Disc Cartridge Shutter Mechanism for Dust Sealing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional disc cartridges face issues with dust entering due to gaps between shutter members, which are caused by the need for play to facilitate smooth movement, leading to incomplete closure of the disc access opening.

Innovation Solution

The disc cartridge incorporates a shutter member with a protruding portion and an urging protuberance, where the protruding portion is brought into surface contact with the protuberance before completion of the pivotal motion, progressively increasing the force to ensure the shutter member is urged into a closing position, eliminating crevices and preventing dust entry.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a gap is provided between the cartridge housing and the inner shell to facilitate smooth pivotal motion, then the ease of operation is improved, but a play is produced between the cartridge housing and the inner shell, leading to incomplete closure of the disc access opening

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesmooth pivotal motionVSAvoidclosure completeness

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The urging protuberance is positioned to contact the shutter member before the completion of pivotal motion, preliminarily urging the shutter member toward the closing position to compensate for the play caused by the gap, ensuring complete closure is achieved

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If a gap is provided at the pivotally supported portions of the shutter members to facilitate smooth pivotal motion, then the ease of operation is improved, but play is produced between the inner shell and the shutter members, resulting in gaps between the shutter members in the closed state

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesmooth pivotal motionVSAvoiddust entry

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The urging protuberance contacts the shutter member preliminarily during the pivotal motion process, progressively increasing the urging force to ensure the shutter member reaches complete closure despite the play at the pivotally supported portions, preventing dust entry paths

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If the shutter member is urged by the urging protuberance progressively during pivotal motion, then the reliability of closure is improved, but the complexity of the device structure increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveclosure completenessVSAvoidstructure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The urging protuberance on the disc tray automatically urges the shutter member during the pivotal motion process without requiring external actuation, utilizing the existing motion of the disc tray to achieve reliable closure while maintaining simple structure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS7281258B2Disc cartridge

Publication Date: 2007.10.09 TDK CORP

AI summary

A disc cartridge which is capable of positively closing a disc access opening by shutter members. In the disc cartridge, a lower shell is formed with urging protuberances for urging shutter members in a manner causing the shutter members to pivotally move toward respective closing positions, and the shutter members are each formed with a protruding portion protruded from a side end face thereof such that a force for pressing the protruding portion against the urging protuberance is progressively increased after the protruding portion is brought into abutment with the urging protuberance before completion of a pivotal motion of a disc tray until the completion of the pivotal motion of the disc tray.