US 6,388,975 B2 · Mechanism for loading disk into disk drive apparatus

Abstract

A loading mechanism by which a disk cartridge can be loaded into a disk drive apparatus includes a mechanism for opening and closing a shutter of the disk cartridge; an elevating plate on which a spindle motor and an alignment pin for positioning the cartridge are mounted; and an oblique surface for moving the elevating plate onto the cartridge side for cartridge insertion. In one case, a front end portion of the first alignment pin is elliptically cylindrical, and only a front end portion of a second alignment pin is curved. The second alignment pin is offset onto the rear side of the apparatus. In another embodiment, a shutter sliding member includes: first and second sliding pieces which slide in a guide groove of a guide frame forming an insertion passage of the cartridge; and a torsion spring. In the first and the second sliding pieces, a shaft portion engages one end of the torsion spring, and a flange interposes the guide groove. In a third embodiment, the elevating plate has two sets of guide pins arranged perpendicularly to the cartridge inserting direction, symmetrically with each other, and on the load plate of the elevator has two oblique surfaces on the right and two oblique surfaces on the left which receive the guide pins and pull up the guide pins when the load plate is moved, and starting positions of these oblique surfaces are shifted in the longitudinal direction.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A disk drive apparatus having a mechanism for loading a cartridge, in which the cartridge, which is removable, is loaded through an insertion port, comprising:

at least one sliding piece member which automatically opens a shutter when the cartridge is inserted into the disk drive apparatus and acts on a shutter opening and closing arm of the cartridge;
an elevating plate on which a spindle motor for rotating a disk in the cartridge is mounted and on which first and second alignment pins inserted into two reference holes formed in the cartridge are mounted;
and
an elevator which moves the elevating plate to the cartridge side in accordance with the insertion of the cartridge into the disk drive apparatus,
wherein the tip portion of a first alignment pin inserted into a long hole, which is one of the two reference holes provided on the cartridge, is an elliptical cylinder, and only a second tip portion of the second alignment pin, which is inserted into a circular hole on the opposite side to the long hole, has a tapered curved surface which is formed in a half portion on an opposite side of the first alignment pin so as to follow a slippage of the cartridge in a direction perpendicular to an insertion direction of the cartridge, and a residual portion of the second tip portion of the second alignment pin is formed into a non-tapered shape.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Mechanism for loading disk into disk drive apparatus

Life of this patent

Mechanism for loading disk into disk drive apparatus

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims12