Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Matushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Shigeto Ueno

Yoshikazu Goto

Kuniko Nakata

Yukio Nishino

Hitoshi Higaki

Ichirou Kawamura

Shinichi Maeda

Teruyuki Naka

Masakazu Ishizuka

Isao Obata

Tomoshi Tokunaga

Akira Yoshida

Yasuo Kabuta

Teruyuki Takizawa

Kozo Ezawa

Shinichi Tanaka

Masanori Ohnishi

Noriyuki Tajima

Yuji Nakamura

Yoshiyuki Hashimoto

Tetsuhiro Sano

A disk drive includes a disk rotating unit, a traverse base holding the disk rotating unit, a damper member holding the traverse base, a main unit holding the traverse base through the damper member, a tray mounting a cartridge housing the disk, a driving unit that loads or ejects the tray and moves the disk in the cartridge relative to the disk rotating unit, and a traverse base holding member that is moved vertically by the driving unit relative to the main unit at the time of tray loading or tray ejection. The traverse base is held by the traverse base holding member through the damper member, and the resonance frequencies of the damper member in the radius direction of the disk as it is being loaded and in the direction of a rotation shaft are set higher than the maximum rotational frequency of the disk.

Disk drive with established resonance frequencies for damper member

A disk drive includes a cartridge holding mechanism which has a small size and reduces a damper load. The disk drive includes a spindle motor which mounts and rotates a disk. A traverse base holds the spindle motor, and a rubber damper flexibly holds the traverse base. A mechanical chassis holds the traverse base through the rubber damper, and a tray mounts a cartridge in which a disk is housed. A loading motor moves the disk in the cartridge close to the spindle motor or away from the spindle motor. The cartridge is supported by the mechanical chassis through the tray.

Disk loading apparatus with cartridge urging member operating cooperatively with disk rotating unit transverse holder

Tray for optical disk recorder

A disk cartridge of the present invention comprises a case body ( ) having a disk-storage portion and an opening/closing cover ( ) having a pair of disk holding members ( ) that hold a disk ( ) in its inplane direction. The accommodated disk ( ) is loaded together with the opening/closing cover ( ) into an adapter having compatibility with a large disk cartridge. Thus, information can be, for example, reproduced from the disk ( ) in a drive unit designed for a large disk cartridge via the adapter. Moreover, a series of operations can be conducted without touching the disk directly.

Disk cartridge and adapter

Disk cartridge and adapter with locking and misinsertion preventing mechanism for the cover

A disk cartridge of the present invention comprises a case body having a disk-storage portion and an opening/closing cover having a pair of disk holding members that hold a disk in its inplane direction. A grip of the opening/closing cover engages with a grip-guide part of the case body. They may be formed asymmetrically with respect to the center line of the opening/closing cover in its insertion direction, thus preventing the opening/closing cover from being inserted into the case body upside down.

A disk storage magazine in which the number of stored disks per unit volume can be increased. A pair of disk holding members ( ), which are bent into a bellows shape by the number of stored disks, are arranged substantially in parallel with a direction in which disks ( ) come off on both sides of a magazine case ( ). When the disk storage magazine is opened, the disk ( ) is held by valley portion of the folded portions of the disk holding members ( ), and held between tapered faces on opposite sides of the valley portion. When the disk storage magazine is closed, the disk holding member ( ) is bent until the tapered faces holding the edge of surface of the disk ( ) become substantially in parallel with the disk surface, and fixes and holds the disks ( ) in a state of touching and pressing the disks ( ). Thereby, clearances in the stacking direction between the disk ( ) and the disk holding member ( ) can be eliminated.

Disk storage magazine and recording/reproducing apparatus

A disk cartridge of the present invention comprises a case body (,) having a disk-storage portion and an opening/closing cover (,) having a pair of disk holding members (,) that hold a disk (,) in its inplane direction. The accommodated disk (,) is loaded together with the opening/closing cover (,) into an adapter having compatibility with a large disk cartridge. Thus, information can be, for example, reproduced from the disk (,) in a drive unit designed for a large disk cartridge via the adapter. Moreover, a series of operations can be conducted without touching the disk directly.

Disk cartridge

Disk cartridge with finger-like holding members and three-part supporting feature

A recording/reproducing apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes a plurality of recording and/or reproducing units for performing at least one of recording an information signal and reproducing an information signal; a medium transfer unit for transferring an information medium and loading it selectively into the recording and/or reproducing unit; a selection unit for selecting the recording and/or reproducing unit to be loaded with the information medium by the medium transfer unit. The selection unit selects the recording and/or reproducing units with the currently shortest usage history from the plurality of recording and/or reproducing units. With this configuration, the usage frequency of the recording and/or reproducing units used for recording or reproducing can be equalized.

Recording/reproducing apparatus and information medium transfer method

Disclosed is an information processing device such as a compact personal computer, word-processor, and the like containing a printer therein. The information processing device is provided, in a side surface of its outer casing, with an opening portion so as to permit projection of an end portion of an ink cartridge or carriage. Therefore, although the device is compact-sized, it is possible to enlarge the printable width of the device. This makes it possible to effect printing on a larger-sized sheet of paper.

Reciprocating printing cartridge extending beyond casing sidewall opening

A magnetic head is fixedly mounted on the cassette holder in a cassette tape recorder. When a tape cassette is inserted into the cassette holder, a magnetic tape is brought into contact with the front face of the magnetic head through an access opening in the tape cassette. In response to selection of stop, fast-forward, and rewind modes of operation, a pad shifter disposed on the cassette holder adjacent to the magnetic head is moved to displace a pad in the tape cassette out of pressed contact with the magnetic tape. When in a recording or playback mode of operation, the pad shifter is retracted to allow the pad to resiliently press the magnetic tape against the magnetic head. The tape recorder is rendered small in size particularly in the transverse direction of the tape cassette inserted.

Growing community of inventors

Toyonaka, Japan

Shigeto Ueno