JPH0454314B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a recording medium playing device, and more particularly to the structure of a recording medium playing device having a recording medium insertion port.

In the case of in-vehicle recording media playback devices such as cassette tape recorders and disk players, such as so-called car stereo devices, which are mounted near the driver's seat of an automobile, the area that can be used as an operating surface is extremely limited. For example, as an example, 18×5
It is common to provide not only an opening for loading and unloading a cassette half as a recording medium, but also an operation control circuit, a display circuit, etc. for the cassette tape recorder main body within a small area of about 1 cm.

The installation location for equipment that is extremely easy for the driver to operate is limited to a limited space such as a part of the dash board or console, and therefore, in addition to the aforementioned small area of 18 x 5 cm, it is necessary to install the radio tuner. It is also required to add circuitry for controlling and displaying functions.

As one solution for efficiently storing these various circuits in such a small area, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 29326, there is a method in which the dustproof door covering the cassette half insertion slot also serves as the dial part of the radio. This method makes effective use of wasted space when a car stereo with a radio is used as a radio receiver, but when used as a recording media playing device such as a tape recorder, this dustproof door is Since it is pushed into the inside of the main body when the cassette half is inserted, it is impossible to use it as a space for arranging display or control circuit elements. In addition, such a door requires not only a space for the door itself, but also a hinge mechanism, a design process, etc. around the door, which results in an extra area being taken up.

Recently, there has been a strong demand for advanced control functions for recording media performance devices such as tape recorders.
The basic controls for a tape recorder are PLAY (playback), FF (fast forward), REW (rewind),
In addition to STOP, EJECT, power switch, volume, sound quality adjustment, etc., skip song selection that allows you to select programs for each song, multi-song selection that allows you to select programs several songs ahead, and program selection for each song. Repeat playback, tape type selection (normal, chrome, metal), Dolby switching (OFF, B type,
C type), tape running direction switching (in the case of an auto-reverse machine), etc., and considering the equipment required to control cutting and display these functions, all of these displays can be displayed in a space of approximately 18 x 5 cm. It is difficult to provide circuits for control and control. Especially when audio equipment is integrated with a radio tuner function in addition to the tape recorder function, or even when video functions such as a television set or VTR (video tape recorder) are added in addition to these audio functions. In this case, it is necessary to display and control each of these functions.
It becomes impossible to arrange all of these in the above-mentioned small space. In particular, the display that displays operational information related to the operation of the performance section, tuner, etc., and performance information related to the content of the performance must have a relatively large area for the operator to be able to recognize the displayed content. However, as mentioned above, if the recording medium insertion slot is located at the front of the performance device, it is difficult to increase the area of the display, and the display may not be able to fully demonstrate its display function. There is.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a recorder that can effectively incorporate a large number of electronic circuits for operation control, display, etc. into equipment that has only a limited operation area. The purpose is to provide a media playing device.

In order to achieve the above object, a recording medium playing device according to the present invention includes a housing provided with a recording medium insertion port on the front surface, a playing means arranged in the housing, and a recording medium inserted from the insertion port. It has a loading mechanism that loads the performance means, a lid that opens and closes the recording medium insertion port, and includes an operation button and an operation mode indicator, and the recording medium inserted through the insertion port is controlled by the operation. A recording medium performance device that visually displays at least the progress of the performance of the recording medium on the display while performing in response to button operations, wherein at least one operation mode selection command button among the operation buttons; The display device is disposed on the lid body, and a display drive circuit is disposed inside the lid body to drive the display device to visually display at least information visually indicating the performance progress status of the recording medium. On the other hand, an eject button and other operating means for instructing ejection of the recording medium are arranged near the outside of both ends of the lid, and the lid is swingably supported at both ends. It is characterized by

The electronic circuit referred to here includes processing such as continuation, amplification, synthesis, and performance of analog or digital electrical signals, as well as display conversion processing that converts electrical signals into light for visible display. , display parts and mechanical switch elements for operation,
Furthermore, the term is used in a broad sense to include these display drive circuits, switch control circuits, etc.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 are diagrams showing reference examples for explaining the present invention, and Figure 1 shows the lid (operation panel).
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main body of the tape recorder with the lid closed, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main body with the lid opened. A lid 1 is provided on the front surface of the tape recorder main body 11, which is the center of the operation panel that covers the cassette half insertion slot 10 (see Fig. 2), and electronic volume control switches 2 and 3 are provided on the entire surface of the lid 1. It is provided. switch 2 and 3
have the function of increasing and decreasing the volume while they are pressed, respectively. Also, PAUSE, FF and
Switches 4 to 6 are provided for REW, and are used to control the main body into pause, fast forward, and rewind operation modes. A display section 8 is provided at the upper center and is used, for example, as a tape counter display. Furthermore, a button 9 for stopping and taking out the tape is provided,
By pressing the button 9, the lock that locks the lid 1 in the closed state is released, and the tape running is stopped after a certain time delay to complete the cassette half ejection. This can be easily achieved using well-known electrical and mechanical methods.

Reference numeral 12 is a hinge mechanism, which is a support part for opening and closing the lid body 1. Furthermore, electrical connections between the lid 1 and the main body 11 for signals and power sources are assumed to be made using, for example, flexible jumper wires, although not particularly shown. In order to reduce the number of flexible jumper wires, all signals from each switch for operation control may be digitized and the lid 1 and main body 11 may be connected in a serial transmission format. Further, the same can be applied to signals for display.

With this configuration, the cassette half insertion opening can also be effectively used as an element placement area, making it particularly suitable for small-sized devices.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another reference example for explaining the present invention, in which the front left end of the main body 11 is protruded as shown in the figure, and a sliding volume 13, which is cheaper than an electronic volume, is installed in this part. Attachment: The lid 1 is provided on the remaining portion of the front surface of the main body 11 in the same manner as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this example, parts that do not necessarily need to be attached to the lid body 1 or parts that are difficult to attach may be attached to the front surface of the main body 11. That is, it is only necessary to attach operating parts that are unavoidably mechanically connected to the main body 11.

4 to 6 are diagrams of embodiments of the present invention, and are examples of car stereos with a radio. FIG. 4 is a diagram when the main body 11 is used as a tape player.
1a and 11b, electronic volume switches 2 and 3 are attached to the protrusion 11a, and an eject button 14 and a lid opening button 15 are attached to the protrusion 11b, respectively. The eject button 14 is normally operated when the lid 1 is open, but it can also be configured so that if it is pressed when the lid 1 is closed, the lid 1 will open and the tape can be taken out.

The lid 1, which is provided to cover the cassette half insertion slot 10 (see Fig. 5), is provided with control switches 16 to 20 for performing a skipping song selection operation. This is to output a command to select a song. Switches 21 to 25 are also provided, and display characters are attached above and below each of these switches, but the above characters are the display when used as a tape recorder.
The lower row of characters is the display when used as a radio tuner.

When used as a tape recorder, when the switch 21 is pressed, the tape is fed in the backward direction, that is, in the tape rewinding direction, and an unrecorded portion between songs is detected, the tape rewinding state is stopped, and the tape rewinding state is stopped and the next song is started. It starts playing from the beginning, plays for a short time (about 10 seconds), and then starts rewinding again. That is, the switch 21 is used to perform a so-called scanning operation to check which songs have been recorded in the rewinding direction. When you find a song you want to listen to, you can switch to normal playback by canceling the scanning operation. The switch 22 is used to perform the same scanning operation as described above in the tape fast forward direction. 23 is rewind, 24
Reference numeral 25 indicates a fast forward switch, and 25 indicates a tape running direction switching command switch in the auto-reverse machine.

Switch 26 is a changeover switch when used as a tape recorder, and is used in conjunction with switch 27, which is a changeover switch when used as a tuner. When one of the functions of both switches 26 and 27 is being used, pressing the other switch switches to the function of that switch.

Furthermore, a display section 28 is attached, and in this example, a two-layer liquid crystal display (LCD) is used, with the first layer used for tape recorder-related displays and the second layer used for tuner-related displays. Therefore, when used as a tape recorder, the entire display section can be used as a tape-related display section.
The display section 29 in the illustrated example displays the aperture state of the electronic volume, and a bar-shaped display from the bottom increases as the volume is raised, allowing the volume control state to be determined. If you set the volume control to maximum, the bar will line up all the way to the top. The volume adjustment means such as the electronic volume adjusts the performance output while maintaining the performance state, and it is convenient to be able to operate it regardless of whether the lid is opened or closed.
11b. Display section 3
0 is for visually indicating the running state of the tape, and the two circular figures are divided into multiple segments to provide contrast of light and dark, and the display is controlled so that these segments rotate in accordance with the tape rotation direction. Then, the straight line connecting the two circles is moved according to the running of the tape to control blinking. The display section 31 indicates the tape running direction with an arrow. Display section 3
2 indicates that the tape recorder has received a command to search for the third song in the rewinding direction and is in the middle of a so-called skip song selection operation. 44 to 49 are tuner preset channel selection switches;
indicates a memory switch, and 45 to 49 indicate preset switches.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view when the lid 1 of FIG. 4 is opened, and 10 indicates a cassette half insertion slot, and
34 is a switch for changing the time constant of the tape equalizer to 70 μs when using a chrome or metal tape; these switches 33 , 34 may be provided on the front surface of the lid 1, but since these are already determined at the time of insertion of the cassette half, it is preferable to provide them at an appropriate location near the insertion opening 10. In other words, by attaching operation switches that require complicated operations to the front of the lid, and attaching switches that require few operations and require only one preset to the front of the main body, even higher density mounting is possible. Become.

Figure 6 is a perspective view when using the FM tuner.
The display device 28 uses a second layer of liquid crystal and has a capacity of 80M.
Indicates that Hz FM waves are being received. The other configurations are the same as those in FIGS. 4 and 5. Note that a three-layer LDC is used as the display device 28, and the third
The liquid crystal section of the second layer can be used as a timer display, or can be used to display preset stations when the tuner is in use, thereby increasing various display functions.

Electrical connection between the electronic circuit for display and operation control provided on the lid 1 and the circuit of the main body 11 is performed using, for example, a flexible jumper wire.
Since the display for displaying the progress of the performance and its driving circuit are both placed on the lid, there is an advantage that less wiring is required. As mentioned above, it is preferable to transmit and receive signals between the two using the serial transmission method of digital signals, but it is also possible to transmit and receive signals wirelessly. That is, signals can be sent and received optically, and the lid can be separated from the main body to provide a remote control system.

Additionally, a light receiving section is added on the lid to receive remote control signals using light, and a photo sensor such as a phototransistor is installed to convert this into an electrical signal, and the output is output from a data conversion circuit installed inside the lid. It is also possible to send it to the main body via the or gate.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a circuit block in such a case, where 35 is an electronic control circuit inside the lid body;
The command signal from the key input unit 36 is sent to the engoder 37.
This becomes serial data and is sent out as a system control signal on the main body side via the OR gate 38. On the other hand, a remote control unit 39 is provided, and this unit includes a key input section 40, a transmitting section 41 that converts the signal from the key input section into serial data and transmits the data, and an optical A photodiode 42 for signal generation is provided. The photodiode 42 receives remote control commands from the light receiving section 4 provided on the lid.
3 receives the light, converts it into an electrical signal, and sends it to the main body side through the OR gate 38 mentioned earlier. By doing so, there is an advantage that a wireless remote control function can be added by simply providing the light receiving section 43, which occupies an extremely small area, on the lid.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, in a device where the area of the operation section is extremely limited, such as a small recording medium performance device, especially a vehicle-mounted recording medium performance device, the operation panel can be used as a lid. This eliminates the need for space for attaching and detaching recording media such as cassette halves and disks, and space for designing the surrounding areas, making it possible to use the operation panel more effectively, with a large number of advanced control functions, and a large number of operation buttons and buttons. It is possible to incorporate the display unit without downsizing it. In particular, by actively expanding the area of the display section using the lid, there is an advantage that it becomes possible to cope with an increase in the content of control information and performance information to be displayed as control functions become more sophisticated. Furthermore, by arranging the display elements of the display section or using a plurality of liquid crystal layers, the display mode can be appropriately set for each operating mode of the tape recorder, tuner, etc.

Furthermore, since the eject button is not provided on the operation panel that also serves as the lid for opening and closing, there is no possibility that the opening movement of the operation panel at the time of ejection will be hindered by manual operating force. The central part, which also serves as the lid, is configured to open and close relative to the left and right fixed parts, which include operating means such as eject buttons and volume controls located on the left and right sides, and it is necessary to separately provide support means for opening and closing the lid. Furthermore, the sense of unity of the operation panel is maintained when opening and closing the central part.

In addition, it is now possible to easily integrate not only cassette tape recorders but also tuners, and even video equipment such as VTRs and VDPs (video disc players). It can also be applied to equipment where space is at a premium.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a reference example, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of Fig. 1 when the lid is opened, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another reference example, and Fig. 4 is an embodiment of the present invention. Perspective view of 5th
The figure is a perspective view of the operation panel in Figure 4 when it is opened.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the display section of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the electronic circuit of the operation panel. Explanation of symbols of main parts, 1... Lid body, 2, 3...
...Electronic volume switch, 4-6...Control switch, 8...Display section, 11...Main body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A housing having a recording medium insertion port on the front surface, a playing means disposed within the housing,
It has a loading mechanism that loads a recording medium inserted from the insertion slot into the performance means, and a lid body that opens and closes the recording medium insertion slot, and includes an operation button and an operation mode indicator, and the insertion A recording medium playing device that plays a recording medium inserted through the mouth according to the operation of the operation button, and visually displays at least the performance progress of the recording medium on the display, the operation button At least one operation mode selection command button and the display device are disposed on the lid body, and the display device is driven to visually display at least information visually indicating the performance progress status of the recording medium. A driving circuit is disposed inside the lid, and an eject button and other operation means for instructing ejection of the recording medium are disposed near the outside of both ends of the lid, and the lid is disposed inside the lid. 1. A recording medium performance device characterized by being pivotably supported at a portion thereof. 2. The recording medium playing device according to claim 1, wherein the other operating means is a volume adjusting means.