Rack gear opening mechanism for an optical disk cartridge
OwnerHong Khuuinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rack gear opening mechanism for an optical disk cartridge is provided. As the optical disk cartridge is loaded into a disk drive, a fixed pin in the disk drive is inserted into a housing in the cartridge. The insertion of the fixed pin causes a first gear to move clockwise, a second gear to move counterclockwise, and a third gear to move clockwise. The movement of the third gear clockwise engages a door rack gear attached to a shutter door in the cartridge. The door rack gear slideably moves the shutter door along a rail which opens a window in the cartridge to expose a portion of the optical disk.
Claims25
An optical disk cartridge, comprising:
- a body housing an optical disk, the body having an opening on a side to accept a pin of an optical disk drive when the optical disk cartridge is inserted into the drive;
- a rack slideably mounted to a side of the body;
- a shutter door affixed to the rack, the shutter door opening to expose the optical disk when the rack slides in a transverse direction;
- and
- a rack gear mechanism configured to slide the rack in the transverse direction upon insertion of the pin into the opening.
A dual-sided optical disk cartridge, each side comprising:
- a body housing an optical disk, the body having an opening on a side to accept a pin of an optical disk drive when the optical disk cartridge is inserted into the drive;
- a rack slideably mounted to a side of the body;
- a shutter door affixed to the rack, the shutter door opening to expose the optical disk when the rack slides in a transverse direction;
- and a rack gear mechanism configured to slide the rack in the transverse direction upon insertion of the pin into the opening.
A method, comprising:
- providing an optical disk cartridge including a body housing an optical disk, the body having an opening on a side to accept a pin of an optical disk drive when the optical disk cartridge is inserted into the drive;
- providing a rack slideably mounted to a side of the body;
- affixing a shutter door to the rack, the shutter door opening to expose the optical disk when the rack slides in a transverse direction;
- and
- providing a rack gear mechanism configured to slide the rack in the transverse direction upon insertion of the pin into the opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.