Disk apparatus

• US 20070150908A1
• Filed: 10/18/2004
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ogasawara, Shinya, Miroku, Nobuyuki, Araki, Yukihiro, Kage, Shingo
• Granted Patent: US 7,577,966 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 720/600
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/0286 mounted on a pivotal lever
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/038 Centering or locking of a plurality of discs in a single cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 17/051 Direct insertion, i.e. without external loading means
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/121 the apparatus comprising a single recording/reproducing device

Abstract

The present invention provides a disk apparatus reduced in size, thickness and weight, by reducing a space for carrying a disk and a space between the floating unit and the stationary frame for use in holding the floating unit in a floating state, as much as possible, with a simple structure. In the disk apparatus of the present invention, the floating unit held in a floating state in the stationary frame is so arranged that the roller arm can rotate itself, pressing a disk-shaped recording medium onto the disk guide provided on the stationary frame, to carry the disk-shaped recording medium to a desired position.

Claims

1. A disk apparatus comprising:

a stationary frame having an opening for inserting or ejecting a disk-shaped recording medium,

a disk guide which is rotatably provided in the proximity of said opening of said stationary frame, and which leads the insertion and ejection of said disk-shaped recording medium, and

a floating unit which is held in a floating state through elastic component in said stationary frame, and which has a function to perform recording and/or reproducing on said disk-shaped recording medium, wherein

said floating unit includes a disk-carrying member having a roller arm which rotates itself while pressing said disk-shaped recording medium onto said disk guide, so as to carry said disk-shaped recording medium to a desired position.

2. The disk apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein a space between said disk guide and said floating unit is used as a space for carrying said disk-shaped recording medium, and as a space for holding said floating unit in a floating state.

3. The disk apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein a desirable sized space for carrying said disk-shaped recording medium is formed when said roller arm is operated to press said disk-shaped recording medium onto said disk guide while said disk-shaped recording medium is being carried, and wherein a desired space for holding said floating unit in a floating state in said stationary frame is ensured, when said clamping member performs a clamping operation to clamp said disk-shaped recording medium at a recording/reproducing position during a recording/reproducing operation, after said roller arm is free from the pressing operation to said disk guide.

4. The disk apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising a locking mechanism which locks said floating unit to said stationary frame, when said disk-shaped recording medium is inserted and carried, when said disk-shaped recording medium is carried and ejected, or when the ejection of said disk-shaped recording medium is completed.

5. The disk apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein, when the completion of the ejection of said disk-shaped recording medium is detected, said control slider is moved to allow a projection formed on said control slider to contact a projection formed on said stationary frame, to thereby engage a part of said roller arm with a part of said disk guide.

6. The disk apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said roller arm is held obliquely to a plane having said opening for disk insertion and ejection on said stationary frame, so that said disk-shaped recording medium inserted into said opening for said disk insertion and ejection is carried inclining to said plane.

7. The disk apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said stationary frame comprises two frame sections having an upper frame and a lower frame, and wherein a projection formed on said disk guide at the rear side of said disk apparatus is engaged with a hole formed in said upper frame, so that said disk guide is rotated a predetermined angle on their engaging portion as a rotation center, relative to said upper frame at the front side of said disk apparatus.

8. The disk apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said floating unit further includes a disk carriage-driving member which comprises a motor for driving said roller arm, a transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving power from said motor to said roller arm, a loading completion detecting means for detecting the completion of disk-loading, and a control slider for transmitting an information detected by said loading completion detecting means to said transmission mechanism.

9. The disk apparatus as recited in claim 8, provided with a locking mechanism which locks said floating unit to said stationary frame, when said control slider is moved according to the operating condition of said disk-shaped recording medium, and a projection formed on said control slider contacts with a projection formed on said stationary frame.

10. The disk apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein said control slider is moved to unlock said floating unit and hold it in a floating state, when said disk-carrying member has carried said disk-shaped recording medium to a recording/reproducing position.

11. The disk apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein the transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving power from said motor to said roller arm includes a worm and a worm wheel divided into two sections along a rotation axial direction, and wherein the rotation shaft of said worm wheel is inclined to a direction orthogonal to the direction for carrying said disk-shaped recording medium.