JPH09128866A - Disk auto-changer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the disk auto-changer device capable of carrying a disk cartridge in a disk recording and reproducing device even when this disk cartridge has no groove part on its side surface as specified. SOLUTION: The device is equipped with hands 917 and 918 held pivotally by an upper base 901 for holding a hand mechanism 904 to be capable of holding the disk cartridge at the time of requirement, springs 921 and 922 suspended between this upper base 901 and the hands 917 and 918 respectively and a cam 916b installed to be capable of abutting on and withdrawing from the hands 917 and 918. Then, when the hands 917 and 918 are abutted against the cam 916b, the hands 917 and 918 are separated from the disk cartridge, and when the hands 917 and 918 are withdrawn from the cam, the disk cartridge is energized by the hands 917 and 918 with the spings 921 and 922.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention stores a large number of disc cartridges containing discs, which are information recording media, in a disc storage case, and takes out a desired disc cartridge from the disc storage case to provide a disc recording / reproducing apparatus. After supplying and recording information on the disc in the disc recording / reproducing apparatus or reproducing the recorded information,
The present invention relates to a disk automatic exchange device that stores a disk cartridge in a disk storage again.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 15 shows, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-3626.
It is a side view which shows the whole structure of the conventional disk automatic exchange apparatus disclosed by the 9th publication. As shown in the figure, in a box-shaped housing 101, a disc storage 103 for aligning and storing a disc cartridge 102 containing discs as recording media such as optical discs and magnetic discs is arranged, and below the disc storage chamber 103. Two disk recording / reproducing devices 104 and 105 for recording / reproducing information on / from the cartridge are arranged.

The disc transport mechanism 106 selectively takes out one disc cartridge 102 from the disc storage 103, and disc recording / reproducing devices 104 and 105.
Or to take out the disc cartridge 102 discharged from the disc recording / reproducing devices 104 and 105 and return it to the disc storage 103.
The disk transport mechanism 106 is a disk storage 103,
Front side 103 of disk recording / reproducing device 104, 105
arrow Y which is the vertical direction along a, 104a, 105a
It is configured to be linearly transferable in a horizontal direction.

An elevating mechanism 107 for transferring the disc carrying mechanism 106 includes a pair of pulleys 108 arranged on the upper part of the housing 101 and a pair of pulleys 1 arranged on the lower part of the housing 101.
It is composed of a pair of timing belts 110, which are respectively suspended between 09 and 09, and are coupled to the disc transport mechanism 106, and a drive source 111 for rotationally driving the timing belts 110.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the details of a conventional disc cartridge transport mechanism. The disc transport mechanism 106 includes a disc storage 103 and disc cartridges 1 in the disc recording / reproducing devices 104 and 105.
02, the pull-out pawl 113 that selectively engages with the groove portion 112
Is provided. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, both pull-out pawls 1 are moved in the direction of arrow X shown in FIG. 16, which is a direction perpendicular to the direction of arrow Y, which is the direction of transfer of the disc transport mechanism.
The pull-out pawl transfer mechanism 114 for horizontally moving 13 is composed of a pair of left and right timing belts 115, and both the pull-out pawls 113 are rotated by driving the timing belts 115 by a drive source 116.
Is guided by a pair of left and right horizontal guide rails 117 so that it can be horizontally transferred in the arrow X direction between the pull-out position shown by the solid line and the pull-in position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. ing.

Next, the operation of the above device will be described.
First, one disc cartridge 102 is selectively taken out of the disc storage 103 and supplied to one side 104 of the disc recording / reproducing apparatus, or vice versa, the disc cartridge 102 once taken out is returned to the original position of the disc storage 103. The basic operation of this apparatus is to return the disk cartridge 102a to one of the disk recording / reproducing apparatuses 104, and the disk cartridge 102b ejected from the other disk recording / reproducing apparatus 105 to the disk storage 103. A series of operations for returning to the original position will be described.

First, the position (1) of both pull-out claws 113 of the disc carrying mechanism 106 shows the position where the disc cartridge 102a is supplied to the upper disc recording / reproducing device 104, while the lower disc recording / reproducing device 105 is provided. , The disc cartridge 102b already returned to the disc storage 103 is in a predetermined position, that is,
It is automatically ejected to a position where it is engaged with the groove 112 of the disc cartridge 102b when both the pull-out claws 113 move to the position (2).

Next, the upper disk recording / reproducing device 104
After the disk cartridge 102a is supplied to the disk cartridge 102a, the disk transport mechanism 106 is vertically transferred in the Ya direction, the pull-out claws 113 move from positions (1) to (2), and the disk storage 103 of the lower disk recording / reproducing device 105 is moved.
And is engaged with the groove 112 of the disc cartridge 102b. It should be noted that the disk recording / reproducing apparatus 1 is operated after the both pull-out claws 113 are moved from the position (1) to the position (2).
In 04, the disc recording / reproducing apparatus 10 is supplied from the predetermined position where the disc cartridge 102 is supplied.
4 is automatically drawn into the disk cartridge 1
Recording or reproduction of information on 02a is performed.

Next, both of the pull-out pawls 113 of the disk transport mechanism 106 are horizontally transferred in the Xa direction and pulled in from the positions (2) to (3), and the both pull-out pawls 1 are moved.
The disk cartridge 102b in the lower disk recording / reproducing device 105 is hooked by 13 and taken into the disk transport mechanism 106.

Next, after the disc transport mechanism 106 is vertically transported in the Yb direction and is transported to the original height position of the disc storage 103 where the disc cartridge 102b should be returned and stopped, both pulling claws 113 are moved in the Xb direction. Is horizontally transferred to the position (4) and is pushed out to the position (5), and the two pull-out claws 113 push the disk cartridge 102b back from the inside of the disk transport mechanism 106 to the original position of the disk storage 103 for storage. .

[0011]

In the conventional disk automatic exchange device as described above, since the disk transport mechanism is compatible only with the disk cartridge of the specification in which the groove portion is provided on the side surface of the disk cartridge. With respect to the disc cartridge of the specification in which the groove portion is not provided on the side surface of the above, there is a problem that the disc cartridge cannot be conveyed in the apparatus.

Further, in the above automatic disk changing device,
Since the disc recording / reproducing apparatus is provided with a function of automatically pulling the disc cartridge supplied to the disc recording / reproducing apparatus to a predetermined position into the disc recording / reproducing apparatus, the cost is increased. Moreover, since the pull-in function is provided, the height of the disk recording / reproducing apparatus becomes high, and the whole automatic disk changing apparatus becomes large.

On the other hand, when supplying the disc cartridge, an inexpensive thin disc recording / reproducing device having no function of retracting the disc cartridge from a predetermined position on the front surface of the disc recording / reproducing device was used. In this case, there is a problem in that the supplied disc cartridge is not drawn into the disc recording / reproducing apparatus, and therefore information cannot be recorded / reproduced on / from the disc cartridge.

Further, in the above-described conventional disc automatic exchange device, when the disc cartridge is ejected from the disc recording / reproducing device, a positioning function of ejecting the disc cartridge to a predetermined position on the front surface of the disc recording / reproducing device is provided. Since the provided disk recording / reproducing device is used, there is a problem that the cost becomes high.
Since this positioning function is provided, the height of the disk recording / reproducing apparatus becomes high, and there is a problem that the entire automatic disk changing apparatus becomes large.

On the other hand, when an inexpensive thin disk recording / reproducing apparatus which does not have a positioning function for ejecting the disk cartridge to a predetermined position on the front surface of the disk recording / reproducing apparatus is used, the disk cartridge records the disk. Since the disc cartridge is not positioned when ejected from the reproducing device, there is a problem that the disc cartridge may jump out of the disc recording / reproducing device and fall into the automatic disc exchanging device.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and a first object of the present invention is to use a disc cartridge having a specification in which a groove is not provided on the side surface of the disc cartridge. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic disc changing device capable of carrying a disc cartridge in a recording / reproducing device.

A second object is an inexpensive thin disk which is not provided with a function of drawing the disk cartridge into the disk recording / reproducing apparatus from a predetermined position on the front surface of the disk recording / reproducing apparatus when supplying the disk cartridge. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic disc exchange device capable of recording / reproducing information to / from a disc cartridge by pushing the supplied disc cartridge into the disc recording / reproducing device even when the recording / reproducing device is used.

Further, a third object is that the drive source of the disc cartridge insertion mechanism is constituted by the same drive source as the drive source of the hand mechanism, and the disc cartridge insertion mechanism and the hand mechanism are formed into a gear meshing with the drive source. Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic disk changer which is operated by a cam and which can detect the position of each operating state by a reflection plate and an optical sensor provided on the gear.

A fourth object is that even if an inexpensive disk recording / reproducing apparatus which does not have a function for positioning the disk recording / reproducing apparatus when ejecting the disk cartridge is used, the disk recording / reproducing apparatus is used. While the disc transport mechanism transports the disc cartridge to the disc recording / reproducing device, it prevents the disc cartridge from jumping out of the reproducing device and falling into the device, and also regulates the position of the disc cartridge to stand by at a predetermined position. Is to provide an automatic disk changing device that does not regulate the position.

Further, a fifth object is that the position regulation is not performed while the disc carrying mechanism is carrying the disc cartridge to the disc recording / reproducing device and inserting / removing the disc cartridge from the disc recording / reproducing device. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic disk changing device in which a mechanism for doing so is a rotating mechanism.

[0021]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In an automatic disk changer according to the present invention, a hand is provided on an upper base for holding a hand mechanism so as to be able to hold a disk cartridge when needed, the upper base and the hand. A hand is detached from the disc cartridge when the hand and the cam are in contact with each other, and a spring is used to detach the hand from the cam when the hand and the cam are in contact with each other. It urges the disc cartridge.

An upper base for holding the hand mechanism,
It comprises a cam provided on the upper base and a disc cartridge insertion mechanism driven by the cam.

Further, the hand mechanism provided on the upper base and the disc cartridge insertion mechanism are operated by a cam formed on a gear meshing with the same drive source, and a reflector and an optical sensor provided on the upper portion of the gear. A detection device for detecting the operating state position of each mechanism is provided.

Further, a stopper portion for restricting the position when the disc cartridge is ejected from the disc recording / reproducing apparatus is provided on the front surface of the disc recording / reproducing apparatus, and the stopper portion inserts the disc cartridge into the disc recording / reproducing apparatus. The position regulation is released only when the contact is made in the contact direction.

Further, a stopper portion is provided on the mounting plate, a push-down plate rotatably supported by the mounting plate, a spring suspended between the mounting plate and the push-down plate, and one end of the push-down plate. And a stopper plate rotatably supported by the support member, and a spring wound around the support member.

[0026]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the automatic disc exchange apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, even when a disc cartridge having specifications in which a groove portion is not provided on the side surface of the disc cartridge is used, the disc in the disc recording / reproducing apparatus is used. The cartridge can be transported.

Further, even when a disc recording / reproducing apparatus having no function of retracting the disc cartridge is used, the disc cartridge can be pushed into the disc recording / reproducing apparatus.

Further, it is not necessary to newly provide a drive source for the disc cartridge inserting mechanism, and the disc cartridge inserting mechanism is constituted by two cams formed in one gear.
The hand mechanism is driven, and the position of each operating state of each mechanism can be detected by the reflecting plate and the optical sensor provided on this one gear.

Further, since the stopper portion is provided on the front surface of the disc recording / reproducing apparatus, even if an inexpensive apparatus disc recording / reproducing apparatus having no function for positioning when ejecting the disc cartridge is used, The cartridge is prevented from jumping out of the disc recording / reproducing device and falling into the device, and the position of the disc cartridge is regulated so that the disc cartridge stands by at a predetermined position. This stopper can be released during the operation.

Further, the stopper portion can be released by the rotating mechanism while the disc carrying mechanism is carrying the disc cartridge to the disc recording / reproducing device and inserting / removing the disc cartridge from the disc recording / reproducing device. it can.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments. Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a side view showing the overall configuration of an automatic disk changing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing an elevating mechanism of the automatic disk changing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a disk storage part of the automatic disk changer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing details of the stopper portion according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing details of a stopper portion that is Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing details of the transfer mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing details of the disc cartridge transport mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a left side view showing details of the disc cartridge carrying mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing details of the back surface of the disk cartridge carrying mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a front view showing details of an upper base transfer mechanism of the disk cartridge transfer mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing details of the gear 916 of the hand mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a front view showing details of the hand mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a timing chart showing the operation of the hand mechanism and the disc cartridge inserting mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which the disc cartridge carrying mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention is carrying a disc cartridge to the disc recording / reproducing apparatus.

1 to 3, the automatic disk changing apparatus has a box-shaped housing 1, and the housing 1 is constructed by covering each surface of a frame body formed by connecting with a frame with a housing. A disc loading mechanism 3 for loading and unloading the disc cartridge 2 into and from the housing 1 is arranged on the upper portion of the housing 1.

A disk loading mechanism 3 is provided in the housing 1.
A disk storage 4 for arranging and storing a large number of disk cartridges 2 in a horizontal state is disposed below the disk storage unit, and information is recorded on a disk such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk in the disk cartridge 2 below the disk storage 4. , And a plurality of disk recording / reproducing devices for reproducing are arranged. Here, four disk recording / reproducing devices 5, 6, 7, and 8 are shown as an example.

Further, the disk recording / reproducing devices 5, 6, 7,
The front surface of each of the eight stoppers 50, 60, 70,
80 are provided. 4 and 5 are detailed diagrams of the stopper portion 50 arranged on the front surface of the disc recording / reproducing apparatus 5.
Shown in The structure of the stopper portion 50 will be described. The disc recording / reproducing device 5 is provided with a mounting plate 51 for holding the stopper portion 50, and the mounting plate 51 is provided with a rotating shaft 52. The push-down plate 53 is rotatably supported by the rotary shaft 52, and the push-down plate 53 is
A first spring 54 is suspended between and the mounting plate 51. In addition, a supporting member 55 is usually provided at an end portion 53a of the push-down plate 53 positioned so as to cover the front surface of the disk recording / reproducing device 5, and holds a shaft 56. The stopper plate 57 is rotatably supported by the shaft 56,
The second spring 58 urges it in the direction of arrow D shown in FIG. The stopper parts 60, 70, 80 are also configured in the same manner.

The disk transfer mechanisms 9 and 10 are the same mechanism for taking out and returning the disk cartridge 2 between the disk loading mechanism 3, the disk storage 4, and the disk recording / reproducing devices 5, 6, 7, and 8. . The disc transport mechanisms 9 and 10 are arranged and supported in the vertical direction by the transport mechanism support portion 11 so as to be integrated with each other. The transport mechanism support 11 is movable in the left-right direction along guide shafts 13 and 14 provided on the transport mechanism 12. The transfer mechanism 12 includes a drive source 18 that rotatably drives a timing belt 17 that is suspended between pulleys 15 and 16 arranged on the right and left sides of the transfer mechanism 12 and that is connected to the transfer mechanism support 11. ing.

The transfer mechanism 12 includes guide shafts 22 and 23 provided on a frame 21 provided in the housing 1.
And is moved up and down by the elevating mechanism 24.
As shown in FIG. 2, the elevating mechanism 24 is suspended between pulleys 25 and 26 arranged on the upper and lower portions of the frame 21, respectively, and is a drive source for rotationally driving a timing belt 27 coupled to the transfer mechanism 12. And 28. The timing belt 27 includes a pulley 25
On the other hand, a rectangular balance weight 29 is fixed on the side opposite to the transfer mechanism 12.
Is configured to move vertically along the guide shafts 30 and 31 provided in the frame 21. Further, a slit sensor 32 for detecting a vertical position is provided at the rear of the transfer mechanism 12, and a slit plate 33 having a slit provided at a position corresponding to each disk cartridge 2 in the disk storage 4 is attached to the frame 21. There is.

7 to 12 show the structure of the disk carrying mechanism 9. The disc transport mechanism 9 is composed of an upper base 901 and a lower base 902, and as shown in FIG.
The upper base 901 is attached to the shaft 903 attached to one end of the lower base 902, the guide portion 902a formed on the other end of the lower base 902, and the upper base 901, and the guide portion 902a of the lower base 902. The upper base 901 is attached so as to be movable in the front-rear direction by bearing portions 901a and 901b that guide the shaft from both sides and a bearing portion 901c that guides the shaft 903.

The upper base 901 has a disk loading mechanism 3, a disk storage 4, disk recording / reproducing devices 5 and 6,
A hand mechanism 904 that holds the disc cartridge 2 when the disc cartridge 2 is transported and inserted between the seventh and the eighth cartridges, and the hand mechanism 90.
It is located at the bottom of 4, and is a disk recording / reproducing device 5, 6, 7, 8
A disc cartridge inserting mechanism 905 for inserting the disc cartridge 2 into the disk, a driving source 906 for moving the upper base 901 forward and backward, the hand mechanism 904, a driving source 907 for driving the disc cartridge inserting mechanism 905, and a lower portion of the upper base 901. A front position detection sensor 908 for detecting the forward / back stop position, a disk cartridge presence / absence detection sensor 909 located in front of the upper base 901 for detecting the presence / absence of a disk cartridge, and an upper base 901.
A push-down portion 910 that is arranged at the lower part of the front surface of the upper base 901 and that pushes down the push-down plate 53 when the upper base 901 moves forward is provided.

As shown in FIG. 9, a rack portion 91 integrally formed with the lower base 902 on the back surface of the lower base 902.
1 and the rack portion 911 engages with the gears 912 and 913 that transmit the driving force of the driving source 906 to move the upper base 901 forward and backward. Further, the sensor 914 above the lower base 902 is the upper base 901.
It is a sensor that detects the rear stop position of the. In addition, a contact surface 902b that determines the forward stop position by contacting the forward stop position arranged on the upper base 901 with the detection sensor 908 is provided below the lower base 902.

Next, the hand mechanism 904 will be described.
A worm 915 is fixed to a drive source 907 installed on the upper base 901, and the worm 915 is engaged with a gear 916 pivotally supported on the upper base. The right hand 917 and the left hand 918 are configured to rotate about axes 919 and 920, respectively, which are planted on the upper base 901.
The right hand 91 by the spring 921 and the spring 922, respectively.
7, the end portion 917a, 918a of the left hand 918, respectively
Are urged toward each other, and end portions 917a, 91
The structure is such that the disk cartridge 2 is gripped by 8a.

As shown in FIG. 11, the gear 916 is a gear 91.
6a and a cam 916b are integrally formed gears,
The gear 916a is engaged with the worm 915, and reflectors 923 and 924 are provided on the upper surface thereof. . Reflector 92
3 and 924 detect the states of the hand mechanism 904 and the disc cartridge insertion mechanism 905 by an optical sensor 926 and an optical sensor 927, respectively, which are arranged below the substrate 925 installed above the hand mechanism 904. Is configured. That is, the rotation of the gear 916 causes the reflection plates 923 and 924 to move to the optical sensor 926, and
When located below the optical sensor 927, the optical sensor 92
6 and the optical sensor 927 are configured to operate. The cam 916b is located at the same height as the bearing 928 arranged at the end 917b of the right hand 917,
A cam groove 916c is formed on the lower surface of the cam 916b, and a bearing 929 provided on the disc cartridge inserting mechanism 905 is inserted so that the disc cartridge inserting mechanism 905 moves along the cam groove 916c. There is.

Since the disk carrying mechanism 10 has the same structure as the disk carrying mechanism 9, the numbers of the respective components are also shown in FIGS. 7 to 12, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation will be described. First, one disk cartridge 2 is selectively taken out from the disk storage 4 and the disk recording / reproducing devices 5, 6, 7, 8 are selected.
The basic operation of this apparatus is to return the disk cartridge 2 once supplied to the disk storage unit 4 or vice versa to the original position of the disk storage 4. As an example, one disc cartridge 2a at the position A in the disc storage 4 shown in FIG. 3 is replaced with a disc cartridge 2b ejected from the disc recording / reproducing apparatus 5, and the disc cartridge 2b is replaced with the original one. A series of operations of this automatic disk changing device when returning to the position B in the disk storage 4 will be described.

First, in order to take out the desired disc cartridge 2a from the disc storage case 4 and insert it into the disc recording / reproducing apparatus 5, this corresponds to the height position of the position A in the disc storage case 4 of the desired disc cartridge 2a. The drive source 25 that raises and lowers the transfer mechanism 12 is driven until the slit sensor 32 moves to the slit position of the slit plate 33, and the disc transport mechanism 9 is moved by the raising and lowering mechanism 24 to the position A in the disc storage case 4 of the desired disc cartridge 2a. Can be moved up and down to a height facing the position of. In addition, during this vertical movement, the transport mechanism support portion 11
Are moved by the drive source 18 of the transfer mechanism 12 to positions corresponding to the left and right positions.

When the disc transport mechanism 9 is moved to the desired position in this way, the drive source 25 and the drive source 1
The operation of 8 stops. Next, the upper base 901 of the disk transport mechanism 9 is driven by the drive source 906 to move the shaft 903 and the guide portion 9 together.
Driven in the forward direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 7 along 02a.
At this time, the hand mechanism 904 moves the disc cartridge 2
Since the bearing 928 is in contact with the convex portion of the cam 916b, the right hand 91
7 and the left hand 918 are springs 921 and 9 respectively.
22 against the biasing force of the right hand 917, the end 917b of the right hand 917 including the bearing 926 is pushed forward, so that the right hand 917 and the left hand 9
The end portions 917a and 918a of 18 are located outside, that is, the hand mechanism 904 is open.

A sensor 908 located below the upper base 901
However, by contacting the contact surface 902b at the bottom of the lower base 902, the operation of the drive source 906 is stopped, and the forward movement of the upper base 901 is stopped. Next, the disk cartridge presence / absence detection sensor 909 operates, the drive source 907 is driven in the positive direction, and the gear 916 is rotated in the A direction shown in FIG. The rotation of the gear 916 causes the cam 916b, which was in contact with the bearing 928, to separate from the bearing 928, and the bearing 928 moves rearward.

Next, the right hand 917 and the left hand 918 rotate about axes 919 and 920, respectively, and the end portion 917b of the right hand 917 is pulled backward by the urging force of the springs 921 and 922, and the right hand 917 is pulled. Since the hand 917 and the ends 917a and 918a of the left hand 918 are inside, the hand mechanism 904 holds the disc cartridge 2a. At the rotational position of the gear 916 in this state, the reflection plate 923 causes the optical sensor 926 to move to the reflection plate 92.
4, the optical sensors 927 are turned on. That is, the state (a) shown in FIG. 13 is entered, and the grip of the disc cartridge 2a is detected, and the operation of the drive source 907 is stopped.

As described above, when the hand mechanism 904 holds the disc cartridge 2a and the operation of the drive source 907 is stopped, the drive source 906 is driven and the upper base 90 is driven.
1 is moved in the rearward direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 7 along the shaft 903 and the guide portion 902a. When the sensor 914 above the lower base 902 comes into contact with the upper base 901, the operation of the drive source 906 is stopped, and the upper base 90 is stopped.
The movement of 1 in the backward direction is stopped.

When the movement of the upper base 901 in the front-rear direction is completed, the disc transfer mechanism 10 causes the disc recording / reproducing device 5 to move.
The driving source 25 that moves the transfer mechanism 12 up and down is driven until the slit sensor 32 moves to the slit position of the slit plate 33 corresponding to the height position opposite to the position of (1) to move the transfer mechanism 12 downward. Further, during the downward movement of the transfer mechanism 12, the transport mechanism support portion 11 is moved rightward to a position where the disc transport mechanism 10 faces the position of the disc recording / reproducing device 5.

Now, the movement of the disc cartridge 2b in the disc recording / reproducing apparatus 5 will be described. The disc cartridge 2b in the disc recording / reproducing device 5 is automatically ejected. At this time, since the disc recording / reproducing apparatus 5 does not have a mechanism for restricting the position of the disc cartridge 2b, the disc cartridge 2b jumps out of the disc recording / reproducing apparatus 5 with force. The disc cartridge 2b comes into contact with a stopper plate 57 on the front surface of the disc recording / reproducing apparatus 5 and stops at a predetermined position.

As described above, the disk cartridge 2b
Stands by at a predetermined position while protruding from the disc recording / reproducing apparatus 5. Next, the lifting mechanism 24 and the transfer mechanism 1
The upper base 1001 of the disc transport mechanism 10 moved by 2 is driven forward by the drive source 1006 along the shaft 1003 and the guide portion 1002a. At this time, since the hand mechanism 1004 is in a state in which the disc cartridge 2 is not conveyed, the bearing 1026 is in contact with the convex portion of the cam 1016b.
17 and the left hand 1018 are respectively spring 102
Since the end portion 1017b of the right hand 1017 including the bearing 1026 is pushed out in the forward direction against the biasing force of the first and the second hand portions 1022, the end portions 1017a and 1018a of the right hand 1017 and the left hand 1018 are outside. The hand mechanism 1004.
Is open.

While the upper base 1001 is moving, the push-down portion 1010 contacts the push-down plate 53 of the stopper portion 50 on the front surface of the disc recording / reproducing apparatus 5. Push-down part 1
010 is in contact with the push-down plate 53, the upper base 10
When 01 moves forward, the push-down plate 53 moves downward against the biasing force of the first spring 54. Due to the operation of the push-down plate 53, the hand mechanism 1004 is not blocked by the stopper portion 50 and the disc cartridge 2b.
Can be inserted and removed. The upper base 1001 moves forward, and the front position detection sensor 1008 arranged at the lower portion of the upper base 1001 moves the contact surface 1002b of the lower base.
The operation of the drive source 1006 is stopped and the movement of the upper base 1001 in the forward direction is stopped.

Next, the disk cartridge presence / absence detection sensor 1009 is operated, the drive source 1007 is driven in the positive direction, and the gear 1016 is rotated in the A direction. The cam 10 that was in contact with the bearing 1026 by the rotation of the gear 1016
16b moves away from the bearing 1026,
26 moves backward.

Next, the right hand 1017 and the left hand 1018 rotate about axes 1019 and 1020, respectively, and the end portion 1017b of the right hand 1017 is pulled backward by the urging force of the springs 1021 and 1022.
End part 1 of the right hand 1017 and the left hand 1018
Since 017a and 1018a are inside, the hand mechanism 1004 holds the disc cartridge 2b. At the rotational position of the gear 1016 in this state, the light sensor 1026 is turned on by the reflection plate 1023, and the light sensor 1027 is turned on by the reflection plate 1024. That is, the state (a) shown in FIG. 13 is entered, and the grip of the disc cartridge 2b is detected, and the operation of the drive source 1007 is stopped.

As described above, when the hand mechanism 1004 holds the disc cartridge 2b and the operation of the drive source 1007 is stopped, the drive source 1006 is driven and the upper base 1001 is moved backward along the shaft 1003 and the guide portion 1002a. Is moved in the direction. When the sensor 1014 above the lower base 1002 comes into contact with the upper base 1001, the operation of the drive source 1006 is stopped, and the upper base 1 is stopped.
The backward movement of 001 is stopped.

When the movement of the upper base 1001 in the front-rear direction is completed, the disc transport mechanism 9 causes the disc recording / reproducing device 5 to move.
The driving source 25 that moves the transfer mechanism 12 up and down is driven until the slit sensor 32 moves to the slit position of the slit plate 33 corresponding to the height position opposite to the position of (1) to move the transfer mechanism 12 downward.

Next, the upper base 901 of the disc carrying mechanism 9 in the state where the hand mechanism 904 is gripping the disc cartridge 2a is driven by the drive source 906 in the forward direction along the shaft 903 and the guide portion 902a.

As the upper base 901 moves forward, the disc cartridge 2a held by the hand mechanism 904 is held.
When the hand mechanism 904 moves forward on the lower base 902 in a state where the end portion thereof contacts the stopper plate 57 and the hand mechanism 904 contacts the stopper plate 57, the hand mechanism 904 counteracts the biasing force of the spring 53.
The stopper plate 57 rotates around the shaft 56, and the stopper plate 57 rotates in the C direction shown in FIG. Due to the operation of the stopper plate 57, the hand mechanism 904 is not blocked by the stopper portion 50 and the disc cartridge 2
The insertion operation of a can be performed.

A sensor 908 located below the upper base 901
However, by contacting the contact surface 902b at the bottom of the lower base 902, the operation of the drive source 906 is stopped, and the forward movement of the upper base 901 is stopped. When the operation of the drive source 906 is stopped, the drive source 907 is driven in the positive direction and the gear 912 is rotated in the A direction. At this time, the optical sensors 92 are set by the reflectors 923 and 924.
6 and 927 are in the ON state, the hand mechanism 904,
The disk cartridge insertion mechanism 905 is in a state of operating together, that is, the state (b) shown in FIG.

First, the movement of the hand mechanism 904 will be described. The bearing 9 is rotated by the rotation of the gear 912 in the A direction.
The cam 916b that had been separated from the 28 is again the bearing 92.
8 and the bearing 928 moves forward. As the bearing 928 moves, the right hand 917,
The left hand 918 rotates about the shafts 919 and 920, respectively, and opposes the biasing force of the springs 921 and 922,
The end portion 917b of the right hand 917 is pushed forward,
End 917 of right hand 917 and left hand 918
Since a and 918a rotate outward, the hand mechanism 904
Releases the gripped state of the disc cartridge 2a. Since the reflection plate 923 cannot be detected at the rotation position of the gear 916 in this state, the optical sensor 926 is turned off,
Due to the reflection plate 924, only the optical sensor 927 is in the ON state, that is, the state (c) shown in FIG.

Next, the disk cartridge inserting mechanism 90
The movement of No. 5 will be described. The cam groove portion 9 formed on the lower surface of the cam 916b by the rotation of the gear 912 in the A direction.
Disc cartridge insertion mechanism 9 engaged with 16c
The bearing 929 located at the end of 05 is moved, and the movement of this bearing 929 causes the disc cartridge insertion mechanism 905 to come into contact with the end of the disc cartridge 2a and insert the disc cartridge 2a into the disc recording / reproducing device 5. The operation is started.

Then, in the state where the optical sensor 926 is OFF and the optical sensor 927 is ON, that is, in the state (d) shown in FIG. 13, even after the hand mechanism 904 completely releases the gripped state of the disc cartridge 2a, The operation of the cartridge insertion mechanism 905 continues. Further, when the optical sensor 927 is in the OFF state, that is, in the state (e) shown in FIG. 13, the disc cartridge inserting mechanism 905 pushes the disc cartridge 2a into the disc recording / reproducing device 5 as shown in FIG. In this state, the operation of the drive source 907 is stopped.

When the operation of the drive source 907 is stopped, the drive source 906 is driven and the upper base 901 is moved backward along the shaft 903 and the guide portion 902a. Lower base 90
The operation of the drive source 906 is stopped by contacting the upper base 901 with the optical sensor 926 in the upper part of 2.
The movement of the upper base 901 in the backward direction is stopped.
When the operation of the drive source 906 is stopped, the drive source 907 is driven in the reverse direction, and the hand mechanism 904 and the disc cartridge insertion mechanism 905 return to the initial state.

When the movement of the upper base 901 is completed, the slit sensor 3 reaches the slit position of the slit plate 33 corresponding to the height position where the disc transport mechanism 10 faces the original position B of the disc cartridge 2b in the disc storage case 4.
A drive source 25 that raises and lowers the transfer mechanism 12 until 2 moves.
Is driven to move the transfer mechanism 12 upward. Also,
During the downward movement of the transfer mechanism 12, the transfer mechanism support 11
Is moved leftward to a position where the disc transport mechanism 10 faces the original position B of the disc cartridge 2b in the disc storage case 4.

As described above, when the disc transport mechanism 10 is moved to the desired position, the operation of the drive sources 25 and 18 is stopped. Disc cartridge 2 to position B in disc storage 4 of disc transport mechanism 10
Since the movement of the insertion operation of b is the same as the insertion operation of the disc cartridge 2a of the disc transport mechanism 9 into the disc recording / reproducing apparatus 5, the description thereof will be omitted.

[0066]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

Even when a disc cartridge having specifications in which a groove is not provided on the side surface of the disc cartridge is used, the disc cartridge can be transported in the disc recording / reproducing apparatus.

Further, even when a disc recording / reproducing apparatus having no function of retracting the disc cartridge is used, the disc cartridge can be pushed into the disc recording / reproducing apparatus.

Further, it is not necessary to newly provide a drive source for the disc cartridge inserting mechanism, and the disc cartridge inserting mechanism and the hand mechanism can be operated by the reflecting plate and the optical sensor provided on one gear meshing with the same drive source. It is possible to detect the position of each operating state.

Further, since the stopper portion is provided on the front surface of the disc recording / reproducing apparatus, even if an inexpensive apparatus disc recording / reproducing apparatus having no function for positioning when ejecting the disc cartridge is used, Preventing the cartridge from jumping out of the disc recording / reproducing device and falling into the device, and performing position regulation to make the disc cartridge stand by at a predetermined position,
While the disc transport mechanism is transporting the disc cartridge to the disc recording / reproducing apparatus, the stopper portion can be released.

Further, while the disc carrying mechanism is carrying the disc cartridge to the disc recording / reproducing device and inserting / removing the disc cartridge from the disc recording / reproducing device, the stopper portion can be released by the rotating mechanism. It will be possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an overall configuration of an automatic disk changing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an elevating mechanism of the automatic disk changing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a disc storage part of the automatic disc changing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing details of the stopper portion according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing details of the stopper portion according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing details of the transfer mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing details of the disc cartridge transport mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a left side view showing details of the disc cartridge transport mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing details of the back surface of the disc cartridge transport mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing details of the upper base transfer mechanism of the disk cartridge transfer mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing details of the gear 916 of the hand mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a front view showing details of the hand mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a timing chart of the operation of the hand mechanism and the disc cartridge inserting mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a state in which the disc cartridge carrying mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention is carrying the disc cartridge to the disc recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a side view showing the overall configuration of a conventional disk automatic exchange device.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing details of a conventional disc cartridge transport mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 disk cartridge, 4 disk storage, 5,
6,7,8 disk recording / reproducing apparatus, 50, 60,7
0,80 stopper part, 51 mounting plate, 52 rotating shaft,
53 push-down plate, 54 first spring, 55 support member, 56 shaft, 57 stopper plate, 58 second spring, 9, 10 disk transport mechanism, 901, 1001
Upper base, 904, 1004 Hand mechanism, 905, 1
005 Disc Cartridge Insertion Mechanism, 916, 10
16 gears, 916a, 1016a gears, 916b, 1
016b cam, 916c, 1016c cam groove portion, 9
17,1017 Right hand, 918,1018 Left hand, 921,922,1021,1022 Spring, 92
3, 1023 Reflector, 926, 927, 1026, 1
027 optical sensor.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Mitsuo Okubo 2-32 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Sanryo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroaki Iwasa 3-13-21 Hisayo, Kawanishi-shi, Hyogo Stock company KDL

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A disk storage for storing a disk cartridge, a disk recording / reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing information on the disk cartridge, and a disk cartridge taken out between the disk storage and the disk recording / reproducing apparatus. Alternatively, a disc transport mechanism for performing a returning operation and a disc transport mechanism provided on the disc transport mechanism,
In an automatic disk exchanging device comprising a hand mechanism for holding a disc cartridge when carrying and inserting / removing the disc cartridge, an upper base for holding the above-mentioned hand mechanism and a hand pivotally supported for holding the disc cartridge at any time, and the upper base. And a spring suspended between the hand and a cam which is installed so as to come into contact with and come off from the hand. When the hand comes into contact with the cam, the hand comes out of the disk cartridge, and when the hand comes out of the cam, An automatic disk changing device, characterized in that a hand is capable of urging a disk cartridge by a spring. 2. A disk storage for storing a disk cartridge, a disk recording / reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing information on the disk cartridge, and a disk cartridge taken out between the disk storage and the disk recording / reproducing apparatus. Alternatively, a disc transport mechanism for performing a returning operation and a disc transport mechanism provided on the disc transport mechanism,
In an automatic disk exchange device including a hand mechanism that holds a disk cartridge when the disk cartridge is transported and inserted, an upper base that holds the hand mechanism, a cam provided on the upper base, and a cam that is driven by the cam. An automatic disc changing device comprising a disc cartridge inserting mechanism, and the disc cartridge inserting mechanism is configured to push the entire disc cartridge into the disc recording / reproducing device. 3. A disk storage for storing a disk cartridge, a disk recording / reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing information on the disk cartridge, and a disk cartridge taken out between the disk storage and the disk recording / reproducing apparatus. Alternatively, a disc transport mechanism for performing a returning operation and a disc transport mechanism provided on the disc transport mechanism,
In an automatic disk exchanging device including a hand mechanism for holding a disc cartridge when the disc cartridge is transported and inserted, an upper base holding the hand mechanism, a hand mechanism provided on the upper base, and a disc cartridge insertion mechanism. And a gear provided on the upper base, two cams formed on the gear, a reflection plate arranged above the gear, and a detection device including the reflection plate and an optical sensor. An automatic disk changer characterized in that the operating state of a hand mechanism and a disk cartridge insertion mechanism can be estimated by output. 4. A disk storage for storing a disk cartridge, a disk recording / reproducing device for recording and reproducing information to / from the disk cartridge, and a disk storage between the disk recording / reproducing device and a disk cartridge for reproducing. In a disc automatic exchange device comprising a disc carrying mechanism for performing an operation, and a hand mechanism provided on the disc carrying mechanism for holding the disc cartridge at the time of carrying and inserting / removing the disc cartridge, in the front face of the disc recording / reproducing device. An automatic disc changing device, wherein a stopper portion is provided, and the stopper portion can be released by the disc cartridge only when the disc cartridge abuts in the disc cartridge insertion direction. 5. A disk storage for storing a disk cartridge, a disk recording / reproducing device for recording and reproducing information to / from the disk cartridge and a disk storage, and taking out or returning the disk cartridge between the disk recording / reproducing devices. In a disc automatic exchange device comprising a disc carrying mechanism for performing an operation, and a hand mechanism provided on the disc carrying mechanism for holding the disc cartridge at the time of carrying and inserting / removing the disc cartridge, in the front face of the disc recording / reproducing device. A stopper portion is provided, and the stopper portion includes a mounting plate, a pressing plate rotatably supported by the mounting plate, a first spring suspended between the mounting plate and the pressing plate, and the pressing plate. And a support member fixed to one end of the A stopper plate and a second spring wound around the support member are provided, and the stopper plate can be released by the disc cartridge only when the disc cartridge abuts in the disc cartridge insertion direction. Automatic disk exchange device.