JPH11185360A - Disk recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the disk recording and reproducing device which is simple in its mechanism and automatically ejects the cartridges stored in a stacking-up stocker by a motor drive. SOLUTION: The mechanism, which selects the cartridge to be ejected, is provided with a cam plate 57, in which cam grooves branched in accordance with the number of cartridges stored in a stocker are formed and rotatively operated, an ejection cartridge selecting member 63, in which the motion of the grooves is followed through a cam follower 62 and the tip section of the member 63 is displaced to a cartridge stacked direction, a pressing means 74, which controls the course of the follower 62 in the cam branching sections and a plunger type solenoid 72. Thus, the mechanism, which selects a cartridge 1 that is located in the stocker and is to be ejected, is simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disc recording / reproducing apparatus (optical disc autochanger) for accommodating a plurality of cartridges accommodating an optical disc therein and selecting one of the cartridges for reproduction or recording.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus of this type, for example, a recording and / or reproducing apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-176127.
Alternatively, a playback device is known. This conventional apparatus has a stocker for accommodating cartridges in a stack, and behind the stocker is an optical deck on which an optical pickup is mounted for recording and reproducing. The optical deck moves to a position corresponding to the cartridge to be played or recorded among the cartridges stored. One of the stored cartridges is transported horizontally, held on an optical deck and played.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, when the stored cartridge is ejected, the mechanical holding of the cartridge is released by manually pushing the operation unit exposed to the outside, and the cartridge is ejected from the apparatus. It was discharged by spring force.

In the conventional apparatus, one drive motor is used to transfer a cartridge from a stocker to an optical deck. As a mechanism for automatically ejecting each of the cartridges stored in the stocker, an operation of mechanically selecting a cartridge to be ejected and an operation of ejecting the cartridge to the outside of the apparatus are required. That is, the drive source requires two systems, a selection operation and a discharge operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a disk recording / reproducing apparatus which can automatically eject a cartridge stored in a laminated stocker by driving a motor with a simple structure.

Further, the present invention provides a low-cost disk recording / reproducing apparatus in which the cartridge is automatically ejected from the stocker by using the cartridge transfer motor without increasing the number of drive motors to be used. Aim.

[0007]

In order to solve this problem, in a disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, a mechanism for selecting a cartridge to be ejected by a cartridge ejecting means is branched according to the number of cartridges stored in a stocker. A cam plate having a cam groove formed therein and rotating, a discharge cartridge selection member driven by the cam groove of the cam plate via a cam follower member, and a tip end thereof displaced in the cartridge stacking direction, and a displacement position of the discharge cartridge selection member. In order to control the course of the driven member at the cam branch portion of the cam plate, a biasing means and a plunger type solenoid are used.

According to the present invention, the storage cartridge is automatically and electrically operated by a motor to discharge the cartridge.
It can be performed by two key touch operations, and there is no need to perform the operation of taking out each time as in the case of manual operation. Another advantage is that a single key operation is required when ejecting the cartridge being played. In manual removal, if a performance is being performed, it is necessary to return the cartridge to the stocker by a playback stop operation and then operate the discharge operation unit twice, but with the automatic operation, only one key operation is required. If the cartridge ejecting means is automatic, the stored cartridge can be ejected by operating the remote controller in the same manner. Therefore, when the user wants to remove the playing cartridge by operating the remote controller, the user stops the performance by operating the eject key of the playing cartridge once. Discharge operation can be performed. Further, the cartridge to be discharged from the stocker can be easily selected by the solenoid and the cam plate.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to a first aspect of the present invention is directed to a stocker for storing a plurality of cartridges each containing an optical disk therein in a substantially parallel stack, and in a stacking direction of the stocker cartridges adjacent to the stocker. A cartridge accommodating portion which takes a position corresponding to each of the moved and accommodated cartridges; a cartridge transporting means for selecting one cartridge in the stocker and transporting the cartridge to the cartridge accommodating portion; A recording / reproducing section for holding and recording / reproducing an optical disk; and a cartridge discharging means for discharging a cartridge stored in the stocker to the outside of the apparatus, wherein the cartridge discharging means is a cam branched in accordance with the number of cartridges stored in the stocker. A cam plate in which a groove is formed and operated; Its tip was driven through the member is a disk recording and reproducing apparatus having a discharge cartridge selection member which is displaced in the cartridge stacking direction, means for controlling the path of the cam follower to the intervening member in said cam branch.

According to the structure of the first aspect, the discharge cartridge selecting means can be a simple mechanism using a solenoid having a branch corresponding to the position of the storage cartridge, a cam, a cam follower, and a path control means in the branch. . The branched cam plate can be arranged as a large-diameter gear in the gear train in the means for transferring the cartridge to the optical deck, and the drive motor can be shared with the cartridge transfer means. This eliminates the need for a dedicated motor as the cartridge discharge selection means, and can reduce the cost. Further, the path control of the cam follower at the cam branch portion of the cam plate for selecting the discharge cartridge can switch the path with a small operation stroke (the diameter of the cam follower). Therefore, the path control means is not limited to a motor. In addition, a small actuator with a small driving amount such as a solenoid, which is cheaper than a motor, can be used, and low cost and space saving can be obtained. As a result, the drive source can be a mechanism using one motor and a solenoid that is shared with the cartridge transfer means, and the cost can be reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stocker for accommodating a plurality of cartridges accommodating an optical disk therein in a substantially parallel stack, and each of the cartridges adjacent to the stocker being moved and accommodated in the stacking direction of the stocker cartridge. A cartridge accommodating portion having a corresponding position, a cartridge transporting means for selecting one of the cartridges in the stocker and transporting the cartridge to the cartridge accommodating portion, and holding and recording / reproducing an optical disk in the cartridge transported to the cartridge accommodating portion The recording / reproducing unit has a cartridge discharging means for discharging the cartridge stored in the stocker to the outside of the apparatus, and the cartridge discharging means is rotated by forming cam grooves branched corresponding to the number of cartridges stored in the stocker. A cam plate, one end of which is rotatably supported and the other end of which is A cam follower having a follower portion engaged with the cam groove, driven by the cam plate, driven by the cam follower or driven through an intervening member and displaced in the cartridge stacking direction, and a mechanism operation detection switch. A branch including a detection switch driving section integrally formed on the cam plate to drive the detection switch corresponding to the cam branch section, and a solenoid for biasing the cam follower in a branch direction of the cam groove; A controller for operating the cam plate and detecting the cam branch to the cam groove corresponding to the cartridge instructed to be ejected by a signal of the detection switch by the detection switch driving unit. Operating the solenoid to rotate the follower portion of the cam follower in the cam branch direction of the cam plate. It was a disk recording and reproducing apparatus, characterized in the dependent operation for discharging the cartridge selection member positions and formed corresponding to the housing cartridge to be discharged, that to the cam follower.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the branch cam portion is formed on the cam plate, and the driving portion of the detection switch is integrally provided on the cam plate in accordance with the branch, and the detection signal serves as branch course control means. Is controlled, the timing of sending the cam follower in the direction in which the cam branches can be made accurate. When the cam follower enters the branch by operating the solenoid after measuring the rotation elapsed time from the initial operation position, the cam branch to enter due to the change in the rotation of the cam plate due to the change in the number of rotations of the drive motor due to the variation in load fails. It is anticipated that this will happen, but this device can accurately determine the cam branch position. Since it is possible to accurately judge the cam branch, the interval between the cam branches can be narrowed, the diameter of the cam plate can be reduced, and the cam plate can be installed on the side of the device, thereby miniaturizing the device. To contribute. Since the cam follower is made to follow the cam groove of the cam plate by the rotation operation, a lower load is required as compared with the linear slide operation.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stocker for accommodating a plurality of cartridges accommodating an optical disk therein in a substantially parallel stacked state, and each cartridge moved adjacent to the stocker in the stacking direction of the cartridge of the stocker and accommodated therein. A cartridge accommodating portion having a corresponding position, a cartridge transporting means for selecting one of the cartridges in the stocker and transporting the cartridge to the cartridge accommodating portion, and holding and recording / reproducing an optical disk in the cartridge transported to the cartridge accommodating portion The recording / reproducing unit has a cartridge discharging means for discharging the cartridge stored in the stocker to the outside of the apparatus, and the cartridge discharging means is rotated by forming cam grooves branched corresponding to the number of cartridges stored in the stocker. A cam plate, one end of which is rotatably supported and the other end of which is A cam follower which follows said cam plate having a follower portion engaged with arm groove, and biasing means for biasing the cam follower toward the branch direction of the cam groove,
A discharge cartridge selection member that is displaced in the cartridge stacking direction by being driven by the cam follower or via an intervening member, a detection switch for a mechanism operation, and the cam plate to drive the detection switch corresponding to the cam branch portion. A device control unit comprising: a detection switch driving unit integrally formed; and a solenoid that operates so as not to apply the urging force of the urging unit to the cam follower by locking the urging force of the urging unit when energized. By operating the cam plate, detecting the cam branch portion to the cam groove corresponding to the cartridge instructed to be ejected by the detection switch signal from the detection switch driving unit, and stopping the energization of the solenoid. The lock by the urging means is released, and the follower portion of the cam follower rotates according to the rotation of the cam plate and the urging force of the urging means. Bifurcation rotated in the direction, a disk recording and reproducing apparatus, characterized in the dependent operation for discharging the cartridge selection member positions and formed corresponding to the housing cartridge to be discharged, that to the cam follower.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a biasing means for biasing the cam follower in the branch direction is provided as a cam follower path control mechanism at the cam branch portion of the cam groove of the cam plate, and the solenoid is biased when energized. By stopping the energizing force of the urging means so as not to apply the urging force to the cam follower and stopping the energization, the urging force is applied to the cam follower to enter the cam branch. At the time of ejecting the cartridge, at the initial position, the plunger of the solenoid is almost returned as the cam follower is returned by the cam groove, and the solenoid is almost in the position of electromagnetic suction. If the solenoid is energized at this position, the distance over which the plunger is sucked is short, and the operating noise of the solenoid, which is an impact sound that tends to be a problem when employing the solenoid, can be substantially eliminated. Further, the suction force of the solenoid becomes maximum when the plunger is retracted. The force that can be suctioned decreases in inverse proportion to the suction stroke. The smaller the operating stroke of the solenoid, the greater the available suction force. At the above position, the solenoid is energized in a substantially retracted state, so that the urging force of the urging means used can be used to a value close to the suction force at the time of adsorption of the solenoid. Conversely, the solenoid can have a relatively small capacity, small size, and low drive voltage for the required urging force. Since the driving voltage can be reduced, the working voltage can be matched with other driving motors, and the cost of the power supply unit of the apparatus can be reduced. Power consumption can be reduced and operating noise is low. In addition, the plunger is not returned by the solenoid suction, and there is an advantage that the return of the plunger is ensured. Furthermore, the plunger type solenoid greatly reduces the suction force when a lateral load is applied to the plunger at the time of suction.However, the plunger is returned by the cam groove, and the operation using the suction stroke is not performed. Does not cause such a problem. The operating force of the solenoid tends to fluctuate due to ambient temperature conditions, temperature rise due to continuous energization, member fluctuation, etc., but the suction operation is performed almost in close contact with the plunger. A large margin of the solenoid with respect to the urging force of the urging means can be taken,
A stable operation device was obtained. Similarly, the biasing force of the coil spring and the like is more stable than the operating force of the solenoid. Although it must be held and set, by operating with the urging means as in the present apparatus, a large setting margin of the urging force with respect to the required force for actually operating the cam follower could be obtained. Stable operation is obtained.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to the second or third aspect, wherein the ejection cartridge selecting member configured to be driven by the cam follower is associated with the cam follower. When the cam follower rotates in the branching direction at the cam branching portion, a dead portion is formed in which the ejection cartridge selection member is not displaced at a predetermined operation angle that enters the cam branching portion. I have.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein the ejection cartridge selecting member is not displaced at a predetermined operation angle at which the cam follower enters the cam branch portion. The dead portion has an arc shape centered on a rotation fulcrum that rotatably supports the cam follower.

According to the fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, the urging force of the urging means does not require a force for displacing the discharge cartridge selecting member, and the cam follower is moved to the cam branch by only the force required for displacing the cam follower. Can be sent. And since it is not necessary to consider the force required for the displacement of the ejection cartridge selection member and the ejection member that follows the ejection cartridge selection member,
The urging force of the urging means can be suppressed low, the capacity of the solenoid can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. Also, in the region where the urging means works, the ejection cartridge selection member is prevented from being displaced, and the force for displacing the ejection cartridge selection member is set based on the force generated by the cam groove due to the rotation of the cam plate. We were able to. Since it is driven by a cam plate driven by a motor, it can be moved even if it is set to a heavy displacement force as compared with the case where it is driven by the urging force of the urging means, and the discharge cartridge selection member, the discharge member, the discharge slider, etc. The value could be set to a value that allows for a sufficient increase in the operating load due to deformation of parts. As a result, a stable operation can be obtained.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the discharge cartridge selecting member has one end rotatably supported and the other end rotatable in the cartridge stacking direction of the stocker. A line connecting an engagement point between the cam follower and the ejection cartridge selection member and a rotation fulcrum of the cam follower; an engagement point between the cam follower and the ejection cartridge selection member; The angle formed by the line connecting the rotation fulcrum of the selection member is substantially a right angle.

According to the configuration of claim 6, the angle formed by the two connection lines is set to 75 ° and set to an angle close to a right angle, so that the force due to disturbance such as vibration is applied to the discharge cartridge selection member and the discharge member. Even if it is applied, the component force for rotating the cam follower via the follower portion of the cam follower becomes small. Therefore, it is possible to greatly reduce the possibility that the cam follower may jump into an unexpected cam branch due to a force due to an inadvertent disturbance.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to the second or third aspect, the cam plate rotates, performs a predetermined operation, reverses, and returns to the initial operation position. When the device control unit controls the drive motor,
The device control unit is characterized in that the solenoid is energized when the cam plate returns.

According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the generation of abnormal noise when the follower portion of the cam follower passes through the cam branch portion. When the power is not supplied, since the cam follower is urged by the urging means, it jumps into the cam branch and generates abnormal noise.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to the second or third aspect, wherein the cam plate rotates, performs a predetermined operation, reverses, and returns to the operation initial position. When the device control unit controls the drive motor, in the reverse rotation operation, the cam follower is guided by one of the plurality of branched cam grooves at the start of the reverse rotation and is in a position corresponding to the cartridge instructed to be discharged. At this time, a signal of a detection switch by the detection switch driving unit corresponding to the cam branch to the guided cam groove is detected, and the device control unit starts energizing the solenoid based on the signal.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the cam follower returns along the cam groove due to the reverse rotation of the cam plate, and the solenoid is returned to the position of the substantially suction state according to the movement of the cam follower. The device control section detects this position based on the detection signal, and energizes the solenoid. Since the solenoid in the substantially suction state is energized, almost no impact sound is generated when the plunger is retracted. Impulsive energization of the solenoid immediately upon reverse rotation produces the impact noise of pulling in the plunger, which can be prevented.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first aspect, an openable / closable front cover for covering a plurality of cartridge insertion openings in front of the cartridge insertion opening of the stocker is provided. A front cover locking member to be closed, a front cover opening member for displacing the locking member to release locking of the front cover, and a cam portion engaging with the front cover opening member formed on the cam plate. The front cover opening member is driven by the operation of the cam plate.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the exclusive component for automatically opening the front cover is only the front cover opening member. By providing only one component, the front cover can be automatically opened. This eliminates the need for the operator to open the front cover in advance when ejecting the cartridge. Since the cam section that drives the front cover open member is integrated with the cam plate, the displacement timing can be easily determined in relation to the cam for driving the ejection slider, and the cartridge is ejected before the front cover is fully opened. A situation such as collision can be prevented.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the front cover open member driving cam portion formed on the cam plate is ejected from an initial operation position of the cam plate. The range in which the front cover opening member is displaced is included in the operation range up to the position where the displacement is completed to the position corresponding to the cartridge instructed by the cartridge selection member to be ejected.

According to the structure of the tenth aspect, the front cover can be opened without fail before the cartridge is discharged, so that the front cover is not obstructed when the cartridge is discharged, and the discharge cannot be performed. Since the same area as the discharge cartridge is used, the diameter of the cam plate can be saved and the diameter can be reduced. In the operation of opening only the front cover, the cam plate can be reversed by using the signal of the branch cam portion after the front cover is released, and it is not necessary to provide a dedicated detection switch.

According to the present invention, there is provided a stocker for storing a plurality of cartridges each containing an optical disk therein in a substantially parallel stacked state, and a cartridge which moves and assumes a position corresponding to each of the cartridges stored in the stocker. An accommodating portion, a cartridge transporting means for transporting a cartridge from the stocker to the cartridge accommodating portion, and a drive motor thereof; a recording / reproducing portion for holding and recording / reproducing an optical disc in the cartridge transported to the cartridge accommodating portion; Cartridge discharge means for discharging the cartridge stored in the cartridge to the outside of the apparatus. When the direction of rotation of the drive motor to one direction is A and the direction of rotation is B, the cartridge transfer means is in the initial operation position. From the stocker by rotating its drive motor in the A direction. The cartridge is transferred to the recording / reproducing unit, and the drive motor is rotated in the B direction from the transfer position to return the cartridge from the recording / reproducing unit to the stocker. The storage cartridge discharging means is operated by rotating the cartridge in the direction A, and the storage cartridge discharging means is operated by rotating the motor in the direction A from the transfer position where the cartridge is transferred to the recording / reproducing section. It is a disk recording / reproducing device.

According to the structure of the eleventh aspect, the cartridge discharging means is operated irrespective of whether the musical performance is being performed (regardless of whether the cartridge is being transported) while sharing one motor with the cartridge transporting means. be able to. The drive motor is shared by the cartridge transfer means and the cartridge discharge means, so that the cost can be reduced. Low cost can be achieved by one drive motor.
The user can take out the cartridge in the stocker by driving the motor at any time during the performance. As the mechanism, only the cam groove for selecting the cartridge to be ejected to the timing gear, the ejection slider drive cam groove, and the front cover open member drive cam groove are formed in double.
It was realized at low cost with almost no additional parts.

[0030] The invention described in claim 12 is based on claim 2,
12. The disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to any one of items 3 and 11, wherein three switches are provided as detection switches for detecting a mechanism operation.
It has SW1, SW2, and SW3, and has a switch drive unit and a device control unit, and has a switch state A [SW1 = ON, SW2 = OFF, SW3 = OFF, (or SW1 = OFF, SW2 = ON, SW3 = ON)], the cartridge transfer standby state to the recording / reproducing unit is switched to the switch state B [SW1
= ON, SW2 = ON, SW3 = OFF, (or SW1
= OFF, SW2 = OFF, SW3 = ON)], the state in which the cartridge is being transferred to the recording / reproducing unit is indicated by a switch state C.
[SW1 = OFF, SW2 = ON, SW3 = OFF, (or SW1 = ON, SW2 = OFF, SW3 = ON)] indicates a state in which the cartridge has been transferred to the recording / reproducing unit, by a switch state D [SW1 = OFF, SW2 = OFF, SW3 = ON to OFF, (or SW1 = ON, SW2 = ON, SW3
= Off or on)], the state of the cartridge discharging operation in the stocker is changed to the switch state E [SW1 = OFF, SW
2 = ON, SW3 = ON, (or SW1 = ON, SW
2 = OFF, SW3 = OFF)], the discharge operation end state of the cartridge in the stocker in the cartridge transfer standby state is
Switch state F [SW1 = ON, SW2 = OFF, SW3
= ON, (or SW1 = OFF, SW2 = ON, SW3
= Off)], the apparatus control section determines the end state of the discharging operation of the cartridge in the stocker when the cartridge is transferred to the recording / reproducing section, and the cam branch position is detected by one switch SW3. Activate the solenoid,
The discharge cartridge driving member is displaced.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the seven states can be determined in spite of a small number of switches, and the apparatus control section can determine the state of the apparatus when the power is turned on, and can smoothly recover to the initial state. In the cartridge discharging operation, the branch cam position of the timing gear can be accurately determined without increasing the number of switches. The opening operation of the front cover can also be performed with this switch arrangement. In the switch state D, there are two states of the discharge area. By rotating the drive motor in a predetermined direction, a change in the switch can be detected and the state can be determined.

[0032] The invention described in claim 13 is the first to third inventions.
5. The disc recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the order of the branch positions to the cam grooves corresponding to the respective storage cartridges formed on the cam plate is such that the initial position of the ejection cartridge selection member is the cartridge arrangement of the stocker. When near the position corresponding to the cartridge at the middle end, the branch corresponding to the cartridge at the other end of the stocker is arranged in order from the branch corresponding to the cartridge at the one end.

According to the structure of the thirteenth aspect, by arranging the cam grooves in descending order of the amount of displacement of the discharge cartridge selecting member, the cam grooves having a large displacement amount can be displaced earlier in terms of the rotation angle, and the cam curve can be changed. Can be set without difficulty. The pressure angle of the cam curve can be reduced, and the load for displacement can be reduced. A cam groove having a large displacement and a cam groove having a small displacement can be overlapped on an angle, the angle required for the discharge cartridge selecting member to be displaced on the cam plate can be made compact, and the diameter of the cam plate can be made small. If the order is reversed, it is difficult to reduce the diameter of the cam groove having a large displacement and the cam groove having a small displacement without crossing each other, but it is also advantageous that the cam grooves do not need to cross each other.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the mechanism of the optical disc changer of the present invention, as viewed from above, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the mechanism similarly viewed from the side (the direction of arrow 48 in FIG. 1). FIG. 3 is a mechanism arrangement view seen from the opposite side (the direction of the arrow 49 in FIG. 1). FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the arrangement relationship of components, and is a perspective view of the portion shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cartridge 1 contains an optical disk 2 therein. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the stocker 3 serving as a cartridge accommodating portion inserts the cartridge 1 into the insertion slot 33 (see FIG.
0) and store a plurality of them in parallel. Insertion slot 3
Reference numeral 3 denotes an insertion port member 4 provided integrally with the shielding case 34 in such a manner that the number of cartridges to be stored is arranged in parallel. The stocker 3 having the cartridge insertion slot 33 can accommodate five (a plurality of) cartridges 1.

In the stocker 3, the cartridge holders 5 are installed inside the respective insertion openings 33 (FIG. 1). The cartridge holder 5 has a thickness (t) of 0.5 mm
And has protruding guide pins (described later) on the left and right. The right guide wall 6 and the left guide wall 7 of the stocker 3 have five grooves on each of the left and right sides corresponding to each cartridge holder 5. Here, the first guide groove 20, the second guide groove 21, and the third guide groove 2 are arranged in this order from the top.
2, a fourth guide groove 23 and a fifth guide groove 24.

Each of the cartridge holders 5 has left and right guide pins 38, 39, 40 formed in the first to fifth guide grooves 2 formed in the right guide wall 6 and the left guide wall 7 of the stocker 3.
0, 21, 22, 23, and 24. When the cartridge 1 is inserted into the stocker 3, the cartridge 1 is held by the internal cartridge holder 5 via holding means (not shown).

An optical deck (recording / reproducing unit) 8 disposed behind the stocker 3 performs recording and reproduction on the optical disk 2. The optical deck 8 includes an optical pickup 9, an optical pickup driving unit 10 for moving the optical pickup 9 in a radial direction of the optical disk 2, a turntable 11 for mounting the optical disk 2, a spindle motor 12 for driving the turntable 11, and an optical disk 2. A magnetic head 13 and the like for applying a magnetic field to the optical disk 2 during recording are mounted.

The cartridge housing 1 is located above the optical deck 8.
4 is installed. Optical deck 8, cartridge storage unit 14
Are both supported by the chassis 15 at the position of the shaft 16.
An optical deck elevating means (not shown) is additionally provided on the chassis 15. The optical deck lifting / lowering means is a mechanism for moving the cartridge accommodating portion 14 and the optical deck 8 to a position corresponding to any of the cartridges 1 stored in the stocker 3 by rotating around the shaft 16. The detailed description of the light deck elevating means is omitted, and only the drive motor 36 is shown in FIG. The optical deck 8 and the cartridge accommodating portion 14 are kept at a position corresponding to each cartridge 1 accommodated in the stocker 3 while maintaining an angle of 4.7 degrees around the axis 16.
It is moved by the light deck elevating means. The stocker 3 is configured on a base frame 17. Similarly, chassis 15
Are also installed on the base frame 17 via dampers 32 composed of four rubbers and coil springs.

The cartridge 1 of the stocker 3 is placed on the base frame 17 on the side of the stocker 3 and the chassis 15.
Cartridge transport means 18 for transporting the light to the optical deck 8 is disposed. The cartridge transfer means 18 is a mechanism for transferring the cartridge 1 of the storage cartridges of the stocker 3 at the position where the cartridge storage portion 14 faces, together with the cartridge holder 5 from the stocker 3 to the optical deck 8. Further, the light is returned from the optical deck 8 to the stocker 3 and transferred. Detailed description of the cartridge transfer means 18 is omitted,
FIG. 1 shows only a schematic position of the cartridge transfer means 18 and a drive motor 37 thereof.

A cartridge discharging means 46 for discharging the cartridge from the stocker and the like are interposed between the driving motor 37 and the cartridge transferring means 18, but the details thereof are omitted in FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a gear train from the drive motor 37 to the cartridge transfer means 18. It is the figure seen from the upper part.

FIGS. 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8 show state diagrams of the cartridge replacement operation of the apparatus. Figure 2 shows the stocker 3
5 shows a state in which the cartridge accommodating portion 14 has moved to a position corresponding to the uppermost optical disc cartridge 1. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the cartridge accommodating portion 14 has moved to a position corresponding to the second cartridge 1 from the top of the stocker 3.
FIG. 6 shows a state in which the cartridge accommodating portion 14 has moved to a position corresponding to the third cartridge 1 from the top of the stocker 3. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the cartridge accommodating section 14 has moved to a position corresponding to the fourth cartridge 1 from the top of the stocker 3. FIG. 8 shows the lowermost row of the stocker 3 from the top.
The state where the cartridge accommodating part 14 has moved to the position corresponding to the cartridge 1 of the tier is shown.

The right guide wall 6 and the left guide wall 7 of the stocker 3
Guide grooves 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 formed in
Are curved in the direction of the axis 16 of the chassis 15. The first guide groove 20 and the second guide groove 21 are lower, and the third guide groove 2
2 is substantially horizontal, the fourth guide groove 23 and the fifth guide groove 24 are curved upward, and the cartridge accommodating portion 14 moves as shown in FIGS. 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8. so,
It is connected to a guide groove 47 formed in the cartridge accommodating portion 14.

The first, second, third, fourth, fifth cartridge 41,
42, 43, 44, and 45. When transferring the first cartridge 41, the cartridge transfer means 1
8 holds the cartridge holder 5 of the first cartridge 41 and transfers the cartridge holder 5 to the cartridge accommodating portion 14 along the first guide groove 20.

The first cartridge 41 held by the cartridge holder 5 on the cartridge accommodating portion 14 is mounted on the optical deck 8 by the optical deck elevating means. At this time, the operation of the light deck elevating means is performed by the first cartridge 4.
The optical disc 8 alone is rotated without moving the cartridge accommodating portion 14 accommodating 1 around the shaft 16 until the angle between the cartridge accommodating portion 14 and the optical deck 8 becomes parallel from 4.7 degrees. Thus, the first cartridge 41 is placed on the optical deck 8. Detailed description of the light deck elevating means will be omitted.

The optical disk 2 in the first cartridge 41
Is placed on the turntable 11 and a performance or recording operation is performed. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state of a recording operation on the first cartridge 41. The magnetic head 13 is lowered onto the optical disk 2 from a retracted position (in a state of being raised upward as shown in FIG. 2) via the support shaft 30 by a magnetic head elevating means (not shown). The second to fifth cartridges 42,
The same applies to the operation of playing or recording on 43, 44 and 45.

A cartridge discharging means 46 for discharging the cartridge 1 from the stocker 3;
8 will be described. The ejection of the cartridge 1 is driven by the drive motor 37 of the cartridge transfer means 18.
The drive motor 37 also performs the transfer and discharge operations, and does not use a dedicated motor separately. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 11, the cartridge discharging means 46 of the present apparatus is disposed on the side of the stocker 3.

FIG. 3 is a view seen from the side (the direction of the arrow 49 in FIG. 1) as described above, and is a schematic view of the drive motor 37 of the cartridge transfer means 18, the speed reduction system of the drive motor 37, and the cartridge discharge means 46. It is shown. First, the relationship between the members in the figure will be described.

Each member is arranged on the side surface of the base frame 17. A motor 37 as a driving source, a motor pulley 52, a belt 53, a pulley gear 54, a gear 55, and a gear
6, a timing gear 57 is connected. The timing gear 57 is an example of a cam plate that determines the main mechanical operation timing of the apparatus.

The mechanism connected to the timing gear 57 selects the cartridge for which the cartridge 1 is instructed to be ejected from the cartridge transfer means 18 for transferring the cartridge 1 between the stocker 3 and the optical deck 8, and the cartridges stored in the stocker 3. Cartridge discharge means 46 including a discharge cartridge selection mechanism, front cover 5 on the front of stocker 3
There is a mechanism to open 0. Further, a plurality of detection switches for detecting the operation state of the mechanism are connected to the timing gear 57,
Driven by the drive motor 37.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 11, the gear 58 connected to the timing gear 57 is connected to a cartridge transfer rack 60 in the cartridge transfer means 18 via a long gear 59. FIG. 11 shows the arrangement of the cartridge transfer rack 60 as viewed from above the apparatus.

The cartridge transfer rack 60 is indicated by the arrow 14
The cartridge 1 which is driven in five directions from the gear 59 via the gear 140 and the gear 141 and which is separately selected by the operation of the optical deck lifting / lowering means is transferred from the stocker 3 to the optical deck 8 on which the turntable 11 and the optical pickup 9 are mounted. Transfer.
The cartridge transfer rack 60 operates in the direction of the arrow 146 to transfer the cartridge 1 from the optical deck 8 to the stocker 3.

The selection of the cartridge 1 to be transferred depends on the height position of the cartridge accommodating section 14 described above. The cartridge 1 of the stocker 3 corresponding to the height position of the cartridge accommodating portion 14 is transferred to the optical deck 8 with the cartridge holder 5 engaged with the cartridge transfer rack 60. Here, the relationship between the selection of the cartridge 1 to be transferred and the shape of each member of the cartridge transfer means 18 will not be described in detail.

FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the timing gear 57 and the surrounding components. FIG. 13 shows the relationship between the timing gear 57 and the surrounding components as viewed from the rear side of the timing gear 57, which is the reverse of FIG. FIG. 14 and 15 are shape diagrams of the timing gear 57, and FIGS. 16 and 17 are operation state diagrams in which the relationship between the timing gear 57 and surrounding components is extracted.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 13, 16 and 17,
Around the timing gear 57, a cam follower 62, a discharge cartridge selection member 63, a spring 64, a photo interrupter (detection switch) 65, a switch lever 66, a switch lever 67, a detection switch 68, and a detection switch 6
9, discharge slider 70, front cover open slider (front cover open member) 71, solenoid 7
2, a plunger 73 and a plunger spring 74 are provided.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 14, and 15, the timing gear 57 has gears (modules 0.8, 6
4), and a cam groove 7 is formed in a flat portion on the outer side of the device.
5, 76, and a rotation angle detection wall 98 to be detected by the photo interrupter 65 are formed. On the opposite surface (the surface shown in FIGS. 13 and 15) of the timing gear 57, a cam groove (cam portion) 77 for driving the front cover open slider 71, a cam groove 78 for driving the ejection slider 70,
A cam surface 79 for driving the switch levers 66 and 67 is formed.

The cam groove 75 has four cam branch portions 80, 81, 82 and 83 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 14 as it rotates, and five cam grooves 84 corresponding to the respective cartridge storage portions of the stocker 3. , 85, 86, 87, 88. The same applies to the cam groove 76 which is substantially symmetrical with the cam groove 75, and has a rotation direction opposite to that of the cam groove 75, but the cam branch portions 89, 9
0, 91, 92, cam grooves 93, 94, 95, 96,
Branch to 97. The cam follower 62 is engaged with the cam grooves 75 and 76.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 16 and 17, the cam follower 62 is made of a plate material having a thickness of 1 mm and has two shaft-shaped convex portions 99 and 100. The cam follower 62 is rotatably fixed on the base frame 17 by a fulcrum 105, and the convex portion (follower portion) 99 having a diameter of 2 mm is engaged with the cam grooves 75 and 76 of the timing gear 57. The other protrusion 100 projects in the opposite direction to the protrusion 99, and the cam groove 102 of the discharge cartridge selection member 63.
Is engaged. The spring 64 is a member that is provided between the cam follower 62 and the base frame 17 and biases the cam follower 62 to rotate in the outer peripheral direction of the timing gear 57.

The tip 103 of the projection of the cam follower 62 faces the tip 104 of the plunger 73. The plunger spring 74 is a compression coil spring disposed coaxially with the plunger 73 and urges the plunger 73 in a direction in which the plunger 73 is released from the solenoid 72 (the direction of arrow 150 in FIG. 3). , The cam follower 62 is biased to rotate about its fulcrum 105.

The ejection cartridge selection member 63 is rotatably fixed to a fulcrum 106 on the base frame 17 and its cam groove 102 engages with the projection 100 of the cam follower 62 as described above. Also, the ejection cartridge selection member 63
Is fitted into a vertically elongated groove 109 of the discharge member 108.

The ejection slider 70 is mounted on the base frame 17.
It is slidably supported in the direction of arrow 110 above.
2.6 m diameter formed on a part of the ejection slider 70
12 and 13 is engaged with the cam groove 78 of the timing gear 57, and
Is slid in the direction of arrow 110 by the rotation of. Further, the discharge slider 70 supports the above-described discharge member 108 so as to be slidable in the cartridge stacking direction of the stocker 3 (the direction of the arrow 112).

The distal end portion 107 of the discharge cartridge selecting member 63 is fitted in the vertically elongated groove 109 of the discharging member 108, and slides on the discharging slider 70 according to the displacement of the discharging cartridge selecting member 63 to move up and down. Discharge member 1
Reference numeral 08 denotes a position corresponding to each cartridge of the stocker 3 by moving up and down in accordance with the discharge cartridge selection member 63, and as shown in FIG. Extruded part 1
14 is almost in contact. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the periphery of the ejection slider 70 and the timing gear 57 as viewed from above.

When the ejection slider 70 is driven by the cam groove 78 of the timing gear 57 in the direction of the arrow 110 together with the ejection member 108, the ejection member 108 pushes the rear end 113 of the cartridge 1 to the outside of the apparatus. Push cartridge 1 out.

In FIG. 13, the front cover open slider 71 has its shaft-shaped convex portion 115 (diameter 2.2 mm) engaged with the cam groove 77 of the timing gear 57, and is driven so as to advance and retreat in the direction of arrow 110. Is done. Then, the tip 116 of the front cover open slider 71
Pushes the locking hook (front cover locking member) 117 of the front cover 50. The front cover 50 arranged on the front surface of the apparatus, that is, in front of the stocker 3 is locked by the locking hook 117 and is in a closed state. When the locking hook 117 is pushed by the front cover open slider 71, the front cover 50 rotates. Rotate around the shaft 142 to release the lock,
The front cover 50 is opened by the force of a spring 118 (see FIG. 3) to expose the insertion opening 33 of the stocker 3 and the stored cartridge 1.

3 and 13, one end of each of the two switch levers 66 and 67 has a timing gear 57.
And the other end is connected to the detection switch 68, 6
Touch 9 The switch levers 66 and 67 are arranged on the base frame 17 so as to be rotatable around the center.
The switch levers 66 and 67 drive the detection switches 68 and 69 according to the cam 79 by the rotation of the timing gear 57.

A device control unit (not shown) includes a detection switch 6
8, 69, the state of the apparatus is determined based on the state of the photointerrupter 65, and the drive motor 37 is driven to control the apparatus. The photo interrupter (detection switch) 65 disposed in contact with the timing gear 57 is installed so as to sandwich the rotation angle detection wall 98 described above. The rotation angle detection wall 98 is discontinuous and has a plurality of cutouts. According to the notch, the photo interrupter 65 detects the rotation angle of the timing gear 57. As shown in FIG. 14, notch edges 121, 122, 123, 1 of the rotation angle detection wall 98.
28, 129, and 130 are detected by the photo interrupter 65.

The operation of ejecting the storage cartridge will be described below based on the above-described member relationships. The apparatus performs a discharging operation for each of the plurality of cartridges 1 stored in the stocker 3 separately. When a certain cartridge 1 is to be discharged, first, the cartridge to be discharged is mechanically selected. Thereafter, an operation of discharging the selected cartridge out of the apparatus is performed.
In the following, a case where the third cartridge 43 located at the center of the stocker 3 is discharged will be described.

First, the selection operation will be described. In accordance with the drive of the drive motor 37, the timing gear 57 starts rotating in the direction of arrow 119, and at the same time, the solenoid 72 is energized, and the plunger 73 is attracted against the force of the plunger spring (biasing means) 74. When the solenoid 72 is electromagnetically attracted, a gap is formed between the tip 104 of the plunger 73 and the tip 103 of the cam follower 62, and the urging force of the plunger spring 74 is not applied to the cam follower 62.

The cam follower 62 is engaged with the cam groove 75, but is urged in the outer peripheral direction of the timing gear 57 by the force of the spring 64. The timing gear 57 rotates while the part 99 contacts.

The rotation angle detecting wall 98 of the timing gear 57 has a notch as shown in FIG. 14, but when the photo interrupter 65 detects the edge 121 of the notch, the device control section stops the energization of the solenoid 72. . as a result,
The plunger 73 is moved by an arrow 150 by the plunger spring 74.
It is urged in the direction and moves. The plunger 73 pushes the tip 103 of the cam follower 62, and the cam follower 62 rotates about the fulcrum 105. The biasing force of the plunger spring 74 is given a sufficiently stronger force than the spring 64.

By rotating, the projection 9 of the cam follower 62 is rotated.
9 enters the cam branch portion 82 of the cam groove 75, and the cam follower 62 is rotationally displaced according to the cam groove 86. Plunger 7
3 is a position 3 from the position of the suction state by a stopper (not shown).
mm and stop. Convex part 10 of cam follower 62
0 is engaged with the cam groove 102 of the discharge cartridge selection member 63.

At a rotation angle at which the cam follower 62 starts to rotate by the biasing force of the plunger spring 74 and enters the cam branch portion 82 (a movement of twice the diameter of the convex portion 100 of 1.5 mm, approximately 3 mm), the ejection cartridge selecting member 63 The shape of the cam groove 102 is configured so as not to be displaced. The cam groove 102 has a key shape, and the vicinity of its initial position has a circular arc shape (dead portion) substantially centered on the fulcrum 105 of the cam follower 62 as shown in FIG.

Also, a line 151 connecting the engagement point between the cam follower 62 and the discharge cartridge selection member 63 and the rotation fulcrum 105 of the cam follower 62, the engagement point between the cam follower 62 and the discharge cartridge selection member 63 and the discharge cartridge selection member 63 An angle between the line 152 connecting the rotation fulcrum 106 and the line 152 is 75 °, which is close to a right angle.

While the cam follower 62 enters the cam branch portion 82, the discharge cartridge selection member 63 is not displaced because the cam follower 62 moves in this arc-shaped portion of the cam groove 102. When the cam follower 62 enters the cam groove 86 through the cam branch portion 82, the cam follower 62 rotates according to the cam groove 86. As a result, the discharge cartridge selection member 63 rotates and displaces about the fulcrum 106 due to the shape of the cam groove 102. . Tip 10 of ejection cartridge selection member 63
7 is displaced to a position corresponding to the position of the cartridge 43, which is the center of the stocker 3. Therefore, the discharging member 108
The discharge cartridge selecting member 63 is slid on the discharge slider 70 by the movement of the discharge cartridge selecting member 63, and comes to the position of the storage cartridge of the stocker 3.

After the ejection member 108 reaches the position of the cartridge 43, the timing gear 57 continues to rotate, and the ejection slider 70 moves in the direction of the arrow 110 according to the cam groove 78.
Direction, and pushes out the ejection portion 114 of the ejection member 108.
Pushes the cartridge 43 out of the apparatus.

Then, according to the cam surface 79 for driving the switch lever of the timing gear 57 and the switch lever 67,
The detection switch 69 turns on. The device control unit stops the drive motor 37 by turning on the detection switch 69, and then immediately reverses the drive motor. The timing gear 57 reverses and returns to the initial position. At this time, when the detection switch 68 is turned on by the cam surface 79 for driving the switch lever of the timing gear 57, the control unit determines the initial position and stops the drive motor 37.

FIG. 18 shows the switch patterns of the detection switches 68 and 69 and the photo interrupter 65 when the timing gear 57 is rotated once. In FIG. 18, the initial position is the stop area 124, from which the timing gear 57 is rotated to the stop area 133, and the timing gear 57 is reversed immediately after the stop and returned to the stop area 124, which is the initial position. is there.

After the cartridge is ejected, when the timing gear 57 reversely rotates and returns, when the photo interrupter 65 detects the cutout side 121 of the rotation angle detecting wall 98, the apparatus control section energizes the solenoid 72. As a result, the protrusion 99 of the cam follower 62 is moved from the cam branch 81 to the cam branch 80.
Generation of abnormal noise when passing through the vehicle. When the power is not supplied, the cam follower 62 is urged by the plunger spring 74, so that the cam follower 62 jumps into the cam branch and generates abnormal noise. When reaching the initial position, the energization of the solenoid 72 is stopped.

The same is true when a storage cartridge at another position is ejected. That is, in the case of the first cartridge 41 at the uppermost stage, the cam branch portions 80, 81, 82, 8
The cam follower 62 is guided by the cam groove 88 while keeping the solenoid 72 energized so as not to enter all of the positions 3. When the second cartridge 42 is ejected, the cutout end 122 of the rotation angle detection wall 98 is detected, and the energization of the solenoid 72 is stopped. The cam follower 62 enters the cam branch portion 83 and is guided by the cam groove 87. Fourth cartridge 44
Is discharged, the notch edge 1 of the rotation angle detection wall 98 is used.
According to 23, the energization of the solenoid 72 is stopped, and the cam follower 62 enters the cam groove 85 from the cam branch portion 81. Fifth
When the cartridge 45 is discharged, the solenoid 72
Is not energized from the beginning, the cam follower 62 is urged by the plunger spring 74 and the cam branch portion 80
Will be guided to.

The cartridge discharging operation described above is similar to that shown in FIG.
The operation was performed with the stop area 124 of No. 8 as the initial position. The timing gear 57 operates in the direction of arrow 119, and
At 33, it stopped and reversed, and returned to the stop area 124. In this apparatus, the transfer and discharge of the cartridge are enabled by a motor 37 as one drive source. In addition, discharge is enabled regardless of whether the cartridge 1 is transferred to the optical deck 8 or not. This will be described below.

The timing gear 57 divides the entire circumference into three parts, and has an area for driving the cartridge transfer means 18 at the center and an area for discharging the cartridge on both sides thereof.
In FIG. 18, the area for driving the cartridge transfer means 18 corresponds to the driving area 136 in the figure, and the area for the cartridge discharging operation corresponds to the discharging area 135 and the discharging area 137.

When the cartridge is transferred to the optical deck 8, when the cartridge is not transferred, and when the cartridge is respectively discharged, the cartridge is discharged using a different area of the timing gear 57. The discharge area 135 and the discharge area 137 shown in FIG. In the above-described cartridge discharging operation, the state where the cartridge discharging unit 46 is operated in a state where the cartridge transferring unit 18 has not transferred the cartridge to the optical deck 8 has been described. The above-mentioned initial position is the stop area 124 in FIG. 18, and the operation area is the discharge area 135.

When the cartridge transfer means 18 is operated to transfer the cartridge of the stocker 3 to the optical deck 8, the operation initial position is also the stop area 124 in FIG.
It is. In the operation at this time, the device control unit first drives the timing gear 57 in the direction of the arrow 120 (FIG. 3) by the drive motor 37. The gear on the outer periphery of the timing gear 57 is a partial gear having teeth only on a part of the outer periphery of the gear 58, and starts to mesh with the gear 58 after the start of rotation. When the gear 58 rotates, the cartridge transfer rack 60 moves in the direction of arrow 145 (FIG. 11), and the selected stocker 3
Is transferred to the optical deck 8. At the transfer end point, the gear 58 is disengaged from the timing gear 57.

Thereafter, the apparatus control section detects the stop area 125 shown in FIG. 18 (detects the OFF operation of the detection switch 68), stops the drive motor 37, and ends the cartridge transfer. The mechanism stops in the stop area 125.

In this state (stop area 125), the stocker 3
When the storage cartridge of FIG.
Is used, and the timing gear 5 is used.
7 rotates in the direction of arrow 120. The cam groove 76 (FIG. 14) is used for selecting the ejection cartridge, and the operation of the ejection slider 70 operates according to the displacement area 126 of the cam groove 78 (FIG. 13). The storage cartridge of the stocker 3 is discharged by the same operation as described above except that the rotation direction of the drive motor 37, the use area of the timing gear 57, and the operation of the switches 68 and 69 are different.

As described above, the present apparatus uses only one drive motor 37 for the transfer and discharge operations, and regardless of whether the cartridge is transferred to the optical deck 8 or not.
In other words, even when one cartridge is being played by the recording / reproducing unit, or when all the stored cartridges are in the stocker 3, the cartridge can be ejected by the motor operation in either case. In addition, only by forming the cam grooves at two locations, the cam grooves can be realized without requiring an extra member or another driving source.

In FIG. 13, the front cover open slider 71 operates according to the cam groove 77 of the timing gear 57. When the front cover 50 is opened, the timing gear 57 is moved to the arrow 119 direction when the mechanism stop position is the stop area 124, and the mechanism stop position is set to the stop area 12 when the mechanism stop position is the stop area 124.
In the case of 5, it is rotated in the direction of arrow 120. The front cover open slider 71 is operated by the cam groove 77 to release the locking hook 117 and open the front cover 50.

After the front cover open slider 71 is almost moved, the photo interrupter 65 is rotated by the rotation angle detecting wall 98.
Are detected. As a result, the control unit stops the drive motor 37, further reversely rotates it, and returns it to the initial position. The operation displacement areas 131 and 13 of the cam groove 77 for operating the front cover open slider 71
2 (FIG. 15) shows that the cam follower 62 is substantially
The area corresponds to the area displaced by 76, that is, the area for selecting the discharge cartridge.

In the operation of releasing only the front cover 50, the end slider 12 is not rotated to the displacement areas 126 and 127 where the ejection slider 70 operates after the ejection cartridge is selected.
By detecting 2 to 128, the timing gear 57 is detected.
To reverse. The ejection slider 70 is not operated. The size of the timing gear 57 can be reduced by overlapping the discharge cartridge selection area and the door release area on the rotation angle of the timing gear 57, and the timing gear 57 can be housed on the side of the apparatus without increasing the size of the apparatus. (FIG. 3).

When ejecting the cartridge, the mechanism
The opening operation of the front cover 50 is always performed before the discharging operation. The mechanism operation for selecting the discharge cartridge and the opening operation of the front cover 50 are simultaneously executed. If the release operation of the front cover 50 is manual, in order to take out the stored cartridge, the operator needs to manually open the front cover 50 in front of the stocker 3 and then perform the discharging operation twice. However, in this device, since the front cover releasing operation is automatic, the front cover 5
Even when 0 is closed, a desired cartridge can be discharged only by key operation of a cartridge discharge instruction.

Further, opening the front cover 50 may be caused by manual operation. "The discharge operation of the storage cartridge is instructed with the front cover 50 closed, and the discharge cartridge collides with the front cover 50 in the closed state." Such a situation does not occur.

Further, since the front cover 50 is released by a simple mechanism attached to the cartridge discharge mechanism, the front cover 50 is first driven by a separate driving source as compared with a case where a dedicated front cover opening / closing mechanism is separately provided. It does not require a complicated mechanism such as opening, and is low cost and space saving.

After the front cover 50 is released, the notch edges 122, 12 of the rotation angle detecting wall 98 for the photo interrupter 65 when the timing gear 57 is controlled to rotate in the reverse direction.
Numeral 8 shares the notch edge of the detection wall when selecting the cartridge to be ejected. The dedicated switch is not provided to detect the rotation of the front cover releasing operation, so it is shared and low cost and space saving.

[0094]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, as the selection mechanism of the cartridge to be discharged, a cam having a branch corresponding to the position of the storage cartridge, a cam follower, and a solenoid as a path control means in the branch are provided. A simple mechanism could be used. The cam plate having the branch can share the drive motor with the cartridge transfer means, and does not use a dedicated motor as the cartridge discharge selection mechanism, thereby achieving cost reduction. Further, the path of the cam branch at the time of selecting the discharge cartridge can be switched with a small operation stroke, a solenoid which is less expensive than a motor can be used, and low cost and space saving can be obtained. The number of drive sources can be two, a motor and a solenoid, which are shared with the cartridge transfer means, and can be inexpensive.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the branch cam portion is formed on the cam plate and the detection switch driving portion is integrally provided and the solenoid is controlled by the detection signal, the solenoid is controlled in the cam branch direction. The timing of sending the cam follower can be made accurate, the interval between the cam branches can be narrowed, the diameter of the cam plate can be reduced, and the apparatus can be downsized.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the operation sound of the solenoid, which is an impact sound which tends to be a problem when the solenoid is employed, can be almost eliminated. In addition, since the solenoid is energized while the plunger is substantially retracted, the solenoid can have a relatively small capacity, a small size, and a low driving voltage with respect to a necessary spring force, thereby enabling cost reduction. Power consumption can also be reduced. In addition, the return of the plunger is not performed by the solenoid suction, and the return of the plunger is ensured. Stable operation can be obtained by making great use of the suction force of the solenoid.

According to the fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, when the discharge cartridge is selected, the driven discharge cartridge selecting member is not displaced by the rotation angle at which the cam follower enters the cam branch portion. Thus, the urging force of the urging means can be set low, the capacity of the solenoid can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. The discharge cartridge selecting member can obtain a stable operation.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, due to the positional relationship between the cam follower and the discharge cartridge selection member, the discharge cartridge selection member is stable and less likely to cause an operation error or the like even when a force due to disturbance such as vibration is applied. Operation is obtained.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent generation of abnormal noise when the cam follower passes through the cam branch portion in the cartridge selecting means by energizing the solenoid when the cartridge discharging means returns.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, when the cartridge ejecting means returns, the cam branch portion is detected and the solenoid is energized, so that the solenoid generates almost no impact noise when the plunger is retracted. You don't have to.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, by providing only one part of the front cover open member,
An automatic opening mechanism for the front cover provided in front of the cartridge insertion slot of the stocker can be configured. This eliminates the need for the operator to open the front cover in advance when ejecting the cartridge. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the cartridge is ejected before the front cover is completely opened and a collision occurs.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the displacement timing of the front cover opening member driving cam portion is set within the ejection cartridge selection operation area, so that the front cover opening is always executed before the cartridge is ejected. It is possible to prevent the front cover from being obstructed when the cartridge is ejected, thereby preventing the cartridge from being ejected. The diameter of the cam plate (timing gear) can be reduced. In the operation of opening only the front cover, since the signal of the branch cam portion is shared, there is no need to provide a dedicated detection switch, and the cost is low.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the cartridge discharging means can be operated at any time, irrespective of whether the cartridge is transferred or not, while sharing one motor with the cartridge transferring means. Cost reduction can be achieved by sharing the drive motor. The operator can take out the cartridge in the stocker by driving the motor at any time during the performance, even when he or she likes.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the detection of the mechanism operation of the cartridge discharge means and the cartridge transfer means is detected by using three detection switches, so that the number of switches is small. In addition, the apparatus control section can determine the state of the apparatus when the power is turned on, can smoothly restore the initial state, and can accurately determine the position of the branch cam section of the cam plate without increasing the number of switches in the cartridge discharging operation. The opening operation of the front cover can also be performed with this switch arrangement. Low cost.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the cartridge selecting means, the cam grooves are arranged in descending order of the displacement amount of the discharge cartridge selecting member.
A cam groove with a large amount of displacement can start displacement quickly on the rotation angle,
The pressure angle of the cam curve can be reduced, and the load for displacement can be reduced. Further, the diameter of the cam plate such as the timing gear can be reduced, which contributes to downsizing of the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention and is a plan view of a mechanism arrangement of a device, partially cut away.

FIG. 2 is a mechanism layout diagram of the same device, and is a schematic side view seen from the direction of arrow 48 in FIG. 1; The state where the cartridge accommodating portion 14 has moved to a position corresponding to the optical disk cartridge 1 (first cartridge 41) at the uppermost stage of the stocker 3 is shown.

FIG. 3 is a mechanism arrangement diagram of the same device, and is a side view seen from the direction of arrow 48 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the cartridge and an optical disk.

FIG. 5 is a mechanism arrangement view of the same device, and is a schematic side view as viewed from the direction of arrow 48 in FIG. 1; The state where the cartridge accommodating portion 14 has moved to a position corresponding to the second cartridge 1 (second cartridge 42) from the top of the stocker 3 is shown.

FIG. 6 is a mechanism arrangement diagram of the same device, and is a schematic side view seen from the direction of arrow 48 in FIG. 1; The state where the cartridge accommodating portion 14 has moved to a position corresponding to the third cartridge 1 (third cartridge 43) from the top of the stocker 3 is shown.

FIG. 7 is a mechanism layout diagram of the device, and is a schematic side view as viewed from the direction of arrow 48 in FIG. 1; The state where the cartridge accommodating portion 14 has moved to a position corresponding to the fourth cartridge 1 (fourth cartridge 44) from the top of the stocker 3 is shown.

FIG. 8 is a mechanism layout diagram of the same device, and is a schematic side view seen from the direction of arrow 48 in FIG. 1; The fifth lowermost cartridge 1 of the stocker 3 (the fifth cartridge 4
The state where the cartridge accommodating part 14 has moved to the position corresponding to 5) is shown.

FIG. 9 is a mechanism arrangement view of the apparatus, and is a schematic partially cutaway side view as viewed from the direction of arrow 48 in FIG. 1; The state of the recording operation on the first cartridge 41 is shown.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the apparatus, and shows an insertion member 4 and an insertion hole 33 of the cartridge, and a front cover 5 in an open state.
0, the shielding case 34 is shown.

FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing a gear train from the drive motor 37 to the cartridge transfer mechanism 18.

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view showing the periphery of the cartridge ejection mechanism 46, ejection slider 70, and timing gear 57.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing the relationship between the timing gear 57 and the surrounding components as viewed from the rear surface direction, contrary to FIG. 3;

FIG. 14 is a side view showing the shape of the timing gear 57.

FIG. 15 shows the shape of the timing gear 57, and FIG.
The side view seen from the back side of.

FIG. 16 is an operation state diagram in which the relationship between the timing gear 57 and peripheral components is extracted. The cam follower 62 is at the initial position.

FIG. 17 is an operation state diagram in which the relationship between the timing gear 57 and peripheral components is extracted. The cam follower 62 and the ejection cartridge selection member 63 are displaced to positions corresponding to the lowermost cartridge.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing switch patterns of the detection switches 68 and 69 and the photo interrupter 65 when the timing gear 57 is rotated once.

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of the parts shown in FIG. 3, which is an arrangement relation diagram of the same parts.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cartridge 2 Optical disk 3 Stocker 4 Insertion member 5 Cartridge holder 8 Optical deck (recording / reproducing part) 9 Optical pickup 10 Optical pickup driving means 11 Turntable 14 Cartridge accommodating part 18 Cartridge transport means 36 Optical deck driving means driving motor 37 Cartridge Drive motor of transfer means 41 First cartridge 42 Second cartridge 43 Third cartridge 44 Fourth cartridge 45 Fifth cartridge 46 Cartridge ejection means 50 Front cover 57 Timing gear (cam plate) 62 Cam follower 63 Eject cartridge selection Member 65 Photo interrupter (detection switch) 68 Detection switch 69 Detection switch 71 Front cover open slider (front cover open member) 72 Solenoid 73 plunger 74 plunger spring (biasing means) 77 drive cam groove (cam portion) of front cover open slider 78 cam groove for discharge slider drive 79 switch lever drive cam surface 80 cam branch portion 81 cam branch portion 82 cam Branch portion 83 Cam branch portion 84 Cam groove 85 Cam groove 86 Cam groove 87 Cam groove 88 Cam groove 89 Cam branch portion 90 Cam branch portion 91 Cam branch portion 92 Cam branch portion 93 Cam groove 94 Cam groove 95 Cam groove 96 Cam groove 97 Cam groove 98 Rotation angle detection wall 99 Axial projection (follower) 117 Front cover locking hook (Front cover locking member) 151 Connection 152 Connection

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Asayuki Matsumura 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. In company

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A stocker for storing a plurality of cartridges containing an optical disk therein in a substantially parallel stack, moving adjacent to the stocker in the stacking direction of the cartridges of the stocker and taking a position corresponding to each of the stored cartridges. A cartridge accommodating section, a cartridge transporting means for selecting one of the cartridges in the stocker and transporting the cartridge to the cartridge accommodating section, a recording / reproducing section for holding and recording / reproducing an optical disk in the cartridge transported to the cartridge accommodating section; Cartridge discharge means for discharging the cartridge stored in the stocker to the outside of the apparatus, the cartridge discharge means is provided with a cam plate which operates by forming a branched cam groove corresponding to the number of cartridges stored in the stocker; Followed by the driven or intervening member and the tip is A disc recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a discharge cartridge selecting member displaced in a stacking direction; and means for controlling a path of the cam follower or the intervening member in the cam branch. 2. A stocker for accommodating a plurality of cartridges accommodating an optical disk therein in a substantially parallel laminating manner, adjacent to said stocker, moving in a stacking direction of the cartridges of the stocker and taking a position corresponding to each of the contained cartridges. A cartridge accommodating section, a cartridge transporting means for selecting one of the cartridges in the stocker and transporting the cartridge to the cartridge accommodating section, a recording / reproducing section for holding and recording / reproducing an optical disk in the cartridge transported to the cartridge accommodating section; Cartridge discharging means for discharging the cartridge stored in the storage device to the outside of the apparatus, wherein the cartridge discharging means has a cam plate which is formed with a cam groove branched corresponding to the number of cartridges stored in the stocker and which rotates and one end rotates. Follower freely supported and engaged with the cam groove at the other end A cam follower that has a portion and is driven by the cam plate, a discharge cartridge selecting member that is driven by the cam follower or driven through an intervening member, and is displaced in the cartridge stacking direction, a mechanism operation detection switch, and a cam branch portion. A detection switch drive unit integrally formed on the cam plate so as to drive the detection switch;
Branch path control means including a solenoid for urging the cam follower in a direction in which the cam groove branches off, and a device control unit for operating the cam plate and ejecting the cam groove corresponding to the cartridge instructed to eject the cam plate. Detecting the cam branch by the detection switch drive unit based on a signal from the detection switch, and operating a solenoid to rotate the follower portion of the cam follower in the cam branch direction of the cam plate, and follow the cam follower. A disc recording / reproducing apparatus, wherein an operating ejection cartridge selecting member is located at a position corresponding to a storage cartridge to be ejected. 3. A stocker for accommodating a plurality of cartridges accommodating an optical disk therein in a substantially parallel laminating manner, adjacent to said stocker, moving in the stacking direction of the cartridges of the stocker and taking positions corresponding to the respective cartridges accommodated therein. A cartridge accommodating section, a cartridge transporting means for selecting one of the cartridges in the stocker and transporting the cartridge to the cartridge accommodating section, a recording / reproducing section for holding and recording / reproducing an optical disk in the cartridge transported to the cartridge accommodating section; Cartridge discharging means for discharging the cartridge stored in the storage device to the outside of the apparatus, wherein the cartridge discharging means has a cam plate which is formed with a cam groove branched corresponding to the number of cartridges stored in the stocker and which rotates and one end rotates. Follower freely supported and engaged with the cam groove at the other end A cam follower having a portion and driven by the cam plate; a biasing means for biasing the cam follower in a branch direction of the cam groove; and a follower driven by the cam follower or displaced in the cartridge stacking direction by an intervening member. A discharge cartridge selecting member, a detection switch for operating the mechanism, a detection switch driving unit integrally formed on the cam plate so as to drive the detection switch corresponding to the cam branch portion, and the urging means when energized And a solenoid that operates so as not to apply the urging force of the urging means to the cam follower by locking the urging force of the cam follower, and the apparatus control unit operates the cam plate to correspond to the cartridge instructed to eject. By detecting the cam branch to the cam groove to be performed by the detection switch signal from the detection switch driving unit and stopping the energization of the solenoid. The lock by the urging means is released, and the follower portion of the cam follower rotates in the direction of the cam branch portion in accordance with the rotation of the cam plate and the urging force of the urging means, and a discharge cartridge selecting member that operates dependently on the cam follower. A disk recording / reproducing apparatus, wherein the position corresponds to a storage cartridge to be ejected. 4. An ejecting cartridge selecting member, which is configured to follow the cam follower, engages with the cam follower when the cam follower rotates in the branch direction at the cam branch. 4. The disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an insensitive portion is formed in which the ejection cartridge selection member does not displace at a predetermined operation angle at which the disc cartridge enters. 5. The dead section where the ejection cartridge selecting member is not displaced at a predetermined operation angle at which the cam follower enters the cam branch section, has an arc shape centered on a rotation fulcrum that rotatably supports the cam follower. 5. The disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: 6. The discharge cartridge selection member, wherein one end is rotatably supported and the other end is configured to be displaced by a rotational operation in a direction of stacking the cartridges of the stocker.
A line connecting the engagement point between the cam follower and the discharge cartridge selection member and the rotation fulcrum of the cam follower, and a line connecting the engagement point between the cam follower and the discharge cartridge selection member and the rotation fulcrum of the discharge cartridge selection member are The angle formed is substantially a right angle.
Disc recording / reproducing apparatus according to the above. 7. The apparatus control unit controls the drive motor so that the cam plate rotates and performs a predetermined operation and then reverses and returns to the operation initial position. 4. The disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the disk recording / reproducing apparatus is in an energized state. 8. When the device control section controls the drive motor so that the cam plate rotates and performs a predetermined operation and then reverses and returns to the operation initial position, in the reverse operation, the cam follower operates at a time when the reverse rotation is started. When a position corresponding to the cartridge instructed to be ejected is guided by one of the cam grooves branched to the above, detection by the detection switch driving unit corresponding to the cam branch to the guided cam groove is performed. 4. The disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a signal from the switch is detected, and the apparatus control section starts energizing the solenoid according to the signal. 9. A front cover that can be opened and closed to cover a plurality of cartridge insertion ports in front of the cartridge insertion port of the stocker, a front cover locking member that closes the front cover, and a front cover that displaces the locking member. A front cover open member for unlocking the front cover and a cam portion that engages with the front cover open member formed on the cam plate, wherein the operation of the cam plate drives the front cover open member. 2. The disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 10. A front cover opening member driving cam portion formed on the cam plate completes displacement from an initial operation position of the cam plate to a position corresponding to a cartridge designated by the ejection cartridge selection member to eject. 10. The disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein an operation range up to the position includes a range in which the front cover open member is displaced. 11. A stocker for accommodating a plurality of cartridges accommodating an optical disk therein in a substantially parallel stacked manner, a cartridge accommodating portion moving and taking a position corresponding to each cartridge accommodated in said stocker, and Cartridge transfer means for transferring a cartridge to the cartridge storage portion and a drive motor thereof; a recording / reproducing portion for holding and recording / reproducing an optical disk in the cartridge transferred to the cartridge storage portion; and a device for storing the cartridge stored in the stocker. Cartridge driving means for discharging the cartridge to the outside, and when the direction of rotation of one of the drive motors is set to the direction A and the opposite direction is set to the direction B, the cartridge transfer means moves the drive motor from the initial operation position to the direction A. Rotation from the stocker to the recording / reproducing unit. The cartridge is transferred, the cartridge is returned from the recording / reproducing unit to the stocker by rotating the drive motor in the B direction from the transfer position, and the drive motor is rotated in the B direction from the initial operation position. A disk recording / reproducing apparatus, wherein the storage cartridge discharging means is operated by rotating the motor in the direction A from the transfer position at which the cartridge has been transferred to the recording / reproducing section, by operating the storage cartridge discharging means. 12. A switch having three switches, SW1, SW2, and SW3, as a switch for detecting a mechanism operation, having a switch driving unit and a device control unit, and having a switch state A [S
W1 = ON, SW2 = OFF, SW3 = OFF, (or S
W1 = OFF, SW2 = ON, SW3 = ON)], the cartridge transfer standby state to the recording / reproducing unit is switched to the switch state B.
[SW1 = ON, SW2 = ON, SW3 = OFF, (or SW1 = OFF, SW2 = OFF, SW3 = ON)] indicates a state in which the cartridge is being transferred to the recording / reproducing unit, and a switch state C [SW1 = OFF, SW2]. = ON, SW3 = OFF, (or SW1 = ON, SW2 = OFF, SW3 = ON)], and the state in which the cartridge is transferred to the recording / reproducing unit.
Switch state D [SW1 = OFF, SW2 = OFF, SW3
= ON to OFF, (or SW1 = ON, SW2 = ON, SW3 = OFF to ON)], the state during the cartridge discharging operation in the stocker is changed to the switch state E [SW1 =
OFF, SW2 = ON, SW3 = ON, (or SW1 =
ON, SW2 = OFF, SW3 = OFF)], the discharge operation end state of the cartridge in the stocker in the cartridge transfer standby state is determined by the switch state F [SW1 = ON, SW2 = OFF, SW3 = ON, (or SW1 = OFF, SW2 = ON, SW3 = OFF)], the device control unit determines the end state of the discharging operation of the cartridge in the stocker in a state where the cartridge is transferred to the recording / reproducing unit, and the cam branch is performed by one switch and SW3. 12. The disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a position is detected, a solenoid is operated, and the ejection cartridge driving member is displaced. 13. The order of branch positions to the cam grooves corresponding to the storage cartridges formed on the cam plate, respectively.
When the initial position of the discharge cartridge selection member is near the position corresponding to the cartridge at one end in the cartridge array of the stocker, the stocker is arranged in order from the branch corresponding to the cartridge at the other end of the stocker to the branch corresponding to the cartridge at the one end. The disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.