JP2984089B2 - Information recording medium transport mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cassette half (hereinafter simply referred to as "cassette half") containing an information recording medium which has been recorded or reproduced or is being recorded or reproduced by a button operation or a loading operation. Alternatively, the present invention relates to an information recording medium transport mechanism in a recording / reproducing apparatus which can replace a cassette half to be reproduced and continuously record or reproduce two cassette halves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional recording / reproducing apparatus such as a tape deck for a vehicle, a mechanism is designed on the assumption that one cassette half is reproduced.
That is, when the cassette half to be reproduced is inserted into the stereo cassette insertion slot and the rear portion is slightly pushed in, the information recorded on the magnetic tape is reproduced after being transported to the reproduction position by the loading mechanism.

When the eject button is pressed to take out the cassette half after the reproduction, the cassette half is conveyed from the reproduction position to the cassette insertion slot by the loading mechanism. Then, the ejected cassette half is taken out, the cassette half to be reproduced next is inserted into the cassette insertion slot, and the rear portion is slightly pushed in. Then, the next cassette half is reproduced in the same manner as described above. Further, in a conventional recording / reproducing apparatus such as a tape deck for a vehicle, a plurality of cassette halves can be stored, and by selecting one of the cassette halves, the trouble of replacing the cassette halves can be eliminated. Some tape changers are available.

[0004]

As described above, in a recording / reproducing apparatus for reproducing one cassette half, it is necessary to replace the cassette half. For this reason, for example, in the case of an in-vehicle car stereo, the operation of the car stereo is often performed during driving, which is very troublesome. In addition, the replacement of the cassette half requires not only a relatively long time but also a loss of driving concentration and a loss of the atmosphere in the vehicle. For this reason, for example, in the case of a long-distance drive, the number of replacements of the cassette half is expected to increase, and therefore, the development of a recording / reproducing apparatus with a simple replacement operation is desired.

On the other hand, even in the case of a home stereo or video, if a cassette half for performing recording and reproduction is determined next, it would be very convenient if the troublesome operation as described above could be simplified. Become.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. For example, during recording or reproduction on a magnetic tape as an information recording medium stored in a cassette half, the next recording or reproduction should be performed. Insert the cassette half from outside,
Information suitable for a recording / reproducing apparatus for automatically exchanging the cassette half and the cassette half being recorded or reproduced, taking out the cassette half being recorded or reproduced, and continuously recording / reproducing the two cassette halves. It is an object to provide a recording medium transport mechanism.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an insertion slot for inserting and discharging an information recording medium, a reproducing means for reproducing information on the information recording medium, and an insertion slot for inserting information from the insertion slot. The information recording medium to be received is received at the receiving position in the vicinity of the insertion slot, and two recording medium containers each having one information recording medium are received, and the recording medium container is moved from the receiving position to the reproduction position. A transport mechanism for transporting within the range of the information reproducing position by the means, a control means for controlling the transport mechanism, and detecting that one of the recording medium containers accommodates the information recording medium at the receiving position. An information recording medium transport mechanism having a detecting means, wherein the control means positions one of the recording medium containers at the receiving position and the other recording medium container at the information reproducing position. In response to the detection result of the detecting means, the transport mechanism controls the transport mechanism to transport the one of the recording medium containers receiving the information recording medium to the information reproducing position and store the other recording medium. And transporting the body to the receiving position.

The transport mechanism transports the recording medium container along a transport path with a standby path provided within a range between the receiving position and the information reproducing position. In response to the detection result of the detecting means, the information recording medium is conveyed to the information reproducing position through the standby path during the conveyance of the one of the recording medium containers. While the recording medium container is located in the standby path, the other recording medium container is conveyed to the receiving position.

[0009]

According to this structure, the insertion slot is provided for inserting and ejecting the information recording medium, and the reproducing means is provided for reproducing the information of the information recording medium, and the two recording medium housings are provided. To accommodate the information recording medium and send it from the receiving position near the insertion slot to the information reproducing position of the reproducing means, and to accommodate the information recording medium and send it from the information reproducing position of the reproducing means to the receiving position near the insertion port. And a transport mechanism transports these recording medium containers under the control of the control means.
The control means controls one of the recording medium containers at the receiving position and the other recording medium container at the information reproducing position. In other words, by positioning one recording medium container at the receiving position, the user waits until a new information recording medium is inserted, and by positioning the other recording medium container at the information reproduction position, The information on the inserted information recording medium is reproduced by the reproducing means. Then, when a new information medium is inserted and one of the recording medium containers receives it, the detecting means detects this reception, and further, the control means responds to this detection result and the one recording medium container is received. At the same time as being conveyed to the reproducing means side, the other recording medium container positioned on the reproducing means side is conveyed to the insertion port side. In other words, a series of operations of exchanging the positional relationship between one recording medium container and the other recording medium container,
The detection is continuously performed according to the generation of the detection result output from the detection unit. As a result, the newly inserted information recording medium is reproduced by the reproducing means, and the information recording medium that has already been reproduced is conveyed to the insertion port side and can be discharged. Further, since the positional relationship between the respective recording medium containers is reversed, the above-described one recording medium container becomes the other recording medium container, and the other recording medium container becomes the one recording medium container. Each time the control means outputs the detection result, each recording medium container alternately carries in and out the information recording medium.

Therefore, the user simply inserts the desired information recording medium into the insertion slot, and the information recording medium is carried into the reproducing means and reproduced. On the other hand, the information recording medium has been used for reproduction. The information recording medium is automatically carried out to the insertion port side. Further, it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience in operation that the next (new) information recording medium cannot be inserted unless the information recording medium that has been used for reproduction is removed from the insertion slot. it can. In other words, the user simply inserts a new information recording medium into the insertion slot, and a series of replacements between the old (recorded) information recording medium and the new information recording medium are automatically performed. Since the new information recording medium is reproduced by the reproducing means, the operation of taking out the information medium is not required, and an extremely excellent operability that only the insertion operation has to be performed can be obtained.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.
A reproduction position 170 and a cassette accommodation position 115 on the side of the cassette insertion slot 110 are provided.
At 15, the cassette half 200 can be accommodated. Slots 1 forming a first transport path are formed on both side walls of the apparatus main body 100 along the cassette insertion direction.
20, 130 are formed. From the middle of the long holes 120, 130, vertical holes 125, 135 forming the second transport path
Are formed along a direction perpendicular to the long holes 120 and 130.

A cassette half 200 used in this embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, a slider 210 is slidably provided on the cassette body 220, and a pair of reels 230 and 235 (see FIG. 1) are rotatably arranged inside. The magnetic tape 251 on which information is recorded as an information recording medium runs from one reel 230 to the other reel 235 with the cover 240 opened around the fulcrum 241, and the magnetic head 810 of the reproducing mechanism 800 described later. In sliding contact with

The slider 210 is provided for the cassette half 20.
A force (not shown) provided inside the cover 240 urges the front edge 242 of the cover 240. Thereby, the front end surface of the slider 210 abuts on the front edge 242, and isolates the inside of the cassette half 200 from the outside.

Concave portions 211 and 212 extending in the cassette insertion direction are formed in a part of the slider 210. Locking holes 213 and 214 for fixing the slider 210 at the closed position and the open position are formed on the front side and the rear side of the concave portions 211 and 212, respectively. Notches 243 and 244 are formed at lower ends of the front edge 242 at positions corresponding to the concave portions 211 and 212, respectively. On the other hand, on the side of the cassette body 220, a spring (not shown) provided inside the cassette body 220 is provided.
Accordingly, locking projections 221 and 222 urged to protrude into the locking holes 213 or 214 are provided.
The cassette half is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 2, but may be of any other type, including one provided with a normal small window.

The cassette holder 300 for accommodating the cassette half 200 is assembled by the top plate 320, the side plates 330 and 340, and the bottom plate 350 so as to form a storage space 310 corresponding to the shape of the cassette body 220. .

As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of holding pins 321 and 322 are provided upright on the top plate 320. The cassette holder 300 is fixed to the carriage 400 by the gripping pins 321 and 322 being gripped by the carriage 400 described later. Further, a pair of arms 323 and 32 is provided on the depth side of the top plate 320 with respect to the cassette insertion direction.
4 are protruded. The distal ends of the arms 323 and 324 are bent to provide bent portions 325 and 326. These bent portions 325 and 326 come into contact with another cassette half when moving from the standby position 140 to the near side. It functions to push out toward the cassette insertion slot 110. Further, a step is formed in the arms 323 and 324 in the middle so as not to contact the cover 242.

The bottom plate 350 has raised portions 351 to 354 which come into contact with the locking projections 221 and 222 projecting from the bottom surface of the cassette main body 220. A total of four locations are provided. Further, pressing protrusions 355, 356 for sliding the slider 210 of the cassette half 200 are provided.
Are cut and raised from the bottom plate 350 at the ends in the depth direction.

Insert the cassette half 200 into the cassette holder 3
00, the front protrusions 351 and 3 are attached to the locking projections 221 and 222 urged by springs from the inside.
52 come into contact with each other and the locking projections 22 are pressed against the force of the spring.
1 and 222 are retracted into the cassette body 220.
Thereby, the slider 210 becomes slidable. The pressing protrusions 355 and 356 are connected to the front edge 2 of the cover 240.
The slider 42 comes into contact with the end face on the depth side of the slider 210 via the notches 245 and 246 formed at the lower end of the slider 42. When the insertion operation of the cassette half 200 is continued in this state, since the movement of the slider 210 is restrained by the near-side protrusions 351 and 352, only the cassette main body 220 is pushed into the inner part of the cassette holder 300, and the slider 210 Slides toward the front side wall portion 223 of the cassette body 220.

When the front end surface of the slider 210 comes into contact with the front side wall portion 223, the depth side locking holes 213 and 213
The locking projections 221 and 222 project from the
The positional relationship between the cassette half 200 and the cassette main body 220 is fixed, and the cassette half 200 is positioned with respect to the cassette holder 300 in a predetermined positional relationship. In this state, the lock mechanism (not shown) is released, and the cover 240
It is rotatable around.

Conversely, when the cassette half 200 is pulled out from the cassette holder 300, the locking projections 221 and 222 protruding from the locking holes 213 form the depth-side protrusions 353 and 353.
It is pushed into the inside of the cassette body 220 by 354. As a result, the slider 210 moves the cassette body 22
It becomes slidable with respect to 0. If you continue withdrawing,
Slider 210 biased by a spring
Are formed from the front locking holes 214, 214 through the locking projections 221 and
Slide toward leading edge 242 until 222 protrudes. The locking holes 214, 214 and the locking protrusions 221,
The slider 210 is fixed to the cassette body 220 by engagement with the 222.

As described above, the slider 210 is fixed at the open position or the closed position in accordance with the operation of inserting and withdrawing the cassette half 200 into the cassette holder 300. At this time, in order to ensure that the locking projections 221 and 222 contact the raised portions 351 to 354 formed on the bottom plate portion 350, the pressing pieces 327 and 328 that apply a downward force to the inserted cassette half 200 are attached to the cassette holder 300. Are provided on both left and right sides in the frontage direction of the top plate part 320. Since the pressing pieces 327 and 328 are in sliding contact with the cassette half 200, it is preferable that the pressing pieces 327 and 328 be made of a synthetic resin having low frictional resistance.

The side plates 330 and 340 are provided with sliding rods 331 and 341 protruding on both sides in the frontage direction. These sliding rods 331 and 341 are attached to the apparatus main body 10.
0 is fitted into the long holes 120 and 130 formed along the insertion direction. A switch 54 provided on the edge of the cassette insertion slot 110 is provided on the side of the side plate 330 of the top plate 320.
A contact rod 332 that contacts the 0 lever is provided. Reference numeral 333 is an urging portion with the pressing piece 327 facing the side. By applying one end of a spring 335 attached to the shaft 334 to the urging portion 333, a downward force is always applied to the pressing piece 327. A downward spring force is similarly applied to the other pressing piece 328.

The carriage 400 includes a cassette holder 3
00, holding pins 321 and 322 erected on the top plate 320
Are inserted in the cassette insertion direction. A pressing piece 430 is provided extending from one cut portion 410 to the other cut portion 420 along the frontage direction. Both ends of the presser piece 430 in the frontage direction are cut and raised to form spring hook portions 431 and 432. Further, a pair of long holes 433 and 434 are formed from the center of the holding piece 430 along the cassette insertion direction. By fixing the headed screws 435 and 436 to the carriage main body 401 through these elongated holes 433 and 434, the holding piece 430 is attached to the carriage main body 401 so as to be able to slide slightly along the cassette insertion direction. ing.

The carriage main body 401 is cut and raised at positions outside the notches 410 and 420 to form spring hooks 402 and 403. These spring hooks 40
2, 403 and spring hook portions 431, 432 of the holding piece 430
The tension springs 437, 438 are stretched between them.
The notches 41 are formed by the tension springs 437 and 438.
The resilient force directed toward the open end of 0,420, that is, toward the front side with respect to the cassette insertion direction is constantly applied to the pressing piece 430.

Hook members 440 and 450 face the notches 410 and 420, respectively. Hook member 440,
450 is attached to the carriage body 401 so as to be rotatable about fulcrums 441 and 451. The distal ends of the hook members 440 and 450 are mounting guide portions 442 and 452 cut obliquely, and the grip portions 44
3,453 are formed. In addition, gripping parts 443, 4
On the side opposite to 53, guide pins 444 and 454 that move along arcuate guide holes 405 and 406 formed in the carriage main body 401 are provided to project downward. Furthermore,
The tension spring 44 is provided between spring hooking projections 445 and 455 formed on the ends of the hook members 440 and 450, respectively.
9, the force in the direction in which the front ends of the hook members 440, 450 are separated from each other is applied to the hook members 440, 450.
Has been energized.

The cassette holder 300 is moved to the carriage 400
, The grip pins 321 and 322 enter the respective cut portions 410 and 420 in the depth direction. When the grip pins 321 and 322 are pressed against the mounting guide portions 442 and 452, the hook members 440 and 450 rotate in directions approaching each other against the elasticity of the tension spring 449. As a result, the notches 410 and 420 are opened,
The grip pins 321 and 322 further enter the back.

The grip pins 321 and 322 are
When entering the cut portions 410 and 420 while pressing and narrowing the 0 and 450, and reaching the grip portions 443 and 453, there is no force to narrow the hook members 440 and 450 by the grip pins 321 and 322. ,
It can be spread by the elastic force of the extension spring 449. as a result,
The grip pins 321 and 322 are located in a space surrounded by the end surfaces of the cut portions 410 and 420 and the end surfaces of the grip portions 443 and 453. At this time, the pressing piece 430 that is pulled to the near side by the tension springs 437 and 438 comes into contact with the peripheral surfaces of the grip pins 321 and 322.

That is, the gripping pin 32 at the mounting position
1 and 322 are pressed against the front end surfaces of the grip portions 443 and 453 by the contraction force of the extension springs 437 and 438.
As a result, the movement of the cassette holder 300 in the width direction and the depth direction is restricted, and the cassette holder 300 is suspended from the carriage 400. As the tension spring 449, a spring having a small elasticity is used so that the hook members 440 and 450 can be pressed and narrowed by a small force. On the other hand, holding pins 321 and 32
As the tension springs 437 and 438 for pressing the gripper 2 against the side surfaces of the grip portions 443 and 453, springs having a relatively large elasticity are used.

At both ends of the carriage body 401 in the width direction, sliding members 470, 4 made of synthetic resin having small frictional resistance are provided.
60 is attached. These sliding members 470, 4
Reference numeral 60 denotes a front wall 101 to a rear wall 1 of the apparatus main body 100.
There is formed a hole into which the guide rods 471 and 461 spanned over the hole 02 are inserted. Also, one sliding member 47
0 is provided with a power transmission unit 462. A spiral groove 463 having a thread cut on the inner surface thereof is formed in the power transmission unit 462, and a drive shaft 464 having a male screw thread on the peripheral surface is fitted into the spiral groove 463.

A drive system 500 for moving the carriage 400 forward or backward in the cassette insertion direction of the apparatus main body 100 includes:
As shown in FIG. 4, one side wall 103 of the apparatus main body 100 is provided.
And a drive motor 501 attached to the rear of the vehicle. The rear end of the drive shaft 464 passes through the rear wall 102, and a pulley 502 is fixed to the front end. Pulley 503 and pulley 50 fixed to the output shaft of drive motor 501
The belt 504 is stretched between the drive motor 50 and the drive motor 50.
The drive shaft 464 is rotated by the power from the drive shaft 1. The rotation of the drive shaft 464 is transmitted through the spiral groove 463 of the power transmission unit 462 that meshes with the drive shaft 464.
0, and moves the carriage 400 to the guide rods 471,
Along 461, the apparatus body 100 is advanced or retracted in the cassette insertion direction. At this time, the cassette holder 300
Slide rods 331 and 341 move through the elongated holes 120 and 130 provided in the side walls 103 and 104 of the apparatus main body 100.

A switch 510 for detecting that the cassette half 200 has come to the standby position 140 at a position facing the rear end of the long hole 120 is attached to the side wall portion 104.
The switch 510 includes a lever 511, and is turned on when the end surface of the side protrusion 472 of the sliding member 470 contacts the lever 511 and rotates. The switch 5 provided on the periphery of the above-mentioned cassette insertion slot
40 has a similar configuration.

Further, the first holes formed by the elongated holes 120 and 130
In the middle of the transport path of FIG.
Is provided. In FIG. 1, illustration of the switch 520 is omitted in consideration of complicating the drawing.
That is, the outer plate portion 10 further provided outside the side wall portion 104
5, a flange 106 is formed on the upper edge, and this flange 10
6, the switch 520 is fixed. A lever 521 projects from the switch 520 so as to be swingable. Lever 5
21 so that one end thereof contacts the tip of the second lever 5.
22 is a flange 10 rotatable about a fulcrum 523.
6 is attached to the shaft. The other end of the second lever 522 has a contact surface 524 with respect to the side protrusion 472 of the sliding member 470.
It has become.

From the standby position 140, the cassette half 200
Is moved forward, the side protrusion 472 is pressed against the contact surface 524, and the second lever 522 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. As a result, the lever 521 is rotated by the rotation of the second lever 522, and the switch 520 is turned on. This switch-on is transmitted to the drive motor 501 of the drive system 500 and the drive motor 601 of the elevation drive system 600 via the lead wire 525. Another switch 530 (FIG. 6) is provided on the outer plate portion 105. The switch 55 is provided on the side wall 104.
0 (FIG. 3) is provided.

The functions of the switches 510, 520, and 530 are the same as those of the switches 54 provided on the periphery of the cassette insertion slot 110.
A description of the operation of the apparatus together with 0 will be described later. The drive motor 601 of the lifting drive system 600 includes a drive pulley 602 fixed to an output shaft as shown in FIG.
Thus, power is transmitted to the driven pulley 603. As shown in FIG. 1, a worm 605 is formed on the driven pulley 603, and the worm 605 meshes with the gear 606. The gear 606 further includes second and third gears 607 and 60.
8 and connected to the rack 610.

The rack 610 has driving pins 611 on its sides.
Is erected. The drive pin 611 projects laterally from a long hole 612 formed in the outer plate portion 105 and elongated in the cassette insertion direction.

A saddle-shaped link 620 is attached to the outer plate 105 so as to be rotatable about a fulcrum 621 so as to straddle a drive pin 611 protruding from a long hole 612.
One end of the saddle type link 620 has an extendable arm 622.
Is rotatably mounted at one end. Arm 622
Is always urged in the reduction direction by the spring 623 (FIG. 1). The other end of the arm 622 is connected to the gear 624.

The gear 624 is attached to the outer plate 105 so as to be rotatable about a shaft 625. Gear 624
Is meshed with the second gear 630. The second gear 630 is rotatable about the shaft 631 so that the outer plate portion 10 is rotatable.
5 is attached. Further, a pin hole 632 is formed at a radially intermediate portion of the second gear.

The base end of the holding arm 640 is attached to the shaft 631 together with the gear 630. Nipping arm 6
A pin hole 641 is formed in the middle of 40. The pin 64 is inserted through the pin hole 641 and the pin hole 632 of the gear 630.
2, the pinching arm 640 causes the gear 6
It rotates integrally with 30. The distal end portion of the holding arm 640 is a holding portion 643 that is divided into two branches, and a projection 701 provided on the elevator 700 is held therebetween.

Further, a third gear 650 is provided so as to mesh with the second gear. The third gear 650 is fixed to one end of a shaft 651 extending in the frontage direction.
A gear 652 is fixed to the other end of the shaft 651, and the gear 652 meshes with a gear 654 provided with a similar holding arm 653.

When the drive motor 601 is driven, the rack 610 is driven by the drive motor 60 via gears 606 to 608.
1 is transmitted, and moves forward and backward in the cassette insertion direction. For example, when the rack 610 moves in the forward direction, the drive pins 611 provided on the rack 610 and projecting sideways from the long holes 612 apply a clockwise rotational force to the saddle type link 620. The rotation of the saddle type link 620 causes the gear 624 to rotate clockwise and the gear 630 to rotate counterclockwise.
The pinching arm 653 also rotates integrally with the gear 630, and extends vertically in the outer plate portion 105 in the guide hole 66.
The elevator 70 sandwiched by the sandwiching portions 643 along 0
The 0 projection 701 is lowered.

The elevator 700, as shown in FIG.
A shoe 710 made of a synthetic resin having a small frictional resistance is provided. A groove 711 having the same width as the width of the long hole 120 formed in the side wall 104 and extending in the cassette insertion direction is formed on the inner side surface of the shoe 710.

On the surface of the shoe 710 opposite to the groove 711, two projections 702, 7
03 is erected. These projections 701 to 703 are
It is inserted into each of guide holes 660 to 662 formed in the outer plate 105 in a vertically long manner. by this,
The horizontal posture of the shoe 710 that moves up and down along the vertical hole 125 forming the second transport path is maintained.

Guide protrusions 712 are provided upright on the front side surface and the rear side surface of the shoe 710. Guide projection 7
12 has a long hole 721 formed in the slider 720 fitted therein. The upper part of the slider 720 has a connecting member 722.
Are connected by The upper limit position and the lower limit position of the connecting member 722 are determined by positioning pins 723 and 724 formed on the side wall portion 104, respectively.

A similar shoe 7 is provided on the other side wall 103.
An elevator 700 having a slider 10 and a slider 720 is provided. The elevating operation of the elevator 700 is synchronized with the elevating operation of the elevator 700 on the side wall portion 104 side via the gear 650 and the shaft 651.

In the state where the shoe 710 is in the raised position,
The groove portion 711 coincides with the long holes 120 and 130, and a first transport path that is continuous from the cassette insertion port 110 to the standby position 140 is formed. When the drive motor 601 is started in this state, the power is transmitted to the gears 606 to 608 and the rack 61.
0, the saddle type link 620, the gears 624, 630, and transmitted to the holding arm 640, and the projection 701 is inserted into the guide hole 660.
Pull down along.

When the shoe 710 is further lowered, the lower end of the connecting member 722 of the slider 720 is moved to the positioning pin 724.
Abut. At this time, the downward movement of the slider 720 is restricted, and only the shoe 710 descends to the reproduction position 170 while the guide projection 712 slides along the long hole 721. At this time, the upper end surface 725 of the connecting member 722 is
It matches the bottom edges 121 and 131 of the long holes 120 and 130.
Therefore, even when the shoe 710 has reached the lower limit position, the missing portions of the elongated holes 120 and 130 in which the vertical holes 125 are opened are connected by the upper end surface 725 of the connecting member 722 and continue from the cassette insertion port 110 to the standby position 140. A first transport path is formed.

The cassette half 25 at the reproduction position 170
The reproduction mechanism 800 faces 0. Reproduction mechanism 80
0 is basically the same as the conventional one. The magnetic tape 251 pulled out of the cassette half 250 is hung on the magnetic head 810 by the guide rollers 801 and 802, and the information recorded on the magnetic tape 251 is reproduced.

Next, a series of operations of the recording / reproducing apparatus described above will be described with reference to FIGS. Insert the cassette half 250 to be reproduced into the cassette
Insert into 10. At this time, the cassette holder 300a in which the holding pins 321 and 322 are held by the hook members 440 and 450 of the carriage 300 is waiting at the cassette insertion slot 110. An empty cassette holder 30 containing no cassette half is located at the playback position.
0b is located. At this time, a continuous first conveyance path is formed in the elongated holes 120 and 130 by connecting the upper end surface 725 of the connecting member 722).

When the cassette half 250 is inserted, the switch 540 is turned on, the drive motor 501 is started, and the drive shaft 464 is rotated. Since the spiral groove 463 of the sliding member 460 is engaged with the drive shaft 464, the carriage 400 is driven by the drive shaft 46 as shown by the arrow in FIG.
By the rotation of No. 4, pitch feed is performed in the depth direction. At this time, the sliding rods 331, 34 of the cassette holder 300a
1 moves along the long holes 120 and 130 that are continuous on the upper end surface 725 of the connecting member 722.

The cassette holder 300a has the long holes 120, 1
When the carriage 400 reaches the innermost part, the side protrusion 472 of the carriage 400 contacts the lever 511 of the switch 510, and the switch 510 is turned on. As a result, the drive motor 501 is stopped, the drive motor 601 for lifting and lowering the elevator is started, and the elevator 700 is raised along the vertical holes 125 and 135 from the reproduction position. When the upper end surface 725 of the connecting member 722 contacts the positioning protrusion 723, the upper limit position of the elevator 700 is regulated. At this time, the bottom surface of the groove 711 is flush with the bottom edges of the long holes 120 and 130. A continuous first transport path is formed by connecting the defective portions of the holes 120 and 130 with the shoe 710 (FIG. 10). The driving of the drive motor 601 is stopped by the holding arm 643 hitting the lever 531 of the switch 530 and turning on the switch 530.

When the switch 530 is turned on and it is detected that the elevator 700 has risen to the positions of the slots 120 and 130, the drive motor 501 rotates in the reverse direction, and the carriage 4 on which the cassette holder 300a is mounted is mounted.
00 moves toward the cassette insertion slot 110, that is, toward the near side. Then, the front end surface of the cassette half 250 inserted in the cassette holder 300a presses the arms 323 and 324 of the cassette holder 300b, and pushes the cassette holder 300b toward the cassette insertion slot 11 (FIG. 11).

Further, the cassette holder 300a to the front side
As the movement of the carriage 400 progresses, the side protrusions 4 of the carriage 400
72 is pressed against the lever 521 of the switch 520,
The switch 520 is turned on. Thereby, the drive motor 5
01 is stopped. At this time, cassette half 2
The sliding rods 331 and 341 of the cassette holder 300a into which the 50 is inserted are located in the grooves 711 of the shoe 710. When the switch 520 is turned on, the drive motor 60
1 is started and the elevator 700 is turned into the vertical holes 125, 135.
, And the cassette holder 300 by the pressing piece 430 and the hook members 440 and 450 of the carriage 400.
The engagement state of the grip pins 321 and 322 of a is released, and the elevator 700 descends along the vertical holes 125 and 135 by the engagement between the sliding rods 331 and 341 and the groove 711. Then, the cassette half 250 moves to the reproduction position (FIG. 12).

Thereafter, the drive motor 501 rotates again, and the carriage 40 with the cassette holder 300a opened is opened.
0 further moves toward the front side, and the grip pins 32 of the cassette holder 300b located at the cassette insertion slot 110
1 and 322 are inserted into the notches 410 and 420. When the grip pins 321 and 322 are inserted into the notches 410 and 420, the hook members 44 are held by the grip pins 321 and 322.
0,450 is narrowed against the resilience of the extension spring 449, and the grip pins 321 and 322
It is pinched at 453. Thereafter, the carriage 400 moves until the side protrusion 472 turns on the switch 550. At this time, the cassette holder 300b is
30, the contact rod 832 is pressed against the lever of the switch 540, and the contact rod 832 is pressed against the lever of the switch 540.
Is off. On the other hand, from the cassette half 250 at the reproduction position, the magnetic tape 251 is guided by the guide rollers 801,
The recording information on the magnetic tape 251 is reproduced by the magnetic head 810 (FIG. 13).

Next, when the cassette half 200 to be reproduced next is inserted into the cassette holder 300b in the cassette insertion slot 110, the cassette half 200 is sent to the reproduction position in the procedure described with reference to FIGS. Then, the reproduced cassette half 250 is sent out to the cassette insertion slot 110. This cassette half 250
The cassette half is replaced with another cassette half, and thereafter, a plurality of cassette halves are similarly replaced. Alternatively, when reproducing the cassette half 250 again, the cassette insertion slot 110
Then, the cassette half 250 is moved to the reproduction position in the same procedure.

The start and stop of the drive motors 501 and 601 are controlled by switches 540, 510, 520 and 53.
It is performed by switching levers such as 0,550. However, without being restricted by this, a position sensor is provided at an appropriate position to detect the positions of the cassette half 200, the cassette holder 300, the carriage 400, and the like, and drive control of the drive motors 501 and 601 is performed based on the detected information. You can also.

Further, the cassette holder 300a into which the cassette halves 200 and 250 moving to the reproduction position are inserted.
Alternatively, stoppers that can move forward and backward at the positions in front of the vertical holes 25 and 135 are provided on the side walls 103 and 104 so that the sliding rods 331 and 341 of the 300b are accurately positioned in the grooves 711 formed in the shoes 710 of the elevator 700. Alternatively, the stopper may be provided on the outer plate portion 105, and may be protruded or retracted in the movement locus of the cassette half 200, 250 or the like according to the detection information of the position sensor.

The cassette holders 300a, 300b
In order to prevent another cassette half from being inserted into the cassette insertion slot 110 when the cassette insertion slot 110 is not at the cassette
It is also possible to incorporate it into 0. In this embodiment,
The case where the present invention is applied to a cassette deck accommodating a magnetic tape as an information recording medium has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and is applied to other recording / reproducing apparatuses for reproducing an optical disc such as a CD as an information recording medium. May be.

[0058]

According to the present invention as described above,
Just by inserting the desired information recording medium into the insertion slot, the information recording medium is carried into the reproducing means and reproduction is performed, while the information recording medium which has been used for reproduction is automatically inserted into the insertion port. That the next (new) information recording medium cannot be inserted unless the information recording medium that has been used for reproduction is removed from the insertion slot. The above inconvenience can be eliminated. In other words, the user simply inserts a new information recording medium into the insertion slot, and a series of replacements between the old (recorded) information recording medium and the new information recording medium are automatically performed. Since the new information recording medium is reproduced by the reproducing means, the operation of taking out the information medium becomes unnecessary, and it is possible to provide extremely excellent operability that only the insertion operation needs to be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire recording and reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a relationship between a cassette half and a cassette holder.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a carriage.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the periphery of a drive motor of a forward / reverse drive system.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the vicinity of a switch provided on a second conveyance path.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a lifting drive system for raising and lowering the elevator.

FIG. 7 is a view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. 6, showing a main part of the elevator.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state before a first cassette half is inserted;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the first cassette half is moving in the depth direction.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the first cassette half reaches the inner part of the first transport path and the cassette holder is raised from the reproduction position.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the first cassette half is moving from the back of the first transport path in the direction of the second transport path.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the first cassette half is moving down the second transport path.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the first cassette half is in a reproducing state and the second cassette half is inserted into a cassette holder located at a cassette insertion slot;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Device main body 110 Cassette insertion port 120, 130 Long hole 125, 135 forming first transport path Vertical hole 200, 250 Cassette half 300, 300 a, 300 b Cassette holder 300 Carriage 700 Elevator 710 Shoe

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-118951 (JP, A) JP-A-2-31364 (JP, A) JP-A-3-276453 (JP, A) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G11B 15/675 101 G11B 15/68

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An insertion slot for inserting and discharging an information recording medium.
Reproducing means for reproducing information from an information recording medium; and an information recording medium inserted from the insertion port near the insertion port.
While receiving at the nearby receiving position,
Two recording medium containers each having one receiving number, and the recording medium container is connected to the receiving position and the reproducing means.
Any one of the recording medium container at the receiving position, a transport mechanism for transporting the transport mechanism within a range of the information reproducing position, and control means for controlling the transport mechanism.
And a detecting means for detecting that the information recording medium has been accommodated.
An information recording medium transport mechanism, wherein the control means receives one of the recording medium containers.
To the information playback position.
Control the transport mechanism so that
Received the information recording medium in response to the detection result of the informing means
To the information reproducing position of one of the recording medium containers
To the receiving position of the other recording medium container.
Transporting information recording media, characterized in that
mechanism. 2. The transfer mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein
A transport path with a standby path provided within the range from the information reproduction position
Conveying the recording medium container along, the control means, in response to the detection result of the detection means,
Accommodating any one of the recording media receiving the information recording medium
To the information reproducing position through the standby path during the transportation of the body
Is carried out, and one of the recording medium containers is moved forward.
The other recording medium container while being located in the standby path.
Transport to the receiving position.
The information recording medium transport mechanism according to claim 1.