, when a disc cartridge
8
in which a disc
7
is accommodated is placed on the inner tray
4
, the disc
7
is clamped on a turntable
2
by a damper
9
being moved downwardly and the turntable
2
and a turntable drive motor
10
being moved upwardly. Accordingly, in the conventional apparatus, a space S
1
for moving the damper
9
up and down and a space S
2
for moving the turntable
2
up and down must be provided. This becomes a factor for preventing a thickness of the apparatus from being reduced.
In a portable computer such as a notebook type personal computer, there is a tendency to incorporate a disc apparatus using a CD-ROM or a disc cartridge as a recording medium as a standard option. Accordingly, it is desired to reduce a thickness of such a disc apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved and useful recording-medium loading apparatus in which the above-mentioned problems are eliminated.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a recording-medium loading apparatus which can smoothly attach a recording medium to a tray without inconvenient operations.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording-medium loading apparatus having a reduced thickness.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, there is provided according to the present invention a recording-medium loading apparatus for loading a recording medium to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus, comprising:
a tray movable between an exchanging position at which the recording medium is removed or inserted and a loaded position at which a recording or reproducing operation is performed on the recording medium;
a holder holding the recording medium; and
a support member movably supporting the holder so that the holder is movable between an accommodating position at which the holder is accommodated in the tray and an insertion/ejection position at which the holder is separated from the tray,
wherein the holder is movable to the insertion/ejection position when the tray is moved to the exchanging position, and the holder is held at the accommodating position during a process for moving the tray to the loaded position.
According to the above-mentioned invention, the holder is movable between the accommodating position at which the holder is accommodated in the tray and the insertion/ejection position at which the holder is separated from the tray, and the holder is moved to the insertion/ejection position when the tray is moved to the exchanging position. That is, the recording medium is attached on the tray after the recording medium is inserted into the holder which is separated from the tray. Thus, the recording medium can be smoothly inserted into the holder without restriction caused by a structure of the tray, which results in an easy inserting or ejecting operation of the recording medium.
In the above-mentioned invention, the tray may be positioned at one of the exchanging position and the loaded position by being moved straight; the holder may be positioned at one of the accommodating position and the insertion/ejection position by being rotated with respect to the tray; and the holder may be rotatably supported with respect to the support member.
Additionally, when a disk-like recording medium is used as the recording medium, the recording-medium loading apparatus may further comprise:
a turntable provided on the tray so as to rotate the disc-like recording medium; and
a damper provided on the support member so as to attach the disc-like recording medium to the turntable when the holder is moved to the accommodating position.
According to this invention, since the disc-like recording medium is clamped on the turntable when the holder is moved to the accommodating position, a clamping operation can be performed when the tray is out of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus. Accordingly, a space required for an operation of the damper in the recording and/or reproducing apparatus can be eliminated, and, thereb
Altman Franklin D.
Anderson Kill & Olick P.C.
Korzuch William R.
Teac Corporation
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