JP2002184085A - Automatic disk exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify structure by inverting a disk by an inverting means, when inversion of surface/rear of the disk is required, when the disk is moved between a storage means and a recording/reproducing means, in an automatic disk exchanger provided with a carrier means and the inversion means. SOLUTION: A transfer mechanism depresses a pallet 9', loaded with a disk D, into a guide groove 57 formed on the lower side of the inversion means 52. A turning frame 54 is turned by 180 deg. by the operation of a drive motor 55, and when the turning of the frame 54 is stopped by abutting a projection piece on another stopper 61 and the inversion of the disk D by 180 deg. from an approximately horizontal position up to approximately horizontal position has been completed, the disk D is dropped and loaded on the other pallet 9' moved to the lower side. The transfer mechanism pulls out the pallet 9', loaded with the inverted disk D from the inversion means 52, and the carrier mechanism carries the transfer mechanism storing the pallet 9' loaded with the disk D to a recoding/reproducing drive.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic disk exchange apparatus for reversing a disk such as a CD or DVD used in a storage device such as a computer or a recording / reproducing device such as an AV device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, discs such as FDs and MOs are housed in a case and handled as cartridges. Therefore, an automatic disc exchanging apparatus can exchange discs by exchanging the case between a storage means and a recording / reproducing apparatus. It has become. Therefore, when it is necessary to turn over a disk that can use both storage surfaces on the front and back, that is, when it is necessary to turn over the disk, the automatic disk changing apparatus can turn over the disk by turning over the case.

[0003] In recent years, however, a case-free C
As discs such as D and DVD have been developed, automatic disc changers have mounted such discs on tray-shaped pallets and exchanged them between storage means and recording / reproducing means. For this reason, when using both storage surfaces on the front and back of the disk, the automatic disk exchange device needs to be inverted with the disk mounted on the pallet. Will be.

[0004]

Therefore, there is also known an apparatus provided with a mechanism for inverting a disk in a transport means.
In this case, the structure of the transport mechanism becomes extremely complicated,
There is a problem that the weight increases, the positioning accuracy deteriorates, and a large driving force is required.

An object of the present invention is to provide a disk having a simplified structure by transporting a disk between storage means, recording / reproducing means and reversing means, transferring the disk to the reversing means, reversing the disk and receiving it again. An automatic exchange device is provided.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic disk changing apparatus for storing a large number of disks, and a recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing information on / from the disks. Reversing means for reversing the front and back of the disc, and transport means for transporting the disc between the storage means, the recording / reproducing means, and the reversing means, wherein the reversing means comprises: Receiving the first pallet loaded with the pallet, superimposing it on the second pallet not loaded with the disc, which was previously included, and reversing the first and second pallets, whereby the inverted disc is The second pallet is dropped from the first pallet onto the second pallet, and the second pallet on which the disk is mounted is transferred to the transporting means. To.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a part of a box 1 by imaginary lines, and is a perspective view of a reference example having a reversing mechanism in a conveying means described prior to the embodiment shown in FIGS. And
On a base 1a at the bottom of the box 1, a storage 2 for mounting and storing a large number of disks as information recording media such as CDs and DVDs on a thin pallet, and recording information on the disks. A plurality of recording / reproducing drives 3 for reproducing are arranged on the same circumference. In a space surrounded by the storage 2 and the recording / reproducing drive 3, a transport mechanism 4 for transporting a pallet on which a disk is mounted between the storage 2 and the recording / reproducing drive 3 is arranged. In the reference example, the storages 2 are arranged in tandem at, for example, three locations on the same circumference, and the recording / reproducing drives 3 are arranged in tandem at, for example, one location on the same circumference.

In the transport mechanism 4, the upper and lower disks 5, 6 are rotatably arranged on a center line A of the same circumference where the storage 2 and the recording / reproducing drive 3 are arranged. These disks 5, 6
A support 7 is eccentrically supported. The support 7 transfers a pallet on which a disk is mounted to the storage 2 or the recording / reproducing drive 3 and also reverses the received disk and the pallet. 8 are supported. The reversing delivery mechanism 8 is configured to be able to move up and down along the column 7 and to be rotatable integrally with the column 7 around the center line A. A drive mechanism (not shown) for driving the discs 5 and 6 in the rotating direction and driving the reversing and transferring mechanism 8 in the vertical direction is provided. The reversing and transferring mechanism 8 can face the desired storage 2 or the recording / reproducing drive 3. It has been.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the reversing and transferring mechanism 8 shown together with one set of pallets 9. The reversing and transferring mechanism 8 accommodates two sets of pallets 9. That is, the disk D is not mounted on the reverse transfer mechanism 8.
The pallets 9 are accommodated with a space provided in advance, and the two pallets 9 on which the disks D are mounted are respectively drawn in adjacent to the lower side of the pallets 9 accommodated in advance. ing.

The four pallets 9 are accommodated in the reversing / transferring mechanism 8 by two pairs of claw members described later provided in the reversing / delivery mechanism 8, or are discharged from the reversing / delivery mechanism 8. I have. Then, the adjacent pallets 9 in the reversing delivery mechanism 8 are stacked so as to face each other,
When the stacked pallets 9 are inverted by 180 degrees, the front and back sides are inverted so that the disk D does not fall from between the pallets 9.

When the direction of entry into the reverse transfer mechanism 8 is set to the front of the pallet 9, the pallet 9 is symmetrical in front and rear and left and right, and a front surface 11 on which the disk D is mounted and a back surface opposite to the front surface 11. 12, and two pairs of front and rear projecting pieces 13 that project from the center in the left-right direction and are gripped by the below-described claw members of the reversing delivery mechanism 8.

A circular recess 14 for accommodating the disk D is formed on the surface 11 of the pallet 9.
A circular window 15 having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the disk D is formed concentrically. A step (not shown) is provided at a corner of the circular concave portion 14.
And the diameter of the step is such that the disk D does not contact the recording surface of the disk D even if the disk D moves in the circular recess 14.

Therefore, the two pallets 9 previously stored in the reversing / delivery mechanism 8 face the surface 11 downward, and the pallet 9 with the disk D mounted on the surface 11 is the pallet 9 previously stored. Is accommodated under the surface 11 so that the surfaces 11 face each other.

The reversing delivery mechanism 8 has a fixed frame 21 attached to the column 7 so as to be vertically movable. A rotating frame 22 is rotatable around the axis B on the fixed frame 21 inside the fixed frame 21. It is supported by. When the direction in which the reverse transfer mechanism 8 transfers the pallet 9 is set to the front, the shapes of the fixed frame 21 and the rotating frame 22 are symmetrical left and right and up and down except for a part described later. However, since the rotating frame 22 is provided with a vertically moving member, which will be described later, the same reference numerals are used for members and portions located at left and right symmetric positions in the drawing, and different members and portions are located at vertically symmetric positions. Signs are used.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged plan view of the reversing delivery mechanism 8, showing a front plate 21 a of the fixed frame 21 and a front plate 2 of the rotating frame 22.
The center of 2a is rotatably connected via a support shaft 23, and the center of the rear plate 21b of the fixed frame 21 and the rear plate 22b of the rotary frame 22 are also connected to the rear plate of the rotary frame 22 via a support shaft (not shown). 22b is rotatably connected to the rear plate 21b of the fixed frame 21. Side plate 21c of fixed frame 21 and side plate 22c of rotating frame 22
Distance between the side plates 21c and 22 even if the rotating frame 22 rotates.
c are so large that they do not contact each other. And FIG.
As shown in the figure, the central recess 21 of the rear plate 21b of the fixed frame 21
d is a drive motor 2 for driving the rotation frame 22 to rotate.
4 is provided, and the rotating frame 22 is
It is designed to be driven to rotate in the forward and reverse directions by 0 degrees.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the reverse transfer mechanism 8 in a state where the rotating frame 22 is rotated clockwise by 90 degrees from the front plate 22a side to the rear plate 22b side. Is drawn. As shown in FIG. 2, four pairs of first to fourth guide grooves 25 to 25 for guiding the pallet 9 are provided on the inner surface of the side plate 22 c of the rotating frame 22.
28 are provided. The distance between the first guide groove 25 and the second guide groove 26 and the distance between the third guide groove 27 and the fourth guide groove 28 are such that the opposing pallets 9 are overlapped with no gap, and It is provided so that the disk D mounted on the pallet 9 does not drop even if it rotates. The distance between the second guide groove 26 and the third guide groove 27 is determined by the front plate 21a of the fixed frame 21 and the front plate 22a of the rotating frame 22.
And the pallet 9 is easily guided in the second and third guide grooves 26 and 27 in a horizontal state.

The pallet 9 without the disk D is mounted.
Are stored in the first guide groove 25 and the third guide groove 27 in advance. The width of the front plate 21a of the fixed frame 21 and the width of the front plate 22a of the rotating frame 22 are narrowed so that the pallet 9 can pass horizontally through the second and third guide grooves 26 and 27. Instead of reducing the width of the front plates 21a, 22a, a slot for inserting the pallet 9 into the front plates 21a, 22a may be provided.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the rotating frame 22, and a claw member 3 for gripping the pallet 9 is provided on a side plate 22c of the rotating frame 22.
First to fourth claw guide gaps 32a to 32d for guiding 0 and 31 in the front-rear direction are formed to communicate with the first to fourth guide grooves 25 to 28, respectively. The width of these claw guide gaps 32a to 32d is set to a size that does not allow the pallet 9 to jump out. At the rear of the side plate 22c,
Claw switching gaps 33a, 3 for moving the claw members 30, 31 so as to align them with appropriate claw guide gaps 32a to 32d.
3b, the claw guide gaps 32a, 32b and the claw guide gap 32
It is formed so that it may communicate with c and 32d, respectively.

The side plate 22c has a longitudinal moving member 34,
There are provided gaps 36a, 36b for moving the 35 in the front-rear direction, and rails 37a, 37b for supporting the front-rear moving members 34, 35. Further, at the front end of the outer surface of the side plate 22c, a pressing member 38 for pressing the claw members 30 and 31 to rotate inward is supported by a support shaft 38a fixed to the side plate 22c.
And are rotatably supported. A solenoid 39 having a rod 39a for driving the pressing member 38 is attached near the pressing member 38 on the outer surface of the side plate 22.

Therefore, the first to fourth guide grooves 25 to 28, the claw members 30, 31, the first to fourth claw guide grooves 32a to 32d, the gaps 33a, 33b, the gap 36a,
36b, rails 37a and 37b, a pressing member 38, and a solenoid 39 are provided in pairs on the left and right, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2 again, the back and forth moving member 34,
35 is screwed to the screw shafts 41a and 41b pivotally supported by the rotating frame 22 via connecting portions 34a and 35a, respectively, so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and on the outer surface of the rear plate 22b of the rotating frame 22,
Drive motors 42a and 42b for driving the screw shafts 41a and 41b to rotate are attached, respectively.

FIG. 6 shows one claw member 31 and a front-rear moving member 35.
5 is a partially enlarged perspective view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing the connecting mechanism of FIG. 4, and the connecting mechanism of the other claw member 30 and the front-rear moving member 34 has the same configuration. The fore-and-aft movement members 34 and 35 are movable in the C direction with respect to the rotating frame 22, and the claw members 30 and 3
Numeral 1 is supported by front and rear moving members 34 and 35 via support shafts 43a and 43b, and is slidable in the D direction and rotatable in the E direction with respect to the front and rear moving members 34 and 35. Claw member 3
The coil springs 45a and 45b are provided on the outer peripheral surfaces of the bearing portions 44a and 44b integrated with the coil springs 0 and 31, respectively.
5a, 45b is locked in the locking holes 34b, 35b of the front and rear moving members 34, 35, so that the claw member 30,
31 is biased in the E direction. And the front and rear moving member 3
Rollers 46a and 46b that roll on rails 37a and 37b are provided on the inner surfaces of the rollers 4 and 35, respectively.

Therefore, the pivots 43a, 43
b, bearings 44a, 44b, coil springs 45a, 45
b and rollers 46a and 46b are provided in pairs on the left and right, respectively. The front and rear moving members 34 and 35 are provided one by one at the top and bottom, and the screw shafts 41a and 41b are provided one by one at the left and right.

In front of the rear plate 22b inside the rotary frame 22, a U-shaped vertical moving member 47 is connected to the rear plate 22b via a guide portion 48, and the vertical moving member 47 is It is movable in the direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the vertical moving member 47 includes two pairs of gaps 47 a and 47 b through which the base portions 30 a and 31 a of the claw members 30 and 31 are inserted, and the front-rear moving member 3.
Wide gaps 47c and 47d through which the holes 4 and 35 are inserted are formed. When the claw members 30 and 31 are respectively inserted into the gaps 47a and 47b of the vertically moving member 47, the thick portions 30b and 31b (thick portions 30b are not shown) abut on the inner surface of the vertically moving member 47. , Rotation to the outside is regulated.

The vertically moving member 47 thus formed is
As shown in FIG. 5, when the rotating frame 22 rotates, the rotating frame 22 moves downward by gravity, and one gap 47a is moved to the second claw guide gap 3
2b, and the other gap 47b is the fourth claw guide gap 3
2d. The vertical moving member 4
7 also moves downward by gravity when the rotating frame 22 rotates in the reverse direction, and one of the gaps 47a is moved to the first claw guide groove 32a.
And the other gap 47b is aligned with the third claw guide groove 32c.

A pair of left and right stoppers 49a are provided on both sides of the rear portion of the both side plates 21c of the fixed frame 21, and
If a pair of upper and lower projecting pieces 49b that can be brought into contact with the stopper 49a from the turning direction is provided on the upper and lower sides on one side in the left-right direction of 7,
When the rotating frame 22 rotates in the forward and reverse directions, the vertically moving member 47 can be forcibly moved downward.

As shown in the partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 7, the reverse delivery mechanism 8 having such a structure firstly places the empty pallet 9a on the first guide groove 25 and the third guide groove 27 with the surface 11 on the second guide groove 27.
Are accommodated toward the guide groove 26 and the fourth guide groove 28, respectively. The vertically moving member 47 moves downward by the action of gravity or by the action of the stopper 49a and one of the projecting pieces 49b, and the claw members 30 and 31 move to the second guide groove 26 and the fourth
, Respectively.

Next, the control circuit of the transport mechanism 4 issues a command, and the transport mechanism 4 transports the reverse transfer mechanism 8 to the front of the desired storage 2 as shown in FIG. Then, one drive motor 42a of the reverse transfer mechanism 8 is connected to one screw shaft 41a.
To drive one of the front and rear moving members 34 forward. As a result, the sliding surface 30c of the claw member 30 is
And the bottom surface of the second guide groove 26, the rotation frame 22
From the front plate 22a.

At this time, the sliding surface 30c of the claw member 30 is disengaged from the second guide groove 26, and the claw member 30 is
It rotates outward by the urging force of a. And the claw member 30
When the engaging groove 30d of the pallet 9 advances to a position where the protrusion 13 of the pallet 9 can be engaged, the solenoid 39 is actuated, and the rod 39a moves through the pressing member 38 to the sliding surface 30 of the claw member 30.
Press c. Thereby, the engagement groove 30d of the claw member 30 is formed.
The projection 13 of the pallet 9 is engaged with the pallet 9, and the claw member 30 grips the pallet 9b.

Thereafter, the drive motor 42a is connected to the screw shaft 41.
a is rotated in the reverse direction to pull the claw member 30 into the second guide groove 26. When the sliding surface 30c of the claw member 30 slides on the bottom surface of the second guide groove 26, the operation of the solenoid 39 is stopped, and thereafter, the posture of the claw member 30 is changed to the second guide. The pallet 9b on which the desired disk D is mounted is pulled into the second guide groove 26 while being held at the bottom of the groove 26. Further, the transport mechanism 4 transports the reverse transfer mechanism 8 to another desired storage 2 as necessary, and the other claw member 3
1 hangs the pallet 9b on which the desired disk D is mounted similarly to the one claw member 30, and draws the pallet 9b into the fourth guide groove 28. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, two empty pallets 9a and two pallets 9b on which the disks D are mounted are accommodated in the rotating frame 22.

When the reversing / transfer mechanism 8 accommodates the pallet 9b loaded with the desired disk D from the storage 2 in this way, the transport mechanism 4 starts transporting the reversing / transfer mechanism 8 to the front of the recording / reproducing drive 3. Here, when the reversal of the disk D is required, the drive motor 24 is operated to rotate the rotating frame 22 by 180 degrees. At this time, since the empty pallets 9a are previously stored in the first guide grooves 25 and the third guide grooves 27, when the rotating frame 22 is inverted as shown in FIG. It falls in a state of being inverted.

When the rotating frame 22 is rotated, the vertical moving member 47 is moved by its own weight, or the stopper 49a and the other projecting piece 4
The claw members 30 and 31 move to the positions corresponding to the third guide groove 27 and the first guide groove 25 located below, respectively, by the action of 9b. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, after the transport mechanism 4 moves the reverse transfer mechanism 8 to the front of the recording / reproducing drive 3, the pawl members 30 and 31 are driven simultaneously or one by one to drive the pallet 9a on which the inverted disk D is mounted. Into the recording / reproduction drive 3.

In the meantime, when the solenoid 39 is operated and the engaging grooves 30d and 31d of the pawl members 30 and 31 and the protruding piece 13 of the pallet 9 are engaged, the pawl members 30 and 31 are moved to the entrance of the recording / reproducing drive 3. The pallet 9a is pushed into a predetermined position in the recording / reproduction drive 3. Thereafter, the operation of the solenoid 39 is stopped, and the claw members 30 and 31 rotate outward by the urging force of the coil springs 45a and 45b, and the claw members 3
0, 31 engagement grooves 30d, 31d and pallet 9 projection 1
3 is disengaged. Then, the pawl members 30 and 31 are pulled into the rotating frame 22 after opening the pallet 9a.

In this way, when transported to the recording / reproducing drive 3, the disc D that requires reversal is reversed by the reversal transfer mechanism 8, but the disc D that does not require reversal is not reversed by the reversal transfer mechanism 8 but is reversed. Push it into the recording / reproduction drive 3.

The disc D after recording and reproduction by the recording and reproduction drive 3 is taken out by the reverse transfer mechanism 8 and returned to the storage 2 by reverse operation.
At this time, the disc D which has been reversed may be reversed by the reversing delivery mechanism 8 and returned, or may be returned as it is. When returning the data as it is, the memory of the control circuit needs to store the fact.

As described above, in the reference example, the first frame
The empty pallet 9a is stored in advance in each of the guide groove 25 and the third guide groove 27 in the downward direction, and the pallet 9b on which the disk D is mounted is pulled into the lower side of the empty pallet 9a. It can be sandwiched between the pallets 9a and 9b. Then, by rotating the rotating frame 22 by 180 degrees, the disk D can be mounted on the empty pallet 9a in which the disk D has been stored in a reversed state.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an embodiment in which a part of the box 1 is shown by imaginary lines. A delivery mechanism 51 having no reversing mechanism is provided on a column 7 instead of the reversing delivery mechanism 8 of the reference example. For example, a reversing means 52 as shown in a perspective view of FIG. The pallet 9 ′ is provided with four holes 16, and two pairs of iron pieces 17 are provided in the vicinity of the protrusion 13 of the pallet 9 ′. The transfer mechanism 51 is configured to only transfer the pallet 9 'on which the disk D is mounted to the storage 2, the recording / reproducing drive 3 or the reversing means 52, and the reversing means 52 converts one disk D into two pallets 9'. It is configured so that it can be inverted by being sandwiched between them.

In the reversing means 52, a rotating frame 54 is rotatably supported by a bracket 53 supported by the box portion 1b, and is rotated by a driving motor 55 supported by the bracket 53. Side plate 5 of rotating frame 54
The inner surface of 4a is provided with two pairs of guide grooves 56, 57 for guiding a set of two opposing pallets 9 '. The distance between the guide grooves 56 and 57 is determined so that the disk D does not protrude from between the opposing pallets 9 'as in the reference example. A magnet 58 for fixing the iron piece 17 of the pallet 9 'with a weak force that does not hinder the drawer is fixed to the rear plate 54b of the rotating frame 54.

A stopper 59 and a sensor flag 60 are provided outward on one side plate 54 a of the rotating frame 54, and the bracket 53 has a projecting piece 5 of the rotating frame 54.
9, a pair of stoppers 61 for restricting the movement of
And a pair of sensors 62 for detecting the flag 60 are provided. Then, the bridging portion 5 at the upper part of the rotating frame 54
4c, the pallet 9 'is passed through the hole 16 of the pallet 9'.
An optical sensor 63 for detecting the position of the optical sensor is disposed,
A light receiving unit (not shown) that receives light from the light projecting unit 63 is arranged in a bridge portion 54 d below the rotating frame 54. In the guide groove 56 on the upper side of the reversing means 52 having such a configuration, an empty pallet 9 'with the surface 11 facing downward is housed in advance.

When the disk D needs to be transported to the recording / reproducing drive 3, the transport mechanism 4 transports the delivery mechanism 51 directly to the front of the recording / reproducing drive 3, or
When it is necessary to reverse the disk D, the disk D is once transported to the reversing means 52, where the disk D is reversed, and then transported to the recording / reproduction drive 3.

The transport mechanism 4 switches the delivery mechanism 51 to the reversing means 5.
When the transport mechanism 51 has been transported before
Is pushed into the guide groove 57 on the lower side of the reversing means 52. As a result, the magnet 58 attracts the iron piece 17 of the pallet 9 ', and the light receiving section of the optical sensor transmits the light from the light projecting section 63 to the upper and lower holes 16 of the pallet 9'.
To detect that the upper and lower pallets 9 'are at the correct positions. Thereafter, the operation of the drive motor 55 causes the rotating frame 54 to rotate clockwise by 180 ° in the direction of entry of the pallet 9 ′, and the projection 59 to the other stopper 6.
The rotation of the rotating frame 54 is stopped by abutting on 1, and this is detected by the other sensor 62. As a result, the disc D is rotated by 180 ° from the substantially horizontal position to complete the reversal to the substantially horizontal position, and the disc D is mounted on the other pallet 9 'that has moved downward. Then, the delivery mechanism 51 pulls out the pallet 9 ′ on which the inverted disk D is mounted from the inversion means 52, and the transport mechanism 4 transports the delivery mechanism 51 to the front of the recording / reproducing drive 3.

When recording / reproducing the inverted disk D in the recording / reproducing drive 3 and returning it to the original storage 2, it may be returned as it is and stored in the memory of the control circuit. Alternatively, before returning to the storage 2, the disk D may be conveyed again to the reversing means 52 and reversed.

As described above, in the transport mechanism 4 of the embodiment, the transfer mechanism 51 which does not reverse is provided in place of the reverse transfer mechanism 8 of the reference example, and the reversing means 52 for reversing the disk D is provided with the transfer mechanism 51. Since they are separately arranged, the configurations of the delivery mechanism 51 and the reversing means 52 are simplified, and their control is facilitated. Delivery mechanism 5
The reversing means 52 may be arranged at a plurality of positions in consideration of one traveling distance.

Although the storage 2 and the recording / reproducing drive 3 are provided at different positions on the same circumference, they may be provided so as to overlap each other. The transport mechanism 4 transports the pallet 9 ′ to the storage 2, the recording / reproducing drive 3, and the reversing means 52 arranged on the same circumference.
The recording / reproducing drive 3 and the reversing means 52 may be arranged in series to transport the pallet 9 'linearly.

Further, a plurality of automatic disk exchange devices are provided in series, and each box 1 is provided with a mechanism capable of transferring a pallet 9 'carrying a disk D to another automatic disk exchange device. In this case, an infrared signal can be used for signal connection between these automatic exchange devices.

In the embodiment, the pallet 9 '
Are stacked so as not to drop the disk D, but an intermediate plate having a hole for passing the disk D may be interposed between the two pallets 9 ′ of the rotating frame 54. By providing this intermediate plate, there is no possibility that the disc D will fall during rotation even if the gap between the pallets 9 'is not sufficiently accurate.

The pallet 9 ′ is also provided inside the storage 2.
If a magnet (not shown) for attracting the iron piece 17 is provided, the pallet 9 'is attracted to the storage 2 with a weak force that does not hinder the drawer, and the pallet 9' on which the disk D is mounted is easily aligned in the storage 2. And does not move due to vibration or the like.

In the embodiment, the optical sensor detects that the pallet 9 'is at a predetermined position. However, it is needless to say that a mechanical sensor or another type of sensor can be used.

[0049]

As described above, the automatic disk exchange apparatus according to the present invention includes the reversing means outside the transport means, and moves the disk between the storage means and the recording / reproducing means.
When it is necessary to turn over the disc, the disc can be delivered to the reversing means and turned over, thereby simplifying the structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reference example.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a reversal delivery mechanism shown together with a set of pallets.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged plan view of the reverse transfer mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the reverse transfer mechanism in a state where the rotating frame is rotated by 90 degrees.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the rotating frame.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the rotating frame corresponding to FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view.

FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory view.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view.

FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory view.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the reversing means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Storage 3 Recording / reproducing drive 4 Transport mechanism 7 Support 8 Reverse transfer mechanism 9 'Pallet 17 Iron piece 21 Fixed frame 22, 54 Rotating frame 24, 42a, 42b, 55 Drive motor 25-28, 56, 57 Guide groove 30, 31 Claw members 34, 35 Forward / backward moving members 47 Vertical moving members 49a, 49b, 59, 61 Stoppers 51 Delivery mechanism 52 Reversing means 58 Magnets 62, 63 Sensor D disk

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (72) Inventor Noritada Kuwayama 2-32-25 Takeoka, Kiyose-shi, Tokyo F-term (reference) 5D072 AB25 BA07 BB21 BB47 BE03 BE05 BH03 BH06 EB18

Claims (4)

[Claims] Storage means for storing a number of disks;
Recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing information on / from the disc, reversing means for reversing the front and back of the disc, transport means for transporting the disc between the storage means, the recording / reproducing means and the reversing means, Wherein the reversing means receives the first pallet on which the disk is mounted from the transport means, and overlaps with a second pallet which does not mount the disk, which is included in advance, and Inverting the pallet, the inverted disk is dropped from the first pallet to the second pallet, and the second pallet on which the disk is mounted is transferred to the transporting means. Characterized automatic disk changer. 2. The automatic disk exchange apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reversing means rotates the first and second pallets by 180 ° from a substantially horizontal state and reverses the first and second pallets to a substantially horizontal state. 3. The automatic disk exchange apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transport means has means for pushing and pulling out said pallet on which said disk is mounted, with respect to said storage means, said recording / reproducing means and said reversing means. 4. The storage means, the recording / reproducing means, and the reversing means are arranged on the same circumference, and the storage means, the recording / reproducing means, and the reversing means connect the entrance of the pallet with the circumference of the circumference. 2. The automatic disk changing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer means is disposed inside the circumference and the entrance of the pallet is directed outside the circumference.