JPH03238645A - Acoustic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent theft and danger of fault by prohibiting the operation of a loading means during the time of detecting that an operating part is detached. CONSTITUTION:When it is detected by an operating part detecting means 10 that the operating part 2 is detached, this is advised to a control means (microcomputer) 1, and in this condition, the loading means 3 is brought under the state of prohibiting operation. Consequently, it is detected by a recording medium detecting means 11 that the recording medium is inserted into a recording medium inserting hole 62, and even when the control means 1 is so advised, this is ignored by the control means 1 the loading of the recording medium is not performed. By this method, effect of theft prevention is promoted and fault of the device due to double tape insertion, etc., can be prevented.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Industrial application field> This invention relates to audio equipment.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, there has been a strong demand for high-quality audio equipment, as well as a need for miniaturization of equipment for use in indoor transportation, outdoor use, and installation in automobiles and the like.

In order to meet this demand, tape recorders have progressed from reel-to-reel tape recorders to cassette tape recorders, and now DAT, while achieving both higher sound quality and smaller size. This is not limited to tape recorders; the change from LP records to compact discs has been made for the same reason.

As a result, devices that are sufficiently small for practical use, have high sound quality, and are multifunctional have now been completed.

However, as a result of advances in miniaturization of equipment in order to meet the above-mentioned demands, a new problem has arisen: theft of audio equipment. Particularly in North America, Europe, etc., preventing theft of audio equipment is an important issue. As a solution to this problem, anti-theft measures such as making the operating section of the device removable are now in widespread use. This is an attempt to prevent theft by removing the operating section and making the device unusable even if the device is stolen.

<Problem to be solved by the invention> However, simply making the operating section of the device removable as in the past is not a complete anti-theft measure, as it can be used by attaching another operating section of the same model. It wasn't. Also,
Since the control device normally does not work when the operating section is removed, there is a risk of failure due to double insertion when performing operations such as inserting a recording medium.

Means for Solving the Problems> The audio equipment of the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and includes a detachable operation section, an operation section detection means for detecting the attachment/detachment state of the operation section, a recording medium detecting means for detecting that a recording medium is inserted into the recording medium insertion slot; a loading means for transporting the recording medium to a playback position based on the detection result of the recording medium detecting means; and an operation unit detecting means for operating the recording medium. and control means for prohibiting the operation of the loading means while separation of the part is detected.

Effects> When the operating portion detection means detects that the operating portion is removed, it notifies the control means of this. In this state,
The control means disables the loading means. Therefore, even if the recording medium detecting means detects that the recording medium has been inserted into the recording medium insertion slot and informs the control means, the control means ignores this and does not load the recording medium.

<Example> An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an in-vehicle audio device equipped with a tape recorder that uses tape as a recording medium.

This device is mainly composed of a control device 1 that controls and controls the entire device. An operating section 2 that outputs an operating signal and a pack IN switch 11 that is a cassette detection sensor for detecting insertion of a cassette tape are coupled as inputs to the control device 1. The loading mechanism 3 is configured to be controlled by commands from the control device 1.

Further, in this embodiment, a memory 4 and its display 5 for the purpose of preventing theft, which will be described later, are coupled to the control device 1.

The operating section 2 is provided on the front panel 6 of this device. The actual shape of the front panel 6 is shown in FIG. 2(a).

The front panel 6 is provided on the vertical front side of the device, and its overall shape is a horizontally long rectangle. A display panel 60 for displaying the operating status is provided in the upper left half, and an insertion slot 62 is provided in the upper right half.

Furthermore, various operation switches and the like are provided in the lower half of the front panel 6. On the display panel 6o, eight independent display element groups 61 are arranged horizontally at regular intervals. Each of the display element groups 61 can display one number or character, and is configured to display time, tape running direction, and the like.

The left half of the operation switches provided on the lower side of the front panel 6 is a round rotary switch, which allows adjustment of volume, sound quality, etc.

These switches are fixed to the front panel 6 and cannot be removed.

On the other hand, in the operating section 2 provided in the lower right half of the front panel 6, five rectangular operating keys 20 are arranged horizontally, and other switches and the like are arranged above them. By operating the operation keys 20 in the same way as a normal tape recorder, operation commands such as playback and fast forwarding can be sent to the control device 1, and as a result, the tape recorder can perform the desired operation. It becomes.

Furthermore, the operating section 2 of this embodiment is configured to be removable from the front panel 6 to prevent theft. This makes it possible to prevent theft and the like by making the device unusable. The front panel 6 with the operating section 2 removed is shown in FIG. 2(b). Operation unit 2
In order to reduce the possibility of damage due to repeated mounting and dismounting, the mounting section 63 for mounting and dismounting the operating section 2 and the control device 1
Only the minimum necessary connectors are provided to connect the circuits, etc., and the shape is flat with few irregularities.

The loading mechanism 3 includes a power source such as a motor, and rollers, pins, etc. for handling the tape. The loading mechanism 3 moves the tape to a predetermined position for recording, playback, etc., or for preparatory operations thereof. The operation of the loading mechanism 3 at this time is controlled by the control device 1, and is configured to prevent malfunctions such as double insertion of the tape.

The pack IN switch 11 is a detection means for electrically or mechanically detecting that a tape is inserted or removed. The detection result by the back IN switch 11 is configured to be output to the control device 1.

The control device 1 is mainly composed of a microcomputer. The control device 1 judges and processes the signal from the operation key 20 of the operation section 2 or the signal input from the pack IN switch 11 based on the built-in software, sends commands to each section such as the loading mechanism 3, and reproduces the signal. It is configured to perform operations such as , recording, and stopping.

In addition to the above, the control device 1 in this embodiment uses a part of the circuit connected to the operating section 2 as the operating section attachment/detachment sensor 10, and when the operating section 2 is removed from the mounting section 63, the circuit is activated. The structure is such that it is determined that the operating section 2 has been removed by detecting potential fluctuations caused by the open state. When the operation unit 2 is removed, even if a signal indicating that a tape has been inserted into the insertion slot 62 is detected by the pack IN switch 11 and input to the control device 1, the control device 1 ignores this signal. death.

The loading mechanism 3 is configured not to perform loading. Note that the attachment/detachment of the operation unit 2 is detected by using a detection means such as a pack IN switch 11 or the like using the operation unit attachment/detachment sensor 10.
This can also be done by newly providing a new controller on the mounting section 63 and processing its output by the control device 1.

Furthermore, this embodiment has an anti-theft function using the above-mentioned PIN code. That is, the memory 4 is a nonvolatile memory, and a theft prevention password code is recorded in advance. This password code has different contents for each device even if it is the same model, and is configured to be read by the control device 1. The control device 1 is configured not to operate the audio device unless the password code recorded in the memory 4 is input from the operation portion 2 after the operation portion 2 is reinstalled. With this configuration, the operation section 2 of the same model
Even if you wear the PIN code, you will not be able to operate the audio device unless you know the PIN code.

The display body 5 is a display element such as a light emitting diode, and is configured to light up when the anti-theft mechanism using the PIN code is in operation.

Note that 12 is a power switch, and 13 is an accessory switch.

Next, based on the flowchart of FIG.
The control device 1 determines whether the tape has been inserted into the insertion slot 62 (step 81). If the operation section 2 has been removed, the control device 1 then determines whether the tape has been inserted into the insertion slot 62. The control device 1 makes a decision based on the signal from the pack IN switch 11 (step 82), and when a tape is inserted, prohibits the operation of the loading mechanism 3 to avoid failures due to double loading of the tape, etc. Then, the process proceeds to step 84. If no tape is inserted in step 82, the process directly proceeds to step 84. In step 84, the control device 1 determines whether or not the anti-theft mechanism using the PIN code recorded in the memory 4 is in operation, and if it is in operation, the control device 1 performs post-processing to turn the display 5 into a blinking state. (Step 86). but,
If the anti-theft device is not activated in step 84, the process ends (step 86).

If the operating unit 2 is attached in step 81, the control device 1 then determines the states of the power switch 12 and accessory switch 13 in steps 87 and 88.
), the process advances to step 89 only if both are ON. However, if either the power switch 12 or the accessory switch 13 is turned off, the process advances to step 82, and from then on, the same process as when the operating unit 2 is not attached in step 81 is performed. .

In step 89, the control device 1 determines that the tape is inserted into the insertion slot 6.
It is determined based on the signal from the pack IN switch 11 whether the pack is inserted into the pack IN switch 11 or not. At this time, if it is determined that it has been inserted, the control device 1 operates the loading mechanism 3 to perform the loading process (step 90). Then, after starting reproduction (step 91), the process ends (step 86). On the other hand, if it is determined in step 89 that no tape is inserted, the process directly proceeds to step 86 and ends the process.

As explained above, in the above embodiment, when the operating section 2 is removed, the control device 1 prevents the loading mechanism 3 from loading even if a tape is inserted into the insertion slot 62. Therefore, the effectiveness of theft prevention is improved. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent equipment failures due to double insertion of tapes, etc. Furthermore, since a theft prevention mechanism using a personal identification code is provided, the device will not operate even if another operating section 2 is attached, further preventing theft and improving the effectiveness. Moreover, the effect can be enhanced by blinking the display 5.

Although the above embodiment relates to an audio device equipped with a tape recorder, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be applied to devices including a recording medium such as a CD player or a video deck.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained above, the audio equipment of the present invention includes a detachable operation section, an operation section detection means for detecting the attachment/detachment state of the operation section, and an operation section detecting means for detecting whether a recording medium is inserted into a recording medium insertion slot. a recording medium detecting means for detecting; a loading means for transporting the recording medium to a playback position based on the inspection result of the recording medium detecting means; Since the recording medium is provided with a control means for prohibiting the operation of the means, the recording medium is not loaded in a state where the operation section is removed, and the anti-theft effect is improved. Further, effects such as being able to prevent the risk of failure can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing its operation. Figure 1 1: Control device, 2: Operation unit, 3: Loading mechanism, 4
: Memory, 5: Display, 6: Front panel, 10: Operation unit attachment/detachment sensor, 11: Pack IN switch, 12: Power switch, 13: Accessory switch, 20: Operation key,
60: display panel, 61: display element group, 62: insertion slot,
63: Mounting part. 275-

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A detachable operation section; an operation section detection means for detecting whether the operation section is attached or detached; a recording medium detection means for detecting that a recording medium is inserted into a recording medium insertion slot; loading means for transporting the recording medium to a playback position based on the detection result of the medium detection means; and control means for prohibiting the operation of the loading means while detachment of the operation section is detected by the operation section detection means; An audio device characterized by being equipped with.