JPH054741B2 - - Google Patents

Description

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

(Prior art) As a conventional device of this kind, for example,
-There is one disclosed in Publication No. 118505. In the conventional device disclosed in this publication, a position detection means is installed between the carrier and the opening of the regenerator in order to stop the carrier at an appropriate position relative to the opening of the regenerator. This position detection means allows the carrier to be stopped at an appropriate position relative to the opening of the player, so that insertion of the cassette into the player can be smoothly performed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, when a motor or the like is driven when a cassette is inserted into a player, vibrations occur in the information medium holding and retrieval device. In addition to this, vibrations may be generated in the information medium holding and retrieval device due to, for example, the operation of various OA devices or the walking of a person. Since the carrier and the reproducing machine do not match in shape and weight, when vibration occurs in the information medium holding and retrieval device, the vibration state of the carrier will be different from that of the reproducing machine in most cases. Therefore, when vibration occurs in the information medium holding and retrieving device, relative vibration occurs between the carrier and the reproducing device.

However, in the conventional device described above, the position detection means is installed only between the carrier and the opening of the regenerator, so when the above-mentioned relative vibration occurs, it is difficult to move the carrier to the opening of the regenerator. It is difficult to stop the machine at the correct position. Additionally, if the cassette is inserted into the player before the relative vibration described above has sufficiently damped,
When the cassette is inserted, there is a risk that the cassette pushed out toward the player will collide with the player, causing damage to the cassette.

Therefore, the present invention is capable of reliably stopping the carrier at a predetermined position even if relative vibration occurs in the information medium holding and retrieving device, and that even if the carrier is stopped at a predetermined position, the reproducing machine and If there is relative vibration between the carriers,
The technical challenge is to prevent the cassette from being pushed out toward the playback machine.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above technical problem, the technical means taken in the present invention is to provide a loading position detection means on the carrier side so that the carrier is in the loading position. Furthermore, vibration detection means is provided between the regenerator and the carrier, and when the carrier is in the loading position, the vibration detection means detects relative vibration between the regenerator and the carrier. It was controlled so that the cassette was inserted into the player only when the cassette was not being played.

(Function) According to the above technical means, the loading position detection means is provided on the carrier side.
Therefore, whether or not the carrier is located at a proper loading position can be accurately detected by the loading position detection means, regardless of the relative vibration between the regenerator and the carrier.

Further, according to the above technical means, a vibration detection means is provided between the carrier and the regenerator.
Therefore, even if the carrier is in the loading position, if there is relative vibration between the player and the carrier, the control device will operate and the cassette will not be pushed toward the player. As a result, problems such as when the cassette collides with the player and is damaged will not occur.

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

1 to 16, a storage section 12 is disposed on a base 11 of an information medium holding and retrieval device or autochanger 10. As shown in FIGS. Therefore, the storage section 12 has a three-layer structure of an upper tier 13, a middle tier 14, and a lower tier 15, and although the right end of each tier is flush, the left end 13b of the upper tier 13
1, protrudes from the left end 14b of the middle tier 14 and the left end 15b of the lower tier 15. And upper row 1
At the bottom of the left end 13b of 3, there is a playback device (or a recorder or recorder) 17 equipped with an insertion slot 16.
are arranged adjacent to the middle tier 14 and lower tier 15 of the storage section 12. Upper stage 13 of storage section 12
(The same applies to the middle row 14 and the lower row 15)
Inside, storage spaces S are defined in a radial and overlapping manner by partitions (not shown), and each storage space S stores a cassette 18. The cassettes 18 are thus arranged radially and stacked in three stages. A double-sided playable optical disc (not shown) is stored in the cassette 18, and as will be described in detail later, when the cassette 18 is loaded into the insertion slot 16 of the player 17, the optical disc is played. It is becoming more and more common. In addition, the storage space S is (V,
M), which corresponds to the serial number assigned to each cassette 18. In addition, V is an integer from 1 to 3, and V=1 is 1 in the upper row.
3, V=2 to middle 14, V=3 to bottom 15
This means that the desired cassette 18 is contained in each of the cassettes 18, and M is an integer indicating the position of the cassette 18 clockwise from the extreme left end.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 16, storage section 1
The inner surface 12c of 2 has an arc shape when viewed from above, and a shaft 20 is fixedly erected at a point on the base 11 that is the center of the arc. A lower stand 22 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 20 via a bearing 21 (FIG. 8). Lower stand 22
A gear 22a is formed on the lower outer periphery of the motor 24, and this gear 22a is operatively connected to a gear (not shown) fixed to a shaft (not shown) of a motor 24 via a timing belt 23. .
A pair of guide shafts 25, 25 and a balancer guide 26 are erected on the lower stand 22, and the tips of these three shafts are connected to a common upper stand 27 to control the parallelism between each axis or the pitch between each axis. is kept constant. From the upper stand 27, arm 2
8 protrudes, and the tip of this arm 28 is
When the upper stand 27 rotates integrally with the lower stand 22 due to the drive of the motor 24, the inner peripheral surface 12 of the storage section 12
It draws an arc that is always concentric with c. A sensor 29 is attached to the arm 28, and the inner peripheral portion of an arcuate plate 30 is loosely fitted into the bifurcated detection portion 29a of the sensor 29. M slits 30a are radially carved in the inner peripheral part of the plate 30 to correspond to the storage space S of the upper stage 13, and as the sensor 29 rotates, the detection part of the sensor 29 It is possible to know which storage space S in the circumferential direction the sensor 29a is detecting. In addition, the outer circumferential portion of the plate 30 can be attached to the top portion 12 of the storage portion 12 at an appropriate location.
It is fixed at d.

A pair of guide shafts 25, 2 erected on the lower stand 22
5, ears 31a, 31a formed on both sides of the carrier 31 are slidably mounted on the carrier 31.
The carrier 31 can move up and down along the guide shaft 25. The lower stand 22 also has a pulley 32.
is rotatably mounted, and a pulley 34 is rotatably mounted on a bracket 33 fixed to the upper stand 27. One ear 3 of carrier 31
A retainer 35 is fixed to 1a, and a wire 37 is installed between the lower end 35b of this retainer 35 and the wire wheel 32,
Further, a wire 38 is installed between the upper end 35a of the retainer 35 and the wire wheel 32 via the pulley 34. Note that the wires 37 and 38 are wound multiple times in opposite directions on the wire wheel 32, respectively.

A slider 36 mounted on the balancer guide 26 so as to be vertically movable is fixed to a wire 38. A gear 40 is integrally attached to the wire wheel 32, and this gear 40 is connected to a worm gear 42 rotatably mounted on a shaft 41.
is engaged with. Therefore, a gear 43 is integrally formed at the bottom of the worm gear 42 (sixth gear).
(Figure), this gear 43 and a gear 45 fixed to the shaft of a motor 44 mounted on the lower stand 22 are operatively connected by a timing belt. Further, on the upper side of the gear 45, a plate 4 is provided with radial slits (not shown) carved on the outer periphery.
6 is fixed, and the outer periphery of this plate 46 is loosely fitted into the bifurcated detection portion 47a of the sensor 47. Thus, as the shaft of the motor 44 rotates, the carrier 31 moves up and down, and the rotation speed of the shaft is detected by the sensor 4.
7, the data is stored in the computer 50 from time to time.

The carrier 31 consists of a main body 51 and a gripping part 52, and a base end 52a of the gripping part 52 is received in the main body 51 and is rotatably held relative to the main body 51 via a bearing 53. ing. Therefore, before starting the device, the carrier 31 is always located at the home position, that is, at a location corresponding to the lower stage 15 of the storage section 12, and upon receiving an instruction from the computer 50, the motor 44 is driven to raise the carrier 31. Then, the number of revolutions of the motor 44 counted through the sensor 47 is sent to the computer 50.
By checking the upper row 1 of the storage section 12,
3. It is designed to stop at a position corresponding to the middle stage 146 shift. In order to accurately move the carrier 31 from its home position to the relevant position (or vice versa), the main body 5 of the carrier 31 is
A photo sensor 5 is attached to the projecting piece 54 protruding from the photo sensor 5.
5 bifurcated detection section 55a and photo sensor 5
Six bifurcated detection portions 56a are attached.
A plate 57 is installed between the lower stand 22 and the upper stand 27, and a plate 58 attached at right angles to the plate 57 is loosely fitted into the bifurcated detection portion 55a of the sensor 55. Slits 59, 60, and 61 are cut in the plate 58 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, and these three slits correspond to the upper tier 13, the middle tier 14, and the lower tier 15 of the storage section 12. It's getting old. Further, a protruding piece 62 protrudes below the plate 58, and this protruding piece 62
is adapted to be loosely fitted into the detection portion 56a of the sensor 56 when the carrier 31 is in the home position. The computer 50 is configured to understand that the carrier 31 is located at the home position when the sensor 55 detects the slit and the sensor 56 detects the protrusion 62.

A stepping motor (not shown) is built into the proximal end 52a of the gripping part 52 of the carrier 31, and its output shaft has a spiral groove 74 carved therein via a gear (not shown). The left end 75a of the shaft 75 is engaged with the left end 75a of the shaft 75, and the left end 78a of the shaft 78 is formed with the spiral 77. One end of the shafts 75 and 78 is inserted into the hole 81 of the main body 81 of the holder 80.
a, 81a', the spiral grooves 74, 77 are
Each is engaged with a pin (not shown) integral with the main body 81 within the holes 81a and 81a'. Thus, the holder 80 is movable within the grip portion 52, and the movement is performed by rotation of the shafts 75 and 78 as the pulse motor is driven. The amount of movement is determined by a signal supplied to the pulse motor.

The holder 80 consists of a main body 81 and a cover 83 that covers the side surface of the main body 81.
A space 84 is defined between the two, and a pair of engaging members 85, 8 are provided above and below the space 84.
5' is arranged. Engagement member 85 (85')
is a horizontal part 8 with claws 85a and 85'a at the tip.
5b (85'b) and a vertical part 85c (85'c) that goes inward from the rear end of the horizontal part 85b (85'b). Pin 86 connecting 83 and main body 81
(86'). two engaging members 8
The vertical parts 85c and 85'c of 5 and 85' are connected to the lever 8.
7, one end 87a and the other end 87b, respectively.
The lever 87 is pivotally supported by a pin 88 and a pin 89, and the lever 87 is loosely fitted into a slot 90b of a movable iron core 90a of a solenoid 90 disposed in the space 84, and It is fixed to the core 90a. The upper end 87a and lower end 87b of the lever 87 are connected to springs 91 and 9, respectively.
1', it is biased to the left as seen in FIG.
It is biased away from the solenoid 90. The movable iron core 90a is attracted in the direction of the solenoid 90 when the solenoid 90 is excited, and the lever 87 is moved by the springs 91 and 9.
1', the movable iron core 90a can be moved in the direction of the solenoid 90.
Note that excessive rotation of the engaging member 85a (85'a) in the clockwise (counterclockwise) direction due to the pressing of the spring 91 (91') against the lever 87 is caused by the locking part 85d (85'a).
5'd). Further, the claw portion 85a (85'a) of the locking member 85 (85') is loosely fitted into the groove 52b (groove 52c) on the inner surface of the grip portion 52 when rotating counterclockwise (clockwise). It's summery.

Inside the holder 80, sensors 92 and 93 are also arranged at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction. 18a and 18c are respectively aimed at. Portion 18b of front surface 18a of cassette 18
Although reflective tape 94 is attached to the area 1,
Nothing is attached to 8c. As a result, the holder 80 approaches the cassette 18, and the claw portion 85a (85'a) of the holder 80 rides on the upper (lower) slope 18d (18e) of the cassette 18, and then engages with the recess 18f (18g). When this occurs, the sensor 92 senses the reflective tape 94, and this fact is transmitted to the computer 50. Furthermore, when the claw portion 85a (85'a) of the holder 80 climbs over the slope 18d (18e), the vertical portion 85 of the engaging member 85 (85')
c (85'c) moves the lever 87 to the springs 91, 9.
1' to the solenoid 90 side, and when the claw portion 85a (85'a) engages with the recess 18f (18g), the lever 87 is moved against the springs 91, 9.
The elastic force of 1' causes it to return to its original position. However, the lever 87 is connected to the movable iron core 9
The engaging member 85 protrudes in the radial direction of 0a.
When the claw portion 85a (85') of (85') engages the concave portion 18f (18g) of the cassette 18, the bifurcated detection portion 95a of the photo sensor 95 is shielded from light only once as the lever 87 reciprocates. I'm starting to do that. Thus, once the detection section 95a of the sensor 95 is blocked, this fact is transmitted to the computer 50, and it is confirmed that the holder 80 has completely gripped the cassette 18.

A gear 96 and a plate 99 are fixed to the outer periphery of the base 52a of the grip portion 52 of the carrier 31.
Shaft of motor 97 fixed to (not shown)
It is designed to engage with a gear (not shown) that rotates integrally with the gear. The motor 97 is connected to the computer 50
The gripping portion 52 of the carrier 31
After the cassette 18 is completely housed inside, while the carrier 31 is descending toward the home position, the grip portion 52 of the carrier 31 is rotated in one direction.
It is designed to rotate 90° or 90° in the other direction. The grip part 52 of the carrier 31 is the motor 97
What can be rotated 90° in one direction by the drive of
If the computer 50 has received a command to play side A of the selected cassette 18 and the sensor 92 has detected the reflective mark 94,
This is a case where the computer 50 has received a command to reproduce the B side and the sensor 93 has not detected the reflective mark. Therefore, it is possible to check whether the carrier 31 has been rotated by 90 degrees in one direction (the other direction), when the detection part 98a of the sensor 98 is inserted into the slit 99a (99b) carved in the plate 99.
This is done by sensing the Further, the grip portion 52 of the carrier 31 is connected to the insertion opening 1 of the regenerator 17.
grasping the cassette 18 ejected from 6,
When storing the cassette in its original position, the cassette is rotated 90 degrees in one direction or the other, but the sensor 98 checks the slit 99c cut in the plate 99 to determine whether the 90 degree rotation has been reliably performed. This is done by sensing. In addition, the slit 99c is
The slits located between the slits 99a and 99b and connected to each other have a phase difference of 90°.

In order to move the carrier 31 to the home position, the motor 44 is driven to lower the carrier 31 to a predetermined height, and the motor 24 is also driven to move the carrier 31 to the home position as shown in FIG. This is done by rotating counterclockwise until 52 is aimed at the leftmost cassette. Sensors 55, 56 and 100 indicate that the carrier 31 has shifted to its home position.
This is done by detecting the slit 61, protrusions 62 and 101.

In addition, we will explain the function of the computer 50 that controls the autochanger 10.
In order to provide an overall explanation of the operation of the 0, this will be summarized in relation to each sensor and each motor. The computer 50 is connected to the main computer 102, and the main computer 102 is
The autochanger 10, a cathode ray tube (not shown), and other devices are controlled in a unified manner. The main computer 102 is
By connecting to a terminal device equipped with a button or key 103 and pressing the key 103,
Information about the number of the cassette to be selected and whether side A or B of the disc in the cassette to be played is sent as a signal to the computer 50,
The cassette number N is in register R1, and the playback side is A.
If it is a side (B side), 1 (0) is stored in the register R2. A table T is generated in advance in the computer 50, and the cassette numbers N and the coordinates (V, M) indicating their storage positions are stored in the form of a comparison table, and are stored in registers R1 and R2. When the information is applied, the contents of registers R1 and R2 are compared with the contents of table T, and the value of V is stored in register R3.
The value of M is loaded into the register R4. When data is applied to the registers R3 and R4, the shaft of the motor 44 and the shaft of the motor 24 are rotated according to the values, and the carrier 31 is raised to a predetermined height and rotated by a predetermined amount at the same time. It is becoming more and more popular. Thus, when the carrier 31 is at rest, its gripping portion 52 is attached to the front surface 18 of the cassette 18.
It will now aim at a. The sensor 29 determines whether the carrier 31 is in the correct position.
This is done by comparing and determining whether the sensor 55 detects the M-th slit of the plate 30 and the V-th slit of the protrusion 58, respectively. And carrier 3
If the rest position of computer 5 is not correct, computer 5
0, a warning light or warning buzzer 104 is activated to inform the operator of this fact.

The carrier 31 is stationary in the correct position and its grip 52 is located on the front side 1 of the cassette 18 to be selected.
When the computer 50 confirms that the target 8a is being aimed, the computer 50 drives the pulse motor. As the pulse motor is driven, the pair of shafts 75 and 78 rotate, and this rotation pushes the holder 80 toward the cassette 18 by a predetermined amount of stroke, substantially abuts the front surface 18a of the cassette 18, and grips the cassette 18. The holder 80 is configured to stroke only while a signal is being supplied from the computer 50 to the pulse motor (specifically, as set in the register R5). Whether or not the stroke has been made as preset is stored in register R6, but register R7 stores the stroke that the pulse motor must drive, and the contents of register R6 and register R7 are compared. and if the two do not match, computer 5
0 causes a warning light or buzzer 104 to alert the operator that the holder 80 has not been stroked by a predetermined amount.

When the computer 50 confirms that the holder 80 has been stroked until it substantially contacts the cassette 18, it is checked whether the holder 80 has held the cassette 18. That is, the fact that the holder 80 holds the cassette 18 means that the claw portion 85a (85'a) of the locking piece 85 (85') of the holder 80 is held in the recess 18f of the cassette 18.
(18g), but before this engagement, the claw portion 85a (85') of the locking piece 85 (85')
Since there is a reciprocating movement of the lever 87 as the cassette 18 climbs over the slope 18d (18e) of 5'a),
The sensor 95 detects the reciprocating movement of the lever 87 (specifically, the reciprocating movement of the lever 87 temporarily blocks light from the detection part 95a of the sensor 95), this is transmitted to the computer 50, and the register R is
10 is loaded with “1”. If holder 8
0 cannot grip the cassette 18 due to some trouble, the pulse motor shaft stops rotating, registers R8 and R9 are loaded with "0", and the computer 50 turns on the alarm light or alarm buzzer 104. Cassette 18
The operator is informed that the object was not grasped.

When it is confirmed that the holder 80 has gripped the cassette 18, the sensors 92 and 93 start detection activities, and the sensor 92 (93) senses the reflective mark. If not, the register R9 (R
8) is loaded with “0”. (In the embodiment, the sensor 92 detects the reflective mark 94 and the sensor 93 does not detect anything, so registers R8 and R9 are loaded with "1" and "0", respectively.) Here, the computer 50 If the value of only one of registers R8 and R9 is "1", the shaft of the pulse motor is reversed to accommodate the cassette 18 in the grip part 51 of the carrier 31; otherwise, an alarm or The alarm buzzer 104 is sounded to notify the operator of the abnormality of the sensor 92 (93) or the absence of the reflective mark 83. pulse motor 80
Return to its original position and the accompanying cassette 18
When it is confirmed that the carrier 3 is correctly accommodated in the grip portion 51, the computer 50 drives the motor 44 and the motor 24 to move the carrier 3
1 to return to the home position. Whether the carrier 31 has returned to the home position is confirmed by the same method as the method used to confirm whether the carrier 31 has been moved from the home position to the cassette removal position.

During the transition process of the carrier 31 to the home position, the computer 50 is moved so that the surface to be reproduced is on the upper side as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2.
The motor 97 is driven and the carrier 3
1 grip part 52 is rotated by 90 degrees or -90 degrees.
That is, when the contents of register R2 are "1" (Side A playback information) and the contents of register R8 are "1", and when the contents of register R2 are "0" (Side B playback information) and the contents of register R8 are In the case of "0", a rotation of 90° is performed. Whether or not the 90° rotation has been reliably performed is determined by checking whether the detection section 98a of the sensor 98 senses the slit 99a carved in the plate 99.

After carrier 31 returns to the home position with cassette 18 accommodated, cassette 1
8 is loaded into the insertion slot 16 of the player 17, the disc in the cassette 18 is used for playback, and after the playback is finished, the cassette 18 is automatically ejected from the insertion slot 16 of the player 17, and the carrier 31 is opened. The cassette 18 is grasped and stored again in the original storage space S. And the carrier 31 is
After returning the cassette 18 to its original storage space S,
It will return to the home position again and wait for the next selection command.

Note that the sensor 200 is connected to the protrusion 2 of the carrier 31.
Unless 02 is detected, the cassette 18 will not be inserted into the insertion slot 16 of the player 17 supported by the damper 203.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, in the present invention, loading position detection means is provided on the carrier side. Therefore, whether or not the carrier is located at a proper loading position can be accurately detected by the loading position detection means, regardless of the relative vibration between the regenerator and the carrier.

Further, in the present invention, a vibration detection means is provided between the carrier and the regenerator. Hence,
Even when the carrier is in the loading position, if there is relative vibration between the player and the carrier, the control device operates and the cassette is not pushed toward the player. As a result,
Problems such as when the cassette collides with the player and is damaged do not occur.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an autochanger or information medium holding and retrieval device according to the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the first illustrated device (however, the carrier and its related members are not shown), FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the carrier and means for guiding the carrier, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the illustrated device. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the lower part of the means for guiding the carrier; Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the gear integrated with the wire wheel that moves the carrier up and down; Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the installation state of the sensor that checks the amount of rotation of the carrier. , Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing the connection state between the lower stand and the plate, Fig. 9 is a plan view of the carrier, Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the carrier, and Fig. 11 is a sensor for checking the amount of rotation of the carrier gripping diagram. 12 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 11, FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the holder of the carrier grip and the cassette facing each other, FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the holder, and FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the holder. Fig. 15 is a diagram showing the relationship between the computer controlling the first illustrated device, each sensor, each motor, and the main computer, and Fig. 16 is a diagram showing the relationship between the computer controlling the first illustrated device, each sensor, each motor, and the main computer, and FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the processing procedure which a computer performs in between. 16...Insertion slot, 17...Player, 18...Cassette, 31...Carrier, 50...Computer (control device), 55, 56...Photo sensor (loading position detection means), 57,
58...Plate (loading position detection means), 62...Protrusion (loading position detection means), 80...Holder, 200...Sensor (vibration detection means), 202...Protrusion (vibration detection) Means), S...Storage space.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A cassette, a storage space for storing the cassette, a carrier for transporting the cassette, and a cassette mounted on the carrier so as to be movable forward and backward, from the carrier to the storage space, or for transporting the cassette to the storage space. a holder for moving a cassette from the storage space to the carrier; loading position detection means provided on the carrier side for detecting that the carrier has moved to the loading position; a regenerator into which the cassette is inserted by the holder when the regenerator is moved to the carrier; vibration detection means provided between the regenerator and the carrier to detect relative vibration between the regenerator and the carrier; a control device that causes the holder to insert the cassette into the regenerator when the cassette is in the loading position and the vibration detection means does not detect relative vibration between the regenerator and the carrier; An information medium holding and retrieval device comprising: .