Claims
- 1. A cartridge for an information recording medium, comprising:
a cartridge case having an opening to receive the information recording medium; an opening cover, detachably mounted to the cartridge case at the opening, to enable the information recording medium to be withdrawn or inserted with respect to the cartridge case, the opening cover having supporting ribs to support the information recording medium on an inner surface thereof; a pair of elastic pressure parts, elastically formed on the opening cover, to elastically support the information recording medium to hold the information recording medium relative to the opening cover when the opening cover is not attached to the cartridge case; receiving ribs integrally formed on leading ends of the pair of elastic pressure parts, respectively; intervening members, formed on opposite inner sidewalls of the cartridge case, to slidably contact the receiving ribs, respectively, so as to push the receiving ribs when the opening cover is inserted into the cartridge case so that the pair of elastic pressure parts widen in a lateral direction of the information recording medium relative to each other; and means for firmly fastening the opening cover to the cartridge case to prevent a gap between the opening cover and the cartridge case when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case.
- 2. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the opening cover fastening means comprises:
a pair of coupling ribs formed on an opening cover attaching portion of the cartridge case; and rib recesses, formed in the opening cover, to receive the coupling ribs, respectively.
- 3. A cartridge for an information recording medium, comprising:
a cartridge case having an opening to receive the information recording medium; an opening cover, detachably mounted to the cartridge case at the opening, to enable the information recording medium to be withdrawn or inserted with respect to the cartridge case, the opening cover having supporting ribs to support the information recording medium on an inner surface thereof; a pair of elastic pressure parts, elastically formed on the opening cover, to elastically support the information recording medium to hold the information recording medium relative to the opening cover when the opening cover is not attached to the cartridge case; receiving ribs integrally formed on leading ends of the pair of elastic pressure parts, respectively; and intervening members, formed on opposite inner sidewalls of the cartridge case, to slidably contact the receiving ribs, respectively, so as to push the receiving ribs when the opening cover is inserted into the cartridge case so that the pair of elastic pressure parts widen in a lateral direction of the information recording medium relative to each other; and positioning means for positioning the information recording medium, which is accommodated in the cartridge case, upward/downward at an exact position.
- 4. The cartridge as claimed in claim 3, wherein the positioning means comprises stepped parts formed on upper and lower inner surfaces of the cartridge case, each of the stepped parts having a predetermined height.
- 5. The cartridge as claimed in claim 4, wherein the predetermined height of each of the stepped parts is equal to, or slightly greater than a thickness of each of the supporting ribs.
- 6. The cartridge as claimed in claim 3, wherein the positioning means comprises circular bands attached on upper and lower inner surfaces of the cartridge case, each of the circular bands having a predetermined height.
- 7. The cartridge as claimed in claim 6, wherein the predetermined height of each of the circular bands is equal to, or slightly greater than the thickness of each of the supporting ribs.
- 8. A cartridge for an information recording medium, comprising:
a cartridge case having an opening to receive the information recording medium; an opening cover, detachably mounted to the cartridge case at the opening, to enable the information recording medium to be withdrawn or inserted with respect to the cartridge case, the opening cover having supporting ribs to support the information recording medium on an inner surface thereof; a pair of elastic pressure parts, elastically formed on the opening cover, to elastically support the information recording medium to hold the information recording medium relative to the opening cover when the opening cover is not attached to the cartridge case; receiving ribs integrally formed on leading ends of the pair of elastic pressure parts, respectively; intervening members, formed on opposite inner sidewalls of the cartridge case, to slidably contact the receiving ribs, respectively, so as to push the receiving ribs when the opening cover is inserted into the cartridge case so that the pair of elastic pressure parts widen in a lateral direction of the information recording medium relative to each other; means for firmly fastening the opening cover to the cartridge case to prevent a gap between the opening cover and the cartridge case when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case; and positioning means for positioning the information recording medium, which is accommodated in the cartridge case, upward/downward at an exact position.
- 9. The cartridge as claimed in claim 8, wherein the opening cover comprises a gripping part formed on a front surface thereof, to enable the user to pull the opening cover away from the cartridge case.
- 10. The cartridge as claimed in claim 9, wherein the gripping part includes at least one symbol printed on the gripping part to indicate first and second sides of the information recording medium.
- 11. The cartridge as claimed in claim 8, wherein the information recording medium is a disc on and/or from which information is optically recorded and/or reproduced.
- 12. The cartridge as claimed in claim 11, wherein:
the cartridge case comprises
a spindle opening and an extended opening to permit an optical pickup to access the disc by exposing a predetermined portion of the disc accommodated in the cartridge case, and a shutter, slidably disposed with respect to the cartridge case, to selectively open/close the spindle opening and the extended opening.
- 13. A disc cartridge to be received by an optical recording/reproducing device having a turntable and an optical pickup, comprising:
a cartridge case having an opening to receive a disc, the cartridge case including a spindle opening to permit the turntable of the optical recording/reproducing device to advance thereinto and an extended opening through which a recordable side of the disc is exposed to the optical pickup; a shutter, slidably disposed to the cartridge case, to selectively open/close the spindle opening and the extended opening; an opening cover, detachably mounted to the cartridge case at the opening, to enable the disc to be withdrawn or inserted with respect to the cartridge case, the opening cover having supporting ribs to support the disc on an inner surface thereof; a pair of elastic pressure parts, elastically formed on the opening cover, to elastically support the disc to hold the disc relative to the opening cover when the opening cover is not attached to the cartridge case; receiving ribs integrally formed on leading ends of the pair of elastic pressure parts, respectively; and intervening members, formed on opposite inner sidewalls of the cartridge case, to slidably contact the receiving ribs, respectively, so as to push the receiving ribs when the opening cover is inserted into the cartridge case so that the pair of elastic pressure parts widen in a lateral direction of the disc relative to each other; means for firmly fastening the opening cover to the cartridge case to prevent a gap between the opening cover and the cartridge case when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case; positioning means for positioning the disc, which is accommodated in the cartridge case, upward/downward at an exact position; and a gripping part formed on a front portion of the opening cover to enable a user to grip the opening cover.
- 14. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
the cartridge case comprises a sensing hole to sense a state of the information recording medium and a movement hole; and the opening cover comprises an opening/closing unit to selectively open and close the sensing hole, the opening/closing unit including
a rotary arm movably disposed about a pivot point on the opening cover, and at a position corresponding to the movement hole when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case, a tension lever to movably support the rotary arm and bias the rotary arm to an initial position, a stopping projection formed on the rotary arm, and a stopping rib formed on the opening cover adjacent to a place corresponding to the sensing hole when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case; wherein the stopping rib stops the stopping projection in response to the rotary arm being moved to the sensing hole to maintain the rotary arm in place, and the stopping projection releases from the stopping rib so that the rotary arm returns to the initial position by the tension lever in response to the rotary arm being pushed.
- 15. The cartridge as claimed in claim 14, wherein the sensing hole is an A1 hole is indicative of whether the disc has been exchanged with regard to the cartridge case.
- 16. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
the cartridge case comprises a plurality of sensing holes to sense a state of the information recording medium and a corresponding plurality of movement holes; and the opening cover comprises an opening/closing unit to selectively open and close the sensing holes, the opening/closing unit including
a plurality of rotary arms movably disposed about respective pivot points on the opening cover, and at positions corresponding to the movement holes when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case, a plurality of tension levers to movably support the corresponding rotary arms and bias the rotary arms to corresponding initial positions, a plurality of stopping projections formed on the corresponding rotary arms, and a plurality of stopping ribs formed on the opening cover adjacent to places corresponding to the sensing holes when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case; wherein each stopping rib stops the corresponding stopping projection in response to the corresponding rotary arm being moved to the corresponding sensing hole to maintain the rotary arm in place, and the stopping projection releases from the stopping rib so that the rotary arm returns to the initial position by the tension lever in response to the rotary arm being pushed.
- 17. A cartridge for an information recording medium, comprising:
a cartridge case having a space to receive the information recording medium and an opening through which the information recording medium enters; an opening cover, detachably mountable to the cartridge case, to cover the opening when mounted to the cartridge case, wherein portions of the opening cover and the cartridge case overlap each other at top and bottom regions of the opening when the opening cover is mounted to the cartridge case, to prevent foreign objects from reaching the information recording medium.
- 18. The cartridge as claimed in claim 17, wherein:
the cartridge case has coupling ribs formed at the edges thereof adjacent to the opening; and the opening cover has rib recesses, formed at the edges thereof, wherein the rib recesses respectively receive the coupling ribs when the opening cover is mounted to the cartridge case.
- 19. The cartridge as claimed in claim 18, wherein the opening cover has extensions at inner sides of the rib recesses which extend in the opening when the opening cover is mounted to the cartridge case and extend further in a mounting direction of the opening cover than extensions at outer sides of the rib recesses.
- 20. A cartridge for an information recording medium, comprising:
a cartridge case having an opening to receive the information recording medium; an opening cover, detachably mounted to the cartridge case at the opening, to enable the information recording medium to be received and/or withdrawn into/from the cartridge case; holding means for holding the information recording medium relative to the opening cover by supporting the information recording medium when the information recording medium is received and/or withdrawn into/from the cartridge case; and positioning means for positioning the information recording medium, which is accommodated in the cartridge case, upward/downward at an exact position.
- 21. The cartridge as claimed in claim 20, further comprising means for firmly fastening the opening cover to the cartridge case to prevent a gap between the opening cover and the cartridge case when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case.
- 22. The cartridge as claimed in claim 20, wherein said holding means comprises a pair of elastic pressure parts, elastically formed on the opening cover, to elastically support the information recording medium to hold the information recording medium relative to the opening cover when the opening cover is not attached to the cartridge case.
- 23. The cartridge as claimed in claim 22, further comprising receiving ribs integrally formed on leading ends of the pair of elastic pressure parts, respectively.
- 24. The cartridge as claimed in claim 23, further comprising intervening members, formed on opposite inner sidewalls of the cartridge case, to slidably contact the receiving ribs, respectively, so as to push the receiving ribs when the opening cover is inserted into the cartridge case so that the pair of elastic pressure parts widen in a lateral direction of the information recording medium relative to each other.
- 25. A cartridge for an information recording medium, comprising:
a cartridge case having an opening to receive the information recording medium, and position parts within the cartridge case; and a cover detachably mounted to the cartridge case, the cover having prongs to hold the information recording medium, wherein, when the information recording medium is within the cartridge case, the information recording medium is rotatably held by the prongs, and is adjusted by the position parts to adjust a position of the information recording medium.
- 26. The cartridge as claimed in claim 25, wherein
the prongs have respective slots into which the information recording medium is received, the slots having a height greater than a thickness of the information recording medium, and the position parts extend from the cartridge case to define a space both narrower than the height of the slots and wider than the thickness of the information recording medium.
- 27. The cartridge as claimed in claim 25, wherein
the position parts extend from opposing walls of the cartridge case to adjust the position of the information recording medium between the opposing walls.
- 28. The cartridge as claimed in claim 25, wherein the position parts comprise circular bands attached to opposing interior walls of the cartridge case.
- 29. The cartridge as claimed in claim 28, wherein the cartridge case further comprises a spindle opening through which the information recording medium is chucked on a spindle, and wherein the position parts are disposed around the spindle opening.
- 30. The cartridge as claimed in claim 25, wherein the cartridge case further comprises a spindle opening through which the information recording medium is chucked on a spindle, and wherein the position parts comprise stepped parts extending from opposing interior walls of the cartridge case and are disposed around the spindle opening.
- 31. The cartridge as claimed in claim 25, wherein
the cartridge case further comprises first closing members on opposing sides, the cover further comprises second closing members on opposing sides, and the first and second closing members interweave when the cover is mounted to the cartridge case so as to cover the opening.
- 32. The cartridge as claimed in claim 31, wherein the first and second closing members extend out of a plane defined by the opening.
- 33. The cartridge as claimed in claim 31, wherein the first closing members extend from exterior edges of the cartridge case, where the exterior edges define opposing sides of the opening.
- 34. The cartridge as claimed in claim 33, wherein
the first closing members comprises ribs extending along the exterior edge, and the second closing members comprises rib recesses formed to receive the ribs such that the cover covers the opening of the cartridge case.
- 35. A method of inserting an information recording medium into a cartridge, comprising:
holding the information recording medium between prongs of a cover; inserting the information recording medium into a cartridge case through an opening in the cartridge case; adjusting the information recording medium within the cartridge case using position parts extending from an interior of the cartridge case; and interweaving first closing members of the cover and second closing members of the cartridge case so as to close the opening in the cartridge case.
- 36. A cartridge for an information recording medium, comprising:
a cartridge case having an opening to receive the information recording medium; an opening cover, detachably mounted to the cartridge case at the opening, to enable the information recording medium to be withdrawn or inserted with respect to the cartridge case, the opening cover having supporting ribs to support the information recording medium on an inner surface thereof; a pair of elastic pressure parts, elastically formed on the opening cover, to elastically support the information recording medium to hold the information recording medium relative to the opening cover when the opening cover is not attached to the cartridge case; receiving ribs integrally formed on leading ends of the pair of elastic pressure parts, respectively; intervening members, formed on opposite inner sidewalls of the cartridge case, to slidably contact the receiving ribs, respectively, so as to push the receiving ribs when the opening cover is inserted into the cartridge case so that the pair of elastic pressure parts widen in a lateral direction of the information recording medium relative to each other; a pair of coupling ribs formed on an opening cover attaching portion of the cartridge case; and rib recesses, formed in the opening cover, to receive the coupling ribs, respectively, wherein the coupling ribs and rib recesses fasten the opening cover to the cartridge case to prevent a gap between the opening cover and the cartridge case when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case.
- 37. A cartridge for an information recording medium, comprising:
a cartridge case having an opening to receive the information recording medium; an opening cover, detachably mounted to the cartridge case at the opening, to enable the information recording medium to be withdrawn or inserted with respect to the cartridge case, the opening cover having supporting ribs to support the information recording medium on an inner surface thereof; a pair of elastic pressure parts, elastically formed on the opening cover, to elastically support the information recording medium to hold the information recording medium relative to the opening cover when the opening cover is not attached to the cartridge case; receiving ribs integrally formed on leading ends of the pair of elastic pressure parts, respectively; intervening members, formed on opposite inner sidewalls of the cartridge case, to slidably contact the receiving ribs, respectively, so as to push the receiving ribs when the opening cover is inserted into the cartridge case so that the pair of elastic pressure parts widen in a lateral direction of the information recording medium relative to each other; and position parts formed on upper and lower inner surfaces of the cartridge case to position the information recording medium, which is accommodated in the cartridge case, upward/downward at an exact position.
- 38. The cartridge as claimed in claim 37, further comprising:
a pair of coupling ribs formed on an opening cover attaching portion of the cartridge case; and rib recesses, formed in the opening cover, to receive the coupling ribs, respectively, wherein the coupling ribs and rib recesses fasten the opening cover to the cartridge case to prevent a gap between the opening cover and the cartridge case when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case.
- 39. The cartridge as claimed in claim 37, wherein the position parts comprise stepped parts formed on upper and lower inner surfaces of the cartridge case, each of the stepped parts having a predetermined height equal to, or slightly greater than a thickness of each of the supporting ribs.
- 40. The cartridge as claimed in claim 37, wherein the position parts comprise circular bands, each of the circular bands having a predetermined height equal to, or slightly greater than the thickness of each of the supporting ribs.
- 41. The cartridge as claimed in claim 38, further comprising a gripping part formed on a front portion of the opening cover to enable a user to grip the opening cover.
- 42. The cartridge as claimed in claim 41, wherein:
the cartridge case comprises a sensing hole to sense a state of the information recording medium and a movement hole; and the opening cover comprises an opening/closing unit to selectively open and close the sensing hole, the opening/closing unit including
a rotary arm movably disposed about a pivot point on the opening cover, and at a position corresponding to the movement hole when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case, tension lever to movably support the rotary arm and bias the rotary arm to an initial position, a stopping projection formed on the rotary arm, and a stopping rib formed on the opening cover adjacent to a place corresponding to the sensing hole when the opening cover is attached to the cartridge case; wherein the stopping rib stops the stopping projection in response to the rotary arm being moved to the sensing hole to maintain the rotary arm in place, and the stopping projection releases from the stopping rib so that the rotary arm returns to the initial position by the tension lever in response to the rotary arm being pushed.
- 43. The cartridge as claimed in claim 42, wherein the sensing hole is an A1 hole is indicative of whether the disc has been exchanged with regard to the cartridge case.
Priority Claims (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
98-18684 |
May 1998 |
KR |
|
98-34561 |
Aug 1998 |
KR |
|
98-37104 |
Sep 1998 |
KR |
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/313,787, filed May 17, 1999 in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which claims the benefit of Korean Application Nos. 98-18684, filed May 23, 1998; 98-34561, filed Aug. 26, 1998; and 98-37104, filed Sep. 9, 1998, in the Korean Patent Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09313787 |
May 1999 |
US |
Child |
09949870 |
Sep 2001 |
US |