Hybrid card and its recording/reproducing apparatus

Claim 1

A recording/reproducing apparatus for a hybrid card, wherein said hybrid card comprises: a substrate having a surface; an IC chip mounted to said substrate for electrically recording information; a contact region electrically connected to said IC chip, said contact region being exposed on the surface of said substrate; and an optical recording region located in said substrate and having a plurality of information tracks, said tracks being in the form of respective straight tracks in which information is optically recorded, said tracks extending substantially parallel to each other in a first direction, and said tracks being formed on the surface of said substrate with a space between said contact region and said tracks; said contact region and said tracks being arranged in line along said first direction with said space located therebetween, said space extending in said first direction; and said recording/reproducing apparatus comprising: holding means for holding the hybrid card; an optical head for recording/reproducing information to/from said tracks, said optical head being located so as to be spaced from the hybrid card; means for mounting said optical head to said holding means such that said optical head is movable relative to a hybrid card held in said holding means along both said first direction which is identical with the extending direction of said tracks, and a second direction which is perpendicular to said first direction; and a contacting member for electrically coupling with said IC chip of the hybrid card held in said holding means, said contacting member being mounted on said holding means and being arranged for mechanically contacting with said contact region of the hybrid card held in said holding means, and spaced from said optical head in said first direction.