Hi,
I searched for patents assigned to Mitsumi that might be relevant to the Disk System.
The most interesting/useful is a Japanese patent, JP 63004477 (A) dated 1988-01-09. The English title for that is "File management system for magnetic disk", and there are diagrams showing the header, directory, gap, id, sector data, sync, crc etc., which could be similar to the FDS disk layout. Maybe someone who can read Japanese would like to take a look? There could be some useful info there.
US patent 4665453, filed on 1984-04-25: "Floppy disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus" appears to cover an alternative top-loading drive mechanism which wasn't used for the FDS. This page has a picture of a drive with that type of mechanism.
US patent 4573572 "Recording disc cartridge" covers construction of the disk, not particularly useful, as is D287597 "Magnetic disc cassette" covering the external design.
US patent 4669009, filed on 1983-10-25: "FLOPPY DISC RECORDING AND/OR REPRODUCING APPARATUS HAVING A LOADING MECHANISM FOR LOADING A CARTRIDGE WHICH ACCOMODATES A FLOPPY DISC" actually seems to be a 3" floppy drive, so not relevant here.
Mitsumi patents relating to Quick Disk (FDS)
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That top loading one was used for the MSX, as I have one. No clue how to use it, though. My MSX skills are almost nil. I heard the MSX, MZ-1500, possibly Amstrad and maybe others could copy FDS disks, but I have no clue how. I even saw a pic of an FDS drive somehow hooked to a MZ-1500, but no pic of the connection itself.
Whoa, that link to the top loader mentions it was used for the TI CC-40. Interesting. That's news to me. Never heard of that machine. I wonder what good that machine was even for. I have to wonder if that top loader was an add-on (like a second drive) or if they just mean that area in the top right of the CC-40 image was the QD drive and used the same technology as the top loader.
I can't make out what that supposed disk area reads as in the second pic other than CAUTION static electricity blah blah blah. Hmmm.
-Rob
Whoa, that link to the top loader mentions it was used for the TI CC-40. Interesting. That's news to me. Never heard of that machine. I wonder what good that machine was even for. I have to wonder if that top loader was an add-on (like a second drive) or if they just mean that area in the top right of the CC-40 image was the QD drive and used the same technology as the top loader.
I can't make out what that supposed disk area reads as in the second pic other than CAUTION static electricity blah blah blah. Hmmm.
-Rob