Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Nidec Copal Corporation

Masayuki Shiwa

Hideki Nakata

Katsumi Ichinose

Hideki Aikoh

Masatoshi Takeda

Hironori Tomita

Yoshinori Katada

Tsuyoshi Kakuta

Hirohiko Oowaki

Ryuta Yamawaki

Tomoyuki Yamashiro

Hideru Goto

Mitsuru Yanagisawa

A lifter mechanism includes: a first lifter; a second lifter; a first biasing member that biases the second lifter from a second lower limit position toward a second upper limit position; a locking lever that is displaced between a locked position in which the locking lever locks the second lifter in the second lower limit position and a released position in which the locking lever releases the lock of the second lifter from the second lower limit position; a second biasing member that biases the locking lever from the locked position toward the released position; a holding member that holds the locking lever in the locked position; and a queueing lever that pushes down the second lifter from the second upper limit position to the second lower limit position.

Tonearm device and reproduction device

A spherical aberration correction mechanismincludes a lens holderthat holds a collimator lens, a main shaftthat supports the lens holderin a linearly movable manner, a lead screwsupported in a rotatable manner and provided with a screw thread formed of a first slope and a second slope each in a spiral shape on an outer circumference thereof, and a stepping motorthat rotates the lead screw. The lens holderincludes a rack portiondisposed between the main shaftand the lead screwand having a slope that abuts on the first slope and first and second stoppersandthat regulate a relative position of the rack portionwith respect to the lead screwso that the rack portiondoes not abut on the second slope.

Drive device, optical head, and optical disk recording/reproducing device

An optical disk recording/reproducing device includes a turntableconfigured to rotate an optical diskand an optical headconfigured to record/reproduce information in/from the optical disk. A stepping motorto drive a collimator lensis mounted on a head baseof the optical headand a part of statorof the stepping motoris exposed through an openingof a head cover, an openingof a flexible substrate, an openingof a cover, and an openingof the cover

Optical disk recording/reproducing device and optical head

A housingof a stepping motorconsists of a pair of case sectionsarranged in front and rear in the direction of an axial line L of a rotating shaft. The case sectionsare formed of: an end plateto which a bearingfor supporting the rotating shaftis fixed, and a base plateand a top plateextending from the end platein the direction of axial line L of the rotating shaft. The case sectionsare formed by bending a single plate material.

Stepping motor

An optical disk apparatus includes a framewhich receives internal devices and can receive an optical disk, a trayon which the optical diskis rotatably mounted, a railwhich supports the tray so as to be moved between a mounting position where the optical diskis detachably mounted and a receiving position where the optical diskis received in the frame, a tray moving means which moves the traybetween the mounting position and the receiving position, a tray receiving releasing member which receives and release the trayat the receiving position, and an optical disk rotation suppressing member which exerts a pressing force on the optical disk in cooperation with a tray releasing operation of the tray receiving releasing member and releases the pressing force in cooperation with a tray receiving operation of the tray receiving releasing member.

Optical disk apparatus

A support frame for an optical disk unit where reduction in thickness and/or weight saving can be realized and the optical disk unit are intended to be obtained. In an optical disk drive unit, a support framehas neither upper cover nor bottom cover, and is formed from a frame that continuously encloses both sides and a back of a disk traywithout any cutout portions in order to secure strength, and furthermore, the support frameis manufactured by a die casting method using a metal material such as aluminum material, zinc material, and magnesium material, or by a press method using a metal sheet such as iron sheet, aluminum sheet, and magnesium sheet, or by composite molding using a polymer such as PPS (polyphenylenesulfide), POM (polyacetal), and LCP (liquid crystal polymer) with the metal sheet, or by a forging method using a metal material such as aluminum, thereby strength that prevents the optical disk drive unit as a whole from distorting or deforming during operation or actuation is secured.

Frame for optical disk unit and the optical disk unit

Cover portion for optical storage media tray

A medium attaching device for attaching and holding a disk to and releasing the disk from a turntable of a disk device. A plurality of holding/releasing devices are arranged radially around a center hub of the turntable. Each holding/releasing device includes a clamp member of generally crescent form having a holding section and a releasing section located on opposite sides with respect to a swivel center. When the disk is transferred to a predetermined position of the disk device, the clamp members are swiveled around the swivel center to either attach and hold the disk to the turntable, or raise the disk to a position above the turntable and hence to release the disk therefrom.

Medium attaching device and disk drive apparatus

There is disclosed a medium attaching device and a disk drive apparatus which are suited for a compact and lightweight design and a thin design, and are capable of automatic attachment of a disk. The device includes a rotary support device for holding a disk medium thereon, and a rotation drive device for rotating the rotary support means so as to rotate the disk medium. The rotation drive device includes a reciprocally-moving device for reciprocal movement in a direction of an axis of a rotation shaft. The rotary support device has a plurality of pivotal attaching devices pivotally mounted thereon, and each of the pivotal attaching devices is pivotally movable between a fixed position where the pivotal attaching device fixedly holds the disk medium and a received position where the pivotal attaching device is received in the rotary support device. The plurality of pivotal attaching devices are provided on the rotary support device in concentric relation to the axis of the rotation shaft. The pivotal attaching devices are engaged with the reciprocally-moving device, and are pivotally moved by the reciprocal movement of the reciprocally-moving device, thereby fixing and releasing the disk medium relative to the rotary support device.

A disk apparatus comprises a tray for mounting a disk thereon, a lock arm for locking the tray to a main body chassis and releasing this locking, a coil for operating the lock arm by an electromagnetic force, a coil holder for holding the coil and transmitting the electromagnetic force to the lock arm, a magnet for applying a magnetic flux necessary for the operation, a rail for holding the tray to the main body chassis and guiding an accommodation/ejection operation, a push block for pushing out the tray, a push spring for operating the push block, an eject button pushed down when the user wants to eject the tray, a detention switch for detecting the push-down of the eject button, and a controller for applying a voltage to the coil upon receiving the detection information. The entire thickness of the tray lock mechanism is composed no more than 5 mm and is accommodated in the rear internal space of the recess so that a disk apparatus reduced in the thickness in the height direction of the outer case is presented.

Growing community of inventors

Fukuoka, Japan

Masayuki Shiwa