Claims
- 1. A cartridge loading apparatus for use with a disk drive having a cartridge loading end and a remote end, said cartridge loading apparatus comprising:
- a base plate having a first slider channel and a second slider channel;
- means for slidably supporting a fine actuator assembly carriage relative to said base plate for movement over an information storage disk having a central hub;
- a parking arm rotatably secured to said base plate about a parking arm axis, said parking arm including a linking end and a pressing end for acting upon the fine actuator assembly carriage;
- a first slider slidably associated with said first slider channel, said first slider having a forward end adjacent the cartridge loading end of the disk drive and a remote end adjacent the remote end of the disk drive;
- a second slider slidably associated with said second slider channel, said second slider having a forward end adjacent the cartridge loading end of the disk drive and a remote end adjacent the remote end of the disk drive, one of said first and second sliders having lug means formed thereon for engaging said linking end of said parking arm;
- a tiller having a first end and a second end, said first end of said tiller being swingably associated with said forward end of said first slider, and said second end of said tiller being swingably associated with said forward end of said second slider, so that a first rotation of said tiller in a first direction about a tiller axis drives said first slider toward the cartridge loading end of the disk drive while driving said second slider toward the remote end of the disk drive, and a second rotation of said tiller in a second direction about said tiller axis drives said first slider toward the remote end of the disk drive while driving said second slider toward the cartridge loading end of the disk drive;
- a cartridge receiver for receiving a respective cartridge containing the disk, said cartridge receiver being linked to said first and second sliders and tiltably moveable between an upper position and a lower position along a vertical path when said sliders are driven by said tiller;
- a cam operatively associated with said tiller for rotating said tiller about said tiller axis so that when said first and second sliders move said cartridge receiver between said upper and lower positions, said cartridge receiver, respective cartridge, and disk move along said vertical path so that the central hub is inclined relative to a spindle magnet for loading and unloading the disk thereon thereby reducing the force needed to remove the central hub from the spindle magnet while coordinating movement of the fine actuator assembly carriage by interaction of said parking arm with said one of said first and second sliders; and
- a jaw member positioned proximate said linking end of said parking arm, said jaw member having a first side and a second side which straddle said lug means so that when said one slider is moved toward the cartridge loading end of the disk drive, said lug means engages one of the sides of said jaw member thereby rotating said parking arm about said parking axis so that the pressing end of said parking arm acts against the fine actuator assembly carriage which is thereby moved away from the cartridge loading end of the disk drive allowing said respective cartridge to be loaded therein.
- 2. A cartridge loading apparatus for use with a disk drive having a cartridge loading end and a remote end, said cartridge loading apparatus comprising:
- a base plate having a first slider channel and a second slider channel;
- means for slidably supporting a fine actuator assembly carriage relative to said base plate for movement over an information storage disk having a central hub;
- a parking arm rotatably secured to said base plate about a parking arm axis, said parking arm including a linking end and a pressing end for acting upon the fine actuator assembly carriage;
- a first slider slidably associated with said first slider channel, said first slider having a forward end adjacent the cartridge loading end of the disk drive and a remote end adjacent the remote end of the disk drive;
- a second slider slidably associated with said second slider channel, said second slider having a forward end adjacent the cartridge loading end of the disk drive and a remote end adjacent the remote end of the disk drive, one of said first and second sliders having lug means formed thereon for engaging said linking end of said parking arm;
- a tiller having a first end and a second end, said first end of said tiller being swingably associated with said forward end of said first slider, and said second end of said tiller being swingably associated with said forward end of said second slider, so that a first rotation of said tiller in a first direction about a tiller axis drives said first slider toward the cartridge loading end of the disk drive while driving said second slider toward the remote end of the disk drive, and a second rotation of said tiller in a second direction about said tiller axis drives said first slider toward the remote end of the disk drive while driving said second slider toward the cartridge loading end of the disk drive;
- a cartridge receiver for receiving a respective cartridge containing the disk, said cartridge receiver being linked to said first and second sliders and tiltably moveable between an upper position and a lower position along a vertical path when said sliders are driven by said tiller;
- a cam operatively associated with said tiller for rotating said tiller about said tiller axis so that when said first and second sliders move said cartridge receiver between said upper and lower positions, said cartridge receiver, respective cartridge, and disk move along said vertical path so that the central hub is inclined relative to a spindle magnet for loading and unloading the disk thereon thereby reducing the force needed to remove the central hub from the spindle magnet while coordinating movement of the fine actuator assembly carriage by interaction of said parking arm with said one of said first and second sliders; and
- a jaw member positioned proximate said linking end of said parking arm, said jaw member having a first side and a second side which straddle said lug means so that when said one slider is moved toward the remote end of the disk drive, said lug means engages one of the sides of said jaw member thereby rotating said parking arm about said parking axis so that the pressing end of said parking arm is disengaged from the fine actuator assembly carriage which is thereby allowed to independently move along said means for slidably supporting the fine actuator assembly carriage.
- 3. The cartridge loading apparatus according to claims 1 or 2 wherein the maximum distance between said upper position and said lower position of said cartridge receiver is approximately 5 mm.
- 4. The cartridge loading apparatus according to either claims 1 or 3 further including a manually operated ejection button associated with one of said first and second sliders.
- 5. The cartridge loading apparatus according to either claims 1 or 3 further including an electric ejection means operatively associated with said tiller, wherein operation of said electric ejection means rotates said tiller to eject the disk cartridge from the disk drive.
- 6. The cartridge loading apparatus according to either claims 1 or 3 wherein a label end of the disk cartridge remains visible when the disk cartridge is loaded in the drive.
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 08/296,794, filed Aug. 25, 1994, still pending.
US Referenced Citations (54)
Foreign Referenced Citations (10)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0 216422 |
Apr 1987 |
EPX |
0 521 216 A2 |
Jan 1993 |
EPX |
0 594118 |
Apr 1994 |
EPX |
0 606911 |
Jul 1994 |
EPX |
0 609 024 A2 |
Aug 1994 |
EPX |
3930953 |
Mar 1990 |
DEX |
62-256285 |
Nov 1987 |
JPX |
63-81648 |
Apr 1988 |
JPX |
63-081648 |
Apr 1988 |
JPX |
5-101507 |
Apr 1993 |
JPX |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
296794 |
Aug 1994 |
|