JP3331921B2 - Memory cartridge - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a memory cartridge, and more particularly, to a memory cartridge having a housing portion for housing a memory card in a case formed substantially in the same shape as a magnetic disk cartridge. The present invention relates to a memory cartridge for writing or reading data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a disk device in which a disk cartridge containing a flexible magnetic disk is mounted, the disk cartridge is mounted and a magnetic head slides on a magnetic disk as a storage medium to perform magnetic recording and reproduction. Do. This type of disk device is incorporated as a storage device in an electronic device such as a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a “PC”) or a word processor.

On the other hand, a memory card such as an IC card in which an IC chip serving as a storage medium is accommodated in a card-shaped case is becoming widespread. However, in the above electronic devices, a disk device is generally installed as a standard equipment, whereas an IC card device to which an IC card is mounted needs to be purchased separately from the electronic device. Therefore, when there is no IC card device, information stored in the IC card cannot be read.

Also, memory cards are mainly used for notebook PCs.
It is widely used as a memory for portable computers such as (personal computers), but with the recent reduction in the size of PCs and the spread of digital cameras due to technological advances, small memory cards have become widespread in the market. There are several types of small memory cards, such as miniature cards and smart media, and a storage capacity of about 2 MB to 8 MB is most widely used in the market.
In recent years, cash card-sized IC cards equipped with a memory for storing relatively small-capacity data such as personal information and IDs are also becoming widespread.

[0005] However, such small memory cards and I
In order to record and reproduce information on a C card, a dedicated recording and reproducing device corresponding to each medium is required. Must buy and connect. In addition, even if it is built in, it is necessary to secure a space for mounting a dedicated recording / reproducing device.

[0006] For this reason, it goes against the trend of miniaturization of PCs. Therefore, the most popular in the PC market, the magnetic media built into most PCs as recording media
A method of using a disk device for recording and reproducing of an IC card has been proposed. Magnetic memory cards and IC cards
The basic concept of the technique of allowing use in a disk device is that the the existing magnetic disk device not defeat all. That is, considering the prevalence of the magnetic disk device in the market, it is meaningless unless the magnetic disk device can be used in an existing magnetic disk device .

[0007] It has been devised that a small memory card or IC card is mounted on an adapter having an outer shape similar to that of a disk cartridge, and the adapter is mounted on the disk device. In this method, signals are exchanged by magnetically connecting the card and the disk device (head magnetic coupling).

[0008]

However, as described above, the magnetic head is brought into sliding contact with the head sliding portion of the memory cartridge containing the memory card to magnetically connect the memory card and the disk device (head magnetic coupling). In the disk device having the configuration described in (1), the head sliding contact portion provided on the memory cartridge is formed in a smooth planar shape in order to reduce the sliding resistance of the magnetic head.

On the other hand, the slider of the magnetic head also has a flat head surface made of ceramics or the like. When the power supply of the PC is turned on, the magnetic disk drive moves the head carriage to perform a seek operation of the magnetic head. When the power is turned on, the PC reads the number of recordable tracks of the magnetic disk mounted in the magnetic disk device, and the type of the magnetic disk device (48 TPI, 96 TPI) connected by the number of tracks to which the magnetic head can seek. Etc.).

However, the head sliding surface provided on the memory cartridge has a smooth planar shape, whereas the head surface of the magnetic head has a smooth planar shape. If they come into close contact with the sliding contact portion, they may be adsorbed to each other. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a memory cartridge that has solved the above-mentioned problems.

[0011]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following features. The present invention, magnetic
Magnetic disk cartridge mounted on a magnetic disk drive
And a case substantially formed in the same shape when, formed in the casing
Are, a housing portion in which the memory card is accommodated, wherein
The magnetic head slides when mounted on the magnetic disk drive
The magnetic disk cartridge.
How to move the magnetic head in the same direction as the disk radial direction
A sliding contact portion extending along the direction of the magnetic disk.
To write or read information
In the memory cartridge shown in FIG.
The sliding portion extends along the moving direction of the magnetic head.
The present invention is characterized in that an existing uneven portion is provided .

Therefore, according to the present invention, the magnetic head is
Extends along the moving direction of the magnetic head to the sliding contact portion that contacts
Due to the provision of the uneven part, Ru prevent adsorption of the magnetic head by intermittently forming minute space to a head surface of the magnetic head.

In addition, since the concave and convex portions are formed so as to extend along the moving direction of the magnetic head, a load when the magnetic head performs a seek operation can be reduced.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view for explaining an embodiment of the memory cartridge of the present invention. The memory cartridge 11 shown in FIG. 1 has substantially the same external shape as a conventional disk cartridge, and has an existing magnetic disk device 12 (see FIGS. 7 and 8).
It is mounted and used like an existing disk cartridge.

The memory cartridge 11 is shown in FIG.
(C) has an IC card mounting portion 13 indicated by a broken line. The IC card 14 is provided with an IC card 14 in FIG.
(A) and (C) are attached as indicated by broken lines. A card insertion slot 15 communicating with the IC card mounting portion 13 is provided on one side end surface on the back side of the memory cartridge 11, and the IC card 14 is inserted into the card insertion slot 15 from the side of the memory cartridge 11. .

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the IC card 14 and the memory cartridge 11. As shown in FIG.
The card 14 is provided with a contact portion 16 for inputting and outputting data at a predetermined position on the upper surface. Then, the IC card mounting unit 13 into which the IC card 14 is inserted
Is provided with an IC contact portion 17 which is in contact with and electrically connected to the contact portion 16. Therefore, the IC card 14 accommodated in the memory cartridge 11 is held in a state where the contact portion 16 is electrically connected to the IC contact portion 17.

Further, magnetic head sliding contact portions 18 and 19 are provided on the front and back surfaces of the memory cartridge 11, respectively. The magnetic head sliding portions 18 and 19 are closed by the shutter 20 when not mounted, and the memory cartridge 11 is mounted on the magnetic disk drive 12 and slides in the direction A to open. In FIGS. 1 and 2,
The shutter 20 slides in the direction A to show the open state, and the rectangular opening 20 a of the shutter 20 faces the magnetic head sliding contact portions 18 and 19.

On the back side of the memory cartridge 11, an IC card 14 is
A card slot 21 for ejecting the card from the card mounting section 13 and a circular recess 22 formed corresponding to a turntable of the magnetic disk drive are provided. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state before the memory cartridge 11 is assembled. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state after the memory cartridge 11 is assembled.

As shown in FIG. 3, the memory cartridge 11 has an upper case 11A and a lower case 11B integrally connected. The space formed between the upper case 11A and the lower case 11B becomes the IC card mounting portion 13 into which the IC card 14 is inserted. Openings 26 and 27 are provided at positions corresponding to the magnetic head sliding portions 18 and 19 of the upper case 11A and the lower case 11B.

As shown in FIG. 4, after the memory cartridge 11 is assembled, the magnetic head core portion 25 is sandwiched between the peripheral edge of the opening 26 and the peripheral edge of the opening 27. The magnetic head core unit 25 includes a core 28 forming a magnetic circuit, a coil 29 wound around one end of the core 28, and a mold 30 in which the other end of the core 28 is insert-molded.
In the core 28, a gap is formed at a position corresponding to the “00” track.

The mold 30 is mounted so as to be sandwiched between the opening 26 of the upper case 11A and the opening 27 of the lower case 11B. The magnetic head core portion 25 is provided with magnetic head sliding portions 18 and 19 on the upper and lower surfaces of the mold 30 by being attached in this manner. On the upper and lower surfaces of the mold 30, sheets formed of tetrafluoroethylene, polyester, or the like are provided. This sheet slides on the magnetic head.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view showing the magnetic head core portion 25. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the magnetic head core portion 25 in an enlarged manner. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, uneven portions 31 and 32 for reducing the sliding resistance of the magnetic head 24 are provided on the surfaces of the magnetic head sliding contact portions 18 and 19. The concave / convex portions 31 and 32 are formed by alternately forming concave portions 31a and 32a extending in the seek operation direction (B direction) and convex portions 31b and 32b extending in the seek operation direction (B direction).

Therefore, the magnetic head 24 comes into contact with the convex portions 31b and 32b of the concave and convex portions 31 and 32 when performing a seek operation by slidingly contacting the magnetic head sliding portions 18 and 19. The concave portion 31 is provided between the head surface 24a of the magnetic head 24 and the concave portions 31a and 32a of the concave and convex portions 31 and 32.
A space is formed along a and 32a. Magnetic head 24
Is formed in a smooth plane,
When the seek operation is performed in the extending direction of the concave and convex portions 31 and 32, only the convex portions 31 b and 32 b provided at predetermined intervals are in contact with each other. Therefore, when the memory cartridge 11 is mounted on the magnetic disk device 12 and the magnetic head 24 performs a seek operation, the head surface 24 a of the magnetic head 24 is prevented from adsorbing to the magnetic head sliding portions 18 and 19. Therefore, the sliding resistance when the magnetic head 24 performs the seek operation is reduced. As a result, the load on the magnetic head 24 is reduced, and the life of the magnetic head 24 can be extended.

In this embodiment, the concave and convex portions 31 and 32 are formed by the concave portions 31a and 32a extending in the seek operation direction (direction B).
Although the configuration in which the projections 31b and 32b are alternately formed is described as an example, the surface of the projections and depressions 31 and 32 may have other patterns. Here, a schematic configuration of the magnetic disk device 12 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the magnetic disk drive 12 on which the memory cartridge 11 is mounted. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state where the memory cartridge 11 is mounted on the magnetic disk device 12. As shown in FIG. 7, the magnetic disk drive 12 has a disk
3 and a front bezel 35 having an eject button 34 are attached. Further, on the chassis 36, a disk holder 37 and a slider (in FIG. 3, hidden behind the disk holder 37 and not visible) for raising and lowering the disk holder 37 are provided.

The disk holder 37 has a normal disk cartridge (not shown) or a cartridge insertion portion into which the above-described memory cartridge 11 is inserted. In the center of the rear part of the disk holder 37, the magnetic head 2 is provided.
And a carriage driving mechanism 40 for driving the head carriage 39.

The carriage drive mechanism 40 includes a guide shaft 41 and a lead screw 42 for guiding the head carriage 39, and a carriage drive motor 43 for moving the head carriage 39 by rotating the lead screw 42. On the upper surface of the disk holder 37, a shutter (not shown) of a normal disk cartridge or the shutter 2 of the memory cartridge 11 described above is provided.
A shutter opening / closing lever 44 for sliding 0 in the opening / closing direction is provided rotatably. The shutter opening / closing lever 4
Reference numeral 4 is urged clockwise by the spring force of the coil spring 45, and rotates counterclockwise by the cartridge insertion operation to slide the shutter 20 in the opening direction.

As shown in FIG. 8, the memory cartridge 1
1 is mounted on the magnetic disk drive 12 having the above-described configuration. Thus, after the shutter 20 is slid in the opening direction, the magnetic head 24 slides on the magnetic head sliding portions 18 and 19 of the memory cartridge 11. FIG. 9 shows the magnetic head 2
8 is a magnetic head sliding contact portion 18 of the memory cartridge 11,
It is a side view which shows the state which contacted slide 19.

As shown in FIG. 9, the memory cartridge 1
1 is mounted in a predetermined mounting position together with the disk holder 37, the turntable 52 is
Opposes the circular concave portion 22. Then, the magnetic head 24
Performs a seek operation together with the head carriage 39 driven by the carriage drive motor 43. This means that the magnetic head 24 seeks to determine the type of the disk device from the number of tracks that the PC can seek when the power is turned on. Therefore, even when the memory cartridge 11 is mounted, the magnetic head 24 is kept in contact with the magnetic head sliding portion 1.
The seek operation is performed while sliding on 8 and 19.

As shown in FIG. 8, a spindle motor 47 for driving the turntable to rotate is connected to a motor control circuit 49, and is controlled by the motor control circuit 49 to rotate at a constant rotation speed. The motor control circuit 49 is connected to the control circuit 50 and controls driving and stopping of the spindle motor 47 according to a motor control signal supplied from the control circuit 50.

The carriage drive motor 43 is connected to the control circuit 5
0, and moves the magnetic head 24 in the disk radial direction (the direction of arrow B) in accordance with the tracking position control signal supplied from the control circuit 50 to select a track position. The magnetic head 24 is connected to the read / write circuit 51, and records data on the IC card 14 by a recording signal supplied from the read / write circuit 51.
The change in magnetization read from the IC card 14 is converted into a current, and information recorded on the IC card 14 is detected. The read / write circuit 51 amplifies the write data and supplies it to the magnetic head 24, and also performs a predetermined process on the read signal to restore the original signal.

As shown in FIG. 9, the memory cartridge 1
The magnetic head core portion 25 is attached to the magnetic head sliding contact portions 18 and 19. Magnetic head core 25
Is provided at a position where the magnetic head 24 contacts the magnetic head 24 at the position of the track “00” when the memory cartridge 11 is mounted at a predetermined mounting position. The magnetic head core portion 25 is magnetically connected when the magnetic head 24 of the magnetic disk drive 12 comes into contact with the magnetic head sliding portions 18 and 19. That is, information is read from or written to the IC card 14 accommodated in the memory cartridge 11 via the magnetic head 24 of the magnetic disk device 12.

Further, inside the memory cartridge 11, a battery (not shown) serving as a driving power supply for driving an internal circuit is housed. Memory cartridge 11
Is electrically driven by a driving power supply supplied from a battery,
And the signal processing is performed to realize an electrical connection with the IC card 14 and a magnetic connection with the magnetic disk device 12.

When the memory cartridge 11 is mounted on the magnetic disk drive 12 as described above, the magnetic head 24 faces the magnetic head core portion 25 embedded in the magnetic head sliding contact portions 18 and 19 at the track "00". Connected magnetically. However, the magnetic head 24 performs a seek operation before stopping at the position of the track “00” to check the number of recordable tracks. At that time, the magnetic head 24
Are in sliding contact with the concave and convex portions 31 and 32 formed on the surfaces of the magnetic head sliding contact portions 18 and 19 as described above.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the concave and convex portions 31, 32 extend in the seek direction (direction B).
a, 32a and a convex portion 3 extending in the seek direction (B direction)
Since the magnetic heads 1b and 32b are formed alternately, the head surface 24a of the magnetic head 24 contacts only the protrusions 31b and 32b. Therefore, the head surface 24a of the magnetic head 24
Are not in contact with the concave portions 31a and 32a. This allows
The magnetic head 24 can slide without being in close contact with the uneven portions 31 and 32.

Therefore, when the magnetic head 24 performs the seek operation, the head surface 24a of the magnetic head 24 is prevented from being attracted to the magnetic head sliding portions 18 and 19. Therefore,
The sliding resistance during the seek operation of the magnetic head 24 is reduced. As a result, the burden on the magnetic head 24, the head carriage 39, the carriage drive motor 43, etc. is reduced,
The life of the magnetic head 24 and the carriage drive mechanism 40 can be extended.

In the above embodiment, the case where the IC card 14 is inserted into the memory cartridge 11 is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Of course, the present invention can also be applied.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, a magnetic head is provided.
Along the sliding direction of the magnetic head
Since the concave and convex portions are provided so as to extend, a minute space is intermittently formed with respect to the head surface of the magnetic head, thereby preventing the magnetic head from being attracted. As a result, the burden on the magnetic head and the carriage driving mechanism is reduced, and the life of the magnetic head and the carriage driving mechanism can be extended.

Further , since the concave and convex portions are formed so as to extend along the moving direction of the magnetic head, the load when the magnetic head performs a seek operation can be reduced with a simple configuration. As a result, the burden on the magnetic head and the carriage driving mechanism is reduced, and the life of the magnetic head and the carriage driving mechanism can be extended.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining one embodiment of a memory cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an IC card and a memory cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state before the memory cartridge is assembled.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state after the memory cartridge is assembled.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view showing a magnetic head core part.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a magnetic head core part.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a magnetic disk device on which a memory cartridge is mounted.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state where the memory cartridge is mounted on the magnetic disk device.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a state where the magnetic head is in sliding contact with the magnetic head sliding contact portion of the memory cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Memory cartridge 12 Magnetic disk device 13 IC card mounting part 14 IC card 16 Contact part 17 IC contact part 18, 19 Magnetic head sliding contact part 24 Magnetic head 25 Magnetic head core part 26, 27 Opening 28 Core 29 Coil 30 Mold 31, 32 Uneven portions 31a, 32a Recesses 31b, 32b Convex portions 39 Head carriage 44 Shutter opening / closing lever 51 Read / write circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Yasuda 3-7-3 Nakamachi, Musashino-shi, Tokyo Examiner in TEAC Corporation Takao Ako (56) References JP-A-7-192451 (JP, A) JP-A-6-243524 (JP, A) JP-A-3-62338 (JP, A) JP-A-5-159397 (JP, A) JP-A-4-219646 (JP, A) (58) (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06K 17/00 G06K 19/00 G11B 23/30

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] (1)The magnetic disk mounted on the magnetic disk drive
A case formed in substantially the same shape as the disc cartridge, It is formed in the case and holds the memory card.
Containment section, When mounted on the magnetic disk drive, the magnetic head
A portion that is in sliding contact with the magnetic disk cartridge
Of the magnetic head in the same direction as the radial direction of the disk.
A sliding contact portion extending along the moving direction; Having information written on the magnetic disk drive.
Memory cartridge for reading or writing
And The magnetic head is moved to a sliding portion where the magnetic head slides.
Provision of uneven portions extending along the movement direction Characterized by
Memory cartridge.