JP4240374B2 - Disc transfer apparatus and method, and multi-disc processing apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a disk transfer apparatus and method capable of lifting a plurality of disks having the same shape with holes in a stacked state or placing them on a tray or the like one by one, and a multi-disk process using the same Relates to the device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the conventional disk transfer device, the uppermost one of the stacked disks is attracted and lifted by a suction cup (see, for example, Patent Document 1), and similarly, a clamp mechanism is provided in the central hole of the uppermost disk. And a clamp mechanism is operated by a solenoid or the like to clamp and lift only the uppermost disk (for example, see Patent Documents 2 and 3).
[0003]
In addition, there are also two discs that are bonded to each other with an adhesive, and the two discs are simultaneously adsorbed and lifted by a suction cup while the adhesive is uncured and the axes of the two discs are aligned. For example, see Patent Document 4).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-159204 A (paragraph 0029 and FIG. 21)
[Patent Document 2]
JP 2002-52488 A (Summary and FIGS. 2 and 6)
[Patent Document 3]
JP-A-11-185306 (FIGS. 6 and 7)
[Patent Document 4]
JP-A-11-273165 (FIG. 1)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
All of the above-mentioned conventional ones can lift only one or at most two of the uppermost stacked disks.
Therefore, for example, a disc that is a disk-shaped optical information recording medium such as a CD-R, a DVD-R, or the like is transferred to a plurality of automatic writing (or erasing) devices each having a single tray by a disc transfer device. In the case of automatically supplying from the disk stacking part, the conventional system has to reciprocate the disk transfer device many times, which is not only inefficient but also increases the work time and power consumption. There's a problem.
[0006]
In the present invention, in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, a plurality of disks can be simultaneously lifted and transferred in a stacked state, and can be placed one by one at a plurality of target positions. It is an object of the present invention to provide a disk transfer device and method that are simple in structure and easy to control, and a multi-disk processing device using the same.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, the above problem is solved as follows.
(1) Provided in each of a plurality of identically shaped disks stacked and aligned at a disk stacking position on a movable body that can move from the disk stacking position to the delivery position and at least move up and down at the disk stacking position. A downward cylindrical body capable of entering into the hole formed therein, and at the lower end of the cylindrical body, the diameter becomes smaller than the inner diameter of the disk hole when contracted, and is pressed against the inner surface of the corresponding disk hole when expanded, There is provided expansion / contraction means so as to obtain a holding force capable of lifting the discs stacked thereon , and a stop plate and a cylinder provided on the lower surface of the movable body and in contact with the uppermost disc. , allow relative movement in the vertical direction.
[0008]
(2) In the above item (1), the expansion / contraction means has a diameter-enlarged head at the lower end and is fitted so as to be vertically movable from the lower end of the cylinder, and the rod protruding from the lower end of the cylinder And the outer diameter is smaller than or larger than the inner diameter of the hole of the disk due to the variation in the distance between them. The substantially cylindrical elastic body and the actuator for moving the rod up and down with respect to the cylindrical body are provided.
[0009]
(3) In the above item (2), the actuator is an electromagnetic solenoid in which the rod is directly a plunger or the rod is linked to the plunger.
[0010]
(4) In the above item (2) or (3), the outer shape of the elastic body is an inverted truncated conical shape that tapers downward.
[0011]
(5) In the above item (2) or (3), the outer shape of the elastic body is a frustoconical shape that expands downward.
[0012]
( 6 ) In any one of the above items ( 1 ) to ( 5 ) , the stop plate or the cylinder is moved up and down by a screw feed mechanism with respect to the moving body, and the stop plate is stacked on the stop plate. A sensor for detecting contact with or approaching the upper surface of the uppermost one of the discs is provided, and the amount of downward projection from the stop plate when the sensor is activated to the expansion / contraction means is determined by one disc It can be controlled as an integral multiple of the screw feed amount of the stop plate or cylinder corresponding to the thickness of the minute.
[0013]
( 7 ) A plurality of disks stacked in a disk stacking position by a disk transfer device according to any one of the above items (1) to ( 6 ) , and a plurality of disks arranged in a vertical direction at a delivery position. In a disk transfer method of supplying one sheet at a time to each tray that can advance and retreat in the horizontal direction in the processing apparatus, the cylinder is moved below the moving body or the stop plate by a distance corresponding to a predetermined number N of disks to be lifted. After projecting, the moving body is lowered, and the expansion / contraction means and the cylinder are sequentially inserted from above into the holes of the plurality of stacked disks, and the moving body or the stop plate is predetermined from the uppermost disk. When descending to the distance, stop the descent of the moving body, then expand the diameter of the expansion / contraction means, press it against the inner surface of the hole of the Nth disc from above, and then raise the moving body , Lifting at the same time together with the moving body N disks.
[0014]
( 8 ) In the above item ( 7 ) , the N disks are stacked and moved to the delivery position, and the tray of one of the disk processing devices at the delivery position is advanced to lower the moving body, so that the N After the discs are lowered to a position close to the tray, the expansion / contraction means is contracted, and N discs are stacked and placed on the tray, and then the moving body is predetermined. After raising by a small distance, the amount of downward projection of the cylinder from the lower surface of the movable body or the stop plate is shortened by a distance corresponding to the thickness of one disk, and then the movable body is After descending to a predetermined distance from the uppermost one of the disks placed on the tray, the disk stops and then expands / contracts the diameter of the expansion / contraction means from the upper surface to the inner surface of the (N-1) th disk hole. Pressure And, it is raised then mobile, lift the N-1 disks simultaneously and the tray, while placing only one disk, so drawn into the disc processing apparatus, for loading.
[0015]
( 9 ) In the above item ( 7 ) , the N disks are stacked and moved to the delivery position, and the tray of one of the disk processing devices at the delivery position is advanced so that the lowermost disk approaches the tray. Until the moving body is lowered and stopped, and then the cylinder is made to the thickness of one disk with respect to the stop plate with the uppermost disk in contact with the stop plate provided on the lower surface of the moving body. By reducing the protrusion amount by a distance corresponding to, the diameter expanding / contracting means is slid from the inner surface of the hole in the lowermost disk so as to be in pressure contact with the inner surface of the disk hole immediately above it, The lowermost disk is dropped onto the tray, and then the tray is pulled and loaded into the disk processing apparatus with only one disk placed thereon.
[0016]
(10) In the multi-disc processing device, the disc transport device according to any one of the above items (1) to ( 6 ) and a tray that can move forward and backward in the horizontal direction are provided, and each tray is aligned vertically in the delivery position. a plurality of disk processing apparatus disposed in multi-stage such that, disposed in the disc stacking position, and a housing means for housing a stack aligned disk of a plurality of the same shape having a hole, said disk The moving body in the transfer device can be moved up and down even at the delivery position, and the disk can be placed on the tray pulled out to the delivery position .
[0017]
(11) In the above item (10) , one or a plurality of disk processing devices is a writing device for writing information on a disk as an optical information recording medium.
[0018]
(12) In the above item (10) or (11) , one or a plurality of disk processing devices is a labeler for attaching a label to the surface of the disk.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a multi-disc processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
In the following description, the lower right side in FIGS. 1 and 2 is the front, and the lower left side is the left.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, this multi-disc processing apparatus has a box-shaped housing, and the front right side thereof is a disc stacking position, and there are a number of discs having the same shape. (2) Two upper and lower cup-shaped holders (3) and (3) that can accommodate and store stacks (see FIG. 4) are detachably mounted from the front, and behind the disk transfer device (4 ) Is provided. The upper holder (3) is for accommodating the unprocessed disk (2), and the lower holder (3) is for accommodating the processed disk (2).
[0021]
An opening / closing door (5) having a translucent part (5a) is provided on the left side of the front surface of the housing (1), and the rear part is a transfer position, in which it moves forward and backward horizontally. A plurality (eight in this example) of disk processing devices (7) each having a possible tray (6) are stacked in a multi-stage manner in the vertical direction.
[0022]
In this example, the disc (2) is an optical information recording medium such as a disc-shaped CD-R or DVD-R having a hole (2a) in the center, and all disc processing devices (7) (2) is a known writing device for writing information. However, a part or all of the disc processing (7) is written on the label or the disc (7), which attaches a label printed with characters, figures, etc. corresponding to the written information on the surface of the disc (2). It may be replaced with a reader that reads the information or an erasing device that erases the information.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 4, each holder (3) includes a bottomed cylindrical container (3a) that can accommodate a large number of discs (2) that are horizontal and aligned in the vertical direction. A handle (3b) provided in the center of the front surface of (3a) is provided, and a slightly wider incision part (8) is provided downward from the upper end of the center of the rear surface of the housing part (3a).
[0024]
Most of the disk transfer device (3) is substantially the same as the conveying means disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-283498, which is a prior application of the present applicant.
That is, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the disk transfer device (4) has a corner whose upper and lower ends are pivotally supported behind the mounting portion of the holder (3) (3) in the housing (1). With a shaft-like longitudinal axis (9) and a pair of V-grooved rollers (10), (10) sandwiching the longitudinal axis (9) from the front and back, the base end is supported so as to be movable up and down, and at the distal end A horizontal transfer arm (12) having a holding means (11) capable of holding a plurality of disks (2), an elevating means (13) for raising and lowering the transfer arm (12) along the vertical axis (9), and a transfer; A turning means (14) for turning the arm (12) together with the longitudinal axis (9) is provided.
[0025]
The elevating means (13) is opposed to the drive pulley (16) pivotally supported on the upper surface of the horizontal plate (15) fixed to the lower portion of the vertical axis (9) with the horizontal axis. The driven pulley (18) pivotally supported by the horizontal shaft on the lower surface of the horizontal plate (17) fixed to the upper end of the vertical axis (9) and the pulleys (16) (18) are hung around. And an endless belt (19) partially secured to the transfer arm (12) and a reversible pulse provided on the lower horizontal plate (15) and rotating the drive pulley (16) forward and backward. A motor (20) and transmission means (21) for transmitting the rotational force of the motor (20) to the drive pulley (16) are provided.
[0026]
The transmission means (21) is fixedly fitted to the pulley (22) fixedly fitted to the rotating shaft of the motor (20) and the shaft end of the worm (23) arranged in parallel to the rotating shaft of the motor (20). Worm wheel (24), an endless belt (25) wound around both pulleys (22) and (24), a drive pulley (16) and a worm wheel (15) meshed with the worm (23) 26).
[0027]
The lifting / lowering means (13) allows the transfer arm (12) to be lifted and lowered from an upper limit position slightly above the upper holder (3) to a predetermined lower limit position.
[0028]
The upper and lower portions and the middle portion of the connecting plate (27) that faces the upper and lower horizontal plates (17) and (15) that connect corresponding side edges of the upper and lower horizontal plates (17) and (15), the transfer arm (12) When reaching the lower limit position, and when reaching the intermediate position slightly above the lower holder (3), it is opposed to the working piece (28) provided on the transfer arm (12). A contactless proximity sensor that detects that the transfer arm (12) has reached the above-mentioned positions, or a height detection sensor (29) (30) (31) consisting of a contact-type limit switch, etc. is provided. It has been.
[0029]
The swivel means (14) includes a fan-shaped sector gear (32) fixed to the lower surface of the lower horizontal plate (15) or the vertical axis (9), and the bottom plate (33) of the housing (1) so as to mesh with the sector gear. ) And a worm wheel (35) pivotally attached to the bottom plate (33) in the front-rear direction and meshing with the worm wheel (35). A pulley (37) fitted to one shaft end of the worm (36), a reversible pulse motor (38) provided on the bottom plate (33), and one end of the rotating shaft of the motor (38) A pulley (39) fixedly fitted to the pulley, and an endless belt (40) wound around the pulleys (37) and (39).
[0030]
By this turning means (14), the transfer arm (12) is integrated with the vertical axis (9), the upper and lower horizontal plates (17) and (15), the connecting plate (27), etc. The means (11) is vertically aligned with the center of the disk (2) in the holder (3) in the disk stacking position, as shown by the solid line in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the holding means (11) It is possible to turn horizontally between a lateral position as shown in FIG. 1, which is aligned with the delivery position.
[0031]
As shown in FIG. 3, on the bottom plate (33) of the housing (1), when the transfer arm (12) reaches the forward position, it comes into contact with one side end of the sector gear (32), and more A first turning position detection sensor (41) composed of a limit switch or the like that acts to prevent turning of the transfer arm (12), and when the transfer arm (12) reaches a lateral position, the sector gear (32) There is provided a second turning position detection sensor (42) comprising a limit switch or the like that is in contact with the side end and acts to prevent further turning of the transfer arm (12).
[0032]
A control means (not shown) for controlling the disk transfer device (4) is provided in the housing (1), and this control means is connected to an external computer (none of which is not shown) via a cable. ing.
Each disk processing device (7) is arranged so that when the tray (6) is pulled out, the tray (6) is accurately aligned with the delivery position in the front, rear, left, and right directions. (7) is connected to an external computer (not shown) via a cable, and is automatically controlled by this computer in connection with the operation of the disk transfer device (8).
[0033]
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the holding means (11) has a diameter-enlarged flange (43a) formed at the upper end on the lower surface of the upper wall (12a) at the distal end of the transfer arm (12) as a moving body. Is fixed, and a cylinder (43) that hangs down through the bottom wall (12b) of the transfer arm (12), and a hole (2a) of the disk (2) when contracted at the lower end of the cylinder (43) The holding force is enough to lift the disk (2) and the disk (2) stacked on the inner surface of the hole (2a) of the corresponding disk (2) when expanding. And an expansion / contraction means (44).
[0034]
In this example, the expansion / contraction means (44) has an inverted frustoconical diameter-increased head (45a) at the lower end, and a rod that is fitted in the cylinder (43) so as to be vertically movable from the lower end ( 45) and a rod (45) protruding downward from the lower end of the cylindrical body (43), and are sandwiched between the lower end surface of the cylindrical body (43) and the enlarged head (45a), As the distance (D) varies, the outer diameter becomes smaller (see FIG. 5) or larger (see FIG. 6) than the inner diameter of the hole (2a) of the disk (2). The substantially cylindrical elastic body (46) and the actuator (47) for moving the rod (45) up and down relative to the cylinder (43) are provided.
[0035]
The elastic body (46) is made of rubber or a soft synthetic resin material, and has an inverted truncated conical shape that tapers downward to facilitate insertion into the hole (2a) of the disk (2).
[0036]
Specifically, the actuator (47) connects the electromagnetic solenoid (48) provided on the lower surface of the upper wall (12a) of the transfer arm (12) and its plunger (49) and the upper end of the rod (45). Wire (50), and when the electromagnetic solenoid (48) is excited, the wire (50) is pulled, the rod (45) is raised, the elastic body (46) is compressed, and the diameter is expanded. Can be done.
[0037]
One end of the wire (50) is fixed to the plunger (49), and passes through a slit (51) cut from the upper side on one side of the upper end of the cylinder (43). From there, it hangs around a pulley (53) pivotally attached to the upper part of the cylinder (43) with a horizontal shaft (52) and hangs down, and its lower end is fixed to the rod (45). ing.
[0038]
The electromagnetic solenoid (48) may be provided on the upper portion of the cylinder (43) in the vertical direction, and the plunger (49) may be formed integrally with the rod (45).
Further, as the actuator (47), a motor drive type actuator can be used instead of the electromagnetic solenoid (48).
[0039]
A screw cylinder (54) having a male thread (54a) engraved on the outer peripheral surface is externally fitted to the cylinder (43) so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. In the screw cylinder (54), a pin (56) protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body (43) is engaged with a slit (55) cut downward from the upper end of a part of the outer peripheral surface. Thus, the cylinder (43) can be moved up and down, but cannot be rotated.
[0040]
A disk-shaped stop plate (57) having an enlarged flange shape is continuously provided at the lower end of the screw cylinder (54), and a part of the stop plate (57) includes a disk ( A sensor (58) is provided which operates by contacting or approaching the uppermost one of 2) from above.
[0041]
A female screw (59a) engraved in the central hole of the bevel gear (59) is screwed into the male screw (54a) of the screw cylinder (54). The bevel gear (59) is erected on the upper surface of the holding cylinder (60) that is fixedly attached to the lower surface of the enlarged diameter flange (43a) of the cylindrical body (43) and the bottom wall (12b) of the transfer arm (12). The holding cylinder (61) is sandwiched from above and below and can rotate around the cylinder (43), but cannot be moved in the vertical direction.
A slit (60a) for inserting the wire (50) is cut from the upper side to the upper side of the upper holding cylinder (60).
[0042]
The bevel gear (59) meshes with the bevel gear (63) fixedly fitted to the rotation shaft (62a) of the stepping motor (62) capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions provided in the transfer arm (12), and the stepping motor (62 ), The screw cylinder (54) and the stop plate (57) can be moved up and down by a screw feed mechanism including a female screw (59a) and a male screw (54a).
[0043]
In the bevel gear (59), one or a plurality of through holes (64) (65) are bored at equal intervals on two circumferences having different diameters concentric with the cylindrical body (43). On the upper surface of the bottom wall (12b) of the transfer arm (12) that faces them, rotation angle sensors (66) and (67) including two reflective photoelectric sensors and the like are provided. Based on both sensors (66) and (67), a counter (not shown) that counts the number of pulses generated from them, and the rotation direction (energization direction) of the stepping motor (62), the height of the stop plate (57) Can be controlled easily and accurately.
[0044]
In this case, the circumferential distance of the plurality of through-holes (64), (65) is set as the distance of raising or lowering the stop plate (57) when the bevel gear (59) is rotated by the interval, or an integral multiple thereof. If the screw feed amount) is determined so as to match the thickness of one disk (2), the vertical movement of the stop plate (57) can be easily controlled.
[0045]
Next, with reference to the schematic diagram shown in FIG. 7 and the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the operation of this apparatus will be described together with the procedure for carrying out the method of the present invention.
[0046]
The upper stage holder (3) accommodates unprocessed disks (2) up to the maximum capacity (about 100 sheets), and the lower stage discharge holder (3) is left empty.
In this state, when all the processing conditions are input to a computer (not shown) connected to the multi-disc processing apparatus and the processing is started, first, when the transfer arm (12) is in another position, the lifting means ( 13) and the turning means (14) are operated, and the transfer arm (12) is positioned at the upper limit and the forward position (step S1).
[0047]
Next, or simultaneously with step S1, the stepping motor (62) is operated, and the stop plate (57) is moved to a position corresponding to a preset initial number (N) of discs (2) ( Step S2).
[0048]
In this example, N = 8. Therefore, the distance from the lower surface of the stop plate (57) to the expansion / contraction means (44) is controlled so as to be 8 sheets of the thickness of the disk (2).
Next, the transfer arm (12) is lowered (see step S3 and arrow 1 in FIG. 7).
The expansion / contraction means (44) and the cylinder (43) enter the hole (2a) of the disk (2) stacked in the upper holder (3) from above, and the stop plate (57) is the uppermost disk. When contacting or approaching the upper surface of (2), the sensor (58) is actuated (step S4), whereby the lowering of the transfer arm (12) is stopped (step S5).
[0049]
Thereafter, when the electromagnetic solenoid (48) is excited (step S6), the wire (50) is pulled and the rod (45) is raised in the cylindrical body (43), so that the elastic body (46) is cylindrical. The body (43) is compressed in the vertical direction by the lower end of the body (43) and the enlarged head of the rod (45), and its outer peripheral surface is expanded into a barrel shape, which is Nth (in this example, eighth) from above. It press-contacts to the inner surface of the hole (2a) of the disk (2) (see FIG. 6).
[0050]
Next, the transfer arm (12) is raised to the upper limit (see step S7 and the arrow 2 in FIG. 7), so that the N disks (2) are lifted from the top while being stacked, and a plurality of sheets are The simultaneous removal of the disc (2) is completed.
[0051]
Next, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3, the transport arm (12) that has reached the upper limit of the disk stacking position holds the N disks (2) by the operation of the turning means (14). Then, the disk is turned to the disk delivery position (see step S8 and arrow 3 in FIG. 7), and then it is confirmed that the tray (6) of the first disk processing device (7) in the predetermined order is pulled out. After that (see step S9 and arrow 4 in FIG. 7), the lowermost disk (2) is lowered until it comes close to the tray (6) (see step S10 and arrow 5 in FIG. 7).
[0052]
The lowering stop position of the transfer arm (12) at this time is calculated in the computer based on the number of disks (2) held by the transfer arm (12) and the height of the drawn tray (6). And will be determined.
[0053]
After the lowering of the transfer arm (12) stops, the electromagnetic solenoid (48) is demagnetized (step S11), whereby the elastic body (46) is restored to the original reduced diameter state, and N disks (2) Are all stacked on the tray (6).
[0054]
Thereafter, the transfer arm (12) is raised by a predetermined minute distance of about several millimeters (see step S12 and the arrow 6 in FIG. 7), and at that position, the stepping motor (62) is operated to stop the stop plate. (57) is moved to a position for holding N-1 discs (2) (step S13).
That is, the stop plate (57) is lowered by the thickness of one disk (2) with respect to the cylinder (43).
[0055]
In this state, the transfer arm (12) is lowered again (see step S14 and the arrow 7 in FIG. 7), and the disk (2) in the upper holder (2) is picked up. Through the same steps S15 to S18, only the lowermost of the N discs (2) on the tray (6) is left on the tray (6), and the N- One disk (2) is held in the same manner as described above and raised by a minute distance (see step S18 and arrow 8 in FIG. 7).
[0056]
Thereafter, after the tray (6) has been loaded and loaded into the disk processing device (7) with one disk (2) placed thereon (see step S19 and arrow 9 in FIG. 7). By repeating the same operations as in steps S9 to S19, the disc (2) is supplied one by one to the second and subsequent trays (6).
[0057]
After the disk (12) is supplied to the tray (6) of all the disk processing devices (7) and the disk (7) is processed, the processed disk (2) is placed in the lower holder (3). In order to recover, the disk transfer device (4) may carry the processed disks (2) one by one from the tray (6) to the lower holder (3), but the stop plate (57) On the processed disk (2) on each tray (6) while raising the cylinder by the thickness of one disk (2), contrary to the above case, A plurality of disks can be held together and conveyed to the lower holder (3) while stacking the previously processed disks (2).
[0058]
Further, instead of the above steps S10 to S18, the disk (2) can be transported by a method as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
That is, after confirming that the first tray (6) has been pulled out (step S9), the lowermost one of the plurality of disks (2) holding the transfer arm (12) is the tray ( 6) After being lowered to a position close to the upper surface (step S10), the stepping motor (62) is left in a state where the electromagnetic solenoid (48) is excited, that is, the elastic body (46) is expanded. ) Is actuated to lower the stop plate (57) relative to the cylinder (43) by the thickness of one disk (2) (step S20).
[0059]
Then, all the held disks (2) are pushed down by the stop plate (57), and the lowermost disk (2) slides downward from the outer peripheral surface of the expanded elastic body (46). And is dropped onto the tray (6), and the inner surface of the hole (2a) of the disk (2) immediately above it is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body (46) and held in that position. Another disk (2) stacked on top is also held.
[0060]
Next, after the first tray (6) on which the lowermost disk (2) is placed is pulled in (step S19), the same procedure is repeated, and the second and subsequent trays (6) are also repeated. Place the disks (2) one by one.
According to this method, the work can be performed more quickly than the method shown in FIGS.
[0061]
The present invention can be variously modified and modified in addition to those described above.
For example, in the above example, the cylinder (43) is fixed to the transfer arm (12), and the stop plate (57) can be moved up and down with respect to the cylinder (43), but the stop plate (57) May be fixed to the transfer arm (12) so that the cylinder (43) can be moved up and down relative to the stop plate (57) and the transfer arm (12).
[0062]
Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the outer shape of the elastic body (46) may be a frustoconical shape that expands downward. In this way, when the elastic body (46) is compressed in the vertical direction to expand in diameter and presses against the inner surface of the hole (2a) of the disk (2), the elastic body becomes thicker as it goes downward. There is an advantage that the disk (2) is not easily dropped.
[0063]
Furthermore, when the diameter of the expansion / contraction means is expanded, the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body (46) may be in pressure contact with the inner surfaces of the holes (2a) of the plurality of stacked disks (2).
[0064]
【The invention's effect】
The invention described in each claim has the following effects.
Claim 1: A cylinder and expansion / contraction means are inserted into the holes of a plurality of stacked disks from above, the expansion / contraction means are expanded, and then the cylinder is pulled up to stack any number of disks. At the same time, it can be lifted and transported easily and quickly.
[0065]
Further, by reducing the diameter of the expansion / contraction means at the target position and pulling up the cylinder, a plurality of disks can be easily and quickly transferred to the target position while being stacked.
Furthermore, by adopting the method according to claim 9 or 10, a plurality of disks held in a stacked state can be placed one by one at a plurality of target positions.
In addition, the amount of protrusion of the cylinder protruding downward from the stop plate can be changed, whereby the number of discs that can be held can be freely adjusted.
[0066]
Claim 2: The expansion / contraction means can have a simple structure. In particular, when the substantially cylindrical elastic body is compressed in the axial direction, the outer peripheral surface expands and expands in diameter. The hole can be operated quietly and smoothly without scratching the inside of the hole or generating a collision sound.
[0067]
Claim 3: The structure of the actuator can be simplified and the actuator can be manufactured at low cost. Further, the expansion / contraction means can be operated quickly.
[0068]
Claim 4: The elastic body can be smoothly inserted into the hole of the disk.
[0069]
Claim 5: Since the lower part of the elastic body is thicker from above, the elastic body is compressed in the vertical direction, and when the outer peripheral surface expands and presses against the inner surface of the hole of the disk, the disk falls. It becomes difficult.
[0070]
Claim 6 : The amount of protrusion of the cylinder downward from the stop plate can be accurately adjusted by the screw feed mechanism, and the thickness of one disk is related to the operation timing of the sensor. So control becomes easy.
[0071]
Claim 7 : A plurality of stacked disks can be lifted and transferred easily and quickly in the same state.
[0072]
Claim 8 : A plurality of discs held in a stacked state can be reliably supplied one by one to each tray in a plurality of disc processing apparatuses.
[0073]
Claim 9 : A plurality of discs held in a stacked state can be quickly and reliably supplied to each tray in a plurality of disc processes.
[0074]
Claim 10 : It is possible to provide a multi-disk processing apparatus capable of rapidly supplying and discharging disks to and from a plurality of disk processing apparatuses and reducing the working time.
[0075]
Claim 11 : Information can be simultaneously written on a plurality of disks, and the moving time of the disks can be shortened.
[0076]
Claim 12 : Labels can be simultaneously attached to a plurality of disks, and the moving time of the disks can be shortened.
Further, in combination with the invention of claim 11 , a label can be immediately attached to a disk on which information is written by a writing device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an embodiment of a multi-disc processing apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view similarly showing an internal structure.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional plan view of the main part of the disk transfer device.
4 is an external perspective view of the holder. FIG.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional side view of the front end portion of the transfer arm, similarly;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional side view of the lower portion of the cylinder when the disc is held.
FIG. 7 is a schematic side view for explaining the operation in the same manner.
FIG. 8 is also a flowchart showing a procedure for picking up a disc in a holder.
Similarly, FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure for supplying a disk to the disk processing apparatus.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a different procedure from that shown in FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional side view showing a modified example of the elastic body.
[Explanation of symbols]
(1) Housing
(2) Disc
(2a) Hole
(3) Holder
(3a) Housing part
(3b) Handle
(4) Disk transfer device
(5) Open / close door
(5a) Translucent part
(6) Tray
(7) Disk processor
(8) Incision
(9) Vertical axis
(10) Roller
(11) Holding means
(12) Transfer arm (moving body)
(12a) Upper wall
(12b) Bottom wall
(13) Lifting means
(14) Turning means
(15) Horizontal plate
(16) Drive pulley
(17) Horizontal plate
(18) Driven pulley
(19) Belt
(20) Motor
(21) Transmission means
(22) Pulley
(23) Warm
(24) Pulley
(25) Belt
(26) Worm wheel
(27) Connecting plate
(28) Actuator
(29) (30) (31) Height detection sensor
(32) Sector gear
(33) Bottom plate
(34) axis
(35) Worm wheel
(36) Warm
(37) Pulley
(38) Motor
(39) Pulley
(40) Belt
(41) First turning position detection sensor
(42) Second turning position detection sensor
(43) Cylinder
(43a) Expanded flange
(44) Enlarging / reducing means
(45) Rod
(45a) Expanded head
(46) Elastic body
(47) Actuator
(48) Electromagnetic solenoid
(49) Plunger
(50) Wire
(51) Slit
(52) Horizontal axis
(53) Pulley
(54) Screw cylinder
(54a) Male thread
(55) Slit
(56) Pin
(57) Stop plate
(58) Sensor
(59) Bevel gear
(59a) Female thread
(60) (61) Holding cylinder
(60a) Slit
(62) Stepping motor
(62a) Rotating shaft
(63) Bevel gear
(64) (65) Through hole
(66) (67) Rotation angle sensor

Claims (12)

A hole provided in each of a plurality of disks of the same shape stacked and aligned in a disk stacking position on a moving body that can move from the disk stacking position to the delivery position and that can move up and down at least in the disk stacking position. A downward cylindrical body that can enter inside is provided, and at the lower end of the cylindrical body, the diameter becomes smaller than the inner diameter of the disk hole when contracted, and when expanded, the inner surface of the corresponding disk hole is pressed into contact with the disk and above An expansion / contraction means is provided so as to obtain a holding force capable of lifting the stacked discs , and a stop plate and a cylindrical body provided on the lower surface of the moving body so as to come into contact with the uppermost disc are arranged in the vertical direction. A disk transfer device characterized in that it can be relatively moved .   The expansion / contraction means has a diameter-enlarged head at the lower end and is fitted to a rod that is vertically movable from the lower end of the cylinder, and is fitted on the rod protruding from the lower end of the cylinder, and the lower end of the cylinder Is an almost cylindrical elastic body that has an outer diameter smaller or larger than the inner diameter of the disc hole due to fluctuations in the distance between them and the enlarged head. And a actuator for moving the rod up and down with respect to the cylinder.   3. The disk transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the actuator is a solenoid that directly uses the rod as a plunger, or an electromagnetic solenoid that links the rod to the plunger.   4. The disk transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the outer shape of the elastic body is an inverted truncated conical shape that tapers downward.   4. The disk transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the outer shape of the elastic body is a frustoconical shape that expands downward. The stop plate or cylinder is moved up and down by the screw feed mechanism with respect to the moving body, and the stop plate is in contact with or close to the upper surface of the uppermost stacked disk. Is provided, and the downward projecting amount of the cylinder from the stop plate when the sensor is activated to the expansion / contraction means is determined by the stop plate or the screw feed amount of the cylinder corresponding to the thickness of one disk. The disk transfer device according to claim 1, which can be controlled as an integer multiple. A plurality of discs stacked in a disc stacking position can be horizontally aligned in a plurality of disc processing devices arranged in a vertical direction at a delivery position by the disc transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. In the disk transport method of supplying one sheet to each tray that can advance and retreat,
After the cylinder was protruded downward from the moving body or the stop plate by a distance corresponding to the predetermined number N of disks to be lifted, the moving body was lowered and the expansion / contraction means and the cylinder were stacked. When the movable body or the stop plate is lowered from the uppermost disk to a predetermined distance by sequentially inserting into each hole of the plurality of disks, the lowering of the movable body is stopped, and then the expansion / contraction means is expanded, A disk transporting method characterized by pressing it onto the inner surface of the hole of the Nth disk from above, then raising the moving body and simultaneously lifting the N disks together with the moving body. While the N disks are stacked, the disk is moved to the delivery position, and the tray of one of the disk processing devices at the delivery position is advanced to lower the moving body so that the N disks are brought close to the tray. After being lowered to the position, the expansion / contraction means is contracted, and N discs are stacked and placed on the tray, and then the movable body is moved up by a predetermined small distance and then moved. The amount of protrusion of the cylinder from the lower surface of the body or the stop plate is shortened by a distance corresponding to the thickness of one disk, and then the movable body is moved to the bottom of the disk placed on the tray. After descending to a predetermined distance from the upper one, stop and then expand the expansion / contraction means, press it against the inner surface of the hole of the (N-1) th disc from above, and then raise the moving body Te, lift the N-1 disks simultaneously and the tray, while placing only one disk, so drawn into the disc processing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the loading Disk transfer method. The N discs are stacked and moved to the delivery position, and the tray of one of the disc processing devices in the delivery position is advanced, and the moving body is lowered and stopped until the lowermost disc approaches the tray. After that, in a state where the uppermost disk is in contact with the stop plate provided on the lower surface of the moving body, the protruding amount is reduced by a distance corresponding to the thickness of one disk with respect to the stop plate. Thus, the expanding / contracting means having an enlarged diameter is slid from the inner surface of the hole of the lowermost disk so as to come into pressure contact with the inner surface of the hole of the disk immediately above, and the lowermost disk is dropped onto the tray. 8. The disk transfer method according to claim 7 , wherein the tray is then drawn and loaded into a disk processing apparatus with only one disk mounted thereon. The disk transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
A plurality of disk processing devices each having a tray that can move back and forth in the horizontal direction, each tray being arranged in multiple stages so as to align vertically in the delivery position;
A storage means disposed in a disk stacking position and configured to stack and store a plurality of identically shaped disks having holes ;
A multi-disk processing apparatus characterized in that a moving body in the disk transport apparatus can be moved up and down even at a delivery position, and a disk can be placed on a tray pulled out to the delivery position . 11. The multi-disc processing device according to claim 10, wherein the one or more disc processing devices are writing devices for writing information on a disc as an optical information recording medium. The multi-disk processing apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the one or more disk processing apparatuses are labelers for attaching labels to the surface of the disk.

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