Cam mechanism to clamp magnetic disk against cartridge shell
AssigneeIomega Corporation
InventorsBrian R. Schick, Allen T. Bracken, Edward L. Rich, Wayne A. Sumner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cartridge for a magnetic disk drive has a clamping mechanism which is actuated as the door to the cartridge is closed when the cartridge is removed from the drive. The door covers the opening through which the cartridge is accessed by read/write heads. When the cartridge is removed from the drive, the mechanism of the present invention clamps the recording disk against the cartridge shell to prevent rattle, which might otherwise damage the recording disk.
Claims15
A cartridge for a drive in which read/write heads read/record data on a recording medium comprising:
- a shell having a front, a back, and two sides between substantially flat, planar surfaces;
- said recording medium being in said shell and having a hub, said hub having a cavity at the center thereof;
- said shell having an opening in the front thereof for access by said read/write heads from outside of said shell to said recording medium;
- a door covering said opening when said cartridge is removed from said drive;
- a rotating cam rotatable on the same axis as said recording medium, said rotating cam having an inclined surface which extends axially along a circumference thereof, said rotating cam being operatively connected to said door such that said cam rotates about said axis as said door is opened and closed;
- and
- a cam follower disposed within the cavity of said hub,
- the inclined surface of said rotating cam engaging said cam follower and moving said cam follower axially upon rotation of said cam, whereby said cam follower is caused to press against said hub so as to press said hub against said shell when said door is closed.
A cartridge for a drive in which read/write heads read/record data on a recording medium, comprising:
- a shell having a front, a back, and two sides between substantially planar surfaces, wherein the front of said shell has a convex portion that protrudes outwardly from forward ends of the two sides, and wherein said shell is symmetrical about a plane bisecting said shell at a midpoint between the two sides and extending parallel to said sides and perpendicular to the substantially planar surfaces of said shell;
- said recording medium being in said shell and having a hub, said hub having a cavity at the center thereof;
- said shell having an opening in the front thereof for access by said read/write heads from outside of said shell to said recording medium;
- a door, movable between an open position and a closed position, for covering said opening whenever said cartridge is removed from said drive;
- a rotating cam rotatable on the same axis as said recording medium, said rotating cam having an inclined surface which extends axially along a circumference thereof, said cam being connected to said door by a member rotatable about the axis of said recording medium, said member comprising an arm extending radially toward said door, wherein a terminal end of said arm is connected to said door, whereby said rotating cam rotates about said axis as said door is opened and closed;
- a cam follower disposed within the cavity of said hub, the inclined surface of said rotating cam engaging said cam follower and moving said cam follower axially upon rotation of said cam, whereby said cam follower is caused to press against said hub when said door is closed;
- and
- a means for returning said door to the closed position when said cartridge is removed from said drive;
- wherein said recording medium is held in a clamped position whenever said door is in said closed position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.