JP2012216246A - Optical disk case - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accommodate optical disks as a stack in a compact manner for use in a system capable of rapidly reproducing a large volume of information as a recording and reproducing device.SOLUTION: The optical disk case includes: a plurality of trays for bearing optical disks; and a case body for bearing the trays while being stacked in their thickness direction and having an opened or openable upper portion. At a plurality of positions corresponding to one another at the periphery of each of the trays, tray operation units for supporting each of the trays are formed respectively. The tray operation units formed at the positions corresponding to one another of each of the trays are formed at deviated positions that do not coincide with one another between the trays with respect to the direction along the peripheries of the trays.

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical disc case that accommodates a plurality of optical discs.

  In recent years, with the increase in the amount of information handled by computers, the storage medium for storing information has increased in capacity. Examples of the main storage medium include a disk-shaped storage medium such as a hard disk, a magnetic tape, and an optical disk. Among such storage media, the hard disk is used as a main storage device because it is excellent in high-speed storage / reproduction and random accessibility.

  On the other hand, magnetic tape and disk-shaped storage media are used for archive and backup applications. However, the magnetic tape is superior to the disk-shaped storage medium in terms of low cost and storage capacity per unit volume, but inferior in random accessibility and storability.

  For this reason, the advent of a storage device that combines the advantages of a disk-shaped storage medium and a magnetic tape, is inexpensive, has a large capacity, and is excellent in random accessibility and storability.

  In this regard, Patent Documents 1 to 4 show that a plurality of optical disks are stacked and accommodated in a case.

  For example, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, a plurality of trays are provided in a disk cartridge in a layered manner, and these trays can be slid with respect to the cartridges. An optical disk is mounted on each tray, and a desired tray is pulled out from the cartridge as needed to take out the optical disks one by one.

  In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, a plurality of sheet-like optical disks having flexibility as a whole disk are stacked and stored in a cartridge case. In addition, a case in which a flat cylindrical protrusion is formed at the center of the optical disk to prevent direct contact between the surfaces of the optical disk is also disclosed. Furthermore, this Patent Document 2 also shows an example in which an optical disk is sandwiched between sheet materials and these are stacked and accommodated in a case. In this example, the optical disk is slid and accommodated in the opening of the case.

  In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 3, a plurality of flexible sheet members are provided in a layer form in a cartridge, and an optical disk is inserted and accommodated between these sheet members. A tag is formed at the front end of each sheet member by sequentially shifting the position along the direction of the front end edge. Then, when taking out the optical disk, the arm provided in the selection means is moved to the position of the tag of the sheet member containing the desired optical disk, and the opening is made by bending the sheet member by pressing the tag with the arm. The optical disk has been removed.

  Further, Patent Document 3 discloses an invention relating to an optical disk cartridge that accommodates an optical disk by alternately stacking a tray in which an optical disk is placed in a space partitioned by a partition plate and a separator for preventing tray continuous feeding.

JP 2002-133824 A JP 2004-134019 A JP 2007-004906 A JP 2007-287241 A

  However, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is only possible to transport the optical disks mounted on the drawn tray one by one to the reproduction drive. For this reason, it takes time to search for information across a plurality of optical disks.

  In the first invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, the optical disk must be made of a special member, which is not versatile. In addition, when the protrusion is formed in the center of the optical disc, the optical disc itself has a special structure, which is not versatile. In addition, the number of optical discs mounted in the optical disc case is reduced, and the recording capacity per unit is reduced. End up. Further, with regard to the second invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, in order to reproduce the recording, the optical disks are taken out one by one.

  Further, even in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 3, only one optical disk can be taken out.

  On the other hand, it is difficult to shorten the time for reproducing a large amount of information because it is not disclosed what kind of contrivance is made for transporting the optical disk laminated in Patent Document 4 to the reproduction drive. .

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to make an optical disc a compact structure and store the optical disc compactly without using a special member. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a large-capacity system capable of reproducing a recording in a short time as a recording / reproducing apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention includes a plurality of trays on which optical disks are mounted, and a case housing that is open or releasable to stack and mount these trays in the thickness direction. Forming a tray operation part for supporting each tray at each of a plurality of parts corresponding to each other at the periphery of each tray, and providing the tray operation part formed at a plurality of parts corresponding to each other of each tray. These are characterized in that they are formed at any position overlapping each other in the direction along the peripheral edge of the trays.

  According to the present invention, an optical disk can be compactly stacked and stored without a special structure of the optical disk, the capacity of the storage medium can be increased, and the random access property is excellent. Can be transported at high speed.

The perspective view which shows the state which expand | deployed the structural member and the optical disk in the thickness direction about the optical disk case concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows an example of the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus in which the optical disk case of this invention is used. The top view of the case housing | casing and tray which comprise the optical disk case shown in FIG. The top view of the partition sheet and optical disk which are used for the optical disk case shown in FIG. The top view of the optical disk case which shows the state which laminated | stacked and mounted the tray and the optical disk. The perspective view of the state by which the tray was spaced apart and expanded by the expansion mechanism. The perspective view of the picker which adsorb | sucks and conveys an optical disk and a partition sheet. The perspective view which shows the state which expand | deployed the structural member and the optical disk in the thickness direction about the optical disk case concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The top view of the case housing | casing and tray which comprise the optical disk case shown in FIG. The top view of the partition sheet and optical disk which are used for the optical disk case shown in FIG. The top view of the optical disk case which shows the state which laminated | stacked and mounted the tray and the optical disk. The perspective view of a deployment mechanism. The top view of an expansion | deployment mechanism. The perspective view which shows the process in which the expansion | deployment mechanism expand | deploys the tray on an optical disk case. The perspective view which shows the process in which the expansion | deployment mechanism expand | deploys the tray on an optical disk case. The perspective view which shows the process in which the expansion | deployment mechanism expand | deploys the tray on an optical disk case. The perspective view of the expansion | deployment mechanism, conveyance mechanism, and recording / reproducing drive which comprise an optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus. The perspective view of a picker. The perspective view which shows the state which spaced apart and expanded | deployed the laminated | stacked tray, the optical disk, and the partition sheet in the thickness direction. The perspective view which shows the state in which a picker is located above the tray supported by the support plate. The perspective view which shows the process in which a picker adsorb | sucks an optical disk. The perspective view which shows the state which the picker adsorb | sucked and hold | maintained the optical disk. The perspective view which shows the process of setting an optical disk in a 1st optical disk drive. The perspective view which shows the process of adsorb | sucking both a partition sheet and an optical disk. The perspective view which shows the state which adsorb | sucked and hold | maintained both the partition sheet | seat and the optical disk. The perspective view which shows the process of setting an optical disk in a 2nd optical disk drive. The perspective view which shows the state which the picker holding the partition sheet flashed and removed from the disk drive after setting the optical disk to two optical disk drives.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which the optical disc case according to the first embodiment of the present invention is developed, and FIG. 2 shows an example of an optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus D in which the optical disc case is used.

  First, the outline of the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus D will be described with reference to FIG.

  The optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus D includes a cylindrical rotary stocker 101 in which a plurality of optical disc cases are accommodated, and a cartridge picker 102 for taking out the optical disc case 55. Further, a developing mechanism 103 that expands a plurality of trays mounted on the taken-out optical disk case 55 apart in the thickness direction, and holds the optical disk from the expanded tray to the two optical disk drive groups 105 and 106. A transport mechanism 104 is provided.

  The rotary stocker 101 is configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis L provided at the center and extending vertically. In this rotary stocker 101, an optical disc case 55 is disposed in the circumferential direction along the outer peripheral surface forming the side surface of the rotary stocker 101, and the optical disc cases 55 are stored in a state of being stacked one above the other. Each optical disc case 55 is provided with a plurality of trays, and the optical discs are respectively mounted on the plurality of trays and stacked in the thickness direction.

  The cartridge picker 102 takes out the designated optical disc case 55 from the plurality of optical disc cases 55 accommodated in the rotary stocker 101 and conveys it to the deployment mechanism 103.

  The unfolding mechanism 103 sequentially supports a plurality of trays mounted on the optical disc case 55 from above, and unfolds the trays with a space therebetween.

  The transport mechanism 104 includes a plurality of pickers for picking up optical disks on the trays, corresponding to each tray. The transport mechanism 104 moves the picked up optical disk to the two optical disk drive groups 105 and 106.

  Each of the first optical disk drive group 105 and the second optical disk drive group 106 is provided with a group of optical disk drives 40 and 45 corresponding to each tray. The optical disk transported by the transport mechanism 104 is mounted on each optical disk drive 40, 45, and information is recorded and reproduced.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the optical disc case 55 in which a member constituting the optical disc case 55 and the optical disc are developed apart from each other in the vertical direction. The optical disk case 55 accommodates a plurality of trays 60, 61,... 67 in which two optical disks 51 and a partition sheet 52 are stacked in the thickness direction. The optical disc case 55 includes a plurality of trays 60, 61,... 67 on which optical discs are mounted, and a case housing 56 on which these trays 60, 61,. Each tray 60, 61,... 67 is configured to mount a plurality of optical disks 51, and a partition sheet 52 is disposed between the optical disks 51. The optical disc 51 and the optical disc 51 are partitioned by the partition sheet 52.

  Note that FIG. 1 shows an eight-layer type including the lowermost first tray 60 to the uppermost eighth tray 67 by omitting the fourth to sixth layers forming the intermediate layer. .

  Next, details of the case housing 56, the trays 60, 61,... 67, and the partition sheet 52 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The case housing 56 has a substantially heptagonal peripheral shape, a flat mounting surface 57 on which the optical disc 51 is disposed, side walls 58 formed along both side edges of the mounting surface 57, and the mounting surface 57. And a lower end wall 59 formed at the center portion of the lower end edge of the lower end.

  The mounting surface 57 has a flat upper end edge 57a that forms the upper side of FIGS. 3 and 4, while the lower end edge 57b that forms the lower side has its center portion facing downward so that its center is the apex. Slightly overhanging. Further, the mounting surface 57 is widened toward the lower side of the figure, and on both side edges, a portion serving as a vertex is formed at an intermediate portion. A cylindrical protrusion 57 c is formed at the center of the mounting surface 57.

  The side wall 58 is formed so as to protrude toward the upper side where the optical disc 51 is mounted along the side edge of the mounting surface 57 having such a shape. And from the position of the upper end edge 57a of the mounting surface 57, the protrusion part 58a integrally formed with each side wall 58 is formed so that it may extend toward the upper side of a figure. This protrusion 58a prevents the tray operation part formed in trays 60, 61,.

  The lower end wall 59 formed on the lower end edge 57b of the mounting surface 57 is to prevent the optical disc 51 mounted on the case housing 56 from dropping off from the lower end edge 57b, and at the center of the lower end edge 57b, The optical disk 51 is provided so as to protrude upward. The lower end wall 59 has a flat outer surface, but the inner surface is curved outward so as to correspond to the shape of the outer peripheral edge of the optical disc 51.

  Next, the trays 60, 61,.

  Since the optical disc case 55 according to this embodiment is configured to accommodate the optical disc 51 by stacking eight trays 60, 61,... 67, the optical disc case 55 includes eight trays 60, 61,. Yes. The trays 60, 61,... 67 are composed of a first tray 60 disposed directly on the mounting surface 57 of the case housing 56 and seven trays 61, 67 stacked in sequence above the first tray 60. Composed.

  Each of the trays 60, 61,... 67 has a substantially heptagonal outer shape, and the outer edges of the case casing 56 are arranged so that they can be arranged inside the side wall 58 and the lower end wall 59 of the case casing 56. It is formed slightly smaller than the mounting surface 57. Each of the trays 60, 61,... 67 also has a flat upper end edge, while the lower end edge of the tray 60 projects outward.

  The trays 61... 67 that form the upper seven layers are respectively formed so that the tray operation portion protrudes outward at one place on the upper edge and at two places on the lower edge. The tray operation portions 61a,... 67a formed at the upper end edges of the respective trays 61, 67 have a tray operation portion 61a of the second tray 61 disposed in the lower layer at the rightmost end and the tray 63 disposed on the upper side. .. As 67, it is formed so as to be sequentially shifted to the left.

  FIG. 3 shows the position of the tray operation part of each tray as a distance from the center line CL of the tray. For the second tray 61 to the fourth tray 63, tray operation portions 61a, 62a, and 63a are formed in a region on the right side of the center line CL. The tray operation unit 64a of the fifth tray 64 is formed at the center, and the trays 65, 66, 67 arranged on the upper side of the fifth tray 64 have a tray operation unit 65a in the region on the left side of the center line CL. , 66a, 67a are formed.

Specifically, the tray operation portion 61a of the tray 61 is formed from the center line CL at a distance _{A 61,} the tray operation portion 62a of the tray 62 and 63, 63a is the distance from the center line CL is the distance _{A 61} The distances A ₆₂ and A ₆₃ are formed in order of smaller distances. The tray operation portion 64a of the tray 64 is formed at the center position. The tray operation units 65a, 66a, and 67a of the trays 65, 66, and 67 disposed on the upper layer from the tray 64 have a distance A ₆₅ , a distance A ₆₆ , and a distance A _{67 that} are sequentially increased from the center line CL. It is formed at each position.

  On the other hand, two tray operation portions formed at the lower end edge are provided one in each of the regions on both sides with the center line CL as a boundary. The tray operation portions 61b... 67b provided in the region on the left side of the center line CL are sequentially shifted in position from the left edge to the center side as the tray is arranged in the upper layer. On the other hand, the tray operation portions 61c... 67c provided in the region on the right side of the center line CL are formed at positions shifted sequentially from the center toward the right edge as the trays are arranged on the upper layer. Yes.

FIG. 3 shows the positions of the tray operation units 61b, 67b at the distance from the left edge of each tray 61, 67 for the tray operation units 61b, 67b provided in the region on the left side of the center line CL. Yes. The first tray 61 is formed with a tray operation portion at a position of B ₆₁ from the left edge, and the distance is gradually increased as the tray is arranged on the upper layer, and the distance B _62. It is formed at the position of distance B ₆₇ , respectively. On the other hand, with respect to the tray operation units 61c... 67c formed in the right region, the positions of the tray operation units 61c. The tray 61, the tray operation portion is formed at a distance the position of the greatest distance C ₆₁ from the right edge, in accordance with the tray disposed in the upper layer, the distance is successively reduced, the distance C ₆₂ · · Each is formed at a position of distance _C67 .

  These tray operation units are used when the trays 60,... 67 stacked by the deployment mechanism are deployed in the thickness direction so as to be supported in order.

  A circular hole is formed in the center of each tray 60... 67, and three elongated holes are formed around the circular hole so as to surround the circular hole. The circular holes formed in the trays 60... 67 correspond to the positions of the circular holes formed in the case casing 56 described above, and the case casings 56 are stacked by stacking the trays 60. These holes are formed so that the positions of the holes coincide with each other.

  Next, the partition sheet 52 that partitions the optical disks 51 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the optical disc 51 and the partition sheet 52.

The outer periphery of the optical disc 51 is formed in a circular shape, and a circular hole is formed in the center thereof. The outer shape of the optical disc 51 shown in FIG. 4 is φD ₁ and the inner diameter of the hole is φd.

  The outer periphery of the partition sheet 52 is formed in a substantially circular shape, and partition sheet operation portions 52a that project radially outward are formed at four positions on the periphery. These partition sheet operation parts 52a are formed at positions that are subject to vertical movement with the center line CL of the partition sheet 52 as a boundary, and two are provided above the center line CL and two are provided below the center line CL. In addition, a hole is formed at the center, and three elongated holes are formed around the hole so as to surround the hole.

The outer diameter φD ₂ of the partition sheet 52 is formed to be approximately the same size as the outer diameter φD ₁ of the optical disc 51. On the other hand, the tip of each partition sheet operation portion 52 a is formed so as to be positioned on a circle having a diameter φD ₃ whose center is the same as the center of the partition sheet 52. For this reason, when the partition sheet 52 is disposed between the optical discs 51, the partition sheet operation unit 52 a protrudes outward from the outer peripheral edge of the optical disc 51.

  That is, the outer peripheral edge of the partition sheet is shifted in the radial direction outside of the optical disk 51 with respect to the outer peripheral edge of the optical disk 1 to be laminated, and the partition sheet operation unit 52 a is an area where the optical disk 51 does not overlap. It becomes.

  In FIG. 4, the position of each partition sheet operation unit 52 a is indicated by a center angle from the center line CL. The pair of partition sheet operation portions 52a are formed at the center angle α in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions from the center line CL, and the other pair of partition sheet operation portions 52a are clockwise and counterclockwise from the center line CL. Each is formed at the position of the central angle β.

  The optical disc 51 is accommodated using the case casing 56, the trays 60, 67, and the partition sheet 52 described above.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first tray 60 is mounted directly on the mounting surface 57 of the case housing 56, and the optical disc 51, the partition sheet 52, and the optical disc 51 are stacked on the first tray 60 in this order. At this time, the upper end edge of the first tray 60 is directed to the narrow upper end edge 57 a of the case casing 56, and the lower end edge is directed to the lower end edge 57 b of the case casing 56. As a result, the first tray 60 is positioned on the mounting surface 57 so as to be positioned inside the side wall 58 and the lower end wall 59 of the case housing 56. On the lowermost layer, the second tray 61, the optical disc 51, the partition sheet 52, and the optical disc 51 are mounted in this order. The third to eighth trays 62 and 67 are also sequentially stacked in such a manner that the two optical disks 51 are sequentially stacked with the partition sheet 52 interposed therebetween. The second tray 61 to the eighth tray 67 are also directed in the same direction as the first tray 60. At this time, the optical disc 51, the partition sheet 52, and the trays 60... 67 are aligned with the protrusions 57 c formed in the mounting surface 57 of the case housing 56 with the circular holes formed in the center thereof. Are stacked concentrically.

  Thus, by laminating the partition sheet 52 between the optical disks 51, it is possible to prevent sticking or rubbing between the optical disks.

  When stacked as described above, as shown in FIG. 5, the tray operation portions 61 a... 67 a formed on the upper edge of each tray 61... 67 protrude outward from the upper edge 57 a of the case housing 56. It becomes a state. The tray operation units 61a... 67a are located at the leftmost portion of the tray operation unit 61a of the second tray 61, and the tray operation units 62a. The position is shifted on the right side of the figure along the direction of the upper edge of the tray.

  Similarly, the tray operation portions 61b... 67b, 61c... 67c formed at the lower edge also protrude outward from the lower edge 57b of the case housing 56. Then, the tray operation portions 61b and 61c of the second tray 61 are disposed on the leftmost portion, and the position of the eighth tray 67 is shifted to the right side along the lower edge as the tray operation portion of the tray disposed on the upper side becomes the tray operation portion. The tray operation parts 67b and 67c are located at the rightmost part.

  As a result, the tray operation portions 61a, 67a, 61b, 67b, 61c, 67c formed on the trays 61, 67 are arranged in a state of being shifted without overlapping each other.

  The above optical disc case 55 is unfolded for each tray with the mounted trays 60... 67 separated from each other in the thickness direction. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the developing mechanism 103 provided in the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus D has developed the eighth tray 67 from the first tray 60.

  This unfolding mechanism includes a lifting device (not shown) and a support that supports the trays 61... 67 mounted on the optical disc case one by one. The lifting device moves the optical disc case 55 up and down. On the other hand, the support body is provided so as to surround the periphery of the optical disc case 55 that moves up and down, and the number of support plates 71A, 77A, 71B, 77B corresponding to the number of the second tray 61 to the eighth tray 67. It has. These support plates 71A,... 77A, 71B,... 77B are arranged at a certain interval with respect to the direction of the trajectory of the optical disk case 55 that is raised and lowered.

  Each of the support plates 71A,... 77A is formed with one protrusion that protrudes inward, which is the direction of the trajectory along which the optical disk case 55 moves. The support plates 71B,... 77B are formed with two protrusions that protrude in the direction of the trajectory along which the optical disk case 55 moves.

  These protrusions formed on each of the support plates 71A..77A, 71B..77B support the stacked second tray 61 to eighth tray 67 in order from the top, and are formed on each tray. Corresponds to the position of the tray operation unit. That is, three protrusions corresponding to the positions of the protrusions 61a, 61b, 61c on the second tray 61 are provided in order from the bottom. The same applies to the third tray 62 to the eighth tray 67. And each of these protrusions is shifted in position from the protrusions formed on the other support plates, and they do not overlap each other.

  This deployment mechanism will be described in detail in the second embodiment.

  FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the picker 80. The picker 80 includes a set of three suction pads 81 for sucking the upper surface side around the central hole of the optical disc 51, and four ones for sucking the upper surface side of the partition sheet operating portion 52a outside the outer diameter of the optical disc 51. A set of suction pads 82 is provided.

  A set of three suction pads 81 is a sucker-like member made of rubber or the like. The suction pads 81 are grouped into one system by a manifold and connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) via a pressure tube or the like. For this reason, the suction operation and the release operation of each optical disc 51 by evacuation are performed by the on / off operation of the vacuum pump or the operation of the electromagnetic on-off valve. Similarly, the suction pad 82 is a sucker-like member made of rubber or the like, and is integrated into one system by a manifold and connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) via a pressure-resistant tube or the like. The suction pad 82 is also subjected to suction work and release work of each partition sheet 52 by evacuation by an on / off operation of a vacuum pump or an electromagnetic on-off valve operation. Accordingly, the picker 80 can perform the transport operation by simultaneously sucking the optical disc 51 and the partition sheet 52 to the suction pad 81 and the suction pad 82, respectively.

  The action of this picker will also be described in detail in the second embodiment.

  Next, an optical disc case 5 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 8 shows a state in which the optical disk case 5 and the members constituting the optical disk case 5 and the optical disk 1 are developed apart from each other in the vertical direction. The optical disc case 5 includes a plurality of trays on which the optical disc 1 is mounted, a case housing 6 in which the trays on which the optical disc 1 is mounted are stacked, and a partition sheet 2 disposed between the optical discs 1. ing. In FIG. 6 as well, for the eight-layer type having the first tray 10 from the lowermost layer to the eighth tray 17 of the uppermost layer, the fourth to sixth layers forming the intermediate layer are omitted. Yes.

  9 shows the case housing 6 and trays 10... 17, and FIG. 10 shows the optical disc 1 and the partition sheet 2.

  As for the outer shape of the case housing 6, the upper side of the figure is formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape, and the lower side is formed in a semicircular shape. The case housing 6 is formed on a flat mounting surface 7 on which the optical disc 1 is disposed, side walls 8 formed along both side edges of the mounting surface 7, and a central portion of the lower end edge 7 b of the mounting surface 7. And a lower end wall 9.

  On the mounting surface 7, an upper end edge 7 a forming the upper side in FIG. 9 is formed flat, while a lower end edge 7 b forming the lower side is formed in a semicircular shape. Further, the upper half of the mounting surface 7 is formed by an oblique side so that the width becomes narrower as the width of the mounting surface 7 goes upward, and the outer shape is substantially trapezoidal. A cylindrical projection 7 c is formed at the center of the mounting surface 7.

  The side wall 8 is formed toward the upper side where the optical disc 1 is mounted along the side edge of the mounting surface 7 having a trapezoidal shape. And from the position of the upper end edge 7a of the mounting surface 7, the protrusion part 8a formed integrally with each side wall 8 is formed so that it may extend toward the upper side of a figure. The protruding portion 8a prevents a tray operation portion formed on a tray, which will be described later, from coming into contact with an external one.

  The lower end wall 9 formed on the lower end edge 7b of the mounting surface 7 prevents the optical disc 1 mounted on the case housing 6 from falling off the lower end edge 7b, and faces upward where the optical disc 1 is mounted. Projecting. The lower end wall 9 has a flat outer surface, but the inner surface is curved outward so as to correspond to the shape of the outer peripheral edge of the optical disc 1.

  Next, the trays 10 and 17 will be described.

  The optical disc case 5 according to this embodiment is configured to accommodate the optical disc 1 by stacking eight layers of trays, and includes eight trays from the first tray 10 to the eighth tray 17.

  Each of the trays 10 and 17 has an outer shape that is substantially trapezoidal on the upper side, and an upper end edge that is slightly flat in the center at the center, but is substantially flat. On the other hand, the lower side is formed in a semicircular shape, and the lower end edge projects outward in an arc shape. Each of the trays 10 and 17 is formed to be slightly smaller than the mounting surface 7 of the case housing 6 so that the trays 10 and 17 can be disposed inside the side wall 8 and the lower end wall 9 of the case housing 6.

  Each tray 10 ·· 17 has a tray operation part 10a ·· 17a, 10b ·· 17b, 10c ·· 17c projecting outward at one place on the upper edge and at two places on the lower edge, respectively. Is formed. As is apparent from FIG. 9, the tray operation portions 10a,... 17a formed on the upper end edges of the respective trays 10,... 17 are provided at positions shifted from each other in the direction along the upper end edges. On the other hand, the tray operation portions 10b,... 17b, 10c,... 17c formed at the lower end edge are provided so as to be shifted from each other along the circumferential direction along the lower end edge.

  FIG. 9 shows the positions of the tray operation portions 10a,... 17a of the respective trays provided at the upper edge by the distance from the center line CL of the tray, and the tray operation portions 10b, 17b, 10c provided at the lower edge. ... The position of 17c is indicated by the center angle from the center line CL.

  When the tray operation units 10a,... 17a at the upper edge constitute the fourth layer from the first tray 10 constituting the lowermost layer, the tray operation units 10a,. Is formed. On the other hand, for the eighth tray 17 that constitutes the uppermost layer from the fifth tray 14 that constitutes the fifth layer, tray operation portions 14a... 17a are formed in the region on the left side of the center line CL.

The tray operation part 10a of the first tray 10 is formed at a distance A ₆₀ from the center line CL, and the tray operation parts 11a, 12a, 13a of the second tray 11 to the fourth tray 13 are distances from the center line CL. Are formed at positions of distance A ₆₁ , distance A ₆₂ , and distance A ₆₃ that are successively smaller than distance A ₆₀ . For the fifth tray 8 to the eighth tray 17, the tray operation units 14 a... 17 a are positioned at distances A ₆₄ , A ₆₅ , A ₆₆ , and A ₆₇ where the distance from the center line CL increases sequentially. Each is formed.

  On the other hand, two tray operation sections 10b,... 17b, 10c,... 17c formed at the lower edge are provided one by one in the regions on both sides with the center line CL as a boundary. The tray operation units 10b... 17b provided in the region on the left side of the center line CL are formed at positions that are sequentially shifted from the left edge to the center side as the tray is arranged in the upper layer. On the other hand, the tray operation units 10c... 17c provided in the region on the right side of the center line are formed at positions shifted sequentially from the center toward the right edge as the trays are arranged in the upper layer.

The positions of the tray operation units 10b... 17b provided on the left side of the center line CL are indicated by angles formed in the counterclockwise direction from the center line. In the first tray 10, a tray operation unit 10 b is formed at a position that forms an angle B ₆₀ counterclockwise from the center line. Then, in accordance with will tray disposed in the upper layer, the angle formed between the center line, B _{61, B} 62 are respectively formed successively smaller position and _{· ·} B _67. On the other hand, the positions of the tray operation units 10c,... 17c provided on the right side of the center line CL are indicated by an angle formed in a clockwise direction from the center line. The first tray, tray operation portion 10c is formed at a position where an angle C ₆₀ clockwise from the center line. Then, in accordance with will tray disposed in the upper layer, the angle formed between the center line, the angle C _61, are respectively formed successively increased position and the angle C ₆₂ ·· C _67.

  These tray operation units are used when supporting the trays in order when the trays stacked by the developing mechanism are separated and developed in the thickness direction.

  A circular hole is formed in the center of each tray 10... 17, and three elongated holes are formed around the circular hole so as to surround the circular hole. The circular holes formed in the trays 10 and 17 correspond to the positions of the cylindrical protrusions 7c formed on the mounting surface 7 of the case housing 6 described above. These holes are formed so that the positions of these holes coincide when they are stacked and mounted on the case housing 6.

  Next, the partition sheet 2 that partitions between the optical disks 1 will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a plan view of the optical disc 1 and the partition sheet 2.

The optical disk 1 has a circular outer periphery, and a circular hole is formed in the center. Optical disc 1 shown in FIG. 10, the external shape and [phi] D, the inner diameter of the hole and .phi.d _1.

As for the partition sheet 2, the outer periphery is formed circularly, and the circular hole is formed in the center. The outer diameter of the partition sheet 2 is formed to have the same diameter φD as the outer shape of the optical disc 1, while the circular hole has an inner diameter φd ₂ larger than the inner diameter φd ₁ of the hole of the optical disc 1.

  Thus, by making the inner diameter of the hole of the partition sheet 2 larger than the inner diameter of the hole of the optical disk, the position of the inner peripheral edge of the partition sheet 2 is shifted from the inner peripheral edge of the laminated optical disk 1 to the radially outer side of the optical disk. The optical disc 1 and the partition sheet 2 form a region where they do not overlap.

  The optical disc 1 is accommodated using the case housing 6, the trays 10... 17, and the partition sheet 2.

  On the mounting surface 7 of the case housing 6, the first tray 10 to the eighth tray 17 in which the optical disc 1, the partition sheet 2, and the optical disc 1 are stacked in this order are sequentially mounted. At this time, each tray has an upper end edge formed with the tray operation portions 10a,... 17a directed toward the narrow upper end edge 7a of the case housing 6, and the two tray operation portions 10b, 17b, 10c,. The lower end edge formed is directed to the lower end edge 7 b of the case housing 6. In addition, the optical disc 1 and the trays 10... 17 are concentrically aligned with circular projections 7 c formed on the mounting surface 7 of the case housing 6 with circular holes formed in the center thereof. Is laminated. The partition sheet 2 is aligned by the side wall 8 and the lower end wall 9 formed in the case housing 5.

  When stacked in this way, as shown in FIG. 11, the tray operation portions 10a,... 17a formed on the upper edges of the respective trays 10,. It will be in the state. The tray operation units 10a,... 17a have the tray operation units 10a,... 17a of the first tray 10 positioned at the rightmost part, and the tray operation units 11a,. Sequentially, the left side of the drawing is shifted along the upper edge of the tray, and the tray operation portion 17a of the eighth tray 17 is positioned at the leftmost portion.

  On the other hand, the two tray operation portions 10b... 17b, 10c... 17c formed at the lower end edge also protrude outward from the lower end edge 7b of the case housing 6. Then, the two tray operation parts 10b and 10c of the first tray 10 are respectively arranged on the leftmost part, and the position is shifted to the right side along the lower edge 7b as the tray operation part of the tray arranged on the upper side is shifted. The tray operating units 17b and 17c of the eight trays 17 are positioned at the rightmost part.

  Accordingly, the tray operation portions 10a,... 17a, 10b,... 17b, 10c, .. 17c formed on the respective trays 10.

  Next, taking the optical disc case 5 according to the second embodiment as an example, a process until the optical disc 1 accommodated in the optical disc case 5 is conveyed to the reproduction drive in the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus D will be described.

  FIGS. 12 and 13 show a deployment mechanism 103 that deploys the first tray 10 to the eighth tray 17 stacked on the optical disc case 56 so as to be spaced apart from each other in the thickness direction.

  The unfolding mechanism 103 includes an elevating device 103A that carries the optical disk case 5 and conveys it up and down, and a support 103B that supports a plurality of trays 10 and 17 mounted on the optical disk case 5 one by one. . The lifting device 103 </ b> A includes a base 29 </ b> A, a linear guide 29 extending upward from the base 29 </ b> A, and a lifting table 28 that moves up and down along the linear guide 29. The lifting device 103A mounts the optical disk case 5 on the lifting table 28 and moves the optical disk case 5 up and down. On the other hand, the support body 103B is arranged so as to surround the periphery of the elevating table 28, and the three columns 201a, 201b, 201c extending vertically and the axial direction of these columns 201a, 201b, 201c at regular intervals. A plurality of support plates 20A,... 27A, 20B,. The support body 103B includes a first component 200A in which a plurality of support plates 20A,... 27A are provided on a single column 201a, and a plurality of support plates 20B,. 27B, and a second part 200B that is integrally formed in communication. Each support plate 20A,... 27A provided in the first component 200A and each support plate 20B,... 27B provided in the second component 200B are disposed at the same height.

  The support plates 20A, 27A, 20B, 27B are formed with protrusions 20a, 27a, 20b, 27b, 20c, 27c that project inwardly to which the elevating table 28 moves.

  Each of the support plates 20A,... 27A provided on the first component 200A has one protrusion 20a,. As is apparent from FIG. 13, these protrusions 20a... 27a are provided so that their horizontal positions are sequentially shifted so as not to overlap each other. The protrusion 20a of the lowermost support plate 20A is located on the rightmost side in FIG. 13, and the position of the protrusion is sequentially shifted to the left as it becomes the upper support plate. And the protrusion 27a of the support plate 27A which is the uppermost stage is arranged at the leftmost position in FIG. The positions at which the projections 20a, 27a are provided correspond to the positions of the tray operation portions 10a, 17a protruding from the upper edge of each tray 10, 17, respectively. That is, the position of the protrusion 20a of the lowermost support plate 20A corresponds to the position of the tray operation unit 10a of the first tray 10 stacked in the lowermost layer, and the position of the protrusion 21a of the second support plate 21A is This corresponds to the tray operation unit 11a of the tray 11 stacked second from the bottom. Similarly, the protrusions 22a, 27a of the support plates 22A, 27A arranged on the upper level correspond to the positions of the tray operation portions 12a, 17a of the trays 12, 17 that form the corresponding layers. is doing.

  On the other hand, two protrusions 20b,... 27b, 20c,... 27c are formed on the respective support plates 20B,... 27B provided on the second component 200B. As shown in FIG. 13, the protrusions 20 b, 27 b, 20 c, 27 c are respectively provided in the left region and the right region with the longitudinal center of each support plate 20 B, 27 B as a boundary. Yes. In FIG. 13, the protrusion provided in the left region is such that the protrusion 20 b of the lowermost support plate 20 B is provided at a position in the vicinity of the column 201 b, and the position of the protrusion is changed to become the upper support plate. Sequentially shifted to the right. The protrusion 27b of the uppermost support plate 27B is arranged at a position on the center side in the longitudinal direction of the support plate 27B. On the other hand, in the protrusion provided in the right region, the protrusion 20b of the lowermost support plate 20B is arranged at the center position in the longitudinal direction of the support plate 20B. As the upper support plate is formed, the protrusions are sequentially shifted to the right side, and the protrusion 27b of the uppermost support plate 27B is disposed in the vicinity of the column 201c.

  The positions where these protrusions 20b, 27b, 20c, 27c are provided are the positions of the two tray operation portions 10b, 17b, 10c, 17c protruding from the lower edge of the trays 10, 17 It corresponds to each position. That is, the positions of the protrusions 20b and 20c of the lowermost support plate 20B correspond to the positions of the tray operation portions 10b and 10c of the first tray 10 stacked on the lowermost layer. Similarly, the protrusions 21b,... 27b, 21c,... 27c of the support plates 21B,... 27B arranged in the upper stage are tray operation portions 11b,. It corresponds to the positions 11c, 17c.

  According to the unfolding mechanism 103, the plurality of trays 10 ·· 17 stacked on the optical disc case 5 are unfolded as follows.

  First, the lifting table 28 of the lifting device 103A is raised above the support 103B. The optical disk case 5 is mounted on the raised / lowered table 28. FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the optical disk case 5 mounted on the lifting table 28 moved to the upper part of the deployment mechanism 103.

  Next, the lift table 28 is lowered. The position of the protrusion on the support plate at each stage and the position of the tray operation section of the stacked trays on each layer correspond to each other. Therefore, when the lift table 28 is lowered, the three protrusions on the support plate at each stage However, the three tray operation units of the corresponding tray of each layer are sequentially supported.

  FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state in which the support plates from the top to the fourth stage support the tray while the elevating table 28 is lowered. As shown in FIG. 15, the three protrusions 27 a, 27 b, 27 c provided on the uppermost support plates 27 A, 27 B are stacked on the uppermost layer of the trays 10, 17 stacked on the optical disc case 5. In addition, the tray operation units 17a, 17b, and 17c of the eighth tray 17 are supported. Next, the support plates 24A, 26A, 24B, 26B arranged in the lower stage are trays corresponding to the projections 24a, 26a, 24b, 26b, 24c, 26c provided respectively. 14 ·· 16 are supported sequentially. Then, at the end of the unfolding operation, as shown in FIG. 16, the optical disk case 5 on the lifting table 28 is lowered to the lowest point, and similarly to the tray 17 to the tray 14, the tray 13 to the tray 10 are also Each is supported at the position of the protrusion of the deployment mechanism 103.

  By the operation of the developing mechanism 103, the first tray 10 to the eighth tray 17 are positioned at intervals of a height h between the upper and lower adjacent trays by the protrusions of the developing mechanism 103 and are supported. The

  FIG. 17 shows the optical disk 1 and the first optical disk drive group 105 and the second optical disk from the trays 10 and 17 supported by the support plates 20A, 27A, 20B, and 27B of the deployment mechanism 103 using the picker 30. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a transport mechanism 104, a first optical disk drive group 105, and a second optical disk drive group 106 that transport to a drive group 106.

  Eight pickers 30 are provided at regular intervals in the vertical direction. The interval between the pickers 30 adjacent in the vertical direction is set to a height h corresponding to the interval between the support plates of the deployment mechanism 103. Similarly, eight optical disk drives 40 in the first optical disk drive group 105 and eight optical disk drives 45 in the second optical disk drive group 106 are arranged at intervals of a height h. Therefore, a plurality of optical discs 1 or partition sheets 2 can be simultaneously transported to the optical disc drive 40 or the optical disc drive 45 by moving a plurality of pickers 30 from each tray 10.

FIG. 18 is a detailed view of the picker 30. The picker 30 is a set of three suction pads 31a, 31b, 31c for sucking the upper surface side of the partition sheet 2 in an area outside the inner diameter φd ₁ of the optical disc 1 and inside the outer diameter φd ₂ of the partition sheet 2. It has. Further, the picker 30 includes a set of three suction pads 32a, 32b, and 32c that suck the upper surface side around the central hole of the optical disc 1.

  A set of three suction pads 31a, 31b, 31c is a sucker-like member made of rubber or the like, and is integrated into one system by a manifold and connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) via a pressure-resistant tube or the like. Thus, three suction operations and release operations of each optical disc 1 by vacuuming are performed simultaneously by an on / off operation of a vacuum pump or an operation of an electromagnetic on-off valve. Similarly, the suction pads 32a, 32b, and 32c are sucker-like members made of rubber or the like, are grouped into one system by a manifold, and are connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) via a pressure-resistant tube or the like. And the suction work and release work of each partition sheet 2 by evacuation are performed by the on / off operation of the vacuum pump or the operation of the electromagnetic on-off valve. The control system for the suction pads 31a, 31b, 31c and the control system for the suction pads 32a, 32b, 32c are independent of each other, and can be operated individually or simultaneously. If the same control is performed on both of them, the picker 30 can perform the conveying operation by simultaneously sucking the optical disc 1 and the partition sheet 2 to the suction pad 31 and the suction pad 32, respectively.

  Next, referring to FIG. 19 to FIG. 21, the basic operation of the picker 30 transporting the optical disc 1 to the optical disc drives 40 and 45, taking the optical disc 1 and the partition sheet 2 stacked on the third tray 12 as an example. Will be explained.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the optical disc 1, the partition sheet 2, and the optical disc 1 are laminated on the third tray 12 in this order.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the picker 30 moves to approximately the center of the optical disc 1 above the third tray 12. Next, as shown in FIG. 19, the picker 30 is lowered to a position where the suction pads 31 a, 31 b, 31 c and the optical disk 1 on the third tray 12 are in contact with each other by an actuator of a transport mechanism (not shown). Thereafter, a suction valve 31a, 31b, 31c is operated by operating an electromagnetic valve (not shown) for the suction pads 31a, 31b, 31c. Thereby, the optical disk suction pads 31a, 31b, 31c suck the optical disk 1 at a position outside the end of the central hole of the upper optical disk 1. After attracting the optical disk 1, as shown in FIG. 22, the picker 30 is raised and only the optical disk 1 is conveyed. At this time, the lower optical disk 1 and the partition sheet 2 are left on the third tray 12 while being stacked.

  FIG. 23 shows a state in which the picker 30 holding the optical disc 1 has moved from the optical disc 1 to the optical disc drive 40 that records and reproduces information.

  This optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus D includes two optical disc drive groups 105 and 106, and the first optical disc drive 40 and the second optical disc drive 45 for recording / reproducing information from the optical disc 1 form layers in the vertical direction. Are arranged. Each optical disk drive 40, 45 includes spindle motors 41, 46 for rotating the optical disk 1, and clampers 44, 49 for fixing the optical disk 1 to each spindle motor 41, 46. The picker 30 holding the optical disc 1 first transports the optical disc 1 to the optical disc drive 40.

  When the picker 30 transports the optical disc 1 to the position of the spindle motor 41 on the first optical disc drive 40, an electromagnetic valve (not shown) is actuated to release air with the suction pads 31a, 31b, 31c. Then, the optical disk 1 is released from the suction pads 31a, 31b, 31c, and the optical disk 1 is placed on the turntable of the spindle motor 41 of the optical disk drive 40.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the picker 30 moved again onto the third tray 12. The picker 30 sucks the partition sheet 2 with partition sheet suction pads 32 a, 32 b, 32 c located in a region outside the inner diameter φd ₂ of the partition sheet 2. At the same time, the suction pads 31a, 31b, 31c for the optical disk are operated to suck the position outside the central hole of the optical disk 1 under the partition sheet 2. After the picker 30 holds both the partition sheet 2 and the optical disc 1 simultaneously, the picker 30 ascends above the third tray 12 as shown in FIG. At this time, nothing is left on the third tray 12.

  Thereafter, the picker 30 holding the partition sheet 2 and the optical disc 1 moves onto the optical disc drive 45 as shown in FIG. The picker 30 that has moved onto the optical disk drive 45 releases the air of the suction pads 31a, 31b, and 31c while the suction air of the partition sheet suction pads 32a, 32b, and 32c is applied. Thus, only the optical disc 1 is placed on the optical disc drive 45 while holding the partition sheet 2.

  As shown in FIG. 27, the picker 30 in which only the optical disk 1 is placed in the optical disk drive 45 moves away from the positions of the optical disk drives 40 and 45 while holding the partition sheet 2 and continues to hold the partition sheet 2. On the other hand, the optical disk drive 40 and the optical disk drive 45 adsorb the clampers 44 and 49 on the optical disk 1 arranged on the turntables of the respective spindle motors 41 and 46, and optical disks on the spindle motors 41 and 46. 1 is fixed.

  With the above operation, the conveyance of the optical disc 1 from the optical disc case 5 to the optical disc drive 40 and the optical disc drive 45 is completed. Thereafter, information is recorded and reproduced in the optical disk drives 40 and 45.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical disk 2 Partition sheet 5 Optical disk case 6 Case housing | casing 10 1st tray 11 2nd tray 12 3rd tray 13 4th tray 14 5th tray 15 6th tray 16 7th tray 17 8th tray 10a-17a Tray operation part 10b-17b Tray operation unit 10c-17c Tray operation unit 20A-27A Support plate 20B-27B Support plate 20a-27a Protrusion 20b-27b Protrusion 20c-27c Protrusion 30 Picker 31a-31c Adsorption pad 32c-32c Adsorption pad 40 First optical disk Drive 45 Second optical disk drive 51 Optical disk 52 Partition sheet 52a Partition sheet operation section 55 Optical disk case 56 Case housing 60 First tray 61 Second tray 62 Third tray 63 Fourth tray 64 Fifth tray 65 Sixth tray 66 Seventh Tray 67 No. Tray 61a-67a Tray operation part 61b-67b Tray operation part 61c-67c Tray operation part 71A-77A Support plate 71B-77B Support plate 71a-77a Protrusion 71b-77b Protrusion 71c-77c Protrusion 80 Picker 81a-81c Suction pad 82a- 82c Suction pad 101 Rotary stocker 102 Cartridge picker 103 Unfolding mechanism 103A Lifting device 103B Support member 104 Transport mechanism 105 First optical disk drive group 106 Second optical disk drive group D Optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus

Claims (4)

A plurality of trays on which optical disks are mounted, and a stack of cases in which the trays are stacked and mounted in the thickness direction;
In each of a plurality of portions corresponding to each other at the peripheral edge of each tray, a tray operation unit that supports each tray is formed,
An optical disc case characterized in that the tray operation portions formed at a plurality of portions corresponding to each tray are formed at any position overlapping each other in the direction along the peripheral edge of the trays. . A plurality of optical discs are stacked on the tray in the thickness direction and can be mounted.
2. The optical disk case according to claim 1, further comprising a partition sheet that partitions the optical disks between the stacked optical disks.   3. The optical disk case according to claim 2, wherein a partition sheet operation unit that protrudes from an edge of the optical disk and does not overlap the optical disk is provided on the partition sheet.   3. The optical disc case according to claim 2, wherein the optical disc is protruded from an edge of the partition sheet, and an optical disc exposed region is formed in the partition sheet so that the optical disc does not overlap the partition sheet.

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