U.S. patent application number 09/221111 was filed with the patent office on 2001-08-09 for disk player capable of adjusting tilt of optical pickup.
Invention is credited to JEON, CHUL-HO, KIM, SANG-TAE.
Application Number | 20010012261 09/221111 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 19529229 |
Filed Date | 2001-08-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010012261 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KIM, SANG-TAE ; et
al. |
August 9, 2001 |
DISK PLAYER CAPABLE OF ADJUSTING TILT OF OPTICAL PICKUP
Abstract
In a disk player, an optical pickup unit which is supported by
guide shafts installed on a base records/reproduces information by
emitting a optical beam onto a disk while moving along the guide
shafts. A lead screw which is rotated by a transfer motor transfers
a driving force to move the optical pickup unit. A tilt of the
optical pickup unit is adjusted by an adjustment portion which
moves up and down first ends of the guide shafts. A power transfer
portion has a threaded portion which is to be coupled to the lead
screw and installed at the optical pickup unit to be capable of
relatively rotating with respect to the optical pickup unit. As the
optical pickup unit moves up or down, the power transfer portion
and the optical pickup unit rotate relative to each other so that
the gear engagement state between the threaded portion and the lead
screw can be maintained.
Inventors: |
KIM, SANG-TAE; (SUWON-CITY,
KR) ; JEON, CHUL-HO; (SEOUL, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STAAS & HALSEY
ATTN: MICHAEL D STEIN
700 ELEVENTH STREET NW
SUITE 500
WASHINGTON
DC
20001
|
Family ID: |
19529229 |
Appl. No.: |
09/221111 |
Filed: |
December 28, 1998 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
720/675 ;
720/681; G9B/21.005; G9B/7.056; G9B/7.061 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 21/025 20130101;
G11B 7/082 20130101; G11B 7/08582 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
369/219 |
International
Class: |
G11B 017/30; G11B
021/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 29, 1997 |
KR |
97-76370 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A disk player to record and/or reproduce information to/from a
disk, comprising: an optical pickup unit, supported by guide shafts
installed on a base, recording and/or reproducing the information
by emitting an optical beam onto the disk while moving along the
guide shafts; a transfer motor; a lead screw rotated by the
transfer motor, transferring a driving force of the transfer motor
to move said optical pickup unit; adjustment means for adjusting a
tilt of said optical pickup unit by moving first ends of the guide
shafts up and down; and a power transfer portion having a threaded
portion to be coupled to said lead screw and installed at said
optical pickup unit to be capable of relatively rotating with
respect to said optical pickup unit, wherein, as said optical
pickup unit moves up or down, said power transfer portion and said
optical pickup unit rotate relative to each other so that a gear
engagement state between the threaded portion and said lead screw
is maintained.
2. The disk player as claimed in claim 1, wherein said adjustment
means comprises: first and second cam members rotatably installed
at the base and each having a cam groove formed aslant along an
outer circumferential surface thereof such that first ends of the
guide shafts are inserted therein, respectively; and first and
second support blocks respectively supporting second ends of each
of the guide shafts.
3. The disk player as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said
support blocks has a hole having a truncated conic shape formed
therein, to respectively support the second ends of the guide
shafts.
4. The disk player as claimed in claim 1, wherein said power
transfer portion comprises: a frame fixed to a side of said optical
pickup unit; and a pivot member rotatably coupled to said frame and
having a threaded portion formed thereon which is engaged with said
lead screw.
5. A disk player, comprising: a base; a transfer motor installed on
said base; a power transfer portion having a threaded portion; a
lead screw rotated by said transfer motor; a plurality of guide
shafts installed on said base; an optical pickup unit supported by
said plurality guide shafts and coupled to said lead screw by said
power transfer portion, said optical pickup unit emitting an
optical beam onto a disk and moving along the guide shafts
according to a rotation of said lead screw; first and second cam
members each having a cam groove formed aslant along an outer
circumferential surface thereof, said first and second cam members
coupled to respective first ends of each of said guide shafts and
moving the first ends of said guide shafts in an upward and
downward direction; and first and second support blocks each
supporting a respective second end of said plurality of guide
shafts.
6. A disk player to record and/or reproduce information to/from a
disk, comprising: a guide unit; an optical pickup unit guided by
said guide unit; an adjustment unit to shift the guide unit, to
adjust a tilt of said optical pickup unit relative to the disk; a
power driver circuit fixed relative to the disk having a gear
portion and generating a driving force; and a power transfer unit
connected to said optical pickup unit, and having a rotatable
threaded portion engaged with said gear portion, to rotate in
response to the tilting of said optical pickup unit to maintain a
constant engagement with said gear portion, thereby transferring
the driving force from said gear portion to said optical pickup
unit.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Application
No. 97-76370, filed Dec. 29, 1997, in the Korean Patent Office, the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a disk player which is
capable of adjusting a tilt of an optical pickup.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] In a typical disk player, an optical pickup
records/reproduces information by emitting beams onto an optical
disk, while moving across the optical disk.
[0006] FIG. 1 shows a conventional disk player adopted in a
notebook computer. As shown in the drawing, the disk player is
provided with a disk tray 10, where a disk 19 is placed, moving in
and out of a main body 11. A turntable 15, on which the disk 19 is
placed to rotate, and an optical pickup unit 14, which emits
optical beams onto the disk 19 to read information, are installed
at the disk tray 10. The optical pickup unit 14, which is supported
by a lead screw 18, moves across the disk 19 driven by a transfer
motor 16.
[0007] In order to accurately record/reproduce information on/from
the disk 19, the optical pickup unit 14 is required to emit beams
perpendicular to a recording surface of the disk 19. However, due
to errors in assembling a disk player or in manufacturing parts
thereof, the optical beam emitted from the optical pickup unit 14
often does not land perpendicular to the recording surface of the
disk 19. Thus, for the accurate recording/reproducing of
information, means to adjust a tilt of an optical pickup is needed.
Further, the adjustment means should not cause damage to the
assembled state of the lead screw 18 and the optical pickup unit
14, or disturb the smooth operation thereof. That is, means to
adjust a tilt of the optical pickup is needed which can maintain a
normal state of a transfer mechanism of the optical pickup.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a disk
player having an improved structure which can adjust a tilt of an
optical pickup unit so that an optical beam can be emitted which is
perpendicular to a disk while concurrently maintaining a lead screw
and a gear for transferring an optical pickup unit in a normal
engaged state.
[0009] Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be
set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part,
will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice
of the invention.
[0010] Accordingly, to achieve the above and other objects of the
present invention, there is provided a disk player which includes:
an optical pickup unit supported by guide shafts installed on a
base for recording/reproducing information by emitting an optical
beam onto a disk while moving along the guide shafts; a lead screw,
rotated by a transfer motor, for transferring a driving force to
move the optical pickup unit; an adjustment portion for adjusting a
tilt of the optical pickup unit by moving up and down first ends of
the guide shafts; and a power transfer portion having a threaded
portion to be coupled to the lead screw and installed at the
optical pickup unit to be capable of relatively rotating with
respect to the optical pickup unit. In the disk player, as the
optical pickup unit moves up or down, the power transfer portion
and the optical pickup unit rotate relative to each other so that
the gear engagement state between the threaded portion and the lead
screw can be maintained.
[0011] It is preferable in the present invention that the
adjustment portion includes: a cam member rotatably installed at
the base and having a cam groove formed aslant along the outer
circumferential surface thereof such that first ends of the guide
shafts are inserted therein; and a support block supporting the
second end of each of the guide shafts.
[0012] Also, it is preferable in the present invention that the
power transfer portion includes: a frame fixed to one side of the
optical pickup unit; and a pivot member coupled to the frame to be
capable of relatively rotating and having a threaded portion formed
thereon which is engaged with the lead screw.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] These other objects and advantages of the invention will
become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following
description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings of which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a partially cut-away
conventional disk player;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a partially cut-away disk
player according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating adjuster adopted
in the disk player shown in FIG. 2; and
[0017] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a power transfer
portion adopted in the disk player shown in FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] Reference will now be made in detail to the present
preferred embodiment of the present invention, examples of which
are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference
numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiment is
described below in order to explain the present invention by
referring to the figures.
[0019] Referring to FIG. 2, a disk player according to an
embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 110, a
base 101 and a disk tray 100 which moves in and out of the main
body 110 and where a disk (not shown) is placed. In the case of a
notebook computer where the disk player is slim (as shown in the
embodiment of the present invention), the base 101 is installed on
the disk tray 101. However, in the case of a normal disk player,
such as one for a desktop computer, the base 101 is installed in
the main body 110.
[0020] The base 101 has mounted thereon a turntable 151, which
supports and rotates the disk, an optical pickup unit 140 which
records/reproduces information by emitting a beam onto the disk,
and a pair of guide shafts 170, which support the optical pickup
unit 140 so that it is capable of sliding across the disk.
[0021] A lead screw 180, which is rotated by a transfer motor 160,
is installed at one side of the optical pickup unit 140. The
optical pickup unit 140 is coupled to the lead screw 180 by a power
transfer portion 300, which will be described later, and moves
along the guide shafts 170 according to the rotation of the lead
screw 180.
[0022] Adjustment means includes adjusters for adjusting a tilt of
the optical pickup unit 140 by moving an end portion of each of the
guide shafts 170 up and down are installed at the base 101, wherein
one of the adjusters is shown in FIG. 3. The description which
follows is the same for each of the adjusters positioned at ends of
each of the guide shafts. As shown in the drawing, each adjuster
includes a cam member 210 which is coupled to a first end of a
guide shaft 170 to move the first end of the guide shaft 170 up and
down and a support block 220 installed to support the second end of
the guide shaft 170. A cam groove 211, into which the first end of
the guide shaft 170 is inserted, is formed to be aslant along the
outer circumferential surface of the cam member 210. Accordingly,
as the cam member 210 rotates, the first end of the guide shaft 170
slides along the cam groove 211 and can ascend and descend.
[0023] A support hole 221, into which the second end of the guide
shaft 170 is inserted, is formed at one side of the support block
220. It is preferable that the support hole 221 is formed to have a
truncated conic shape so that the second end of the guide shaft 170
can slightly move corresponding to the movement of the first end of
the guide shaft 170.
[0024] FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the power transfer portion
300 positioned next to the lead screw 180 and adjacent to one of
the guide shafts 170.
[0025] The power transfer portion 300 includes a frame 310 coupled
by screws 311 at the side surface of the optical pickup unit 140
and a pivot member 320 coupled to the frame 310 to be capable of
pivoting. The frame 310 is manufactured by bending a high elastic
metal plate. The pivot member 320 is coupled to a hole 310a formed
at the center of the frame 310 through an injection molding method.
Accordingly, the pivot member 320 can pivot in a direction
indicated by an arrow with respect to the center of the hole 310a.
Also, a threaded portion 321, which gears with the lead screw 180,
is formed at one side of the pivot member 320.
[0026] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in a disk player having the above
structure according to the embodiment of the present invention, the
cam member 210 is rotated to adjust a tilt of the optical pickup
unit 140. A screw-driver groove 210a is formed on the top surface
of the cam member 210 so that the cam member 210 can be rotated by
using a screw driver. As the cam member 210 rotates, the first end
of the guide shaft 170 slides along the cam groove 211 and rises.
Thus, a tilt of the optical pickup unit 140, supported by the guide
shaft 170, changes.
[0027] Then, the frame 310, coupled to the optical pickup unit 140,
pivots slightly in a direction indicated by the arrow shown in FIG.
4 according to a change in the slant of the optical pickup unit
140. Here, since the pivot member 320 is engaged with the lead
screw 180, the pivot member 320 and the frame 310 are rotated
relative to each other. Thus, the normal gear engagement between
the pivot member 320 and the lead screw 180 can be maintained.
[0028] As described above, in the disk player according to the
embodiment of the present invention, a tilt of the optical pickup
unit can be adjusted such that a beam emitted from the optical
pickup unit can perpendicularly land on the surface of the disk
and, concurrently, a mechanism to transfer the optical pickup unit
can be maintained in a normal state.
[0029] In the present preferred embodiment above, although the
optical pickup unit, which is installed at the base of the disk
player is described, it would be obvious to adopt the subject
embodiment in an optical pickup unit installed inside a main body
of a typical disk player.
[0030] Although one preferred embodiment of the present invention
has been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those
skilled in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment
without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention,
the scope of which is defined in the claims and their
equivalents.
* * * * *