The invention relates to an information carrier comprising a disc provided with positioning means which are arranged to cooperate with a disc drive turntable for positioning the disc on the turntable.
The invention further relates to a turntable.
Such an information carrier and turntable are known from practice. The information carrier may comprise, for example, a compact disc, a small form factor disc (SFF disc), or the like. The positioning means of the known information carrier comprise a central disc aperture. The known turntable comprises a fixed positioning shaft. During use, the disc is positioned on the turntable in that the disc is placed on the turntable such that said turntable shaft extends through said central disc aperture.
A problem of the known information carrier and the known turntable is that the disc has to be moved in an axial direction onto said turntable shaft when loading the disc into the respective disc playing and/or writing device. The same applies to the unloading of the information carrier. Consequently, a lot of space is required for the loading and unloading of the information carrier. For example, the disc is inserted horizontally into the loading mechanism of a regular half-height disc drive, after which the turntable with the turntable shaft is moved upward. In one other known loading mechanism, of a notebook computer, the disc is placed manually in a vertical direction onto the turntable, after which the turntable is inserted into the computer housing by a horizontal movement. In both mechanisms, consecutive horizontal and vertical movements are required for loading the information carrier. This is particularly disadvantageous for the case in which small form factors are desired, for example in miniaturized appliances, portable devices, and the like.
It is an object of the invention to provide an information carrier comprising a disc which can be accurately positioned on a respective turntable without needing a large amount of positioning space.
This object is achieved by the information carrier according to the invention, which carrier comprises a disc provided with positioning means which are arranged to cooperate with a disc drive turntable for positioning the disc on the turntable and which are at least movable relative to the disc in a transversal disc direction.
According to the present invention, said positioning means of the disc are at least movable in a transversal disc direction relative to the disc. Thus, the information carrier can be loaded onto a suitable turntable, for example by moving the information carrier in a longitudinal disc direction. After the information carrier disc and said turntable have been brought together, said positioning means are simply moved in a transversal disc direction relative to the disc for cooperation with the turntable, so that the positioning means and the turntable can position the disc as desired. The movement of the positioning means, consequently, does not have to involve a transversal movement of the disc itself. Therefore, the information carrier needs little space during the loading thereof. The unloading of the information carrier can be achieved by carrying out the above steps in reverse order.
The invention further provides a turntable which is characterized by the features of claim 12. Since the turntable is suitable for cooperation with the positioning means of an information carrier according to any of claims 1-11, the loading and/or unloading as well as the positioning of the information carrier can be carried out in a small area.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a turntable comprising a shaft for positioning a disc of an information carrier by a respective disc aperture is characterized in that said disc positioning shaft is substantially movable in an transversal direction with respect to a disc supporting surface of the turntable.
In this case it is the turntable, not the information carrier, which comprises transversally movable positioning means for positioning the disc on said disc supporting surface. The invention is based on the same inventive concept as above, making use of transversally movable positioning means. To load the disc, the disc positioning shaft is retracted into the turntable so that said disc supporting surface is substantially clear from any obstacles. In that situation the information carrier can be moved onto the turntable in a substantially longitudinal disc direction, so that the loading of the disc can be accomplished in a small loading space. When the disc has been properly placed onto the turntable, said positioning shaft can simply be moved in said transversal direction from the turntable into said disc aperture for an accurate positioning of the disc. The movement of the positioning shaft can be achieved with relatively simple means, for example using an actuator, magnetic force, or the like. Such a movable shaft is also relatively durable. A further advantage of this turntable is that the respective information carriers can be made relatively cheap and straightforward, each with a positioning aperture for positioning the disc on the shaft.
Besides, the present invention provides a device for reading information from and/or writing information onto an information carrier, which is characterized by the features of claim 16. Such a device benefits from the abovementioned advantages of said turntable. The reading and/or writing device can be utilized in many different appliances, for example computers, portable apparatuses, audio and/or video devices, and the like.
Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.
The invention will now be described in more detail on the basis of exemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying drawing.
The advantage of using a ball 3 as a positioning element is that there is relatively little friction between the ball 3 and the disc 2, allowing easy transversal movement of he ball 3. Besides, the spherical shape of this positioning element 3 provides for an automatic, precise repositioning of the disc 3 during the movement of the ball 3 towards said second ball position if the ball 3 is not perfectly aligned with the positioning aperture 7 of the turntable 4. Such a repositioning is achieved, for example, under the influence of the force which attracts the ball 3 into said conical positioning aperture 7 during the longitudinal movement of the disc. Furthermore, the turntable 4 shown in
Said transversal movement of said positioning means 3 as well as the maintenance of these positioning means in said second transversal position can be achieved in different ways. According to a relatively simple embodiment, a magnetic force can move and retain the positioning means 3. For example, said turntable may comprise a magnet 8 for attracting said positioning element 3, provided that the positioning element 3 contains a suitable material.
In this third embodiment, said cassette 101 is arranged for moving the positioning shaft 103. This is simply achieved by a movable cassette part 112 which is connected to said positioning shaft 103. Movement of said movable cassette part 112, for example under the influence of an external force, leads to the axial movement of the positioning shaft 103. Said movement of the cassette part 112 may be achieved, for example, by an external mechanical force acting thereon during the loading of the cassette towards the turntable 104. The advantage of a transversally movable positioning shaft 103, as shown in
More particularly, the cassette 101 comprises a resilient wall part 106 extending alongside the disc 111. The disc positioning shaft 103 is connected to this wall part 106 by a shaft end. The resilient wall part 106 is slightly bent away from the disc 1, such that the wall part 106 retains the positioning shaft 103 in said first shaft position if substantially no mechanical force is applied to said wall part 106. When the cassette has been loaded towards the turntable 104, as is shown in
Although the illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those embodiments. Various changes, modifications or combinations may be effected by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope or the spirit of the invention as defined in the claims.
Said positioning means may be moved in a transversal disc direction by different forces acting thereon, for example by magnetic force, by gravity, by an elastic force, a spring force, by combinations of such forces, and/or by means of other forces. Said magnetic force may be produced, for example, by one or more permanent magnets, an electric motor for rotating the turntable, and/or electromagnets. Moreover, the information carrier may comprise magnetic means, such as a permanent magnet and/or magnetic conductor material, for obtaining a suitable magnetic field.
Besides, the positioning means may comprise, for example, a flexible part of said disc.
The positioning element may have various shapes and dimensions. For example, a small form factor positioning element, for example a small spherical or cylindrical shaft, may have a diameter of about 5 mm or less, more specifically about 1 mm or less.
Furthermore, the positioning means are movable in a transversal disc direction T relative to the disc, and may also be movable in different directions.
The information carrier may be provided in a variety of shapes and dimensions. Preferably, said disc also has a small form factor, for example a disc having a diameter of about 3 cm or less. Information may be carried in various ways by said disc, for example optically, magnetically, or otherwise. The disc may already carry such information. Besides, the disc may be arranged to be provided with information, for example by means of a disc writing device.
The turntable may be arranged in several ways. The turntable may, for example, comprise clamping means for clamping the information carrier to the table. Such clamping means may be arranged to clamp the disc against the turntable after the disc has been properly positioned by said positioning means.
Besides, the information carrier and/or said disc may have various shapes, for example round, angular, or other shapes.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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03102540.6 | Aug 2003 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB2004/051368 | 8/3/2004 | WO | 00 | 2/9/2006 |