JPH0191359A - Cassette auto-changer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the construction of a transporter by making a cassette capable of being received from T-shaped directions by providing the cassette transporter with three entrances and pushing out the cassette alternatively into a shelf or a recording/reproducing device by a pair of push-out arms. CONSTITUTION:A pair of the cassette push-out arms 15, 16 are attached to supporting shafts 22a, 22b so as to be capable of rotating freely, and the gears of the supporting shafts 22a, 22b are rotated by switching a driving power transmission route by locking alternatively the gear of a planetary gear mechanism. In order to push out the cassette toward the direction of Aa or Ba when the cassette 1 lies on the belt 13 of the transporter 4, it is transported by the belt 13, and when the gear is locked alternatively, the arm 15 (16) rotates in the direction Ea (Fa) so as to press it thoroughly into the shelf by a roller (17) at a tip end, and returns in the reverse direction Eb (Fb). In order to push out the cassette toward the direction Ca, a transporting roller 14 lifts up the cassette 1 on the belt 13 horizontally, and the arms 15, 16 rotate simultaneously in the directions of arrow marks Ea, Fa, and push the side surface of the cassette simultaneously so as to press it in, and return. By using this constitution, the cassette auto-changer of simple constitution is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a cassette autochanger that is most suitable for performing continuous video playback or recording over a long period of time, for example in a television broadcasting station.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention includes a large number of cassette storage shelves storing a large number of cassettes, a cassette transfer machine, and a recording/reproducing device,
In a cassette autochanger configured to perform selective automatic exchange of cassettes between a cassette storage shelf and a recording/playback device using a cassette transfer device, the cassette transfer device includes a cassette transfer device arranged on both sides of the movement path of the cassette transfer device. A total of three cassette entrances and exits are provided for passing cassettes from the T-shaped direction between the cassette storage shelf and the recording/reproducing device whose cassette insertion openings are arranged opposite to each other on the lateral side of the movement path. By configuring the cassette to be selectively pushed out in three directions from the three cassette entrances and exits by a pair of cassette pushing arms, the structure can be simplified.

[Conventional technology]

The applicant of the present invention has filed Japanese Patent Application No. 61808 as an example of a cassette autochanger using video cassettes, etc.
No. 85 was filed earlier.

In this prior application, the operating surface of the recording and reproducing device is directed toward the operator, and a cassette insertion slot is provided on the side surface of the operating surface, and a cassette rotating device is provided next to the cassette insertion port of the recording and reproducing device to rotate the cassette. A large number of cassette storage shelves are arranged in at least a horizontal line next to the device,
The large number of cassette storage shelves are configured so that cassettes are inserted and stored from the longitudinal direction, and the cassette/7 cassette transfer machine is moved between the large number of cassette storage shelves and the cassette rotation device on the side opposite to the operator side. The cassette rotation device rotates the cassettes selectively taken out from a large number of cassette storage shelves by the cassette transfer device.
This cassette autochanger is configured so that after rotating the cassette, the cassette is inserted from its longitudinal direction into a cassette insertion slot of a recording/reproducing device.

C Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in this prior application, a special cassette rotating device must be used to rotate the cassette by 90 degrees between the cassette transfer device and the recording/reproducing device. The structure was extremely complex.

The present invention aims to provide a cassette autochanger that does not require the use of a special cassette rotating device as described above, and whose cassette/throat transfer device has a very simple structure.

[Means for solving problems]

In the cassette autochanger described above, the present invention provides the cassette storage shelves arranged on both sides of the moving path of the cassette transporter, and the cassette insertion opening of the recording/reproducing device facing the lateral side of the moving path. , the cassette transfer device has first and second cassette entrances and exits for transferring cassettes between the cassette storage shelves on both sides from a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto; a third cassette inlet/outlet for transferring the cassette from a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions between the cassette insertion opening and the cassette transfer device; First and second cassette pushing arms that selectively push out the first or second cassette from the second cassette entrance into the cassette storage shelves on both sides are provided symmetrically, and the first and second cassette pushing arms Providing a drive mechanism for selectively or simultaneously driving the cassette ejection arms,
The cassette in the cassette transfer machine is pushed out in the third direction from the third cassette entrance into the recording/reproducing device by driving the first and second cassette pushing arms simultaneously. It is.

(Function) According to the present invention, the first, second, and third cassette entrances and exits provided in the cassette transfer device are used to connect the cassette transfer device to the cassette storage shelves on both sides and the cassette insertion port of the recording/reproducing device. Therefore, the cassettes can be transferred from the T-shaped direction without changing the orientation of the cassettes that have been selectively taken out from the cassette storage shelves on both sides to the cassette transfer machine. The cassette can be fed into the insertion slot, and the orientation of the cassette can be set at 90° between the cassette transfer machine and the recording/playback device, as in the previous application.
You can use a special cassette rotation device to rotate the cassettes.
A pair of cassette extrusion arms can selectively extrude the cassettes in three directions from the second and third cassette entrances into the cassette storage shelves on both sides and into the recording/reproducing device. 3 independent of each other for
There is no need to provide two cassette ejection mechanisms. Therefore, the structure of the cassette transfer machine becomes very simple.

〔Example〕

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a cassette autochanger using a video cassette will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the entire cassette autochanger will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

First, this cassette autochanger is a large machine that can accommodate hundreds of cassettes 1. and,
In FIG. 7, a plurality of shelf blocks 3 installed in a large number of cassette storage shelves 2 for storing a large number of cassettes 1 in multiple vertical and vertical rows (30 to 50 rows) and horizontal rows (5 to 10 rows) are shown. In FIG. 8, they are arranged in two rows along both front and rear sides of the movement path 5 of the cassette transfer a4 that is moved in the left-right direction. The two shelf blocks 3 placed on the operator side (front side) 6 are configured to be openable and closable in a double door shape, and the two shelf blocks 3 placed on the rear side are fixed. On one side of the shelf block 3, recording and reproducing devices 7 arranged in multiple stages above and below are arranged. Note that these recording and reproducing devices 7 are connected to an ordinary front-loading cassette type VTR on the operator side 6.
The cassette insertion slots 8 of these recording and reproducing devices 7 are located at the 7th and 8th positions of the moving path 5.
It faces the lateral side, which is the left side in the figure. Moreover, a large number of cassettes 1 are inserted and stored in a large number of cassette storage shelves 2 from the longitudinal direction, respectively.

The cassette transfer machine 4 has a plurality of cassette storage shelves 2 on both sides of the movement path 5 in a first direction and a second
Cassette 1 from the arrow entry direction and arrow B direction, which are the directions of
perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction between the first and second cassette entrances 9 and 10 on both the front and rear sides for receiving and receiving the cassettes, and the cassette insertion opening 8 of the recording and reproducing device 7 with multiple upper and lower stages. A third cassette inlet/outlet 11 is provided through which the cassette l-1 is transferred from the direction of arrow C, which is the third direction.

Then, this cassette autochanger uses the first or second cassette entrance/exit 9.10 of the cassette transfer machine 4, which is moved vertically and horizontally, to move the cassettes from a designated shelf address of a large number of cassette storage shelves 2. The cassette 1 is selectively taken out sequentially in the direction of arrow A and the direction of arrow B while maintaining its longitudinal direction. Then, the removed cassette l is transferred by the cassette transfer device 4 to the cassette insertion opening 8 at the designated height position of the recording/reproducing device 7 with multiple upper and lower stages, and then
Using the cassette inlet/outlet 11, the transferred cassette 1 is selectively inserted into the cassette insertion opening 8 of the recording/reproducing device ff77 in the direction of arrow C in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction without changing the orientation of the cassette 1 at all. Send it in. The fed cassette 1 is taken into the recording/reproducing apparatus 7 by a cassette taking mechanism and set therein. In this way, the cassettes 1 are sequentially supplied to the recording and reproducing apparatuses 7 arranged in multiple upper and lower stages, and continuous video reproduction and recording over a long period of time are performed by these recording and reproducing apparatuses arranged in multiple upper and lower stages. It should be noted that each cassette 1 after video playback or recording is returned to its original designated shelf address in the cassette storage shelf 2 by the reverse operation of the above operation.

Next, details of the cassette transfer device 4 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6B.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, in the cassette transfer a4,
Using the first and second cassette entrances and exits 9 and 10, the cassette storage shelves 2 on both front and rear sides are used in the direction of arrow A and the direction of arrow B.
A total of six cassette transfer belts 13 that transfer cassettes 1 in the direction shown in FIG. The arm 14 and the cassette l in the cassette transfer machine 4 are moved from the first, second and third cassette entrances 9 and 10511 into the cassette storage shelves 2 on both front and back sides and into the recording/reproducing device 7 in the direction of arrow A. B
First and second cassette ejecting arms 15, 16 etc. are provided for selectively ejecting the cassettes in the direction and in the direction of arrow C. In addition, the double-force set push-out arms 15 and 16 are arranged symmetrically in the front-rear direction, and rollers 1 are installed at their tips, respectively.
7 is installed. Further, a total of six cassette transfer rollers 14 are attached to a stage 18 and configured to be able to move up and down in the direction of the arrow, which is the up and down direction.

Next, the drive mechanism 20 for the pair of cassette push-out arms 15, 16 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

First, a pair of cassette push-out arms I5.16 are rotatably mounted on the chassis 21 by a pair of support shafts 22a, 22b, and a planetary gear mechanism 23 is mounted on the chassis 21 at an intermediate position between these support shafts 22a, 22b. It is being This planetary gear mechanism 23 includes a drive shaft 24 rotatably attached to a chassis 21, a sun gear 25 fixed to this drive shaft 24, three planetary gears 26 meshed with this sun gear 25, and these. A sun gear 28 is rotatably attached to the drive shaft 24, and these planetary gears 26 are rotatably attached to the drive shaft 29, respectively. A sun gear 30 is rotatably attached to the shaft 24. The drive gear 3 fixed to the drive shaft 24
The driving force of the motor 32 is transmitted to the motor 1 through gears.

A pair of gears 33a and 34a meshed with one side of both sun gears 28 and 30, and a gear 35a disposed between them are rotatably mounted on the chassis 21 by a support shaft 36a. Support shaft 2 via gear 37a
It is interlocked with a gear 38a fixed to the first cassette ejection arm 15 on the outer periphery of the cassette 2a. A gear 33b meshed with the other side of the sun gear 28 and a pair of gears 34b and 35b disposed below the gear 33b are rotatably mounted on the chassis 21 by a support shaft 36b, and the gear 35b is connected to the gear 3
It is interlocked with a gear 38b fixed to the second cassette ejecting arm 16 on the outer periphery of the support shaft 22b via a gear 7b. The gear 34b is interlocked with the sun gear 304, which is a two-stage gear, via an intermediate gear 39.

Then, pawls 40a, 40b are integrally provided on the upper and lower sides of intermediate gears 35a, 35b, and upper and lower gears 33a, 34a.
and claws 4 provided integrally with 33b and 34b, respectively.
1a, 42a and 41b142b constitute pawl clutches 43a and 43b.

Further, a switching mechanism 44 is provided that selectively locks the pair of sun gears 28 and 30 of the planetary gear mechanism 23 to switch the transmission path of the driving force of the motor 32. This switching mechanism 44 has an elevating shaft 46 mounted on a holder 45 mounted on the chassis 21 so as to be able to move up and down.
A pair of bins 48a and 48b integrally provided inside both upper and lower ends of a U-shaped arm 47 attached to the upper end of the elevating shaft 46 are inserted into holes 49a and 49b provided in a pair of gears 33a and 34a. It is designed to be engaged in a wide manner.

Note that the lifting shaft 46 is equipped with a spring 50 provided on the outer periphery of its lower end.
is biased downward by. The stage 1 shown in FIG.
An arm 18a integrally provided with a part of 8 is brought into contact with the
The lower end of the lifting shaft 46 is in contact with the upper part of the curved end 52b of the lever 52.

It should be noted that return springs 53a and 53b of the double force set push-out arms 15 and 16 are attached to the outer peripheries of both the support shafts 22a and 22b. Also, the gear 5 rotated together with the drive gear 24
4 and both gears 38a, 38b, respectively, are provided with optical sensors (photocoupler) 57, 58a, 58b which are switched by sensor plates 55, 56a, 56b which are rotated integrally with each other. Additionally, double-acting stoppers 59a and 59b of the double-force set push-out arms 15, 16 are provided on the chassis 21.

Next, the operation of the drive mechanism 20 configured as above will be explained.

First, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 6A, when the cassette 1 is placed horizontally on the cassette transfer bell (13) in the cassette transfer plate 4, the stage 18 is lowered in the direction of the arrow Da. . As shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, one end 5 of the lever 52 is moved by the arm 18a of the stage 18.
2a is lowered in the force direction of arrow Da, and the lever 52 and the other 4
At 52b, the lifting shaft 46 is raised in the direction of arrow Db against the spring 50, and the pin 48b at the lower end of the U-shaped arm 47 is engaged in the hole 49b of the gear 34a. Therefore, at this time, 1'! Sun gear 3 via i jlf 34 a
0 is locked.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the cassette 1 in the cassette transfer plate 4 is transferred from the first or second cassette entrance 9 or 10 into the cassette storage shelves 2 on both the front and rear sides. When selectively extruding the cassette 1, the cassette 1 is selectively transferred in the direction of arrow Aa and in the direction of arrow 3a by the cassette transfer belt 13 as shown by the dashed line.
At almost the same time, move the first or second cassette ejecting arm 15 or 16 in the direction of arrow E3 or arrow B as shown by the solid line.
The longitudinal ends 1a and lb of the cassette 1 are selectively pushed by the rollers 17 at the tips of these cassette push-out arms 15 and 16 by selectively rotating in the direction a, and the cassette 1 is moved into the first or second position. cassette entrance/exit 9 or 1
0 completely into the cassette storage shelves 2 on both the front and rear sides.

At this time, the motor 32 rotates the drive shaft 24 forward or backward through the drive gear 31, but as described above, since the sun gear 30 is locked, the drive shaft 24 is driven by the sun gear 25. The two planetary gears 26 do not perform planetary motion, and these planetary gears 26 rotationally drive the sun gear 28 via the internal gear 27.

Therefore, the forward rotation driving force of the motor 32 is transmitted through the first transmission path 24-25-26-28-33a-41a-40a-3.
5a-37a-38a to the first cassette ejecting arm 15, and this first cassette ejecting arm 1
5 is rotated in the direction of arrow Ba against the return spring 53a.

Further, the reverse rotation driving force of the motor 32 is transferred to the second transmission path 2.
4-25-26-28-33b-41b-40b-35
b-'37b-, 38b to the second cassette push-out arm 16, and the second cassette push-out arm 16 is rotated in the direction of arrow Ba against the return spring 53b. However, at this time, when the first cassette pushing arm 15 is rotationally driven, the other pawl clutch 43b is turned off.
When this state is maintained and the second cassette push-out arm 16 is rotationally driven, one claw clutch 43a remains in the OFF state. and the first or second cassette ejection arm 15
The optical sensor 57 detects the rotational position of the sensor plate 55 when the sensor 16 is rotated in the direction of arrow Ba or in the direction of arrow Ba to the maximum rotational position shown by the solid line in FIGS. 5B and 5C.
When detected by , the rotation direction of the motor 32 is switched from normal rotation to reverse rotation or from reverse rotation to normal rotation, and the first or second cassette ejection arm 15 or 16 is activated by the return spring 53a, 53b, respectively. Therefore, up to the double movement position shown in Fig. 5Δ, the force direction of arrow Eb is as shown by arrow EjJF.
are moved back in the b direction, and the back movement stoppers 59a,
59b and is stopped.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 5D and 6B, when the cassette 1 in the cassette transfer device 4 is pushed out from the third cassette entrance 11 into the cassette insertion opening 8 of the recording/reproducing device 7 in the direction of arrow Ca, First, the stage 18 is raised in the direction of the arrow Db force, and the cassette transfer roller 14 lifts the cassette 1 on the cassette transfer belt 13 horizontally in the direction of the arrow Db force, as shown by the dashed line. Then, as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. The pin 48a is engaged in the hole 49a of the gear 33a, and the sun gear 28 is locked through the gear 33a.

Next, in this state, the motor 32 drives the drive shaft 24 in forward rotation again via the drive gear 31, but as described above, since the sun gear 28 is locked, the drive shaft 24 is driven by the sun gear 25. The three planetary gears 26 perform planetary motion within the internal gear 27 to rotationally drive the sun gear 30.

Therefore, the forward rotation driving force of the motor 32 is transferred to the first transmission path 24-25-26-3O-34a-42a-40a-3.
5a-37a-38a to the first cassette pushing arm 15, and at the same time the second transmission path 24-2.
5-26-30-39-34 b-42b-40b-3
5b-37b-38b to the second cassette ejecting arm 16, and these two sets of ejecting arms 15
．． 16 indicates the force direction of the arrow Ea and the arrow Fa as shown in FIG. 5D.
Rotation is driven simultaneously in both force directions.

As a result, the side surface 1c of the cassette 1 is simultaneously pushed by the roller 17 at the tip of the double force set push-out arm 15, 16, as shown by the solid line in FIGS. 5D and 6B, and this cassette 1 is The cassette is pushed out from the cassette entrance 11 in the direction of arrow Ca and inserted into the cassette insertion opening 8 . The two optical sensors detecting the rotational positions of the two sensor plates 56a and 56b indicate that the two-force set push-out arm 15.16 has been rotated in the force direction of the arrow Ea and in the force direction of the arrow Fa to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5D. 58a, 58b, the direction of rotation of the motor 32 is switched from forward rotation to reverse rotation, and the double-force set push-out arm 15.16 is moved back and forth as shown in FIG. 5A by both return springs 53a, 53b. It is simultaneously moved back to position in the force direction of arrow Eb and in the direction of arrow Fb.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various effective changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to cassette autochangers that use video cassettes, but can be applied to autochangers for various cassettes and cartridges that house various recording media such as magnetic tapes and optical disks.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, there is no need to use a special cassette rotation device that rotates the direction of the cassette by 90' between the cassette transfer device and the recording/reproducing device.
Furthermore, the structure of the cassette transfer machine has been simplified by allowing a pair of cassette push-out arms to selectively push out the cassettes in the cassette transfer machine in three directions into the cassette storage shelves on both sides and into the recording/reproducing device. This has the effect of significantly simplifying the overall structure of the cassette autochanger.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the main part, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the main part, Fig. 3 is a side view of the main part, and Fig. 4 is a side view of the main part. Enlarged sectional view of main parts, Figures 5A to 5
Figure D is a plan view explaining the operation of the main parts, Figures 6A and 6
FIG. 7 is a front view of the entire cassette autochanger, and FIG. 8 is a plan view of a portion of the cassette autochanger. In addition, in the codes used in the drawings, l...-------------------1--cassette 2---------------cassette. Storage shelf 4 - - - - - - - - - Cassette transfer device 7 - - - - - - - - - - - - Recording and reproducing device 8 −・−・・・・−−１−−−−−・−・・
−・Cassette insertion slot 9・−・−・−・・・・−・−・・
−・First cassette entrance/exit 1゛0−・−・・・・・−・
−・−Second cassette entrance/exit 11・・−・・−・−・−
...Third cassette entrance/exit 15--...
−・−・・・First cassette ejection arm 16・・−
・−・・・・−Second cassette ejection arm 20−・
−・・−・−・・−・Drive mechanism 32・・・・−・−
・-----～・-・・-Motor A----
−−−First direction B〜・−・−・・−・−～−−−・
-・Second direction c
The direction is

Claims (1)

[Claims] A large number of cassette storage shelves storing a large number of cassettes,
A cassette autochanger comprising a cassette transfer device and a recording/playback device, and configured to perform selective automatic exchange of cassettes between the cassette storage shelf and the recording/playback device using the cassette transfer device, wherein the cassette storage shelf is connected to the The cassette transfer device is disposed on both sides of the moving path, and the cassette insertion port of the recording/reproducing device is arranged opposite to the lateral side of the moving path, and the cassette transfer device has a space between the cassette storage shelves on both sides. 1st
perpendicular to the first and second directions between the first and second cassette entrances and exits for receiving and receiving cassettes from the direction of a third cassette entrance/exit for transferring cassettes from a third direction; and a third cassette entrance/exit for transferring cassettes from the first or second cassette entrance/exit to the first or second cassette storage shelves on both sides. first and second cassette extrusion arms selectively extruding in two directions are provided symmetrically;
a drive mechanism for selectively or simultaneously driving the first and second cassette ejecting arms, and by simultaneously driving the first and second cassette ejecting arms, the cassette in the cassette transfer machine is moved from the third cassette entrance to the recording medium. A cassette autochanger, characterized in that the cassette autochanger is configured to be pushed into the playback device in the third direction.