JP5029791B1 - Disc cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

A disk cartridge capable of easily inserting and ejecting a stored disk is provided.
A first rectangular plate 40 constituting one main surface of a cartridge main body 10, a second rectangular plate 13 constituting the other main surface, and a pair of left and right first side edges of the cartridge main body 10. And a pair of left and right disk holders 41 and 42 that constitute the side wall of the cartridge body 10, and the disk holders 41 and 42 are parallel to the first and second rectangular plates 40 and 13, respectively, A support groove 48 slidably supported across the surface is formed from one end of the pair of left and right second side edges of the cartridge body to the other end, and a disk is inserted into one end from one of the second side edges. A disk insertion / ejection port 50 to be ejected is provided, and a disk extrusion port 51 into which an extrusion member 167 for pushing out the disk from the other of the second side edges to the disk insertion / ejection port 50 side is provided at the other end. A disc insertion-ejection outlet closing member 14 for closing the discharge port, having a disc extrusion port closing member 15 which closes the disc extrusion port.
[Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a disk cartridge that stores a disk, and particularly stores a disk without using a disk tray, and does not have an opening for inserting and ejecting the disk in the cartridge body, and the upper and lower shells are separated so that the disk is separated. The present invention relates to a disk cartridge that inserts and ejects a disk.

  In recent years, the recording capacity of disc-shaped recording media has increased dramatically, and the capacity necessary for storing the amount of information handled at the individual level is being provided. On the other hand, even when super multi-layer discs and volume recording discs that are expected to be put to practical use in the future are applied to cloud computer data centers or systems that require large-capacity data recording and storage, Blu-ray Disc (BD: registered trademark) or Professional When the discs are stored in cartridges one by one like a disc, the recording capacity of one cartridge will be insufficient in the future.

  Further, if a data center is constructed using a disk loader machine or a cart machine that handles a large number of disk cartridges each storing a large capacity disk, it is insufficient to increase the space utilization efficiency.

  As a solution to this problem, a configuration in which a large number of sheet-like discs are stored in one cartridge is disclosed in JP 2004-134019 (Patent Document 1), JP 2007-115328 (Patent Document 2), and JP 2007-172726 (Patent Document). Proposed in 3). However, such a configuration requires the same number of dedicated disc trays as the number of discs that can be stored, leading to an increase in size and weight of the cartridge body. Further, the disk loading mechanism for driving the disk requires a mechanism for transporting the disk tray and ejecting only the disk from the disk tray, which complicates and enlarges the disk loading mechanism. In addition, there is a problem that the apparatus main body is increased in size and cost is increased, for example, a mechanism for stabilizing the rotation of the sheet disk is required.

  On the other hand, if an attempt is made to store a large number of disk-shaped recording media without using a disk tray, the disk-shaped recording medium may swing within the cartridge body, causing unexpected troubles when the disk is inserted and ejected. Further, the strength of the cartridge main body is insufficient, and there is a possibility that the disk cartridge may be deformed or the stored disk-shaped recording medium may be damaged.

JP 2004-134019 A JP 2007-115328 A JP 2007-172726 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a disk cartridge that can easily insert and eject a disk stored in a cartridge body without using a disk tray.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a disk cartridge according to the present invention includes a first rectangular plate constituting one main surface of the cartridge main body and a second rectangular plate constituting the other main surface of the cartridge main body. And a pair of left and right disk holders which are provided on the pair of left and right first side edges of the cartridge body and constitute the side walls of the cartridge body, wherein the disk holders are the first and second rectangular plates, respectively. And a support groove for slidably supporting the outer peripheral edge of the disk over the surface direction of the disk from one end of a pair of left and right second side edges adjacent to the first side edge of the cartridge body. is formed over the edge, the disc insertion-ejection outlet the disc from one of the second side edge is issued insertion-ejection is provided on one end, the other of the second side edge to the disc at the other end Contact, disk extruding ports extruding member for pushing the disc into the disc insertion-ejection outlet side enters is provided on the said disc extrusion port, the guide portion for supporting the pushing member is provided, the disc insertion-ejection outlets A disk insertion / ejection port closing member for closing and a disk extrusion port closing member for closing the disk extrusion port and the guide portion are provided.

  According to the present invention, the disk insertion / ejection port and the disk extrusion port are opened, and the disk accommodated in one shell can be slid in the surface direction so that the disk can be inserted / ejected, and the disk tray is used. The disk can be inserted and ejected with a simple configuration.

It is an external appearance perspective view which shows a disk cartridge and a disk changer apparatus. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows a disk changer apparatus. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a disk changer apparatus. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows a disc cartridge, (a) shows an upper surface side, (b) shows a lower surface side. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a state where the disc cartridge is divided into upper and lower shells. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows an upper shell. It is a disassembled perspective view of an upper shell. It is a disassembled perspective view of a lower shell. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows a lower shell. It is sectional drawing which shows the state by which the upper and lower shells were faced | matched. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state where an optical disc is stored in a storage position of the cartridge body. It is a perspective view which shows a self-locking spring. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a select loader. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a front panel. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows a selection loader. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows a selection loader. It is a perspective view which shows a cartridge holder. It is a perspective view which shows a lock release piece. (A) is a perspective view which shows the contact switch piece spaced apart from an erroneous erasure prevention switch, (b) is a perspective view which shows the contact switch piece which contact | abuts an erroneous erasure prevention switch. It is a perspective view of a select loader. It is a perspective view which shows a lower holder. It is a perspective view which shows the shell positioning pin of the state by which the upper and lower holders were faced | matched. It is a top view which shows a drive mechanism. It is a top view which shows a drive mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows an extrusion mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows the state which discharges | emits an optical disk from a lower shell, (a) shows the state in which the extrusion lever is guided by the guide part, (b) is pulled out by the carry loader after the extrusion lever remove | deviates from a guide part. The state where the optical disk is ejected to the position is shown. It is a top view which shows the state by which engagement with the lever slider and the rotation operation piece was cancelled | released. It is a perspective view which shows the positional relationship of a side bezel and an upper shell division piece. It is a disassembled perspective view of a carry loader. It is a perspective view which shows the carry loader which draws in an optical disk. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the carry loader which inserts an optical disk in a lower shell. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a loading arm. It is a perspective view which shows a latching claw. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows a slide arm. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a slide deck. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows a slide plate. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows a cam gear. It is a perspective view which shows the process of drawing in an optical disk from a disk cartridge into a carry loader. It is a perspective view which shows the process of pushing an optical disk back into a disk cartridge from a carry loader. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation state of a loading arm. It is a figure which shows the slide limiter mechanism in a normal pushing-back process, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is sectional drawing. It is a figure which shows the slide limiter mechanism in the state by which the movement of the loading arm was controlled at the pushing-back process, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is sectional drawing. It is sectional drawing which shows the process of pushing an optical disk back to a lower shell.

Hereinafter, a disk cartridge and a disk changer device to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The description will be given in the following order.
1. Disc cartridge 1-1. Upper shell 1-2. Lower shell 2. Disc changer device 2-1. Device body 2-2. Select loader 2-3. Carry loader 2-4. Operation of Disc Changer Device As shown in FIG. 1, a disc cartridge and disc changer device to which the present invention is applied include a disc cartridge 1 containing a plurality of optical discs 2 serving as disc-shaped recording media, and the disc cartridge 1 mounted thereon. And a disc changer device 3 for selectively transporting the optical disc 2. 2 and 3 show a state in which the top cover 61 of the disk changer device 3 is removed. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the disk changer device 3 includes a select loader 5 that ejects an optical disk 2 for recording or reproducing information signals from a plurality of optical disks 2 housed in a disk cartridge 1, and a select loader 5. A carry loader 6 that pulls the ejected optical disk 2 and conveys it to the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 is provided.

  When the disc cartridge 1 is inserted, the disc changer device 3 divides the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 of the disc cartridge 1 by the select loader 5 to eject the optical disc 2, and the carry loader 6 records the optical disc 2 to the recording / reproducing device 7. To a position where it can be chucked. In addition, when the writing and reading of the information signal to the optical disc 2 is completed, the disc changer device 3 inserts the optical disc 2 into the disc cartridge 1 mounted on the select loader 5 by the carry loader 6, The upper and lower shells 11 and 12 of the cartridge 1 are coupled and discharged out of the apparatus main body.

<1. Disk cartridge>
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the disk cartridge 1 has a rectangular cartridge main body 10 in which upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are joined together. In the disc cartridge 1, after the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are divided, a plurality of optical discs 2 are accommodated in the lower shell 12, and the optical disc 2 is inserted and ejected from one end 12a side in the longitudinal direction of the lower shell 12. is there. That is, the disc cartridge 1 is not provided with the insertion / ejection port for the optical disc 2 in the cartridge main body 10, and the optical disc 2 is inserted / ejected by dividing the upper and lower shells 11, 12 constituting the cartridge main body 10. .

  In the following description, in the cartridge body 10, the optical disk 2 is inserted and ejected from the lower shell 12, and the side surface on one end side in the longitudinal direction, which is the insertion end of the disk changer device 3, is defined as the front surface 10a. The side surface on the other end side where the concave portion 23 for labeling is formed is the back surface 10b, and the side surface orthogonal to the front surface 10a and the back surface 10b and provided with the dividing grooves 47 of the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 is the left side surface 10c and The right side surface is 10d.

[1-1. Upper shell]
The upper shell 11 is molded using engineering plastic, and as shown in FIG. 6, a rectangular upper surface plate 13 constituting the upper surface of the cartridge main body 10 and a rear surface of the cartridge main body 10 attached to the upper surface plate 13. The rear block 14, a front wall 15 that is attached to the upper surface plate 13 and constitutes the front surface of the cartridge body 10, and a support shaft 16 that is erected from the approximate center of the upper surface plate 13.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the top plate 13 has a screw hole 18 in which the front wall 15 is screwed on one end in the longitudinal direction, and a screw hole in which the back block 14 is screwed on the other end in the longitudinal direction. 19 is formed. The upper surface plate 13 is provided with a rotating support shaft 20 that supports a front lock piece 31 of a lock mechanism 30 (described later) on both sides of the optical disk 2 on one end side in the longitudinal direction, avoiding the projection surface. Further, the upper surface plate 13 is formed with a recess 21 that engages with a cartridge holder 80 described later when the disk cartridge 1 is inserted into the select loader 5 of the disk changer device 3.

  The front wall 15 constitutes a front surface of the cartridge body 10 by being screwed to one end side in the longitudinal direction of the upper surface plate 13. The front wall 15 has lock release holes 22 on both sides in the longitudinal direction into which the lock release piece 99 that rotates the front lock piece 31 of the lock mechanism 30 enters when the disk cartridge 1 is inserted into the disk changer device 3. Is formed. Further, the front wall 15 is provided with a support piece 24 for supporting the front lock piece 31 together with the rotation support shaft 20 on the inner surface side of the cartridge body 10.

  The back block 14 is screwed to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the top plate 13 to constitute the back of the cartridge body 10. The back block 14 has a concave surface portion 23 for labeling on the outer surface 14 a constituting the back surface of the cartridge body 10. Further, the back block 14 is formed in the outer side surface 14a adjacent to the concave surface portion 23 and formed in the erroneous erasure prevention switch 25, and an operation hole 26 is formed to face the knob portion 25a operated by the user to the outside. Yes. Further, the back block 14 is formed on the lower surface portion 14 b constituting a part of the lower surface of the cartridge body 10 together with the lower shell 12, and is formed on the erroneous erasure prevention switch 25 to be in contact with the identification switch 110 of the select loader 5. A contact hole 27 is formed so that the piece 25b faces outward.

  In addition, grip holes 28 for gripping the cartridge main body 10 are formed in both side surface portions 14 c and 14 d of the back block 14. The grip hole 28 is used as a hole to be gripped by the robot arm when the process of taking out the disk cartridge 1 from the library and inserting it into the disk changer device 3 is automated using the robot arm.

  Further, anti-slip textures 29 are formed on the upper surface plate 13, the lower surface portion 14 b of the back surface block 14, and both side surface portions 14 c and 14 d constituting a part of the side surface of the cartridge body 10. Further, the embossing 29 has different patterns between the upper surface plate 13 and the lower surface portion 14b, so that when the user holds it, the vertical direction can be identified according to the difference in the pattern. Further, the disk cartridge 1 is formed with the embossment 29 only on the back surface 10b side of the cartridge body 10 so that the insertion direction can be identified when the user holds it.

  The support shaft 16 erected at the substantially central portion of the upper surface plate 13 ensures the rigidity of the cartridge main body 10 and positions the optical disk 2 accommodated in the cartridge main body 10. The support shaft 16 has a cylindrical shape having a diameter slightly shorter than the diameter of the center hole 2 a of the optical disc 2. Further, the support shaft 16 has the same height as the thickness of the disk cartridge 1, and the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are brought into contact with each other, whereby the tip surface is brought into contact with the bearing portion 46 formed in the lower shell 12. Supported.

  When the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are brought into contact with each other, the support shaft 16 is inserted into the center hole 2a of the optical disc 2 housed in the lower shell 12 and comes into contact with the bearing portion 46. Accordingly, the support shaft 16 can prevent the optical disc 2 from swinging in the cartridge body 10 and can increase the rigidity of the cartridge body 10.

  In other words, the disk cartridge 1 accommodates the optical disk 2 without using a disk tray. As will be described later, the optical disk 2 is slid in a direction parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of the cartridge body 10 to insert and eject the optical disk 2. It is carried out. Here, when an optical disk insertion / ejection port is provided in the cartridge main body, the disk main body 10 has a rigidity at the center portion of the upper and lower surfaces because a support shaft cannot be set on the optical disk transport area. It becomes difficult to secure.

  In this respect, the disc cartridge 1 does not have the insertion / ejection port for the optical disc 2 in the cartridge main body 10 but inserts and ejects the optical disc 2 by dividing the upper and lower shells 11 and 12. It is not an obstacle to the insertion and discharge of 2. The disk cartridge 1 is provided with the support shaft 16 so that when the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are brought into contact with each other, the center portion of the upper and lower surfaces of the cartridge body 10 is supported by the support shaft, and the rigidity can be increased. The optical disk 2 can be prevented from swinging in the cartridge body 10 by being inserted into the central hole 2a of the optical disk 2.

  Further, when the disc cartridge 1 ejects the optical disc 2 from the cartridge body 10 and transports it into the disc changer device 3, the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are divided, and a predetermined optical disc 2 selected in advance is provided in the select loader 5. The extrusion lever 167 is pushed out. At this time, the support shaft 16 is inserted into the center hole 2a of the other optical disc 2 accommodated above the selected predetermined optical disc 2, thereby restricting the swinging of the other optical disc 2, and further, Friendship discharge with the optical disc 2 can be prevented (see FIG. 43).

  When the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are coupled, the upper surface plate 13 is provided with a lock mechanism 30 that couples the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 to a corner portion from which the projection surface of the optical disk 2 accommodated in the lower shell 12 is removed. Has been. The lock mechanism 30 slides on an extension line of a front lock piece 31 supported by the rotation support shaft 20 provided on one end side in the longitudinal direction and a dividing wall 32 erected on both sides of the upper surface plate 13 in the short direction. And a rear lock piece 33 that is freely supported.

  The front-side lock piece 31 includes a shaft hole 31a through which the pivot shaft 20 provided upright on the upper surface plate 13 and the support shaft provided in the support piece 24 provided in the front wall 15 are inserted, and the front wall 15 is unlocked. It has a pressing surface portion 31 b that faces outward from the hole 22 and is pressed by the unlocking piece 99, and an engaging portion 31 c that engages with the engaged recess 56 of the lower shell 12. Further, the front lock piece 31 is always engaged with one end of the coil spring 35 so that the engaging portion 31c is engaged with the lower shell 12 and the pressing surface portion 31b faces the unlocking hole 22 in FIG. It is urged to rotate in the R direction.

  One end of the coil spring 35 is locked to the front lock piece 31, and the other end is locked to a spring hook 36 provided on the upper surface plate 13.

  The rear lock piece 33 is supported on the other end side of the upper surface plate 13 in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the rear lock piece 33 is slidably supported by a slide step 32 a provided on an extension line of the dividing wall 32 of the upper surface plate 13, so that the upper shell 11, the lower shell 12, It is located on the extended line of the division | segmentation groove | channel 47 provided between.

  The rear lock piece 33 includes a support piece portion 33a that is slidably supported between the dividing wall 32 and the back block 14, a pressing piece portion 33b that is positioned on an extension line of the division groove 47, and a support piece portion 33a. And an engaging portion 33c that is provided at one end and engages with the engaged recess 57 of the lower shell 12. The rear lock piece 33 has a coil spring 38 locked to one end of the support piece portion 33a. The engagement portion 33c is always engaged with the lower shell 12 and the pressing piece portion 33b slides to the front side of the cartridge body 10. It is slid and biased in the direction of arrow S in FIG. 6 located on the extension line of the dividing groove 47.

  In the lock mechanism 30, the front lock piece 31 and the rear lock piece 33 are urged in the arrow R direction and the arrow S direction in FIG. 6, so that the engaging portions 31 c and 33 c are engaged with the lower shell 12. The upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are joined together. When the disk cartridge 1 is mounted in the cartridge holder 80 of the select loader 5, the lock mechanism 30 presses the pressing surface portion 31 b by the lock release piece 99 that has entered from the lock release hole 22, thereby biasing the coil spring 35. The front lock piece 31 is rotated in the direction of the opposite arrow R against the above, and the pressing piece portion 33b is pressed by the upper shell dividing piece 103 inserted through the dividing groove 47 to counter the urging force of the coil spring 38. Then, the rear lock piece 33 is slid in the opposite direction of the arrow S.

  As a result, the lock mechanism 30 releases the engagement between the lower shell 12 and the engaging portions 31c, 33c of the front lock piece 31 and the rear lock piece 33 so that the upper and lower shells 11, 12 can be divided. Further, when the disk cartridge 1 is ejected from the disk changer device 3, the lock mechanism 30 is released from the front side by receiving the urging force of the coil springs 35, 38 because the pressing by the lock release piece 99 and the upper shell split piece 103 is released. The lock piece 31 and the rear lock piece 33 are urged in the directions of the arrow R and arrow S, respectively, and the engaging portions 31c and 33c engage with the lower shell 12 to connect the upper and lower shells 11 and 12.

[1-2. Lower shell]
Next, the lower shell 12 that houses the optical disk 2 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, the lower shell 12 includes a rectangular lower surface plate 40 that forms the lower surface of the cartridge body 10, and left and right disks that form part of the side surface of the cartridge body 10 and that store the optical disk 2. Holders 41 and 42 and a holder plate 49 for supporting the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 are provided.

  The lower surface plate 40 is formed of a resin such as metal or engineering plastic, and as shown in FIG. 8, screw holes 44 are formed in opposite side edges 40a and 40b in the short direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The holders 41 and 42 are screwed. The lower surface plate 40 has opposite side edges 40c and 40d that are substantially orthogonal to the side edges 40a and 40b to which the left and right disk holders 41 and 42 are attached. The disc extrusion port 51 is used.

  Further, the lower surface plate 40 is formed with a bearing portion 46 in which the tip of the support shaft 16 protruding from the upper shell 11 abuts at a substantially central portion. The bearing portion 46 is formed of a circular concave surface portion, and as shown in FIG. 10, when the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are abutted and coupled, the tip end of the support shaft 16 abuts. As a result, the cartridge body 10 can prevent the optical disc 2 from swinging by inserting the support shaft 16 through the center hole 2a of the optical disc 2 stored in the storage position of the lower shell 12. Further, the cartridge body 10 can be improved in rigidity because the substantially center of the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 is pivotally supported by the support shaft 16, and the optical disk 2 is damaged by the deformation of the upper and lower shells 11 and 12. Can be prevented.

  The lower surface plate 40 has a positioning hole 45 for positioning the lower shell 12 in a lower holder 91 of a cartridge holder 80 described later when the disk cartridge 1 is inserted into the select loader 5 of the disk changer device 3. Yes.

  The left and right disc holders 41 and 42 support a plurality of optical discs 2 and are screwed to both side edges 40a and 40b of the bottom plate 40 in the short direction. The left and right disc holders 41 and 42 constitute part of the left and right side surfaces of the cartridge body 10 by the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 being brought into contact with each other. The outer side surfaces are provided on a cartridge holder 80 described later. An entrance groove 43 into which the divided pieces 103 and 115 enter is formed.

  The left and right disc holders 41 and 42 are retracted inward from the entrance groove 43, and the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are abutted so that the dividing wall 32 of the upper shell 11 is outside the entrance groove 43. Is put on. As a result, the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 together with the dividing wall 32 of the upper shell 11 form the left and right side surfaces 10 c and 10 d of the cartridge body 10 at the lower part of the entrance groove 43. At this time, in the left and right disc holders 41 and 42, a division groove 47 is formed by the lower end surface of the division wall 32 and the upper end surface of the entry groove 43.

  The left and right disc holders 41 and 42 each have a plurality of support grooves 48 on the inner surface side. The support groove 48 has a groove height that is slightly larger than the thickness of the optical disc 2. Further, the same number of support grooves 48 are formed on the left and right disc holders 41, 42, and support the outer edge, which is a non-signal recording area of the optical disc 2, as a pair of left and right sides, and allows the optical disc 2 to slide in the surface direction. The support groove 48 is formed in parallel with the lower surface plate 40 and slides the optical disc 2 in the longitudinal direction of the lower shell 12.

  The support groove 48 is formed from one end surface to the other end surface of the left and right disc holders 41 and 42. Further, the support groove 48 is formed on the one end 12a side of the lower shell 12 and is connected to the straight portion 48a parallel to the side edge of the lower surface plate 40, and the straight portion 48a, and is mutually connected toward the other end 12b side of the lower shell 12. An adjacent arc portion 48b is formed. Further, the support groove 48 of the right disc holder 42 is formed with a guide portion 48c for guiding a push lever 167 of the select loader 5 described later from the arc portion 48b to the other end 12b side.

  As shown in FIG. 11, in the left and right disc holders 41 and 42, the width W 1 between the straight portions 48 a formed on the one end 12 a side of the lower shell 12 is slightly wider than the maximum width D of the optical disc 2. The support groove 48 has a straight portion 48a facing one end surface of the left and right disc holders 41 and 42. As a result, the lower shell 12 is formed with a disk insertion / ejection opening 50 through which the optical disk 2 is inserted and ejected on the one end 12a side, and the optical disk 2 can be slidably supported by the straight portion 48a.

  Further, in the left and right disc holders 41 and 42, the width W <b> 2 between the arc portions 48 b continuous from the straight portion 48 a toward the other end 12 b side of the lower shell 12 is smaller than the maximum width D of the optical disc 2. Further, the arc portion 48 b is formed with a curvature that is substantially the same as the curvature of the optical disc 2. As a result, the lower shell 12 can stop the optical disc 2 that has slid the straight portion 48 a at the arc portion 48 b and restrict the optical disc 2 to the storage position in the cartridge body 10. Further, since the arc portion 48b is formed with a curvature substantially the same as the curvature of the optical disc 2, the outer peripheral portion of the optical disc 2 can be supported in an arc shape and reliably held at the storage position in the cartridge body 10. .

  The optical disk 2 is supported by the arc portion 48b. The storage position of the optical disk 2 is slightly on one end in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge body 10 formed in a rectangular shape, that is, on the front surface 10a side where the disk insertion / ejection port 50 is formed. It is provided at a side.

  Further, the right disc holder 42 has a guide portion 48 c formed from the arc portion 48 b to the other end side of the lower shell 12. The guide portion 48c faces the other end surface of the right disc holder 42, and the push lever 167 can advance and retreat from the other end surface. In addition, the guide portion 48 c is formed in an arc shape along the rotation locus of the push lever 167. As a result, the lower shell 12 is formed with a disk push-out opening 51 on which the push-out lever 167 for pushing the optical disk 2 toward the disk insertion / ejection opening 50 is advanced and retracted on the other end 12b side. And can be rotated stably. Further, as will be described later, the guide portion 48c guides the push lever 167 into the support groove 48 in which the predetermined optical disk 2 to be discharged to the select loader 5 is accommodated, and reliably inserts the predetermined optical disk 2 into the disk insertion / ejection opening. 50 can be pushed out (FIG. 25).

  In addition, a plurality of support grooves 48 are formed in the thickness direction of the cartridge main body 10 orthogonal to the lower surface plate 40, 12 in this embodiment, and a maximum of 12 optical disks 2 can be stacked and stored.

  Further, the right disc holder 42 is provided with a self-locking spring 53 that regulates the optical disc 2 to the storage position of the cartridge body 10. The self-locking spring 53 protrudes into the support groove 48 so that the elastic piece 53a can advance and retreat, and the elastic piece 53a urges the optical disc 2 toward the arc portion 48b to restrict the storage position.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the self-lock spring 53 has the same number of elastic pieces 53a as the number of support grooves 48 and a support 53b provided with the elastic pieces 53a. The self-locking spring 53 is entirely formed of a flexible material such as a metal spring, and a plurality of elastic pieces 53a extend laterally along the longitudinal direction of a substantially rectangular plate-like support 53b. Further, when the self-locking spring 53 is disposed in the disposition port 54 provided substantially in the middle in the longitudinal direction of the right disc holder 42, the elastic piece 53 a is supported from the opening portion opened in the side surface of the support groove 48. It protrudes into the groove 48. Since the elastic piece 53a has flexibility, the self-locking spring 53 protrudes forward and backward from the opening. In addition, the elastic piece 53a does not damage the outer peripheral surface of the optical disc 2 even when the tip portion protruding into the support groove 48 is curved and the outer peripheral surface of the optical disc 2 is in sliding contact.

  When the optical disk 2 is inserted from the disk insertion / ejection port 50 of the lower shell 12, the self-lock spring 53 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the optical disk 2 that slides in the support groove 48, and the elastic piece 53 a is disposed on the right disk holder 42. Retreat into the mouth 54. When the optical disc 2 is inserted to the storage position where it comes into contact with the arc portion 48b, the elastic piece 53a comes into contact with the one end 12a side of the lower shell 12 with respect to the center hole 2a of the optical disc 2, as shown in FIG. As a result, the self-lock spring 53 presses the optical disc 2 toward the arc portion 48 b and restricts the optical disc 2 to the storage position in the cartridge body 10. Therefore, the self-lock spring 53 can prevent the optical disk 2 from swinging due to the weight of the optical disk 2 or the vibration of the cartridge body 10, and can stably insert and eject the optical disk 2 in the disk changer device 3.

  When the optical disc 2 is slid to the disc insertion / ejection port 50 side by the push lever 167, the self-lock spring 53 is retracted into the right disc holder 42 by the elastic piece 53a being pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the optical disc 2. Accordingly, the self-lock spring 53 does not hinder insertion / ejection of the optical disc 2.

  A holder plate 49 is bridged between the left and right disc holders 41 and 42. The holder plate 49 prevents the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 from swinging. In particular, the holder plate 49 prevents the optical disc 2 from dropping from the support groove 48 when the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 swing in a direction away from each other. To do.

  The holder plate 49 is a metal plate formed in a rectangular plate shape, and is screwed into locking holes 55 and 55 provided on the upper surfaces of the left and right disc holders 41 and 42. The holder plate 49 is locked to the other end 12b side of the lower shell 12 that is the storage position of the optical disc 2, so that even when an impact such as movement or dropping of the cartridge body 10 is applied, the left and right disc holders 41, Therefore, the optical disk 2 supported between the support grooves 48 can be prevented from falling off. In particular, as shown in FIG. 9, the holder plate 49 is supported on the arc portion 48b that supports the optical disc 2 in an arc shape, so that the outer periphery of the optical disc 2 can be reliably supported by the arc portion 48b.

  In addition, the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 are engaged with an engaged recess 56 in which the engagement portion 31 c of the front lock piece 31 of the lock mechanism 30 is engaged and an engagement portion 33 c of the rear lock piece 33, respectively. An engaged recess 57 is formed. The engaged recess 56 is formed by cutting out one end surface of the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 where the disc insertion / ejection port 50 is provided in a concave shape. The engaged recess 57 is formed by cutting out the other end surface of the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 where the disc push-out ports 51 are provided in a concave shape.

  The engaged recessed portion 56 engages with the engaging portion 31 c when the front lock piece 31 receives the urging force of the coil spring 35 and is rotated in the direction of the arrow R. The engaged recess 57 is engaged with the engaging portion 33c by the rear lock piece 33 receiving the urging force of the coil spring 38 and sliding in the arrow S direction.

  In addition, the engaged recessed portion 56 is released from the engagement portion 31 c when the front lock piece 31 is rotated in the opposite arrow R direction by the lock release piece 99. The engaged recess 57 is continuous with the dividing groove 47 of the cartridge body 10, and the upper shell dividing piece 103 enters the dividing groove 47, so that the pressing piece portion 33 b of the rear lock piece 33 becomes the upper shell dividing piece. By being pressed by 103, the engagement with the engaging portion 33c is released.

  According to the disk cartridge 1, when the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are coupled by the lock mechanism 30, the support shaft 16 protruding from the upper surface plate 13 of the upper shell 11 is formed on the lower surface plate 40 of the lower shell 12. It abuts on the bearing portion 46. Therefore, the disk cartridge 1 can ensure the strength of the cartridge body 10 without using a disk tray, prevent the cartridge body 10 from being deformed, and prevent the optical disk 2 from being damaged by the deformation of the cartridge body 10.

  Further, the disk cartridge 1 includes a cartridge main body 10 by an upper surface plate 13 of the upper shell 11, a front wall 15, a rear block 14, a pair of left and right dividing walls 32, a lower surface plate 40 of the lower shell 12, and left and right disk holders 41 and 42. The entire surface is configured. That is, the cartridge body 10 is not provided with an opening for inserting and ejecting the optical disk 2 and a door for opening and closing the opening. Therefore, the disk cartridge 1 can form the cartridge body 10 firmly. Further, in the disk cartridge 1, since the support shaft 16 of the upper shell 11 is in contact with the bearing portion 46 of the lower shell 12, the strength at the approximate center of the upper surface and the lower surface is also improved. Therefore, the disk cartridge 1 can improve resistance due to dropping or vibration.

  Further, in the disk cartridge 1, the support 16 is inserted through the center hole 2 a of the optical disk 2, thereby positioning the optical disk 2 in the cartridge body 10, and the optical disk 2 is swung due to dropping or vibration of the cartridge body 10. To prevent. Therefore, the disc cartridge 1 can smoothly insert and eject the optical disc 2 even when the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are divided because the optical disc 2 is stored in a predetermined storage position.

  Further, the entire surface of the disk cartridge 1 is closed by the upper and lower shells 11 and 12, and the opening for opening and closing the disk and the door for opening and closing the opening are not provided. Ingress can be prevented. Further, since the disc cartridge 1 is not provided with an opening for inserting and ejecting the disc and a door for opening and closing the opening, the door is inadvertently opened by the user, and a situation where a finger or a foreign object touches the optical disc 2 is prevented. Can do.

  Further, the disc cartridge 1 is inserted and ejected by sliding the optical disc 2 accommodated in the lower shell 12 in the surface direction of the disc by the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 being vertically divided by a select loader 5 described later. Let Therefore, the disc cartridge 1 can insert and eject the optical disc 2 with a simple configuration without using a disc tray.

  At this time, the disc cartridge 1 is inserted into the optical disc 2 stored above the predetermined optical disc 2 to be inserted and ejected out of the plurality of optical discs 2 stacked and accommodated. It is possible to prevent friends who are ejected from the optical disc 2 other than the optical disc 2 of the present embodiment.

  The disk cartridge 1 is formed so that the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 can be contacted and separated in the vertical direction, and the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are coupled to block the entire surface of the cartridge body 10 so that the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are separated. As long as the optical disc 2 can be inserted and ejected in the surface direction, the shape is not limited to the rectangular shape. Further, the disk cartridge 1 may be formed by integrally molding the lower surface plate 40 of the lower shell 12 and the left and right disk holders 41 and 42. Further, the disc cartridge 1 accommodates and holds the optical disc 2 by the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 of the lower shell 12 and constitutes the side wall of the cartridge main body 10. You may provide separately the side wall member which comprises this side wall.

<2. Disc changer device>
Next, the disc changer device 3 that selects and takes out the optical disc 2 stored in the disc cartridge 1 and writes and / or reads information signals will be described. The disc changer device 3 divides the cartridge main body 10 of the disc cartridge 1, a select loader 5 that ejects the optical disc 2, a carry loader 6 that draws the optical disc 2 ejected from the select loader 5 and conveys it to the recording / reproducing device 7. Have

  The select loader 5 has a cartridge insertion / removal position for inserting and removing the disk cartridge 1 from the disk changer device 3 and a disk insertion / ejection position for inserting / removing the optical disk 2 from the lower shell 12. The select loader 5 releases the lock of the lock mechanism 30 when the disk cartridge 1 is mounted at the cartridge insertion / removal position, and conveys only the lower shell 12 to the disk insertion / ejection position. At this time, the select loader 5 controls the elevation height of the lower shell 12 according to the optical disk 2 to be ejected. Then, the select loader 5 pushes the optical disc 2 positioned at the predetermined height to the carry loader 6 side.

  The carry loader 6 pulls the optical disk 2 pushed out from the lower shell 12 to a position where it can be chucked to the recording / reproducing apparatus 7, and after the recording and / or reproduction with respect to the optical disk 2 is finished, the optical disk 2 is lowered. Push the shell 12 back to the storage position.

[2-1. Main unit]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the disk changer device 3 has a device main body 60 having a rectangular box shape as a whole. The apparatus main body 60 includes a rectangular top cover 61, a bottom cover 62 that covers the top cover 61, and a front panel 63 that serves as an insertion / removal surface of the disk cartridge 1. The disc changer apparatus 3 has a select loader 5 and a carry loader 6 mounted in the apparatus main body 60. In FIG. 1, the apparatus main body 60 has a front surface 63a as a surface on which the front panel 63 is provided, a surface opposite to the front surface 60a as a back surface 60b, a main surface constituted by a top cover 61 as an upper surface 60c, and a top cover 61. The both side surfaces configured as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the top cover 61 constitutes a back surface 60b, an upper surface 60c, a left side surface 60d, and a right side surface 60e of the apparatus main body 60. Panel engaging ports 65 that engage with the front panel 63 are opened on the left and right side surfaces 60d and 60e, and a cover connecting piece 66 that connects to the bottom cover 62 is formed to protrude on the inner surface side.

  The bottom cover 62 has a rectangular plate shape substantially the same size as the upper surface 60c of the apparatus main body 60, and cover connecting pieces 66 of the top cover 61 are screwed to both side edges in the short direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. A plurality of cover connection portions 67 are formed. The cover connection piece 66 and the cover connection portion 67 are formed with screw holes and are fastened together with a holder cover 81 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the front panel 63 has a rectangular plate shape, a cartridge insertion / removal port 70 into which the disk cartridge 1 is inserted / removed, a bezel 71 that closes the cartridge insertion / removal port 70, and a panel engagement port of the top cover 61. And a cover engaging piece 72 that engages with 65. The cartridge insertion / removal opening 70 is a rectangular opening that is slightly larger than the front surface 10a of the cartridge main body 10, and is opened on the upper side of the apparatus main body 60 and is substantially the same height as the cartridge holder 80 conveyed to a cartridge insertion / removal position described later. Located in.

  The bezel 71 includes a center bezel 74 that opens and closes almost the entire surface except for both sides in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge insertion / removal opening 70, a pair of side bezels 75 and 75 that open and close both sides in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge insertion / removal opening 70, and a front panel 63. A support frame 76 attached to the back surface and rotatably supporting the center bezel 74 and the side bezels 75 and 75 is provided.

  The support frame 76 is extended from both ends of the center arm portion 76a and the center arm portion 76a having substantially the same length as the length of the cartridge insertion / removal port 70 in the longitudinal direction, and rotates the center bezel 74 and the side bezels 75 and 75. It consists of a pair of side arm portions 76b and 76b that can be supported. A connecting portion 77 connected to the front panel 63 is provided at the tip of the side arm portion 76b. The support frame 76 is attached with the connection portion 77 screwed to the back surface of the front panel 63.

  Each of the side arm portions 76b and 76b is provided with a first support portion 78 that rotatably supports the center bezel 74 at its upper end, and also supports the side bezel 75 so as to be rotatable in the longitudinal direction. A second support portion 79 is provided.

  The center bezel 74 is supported by the first support portions 78 of the side arm portions 76b and 76b, so that the back edge 60b side of the apparatus main body 60 is viewed from the upper side edge in the short direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cartridge insertion / removal port 70. Can be rotated. Further, the side bezels 75 and 75 are supported by the second support portions 79 of the side arm portions 76b and 76b, so that the side bezels 75 and 75 rotate from both side edges in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge insertion / removal port 70 toward the back surface 60b of the apparatus main body 60. It is possible to move.

  Further, both the center bezel 74 and the side bezels 75 and 75 are urged to rotate toward the front surface 60a that always closes the cartridge insertion / removal port 70 by a coil spring (not shown). At this time, the side bezels 75 and 75 are superimposed on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the center bezel 74 from the back surface 60b side.

  In the state where the bezel 71 is waiting for the disk cartridge 1 to be mounted in the apparatus main body 60, the center bezel 74 and the side bezels 75 and 75 are urged to rotate toward the front surface 60a side that closes the cartridge insertion / removal port 70. ing. When the disc cartridge 1 is inserted into the cartridge insertion / removal port 70, the bezel 71 is pressed against the front surface 10a of the cartridge body 10 and rotated toward the back surface 60b, and is also pressed against the center bezel 74. Then, the side bezels 75 and 75 are also rotated toward the back surface 60b. In the bezel 71, while the cartridge main body 10 is mounted in the apparatus main body 60, the center bezel 74 abuts against the cartridge main body 10 and the rotation to the front surface 60a is restricted. The center bezel 74 restricts the rotation toward the front surface 60a.

  Further, the bezel 71 is provided with the side bezel 75 to avoid interference with the upper shell divided piece 103 and the lower shell divided piece 115 provided in the cartridge holder 80 and to insert the cartridge in the cartridge main body 10 as will be described later. The removal position can be provided on the front surface 60a side of the apparatus main body 60, and the apparatus main body 60 can be downsized.

  The cover engaging piece 72 is provided with an engaging protrusion 72 a that engages with the panel engaging port 65 of the top cover 61.

[2-2. Select loader]
Next, the select loader 5 that divides the cartridge body 10 of the disk cartridge 1 and ejects the optical disk 2 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 13, 15 and 16, the select loader 5 divides the cartridge holder 80 into which the disk cartridge 1 is mounted, the cartridge holder 80 into upper and lower shells 11 and 12, and the lower shell 12 is inserted into and ejected from the disk. A holder lifting mechanism 84 that transports the disc to the position, and a disc push-out mechanism 85 that pushes the optical disc 2 toward the carry loader 6 from the lower shell 12 that is transported to the disc insertion / ejection position. The holder lifting mechanism 84 includes a holder cover 81 that supports the cartridge holder 80 so as to be slidable, a cam plate 82 that conveys the cartridge holder 80, and a drive mechanism 83 that slides the cam plate 82.

  The cartridge holder 80 includes an upper holder 90 that holds the upper shell 11 and a lower holder 91 that holds the lower shell 12, which are detachably coupled to each other. The cartridge holder 80 has a cartridge insertion / removal position that is slid to the entire surface 60a side of the apparatus main body 60 by a holder elevating mechanism 84 described later, an insertion position that is slid from the cartridge insertion / removal position to the back surface 60b side of the apparatus main body 60, The disk is moved from the insertion position to the disk insertion / ejection position where the optical disk 2 is inserted / ejected. The cartridge holder 80 is inserted into and removed from the cartridge main body 10 by connecting the upper holder 90 and the lower holder 91 at the cartridge insertion / removal position and the insertion position. Further, the lower and upper holders 90 and 91 of the cartridge holder 80 are separated by lowering the lower holder 91 to the disk insertion / ejection position, whereby the optical disk 2 can be inserted and ejected.

  The upper holder 90 is supported by the holder cover 81 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60, whereby the cartridge main body 10 is inserted into and removed from the apparatus main body 60, and the cartridge main body 10 is connected to the apparatus main body 60. It is held over the insertion position to be slid to the back surface 60b side. The upper holder 90 includes a substantially rectangular support surface portion 93 that supports the upper surface plate 13 of the upper shell 11, and a pair of left and right upper side surface portions 94, 94 erected from both side edges of the support surface portion 93. An unlock mechanism 92 that unlocks the lock mechanism 30 is provided on the surface portion 93 and the upper side surface portions 94, 94.

  The support surface portion 93 is formed with a spring locking portion 96 around which a tension coil spring 95 is bridged between the support surface portion 93 and the holder cover 81 at the approximate center on the back surface 60b side. The upper holder 90 is always urged toward the front surface 60 a of the apparatus main body 60 by a tension coil spring 95. The upper holder 90 may be slid back and forth by a driving mechanism using a motor, in addition to using the tension coil spring 95.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 17, the support surface portion 93 is formed with an upper shell holding convex portion 98 that engages with the concave portion 21 formed on the upper surface plate 13 on the inner surface facing the upper surface plate 13 of the upper shell 11. Yes. The upper shell holding convex portion 98 is formed of a rectangular elastic piece having flexibility extending from the support surface portion 93 to the inner surface side. The upper shell holding convex portion 98 is formed on the front surface 60a side and the rear surface 60b side of the apparatus main body 60, and the upper shell holding convex portion 98 formed on the front surface 60a side is fitted with a resin component such as POM at the tip. The upper shell holding convex portion 98 formed on the back surface 60b side and engaged with the concave portion 21 is formed by punching a sheet metal.

  The pair of left and right upper side surface portions 94, 94 are opposed to the holder engaging piece 100 engaged with the lower holder 91, the cam pin 101 slidably engaged with the holder cover 81, and the biasing force of the tension coil spring 95. A holder holding piece 102 that holds the holder 80 toward the back surface 60 b of the apparatus main body 60 and an upper shell divided piece 103 that enters the dividing groove 47 of the cartridge main body 10 and holds the upper shell 11 in the upper holder 90 are provided.

  The holder engaging piece 100 is coupled to the upper and lower holders 90 and 91 so as to be slidable integrally in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60 by engaging with an engaging cam pin 113 protruding from the lower holder 91 from above. It is. The holder engaging piece 100 is provided in front of and behind the upper side surface portion 94 according to the engaging cam pin 113 of the lower holder 91. The holder engaging piece 100 is formed with a slit 100a having a lower end opened. The slit 100a is formed in a vertical direction substantially orthogonal to the insertion / removal direction of the cartridge body 10, and an engagement cam pin 113 protruding from the lower end serving as an open end enters the lower holder 91 in accordance with the elevation of the lower holder 91. And evacuate again. When the engagement cam pin 113 is engaged with the holder engagement piece 100, the cartridge holder 80 is engaged with the upper holder 90 and the lower holder 91, and is slidable integrally in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60.

  The cam pin 101 is inserted into the upper cam slit 140 formed in the holder cover 81 to support the upper holder 90 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60 along the upper cam slit 140. The cam pin 101 protrudes on the outer surface of the upper side surface portions 94, 94 so as to be separated from the front and rear.

  The holder holding piece 102 protrudes outward on the back surface 60b side of the upper side surface portions 94 and 94. The holder holding piece 102 is engaged with a holder latch 142 rotatably supported by the holder cover 81, thereby causing the cartridge holder 80 urged toward the front surface 60 a of the apparatus main body 60 by the tension coil spring 95 to move the cartridge holder 80. 60 is held on the back surface 60b side. The holder holding piece 102 protrudes from the insertion groove 144 formed in the front-rear direction of the holder cover 81 to the outer surface of the holder cover 81, the cartridge main body 10 is mounted, and the cartridge holder 80 is slid toward the back surface 60 b of the apparatus main body 60. Then, it is latched by a holder latch 142 provided on the outer surface of the holder cover 81.

  Further, the upper side surface portion 94 is formed with a pressing piece 104 that presses the dividing wall 32 of the upper shell 11. The pressing piece 104 is made of a flexible plate-like body that protrudes from the upper side surface portion 94 to the inside of the upper holder 90. The pressing piece 104 provided on the front surface 60a side of the apparatus main body 60 has a resin component such as POM. And the pressing piece 104 formed on the back surface 60b side is formed by punching a sheet metal. The upper holder 90 prevents rattling by the pressing piece 104 pressing the upper shell 11, and enables stable engagement with and disengagement from the lower shell 12.

  The support surface portion 93 and the upper side surface portion 94 are formed with an unlock mechanism 92 that unlocks the lock mechanism 30. The unlocking mechanism 92 includes an unlocking piece 99 provided on the support surface portion 93 and an upper shell split piece 103 provided on the upper side surface portion 94.

  The lock release piece 99 enters the lock release hole 22 formed in the front wall 15 of the upper shell 11 and rotates the front lock piece 31. As shown in FIG. 18, the support surface portion 93 is formed such that a rear side surface 97 is bent downward at a side edge on the back surface 60 b side of the apparatus main body 60. The unlocking piece 99 is formed by bending the lower end of the rear side surface 97 toward the front surface 60a, and is formed to be able to advance and retreat from the unlocking hole 22 in accordance with the attachment / detachment of the cartridge body 10 to / from the cartridge holder 80. Yes.

  As a result, when the cartridge body 10 is mounted on the cartridge holder 80, the lock release piece 99 enters the lock release hole 22 and presses the pressing surface portion 31b, whereby the front lock piece 31 is biased by the coil spring 35. It is made to rotate in the counter arrow R direction against. When the front lock piece 31 is rotated in the direction of the opposite arrow R, the engaging portion 31c is retracted from the engaged recessed portion 56, and the engagement with the lower shell 12 is released. Further, when the cartridge body 10 is pulled out from the cartridge holder 80, the lock release piece 99 is retracted from the lock release hole 22, and the front lock piece 31 can be rotated in the arrow R direction by the biasing force of the coil spring 35. The front lock piece 31 is rotated in the direction of arrow R, so that the engaging portion 31 c is engaged with the engaged recess 56.

  The upper shell dividing piece 103 enters the dividing groove 47 formed in the left and right side surfaces 10c and 10d of the cartridge body 10 to unlock the rear side locking piece 33 and below the dividing wall 32 of the upper shell 11. By supporting the end face, the upper shell 11 is held in the upper holder 90 at the cartridge insertion / removal position. The upper shell dividing piece 103 is formed in a flat plate shape that can support the lower end surface of the dividing wall 32, and protrudes from the inner surfaces of the upper side surface portions 94, 94. The upper shell divided piece 103 is parallel to the lower shell divided piece 115 formed on the lower holder 91 by connecting the upper and lower holders 90 and 91 together.

  When the cartridge main body 10 is inserted into the cartridge holder 80, the upper shell divided piece 103 enters the divided groove 47, presses the pressing piece portion 33b of the rear lock piece 33, and slides in the direction opposite to the arrow S. The partition wall 32 of the upper shell 11 is supported from below. As a result, the upper shell split piece 103 can be split by releasing the lock of the upper and lower shells 11, 12, supports the upper shell 11 at the cartridge insertion / removal position, and lower shell 12 descends, thereby 11 and 12 are divided.

  The lower holder 91 is moved up and down by the holder cover 81 to convey the lower shell 12 across the cartridge insertion / removal position, the insertion position, and the disk insertion / ejection position. The lower holder 91 includes a placement surface portion 106 on which the lower surface plate 40 of the lower shell 12 is placed, and a pair of left and right lower side surface portions 107 and 107 erected from both side edges of the placement surface portion 106.

  A switch piece 111 of the identification switch 110 that abuts on the abutment piece 25 b of the erroneous erasure prevention switch 25 disposed in the cartridge body 10 protrudes from the mounting surface portion 106. The switch piece 111 is provided so as to be able to contact and separate from the identification switch 110 by having flexibility. Further, the switch piece 111 is provided on the lower surface of the cartridge main body 10 when the cartridge main body 10 is mounted on the cartridge holder 80 and can enter the contact hole 27 where the contact piece 25b of the erroneous erasure prevention switch 25 faces. Is formed.

  As described above, the contact piece 25b is operated in a direction in which the knob portion 25a prohibits writing to the optical disc 2, whereby the lower surface of the back block 14 that constitutes a part of the lower surface of the cartridge body 10 together with the lower shell 12. It moves to the side facing the switch piece 111 through the contact hole 27 formed in the portion 14b. Further, the contact piece 25 b is moved to the side not facing the switch piece 111 through the contact hole 27 when the knob portion 25 a is operated in a direction that enables writing to the optical disc 2.

  As shown in FIG. 19A, when the switch piece 111 enters the contact hole 27 and does not contact the contact piece 25b of the erroneous erasure prevention switch 25, the switch piece 111 does not contact the identification switch 110. The switch 110 is turned off (writable). Further, as shown in FIG. 19B, when the switch piece 111 enters the contact hole 27 and contacts the contact piece 25b of the erroneous erasure prevention switch 25, the switch piece 111 bends below the placement surface portion 106. By touching 110, the identification switch 110 is turned on (unwritable).

  As shown in FIGS. 17, 20, and 21, the pair of left and right lower side surface portions 107, 107 are engaged with the upper holder 90 and engage cam pins 113 that are slidably engaged with the holder cover 81, and the cartridge body. A lower shell divided piece 115 that enters the ten divided grooves 47 and holds the lower shell 12 on the lower holder 91; a height regulating piece 116 that accurately regulates the height of the lower shell 12 at the disk insertion / ejection position; And a shell positioning pin 117 for positioning the lower shell 12 placed on the placement surface portion 106.

  The engaging cam pin 113 is engaged with the holder engaging piece 100 of the upper holder 90 so that the upper and lower holders 90 and 91 are slidably coupled in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60. The engagement cam pin 113 is formed to protrude outwardly while being separated from the front and back of the lower side surface portion 107. The engagement cam pin 113 enters the slit 100a of the holder engagement piece 100 of the upper holder 90 when the upper and lower holders 90 and 91 are coupled at the cartridge insertion / removal position. Accordingly, the lower holder 91 is integrated in the front-rear direction of the upper holder 90 and the apparatus main body 60 and is slid in the front-rear direction integrally with the upper holder 90.

  Further, the engaging cam pin 113 is inserted into the lower cam slit 141 formed in the holder cover 81, thereby supporting the lower holder 91 so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction of the apparatus main body 60 along the lower cam slit 141. Let

  The lower shell split piece 115 enters the split grooves 47 formed in the left and right side surfaces 10c and 10d of the cartridge body 10, thereby causing the upper end surfaces of the entrance grooves 43 formed in the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 of the lower shell 12 to be formed. Thus, the lower shell 12 is held in the lower holder 91. The lower shell divided piece 115 is formed in a flat plate shape that can support the upper end surface of the entry groove 43, and is formed to protrude from the inner surfaces of the lower side surface portions 107 and 107. Further, the lower shell divided piece 115 is adjacent to the upper shell divided piece 103 formed on the upper holder 90 when the upper and lower holders 90 and 91 are coupled.

  When the cartridge main body 10 is inserted into the cartridge holder 80, the lower shell split piece 115 enters the split groove 47 and supports the upper end surface of the entrance groove 43 of the lower shell 12 from above. Thus, the lower shell split piece 115 holds the lower shell 12 in the lower holder 91, and when the lower shell 12 is lowered from the cartridge insertion / removal position to the disk insertion / ejection position by the cam plate 82 described later, the lower shell 12 Is separated from the upper shell 11.

  The height regulating piece 116 pushes a predetermined optical disc 2 out of a plurality of optical discs 2 stacked and accommodated in the cartridge body 10 by positioning the lower holder 91 lowered to the disc insertion / ejection position. Positioning is performed on the rotation locus of the lever 167. As shown in FIG. 20, the height restricting piece 116 is formed to protrude outward while being separated from the front and back of the lower side surface portions 107 and 107, and is engaged with the height adjusting plate 120.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the height adjustment plate 120 is slidably supported by the support convex portions 122 provided on the inner surfaces of the support side surfaces 134 and 135 of the holder cover 81 over the longitudinal direction of the apparatus main body 60. It is slid by a drive mechanism 83 described later. The height adjustment plate 120 is formed with a plurality of adjustment slits 121 formed at the same interval as the support interval of the optical disc 2 accommodated in the cartridge body 10. Each adjustment slit 121 engages with the height regulating piece 116, so that the corresponding optical disc 2 among the plurality of optical discs 2 supported by the support groove 48 is positioned on the rotation locus of the push lever 167. The lower holder 91 is positioned at the discharge position. The adjustment slit 121 is opened toward the height regulating piece 116 of the lower holder 91 lowered to the disk insertion / ejection position, and the height regulating plate 120 slides so that it can be engaged with and disengaged from the height regulating piece 116. ing. In addition, the adjustment slit 121 is easy to draw in the height regulating piece 116 by expanding the tip of each opening.

  When the predetermined optical disk 2 for recording and / or reproducing the information signal is lowered by the cam plate 82 to the disk insertion / ejection position positioned on the rotation locus of the push lever 167, the lower holder 91 is moved to a height adjustment plate. 120 slides and engages with the height regulating piece 116. As a result, the lower holder 91 is restricted to the disc insertion / ejection position of the predetermined optical disc 2, and can prevent erroneous insertion / ejection in which the other optical discs 2 stacked vertically are located at the disc insertion / ejection position.

  The shell positioning pin 117 is intended to position the lower shell 12 in the lower holder 91 by being inserted into a positioning hole 45 formed in the lower surface plate 40 of the lower shell 12. As shown in FIG. 21, the shell positioning pins 117 are provided on both sides in the width direction of the front edge serving as the insertion end of the cartridge body 10. The shell positioning pin 117 is pushed down by the insertion pin 124 inserted into the positioning hole 45 through the pin hole 123 provided in the lower holder 91, the lifting block 125 protruding from the insertion pin 124, and the upper holder 90. And a pressing piece 126. In addition, the shell positioning pin 117 is inserted into the elevating shaft 128 attached to the lower holder 91 so that the elevating block 125 can be moved up and down, and by sliding the elevating shaft 128, the insertion pin 124 is inserted from the pin hole 123. 106 can be advanced and retracted.

  The elevating shaft 128 is provided on the lower side of the mounting surface portion 106, and a coil spring 129 that presses the elevating block 125 upward is inserted through the tip. The coil spring 129 is locked by a locking member such as an E-ring provided at the tip of the lifting shaft 128, and the constantly rising / lowering block 125 is moved in the direction of arrow U in FIG. Energized.

  The pressing piece 126 extends to the outside of the lower side surface portion 107 from the lifting block 125 and is pushed down by the upper holder 90 to push down the lifting block 125 in the opposite arrow U direction against the urging force of the coil spring 129. The pin 124 is retracted from the placement surface portion 106.

  When the upper and lower holders 90 and 91 are brought into contact with each other, the shell positioning pin 117 is pressed by the upper holder 90 as shown in FIG. To do. Further, when the cartridge body 10 is mounted and the lower holder 91 is lowered to the disk insertion / ejection position, the shell positioning pin 117 is released from the pressing piece 126 by the upper holder 90. 125 is raised. Thereby, the shell positioning pin 117 can insert the insertion pin 124 into the positioning hole 45 of the lower shell 12 through the pin hole 123, and can position the lower shell 12 in the lower holder 91.

  The lower side surface portion 107 is formed with a pressing piece 131 that presses the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 of the lower shell 12. The pressing piece 131 is formed of a flexible plate-like body that protrudes from the lower side surface portion 107 to the inside of the lower holder 91. The pressing piece 131 provided on the front surface 60a side of the apparatus main body 60 includes a resin component such as POM. The pressing piece 131 formed on the back surface 60b side is formed by punching a sheet metal. The lower holder 91 prevents rattling when the pressing piece 131 presses the lower shell 12, and enables the optical disk 2 to be inserted and ejected and to / from the upper shell 11 stably.

  Next, the holder elevating mechanism 84 that elevates and lowers the cartridge holder 80 will be described. As described above, the holder lifting mechanism 84 includes the holder cover 81 that supports the cartridge holder 80 so as to be slidable, the cam plate 82 that conveys the cartridge holder 80, and the drive mechanism 83 that slides the cam plate 82.

  The holder cover 81 slidably supports the cartridge holder 80 and is fastened together with the cover connecting portion 67 of the bottom cover 62 together with the top cover 61 of the apparatus main body 60 as shown in FIGS. Thus, it is fixed to the apparatus main body 60 integrally. The holder cover 81 includes a top surface portion 133 parallel to the upper surface 60 c of the apparatus main body 60, and a pair of left and right support side surfaces 134 and 135 that are bent from both side edges of the top surface portion 133 and support the cartridge holder 80. .

  The top plate portion 133 is formed with a spring locking portion 137 where one end of a tension coil spring 95 that is spanned between the upper holder 90 and the front surface 60 a of the apparatus main body 60 is locked. The tension coil spring 95 is slidably biased to the front surface 60 a side of the apparatus main body 60 at all times by being locked to the spring locking portion 137.

  The support side surfaces 134 and 135 hold the upper cam slit 140 that guides the upper holder 90 of the cartridge holder 80, the lower cam slit 141 that guides the lower holder 91, and the upper holder 90 toward the back surface 60b of the apparatus main body 60. A holder latch 142, a slide guide pin 143 that guides the slide of the cam plate 82 described later, and an insertion groove 144 through which the holder holding piece 102 formed in the upper holder 90 is inserted.

  The upper cam slit 140 and the lower cam slit 141 guide the movement of the cartridge holder 80. When the disk changer device 3 is waiting for the insertion of the disk cartridge 1 or ejects the disk cartridge 1, the cartridge holder 80 is slid to the cartridge insertion / removal position on the front surface 60 a side of the apparatus main body 60. Further, when the disc cartridge 1 is inserted from the cartridge insertion / removal opening 70, the disc changer device 3 is pressed by the cartridge body 10 and the cartridge holder 80 is slid to the insertion position on the back surface 60b side. Further, when the disc changer device 3 ejects the disc cartridge 1, the cartridge holder 80 is slid to the cartridge insertion / ejection position on the front surface 60 a side by the tension coil spring 95. At this time, the cartridge holder 80 is guided to slide in the front-rear direction by the upper cam slit 140 and the lower cam slit 141. The lower holder 91 is guided by the lower cam slit 141 when the lower holder 91 is moved up and down between the insertion position and the disk insertion / ejection position by the cam plate 82.

  The upper cam slit 140 guides the slide in the front-rear direction of the cartridge holder 80 when the cam pin 101 protruding from the upper side surface portion 94 of the upper holder 90 is inserted. The upper cam slit 140 is formed above the support side surfaces 134 and 135 and spaced apart in the front-rear direction. Each upper cam slit 140 has an upper horizontal portion 140a that guides the cartridge holder 80 in the front-rear direction, and an upper vertical portion 140b that extends downward from an end of the lower horizontal portion 140a on the back surface 60b side.

  The upper cam slit 140 guides the slide in the front-rear direction of the upper holder 90 by the upper horizontal portion 140a when the cam pin 101 of the upper holder 90 is inserted. At this time, since the upper holder 90 and the lower holder 91 are coupled by the engagement of the holder engaging piece 100 and the engaging cam pin 113, the cartridge holder 80 is integrated with the upper and lower holders 90, 91 in the front and rear direction. Movement in the direction is guided. At this time, the cartridge body 10 is in a state in which the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are coupled. Further, the upper cam slit 140 moves the cartridge body 10 in the horizontal direction by the upper horizontal portion 140a, and is not guided by the upper vertical portion 140b in normal use.

  The lower cam slit 141 inserts the engaging cam pin 113 projecting from the lower side surface portion 107 of the lower holder 91, thereby sliding the cartridge holder 80 in the front-rear direction and the lower holder 91 in the vertical direction. It is a guide. The lower cam slit 141 is formed in the vicinity of the center in the height direction of the support side surfaces 134 and 135 so as to be separated from each other in the front-rear direction. Each lower cam slit 141 includes a lower horizontal portion 141a that guides the cartridge holder 80 in the front-rear direction, and a lower vertical portion 141b that is substantially orthogonal to the lower horizontal portion 141a and extends downward from the back surface 60b side of the lower horizontal portion 141a. And have. In the lower horizontal portion 141a, a preliminary horizontal portion 141c is formed further on the back surface 60b side than the lower vertical portion 141b.

  The lower cam slit 141 guides the slide in the front-rear direction of the lower holder 91 by the lower horizontal portion 141a when the engagement cam pin 113 of the lower holder 91 is inserted. At this time, since the lower holder 91 and the upper holder 90 are coupled by the engagement cam pin 113 engaging the holder engagement piece 100, the cartridge holder 80 slides integrally with the upper and lower holders 90, 91. To do.

  Further, when the lower holder 91 is slid to the insertion position on the back surface 60b side of the lower horizontal portion 141a, the lower cam slit 141 moves the engagement cam pin 113 moved up and down by the cam plate 82 by the lower vertical portion 141b. Guide in the direction. Accordingly, the lower cam slit 141 guides the elevation of the lower holder 91 between the cartridge insertion / removal position and the disk insertion / ejection position.

  The holder latch 142 holds the cartridge holder 80 slid to the insertion position on the back surface 60 b side of the apparatus main body 60 at the insertion position facing the urging force of the tension coil spring 95. It is provided on the back surface 60b side. The holder latch 142 is engaged with the holder holding piece 102 formed on the upper side surface portion 94 of the upper holder 90 from the front surface 60a side, so that the upper holder 90 and the front surface 60a side of the lower holder 91 combined with the upper holder 90 are integrated. Regulate the slide to.

  The holder latch 142 includes a collar 142 a that is locked to the holder holding piece 102, a rotation support portion 142 b that is rotatably supported by the support side surfaces 134 and 135, and a spring locking piece portion 142 c that is latched by the latch spring 145. And have. The holder latch 142 is always locked to the other end of the latch spring 145 locked to the support side surfaces 134 and 135, so that the hook 142a is always locked to the holder holding piece 102 in the direction of arrow L in FIG. Is biased to rotate. Therefore, when the cartridge holder 80 is slid to the back surface 60b side, the holder latch 142 can regulate the slide of the cartridge holder 80 to the front surface 60a side by the hook portion 142a engaging with the holder holding piece 102. .

  The lower cam slit 141 is pushed into the cartridge holder 80 until the holder holding piece 102 and the collar 142a of the holder latch 142 are locked, so that the engagement cam pin 113 is moved from the lower horizontal portion 141a to the lower vertical portion 141b. Slide up to the preliminary horizontal part 141c. In the lower cam slit 141, when the holder holding piece 102 is locked to the holder latch 142, the engagement cam pin 113 is positioned on the lower vertical portion 141b. Thereby, the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are held at the insertion position.

  Further, the spring latch piece 142c of the holder latch 142 is positioned on a slide trajectory of a cam plate 82, which will be described later, and when the disk cartridge 1 is ejected, the spring latch piece 142c is moved to the back surface 60b by the cam plate 82. By being pushed to the side, it is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow L in FIG. As a result, the holder latch 142 allows the collar 142a to be disengaged from the holder holding piece 102 so that the upper holder 90 and the lower holder 91 can be slid toward the front surface 60a, and the upper holder 90 and the lower holder 91 are moved toward the front surface 60a by the tension coil spring 95. Slide.

  A slide guide pin 143 that guides the slide of the cam plate 82 protrudes below the support side surfaces 134 and 135. The slide guide pin 143 guides the slide of the cam plate 82 by being inserted into a guide slit 151 formed in the cam plate 82.

  The insertion groove 144 through which the holder holding piece 102 is inserted is formed on the back surface 60b side of the support side surfaces 134 and 135 in the front-rear direction. The insertion groove 144 is engaged with the flange 142a of the holder latch 142 when the holder holding piece 102 protrudes outward and slides.

  A plurality of cover connection pieces 146 that are connected to the cover connection portion 67 of the bottom cover 62 are formed on the support side surface portions 134 and 135 at the lower side edge in the height direction. The cover connecting piece 146 is fastened together with the top cover 61 to the cover connecting portion 67 of the bottom cover 62. Further, the support side surfaces 134 and 135 are extended to the back surface 60b side of the apparatus main body 60, and extended support pieces 154 and 154 to which a housing 200 of the carry loader 6 described later is attached are formed.

  Next, the cam plate 82 that raises and lowers the lower holder 91 will be described. The cam plate 82 is adjacent to the outside of the supporting side surface portions 134 and 135 and is supported by the holder cover 81 and a driving mechanism 83 described later so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 15, the cam plate 82 includes an elevating guide groove 150 through which the engaging cam pin 113 projecting from the lower holder 91 is inserted, and a guide slit through which the slide guide pin 143 projecting from the holder cover 81 is inserted. 151 and a latch pressing portion 152 that presses the spring locking piece 142 c of the holder latch 142.

  The elevating guide groove 150 is spaced apart in the front-rear direction of the cam plate 82, is formed in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60, and guides the slide in the same direction of the lower holder 91, and the horizontal guide part There is an elevating guide portion 150b that is inclined downward from the end portion on the back surface 60b side of 150a to elevate and lower the lower holder 91. The elevating guide groove 150 slides the engaging cam pin 113 along the horizontal guide portion 150a and the elevating guide portion 150b when the cam plate 82 is slid in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60 by the drive mechanism 83. Thus, the lower holder 91 is moved up and down.

  Further, the cam plate 82 is continuous with the driving mechanism 83 via the connecting means, and is slid in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60 when the driving mechanism 83 is driven. At this time, the slide guide pin 143 provided on the support side surfaces 134 and 135 of the holder cover 81 is inserted into the guide slit 151 and the cam plate 82 is guided by the slide guide pin 143. The guide slit 151 is formed below the cam plate 82 in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60.

  The latch pressing portion 152 is formed on the side edge of the cam plate 82 on the back surface 60b side. The latch pressing portion 152 presses the spring locking piece 142c of the holder latch 142 when the cam plate 82 is slid toward the back surface 60b, and rotates the collar 142a in the counter arrow L direction to hold the holder holding piece. Remove from 102.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 and 23, the drive mechanism 83 that drives the cam plate 82 is disposed on a base plate 155 that is fastened together with the bottom cover 62, and a first drive motor 156 that serves as a drive source; The first drive motor 156 includes a first back gear 157 and a second back gear 158 that are driven to rotate by the first drive motor 156 and connected to the cam plate 82.

  The base plate 155 has a rectangular shape having substantially the same size as the bottom cover 62 and is fixed by being fastened together with the cover connecting portion 67 of the bottom cover 62 together with the top cover 61 and the holder cover 81. The base plate 155 is provided with a disk push-out mechanism 85 described later on the front surface 60a side on the surface 155a. Further, the base plate 155 is provided with a carry loader 6 and a recording / reproducing device 7 which will be described later on the back surface 60b side on the surface 155a.

  The first back gear 157 and the second back gear 158 are rotatably supported by the back surface 155b of the base plate 155 and are engaged with each other. The first back gear 157 is connected to a first drive motor 156 mounted on the surface 155a of the base plate 155 via a reduction gear. The first back gear 157 is engaged with a gear portion 159 b of a gear connecting portion 82 a extending from the lower edge of the cam plate 82 to the back surface 155 b of the base plate 155. The second back gear 158 meshes with the first back gear 157 and meshes with the gear portion 159b of the gear connecting portion 82a extending from the lower edge of the cam plate 82 toward the back surface 155b of the base plate 155. ing.

  The gear connecting portion 82a of the cam plate 82 is formed with a guide slot 159a formed in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60 and a gear portion 159b that meshes with the first back gear 157 or the second back gear 158. ing. The guide long hole 159a is inserted with a guide shaft protruding from the back surface 155b of the base plate 155. The gear portion 159 b is formed across the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60.

  In the drive mechanism 83, when the first drive motor 156 is driven, the first back gear 157 and the second back gear 158 are rotated to move the gear connecting portion 82a along the guide long hole 159a. Accordingly, the pair of left and right cam plates 82 are slid in synchronization with the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60.

  The cam plate 82 is slid toward the back surface 60b of the apparatus main body 60 in a state where the insertion of the disk cartridge 1 is on standby. Further, the cartridge holder 80 is configured such that the cam pins 101 and the engaging cam pins 113 are guided by the horizontal guide portion 150a of the cam plate 82 and the upper horizontal portion 140a and the lower horizontal portion 141a of the holder cover 81, so Are coupled and held in the cartridge insertion / removal position.

  When the disk cartridge 1 is inserted into the cartridge holder 80 and the cartridge holder 80 is slid toward the back surface 60b of the apparatus main body 60 against the urging force of the pulling coil spring 95, the flange portion of the holder latch 142 142a engages with the holder holding piece 102 and restricts sliding of the apparatus main body 60 toward the front surface 60a. When it is detected that the cartridge holder 80 has been slid to such a position, the cam plate 82 is slid to the front surface 60a side when the first drive motor 156 is driven. The lower holder 91 is lowered along the lower vertical portion 141b from the lower horizontal portion 141a of the holder cover 81 by sliding the engagement cam pin 113 from the horizontal guide portion 150a to the lifting guide portion 150b. It is transported to the disc insertion / ejection position.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 24, in the driving mechanism 83, the surface cam gear 160 is rotatably supported on the surface 155 a of the base plate 155. The surface cam gear 160 is connected to a second drive motor 163 provided on the base plate 155 via a reduction gear. Further, the surface cam gear 160 is formed with a second cam groove 160a for sliding the height adjustment plate 120 described above. The cam pin 161a of the adjustment slide plate 161 is engaged with the second cam groove 160a. The adjustment slide plate 161 is provided with rectilinear guide grooves 161 b and 161 c extending in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60, and the rectilinear guide grooves 161 b and 161 c are provided to support the rotation of the guide shaft and the surface cam gear 160 erected on the base plate 155. By being inserted through the shaft, it is supported so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction.

  Further, the adjustment spring 162 is locked to the adjustment slide plate 161. The adjustment spring 162 is rotatably supported by a support shaft projecting from the base plate 155, and has one end locked to the adjustment slide plate 161 and the other end opened to the height adjustment plate 120. It is locked to the stop hole 120a (FIG. 20).

  The height adjustment plate 120 is provided with a long hole 164 extending in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60. Further, as described above, the holder cover 81 is provided with the support protrusions 122 that guide the slide of the height adjustment plate 120 by being inserted into the long holes 164 on the inner surfaces of the support side surfaces 134 and 135. . The height adjustment plate 120 is supported by the support protrusion 122 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60 when the support protrusion 122 is inserted into the elongated hole 164. Further, the height adjustment plate 120 is always slid and biased toward the back surface 60 b of the apparatus main body 60 by the spring 166 being spanned between the support shaft side surfaces 134 and 135 of the holder cover 81.

  When the surface cam gear 160 is rotated, the height adjustment plate 120 slides the adjustment slide plate 161 toward the back surface 60b of the apparatus main body 60 by the cam pin 161a sliding in the second cam groove 160a. . Accordingly, the adjustment spring 162 can slide the height adjustment plate 120 along the long hole 164 toward the front surface 60a of the apparatus main body 60 by rotating the other end toward the front surface 60a.

  Next, the disk push-out mechanism 85 that pushes the optical disk 2 toward the carry loader 6 will be described. The disc push-out mechanism 85 is provided on the front surface 60a side of the surface 155a of the base plate 155, presses the optical disc 2 from the disc push-out port 51 of the lower shell 12 conveyed to the disc insertion / ejection position, and ejects it from the disc insertion / ejection port 50. It is something to be made. 24 and 25, the disk push-out mechanism 85 includes a push-out lever 167 that pushes out the optical disc 2, a lever support wall 168 that supports the push-out lever 167, a lever slider 169 that rotates the push-out lever 167, and a push-out mechanism. And a second driving motor 163 that applies a driving force for rotating the lever 167.

  As shown in FIG. 25, the push lever 167 is formed in a long and flat plate shape, and has a thickness that can enter the support groove 48 that is formed on the inner surface side of the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 and supports the optical disc 2. In addition, the push lever 167 is fitted with a disc contact member 173 made of a resin member softer than the optical disc 2 at a tip portion that enters the support groove 48.

  The disc abutting member 173 is ejected from the disc insertion / ejection port 50 by pressing the outer peripheral surface of the optical disc 2, and the tip is formed in an arc shape so that it can abut without damaging the optical disc 2. .

  The push lever 167 is rotatably supported at the upper end of a lever support shaft 172 having a base end projecting from the front surface 60 a side of the base plate 155. Thereby, when a lever slider 169 described later is slid, the push lever 167 pushes the optical disc 2 to the disc insertion / ejection port 50 in the direction of arrow P in FIG. Draw a turning trajectory in the direction of the reverse arrow P to return. This turning trajectory is the same as the trajectory of the guide portion 48 c formed in the support groove 48 in an arc shape. Therefore, when the push lever 167 enters the support groove 48, the push lever 167 is rotated along the guide portion 48c, so that the disc contact member 173 is supported by the guide portion 48c.

  Here, the push lever 167 is supported by the lever support shaft 172, and thus is rotated at the height of the disk insertion / ejection position. Then, the disk push-out mechanism 85 pushes down the predetermined optical disk 2 by lowering the lower shell 12 so that the predetermined optical disk 2 discharged to the carry loader 6 side is positioned at the height of the disk insertion / ejection position. The lever 167 can be pressed. In this way, the height at which the disc push-out mechanism 85 inserts and ejects the optical disc 2 is determined. Accordingly, the holder elevating mechanism 84 moves the lower holder 91 up and down to adjust the storage position of the predetermined optical disc 2 to the height at which the optical disc 2 is inserted and ejected by the disc pushing mechanism 85, that is, the disc insertion and ejection position. Thus, a predetermined optical disc 2 to be recorded / reproduced is selected from the optical discs 2 stacked and stored, and the predetermined optical disc 2 can be inserted and ejected. Thereby, the select loader 5 can easily realize a configuration in which the cartridge main body 10 is separated so that the optical disk 2 can be inserted and ejected, and a predetermined optical disk 2 is simultaneously selected from the plurality of optical disks 2.

  The push lever 167 can be ejected from the disc insertion / ejection port 50 by rotating the push lever 167 further toward the front surface 60a side of the apparatus main body 60 than the guide portion 48c. At this time, as shown in FIG. 26A, the push lever 167 has entered the guide portion 48c of the support groove 48 that supports the predetermined optical disc 2 in advance, so that the predetermined lever supported by the support groove 48 is used. The optical disc 2 can be pushed out.

  The push-out lever 167 conveys at least the center hole 2a of the optical disc 2 to a position where it is ejected from the disc insertion / ejection port 50 by pushing out the optical disc 2. As a result, the disc push-out mechanism 85 can eject the optical disc 2 to a position where a loading arm 201 of the carry loader 6 described later can grip the rear end side in the ejection direction from the center hole 2a of the optical disc 2 ( FIG. 30).

  The push lever 167 is supported by the lever support wall 168 over the entire rotation region. As shown in FIG. 26 (b), when the push lever 167 is rotated ahead of the guide portion 48 c of the support groove 48, the tip end portion is detached from the support groove 48. For this reason, the lever support wall 168 prevents the long push lever 167 from swinging and coming out of contact with the predetermined optical disc 2 to be ejected or colliding with another optical disc 2.

  The lever support wall 168 is provided in the vicinity of the lever support shaft 172 that supports the push lever 167, and is provided with an arcuate support surface 168a along the rotation trajectory on the proximal end side of the push lever 167. The lever support wall 168 has a support surface 168 a formed at a height at which the push lever 167 is supported by the lever support shaft 172. Further, the lever support wall 168 can be supported over the entire rotation region of the push lever 167 by being provided on the base end side of the push lever 167.

  The lever slider 169 rotates the push lever 167 by being slid by the drive mechanism 83, and is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape as shown in FIG. The lever slider 169 is provided with an operation recess 176 that engages with a rotation operation piece 175 provided on the push lever 167 at one end in the longitudinal direction, and a third cam formed on the surface cam gear 160 at the other end in the longitudinal direction. A cam pin 177 that engages with the groove 160b is projected.

  The operation recess 176 is formed with a pair of contact surfaces 178 and 178 that are separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the lever slider 169, and the rotation operation piece 175 of the push lever 167 is engaged between the contact surfaces 178 and 178. . Then, when the lever slider 169 is slid in the direction of the arrow B or the counter arrow B in FIG. 24, which is the longitudinal direction, the operation recess 176 presses the rotating operation piece 175 by one or the other contact surface 178, The push lever 167 is rotated in the direction of pushing out the optical disk 2 or returning to the initial position.

  Further, the lever slider 169 is formed with a slightly wide slot 180 along the longitudinal direction, and the guide shaft 181 erected on the base plate 155 is inserted into the slot 180 so that the lever slider 169 can move in the longitudinal direction. Guided. Further, the lever slider 169 is biased in the direction of arrow A in FIGS. 27 and 24 where one end of the tension spring 182 is locked and the operation recess 176 is always locked to the rotation operation piece 175. The tension spring 182 has one end locked to the lever slider 169 and the other end locked to a spring locking piece 183 projecting from the base plate 155.

  The lever slider 169 is slid in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 24 as the longitudinal direction when the cam pin 177 slides in the third cam groove 160b of the surface cam gear 160. When the lever slider 169 is slid in the arrow B direction, the rotating operation piece 175 of the push lever 167 is pressed in the same direction by the contact surface 178 of the operation recess 176, and the push lever 167 is rotated in the arrow P direction. Let At this time, since the lever slider 169 is pulled in the direction of the arrow A by the tension spring 182, the rotation operation piece 175 is engaged between the contact surfaces 178 and 178 of the operation recess 176, and the push lever 167 is securely moved. It can be rotated.

  Further, when the optical disk 2 is ejected to the carry loader 6 side, the lever slider 169 is slid in the direction opposite to the arrow B as the surface cam gear 160 is reversed. Thereby, the lever slider 169 presses the rotation operation piece 175 in the same direction, and rotates the push lever 167 in the counter arrow P direction.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 27, the disc push-out mechanism 85 is used when the optical disc 2 is already inserted in the carry loader 6 or when the push lever 167 swings and the tip abuts against the end surface between the support grooves 48. When the rotation of the push lever 167 in the arrow P direction is restricted, the lever slider 169 and the rotation operation piece 175 are disengaged.

  That is, the lever slider 169 is provided with a long hole 180 that is slightly wider in the width direction perpendicular to the sliding direction. Therefore, when the rotation of the push lever 167 in the direction of the arrow P is restricted and the rotation operation piece 175 is fixed, the lever slider 169 moves in the opposite direction of the arrow A against the urging force of the tension spring 182. The engagement between the recess 176 and the rotation operation piece 175 is released. As a result, the lever slider 169 can slide in the direction of arrow B according to the rotation of the surface cam gear 160, and an excessive load can be prevented from being applied to the drive mechanism 83, the push lever 167, and the optical disc 2.

  In the disk push-out mechanism 85, the lever slider 169 is slid in the opposite arrow B direction when the surface cam gear 160 is reversed after a predetermined time has elapsed. At this time, the lever slider 169 is biased in the direction of arrow A by the tension spring 182, whereby the operation recess 176 and the rotation operation piece 175 are engaged.

  Here, a configuration for avoiding interference between the bezel 71 provided on the front panel 63 and the upper shell divided piece 103 and the lower shell divided piece 115 provided on the cartridge holder 80 will be described. As described above, the bezel 71 that closes the cartridge insertion / removal opening 70 includes the center bezel 74 that opens and closes almost the entire surface except for both sides in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge insertion / removal opening 70 and the pair that opens and closes both sides in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge insertion / removal opening 70. Side bezels 75 and 75. Further, the cartridge holder 80 is slid to the cartridge insertion / removal position, and the upper shell divided piece 103 is formed to protrude from the inner surface side of the upper side surface portions 94, 94 of the upper holder 90.

  If the bezel 71 is configured so that the cartridge insertion / removal port 70 is closed only by the center bezel 74, the center bezel 74 draws a turning locus toward the back surface 60 b along the upper edge of the cartridge insertion / removal port 70. It is necessary to retreat other obstacles such as the upper shell split piece 103 from the rotation region of the center bezel 74 also on both sides in the direction.

  In order to avoid interference with the center bezel 74 by moving the upper shell divided piece 103 toward the back surface 60b, it is necessary to form the upper shell divided piece 103 on the back surface 60b side of the apparatus main body 60. However, when the cartridge main body 10 is mounted on the cartridge holder 80, the upper shell split piece 103 presses the rear lock piece 33 disposed on the back surface 10d of the cartridge main body 10 in the opposite arrow S direction opposite to the insertion direction. To do.

  Therefore, as the upper shell divided piece 103 is formed on the back surface 60b side of the apparatus main body 60, the rear lock piece 33 cannot be unlocked unless the cartridge main body 10 is inserted deeply into the back surface 60b side of the apparatus main body 60. For this reason, when the cartridge body 10 is inserted by the user's hand, the user's hand needs to enter the apparatus body 60 deeply, which impairs the usability and increases the risk that the hand touches the mechanism in the apparatus body 60. Further, when a mechanism for automatically pulling in the cartridge body 10 is incorporated, since the transport distance of the cartridge body 10 is extended, the size of the apparatus body 60 in the depth direction becomes long, and the space saving of the apparatus body 60 is lost. End up.

  Therefore, in the disc changer device 3, the bezel 71 is configured such that a center bezel 74 that opens and closes almost the entire surface except for both sides in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge insertion / removal opening 70, and a pair of side bezels 75 that open and close both sides in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge insertion / removal opening 70 75. As a result, the bezel 71 can avoid interference with the upper shell divided piece 103 by providing the length of the center bezel 74 in the longitudinal direction up to a region where it does not interfere with the upper shell divided piece 103.

  Then, both sides in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge insertion / removal port 70 not covered with the center bezel 74 are covered with the side bezels 75 and 75. As shown in FIG. 28, since the side bezels 75 and 75 have a shorter rotation area in the insertion direction of the cartridge body 10 than the center bezel 74, the upper shell divided piece 103 is provided on the front surface 60a side as much as possible. be able to.

  Thereby, the disc changer device 3 shortens the insertion depth of the cartridge body 10 necessary for releasing the lock of the lock mechanism 30 while avoiding the interference between the upper shell divided piece 103 and the bezel 71, Usability can be improved and the apparatus main body 60 can be downsized.

[2-3. Carry loader]
Next, the carry loader 6 will be described. The carry loader 6 pulls the optical disk 2 ejected from the select loader 5 and conveys it to the recording / reproducing apparatus 7, and pushes the optical disk 2 ejected from the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 back into the lower shell 12 in the select loader 5. is there. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the carry loader 6 is provided adjacent to the select loader 5 on the back surface 60 b side of the apparatus main body 60.

  The carry loader 6 is provided together with the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 in a housing 200 serving as an outer casing. The housing 200 is screwed to extension support pieces 154 and 154 formed on the holder cover 81 of the select loader 5.

  As shown in FIG. 29, the carry loader 6 is in contact with the outer periphery of the optical disk 2 to draw into the carry loader 6 and push back into the lower shell, and the loading arm 201 in the transport direction of the optical disk 2. And an arm driving mechanism 202 for driving the motor.

  The arm drive mechanism 202 includes a pair of slide arms 203 and 204 that slide the loading arm 201, a slide deck 205 that rotatably supports the slide arms 203 and 204, and a slide deck 205 that is slidably supported and slides. A slide plate 206 that engages with the slide arms 203 and 204 via the deck 205, and a slide biasing spring that spans between the slide deck 205 and the slide plate 206 and biases the slide plate 206 against the slide deck 205. 207 and a slide cam groove 252 that engages a slide cam pin 250 projecting from the slide plate 206 is formed, and the slide plate 206 is slid with respect to the slide deck 205 so as to face the biasing force of the slide biasing spring 207. It includes a cam gear 208 to the base deck 210 to drive motor 209 is provided for driving the cam gear 208 rotatably supports the cam gear 208.

  The arm driving mechanism 202 is slidably engaged with a lifting deck 211 that is connected to the loading arm 201 and lifts the loading arm 201, and a lifting cam hole 261 provided in the lifting deck 211, and slides on the base deck 210. A lift plate 212 that is freely supported, and a lift biasing spring 213 that is stretched between the lift plate 212 and the base deck 210 and biases the lift plate 212 against the cam gear 208 are provided.

  Then, the carry loader 6 drives the loading arm 201 by the arm drive mechanism 202, thereby pulling the predetermined optical disk 2 pushed out from the lower shell 12 by the select loader 5, as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 31, the carry loader 6 pushes the optical disk 2 on which the information signal has been recorded and / or reproduced by the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 back into the lower shell 12.

  As shown in FIG. 32, the loading arm 201 is formed by connecting left and right arm plates 220 and 221 that engage with the slide arms 203 and 204. The left and right arm plates 220 and 221 are provided with screw holes 222 that are screwed to each other and engagement grooves 223 that the slide arms 203 or 204 are engaged with. The engagement groove 223 is formed in a direction orthogonal to the arrow C direction in FIG. 32, which is the sliding direction of the loading arm 201.

  In addition, the left and right arm plates 220 and 221 are formed with arm portions 224 provided with locking claws 226 that contact the outer peripheral surface of the optical disc 2. The arm portion 224 is extended in the sliding direction of the loading arm 201, and a locking claw 226 is attached to the tip.

  The locking claw 226 is made of a resin material that can contact the optical disk 2 without damaging it, and is attached to the arm portions 224 of the left and right arm plates 220 and 221 so as to be slidable in parallel with each other. As shown in FIGS. 33 (a) and 33 (b), the latching claw 226 has an insertion surface portion 227 for pressing the optical disc 2 and inserting it into the lower shell 12 on the inner surface facing the outer peripheral surface of the optical disc 2. A drawing surface portion 228 for drawing the optical disk 2 into the carry loader 6 is formed.

  The insertion surface portion 227 is provided on the distal end side of the locking claw 226, and is formed in an arc shape having substantially the same curvature as the outer peripheral surface of the optical disc 2, so that the insertion surface portion 227 can come into surface contact with the outer periphery of the optical disc 2. Further, the insertion surface portion 227 has a tip portion formed thicker than the thickness of the optical disc 2, the lower region is a pressing portion 227 a that presses the predetermined optical disc 2 inserted and ejected from the lower shell 12, and the upper region is the predetermined region A restricting portion 227b that presses another optical disc 2 adjacent to the optical disc 2 to restrict the optical disc 2 to the storage position is provided.

  The drawing surface portion 228 is provided on the proximal end side of the locking claw 226 with respect to the insertion surface portion 227, and is formed on the lower surface 226a side of the locking claw 226 that faces the upper surface that becomes the non-signal recording surface of the optical disc 2. The pull-in surface portion 228 is formed in an arc shape having substantially the same curvature as the outer peripheral surface of the optical disc 2, so that it can come into surface contact with the outer periphery of the optical disc 2.

  The loading arm 201 has the engaging claws 226 attached to the left and right arm plates 220 and 221 so that the insertion surface portions 227 face each other and the drawing surface portions 228 face each other. Then, the loading arm 201 inserts the optical disk 2 into the lower shell 12 by pressing the rear end side in the insertion direction of the optical disk 2 equally with the pair of insertion surface portions 227 (FIG. 31). Further, the loading arm 201 presses the rear end side in the drawing direction of the optical disk equally with the pair of drawing surface portions 228 to draw the optical disk 2 into the carry loader 6 (FIG. 30).

  In addition, the loading arm 201 has a screw 232 inserted through the side walls 229 and 230 of the left and right arm plates 220 and 221, and the screw 232 is inserted and supported in a slide guide hole 260 formed in the elevating deck 211 described later. Thus, it is supported so as to be slidable in the arrow C direction and the counter arrow C direction in FIG. The loading arm 201 can be moved up and down in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 29, which is a height direction orthogonal to the in-plane direction of the optical disc 2, by moving the lifting deck 211 up and down.

  Next, the arm driving mechanism 202 that drives the loading arm 201 will be described. The arm drive mechanism 202 slides the loading arm 201 in the transport direction of the optical disc 2, that is, in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60, and also moves up and down in the vertical direction of the apparatus main body 60.

  As shown in FIG. 34, the slide arms 203 and 204 engaged with the left and right arm plates 220 and 221 of the loading arm 201 are made of an elongated flat plate-like metal plate, and are guided by the slide deck 205 at one end in the longitudinal direction. A pin 235 is protruded. Further, the slide arms 203 and 204 are provided with a slide pin 236 protruding from the other end in the longitudinal direction through the engagement groove 223 formed in the left and right arm plates 220 and 221. Furthermore, the slide arms 203 and 204 are formed with an insertion hole 237 that is inserted and supported by a rotation shaft 238 protruding from the slide deck 205 at the approximate center in the longitudinal direction.

  In the slide arms 203 and 204, the guide pin 235 is engaged with the slide plate 206 via the slide deck 205, and the slide pin 236 rotates around the rotation shaft 238 as the slide plate 206 slides in the front-rear direction. Is done. As a result, in the slide arms 203 and 204, the slide pin 236 slides in the engagement grooves 223 of the left and right arm plates 220 and 221, thereby sliding the left and right arm plates 220 and 221 together in the arrow C direction and the counter arrow C direction. .

  The slide deck 205 supports the slide arms 203 and 204 and the slide plate 206, and is fixed to a base deck 210 described later. As shown in FIG. 35, the slide deck 205 includes a rotation shaft 238 that is inserted into the insertion holes 237 of the slide arms 203 and 204, a guide hole 239 that is inserted into the guide pins 235 that protrude from the slide arms 203 and 204, and It has a straight guide groove 240 for guiding the slide plate 206 to go straight.

  The rotation shaft 238 is mounted on the shaft hole opened in the main surface of the deck from the back surface side, so that it protrudes on the main surface of the deck and is rotatably supported by being inserted through the insertion holes 237 of the slide arms 203 and 204. is doing. In addition, the guide hole 239 is formed in an arc shape according to the turning trajectory of the guide pin 235 of the slide arms 203 and 204. In the slide arms 203 and 204, the guide pin 235 protrudes downward through the guide hole 239 and engages with the engagement hole 247 of the slide plate 206.

  The rectilinear guide groove 240 guides the movement of the slide plate 206 and is formed in the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60. As shown in FIG. 36A, the slide plate 206 is supported by the slide deck 205 and slidable along the rectilinear guide groove 240 by attaching a screw 242 inserted through the rectilinear guide groove 240. ing.

  Further, the slide deck 205 is formed with a spring hanging piece 244 that is engaged with one end of a slide urging spring 207 that is spanned between the slide plate 206 and the side edge of the apparatus main body 60 on the back surface 60b side. . Further, the slide deck 205 is formed with a switch mounting piece 245 to which a gear switch 243 for detecting the rotational position of the cam gear 208 is mounted.

  The slide plate 206 rotates the slide arms 203 and 204 by being slid according to the rotation of the cam gear 208. As shown in FIG. 36A, the slide plate 206 has a screw 242 inserted into the rectilinear guide groove 240 on the main surface on the slide deck 205 side and a spring to which the other end of the slide biasing spring 207 is locked. A hanging piece 246 is formed. The slide plate 206 is supported by the slide deck 205 so as to be slidable in the direction of the arrow E and the direction of the counter arrow E in FIG. By spanning the slide biasing spring 207, the slide deck 205 is constantly biased in the opposite arrow E direction on the back surface 60b side of the apparatus main body 60.

  The slide plate 206 protrudes from the slide arms 203 and 204, and engages with a guide pin 235 protruding through the guide hole 239 of the slide deck 205, and protrudes into the base deck 210. A shaft insertion hole 248 through which the gear support shaft 270 that rotatably supports the cam gear 208 is inserted is opened.

  Two engagement holes 247 are formed according to the slide arms 203 and 204, both of which are formed in a long hole shape. When the guide pin 235 is inserted into the engagement hole 247, the slide plate 206 is rotated straight along the straight guide groove 240, thereby rotating the slide arms 203 and 204. The arm plates 220 and 221 are slid in the arrow C direction and the counter arrow C direction.

  As shown in FIG. 36B, the slide plate 206 is provided with a slide cam pin 250 that engages with a slide cam groove 252 formed in the cam gear 208 on the main surface facing the cam gear 208. The slide cam pin 250 is slid into the slide cam groove 252 of the cam gear 208 when the slide plate 206 is urged by the slide urging spring 207 in the opposite arrow E direction on the back surface 60 b side of the apparatus main body 60. Is slid along the straight guide groove 240 in accordance with the rotation of.

  The cam gear 208 slides the slide plate 206 and an elevating plate 212 described later. As shown in FIGS. 37A and 37B, a slide cam groove 252 for sliding the slide plate 206 is formed on one main surface. A lift cam groove 253 for sliding the lift plate 212 is formed on the other main surface.

  The cam gear 208 has a support shaft insertion hole 254 through which a gear support shaft 270 projecting from the base deck 210 is inserted at the center, and is rotatably supported by the gear support shaft 270. The cam gear 208 is connected to a drive motor 209 attached to the base deck 210 via a reduction gear.

  The slide cam groove 252 formed on one main surface of the cam gear 208 is always along the side surface on the outer peripheral side when the slide plate 206 is biased toward the back surface 60b of the apparatus main body 60 by the slide biasing spring 207. The slide cam pin 250 slides. As a result, the slide cam groove 252 slides the slide plate 206 along the rectilinear guide hole 240 via the slide cam pin 250 according to the rotation of the cam gear 208.

  The slide cam groove 252 prevents the loading arm 201 from sliding in the direction of arrow C for inserting the optical disk 2 into the lower shell 12, and the slide arm 203, 204 and the slide plate 206 are loaded in the direction opposite to the slide direction. When a load is applied, a slide limiter mechanism 255 that releases the load is formed.

  The slide limiter mechanism 255 is configured such that the slide cam groove 252 provides a retreat space 256 from the side surface on the outer peripheral surface side where the slide cam pin 250 slides to the support shaft insertion hole 254 side. The slide limiter mechanism 255 will be described in detail later.

  Further, as described later, the elevating cam groove 253 formed on the other main surface of the cam gear 208 is configured such that the elevating plate 212 is urged toward the left side 60d side of the apparatus main body 60 by the elevating urging spring 213. The elevating cam pin 266 slides along the outer peripheral side surface at all times. Thereby, the elevating cam groove 253 slides the elevating plate 212 via the elevating cam pin 266 according to the rotation of the cam gear 208. The lift cam groove 253 is formed with a lift limiter mechanism 257 that releases the load when the load arm 201 is controlled to move downward and a load in the direction opposite to the drop direction is applied to the lift deck 211 and the lift plate 212. Yes.

  The elevating / lowering limiter mechanism 257 is configured such that the elevating / lowering cam groove 253 provides a retreat space 258 from the outer peripheral surface side surface where the elevating / lowering cam pin 266 slides to the support shaft insertion hole 254 side. The lift limiter mechanism 257 will be described in detail later.

  Next, the lifting deck 211 will be described. The lifting deck 211 lifts and lowers the loading arm 201, is supported by the base deck 210 so as to be lifted and lowered, engages with the lifting plate 212, and is lifted and lowered according to the slide of the lifting plate 212.

  The elevating deck 211 has a substantially rectangular frame composed of four side walls. A pair of opposite side walls 211 a parallel to the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body 60 protrude from the left and right arm plates 220 and 221 of the loading arm 201. A slide guide hole 260 through which the screw 232 is inserted is formed. The slide guide hole 260 is formed in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the side wall 211a, and guides the sliding of the loading arm 201 in the direction of arrow C when the screw 232 is inserted. Further, the lifting deck 211 lifts and lowers the loading arm 201 integrally by inserting the screw 232 through the slide guide hole 260.

  In the lifting deck 211, a pair of side walls 211b orthogonal to the side wall 211a are formed with a lifting cam hole 261 that engages with the lifting plate 212 and a lifting guide hole 262 supported by the base deck 210.

  The elevating cam hole 261 is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the side wall 211b, and an elevating cam convex portion 267 protruding from the elevating plate 212 is inserted from the inner surface side. As a result, when the elevating plate 212 is slid, the elevating deck 211 is moved up and down in the vertical direction of the apparatus main body 60 by the elevating cam convex portion 267 sliding along the elevating cam hole 261.

  The elevating guide hole 262 is formed in the vertical direction of the apparatus main body 60 orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the side wall 211b, and the elevating guide convex portion 272 protruding from the base deck 210 is inserted from the inner surface side. Accordingly, when the lifting deck 211 is lifted or lowered according to the sliding of the lifting plate 212, the lifting guide convex portion 272 slides up and down the lifting guide hole 262, thereby lifting and lowering the apparatus main body 60 in the vertical direction.

  A lifting plate 212 that lifts and lowers the lifting deck 211 is slidably supported by the base deck 210 and is lifted and lowered by being slid by the cam gear 208. The lift plate 212 is slidably supported on the base deck 210, a lift cam pin 266 that engages with the lift cam groove 253 of the cam gear 208, and a lift that is inserted into the lift cam hole 261 of the lift deck 211. A cam projection 267 is formed.

  The slide guide groove 265 is formed in a long hole shape parallel to the side surface 211b of the elevating deck 211, and is formed in the vicinity of the side edge on the front surface 60a side of the apparatus main body 60 and in the vicinity of the side edge on the back surface 60b side. The elevating plate 212 is supported by the base deck 210 so as to be slidable along the slide guide groove 265 when screws are inserted through the slide guide groove 265 and attached to the base deck 210.

  The elevating cam pin 266 slides along the outer peripheral side wall of the elevating cam groove 253 by engaging with the elevating cam groove 253 of the cam gear 208, thereby sliding the elevating plate 212. The lift cam pin 266 is slid in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 29 where a lift biasing spring 213 is bridged between the lift plate 212 and the base deck 210, and the lift plate 212 is always on the left side 60d side of the apparatus main body 60. By being energized, it is in contact with the side wall of the elevating cam groove 253.

  The raising / lowering cam convex part 267 is formed on the outer surface of the cam wall 268 that is bent upward from the side edge on the front surface 60 a side and the side edge on the rear surface 60 b side of the apparatus body 60 of the lifting plate 212. The raising / lowering cam convex part 267 moves up and down the raising / lowering deck 211 according to the slide of the raising / lowering plate 212 by inserting in the raising / lowering cam hole 261 formed in the side surface 211b of the raising / lowering deck 211.

  The base deck 210 that slidably supports the elevating plate 212 includes a gear support shaft 270 that rotatably supports the cam gear 208 on the main surface, and a plurality of slidably supporting the elevating plate 212 through the slide guide groove 265. A screw (not shown) and a spring locking piece (not shown) on which one end of the lifting / lowering biasing spring 213 that biases the lifting / lowering plate 212 is locked are formed. The base deck 210 is provided with a drive motor 209 at one corner on the main surface.

  In addition, the base deck 210 has side walls 271 rising on the front surface 60 a side and the back surface 60 b side of the apparatus main body 60. The side wall 271 is formed with a lifting guide convex portion 272 that is inserted into a lifting guide hole 262 formed on the side surface 211 b of the lifting deck 211. The side wall 271 is formed with a housing connection piece 273 connected to the housing 200.

  Such an arm drive mechanism 202 slides the loading arm 201 in the arrow C direction by sliding the slide plate 206 and the lift plate 212 by the slide cam groove 252 and the lift cam groove 253 of the cam gear 208, and the arrow Raise and lower in the D direction. As a result, the loading arm 201 draws the optical disk 2 from the lower shell 12 into the carry loader 6 and delivers it to the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 as shown in FIGS. 38 (a) to 38 (c). As shown in (c), the optical disk 2 ejected from the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 is pushed back into the lower shell 12.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 40, the loading arm 201 includes a retracting / standby position retracted from the select loader 5 and a disk gripping position for gripping the optical disk 2 pushed out from the lower shell 12 by the disk pushing mechanism 85. The optical disk 2 is slid over the disk push-back position to push the optical disk 2 back into the lower shell 12, and at each position, the lower side can come into contact with the optical disk 2 to be transported, and the upper side can be separated from the optical disk 2 to be transported. Is lifted up and down.

  The pull-in / standby position is a position where the loading arm 201 is retracted from the select loader 5 and the optical disk 2 is transferred to and from the recording / reproducing apparatus 7. The disk gripping position is a position where the loading arm 201 enters the lower shell 12 lowered to the disk insertion / ejection position and grips the optical disk 2 pushed out by the disk push-out mechanism 85 by the pull-in surface portion 228 of the locking claw 226. There is a position separated from the other optical disk 2 supported at the storage position. The disk push-back position is a position where the loading arm 201 presses the optical disk 2 ejected from the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 with the insertion surface portion 227 of the locking claw 226 and pushes it back to the storage position of the lower shell 12. At the disk push-back position, the optical disk 2 stacked adjacent to the optical disk 2 inserted and ejected by the loading arm 201 is also pressed.

  The arm driving mechanism 202 slides the slide plate 206 and the lifting plate 212 in conjunction with the rotation of the cam gear 208. As a result, as shown in FIG. 40, the loading arm 201 uniquely determines a combination of each position of the drawing / standby position, the disk gripping position, and the disk pushing back position, and the upper side and the lower side of each position. An orbit will be drawn.

  The loading arm 201 is stopped at the upper side of the gripping position in a state of waiting for the insertion of the disk cartridge 1. The loading arm 201 is driven to this position when the disk changer device 3 is in an initial state when the power is turned on, and is in a neutral state waiting for the insertion of the disk cartridge 1. When the insertion of the disk cartridge 1 is detected, the loading arm 201 is lowered to the lower side of the gripping position and is raised to the upper side of the drawing / standby position via the lower side of the drawing / standby position. As a result, the loading arm 201 is retracted from the elevation region of the lower shell 12 and waits until the lower shell 12 is lowered to the disk insertion / ejection position.

  When the lower shell 12 is lowered to the disk insertion / ejection position, the loading arm 201 is driven again to the upper side of the gripping position via the push-back position. Then, when a predetermined optical disk 2 is pushed out from the lower shell 12, the loading arm 201 is lowered to the lower side of the gripping position, and grips the outer peripheral surface of the optical disk 2 by the drawing surface portion 228 of the locking claw 226.

  The loading arm 201 is slid to the lower side of the drawing / standby position, thereby drawing the optical disc 2 into the carry loader 6 and delivering it to the transport mechanism of the recording / reproducing apparatus 7. Thereafter, the loading arm 201 is raised to the upper side of the retracting / standby position and separated from the optical disc 2.

  When recording or reproduction on the optical disk 2 is completed by the recording / reproducing device 7 and the optical disk 2 is ejected by the transport mechanism, the loading arm 201 is lowered to the lower side of the retracting / standby position, and the outer surface of the optical disk 2 is inserted by the insertion surface portion 227. Hold the surface. Next, the loading arm 201 is slid to the lower side of the push-back position, thereby pushing the optical disc 2 back to the storage position of the lower shell 12.

  Thereafter, the loading arm 201 slides to the lower side of the gripping position, rises to the upper side of the gripping position, and then slides to the upper side of the push-back position. As a result, the loading arm 201 presses another optical disk 2 stored adjacent to the conveyed optical disk 2 to the storage position, and returns the other optical disk 2 that has been swung in the insertion / ejection process of the optical disk 2 to the storage position. be able to. Therefore, when the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are brought into contact with each other again, it is possible to prevent interference between the support shaft 16 and the center hole 2a of the other optical disc 2 due to the positional deviation of the other optical disc 2. The step of pushing the loading arm 201 twice may be performed twice or more by controlling the shape of the slide cam groove 252 and the lift cam groove 253 of the cam gear 208, or the reversal and forward rotation of the cam gear 208. Good.

  After the optical disk 2 is pushed twice, the loading arm 201 is slid to the upper side of the gripping position to be in a neutral state to prepare for the next transport operation.

  Here, the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 will be described. A known so-called slot-in type recording / reproducing apparatus can be used as the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 disposed under the base deck 210, and is positioned on the mounting protrusion 280 of the housing 200. The recording / reproducing apparatus 7 writes and / or reads an information signal with respect to the optical disk 2, receives the optical disk 2 drawn by the loading arm 201 into the receiving apparatus main body, and transfers the optical disk 2 to the loading arm 201. , A chucking mechanism for rotatably chucking the optical disk 2 transported into the apparatus main body, and an optical pickup mechanism for writing and / or reading information signals on the optical disk 2.

  The transport mechanism includes a plurality of transport arms for transporting the optical disk 2, and the recording / reproducing device 7 is aligned with the carry loader 6, whereby the optical disk 2 can be received and delivered to and from the loading arm 201. It is rotated at a high height. The transport mechanism may have a configuration using a transport roller in addition to the configuration using the transport arm.

  The chucking mechanism includes a disk table that supports the optical disk 2 drawn by the transport mechanism, and a spindle motor that rotationally drives the disk table. The disc table is formed with an engaging projection that is inserted into the center hole 2 a of the optical disc 2. The disk table is supported so as to be movable up and down, and when the optical disk 2 is conveyed, the engaging convex portion holds the optical disk 2 by inserting it through the center hole 2a. The chucking mechanism may be configured to use a chucking plate that rotatably holds the optical disc 2 together with the disc table.

  The optical pickup mechanism condenses the light beam emitted from the semiconductor laser serving as the light source by the objective lens and irradiates the signal recording surface of the optical disc 2, and returns the returned light beam reflected by the signal recording surface of the optical disc 2. It has a pickup base on which an optical block that is detected by a photodetector made up of a light receiving element or the like is formed, and is adapted to write or read signals to or from the optical disc 2.

  Further, the optical pickup mechanism can be moved in the radial direction of the optical disc 2 by the pickup base being supported by the pickup moving mechanism. The pickup moving mechanism includes a pair of guide shafts that slidably support the pickup base in the radial direction of the optical disc 2 and a lead screw that moves the pickup base supported by the pair of guide shafts in the radial direction of the optical disc 2. And a pickup moving mechanism using a stepping motor.

  The recording / reproducing apparatus 7 can use any recording / reproducing apparatus that performs recording / reproducing with respect to the optical disc 2 in addition to the configuration described above.

[2-4. Operation of the disk changer device]
Next, the operation of the disk changer device 3 will be described. First, the state of each part of the disk changer device 3 in the insertion waiting state of the disk cartridge 1 will be described, and then the process of inserting the disk cartridge 1 and ejecting the optical disk 2 from the cartridge body 10 and transporting it into the recording / reproducing apparatus 7. Next, a process of ejecting the optical disk 2 from the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 and transporting it into the cartridge body 10 and ejecting the disk cartridge 1 will be described.

  In the waiting state for inserting the disk cartridge 1, the front panel 63 has the cartridge insertion / removal opening 70 closed by the bezel 71. The select loader 5 has an initial position detection switch (not shown) disposed on the base plate 155 in an initial position detection hole (not shown) provided in the first back gear 157 and the second back gear 158. ) Is inserted, the initial position for waiting for the insertion of the disk cartridge 1 is detected and stopped at the initial position. At this time, the cam plate 82 is slid to the back surface 60b side of the apparatus main body 60 via the gear connecting portion 82a engaged with the first back surface gear 157 and the second back surface gear 158.

  As a result, the lower holder 91 is raised in the cartridge holder 80 and the upper and lower holders 90 and 91 are engaged by the engagement cam pin 113 being inserted into the holder engagement piece 100 of the upper holder 90. Further, the upper and lower holders 90, 91 are integrally formed on the front surface 60 a side of the apparatus main body 60 when the upper holder 90 is urged by the tension coil spring 95 spanned between the cartridge holder 80 and the holder cover 81. Slided and held in the cartridge insertion / removal position.

  In the cartridge holder 80, when the lower holder 91 is raised and the upper and lower holders 90 and 91 are engaged, the pressing piece 126 of the shell positioning pin 117 provided on the lower holder 91 is pushed down by the upper holder 90. As a result, the shell positioning pin 117 is pushed down by the lifting block 125 against the urging force of the coil spring 129, and the insertion pin 124 is retracted from the pin hole 123 of the lower holder 91.

  In the holder cover 81, the holder latch 142 is rotated in the arrow L direction by the latch spring 145, and the collar 142 a is positioned on the slide area of the holder holding piece 102 of the upper holder 90. Further, the height adjustment plate 120 is urged toward the back surface 60b by a spring 166 locked to a standing wall 165 standing on the base plate 155, and the cam pin 161a of the adjustment slide plate 161 is connected to the surface cam gear 160. By being guided by the second cam groove 160a, it is slid toward the front surface 60a of the apparatus main body 60, and when the adjustment spring 162 is rotated toward the back surface 60b, it is slid toward the back surface 60b side of the apparatus main body 60. ing.

  In the disk push-out mechanism 85, the lever slider 169 is slid in the opposite arrow B direction by the cam pin 177 being guided by the third cam groove 160b of the surface cam gear 160. As a result, the push lever 167 is rotated in a direction opposite to the arrow P direction in which the rotation operation piece 175 is pressed against the contact surface 178 of the operation recess 176 and retracts from the lifting region of the lower shell 12.

  The carry loader 6 also has an initial position detection switch (not shown) provided in the base deck 210 in an initial position detection hole (not shown) provided in the cam gear 208 in the waiting state for insertion of the disc cartridge 1. Is inserted, the initial position for waiting for the insertion of the disk cartridge 1 is detected and stopped at the initial position. At this time, the slide plate 206 is urged by a slide urging spring 207 spanned between the slide deck 205 and the slide cam pin 250 is guided by the slide cam groove 252 of the cam gear 208. It is slid in the direction of the opposite arrow E. Thus, the loading arm 201 is slid in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 32, which is the front surface 60 a side of the apparatus main body 60, with the slide arms 203 and 204 being rotated by the slide plate 206.

  Further, the elevating plate 212 is opposed to the urging force of the elevating urging spring 213 spanned between the base deck 210 and the elevating cam pin 266 being guided by the elevating cam groove 253 of the cam gear 208. It is slid in the direction of the opposite arrow F in FIG. In the lifting deck 211, the lifting guide hole 262 is guided by the lifting guide protrusion 272 of the base deck 210 as the lifting cam protrusion 267 of the lifting plate 212 slides in the opposite arrow F direction through the lifting cam hole 261. Has been rising. As the elevating deck 211 is raised, the loading arm 201 is raised in the direction of arrow D in FIG.

  As a result, the loading arm 201 is driven to the upper side of the gripping position shown in FIG. 40 and waits for the insertion of the disk cartridge 1. Neutral state.

  Next, a process of inserting the disc cartridge 1 into the disc changer device 3 and transporting the optical disc 2 to the recording / reproducing device 7 will be described. The disc cartridge 1 is inserted into the cartridge insertion / removal opening 70 from the front surface 10a side of the cartridge body 10 by the user's hand or robot arm. The disc cartridge 1 presses the center bezel 74 to rotate it toward the back surface 60b of the apparatus main body 60, and also rotates the side bezel 75 toward the back surface 60b via the center bezel 74.

  At this time, the disc changer device 3 is formed on the upper holder 90 of the cartridge holder 80 held at the cartridge insertion / removal position because the rotation length of the side bezel 75 toward the back surface 60b is shortened. The cartridge insertion / removal position can be provided on the front surface 60a side as much as possible without interfering with the upper shell divided piece 103.

  When the disk cartridge 1 is inserted into the back surface 60 b side of the apparatus main body 60, the cartridge holder 80 includes an upper shell divided piece 103 and a lower shell divided piece 115 adjacent to the upper shell divided piece 103 in parallel. Enter the dividing groove 47. Further, when the front surface 10a of the cartridge main body 10 abuts the rear side surface 97 of the upper holder 90, the cartridge holder 80 opposes the urging force of the tension coil spring 95 and moves the upper and lower holders to the insertion position on the rear surface 60b side of the apparatus main body 60. 90 and 91 are slid together. At this time, in the cartridge holder 80, the cam pin 101 of the upper holder 90 is guided by the upper cam slit 140 of the holder cover 81, and the engagement cam pin 113 of the lower holder 91 is guided by the lower cam slit 141 and the cam plate 82 of the holder cover 81. It is guided by the horizontal guide part 150a of the lifting guide groove 150 formed in the above.

  In the cartridge holder 80, when the front surface 10 a of the cartridge main body 10 abuts on the rear side surface 97 of the upper holder 90, the unlocking piece 99 bent on the rear side surface 97 enters the unlocking hole 22, and the front side locking piece 31. The pressing surface portion 31b is pressed. Thereby, the front lock piece 31 is rotated in the direction of the opposite arrow R in FIG. 6 against the urging force of the coil spring 35, and the engaging portion 31 c is disengaged from the engaged recessed portion 56 of the lower shell 12.

  Further, when the cartridge main body 10 is inserted to the back surface 60 b side of the apparatus main body 60, the cartridge holder 80 has a pressing piece portion of the rear lock piece 33 in which the upper shell divided piece 103 is slid on the extension line of the dividing groove 47. 33b is pressed. Accordingly, the rear lock piece 33 is slid in the direction opposite to the arrow S in FIG. 6 against the urging force of the coil spring 38 and is disengaged from the engaged recess 57 of the lower shell 12 of the engaging portion 33c. Thereby, the cartridge body 10 can be divided into upper and lower shells 11 and 12.

  Further, the cartridge holder 80 is held at the insertion position on the back surface 60b side of the apparatus main body 60 so that the holder holding piece 102 of the upper holder 90 is locked to the flange 142a of the holder latch 142 and faces the urging force of the tension coil spring 95. It is burned. At this time, in the cartridge holder 80, the engaging cam pin 113 of the lower holder 91 is positioned on the lower vertical portion 141b through the preliminary horizontal portion 141c from the lower horizontal portion 141a. At this time, the cartridge holder 80 presses the cartridge insertion detection switch SW1 provided on one support side surface 134 of the holder cover 81 (FIG. 18), and the insertion of the disk cartridge 1 is detected.

  In the cartridge holder 80, the upper shell holding convex portion 98 provided on the support surface portion 93 of the upper holder 90 engages with the concave portion 21 of the upper shell 11, and the pressing piece 104 provided on the upper side surface portions 94, 94. To press the dividing wall 32 of the upper shell 11. Further, the cartridge holder 80 presses the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 of the lower shell 12 by pressing pieces 131 provided on the lower side surface portion 107 of the lower holder 91. Thereby, the cartridge holder 80 prevents the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 from rattling.

  When the insertion of the disk cartridge 1 is detected by the cartridge insertion detection switch SW1, the first drive motor 156 is driven, and the first back gear 157 and the second back gear 158 are rotated. When the first back gear 157 and the second back gear 158 rotate, the gear coupling portion 82a is slid along the guide long hole 159a. Accordingly, the pair of left and right cam plates 82 are slid to the front surface 60a side of the apparatus main body 60 in synchronization.

  When the cam plate 82 is slid to the front surface 60a, the lower holder 91 is lowered by the engagement cam pin 113 being slid along the elevation guide portion 150b from the horizontal guide portion 150a of the elevation guide groove 150. . At this time, in the lower holder 91, the engagement cam pin 113 is guided by the lower vertical portion 141 b formed in the lower cam slit 141 of the holder cover 81. Accordingly, the lower holder 91 is separated from the upper holder 90 because the engagement cam pin 113 is disengaged from the slit 100 a of the holder engagement piece 100 of the upper holder 90. Further, the upper holder 90 is held at the insertion position.

  The upper shell 11 is supported at the lower end surface of the dividing wall 32 by the upper shell dividing piece 103 of the upper holder 90 entering the dividing groove 47 of the cartridge body 10. Further, the lower shell 12 supports the upper end surfaces of the entry grooves 43 formed in the left and right disc holders 41 and 42 when the lower shell divided piece 115 of the lower holder 91 enters the division groove 47. Thus, the upper shell 11 is held at the insertion position by being supported by the upper holder 90, and the lower shell 12 is moved to the disk insertion / ejection position when the lower holder 91 is lowered by being supported by the lower holder 91. The upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are divided.

  The lower holder 91 is lowered to a disk insertion / ejection position where the predetermined optical disk 2 designated in advance by the user is positioned on the rotation locus of the push lever 167. As a result, the lower shell 12 can select, insert and eject the predetermined optical disc 2. When the lower holder 91 is lowered to the disk insertion / ejection position, the second drive motor 163 is driven and the surface cam gear 160 is rotated. As a result, the adjustment slide plate 161 slides toward the back surface 60b when the cam pin 161a slides on the second cam groove 160a of the surface cam gear 160, and the height adjustment plate 120 is moved to the front surface 60a via the adjustment spring 162. Slide to. The height adjustment plate 120 engages an adjustment slit 121 formed according to the disk insertion / ejection position with the height regulating piece 116 of the lower holder 91 so that the predetermined optical disk 2 is positioned at the disk insertion / ejection position. The height of the holder 91 is accurately regulated (FIG. 20).

  When the lower holder 91 is separated from the upper holder 90 by being lowered to the disk insertion / ejection position by the cam plate 82, the upper holder 90 is separated from the pressing piece 126 of the shell positioning pin 117. It is slid in the direction of arrow U by 129 (FIG. 24). Thereby, the insertion pin 124 protrudes from the pin hole 123 and the lower holder 91 is inserted into the positioning hole 45 of the lower shell 12. Therefore, the lower holder 91 can position the lower shell 12.

  When the insertion of the disk cartridge 1 is detected by the cartridge insertion detection switch SW1, the cam loader 6 of the carry loader 6 is rotated by the drive motor 209, the slide plate 206 and the lift plate 212 are slid, and the loading arm 201 is gripped. Move down from the upper side of the position and move it to the upper side of the retract / standby position. Thereby, the carry loader 6 can retract the loading arm 201 from the lifting area of the lower holder 91 and transport the lower holder 91 to the disk insertion / ejection position.

  After the position adjustment of the lower holder 91 by the height adjustment plate 120 is performed, the loading arm 201 is lowered from the upper side of the retracting / standby position and moved to the upper side of the gripping position via the push-back position.

  After the loading arm 201 is moved to the upper side of the gripping position, the surface cam gear 160 is further rotated by the second drive motor 163, whereby the cam pin 177 engaged with the third cam groove 160b slides and the lever slider 169 is slid in the direction of arrow B in FIG. As a result, the push lever 167 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow P in FIGS. 24 and 25 by the rotation operation piece 175 being pressed against the one contact surface 178 formed in the operation recess 176 of the lever slider 169. .

  The push lever 167 enters the guide portion 48c of the support groove 48 supporting the predetermined optical disc 2 at the disc insertion / ejection position from the disc push-out port 51 of the lower shell 12 supported by the lower holder 91, and the predetermined lever The optical disc 2 is pushed out. At this time, the pushing lever 167 is supported by the guide portion 48c because the guide portion 48c is formed in an arc shape having the same locus as the turning locus of the pushing lever 167 as shown in FIG. It is rotated while. Therefore, the push lever 167 does not come off the support groove 48 during rotation.

  26 (b), the push lever 167 is slid until the lever slider 169 presses the lever position detection switch SW2 mounted on the base plate 155, so that the optical disk 2 is inserted into the disk of the lower shell 12. It pushes out until the center hole 2a is discharged | emitted from the discharge port 50. FIG. As a result, the optical disc 2 is ejected to a position where it can be gripped by the loading arm 201.

  Here, in the disk cartridge 1, the lower shell 12 is lowered until a predetermined optical disk 2 comes to the disk insertion / ejection position. Therefore, for example, when the optical disk 2 stored in the uppermost support groove 48 is ejected, the lower shell 12 is moved from the center hole 2a of the optical disk 2 stored in the uppermost position to the support shaft 16 of the upper shell 11. It is lowered to the retreat position. On the other hand, for example, when the optical disk 2 stored in the middle or lower support groove 48 is ejected, the lower shell 12 is lowered from the center hole 2a of the middle or lower optical disk 2 to a position where the support shaft 16 is retracted. The

  Therefore, the support shaft 16 is inserted into the center hole 2a of the other optical disk 2 stored above the predetermined optical disk 2. As a result, the support shaft 16 prevents the friend optical discharge from which the other optical disk 2 is discharged as the predetermined optical disk 2 is discharged by the push lever 167, and the other optical disk 2 is being stored in the select loader 5. When the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 are again abutted with each other, the collision between the periphery of the center hole 2a of the other optical disc 2 and the support shaft 16 can be prevented.

  In this embodiment, the support shaft 16 is retracted from the center hole 2a of the predetermined optical disc 2 and the support shaft 16 is inserted and ejected in order to prevent interference between the support shaft 16 and the pushing lever 167. It is also retracted from the central hole 2a of another optical disk 2 adjacent on the predetermined optical disk 2, and is inserted into the central hole 2a of another optical disk 2 housed in a stack of three or more. Further, the support shaft 16 is also retracted from the center hole 2a of another optical disc 2 stacked below the predetermined optical disc 2, but the other optical disc 2 is restricted to a predetermined storage position by a self-lock spring 53. Yes.

  After the optical disk 2 is pushed out from the disk discharge port 50 by the push lever 167, the loading arm 201 is lowered from the upper side of the gripping position, and the drawing surface portion 228 formed on the lower surface 226 a of the locking claw 226 has the outer surface of the optical disk 2. Grasp the rear side in the extrusion direction. At this time, the locking claw 226 abuts in an arc along the outer periphery of the optical disc 2 because the pull-in surface portion 228 has substantially the same curvature as the outer periphery of the optical disc 2. Next, the loading arm 201 is moved to the lower side of the drawing / standby position, thereby drawing the optical disc 2 into the carry loader 6 and delivering it to the transport mechanism of the recording / reproducing apparatus 7. Thereafter, the loading arm 201 is raised to the upper side of the retracting / standby position and stopped. Thereby, the loading arm 201 is separated from the optical disc 2 and does not hinder the rotational driving of the optical disc 2 by the recording / reproducing apparatus 7.

  When the optical disk 2 is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 by the loading arm 201, the conveyance mechanism automatically pulls the optical disk 2 into the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 thereafter. The recording / reproducing apparatus 7 draws the optical disc 2, supports the optical disc 2 rotatably by a chucking mechanism, and writes and / or reads information signals to / from the optical disc 2 by an optical pickup mechanism.

  Here, the loading arm 201 is moved under the gripping position where the lifting plate 212 is slid in the direction of the arrow F, so that the lifting deck 211 is lowered, and thereby the outer periphery of the optical disk 2 is gripped by the locking claws 226 from the upper side of the gripping position. Move to the side. At this time, the arm drive mechanism 202 of the loading arm 201 is provided in the lift cam groove 253 of the cam gear 208 when the lift plate 212 is further slid after the lower surface of the locking claw 226 contacts the main surface of the optical disc 2. The lift limiter mechanism 257 is used to prevent the loading arm 201 from excessively pressing the optical disc 2.

  In other words, the arm driving mechanism 202 restricts the lowering of the lifting deck 211 and the sliding of the lifting plate 212 when the locking claw 226 and the optical disk 2 come into contact with each other. The lift cam pin 266 cannot slide on the side surface of the lift cam groove 253. Therefore, the elevating / lowering limiter mechanism 257 is provided with a retreat space 258 from the side surface on the outer peripheral surface side where the elevating cam pin 266 slides to the support shaft insertion hole 254 side so that the elevating cam pin 266 can be retreated.

  When the elevating cam pin 266 is retreated in the retreat space 258, the driving force of the drive motor 209 that rotates the cam gear 208 is extended by the elevating spring 213 stretched between the elevating plate 212 and the base deck 210. And is not easily transmitted to the loading arm 201 and the optical disc 2 through the lifting plate 212 and the lifting deck 211. Therefore, the elevating / lowering limiter mechanism 257 can prevent the loading arm 201 from being damaged due to an excessive load applied to the loading arm 201 and the optical disc 2, and the optical disc 2 can be prevented from being damaged or deformed.

  Next, a process of pushing the optical disk 2 on which the information signal has been written or read by the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 back to the lower shell 12 and ejecting the disk cartridge 1 from the disk changer apparatus 3 will be described.

  The optical disk 2 in which the information signal has been written or read by the optical pickup mechanism is released from the chucking mechanism and is ejected from the recording / reproducing apparatus 7 by the transport mechanism. At this time, the optical disc 2 is ejected to a position where the central hole 2a is exposed outward from the recording / reproducing apparatus 7, and the insertion surface portion 227 of the locking claw 226 can be brought into contact with the rear side in the insertion direction to the lower shell 12. ing.

  By this time, in the select loader 5, the second drive motor 163 and the surface cam gear 160 are reversed by a predetermined amount, and the push lever 167 is rotated and returned in the direction opposite to the arrow P and retracted from the lower shell 12. .

  When the optical disk 2 is ejected from the recording / reproducing apparatus 7, the cam loader 6 is driven in the carry loader 6, and the loading arm 201 is retracted from the upper side of the standby position to the lower side of the standby position. As a result, the loading arm 201 grips the rear side in the insertion direction of the optical disk 2 into the lower shell 12 by the insertion surface portion 227 of the locking claw 226. Next, the loading arm 201 is slid to the lower side of the push-back position, and pushes the optical disc 2 back to the storage position of the lower shell 12.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 43, the loading arm 201 presses the optical disc 2 with the pressing portion 227a in the lower region of the insertion surface portion 227, and the upper portion of the optical disc 2 with the restriction portion 227b in the upper region of the insertion surface portion 227 The other optical disk 2 housed in is pushed to the housed position. As described above, the other optical disk 2 stored adjacently on the predetermined optical disk 2 inserted and ejected from the lower shell 12 does not have the support shaft 16 inserted therethrough and is stored only by the self-lock spring 53. Restricted to position. Therefore, the other optical disk 2 is swung from the storage position when the predetermined optical disk 2 is pushed out together with the predetermined optical disk 2 when being pushed out from the lower shell 12 or when the predetermined optical disk 2 is being transported. In such a case, it is restricted to a predetermined storage position by the restriction part 227b.

  Furthermore, after the loading arm 201 is slid to the lower side of the push-back position, it is slid to the upper side of the push-back position via the lower side of the grip position and the upper side of the grip position. As a result, the loading arm 201 presses the other optical disk 2 adjacent on the predetermined optical disk 2 by the pressing portion 227a and restricts it to the storage position, and the other adjacent to the other optical disk 2 by the restriction portion 227b. The optical disk 2 is pressed to be restricted to the storage position. By passing through the twice pushing process, the other optical disks 2 stored up to two above the inserted and ejected predetermined optical disk 2 are restricted to the storage position, and are stored above the predetermined optical disk 2 and supported. The position of the other optical disk 2 with the shaft 16 retracted is regulated.

  The step of pushing the loading arm 201 twice may be performed twice or more by controlling the shape of the slide cam groove 252 and the lift cam groove 253 of the cam gear 208, or the reversal and forward rotation of the cam gear 208. Good. Further, by controlling the first drive motor 156 of the select loader 5 and controlling the driving of the first and second back surface gears 157 and 158 and the cam plate 82, the lower holder 91 is lifted and the loading arm 201 is driven. Alternatively, the position of another optical disk 2 positioned below a predetermined optical disk 2 may be regulated by alternately pushing back.

  After the optical disk 2 is pushed back into the lower shell 12, the loading arm 201 is retracted to the upper side of the gripping position, is brought into a neutral state, and stops. When the loading arm 201 retracts to the upper side of the gripping position and retracts from the select loader 5, the second load motor 163 and the surface cam gear 160 are further reversed in the select loader 5, and the adjustment slide plate 161 slides to the front surface 60 a side. The height adjustment plate 120 is slid to the back surface 60b side. Thereby, the engagement between the adjustment slit 121 of the height adjustment plate 120 and the height regulating piece 116 of the lower holder 91 is released, and the lower holder 91 can be raised.

  Next, in the select loader 5, the first drive motor 156 and the first and second back gears 157 and 158 are driven, and the cam plate 82 is slid toward the back surface 60 b of the apparatus main body 60.

  When the cam plate 82 is slid to the back surface 60b side, the lower holder 91 is raised by sliding the engaging cam pin 113 along the horizontal guide portion 150a from the lift guide portion 150b of the lift guide groove 150. Also at this time, in the lower holder 91, the engagement cam pin 113 is guided by the lower vertical portion 141 b formed in the lower cam slit 141 of the holder cover 81. Thereby, the engagement cam pin 113 enters the slit 100 a of the holder engagement piece 100 of the upper holder 90 and the lower holder 91 is coupled to the upper holder 90.

  When the upper and lower holders 90 and 91 are connected, the shell positioning pin 117 moves the lifting block 125 down the lifting shaft 128 against the urging force of the coil spring 129 when the pressing piece 126 is pressed by the upper holder 90. To do. Thereby, the insertion pin 124 of the shell positioning pin 117 is retracted from the positioning hole 45 of the lower shell 12 and the pin hole 123 of the lower holder 91.

  By joining the upper and lower holders 90 and 91, the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 supported by the upper and lower holders 90 and 91 are also joined. After the upper and lower holders 90 and 91 are joined, the cam plate 82 is further slid toward the rear surface 60b, so that the spring latch piece 142c is pressed by the latch pressing portion 152 of the cam plate 82, and the arrow L It is rotated in the L direction. Thereby, the cartridge holder 80 is slid to the front surface 60a side of the apparatus main body 60 by the tension coil spring 95, and moves to the cartridge insertion / removal position.

  When the cartridge holder 80 is moved to the cartridge insertion / removal position, the back surface 10b of the cartridge body 10 protrudes outward from the cartridge insertion / removal opening 70 and can be pulled out. Then, when the cartridge body 10 is pulled out from the cartridge holder 80, the unlocking piece 99 provided in the upper holder 90 is retracted from the unlocking hole 22. Therefore, the front lock piece 31 receives the urging force of the coil spring 35 and rotates in the direction of arrow R to engage the engaging portion 31 c with the engaged recess 56 of the lower shell 12. Further, when the cartridge body 10 is pulled out from the cartridge holder 80, the upper shell divided piece 103 of the upper holder 90 is separated from the pressing piece portion 33 b of the rear lock piece 33. Therefore, the rear lock piece 33 receives the urging force of the coil spring 38 and slides in the direction of arrow S, and engages the engaging portion 33 c with the engaged recess 57 of the lower shell 12. Accordingly, the upper and lower shells 11 and 12 of the cartridge body 10 are locked.

  The carry loader 6 slides the loading arm 201 to the push-back position, for example, when the optical disk 2 is pushed back into the lower shell 12, such as being inserted into the adjacent support groove 48 instead of the support groove 48 from which the optical disk 2 is stored. When a load in the direction opposite to the slide direction is applied to the slide arms 203 and 204 and the slide plate 206, a slide limiter mechanism 255 is formed to release the load.

  As described above, the slide limiter mechanism 255 is configured such that the slide cam groove 252 provides the retreat space 256 from the side surface on the outer peripheral surface side on which the slide cam pin 250 slides to the support shaft insertion hole 254 side.

  As shown in FIGS. 41A and 41B, the slide limiter mechanism 255 is configured such that the slide cam pin 250 of the slide plate 206 is inserted into the slide cam groove 252 of the cam gear 208 when the sliding of the loading arm 201 is not restricted. It slides in the direction of the arrow E in FIG. In the slide arms 203 and 204, the slide pin 236 is rotated to the front surface 60 a side of the apparatus main body 60 by sliding the slide plate 206 in the direction of the opposite arrow E. As a result, the loading arm 201 is slid in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 41 to push the optical disk 2 back into the lower shell 12.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 42A and 42B, when sliding of the loading arm 201 in the direction of arrow C is restricted, the slide arms 203 and 204 rotate and the slide plate 206 moves in the opposite direction of arrow E. Therefore, the slide cam pin 250 cannot slide on the outer peripheral side surface of the slide cam groove 252. At this time, the slide limiter mechanism 255 is provided with a retreat space 256 from the side surface on the outer peripheral surface side of the slide cam groove 252 to the support shaft insertion hole 254 side, so that the slide cam pin 250 moves in the retreat space 256. As a result, the loading arm 201 and the optical disc 2 are only loaded by the extension of the slide biasing spring 207 between the obstacle that restricts the sliding of the loading arm 201 and the slide plate 206. Without being sandwiched between an obstacle that restricts the sliding of 201 and the driving force transmitted from the driving motor 209 via the cam gear 208, it is possible to prevent deformation caused by an excessive load.

1 disc cartridge, 2 optical disc, 3 disc changer device, 5 select loader, 6 carry loader, 7 recording / reproducing device, 10 cartridge body, 11 upper shell, 12 lower shell, 13 top plate, 14 back block, 15 front wall, 16 Support shaft, 22 Unlocking hole, 25 Erase prevention switch, 29 Wrinkle, 30 Unlocking mechanism, 31 Front lock piece, 32 Split wall, 33 Rear lock piece, 40 Bottom plate, 41 Left disc holder, 42 Right disc holder , 43 Entry groove, 45 Positioning hole, 46 Bearing part, 47 Dividing groove, 48 Support groove, 50 Disc insertion / ejection port, 51 Disc extrusion port, 53 Self-lock spring, 60 Main unit, 61 Top cover, 62 Bottom cover, 63 Front panel, 70 cartridge slot 71 Bezel, 74 Center bezel, 75 Side bezel, 80 Cartridge holder, 81 Holder cover, 82 Cam plate, 83 Drive mechanism, 84 Holder lifting mechanism, 85 Disk push-out mechanism, 90 Upper holder, 91 Lower holder, 92 Unlocking mechanism, 93 Support surface portion, 94 Upper side surface portion, 95 Tensile coil spring, 96 Spring locking portion, 97 Rear side surface, 98 Upper shell holding convex portion, 99 Unlocking piece, 100 Holder engaging piece, 101 Cam pin, 102 Holder holding piece, 103 Upper shell division piece, 106 Placement surface portion, 107 Lower side surface portion, 110 Identification switch, 113 Engagement cam pin, 115 Lower shell division piece, 116 Height regulation piece, 117 Shell positioning pin, 120 Height adjustment plate, 121 Adjustment slit 124 Insertion pin, 133 Top surface portion, 134, 135 Support side surface portion, 140 Upper cam slit, 141 Lower cam slit, 142 Holder latch, 143 Slide guide pin, 145 Latch spring, 150 Lifting guide groove, 151 Guide slit, 155 Base plate, 156 First drive motor 157 First back gear, 158 Second back gear, 160 Front cam gear, 161 Adjustment slide plate, 163 Second drive motor, 167 Extrusion lever, 168 Lever support wall, 169 Lever slider, 172 Lever support shaft, 173 Disc contact member, 175 rotation operation piece, 176 operation recess, 180 long hole, 200 housing, 201 loading arm, 202 arm drive mechanism, 203, 204 slide arm, 205 slide deck, 206 slide plate, 207 slide bias spring, 208 cam gear, 209 drive motor, 210 base deck, 211 lift deck, 212 lift plate, 213 lift bias spring, 220, 221 left and right arm plates, 224 arm part, 226 locking claw, 227 insertion surface part 227a Pressing portion, 227b Regulating portion, 228 Pull-in surface portion, 237 Insertion hole, 238 Rotating shaft, 239 Guide hole, 240 Straight guide groove, 247 Engagement hole, 250 Slide cam pin, 252 Slide cam groove, 253 Lift cam groove, 255 Slide limiter mechanism, 256 Retraction space, 257 Lift limiter mechanism, 258 Retraction space, 260 Slide guide hole, 261 Lift cam hole, 262 Lift guide hole, 265 Slide guide groove, 266 Lift cam pin, 267 Lift Convex part, 270 gear support shaft, 272 lifting guide convex part, 280 mounting protrusion

Claims (2)

A first rectangular plate constituting one main surface of the cartridge body;
A second rectangular plate constituting the other main surface of the cartridge body;
A pair of left and right disk holders provided on the pair of left and right first side edges of the cartridge body and constituting the side wall of the cartridge body;
The disk holder is parallel to the first and second rectangular plates, respectively, and a support groove for slidably supporting the outer peripheral edge of the disk over the surface direction of the disk is the first side edge of the cartridge body. A disc insertion port for inserting and ejecting the disc from one of the second side edges is provided at one end of the pair of left and right second side edges adjacent to each other. to the contact from the other second side edge to the disc, the disc extrusion port extrusion member enters to push the disc into the disc insertion-ejection outlet is provided in the above-mentioned disk extrusion port, said extrusion member A supporting guide is provided,
A disc cartridge having a disc insertion / ejection port closing member for closing the disc insertion / ejection port, and a disc extrusion port closing member for closing the disc extrusion port and the guide portion .   2. The disc cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a disc insertion / ejection port closing member for closing the disc insertion / ejection port and a disc extrusion port closing member for closing the disc extrusion port are integrally formed.

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