1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cartridge for accommodating a recordation medium such that a shutter of the cartridge faces a main surface (recordation surface) of the recordation medium and a window of the cartridge is opened and closed by the shutter. The present invention also relates to a method of cleaning the main surface of the recordation medium housed in the cartridge.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some conventional rotatable disc-shaped recordation media such as CD (compact disc) and DVD (digital versatile disc) have an exposed recordation surface (signal surface) so that recording and reproducing of signals to and from the recordation media are often significantly affected by scratches, fingerprints, dust or the like made in or adhering on a light transmissive layer in the signal surface.
In order not to be influenced by the scratches, fingerprints and dust, recent DVD-RAM and MO (magnet-optical disc) have cartridges to house the recordation media.
A typical cartridge includes a housing for accommodating a recordation medium, a shutter for opening and closing a window of the housing, and a disc clamp-and-chuck portion. When the shutter is opened, the window of the housing is opened and the recordation medium is exposed through the window. A pickup of a replay or reproduction device then scans the signal surface of the recordation medium through the window.
When the reproduction device reproduces signals recorded in the recordation medium housed in the cartridge, the cartridge shutter is opened and closed inside the reproduction device. Thus, the scratches and fingerprints are hardly ever made on the signal surface of the recordation medium, but the dust may enter the cartridge. Conventional reproduction devices do not have a mechanism for eliminating the dust from the cartridge so that the dust is accumulated inside the cartridge.
In general, a cleaning mechanism has a complicated structure and increases manufacturing cost of the reproduction device. Therefore, providing a cleaning mechanism is not practical.
If a hard brush or the like having a simple structure is provided in contact with the recordation medium such as a disc, it can clean the disc surface, but it may scratch the disc surface and hinder the smooth rotation of the disc. Scratching and irregular rotation of the disc adversely affect the signal recordation and retrieval.
An object of the present invention is to provide a cartridge that is equipped with a simple mechanism for discharging obstacles such as dust out of the cartridge without adversely influencing the signal recordation and retrieval.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of cleaning a surface of a recordation medium without adversely influencing the signal recordation and retrieval.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cartridge adapted to house a recordation medium, comprising, a shutter opposed to a main surface of the recordation medium, a cleaner member, a support for supporting the cleaner member, and a sweeping mechanism actuated upon opening and closing movements of the shutter such that the support pivots in a plane substantially in parallel to the main surface of the recordation medium to cause the cleaner member to contact and clean the recordation medium.
The support may be pivotable about one end of the support. The sweeping mechanism may be a direct-driven cam mechanism that includes a cam surface and a follower. The cam surface may be defined by a lateral face of a projecting member provided on an inner wall of the shutter and extend across a moving direction of the shutter. The follower may be provided on the support and biased against the cam surface to contact the cam surface.
The cam surface may have a disengagement portion at one end of the projecting member to disengage the follower from the cam surface. The disengagement portion may include a tapered portion. The projecting member may have an upper surface substantially in parallel to the main surface of the recordation medium. The cleaner member and follower may be both provided at a free end of the support. Alternatively the cleaner member may be provided at a free end of the support and the follower may be provided at other than the free end of the support. Alternatively the follower may be provided at a free end of the support and the cleaner member may be provided at other than the free end of the support. The cartridge may further include a spring for biasing the support.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of cleaning a main surface of a recordation medium housed in a cartridge, the cartridge having a shutter opposed to the main surface of the recordation medium, the method comprising the step of causing a support member that supports a cleaner member to pivot in a forward route in substantially parallel to the main surface of the recordation medium such that the cleaner member moves without contacting the main surface of the recordation medium upon one of opening and closing movements of the shutter, and the step of causing the support member to pivot in a backward route opposite the forward route such that the cleaner member moves contacting the man surface of the recordation medium upon the other of the opening and closing movements of the shutter.
A moving speed of the cleaner member may be greater in the backward route than the forward route. The method may further include the step of causing the recordation medium to rotate while the support is moving in the forward and backward routes. The opening and closing movements of the shutter may take place within an apparatus for replaying the recordation medium.