JP3484669B2 - Recording medium insertion / removal mechanism and collective optical disk device having the same - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an insertion / removal mechanism for inserting / removing a recording medium into / from a storage place or an information processing device.
Equipped with this insertion / removal mechanism, a desired cartridge is taken out from the stocker in which a large number of cartridges containing optical disks and the like are stored and provided to the optical disk drive apparatus, or the cartridge provided in the optical disk drive apparatus is placed at a predetermined position in the stocker. The present invention relates to a collective type optical disc device having a structure for storing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG.
Abbreviated as "cartridge". ) Is a diagram showing the appearance of 1.
(A) is a plan view and (b) is a right side view. In this cartridge 1, an optical disk medium 2 which is a recording medium is rotatably housed in a casing 3. Casing 3
A slidable door body 4 is provided on the upper surface of the optical disc medium 2 so that the head of the optical disc drive device can be brought close to the optical disc medium 2 in a state where the door body 4 is slid and opened. The information can be written to and read from. The door body 4 is provided on the front side when the cartridge 1 is inserted into the optical disk drive device, and the cartridge 1 is provided on both side surfaces on the rear side.
Is provided with a notch 5 for gripping, and both front side surfaces are provided with a front end portion so that the optical disk drive device and the cartridge 1 can be smoothly inserted into a medium container such as a storage place. It is formed on an appropriate inclined surface 6.

6A and 6B are views showing a schematic structure of the collective type optical disk device 10. FIG. 6A is a plan view and FIG. 6B is a front view. The cartridge 1 is housed in a stocker 11 provided at opposite positions in the apparatus 10, and a picker device 12 is provided between the stockers 11 so as to be vertically movable and rotatable. An optical disc drive device 13 is provided below one of the stockers 11. The picker device 12 is driven by an accessor device 14 provided on its side. The picker device 12 is driven to a desired position of the cartridge 1, the cartridge 1 is taken out from the stocker 11 and is stored and held in a predetermined position, and the picker device 12 is driven to the optical disk drive device 13 to hold the cartridge 1. Will be inserted into the optical disc drive device 13, and the optical disc medium 2 accommodated in the cartridge 1 will be supplied to the optical disc drive device 13. A cartridge access station (not shown) is provided in the collective optical disk device 10, and the operator uses this cartridge access station to supply and withdraw the cartridge 1 to and from the collective optical disk device 10. The picker device 12 moves so that the cartridge 1 can be operated with respect to the cartridge access station.

The operation of extracting and inserting the cartridge 1 in the picker device 12 is performed by the inserting / removing mechanism provided in the picker device 12. This insertion / removal operation is performed by the operation of a pair of hands provided in the picker device 12. That is, the hand is provided so as to be movable back and forth in the picker device 12, and when the hand is moved forward, the hand is opened, the hand is closed while facing the desired cartridge 1, and the tip portion thereof is the cutout portion of the cartridge 1. The cartridge 1 is gripped by engaging with the cartridge 5. The cartridge 1 gripped by the backward movement of this hand is pulled out from the stocker 11 and stored in the picker device 12. Cartridge 1
The cartridge 1 is moved to the optical disc drive device 13 in a state of being accommodated therein, and the hand holding the cartridge 1 advances to insert the cartridge 1 into the optical disc drive device 13. When the cartridge 1 is slightly pushed further in a state where the hand is opened and the cartridge 1 is released, the cartridge 1 is pushed to a predetermined position and the cartridge 1 is supplied to the optical disk drive device 13.

In the insertion / removal operation, an advance / retreat operation of the cartridge 1 and an opening / closing operation of the hand are performed. In the conventional picker device, however, a motor for the advance / retreat operation of the hand and a rotary solenoid for the opening / closing operation of the hand are used. Two driving means were provided to perform these operations. However, since the two driving means are provided, it is necessary to control these operation timings, and a complicated control operation is required. Moreover, since the operation timing must be adjusted, a waiting time for waiting for the end of the operation of one of the driving means is required, and it takes a considerable time to supply the optical disk medium 2 to the optical disk drive device 13. Will end up.

Therefore, the applicant of the present application mechanically interlocks the opening / closing operation of the hand with the advancing / retreating operation of the hand to eliminate the driving means such as a rotary solenoid for the opening / closing operation to simplify the control mechanism of the driving means. We have proposed a collective type optical disk device equipped with a picker device that shortens the time until the optical disk medium 2 is supplied to the optical disk drive device 13 and the time until the picker device 12 performs the next operation (Japanese Patent Application No. 9-118336). issue). A part of the operation of the picker device in the already proposed collective type optical disc device will be described with reference to FIG. 8 which is a side view. As shown in FIG. 1A, the cartridge 1 is stored in the picker cell 71 of the picker device and held in the optical disk drive device 13
It is transported to the position such as. The rear end of the cartridge 1 is gripped by the closing operation of the hand 72,
The hand 72 is swingably supported by a hand plate 73 so as to be opened and closed by the swing, and is constantly biased in a closing direction by biasing means. When it is conveyed to a predetermined position, a drive motor (not shown) operates to move the hand plate 73 forward, and the push rod 74 supported by the hand plate 73 via the link rods 75 and 76 is attached to the rear end surface of the cartridge 1. The cartridge 1 is abutted, and the cartridge 1 is pushed and moved forward, and the cartridge 1 is inserted into the optical disk drive device 13 or the like while protruding. When the hand plate 73 advances to a predetermined position, the hand 72 comes into contact with an open pin (not shown), and when the hand plate 73 advances further, the hand 72 is opened by the reaction force received from the open pin and the cartridge 1 is released. On the other hand, of the link rods 75 and 76 supporting the push rod 74, the input end portion 75a of the forward link rod 75 is moved downward to the base plate 78 constituting the picker cell 71, as shown in FIG. The drive rod 77 is supported by a rod supporting bracket 78a provided so as to project.

The push rod 74 is rotatably supported on the tip ends of the link rods 75 and 76, and the link rods 75 and 76 are rotatably supported.
The base end portion of is rotatably supported by the hand plate 73. An input end 75a extends from the base end of the link rod 75. And the push rod 74 and these link rods 7
The parallel crank mechanism is constituted by the hand plates 73 and 73. A return spring 79 is stretched between the push rod 74 and the hand plate 73, and the restoring force of the return spring 79 returns to the original position where the link rods 75, 76 and the push rod 74 have a substantially right angle relationship. Is urged to do so.

As shown in FIG. 8B, the link rod 75 is
After the input end 75a of the contact plate abuts on the drive rod 77 and the hand plate 73 further advances, the push rod 74 is moved by the operation of the parallel crank mechanism as shown in FIG.
Performs a pushing operation of advancing by a larger amount than the advancing amount of the hand plate 73 to further push the cartridge 1. When the hand plate 73 advances to an appropriate position, the input end 75a gets over the drive rod 77, so that these engagements are released and the push rod 74 becomes free. Therefore, the push rod 74 is returned to the original position by receiving the restoring force of the return spring 79, as shown in FIG.

When the hand plate 73 is retracted from the position shown in FIG. 8 (d), the input end 75a of the link rod 75 is
When the drive plate 77 comes into contact with the drive rod 77 from the direction opposite to the forward direction and the hand plate 73 further retracts, the input end 75a gets over the drive rod 77 and receives the restoring force of the return spring 79 to push the push rod 74 to its original position. Will be returned to.

[0010]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional picker device, since the push rod 74 is pushed in by the parallel crank mechanism, the push rod 74 can move in parallel while maintaining its posture. However, since this pushing operation is caused by the swing of the link rods 75 and 76, the push rod 74 moves while making a turning motion. Therefore, the cartridge 1 of the push rod 74
The point of action for moves with the pushing operation. If the amount of movement of this point of action is large, the push rod 74 will be dislocated from the rear end surface of the cartridge 1. Therefore, it is necessary to make it smaller. For that purpose, the link rods 75 and 76 should be set so that the turning radius of the push rod 74 becomes large. Lengthen. However, if the link rods 75 and 76 become long, the height of the picker device becomes large and the size becomes large, and thus the collective optical disk device becomes large.

Further, the link rod 75 and the drive rod 77 are engaged with each other by the advance of the hand plate 73, so that the link rod 75 is driven.
Although the push rod 74 is pushed in by swinging 75, the input end 75a of the link rod 75 must be reliably disengaged from the drive rod 77 when the cartridge 1 is pushed to a predetermined position. . If these engagements are disengaged before the cartridge 1 is pushed into the predetermined position, the cartridge 1 cannot be pushed sufficiently and cannot be supplied to the optical disc drive device 13 or the like. When the push rod 74 advances without being disengaged even after being pushed to a predetermined position, the load applied to the cartridge 1, the push rod 74, the input end 75a of the link rod 75, the drive rod 77, and the like. Becomes large, and these may be deformed or damaged.

An apparatus for supplying a recording medium to an information processing apparatus is, for example, an automatic floppy medium insertion / extraction apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-311486.
A plate-shaped pusher is used in the mechanism part for gripping the floppy medium in this insertion / extraction device. However, this pusher is fixed to the gripping mechanism part by protruding at a predetermined distance, and is used when the floppy insertion port of the personal computer is a weight lever type lock mechanism, and the floppy medium is moved by the forward movement of the gripping mechanism part. If you want to insert
When ejecting, the eject button or the like is pushed in. However, since this pusher is fixed, like the above-mentioned conventional picker device, there is a risk that the floppy medium or the like may be damaged unless the forward movement amount of the gripping mechanism is appropriately adjusted. The amount of forward movement of the gripping mechanism must be controlled reliably, and a complicated control mechanism is required.

Therefore, the present invention is an insertion / removal mechanism for inserting / removing a cartridge or the like into / from an optical disk drive device or the like by causing the hand to perform an advancing / retreating operation and an opening / closing operation, and a complicated control is achieved by making the driving means single. It has a simple structure that does not require a mechanism, and can securely insert and remove cartridges, etc.When inserting a cartridge etc. to a predetermined position, the insertion / extraction mechanism is not overloaded and the device is enlarged. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple insertion / removal mechanism, and to provide a collective optical disc device having a picker device equipped with this insertion / removal mechanism.

[0014]

As a technical means for achieving the above object, a recording medium inserting / removing mechanism according to the present invention advances to a predetermined position to perform an opening / closing operation to grip and release the recording medium. The recording medium is retracted by the retracting operation of the grasping means and accommodated in the medium holding portion, and the recording medium is inserted into and removed from the information processing device or other medium accommodating body by the advancing and retracting operation of the grasping means. In the insertion / removal mechanism for carrying out the above-mentioned operation, the pushing means slidable in the advancing / retreating direction of the gripping means and the advancing / retreating direction in the advancing / retreating direction of the gripping means; A pusher urging means for urging the pusher means to slide in the backward direction, and a pusher locking means for sliding the pusher means in the forward direction by the backward movement by the forward / backward movement of the pusher means. Pusher return to lock A recording medium housed in the medium holding unit, which has a step and a gripper opening unit that engages with the gripping unit and swings the gripping unit in an opening direction when the gripping unit advances to a predetermined position. Is ejected from the medium holding portion by the forward movement of the pushing and moving means, and when the pushing means is overloaded, the engagement with the pushing body locking means is released, It is characterized in that the pushing means slides in the backward direction by the moving body urging means.

The insertion / removal mechanism is positioned so as to face a storage location of the recording medium or a medium storage body such as an information processing apparatus. When the pushing means is moved forward and the gripping means is moved forward, the recording medium held in the medium holding portion is pushed forward by the pushing means, protrudes from the insertion / removal mechanism, and gradually advances to the medium container. Is inserted. When the recording medium is inserted to an appropriate position in the medium container, the forward movement of the recording medium is stopped, or a load is applied to prevent the forward movement of the recording medium. Further, when the gripping means moves forward to the vicinity of the position, the gripping body releasing means is engaged and the gripping means opens to release the grip of the recording medium. When the pushing means tries to move further from the position, the reaction force is received from the recording medium, the engagement of the pushing body locking means is released, and the pushing means becomes free. Therefore, the pushing means slides and retracts under the biasing force of the pusher biasing means. Therefore, the pushing means does not push the recording medium after it is detached from the recording medium. Further, since the gripping means releases the recording medium,
The recording medium is mounted in the medium container.

When the recording medium loaded in the medium container is to be removed, the open gripping means faces the position where the recording medium can be gripped, and the gripping means is retracted. As a result, the engagement with the grasping body releasing means is released, so that the grasping means is closed and grasps the recording medium. The recording medium also retracts as the gripping means continues to retract, and is accommodated and held in the medium holding portion. Further, the pushing means is retracted by the advancing / retreating operation in a state in which the pushing means is disengaged from the pushing body locking means and retracted by the sliding thereof. When it is retracted to an appropriate position, it is subjected to the action of the pushing body returning means, and also slides in the forward direction by the backward movement by the advancing / retreating operation, and is engaged with the pushing body locking means to return to the original position. Wait for the operation of ejecting the recording medium.

Further, according to this insertion / removal mechanism, the gripping means is opened / closed by its advance / retreat, so that a driving means such as a rotary solenoid for opening / closing it is not required.
Further, since the pushing means is separated from the recording medium and retracts when overloaded, the recording medium and mechanical portions such as the pushing means are not deformed or damaged.

Further, since the sliding of the pushing means is carried out by receiving an overload, it is not necessary to provide a mechanism for driving the pushing means in a state of protruding to the outside of the inserting / removing mechanism. Therefore, the insertion / removal mechanism is not increased in size.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium inserting / removing mechanism, which comprises a holding means for advancing to a predetermined position to perform an opening / closing operation to hold and release the recording medium, and a retreating operation of the holding means. The recording medium is retracted to be accommodated in the medium holding unit, and the pushing unit that pushes the recording medium accommodated in the medium holding unit to move the recording medium forward is provided, and the recording is performed with respect to the information storage device and other medium storage bodies. In an insertion / removal mechanism for inserting / removing a medium, a gripping means that is movable back and forth in the medium holding portion and is swingable around an axis orthogonal to the moving direction, and the gripping means is always swung in the closing direction. Gripping body urging means for urging, and gripping body releasing means that engages with the gripping means when the gripping means advances to a predetermined position and swings the gripping means in the opening direction by the advancing of the gripping means thereafter. And the gripping means Pushing means slidable in the advancing / retreating direction and advancing / retreating in the advancing / retreating direction of the gripping means, pusher locking means which is engageable / disengageable with the pushing means, and sliding the pushing means in the retracting direction. The pushing member urging means, and the pushing member restoring means for sliding the pushing member in the forward direction by the backward movement of the pushing and moving operation of the pushing means to lock the pushing means with the locking means. The recording medium accommodated in the medium holding section is discharged from the medium holding section by the forward movement of the pushing and moving means, and the pushing body locking means is provided when the pushing means is overloaded. It is characterized in that the engagement is released, and the pusher biasing means causes the pusher to slide in the backward direction.

As a mechanism for closing the gripping means,
For example, it is possible to provide a gripping body closing means for engaging and closing the gripping means at the time of starting the backward movement, but the gripping means constantly applies the biasing force of the gripping body biasing means to the closing direction. By swinging the gripping means, the gripping means is separated from the gripping body opening means to be closed, and the recording medium can be gripped.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mechanism for inserting / removing a recording medium, wherein a supporting plate is slidably provided in the medium holding portion, and the supporting means is provided with the gripping means, the gripping body urging means, and the pushing means. It is characterized in that the moving means, the pusher locking means, and the pusher biasing means are incorporated.

The gripping means and the pushing means can move back and forth in the same direction, and they move back and forth in the same direction as the recording medium is inserted and removed. Further, even if the advance / retreat operations of the gripping means and the pushing means are performed in synchronization with each other, there is no problem in the inserting / removing operation of the recording medium. Therefore, by providing these on a single support plate, the gripping means and the pushing means can be advanced and retracted in the same direction in synchronization with each other with a simple structure. Further, the gripping body urging means, the pusher body locking means, and the pusher body urging means can be incorporated in the same support plate.

By the way, depending on the recording medium, for example, in a casing accommodating an optical disk medium, notches are formed at appropriate positions on both side surfaces of the casing, and the engagement between the notches and the gripping means is utilized. The recording medium is removed from the medium container, that is, stored in the medium holding portion of the insertion / removal mechanism. In the structure including the pushing means, when the recording medium is ejected from the medium holding portion, the advance of the gripping means does not have to directly contribute to the advance of the recording medium, and the engagement with the cutout portion is released. It is desirable that

Therefore, in the recording medium inserting / removing mechanism according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the gripping means is provided with a locking claw which engages and disengages with a notch provided at an appropriate position of the casing containing the recording medium. It is characterized in that the locking claw can be separated from the notch portion against the biasing force of the gripper biasing means when the gripping means is advanced.

That is, when the advance of the recording medium is stopped, the grasping means moves forward, so that the locking claw is disengaged from the notch. Therefore, the recording medium stopped by the advance of the gripping means is not damaged. If the engagement with the gripping body releasing means is performed after the locking claw is separated from the notch, the recording medium can be reliably released from the gripping means.

The recording medium inserting / removing mechanism according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the holding means does not project from the end of the medium holding portion when the holding means is opened.

When the gripping means is in the open state,
This is a case where the recording medium is not in the medium holding portion, and next, the operation of removing the recording medium from the medium container is performed. For this removal work, it may be necessary to move the insertion / removal mechanism to a position facing the recording medium to be removed. At the time of this movement, since the gripping means does not project from the end of the medium holding portion, the insertion / removal mechanism can be moved in the direction orthogonal to the insertion / removal direction of the recording medium. For this reason, even if the recording medium to be removed next is a medium accommodating body that is juxtaposed with the medium accommodating body in which the recording medium is inserted first,
It is possible to immediately move to the position of the next medium container. That is, it is possible to move immediately without requiring an operation of retracting the gripping means, so that the time can be shortened.

An apparatus suitable for mounting the inserting / removing mechanism is a collective type optical disk apparatus, and the collective type optical disk apparatus having the recording medium inserting / removing mechanism according to the present invention accommodates the optical disk medium. An optical disk cartridge with a notch at an appropriate position on the casing,
In a collective-type optical disc device having a recording medium inserting / removing mechanism for inserting / removing a medium containing body containing the optical disc cartridge, a medium holding section for storing the optical disc cartridge removed from the medium containing body, and a medium holding section in the medium holding section The gripping means is provided so as to be movable back and forth and swingable about an axis orthogonal to the moving direction, a gripping body biasing means for biasing the gripping means to always swing in the closing direction, and the gripping means. A gripping body opening means for engaging the gripping means when the gripping means is advanced to a predetermined position, and swinging the gripping means in the opening direction by the advancing of the gripping means thereafter; Pushing means that can move back and forth in the advancing and retracting direction of the gripping means, pusher body locking means that can engage and disengage with the pushing means, and pusher body biasing force that biases the pushing means to slide in the backward direction. means An insertion / removal mechanism comprising: a pusher return means that slides the pushing means in the forward direction by the forward / backward movement of the pushing means so as to lock the locking means with each of the medium containing bodies. The recording medium housed in the medium holding section is ejected from the medium holding section by the forward movement of the pushing means for advancing and retracting, and is inserted into the medium storage body, and is passed over the pushing means. When a load is applied, the engagement with the pusher locking means is released,
The pushing means biases the pushing means to slide in the backward direction.

Since the gripping means is opened by the gripping body opening means in the vicinity of the end of the forward movement, the driving means such as the rotary solenoid for opening the gripping means is not required. Therefore, a complicated control mechanism is not required for advancing / retreating and opening / closing the gripping means. Further, since it is not necessary to adjust the operation timing or the like, a waiting time or the like is not required, and therefore, it is possible to shorten the time for inserting / removing the recording medium into / from the desired medium container.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a collective type optical disc device in which a support plate is slidably provided in the medium holding portion, and the gripping means, the gripping body urging means and the pushing motion are provided on the support plate. Means, the pusher locking means, and the pusher biasing means are incorporated to simplify the structure of the insertion / removal mechanism.

Further, in the collective optical disk device according to the invention of claim 8, the gripping means is provided with a locking claw which is engaged with and disengaged from the notch part of the casing, and the locking claw is advanced when the gripping means is advanced. Is capable of separating from the notch portion against the biasing force of the gripping body biasing means.

Further, the optical disk device according to the invention of claim 9 is characterized in that the holding means does not project from the end of the medium holding portion when the holding means is opened.

As described above, since the insertion / removal mechanism provided in this collective type optical disc apparatus can be immediately moved in the direction orthogonal to the insertion / removal direction of the recording medium when the ejection of the recording medium is completed, It is possible to shorten the time required to move the medium to the medium housing for inserting / removing the medium, shorten the operating time such as supplying a desired recording medium to the optical disc drive device, and improve the operating efficiency of the collective optical disc device. be able to.

[0034]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, based on the illustrated preferred embodiments, a recording medium inserting / removing mechanism according to the present invention and a collective type optical disk device having the same will be specifically described.
The structure of the optical disk cartridge and the structure of the collective type optical disk device are the same as those shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 described above, and therefore the same reference numerals are used and the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 1 shows a picker device 12 incorporating an insertion / extraction mechanism.
2 is a side view showing the outline of the structure of FIG. A hand drive motor 32 is provided on the front side, which is the upper side of the picker frame 31 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped,
A driven pulley 33 is rotatably supported on the rear side, and a drive belt 34 is stretched between the driven pulley 33 and the drive pulley fitted to the output shaft of the hand driving motor 32.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower part of the picker frame 31 receives an optical disk cartridge 1 containing an optical disk medium 2 and guides the cartridge 1 slidably in the traveling direction of the drive belt 34. A picker cell part 35 as a medium holding part is formed. A holding spring 36, which is a leaf spring, is provided on the inner side surface of the picker cell portion 35, and the cartridge 1 accommodated in the picker cell portion 35 is pressed from the side surface and held so as not to fall off.

An advance / retreat mechanism 40 for advancing / retreating the cartridge 1 in the traveling direction of the drive belt 34 is incorporated in the picker cell section 35. The picker frame 31 has
A guide rod 41, which is a rod whose longitudinal direction is the traveling direction of the drive belt 34, is provided, and a support plate 42 is slidably guided by the guide rod 41. The guide rod 41 is provided below the drive belt 34. On both sides of the front edge of the support plate 42, the hand shaft 43
a is projected downwards, and this hand shaft 43a
A substantially L-shaped hand 43 as a gripping means is swingably supported by the tip of the L-shaped short side arm portion 43b. The L-shaped long side arm portion 43c of the hand 43 is directed forward, and the tip end thereof has a locking claw protruding inward.
43d is formed. At the position where the long arms 43c of the pair of hands 43 are substantially parallel to each other,
The locking claw 43d engages with the notch 5 of the cartridge 1. The front edge of the locking claw 43d is formed on the inclined surface 43e. When the hand 43 moves forward, the inclined surface 43e is guided to the edge of the notch 5 of the cartridge 1, and the locking claw 43d is cut off. It is designed to be able to leave from 5. In addition, the central portion of the short arm 43b of the hand 43 and the support plate
A closing spring 44 composed of a torsion coil spring is stretched between the closing spring 44 and the gripping member 42.
The restoring force is urged so that the pair of hands 43 swing in the direction in which the long arms 43c approach each other, that is, in the direction in which the hands 43 are closed. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, an engaging protrusion 43f directed upward is formed on the front side edge of the short arm 43b of the hand 43.

The support plate 42 has a front support flange portion 42a formed by bending downward at a front edge of the support plate 42, and a rear support flange portion projecting in parallel with the front support flange portion 42a at a central portion thereof. And a pair of reinforcing flange portions 42c are connected to the supporting flange portions 42a and 42b. And, in the support flange portions 42a, 42b,
A pair of push rods 45 serving as pushing means are supported so as to be slidable in the same direction as the traveling direction of the drive belt 34. There are flanges on both ends of this push rod 45.
45a and 45b are attached, and the rear flange part 45
A return spring 46, which is a compression coil spring, is loosely fitted as a pusher urging means in a portion located between b and the rear side support flange portion 42b. That is, the push rod 45 receives the restoring force of the return spring 46, and the supporting plate
It is slid backward with respect to 42.

In addition, as shown in FIG.
A connecting bracket 42d is provided so as to project upward, and the connecting bracket 42d is fixed to the drive belt 34.

A rod locking member 47 as a pusher locking means is provided on the reinforcing flange portion 42c so as to be slidable in a direction intersecting the sliding direction of the push rod 45. The rod locking member 47 includes a pair of locking members 48a, 48a.
b is combined so as to be slidable with respect to each other, for example, by combining an inner cylinder part and an outer cylinder part, and slid in mutually opposite directions. A projecting spring 49 composed of a compression coil spring is loosely fitted between the locking members 48a and 48b, and the restoring force of the projecting spring 49 causes the tips of the locking members 48a and 48b to move to the reinforcing flange portion 42c.
Are projected to the outside respectively. And
This tip portion is removably inserted into a locking groove 45c formed at an appropriate position on the peripheral surface of the push rod 45. Further, a return block 50 as a pusher returning means is provided at the rear part of the picker frame 31, and when the push rod 45 retreats as the support plate 42 retreats, the rear end part of the push rod 45. Abuts this return block 50,
The support flanges 42a and 42b are slid forward.

Further, on the front side of the picker frame 31 and within the movement range of the engaging projection 43f of the hand 43, an opening pin 51 as a gripper opening means is provided so as to be directed downward. The engaging projection 43f abuts on the opening pin 51 when the hand 43 moves forward with the support plate 42.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6 described above, the picker device 12 is a stocker 11 of the collective type optical disk device 10.
It is lifted up and down in the intermediate position and is rotatably provided.

The operation of the recording medium loading / unloading mechanism according to the present invention constructed as described above will be described below.

The cartridge 1 is housed in the medium housing 60 such as the stocker 11 or the optical disk drive device 13 as described above. 1 and 2 show a state in which the cartridge 1 is housed and held in the picker cell portion 35 of the picker device 12. In this state, the support plate 42 is retracted to the rearmost portion, the hand 43 is in the closed state, and the locking claw 43d is
Is engaged with the notch portion 5 of the cartridge 1, the push rod 45 is in a state in which the rod locking member 47 is engaged and the sliding is blocked, and the flange portion 45a at the tip is on the rear end surface of the cartridge 1. Contacted. Further, the cartridge 1 is held in the picker cell portion 35 by the pressing force of the holding spring 36 on its side surface. A case in which the cartridge 1 held in the picker cell unit 35 is discharged from this state and is inserted into the position shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 2 will be described.

When the picker device 12 moves appropriately and faces the medium container 60 into which the cartridge 1 is to be inserted, the hand driving motor 32 operates and the driving plate 34 circulates to move the supporting plate 42. You will move forward. Since the push rod 45 also moves forward as the support plate 42 moves forward, the cartridge 1 is pushed by the push rod 45 and moves forward. At this time, as the support plate 42 moves forward, the hand
43 also moves forward, but since the cartridge 1 is moved smoothly because it is inside the picker cell part 35, its locking claws
The 43d will not come off the notch 5. When the cartridge 1 advances and is ejected from the picker cell unit 35,
As shown in FIG. 3, it is inserted into a predetermined medium container 60.

FIG. 3 shows a state immediately after the cartridge 1 is inserted into the medium container 60. From this state, the support plate 42
When the cartridge is further advanced, the cartridge 1 is not advanced, so that the push rod 45 receives a reaction force. This reaction force causes the rod locking member 47 to project and is pushed back from the projecting position against the restoring force of the spring 49.
Is disengaged. Pushrod 45 freed
The support flange portion 42 receives the restoring force of the return spring 46.
It will slide back with respect to a and 42b. Therefore, even if the push rod 45 is detached from the rear end surface of the cartridge 1 and the support plate 42 moves forward thereafter, no load is applied to the cartridge 1. As the hand 43 moves forward with the support plate 42, the inclined surface 43e of the locking claw 43d abuts on the edge of the notch 5 and resists the restoring force of the closing spring 44 along the edge. Then, it is pushed open, and is disengaged from the notch 5 by being released. When the support plate 42 further advances from this state, the locking claw 43d of the hand 43 scrapes the side surface of the cartridge 1 and advances. Then, the engaging protrusion 43f of the hand 43 comes into contact with the opening pin 51. When the hand 43 further advances due to the forward movement of the support plate 42, the engaging protrusion 43f is pushed by the opening pin 51, and the hand 43 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
Open as shown in.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the support plate 42 has advanced to the foremost position. In this state, the hand 43 is opened, and the long arm 43c thereof extends from the picker cell portion 35, that is, the front end edge of the picker device 12. It will not project. Further, in this state, the cartridge 1 is inserted into the predetermined medium container 60.

Since the hand 43 and other parts do not protrude from the front edge of the picker device 12, the picker device 12
12 can be moved in a direction orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the cartridge 1. Therefore, the picker device 12 can be moved to the position of the other medium container 60 in order to remove the other cartridge 1 immediately after discharging the cartridge 1. FIG. 4 also shows a state before the cartridge 1 is removed from the medium container 60. From this state, when the hand driving motor 32 is rotated in a direction opposite to that when the support plate 42 is moved forward, the support plate 42 is retracted.
When the hand 43 retreats with the retreat of the support plate 42 and the hand 43 separates from the open pin 51, the hand 43 swings in the closing direction by the restoring force of the closing spring 44, and its locking claws.
The tip of 43d contacts the side surface of the cartridge 1. When the support plate 42 is further retracted, the locking claws 43d are also scraped against the side surface of the cartridge 1 and retracted to engage with the notches 5 of the cartridge 1. For this reason, the cartridge 1 is pulled by the hand 43 by the retreat of the support plate 42, and is removed from the medium container 60.

The cartridge 1 is drawn into the picker cell portion 35 by the retreat of the support plate 42. In addition, the push rod 45 that has been slid backward by the restoring force of the return spring 46 after the restraint by the rod locking member 47 is released,
With the retreat, the abutment is made on the return block 50. When the support plate 42 further retracts, the push rod 45 slides forward and engages with the rod locking member 47. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the cartridge 1 is accommodated in the picker cell portion 35, and is in a state of being held by receiving the pressing force of the holding spring 36. Then, in this state, the picker device 12 can be moved, and the held cartridge 1 is moved to the position of the medium container 60 into which the cartridge 1 is to be inserted, and as described above, the cartridge 1 is moved to the medium container 60. Will be supplied to.

The embodiment described here is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. . For example, in the present embodiment, the pusher locking means is shown to be configured by the rod locking member 47 that is a combination of locking members 48a and 48b.
A leaf spring having a tip portion bent into a V shape to form an engaging portion is attached to the support flange portions 42a and 42b, and a groove portion for engaging and disengaging the engaging portion is formed on the peripheral surface of the push rod 45. Can also be

[0051]

As described above, according to the recording medium inserting / removing mechanism according to the present invention, the pushing means is pushed backward by the pushing means so as to be moved backward by the reaction force received when the recording medium is stopped. Since the slide plate slides on the recording medium and the pressing means, the recording medium and the pressing means will not be overloaded even if the support plate moves forward, and the parts forming the recording medium and the pressing means and other parts will be deformed. It will not be damaged. Further, since the gripping means is opened by engaging with the gripping body releasing means by its forward movement, it is necessary to provide a driving means such as a rotary solenoid for opening and closing the gripping means in addition to the driving means for performing the forward / backward movement. There is no. Therefore, the structure can be simplified and the control mechanism is not complicated.

Moreover, since the rearward sliding of the pushing means for separating from the recording medium is carried out under an overload, a mechanism for driving the separating means of the pushing means or the like is used as an inserting / pulling mechanism. It does not have to be provided so as to project outward, and therefore the insertion / removal mechanism is not upsized.

According to the recording medium inserting / removing mechanism according to the second aspect of the present invention, the gripping means can be closed by the retracting operation by being biased by the gripping body biasing means. It is not necessary to provide a member or mechanism for closing the means, and the structure can be simpler.

According to the recording medium inserting / removing mechanism of the third aspect of the present invention, since the holding means and the pushing means are incorporated in the support plate which is slidable in the medium holding portion, the holding means and the pushing means are pushed. The means can be operated in synchronism and these operations can be easily related.

According to the recording medium inserting / removing mechanism of the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the mechanism for ejecting the recording medium by pushing with the pushing means, if the recording medium stops, the locking claw of the gripping means is provided. Is separated from the cutout portion, the gripping means can be advanced even after the recording medium is stopped. Therefore, the recording medium and the gripping means are not damaged.

Further, according to the insertion / extraction mechanism of the recording medium of the fifth aspect of the present invention, as soon as the insertion of the recording medium into one medium container is completed, the insertion / extraction mechanism is orthogonal to the insertion direction of the recording medium. Since it can be moved in the direction, the recording / removing mechanism can be removed from the medium containing body by moving the insertion / removal mechanism to a position facing the medium containing body containing the recording medium to be processed next. Therefore, the processing time for providing the recording medium to the information processing apparatus can be shortened.

According to the collective optical disk device of the sixth aspect of the invention, since the compact insertion / removal mechanism is mounted as described above, the collective optical disk device does not become large.

According to the collective type optical disk device of the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the gripping means, the pushing means and the like can be driven easily in conjunction with each other, the time required for inserting and removing the recording medium can be further shortened. Therefore, it is possible to provide a collective type optical disc device having a quick response.

According to the aggregate type optical disk device of the present invention, since the recording medium housed in the standardized casing can be handled, it is not necessary to operate the special recording medium. , Can be provided with versatility.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a picker device having an insertion / removal mechanism.
Since it is possible to move the recording medium quickly after performing the processing on the recording medium, it is possible to provide a collective type optical disk device having good responsiveness.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a bottom view showing an outline of an insertion / removal mechanism according to the present invention, showing a state in which a recording medium is accommodated in a medium holding portion, and a medium accommodating body for accommodating the recording medium is also shown.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an outline of an insertion / removal mechanism according to the present invention, showing a state in which a recording medium is accommodated in a medium holding portion, and also shows a recording medium to be processed.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view schematically showing an insertion / extraction mechanism according to the present invention, showing a state in which a recording medium is inserted into a medium container.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing the outline of the insertion / removal mechanism according to the present invention, showing a state in which the recording medium is inserted into the medium container and the holding means is opened.

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view for explaining the structure of a mechanism for opening the gripping means provided in the insertion / removal mechanism according to the present invention, and is a perspective view from above.

6A and 6B are views for explaining a schematic structure of a collective type optical disc device including a picker device having an insertion / removal mechanism according to the present invention, FIG. 6A being a plan view and FIG. 6B being a front view.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a recording medium suitable for being handled by the insertion / removal mechanism according to the present invention, showing an optical disc cartridge in which an optical disc medium as a recording medium is housed in a casing, FIG. b) is a side view.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the structure and operation of a conventional insertion / extraction mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Optical disk cartridge 2 Optical disc media 3 casing 4 door body 5 notches 6 inclined surface 10 Collective optical disk device 11 Stocker 12 Picker device 13 Optical disc drive device 14 Accessor device 31 picker frame 32 Hand drive motor 34 Drive belt 35 Picker cell part 36 retaining spring 40 Advancement mechanism 42 Support plate 43 hand (holding means) 43d locking claw 43f engaging protrusion 44 Closing spring (holding body biasing means) 45 Push rod (Pushing means) 46 Return spring (pushing element biasing means) 47 Rod locking member (pushing body locking means) 50 Return block (Pusher return means) 51 Release pin (holding means release means) 60 medium storage

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. A gripping means for gripping and releasing a recording medium by advancing to a predetermined position to perform an opening / closing operation, and retracting the recording medium by the retracting operation of the gripping means to accommodate the recording medium in a medium holding part, In an insertion / removal mechanism for inserting / removing a recording medium into / from an information processing device or other medium container by the advancing / retreating operation of the gripping means, the gripping means is slidable in the advancing / retreating direction and is movable in the advancing / retreating direction of the gripping means. Pushing means, pusher locking means that can be engaged with and disengaged from the pushing means, pusher biasing means that biases the pushing means to slide in the backward direction, and forward / backward movement of the pushing means. And a pusher body return means for engaging the pusher body locking means by sliding the pusher means in the forward direction by a retreating operation by means of, and engaging the gripping means when the gripping means advances to a predetermined position. Swing the gripping means in the opening direction The recording medium stored in the medium holding section is ejected from the medium holding section by the forward movement of the pushing and moving operation of the pushing means, and the pushing means is overloaded. In this case, the engagement with the pusher locking means is released, and the pusher biasing means causes the pusher to slide in the backward direction. 2. A gripping means for advancing to a predetermined position to perform an opening / closing operation for gripping and releasing a recording medium, and a retreating operation of the gripping means retracts a recording medium to be housed in a medium holding part, In an insertion / removal mechanism for inserting / removing a recording medium into / from an information processing device or other medium accommodating body, which comprises a pushing means for pushing the recording medium housed in the medium holding part to move it forward, The gripping means is movable forward and backward, and is swingable about an axis orthogonal to the forward and backward directions; a gripping body biasing means for biasing the gripping means so as to always swing in the closing direction; and the gripping means. A gripping body opening means for engaging the gripping means when the gripping means is advanced to a predetermined position, and swinging the gripping means in the opening direction by the advancing of the gripping means thereafter; Direction of movement of the gripping means A push-moving means that can move back and forth; a push-moving body locking means that can engage and disengage from the push-moving means; a push-moving body biasing means that biases the push-moving means to slide in the backward direction; and the push-moving means. And a push-back member returning means for locking the locking means with the locking means by the backward movement by the forward / backward movement of the recording medium housed in the medium holding portion. When the pushing means is overloaded, the engagement with the pushing body locking means is released, and the pushing means urging means releases the medium. A recording medium inserting / removing mechanism, characterized in that the pushing means slides in the backward direction. 3. A support plate is provided slidably in the medium holding portion, and the grip means, the grip body biasing means, the pushing means, the push body locking means, and the push body are provided on the support plate. 3. A recording medium inserting / removing mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a biasing means. 4. The holding means includes a locking claw that engages and disengages with a notch provided at an appropriate position of a casing in which the recording medium is stored. 4. The recording medium inserting / removing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium inserting / removing mechanism can be detached from the notch portion against an urging force of the gripping body urging means. 5. The insertion / extraction of a recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the holding means does not project from an end of the medium holding portion when the holding means is opened. mechanism. 6. A collective type optical disc having a recording medium inserting / removing mechanism for inserting / removing an optical disc cartridge having a notch at an appropriate position of a casing accommodating an optical disc medium into / from a medium accommodating body accommodating the optical disc cartridge. In the apparatus, a medium holding unit that stores the optical disk cartridge removed from the medium storage unit, a gripping unit that is movable back and forth in the medium holding unit, and swingably provided about an axis orthogonal to the moving direction, Gripping body urging means for urging the gripping means so as to always swing in the closing direction, and engaging with the gripping means when the gripping means advances to a predetermined position, and the gripping means by advancing the gripping means thereafter. And a pushing means that is slidable in the advancing / retreating direction of the grasping means and is movable in the advancing / retreating direction of the grasping means. A pusher locking means that can be engaged with and disengaged from the pusher; a pusher biasing means that biases the pusher to slide in the backward direction; An insertion / removal mechanism provided with a pusher return means for sliding the pusher means in the forward direction to engage with the locking means is made movable to a position facing each of the medium accommodating bodies, and the medium holding part is provided. The recording medium accommodated in the recording medium is ejected from the medium holding portion by the forward movement of the pushing and moving operation of the pushing means and inserted into the medium storing body, and when the pushing means is overloaded, the pushing body is locked. A collective type optical disk device comprising a recording medium inserting / removing mechanism, characterized in that the pushing means is slid in the backward direction by the pushing body urging means after the engagement with the means is released. 7. A support plate is provided slidably in the medium holding portion, and the grip means, the grip body biasing means, the pushing means, the push body locking means, and the push body are provided on the support plate. 7. A collective type optical disc device comprising a recording medium inserting / removing mechanism according to claim 6, further comprising a biasing means. 8. The gripping means includes a locking claw that engages and disengages with the cutout portion of the casing, and the locking claw resists the biasing force of the gripping body biasing means when the gripping means moves forward. 8. A collective type optical disc device comprising a recording medium inserting / removing mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the collective optical disc device can be detached from the notch. 9. The insertion / extraction of the recording medium according to claim 6, wherein the holding means does not project from an end of the medium holding portion when the holding means is opened. A collective type optical disc device equipped with a mechanism.