KR20010043268A - A disc changer comprising a rolling track - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a disc changer (21) for storing a plurality of disc-shaped information carriers (23a, 23b, 23c) and transferring the information carrier to or from the scanning position 25 inside the information disc reproducing apparatus. It is about. According to the invention, the disc changer 21 is a closed stop guide track 29 bounded by the stationary rotating track 33 and the drive member 31 when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction X. ). Since the guide track has a width W nearly equal to the diameter D of the information carrier, the information carrier accommodated in the guide track is rotated along the rotating track by engaging the outer periphery 53 of the information carrier with the drive member. . In a preferred embodiment, the guide track is formed in an annular shape and bounded by a cylindrical rotating surface 51 of the rotating track and a roller 35 of the drive member, said roller being the common center of the guide track and the rotating track. It is rotatable about an axis of rotation 37 coincident with the axis 39. The drive member is the only part of the rotatable disc changer and the disc changer does not have an additional displaceable part. Since the drive member has only a relatively small moment of inertia with respect to the axis of rotation, the mechanical torque that must be applied to the drive member to transport the information carrier is significantly reduced.

Description

Disc changer with rotating tracks {A DISC CHANGER COMPRISING A ROLLING TRACK}

The present invention relates to a disc changer for storing a plurality of information carriers in the form of discs and transferring the information carriers to or from the scanning position.

Moreover, the present invention provides a disc changer for receiving a plurality of information carriers in the form of discs and transferring the information carriers to or from the scanning position, and rotating about the axis of rotation to support and rotate the information medium at the scanning position. An information disc reproducing apparatus having a turntable possible and a scanning device for scanning an information carrier at a scanning position.

Disc changers and information disc reproducing apparatus of the type described at the outset are known from WO 96/34386. This conventional disc changer is provided inside a conventional information disc reproducing apparatus and has a support portion in the form of a rotary conveyor for an information carrier. The support is rotatable about an axis of rotation by an electric motor and has a plurality of support surfaces for receiving and supporting individual information carriers. By rotating the support with the information carrier about the axis of rotation of the support, the information carrier is conveyed to the scanning position and conveyed out of the scanning position. When the information carrier is transported to the scanning position, the information carrier is supported by the turntable of the information disc reproducing apparatus, by rotating the information carrier about the rotation axis of the turntable and displacing the scanning unit of the scanning device radially with respect to the rotation axis of the turntable. The data is scanned by the scanning device of the information disk reproducing apparatus.

A problem with such conventional disc changers and conventional information disc reproducing apparatus is that the support of the rotary conveyor form constitutes a rather bulky rotatable portion of the disc changer and has a relatively high moment of inertia. Thus, an electric motor that rotates the support, transfers the information carrier to the scan position and transfers the information carrier from the scan position to the outside, must be able to exert a relatively high mechanical torque on the support.

Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to use a conveying device having a displaceable portion with a relatively small mass and / or a rotatable portion with a relatively small moment of inertia so that the information carrier is transported to and from the scanning position to the outside. Thereby, there is provided a disc changer and an information disc reproducing apparatus of the type described in the above, in which the information carrier can be transferred to and out of the scanning position by an actuator which applies only a relatively small mechanical force or torque. Is in.

In order to achieve the above object, the disc changer according to the present invention has a closed stop guide track in which the disc changer receives and guides a plurality of information carriers, the guide track being in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and the conveying direction. Has a width that matches the diameter of the information carrier when viewed in a direction, and when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, the guide track is rotated about the guide track to engage the outer periphery of the information carrier, It is characterized in that each boundary is made by a drive member for rotating the information carrier along the rotating track by the engagement of the.

In order to achieve this object, the information disc reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the disc changer used therein is the disc changer according to the present invention.

In the disc changer according to the present invention, a plurality of information carriers are supported by a stop guide track. Since the width of the guide track is approximately equal to the diameter of the information carrier, the information carrier fits tightly with little tolerance between the rotating track and the drive member, so that the information carrier engages the rotation track by engaging the drive member with the outer periphery of the information carrier. It can be rotated by the drive member accordingly. Since the guiding track is closed, the guiding track is almost completely filled with the information carrier, and the information carrier can be conveyed with respect to the guiding track without interruption in the conveying direction or in the opposite direction of the conveying direction. Since the guide track and the rotating track constitute the stationary part of the disc changer, the mass of the displaceable part of the disc changer and / or the moment of inertia of the rotatable part is relatively small, so that the information carrier exerts a relatively small mechanical force or torque. It can be conveyed to the injection position by means of and can be transferred to the outside from the injection position.

A particular embodiment of the disc changer according to the invention is characterized in that an electric motor is rotatable about an axis of rotation coincident with a common central axis of the guide track and the rotating track, the guide track being annular and the rotating track being circular. It characterized by having a roller that can be driven by. In this particular embodiment, a very simple configuration of the disc changer is obtained. Since the drive member has the above mentioned roller, the drive member also has a very simple configuration and a very low moment of inertia.

Another embodiment of the disc changer according to the invention is characterized in that the roller has an annular support surface extending across the axis of rotation for engaging the outer periphery of the main side of the information carrier. Since the annular support surface is provided on the roller, the information carrier is mainly rotated by the engagement of the roller with the roller and the outer periphery of the main side of the information carrier and with little or no engagement between the outer periphery of the information carrier and the roller. Is rotated along. Thus, the information carrier does not need to be fitted very closely between the rotary track and the drive member in order to obtain the required engagement between the information carrier, the rotary track and the drive member. As a result, the width of the guide track does not need to be very precise, and the loading and detachment of the information carrier to or from the disc changer to the outside becomes easy.

Another embodiment of the disc changer according to the invention is provided with an annular support surface for engaging the guide track with the main side of the information carrier, the rotating track having a cylindrical rotating surface for engaging the outer periphery of the information carrier. The support surface of the guiding track extends perpendicular to the axis of rotation and is bounded by the rotary track, and the rotating surface of the rotary track extends perpendicular to the support surface of the guide track. As a result of the engagement of the outer periphery of the information carrier and the rotating surface of the rotating track, good rotational characteristics of the information carrier along the guide track are achieved without any slippage, so that a reliable operation of the disc changer is obtained. As a result of said engagement of said outer periphery of the information carrier and said rotating surface of said rotating track and said engagement of said main side of said information carrier and said support surface of said guide track, The position is obtained in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction.

A particular embodiment of the disc changer according to the invention consists of a cylindrical depression in which a guide track and a rotating track are installed in the main frame of the disc changer, the guide track being formed by the bottom of the depression, and the rotating track is a side wall of the depression. And a roller is rotatably journaled to the bottom. In this way, since the guide track and the rotating track are formed very simply, the configuration of the disc changer is further simplified.

Another embodiment of the disc changer according to the invention is characterized in that the disc changer comprises a detector system for detecting the presence of the information carrier in the scanning position. In the disc changer according to the invention, it is generally not possible to determine the position and scanning position of the information carrier in the conveying direction with respect to the guide track as a function of the position of the drive member. As a result of using the detector system described above, the presence of the information carrier at the scanning position can be detected irrespective of the position of the driving member, and thus it can be detected whether the information carrier is at the correct position to be scanned.

Another embodiment of the disc changer according to the invention is characterized in that the detector system comprises two photo detectors configured to detect the outer periphery of the information carrier present at the scanning position. As a result of using the two photodetectors described above, reliable and precise detection of the presence of the information carrier at the scanning position is achieved.

A particular embodiment of the information disc reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the guide track, the rotating track and the drive member of the disc changer are at least at the outside of the housing from an operating position at which the drawer retracts into the housing of the information disc reproducing apparatus. It is characterized in that it is installed in the drawer of the information disc reproducing apparatus which is displaceable to a loading position where a part is present. This facilitates loading of the information carrier to the information disc player and detachment of the information carrier from the information disc player to the outside.

According to another embodiment of the information disc reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, wherein the guide track and the rotating track of the disc changer used therein are formed in a cylindrical depression provided inside the main frame of the disc changer, the depression of the disc changer is provided in the drawer. Characterized in that installed. According to this, an information disc reproducing apparatus having a very simple configuration can be obtained.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

1 schematically shows an information disc reproducing apparatus according to the present invention,

Fig. 2 shows a disc changer according to the present invention used inside the information disc player of Fig. 1,

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-II of FIG. 2,

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 2,

Figure 5 schematically shows another embodiment of a disc changer according to the present invention.

The information disc reproducing apparatus according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1 has a housing 1 having an opening 5 and a front face 3 for housing the control panel 7. The information disc reproducing apparatus has a stack in which the drawer 9 is at least partially out of the housing 1 from an operating position 11 at which the drawer 9 retracts into the interior of the housing 1 through the opening 9. It is further provided with a drawer 9 displaceable into position 13. To this end, the drawer 9 shown in detail in FIG. 2 is provided with two straight guide members 15 and 17 such that the drawer 9 is guided along two straight guide members of the housing 1 not shown in the drawing. do. The information disc reproducing apparatus further comprises a driving means for displacing the drawer 9 into and out of the housing 1, which drive means, likewise not shown in the figure, is rotatably journaled relative to the housing 1. And a toothed rack mounted to the bottom face 19 of the drawer 9 for engaging a toothed wheel, for example driven using an electric motor.

As shown in Fig. 2, the information disc reproducing apparatus is provided on the drawer 9, and accommodates a plurality of disc-shaped information carriers, and in the illustrated embodiment, three CDs 23a, 23b, and 23c. Selectively transports the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c into and out of the scanning position 25 which can be scanned by the scanning device 27 of the information disc reproducing apparatus in the manner described below. It is provided with a disc changer 21 according to the invention which is used to. According to the invention, the disc changer 21 comprises a closed or circulating guide track 29 which is stationary with respect to the drawer 9 and has a conveying direction X. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the guide track 29 has an annular shape and is stationary with respect to the drawer 9, like the drive member 31, as seen in the radial direction perpendicular to the conveying direction X. It is bounded by a circular rotating track 33 which surrounds the guide track 29 concentrically. As shown in FIG. 3, the drive member 31 is a roller 35 rotatable about a rotation axis 37 substantially coinciding with the common central axis 39 of the guide track 29 and the rotation track 33. It is provided. The roller 35 can be driven using the electric motor 41 via a plurality of gear wheels 43, 45, which are mounted on the bottom face 19 of the drawer 9. The roller 35 has an annular support surface 47 extending across the axis of rotation 37. The guide track 29 has an annular support surface 49 which extends almost perpendicular to the axis of rotation 37. The support surface 49 of the guide track 29 is bounded by the cylindrical rotating surface 51 of the rotary track 33 extending almost perpendicular to the support surface 49 of the guide track 29.

In the stacking position 13 of the drawer 9 shown in FIG. 1, the disc changer 21 can be easily accessed by the user of the information disc reproducing apparatus, and the plurality of information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c can be used by the user. Can be stored in the guide track 29 of the disc changer 21. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide track 29 has a width W that substantially matches the diameter D of the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c when viewed in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction X. FIG. 2 and 3, the width W is slightly smaller than the diameter D, so that the outer circumference 53 of the main side 55 of the information carrier 23a, 23b, 23c is rotated. It is supported by the support surface 49 of the guide track 29 near 33, and by the support surface 47 of the roller 35 near the axis of rotation 37. Thus, when the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c are housed in the disc changer 21, the drawer 9 is closed and one of the plurality of information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c, for example, the information carrier. 23b is selected to be played. By driving the roller 35 in the counterclockwise direction Y as shown in FIG. 2, the information carrier 23b is transferred to the scanning position 25. Thereafter, the support surface 47 of the roller 35 is engaged with the outer periphery 53 of the information carrier 23a, 23b, 23c under the influence of friction, so that the three information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c together rotate the track. Rotated by roller 35 along rotating surface 51 of 33, the rotating surface 51 engages the outer periphery 55 of information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c. As a result, the three information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c are guided together along the guide track 29 and transported in the transport direction X, so that starting from the state shown in FIG. 2, the information carrier 23a is in the scanning position 25 ) Is transferred to the outside, and the information carrier 23b is transferred into the scanning position 25. To increase the friction between the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c and the support surface 47 of the roller 35, and to prevent slippage between the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c and the support surface 47, The roller 35 with the supporting surface 470 can be made of, for example, rubber so that a reliable operation of the disc changer 21 can be achieved. Since the cylindrical rotating surface 51 is engaged with the outer periphery 55 of the 23b, 23c, the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction X with little slipping can be accurately obtained. Even without a prescribed position, good rotational characteristics of the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c are obtained along the rotating track 33. By providing, for example, a rubber layer on the rotating surface 51 of the rotating track 33, The rotational characteristics of the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c along the rotary track 33 can be further improved.

The drive member 31 constitutes the only main part of the disc changer 21 according to the invention which is rotatable with respect to the drawer 9, the disc changer 21 being able to displace any further main part which is displaceable with respect to the drawer 9. Don't have Since the drive member 31 has only a relatively small moment of inertia with respect to the axis of rotation 37, it must be applied by the electric motor 41 to rotate the drive member 312 and to transport the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c. Since the mechanical torque is significantly reduced, the motor 41 can have a relatively small form. Since the main part of the disc changer 21 according to the present invention is composed of the guide track 29, the rotary track 33 and the drive member 31, the disc changer 21 has a simple configuration. In the configuration of the disc changer 21 shown in FIG. 2, the guide track 29 is formed of the bottom wall 57 of the cylindrical depression 59 provided on the upper surface 61 of the drawer 9, and the rotary track ( 33 is formed by the side wall 63 of the depression 59, and is further simplified in that the roller 35 is rotatably supported inside the bottom wall 57 using the journal 65. Thus, the drawer 9 constitutes the main frame of the disc changer.

In the disc changer 21 according to the present invention, it is generally possible to determine the position of the conveying direction X of the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c as a function of the angular position of the drive member 31. Not. Thus, as schematically shown in FIG. 2, the disc changer 21 further comprises a detector system 67 which allows the presence of the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c at the scanning position 25 to be detected. do. The detector system 67 opposes the outer periphery 53 of the information carrier 23a, 23b, 23c when the information carrier 23a, 23b, 23c is present at the correct position to be scanned by the scanning device 27. Two photo detectors 69, 71 are provided at two positions on the support surface 49 of the guide track 29. As shown in Fig. 2, when the information carriers 23a, 23b and 23c are in the scanning position 25, the photo detectors 69 and 71 are arranged around the outer periphery 55 of the information carriers 23a, 23b and 23c. Because it is arranged very close to), precise and reliable detection of the presence of this information carrier 23a, 23b, 23c at the scanning position 25 is possible. Only when the two detectors 69, 71 detect the presence of one outer peripheral portion 53 of the plurality of information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c, the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c are the scanning device 27. It is considered to be in the correct position to be scanned by, and the drive member 31 stops. At this time, the outer peripheral portion 53 of the information carrier (23a, 23b, 23c) may include optically detectable data for the information present on the information carrier (23a, 23b, 23c), the detector (69, 71) May be used to detect information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c that are specifically selected for reproduction.

As schematically shown in FIG. 4, the information disc reproducing apparatus further includes a turntable 73 which is rotatable about an axis of rotation 75 using an electric motor 77. The moto 77 and the turntable 73 are mounted on the shelf 9 so as to be displaceable in opposite directions Z and Z 'perpendicular to the support surface 49 of the guide track 29 using a drive not shown in FIG. Supported by fastened support arms 79. When the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c are being moved along the guide track 29, the turntable 73 is at a position below the support surface 49, so that the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c are guided. It can move freely along the track 29. When the detectors 69, 71 detect the presence of selected information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c at the scanning position 25, the turntable 73 is through an opening 81 present in the support surface 49. As it is lifted up, the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c present at the scanning position 25 are lifted up from the support surface 49 and supported by the turntable 73. The scanning device 27 is mounted in the drawer 9 and has an optical scanning device 83 which is commonly used in an optical disc reproducing apparatus and may have a form not shown in detail in FIG. The injection device 83 is provided on the sliding member 85 which is displaceable in radial directions R and R 'opposite to the rotational axis 75 of the turntable 73 using the displacement portion 87 mounted on the drawer 9. Is mounted on. In order to scan the information present on the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c at the scanning position 25, the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c are turnedtable around the rotational axis 75 of the turntable 73. 73, and at the same time, since the injection device 83 is displaced in the radial directions R, R 'by the displacement portion 87, the injection device 83 is placed on the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c. Follow the existing spiral information track.

The width W of the guide track 29 is slightly smaller than the diameter D of the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c, and the outer peripheral portion 53 of the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c has a support surface 47 of the roller 35. Since it is supported by, the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c do not need to be fitted very tightly between the rotary track 33 and the drive member 31. As a result, the information carriers 23a, 23b, and 23c can be loaded into the disc changer 21 and detached from the disc changer to the outside without much effort, and the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c are also driven by the driving member ( 31) can be conveyed smoothly. Moreover, since the width W of the guide track 29 does not have to be very precise, the manufacturing process of the disc changer 21 becomes simpler. At this time, it should be noted that the present invention also encompasses an embodiment of a disc changer in which a plurality of information carriers rotate using their outer periphery along a rotating track, and the drive member also engages with the outer periphery of the information carrier. However, in this embodiment, the guide track has a width almost equal to the diameter of the information carrier since the information carrier must be fitted with little tolerance between the rotary track and the drive member in order to achieve the correct operation of the disc changer. Must have Thus, the expression "outer peripheral part of the information carrier" of claim 1 includes both the outer peripheral part 53 and the outer peripheral edge 55 of the information carrier as described above.

Since the guide track 29 is closed, the guide track 29 can be almost completely filled with a plurality of information carriers, and even when the guide track 29 is almost completely filled, the information carrier is circulated with respect to the guide track 29. In this way it can be transported without interruption. At this time, it should be noted that the drive member 31 is rotated in the clockwise direction Y, so that the information carriers 23a, 23b, 23c may be conveyed in the transport direction X 'opposite to the transport direction X. Such a configuration is meaningful, for example, when the information carrier 23c is to be transferred to the scanning position 25 starting from the state shown in FIG.

Moreover, it should be noted that the present invention also encompasses embodiments of a disc changer in which a larger number of information carriers can be stored inside the disc changer. Examples of such an embodiment include a disc guide having an annular guide track having an outer radius significantly larger than the diameter of the information carrier and a roller having an outer diameter significantly larger than the diameter of the roller 35 of the disc changer 21 shown in FIG. 2. The example provided with the drive member which has is mentioned. Another example of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 5. Another embodiment of the disc changer 89 shown in FIG. 5 is an endless arrangement disposed around an elliptic stationary rotary track 93 and two drive wheels 99 and 101 when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction X. FIG. An elliptical stop guide track 91 bounded by an elliptical drive member 95 having a top drive belt 97 is provided. Due to the egg shape of the guide track 91, up to eight information carriers 103 can be housed inside the disc changer 89. Note that the above-described disc changers 21 and 89 may be filled with a smaller number of information carriers 23 and 103 than the maximum number of information carriers (three and eight, respectively).

Moreover, the present invention is not only an embodiment of the disc changer in which the rotary track is installed on the inner surface of the guide track, and the drive member is installed outside the guide track, but also the rotary track and / or the drive member described above. Note that the embodiments of the disc changer having other configurations and / or forms besides are also encompassed.

Finally, the present invention not only encompasses a disc changer used in an information disc reproducing apparatus for reading and / or recording an optical information disc, but also a magneto-optical information disc scanned by an appropriate scanning apparatus of the information disc reproducing apparatus, Note that it also encompasses a disc changer used in a magnetic information disc or an information disc reproducing apparatus for reading and / or recording any type of information disc.

Claims (10)

A disc changer for storing a plurality of information carriers in the form of a disc and transferring the information carrier to or from the scanning position, the disc changer having a closed stop guide track for receiving and guiding the plurality of information carriers. The guide track has a width that matches the diameter of the information carrier when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction and the transport direction, and when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, the guide track engages with the outer periphery of the information carrier. And a rotational track stationary relative to the guide track and a drive member for rotating the information carrier along the rotational track by engagement with the outer circumference. The method of claim 1, The guide track is formed in an annular shape, the rotating track is circular, and the driving member has a roller rotatable about an axis of rotation coincident with the common central axis of the guide track and the rotating track, the roller being driven by an electric motor. Disc changer. The method of claim 2, Disc changer, characterized in that the roller has an annular support surface extending across the axis of rotation for engaging the outer periphery of the main side of the information carrier. The method of claim 2, The guide track has an annular support surface for engaging the main side of the information carrier, the rotating track having a cylindrical rotating surface for engaging the outer periphery of the information carrier, the support surface of the guide track extending perpendicular to the axis of rotation. And bounded by a rotating track, the rotating surface of the rotating track extending perpendicular to the support surface of the guide track. The method of claim 4, wherein The guide track and the rotating track consist of a cylindrical depression installed in the main frame of the disc changer, the guide track is formed with the bottom of the depression, the rotation track is formed with the side wall of the depression, and the roller is rotatable on the bottom. Disc changer characterized in that it is journaled. The method of claim 1, And a disc changer having a detector system for detecting the presence of an information carrier at a scanning position. The method of claim 6, And the detector system comprises two photo detectors configured to detect the outer periphery of the information carrier present at the scanning position. A disc changer for receiving a plurality of disc-shaped information carriers and transferring the information carriers to or from the scanning position, a turntable rotatable about an axis of rotation for supporting and rotating the information carrier at the scanning position, and the scanning position An information disc reproducing apparatus comprising a scanning device for scanning an information carrier, wherein the disc changer is a disc changer according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7. The method of claim 8, The guide track, the rotating track and the drive member of the disc changer are displaceable from an operating position in which the drawer retracts into the housing of the information disc reproducing apparatus, to a loading position in which the drawer is at least partially outside the housing. An information disc player, characterized in that installed in the drawer. The method of claim 9, An information disc reproducing apparatus comprising the disc changer according to claim 5, wherein a depression of the disc changer is provided inside the drawer.