US 5,777,978 AGranted

Disk unit and process for assembling transmission mechanism used for driving head carriage

AssigneeSony Corporation

InventorsToshiro Ota, Masakatsu Hosoya, Takashi Yamazaki

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Abstract

Coil springs 96 and 97 are incorporated in a driving-side transmission mechanism 61 so as to absorb backlashes between a rack 55 and a drive gear 59a. Since the respective backlashes between the drive gear 59a and the rack 55 are absorbed by way of the coil springs 96 and 97, merely phase matching at the sole driving-side transmission mechanism 61 is required as phase matching work of toothed portions of gears during assembly, thereby simplifying the assembling task and shortening assembly time. Additionally, since a coil spring is not included in the rack 55, the rack can be designed to be small-sized in its width direction, thereby minimizing the moment of a force about the meshed engagement point, acting on an optical head carriage 53, and reducing transfer loss in the head.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A disk unit, comprising:

a motor;
a drive gear mechanism having a drive gear which is driven by the motor;
an intermediate transmission mechanism linked to the drive gear mechanism and having a plurality of transmission gears rotated by rotation of the drive gear;
and
a head carriage having a rack in meshed engagement with at least one of the transmission gears of the intermediate transmission mechanism and provided to be movable in a radial direction of a disk in accordance with rotation of the transmission gears;
wherein the intermediate transmission mechanism is equipped with a first backlash eliminating means for eliminating backlash between the drive gear mechanism and the intermediate transmission mechanism and with a second backlash eliminating means for eliminating backlash between the intermediate transmission mechanism and the rack;
wherein the intermediate transmission mechanism includes a driving-side transmission mechanism having the first backlash eliminating means and the second backlash eliminating means, and a driven-side transmission mechanism linked to the driving-side transmission mechanism and to the rack;
wherein the transmission gears of the driven-side transmission mechanism include a first driven-side transmission gear and a second driven-side transmission gear, the first and second driven-side transmission gears being rotatable independently of each other;
and
wherein the transmission gears of the driving-side transmission mechanism include a first stepped driving-side transmission gear in meshed engagement with both the drive gear and the second driven-side transmission gear, a second driving-side transmission gear linked to the first driving-side transmission gear through the first backlash eliminating means and being in meshed engagement with the drive gear, and a third driving-side transmission gear with a lever, the third driving-side transmission gear being rotatable attached to the second driving-side transmission gear, being linked to the first driving-side transmission gear through the second backlash eliminating means and being in meshed engagement with the first driven-side transmission gear.

7 more elements

A disk unit comprising:

a drive gear;
a driving-side transmission mechanism including:
a first driving-side transmission gear in meshed engagement with the drive gear,
a second driving-side transmission gear in meshed engagement with the drive gear,
a third driving-side transmission gear having a center of rotation on an axial line of the first and second driving-side transmission gears,
a first biasing means for biasing the first and second driving-side transmission gears so that the first driving-side transmission gear is rotationally biased in a direction opposite to a direction of bias applied to the second driving-side transmission gear, and
a second biasing means for biasing the first and third driving-side transmission gears so that the first driving-side transmission gear is rotationally biased in a direction opposite to a direction of bias applied to the third driving-side transmission gear, and respective centers of rotation of the first, second and third driving-side transmission gears being positioned on an identical axial line;
a driven-side transmission mechanism having first and second driven-side transmission gears, respective centers of rotation of the first and second driven-side gears being positioned on an identical axial line, the first driven-side transmission gear of the first and second driven-side transmission gears being linked to the third driving-side transmission gear, and the second driven-side transmission gear being linked to the first driving-side transmission gear;
a rack being in meshed engagement with both the first and second driven-side transmission gears of the driven-side transmission mechanism;
and
a head carriage which moves together with the rack.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/432,173Filed 26 Jun 1995
Priority: JP 5-22625313 Sep 1993
Granted: 7 Jul 1998
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

G11B 17/056
Indirect insertion, i.e. with external loading means: with sliding loading means
G11B 7/08582
Arrangements for mechanically moving the whole head: sled-type positioners
G11B 21/046
Automatic feed mechanism producing a progressive transducing traverse of the head in a direction which cuts across the direction of travel of…
G11B 7/085
Disposition or mounting of heads or light sources relatively to record carriers: with provision for moving the light beam into, or out of, its…