WO2013027435A1

WO2013027435A1 - Optical disk storage magazine and disk changer

Info

Publication number: WO2013027435A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/058211
Authority: WO
Inventors: 田中　和明; 吉田　隆; 川前　治; 俊夫上村
Original assignee: 日立コンシューマエレクトロニクス株式会社
Priority date: 2011-08-23
Filing date: 2012-03-28
Publication date: 2013-02-28
Also published as: JP2013045477A

Abstract

Provided are a thin magazine that stores multiple optical disks, and a high-speed, compact, large-capacity, highly reliable disk changer that takes out an optical disk from the magazine and performs recording/playback. This disk changer utilizes a magazine (2) that can be mounted on the device main unit in a removable manner, said magazine (2) being divided by means of divider plates (4) so as to store multiple optical disks (5). The magazine (2) is provided with belts (8) that are stretched across rollers (9, 12) and that are brought into contact with the optical disks (5) in order to transfer the optical disks. The disk changer operates such that the belts (8) are rotated by a drive gear (17) of a roller (9) that is connected to an external drive gear (18) in order to take out the optical disks (5) by means of rotational transfer. Among the optical disks (5) taken out, the optical disk (5) that faces a slit (36) of a disk regulation plate (35) passes through the slit (36), and the other optical disks (5) hit the disk regulation plate (35) and stop. The optical disk (5) passed through the slit (36) is caught between disk transfer rollers (50, 51) and transferred to a drive (60) for recording/playback.

Description

Optical disc storage magazine and disc changer

The present invention relates to a magazine for storing a plurality of optical disks that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body, and a disk changer for taking out optical disks from the magazine and recording or reproducing data.

There is Patent Literature 1 as a magazine storing a plurality of such optical discs and a disc changer for recording and reproducing the same. Patent Document 1 discloses a disc changer comprising a stocker that holds the outer peripheral portion of a disc and stores a plurality of discs, and disc transport means that sandwiches and transports the outer peripheral surface of the disc from the stocker to a recording / reproducing apparatus.

JP 08-87810 A

Since the disk changer described in Patent Document 1 holds and takes out the outer peripheral surface of one disk in the stocker, it is necessary to widen the interval between adjacent disks. Therefore, in the stocker, there is a problem that it is not possible to store the disks at high density by narrowing the interval between adjacent disks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. A magazine that can store a disk at a high density by narrowing the interval between adjacent disks, and an optical disk is taken out from the magazine and data is recorded or reproduced for access. Aims to provide a small, high-capacity disk changer with high speed.

To achieve the above objective,
2. The optical disk storage magazine according to claim 1, wherein the optical disk storage magazine is an optical disk storage magazine that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus body. The optical disk storage magazine stores a plurality of optical disks, and the optical disk storage magazine stores the plurality of optical disks stored therein. A disk control belt provided with a disk transport belt that rotates in contact with the outer peripheral side surface, the disk changer provided with a slit through which only one optical disk can pass through the optical disk storage magazine at a position facing the optical disk entrance and exit; A recording / reproducing device for recording / reproducing the optical disk is provided to oppose the position of the disk conveying roller, and a recording / reproducing device for recording / reproducing the optical disk to oppose the position of the disk conveying roller. When the optical disc storage Of the plurality of optical disks taken out from the gadget by rotating with the disk transport belt, the optical disks that have passed through the slits are transported to the recording / reproducing apparatus with the disk transport rollers, and the other optical disks are When the optical disk is stored, the optical disk ejected from the recording / reproducing device is transported by the disk transport roller and passed through the slit and transported to the optical disk storage magazine. The optical disk storage magazine is configured to be rotationally transported by the disk transport belt and stored in the optical disk storage magazine. This is effective in increasing storage capacity, speeding up disk replacement, and reducing size and thickness.

3. The disk changer according to claim 1, wherein the disk changer is provided with a moving table on which the disk control plate, the disk conveying roller, and the recording / reproducing device are mounted and moved in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the optical disk conveying path. And the disk control plate, the disk transport roller, and the recording / reproducing device are positioned at the position of the optical disk of the optical disk storage magazine. Accordingly, there is an effect that all the optical disks stored in the optical disk storage magazine can be recorded / reproduced by the recording / reproducing apparatus.
5. The disk changer according to claim 1, wherein the disk changer includes a disk control plate provided with a plurality of slits facing the optical disk entrance / exit of the optical disk storage magazine, and a plurality of disk transport rollers facing the position of the slits. A plurality of the recording / reproducing devices opposed to the position of the disk conveying roller, moving the moving table and moving the moving table to the position of the optical disk in the optical disk storage magazine, the disk conveying roller, and the recording The reproducing apparatus is positioned. This is effective in increasing the recording / reproducing speed by the parallel operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus.

4. The disc changer according to claim 3, wherein the optical disc storage interval of the optical disc storage magazine is Mp, and the arrangement intervals Dp of the plurality of recording / reproducing devices are (integer × Mp) + Mp / 2. And As a result, there is no need to move a disk control plate having a single slit at the position of the optical disk, which is effective in speeding up disk replacement and reducing the size and thickness.
5. The disc changer according to claim 3, wherein the number of the optical discs stored in the optical disc storage magazine is k and the number of the recording / reproducing devices is k. The recording / reproducing apparatus that performs recording / reproduction by sharing the optical disk in units of / m, and the upper limit of the moving range of the moving table at the lowest position is the k / mth from the lowest position stored in the optical disk storage magazine. The recording / reproducing device having the lower limit of the moving range of the moving table at the uppermost position of the optical disk of the k / mth from the uppermost position stored in the optical disk storage magazine. It is characterized in that it is moved to a position. As a result, recording / reproduction of all optical disks is possible, and the moving range of the moving table can be shortened, which is effective in speeding up disk replacement and reducing the size and thickness.

6. The disk changer according to claim 1, wherein the slits of the disk control plate have a width other than the central part wider than that of the central part. As a result, the contact between the optical disk and the slit can be eliminated, thereby improving the reliability.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the disk changer according to the third to fifth aspects is characterized in that the optical disk is sandwiched and transported between adjacent rollers of a plurality of disk transport rollers. As a result, the number of rollers can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the disk changer according to the first to seventh aspects, a brush is brought into contact with the optical disk and the disk transport roller to remove dust. As a result, dust attached to the optical disk can be removed, which has the effect of reducing read / write errors.

The disc changer according to claim 1 is characterized in that dust is removed by blowing air to the optical disc and the disc transport roller. As a result, dust attached to the optical disk can be removed, which has the effect of reducing read / write errors.
10. The disk changer according to claim 1, wherein the disk changer according to any one of claims 1 to 9 detects a through hole in a central portion of the disk control plate, a contact protruding from the through hole into the through hole, and a moving distance of the contact. A detector is provided, and the presence or absence of the optical disk is detected from a change in the moving distance of the contact by pressing the side surface of the optical disk fed from the optical disk storage magazine against the protrusion of the contact. Thus, the presence / absence of an optical disk stored in the optical disk storage magazine can be detected, so that there is an effect of detecting a malfunction and eliminating an erroneous operation.

According to the present invention, an optical disk can be stored in the magazine at a high density, and further, the time for transporting the optical disk to the disk changer can be reduced.

FIG. 3 shows an external view of a disk changer 1 and a magazine 2 in Embodiment 1. The top view which looked at the magazine 2 of FIG. 1 from the arrow A direction is shown. The side view of the disk changer 1 and the magazine 2 in Example 1 and 2 is shown. The side view of the disk control board 35 in Example 3 is shown. The side view of the

disc conveyance rollers

50 and 51 in Example 4 is shown. The side view as a 1st example of the dust removal method of the optical disk 5 and the

disk conveyance rollers

50 and 51 in Example 5 is shown. The side view as a 2nd example of the dust removal method of the optical disk 5 and the

disk conveyance rollers

50 and 51 in Example 5 is shown. The side view as a 3rd example of the dust removal method of the optical disk 5 and the

disk conveyance rollers

50 and 51 in Example 5 is shown. The disk accommodation detection sensor 102 in Example 6 and the side view of its periphery are shown. FIG. 10 is a plan view of the disk storage detection sensor 102 and its periphery as viewed from above in FIG. 9. The top view in the insertion or discharge | emission state of the optical disk 5 in the drive 60 of FIG. 1 is shown. The top view in the recording / reproducing state of the optical disk 5 in the drive 60 of FIG. 1 is shown. The block diagram in the control system of the disk changer 1 of FIG. 1 is shown. The timing chart of the operation | movement in the disc changer 1 of FIG. 1 is shown.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 and 11 to 14 show an embodiment of a thin magazine containing a plurality of optical discs according to the present invention and a high-speed access, small and large-capacity disc changer for taking out an optical disc from the magazine for recording and reproduction. I will explain.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a disk changer 1 and a magazine 2 according to the first embodiment. However, FIG. 1 shows only one of the plurality of stored optical disks 5 and shows a state in which the optical disk is partially ejected outside the magazine 2.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the magazine 2 of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the disk changer 1 and the magazine 2 in Embodiment 1 (and Embodiment 2 described later), and odd-numbered

optical disks

5a, 5c, 5e, and 5g one by one from the magazine 2 in FIG. A state in which the discs are sequentially ejected and conveyed to four drives 60a to 60d for recording / reproducing the optical disc is shown.

FIG. 11 shows a plan view of the optical disc 5 inserted or ejected in the drive 60 of FIG.
FIG. 12 is a plan view of the optical disc 5 in the recording / reproducing state in the drive 60 of FIG.
FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the control system of the disk changer 1 of FIG. 1. The upper control unit 100, the control unit 101 of the changer 1, the magazine 2, the disk control plate 35, the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51, the drive 60, and movement Base 104, belt drive motor 103 for driving magazine 2, transport roller drive motor 105 for driving

disk transport rollers

50 and 51, mobile base drive motor 109 for driving mobile base 104, disk storage detection sensor 102, first disk The passage detection sensor 106, the second disk passage detection sensor 107, the disk position detection sensor 108, the changer signal 110 which is a control signal exchanged between the host controller 100 and the controller 101, and between the host controller 100 and the drive 60 Control signal and data signal drive Issue 111, indicated as the control unit 101 each motor, a signal line 112 between the sensors.
FIG. 14 shows a timing chart of the operation in the disk changer 1 of FIG.

In FIG. 1, a disk changer 1 includes a magazine 2 containing a plurality of optical disks 5 (5a to 5h in FIG. 3), a drive 60 (60a to 60d) for recording / reproducing the optical disks 5 taken out from the magazine 2, and a magazine. 2 and the drive 60, the disc control plate 35 that controls the passage and stop of the optical disc 5 and the optical disc 5 that has passed through the slit 36 of the disc control plate 35 are transported to the drive 60, or from the drive 60 to the magazine 2 Drive rollers 50a to 50d and driven rollers 51a to 51d of the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51 to be transported, a first disk passage detection sensor 106 provided between the magazine 2 and the disk control plate 35, and the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51 The second disk passage detection sensor 107 provided between the magazine 2 and the drive 60, and the magazine 2 A disk position detection sensor 108 for detecting the position of the stored optical disk 5, a disk control plate 35,

disk transport rollers

50 and 51, a drive 60, a first disk passage detection sensor 106, and a second disk passage detection sensor 107. And a disk position detection sensor 108 and a moving table 104 that moves up and down. In addition, the optical disk 5 has a clamp hole 6 for fixing to the rotating part, and further has a non-recording area 19 (FIG. 2) in which no data is recorded on the outer peripheral part.

The magazine 2 is configured to be detachable from the disk changer 1. In the magazine 2, partition plates 4a to 4g may be provided, and one optical disk 5a to 5h (FIG. 3) is stored in each of a plurality of rooms partitioned by the partition plate to separate the respective optical disks. May be. Three sides of the partition plates 4 a to 4 g are fixed to the housing 3 except for one side on the entrance / exit 23 side of the optical disk 5. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the part of the partition plate 4 that overlaps the belt 8 is deleted. Instead of the partition plate, an embodiment may be employed in which each optical disk is separated by providing a groove for each optical disk on the side surface of the magazine 2.

In FIG. 2, the belt 8 is hung on the rollers 9 and 12, and is pressed in the direction of the optical disk 5 so that the belt 8 contacts the outer peripheral side surface of the optical disk 5. Both ends of the rotating shaft 10 of the roller 9 are supported by bearings 11 provided on the housing 3. Both ends of the rotating shaft 13 of the roller 12 are supported by bearings 14 attached to the housing 3 so as to be movable in the direction of the optical disk 5. The bearings 14 at both ends of the roller 12 are pressed in the direction of the optical disk 5 by a leaf spring 16. A gear 17 is provided on the rotating shaft of the roller 9, and when the magazine 2 is inserted into the disc changer 1, it is guided by a guide groove 22 provided in the housing 3 and connected to a gear 18 provided in the disc changer 1. Is done.
The housing 3 is provided with guide grooves 22 at positions facing the rollers 9 and 12, and the disc changer 1 is provided with another gear 18, so that the recording surface of the optical disc is in two upper and lower surfaces. In some cases, the magazine 2 may be used upside down.

In FIG. 14, the case where the optical disk 5 is removed from the magazine 2 and the recording / reproducing operation 122 is performed by the drive 60 will be described.
First, the moving table 104 to which the disk control plate 35, the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51, the drive 60, and the

detection sensors

106, 107, 108 are attached is moved by the moving table drive motor 109, and the disk position detection sensor 108 is used. Then, a drive positioning operation 120 for positioning the slit 36 at a position facing the target optical disk 5 of the magazine 2 is performed. Hereinafter, this positioning operation is referred to as drive side movement. The slit 36 of the disk control plate 35, the disk passing positions of the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51, and the doorway 61 of the drive 60 are arranged on a straight line. It is also possible to move a moving table (not shown) to which the magazine 2 and the gear 18 are attached to position the target optical disk 5 and the slit 36 at a position facing each other. Hereinafter, this positioning operation is referred to as magazine side movement. Further, a plurality of combinations of the magazine 2 and the gear 18 can be arranged in the vertical direction. As a result, the storage capacity can be increased and the magazine can be used by sequentially switching, so that there is an effect of seamless recording and reproduction.

Next, in the disk feeding operation 121, the gear 18 is rotated by the belt driving motor 103 to transmit the rotational force to the gear 17 and the belt 8 is rotated. A rotational force is applied from the belt 8 to the optical disks 5a to 5g, and the optical disks 5a to 5g rotate and move in the direction of the entrance / exit 23. When the optical discs 5 a to 5 g ejected from the magazine 2 reach the disc control plate 35, the target optical disc 5 passes through the slit 36 and the other optical discs abut against the disc control plate 35 and stop. The optical disk 5 that has passed through the slit 36 is caught and transported by the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51, taken into the drive 60 through the inlet / outlet 61 of the drive 60, and recording / reproduction is performed. The rotation of the belt 8 is stopped by detecting the time when the optical disk 5 crosses the passage sensor by the light transmission type second disk passage detection sensor 107 provided in the vicinity of the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51. Thereby, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce the damage of the disk due to the contact with the partition plate 4 when the optical disk 5 is idle and the adhesion of the abrasion powder from the housing 3 and the belt 8. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 14, when the optical disk 5 starts to pass through the first disk passage detection sensor 106, the transport roller driving motor 105 is rotated to detect the second disk passage. By controlling so that the conveyance roller drive motor 105 is stopped when the passage of the sensor 107 is completed, there is an effect that wear of the optical disk 5 and the

disk conveyance rollers

50 and 51 can be reduced.

In the case of the disk storing operation 123 for returning the optical disk 5 from the drive 60 to the magazine 2, the optical disk 5 ejected from the drive 60 is transported by being transported by the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51, passed through the slit 36, and inserted into the magazine 2. The The outer peripheral side surface of the optical disk 5 inserted in the magazine 2 is stored in the magazine 2 by contacting the belt 8 and applying rotational force to rotate. At the same time, other optical disks are also rotated and moved by the belt 8 and stored in the magazine 2. The rotation of the belt 8 is detected when all the optical discs 5 have passed the passage sensors by the first light transmission type disc passage detection sensor 106 provided in the vicinity of the entrance / exit 23 of the magazine 2 or all the optical discs. 5 is stopped after a certain time from the time when it is detected that it has passed the passage sensor. Thereby, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce the damage of the disk due to the contact with the partition plate 4 when the optical disk 5 is idle and the adhesion of the abrasion powder from the housing 3 and the belt 8. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 14, when the optical disk 5 starts to pass through the second disk passage detection sensor 107, the conveyance roller driving motor 105 is rotated to detect the second disk passage. By controlling so as to stop when the passage of the sensor 107 is completed, there is an effect that wear of the optical disk 5 and the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51 can be reduced. Further, a gap that is about half the thickness of the optical disk is provided between the driving roller 50 and the driven roller 51 of the disk transport roller.
The disk changer 1 is composed of a magazine 2 storing a plurality of optical disks 5, a disk control plate 35 provided with a plurality of slits 36, a plurality of

disk transport rollers

50 and 51, and a plurality of drives 60. Alternatively, the magazine 2 containing a plurality of optical disks 5, the disk control plate 35 provided with one slit 36, one

disk transport roller

50, 51, and one drive 60 may be used.

In FIG. 2, the description relating to the structure of the magazine 2 is further continued. Description of components having the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 may be omitted.
In FIG. 2, the optical disk 5 is stored in the magazine 2. As described above, in the partition plate 4, three sides of the optical disc 5 except for one side on the entrance / exit 23 side are fixed to the housing 3. Further, the portion of the partition plate 4 that overlaps the belt 8 is deleted. The belt 8 is hung on the roller 9 and the roller 12 and is pressed in the direction of the optical disc 5 so that the belt 8 contacts the outer peripheral side surface of the optical disc 5. Both ends of the rotating shaft 10 of the roller 9 are supported by bearings 11 provided on the housing 3.

Both ends of the rotating shaft 13 of the roller 12 are supported by bearings 14, and the bearings 14 are attached to elongated holes 15 provided in the housing 3 so as to be movable in the direction of the optical disk 5. The bearing 14 of the roller 12 is pressed in the direction of the optical disk 5 by a leaf spring 16 provided on the housing 3. A gear 17 is provided on the rotating shaft of the roller 9, and when the magazine 2 is inserted into the disc changer 1, it is guided by a guide groove 22 provided in the housing 3 and connected to a gear 18 provided in the disc changer 1. Is done. Reference numeral 20 denotes a recess that houses the gear 17 provided in the housing 3. Thus, the gear 17 is housed in the housing 3 and has a structure that does not protrude outside the housing 3. It is also possible to provide a lid that can be opened and closed to close the entrance / exit 23 so that dust does not enter from the entrance / exit 23 of the disk.

Thus, conventionally, since the swing arm mechanism for moving the optical disk by pushing the outer peripheral side surface of the optical disk is provided on the flat surface side of the optical disk, the interval between the optical disks could not be reduced. The distance between the optical disks can be reduced by applying the belt provided on the side to the side surface of the optical disk and moving the optical disk by rotating it, which is effective in reducing the size of the magazine. In addition, since the magazine provided with a gear that rotates the belt provided in the magazine is embedded in the magazine housing, there is an effect that the space between the magazines is not opened when the magazine is stored, so that a large storage space is not taken. Further, the use of the leaf spring 16 which does not take up space for pressing the belt against the optical disk is effective in reducing the size of the magazine.

Next, the configuration and operation of the drive 60 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 11 shows a state where the optical disk 5 is inserted into or ejected from the drive 60.
FIG. 12 shows a recording / reproducing state of the optical disc 5 in the drive 60.
The drive 60 includes a parallel link composed of

links

62, 63, and 64 for mounting the optical disk 5 inserted from the entrance / exit 61 to the spindle motor 90, a guide mechanism composed of

links

71, 76, 82, and 83, and a recording / reproducing mechanism. An optical mechanism 91 is provided. In the figure,

black circles

65, 67, 72, 77, 82, 85 of the link mechanism indicate rotating shafts fixed to the housing.

White circles

66 and 68 indicate connecting shafts.

As shown in FIG. 11, the optical disk 5 inserted from the entrance / exit 61 is guided by the side wall of the link 62 of the parallel link and the groove roller 89 of the link 83, and is guided and moved in the direction of the spindle motor 90 through the clamp hole 6. . The link 83 moves the drive shaft 88 along the link groove 87 and pushes the optical disc 5 toward the spindle motor 90. The link 71 moves the drive shaft 74 along the link groove 75 to retract the groove roller 73. Similarly, the link 76 moves the drive shaft 79 along the link groove 80 to retract the groove roller 78. With this operation, the clamp hole 6 is positioned on the spindle motor 90. Next, the spindle motor 90 moves in the direction of the optical disk 5, and the clamp hole 6 is inserted into the rotating part and fixed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12, the link 64 of the parallel link moves the drive shaft 70 along the link groove 69 and retracts the side walls of the

links

62 and 63 to a position where they do not contact the optical disk 5. Similarly, the

links

71, 76, and 83 are moved, and the

rollers

73, 78, and 89 are retracted to positions that do not contact the optical disk 5, and recording / reproduction is performed. Next, when the optical disk 5 is ejected from the drive 60, the optical disk 5 is ejected from the drive 60 by an operation reverse to the operation of inserting the optical disk 5 described in FIG. This has the effect of providing a thin and small drive.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a belt that contacts the outer peripheral side surface of all optical disks stored in the magazine is provided in the magazine, and all the optical disks are rotated and moved by the rotation of the belt. I made it. As a result, the storage interval of the optical disk can be narrowed, and there is an effect that a small-sized and large-capacity magazine can be provided. In addition, when the user carries the magazine out of the disk changer and carries it, the optical disk is pressed against the housing by the belt 8 pressed by the leaf spring, so that the optical disk does not jump out of the housing and is damaged because it does not move. There is no effect. In addition, the optical disk is stored separated by a partition plate. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the optical disk from falling down and to prevent contact with an adjacent disk. In addition, the optical disc serves as a guide when the optical disc is inserted into the optical disc storage magazine, and there is an effect that the insertion becomes easy.
In addition, the target optical disk is passed through the slit of the disk control plate from the magazine that can be attached to and detached from the main unit and a plurality of optical disks taken out by rotation from the magazine, and the other optical disk is abutted against the disk control plate and stopped. Thus, a disc changer capable of recording and reproducing the target optical disc was constructed. This has the effect of providing a high-speed access and a small and large capacity disk changer.

In addition, in order to eliminate the slip between the belt 8 and the optical disk 5, irregularities can be formed on the surface of the belt 8 on the side in contact with the optical disk 5. Further, in order to eliminate slippage between the belt 8 and the rollers 9 and 12, the rollers 9 and 12 of the belt 8 can be replaced with the toothed belt 8 and the toothed rollers 9 and 10. The optical disk 5 can be a commercially available average thickness of 1.2 mm (maximum thickness portion of about 1.5 mm) and an outer diameter of 120 mm. When a commercially available optical disk is used, the disk storage pitch of the magazine 2 is about 2 mm to 3 mm. The width of the slit 36 is preferably less than twice the thickness Dw of the optical disk of the magazine 2. Further, the interval between the slits 36 of the disk control plate 35 is set larger than “(number of stored disks−1) × disk storage interval” of the magazine 2. When only one surface of the optical disk is used as the recording surface, the drive roller 50 of the disk transport roller is disposed in contact with the non-recording surface of the optical disk 5 and the driven roller 51 is disposed in contact with the recording surface. As a result, the disc transport roller 51 and the recording surface of the optical disc 5 do not slip, so that the recording surface can be prevented from being damaged.

Another embodiment of the disk changer 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of the disk changer 1 and the magazine 2 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 3, the description of the components having the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 may be omitted.
The storage interval of the optical disk 5 in the magazine 2 of FIG. The installation interval between the even-numbered drive 60b (or drive 60d) and the upper drive 60a (or drive 60c) is Dp1, and the odd-numbered drive 60c and the upper drive 60b are installed. The interval is indicated by Dp2. Further, the slits 36a to 36d of the disk control plate 35, the disk passing positions of the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51, and the entrances 61a to 61d of the drives 60a to 60d are arranged on a straight line. Then, a toothed pulley 39 is provided on the drive roller 50 of each disk conveying roller, and a belt 40 wound around the toothed pulley 39 and a toothed pulley 41 provided on a rotation shaft of a drive motor (not shown) is provided. The disk transport roller 50 is rotated by rotating it. Further, the disk control plate 35, the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51, the

pulleys

39 and 41 for rotating the disk transport roller 50, and the movable table 104 (FIG. 1) on which the drives 60a to 60d are mounted are moved, and the slits 36a to 36d are moved. The magazine 2 is positioned at a position facing the target optical disk 5. Further, a gap of about half the thickness of the optical disk is provided between the driving roller 50 and the driven roller 51 of the disk transport roller.

Hereinafter, two configuration examples will be described.
As a first configuration, when k is an odd number and the number of disks stored in the magazine 2 is k, n = (k + 1) / 2, and the installation interval Dp1 = Dp2 = (storage interval Mp of the optical disk 5) × When n + Mp / 2 is set, only one of the k optical disks 5 fed out from the magazine 2 passes through the slit 36, and the other optical disks hit the disk control plate 35 and stop.
As a second configuration, when k is an even number where the number of discs stored in the magazine 2 is k, n = k / 2, and the even-numbered drive 60b (or drive 60d) and the drive 60a (or drive) one level above. 60c), the installation interval Dp1 = (storage interval Mp of the optical disk 5) × n + Mp / 2, and the installation interval Dp2 of the odd-numbered drive 60c and the upper drive 60b = (storage interval Mp of the optical disk 5) × ( In the case of (n + 1), only one of the k optical disks 5 fed out from the magazine 2 passes through the slit 36, and the other optical disks hit the disk control plate 35 and stop.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, only one optical disk stored in the magazine 2 can be taken out, supplied to the drives 60a to 60d, and recorded and reproduced. Further, even if the disk control plate provided with one slit is moved to the position of the optical disk stored in the magazine 2, only one optical disk can be passed, but in this embodiment, the disk control plate is moved. Since there is no need, it is effective in speeding up disk replacement and reducing the size of the disk changer.

The recording / reproducing operation of the first configuration and the second configuration described above will be described. When k optical disks stored in the optical disk storage magazine and m recording / reproducing apparatuses are used, it is assumed that recording / reproducing is performed by sharing k / m optical disks for each recording / reproducing apparatus. At this time, the upper limit of the moving range of the moving table 104 is set until the lowest recording / reproducing apparatus moves to the position of the k / mth optical disk stored in the optical disk storage magazine. It is assumed that the recording / reproducing apparatus having the upper limit of the moving range is moved from the uppermost position stored in the optical disk storage magazine to the position of the k / mth optical disk. It should be noted that a = k / m is preferably an integer, but if it is not an integer, the decimal point is rounded off and b = (k−a × m) is allocated to the second and subsequent recording / playback apparatuses. You can also.
As shown in FIG. 3, when k = 8 and m = 4, one drive is responsible for recording / reproduction of two optical disks. The first and second

optical disks

5a and 5b of the magazine 2 are recorded and reproduced by the drive 60a, the third and fourth

optical disks

5c and 5d are recorded and reproduced by the drive 60b, and the fifth and sixth

optical disks

5e and 5f are Recording and reproduction are performed by the drive 60c, and the seventh and eighth

optical disks

5g and 5h are recorded and reproduced by the drive 60d.
Thus, according to the present embodiment, the upward movement range of the drive 60d is the position of the optical disk 5g of the magazine 2, and the downward movement range of the drive 60a is the position of the optical disk 5b of the magazine 2. As a result, the vertical movement range of the drive 60 can be shortened, and the disk changer can be downsized.

Another embodiment of the disk control plate 35 of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the disk control plate 35 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 4, the description of the components having the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 may be omitted.
In the slits 36 a to 36 d of the disk control plate 35 in FIG. 4, the slit width 26 on the outer side of the central part is made wider than the slit width 25 on the central part. Thereby, even when the optical disk 5 is inclined and passed, it is possible to prevent the optical disk 5 from coming into contact with the slit. Further, if the lit width 25 at the center is less than twice the thickness of the optical disk, there is an effect that the passage of the adjacent optical disk fed out from the magazine 2 can be stopped.

Another embodiment of the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51 in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, description of components having the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 and 3 may be omitted.
FIG. 5 is a side view of the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51 in the fourth embodiment. Here, the

drive rollers

50a, 50b, and 50c and the driven

rollers

51a and 51b are shared between adjacent disc transport rollers. Further, a gap about half the thickness of the optical disk is provided between the

drive rollers

50a, 50b, and 50c of the disk transport roller and the driven

rollers

51a and 51b. The optical disk 5a is conveyed by the driving roller 50a and the driven roller 51a, the optical disk 5c is conveyed by the driving roller 50b and the driven roller 51a, the optical disk 5e is conveyed by the driving roller 50b and the driven roller 51b, and the optical disk 5g is driven by the driving roller 50c and the driven roller 51a. It is conveyed by a roller 51b. As a result, the number of

disk transport rollers

50 and 51 used can be reduced, which has the effect of reducing costs.

One embodiment of the dust removing method in the optical disk 5 and the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8, description of components having the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 and 3 may be omitted.
FIG. 6 shows a side view as a first example of a dust removing method for the optical disc 5 and the

disc transport rollers

50 and 51 in the fifth embodiment. In FIG. 6, the brushes 53a and 53b are brought into contact with the recording surface of the optical disc 5 and the disc transport roller 51 that contacts the recording surface, respectively. Conversely, the brushes 53a and 53b may be brought into contact with the non-recording surface of the optical disk 5 and the disk transport roller 50. Thereby, there is an effect that dust on the surface of the optical disc 5 and the disc transport roller 51 can be removed. Further, when the brushes 53a and 53b are neutralizing brushes, there is an effect that static electricity and dust can be removed.

FIG. 7 shows a side view as a second example of the dust removing method of the optical disk 5 and the

disk transport rollers

50 and 51 in the fifth embodiment. In FIG. 7, air is blown to the recording surface of the optical disk 5 and the disk transport roller 51 that is in contact with the recording surface from a nozzle 56 provided with a hole for blowing out air. Conversely, air from the nozzles may be blown to the non-recording surface of the optical disc 5 and the disc transport roller 50. Thereby, there is an effect that dust on the surface of the optical disc 5 and the disc transport roller 51 can be removed. Further, when charged air is used, there is an effect that static electricity and dust can be removed.

FIG. 8 shows a side view as a third example of the dust removing method of the optical disc 5 and the

disc transport rollers

50 and 51 in the fifth embodiment. In FIG. 8, a rotating rotary brush 57 in which a brush is implanted in a cylinder is brought into contact with the recording surface of the optical disc 5 and the disc transport roller 51 that contacts the recording surface. Conversely, a rotating brush may be brought into contact with the non-recording surface of the optical disc 5 and the disc transport roller 50. Further, the rotating brush 57 may be connected to the disk conveying roller and rotated. Thereby, there is an effect that dust on the recording surface of the optical disk 5 and the disk transport roller 51 can be removed. Further, when the brush is a static elimination brush, there is an effect that static electricity and dust can be removed.

An embodiment of the disk storage detection sensor 102 for detecting the optical disk 5 stored in the magazine 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 9 shows a side view of the disk storage detection sensor 102 and its periphery in the sixth embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the disk storage detection sensor 102 and its periphery as viewed from above in FIG. In FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, description of components having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 may be omitted.

A through hole 44 is provided at the center of the disk control plate 35 with which the optical disk 5 fed out from the magazine 2 comes into contact. A disc storage detection sensor 102 is provided on the opposite side of the through hole 44 from the optical disc 5 with the disc control plate 35 in between. The disk storage detection sensor 102 includes a fixed portion 48 fixed to the disk control plate 35, a contact 45 that is inserted into a through hole 44 provided in the fixed portion 48 and contacts the optical disk 5, and the contact 45 is connected to the optical disk 5. It comprises a spring 47 that presses in the direction and a transmissive optical sensor 46 that detects the position of a protrusion provided on the opposite side of the contact 45 with respect to the optical disk 5. In addition, it is preferable that the arrangement interval of the through holes 44 be an integer multiple of the storage interval of the optical disks 5 in the magazine 2. Thereby, when the optical disk 5 is stored in the magazine 2, the optical disk 5 fed out from the magazine 2 pushes the contact 45, so that the protrusion of the contact 45 is positioned on the left side as shown in FIG. Since the optical path of the optical sensor 46 is opened, it can be detected that the optical disk 5 is stored. When the optical disk 5 is not stored, the protrusion of the contactor 45 blocks the optical path (broken line in the figure) of the optical sensor 46 as shown in FIG. It can be detected.
Thus, according to this embodiment, there is an effect that it is possible to detect whether or not the optical disk 5 is stored in the magazine 2. Thereby, there is an effect that it is possible to detect a malfunction and prevent an erroneous operation.
The magazine 2 and the disk changer 1 of the embodiment described so far carry the optical disk 5 horizontally, but the disk changer can be rotated 90 degrees to carry the optical disk 5 vertically. In addition to the above, embodiments in which the above-described examples are modified can be considered, but all fall within the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Disc changer, 2 ... Magazine, 3 ... Housing, 4a-4g ... Partition plate, 5 ... Optical disc, 6 ... Clamp hole, 8 ... Belt, 9, 12 ... Roller, 17, 18 ... Gear, 22 ... Guide groove, 35 ... disc control plate, 36 ... slit, 50, 51 ... transport roller, 60 ... drive, 61 ... doorway, 104 ... moving table, 106, 107 ... disc passage detection sensor, 108 ... disc position detection sensor.

Claims

A disk changer comprising: an optical disk drive device that records or reproduces a signal to or from an optical disk that is a recording medium; and an optical disk storage magazine in which a plurality of the optical disks are stored and detachable from the optical disk drive device,
The optical disc magazine is
A disk transport belt for rotating the optical disk in contact with the outer peripheral side surfaces of the plurality of stored optical disks;
The optical disk drive device or the optical disk storage magazine is
A disc control plate provided with a slit through which the optical disc passes between the optical disc drive device and the optical disc storage magazine;
A disk transport roller provided corresponding to the position of the slit, and a drive roller that transports the optical disk and a driven roller that is driven to rotate while sandwiching the optical disk between the drive rollers;
When mounting the optical disk stored in the optical disk storage magazine to the optical disk drive device,
The optical disc drive apparatus rotates and moves the disc transport belt of the optical disc storage magazine, takes out the optical disc, and mounts the optical disc transported by the disc transport roller through the slit among the optical disc,
When storing the optical disk mounted on the optical disk drive device in the optical disk storage magazine,
The disk transport roller transports the optical disk ejected from the optical disk drive device through the slit to the optical disk storage magazine, and stores the disk transport belt of the optical disk storage magazine by rotating it. A disc changer characterized by
2. The moving table according to claim 1, further comprising a moving table that mounts the disk control plate, the disk transport roller, and the optical disk drive device and moves in a direction perpendicular to a plane of a transport path of the optical disk, and moves the moving table. And determining the positions of the disk control plate, the disk transport roller, and the recording / reproducing device with respect to the position of the optical disk of the optical disk storage magazine.
In claim 2, the disk control plate has a plurality of slits facing the entrance and exit of the optical disk of the optical disk storage magazine, the disk transport roller has a plurality of transport rollers corresponding to the position of the slit, The optical disk drive device has a plurality of drive devices corresponding to the positions of the disk transport rollers.
4. The disk according to claim 3, wherein the optical disk storage interval of the optical disk storage magazine is Mp, and the arrangement interval Dp of the plurality of optical disk drive devices is (n + 1/2) × Mp (n is a natural number). changer.
5. When the number of the optical disks stored in the optical disk storage magazine is k and the number of the optical disk drive devices is m in claim 3 or claim 4, k / m for each of the optical disk drive devices. The optical disc is shared to record or reproduce signals,
The upper limit of the moving range of the moving table is a position at which the optical disk drive device provided at the lowest position moves from the lowest position to the position of the k / mth optical disk stored in the optical disk storage magazine,
The lower limit of the moving range of the moving table is a position where the optical disk drive device provided at the uppermost position moves from the uppermost position stored in the optical disk storage magazine to the position of the k / mth optical disk. Disc changer.
6. The disk changer according to claim 1, wherein the slit of the disk control plate is wider than the center part except for the center part.
6. The disk changer according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of disk transport rollers sandwich and transport the optical disk between the adjacent rollers.
8. The disc changer according to claim 1, further comprising a foreign matter removing unit that removes foreign matter in contact with the optical disc and the disc transport roller.
8. The disc changer according to claim 1, further comprising a foreign matter removing unit that blows air onto the optical disc and the disc transport roller to remove foreign matter.
In claims 1 to 9,
The disk control plate has a through hole in the center,
The optical disk drive device includes a contact that protrudes from the through hole toward the optical disk storage magazine, and a detector that detects a moving distance of the contact.
A disc changer for detecting the presence or absence of the optical disc from a moving distance of the contact when the side surface of the optical disc included in the optical disc storage magazine is pressed against the protrusion of the contact.
An optical disc storage magazine that is detachable from an optical disc drive device that stores a plurality of optical discs as recording media and records or reproduces signals on the optical disc,
Rotating the optical disk in contact with the outer peripheral side surface of the plurality of stored optical disks,
An optical disk storage magazine, comprising: a disk transport belt that moves in a direction of ejecting or inserting into the optical disk storage magazine.