WO1998008221A1

WO1998008221A1 - Disc changer

Info

Publication number: WO1998008221A1
Application number: PCT/GB1997/001974
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alan James Black
Original assignee: Sound Leisure Limited
Priority date: 1996-08-16
Filing date: 1997-07-22
Publication date: 1998-02-26
Also published as: GB9617193D0

Abstract

Apparatus for lifting a selected disc from a substantially horizontally disposed storage means in which a number of discs are stored on edge, side by side, and transferring the lifted disc between said storage means and another location, such as the disc player, the apparatus including a disc lift member arranged for controlled movement with respect to said disc storage means, wherein said lift member includes retaining means adapted to engage with the selected disc upon substantially vertical movement of said lift member away from said disc storage means.

Description

DISC CHANGER

The present invention relates to apparatus for automatically lifting a selected disc such as a compact disc (CD) from a storage rack and transferring it to for example the disc player, in a disc playing machine such as a CD juke box.

Known CD lifting apparatus designs are based either upon the "grip" principle, whereby the CD is gripped by a pair of diametrically opposed arms, or (in the case of CDs stacked in vertical columns) upon the principle of a horizontal platform which slides in beneath the selected CD and supports it in a substantially horizontal position. The former has disadvantages in terms of wear and possible deformation of the CDs, and the latter is not applicable to CD storage systems other than vertical columns.

The present invention relates in particular to apparatus for use with discs stored on edge, side by side, in a horizontally disposed rack, and seeks to provide such apparatus which does not risk distortion or wear of the disc.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for lifting a selected disc from a substantially horizontally disposed storage means in which a number of discs are stored on edge, side by side, and transferring the lifted disc between said storage means and another location, such as the disc player, the apparatus including a disc lift member arranged for controlled movement with respect to said disc storage means, wherein said lift member includes retaining means adapted to engage with the selected disc upon substantially vertical movement of said lift member away from said disc storage means.

Conveniently, the disc lift member is mounted for controlled movement along a substantially vertically disposed first slide means, said first slide means being mounted for controlled movement along a substantially horizontally disposed second slide means.

Conveniently, said controlled movement of the disc lift member and said first slide means is achieved by means of vertical and horizontal stepper motors, respectively.

Preferably, said controlled movement of the disc lift member and first slide means is under the control of a microprocessor which is programmed to accept a user's selection of one or more discs .

In the preferred embodiment, the disc lift member is generally arcuate in shape, defining an angle of approximately 270 degrees, with the free ends of the arc terminating in retaining lugs which protrude inwardly towards a disc to be held within the arcuate lift member.

Preferably, the disc lift member includes a clamp mechanism for locking the disc in place during transfer. This conveniently takes the form of a clamp lever extending generally horizontally across the top portion of the lift member, pivotally mounted to the lift member at one end of the clamp and including a disc engaging lug approximately half way along the clamp. The free end of the clamp engages with a substantially horizontal ledge which is either provided separately or protrudes from the second slide means, such that when the clamp is engaged with the ledge the lug is not in contact with the disc, but engages with the disc as the clamp arm pivots downwards under gravity as the disc lift member moves upwards and the free end of the clamp becomes disengaged with the ledge.

With this additional mechanism, the disc is held by a total of three lugs, which is sufficient to avoid the disc falling out of the lift member should the apparatus accidentally be jolted during operation of the lift member. In use, the "rest" position of the lift member is the lowermost position with respect to the first slide means, wherein the pair of retaining lugs forming the lowermost edge of the member are below centre of the discs held in the storage means. The first slide means is then caused to move horizontally along said second slide means, "scanning" the discs in the storage means, until the lift member is directly over the selected disc, with the retaining lugs located below the centre of the disc.

Once in this position, the lift member is caused to move vertically upwards along said first slide means, and although during the initial phase of this movement the selected disc remains in the storage means, the retaining lugs (and in the preferred embodiment the disc engaging lug attached to the clamp arm) will subsequently engage with the disc, the latter simply resting on the retaining lugs under gravitational influence, and the disc is thus retained in the disc lift member whilst the latter is caused to move towards an uppermost position on said first slide member, whereupon the first slide member is caused to move along said second slide member, carrying the disc above the remaining discs in the storage means, until the selected disc is above the disc player, or other desired location.

The sequence of events just described is then carried out in reverse order, to transfer the selected disc to its required location, and then repeated to return the disc to its original position in the storage means.

Because the disc is held in the lift member only by the action of gravity and the retaining lugs, there is no risk of damaging the disc as with conventional gripper arms. The simple design also has fewer moving parts and is therefore relatively straightforward to manufacture and maintain.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a machine for automatically selecting and playing/reading a plurality of discs, the machine including substantially horizontally disposed disc storage means in which a number of discs are stored on edge, side by side, a disc player, a disc lift member arranged for controlled movement with respect to said disc storage means, wherein said lift member includes retaining means adapted to engage with the selected disc upon substantially vertical movement of said lift member away from said disc storage means, and control means for controlling the movement of said disc lift member in response to a predetermined disc selection.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: -

Figure 1 is an end view of part of the apparatus according to the present invention,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1,

Figure 3 illustrates the first slide means and disc lift member,

Figure 4 illustrates the second slide means and disc lift member,

Figure 5 illustrates the disc lift member in the "down" position with respect to the first slide means,

Figure 6 illustrates the disc lift member in the "up" position with respect to the first slide means,

Figure 7 is a schematic plan view of apparatus according to the present invention, and

Figures 8 & 9 illustrate the principle of operation of the clamp arm in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, apparatus 10 according to the present invention comprises a horizontally disposed CD storage rack 2 for storage of up to eighty CDs, each CD being held vertically with their lower edge portions being held in individual slots, and an arcuate disc lift member 6 mounted for controlled sliding movement up and down a first vertically disposed slide means 7. Attached to the base of vertical slide 7 is a coupling block 8 with two holes 8a, 8b therein. The vertical slide 7 is mounted on a second, horizontally disposed slide means 12 which comprises two parallel rods 12a, 12b which pass through holes 8a, 8b in coupling block 8. In the "rest" position, the lift member 6 is in its lowest position at the base of first slide 7, wherein the lift member is able to move up and down the rack of CDs with the pair of retaining lugs being below centre of the CDs held in the rack.

The motion of the disc lift member 6 with respect to the first slide 7 and the motion of the first slide 7 with respect to the second slide 12 are controlled by vertical and horizontal stepping motors 7a, 12c respectively, these stepping motors being under the control of a microprocessor (not shown) which directs the disc lift member to a particular, pre-selected CD.

The disc lift member 6 includes a pair of lugs 6a, 6b, located at t^'he lowermost edges of the arcuate lift member, such that an imaginary line drawn between them passes below the centre of the CD to be held therein.

As can be seen in Figures 5 and 6, once the lift member 6 is positioned around the edges of the selected CD, having first "scanned" over the CDs in the rack, the lift member is driven up the first slide means 7 by stepping motor 7a, until it reaches the top. During this lift procedure, the CD drops slightly under its own weight until the edges of the CD engage lugs 6a, 6b, which serve to retain the CD within the lift member 6 .

Then, first slide means 7 is driven along second slide 12 until the lift member with the selected CD held therein is above the CD player 4 with its associated clamp arm 5, whereupon the lift member is lowered along first slide 7, transferring the CD to the turntable.

The lift member 6 then picks up the CD from the turn table in the same way as previously described, and travels horizontally along the second slide 12 until above the place from which the CD was lifted, then travels vertically down slide 7, returning the CD to its original position.

The procedure is then repeated, as required and as preprogrammed into the microprocessor control unit, giving continuous and automatic operation.

In order to hold the CD more positively within the lift member during transfer, a clamp lever 20 is pivoted at 21 to the lift member at an upper corner thereof, the lever having a first generally arcuate section terminating in a generally horizontal end portion 22. End portion 22 is adapted to engage with operating means, such as a horizontally extending ledge 24 when in the lowermost or "scanning" position but to be released therefrom when the lift member 6 slides up the first slide 7. Once free from the ledge, the clamp lever 20 drops under gravity until disc engaging lug 23 comes into contact with the CD, such that the disc is now held not only by the pair of retaining lugs 6a, 6b, but also by the lug 23.

It should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to CDs and CD players, but encompasses within its scope other systems such as vinyl records, optical discs, data discs and the like.

Claims

1. Apparatus for lifting a selected disc from a substantially horizontally disposed storage means in which a number of discs are stored on edge, side by side, and transferring the lifted disc between said storage means and another location, such as the disc player, the apparatus including a disc lift member arranged for controlled movement with respect to said disc storage means, wherein said lift member includes retaining means adapted to engage with the selected disc upon substantially vertical movement of said lift member away from said disc storage means.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the disc lift member is mounted for controlled movement along a substantially vertically disposed first slide means, said first slide means being mounted for controlled movement along a substantially horizontally disposed second slide means.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein said controlled movement of the disc lift member and said first slide means is achieved by means of vertical and horizontal stepper motors, respectively.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein said controlled movement of the disc lift member and first slide means is under the control of a microprocessor which is programmed to accept a user's selection of one or more discs.

5. Apparatus according to any of the preceding Claim, wherein the disc lift member is generally arcuate in shape, defining an angle of approximately 270 degrees, with the free ends of the arc terminating in retaining lugs which protrude inwardly towards a disc to be held within the arcuate lift member.

6. Apparatus according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the disc lift member includes a clamp mechanism for locking the disc in place during transfer.

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6, wherein the clamp mechanism comprises a clamp lever extending generally horizontally across the top portion of the lift member, pivotally mounted to the lift member at one end of the clamp and including a disc engaging lug approximately half way along the clamp.

8. A machine for automatically selecting and playing/reading a plurality of discs, the machine including substantially horizontally disposed disc storage means in which a number of discs are stored on edge, side by side, a disc player, a disc lift member arranged for controlled movement with respect to said disc storage means, wherein said lift member includes retaining means adapted to engage with the selected disc upon substantially vertical movement of said lift member away from said disc storage means, and control means for controlling the movement of said disc lift member in response to a predetermined disc selection.