JPS62231458A - Information medium holding and retrieving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent damages to a cassette by providing a sensor and a body to be detected respectively to a reproducing device and a carrier so as to allow a holder to load the cassette to the reproducing device only when the carrier is in the loading position and the sensor detects the body to be detected. CONSTITUTION:After the carrier 31 stores a cassette 18 and is restored in the home position, the cassette 18 is loaded in a loading inlet 16 of a reproducing device 17, the disk in the cassette 18 is used for reproduction and after the end of reproduction, the cassette 18 is ejected from the loading inlet 16 of the reproducing device 17 automatically, the carrier 31 grips the cassette 18 and stores it again in the original space. After the carrier 31 restores the cassette 18 to the original space, the carrier 31 is restored again to the home position and awaits the next selection command. So long as the sensor 200 does not detect a projecting pieces 202 of the carrier 31, no cassette 18 is loaded to the loading inlet 16 of the reproducing device 17 supported by a damper 203.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an information medium holding and retrieval device or an autochanger, and more specifically, it relates to an information medium holding and retrieval device or an autochanger. The present invention relates to an information medium holding and retrieval device or an autochanger that selects an information medium and returns the information medium to its original position after reproducing and recording the information medium.

(Prior art) As a conventional device of this kind, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-92
There is one disclosed in Publication No. 471.

That is, in the conventional device, a rack storing cassettes as information media is driven linearly or rotatably, and when the cassette to be selected comes in front of the take-out device, the rack is stopped, and then the take-out device takes out the cassette and loads it into the deck for playback and recording.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) “However, if the cassette and the deck opening into which the cassette is received are not facing each other in the correct position, the cassette pushed out toward the deck when the cassette is inserted will be stuck in the deck. Otherwise, the cassette may be damaged due to collision.

Therefore, the present invention provides that the cassette, in a predetermined position,
A technical problem is to prevent the cassette from being pushed out toward the deck for insertion unless it faces the opening of the deck.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical measures taken in the present invention include a plurality of cassettes arranged radially and Mffi, and the cassettes are arranged on a plane. a carrier that rotates around a center point of a circular arc and is movable in the vertical direction of the center point; a holder that is mounted on the carrier so as to be movable forward and backward and grips the cassette and one of the cassettes;
an information medium retrieval device comprising a regenerator into which the cassette is inserted by the holder when the carrier is moved to a loading position; The holder is configured to allow the cassette to be inserted into the regenerator only when the cassette is in the loading position and the sensor is detecting the object.

(Function) Even if the carrier is in the load position, if vibration occurs, the sensor will not detect the object to be detected, and the cassette will not be pushed out in the direction of the playback image, causing the cassette to fall into the inserter groove in the frontage of the player. No problem of damage occurs.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 16, a storage section 12 is provided on a base 11 of an information medium holding and retrieval device or autochanger 10. As shown in FIGS. Thus, the storage section 12 has an upper section 13. It has a three-layer structure of the middle tier 14 and the lower tier 15, and the right end of each tier is flush, but the upper tier 13
Only the left end portion 13b of is protruding from the left end portion 14b of the middle stage 14 and the left end portion 15b of the lower stage 15. A playback device (or a recorder or recorder) 17 equipped with an insertion slot 16 is arranged below the left end portion 13b of the upper section 13 so as to be adjacent to the middle section 14 and the lower section 15 of the storage section 12. It is set up. Upper tier 13 (middle tier 14 and lower tier 1) of storage section 12
5), spaces S are defined in a radial and overlapping manner by partitions (not shown), and each space S accommodates a cassette 18. Thus, the cassettes 18 are arranged radially and stacked in three stages. A double-sided playable optical disc (not shown) is stored inside the cassette 18, and as will be described in detail later, when the cassette 18 is loaded into the insertion slot 16 of the player 17, the optical disc is played. It has become. In addition, the space is (V, M
), which correspond to the serial numbers assigned to each cassette 18. Second, ■ is an integer between 0 and 3, V=1 is in the upper row 13, and V=2 is in the middle row 14.
and V=3 means that the desired cassette 18 is contained in the lower stage 15, and M is the cassette 1 in question.
8 is an integer indicating the position clockwise from the left end of each stage.

The inner surface 12c of the storage portion 12 has an arc shape when viewed from above, and a shaft 20 is fixedly erected at a point on the base 11 that is the center of the arc. A lower stand 22 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 20 via a bearing 21 (FIG. 8). A gear 22 is provided on the lower outer periphery of the lower stand 22.
a is formed, and this gear 22a is connected to the shaft of the motor 24 (path shown) via the timing belt 23.
is operatively connected to a gear (path shown) fixed to. A pair of guide shafts 25, 25 and a balancer guide 26 are erected on the lower stand 22, and the tips of these three shafts are connected to a common upper stand 27 to adjust the parallelism between each axis or the pitch between each axis. is kept constant. An arm 28 protrudes from the upper stand 27 , and the tip of this arm 28 touches the base 27 as the motor 24 is driven.
When rotated integrally with the lower stand 22, it always draws an arc that is the same as the inner circumferential surface 12c of the storage section 12. A sensor 29 is attached to the arm 28, and an inner peripheral portion of an arc-shaped plate 30 is loosely fitted into the bifurcated detection portion 29a of the sensor 29. Therefore, on the inner circumference of the plate 30, M number of sleeves 30a are provided on the upper stage 13.
They are carved radially to correspond to the spaces in the sensor 29, and as the sensor 29 rotates, it is possible to know which space in the circumferential direction the detection part 29a of the sensor 29 is detecting. It looks like this. The outer periphery of the plate 30 is fixed to the top I2d of the storage section 12 at a proper position.

On the pair of guide shafts 25, 25 erected on the lower stand 22, there are ears 31a formed on both sides of the carrier 3I,
31 a;A(?fi) The carrier 31 is movably mounted and is movable up and down along the guide shaft 25.A pulley 32 is also rotatably mounted on the lower stand 22. A pulley 34 is rotatably mounted on a bracket 33 fixed to the upper stand 27.
A retainer 35 is fixed to one ear 31a of the retainer 35, a wire 37 is installed between the lower end 35b of the retainer 25 and the wire wheel 32, and the upper end 35a of the retainer 35 A wire 38 is installed between the wire wheel 32 and the wire wheel 32 via a pulley 34. The wires 37 and 38 are wound around the wire wheel 32 multiple times in opposite directions.

A slider 36 mounted on the balancer guide 26 so as to be vertically movable is fixed to a wire 38. A gear 40 is integrally attached to the wire wheel 32, and this gear 40 engages with a worm gear 42 rotatably mounted on a shaft 41. A gear 43 is integrally formed at the bottom of the worm gear 42 (FIG. 6), and this gear 43 and a gear 45 fixed to the shaft of a motor 44 mounted on the lower base 22 are connected to the timing. They are operatively connected by a belt. Also,
A plate 46 having radial slits (not shown) carved on the outer periphery is fixed above the gear 45, and the outer periphery of the plate 46 is connected to the bifurcated detection portion 47 of the sensor 47.
It is loosely fitted within 3. Thus, as the shaft of the motor 44 rotates, the carrier 31 moves up and down, and the rotational speed of the shaft is stored in the computer 50 moment by moment via the sensor 47.

The carrier 31 consists of a main body 51 and a gripping part 52. A base end 52a of the gripping part 52 is received in the main body 51 and can rotate relative to the main body 51 via a bearing 53. is maintained. However, carrier 3
1 is always located at the home position, that is, at a location corresponding to the lower stage 15 of the storage section 12 before starting the device, and when an instruction is given from the computer 50, the motor 44 is driven to move up and detect the sensor 47. By checking the number of revolutions of the motor 44 counted through the computer 50, the motor 44 is stopped at a position corresponding to either the upper stage 13 or the middle stage 14 of the storage section 12. In order to accurately move the carrier 31 from its home position to the relevant position (or vice versa), the carrier 3
The projecting piece 54 protruding from the main body 51 of 1 has a bifurcated detection portion 55a of the photosensor 55 and a photosensor 56.
A bifurcated detection section 56a is attached.

Therefore, between the upper stand 22 and the lower stand 27, there is a plate 5.
7 is installed, and the plate 58 attached at right angles to the plate 57 is the bifurcated detection part 55a of the sensor 55.
It is loosely fitted inside. The plate 58 is provided with sleeves (59, 60 and 61) at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction.
are engraved, and these three slits are
This corresponds to the upper 13°, middle 14 and lower 15 degrees of 2. Further, a protruding piece 62 protrudes below the plate 58, and this protruding piece 62 is connected to the sensor 5 when the carrier 31 is at the home position.
It is designed to be loosely fitted into the detection section 56a of No. 6. The computer 50 is configured to understand that the carrier 31 is located at the home position when the sensor 55 detects the slit and the sensor 56 detects the protrusion 62.

A stepping motor 71 is fixed to a bracket 70 provided integrally with the base end 52a of the gripping portion 52 of the carrier 31, and a gear 72 and an annular plate are mounted on the shaft of the bracket 70. 73 is fixed. The gear 72 includes a gear 76 fixed to the left end 75 of a shaft 75 in which a +m spiral groove 74 is carved, and a '117' f1
77 is engaged with both gears 79 fixed to the left end 78a of the shaft 78. The left end portions 75a and 78a of the shafts 75 and 78 are rotatably supported by the bracket 70, and the right end portion 75b of the shaft 75 and the shaft 78
The right end 78b of the shaft 75 is rotatably supported by the bracket 70, and the right end 75b of the shaft 75 and the right end 78b of the shaft 78 are connected to the holes 81a, 81a of the main body 81 of the holder 80.
' The spiral grooves 74 and 77 that protrude inward the holes 81a, respectively.
, 81a', a pin integral with the main body 81 (path shown)
is engaged with.

Thus, the holder 80 is movable within the grip portion 52, and the movement is performed by rotation of the shafts 75 and 78 as the pulse motor 71 is driven. and,
The amount of movement is determined by a signal supplied to the pulse motor 71. It should be noted that checking whether the shaft of the pulse motor 71 has rotated by a predetermined amount and the holder 80 has stroked by a predetermined amount is done using a slit carved in a plate 73 that rotates integrally with the shaft of the pulse motor 71. 73a, by counting how many times the photo sensor 82 has passed through the bifurcated detection portion 82a.

The holder 80 includes a main body 81 and a cover 8 that covers the side surface of the main body 81.
However, a space 84 is defined between the cover 83 and the main body 81, and on the upper and lower sides thereof,
A pair of engagement members 85, 85' are provided. The engaging member 85 (85') has a horizontal part 85b (85° b) with claws 85a and 85'a at the tip, and a horizontal part 85b.
(85'b) Vertical portion 85c (
85° C), and a horizontal part 85b (85'
b) At the rear end, it is pivotally supported by a pin 86 (86') that connects the cover 83 and the main body 81. The vertical portions 85c and 85'C of the two engaging members 85.85'' are connected to one end 87a and the other end 87b of the lever 87,
The lever 87 is pivotally supported by a pin 88 and a pin 89, and the lever 87 is loosely fitted into a split groove 90b of a movable iron core 90a of a solenoid 90 disposed in the space 84,
It is fixed to the movable iron core 90a at. The upper end 87a and the lower end 87b of the lever 87 are connected to the spring 9, respectively.
1 and 91', it is biased to the left as viewed in FIG. 14, and is biased away from the solenoid 90.

The movable iron core 90a is attracted in the direction of the solenoid 90 when the solenoid 9o is excited;
Even if 7 is pressed against springs 91 and 91°,
The movable iron core 90a can be moved in the direction of the solenoid 90. In addition, the engagement member 85a (85' a
) in the clockwise (counterclockwise) direction, the locking portion 85
d (85°d). In addition, the claw portion 85a<85° a) of the locking member 85 (85') engages the upper surface 5 of the inner surface of the grip portion 52 when rotated counterclockwise (clockwise).
It is loosely fitted into the groove 52b on the 2a side (the groove 52d on the lower surface 52c side).

Inside the holder 80, sensors 92 and 93 are also arranged at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction.
The sensor 92 is located at a portion 18b on the front surface 18a of the cassette 18.
, the sensor 92 is located at part 1 of the front surface 18a of the cassette 18.
They are each aiming at 8c. Front surface 18a of cassette 18
Although a reflective tape 94 is attached to the part 18b,
Nothing is attached to the portion 18c. As a result, the holder 80 approaches the cassette 18, and the claw portion 85a (85'a) of the holder 80 touches the upper side of the cassette 18 (
After riding on the slope 18d (18e) of the lower side), the concave part 1
8f (18g), the sensor 92 senses the reflective tape 94, and this fact is transmitted to the computer 50. Further, the claw portion 85a (85° a) of the holder 80 is connected to the slope 18.
d (18e), engaging member 85 (85°)
The straight section 85c (85' c) displaces the lever 87 toward the solenoid 90 against the spring 91.91", and the claw section 85a (85° a)
) when engaged with the lever 87, the spring 91.9
The lever 87 is projected in the radial direction of the movable iron core 90a, and the claw portion 85 of the engaging member 85 (85°)
When engaged with the concave portion 18f (18g) of the cassette 18 at angle a (85°), the bifurcated detection portion 95a of the photosensor 95 is shielded from light only once as the lever 87 reciprocates. Thus, once the detection part 95a of the sensor 95 is blocked, this fact is transmitted to the computer 50, and it is confirmed that the holder 80 has completely gripped the cassette 18.

On the outer periphery of the base portion 52a of the grip portion 52 of the carrier 31,
Gear 96 and plate 97 are fixed, and gear 9
6 engages with a gear (as shown) that rotates integrally with the shaft (as shown) of a motor 97 fixed to the main body 51 of the carrier 31 . In response to a command from the computer 50, the motor 97 moves the grip part 52 of the carrier 31 while the carrier 31 is descending toward the home position after the cassette 18 is completely stored in the grip part 52 of the carrier 31. It is designed to rotate 90 degrees in one direction or 90 degrees in the other direction. The grip portion 52 of the carrier 31 is rotated 90 degrees in one direction by the drive of the motor 97 when the selected cassette 18
If the computer 50 has received a command to play side A of , and the sensor 92 has detected the reflective mark 94, or if the computer 50 has received a command to play side 8 and the sensor 92 has detected the reflective mark 94, This is the case when the reflective mark is not detected. However, one direction of the carrier 31 (
To check whether a 90° rotation in the other direction) has been made,
This is done by sensing the slits 99a (99b) cut in the plate 99 by the detection part 98a of the sensor 98. Furthermore, the grip portion 52 of the carrier 31 is attached to the cassette 18 which has been ejected from the insertion port 16 of the reproducing machine 17.
When holding the cassette and storing it in its original position, the cassette is rotated 90 degrees in one direction or the other.
Whether or not the degree of rotation has been reliably determined is determined by the sensor 98 detecting a slit 99C cut in the plate 99. Note that the slit 99c is the same as the slit 99a.
The slits located between and 99b and connected to each other have a phase difference of 90''.

In order to move the carrier 31 to the home position, the motor 44 is driven to lower the carrier 31 to a predetermined height, and the motor 24 is also driven to move the carrier 31 to the home position.
This is done by rotating the carrier 31 counterclockwise until the grip 52 of the carrier 31 is aimed at the leftmost cassette as seen in FIG. The transition to the home position of carrier 31 is indicated by sensors 55, 56 and 100, respectively.
61. This is done by detecting the protrusions 62 and 101.

Computer 5 that controls autochanger 10
The function of the autochanger 10 will be explained in conjunction with each sensor and each motor, as well as an overall explanation of the operation of the autochanger 10.

The computer 50 is connected to a main computer 102, which controls the autochanger 10, the cathode ray tube (as shown), and other devices in a unified manner. The main computer 102 is connected to a terminal device equipped with a button or key 103, and by pressing the key 103, the number of the cassette to be selected and whether side A or B of the disc in the cassette to be played are displayed. The information of
The signal is sent to the computer 50, and the cassette number N is stored in register R1, and if the playback side is side A (side B), l (0) is stored in register R2. . A table T is generated in advance in the computer 50, and contains the cassette number N and the coordinates (V) indicating the storage position thereof.

M) is stored in the form of a comparison table, and when information is applied to registers R1 and R2, the contents of registers R1 and R2 are compared with the contents of table T, and the value of ■ is stored in register R3. , the value of M is loaded into register R4, respectively. Registers R3 and R4
When data is applied to , the shaft of the motor 44 and the shaft of the motor 24 are rotated according to the value, so that the carrier 31 is raised to a predetermined height and rotated by a predetermined amount at the same time. It has become.

Thus, when the carrier 31 is stationary, its gripping portion 5
2 is aimed at the front surface 18a of the cassette 18. Whether the position at which the carrier 31 has stopped is correct is determined by comparing whether the sensor 29 detects the M-th slit of the plate 30 and the sensor 55 detects the M-th slit of the protrusion 58, respectively. It is now done by If the resting position of the carrier 31 is not correct, the computer 50 sounds a warning light or buzzer 104 to notify the operator of this fact.

When the carrier 31 is stationary at the correct position, its gripping portion 52
When the computer 50 confirms that the camera is aiming at the front surface 18a of the cassette 1B to be selected, the computer 50 drives the pulse motor 71.

As the pulse motor 71 is driven, a pair of shafts 75.7
8 rotates, and this rotation causes the holder 80 to move into the cassette 1.
The holder 80, which is pushed out to make a stroke by a predetermined amount by the computer 50 and which grips the cassette 18 while substantially abutting the front surface 18a of the cassette 18, is is set in register R5), but whether the stroke is made as long as the preset stroke is determined by how many times the sensor 84 detects the slit 73a carved in the plate 73. This is done by counting. That is, the counted number of times is stored in register R6, but register R7 stores the number of revolutions of the shaft that must be counted when the pulse signal is supplied to the pulse motor 71, and register R6 and The contents of the register R7 are compared, and if the two do not match, the computer 50 turns on a warning light or a warning buzzer (■04) to notify the operator that the holder 80 has not been stroked by a predetermined amount. Close.

The computer 50 causes the holder 80 to be inserted into the cassette 18.
When it is confirmed that the stroke has been made until it almost touches the
A check is made to see if the holder 80 has held the cassette 18. That is, the fact that the holder 80 holds the cassette 18 means that the locking piece 85 (8
The claw part 85a (85° a) of the locking piece 85 (85') engages with the recess 18f (18g) of the cassette 18, but before this engagement, the claw part 85a of the locking piece 85 (85') (8
Slope 18d (18e) of cassette 18 of 5' a)
Since there is a reciprocating movement of the lever 87 as the lever 87 crosses over, the sensor 95 detects the reciprocating movement of the lever 87. Specifically, the reciprocating movement of the lever 87 causes the detection part 9 of the sensor 95 to
5a is temporarily blocked), and the computer 5
0, and "1" is loaded into register R7. If the holder 80 cannot hold the cassette 18 due to some trouble, the rotation of the shaft of the pulse motor 71 stops, registers R8 and R9 are loaded with "0", and the computer 50 outputs a warning light or a buzzer 191. 104 to notify the operator that the cassette 18 has not been gripped.

When it is confirmed that the holder 80 or cassette 1 is held, the sensors 92 and 93 start detection activities, and if the sensor 92 (93) senses the reflective mark, the register R9 (R8) is set to " O゛ is loaded. (In the embodiment, the sensor 92 detects the reflective mark 94 and the sensor 93 detects nothing, so registers R8 and R9 are loaded with "1" and "O" respectively. .) Here, the computer 50 registers R8
If the value of only one of R9 and R9 is "1",
Reverse the shaft of pulse motor 71 and remove cassette 1.
8 in the grip part 51 of the carrier 31, otherwise an alarm or alarm buzzer 104 will sound and the sensor 9
2 (93) or more or the absence of reflective mark 83,
The operator will be informed. Pulse motor-8
When it is confirmed that the main body 0 has returned to its original position and the cassette 18 has been correctly inserted into the gripping part 51, the computer 50 controls the motor 44 and the motor 2.
4 to return the carrier 31 to its home position. Whether the carrier 31 has returned to its home position is confirmed by the same method as the method used to confirm whether the carrier 31 has moved from its home position to the point at which the cassette is taken out.

In the process of moving the carrier 31 to the home position, the computer 50 drives the motor 97 to move the gripping portion of the carrier 31 so that the surface to be regenerated is the upper side in FIGS. 1 and 2. 32 by 90° or -90". That is, if the content of register R2 is "1" (8A side playback information) and the content of register R8 is "1", and the content of register R2 is 0" (
B-side reproduction information) and the content of register R8 is "0°," the rotation is performed by 90. Whether or not the 90° rotation has been reliably performed is determined by checking whether the detection section 98a of the sensor 98 senses a slit 99a carved in the plate 99.

After the carrier 31 returns to the home position with the cassette 18 accommodated, the cassette 18 is played back [17
The disc in the cassette 1B is loaded into the insertion slot 16 of the player 17, and the disc in the cassette 1B is played back. After the playback is finished, the cassette 18 is automatically ejected from the insertion slot 16 of the player 17, and the carrier 31 grips the cassette 18. Then, it will be re-stored in its original space. After returning the cassette 18 to its original space, the carrier 31 returns to its home position and waits for the next selection command.

Note that unless the sensor 200 detects the protrusion 202 of the carrier 31, the cassette 18 is not inserted into the insertion opening 16 of the regenerator 17 supported by the damper 203.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention includes a plurality of cassettes arranged radially and weightwise, and the cassettes can rotate around the center point of an arc drawn on a plane and can move in the vertical direction of the center point. a carrier, a holder mounted movably on the carrier and holding one of the cassettes, and a regenerator into which the cassette is inserted by the boulder when the carrier is moved to a loading position. In the information medium holding and retrieval device, a sensor and a detected object are provided in the regenerator and the carrier, respectively, and only when the carrier is in the loading position and the sensor is detecting the detected object, The holder allows the cassette to be inserted into the regenerator.

Therefore, even if the carrier is in the loading position, if vibration occurs, the sensor will not detect the detected object, and the cassette will not be pushed toward the regenerator, resulting in damage to the cassette due to the inability to insert the cassette into the reproducing layer opening. No problems will occur.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an autochanger or information medium holding and retrieval device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the first device, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the first device (provided that the carrier and its related components are (not shown), FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a carrier and a means for guiding the carrier, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the lower part of the means for guiding the carrier, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a carrier integrated with a wire wheel for moving the carrier up and down. A sectional view of the vicinity of the gear, Fig. 7 is a view showing how the sensor is installed to check the amount of rotation of the carrier, Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing the connection state between the lower stand and the plate, and Fig. 9 is a plan view of the carrier. , FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the carrier, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the vicinity of the sensor that checks the amount of rotation of the gripping part of the carrier, FIG. 12 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 11, and FIG. A perspective view showing a state in which the holder of the grip part and the cassette oppose each other, FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the holder,
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the relationship between the computer controlling the first illustrated device, each sensor, each motor, and the main computer, and FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the process from the start of taking out a cassette in the first illustrated device to the loading of the cassette into the player. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure performed by a computer during

Claims (1)

[Claims] a plurality of cassettes arranged radially and weightwise; a carrier that rotates around the center point of an arc drawn by the cassettes on a plane and is movable in the vertical direction of the center point; An information medium holding and retrieval device comprising: a holder for gripping one of the loaded cassettes; and a regenerator into which the cassette is inserted by the holder when the carrier moves to a loading position. and the carrier is provided with a sensor and a detected object, respectively, the carrier is in the loading position, and
The information medium holding and retrieval device is configured such that the holder can insert the cassette into the regenerator only when the sensor detects the detected object.