GB2286715A - Compact disc auto changers - Google Patents

Abstract

A compact disc auto changer includes two adjacent vertical stacks of compact disc magazines (Fig. 1, 2), below each of which is a playback unit (Fig. 1 3). A carrier member (Fig. 1 10) is arranged to move vertically between the magazines and the playback units. The carrier member includes a housing (Fig. 1 50) to which a spring-loaded push lever 14 is pivotally connected. A laterally slidable carriage 30, to which a free arm member (Fig. 4a 40) is pivotally connected, is slidable along rails (Fig. 3 12) within the housing (Fig. 1 50) by means of a motor 20. The free arm member (Fig. 4a 40) carries spaced idler rollers 43. A flap 18 stamped out of the housing (Fig. 1 50) is positioned to engage the free arm member (Fig. 4a 40) when the carriage 30 moves laterally and to cause it to move pivotally. When a compact disc is to be exchanged, the carriage 30 is moved laterally and the free arm member is caused to rotate until one of the idler rollers engages the periphery of the disc. A lever pushing side member 33 presses the push lever 14 and causes it to rotate and thus to slide the disc out of the magazine and into contact with both idler rollers. The disc is then supported by the push lever 14 and the idler rollers 43 and is moved onto a transport portion 11 of the carrier member 10. <IMAGE>

Description

CONPACT DISC AUTO CHANGERS This invention relates to compact disc (CD) auto changers and a method of exchanging compact discs in auto changers which enables CD's to be safely and quickly transported between CD storage magazines and a playback unit.

CD's are of standardised format and the information stored on them is limited. In businesses which require a large amount of information a great many CD's must therefore be prepared and exchanged with one another, when necessary.

A considerable amount of time and effort is required to supply a large number of CD's to a disc player sequentially and this is inconvenient. This inconvenience increases with the number of CD's. As a result, a range of different apparatus enabling an easy exchange of CD's, i.e. auto changers, have been proposed.

Examples of such CD auto changers have been developed by the SONY company and the VICTOR company.

Such known CD auto changers comprise several opposed layers of CD storage magazines for storing CD's and a vertically displaceable carrier member which moves between the magazines and the playback unit, the carrier member having an arm which pushes CD's from the magazines and the playback unit to the carriage member or vice versa.

In the VICTOR type CD auto changer, the CD chambers of the magazine have trays from which CD's are removed or into which CD's are inserted. A carrier member moves between the playback unit and the magazines. With this arrangement, the carrier member takes one of the trays of the CD storage magazines from the CD storage chambers.

A selected compact disc is attached to the carrier member electromagnetically and the tray returns to the CD storage chambers of the magazines. The carrier member holding the selected CD is moved to the upper surface of the playback unit. The playback unit has a tray which moves out of the playback unit, receives the CD and then returns to the playback unit. After being reproduced, the CD is returned to the tray of the CD storage magazine.

In the VICTOR type CD auto changer, the trays mounted in the magazines and the playback unit must be taken out and reinserted. This operation is complicated and unreliable and requires a relatively substantial amount of time.

In the SONY type CD auto changer, the components of the auto changer are complicated, resulting in difficulty in assembly and problems occurring in many areas of the auto changer, which also results in a reduction in the productivity.

The SONY type CD auto changer is shown in Figure 6, which is a diagrammatic plan view. As shown, disc storage magazines have disc storage chambers are disposed above playback units 400. A carrier member 200 moves between the storage magazines and the playback units 400. When a push lever 301 of the carrier member pushes the CD's, a large roller 300 rotates causing the CD's to move towards the centre of the carrier member 200. The carrier member 200 moves vertically to the playback units. Another push lever 302 pushes the CD's to the centre of one of the playback units and positions the CD's on the playback units. After being reproduced, the CD's return to the magazines.

The SONY type CD auto changer described above operates as follows: rotation in both directions of the push levers 301, 302 and of the larger roller 300 causes compact discs located at both sides of the carrier member 200 or at the playback unit to roll towards a predetermined location. This known auto changer requires a lot of expensive components which entails high manufacturing costs and complex construction.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact disc auto changer which is of simple construction and which may simply control the location of compact discs and thus requires no separate components for holding a compact disc at the centre of the apparatus.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a compact disc auto changer in which compact discs are supported at at least three points when being extracted from a magazine, whereby the compact discs are transported in a stable manner.

According to the present invention a compact disc auto changer for automatically exchanging compact discs in a compact disc player comprises a housing; a plurality of compact disc storage chambers disposed in at least one vertical stack; a carrier member which is arranged for vertical movement between the storage chambers and the playback unit which, in use, is arranged beneath each stack; the carrier member including a disc receiving rear body for receiving compact discs thereon and a front housing; a spring-loaded push lever pivotally attached to the front housing for moving compact discs out of the storage chambers and a laterally slidable carriage having a free arm member for inserting compact discs into the storage chambers or the playback unit(s); a motor fixed to the front housing; the laterally slidable carriage being mounted on guide rails within the front housing and coupled to the motor to be slid thereby, the carriage having a portion to which the free arm member is pivotally attached, the free arm member carrying spaced idler rollers for engaging the peripheral face of a compact disc, and having a lever pushing side member for engagement with the push lever to rotate it against the action of the restoring spring; and a projection extending from the bottom of the front housing which is positioned to be engaged by the free arm member when the carriage member is slid laterally on the guide rails to cause the free arm member to pivot to a position in which, in use, one of the idler rollers contacts the periphery of a compact disc, whereby, in use, the push lever is caused to rotate by the lever pushing side member and slide a compact disc out of the storage chamber or the playback unit into contact with one and then both idler rollers whereafter the compact disc is then supported by the push lever and the idler rollers.

Whilst the auto changer may have only a single stack of storage chambers, it is preferred that it has two adjacent stacks below which, in use, respective playback units are disposed.

It is preferred that the front housing has upper and lower housing sections divided by a partition wall, the upper housing section having guide rails on which the laterally slidable carriage is slidable, the push lever being pivotally connected to the underside of the partition wall, the projection being constituted by an upstanding flap punched out of the bottom wall of the lower housing section for engagement by the free arm member, whereby the free arm member is caused to rotate as the slidable carriage moves on the rails towards the push lever.

The motor is preferably fixed to the front housing and carries a gear which is in mesh with a laterally extending rack connected to the carriage.

The projection is preferably disposed between the entrances of the magazines and the push lever.

The present invention can be put into practice in various ways, one of which will now be described by way of example with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a CD auto changer of the present invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of one stack of disc storage magazines and one half of the carrier member of the auto changer; Figure 3A is a cross-sectional view on the line A-A in Figure 2; Figure 3B is a cross-sectional view on the line B-B in Figure 2; Figure 3C is a cross-sectional view on the line C-C in Figure 2; Figure 3D is a cross-sectional view on the line D-D in Figure 2; Figure 4A is a view similar to Figure 2, showing the compact discs immediately before being taken out of the magazines or immediately after being inserted in the magazines of the auto changer; Figure 4B is a view similar to Figure 2, showing the compact discs in the process of being transported to the carrier member from the magazines; and Figure 5 is a plan view showing the free arm member being pivoted by the guide member which is provided at the lower end of the carrier member.

Referring firstly to Figure 1, two vertical rows or stacks of compact disc storage magazines 2 are disposed adjacent and opposed to one another in a housing 1. Each stack of magazines 2 includes four superimposed magazines. Each magazine 2 can accommodate 45 compact discs. Accordingly, a total of 360 compact discs can be accommodated by all the magazines in the housing.

Below each stack of magazines 2 is disposed a playback unit 3. A carrier member 10 is arranged to be movable vertically between the magazines 2 and the playback unit 3 for shifting the compact discs therebetween.

Referring to Figure 2, since the two stacks of the storage magazines 2 are symmetrical with one another and the carrier member 10 is configured symmetrically, only one stack of magazines 2 and one half of the carrier member 10 is illustrated and will be described below.

As best seen in Figure 3A, a motor 20 is fixed to a bracket 21 on the carrier member 10. The motor is connected to a pinion 24A via gear 26. Pinion 24A, which is mounted on a cross-shaft 23, together with gear 26 reduces the driving force of the motor 20, that is to say constitutes step-up gearing. Pulleys 22 and 24, timing belt 22A and gear 25 increase the driving force of the motor 20.

The carrier member 10 is of T-shape and includes a discreceiving rear body 11 on which a compact disc D may be carried and a rectangular front housing 50. An upper housing section 50A of the rectangular front housing 50 has a bottom portion 70 and a laterally slidable carriage 30 which is laterally slidable along guide rails 12. The guide rails 12 extend between a pair of disc push levers 14 which are mounted on respective pivot mounting locking studs 13. The pivot mounting locking studs 13 are laterally spaced from each other and extend from the underside of the bottom portion 70 of the front housing 50.

A pair of side push members 33 are laterally spaced from each other and are attached to opposite sides of the carriage 30. The carriage 30 has a rearwardly extending triangular tail 31 to which a free arm member 40 is pivoted at its centre by a pivot pin 41. The free arm member 40 has opposite disposed disc extracting arms 44 on which gripping idler rollers 43 are mounted. Each gripping idler roller 43 has a peripheral groove 45 for gripping the peripheral surface of compact discs D.

A roller bearing 42 is provided between the pivot pin 41 and the disc extracting arm 44 for facilitating smooth pivotal movement of the free arm member 40. When the free arm member 40 is in a horizontal position, the compact discs D are in a locked position. When the free arm member 40 is not in a horizontal position, the free arm member 40 pushes the compact discs D.

As shown in Figure 3, an upwardly extending rack 32 connected to the carriage 30 extends upwardly and is in mesh with the pinion 24A which is mounted on the cross shaft 23. A gear 26 is in mesh with another gear 25 and is mounted on the other end of the cross shaft 23. The gear 25 is mounted on a shaft which is attached to the bracket 21 and has a pulley 24 mounted on its other end.

The bracket 21 is attached to the front portion of the rectangular housing 50. A timing belt 22A passes over the pulley 24 and a pulley 22 which is mounted on the shaft of the motor 20. The motor 20, which is rotatable in two directions, is fixedly mounted on the bracket 21 between the two push levers 14. The laterally slidable carriage member 30 is caused by the motor 20 to move laterally along the guide rails 12. The pinion 24A, the cross shaft 23 and the gear 26 are used to decrease the power of the motor 20 to a desired degree and the pulley 22, the timing belt 22A, the pulley 24 and the gear 25 are used to increase the motor power to a desired degree.

As shown in Figure 4A, the free end of each push lever 14 has a circular forward protrusion 141 for pushing compact discs D. A roller bearing 15 is mounted between the pivot mounting locking stud 13 and the associated push lever 14. A torsion spring 17 is mounted on each pivot mounting locking stud 13, whereby each push lever is spring loaded towards its rest position.

As shown in Figure 3A, a washer 16 is provided under a screw 19 for preventing separation of the push levers 14 and the torsion springs 17. The rear end of each push lever has a circular protrusion 142 which abuts against and is pushed by its respective side push member 33 on the laterally slidable carriage member 30 when the carriage 30 moves towards the push lever 14 to take compact discs out of one of the magazines 2 or one of the playback units 3.

As shown in Figures 3D and 5, a pair of slightly downturned, laterally spaced upstanding flaps 18 are punched out of the bottom wall of the lower housing section 50B. The flaps 18 are of such a height that they contact one of the idler rollers 43 and each flap 18 has an arc-shaped face which moves the free arm member from the horizontal to the inclined position, that is to say from the position in which it extends parallel to the direction of motion of the carriage to a position in which it is inclined to the said direction. Each flap 18 is disposed between the entrances to the magazines 3 and the centre of the CD auto changer 10. The change in position of the free arm 40 by means of the flap 18 eliminates the necessity of a separate power source.

The sequences of motion of the CD auto changer of the present invention is monitored and controlled by a control device (not shown).

In operation, when it is desired to take a selected one of the compact discs D to one of the magazines 2 or of the playback units 3, the carrier member 10 moves vertically to a height which coincides with the height of the compact disc chamber of the disc storage magazine 2 in which the selected disc D is disposed and stops there.

Then, the carriage member 30 facing the selected disc D is moved by the motor 20 via the pulleys 22, 24, the gears 26, 25, the pinion 24A and the rack 32 so that the carriage 20 initially slides laterally along the rails 12 towards the selected disc D and stops in front of it.

The lateral movement of the carriage 30 towards the selected magazine 2 or playback unit 3 will cause one of the idler rollers 43 of the selected free arm member 40 to contact the associated flap 18 so as to pivot the free arm member 40 about the triangular tail 31 from the horizontal to a slanted position. When this occurs, the other idler roller 43, which is not in contact with the flap 18, will contact the peripheral face of the disc D (first driving state).

When the disc contacts the other idler roller 43, the associated lever pushing side member 33 is slid along the associated guide rail 12 by a motor (not shown) and exerts a force on the rear circular protrusion 142 so as to pivot the push lever 14 a predetermined distance about its pivot mounting locking stud 13 in the opposite direction to the rotation of the free arm member 40.

When this pivotal movement occurs, the associated circular push face 141 exerts a force on the peripheral face of the disc which causes the disc to begin to be taken out of the magazine 2 and to perform a rolling motion (second driving state).

The carriage 30 is then returned towards its original position by reverse rotation of the motor 20 causing the free arm member 40 to pivot towards the horizontal (or inclined) position by the twin action of the force acting on the disc D by the push lever 14 and the reverse driving force of the motor 20. The disc D itself thereof pushes the idler roller 43, causing the other idler roller to contact the peripheral face of the disc D. The carriage is thus returned to its original position, pulling compact disc D from the magazine 2.

Once the push lever 14 has rotated its predetermined distance, the lever pushing side member 33 is also returned to its original position by the reverse driving force and the push lever 14 is returned to its original position by the associated torsion spring 17.

When the carriage 30 arrives at its initial position, the motor 20 stops. Thus, the disc D is removed by first being pushed a predetermined distance by the push lever 14, and then by being pulled (see Figure 5). The pulling occurs because the two idler rollers are now horizontal and contact the disc D at two lower portions of the peripheral face thereof.

When it is desired to insert a disc D into a magazine 2 or playback unit 3, the carrier member 10 moves vertically to a height which coincides with the height of the compartment of the disc storage magazine 2 or the playback unit 3 into which the selected disc D is to be inserted, and the carrier member 10 stops there, causing the motor 20 to operate.

The motor 20 moves the carriage 30 coupled to the pinion 24A towards the playback unit 3 or the magazine 2. The movement of the carriage 30 causes the idler rollers 43 of the free arm member to move into contact with the slightly downturned face of the upstanding flap 18, which causes the arms 40 to pivot from the horizontal to the slanted position.

The pivoting movement of the free arm member 40 transmits a rolling force to the disc D onto the disc receiving body 11 through the idler rollers 43. Consequently, the disc D performs a rolling motion in the force-applying direction and moves toward the magazine 2 or the playback unit 3, with the lever pushing side member 30 not in contact with the circular protrusion 142 of the push lever 14.

Completion of the movement of the disc D results in the polarity of the power supplied to the motor being reversed, causing the carriage 30 to move towards the centre of the CD auto changer 10.

Whilst a specific embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be effected without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (8)

1. A compact disc auto changer comprising a housing; a plurality of compact disc storage chambers disposed in at least one vertical stack; a carrier which is arranged for vertical movement between the storage chambers and a playback unit which, in use, is arranged beneath each stack; the carrier member including a front housing; a spring-loaded push lever pivotally attached to the front housing for moving compact discs out of the storage chambers or the playback unit and a laterally slidable carriage having a free arm member for inserting compact discs into the storage chambers or the playback unit(s); a motor fixed to the front housing; the laterally slidable carriage being mounted on guide rails within the front housing and coupled to the motor to be slid thereby, the carriage having a portion to which the free arm member is pivotally attached, the free arm member carrying spaced idler rollers for engaging the peripheral face of a compact disc, and having a lever pushing side member for engagement with the push lever to rotate against the action of the restoring spring; and a projection extending from the bottom of the front housing which is positioned to be engaged by the free arm member when the carriage member is slid laterally on the guide rails to cause the free arm member to pivot to a position in which, in use, one of the idler rollers contacts the periphery of a compact disc, whereby, in use, the push lever is caused to rotate by the lever pushing side member and slide a compact disc out of a storage chamber or the playback unit into contact with one and then both idler rollers whereafter the compact disc is then supported by the push lever and the idler rollers.

2. A compact disc auto changer as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the compact disc storage chambers are disposed in two adjacent vertical stacks below which, in use, respective playback units are disposed.

3. A compact disc auto changer as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the front housing has upper and lower housing sections divided by a partition wall, the upper housing section having guide rails on which the laterally slidable carriage is slidable, the push lever being pivotally attached to the underside of the partition wall, the projection being constituted by an upstanding flap punched out of the bottom wall of the lower housing section for engagement by the free arm member, whereby the free arm member is caused to rotate as the slidable carriage moves on the rails towards the push lever.

4. A compact disc auto changer as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the motor is fixed to the front housing and carries a gear which is in mesh with a laterally extending rack connected to the carriage.

5. A compact disc auto changer as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the projection is disposed between the entrances of the magazine and the push lever.

6. A compact disc auto changer as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the spacing of the idler rollers is smaller than the diameter of the compact discs.

7. A compact disc auto changer substantially as specifically herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A method of automatically exchanging compact discs in a compact disc player including a housing; one or more vertical stacks of compact disc storage magazines in the housing; a respective playback unit disposed below each stack of compact disc storage magazines; a vertically displaceable carrier member; a front housing including a spring-loaded push lever pivotally attached to the front housing and a laterally slidable carriage having a free arm member pivotally connected thereto; the slidable carriage being mounted on guide rails within the front housing, the free arm member having spaced idler rollers for engagement with the peripheral face of a compact disc, the slidable carriage further having a lever pushing side member adapted to be pushed against the push lever; and a projection on the front housing positioned to be contacted by the free arm member and to cause it to move pivotally when the laterally slidable carriage slides along the guide rails, the method including the steps of: (a) moving the carrier member between the compact disc storage magazines and the playback unit(s); (b) moving the carriage towards a selected one of the compact discs thereby bringing the free arm member into contact with the projection and causing the free arm member to rotate until one of the idler rollers contacts the compact disc; (c) moving the lever pushing side member against the push lever and causing it to rotate into contact with the compact disc and to slide it out of the storage magazine and into contact with both idler rollers; (d) transporting the selected compact disc onto the carrier member by means of the carriage member; and (e) returning the carriage member to its original position.