HK1077392B - Adapter for non-circular disc - Google Patents

Description

Adapter for special-shaped optical disk

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an adapter for a special-shaped optical disk, which is used in an optical disk loading device for applying a special-shaped optical disk, such as a card-shaped or name-card-shaped optical disk, such as a CD or DVD, to a disk player disposed in a computer or the like.

The term "disc player" as used herein includes not only a device for reading information recorded in an optical disc, but also a device for writing information into a CD-R, DVD-R, DVD-RW, a DVD-RAM, a DVD + R, DVD + RW, or the like, a recorder, or the like.

Background

Conventionally, an optical disc (hereinafter, referred to as "CD") on which information is recorded has a circular optical disc with a diameter of 12cm and a diameter of 8cm as standard sizes. Recently, however, as with the standard-sized CD, a rectangular CD having a length of 85 to 89mm × a width of 55 to 60mm, which has a center hole and a ring-shaped information recording Area outside a Clamping Area (Clamping Area), has appeared. Such CDs are called nameplate-shaped CDs or card-shaped CDs depending on their size.

Such a business card-shaped CD of a non-standard size cannot be mounted on an existing optical disc player without modification. The reason for this is that, in the case of a business card-shaped CD, positioning (Centering) necessary for recording and reproducing cannot be performed in the optical disc player. Thus, a CD of a business card type having a positioning projection on the lower surface of the optical disk, which is fitted into an 8cm CD placement recess of a transfer tray of an optical disk player, for performing the aforementioned positioning (Centering) has been proposed (WO99/0765, etc.).

However, even with a CD having such a positioning device, a nameplate-shaped CD cannot be provided on a conventional optical disc player without a transfer tray, particularly, a pluggable (Slot) type or a vertically-arranged optical disc player.

Thus, japanese patent application publication No. 2000-11573 discloses a title card shaped CD adapter by which a title card shaped CD can be set on such a pluggable and vertically set optical disc player.

Meanwhile, since there is no specification size at present, in contrast to a circular CD having specification sizes of 12cm and 8cm in diameter, a CD called a business card-shaped CD is sold in various sizes on the market as described above.

The first-name-card-shaped CD adapter disclosed in the aforementioned japanese patent application laid-open No. 2000-11573 can correspond to a first-name-card-shaped CD of a certain size, but cannot mount a first-name-card-shaped CD different from the certain size. Of course, since this business card-shaped CD adapter is made of a material having elasticity, if the difference in length, difference in width, and difference in thickness between a business card-shaped CD of a specific size and a business card-shaped CD of a size different therefrom are about 0.3mm, the business card-shaped CD can be mounted with difficulty, but the CD mounted with difficulty may fall off the adapter due to the up-and-down movement and the rotational movement of the CD in the player.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an adapter for a special-shaped optical disk, which can firmly mount optical disks having slightly different sizes and can easily perform an operation of mounting the optical disks.

Other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of embodiments of the invention.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to achieve the above object, an adapter for a special-shaped optical disc according to the present invention is made of a material having elasticity, and includes: the optical disk drive comprises a disk receiving part integrally arranged at the lower part of the inner edge of an annular frame body with the diameter of 12cm, and at least a pair of disk pressing parts integrally arranged at the upper part of the inner edge of the annular frame body and clamping a special-shaped optical disk together with the disk receiving part. The disk receiving portion is provided with a circular cutout portion for making the information recording area of the optical disk face an optical reading device or a writing device on the player, and a disk pressure contact protrusion formed so that the protrusion height gradually increases in the rotation direction of the optical disk is provided on the lower surface of the disk pressing portion or the upper surface of a portion of the disk receiving portion facing the disk pressing portion.

In this adapter, the optical disk shaped in a shape to be placed on the disk receiving portion is rotated in such a manner that the corner portion is placed below the disk pressing portion, and the corner portion of the optical disk is placed below the disk pressing protrusion. With this rotation operation of the optical disk, at least one of the disk pressing portion and the disk receiving portion is gradually pressed outward by the corner portion of the optical disk to be elastically deformed, and elastic restoring force is accumulated therein. The accumulated elastic restoring force firmly clamps the corner of the optical disk between the disk pressing projection and the disk receiving portion or between the disk pressing projection and the disk pressing portion, thereby maintaining the disk mounting state.

Further, since the disk pressure-bonding projections are formed so that the projection height in the rotational direction of the disk gradually increases, even if the disks have different peripheral portion thicknesses or optical disks have different lengths or widths, the optical disks can be firmly sandwiched therebetween. It is also possible to prevent the sandwiched state of the optical disk from being released when the optical disk is rotated.

In addition, as the special-shaped optical disk mounted on such an adapter, a name plate-shaped, barrel-shaped, or square optical disk is exemplified.

In the adapter, the disk pressure-bonding projection is preferably formed so that a projection height thereof gradually increases along a rotation direction of the optical disk and a radial direction of the annular frame.

In this case, even when the optical discs have different thicknesses in the peripheral portion or different lengths or widths, the optical discs can be sandwiched more firmly.

In the adapter, the disk pressure-bonding protrusion includes a first disk pressure-bonding protrusion formed so that a protrusion height in a rotation direction of the disk gradually increases, and a second disk pressure-bonding protrusion adjacent to a maximum protrusion of the first disk pressure-bonding protrusion. The projection height of the entire projection surface of the second disc pressure-bonding projection is preferably set to be equal to or larger than the maximum projection height of the first disc pressure-bonding projection.

In this case, since the projection height of the entire projection surface of the second disc pressure-contacting projection is set to be equal to or larger than the maximum projection height of the first disc pressure-contacting projection, even in an optical disc having a thin peripheral portion, it can be firmly sandwiched.

In the above adapter, it is preferable that a disk contact portion is provided to prevent the optical disk sandwiched between the disk pressing portion and the disk receiving portion from moving in the rotation direction when the optical disk is rotated.

Thus, a stable mounting state can be obtained. Further, in such an adapter, at the time of the mounting operation of the optical disk, the optical disk collides with the contact portion, and the mounting operation is ended. Therefore, it can know the end of installation without visual recognition.

In the adapter, the cut-out portion is preferably formed in a circular shape having a diameter of 8cm and is provided concentrically with the annular frame body.

In such an adapter, if the optical disk has a positioning projection, the optical disk is attached in a state where the positioning projection of the optical disk is fitted into the cutout. Therefore, the optical disk can be accurately positioned.

In the adapter, an arc-shaped long hole is provided at a portion of the disk receiving portion facing the disk pressing portion, and 1 or a plurality of disk pressing protrusions protruding toward the center of the cutout portion are provided at positions corresponding to the long hole at an inner edge of the disk receiving portion. The projection for pressing the disk is arranged between the projection for positioning which is provided with the disk and the disk receiving part, and the optical disk is pressed towards the center of the notch part by the elastic restoring force of the narrow arc part between the projection for pressing and the long hole.

In this case, the optical disk is pressed toward the center of the cutout by the elastic restoring force of the narrow arcuate portion between the pressing projection and the long hole, thereby firmly holding the mounted state of the optical disk.

In the adapter, the disk pressing projection is preferably formed so that the projection amount in the rotation direction of the optical disk gradually increases.

In this case, at the time of the mounting operation of the optical disk, the optical disk can be smoothly rotated, and therefore, the mounting operation of the optical disk can be easily performed.

In the adapter, the disk receiving portion is preferably located immediately below the disk pressing portion and spaced apart from an inner edge of the annular frame.

In this case, the adapter can be easily formed.

In the above adapter, in a state where the irregular disk is mounted, the overall weight is preferably set to be within a range from the weight of a circular disk having a diameter of 8cm to the weight of a circular disk having a diameter of 12 cm.

The reason for this is as follows. That is, if the entire weight is smaller than the weight of the circular optical disc having a diameter of 8cm or larger than the weight of the circular optical disc having a diameter of 12cm, the optical disc rotation operation becomes unstable, and a normal rotation operation cannot be obtained, with the result that it is difficult to not only read recorded information of the optical disc but also write information into the optical disc. Therefore, the overall weight thereof is preferably set within a range from the weight of a circular optical disk having a diameter of 8cm to the weight of a circular optical disk having a diameter of 12 cm. Particularly, the total weight is preferably set to be within a range of 3 to 22g, more preferably within a range of 5 to 18g, and still more preferably within a range of 7 to 16 g.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an adapter for a shaped optical disc according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the adapter.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line a-a of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line B-B of fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing a main part of the disk pressure contact protrusion in a state where the adapter is turned upside down.

Fig. 7 is a plan view when a business card-shaped CD is placed on the tray receiving portion of the adapter.

Fig. 8 is a plan view during the process of mounting the business card shaped CD on the adapter.

Fig. 9 is a plan view after the nameplate-shaped CD is mounted on the adapter.

Fig. 10 is a bottom view after the nameplate CD is mounted on the adapter.

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E of fig. 9.

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line F-F of fig. 9.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged view of a portion P in fig. 10.

Fig. 15 is a plan view of a business card-shaped CD.

Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line G-G of fig. 15.

Fig. 17 is a bottom view after mounting another title sheet-shaped CD on the adapter.

Fig. 18 is a plan view of an adapter for a shaped optical disc according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 19 is a plan view after mounting the barrel CD on the adapter.

Fig. 20 is a plan view after mounting a square CD on the adapter.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In fig. 1 and 2, (a1) is an adapter for a special-shaped optical disc according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The adapter (A1) is made of synthetic resin having elasticity such as ABS and polycarbonate. A business card-shaped CD (D1) shown in fig. 15 and 16 is attached to the adapter (a1) as a special-shaped optical disk. In a state where the business card-shaped CD (D1) is mounted on the adapter (a1), the total weight (i.e., the total weight of the business card-shaped CD (D1) and the adapter (a 1)) is set within the range from the weight of a commercially available circular optical disk having a diameter of 8cm to the weight of a circular optical disk having a diameter of 12 cm. In fig. 1, an arrow (Y) indicates a rotation direction of a business card-shaped CD (D1) rotated by a spindle provided in the player.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the business card-shaped CD (D1) is a rectangular optical disk having a length of 85 to 89mm and a width of 55 to 60mm, and is a reproduction-only optical disk. The business card-shaped CD (D1) has a center hole (81) and a ring-shaped information recording Area (83) outside a Clamping Area (82). A positioning projection (84) extending in an arc shape is integrally formed on the lower surface (i.e., the information reading surface) of the business card-shaped CD (D1). In the business card-shaped CD (D1), the peripheral portion thereof is set to have a thickness of 0.9mm, the positioning projection (84) has a projection height of 0.5mm, and the entire thickness is set to be 1.4 mm.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the adapter (a1) according to the first embodiment includes an annular frame (1), a disk receiving portion (2) for receiving the nameplate-shaped CD (D1), and a pair of disk pressing portions (3) (3) that sandwich the nameplate-shaped CD (D1) received by the disk receiving portion (2) together with the disk receiving portion (2).

The outer diameter of the annular frame body (1) is 12cm, which is the diameter of a circular CD with standard dimensions. The thickness of the annular frame (1) is set to be substantially the same as the thickness of a circular CD of a standard size.

A pair of disk pressing parts (3) (3) are integrally provided at the upper parts of the inner edges of the annular frame body (1) at the opposite positions in an inward protruding manner. Each disk pressing part (3) is formed in a size obtained by pressing two adjacent corner parts among four corner parts of a business card-shaped CD (D1) in a state that the CD (D1) is mounted.

The disk receiving parts (2) are integrally connected and arranged in an inward protruding manner at the lower part of the inner edge of the annular frame body (1). In the center of the disk receiving part (2), the information recording area (83) of the name card-shaped CD (D1) is arranged concentrically with the annular frame body (1) facing a circular notch (4) with a diameter of 8cm of an optical reading device (not shown) provided in the player. As shown in fig. 3 to 5, the disk receiving portion (2) is separated from the inner edge of the annular frame body (1) at a position vertically below the disk pressing portion (3). This is provided for convenience in manufacturing the adapter (a 1).

As shown in fig. 1, an arc-shaped elongated hole (8) is provided in a portion of the disk receiving portion (2) facing the disk pressing portion (3). At the inner edge of the disk receiving portion (2), 2 disk pressing protrusions (9) protruding toward the center of the cutout portion (4) are integrally provided at positions corresponding to the long holes (8). In the disk receiving portion (2), a narrow and wide arc portion (10) is formed between the disk pressing projection (9) and the elongated hole (8).

In fig. 3, the distance between the upper surface of the disk receiving portion (2) and the lower surface of the disk pressing portion (3) is set to be substantially the same as the thickness of the peripheral portion of the business card-shaped CD (D1).

As shown in fig. 6, a disk pressing protrusion (7) including a first disk pressing protrusion (7a) formed so that the protrusion height gradually increases in the rotation direction (Y) of the business card-shaped CD and in the radial direction (X) of the annular frame (1) and a second disk pressing protrusion (7b) formed adjacent to the maximum protrusion of the first disk pressing protrusion (7a) is provided on the lower surface of each disk pressing portion (3). In the disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7), the protrusion height of the entire protrusion surface of the second disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7b) is set to be the same as the protrusion height of the maximum protrusion of the first disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7 a). In the present invention, although not shown, the projection height of the entire projection surface of the second disc pressure-bonding projection (7b) may be set to be larger than the projection height of the maximum projection of the first disc pressure-bonding projection (7 a).

As shown in fig. 6, in order to prevent the business card-shaped CD (D1) sandwiched between the disk pressing portion (3) and the disk receiving portion (2) from moving in the rotation direction (Y) when the business card-shaped CD rotated by the main shaft of the player is rotated, a disk contact portion (5) is provided at the tip of the disk pressing portion (3) in the rotation direction (Y) of the business card-shaped CD. The disk contact part (5) protrudes inward from the inner edge of the annular frame body (1), and the lower end thereof is connected to the disk receiving part (2), and the upper surface thereof is connected to the upper surface of the disk pressing part (3).

The order of mounting the nameplate-shaped CD (D1) on the adapter (a1) will be described.

First, as shown in fig. 7, the name card-shaped CD (D1) is placed on the disk receiving section (2) by fitting the positioning protrusion (84) on the lower surface of the name card-shaped CD (D1) into the notch section (4). Then, in this state, the business card-shaped CD (D1) is relatively rotated with respect to the adapter (a1) in the rotation direction (Y) of the business card-shaped CD rotating on the main axis of the player, and as shown in fig. 8, a pair of corner portions (85) located at diagonal positions of the business card-shaped CD (D1) are placed below the disk pressing portion (3). When the disk is rotated in the same direction again, the corner portion (85) of the business card-shaped CD (D1) is positioned below the second disk crimping projection (7b) as shown in fig. 9. As the corner portion (85) rotates, as shown in fig. 13, the disk pressing portion (3) and the disk receiving portion (2) are pressed outward by the corner portion (85) and elastically deformed, and elastic restoring force is accumulated in the disk pressing portion (3) and the disk receiving portion (2). By this elastic restoring force, the corner portion (85) of the business card-shaped CD (D1) is firmly sandwiched between the second disk pressure-bonding projection (7b) and the disk receiving portion (2), thereby maintaining the attached state of the business card-shaped CD (D1). Then, in a state where the corner portion (85) of the business card shaped CD (D1) is sandwiched, as shown in fig. 10, the corner portion (85) is in contact with the disk contact portion (5), so that it cannot continue to rotate, and the mounting operation of the business card shaped CD is ended.

In the attached state of the business card-shaped CD, as shown in fig. 10 and 14, the disk pressing projection (9) is disposed between the positioning projection (84) of the business card-shaped CD (D1) and the disk receiving portion (2). A thin and wide arc portion 10 formed between a disk pressing projection 9 and the long hole 8 in the disk receiving portion 2 is slightly pressed toward the long hole 8 side by the disk pressing projection 9 to be elastically deformed, and an elastic restoring force is accumulated in the thin and wide arc portion 10. The disk-pressing projection (9) presses the name card CD (D1) facing the center of the notch (4) by the elastic restoring force accumulated in the narrow and wide arc-shaped part (10), thereby firmly maintaining the mounting state of the name card CD.

In the adapter (a1), as shown in fig. 10 and 14, the disk pressing protrusion (9) is formed so that the amount of protrusion in the rotation direction (Y) of the business card-shaped CD (D1) gradually increases. Therefore, at the time of the mounting operation of the business card shaped CD (D1), the business card shaped CD (D1) can be smoothly rotated, so that the mounting operation of the business card shaped CD can be easily performed. In addition, in the operation of attaching the business card-shaped CD, if the disk pressing projection (9) comes off from between the positioning projection (84) and the disk receiving portion (2) of the business card-shaped CD (D1) and is completely biased to the lower side of the positioning projection (84), as shown in fig. 10, the lower surface of the narrow and wide arc-shaped portion (10) in the vicinity of the disk pressing projection (9) is pressed with the fingertips, the disk pressing projection (10) is pressed into between the positioning projection (84) and the disk receiving portion (2) of the business card-shaped CD (D1), and the disk pressing projection (10) is disposed between the positioning projection (84) and the disk receiving portion (2).

Then, an adapter (A1) to which a business card-shaped CD (D1) is attached is incorporated into the player, and the business card-shaped CD (D1) is rotated at high speed in the direction of rotation of the arrow (Y) together with the adapter (A1) by a spindle provided in the player. At this time, if the corner part (85) of the business card shaped CD (D1) is not positioned below the second disk pressure contact protrusion (7b), even if the clamping force for clamping the corner part (85) is weakened, the corner part (85) of the business card shaped CD is moved in the direction of stronger clamping force by the rotation operation of the business card shaped CD (D1), and therefore, the corner part (85) is firmly clamped. Therefore, the problem that the business card shaped CD (D1) is detached from the adaptor (a1) does not occur.

When the nameplate-shaped CD (D1) is removed from the adapter (a1), the order of the removal of the nameplate-shaped CD may be reversed. In other words, the business card-shaped CD (D1) is rotated relative to the adapter (a1) in the direction opposite to the rotation direction (Y) of the business card-shaped CD. Then, the corner portion (85) of the business card-shaped CD (D1) is taken out from between the second disk pressure-bonding projection (7b) and the disk receiving portion (2). The business card-shaped CD (D1) is rotated to the position shown in fig. 7, and the optical disk (D1) is taken out.

If the thickness of the peripheral portion of the name card shaped CD (D1) is thicker than that of the above name card shaped CD (D1), the name card shaped CD (D1) is mounted on the adaptor (a1) in the state shown in fig. 17. In other words, since the thickness of the peripheral portion of the business card-shaped CD (D1) is thick, even if the business card-shaped CD (D1) is rotated in the predetermined rotation direction (Y), the corner portion (85) thereof cannot move to the position below the second disk pressing protrusion (7b), and is placed below the first disk pressing protrusion (7 a). At this position, the corner (85) of the business card-shaped CD (D1) is sandwiched between the first disk pressure-bonding projection (7a) and the disk receiving part (2), and the attached state of the business card-shaped CD (D1) is maintained. Thus, in a state where the corner portion (85) of the business card-shaped CD (D1) is sandwiched, the corner portion (85) comes into contact with a fault (11, see FIG. 6) generated between the first disk pressing projection (7a) and the second disk pressing projection (7b), and therefore, the rotation thereof cannot be continued, and the operation of attaching the business card-shaped CD is completed.

According to the adapter (a1) of the first embodiment, since the first disc-pressing protrusion (7a) is formed so as to gradually increase in protrusion height along the rotation direction (Y) of the first disc-shaped CD and the radial direction (R) of the annular frame (1), even if the first disc-shaped CD has different thicknesses at the peripheral portion or the first disc-shaped CD has different lengths and widths, the first disc-shaped CD (D1) can be firmly sandwiched therebetween. Furthermore, since the projection height of the entire projection surface of the second disc pressing projection (7b) is set to the same size as the projection height of the first disc pressing projection (7a), even a business card-shaped CD (D1) having a thin peripheral portion can be firmly sandwiched therebetween.

In fig. 18 and 19, (a2) shows an adapter for a special-shaped optical disk according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The adapter (a2) is provided with a barrel-shaped CD (D2) as a special-shaped optical disk. In these drawings, the same components as those of the adapter (a1) according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the structure of the adapter (a2) according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to points different from those of the adapter (a1) according to the first embodiment.

The aforementioned barrel-shaped CD (D2) is a quadrangle, and an opposite pair of sides forms a circular arc, which is a reproduction-dedicated type optical disc. In the barrel-shaped CD (D2), the diameter between a pair of sides of the circular arc shape is set to 8 cm. The barrel-shaped CD (D2) has no positioning projection, and instead has a pair of circular arc-shaped sides as positioning members. The thickness of the barrel-shaped CD (D2) is set to be substantially the same as that of a circular CD of a specification size.

In the adapter (A2), the outer diameter of the annular frame (1) is 12cm, which is the diameter of a circular CD of a standard size, and the inner diameter of the annular frame (1) is 8 cm. A disk receiving section (2) is integrally provided at the lower part of the inner edge of the annular frame body (1) in an inwardly protruding manner. In the center of the disk receiving portion (2), the information recording area of the barrel-shaped CD (D2) is disposed concentrically with the annular housing (1) so as to face a circular cutout portion (4') of an optical reader (not shown) on the player. A pair of disk pressing portions (3, 3) are integrally provided at the upper portion of the annular frame body (1) at positions facing the inner edge, and protrude inward. A disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7) composed of a first disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7a) and a second disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7b) is provided on the lower surface of each disk pressing portion (3). The first disk pressing protrusion (7a) and the second disk pressing protrusion (7b) have the same structure as the adapter (a1) of the first embodiment, and description thereof is omitted.

The mounting step of mounting the barrel-shaped CD (D2) on the adapter (a1) is the same as the mounting step of the above-described title sheet-shaped CD (D2), and a brief description thereof will be made below.

First, as shown by a broken line in fig. 18, a tub-shaped CD (D2) is placed on the disk receiving portion (2). From this state, the barrel-shaped CD (D2) is rotated relative to the adapter (a2) in the rotation direction (Y) of the barrel-shaped CD rotated through the main axis of the player, and then, as shown in fig. 19, a pair of corner portions (85) located at diagonal positions of the barrel-shaped CD (D2) are placed below the second disk pressure-bonding projections (7 b). With the rotation of the corner part (85) of the barrel-shaped CD (D2), the disk pressing part (3) and the disk receiving part (2) are pressed outward by the corner part (85) and elastically deformed, and elastic restoring forces are accumulated in the disk pressing part (3) and the disk receiving part (2), respectively. By this elastic restoring force, the corner (85) of the barrel-shaped CD (D2) is firmly sandwiched between the second disk pressure-bonding projection (7b) and the disk receiving part (2), thereby maintaining the attached state of the name-card-shaped CD (D2). Then, in a state where the corner portion (85) of the business card shaped CD (D2) is sandwiched, the corner portion (85) is brought into contact with the disk contact portion (5), so that it cannot be rotated further, and the mounting operation of the business card shaped CD is ended. In fig. 19, for convenience of explanation, the corner portion (85) of the barrel-shaped CD (D2) is not in contact with the disk contact portion (5), but is disposed at a position somewhat spaced therefrom.

Further, if the thickness of the peripheral portion of the barrel-shaped CD (D2) is thick, the corner portion (85) of the barrel-shaped CD (D2) is placed below the first disk pressing protrusion (7 a). At this position, the corner (85) of the barrel-shaped CD (D2) is sandwiched between the first disk pressure-bonding projection (7a) and the disk receiving part (2), thereby maintaining the attached state of the first disk-shaped CD (D2).

In the adapter (a2) in the second embodiment, as a special-shaped optical disk, a square CD (D3) as shown in fig. 20 may be mounted in addition to the above-described barrel CD (D2). The procedure for mounting such a square CD (D3) is the same as that for mounting the barrel CD (D2), and the description thereof will not be repeated. In fig. 20, for convenience of explanation, the corner portion (85) of the square CD (D3) is not in contact with the disk contact portion (5), but is provided at a position a little apart therefrom.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the examples described in the above embodiments, and may be modified into various forms.

For example, in the present embodiment, the disc pressure-bonding protrusion (7) is composed of a first disc pressure-bonding protrusion (7a) and a second disc pressure-bonding protrusion (7 b). However, in the present invention, the disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7) may not have the second disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7b), in other words, it may be constituted only by the first disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7 a).

Further, while the disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7) is provided below the disk pressing portion (3) in the above-described embodiment, the disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7) may be provided above a portion of the disk receiving portion (2) facing the disk pressing portion (3) in the present invention. In this case, the corner portion (85) of the optical disk is sandwiched between the disk pressure-contact protrusion (7) and the disk pressing portion (3).

In the above-described embodiments, the optical disk attached to the adapter is not capable of writing information, that is, it is a reproduction-only type (for example, CD-ROM or DVD-ROM), but the optical disk in the present invention may be a write-once optical disk (for example, CD-R, DVD-R, DVD + R) or a rewritable optical disk (for example, CD-RW, DVD + RW or DVD-RAM) capable of repeated writing. In this case, the cutout portion (4) functions to face the information recording area of the optical disc to an optical writing device provided in the player.

In the above embodiment, the number of the pair of disk pressing portions (3) is one, but it may be two or more.

Further, although the adapter (a1) in the first embodiment described above is used to mount a nameplate-shaped CD (D1), and the adapter (a2) in the second embodiment is used to mount a barrel-shaped CD (D2) and a square-shaped CD (D3), the adapter of the present invention may be used to mount a shaped optical disk other than those having these shapes.

In the first embodiment, the adapter is formed by integrally molding the annular frame body (1), the disk receiving portion (2), and the disk pressing portion (3), but in the present invention, the adapter may be formed in a predetermined shape by individually molding and combining these members.

The effects of the present invention will be briefly summarized based on the above-described situation.

The adapter for special-shaped optical disk of the present invention can place the special-shaped optical disk on the disk receiving portion and rotate it only along the prescribed direction, so that the optical disk can be placed under the disk pressing portion and the optical disk can be mounted on the adapter by extremely simple operation.

Further, even if the thickness of the peripheral portion is different or the length and the width of the optical disk are different, the optical disks can be firmly sandwiched. In addition, the phenomenon that the optical disk falls off in the player due to the fact that the clamping state of the optical disk is released when the optical disk rotates can be prevented.

Further, if the projection for disk pressure contact is formed to have a predetermined projection height, even if the optical disks have different thicknesses in the peripheral portion or have different lengths and widths, the optical disks can be more firmly sandwiched therebetween.

Further, if the projection for disc pressure contact has the predetermined first projection for disc pressure contact and the predetermined second projection for disc pressure contact, even an optical disc having a thin peripheral portion can be firmly sandwiched therebetween.

If a predetermined disk contact portion is provided in the adapter, a stable disk mounting state can be obtained. In addition, when the optical disk is mounted, the optical disk touches the contact part, so that a signal of the end of the mounting operation can be obtained, and the end of the mounting operation can be known without visual inspection.

Further, the cutout portion is formed in a circular shape having a diameter of 8cm, and when the cutout portion is provided concentrically with the annular frame body, the irregular optical disk having the positioning protrusion portion can be reliably positioned.

Further, if the adapter includes a predetermined arc-shaped long hole and a predetermined 1 or several protrusions for pressing, the mounted state of the optical disk can be firmly maintained.

Further, when the projection amount of the disk pressing projection is formed in a predetermined manner, the optical disk can be smoothly rotated at the time of the mounting operation of the optical disk, and therefore, the mounting operation of the optical disk can be easily performed.

Further, if the disk receiving portion is separated from the inner edge of the annular frame body vertically below the disk pressing portion, the adapter can be easily molded.

Further, in a state where the special-shaped optical disk is mounted, if the total weight thereof is set within the range of the weight of the circular optical disk having a diameter of 8cm to the weight of the circular optical disk having a diameter of 12cm, the recorded information of the optical disk mounted on the adapter can be reliably read, and the information can be reliably recorded into the optical disk.

This application is in synchronism with the priority claim of Japanese patent application No. 2002-.

The terms and descriptions used herein are used to describe several preferred embodiments of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention thereto. If the present invention is within the scope of the claims, it is allowed to make any changes therein without departing from the gist thereof.

Field of industrial application

As described above, the adapter of the present invention is preferably used in a disk loading device for adapting a special-shaped disk such as a card-shaped cd (dvd), a business card-shaped cd (dvd), a barrel-shaped cd (dvd), a square-shaped cd (dvd), or the like to a player provided on a computer or the like.

Claims (9)

1. An adapter for a special-shaped optical disk is characterized in that,

made of a material having elasticity, having: a disk receiving part (2) integrally provided at a lower part of an inner edge of an annular frame body (1) having an outer diameter of 12cm, at least a pair of disk pressing parts (3, 3) integrally provided at an upper part of the inner edge of the annular frame body (1) and sandwiching a special-shaped optical disk (D1, D2, D3) together with the disk receiving part (2),

a circular cutout (4) is provided in the center of the disk receiving section (2) so that the information recording area (83) of the optical disk faces an optical reading device or a writing device provided in the player,

a disk pressure contact projection (7) formed so that the projection height in the rotation direction (Y) of the optical disk gradually increases is provided on the lower surface of the disk pressing portion (3) or on the upper surface of the disk receiving portion (2) at a position facing the disk pressing portion.

2. The adapter for a special-shaped optical disk according to claim 1, wherein the disk pressure-bonding protrusion (7) is formed so that a protrusion height gradually increases along a rotation direction (Y) of the optical disk and a radial direction (X) of the annular frame (1).

3. An adapter for a shaped optical disc according to claim 1 or claim 2,

the disk pressure-contact protrusion (7) has a first disk pressure-contact protrusion (7a) formed so that the protrusion height gradually increases along the rotation direction (Y) of the optical disk, and a second disk pressure-contact protrusion (7b) adjacent to the maximum protrusion of the first disk pressure-contact protrusion (7a),

the projection height of the entire projection surface of the second disk pressure-bonding projection (7b) is set to be equal to or larger than the maximum projection height of the first disk pressure-bonding projection (7 a).

4. An adapter for a shaped optical disc according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a disc contact portion (5) is provided at a tip of the disc pressing portion (3) in a rotation direction (Y) of the shaped optical disc to prevent the optical disc sandwiched between the disc pressing portion (3) and the disc receiving portion (2) from moving in the rotation direction (Y) when the optical disc is rotated.

5. The adapter for the irregular optical disk according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cutout portion (4) is formed in a circular shape having a diameter of 8cm and is provided concentrically with the annular frame body (1).

6. An adapter for a shaped optical disc according to claim 1 or claim 2,

an arc-shaped long hole (8) is provided at a position facing the disk pressing portion (3) of the disk receiving portion (2), and at a position corresponding to the long hole (8) on the inner edge of the disk receiving portion (2), 1 or more disk pressing protrusions (9) protruding toward the center of the cutout portion (4) are provided,

the disk pressing projection (9) provided between the disk mounting positioning projection (84) and the disk receiving portion (2) presses the disk (D1) toward the center of the cutout portion (4) by the elastic restoring force of the narrow and wide arc portion (10) between the pressing projection (9) and the long hole (8).

7. The adapter for irregular optical disks according to claim 6, wherein said disk-pressing projection (9) is formed so that the amount of projection in the disk rotation direction (Y) gradually increases.

8. The adapter for the irregular optical disk according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the disk receiving portion (2) is separated from an inner edge of the annular frame body (1) directly below the disk pressing portion (3).

9. An adapter for a shaped optical disk according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the overall weight is set within a range from the weight of a circular optical disk having a diameter of 8cm to the weight of a circular optical disk having a diameter of 12cm in a state where the shaped optical disk is mounted.