HK1059145B - Cartridge for an information recording medium - Google Patents

Description

Information recording medium cassette

This application is a divisional application filed on the application date of 20/5 1999, under the application number 99106785.1, entitled "cassette for information recording medium".

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a loading tray for accommodating and protecting an information recording medium such as an optical disc so that information can be recorded to and/or reproduced from the optical disc. More particularly, the present invention relates to a loading cassette having an information recording medium holding device, which enables a user to replace an information recording medium without directly touching the information recording medium, and prevents the information recording medium from being separated from the loading cassette while the user replaces the information recording medium.

Background

As is generally known, an optical disc loading cartridge protects a disc such as an optical disc from dust, fingerprints, scratches, etc., so that information can be recorded to and/or reproduced from the optical disc without errors. Such a cartridge includes a case generally made of synthetic resin, and an open cover for selectively opening/closing an optical disc entrance of the case.

An example of a conventional optical disc cartridge is shown in fig. 1. In fig. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a cartridge loading casing having an upper casing and a lower casing which are coupled to each other to define a space therebetween. An optical disk d is accommodated in a space defined by the upper and lower cases. A circular (round shaft) opening 10a and an extended opening 10b are formed on the upper and lower cases. Accordingly, the turntable and the clamper (not shown) of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus are advanced through the circular opening 10a, and the recordable side of the optical disk d is exposed to an optical reading apparatus (optical pick up) through the extended opening 10 b. A slide door 12 is slidably provided on the cartridge housing 10 to selectively open/close the circular opening 10a and the extension opening 10 b. The slide door 12 is automatically opened/closed in accordance with insertion and removal of the disc loading tray with respect to the optical recording/reproducing apparatus.

Further, a plurality of detection holes 10c, 10d, 10e, and 10f are formed in the cartridge loading casing 10, and correspond to a plurality of detection switches of the optical recording/reproducing device into which the cartridge is to be selectively inserted. The state of the optical disc d can be detected. The detection holes 10c, 10d, 10e and 10f are divided into an a1 hole 10c for detecting whether the optical disk d is taken out of the cassette case 10; an a2 hole 10d for detecting whether the optical disk d is a single-sided disk or a double-sided disk; a free hole 10e for additional functions; and a protection hole 10f for preventing information from being recorded on the optical disc d. In addition to the detection holes 10c, 10d, 10e, and 10f, additional holes such as position holes are formed in the loading cassette housing 10, although not shown in the drawings.

Further, an open cover 14 is hinged on the rear side of the cartridge case 10 to allow insertion or removal of the optical disk d with respect to the cartridge case 10. A plurality of holes 14a are formed on the opening cover 14, which correspond to the detection holes 10c, 10d, 10e, and 10f, respectively. A lock lever 14b is provided on the open cover 14 so as to be locked into a lock hole 10g of the cartridge case 10, and a protection arm and a protection rib (not shown) are integrally formed on the cartridge case 10 by injection molding. The protection arm is disposed in the protection hole 10f, and the protection rib is locked to the protection arm.

First, the a1 hole 10c is closed by the protection rib. Then, if the optical disk d is taken out from the inside of the cartridge case 10, the rib is ejected to open the a1 hole 10 c. Therefore, when the optical disc cartridge is inserted into the optical recording/reproducing device, the detection switch of the optical recording/reproducing device is inserted into the a1 hole 10c, thereby determining that the optical disc d has been replaced. As a result, the authentication process on the optical disc d is performed. If the optical disk d accommodated in the cartridge case 10 is single-sided, or when the optical disk cartridge is of a type that does not allow the optical disk d to be replaced, the a2 hole 10d is removed.

Therefore, when the conventional disc cartridge of the above-described structure is inserted into the optical recording/reproducing apparatus, the slide door 12 of the cartridge case 10 is moved in a predetermined direction (upper left direction of fig. 1) by a slide door opening/closing device (not shown), and thus the circular opening 10a and the extension opening 10b of the cartridge case 10 are opened. At the same time, the rotatable clamper of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus is pushed through the circular opening 10a, thereby positioning and clamping the optical disk d.

Further, a positioning pin (not shown) of the optical recording/reproducing apparatus is inserted into the positioning hole, thereby determining the position of the optical disc loading tray with respect to the optical recording/reproducing apparatus. Next, the detection switches of the optical recording/reproducing device are selectively inserted into the detection holes 10c, 10d, 10e, and 10f and the corresponding holes 14a of the opening cover 14, thereby determining the state of the optical disc d. When the detection switch corresponding to the a1 detection hole 10c is not inserted into the a1 detection hole 10c, it is determined that the optical disk d is not replaced, and thus information can be directly recorded onto the optical disk d without a verification process. When the corresponding detection switch is inserted into the a1 hole 10c, it is determined that the optical disk d has been replaced, and thus an authentication process is performed, and then information is recorded on the optical disk d. Further, when the corresponding detection switch corresponding to the a2 hole 10d is inserted into the a2 hole 10d, it is determined that the optical disk d is double-sided, and if not, it is determined that the optical disk d is single-sided. When the corresponding detection switch is inserted into the protection hole 10f, it is determined that the function of preventing information recording/deletion is selected.

Meanwhile, in the above-described optical disc cartridge, the optical disc d accommodated in the cartridge case is replaceable. When replacing the optical disk d, first, the user opens the open cover 14 hinged at the rear side of the loading tray case 10. The user then tilts the cartridge case 10 and manually pulls out the optical disk d, thereby sliding the optical disk d out of the cartridge case 10. The user must hold the optical disk d by hand, also when putting the optical disk d into the loading cassette housing 10.

Therefore, in order to replace the optical disk, after opening the open cover 14, the user must hold the recordable side of the optical disk by hand while the user removes or inserts the optical disk with respect to the cartridge case. Therefore, there arises a problem that the recordable side of the optical disc may be damaged by scratches, fingerprints, and the like, which are generated when the user replaces the optical disc.

Further, when the cartridge case and the opening cover are deformed during the manufacturing process, a gap is formed between the cartridge case and the opening cover, and thus foreign substances such as dust may reach the optical disc through the gap. Errors may occur in recording and/or reproducing information to/from the optical disc.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a cartridge that is capable of coupling/decoupling an open cover with respect to a cartridge case so that an optical disc can be automatically loaded into or removed from the cartridge case, thereby preventing the optical disc from being damaged by manual replacement.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a loading cassette for preventing foreign objects from entering the inside of a loading cassette casing by ensuring that there is no gap between the loading cassette casing and an opening cover when the opening cover is attached to the loading cassette casing (when the opening of the loading cassette casing containing an optical disk is in a closed state (closed)).

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention can be achieved by providing a cartridge for information recording media, wherein the cartridge includes a cartridge housing; an opening cover detachably mounted at the rear side opening of the cartridge case so that the information recording medium can be taken out of or inserted into the cartridge case; and a holding device for preventing the information recording medium from moving by supporting the information recording medium when the information recording medium is received in and/or removed from the loading cassette casing.

Here, the chucking device includes a pair of elastic pressure members elastically formed on the opening cover, elastically supporting the information recording medium to prevent the information recording medium from moving relative to the opening cover when the opening cover is not attached to the loading cassette casing; and a releasing means for releasing the pair of elastic pressing members when the opening cover is attached to the loading cartridge casing so that the information recording medium can rotate within the loading cartridge casing.

According to one aspect of the invention, the space between the pair of resilient pressure members is widened to a maximum value smaller than the width of the loading cassette casing. The holding device further includes a supporting rib having a guide groove for guiding the information medium while the information recording medium is fixed with respect to the opening cover.

The releasing means includes receiving ribs integrally formed at front ends of the pair of elastic pressing members, respectively, and an intervening member formed on the opposite inner side walls of the loading cartridge case to slidably contact the receiving ribs so that the pair of elastic pressing members are widened in the lateral direction of the information recording medium by pushing the receiving ribs when the opening cover is inserted into the loading cartridge case. Here, the receiving rib has an outwardly inclined surface and has a predetermined inclination, and the intervening member has a receiving recess having an inclined surface corresponding to the outwardly inclined surface. The intervening component may be wedge-shaped or cylindrical.

According to another aspect of the invention, the loading cassette further comprises means for securely fixing the opening cover to the loading cassette casing to prevent a gap from occurring between the opening cover and the loading cassette casing when the opening cover is attached to the loading cassette casing.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the cartridge further comprises positioning means for positioning the information recording medium accommodated in the cartridge housing at an upper/lower accurate position.

Further, the loading cassette of the present invention further comprises a grip part formed at a front portion of the opening cover. Symbols or letters are printed on the gripping member to indicate the first and second sides of the information medium.

Meanwhile, an optical disc, which can optically record and/or reproduce information, is preferably used as the information recording medium. A slide door for selectively opening/closing the circular opening and the extended opening formed in the cartridge case is slidably provided with respect to the cartridge case.

Therefore, the information recording medium can be inserted into or taken out from the cartridge case via the opening cover for supporting the information recording medium, which is supported by the chucking device, and which can be attached to or detached from the cartridge case, with the result that the user does not have to directly touch the information recording medium, whereby damage to the optical disk due to fingerprints, scratches, etc. can be prevented.

Drawings

The above objects and advantages will be more apparent by describing the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional optical disc loading tray;

fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an optical disc loading tray according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view showing the optical disc loading cartridge of fig. 2 after being completely assembled;

fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line I-I of fig. 3, showing an open cover coupled to a cartridge case of the optical disc cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention; and

fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of fig. 3, showing a state of an optical disc accommodated in the cartridge case of the optical disc cartridge shown in fig. 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a disc cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 3 shows the disc cartridge fully assembled, fig. 4 shows an open cover coupled to the disc cartridge, and fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a disc accommodated inside a cartridge case shown in fig. 2.

In the description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the information recording medium refers to an optical disc. It should be noted that the information recording medium is not limited to the optical disc of the present invention solely.

As shown in the drawings, the optical disc cartridge according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a cartridge housing 30, a sliding door 50, and an opening cover 70. A space is defined in the cartridge case 30, and an optical disk d is accommodated in the space. The slide door 50 is provided on the cartridge housing 30 to selectively open/close a circular (round shaft) opening 30a and an extended opening 30b of the cartridge housing 30. The opening cover 70 is detachably mounted to the disc entrance 37 at the rear side of the loading cassette housing 30.

Further, the optical disc loading cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of detection holes 30c, 30d, 30e, and 30 f; an opening/closing device; and a disc holding device. The plurality of sensing holes 30c, 30d, 30e and 30f perform the same function as the plurality of sensing holes 10c, 10d, 10e and 10f, respectively. Accordingly, when a plurality of detection switches (not shown) provided to an optical recording/reproducing apparatus are selectively inserted into the detection holes 30c, 30d, 30e, and 30f, the state of the optical disc d can be determined. The opening/closing means selectively opens/closes the sensing holes 30c, 30d, 30e and 30f according to the state of the optical disc d. A disc holding means is provided on the open cover 70 to hold the disc d when exchanging the disc, whereby the disc d can be taken out from the cartridge case 30 and/or inserted into the cartridge case 30 through the open cover 70.

Here, the sliding door 50, the sensing holes 30c, 30d, 30e, and 30f, and the sensing hole opening/closing means are not essential elements of the embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, these elements will not be described in detail, but only the disc clamp device will be described in detail later.

An arc-shaped rib 32 is formed at an inner side of the cartridge case 30 by injection molding to support the optical disk d. A plurality of detection holes 30c, 30d, 30e and 30f are formed on the upper and lower cases of the loading cartridge case 30 in a diagonal direction so that the state of the optical disc d accommodated in the loading cartridge case 30 can be detected by an optical recording/reproducing apparatus (not shown). For the cartridge case for a single-sided optical disc, it is preferable that a plurality of detection holes 30c, 30d, 30e, and 30f be formed on the upper or lower case of the cartridge case 30. Further, locking recesses 30h are formed on opposite inner side walls of the cartridge case 30, more specifically, in the vicinity of the disc entrance 37 to which the opening cover 70 is attached. Here, the arc-shaped ribs 32 have a diameter larger than that of the optical disk d to allow the optical disk d accommodated in the cartridge case 30 to smoothly rotate.

The sliding door 50 is used to open the circular opening 30a and the extended opening 30b of the cassette housing 30. When the optical disc loading cartridge is inserted into the optical recording/reproducing device, the sliding door 50 is moved in a predetermined direction by the sliding door opening/closing means, thereby opening the circular opening 30a and the extended opening 30 b. Here, the width W of the sliding door 50 is larger than the diameter D of the circular opening 30a, and the diameter D of the circular opening 30a is larger than the diameter of a rotatable clip (not shown) for rotating and holding the optical disk D, so that the turntable and the clip smoothly advance through the circular opening 30 a.

Similar to a drawer, the opening cover 70 is attached to or detached from the loading cassette housing 30 by pulling/pushing, and a pair of locking projections 46 are formed at opposite sides of the opening cover 70 to match with the locking notches 30h of the loading cassette housing 30. Therefore, when the open cover 70 is pushed into the disc entrance 37 of the loading cartridge case 30, the locking projections 46 of the open cover 70 are firmly locked in the locking recesses 30h of the loading cartridge case 30, respectively, so that the open cover 70 is firmly attached to the loading cartridge case 30. Also, tension ribs 48 are formed at both sides of the opening cover 70 to release the locking protrusions 46 when the opening cover 70 is detached from the loading cassette housing 30. More specifically, if the user pushes the tension rib 48 while pulling out the opening cover 70, the locking projection 46 is unlocked from the corresponding locking notch 30h, so that the opening cover 70 can be detached from the loading cassette housing 30.

Meanwhile, opening/closing means for selectively opening/closing the a1 hole 30c are provided on both sides of the opening cover 70, and more specifically, at positions corresponding to the detection holes 30c, 30d, 30e and 30f, particularly, at positions corresponding to the a1 hole 30 c. The opening/closing means includes a moving hole 30g, a rotation arm 52, and a tension lever 54. The moving holes 30g are respectively formed on the opening covers 70 in such a manner that these moving holes 30g include the a1 holes 30 c. In other words, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, one a1 hole 30c is formed on a part of the moving hole 30 g. Each a1 hole 30c is connected to each motion hole 30g that provides a space for the pivot arm 52 to move within. The rotation arm 52 is movably provided at a position corresponding to the movement hole 30g on the opening cover 70. The tension lever 54 extends from the opening cover 70 to movably support the swivel arm 52 and return the swivel arm 52 to its original position. As shown in fig. 3, a stopper projection 56 is integrally formed on the rotation arm 52, and a stopper rib 58 corresponding to the stopper projection 56 shown in fig. 3 is formed on the opening cover 70 at a position adjacent to the hole 30c corresponding to a 1. Therefore, when the rotation arm 52 moves toward the a1 hole 30c, the stop projection 56 is caught by the stop rib 58, so that the rotation arm 52 is held at a position to which the rotation arm 52 is moved. When the rotation arm 52 is pushed, the stop protrusion 56 is released from the stop rib 58, so that the rotation arm 52 is returned to its original position by the tension of the tension rib 54.

Further, a disc holding device, which is a main feature of the present invention, is provided on the opening cover 70 and the loading cassette housing 30. The disc clamp device includes a pair of elastic pressing members 44, supporting ribs 38 and 40, and a release means. The elastic pressure members 44 extend from both sides of the open cover 70 to define a space (disc accommodating space) therebetween, and have elasticity toward the middle of the open cover 70 to elastically support the disc d in the transverse direction. The supporting ribs 38 and 40 are formed along the disc supporting portion of the opening cover 70 and have guide grooves for receiving the edge of the disc d. The releasing means widens the space between the elastic pressure members 44 elastically supporting the optical disk d so that the optical disk d can smoothly rotate when the opening cover 70 is coupled to the loading cassette housing 30.

The releasing means includes a receiving rib 42 formed on the opening cover 70, and an intervening member 34 formed on the cartridge case 30. The receiving ribs 42 have respective outwardly inclined surfaces 42a formed at the front ends of the elastic pressure members 44. Intervening components 34 are wedge-shaped and are formed on opposing interior sidewalls of cassette shell 30 at locations corresponding to receiving ribs 42. The intervening member 34 is provided with a receiving recess 34a having an inclined surface 34b corresponding to the outwardly inclined surface 42a of the receiving rib 42. Therefore, when the opening cover 70 is attached to the loading cassette housing 30, the outwardly inclined surfaces 42a of the receiving ribs 42 and the inclined surfaces 34b of the intervenient member 34 are brought into contact with each other, so that the receiving ribs 42 are inserted into the receiving recesses 34a of the intervenient member 34, respectively. Thus, the elastic pressure members 44 are pushed away from each other in the lateral direction. Here, as shown in fig. 3, the supporting ribs are respectively formed as first supporting ribs 38 and second supporting ribs 40, wherein the supporting ribs 38 are formed on the two elastic pressure members 44 to support the middle portion of the optical disk d in the lateral direction, and the second supporting ribs 40 are formed on the open cover 70 to support the optical disk d from the rear portion of the loading cassette housing 30. Alternatively, the first support ribs 38 may extend to the second support ribs, respectively. Therefore, the supporting ribs 38 and 40 may be integrally formed along the disc supporting member of the opening cover 70, although this is not shown in the drawings.

Further, the intervening component 34 may be wedge-shaped with a receiving recess 34a as shown, or alternatively, the intervening component 34 may be cylindrical, although this is not shown in the figures. The cylindrical intervening member pushes the receiving rib 42 while sliding along the outwardly inclined surface 42a of the receiving rib 42.

By using the opening cover 70 having the above disc holding device, the optical disc d can be inserted into or removed from the cartridge housing 30 without directly contacting the optical disc d. More specifically, when the optical disk d is replaced (or exchanged), the open cover 70 is disengaged from the loading cassette housing 30, so that the optical disk d is taken out of the loading cassette housing 30 together with the open cover 70 while the optical disk holding device supports the optical disk d. Because the receiving rib 42 at the front end of the elastic pressure member 44 is laterally widened by inserting the receiving rib 42 into the receiving recess 34a of the intervenient member 34 of the loading cassette housing 30 when the opening cover 70 is attached to the loading cassette housing 30. When the open cover 70 is drawn to be disengaged from the loading cassette housing 30, the elastic pressure member 44 is returned to its original position by removing the receiving rib 42 from the receiving recess 34a of the intervenient member 34, so that the elastic pressure member 44 elastically supports the optical disk d. After a new optical disk d is replaced to be supported by the disk chucking apparatus of the open cover 70, the open cover 70 including the optical disk d is attached to the cartridge housing 30 such that the receiving rib 42 of the elastic pressing member 44 is inserted into the receiving recess 34a of the intervenient member 34 of the cartridge housing 30. Accordingly, the elastic pressure members 44 are pushed away from each other, and the optical disk d can smoothly rotate within the loading cassette housing. Here, when the elastic pressure members 44 are pushed away from each other by the release means, it is preferable that the maximum width between the elastic pressure members 44 is smaller than the width of the cartridge case 30.

Due to the structure and operation of the disc holding device, the optical disc d accommodated in the cartridge housing 30 can be taken out through the open cover 70 without damage.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line I-I of fig. 3, showing the opening cover 70 attached to the cartridge case 30. As shown in fig. 4, the optical disc loading cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes means for fastening the opening cover 70 to the loading cartridge case 30, thereby preventing a gap from occurring between the opening cover 70 and the loading cartridge case 30. The fastening means comprises a connecting rib 81 and a rib notch 82. The coupling ribs 81 are formed on the upper and lower cases 36a, 36b of the cartridge case 30, respectively, and more specifically, at positions corresponding to the portions of the opening cover 70 coupled to the cartridge case 30. A rib recess 82 is formed in the opening cover 70 to receive the connection rib 81. Since the connection rib 81 is fitted in the rib notch 82, there is no gap between the opening cover 70 and the loading cassette housing 30 when the opening cover 70 is connected to the loading cassette housing 30. Therefore, foreign objects such as dust do not enter the inside of the cartridge case 30.

Further, the optical disc cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes a positioning means for accurately positioning up/down the optical disc d received in the cartridge housing 30. As shown in fig. 5, the positioning means includes step parts 91 and 92 formed at a predetermined height on the upper and lower inner surfaces of the cartridge case 30, respectively. In addition, the positioning means may comprise circular strips having a predetermined height, which are attached to the upper and lower inner surfaces of the cartridge case 30. Here, the height of the step parts 91 and 92, or the height of the circular strips, is equal to or greater than the thickness of the support ribs 38.

Since the positioning means of the cartridge case 30 has the step parts 91 and 92, or the circular strips, the optical disk d accommodated in the cartridge case 30 is adjusted up/down and positioned at an accurate position. Therefore, when a user attempts to take out an optical disk d contained in another loading tray housing by using the opening cover 70 including the chucking device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the user may only need to attach the opening cover 70 to the loading tray housing of the other optical disk loading tray. Then, the optical disk d is taken out from the other optical disk loading cassette while being supported by the chucking device of the opening cover 70 of the loading cassette housing 30.

Further, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the optical disc loading cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes a clamping member 93 formed on the front surface of the opening cover 70. Therefore, the user holds the grip member 93 by hand, and uses the grip member 93 to attach the opening cover 70 to the loading cassette housing 30 or detach the opening cover 70 from the loading cassette housing 30. Symbols or letters may be printed on the chucking member 93 to indicate the first and second sides of the optical disk d. Therefore, the user can easily distinguish each side of the optical disc d.

Hereinafter, the operation of the above-structured optical disc loading cartridge is described in more detail.

First, the operation processes of inserting the disc loading cassette into the optical recording/reproducing apparatus, i.e., the operation steps of opening the slide door 50, positioning and clamping the optical disc d, disc state detection, etc., are omitted because they have been described earlier in the description of the related art. Hereinafter, the operation of the disc clamp device will be described.

To exchange the optical disk d for a bare disk d whose state has been verified in the loading tray cover 30, the user removes the protective rib protecting the information recorded on the optical disk d, and pushes the tension rib 48 inward onto the open cover 70, and manually pulls out the open cover 70. Accordingly, the locking projection 46 locked in the locking notch 30h is released, and the opening cover 70 is disengaged from the loading cassette housing 30.

In this case, the elastic pressure member 44 returns to its original position, and thus the optical disk d is elastically supported by the elastic pressure member 44 and taken out together with the opening cover 70. More specifically, when the user gently pulls out the opening cover 70 while pushing the tension rib 48 of the opening cover 70, the receiving rib 42 is separated from the receiving recess 34a of the intervenient member 34, and the elastic pressure members having pushed away from each other in the lateral direction are thereby brought close to each other to firmly clamp the optical disk d.

In this state, the user separates the optical disk d from the open cover 70, and places the bare disk d, the state of which has been verified, so as to be supported by the optical disk holding means of the open cover 70. Then, the user pushes the opening cover 70 into the disc entrance 37 of the loading cartridge housing 30 until the locking projection 46 of the opening cover 70 is locked into the locking notch 30h of the loading cartridge housing 30. Accordingly, the outwardly inclined surface 42a of the receiving rib 42 of the elastic pressing member 44 is brought into contact with the inclined surface 34b of the intervening member 34 and then received into the receiving recess 34a of the intervening member 34. As a result, the elastic pressure members 44 are widened outward in the lateral direction from each other, so that the optical disk d can smoothly rotate within the loading cassette housing 30.

Meanwhile, the opening cover 70 of the optical disc loading case of the present invention is useful when an optical disc having a diameter of 8cm is used instead in an optical recording/reproducing apparatus for an optical disc having a diameter of 12 cm.

As described above, according to the optical disc cartridge of the present invention, a user can receive or remove an optical disc into or from the cartridge case through an open cover by attaching or detaching the open cover capable of holding the optical disc to or from the cartridge case. Therefore, the user does not need to directly touch the optical disc when replacing the optical disc. As a result, the optical disc can be protected from damage caused by fingerprints, scratches, and the like.

Further, according to the optical disc cartridge of the present invention, there is no gap between the cartridge case and the open cover, and thus no error occurs in the recording and reproducing information recorded on and/or read from the optical disc due to the prevention of the entry of foreign matter.

Further, according to the disc loading tray of the present invention, the user has greater convenience in handling the disc by using the open cover without directly contacting the disc d.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims (15)

1. A cartridge for a disk recording medium, comprising:

a cassette housing having an accommodating space for accommodating a disk recording medium and an opening provided at one side thereof;

an opening cover detachably mounted at an opening of the cassette housing, the opening cover having an extension member for holding and guiding a disk recording medium so that the disk recording medium can be taken out of or inserted into the cassette housing through the opening cover,

wherein the extension member is an elastic body integrally formed at both sides of the open cover, and has an inner side in an open arc shape for accommodating and holding the disk recording medium and an outer side for guiding the open cover to be inserted into the cassette housing.

2. A cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said extension member has an elastic pressing force toward an inner side for elastically holding an edge of said disk recording medium in a lateral direction.

3. A cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a support rib having a guide groove for guiding the disc recording medium to be accommodated between the extension members of the open cover is provided inside the extension members.

4. A cartridge according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the front section of the extension member is provided with a receiving rib for expanding the extension member by pushing the rib and releasing the held disk recording medium when the opening cover is inserted into the cartridge case.

5. The carrying case of claim 4, wherein the carrying case housing is provided at both inner sides thereof with an intervening member for slidably contacting and pushing the receiving rib of the extension member.

6. The carrying case of claim 4, wherein the receiving rib has an outwardly inclined surface for spreading the extension member by pushing the inclined surface with sliding contact when the opening cover is inserted into the carrying case.

7. The carrying case of claim 5, wherein the intervening member is a wedge-shaped post and forms a receiving recess with the inner wall of the carrying case casing, the recess having a receiving space for the extending member receiving rib, and the wedge-shaped post slidably contacts the surface of the receiving rib.

8. The carrying case of claim 5, wherein the intervening member is a circular post and forms a receiving recess with the inner wall of the carrying case casing, the recess having a receiving space for the extending member receiving rib, and the circular post slidably contacts the receiving rib surface.

9. A cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the cartridge housing is provided with positioning means for positioning the upper and lower portions of the disk recording medium accurately when the disk recording medium is released by the extension member inserted into the cartridge housing.

10. The cassette of claim 9, wherein said positioning means comprises step members formed on upper and lower surfaces within said cassette housing, each step member having a predetermined height.

11. The carrying case of claim 10, wherein the predetermined height of each of the step members is equal to or slightly greater than the thickness of each of the supporting ribs of the extension member.

12. A cartridge according to claim 9, wherein the positioning means comprises circular strips attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the cartridge shell, each circular strip having a predetermined height.

13. The carrying case of claim 12, wherein the predetermined height of each circular strip is equal to or slightly greater than the thickness of each supporting rib of the extension member.

14. A cartridge according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the opening cover is inserted into and covers the opening of the cartridge case, and the opening cover and a part of the cartridge case overlap each other in a concavo-convex structure at top and bottom regions of the opening.

15. The carrying case of claim 14, wherein the relief structure at the opening has a rib structure at the edge of the corresponding position of the opening cover, and the edge of the corresponding position of the carrying case has a recess structure engaging the rib of the opening cover.