JP2002100105A - Disk changer unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a user friendly disk changer which facilitates the ejection operation of a disk stored in the disk changer, and management and operation of disks within the disk changer. SOLUTION: A basic operation mode display 100a is changed into a mechanical operation mode display 100b when a mechanical operation mode change button 12d is clicked. When any area disposed on a displayed picture is clicked among the display area 121 of the upper surface part of a main body, the display area 122 of the front surface part of the main body and a rotary tray display area 123, the operation of a part displayed on each picture can be designated on a displayed picture by a mouse operation of a click, a drag or the like.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disc changer device capable of managing and operating a large number of compact discs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a disc changer capable of managing and operating a plurality of discs such as a compact disc for music has been realized. The disc changer stores a plurality of discs, and it is possible to specify and reproduce a specific disc from the plurality of stored discs. In this case, the storage format of the disk is various. For example, a rotary donut-shaped disc tray has been devised which holds and stores a disc by erecting the disc on a rotary disc having a plurality of grooves extending in the radial direction.

[0003] In a conventional disc changer having a rotating donut-shaped disc tray, discs are exchanged through a disc exchange port provided in the front of the disc changer. FIGS. 17 (a) and 17 (b) show an example of a disk exchange port of this disk changer.

FIG. 17 (a) is a view showing a disk exchange opening and closing operation which is performed by an overturning method, and FIG. 17 (b)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a disk exchange port that opens and closes in a sliding manner. When a user removes a disc from the disc changer, a finger is inserted into the disc exchange port illustrated in FIGS. 17A and 17B, and several fingers located at the front of the disc exchange port are sandwiched between these fingers and ejected. I was

[0005]

However, when loading or unloading a disk through a disk exchange opening provided in the front of a disk changer having the above-mentioned conventional rotary toroidal disk tray, the disk is taken out right beside the disk tray. This means that the number of disks that can be taken out at one time is small. Therefore, the greater the number of stored disks, the greater the labor and time involved in the replacement operation.

In particular, as the number of disks to be stored is larger, it is more difficult to find the storage position of the disks, and the labor and time required for replacing a large number of disks have been great.

Further, the storage position of the disk to be taken out must be moved to the disk exchange port by manual operation using a jog dial or the like, which is inconvenient.

An object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use disk changer that can easily take out a disk stored in a disk changer and easily manage and operate the disk in the disk changer. .

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The present invention has the following features in order to solve such problems. In the following description of the means, a configuration corresponding to the embodiment is shown by parentheses as an example. Reference numerals and the like are reference numerals and the like in the drawings described later.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a rotary disk storage unit (for example, a rotary tray 3 shown in FIG. 5) capable of storing a plurality of disks such as music compact disks.
1) and storage position detecting means for detecting the position of the rotary disk storage (for example, the sensors 34a to 34a shown in FIG. 5).
34c) and a disc identification means (for example, disc discriminating means) for discriminating discs stored in the rotary disc storage unit one by one.
A disk presence / absence detection sensor 34d shown in FIG. 5), disk playback means (for example, a pickup unit 47 shown in FIG. 7) for playing back the disk specified by the disk identification means, and a rotating surface of the rotary disk storage unit. A disk changer device (for example, a disk shown in FIG. 1) including a first disk replacement unit (for example, a disk replacement port 24 shown in FIG. 2) capable of taking out and storing a plurality of disks from a parallel direction. Changer 2
In (0), a second disk exchange unit (for example, the disk exchange port 25 shown in FIG. 2) capable of taking out and storing a plurality of disks from a direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the rotary disk storage unit is installed. It is characterized by having.

According to the disk changer device of the first aspect of the present invention, a rotary disk storage unit capable of storing a plurality of disks such as compact music disks, and a storage unit for detecting the position of the rotary disk storage unit. Position detecting means, disk identifying means for identifying each disk stored in the rotary disk storage unit, disk playing means for playing the disk specified by the disk identifying means, and rotating disk storage means A disc changer device comprising: a first disc exchanging unit capable of taking out and storing a plurality of discs in a direction parallel to a rotating surface of the unit; It is possible to take out and store a plurality of disks from a direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the disk.

Therefore, by providing the second disk exchange unit, the disk can be taken out from the direction perpendicular to the rotation surface of the rotary disk storage unit, that is, from above the rotation surface. , And the user's labor involved in disk replacement can be reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the disk changer device according to the first aspect, the second disk exchange section has an opening / closing mechanism that allows a plurality of doors to sequentially slide and open / close in a sliding manner. Features.

Therefore, by providing an opening / closing mechanism in which a plurality of doors slide sequentially to open and close in a sliding manner, it is possible to adjust the width of the frontage of the disk exchange section in accordance with the number of disks to be exchanged. Therefore, it is difficult for dust and dirt to enter the disc changer device, and the disc not to be replaced is not touched, thereby improving safety and operability.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotary disc storage unit (for example, a rotary tray 3 shown in FIG. 5) capable of storing a plurality of discs such as compact discs for music.
1) and storage position detecting means for detecting the position of the rotary disk storage (for example, the sensors 34a to 34a shown in FIG. 5).
34c) and a disc identification means (for example, disc discriminating means) for discriminating discs stored in the rotary disc storage unit one by one.
A disk presence / absence detection sensor 34d shown in FIG. 5), disk playback means (for example, a pickup unit 47 shown in FIG. 7) for playing back the disk specified by the disk identification means, and a rotating surface of the rotary disk storage unit. A disk changer unit (for example, a disk shown in FIG. 1) including a first disk replacement unit (for example, a disk replacement port 24 shown in FIG. 2) capable of taking out and storing a plurality of disks from a parallel direction. A changer 20) and a management unit (for example, the computer 10 shown in FIG. 1) that controls the operation of the disk changer unit and manages the disks stored in the rotary disk storage unit. I do.

According to the disc changer device of the present invention, a plurality of discs such as compact music discs are stored by the rotary disc storage section, and the rotary disc storage section is stored by the storage section position detecting means. The position is detected, and the discs stored in the rotary disc storage unit are discriminated one by one by disc discriminating means,
The disc specified by the disc discriminating means is reproduced by the disc reproducing means, and a plurality of discs are taken out or stored in a direction parallel to the rotating surface of the rotary disc storage unit by the first disc exchanging unit. And a management unit for controlling the operation of the disk changer unit and managing the disks stored in the rotary disk storage unit.

Therefore, the operation of opening and closing the disk exchange opening, the operation of rotating the rotary disk storage unit, the management of the stored disks, and the various operations related to the reproduction processing of these disks are finely controlled by the management unit.
It is possible to provide a disk changer device with high operability and convenience. When the management unit has a display device, an operation instruction for the disc changer unit is issued by clicking or dragging the mouse on the display screen of the display device, so that the disc changer device is easy to use.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the disk changer device according to the third aspect, the disk changer unit takes out a plurality of disks from a direction perpendicular to a rotation surface of the rotary disk storage unit, and It is characterized by further comprising a second disk exchange unit capable of storing, and controlling the second disk exchange unit by the management unit.

Therefore, by providing the second disk exchange unit, it is possible to take out disks from a direction perpendicular to the rotation surface of the rotary disk storage unit, that is, from above the rotation surface. It is possible to pinch the disk with both hands, and the user's labor involved in disk replacement can be reduced. Furthermore, since the control of the second disk exchange unit is performed by the management unit, the opening and closing of the second disk exchange unit can be controlled in accordance with the storage position of the disk to be exchanged, and the disk changer has excellent operability. Equipment can be provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the disk changer device of the fourth aspect, the second disk exchange section has an opening / closing mechanism that allows a plurality of doors to sequentially slide and open / close in a sliding manner. Features.

Therefore, the opening / closing mechanism in which the plurality of doors slide sequentially to open and close in a sliding manner can adjust the width of the front end of the disk exchange section according to the number of disks to be exchanged. It is difficult for dust and dirt to enter the device, and the disk that is not the object of the replacement operation is not touched, so that safety and operability can be improved. In addition, the second slide
The front end of the disk exchange unit is adjusted by the management unit, so that the width of the front end of the second disk exchange unit can be easily adjusted to the number of disks to be exchanged, and a highly operable disk changer. Equipment can be provided.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a disc changer system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a disc changer system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The disc changer system 1 includes a computer 10 and a disc changer 20, and the disc changer 20 is connected to the computer 10 via a cable 2. Computer 10
Comprises a control device 11 and a display device 12;
Executes various application programs related to the operation of the disc changer 20 stored in the control device 11, and the display device 12 displays various display information output from the control device 11 according to the various application programs.

The disc changer 20 has a rotary tray 31 (see FIG. 5) to be described later and can store up to 200 discs, and responds to various control signals transmitted from the computer 10 via the cable 2. Then, the reproducing operation of these storage disks is performed.

FIG. 2A shows the disc changer 20.
(B) is a top view of the disc changer 20;
(C) is a front view of the disc changer 20.
FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the upper surface of the disc changer 20 is provided with a semicircular disk exchange port 25 formed by four upper doors 25a to 25d having a fan shape. These upper doors 25a to 25d
Are rotationally moved along the upper surface of the disc changer 20 around the vertex indicated by the symbol A in the figure. The rotational movement of the upper surface doors 25a to 25d causes the disk exchange port 2 to rotate.
5, the opening and closing operation is performed (details will be described later).

The semi-circular disk exchange port 25 is formed in accordance with the storage position of a rotary donut type disk tray disposed inside the disk changer 20, so that the disk exchange port 25 is completely formed. When the disk is opened, half of all disks stored in the disk tray are exposed.

As shown in FIG. 2B, an operation panel 21 is provided in front of the disc changer 20.
The operation panel 21 includes an operation key 22, a display unit 23, and a disk exchange port 24. This disk exchange port 24
May have a front-facing door as illustrated in FIG. 17A, or may have a sliding door as illustrated in FIG. 17B.

That is, the disc changer 20
A disk exchange port 24 provided on the operation panel 21 and a disk exchange port 2 including upper surface doors 25a to 25d.
5 is provided with two disk exchange ports. When exchanging the storage disk in the disk changer 20, either disk exchange port may be used.

FIG. 3A is a three-dimensional view showing the configuration of the upper door 25c and the upper door 25d. FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the opening and closing mechanism of the upper door 25c and the upper door 25d. It is a perspective view shown typically.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the upper door 25c
Is located at the lower part of the upper surface door 25d, and FIG.
As shown in the figure, the upper surface door 25c can be opened and closed by rotating in a pulling manner with the vertex indicated by the symbol A in the figure as a rotation axis.

The operation of opening and closing the upper door 25c will be described in more detail. FIG. 4 shows the upper surface door 25c and the upper surface door 25.
FIG. 6 is an operation exploded view showing the rotational movement of the opening / closing mechanism of d in four stages in a perspective view, and FIG.
(B) shows the second stage of the rotational movement, FIG. (C) shows the third stage of the rotational movement, and (d) of FIG. ) Shows the fourth stage of the rotational movement.

As shown in FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (d), the upper surface door 25c slides to the lower portion of the upper surface door 25d in a sliding manner with the vertex indicated by the symbol A in the drawing as a rotation axis. Moving. The upper surface door 25c can be further rotated from the fourth stage of the rotational movement shown in FIG.
It is possible to slide to the lower part of 5d and rotate until it completely overlaps with the upper door 25d. Thereafter, the upper door 25c and the upper door 25d, which are completely overlapped with each other, slide and move to the lower portion of the upper surface of the disc changer 20 in a pulling manner as a unit, and rotate.
Rotational movement is possible until it is completely hidden in the lower part of the upper surface.

That is, the upper surface door 25c and the upper surface door 25
d, and the upper surface of the disc changer 20 is configured stepwise, and the upper surface door 25c is located at the lowermost position,
Next, the upper surface door 25d is located above the upper surface door 25c, and the upper surface of the disc changer 20 is arranged at the uppermost portion. Then, the upper surface doors 25c and 25d rotate in a pulling manner with the vertex indicated by the symbol A in the drawing as a rotation axis, slide to the lower portion of the upper surface of the disc changer 20, and overlap each other.

The structure of the upper doors 25a and 25b and the opening / closing mechanism are the same as those of the above upper doors 25c and 25d.

The upper doors 25a to 25d are driven by a door opening / closing control motor 49 which will be described later. The door opening / closing control motor 49 operates according to a control signal transmitted from the microcomputer 40. (See FIG. 7).

FIG. 5 is a main part top view showing a schematic configuration of the disk storage section 30 provided in the disk changer 20. The disk storage unit 30 stores a plurality of disks and performs a reproducing operation of a disk desired by the user from among these disks.

The disk storage unit 30 includes a rotary tray 31, a rotary tray control motor 32, a disk arm 33, a sensor support plate 34, sensors 34a to 34c,
In addition, a disk presence / absence detection sensor 34d is provided on the upper portion of the substrate 35.
0 and its peripheral circuits.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rotary tray 31
Is to hold and store the disc by erecting the disc in accordance with the groove on a rotating disk having a plurality of grooves extending in the radial direction from the center. You. Also, the rotary tray 31
When the disk is held in all of the grooves, for example, 2
It is possible to store 00 disks.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rotary tray 31 stores a plurality of disk bundles indicated by reference numerals B1 and B2. Further, the rotary tray 31 performs a rotating operation by the power of a rotary tray control motor 32.

The rotary tray control motor 32 drives the rotary tray 31 in accordance with a control signal output from the rotary tray control motor driver 44 via a cable indicated by a reference numeral in the drawing, and causes the rotary tray 31 to perform an accurate rotation operation. Is performed.

The disk arm 33 operates in accordance with a control signal output from a disk arm control motor driver 45 via a cable indicated by reference numerals in the figure. That is, in response to the control signal, one predetermined disk is pulled out from the rotary tray 31, this disk is set in a reproducing apparatus, and after reproduction, is stored again in a predetermined place in the rotary tray 31.

The sensors 34 a and 34 b are on the substrate 35 and are installed below the rotary tray 31.
The sensors 34a and 34b detect each storage location of the disk on the rotary tray 31 and also detect the rotation direction of the rotary tray 31.

The sensors 34a and 34b are respectively located on two different moving radii (not shown) extending radially from the rotation center axis of the rotary tray 31, and further have different distances from the rotation center of the rotary tray 31. Installed in At the installation positions of the sensors 34a and 34b, the pulse signal PH1 output from the sensor 34a and the pulse signal PH2 output from the sensor 34b are shifted from each other by １ ／ period due to the rotation operation of the rotary tray 31. (See FIG. 6).

The sensor 34a outputs a pulse signal PH1 generated by the rotation of the rotary tray 31 to the microcomputer 40 via a cable indicated by the reference numeral in the figure.
The sensor 34b also outputs a pulse signal PH2 due to the rotation of the rotary tray 31 to the microcomputer 40 via a cable indicated by the reference numeral in the figure.

The sensor 34c is provided on the substrate 35 and below the rotary tray 31, and determines the position of the rotary tray 31.

The sensor 34c generates a gate signal by the rotating operation of the rotary tray 31, and outputs the gate signal to the microcomputer 40 via a cable shown in the figure.

The disk presence / absence detection sensor 34d is provided on the sensor support plate 34 and is provided above the rotary tray 31, and detects the presence / absence of a disk on the rotary tray 31.

The disk presence / absence detection sensor 34d outputs a detection signal indicating the presence / absence of a disk to the microcomputer 40 via a cable indicated by reference numerals in the figure.

Next, the positions of the rotary tray 31 and the disks stored in the rotary tray 31 are determined by the sensors 34a to 34a.
34d, a detection method for detecting based on the signal output from
This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6A is a time chart of the pulse signals PH1 to PH3 output from the sensors 34a to 34c, and FIG. 6B is a timing chart showing the pulse signals PH1 and PH2 output from the sensors 34a and 34b. Presence detection sensor 3
4D is a time chart of a disk presence / absence detection signal output by 4d.

PH1 is a pulse signal output from the sensor 34a, and PH2 is a pulse signal output from the sensor 34b with a 周期 cycle delay from PH1. The pulse signals PH1 and PH2 are output in accordance with the rotation operation of the rotary tray 31, and are bit signals having only two types of amplitude information of "High" or "Low". PH3 is a gate signal output from the sensor 34c to the microcomputer 40.

Reference numerals C1 to C8 in the figure indicate count timings at which the microcomputer 40 counts the disk storage locations (grooves formed in the rotary tray 31) in units of one disk. This count timing occurs when the pulse signals PH1 and PH2 both become "Low".

The gate signal PH3 is output from the rotary tray 3
For example, a “Low” section of PH3 shown in FIG. 6A corresponds to a section having five grooves formed on the rotary tray 31 as shown in FIG. That is, the rotary tray 31 is provided with a plurality of sections in advance, and the number of grooves formed in each section is different from each other. Therefore, “Lo” of the gate signal PH3
The position of the rotary tray 31 can be detected by counting the number of the count timings included in the w ″ section.

The phases of the pulse signals PH1 and PH2 are shifted from each other by a half wavelength, and if the rotation direction of the rotary tray 31 is reversed, this phase is also reversed and the phase of PH1 in FIG.
And the signal of PH2 is switched. That is, the pulse signal P
The rotation direction of the rotary tray 31 can be detected from the phases of H1 and PH2.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the disk presence / absence detection sensor 34d outputs a "High" signal as a standard signal for normal output. When the above-described count timing occurs due to the rotation operation of the rotary tray 31, if a disk is stored in the disk storage location on the rotary tray 31 corresponding to the count timing, the disk presence / absence detection sensor 34d continues to output the standard signal. At the same time, the microcomputer 40 records this information in a built-in RAM (not shown). On the other hand, when the count timing occurs due to the rotation operation of the rotary tray 31 and the disk is not stored in the disk storage location on the rotary tray 31 corresponding to the count timing, the disk presence / absence detection sensor 34d outputs the “Low” signal. 1
The microcomputer outputs a pulse signal to the microcomputer 40.
Records this information in the RAM.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing the internal circuit of the disc changer 20. According to FIG. 7, the disc changer 20 includes a microcomputer 40,
Input unit 41, display unit 42, door opening / closing control motor driver 43, rotary tray control motor driver 44, disk arm control motor driver 45, DSP 46,
Pickup unit 47, load / unload SW4
8 and a door open / close control motor 49, and each unit except the input unit 41, the display unit 42, the pickup unit 47, the load / unload SW 48, and the door open / close control motor 49 includes a plurality of buses. Connected by

The microcomputer 40 receives signals output from the sensors 34a to 34c and the disk presence / absence detection sensor 34d via the cable 〜, and controls the operation of the rotary tray 31 based on the received signals. Various position information is calculated, and the position information is stored in a RAM (not shown) in the microcomputer 40.

Further, the microcomputer 40 receives various control signals transmitted from the computer 10 via an interface (not shown) and controls the received various control signals and the operation of the rotary tray 31. Disk changer 2 based on the position information
0, the opening and closing operations of the disk exchange ports 24 and 25, the operation of the disk arm 33, and the like.

The disc changer 20 can be connected to an external recording device. In this case, the microcomputer 40 can output the reproduction data of the disk to the connected external recording device and record it on a predetermined recording medium provided in the external recording device.

The input unit 41 includes various operation keys 22 for operating the disk, and is provided on the operation panel 21.
When the operation key 22 is pressed, a signal for pressing the pressed key is generated and output to the microcomputer 40.

The display section 42 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal D)
is displayed). This display section 42
Various display information output from the microcomputer 40 is displayed. For example, the operation mode (rotational movement, disc search, etc.) of the rotation operation of the rotary tray 31, the open / close state of the disc exchange ports 24 and 25, the track number of the disc being reproduced, and the like are displayed.

The door opening / closing control motor driver 43 controls the disk change port 24 provided on the operation panel 21 of the disk changer 20 and the disk changer 2 based on the control signal output from the microcomputer 40.
A door opening / closing control motor 49 for opening / closing a door of each of the disk exchange ports 25 formed on the upper surface portion is driven.

Rotary tray control motor driver 4
4 drives a rotary tray control motor 32 that rotates the rotary tray 31 based on a control signal output from the microcomputer 40.

Disk arm control motor driver 45
Drives a disk arm control motor (not shown) that operates the disk arm 33 based on a control signal output from the microcomputer 40.

DSP (Digital Signal Processor) 46
Converts encoded digital data output from a pickup unit 47 described later into a data format that can be processed by the microcomputer 40 and outputs the data to the microcomputer 40.

The pickup unit 47 reads the encoded digital data recorded on the disk set in the reproducing device (not shown) and outputs the digital data as it is to the DSP.

The load / unload SW 48 downloads the index information or the like recorded on the disc set in the reproducing apparatus, or downloads the index information or the like already downloaded when the disc is released from the reproducing apparatus. A signal instructing whether or not to clear is output to the microcomputer 40.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 8 shows a disc changer system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a flowchart showing the operation processing of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the switching operation of the operation screen of the disk changer 20 displayed on the display device 12. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing disk exchange ports 24 and 25 and the rotary tray 31 respectively. 5 is an example of a display screen displayed on the display device 12 at the time of operation. Hereinafter, the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 11.

The basic operation mode display 100a shown in FIG.
Displays a TEXT display area 12a, a basic display area 12b, a basic operation input section 12c, and a mechanical operation mode switching button 12d. In the TEXT display area 12a, text such as the title of the disc being reproduced is displayed, and in the basic display display area 12b,
The operation contents of the disc changer 20 are displayed.
The basic operation input unit 12c includes various input buttons (play button, stop button, etc.) related to a disk reproduction process, and a mechanical operation mode switching button 12d is a switch for switching a display screen to a mechanical operation mode display 100b. It has become.

The mechanical operation mode display 100b includes a main body top display area 121 and a main body front display area 12b.
2. It is configured by displaying a rotary tray display area 123 and a basic operation mode switching button 12e.
When the mouse pointer is positioned on the main body top display area 121 and clicked, the display screen is switched to the main body top display screen 100c. When the mouse pointer is positioned on the main body front display area 122 and clicked, the main body front display screen 100d is displayed. When the mouse pointer is positioned on the rotary tray display area 123 and clicked, the display screen is switched to the rotary tray display screen 100e (see FIG. 11).

In FIG. 8, the control device 11 loads an application program relating to the operation of the disc changer 20 on the RAM, executes the application program, and displays a basic operation mode display 100a of the disc changer 20 on the display device 1.
2 is displayed on the display screen (step S1).

Next, the control device 11 operates the basic operation input unit 1
It is determined whether there is an input by a mouse click on 2c (step S2). When there is an input to the basic operation input unit 12c (Step S2; Yes), the control device 11 generates a control signal for executing the basic operation process based on the input instruction signal, and sends the control signal to the microcomputer 40. Send. The microcomputer 40 is
The basic operation process of the disc changer 20 is executed according to the transmitted control signal (step S3). Next, when the basic operation processing of the disc changer 20 in step S3 is completed, the microcomputer 40 transmits an end signal to the control device 11, and the control device 11
Moves to step S2 again.

In step S2, the basic operation input unit 1
If there is no input for 2c (Step S2; No),
The control device 11 proceeds to step S4, and determines whether or not there is an input by a mouse click on the mechanical operation mode switching button 12d (step S4).

In step S4, if there is no input to the mechanical operation mode switching button 12d (step S4; No), the process proceeds to step S5 to determine whether or not there is an end instruction. Here, if there is an end instruction (step S5; Yes), the program related to the operation of the disc changer 20 is ended, and if there is no end instruction (step S5; No), the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S4, if there is an input to the mechanical operation mode switching button 12d (step S4).
4; Yes), the process proceeds to step S6, and the mechanical operation mode display 100b of the disc changer 20 is displayed on the display screen of the display device 12.

Next, the control device 11 determines whether or not there is a selection input by clicking the mouse on the main body upper surface display area 121 (step S7). When there is a selection input to the main body top display area 121 (Step S7; Yes), the main body top display screen 100c displaying only the display contents of the main body top display area 121 instead of the mechanical operation mode display 100b (see FIG. 11). ) Is displayed (step S8), and the processing shifts to the operation processing of the disk exchange ports 24 and 25 and the rotary tray 31.

In step S7, when there is no selection input to the main body upper surface display area 121 (step S7).
7; No), the control device 11 is a display area 1 on the front surface of the main body.
Then, it is determined whether or not there is a selection input by clicking the mouse with respect to 22 (step S9). When there is a selection input to the main body front display area 122 (step S9;
Yes), a main body front display screen 100d (see FIG. 11) displaying only the display contents of the main body front display area 122 in place of the mechanical operation mode display 100b is displayed (step S10), and the disk exchange ports 24 and 25 are displayed. , And the operation process of the rotary tray 31.

In step S9, when there is no selection input to main body front display area 122 (step S9).
9; No), the control device 11 determines whether or not there is a selection input by a mouse click on the rotary tray display area 123 (step S11). When there is a selection input to the rotary tray display area 123 (Step S11; Yes), the mechanical operation mode display 10
Rotary tray display screen 100 displaying only the display contents of rotary tray display area 123 in place of 0b
e (see FIG. 11) is displayed (step S12), and the processing shifts to the operation processing of the disk exchange ports 24 and 25 and the rotary tray 31.

In step S11, when there is no selection input to the rotary tray display area 123 (step S11; No), the control device 11 determines whether there is an input by a mouse click on the basic operation mode switching button 12e. It is determined (step S13). When there is an input to the basic operation mode switching button 12e, the process proceeds to step S1 via.

In step S13, if there is no input to the basic operation mode switching button 12e, the flow shifts to step S14 to determine whether or not there is an end instruction.
Here, when there is an end instruction (step S14; Ye
s) If the program relating to the operation of the disc changer 20 is terminated and there is no termination instruction (step S1)
4; No), the process proceeds to step S7.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation processing of the disk exchange ports 24 and 25 and the rotary tray 31. The control device 11 includes a mode switching button 12
At f, it is determined whether or not there is a selection input to the basic operation mode display 100a (step S20), and if there is a selection input to the basic operation mode display 100a (step S20).
20; Yes), the control device 11 proceeds to step S1 via. When there is no selection input of the basic operation mode display 100a for the mode switching button 12f (Step S20; No), it is determined whether there is a selection input of the mechanical operation mode display 100b (Step S2).
1;).

If there is a selection input of the mechanical operation mode display 100b for the mode switching button 12f (step S21; Yes), the control device 11 proceeds to step S6 via. When there is no selection input of the mechanical operation mode display 100b for the mode switching button 12f (Step S21; No), it is determined whether or not a mouse operation is performed on the display screen of the display device 12 (Step S22).

If there is no mouse operation in step S22 (step S22; No), the control device 11 proceeds to step S23 to determine whether or not there is an end instruction. Here, when there is an end instruction (step S23; Y
es), the program relating to the operation of the disc changer 20 is terminated, and there is no termination instruction (step S23;
No), and it transfers to step S20.

In step S22, if there is a mouse operation (step S22; Yes), the control device 11
The operation process of the disc changer 20 is performed based on the mouse operation (step S24).

Here, the operation processing of the disc changer 20 in step S24 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, in step S7, the case where the main body upper surface display area 121 is selected will be described.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In this case, an instruction to open and close the disk replacement port 25 is input on the main body upper surface display screen 100c.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the opening / closing operation of the disk exchange port 25 on the main body upper surface display screen 100c. The top side door displays 121a to 121f shown in FIG.
Each of them indicates the open / closed state of the door of the disk exchange port 25, and the bright part in each of the upper surface door displays 121a to 121f indicates that the corresponding door of the disk exchange port 25 is open. The dark part is the disk exchange slot 2.
5 indicates that the corresponding door is closed. In particular,
The upper surface door display 121a and the upper surface door display 121d have only a dark portion, and indicate that all the upper surface doors 25a to 25d are closed.

As shown in FIG.
When the mouse pointer on a is set to P1 and the mouse pointer is dragged to P2 in the direction shown by the reference symbol D1 in the figure, the display screen is changed to the top door display 12 according to the designation of the operation mode.
1b (when double-sided mode is specified) or top door display 12
1c (when the one-sided mode is designated).

When the mouse is dragged in the direction indicated by reference numeral D1 in the figure, the top doors 25b and 25c are displayed.
Is opened, and the top door display 121c displayed when the one-sided mode is designated indicates that the top door 25c is opened by the drag operation of the mouse.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, when the mouse pointer on the top door display 121d is pointed to P3 and the mouse pointer is dragged to P4 in the direction shown by reference symbol D2 in the figure, the operation mode is designated. The display screen is switched to the top door display 121e (when the double-sided mode is specified) or the top door display 121f (when the single-sided mode is specified).

When the mouse is dragged in the direction indicated by reference numeral D2 in the drawing, the top doors 25a to 25d are displayed.
The top door display 121f displayed when all of the doors are opened and the one-side mode is designated indicates that the top doors 25c and 25d are opened by the drag operation of the mouse.

FIG. 13 is an operation exploded view for explaining the opening / closing pattern of the disk exchange port 25 on the main body upper surface display screen 100c. Upper surface door display 121g- shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 121p denotes an open / closed state of the door of the disk exchange port 25.
In each of 1p, a bright portion indicates that the corresponding door of the disk replacement port 25 is open, and a dark portion indicates that the corresponding door of the disk replacement port 25 is closed. In particular, the upper surface door display 121g, 121j, 121
m and 121p have only a dark portion, and the upper surface doors 25a to 25p
25d indicates that all doors are closed.

As shown in FIG.
The double-sided mode is designated for g, and the upper surface doors 25b and 25c are opened by dragging the mouse in the direction indicated by the reference sign D3 or D4 in the figure, and the upper surface door display 121h is displayed. Next, when the mouse is dragged in the direction indicated by reference numeral D5 or D6 in the figure, all the upper surface doors 25a to 25d are opened, and the upper surface door display 1 is displayed.
21i is displayed.

Further, the above-mentioned one-side mode is designated in the upper door display 121j, and the upper door 25c is opened by dragging the mouse in the direction indicated by the reference numeral D7 in the drawing to display the upper door display 121k. You. Next, when the mouse is dragged in the direction indicated by the same symbol D8, the upper surface doors 25c and 25d are opened, and the upper surface door display 121l is displayed.

Further, the above-mentioned one-side mode is designated in the upper surface door display 121m, and by dragging the mouse in the direction indicated by reference numeral D9 in the figure, the upper surface door 25b is opened and the upper surface door display 121n is displayed. You. Next, when the mouse is dragged in the direction indicated by the same symbol D10, the upper surface doors 25a and 25b are opened, and the upper surface door display 121o is displayed.
Is displayed.

When an instruction to end the opening / closing operation of the disk exchange port 25 is input, a cover (not shown) covers the entire disk exchange port 25, and the top door display 121p indicates “C”.
LOSED "is displayed.

Next, the case where the main body front display area 122 is selected in step S9 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 shows a main body front display screen 10.
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the opening / closing operation of the disk exchange port 24 at 0d. In this case, an instruction to open and close the disk replacement port 24 is input from the main body front display screen 100d.

The front door display 122a shown in FIG. 14 shows the disk exchange port 24 on the operation panel 21. On the front door display 122a, when the mouse pointer P5 is dragged to the mouse pointer P6 in the direction indicated by the symbol D11 in the figure, the disc replacement port 24 is opened, and the mouse pointer is moved in the opposite direction to the direction indicated by the same symbol D11. When dragged, the disc exchange port 24 is closed.

Next, FIG. 15 shows a case where the rotary tray display area 123 is selected in step S11.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the rotary tray 31 on the rotary tray display screen 100e. In this case, an instruction to rotate the rotary tray 31 is input from the rotary tray display screen 100e.

Rotary tray display 123 shown in FIG.
Reference numerals a and 123b indicate the rotary tray 31, and the disk storage positions provided from No. 1 to No. 200 are displayed every No. 50.

As shown in FIG. 15, when the mouse pointer P7 indicating No. 1 is dragged on the rotary tray display 123a to the mouse pointer P8 indicating No. 100 in the direction indicated by reference numeral D12 in the figure, the rotary tray Numeral 31 rotates 180 degrees in the direction indicated by the same symbol D12, and the disk located at No. 1 moves to No. 100.

On the rotary tray display 123b, the mouse pointer P9 pointing to the number 100 is set to 1
Reference numeral D13 in the figure up to the mouse pointer P10 indicating the number.
When dragging in the direction shown in FIG.
Rotates 180 degrees in the direction indicated by the same reference sign D13, and the disk located at position 100 moves to position 1 while
The disk bundles located at Nos. 50 to 150 are moved to the upper half position of the rotary tray display 123b in the drawing and are arranged at a position where they can be taken out from the disk exchange port 25.

Next, the operation related to the reproduction processing of the selected disc will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an operation related to a process of reproducing a selected disc by the disc changer system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

When starting reproduction processing of a predetermined disk, the microcomputer 40, based on a signal instructing the selection of the disk, sets the storage position of the selected disk to the same as the storage position of the disk to be reproduced. It is determined whether or not they are the same (step S30). If they are not the same, the rotary tray 30 is sequentially rotated and moved for each disk, and the process in step S30 is continued. If they are the same (Step S30; Yes), the rotation operation of the rotary tray 31 is stopped, and a control signal for setting a disk to be reproduced to a reproducing device (not shown) is transmitted to the disk arm control motor driver 45.

This disc is set in the reproducing apparatus by the disc arm 33 driven by the disc arm control motor driver 45 (step S31), and the disc is reproduced. The microcomputer 40 records the storage position of the currently reproduced disk in a storage position recording area (not shown) of the currently reproduced disk formed in the RAM of the microcomputer 40 (step S32), and reproduces a series of disks. The process ends.

As described above, according to the disk changer system 1 of the present embodiment, the disk changer 25 is provided on the upper surface of the disk changer 20 in addition to the disk changer 24 provided on the operation panel 21. The opening and closing operations of the disk exchange ports 24 and 25 are finely controlled by using the computer 10. In addition, since the rotary operation of the rotary tray 31 provided in the disk changer system 1, the management of the disks stored in the rotary tray 31, and the various operations related to the disk reproduction processing are performed using the computer 10, the operations are performed by the computer 10. The management of a large number of disks is performed finely.

Accordingly, the provision of the disk exchange port 25 on the upper surface of the disk changer 20 makes it possible to take out the disk from above the rotary tray 31. As a result, the exchange of a plurality of disks stored in the rotary tray 31 becomes easy, and a large number of disks can be loaded and unloaded at a time.
The disc changer system 1 excellent in convenience can be provided. For example, a large amount of discs stored in the rotary tray 31 can be picked up with both hands through the disc exchange port 25, and the disc changer system 1 can easily exchange discs.

Also, the opening / closing operation of the disk exchange ports 24 and 25 of the disk changer 20 and the rotary tray 31
The rotation operation of the disc and various operations related to the disc reproduction processing are finely controlled by using the computer 10, so that the disc changer system 1 with high operability and convenience can be realized. For example, by clicking or dragging the mouse on the display device 12 of the computer 10, the disc changer 2
0 can be instructed, so that the disc changer system 1 is easy to use.

Further, since a large number of discs of 200 are centrally managed by the computer 10, the disc changer system 1 with greatly improved convenience can be provided. For example, by displaying the rotary tray 31 on the display device 12 of the computer 10, it is possible to easily confirm the storage location of the disk and the presence or absence of the disk, so that the disk changer system 1 is more convenient to use.

Since the upper doors 25a to 25d are sequentially slid and opened and closed in a sliding manner, the width of the opening of the disk exchange slot 25 can be adjusted according to the number of disks to be exchanged. It is difficult for dust or dirt to enter the inside of the disk 20 and the disk that is not the object of the replacement operation is not touched, so that safety and operability can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the contents of the above embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the disc change port 25 provided on the upper surface portion of the disc changer 20 has four fan-shaped doors that slide open and close in a sliding manner. The disk exchange port may be opened and closed by sliding the door in a sliding manner.

[0113] The disk exchange port 25 allows half of the disks stored in the rotary tray 31 to be exchanged. May be provided at the same time, and the disc replacement port may be provided as long as the strength of the door is sufficiently ensured.

[0114]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by providing the second disk exchange unit, the disk can be taken out from the direction perpendicular to the rotation surface of the rotary disk storage unit, that is, from above the rotation surface. As a result, a large amount of disks can be pinched up with both hands at once, and the user's labor involved in disk replacement can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by providing an opening / closing mechanism in which a plurality of doors slide sequentially to open and close in a sliding manner, the number of disks to be replaced can be changed according to the number of disks to be replaced. Since the width of the frontage can be adjusted, dirt and dust hardly enter the disc changer device, and the disc not to be replaced is not touched, so that safety and operability can be improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the operation of opening and closing the disk exchange opening, the operation of rotating the rotary disk storage unit, the management of the stored disks, and the various operations related to the reproduction processing of these disks are managed. Since the unit is finely controlled, it is possible to provide a disk changer device with high operability and convenience. When the management unit has a display device, the operation is instructed by clicking or dragging the mouse on the display screen of the display device, so that the disc changer device is easy to use.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by providing the second disk exchange section, the disk can be taken out from a direction perpendicular to the rotation surface of the rotary disk storage, that is, from above the rotation surface. Thus, a large amount of disks can be pinched up with both hands at a time, and the user's labor involved in disk replacement can be reduced. Further, since the control of the second disk exchange unit is performed by the management unit, the second disk exchange unit is controlled in accordance with the position of the disk to be exchanged.
Can control the opening and closing of the disk exchange section, and can provide a disk changer device excellent in operability.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, by providing an opening / closing mechanism in which a plurality of doors are sequentially slid to open and close, the width of the frontage of the disk exchange section is changed according to the number of disks to be exchanged. Can be adjusted so that dirt and dust hardly enter the disc changer device.
This eliminates the need for touching a disk that is not the subject of the replacement operation, thereby improving safety and operability. Furthermore,
Since the management of the frontage of the second disk exchange unit by the slide is performed by the management unit, the width of the frontage of the second disk exchange unit can be easily adjusted to the number of disks to be exchanged. A highly operable disc changer device can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a disc changer system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 (a) shows a disc changer 2 shown in FIG.
0 (b) is a top view of FIG.
0 (c) is a front view of the disc changer 2;
0 is a right side view of FIG.

FIG. 3A is a three-dimensional view showing a configuration of an upper surface door 25c and an upper surface door 25d shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is a three-dimensional view of the upper surface door 25c and the upper surface door 25d shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows seeingly the opening and closing mechanism which has.

FIG. 4 is an operation exploded view showing, in a perspective manner, the rotational movement of the opening / closing mechanism of the upper surface door 25c and the upper surface door 25d shown in FIG. 2 in four stages. (B) shows a second stage of the rotational movement, (c) shows a third stage of the rotational movement, and (d)
Indicates the fourth stage of the rotational movement.

FIG. 5 is a main part top view showing a schematic configuration of a disk storage section 30 provided in the disk changer 20 shown in FIG.

FIG. 6A is a time chart of pulse signals output from the sensors 34a to 34c shown in FIG. 5, and FIG.
7 is a time chart of the pulse signals output by the sensors 34a and 34b and the disk presence detection signal output by the disk presence detection sensor 34d shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing an internal circuit of the disc changer 20 shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation process of the disc changer system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a switching operation of an operation screen of the disc changer 20 displayed on the display device 12 shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation process for operating the disk exchange ports 24 and 25 and the rotary tray 31 in the disk changer 20 shown in FIG.

11 is an example of a display screen displayed on the display device 12 shown in FIG. 1 when operating the disk exchange ports 24 and 25 and the rotary tray 31 in the disk changer 20 shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining an opening / closing operation of a disk exchange port 25 on a main body upper surface display screen 100c displayed on the display device 12 shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is an operation exploded view for explaining an opening / closing pattern of the disk exchange port 25 on the main body upper surface display screen 100c displayed on the display device 12 shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining an opening / closing operation of the disk exchange port 24 on the main body front display screen 100d displayed on the display device 12 shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the rotary tray 31 on the rotary tray display screen 100e displayed on the display device 12 shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an operation related to a process of reproducing a selected disc by the disc changer system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 (a) is a view showing a disk exchange opening and closing operation of a disk changer having a rotating donut-shaped disk tray by an overturning method;
(B) is a diagram showing a disk exchange opening and closing operation of the disk changer by a pulling method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Disc changer system 2 Cable 10 Computer 11 Control device 12 Display device 20 Disc changer 21 Operation panel 22 Operation key 23 Display part 24 Disk exchange port 25 Disk exchange port 25a-25d Top door 30 Disk storage part 31 Rotary tray 32 Rotary tray Control motor 33 Disk arm 34 Sensor support plate 34a to 34c Sensor 34d Disk presence / absence detection sensor 35 Substrate 40 Microcomputer 41 Input unit 42 Display unit 43 Door open / close control motor driver 44 Rotary tray control motor driver 45 Disk arm control motor driver 46 DSP 47 Pickup unit 48 Load / unload SW 49 Door open / close control motor

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A rotary disk storage unit capable of storing a plurality of disks such as a compact disk for music, storage unit position detecting means for detecting a position of the rotary disk storage unit, and a rotary disk storage unit. Disk discriminating means for discriminating discs to be stored one by one; disc reproducing means for reproducing the disc specified by the disc discriminating means; and a plurality of discs from a direction parallel to the rotating surface of the rotary disc storage unit. And a first disk exchange unit capable of taking out and storing the disk, wherein a plurality of disks are taken out and stored in a direction perpendicular to the rotating surface of the rotary disk storage unit. A disc changer device comprising a possible second disc changer. 2. The disk changer device according to claim 1, wherein said second disk exchange unit has an opening / closing mechanism in which a plurality of doors slide sequentially to open and close in a sliding manner. 3. A rotary disk storage unit capable of storing a plurality of disks such as music compact disks, storage unit position detecting means for detecting the position of the rotary disk storage unit, and a rotary disk storage unit. Disk discriminating means for discriminating discs to be stored one by one; disc reproducing means for reproducing the disc specified by the disc discriminating means; and a plurality of discs from a direction parallel to the rotating surface of the rotary disc storage unit. A disc changer unit including a first disc exchange unit capable of taking out and storing the disc, and controlling the operation of the disc changer unit to manage the disc stored in the rotary disc storage unit. A disc changer device comprising: a management unit. 4. The disk changer unit further comprises a second disk exchange unit capable of taking out and storing a plurality of disks from a direction perpendicular to a rotation plane of the rotary disk storage unit, and 4. The disk changer device according to claim 3, wherein said second disk exchange unit is controlled by a management unit. 5. The disc changer device according to claim 4, wherein said second disc exchange section has an opening / closing mechanism in which a plurality of doors sequentially slide and open / close in a sliding manner.