Having Non-cylindrical Roller Patents (Class 720/625)
  • Patent number: 11978480
    Abstract: There is provided an optical disc drive that can maintain contact between an optical disc and a conveying roller, while allowing the number of components to be reduced. A conveying roller includes a right roller that is rotatable around an axis and a left roller that is rotatable around an axis. The right roller portion and the left roller portion are arranged in a lateral direction. One of a right end portion of the right roller portion and a left end portion of the left roller portion is movable in an up-down direction relative to the other of the right end portion of the right roller portion and the left end portion of the left roller portion, with a relative position between the axis and the axis unchanged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Aki Yoguchi, Keigo Sato
  • Patent number: 9076481
    Abstract: In a disk drive device, a guide section is formed to protrude from the front surface of a guide top and face a front panel of a frame member with a detection pin therebetween. The guide section forms an inclined side that faces a free end of the detection pin with a gap therebetween. If a disk is shifted from the middle of a disk insertion slot in the right-left direction and is inserted into the disk insertion slot, the detection pin is flexibly deformed by a disk insertion force and is brought into pressure contact with the inclined side. A component force is exerted on the detection pin in a direction in which the detection pin is moved away from the middle of the disk insertion slot in the width direction. The component force smoothly rotates a detection lever from an initial position to an operating position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: Alpine Electronics, Inc.
    Inventor: Ichiro Kato
  • Patent number: 8949869
    Abstract: Provided is an optical disk drive including a carrying roller for carrying an optical disk in a first direction. The carrying roller includes a first roller portion and a second roller portion which are aligned in a second direction along the optical disk and orthogonal to the first direction and which are so disposed as to make contact with a surface on one side of the optical disk. An axis of the first roller portion is so inclined that a distance between the axis of the first roller portion and the one-side surface of the optical disk gradually increases toward a central portion of the carrying roller. An axis of the second roller portion is so inclined that a distance between the axis of the second roller portion and the one-side surface of the optical disk gradually increases toward the central portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
    Inventor: Aki Yoguchi
  • Patent number: 8266641
    Abstract: A disc loading and ejecting structure for a slot-in optical disc drive aims to drive a compact disc into and out of the slot-in optical disc drive to solve the problems of conventional techniques that they are bulky and occupy too much space. The structure includes a driving portion and a guiding portion that are located at two opposite sides of the slot-in optical disc drive. The driving portion includes a roller with the rotation axis parallel with a positioning surface of the compact disc. A first end edge of the compact disc is abutted on the guiding portion and a second end edge is leaned on the roller. The roller can rotate and move reciprocally in parallel with the direction of the rotation axis to drive the compact disc into and out of the slot-in optical disc drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: Lite-On It Corporation
    Inventor: Hung-Chang Chien
  • Patent number: 8266642
    Abstract: An optical disk mechanism has a housing with at least one disk entry/exit aperture. A disk guide, such as a plate, is aligned with and guides an optical disk through the disk entry/exit aperture. Two beams rotatably support at least one roller and a drive mechanism. Flexing and biasing the roller towards the disk, the two beams maintain a rotational axis of the roller parallel to the disk and accommodate varying separation between the roller and the disk guide. The two beams are closely spaced and non-coplanar, and may be part of a double-beam mount. The double-beam mount attaches the two beams to the housing and to a frame, which positions the roller near the disk guide and the disk entry/exit aperture. Sliding the disk along the plate or other disk guide, the roller is reversible to drive the disk in or out through the disk entry/exit aperture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Inc.
    Inventors: Amir H. Torkaman, Michael Szelong, Kyquang Son, Ravender Goyal, Paul R. Swan, Michael Umansky
  • Patent number: 8028308
    Abstract: An optical disk transport device for an optical disk player includes a carrying roller, an optical disk guiding part located above the carrying roller, an elastic part for pressing the carrying roller towards the optical disk guiding part, and a motor for driving the carrying roller to rotate. The roll body of the carrying roller is of a bipyramidal structure with the diameter gradually decreasing from the two ends to the middle. The positions on the optical disk guiding part opposite to each pyramid of the carrying roller are provided with at least one rotatable driven roller. The ends adjacent to the middle of the carrying roller of each driven roller slant upwards, so as to make the driven rollers only contact the outer margin of the optical disk when the optical disk is inserted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2011
    Assignee: Valley Wood Electrical (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yung Ta Chen
  • Patent number: 7774803
    Abstract: There is provided a disk loading apparatus capable of improving the stability in the centering operation at low cost only by changing the shape of the guide groove without adding extra parts or complicated structures. The disk loading apparatus includes a feed roller 2, a disk arm 4 adapted to move back and forth between an initial position where a disk 100 that is drawn by the feed roller 2 is received and a retracted position that corresponds to a chucking position for the disk, and a guide groove 5. The feed roller 2 has a function of centering the disk 100. The guide groove 5 includes slant wall surfaces 57 with the groove width therebetween decreasing progressively in the retracting direction of the disk arm 4, and receiving surfaces 58 for limiting the tilt angle of the disk arm 4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2010
    Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kunio Sawai, Kazumasa Nasu, Katsuya Sakagami
  • Patent number: 7685612
    Abstract: To provide a disk apparatus including a disk guide for guiding movement of a disk in a disk insertion direction; wherein the disk guide includes a platy guide member, a convex portion provided in vicinity of opposite ends of a platy guide member, and an engagement portion disposed on the same surface as the convex portion of the guide member. By engaging and fixing the engagement portion to a platy disk guide fixing member, which is disposed in a chassis of the disk apparatus, and bringing into contact with the convex portion on this platy disk guide fixing member, the disk guide is inclined in a direction far from the disk fixing member with an inclined angle increased from the center part of the guide member toward respective ends and the disk guide brings into contact with only an outer circumferential portion of the disk in inserting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2010
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Norikatsu Yoshida, Masanori Ohnishi
  • Patent number: 7665099
    Abstract: A loading device for a disk driver includes a transporting unit and a guide unit. The transporting unit includes one roller or two rollers, and the guide unit includes two symmetric or asymmetric cones. When loading a disc, two sides of the disc are individually supported on two cones of the guide unit. Two cones have different cone angles, equal cone angles but unequal lengths, or the same shape but different rotation velocities. The guide unit utilizes different arc speeds on two ends to obliquely convey the disc with any guide rails. The loading device reduces the cost of production and prevents the disc from generating collision and noisy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2010
    Assignee: Quanta Storage Inc.
    Inventors: Wen-Kuan Peng, Yu-Kuang Chang, Ching-Hung Chang
  • Publication number: 20070288946
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for discriminating discs includes a loading mechanism transporting discs at an entrance of a disc drive. A sensor unit close to the loading mechanism starts or stops the loading mechanism according to the detection. The center of the receptor disposes a limiting pin to limit the moving distance of the receptor based on the disc size discriminated by the sensor unit. Two ends of a receptor dispose two symmetric positioning posts for positioning automatically. The disc size can be discriminated by counting sensors on for judging increases or decreases, and counting loading time for comparing with the predetermined time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2006
    Publication date: December 13, 2007
    Inventors: Ching-Hung Chang, Wen-Kuan Peng
  • Patent number: 7308692
    Abstract: A problem that carriage of a disk by a feed roller cannot be smoothly accomplished depending on a type of the disk is to be solved. To achieve the object, the feed roller has an overall shape of expanding in diameter, and has floating roller parts movably fitted to a roller shaft in a central part and fixed roller parts pressed in and fixed in its two sides. A rotational force transmitted from a disk carrying motor causes a downward force to work on the feed roller through a roller gear. Even when a pressing force on the disk weakens, the fixed roller parts on the two sides can serve to carry the disk smoothly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kasama, Youhide Kido
  • Publication number: 20070240175
    Abstract: To provide a disk apparatus including a disk guide for guiding movement of a disk in a disk insertion direction; wherein the disk guide includes a platy guide member, a convex portion provided in vicinity of opposite ends of a platy guide member, and an engagement portion disposed on the same surface as the convex portion of the guide member. By engaging and fixing the engagement portion to a platy disk guide fixing member, which is disposed in a chassis of the disk apparatus, and bringing into contact with the convex portion on this platy disk guide fixing member, the disk guide is inclined in a direction far from the disk fixing member with an inclined angle increased from the center part of the guide member toward respective ends and the disk guide brings into contact with only an outer circumferential portion of the disk in inserting.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2007
    Publication date: October 11, 2007
    Inventors: Norikatsu Yoshida, Masanori Ohnishi
  • Patent number: 7281256
    Abstract: A disk drive includes a spacer unit mounted at one end of a roller-mounting frame for spacing a disk transport roller apart from a plate member. The spacer unit has a predetermined length greater than the greatest outer diameter of the transport roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2007
    Assignee: Lite-On It Corporation
    Inventor: Hui-Chu Huang
  • Patent number: 7103894
    Abstract: A disk loading apparatus includes first and second main gears (35, 43) disposed at equal distances to each other in radial directions from the center of rotation of a disk table (85) which is the center of rotation of a disk-type recording medium at an insertion completion position of the disk-type recording medium, and first and second feed rollers (38, 46) provided at positions on the first and second main gears (35, 43) displaced from the centers of rotation of the first and second main gears (35, 43) for rolling on an outer circumferential face of the disk-type recording medium (100).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2006
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Akihisa Inatani, Toshiyuki Kuroiwa, Takeshi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6968560
    Abstract: Herein disclosed is an optical disc driving apparatus adapted to selectively drive two kinds of optical discs different in diameter from each other to reproduce information recorded in the optical disc while reading out information in the optical disc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2005
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Inoue, Hiroki Kobayashi, Yutaka Hino, Junya Takahashi