The present invention relates to an optical disc drive for recording/reproducing data while rotating a disc, i.e., information recording medium, and an electronic apparatus.
An optical disc drive or apparatus is a data memorizing apparatus, for recoding data onto a disc surface or reproducing data recorded on the disc surface, under the condition of rotating the disc, i.e., the information recording medium.
In this optical disc drive, an electronic part (i.e., an optical head) having a semiconductor laser element, a laser receiving portion, etc., to be used as a signal writing means for recording data and as a signal readout means for reproducing data, is called “an optical pickup” or simply “a pickup”.
Also, as the discs, i.e., the data recording media can be listed the followings: for example, CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), CD-R (Compact Disk Recordable), CD-RW (Compact Disk ReWritable), DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory), DVD-R (Digital Versatile Disk Recordable: a postscript type DVD allowing writing only one (1) time), DVD-RW (one (1) of standards for rewritable type DVD), DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disk Random Access Memory), DVD+R (standard for the postscript type DVD), DVD+RW (one (1) of standards for rewritable type DVD), BD-ROM (Blu-ray (Registered trade mark) Disc Read Only Memory), BD-R (Registered trade mark) Disc Recordable), and BD-RE (Registered trade mark) Disc Rewritable), etc.
In general, the optical disc drive is mounted in an electronic apparatus, such as, a personal computer, etc., having a central processing unit (CPU) for executing access controls to the optical disc drive, and also calculating processes, etc. In general, the optical disc drive is called “half-height” type optical disc drive, if the electronic apparatus, into which it is to be mounted, is a desk-top type personal computer; on the other hand, it is called “slim” type optical disc, in general, if it is to be mounted in a notebook-type personal computer (a portable personal computer). Further, this half height means the thickness of the built-in drive is about 1.6 inches (=4.1 cm).
At the present, it is required to increase the data memory capacity to be much larger, for the optical disc drive.
Then, it is necessary to multiply the disc recording layer, but for enabling the multilayer recording, it is necessary to increase an optical output of the semiconductor laser higher than that for a single layer recording. As a result thereof, it brings about an abrupt increase of temperature of the semiconductor, and this reduces the lifetime of the element, and further, makes the following problem remarkable; i.e., lowering the quality of the optical disc drive due to deterioration of each of constituent elements.
In particular, in case of the slim type optical disc drive, since it is smaller in volume of the housing thereof than that of the half-height type optical disc drive, i.e., high-density mounting; therefore, the laser element is exposed in a temperature atmosphere higher than that of the half-height type optical disc drive. Also, since the temperature of the laser element shows the maximum when the optical pickup moves to the outermost peripheral position of the disc, because of a long time-time operation of the laser element, and/or a fact that the heat generated by the laser element stays at the outermost peripheral position due to an airflow generated by rotation of the disc, etc., then it is necessary to radiate the heat, effectively, which is generated by the laser element at this time.
As a countermeasure of this, in the following Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example, there is proposed a method for brining the optical pickup to radiate the heat, by means of an airflow passing through a ventilation opening, which is generated by circulation of the air accompanying with the rotation of the disc, while providing the ventilation opening on a supporting plate for the optical pickup, i.e., a decorative laminated board, in the vicinity of the outermost periphery of the disc.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 11-25667 (1999), (in particular, see columns 0012-0014, and
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-100561, (in particular, see column 0043, and
By the way, the position for attaching the laser element in the optical disc drive differs from, depending on each of the optical pickups, and further, in the multilayer recording mentioned above, it is impossible to increase the rotation speed of the disc, greatly, as can be in the single layer recording. Accordingly, only with provision of the ventilation opening on the decorative laminated board, as is disclosed in the Patent Documents 1 and 2, promotion of heat radiation cannot be achieved for the laser element, only by increasing the velocity of the airflow, locally, surrounding the laser element; therefore, it is impossible to dissolve the problem of lowering the quality due to generation of the heat.
Then, for the purpose of promoting the heat radiation of the laser element, each being attached at the different position for each optical pickup, a new structure is necessary for introducing the airflow generated by rotation of the disc, locally, up to the periphery of the laser element, when the laser element is moved to the outermost peripheral position of the disc where the temperature of the laser element shows the maximum value thereof.
In particular, in the multilayer recording where the rotation speed of the disc cannot be increased greatly, as well as, the output of the laser beams must be higher than that of the single layer recording, there is further necessity of a new structure for increasing the velocity of the airflow in the periphery of this laser element.
In this manner, in the optical disc drive, there is a technical problem to be dissolved that the lifetime of the laser element is shortened or lowered due to the increase of temperature of the laser element, and that performances of capacities of the optical disc drive are deteriorated.
An object according to the present invention, accomplished by taking the situations or drawbacks mentioned above into the consideration thereof, is to provide an optical disc drive and an electronic apparatus, for enabling to protect the laser element from deterioration of such performances or capacities thereof, such as, shortening or lowering of the lifetime of the laser element accompanying with an increase of temperature thereof, etc.
For accomplishing the object mentioned above, according to the present invention, firstly there is provided an optical disc drive, comprising: a disc tray member, which is configured to be used for loading/ejecting of a disc as information recording medium; an optical pickup member, which has a laser element for oscillating a laser light therefrom, to be irradiated on said disc; a disc rotating mechanism, which is configured to rotate said disc; a transferring mechanism, which is configured to move said optical pickup member between an inner periphery portion and an outer periphery portion of said disc; and a decorative laminated board, which is provided between said disc loaded and a controller portion mounted, wherein said decorative laminated board has a wind guidance opening, for guiding an air into an area facing to the laser element of said optical pickup member when said optical pickup member has moved to the outermost periphery portion of said disc to be rotated, and said disc tray member has a wind guidance wall portion on a surface thereof, facing to said optical pickup member having moved to an outermost periphery portion of said disc, extending from said wind guidance opening or vicinity thereof into a reversed rotation direction of said disc.
Further, according to the present invention, secondary, there is provided an electronic apparatus, having therein an optical disc drive, comprising: a disc tray member, which is configured to be used for loading/ejecting of a disc as information recording medium; an optical pickup member, which has a laser element for oscillating a laser light therefrom, to be irradiated on said disc; a disc rotating mechanism, which is configured to rotate said disc; a transferring mechanism, which is configured to move said optical pickup member between an inner periphery portion and an outer periphery portion of said disc; and a decorative laminated board, which is provided between said disc loaded and a controller portion mounted, wherein said decorative laminated board has a wind guidance opening, for guiding an air into an area facing to the laser element of said optical pickup member when said optical pickup member has moved to the outermost periphery portion of said disc to be rotated, and said disc tray member has a wind guidance wall portion on a surface thereof, facing to said optical pickup member having moved to an outermost periphery portion of said disc, extending from said wind guidance opening or vicinity thereof into a reversed rotation direction of said disc.
With to the optical disc drive according to the present invention, it is possible to achieve an optical disc drive and an electronic apparatus for enabling to protect the laser element from the deterioration of performances or capacities thereof, such as, shortening or lowering of the lifetime of the laser element accompanying with the increase of temperature thereof, etc.
Those and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be fully explained by referring to the attached drawings.
An embodiment of the present invention will be shown, as an example, in particular, when applying the present invention into a slim type optical disc drive (hereinafter, being called “an optical disc drive”).
In the optical disc drive D, according to the present embodiment, while paying an attention onto the fact that a laser element 8a goes up to high temperature when it reaches to the outermost peripheral portion of the disc 2 upon conducting recoding/reproducing with using the laser element 8a, a wind guidance opening 21 is drilled for guiding an airflow due to rotation of the disc 2 to an area or region of a decorative laminated board 10 facing to the laser element 8a, which has moved to the outermost peripheral portion of the disc 2, and also is provided a wind guidance wall 22 (10b) along with a smooth line, extending from an imaginary contact point 2a (see
However, with this wind guidance wall 22, a certain effect of guiding a wind can be obtained by providing the wall extending from the wind guidance opening 21 on the decorative laminated board 10 or the vicinity thereof in the reverse direction of rotation of the disc 2.
With this, an airflow produced due to rotation of the disc 2 when recording/reproducing, flowing into the clockwise direction gradually, as it moves from a central portion of the disc 2 to the outermost periphery, blows or puffs directing to the laser element 8a, which has moved to the outermost peripheral portion of the disc 2, through the wind guidance opening 21, after being bounded on the wind guidance wall 22 to be guided into the wind guidance opening 21, and thereby obtaining an effective cooling of the laser element 8a heated up to high temperature, and achieving an increase of performances or capacities thereof.
As is shown in
Hereinafter, detailed explanation will be made on the structures of each part of the optical disc drive D.
The mechanical chassis 12 shown in
Further, on the mechanical chassis 12 are mounted the spindle motor 4 for rotating the turntable 5, a stepping motor 13 for reciprocally moving the optical pickup member 7 through rotation of a reed screw 14 shown in
However, the reed screw 14 is coupled with a rotation shaft of the stepping motor 13, but not shown in the figure, and therefore the reed screw 14 is rotated in a normal/reverse direction through driving the stepping motor 13 into normal/reverse rotation thereof, and accompanying this, the optical pickup member 7 is moved, reciprocally, in the direction of the arrow “α1” in
Also, as is shown in
On the other hand, the other ends of the main shaft 16 and the auxiliary shaft 17 are put or inserted into through-holes drilled at coupling portions 19b and 19d (not shown in the figure, but drilled at the coupling portions 19b and 19d extending in the direction perpendicular to the sheet surface of
Herein, because the main shaft 16 and the auxiliary shaft 17 are fixed at the coupling portions 19b and 19d of the mechanical chassis 12 through the helical compression springs, i.e., due to an elastic function of the spring, compulsive or forced vibration of the mechanical chassis 12 accompanying the rotation of the disc 2 mounted or loaded on the turntable 5 is suppressed to transmit to the optical pickup member 7 mounting the laser element 8a, a laser light receiving element 8b, etc., thereon.
In this manner, since the compulsive or forced vibration is generated on the mechanical chassis 12, accompanying the rotation of the disc 2, when recording/reproducing data, the disc tray 3 is fixed on the mechanical chassis 12 through a vibration proof rubber 20 having viscosity resistance and a vibration attenuation effect.
Further, between the mechanical chassis 12 and the bottom place cover la is normally inserted an under cover, i.e., a thin plate-like member, but this is omitted in the figures attached herewith.
The optical pickup member 7 shown in
The structure for supporting the above-mentioned constituent elements of the optical pickup member 7 may be made from, such as, a zing die cast, a magnesium die cast, an aluminum die cast, etc. However, the zing die cast is preferable to the structure of the optical pickup member 7, because of lightweight thereof, and the zing die cast is suitable for mass production because of the cheap price; therefore, it is the most desirable.
On the optical pickup member 7 is fixed a coupling member 15, such as, a polyacetal nut, etc., spirally coupled with the reed screw 14, so as to move the optical pickup member 7 with rotation of the reed screw 14, in the axial direction thereof.
Also, portions 18a1 and 18a2 on one side-end of the optical pickup member 7 are provided sintered bearings (not shown in the figure), into both of which the main shaft 16 of the guiding shafts is inserted and penetrating through, and also into a portion 18b on the other side-end thereof is inserted the auxiliary shaft 17, to be held between up and down; i.e., the optical pickup member 7 is so constructed that it can be guided along the main shaft 16 and the auxiliary shaft 17.
With such structures, the reed screw 14 is rotated in the normal/reverse direction, through driving the stepping motor 13 into the normal/reserve rotation direction, and accompanying with the normal/reverse rotation of the reed screw 14, the coupling member 15 moves, and along two (2) pieces of the guiding shafts 16 and 17, the optical pickup member 7, to which the coupling member 15 is fixed, is moved, reciprocally, in the direction of the arrow “α1”, i.e., the radial direction of the disc 2.
The laser light oscillated or irradiated from the laser element 8a, which is mounted within the optical pickup member 7, passes through the optical unit not shown in the figure, to be irradiated from the optical lens 9 upon a recording layer of the disc 2, and thereby conducting the recording of data on the disc 2.
On the other hand, when reproducing the data recorded on the disc 2, the reflection light of the laser light oscillated from the laser element 8a, being reflected upon the disc 2, passes from the optical lens 9 through the optical unit, and is received and detected by the laser light receiving element 8b, and thereby conducing the reproducing.
However, the positions for attaching the laser element 8a and the laser light receiving element 8b shown in
For the purpose of promote the heat radiation for the laser element 8a, the attaching position of which differs from for each optical pickup member 7, when the optical pickup member 7 (see
Between the optical pickup member 7 shown in
The decorative laminated board 10 shown in
The decorative laminated board 10, as is shown in
Also, on the decorative laminated board 10 is drilled the wind guidance opening 21 of about a triangle shape, in an area or region nearly facing to the laser element 8a, when the optical pickup member 7 shown by the two-dotted broken lines in
The disc tray 3 is manufactured through an injection molding of the basic material of ABS (i.e., a copolymer synthetic resin of Acrylonitrile, Butadiene and Styrene) or the like, for example, and is formed into such a configuration that it covers the disc 2 loaded on the turntable 5, but not in contact with the rotating disc 2, with a certain clearance to that. Further, in general, a front surface portion of the disc tray 3 is called “a front bezel” 101.
As is shown in
Also, with the disc tray 3, on the reverse surface 3a thereof facing to the optical pickup member 7 moving to the outermost periphery of the disc loaded (see
When recoding and reproducing the data onto/from the disc 2 loaded, since vibration is generated in the mechanical chassis 12 accompanying with rotation of the disc 2, then as is shown in
The wind guidance wall 22 shown in
Next, explanation will be made on the reproducing/recording operation of the disc 2, which is loaded into the optical disc drive D.
Upon loading the disc 2 into the optical disc drive D, if a user pushes down an eject button not shown in the figure, the disc tray 3 is automatically moves on guides (not shown in the figure), which are provided within the drive D, and thereby, as is shown by an arrow “β2” in
Following to the above, the user puts the disc 2 on the turntable coupled with the spindle motor 4, and fixes it at a central opening of the disc 2 by the disc chuck 6 exposing from the opening portion 3k of the disc tray 3; thereby loading the disc 2 within the short column-like recess portion 3o of the disc tray 3.
Following to the above, when the user pushes the disc tray 3 mounting the disc 2 thereon into the optical disc drive D, as is shown by the arrow “β2” in
Following to the above, when the user pushes down a record/reproduce button, the spindle motor 4 is rotationally driven by the driver circuit mounted on the mechanical chassis 12, so that the disc 2 on the turntable 5 rotates into the clockwise direction (direction of the arrow “α2” shown in
In this manner, the optical pickup member 7 is moved from the inner periphery portion of the disc 2 into the outer peripheral direction thereof, so as to make record on the recording surface of the disc 2, by the laser light from the laser element 8a (see
Herein, when conducting multilayer (two (2) layers) recording and reproducing onto/from the disc 2, the optical pickup member 7 is moved from the inner periphery portion to the outer periphery portion of the disc 2 when conducting the recording/reproducing onto/from a first layer, and further it turns back form the outer periphery portion to the inner periphery portion of the disc 2 when conducting the recording/reproducing onto/from a second layer; thereby conducting the recording/reproducing with using the laser element 8a and the laser light receiving element 8b.
In this time, as is shown by the arrow “α1” in
With such structures as was mentioned above, when the optical pickup member 7 has moved to the outermost peripheral position of the disc 2 (i.e., the optical pickup member 7 shown by the solid lines in
However, those
As is shown in
For this reason, it is possible to increase the flow velocity of the air in the periphery of the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7, greatly, and thereby enabling the laser element 8a to radiate the heat generated therefrom, effectively, by means of a convection of air.
The graph in
As is shown in
As is shown in
Herein, the configuration of the wind guidance wall 22 may be in a shape like a curved line, as is shown in
In this manner, with changing the position and the configuration of the wind guidance opening drilled on the decorative laminated board 10, and also changing the position and the configuration of the wind guidance wall 22 formed on the disc tray 3, appropriately, depending on the position for attaching the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7, it is possible to obtain the effect of heat radiation promotion, in the similar manner to that in the first embodiment.
Next, explanation will be given on the optical disc drive D, according to a second embodiment, by referring to
However,
In the optical disc drive D2, according to the second embodiment, the wind guidance wall 22 formed on the disc tray 3, according to the first embodiment, is provided on the decorative laminated board 10, in the place of the disc tray 3, as a wind guidance wall 10b.
With the structures other than the above, since they are similar to those of the first embodiment, the detailed explanation thereof will be omitted, while attaching the same reference numerals to them.
Within the optical disc drive D2 according to the second embodiment, as is shown in
Also, as is shown in
When recoding and reproducing the data onto/from the disc 2 loaded, since vibration is generated in the mechanical chassis 12 accompanying with rotation of the disc 2, then as is shown in
In
With such structures as was mentioned above, when the optical pickup member 7 has moved to the outermost peripheral position of the disc 2 loaded, in other words, when it moves to such the position that temperature of the laser element 8a shows the maximum value thereof,
it is possible to guide a swirling airflow, which is generated along an outer edge of the disc 2, up to the wind guidance opening 21 along the wind guidance wall 10b provided on the decorative laminated board 10, and further to introduce the airflow, locally, up to the periphery of the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7 through the wind guidance opening 21.
Since it is possible to introduce the airflow on the outer edge of the disc, relatively high in the flow velocity thereof, smoothly, up to the vicinity of the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7, and therefore it is possible to increase the flow velocity of the airflow surrounding the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7 and in the vicinity thereof, greatly, thereby enabling the heat generated from the laser element 8a to radiate into the airflow, effectively, by the convection thereof.
Next, explanation will be given on a variation of the optical disc drive D2 according to the second embodiment, by referring to
The variation of the second embodiment has the structures for dealing with the case when changing is made on the position for attaching the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7.
In the second embodiment, when the position for attaching the laser element 8a differs from that shown in
However, the configuration of the wind guidance wall 10b′ may be in a shape like a curved line, as is shown in
Next, explanation will be given on a third embodiment, by referring to
The third embodiment has such structures that the wind guidance wall, following the wind guidance opening 21 on the decorative laminated board 10, is provided on both the disc tray 3 and the decorative laminated board 10, respectively.
In the third embodiment, as is similar to that shown in
Also, on the reverse surface 3a of the disc tray 3, i.e., the reverse surface 3a facing to the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7 (see
The wind guidance walls 22a and 22b shown in
With such structures as was mentioned above, when the optical pickup member 7 has moved to the outermost peripheral position of the disc 2 loaded on the turntable 5, thus when it moves to such the position that the temperature of the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7 shows the maximum value thereof, it is possible to guide the swirling airflow generating along the outer edge of the disc 2 up to the wind guidance opening 21 of the decorative laminated board 10, along the wind guidance walls 22a and 22b, and further to introduce the airflow, locally, to the periphery of the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7.
Accordingly, since the airflow on the outer edge of the disc 2, being relatively fast or high in the flow velocity thereof, can be introduced into the vicinity of the laser element 8a, smoothly, therefore it is possible to increase the flow velocity of the airflows surrounding the laser element 8a, greatly, and thereby to enable the heat generated from the laser element 8a to radiate into the airflow, effectively, by the convection thereof.
Also, as is shown in
Next, explanation will be given on a fourth embodiment, by referring to
As is shown in
With such structures as was mentioned above, when the optical pickup member 7 has moved to the outermost peripheral position of the disc 2, thus when it moves to such position that the temperature of the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7 shows the maximum value thereof, it is possible to guide the swirling airflow, generating with the rotation of the disc 2, into the wind guidance opening 21 along with the outer vertical wall 3d of the disc tray 3 and the wind guidance wall 22, and further to introduce the airflow, locally, into the surrounding or periphery of the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7 through the wind guidance opening 21.
However, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 5,the wind guidance wall 22 may be formed to stand perpendicular to the reverse surface 3a of the disc tray, or may be inclined. Or, the configuration of the wind guidance wall 22 may be a straight-line like, or may be a curved-line like, as is shown in
Next, explanation will be given on a fifth embodiment, by referring to
As is shown in
With such structures as was mentioned above, when the optical pickup member 7 has moved to the outermost peripheral position of the disc 2, thus when it moves to such position that the temperature of the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7 shows the maximum value thereof, it is possible to guide the airflow generating with the rotation of the disc 2, into the wind guidance opening 21 along with the wind guidance wall 22, and further to guide the airflow by the projection portion 23 provided on the reserve surface 3a of the disc tray, thereby to introduce that airflow, effectively, into the surrounding or periphery of the laser element 8a of the optical pickup member 7 through the wind guidance opening 21, as is shown by the arrow “γ4” in
As was mentioned above, in the first to the fifth embodiments, the gap “s1” is provided between the wind guidance wall 22 of the disc tray 3 and the decorative laminated board 10, as is shown in
As is shown in
In this manner, with provision of the sponge-like member 24a between the wind guidance wall 22 and the decorative laminated board 10, or with provision of the sponge-like member 24b between the between the wind guidance wall 22 and the disc tray 3, the compulsive or forced vibration can be attenuated by the sponge-like member(s) 24a and/or 24b.
Also, since the airflow generating with rotation of the disc 2 is blocked or prevented, as is shown in
As was mentioned above, the wind guidance wall(s), which is provided on the disc tray 3 or the decorative laminated board 10, or are provided on both of them, is/are provided, extending from the wind guidance opening 21 of the decorative laminated board 10 or the vicinity thereof into a reversed rotation direct of the disc 2, and therefore, the functions/effects mentioned above can be obtained.
According to the optical disc drive according to the present invention, since the airflow on the outer edge of the disc, having a relatively high or fast flow velocity thereof, can be introduced, smoothly, into the surrounding or the periphery of the laser element of the optical head member, therefore it is possible to radiate the heat generated from the laser element, effectively. With this, it is possible to restrain the laser element from deterioration of lifetime thereof, by suppressing the increase of temperature of the laser element, and thereby enabling to achieve an increase of performances or capacities of the optical disc drive.
However, the structures applied within the first to the fifth embodiments are able to achieve the promotion effect of heat radiation, also when recording and reproducing the disc 2, but other than the multiplayer recording mentioned above.
Also, in the first to the fifth embodiments mentioned above, the explanation was given on the example of the notebook-type personal computer, as the electronic apparatus applying the optical disc drive therein, for example, however as other electronic apparatuses than the notebook-type personal computer, into which the optical disc drive according to the present invention can be applied, may be the followings: an on-vehicle computer, such as, a car navigation system or the like, a camera loading an optical disc therein, a game machine, etc., for example, i.e., not restricted but applicable, widely, as far as it is an electronic apparatus loading the optical disc therein.
While we have shown and described several embodiments in accordance with our invention, it should be understood that disclosed embodiments are susceptible of changes and modifications without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, we do not intend to be bound by the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the ambit of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2008-110949 | Apr 2008 | JP | national |