Removable disk cartridge

For use with a drive housing having a bottom wall, a spaced pair of side walls coupled to said bottom wall and a pair of stationary position registration members each extending along the inner edge of a different one of said side walls, each said registration member including an entry ramp portion, a stop/pivot portion spaced along the corresponding side wall from said entry ramp portion, and an intermediate guide portion;

• a cartridge having a housing including a pair of opposed side wall members, each side wall member having registration means engageable with one of said stationary position registration members for enabling said cartridge to be positioned in a predetermined operating attitude, said registration means including an edge surface for contacting said entry ramp portion when said cartridge is initially inserted in said drive housing and for contacting said intermediate guide portion as said cartridge is advanced into the interior of said drive housing so that said cartridge housing is slidingly engaged thereby, and pivot engagement means located at a forward edge of said cartridge for pivoting engagement with said stop/pivot portion when said cartridge is located at a predetermined longitudinal position in said drive housing established by said stop/pivot position, said edge surface further including first and second guide engagement means for respectively engaging said intermediate guide portion and said ramp portion of said registration member when said cartridge is pivoted about said stop/pivot portion toward said registration member so that said cartridge is restrained against longitudinal movement when positioned in said operating attitude.

A disk memory cartridge having self-pumping air flow characteristics, said cartridge comprising:

• a housing providing a generally enclosed volume, said housing including a bottom wall with a centrally located hub access aperture,
• a disk rotatably received in said housing;
• hub means coupled to said disk for enabling said disk to be rotated by an external spindle via said hub access aperture,
• said housing having an end wall with a transducer access port located centrally therein, and an air exit port formed in said end wall at a position laterally displaced from said access port and providing a circumferentially oriented flow exit path for air entering said enclosed volume via said access port when said disk is rotated.

A removable disc memory cartridge for use with a drive mechanism having a drive spindle, said drive mechanism being located in a drive housing having a bottom wall, a spaced pair of side walls coupled to said bottom wall and a pair of stationary position registration members each extending along the inner edge of a different one of said side walls, each registration member including an entry ramp portion, a stop/pivot portion spaced along the corresponding sidewall from said entry ramp portion, and an intermediate guide portion, said cartridge comprising:

• a housing including a pair of opposed side wall members, each side wall member having registration means engageable with one of said stationary position registration members for enabling said cartridge to be positioned in a predetermined operating attitude, said registration means including an edge surface for contacting said entry ramp portion when said cartridge is initially inserted in said drive housing and for contacting said intermediate guide portion as said cartridge is advanced into the interior of said drive housing so that said cartridge housing is slidingly engaged thereby, and pivot engagement means located at a forward edge of said cartridge for pivoting engagement with said stop/pivot portion when said cartridge is located at a predetermined longitudinal position in said drive housing established by said stop/pivot portion, said edge surface further including first and second guide engagement means for respectively engaging said intermediate guide portion and said ramp portion of said registration member when said cartridge is pivoted about said stop/pivot portion toward said registration member so that said cartridge is restrained against longitudinal movement when positioned in said operating attitude;
• a disc having a central hub positioned in said housing, said hub including a drive spindle referencing member having an aperture for receiving the free end of said spindle, said referencing member including first and second angularly spaced arcuate segments each defining a peripheral portion of said aperture and providing a lateral abutment for the outer surface of said spindle in the region adjacent said free end, the radius of curvature of each of said arcuate segments being closely matched to the radius of curvature of said spindle, said referencing member further including spindle biasing means laterally spaced from said arcuate segments and engageable with the outer surface of said spindle in the region adjacent said free end for urging said spindle into surface contact with said arcuate segments when said free end is received in said aperture;
• releasable disc locking means for maintaining said disc in a secured position when not in use, said disc locking means including relatively rigid lock means normally engaged with said disc hub, spring bias means coupled to said lock means for urging said disc hub into said secured position, and release means for enabling said lock means to be raised away from engagement with said disc hub to thereby release said disc for rotation within said cartridge housing,
• said housing further including an end wall with a transducer access port located centrally therein, and an air exit port laterally displaced from said access port and providing a circumferentially orientated flow exit path for air entering said enclosed volume via said access port when said disc is rotated by said spindle.