JPH09282772A - Disk automatic changer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce manufacturing cost by simplifying the structure for reproducing one disk in addition to many disks. SOLUTION: A slit 73 for inserting only one disk D1/D2 is formed on the front surface of a casing 1, adjacent to an opening part 3 for inserting many of the disks D1, D2. By providing a shutter mechanism 77, the slit 73 is closed by linking with the mounting of the disk D1/D2 inserted into the slit 73 to the main body of a player through a loading mechanism and a disk mounting mechanism.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention takes out a desired disc from an optical disc or a magneto-optical disc (hereinafter referred to as a disc), which is abbreviated as CD, MD, and the like arranged in a large number at predetermined intervals, and reproduces or records the data. Disc auto changer for erasing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an example of this type of disc autochanger is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-156563. This is provided with a disk arranging table for arranging a large number of disks at a predetermined interval in a casing, and a carriage that can reciprocate along the disk arranging table. A disc push-up mechanism for slightly pushing up the specified disc, a loading mechanism for rolling the pushed disc up and pulling it onto the dolly, and a disc pulling on the dolly for attaching to the player body on the dolly A disk mounting mechanism and an auxiliary tray mechanism section having an auxiliary tray for inserting only one disk adjacent to the disk array table are provided.

In the above structure, when reproducing information recorded on a disc, for example, a desired disc is designated from among a large number of discs arranged on the disc arrangement stand, and a truck is provided up to the designated disc. After running and stopping the disc, the loading mechanism clamps the disc and draws it onto the dolly.Next, the disc loading mechanism attaches the disc pulled onto the dolly to the player body on the dolly. The information on the disc is read and reproduced by the optical pickup of the main body.
After the end of the reproduction, the disc is returned to the original position on the disc array table in the reverse procedure.

Further, for example, in the case of immediately reproducing a newly purchased disc, the auxiliary tray of the auxiliary tray mechanism is pulled out from the casing, the disc is inserted into the pulled out auxiliary tray, and then the auxiliary disc is inserted. The tray is pushed into the casing, and the information recorded on the disc in the auxiliary tray is reproduced by the procedure described above.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the above conventional configuration,
The structure of the auxiliary tray mechanism for reproducing one disc in addition to many discs is complicated and the manufacturing cost is high.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a disc autochanger which has a simple structure for reproducing one disc in addition to a large number of discs and which can reduce the manufacturing cost. I am trying.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 specifies from among a large number of discs inserted from the opening into a casing having a disc loading / unloading opening formed on the front surface. A disc autochanger having a loading mechanism for loading a loaded disc and a disc loading mechanism for receiving the disc from the loading mechanism and loading the loaded disc on a player body, in the front face of the casing, adjacent to the opening. Is formed with a disc insertion slit for inserting only one disc, and the disc insertion is interlocked with the disc inserted in the disc insertion slit being mounted on the player main body through the loading mechanism and the disc mounting mechanism. A shutter mechanism for closing the slit for It is characterized in that there.

In the above structure, a desired disc is designated from among a large number of discs inserted into the casing through the disc loading / unloading opening, and the designated disc is loaded by the loading mechanism and delivered to the disc mounting mechanism side. The delivered disc is mounted on the player body by the disc mounting mechanism, and the information on the disc is read and reproduced by the optical pickup of the player body. After the reproduction is completed, the disc is returned to the original position by the procedure reverse to the above.

Further, for example, in the case of immediately reproducing a newly purchased disc, the disc is inserted into the disc insertion slit, and the information recorded on the disc is reproduced by the procedure described above.

In this case, a desired disc can be designated and reproduced from a large number of discs inserted into the casing through the disc loading / unloading opening, and for example, a newly purchased disc can be used for disc insertion. The disc can be reproduced only by inserting it into the slit, and the structure for reproducing one disc in addition to many discs is simple and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, when the disc inserted into the disc insertion slit is being reproduced, the disc insertion slit is closed by the shutter mechanism in conjunction with it, so that the second disc is inserted into the disc insertion slit. There is no fear of inserting.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a disk arranging table for arranging a large number of disks inserted through the opening at a predetermined interval in a casing having a disk insertion / removal opening formed on the front surface thereof, A carriage capable of reciprocating along the disk array table is provided, and the cart has a loading mechanism for holding a predetermined disk on the disk array table and retracting the disk onto the vehicle. In a disc autochanger provided with a disc mounting mechanism for mounting a disc to a player main body on a dolly, for disc insertion for inserting only one disc adjacent to the opening on the front surface of the casing A slit is formed, and the disc inserted into the disc insertion slit serves as the loading mechanism and the disc mounting mechanism. A shutter mechanism for closing the disk insertion slit in conjunction with being mounted to the player body and is characterized in that is provided.

According to the above configuration, a desired disk is designated from among a large number of disks arranged on the disk arrangement stand, the carriage is run to the front of the specified disk and stopped, and then the specified disk is designated. The disc is pulled onto the trolley by the loading mechanism, and the pulled-in disc is attached to the player body by the disc attachment mechanism.
Then, the information on the disc is read and reproduced by the optical pickup of the player body. Also, when reproducing the information recorded on the disc inserted in the disc insertion slit, it is possible to reproduce by the same procedure. In addition to many discs, one disc is reproduced. Since the structure for doing so is simple and the manufacturing cost can be reduced, the disc insertion slit is closed by the shutter mechanism when the disc inserted in the disc insertion slit is played back. There is no risk of inserting the second disc into the disc insertion slit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the first or second aspect.
In the invention described above, the shutter mechanism includes a shutter body pivotally supported by a casing, and a spring for urging the shutter body in a direction of separating the shutter body from the disc insertion slit, and the shutter body and the loading mechanism. And a slider is provided between the slider and the slider, and the slider is pushed out in association with the fact that the disc inserted in the disc insertion slit is mounted on the player body through the loading mechanism and the disc mounting mechanism. The shutter body is rotated against the spring by the slider, and the shutter body closes the disc insertion slit.

According to the above construction, since the structure of the shutter mechanism for closing the disc insertion slit is simple and the number of parts is small, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, a disc detector for detecting the disc inserted into the disc insertion slit is provided inside the casing. It is characterized by that.

According to the above construction, by merely inserting the disc into the disc insertion slit, the insertion can be detected by the disc detector and the reproducing operation can be immediately started based on the detection signal.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 25 shows a disc autochanger which is an embodiment of the present invention.
An opening 3 with an opening / closing lid 2 is provided on the upper front surface of the casing 1,
A disc insertion slit 73 is formed adjacent to the opening 3, the opening / closing lid 2 is opened, and a large number of large-diameter discs D1 of, for example, 12 cm and small diameters of, for example, 8 cm are inserted into the casing 1 from the opening 3. The disc D2 is inserted, and one disc D1 is inserted in the disc insertion slit 73.
It is designed to insert D2. Further, a recess 74 extending so as to intersect the slit 73 is formed on the front surface of the casing 1, and a finger portion is inserted into the recess 74 to easily remove the disks D1 and D2 from the slit 73. Is able to. Further, a display unit 4, a power switch 5a, a disc designating switch 5b and a start switch 5 for one sheet are provided on the lower front portion of the casing 1.
Various operation switches such as c are provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the casing 1, a disk array table 6 for arranging a large number of disks D1 and D2 at a predetermined interval, and along the disk array table 6 are arranged. A bogie 7 capable of reciprocating in the left and right directions a and b
The carriage 7 is provided with a loading mechanism 8 for holding the predetermined disks D1 and D2 on the disk array base 6 and retracting the disks D1 and D2 onto the carriage 7, and the disks D1 and 1 that are drawn onto the carriage 7. A disc mounting mechanism 10 for mounting the D2 on the player body 9 on the dolly 7 is provided, and a cam 11 for driving both the mechanisms 8 and 10 is rotatably arranged on the dolly 7. Further, a cam stop switch 13 [see FIG. 18 (b)] is provided between the carriage 7 and the cam 11 for detecting that the cam 11 has rotated in both forward and reverse directions by a predetermined angle to reach the stop position. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the disk arranging table 6 has a pair of front row portions 6a and rear row portions 6b arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and between the both portions 6a, 6b. Along the longitudinal direction of both parts 6a, 6b, the disc D
1, a plurality of guide plates 6c arranged in parallel at a distance slightly wider than the thickness of D2.
A disc insertion groove 15 is formed between c.

According to the above configuration, each of the disks D1 and D2
Can be accurately inserted into the predetermined disc insertion groove 15 along the guide plate 6c.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the carriage 7 has upper and lower substrates 17a and 17b fixed to the casing 1.
The lower substrate 17 is disposed between the lower substrate 17 and the wheels 18
The horizontal shake prevention rollers 19 and 19 placed on b and projecting vertically from the carriage 7 are rollably contacted with the side edge portions of the long holes 20 and 20 formed in the upper and lower substrates 17a and 17b, respectively. Pinions 22 and 22 fixed to both ends of a support shaft 21 penetrating the dolly 7 in the vertical direction are meshed with racks 23 and 23 of both upper and lower substrates 17a and 17b, and are transmitted to the lower pinion 22 via a transmission belt 24. The interlocking pinion 25 is meshed with the rack 26 of the lower board 17b, and by driving a dolly motor 27 provided on the upper part of the dolly 7, the pinions 22, 22, 25 are normally and reversely rotated via a gear mechanism 28. The carriage 7 can be rotated to reciprocate in the left and right directions a and b.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cam 11 has an upper cam portion 11 arranged in parallel at a predetermined distance r.
a and a lower cam portion 11b, and both cam portions 11a,
A hollow shaft 11c integrally connecting 11b is fitted onto the support shaft 21 so as to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions c and d. By driving a cam motor 30 provided at a lower portion of the carriage 7, a gear mechanism 31 and a worm are provided. The cam 11 can be rotated in the forward and reverse directions through the gear portion 33 formed on the outer circumference of the upper cam portion 11a and the gear portion 32.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rear row portion 6
In the left and right direction a, b on the intermediate plate 35 hung vertically in the center of the lower surface of b.
Slits 36 are formed at regular intervals along the optical axis, and a photodetector 37 including a light projecting section and a light receiving section facing each other with the intermediate plate 35 sandwiched therebetween is provided on the dolly 7. By reciprocating along the directions of arrows a and b, the light projected from the light projecting unit to the light receiving unit is blocked by the uncut portion 35a between the slits 36, and by counting the pulse signals generated thereby, The position of the carriage 7 can be detected.

The loading mechanism 8 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of disk holding arms 40 and 41, whose base ends are rotatably supported by the carriage 7 via a pivot shaft 39 at mutually opposing angles of about 90 °, and Disc locking frames 42 and 43 swingably connected to the tip ends of the arms 40 and 41, and movably supported by the carriage 7 along the front-rear directions e and f, and the base end portions of the arms 40 and 41. A pair of connecting rods 46, which are connected to each other via gear mechanisms 44, 45.
Cam pins 48 and 49 projecting from the rear ends of the connecting rods 46 and 47 are engaged with loading cam grooves 50 and 51 formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the lower cam portion 11b, The connecting rod 46 on the arm 40 side is provided with a spring 52 that biases the connecting rod 46 forward, and the connecting rod 47 on the rear arm 41 side is provided with a spring 53 that biases the connecting rod 47 backward. A disk presence / absence detector 54 including a limit switch and the like is provided facing the rear end of the connecting rod 47.

The disk locking frames 42 and 43 are made of a synthetic resin material and have a substantially U-shaped cross section as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, and a disk fitting groove 56 is formed in the disk facing surface. Is formed, and a pair of discs is locked by the tongue pieces left by forming substantially U-shaped slits 57 at the front ends of both side walls of the front side disc locking frame 42 and both ends of both side walls of the rear side disc locking frame 43, respectively. A piece 58 is formed, and the tip end of each disk locking piece 58 is inserted into the groove 56, and the peripheral edge of the disks D1 and D2 fitted in the groove 56 is formed on each disk locking piece 58. It is configured to be elastically sandwiched and locked from both sides by the tip portion. The length of the front disc locking frame 42 is set to be shorter than the interval between the front and rear row portions 6a and 6b of the disc array base 6, and the width thereof is set to the guide plate 6 of the disc array base 6.
It is set to be narrower than the distance between c and 6c, and passes through a rectangular space surrounded by the front and rear row portions 6a and 6b and the guide plates 6c and 6c.

According to the above structure, the pair of disc holding arms 40 and 41 of the loading mechanism 8 holds the discs D1 and D2, whereby the arms 40 and 4 are held.
The peripheral edges of the disks D1 and D2 are fitted into the disk locking frames 42 and 43 provided at the tip of the disk D1, and the pair of disk locking pieces 58 provided on the disk locking frames 42 and 43 allows the disks D1 and Since the peripheral edge of D2 is elastically sandwiched and locked, the disks D1 and D2 can be reliably delivered to the disk mounting mechanism 10 in the upright state, and the disk locking frames 42 and 43 and the disk engaging mechanism can be engaged. By integrally forming the stopper 58, the number of parts can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, a guide roller 59 is provided in the central portion of the concave groove 56 of the rear disk locking frame 43.

In the above structure, if the large-diameter disc D1 and the small-diameter disc D2 are simply sandwiched by the pair of disc sandwiching arms 40 and 41 through the disc locking frames 42 and 43, respectively, the discs D1 and D2 can be sandwiched. Since the diameters are different, with reference to the large-diameter disk D1,
The center O2 of the small-diameter disc D2 deviates from the center O1 of the large-diameter disc D1, and the small-diameter disc D2 cannot be mounted on the player body 9. However, since the guide rollers 59 are provided at the central portions of the disc engaging frames 42 and 43 in the disc fitting recessed grooves 56,
By both arms 40, 41, both disc locking frames 42,
When the small-diameter disk D2 is sandwiched via 43, the small-diameter disk D2 is pushed up by the guide roller 59, and the center O2 of the small-diameter disk D2 is moved by both arms 40, 41 to lock both disk locking frames 42, 43. It is concentrically aligned with the center of the large-diameter disk D1 that is sandwiched therebetween. Therefore, the small-diameter disc D2 can be transferred to the disc mounting mechanism 10 and mounted on the player body 9 in the same state as the large-diameter disc D1 (see FIG. 13).

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the gear mechanisms 44 and 45 are racks 44a and 45a formed at the front ends of the upper surfaces of the connecting rods 46 and 47, and a fan-shaped pinion that meshes with the racks 44a and 45a. 44b and 45b, and the pinions 44b and 45b are rotatably fitted onto the pivot shaft 39 and fixed to the base ends of the arms 40 and 41.

According to the above construction, the pair of disc holding arms 40, 41 are surely rotated in association with the pushing and pulling of the pair of connecting rods 46, 47 by the cam 11, and both the arms 40, 41 are securely rotated. , 41 can be set to a predetermined angle.

The procedure for loading the large-diameter disc D1 in the above structure will be described. First, in a state before the large-diameter disc D1 is clamped by the loading mechanism 8, as shown in FIGS. Stop frame 4
2, 43 are held in a state of being separated from the large-diameter disk D1, and when the carriage 7 is moved in the left and right directions a and b,
There is no risk of the disk locking frames 42, 43 colliding with the large-diameter disk D1.

Next, a large-diameter disk D1 in which the carriage 7 is designated
18 and the cam 11 is rotated in the forward direction c,
As shown in (b) and (c) and FIG.
The cam pin 4 is required to reach the position (65 °) from °.
8 and 49 are not moved in the cam grooves 50 and 51 in the directions of arrows e and f, and the arms 40 and 41 are kept in a state of being separated from the large-diameter disk D1 (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

The cam pin 49 is retracted in the direction of arrow f until the cam 11 reaches the position (72 °) from the position a, and the rear arm 41 is rotated forward to rotate the large-diameter disk D.
1, and the cam 11 moves from the low position to the high position (11
5 °) is reached until the cam pin 49 reaches the cam groove 51.
The large-diameter disc branch groove 51a is not moved in the directions of the arrows e and f, and the rear arm 41 is kept in contact with the large-diameter disc D1 (see solid line in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11).

The cam pin 48 is advanced in the direction of the arrow e until the cam 11 reaches the position (115 °) from the position a, and the front arm 40 is rotated rearward so that the large-diameter disc D is moved.
Abut 1. As a result, the large-diameter disk D1 is held between the arms 40 and 41 (see the solid line in FIG.
1).

The cam 11 is in the two position (225 °) from the c position.
Cam pins 48, 49 are advanced in the direction of arrow e until both arms 40, 49 holding the large-diameter disk D1 are reached.
The large diameter disc D1
Is inserted into the disc mounting mechanism 10 (see FIG. 12).

The cam 11 moves from the 2nd position to the E position (340 °).
Until the cam pin 48 enters the large-diameter disc branch groove 50a of the cam groove 50 and is retracted in the direction of arrow f, the cam pin 49 is advanced in the direction of arrow e, and the arms 40 from the large-diameter disc D1. , 41 are separated from each other, and the large-diameter disk D1 can be transferred to the disk mounting mechanism 10.

The loading procedure for the small diameter disc D2 is as follows.
The procedure for loading the large-diameter disk D1 is almost the same, but the following points are different. That is, when the cam pin 49 enters the small-diameter disc branch groove 51b of the cam groove 51,
The rear arm 41 pivots forward more than the case of the large-diameter disc D1 and abuts against the small-diameter disc D2, and the small-diameter disc D2 can be sandwiched by both arms 40 and 41 (see phantom line in FIG. 10). ). Further, when the cam pin 48 enters the small-diameter disc branch groove 50b of the cam groove 50, the front arm 40 pivots rearward more than the case of the large-diameter disc D1, and the small-diameter disc D2 is moved by both arms 40 and 41. When sandwiched, the small-diameter disc D2 is pushed up by the guide roller 59, and the center O2 of the small-diameter disc D2 is concentrically aligned with the center O1 of the large-diameter disc D1 sandwiched by the arms 40 and 41. Therefore, the small-diameter disc D2 can be transferred to the disc mounting mechanism 10 and mounted on the player body 9 in the same state as the large-diameter disc D1 (see FIG. 13).

The specified disks D1 and D2 do not exist,
When the disks D1 and D2 cannot be clamped by both arms 40 and 41, the cam pin 49 causes the cam groove 51 to move.
By entering the outer branch groove 51c of the rear arm 41
Is rotated forward more than the case of the small diameter disc D2, and as shown in FIG. 14, the facing angle θ1 between the arms 40 and 41 is the facing angle when the small diameter disc D2 is held by the arms 40 and 41. It becomes smaller than θ2 (Fig. 14
Interlocking with it, the connecting rod 47 retracts in the direction of the arrow f and abuts on the disc presence / absence detector 54.
It is possible to detect that D2 does not exist, and by this, by immediately stopping the disc transfer operation, the loss time can be extremely shortened.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the disk mounting mechanism 10 has a pair of rotating frames 61 and 62 arranged so as to be openable and closable around the support shaft 21, and one of the rotating frames is rotated. The player body 9 including a turntable 9a and an optical pickup is disposed in the frame 61, and the other rotating frame 6 is provided.
2, a disc pressing member 63 that can be inserted into and removed from the turntable 9a is attached, and the disc pressing member 63 penetrates a central portion of an operation plate 64 that is movably arranged below the rotary frames 61 and 62 along the front-rear directions e and f. The elongated hole 65 provided is fitted to the support shaft 21, and two-stage bent holes 66, 66 penetrating the bifurcated distal ends of the operation plate 64 are provided on the rotary frames 61, 62, respectively. The operation plate 64 engaged with the engagement pins 67, 67 and
A cam pin 68 protruding from the base end of the upper cam portion 11a is fitted into a cam groove 69 formed on the upper surface of the upper cam portion 11a. β
Is set narrower than (α <β).

In the above structure, the disk mounting mechanism 10
In the state before the operation, the both rotary frames 61 and 62 are closed to each other (see FIG. 2).
1 is rotated in the normal direction c, so that FIG.
As shown in, the cam 11 moves from the 0 ° position to the
(°) is reached, the cam pin 68 is advanced by the cam groove 69, and the rear ends of the two-stage bent holes 66, 66 are engaged with the engagement pin 6.
7, 67 are engaged with each other so that both pivot frames 61, 62 are attached to the support shaft 21.
15 and the opened state is maintained from the toe position (95 °) to the chi position (260 °), while
As shown in FIG.
1 and D2 are inserted between both rotary frames 61 and 62. Subsequently, the cam pin 68 is retracted in the direction of the arrow f by the cam groove 69 until the re-position (295 °) is reached, and the tips of the two-stage bent holes 66, 66 are engaged with the engagement pins 67, 67. Both pivot frames 61 and 62 are closed around the support shaft 21,
As shown in FIG. 17, the discs D1 and D2 are sandwiched between the turntable 9a and the disc pressing member 63, and the discs D1 and D2 are mounted on the player body 9.

In this embodiment, the cam stop switch 13 is a tumbler switch, and its detection lever 13a has a lower cam portion 11 as shown in FIG. 18 (b).
It engages with the protrusion 71a left uncut between the cam grooves 71 formed on the side surface of b over 340 °.

In the above structure, when the cam 11 is rotated in the normal direction c, as shown in FIGS. 18 (b) and 19, the cam 1 is rotated.
Immediately after 1 moves away from the 0 ° position, the detection lever 13a returns to the neutral state, and when the cam 11 reaches the open position (340 °), the detection lever 13a hits the protrusion 71a, and the cam stop switch 13 is actuated. The rotation of the cam 11 is stopped by the detection signal, and conversely, when the cam 11 rotates backward d from the position n and reaches 0 °, the detection lever 1
3a hits the protrusion 71a, and the cam stop switch 1
3 is operated, and the rotation of the cam 11 is stopped by the detection signal.

According to the above construction, the loading mechanism 8, the disc mounting mechanism 10 and the cam stop switch 13 can be operated by only one cam 11, so that the structure is simple and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The loading mechanism 8 and the disc loading mechanism 10 are controlled by a controller (not shown) composed of a microcomputer. The function of the controller will be described with reference to FIG. When is pressed, the player body 9 is activated, and the optical pickup of the player body 9 causes the TO of the discs D1 and D2 to
It is determined whether or not it is at the C information reading position (S1),
If the position is deviated, the feed motor of the player body 9 is driven to eliminate the position misregistration (S2). Next, it is judged whether or not the cam 11 is at the zero (0 °) position (S3). If the position is deviated, the cam motor 30
Is driven to eliminate the positional deviation (S4). Then, it is determined whether or not the carriage 7 is at the start position (S5),
If there is a displacement, the carriage motor 27 is driven to eliminate the displacement (S6). After that, the desired disks D1 and D2 are selected from the large number of disks D1 and D2 on the disk array table 6, and the disk specification switch 5b is operated based on the selection to specify the disk number (S7). The trolley motor 27 is driven by the controller based on the designation signal, and the disc D that has designated the trolley 7
The vehicle travels to the front of 1 and D2 (S8). As a result, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the discs D1, designated by the disc holding arms 40, 41 of the loading mechanism 8 are designated.
Oppose it with D2 in between.

Then, the cam 11 is rotated forward c (S9),
Based on the timing chart shown in FIG. 19, the disc mounting mechanism 10, the loading mechanism 8 and the cam stop switch 13 are sequentially operated. To explain the details, first,
After the carriage 7 is fixed (S10), the disks D1 and D2 are loaded (S11). That is, by the cam pin 68 and the cam groove 69 of the disc mounting mechanism 10, both rotary frames 6
Discs D1 and D2 held by both arms 40 and 41 between the two rotary frames 61 and 62 with the arms 1 and 62 opened.
Is inserted (see FIGS. 12, 13 and 15).

Next, during loading, the disc D1,
It is determined whether or not there is D2 (S12). That is, in the case where the designated disks D1 and D2 do not exist, FIG.
As shown in, the rear arm 41 pivots largely forward,
In conjunction with this, the connecting rod 47 retracts in the direction of the arrow f and comes into contact with the disc presence / absence detector 54, the disc presence / absence detector 54 is actuated, and the operation described above is released by the detection signal, and the carriage 7 is removed. Returned to the standby position.

As described above, when the disks D1 and D2 are inserted between the rotary frames 61 and 62 of the disk mounting mechanism 10 (see FIG. 15), the rotary frames 61 and 62 are closed,
The discs D1 and D2 are sandwiched by the disc pressing member 63 and the turntable 9a, and the discs D1 and D2 can be mounted on the player body 9 (S13).
Next, the detection lever 13a of the cam stop switch 13 engages with the protrusion 71a of the cam groove 71, and the cam stop switch 1
3 is operated, and the rotation of the cam 11 is stopped by the detection signal (S14).

After that, the player main body 9 is operated to reproduce the information on the discs D1 and D2, and after the reproduction is completed, the discs D1 and D2 are returned to their original positions on the disc array table 6 in the reverse order of the above procedure. , The carriage 7 is returned to the standby position.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 21 to 23, the disc insertion slit 73 is formed at a position facing the dolly 7 stopped at the standby position, and faces the slit 73 so that the discs D1 and D2 are located. Front support base 7 that supports the bottom
5a and a rear support base 75b are provided, and both support bases 7 are provided.
The front disc locking frame 42 passes between 5a and 75b. Further, there is provided a light detector 76 including a light projector and a light receiver for detecting the disks D1 and D2 placed on both the supports 75a and 75b. Furthermore,
Shutter mechanism 77 for closing the slit 73
The shutter mechanism 77 includes a shutter main body 78, a spring 79 for urging the shutter main body 78 in a direction to separate the shutter main body 78 from the slit 73, and the shutter main body 78 and the connecting rod 46 on the front arm 40 side. The slider 80 is provided.

The shutter body 78 is the casing 1
Vertical rod 78a extending vertically along the lower part of the front wall of the
And the recess 7 of the casing 1 from the upper end of the vertical rod 78a.
4, a curved rod portion 78b that extends upward along the inner surface, a horizontal rod portion 78c that extends horizontally from the upper end of the curved rod portion 78b to the slit 73 side, and a horizontal direction from the lower end of the vertical rod portion 78a to the slider 80 side. And a horizontal piece 78d extending in the vertical direction, and a pivot shaft 78e protruding from the upper end of the vertical rod 78a is rotatably inserted into a boss 81 protruding from the front wall of the casing 1. The shutter body 78 is rotated around. An inclined surface 82 is formed at the rear edge of the horizontal piece 78d.

The spring 79 is stretched between the horizontal rod portion 78c of the shutter main body 78 and the locking piece 83 projecting from the side wall portion of the casing 1, and the horizontal rod portion 78c is separated from the slit 73. Biased in the direction.

The slider 80 is composed of a frame body having a U-shaped cross section, and is movably fitted on a prismatic fixed guide body 84 projecting from the disk array base 6, and the slider 80 A support member 86 made of a bolt or the like is projectingly provided on the bottom surface of the guide body 84 through a long hole 85 penetrating through the bottom wall portion in the front-rear direction.
Is supported by the fixed guide body 84 so as to be movable within a certain range in the directions of arrows e and f. A trapezoidal cam 87 is provided on the side surface of the slider 80, and an inclined surface 87a formed at the front end of the cam 87 is in contact with the inclined surface 82 of the horizontal piece 78d. Further, one end of a rear end plate 88 protruding from the rear end of the slider 80 faces the connecting rod 46 on the front arm 40 side, and the slider 80 is attached to the other end of the rear end 88 at the rear. A biasing spring 89 is provided.

In the above structure, when the disks D1 and D2 are not inserted into the disk insertion slit 73, the slider 80 is retracted in the direction of arrow f as shown in FIG. As a result, the horizontal rod portion 78c of the shutter body 78 is separated from the slit 73 (see FIG. 22), and one newly purchased disc D1 or D2 can be inserted into the slit 73 (see FIG. 21). ).

When the disks D1 and D2 are inserted into the slit 73, they are detected by the photodetector 76, and the loading mechanism 8 and the disk mounting mechanism 10 are operated by the above-mentioned procedure by pressing the one-sheet start switch 5c. Then, the disks D1 and D2 in the slit 73 are mounted on the player body 9. In this case, as shown in FIG. 24B, the operation of the loading mechanism 8 causes the front arm 40 to move.
As the connecting rod 46 on the side advances in the direction of arrow e, the slider 80 is advanced in the direction of arrow e against the spring 89 by the front end of the connecting rod 46, whereby the trapezoidal cam 8
The inclined surface 8a of the shutter main body 78
2 is pressed, the shutter body 78 is rotated about the pivot shaft 78e against the spring 79, and the horizontal rod portion 78c of the shutter body 78 closes the slit 73 (see the phantom line in FIG. 22). Therefore, when the discs D1 and D2 inserted in the slit 73 are being reproduced, there is no risk of inserting the second disc D1 and D2 into the slit 73.

Discs D1 and D inserted in the slit 73
When the playback of 2 is completed, the disc D
1, D2 are returned to their original positions, and the fingers can be inserted into the recess 74, and the discs D1 and D2 can be pulled out from the slit 73. In this case, only a slight mechanism is added to the structure for reproducing a large number of discs D1 and D2 inserted from the opening 3, and in addition to that, one disc D1 and D2 inserted in the slit 73 is reproduced. The structure is simple and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0057]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a desired disc can be designated and reproduced from a large number of discs inserted into the casing through the disc loading / unloading opening, and a new disc can be purchased, for example. The disc can be played back by simply inserting it into the disc insertion slit, and the structure for playing back one disc in addition to many discs is simple and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. be able to.

Further, when the disc inserted in the disc insertion slit is being reproduced, the shutter mechanism closes the disc insertion slit in conjunction with it, so that the second disc is inserted in the disc insertion slit. There is no fear of inserting.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, after a desired disk is designated from among a large number of disks arranged on the disk arranging stand, the carriage is run to the front of the designated disk and stopped. The designated disc is pulled onto the trolley by the loading mechanism, the disc that has been pulled in is loaded on the player body by the disc loading mechanism, and subsequently, the information on the disc is read and played by the optical pickup of the player body. Also,
Even when reproducing the information recorded on the disc inserted in the disc insertion slit, it is possible to reproduce by the same procedure, and the structure for reproducing a large number of discs inserted from the opening is slightly different. In addition to that, it is possible to reproduce one disc inserted in the slit by simply adding the mechanism of (3), and the structure is simple and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the structure of the shutter mechanism for closing the disc insertion slit is simple and the number of parts is small, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the insertion can be detected by the disk detector only by inserting the disk into the disk insertion slit, and the reproducing operation can be immediately started based on the detection signal. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a disk autochanger according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a rear row portion of the disk array table.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross section of the rear row portion.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the loading mechanism before loading.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the loading mechanism before loading.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a rear disk locking frame provided in the loading mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a front disc locking frame provided in the loading mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a disc locking frame provided in the loading mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the loading mechanism in a state of holding a disk.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the loading mechanism in a state of holding a disk.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the same large-diameter disk during loading.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the small diameter disc during loading.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the loading mechanism in the absence of a disc.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the disc mounting apparatus before mounting.

FIG. 16 is a side view of the disc mounting device before mounting.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of the disc mounting apparatus during mounting.

18 (a) to 18 (c) are schematic plan views of the same cam.

FIG. 19 is a timing chart of the same.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the same.

FIG. 21 is a partially cutaway side view of the disc auto changer.

FIG. 22 is a front view of the vicinity of the disc insertion slit.

FIG. 23 is an exploded perspective view of the shutter mechanism.

24A and 24B are perspective views showing an operating state of the shutter mechanism.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of the disc auto changer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Casing 6 Disc array table 6a Front row part of the disk array table 6b Rear row part of the disk array table 7 Cargo 8 Loading mechanism 9 Player body 10 Disk mounting device 11 Cam 15 Disk insertion groove 39 Pivot shaft 40 Disk clamping arm 41 Disk clamping Arm 42 Disc locking frame 43 Disc locking frame 56 Disc fitting groove 58 Disc locking piece 73 Disc inserting slit 77 Shutter mechanism 78 Shutter body 79 Spring 80 Slider D1 Large diameter disc D2 Small diameter disc

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A loading mechanism for loading a disc specified from among a number of discs inserted through the opening in a casing having a disc loading / unloading opening formed on the front surface thereof, and receiving the disc from the loading mechanism. In a disc autochanger having a disc mounting mechanism for mounting the disc on a player body, a disc insertion slit for inserting only one disc is formed on the front surface of the casing adjacent to the opening, and the disc insertion slit is formed. A disc automatic changer is provided with a shutter mechanism that closes the disc insertion slit in synchronization with the disc inserted in the disc slit being mounted on the player body through the loading mechanism and the disc mounting mechanism. . 2. A disk array base for arranging a large number of disks inserted through the opening at a predetermined interval in a casing having a disk loading / unloading opening on the front surface, and along the disk array base. A carriage capable of reciprocating is provided, and a loading mechanism for holding a predetermined disk on the disk array table and pulling it onto the carriage, and a player on the carriage for pulling the disk pulled onto the carriage. In a disc autochanger provided with a disc mounting mechanism for mounting on a main body, a disc insertion slit for inserting only one disc is formed on the front surface of the casing, adjacent to the opening. The disc inserted in the insertion slit is mounted on the player body through the loading mechanism and the disc mounting mechanism. A disc automatic changer, which is provided with a shutter mechanism that closes the disc insertion slit in conjunction with wearing. 3. The shutter mechanism includes a shutter body pivotally supported by a casing, and a spring for urging the shutter body in a direction of separating the shutter body from the disc insertion slit, and the shutter body and the loading mechanism. And a slider is provided between the slider and the slider, and the slider is pushed out in association with the fact that the disc inserted in the disc insertion slit is mounted on the player body through the loading mechanism and the disc mounting mechanism. 3. The disc autochanger according to claim 1, wherein the slider body rotates the shutter body against the spring, and the shutter body closes the disc insertion slit. 4. The disc autochanger according to claim 1, wherein a disc detector for detecting a disc inserted into the disc insertion slit is provided in the casing.