JPH01224969A - Front loading disk player - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make an optical pickup stationary and to facilitate a disk changing by locating the other tray at either storing position or projecting position at the time when one tray is located at play position by a guide driving means. CONSTITUTION:The other tray 9 or 8 is located at either storing position or projecting position at the time when one tray 8 or 9 is in a playing position by the guide driving means guiding and moving the respective two tray 8 and 9 carrying a disk. The disk on the tray 8 or 9 of the other part can be changed during the playing of the disk transferred onto a turntable 17 by the tray 8 or 9 of one part, and also the optical pickup including the turntable 17 and objective lens 19 can thus be fixed to the fixed position corresponding to the playing position of the two trays 8, 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to front loading disc players.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In front-loading disc players, when positioning a disc to be played on a turntable, there is usually a first
Conveyance takes place in two directions: one direction and a second direction perpendicular to the disk carrying surface. As shown in FIG. 35, in a conventional front-loading disc player, a player housing 201 is
1st direction (direction of arrow Y and its opposite direction)
a carrier 202 movable between a protruding position and a storage position; and a tray 2 disposed on the carrier movably in the second direction and capable of supporting a disk 203.
04, a carrier driving means (not shown) for moving the carrier relative to the player housing 201, and a tray driving means (not shown) for moving the tray 204 relative to the carrier 202.

That is, the disc 203 is placed on the tray 204 on the carrier with the carrier 202 protruding outside the player housing 201, and then the carrier 202 is housed in the player housing 201 and the tray 2
04 toward the turntable 205, the disk is placed on the turntable 205. Furthermore, when collecting a disc after it has been played, the reverse operation is performed.

The above-mentioned front-loading disc player plays a single disc, and when playing several discs, the ejecting and loading operations must be repeated to change discs, which may cause problems for the listener. It gave me a bothersome feeling.

To solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 36, two trays for carrying and transporting disks are movably arranged side by side along the same plane, and these trays 210
, 211 are individually driven, and a front-loading disc player has been developed in which a performance means 212 including a turntable and an optical pickup is moved to correspond to both trays. By using such a front-loading disc player, two discs can be played consecutively without performing an eject operation. Furthermore, while the disc carried on the turntable by one tray 210 is being played, the disc on the other tray 211 can be replaced, so by repeating this disc replacement alternately for each tray, a large number of discs can be played. Performances can be performed continuously without interruption.

However, since the performance means 212 including the optical pickup is configured to reciprocate between the two trays 210 and 211, there is a problem in that the relative positional relationship between the optical pickup and the turntable tends to change.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a front-loading disc player in which an optical pickup is fixed and discs can be easily replaced.

The first feature of the front-loading disc player according to the present invention is that the disc transport mechanism for transporting the disc onto the turntable is juxtaposed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the disc carrying surface of the turntable and can be protruded from and stored in the player housing. 2 which can each carry a disk.
and guide and drive means for guiding and moving each of the trays to a playing position, a storage position, and an extended position, the guide and drive means for guiding and moving each of the trays when one tray is in the play position. The point is that it can be positioned in either the retracted position or the protruded position.

A second feature of the front-loading disc player according to the present invention is that the disc transport mechanism that transports the disc onto the turntable is arranged so that the disc transport mechanism transports the disc onto the turntable along a plane that intersects the rotational central axis in a plane that is substantially parallel to the rotational central axis of the turntable. at least one guide member having upper and lower guides extending from the upper and lower guides; upper and lower trays that engage each of the upper and lower guides and are projectable and retractable relative to or movable within the player housing; drive means for moving the upper and lower trays along the respective guides, each of the upper and lower guides having a depending portion extending downwardly along a plane intersecting the disk carrying surface of the turntable near the deepest portion thereof; The drive means selectively moves the upper and lower trays to the lower ends of the depending portions of the upper and lower guides.

Embodiments Hereinafter, a front loading disc player as an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an upper tray 8 and a lower tray 9, which carry discs 5 and 6 to be played, protrude from the housing of the player housing 2 on the front panel 3 of the player housing 2. A rectangular disk supply port 3a extending in the left-right direction is provided so as to obtain the same.

However, the direction of the arrow Y is the front, and the direction of the arrow X is the left. Further, arrow Z indicates upward. Note that the disk 5 is, for example, a compact disk with a diameter of about 12 cm,
The disk 6 has a diameter of about 8 cm. Both trays 8
and 9 are arranged in parallel in the direction perpendicular to the disk supporting surface of the turntable, which will be described later, that is, in the vertical direction (arrow Z direction and the opposite direction), and there are two large and small disks into which each disk 5 and 6 should be inserted. circular recesses 3a, 8b
.

9a and 9b are formed concentrically. A pair of upper and lower doors 10 and 11 are swingably provided near the disk supply port 3a to close the disk supply port.
It opens and closes in synchronization with the protrusion and storage operation of each tray 8 and 9.

Also, on the front panel 3, there is a group of switches 13 for operating the front loading disc player.
is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the player housing 2
A vertical chassis 15 as a guide member made of, for example, a steel plate is provided inside. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, this vertical chassis 15 is fixed on a horizontal chassis 16.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a turntable 17 is provided on the horizontal chassis 16. As shown in FIGS.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a carriage 20 carrying an optical pickup including an objective lens 19 is provided on the horizontal chassis 16 so as to be movable along the recording surface of the disk placed on the turntable 17. In addition,
A carriage drive means (not shown) is provided for moving the carriage.

Next, a guide drive means for guiding and moving the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 to the protruding position, the storage position, and the playing position with respect to the player housing 2 will be explained. The upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 are each formed into substantially the same shape, the details of which are shown in FIG. 6 (ω and peaks).

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, an upper plate 23 and a lower plate 24 are provided on the left side of the vertical chassis 15, and the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 are connected to the right side end of the upper plate 23 and the lower plate 24, respectively. in a direction parallel to the disk supporting surface 17a of the turntable 17 (FIG. 4),
In this case, it is supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (in the direction of arrow Y and the opposite direction). Details of the upper plate 23 and lower plate 24 are shown in Figure 7 (ω, mountain) and Figure 8.
Figure <Ten, Yama) shows. Specifically, the upper plate 23 and the lower plate 24 have elongated holes 23a along the direction of extension thereof.
, 24a are formed, and a pair of pins 8d and 9d protruding from the right end portions of the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 are slidably engaged with the slots.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, as well as FIGS. 7 and 8, on the right side surfaces of the upper plate 23 and lower plate 24, there are pairs of holes spaced apart in the front-rear direction (direction of arrow Y and the opposite direction). Pins 23b and 24b are provided protrudingly, and each pin is connected to a crank-shaped pair of upper and lower guide holes 26 and 2 in the front and rear, respectively, formed in the vertical chassis 15.
7 in a slidable manner. That is, the upper plate 23 and the lower plate 24 are configured to move along the upper guide hole 26 and the lower guide hole 27, respectively. The upper guide hole 26 and the lower guide hole 27 as a whole extend along a plane perpendicular to the rotation center axis in a plane parallel to the rotation center axis direction of the turntable 17 (shown in FIG. 4), that is, in this case, Longitudinal direction(
It extends in the direction of arrow Y and the opposite direction). Specifically, the upper guide hole 26 and the lower guide hole 27 are located at the deepest part, that is, at the rear end, of the turntable 17 (
The first hanging parts 25a and 27a each extend downward along a plane perpendicular to the disk supporting surface of FIG. 2 hanging portion 26b.

27b. These first hanging portions 26a.

27a and the second hanging parts 26b, 27b in the front-rear direction (
The first flat portions 26c and 27c extend in the direction of arrow Y and the opposite direction).

Further, second flat portions 26d and 27d for tray protrusion are provided continuously from the second hanging portions 26b and 27b and extend in a direction approaching the disk feeding port 3a, that is, in a forward direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, two upper racks and a lower rack 30 as rectangular plate-shaped driven gears are arranged to sandwich the vertical chassis 15 together with the above-mentioned upper plate 23 and lower plate 24. In addition, details of the upper rack 29 are shown in FIG. 9 (field C), and details of the lower rack 30 are shown in FIG. 10 (field C). The upper rack 29 and the lower rack 30 are each attached to the receiving portion 15a of the vertical chassis 15 so as to be able to reciprocate in the front-rear direction (in the direction of arrow Y and the direction opposite thereto). The pins 23b and 24b protruding from the outer surfaces of the upper plate 23 and the lower plate 24 are inserted into the left side of the upper rack 29 and the lower rack 30 through the upper guide hole 26 and the lower guide hole 27 formed in the vertical chassis 15. It is slidably engaged with mountain-shaped cam grooves 29a and 30a formed on the surface. Figure 9 (C).

As shown in FIG. m10 (C), FIG. 11, and FIG. 12, the chevron-shaped cam grooves 29a, 30a consist of a pair of mutually continuous oblique portions 29b, 29c, 30b, 30c. Each of the lined portions is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the first hanging portions 26a, 27a and the second hanging portions 26b, 27b of the upper guide hole 26 and lower guide hole 27 formed in the vertical chassis 15. That is, by moving the upper rack 29 and the lower rack 30 back and forth (in the direction of arrow Y and the opposite direction), the above-mentioned upper plate 23 and lower plate 24 move along the upper guide hole 26 and the lower guide hole 27, respectively. The chevron-shaped cam grooves 298, 30a are formed in this manner.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the lower rack 30 has side slanted portions 30b, 30 forming a mountain-shaped cam groove 30a.
A swinging member 32 is attached near the continuous portion c so as to be swingable about a virtual central axis 32a. Swinging member 3
A pointed head 32b is formed at the free end portion of 2, and the pointed head 32b can protrude into the continuous portion of the side oblique portions 30b, 30c. Further, a spring member 32c is provided that provides restoring force to the swinging member 32. The vertical chassis 15 is provided with a linear cam member 33 that extends along the moving direction of the upper rack 30, that is, in the front-rear direction (the direction of the arrow Y and the opposite direction thereof), with which the swinging member 32 slides thereon.

As shown in FIG. 12, this linear cam member 33 has a notch 33a and functions as a swinging member driving means for swinging the swinging member 32 in accordance with the movement of the upper rack 30.

The linear cam member 33 and the swinging member 32 including the spring member 32c move the pin 24b of the lower plate 24 between the pair of diagonal portions 30b and 30C of the chevron-shaped cam groove 30a as the lower rack 30 moves. Guiding means for selectively guiding to either one is configured. That is, the pin 24 is moved only by the chevron-shaped cam groove 30a without providing such a guide means.
When trying to move b along the lower guide hole 27,
For example, when the lower rack 30 moves forward (in the direction of arrow Y), the pin 24b is raised within the first hanging portion 27a of the lower guide hole 27 by the action of one oblique portion 30b of the chevron-shaped cam m30a. However, following this, it does not move to the first flat part 27c, but reversely descends again along the first hanging part 27a due to the action of the other inclined part 30c. The above guide means moves the pin 2 along with the movement of the lower rack 30.
4b prevents such retrograde movement, and thereby,
For example, when moving the lower rack 30 forward, the pin 24
b is raised along the first hanging part 27a of the lower guide hole 27 by the action of one oblique part 30b of the mountain-shaped cam groove 30, and when the raising is completed, the swinging member 32 prevents it from moving backward.
be done. In this state, the pin 24b horizontally moves forward along the first flat part 27c of the lower guide hole 27, and then moves to the second position by the action of the other oblique part 30c of the chevron-shaped cam groove 30.
It descends inside the hanging part 27b. Thereafter, the pin 24b moves horizontally within the second flat portion 27d for tray protrusion. Such guiding means, including a rocking member 32, are provided not only in the lower rack 30, but also in the upper rack 29 as well. Third
As shown, the upper rack 29 and lower rack 30 may be differentially engaged with a single pinion 35 as a drive gear. The pinion 35 is rotated by a motor 37 via a speed reduction mechanism 36 formed by combining a plurality of gears. As shown in FIG. 9(a) and FIG. 10(a), each front end of the two upper racks and the lower rack 30 has a toothless portion 29.
e, 30e are formed. As shown in FIG. 9 (a), peak) and FIG. 10 (ω, peak), cam grooves 29f and 30f are provided on the right sides of the two upper racks and the lower rack 30 over approximately the entire length of each rack. is formed. As shown in FIG. 3, a cam follower 40 is provided that constantly engages with both of these cam grooves 29f and 30f, and is mounted on a sub-chassis 41 fixed to the vertical chassis 15 in the vertical direction (in the direction of arrow Z). and the opposite direction). The details of this cam follower 40 are shown in FIG. 13 (Ten and (1)). The cam follower 40 has a pair of upper and lower pins 40a, 40b, each of which is in sliding contact with each cam groove 29f, 30f. The cam follower 40 and the cam grooves 29f, 30f in which it slides are used to activate the other into the meshing position with the pinion 35 when either the upper rack 29 or the lower rack 30 reaches a predetermined position. The means are configured. That is, for example, when the lower rack 30 is not in mesh with the pinion 35 due to its missing teeth, when the upper rack 29 in mesh with the pinion 35 moves a predetermined distance, the cam grooves 29f, 30f and the cam follower 40 are moved. The lower rack 30 is moved forward a predetermined distance (in the direction of arrow Y) by the action of
9 and differentially. The same applies when the upper rack 29 is not engaged with the pinion 35 due to the toothless portion 29e, and conversely, either one of the two upper racks or the lower rack 30 is engaged with the pinion according to the movement of the other. 35 and into a non-meshing state.

Because of this configuration, the pair of driven gears, the upper rack 29 and the lower rack 30, can be driven by a single motor 37 without providing separate drive sources for both racks.
It can be driven differentially and selectively.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, an upper plate 2 supports the right end portions of the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (direction of arrow Y and the opposite direction thereof).
Gears 43 and 44 are provided on the lower surfaces of the lower plates 3 and 24, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, rack portions 45, 46 and 4 are provided on the left side of the vertical chassis 5.
7 are provided, and the gears 43, 44 mesh with one of the respective rack portions in accordance with the vertical movement of the upper plate 23 and the lower plate 24, respectively. In addition, the upper plate 23
Also, transition rack portions 49,50 are formed for moving the gears 43,44 between the respective rack portions when the lower plate 24 moves up and down. Figures 2, 4 and 6
As shown in FIG. 3, rack portions 8f and 9f are formed on the lower surfaces of the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9, respectively, and extend in the storage direction, that is, in the front-rear direction (in the direction of arrow Y and the opposite direction). The above gears 43 and 44 are connected to these rack parts 8f and 9.
It also meshes with f.

The above-mentioned gears 43.44 and rack parts 45, 46.47
, 8f, 9f and the transition rack parts 49 and 50, the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 are moved with respect to each plate at twice the speed of movement of the upper plate 23 and the lower plate 24 according to the movement of the upper plate 23 and the lower plate 24, respectively. A double speed mechanism is configured to move at a speed of .

The above-described speed-doubling mechanism, the pinion 35, the drive source that rotates the pinion including the motor 37 and the speed reduction mechanisms 3 and 6, the upper rack 29 and the lower rack 30, the upper plate 23 and the lower plate 24, and related thereto. The small peripheral members constitute driving means for moving the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 along the upper guide hole 26 and the lower guide hole 27 of the vertical chassis 15, respectively.

As mentioned above, the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 are supported and guided at their respective right-hand ends via the upper plate 23 and the lower plate 24. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the left end portions of the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 are supported by a movable support member 53 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (in the direction of arrow Y and the opposite direction). There is. This movable carrier member 53 is mounted on the transverse chassis 16 by means of a guide member 54 fixed thereto so as to be movable in the vertical direction (in the direction of arrow Z and in the opposite direction). FIG. 14 (field C) shows details of the movable support member 53, and FIG. 15 (total and peak) shows details of the guide member 54. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 14 (ω or C), the right side of the movable support member 53 has a linear guide groove into which the left end portions of the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 are slidably fitted. 5
3a and 53b are formed. In addition, the movable support member 5
Three pins 53c are protruding from the left side surface of the guide member 54, and three guide holes 54a, 54b are formed in the guide member 54 to extend in the vertical direction (arrow Z direction and the opposite direction).
The movable support member 53 can move up and down by slidably fitting each of the pins into the respective pins 54c.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an interlocking member 56 is disposed between the vertical chassis 15 and the guide member 54, and is connected to the disk supporting surface of the turntable 17 by a support pin 56a. It is attached to the vertical chassis 15 and the guide member 54 so as to be swingable in a perpendicular plane. Details of the interlocking member 56 are shown in FIG. 16 (J and mountain).

Pins 56b and 56c are protruded from the left and right sides of the free end of the interlocking member 56, and the pin 56b on the right side is connected to the lower plate 24.
It is slidably fitted into a long hole 24d extending in the front-rear direction (direction of arrow Y and the opposite direction). Also, the pin 56c on the left (Ill) is connected to the movable support member 53 mentioned above.
It is fitted into a long hole 53d formed in. That is, as the lower plate 24 moves up and down together with the lower tray 9 that it supports, the interlocking member 56 serving as interlocking means
a pin 56c on which the movable carrier member 53 slides;
It is designed to move up and down as well. In addition,
In this embodiment, an upper tray 8 and a lower tray 9
A supporting member movably supporting each left end portion of is composed of a movable supporting member 53 and a pin 56c.

Alternatively, the movable supporting member 53 may be omitted, and a pair of pins 56c are provided for the upper tray 8 and lower tray 9, and each of the trays may be directly supported by these pins 56c. Furthermore, the pin 56c may be formed integrally with the above-mentioned interlocking member 56. With such a configuration, the guide member 54 that guides the movable support member 53 becomes unnecessary and can be reduced.

This interlocking means, a supporting member consisting of a movable supporting member 53 and a pin 56C, a guiding member 53, a vertical chassis 15 as another guiding member, and an upward direction along the upper guide hole 26 and the lower guide hole 27 of the vertical chassis. The aforementioned driving means for moving the tray 8 and the lower tray 9, respectively, constitute a guide driving means for guiding and moving the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 to the protruding position, the storage position, and the playing position with respect to the player housing 2, respectively. has been done. This guide drive means positions the other tray in either the storage position or the protruding position when either the upper tray 8 or the lower tray 9 is in the performance position. Further, the guide drive means, the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 constitute a disc transport mechanism that carries a disc to be played and transports it onto the turntable 17 inside the player housing 2.

Here, the upper guide hole 26 formed in the vertical chassis 15
and the lower guide hole 27 will be explained in detail.

As mentioned above, the upper guide hole 26 and the lower guide hole 27
The first hanging parts 26a, 27a and the second hanging parts 26b, 2
It has two hanging parts 7b. Namely. For example, the upper guide 8 is connected to the first vertical part 26 of the upper guide hole 26.
a1 A first flat part 26c and a second
The turntable 17 is rotated by sequentially following the hanging portion 26b.
When the other lower tray 9 moves while avoiding the second hanging portion 27b of the lower guide hole 27, the other lower tray 9 moves in conjunction with the movement while avoiding the lower tray 9.

It is configured to move while avoiding the turntable 17 sequentially along the first flat part 27c and the first hanging part 27a which are continuous with the second hanging part. In this way, 2
Since the structure is such that when one of the trays 8 and 9 moves up and down, the other also moves up and down, so that at least a portion of both trays overlap each other in a plane parallel to the disk supporting surface of the turntable 17. However, the two players do not interfere with each other when moving, and by overlapping the two players, the increase in size of the player within the plane is minimized.

Further, as is clear from FIG. 5, the lower end of the first hanging part 26a of the upper guide hole 26 is located below the lower end of the second hanging part 26b, and the lower end of the first hanging part 27a of the lower guide hole 27 is lower than the lower end of the second hanging part 26b. It is located above the lower end of the second hanging portion 27b. With this configuration, the positions of the two trays 8 and 9 in the vicinity of the disk supply port 3a (shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5) can be adjusted in the vertical direction (in the direction of arrow Z and in the opposite direction). The two trays are respectively protruded from and housed in the player housing 2 at an appropriate distance.

Next, a description will be given of a disc clamp mechanism that clamps the disc transported by the above-described disc transport mechanism and placed on the turntable 17.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the aforementioned interlocking member 56
A flat support member 58 is disposed above, and similarly to the interlocking member 56, the vertical chassis 15 is swingably supported in a direction perpendicular to the disk supporting surface of the turntable 17 via a support pin 58a. and is attached to the guide member 54.

Details of this support member 58 are shown in FIG. 17(a) and b+. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 17 (ω, 1), the free end of the support member 58 has a disk shape for pressing the disc placed on the turntable 17 toward the turntable. Suppressing members 59 are rotatably attached.The disc pressing force is generated by attraction of magnets 59a provided on these five suppressing members and a magnetic member (not shown) fixed to the turntable 17. A pair of rollers 5 are provided on the left side of the free end of the support member 58.
8b, 58c are provided, and these rollers are connected to an engaging surface 23e formed on the upper edge of the above-mentioned upper plate 23 (shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 7). 23
f (shown in FIG. 7)). That is, when the upper plate 23 moves up and down together with the upper tray 8 carried thereon, the support member 58 swings by appropriately pushing the pair of rollers 58b and 58c. As will be described later, the upper plate 23 as an engaging member with the support member 58 engages with the roller 58b near the tip of the support member 58 in the first section of its vertical movement path, and It engages with another roller 58c between this roller 58b and the support pin 58a, which is the swing center axis, in a second section different from the above.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the sub-chassis 41 disposed on the side of the vertical chassis 15, the positions of the upper rack 29 and the lower rack 30 are detected, and the upper tray 8 and lower tray 9
Three detection switches 61 and 62 for making WD output
and 63 are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction. The central detection switch 62 is connected to the upper rack 29 and the lower rack 30.
It operates when the lower end of the cam follower 40 provided therein comes into contact with this. Also, this cam follower 40
Two other cam followers 65 and 66 are arranged before and after the cam follower 4o, and are attached to the sub-chassis 41 so as to be able to reciprocate in the vertical direction together with the cam follower 4o. Figure 18 (ω and mountain) shows details of the cam follower 65,
FIG. 19 (ω and mountain) shows details of another cam follower 66. The two detection switches 61 and 63 that sandwich the detection switch 62 in the front and rear directions are activated when the lower ends of these cam followers 65 and 66 come into contact with each other. In addition, the 18th
As shown in the figure and FIG. 19, pins 65a and 66a are provided on the left side surfaces of the cam followers 65 and 66, respectively, and are provided in cam grooves 29g and 30g formed in the upper rack 29 and the lower rack 30, respectively. They are slidably engaged with each other.

This allows each cam follower 65,66 to
9 and the lower rack 30, it moves up and down as appropriate.

Next, the operation of the front loading disc player having the above configuration will be briefly explained with reference to FIGS. 20 to 33.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an upper tray 8 is projected outside the player housing 2, and a compact disc 5 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 4), for example, is placed on the upper tray. Incidentally, the projecting operation of the upper tray 8 is performed by following the completely reverse process of the storing operation described below, and therefore will not be described in detail.

After placing the compact disc 5 on the upper tray 8,
Press the loading button included in switch group 13 (shown in FIG. 1). Then, the motor 37 (see FIG. 3) rotates, thereby rotating the pinion 35, and the upper rack 29 is moved rearward (in the opposite direction of the arrow Y direction) as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21. . As a result, the upper tray 8 is housed in the player housing 2 at twice the moving speed of the upper rack 29 by the action of the speed-doubling mechanism described above, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23.

In the state shown in FIG. 20, the lower rack 30 is in a non-meshing state with the pinion 35 due to its toothless portion 29e, and therefore the lower tray 9 is stationary at the playing position. Further, when the upper rack 29 reaches the position shown in FIG. 21, the cam follower 40 is activated, whereby the lower rack 30 is moved forward (in the direction of arrow Y) by a predetermined distance and meshes with the pinion 35.

After this, the pinion 35 continues to rotate, and the upper rack 2
9 and lower rack 30 move as shown in FIGS. 24-27. Due to this movement of each rack, the upper plate 23 and the lower plate 24 sequentially move the turntable 17 and the like along the hanging portions and flat portions of the upper guide hole 26 and the lower guide hole 27, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 28 to 32. The upper tray 8 is positioned at the performance position, and the lower tray 9 is positioned at the storage position, as shown in FIGS. 132 and 33. Further, the compact disc 5 on the upper tray 8 is placed on the turntable 17, and is clamped and used for performance. However, the positions of the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 are not shown in FIGS. 28 and 29.

The disk clamp operation will be explained.

As the upper rack 29 moves as described above, the upper plate 23 engaged with the upper rack at the pin 23b moves along the upper guide hole 26. As shown in FIG. 23, at the beginning of the upward movement of the upper plate 23, the upper plate, which is an engaging member, engages with a roller 58b arranged near the tip of a support member 58, which is a main member of the disk clamp mechanism. and press this upward. As a result, a sufficient clamp release force is obtained, and the suppressing member 59, which has been attracted to the turntable 17, is easily separated from the turntable due to the magnetic force of the magnet 59a (shown in FIG. 17). After that, as shown in FIGS. 28 to 30, the upper plate 23 is moved in front of the roller 58b, that is, the support member 2
8 and pushes it upward. Therefore, the support member 58 swings upward rapidly. In this way, the clamp on the disc already placed on the turntable 17 is released, and
The disk is carried on the lower tray and returned as the upper tray 8 and lower tray 9 move.

As shown in FIGS. 32 and 33, the above operations have brought the upper tray 8 to the playing position and the lower tray 9 to the storage position.
By pressing the eject button, the lower tray 9 is projected out of the player housing 2, and the disc on the lower tray can be replaced with a new one. At this time, the upper tray 8 remains stationary at the performance position, and the performance of the compact disc conveyed onto the turntable 17 by the upper tray can be continued.

As shown in FIG. 23 and 3-2, a photosensor 71 is provided as a detection means for detecting the disks on the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9, respectively, located at the storage position. When the upper tray 8 and the lower tray 9 are at the performance position, the presence or absence of a disc on each tray at the performance position can be known by focusing by the optical pickup, and the presence or absence of a disc on each tray at the performance position can be known. When the discs protrude outside the player housing 2, the presence or absence of discs on each tray is visually confirmed. Therefore, by providing only one photosensor 71, it is possible to confirm whether or not there is a disc on each tray in the playing position, the storage position, and the protruding position.

In this embodiment, pins 23b and 24b are provided protruding from the upper plate 23 and the lower plate 24 to form the cam grooves 29a and 30a of the upper rack 29 and lower rack 30.
The pins are moved along the upper guide hole 26 and the lower guide hole 27 by the action of the oscillating member 32 (Fig. 11). and FIG. 12). Not only this configuration but also the configuration shown in FIG. 34 can prevent the pins 23b, 24b from moving backwards.

That is, the first and second hanging parts 26 included in the upper guide hole 26
a, 26b and a first flat part 26c continuous thereto, an inclined part 2 that is inclined with respect to the six hanging parts and the first flat part.
6f, and the first and second hanging portions 27a included in the lower guide hole 27.

27b and a first flat part 27c continuous thereto, an inclined part 27f inclined with respect to the six hanging parts and the first flat part.
form. By providing such sloped portions 26f and 27f, the pins 23b and 24b smoothly transition to the flat portion without moving backward through the above-mentioned hanging portion. Furthermore, as shown in the same figure, a pair of swinging members 72 and 73 having grooves that are slidably fitted onto the respective pins 23b and 24b are provided in place of the above-mentioned swinging member 32. May be used.

Effects of the Invention As detailed above, according to the first feature of the front-loading disc player according to the present invention, the disc transport mechanism that transports the disc onto the turntable is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the disc carrying surface of the turntable. comprising two trays juxtaposed and capable of being protruded and stored relative to the player housing and each capable of carrying a disc, and a guide drive means for guiding and moving each of the trays to a playing position, a storage position and a protruding position; The guide drive means positions the other trays in either the retracted position or the extended position when one tray is in the playing position.

Since the two trays are arranged side by side in a direction substantially perpendicular to the disk holding surface of the turntable and are moved alternately and relatively between the performance position and other positions, one tray The disc on the other tray can be exchanged while the disc carried on the turntable is being played, and by repeating this disc exchange alternately for each tray, a large number of discs can be played continuously without interruption. In addition, the playing means including the turntable and optical pickup can be fixed at fixed positions corresponding to the playing positions of the two trays. By fixing the playing means, the relative positional relationship between the optical pickup and the turntable is not impaired.

According to the second feature of the front loading disc player according to the present invention, the disc transport mechanism that transports the disc onto the turntable is aligned with the rotational center axis of the turntable in a plane substantially parallel to the rotational center axis direction of the turntable. Upper and lower guides (26,
27); upper and lower trays that engage with each of the upper and lower guides and are protruding from and retractable into the player housing or movable within the player housing; and the upper and lower trays. the upper and lower guides each have a hanging portion extending downward along a plane intersecting the disk carrying weight of the turntable in the vicinity of the deepest portion; Means alternatively move the upper and lower trays to the lower ends of the depending portions of the upper and lower guides.

That is, while the above-mentioned first feature relates to a so-called tray-protruding type front loading disc player in which each tray can be protruded from and stored in the player housing, the second feature relates to such a tray-protruding type front-loading disc player. The present invention can also be applied to a slot-in type player in which a movable tray carries and transports a disc inserted through a slot formed in the front panel of the player housing, and the present invention can be applied to a slot-in type player. By doing the above mentioned first
It has the same effect as the feature of . In addition to this,
Since it has an extremely simple configuration in which each tray is guided by a guide, it is easy to reduce costs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a front-loading disc player according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the internal structure of the front-loading disc player shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 to 5 relate to FIG. Each m-m arrow view,
The IV-IV arrow view and the V-V arrow view, and Figure 6 (ω and mountain) are the plan view and bottom view of the tray, respectively, and Figures 7 to 1.
Figure 9 is a detailed view of the components of the internal structure shown in Figures 2 to 5, and Figures 20 to 33 are detailed views of the components of the internal structure shown in Figures 2 to 5.
34 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the front loading disc player shown in FIG. 9; FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a partial modification of the front loading disc player;
5 and 36 are diagrams showing conventional examples. Explanation of symbols of main parts 2...Player housing 3a...Disc supply port 5.6...Disc 8...Upper tray 9...・Lower tray 15...Vertical chassis (guide member) 17...
...Turntable 20...Carriage 23...Upper plate 24...Lower plate 26...Upper guides 26a, 27a... First hanging parts 26b, 27b
...Second hanging parts 26c, 27c...First flat parts 26d, 27d...Second for tray protrusion
Flat part 27...Lower guide (driven gear) 29
...Upper racks 29a, 30a...Mountain-shaped cam grooves 29b, 29
c, 30b, 30cm...Slanted portion 29e, 30e...
...Toothless part 30...Lower rack (driven gear) 32...
... Swinging member 33, old... Cam member 35...
... Pinion (drive gear) 37 ... Motor 40.65.66 ... Cam follower 53 ...
...Movable supporting member 54...Guiding member 56...Interlocking member 58...Supporting member 59...
Pressing member 59a...Magnet 61.62.63...Detection switch 71...
...Photo sensor applicant Pioneer Corporation

Claims (11)

[Claims] (1) A front-loading disc player having a disc transport mechanism that supports a disc and transports it onto a turntable in a player housing, wherein the disc transport mechanism is capable of supporting a disc and has a disc support surface of the turntable. two trays juxtaposed in a direction substantially perpendicular to; each of said trays in a playing position;
a guide drive means for guiding and moving the tray to the storage position and the protrusion position, and the guide drive means positions the other tray in either the storage position or the protrusion position when one tray is in the performance position. A front-loading disc player characterized by the following features: (2) The front-loading disc player according to claim 1, further comprising a detection means for detecting the discs on the pair of trays respectively located in the storage position. (3) A front loading disc player having a disc transport mechanism that supports a disc supplied through a disc supply port and transports it onto a turntable in a player housing, wherein the disc transport mechanism rotates the turntable. at least one guide member having upper and lower guides extending along a plane substantially parallel to the central axis direction and intersecting the rotational central axis; and upper and lower trays that engage with the upper and lower guides, respectively. and driving means for moving the upper and lower trays along the guides, the upper and lower guides having hanging portions extending downwardly along a plane intersecting the disk carrying surface of the turntable in the vicinity of the deepest part. , wherein the drive means selectively moves the upper and lower trays to lower ends of the depending portions of the upper and lower guides. (4) The front loading disc player according to claim 3, wherein the upper and lower guides have other hanging portions extending parallel to the hanging portion at a position shallower than the deepest portion. (5) The lower end of the drooping part of the upper guide is lower than the lower end of the other drooping part, and the lower end of the drooping part of the lower guide is higher than the lower end of the other drooping part. A front loading disc player according to claim 4. (6) The upper and lower guides have tray protruding flat portions extending from the lower ends of the other hanging portions in a direction approaching the disk supply port.
Front loading disc player as described. (7) Instead of the upper and lower guides having another hanging part extending parallel to the hanging part at a position shallower than the deepest part, the driving means has a single pinion;
a drive source for rotating the pinion; and a driving source movable in a predetermined direction relative to each other, capable of differentially meshing with the pinion, each having a toothless portion, and engaging with each of the trays via a cam means. It consists of a pair of racks and an activation means for activating the other rack into a meshing position with the pinion when one of the racks reaches a predetermined position, and the cam means moves the tray in accordance with the movement of the rack. 5. A front loading disc player according to claim 4. (8) The drive means includes a single pinion and a drive source for rotating the pinion, each of which is movable in a predetermined direction so as to be able to differentially mesh with the pinion, and each of which is provided with a toothless portion. The cam means comprises a pair of racks engaged with each of the trays via cam means, and a starting means for starting the other rack into a meshing position with the pinion when one of the racks reaches a predetermined position. moves the tray in accordance with the movement of the rack, and the cam means includes a pair of inclined parts formed on the rack, each inclined with respect to the hanging part and the other hanging part, and continuous with each other. a chevron-shaped cam portion that slidably engages with the tray, and guide means for selectively guiding a portion of the tray that engages with the chevron-shaped cam portion to either one of the pair of diagonal portions; 7. A front-loading disc player according to claim 4, further comprising: a front-loading disc player; (9) The guide means includes a swinging member that is swingably provided in the vicinity of the continuous portion of the pair of slanted portions and whose free end can protrude into the continuous portion, and a swinging member that swings the swinging member. 9. A front loading disc player according to claim 8, further comprising member driving means. (10) The swinging member driving means includes a cam member that is provided along the moving direction of the rack and that slides into contact with the swinging member to swing the swinging member in accordance with the movement of the rack. A front loading disc player according to claim 9. (11) The guide means is interposed in a continuous part between the hanging part, the other hanging part, and a flat part continuous thereto, and the guiding means is arranged to connect the hanging part, the other hanging part, and the slope part that is inclined with respect to the flat part. The front loading disc player according to claim 8, characterized in that: