US 7,543,310 B2
Optical disk apparatus with openings for discharging air from therein
Mitsukata Shizuya, Ryugasaki (Japan); Makoto Ibe, Hitachinaka (Japan); Hideyuki Onuma, Urayasu (Japan); Shinya Tsubota, Mito (Japan); Yoshiaki Yamauchi, Minori (Japan); Keiji Sasao, Kasumigaura (Japan); Manabu Ochi, Fujisawa (Japan); and Hiroyuki Toyoda, Hitachinaka (Japan)
Assigned to Hitachi - LG Data Storage, Inc., (Japan)
Filed on Jul. 29, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/193,712.
Claims priority of application No. 2005-037040 (JP), filed on Feb. 15, 2005.
Prior Publication US 2006/0184951 A1, Aug. 17, 2006
Int. Cl. G11B 17/04 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 720—601  [720/655] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An optical disk apparatus for writing and/or reading information on a front recording surface of an optical disk, comprising:
a chassis including a first wall facing to the front recording surface in a thickness direction of the optical disk, and a second wall facing to a reverse surface of the optical disk opposite to the front recording surface in the thickness direction, so that the optical disk is capable of being contained in the chassis, and
a tray being movable with respect to the chassis in a movable direction perpendicular to the thickness direction and adapted to support the optical disk thereon so that the optical disk is movable with respect to the chassis in the movable direction,
wherein the chassis has an opening for discharging air from an inside of the chassis to an outside of the chassis through the opening, and
wherein the opening has first and second peripheral edges opposite to each other in a direction of an air flow capable of being generated by a rotation of the optical disk, the first peripheral edge is arranged at a relatively downstream side with respect to the second peripheral edge in the direction of the air flow, and a distance of the first peripheral edge obtainable with respect to the optical disk in the thickness direction is smaller than a distance of the second peripheral edge obtainable with respect to the optical disk in the thickness direction, the opening being arranged at a radial outside with respect to an outer periphery of the optical disk to be prevented from overlapping the optical disk as seen in the thickness direction when the tray is positioned at a disk rotating position at which the optical disk is capable of being rotated for writing and/or reading the information on the optical disk.