Dynamic information storage or retrieval – With particular cabinet structure – Slotted for edgewise insertion of storage disc
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-29
2003-10-14
Ometz, David L. (Department: 2653)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
With particular cabinet structure
Slotted for edgewise insertion of storage disc
C369S271100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06633529
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk drive in which entry of dust etc. into a cartridge accommodating a disk-shaped recording medium is prevented by a sealing member and to a sealing member used for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known is a disk drive in which a disk cartridge accommodating a hard disk is loaded.
This disk drive is provided with a carrier into which the disk cartridge is loaded, a rotation mechanism having a rotation table for clamping and making the hard disk rotate, and a magnetic head mechanism for recording and/or playing back a signal (or information) to or from the hard disk.
In a disk drive, when a disk cartridge is loaded in the carrier, the rotation mechanism enters the cartridge body from a disk drive opening formed in its bottom surface and a magnetic head element enters it from a recording and playback opening positioned close to the outside of the hard disk.
When the hard disk rotates due to the rotation mechanism, the magnetic head element entering into the cartridge body from the recording and playback opening slightly floats due to an air flow generated between the rotating hard disk and the magnetic head element and is operated so as to move across the inner and outer circumferences of the hard disk to record and/or play back a signal with respect to the hard disk.
Summarizing the problem to be solved by the invention, hard disks include ones having a diameter of about 65 mm and increased in capacity so as to enable recording of several gigabytes of information or signals.
In such hard disks, when recording or playing back dust and other foreign matter, the magnetic head element is operated so as to move across the inner and outer circumferences of the hard disk in a state where the magnetic head element floats several tens of nanometers from the hard disk.
At this time, if the hard disk is rotated at a high speed by the rotation mechanism, air is sucked into the cartridge body from the disk drive opening in which the rotation mechanism enters. For this reason, dust etc. is liable to invade the cartridge body due to the air flow.
In a disk drive for recording or playing back information or a signal in the state with magnetic head element floating from the hard disk by tens of nanometers, if dust etc. invading the cartridge body from the disk drive opening deposits on the hard disk, the magnetic head element collides with the dust, so it becomes difficult to reliably record and play back the information or signal to and from the hard disk.
Further, if dust etc. deposits on the hard disk, the amount by which the magnetic head element floats from the hard disk fluctuates, so it becomes difficult to reliably record the information or signal on the hard disk.
Note that Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-188510 discloses an invention of such a disk drive.
This publication discloses to seal the outer circumference of a hub of the loaded disk cartridge, for example, to seal the space between the periphery of the hub of the cartridge and a motor housing of the spindle motor by a resilient sealing member having a tapered surface contacting the bottom surface of the cartridge.
In this publication, however, the sealing member was fixed to the motor housing etc. beneath the inclined resilient tapered surface, so attachment of the sealing member was troublesome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first object of the present invention is to provide a disk drive capable of preventing air containing the dust from invading a cartridge from an opening in a bottom surface of a cartridge at the time of rotation of a disk-shaped recording medium loaded in the disk drive and a sealing member useable in this disk drive.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a disk drive capable of reducing the trouble of attaching the sealing member.
To attain the above objects, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disk drive having a carrier in which is loaded a cartridge in which a disk-shaped recording medium is rotatably accommodated and in which an opening for exposing a center portion of the disk-shaped recording medium is formed in its bottom surface, a rotation table which enters from the opening of the cartridge loaded in the carrier, clamps the disk-shaped recording medium at the center portion and makes the disk-shaped recording medium rotate, and a resilient sealing member which is attached to the carrier and prevents air containing dust from being sucked into the cartridge from the opening due to rotation of the disk-shaped recording medium, wherein the sealing member has an annular base portion and a lip having a shape projecting from the annular base portion and flaring outward, the lip is pushed against the bottom surface of the cartridge so as to surround the opening of the loaded cartridge, and the base portion has a part located inward from the lip, which part is attached to the carrier.
In the disk drive according to the present invention, preferably provision is further made of a plurality of projections for positioning the cartridge, each of the plurality of projections has a head contacting the bottom surface of the cartridge, the base portion has a plurality of through holes corresponding to the plurality of projections in the part located inward from the lip, and the sealing member is attached to the carrier by the plurality of projections penetrating through the corresponding plurality of through holes.
In the disk drive according to the present invention, more preferably the head of each projection has a diameter larger than that of the through hole to an extent enabling the projection to be fit into the through hole.
In the disk drive according to the present invention, preferably the lip comprises first and second lips, the first and second lips project from a top surface of the base portion, the first lip is located outside from the second lip, a height of the first lip from the center portion of the base portion is higher than the height of the second lip from the center portion of the base portion when the cartridge is not loaded, and the first and second lips contact the bottom surface of the cartridge and the heights of the first and second lips from the center portion of the base portion are the same when the cartridge is loaded.
In the disk drive according to the present invention, more preferably the first and second lips are substantially parallel, a length of the first lip is longer than the length of the second lip, and the heights of the first and second lips from the center portion of the base portion are substantially the same when the cartridge is not loaded.
In the disk drive according to the present invention, alternatively the lip has first and third lips, the first lip projects from the top surface of the base portion and contacts the bottom surface of the cartridge when the cartridge is loaded, and the third lip projects from a bottom surface of the base portion and contacts the carrier.
In the disk drive according to the present invention, more preferably the first and third lips are formed symmetrically or substantially symmetrically to each other about the base portion.
In the disk drive according to the present invention, alternatively the lip has first, second, third, and fourth lips, the first and second lips project from the top surface of the base portion and contact the bottom surface of the cartridge when the cartridge is loaded, the third and fourth lips project from the bottom surface of the base portion and contact the carrier, the first lip is located outside from the second lip, the third lip is located outside from the fourth lip, the height of the first lip from the center portion of the base portion is higher than the height of the second lip from the center portion of the base portion and the height of the third lip from the center portion of the base portion is higher than the height of the fourth lip from the center portion of the base portion when the cartridge is not loaded, and the firs
Mamiya Toshio
Sanada Yotaro
Takahashi Kazuo
Yamada Takashi
Yamamoto Kazuyuki
Maioli Jay H.
Ometz David L.
Sony Corporation
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