JP2002208211A - Disk changer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten operating time required for reproducing the information of a loaded disk after a disk exchange port is closed in a disk changer on the rotary tray of which a large number of disks are loaded. SOLUTION: When a disk exchange port 10a is closed by a reproduction key 10d (Step S56; Yes), the presence or absence o the disk on a selected slot is decided by top priority (Step S58). When the disk is loaded (Step S59; Yes), the reproduction processing of the disk is performed and the presence or absence of disks on all slots is detected during reproduction (Step S61). When the disk is not loaded on the occasion of the top-priority decision, it is successively detected whether or not the disk is loaded on a next slot (Step S63), and the reproduction processing of a detected disk is performed as soon as the loaded disk is detected.

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 CD (Compact Disc) or
A disc changer device capable of managing and operating a plurality of discs such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) has been realized. This disc changer device stores a plurality of discs, and is capable of designating and playing back a specific disc from the stored plurality of discs. In this case, the storage format of the disk is various.
For example, a rotary tray that holds and stores a disk by standing a disk in accordance with the slot on a rotating disk on which a plurality of grooves (hereinafter, referred to as slots) extending radially in the radial direction is formed. Have been.

[0003] When the disk exchange opening of the above-mentioned conventional disk changer device equipped with a rotary tray is opened,
When the disc loading information stored up to that point is automatically cleared, and thereafter the disc replacement slot is closed regardless of whether or not the disc has been replaced, the presence or absence of the disc on the rotary tray is detected. Detection processing was being performed. Further, after the loading information of the disc is newly created based on the detection result, the reproducing process of the disc has been performed.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the operation of the above-described conventional disk changer apparatus provided with a rotary tray after the opening / closing operation of the disk exchange opening is performed will be described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the conventional disk changer device 800 after the opening / closing operation of the disk exchange port is performed.
Is a conventional disc changer device 800,
After the disc change slot is closed, the rotary tray 80
FIG. 8B is a diagram schematically illustrating an operation when the presence or absence of the above disk is detected, and FIG. 8B schematically illustrates an operation when a disk reproduction process is performed in the conventional disk changer device 800. FIG.

FIG. 8A and FIG.
A rotary tray 80 capable of storing 0 sheets, a playback device (not shown) by clamping a disk on the rotary tray 80
Only a disk arm 81 for transporting the rotary tray 80 and a disk presence / absence detection sensor 82 for detecting the presence / absence of a disk loaded on the rotary tray 80 are described, but the configuration of a conventional disk changer device 800 will be described later. It has the same configuration as the optical disc changer 10 according to the embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 4), and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. It is needless to say that the number of disks stored in the rotary tray 80 is not limited to 200, but can be set freely, such as 100 or 150.

The position indicated by reference numeral E in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b) faces a disk exchange port (not shown) provided in the conventional disk changer device 800, and the disk can be exchanged. Position. Further, the position indicated by reference numeral F in the figure is on the same radius as the disk arm 81 provided in the conventional disk changer device 800, and is a position where the disk can be reproduced.

First, a conventional disk changer device 8
The control unit (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) included in the disk monitor 00 monitors whether or not the disk exchange port has been opened (step S71). If the disk exchange port has been opened (step S71; Yes), the disk changer device All the loading information of the disk stored in the internal RAM of 800 is cleared (step S72).

Next, the microcomputer determines whether or not there is a user's instruction signal to close the disk exchange port (step S73), and if there is an instruction signal to close this disk exchange port (step S73). S7
3; Yes), close this disk exchange port, and
Then, the rotary tray 80 is rotated 360 degrees in the direction shown in FIG. 7, the presence / absence of a disk is detected by the disk presence / absence detection sensor 82, and disk loading information is newly created and stored in the built-in RAM (step S74).

After step S74, the microcomputer detects the slot in which the disc for which the user instructed to search has been loaded and the rotary tray is set so that the detected slot comes to the disc playback position indicated by reference numeral F in FIG. 80 is stopped by rotating (step S7)
5).

In step S73, when there is no instruction signal to close the disk exchange port (step S73).
73; No), the microcomputer determines whether or not there is an instruction signal for instructing the user to perform a disk reproduction process (step S76), and if there is an instruction signal for instructing this reproduction process (step S76; Yes),
The disk exchange port is closed, the rotary tray 80 is rotated 360 degrees in the direction indicated by the reference symbol G in the drawing, the presence or absence of the disk is detected by the disk presence / absence detection sensor 82, and the loading information of the disk is newly created. (Step S77).

After step S77, the microcomputer detects the slot of the number selected by the user (in this case, the slot at the exchange position indicated by the symbol A in the figure), and the disk is loaded on the slot. It is determined whether or not there is a disc (step S78), and if there is no disc (step S78; No), the process proceeds to step S75 so that the detected slot comes to the disc reproduction position indicated by reference numeral F in the figure. The rotary tray 80 is rotated and stopped in the direction indicated by the reference symbol H.

In step S78, if a disk is loaded in the slot of the number selected by the user (the slot at the exchange position indicated by the symbol A in the figure) (step S78; Yes), the microcomputer The rotary tray 80 is rotated in the direction indicated by reference numeral H in the figure so that the slot comes to the disk reproduction position indicated by reference numeral F in the figure, and the reproduction processing of the disk in this slot is started (step S79).

In step S76, if there is no instruction signal for instructing the user to reproduce the disc (step S76; No), the microcomputer has an instruction signal for instructing the user to rotate the rotary tray 80. Is determined (step S7).
9) In a case where there is no instruction signal for instructing the rotary operation of the rotary tray 80 (Step S80; No), the process proceeds to Step S73 to determine whether or not there is an instruction signal for closing the disk exchange slot by the user. judge.

In step S80, when there is an instruction signal for instructing the rotary operation of the rotary tray 80 by the user (step S80; Yes), the rotary tray 80 is rotated and moved in accordance with the instruction signal, and the process proceeds to step S73. Then, it is determined whether or not there is a user's instruction signal to close the disk exchange opening.

[0016]

However, the above-described conventional disk changer device equipped with a rotary tray has the following problems. Once the disc change slot of the above-described conventional disc changer device equipped with a rotary tray is opened, the loading information of the disc stored up to that point is automatically cleared, and thereafter, it is determined whether or not the disc has been changed. Regardless of this, when the disk exchange opening is closed, a detection process for detecting the presence or absence of a disk on the rotary tray is performed each time. Therefore, it takes a long time from when the disk exchange opening is closed to when the information on the disk is reproduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to reduce the operation time required from the closing of a disc exchange port to the reproduction of information on a loaded disc in a disc changer apparatus capable of loading a large number of discs on a rotary tray. It is to plan.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The present invention has the following features in order to solve such a problem. 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, there is provided a reproducing unit (for example, a pickup unit 113 shown in FIG. 4) for reproducing information recorded on a disc, and an input for inputting an instruction signal for instructing the reproducing unit to start reproduction. Unit (for example, the input unit 107 shown in FIG. 4) and a rotating disk storage unit (for example, a rotary disk storage unit) that stores a plurality of disks to be played back by the playback unit and has a disk replacement position where the stored disks can be replaced. Rotary tray 101 shown in FIG. 2)
And a disk holding unit (for example, a rotary tray 101 shown in FIG. 2) provided in the rotary disk storage unit for storing the disks one by one by the number of the disks that can be stored in the rotary disk storage unit. A disc changer device including: a slot (not shown) formed thereon; and a detection unit (for example, a disc presence / absence detection sensor 104d shown in FIG. 2) for detecting the presence / absence of a loaded disc on the disc holding unit. When a reproduction start instruction signal is input from the input unit, control means for rotating the rotary disk storage unit to move the disk holding unit at the disk exchange position to the detection position of the detection unit (for example, FIG. The microcomputer 106) shown in FIG.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a reproducing unit for reproducing information recorded on a disc, an input unit for inputting an instruction signal for instructing the reproducing unit to start reproduction, and a reproducing unit for reproducing the information by the reproducing unit. To store multiple disks
A rotatable disk storage unit having a disk replacement position at which the stored disks can be replaced, and a plurality of disks provided in the rotatable disk storage unit corresponding to the number of disks that can be stored in the rotatable disk storage unit. In a disc changer device including a disc holding unit for holding each disc and a detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of a loaded disc on the disc holding unit, a control unit receives a reproduction start instruction signal from the input unit. Then, the rotating disk storage unit is rotated to move the disk holding unit at the disk replacement position to the detection position of the detection unit.

Therefore, the detection unit preferentially detects the presence or absence of a disk loaded at the disk replacement position for immediate reproduction, so that the time required to detect the presence or absence of a disk in all disk holding units can be reduced. It is possible to provide an easy-to-use disc changer device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the detecting unit detects that a disk is present in the moved disk holding unit, the control unit executes the reproducing process of the disk. The reproduction section is preferentially performed, and during this reproduction processing, the rotary disk storage section is rotated once, and the detection section detects the presence or absence of a disk in all the disk holding sections.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the detecting unit detects that a disk is present in the moved disk holding unit, the control unit gives priority to the reproducing process of the disk to the reproducing unit. During the reproduction process, the rotary disk storage unit is rotated once, and the detection unit detects the presence or absence of a disk in all the disk holding units. Therefore, the reproducing unit preferentially reproduces the disk loaded in the disk exchange position for immediate reproduction, and further detects the presence or absence of the disks in all the disk holding units during the reproducing process. The waiting time required for performing the reproduction process can be reduced, and the time required for detecting the presence / absence of all the disks can be reduced, so that an efficient disk changer device with improved functionality can be realized.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the detection unit detects that there is no disk in the moved disk holding unit, the control unit stores the rotary disk storage unit. It is further characterized in that the disk holding unit is further rotated and the disk holding unit is sequentially moved to the detection position until the detection unit detects that a disk is present.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the detecting unit detects that there is no disk in the moved disk holding unit, the control unit further rotates the rotary disk storage unit, and The disk holding unit is sequentially moved to the detection position until the detection unit detects that a disk is present. Therefore, even when no disk is loaded at the disk replacement position, the disk loaded on the disk holding unit closest to the disk replacement position is detected with priority.

Therefore, if the disk is mounted on the disk holding portion closest to the disk replacement position, this disk can be detected with priority without specially specifying this disk. When only one disk is stored in the disk storage unit, this disk can be automatically detected without specially specifying this disk, so that it is not necessary to specify the disk, and the functionality is improved. Improvement is achieved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, when the disk holding unit is sequentially moved, the control unit performs the reproducing process of the disk first detected by the detecting unit. The rotation type disk storage unit is rotated once during the reproduction process,
The detection unit may detect the presence or absence of a disk in all of the disk holding units.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when sequentially moving the disk holding unit, the control unit performs a reproduction process of the disk first detected by the detection unit prior to the reproduction unit. At the same time, the rotating disk storage unit is rotated once during the reproduction process, and the detection unit detects the presence or absence of a disk in all the disk holding units.
Therefore, even when no disk is loaded at the disk replacement position, the information of the disk loaded on the disk holding unit closest to the disk replacement position can be preferentially reproduced.

Therefore, even if the disk is not located at the disk exchange position, if the disk is mounted at the position closest to the disk exchange position, it is possible to immediately reproduce the information of this disk, and to store the information in the rotary disk storage unit. When only one disc is stored, the information on the disc can be automatically reproduced without specially specifying the disc, thereby improving operability. Furthermore, since the presence / absence of disks in all the disk holding units is detected during the playback processing, the time required to detect the presence / absence of all disks is reduced, thereby realizing an easy-to-use disk changer device with improved functionality. it can.

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an optical disc changer 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be described in detail.

The optical disk changer 10 is capable of storing 200 disks, but the number of disks that can be stored is not limited to 200, but 100, 1
It is free, such as 50 sheets. Further, in the present embodiment, a description will be given on the assumption that a CD is stored as a disk stored in the optical disk changer 10, but the disk is not limited to a CD and may be a DVD or the like.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a front surface of an optical disk changer 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, on the front surface of the optical disk changer 10, a disk exchange opening 10a, a display device 10b, and operation keys such as a disk exchange opening / closing key 10c, a reproduction key 10d, a stop key 10e, a rotary tray operation dial 10f, A numeric keypad 10g and the like are provided.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a main part showing a schematic configuration of the disk storage section 100 provided in the optical disk changer 10. As shown in FIG. The disk storage unit 100 includes a rotary tray 101, a rotary tray control motor 102, a disk arm 103, a sensor support plate 104, a sensor 104a.
To 104c and a disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d are provided above the substrate 105, and the line indicated by the symbol in the figure is connected to the microcomputer 106 and its peripheral circuits shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rotary tray 10
1 is to hold and store the disk by erecting the disk in accordance with the slot on a rotating disk having a plurality of slots extending in the radial direction from the center. Is done. The rotary tray 101 is provided with a rotary tray control motor 1.
The rotation operation is performed by the power of 02.

The rotary tray control motor 102 drives the rotary tray 101 in accordance with a control signal output from the rotary tray control motor driver 110 via a line indicated by a reference numeral in FIG.
1 to perform an accurate rotation operation.

The disk arm 103 is connected to a disk arm control motor driver 1 via a line indicated by a reference numeral in FIG.
It operates according to a control signal output from the control signal 11. That is, in response to the control signal, one predetermined disk is pulled out from the rotary tray 101, this disk is set in a reproducing device (not shown), and after the reproduction, the disk is stored again at a predetermined position in the rotary tray 101.

The sensors 104 a and 104 b are on the substrate 105 and are installed below the rotary tray 101. The sensors 104a and 104b detect each storage location (slot) of the disk on the rotary tray 101 and also detect the rotation direction of the rotary tray 101.

The sensors 104a and 104b are respectively located on two different radial radii (not shown) extending radially from the rotation center axis of the rotary tray 101, and further have different distances from the rotation center of the rotary tray 101. Installed in The installation positions of the sensors 104a and 104b are determined by the rotation of the rotary tray 101.
The pulse signal PH1 output from the sensor 104a and the pulse signal PH2 output from the sensor 104b are set so as to be shifted from each other by ４ period (see FIG. 3).

The sensor 104a outputs a pulse signal PH1 generated by the rotation of the rotary tray 101 to the microcomputer 106 via the line shown in the figure, and the sensor 104b also outputs the pulse signal PH1 to the rotary tray 101 via the line shown in the figure. And outputs a pulse signal PH2 to the microcomputer 106.

The sensor 104c is provided on the substrate 105 and determines the position of the rotary tray 101. The sensor 104c generates a gate signal PH3 by the rotation operation of the rotary tray 101, and outputs the gate signal PH3 to the microcomputer 106 via a line shown in the figure.

The disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d is located on the sensor support
1, and detects the presence or absence of a disc on the rotary tray 101.

The disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d outputs a detection signal indicating the presence / absence of a disk to the microcomputer 106 via the line indicated by the reference numeral in the figure.

Next, the position of the rotary tray 101 and each disk stored in the rotary tray 101 are determined by the above-mentioned sensors 104.
The determination method based on the signals output from a to 104d will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3A shows sensors 104a to 104c.
FIG. 3B is a timing chart of the pulse signals PH1 to PH3 output from the sensors 104a and 104b.
4 is a timing chart of pulse signals PH1 and PH2 output by the disk drive and a disk presence / absence detection signal output by a disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d.

PH1 is a pulse signal output from the sensor 104a, and PH2 is a pulse signal output from the sensor 104b with a 周期 cycle delay from PH1. The two pulse signals PH1 and PH2 are output in accordance with the rotation operation of the rotary tray 101, and are output as “Hig
h ”and“ Low ”are bit signals having only two types of levels, and PH3 is a gate signal output from the sensor 104c to the microcomputer 106.

Reference numerals C1 to C8 in the figure indicate count timings at which the microcomputer 106 counts the disk storage locations (slots formed in the rotary tray 101 in advance) 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 1
For example, a “Low” section of PH3 shown in FIG. 3A corresponds to a section having a gate length of the five slots formed on the rotary tray 101 as shown in FIG. are doing. That is, the rotary tray 101 is provided with a plurality of sections in advance, and the number of slots formed in each of the sections is different from each other.

Therefore, by counting the number of the count timings (the number of slots) included in the “Low” section of the gate signal PH3, the rotary tray 10
1 can be detected.

The phases of the pulse signals PH1 and PH2 are shifted from each other by 1/4 cycle. If the rotation direction of the rotary tray 101 is reversed, this phase is also reversed and the signals of PH1 and PH2 in FIG. Interchange. That is, the rotary tray 101 is determined based on the phases of the pulse signals PH1 and PH2.
Can be detected.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d 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 101, if a disk is stored in the disk storage location on the rotary tray 101 corresponding to the count timing, the disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d continues to output the standard signal. At the same time, the microcomputer 106 stores this information in its built-in RAM (not shown).

On the other hand, when the count timing is generated by the rotation of the rotary tray 101 and the disk is not stored in the disk storage location on the rotary tray 101 corresponding to the count timing, the disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d outputs “ One pulse of the Low ”signal is output, and the microcomputer 1
06 stores this information in the RAM.

Next, the internal circuit of the optical disc changer 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG.
3 is a schematic block diagram showing an internal circuit of the optical disc changer 10. FIG.

According to FIG. 4, the optical disc changer 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a microcomputer 106, an input unit 107, a display unit 108, a disk exchange opening / closing control motor driver 1
09, rotary tray control motor driver 110, disk arm control motor driver 111, DSP11
2. Pickup unit 113, load / unload SW 114, and disk change opening / closing control motor 11
5, an input unit 107, a display unit 108, a pickup unit 113, and a load / unload SW1.
The components other than 14 and the disk exchange opening / closing control motor 115 are connected by a plurality of buses.

The microcomputer 106 is connected to the sensors 104a to 104 via lines indicated by reference numerals in FIG.
c, and signals output from the disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d, and based on the received signals, various position information for controlling the operation of the rotary tray 101 are calculated, and the calculated information is stored in the built-in RAM (not shown). The position information is stored.

The microcomputer 106 operates to open and close the disk exchange opening 10 a, rotate the rotary tray 101, and operate the disk arm 103 in response to an operation signal by operating various operation keys (see FIG. 1) of the input unit 107. Or the playback processing of a disc set in a playback device (not shown).

In particular, the microcomputer 106 closes the disk exchange port 10a and then
It is determined whether or not a disk has been loaded in the slot at the replacement position (see FIG. 6) indicated by reference numeral A in the figure, which allows the disk to be replaced via, and if the disk has been loaded in the replacement position. Then, the rotary tray 101 is rotated until the slot comes to a reproduction position (see FIG. 6) indicated by reference numeral B in the drawing, which can be clamped by the disk arm 103, and the disk on this slot is reproduced.

Further, if the microcomputer 106 determines that a disc is loaded at the exchange position indicated by the reference symbol A in the figure after closing the disc exchange port 10a, the microcomputer 106 performs the reproduction processing of the disc. A detection process for detecting the presence / absence of disks on all slots is performed.

The input unit 107 includes a disk exchange opening / closing key 10c for instructing opening / closing of the disk exchange opening 10a, a reproduction key 10d for instructing a disk reproduction process, a stop key 10e for instructing a stop of the reproduction process, and rotation of a rotary tray. Rotary tray operation dial 10f for instructing operation,
The slot number where the disc to be played is loaded,
It has various operation keys and operation dials related to the operation of the optical disk changer 10, such as a ten-key 10g for selecting a track number of the disk, and the like.
When these operation keys are operated, an operation signal of each key is output to the microcomputer 106.

The display unit 108 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal).
Display). This display unit 1
08 displays various display information output from the microcomputer 106. For example, the rotary tray 10
The operation mode (rotational movement, disc search, etc.) of the rotation operation 1, the disc opening / closing slot 10a open / closed state, the track number of the disc being reproduced, and the like are displayed.

Disk drive opening / closing control motor driver 1
Reference numeral 09 drives a disk exchange opening / closing control motor 115 that opens and closes a disk exchange opening 10a provided on the front surface of the optical disk changer 10 based on a control signal output from the microcomputer 106.

Rotary tray control motor driver 11
0 drives a rotary tray control motor 102 that rotates the rotary tray 101 based on a control signal output from the microcomputer 106.

Disk arm control motor driver 111
Drives a disk arm control motor (not shown) that operates the disk arm 103 based on a control signal output from the microcomputer 106.

A DSP (Digital Signal Processor) 46
Converts encoded digital data output from a pickup unit 113 described later into a microcomputer 106
Converts the data into a data format that can be processed at a high speed and outputs it to the microcomputer 106.

The pickup unit 113 extracts and amplifies various kinds of TOC information or digital music data recorded in advance on a disk set in the above-mentioned reproducing apparatus (not shown), and outputs the amplified data to the DSP 112.

The load / unload SW 114 downloads various TOC information or the like recorded on a disc set in the above-mentioned reproducing apparatus (not shown), or when the disc is released from the reproducing apparatus, A signal instructing whether to clear the TOC information or the like is output to the microcomputer 106.

The optical disk changer 10 can be connected to an external recording device. In this case, the microcomputer 106 can output the reproduction data from the disk to the connected external recording device and record the data on a predetermined recording medium provided in the external recording device.

Next, the operation will be described. The operation of the optical disc changer 10 after the opening / closing operation of the disc exchange port 10a is performed will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation after the opening / closing operation of the disk exchange opening 10a is performed in the optical disk changer 10. FIG. 6A shows the operation after the disk exchange opening 10a is closed in the optical disk changer 10. FIG. 6B is a diagram schematically illustrating an operation when the presence or absence of a disc on the rotary tray 101 is detected, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an operation of the rotary tray 101 when a disc reproduction process is performed in the optical disc changer 10.

The position indicated by reference numeral A in FIGS. 6A and 6B faces the disk exchange port 10a, and is a position where the disk can be exchanged. The position indicated by the reference numeral B in the figure is on the same radius as the disk arm 103, and is a position where the disk can be reproduced.

First, the microcomputer 106 monitors whether or not the disk exchange port 10a has been opened (step S51), and when the disk exchange port 10a has been opened (step S51; Yes), this microcomputer 106
Clear all the disc loading information stored in the internal RAM (not shown) (step S52).

Next, the microcomputer 106 determines whether or not there is a press signal by pressing the disk exchange opening / closing key 10c (step S53). If there is a press signal by pressing the disk exchange opening / closing key 10c (step S53). S53; Yes), the disk exchange port 10a is closed, the rotary tray 101 is rotated by 360 degrees in the direction shown by the reference symbol D in the figure, and the presence / absence of disks in all slots is detected by the disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d. Is newly created and stored in the built-in RAM (step S54).

After step S54, the microcomputer 106 detects the slot in which the disc for which the user has instructed to search is loaded, and the rotary tray 101 is set so that the detected slot comes to the reproduction position indicated by the reference symbol B in FIG. Is stopped by rotating (step S5).
5).

In step S53, if there is no press signal due to the press of the disk exchange opening / closing key 10c (step S53; No), the microcomputer 10
No. 6 determines whether or not there is a press signal by pressing the reproduction key 10d (step S56), and when there is a press signal by pressing the reproduction key 10d (step S56; Ye).
s), the disk exchange port 10a is closed, the rotary tray 101 is rotated in the direction indicated by reference numeral C in the figure, and the slot (hereinafter referred to as "selected slot") at the exchange position indicated by reference numeral A in the figure is detected by the disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d. Is called)
The presence or absence of the upper disk is detected with the highest priority (step S5).
8).

At step S56, the reproduction key 10d
When there is no press signal due to the press of (Step S5
6; No), the microcomputer 106 determines whether or not there is an operation signal due to the rotation operation of the rotary tray operation dial 10f (step S67), and when there is no operation signal due to the rotation operation of the rotary tray operation dial 10f (step S67). Step S67; No), Step S5
The process proceeds to 3 to determine whether or not there is a pressing signal due to pressing of the disk exchange opening / closing key 10c.

In step S67, if there is an operation signal from the rotary operation of the rotary tray operation dial 10f (step S67; Yes), the rotary tray 101 is rotated and moved according to the operation signal, and step S67 is performed.
The process proceeds to 53, where it is determined whether or not there is a pressing signal due to pressing of the disk exchange opening / closing key 10c.

During the reproduction process in step S58, the microcomputer 106 sets the disc presence / absence detection sensor 104d.
It is determined whether or not a disk is loaded on the selected slot on the basis of the signal output from (step S).
59) If a disc is loaded (step S5)
9; Yes), the rotary tray 101 is rotated so that the selected slot is located at the reproduction position indicated by the reference symbol B in the figure, and the reproduction process of the disc on the selected slot is started (step S60).

After step S60, the microcomputer 106 rotates the rotary tray 101 by 360 degrees in the direction indicated by the symbol D in the figure, and
04d detects the presence or absence of disks on all slots,
Disk loading information is newly created and stored in the built-in RAM (not shown) of the microcomputer 106 (step S61).

After step S61, the microcomputer 106 rotates and stops the rotary tray 101 so that the above-mentioned selected slot of the disc currently being reproduced is located at the reproduction position indicated by reference numeral B in the figure. Step S62).

In step S59, if no disk is loaded on the selected slot (step S59; No), the microcomputer 106 determines the slot located next to the selected slot (hereinafter referred to as "adjacent slot"). ) Is passed below the disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d (step S63), and based on the signal output from the disk presence / absence detection sensor 104d at that time,
It is determined whether a disk is loaded in the adjacent slot (step S64). If a disk is loaded (step S64; Yes), the process proceeds to step S60 to reproduce the disk in the adjacent slot. Start processing.

In step S64, if no disk is loaded in the adjacent slot (step S64).
64; No), the microcomputer 106 proceeds to step S63 and sequentially detects whether or not a disk is loaded in a slot located next to the next slot (step S65; No), and discards the disk. The above detection process is continuously performed for all slots on the rotary tray 101 until the detection is performed. In particular, when disks are not loaded in all slots (step S65; Yes)
s), the microcomputer 106 includes the display device 10b
Is displayed as "NO DISC" (step S6).
6).

As described above, according to the optical disc changer 10 of the present embodiment, when the opened disc exchange port 10a is closed in response to a press signal by pressing the play key 10d, the symbol A in FIG. It is determined with the highest priority whether a disk is loaded in the slot at the indicated exchange position.

If it is determined that a disk is loaded, the slot is moved to the playback position indicated by reference numeral B in the figure, and the disk loaded in that slot is played back, and the disk is played back. It is detected whether or not disks are loaded in all slots on the rotary tray 101, and based on the detection result, disk loading information is created and stored in the built-in RAM.
Also, when it is determined that the disk is not loaded in the determination performed with the highest priority, it is sequentially detected whether or not a disk is loaded in the next slot, and as soon as the loaded disk is detected, Playback processing of the detected disc is performed.

Accordingly, the slot at the position indicated by the symbol A in the figure is a slot for loading a disc selected by the user as a disc to be immediately reproduced, such as a disc just exchanged, so that the reproduction key 10d is pressed. After the disk exchange port 10a is closed in response to a press signal from the user, whether or not a disk is loaded in this slot is detected with the highest priority. If it is detected that a disk is present, the disk in this slot is played with the highest priority before the presence or absence of the disk in all slots on the rotary tray 101, so that the disk just replaced is immediately played. This makes it possible to reduce the user's waiting time when playing the replaced disc.

Further, during the reproduction processing performed with the highest priority, a detection processing for detecting the presence or absence of a disk in all slots is performed, so that the time during which the detection processing is performed can be saved, and the functionality is improved. Improvement is achieved.

The present invention is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiment, but can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, a CD is assumed as a disc to be loaded into the optical disc changer 10, but the present invention is not limited to this.
VD, CD-R (CD-Recordable), or CD-RW
(CD-ReWritable) is also applicable.

[0085]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the detection unit preferentially detects the presence or absence of a disk loaded at the disk replacement position for immediate reproduction, and thus the presence or absence of disks in all disk holding units. It is possible to provide a user-friendly disc changer device that can reduce the time required to detect the disc.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the reproducing unit
The disc loaded at the disc change position is preferentially reproduced for immediate reproduction, and the presence or absence of the discs in all the disc holding units is detected during the reproduction processing. The required waiting time can be reduced, and the time required to detect the presence / absence of all the disks is reduced, so that an efficient disk changer device with improved functionality can be realized.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even when no disk is loaded at the disk replacement position, the disk loaded on the disk holding unit closest to the disk replacement position is detected with priority. Therefore, if the disk is loaded on the disk holding unit closest to the disk replacement position, this disk is not specified,
This disk can be detected with priority, and when only one disk is stored in the rotating disk storage unit, this disk can be detected without any particular designation.
Since this disk can be automatically detected, the trouble of designating the disk can be omitted, and the functionality can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even when no disk is loaded at the disk replacement position, the information of the disk loaded on the disk holding unit closest to the disk replacement position is reproduced with priority. be able to.
Therefore, even if it is not the disk exchange position, if the disk is mounted at the position closest to the disk exchange position, it is possible to immediately reproduce the information of this disk,
Further, when only one disk is stored in the rotary disk storage unit, it is possible to automatically reproduce the information of this disk without specially specifying this disk, thereby improving operability. It is planned. Furthermore, since the presence / absence of disks in all the disk holding units is detected during the playback processing, the time required to detect the presence / absence of all disks is reduced, thereby realizing an easy-to-use disk changer device with improved functionality. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a front part of an optical disc changer 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a main part top view showing a schematic configuration of a disk storage unit 100 provided in the optical disk changer 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a timing chart of pulse signals PH1 to PH3 output from sensors 104a to 104c, and FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating pulse signals PH1 and PH2 output from sensors 104a and 104b, and a disk presence / absence detection sensor. 1
FIG. 14 is a timing chart of a disk presence / absence detection signal output from a disk 04d.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing an internal circuit of the optical disc changer 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the optical disc changer 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention after the opening / closing operation of the disc exchange port 10a is performed.

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an optical disc changer 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7A is a diagram schematically illustrating an operation when the presence or absence of a disc on the rotary tray 101 is detected after the closing of a. FIG.
Rotary tray 1 for disc playback
It is a figure which shows operation | movement of No. 01 typically.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation after a disk exchange opening / closing operation is performed in the conventional disk changer device 800;

FIG. 8A shows a conventional disc changer device 8;
00 is a diagram schematically showing an operation when the presence or absence of a disk on the rotary tray 80 is detected after the disk exchange opening is closed, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement when reproduction | regeneration processing is performed typically.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Optical disk changer 10a Disk exchange opening 10b Display device 10c Disk exchange opening opening / closing key 10d Play key 10e Stop key 10f Rotary tray operation dial 10g Numeric keypad 100 Disk storage unit 101 Rotary tray 102 Rotary tray control motor 103 Disk arm 104 Sensor support plate 104a ~ 104c sensor 104d disk presence / absence detection sensor 105 substrate 106 microcomputer 107 input unit 108 display unit 109 disk opening / closing opening / closing control motor driver 110 rotary tray control motor driver 111 disk arm control motor driver 112 DSP 113 pickup unit 114 load / unload SW 115 Disc opening / closing control motor

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A reproducing unit for reproducing information recorded on a disk, an input unit for inputting an instruction signal for instructing the reproducing unit to start reproduction, and storing a plurality of disks reproduced by the reproducing unit. A rotating disk storage unit having a disk replacement position at which the stored disks can be replaced; and a plurality of disks provided in the rotating disk storage unit by the number of disks that can be stored in the rotating disk storage unit. A disc changer device comprising: a disc holding unit for holding each disc; and a detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of a loaded disc on the disc holding unit. Rotating the rotating disk storage unit to move the disk holding unit at the disk replacement position to the detection position of the detection unit Disc changer apparatus comprising the control means. 2. The control means according to claim 1, wherein said detecting means detects a presence of a disk in said moved disk holding section, and causes said reproducing section to perform reproduction processing of said disk with priority. 2. The disk changer device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating disk storage unit is rotated once, and the presence / absence of disks in all the disk holding units is detected by the detection unit. 3. The control means, further comprising: when the detecting unit detects that there is no disk in the moved disk holding unit, further rotates the rotary disk storage unit and detects that the disk is present by the detecting unit. 2. The disc changer device according to claim 1, wherein the disc holding unit is sequentially moved to the detection position until the disc is held. 4. The control means, when sequentially moving the disk holding unit, causes the reproducing unit to preferentially perform a reproducing process of the disk detected first by the detecting unit, and during the reproducing process, Rotate the rotating disk storage unit once,
4. The disk changer device according to claim 3, wherein the detection unit detects the presence or absence of a disk in all of the disk holding units.