JPH09198769A - Disk auto-changer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a disk auto-changer having good space efficiency. SOLUTION: In the auto-changer having a disk housing part 20 provided turnably inside a chassis 11 and a disk reproducing part 14 which is movable in the arranging direction of housed disks 16, a turning fulcrum of the disk housing part 20 is provided in the vicinity of the center of the housed disks 16, and at the time of changing a disk 16 housed in the disk housing part 20, a disk entrance and an opening part of the chassis 11 are made to match with each other, and the disk 16 is housed through the opening part. Then, at the time of reproducing the disk 16, the disk entrance is directed to the side of the reproducing part 14, and the housed disk 15 is reproduced, and also since a part other than the disk entrance of the disk housing part is made to be a door, at the time of changing and reproducing the disk, the disk housing part is never protruded out of the front surface side of the chassis 11, thus obtaining the disk auto-changer with such good space efficiency.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[0001]

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the structure of a disc autochanger.

[0003]

[0002]

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an automatic changer capable of efficiently storing a large number of discs and continuously selecting and reproducing desired discs.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of an automatic changer 10 for a conventional compact disc (hereinafter referred to as a disc). As shown in FIG. 8, a door 12 that can be opened and closed is provided on the front surface of a chassis 11 of the autochanger 10, and inside the door 12, a storage portion 13 that stores a plurality of disks is arranged. A reproducing unit 14 is provided adjacent to the back of the storage unit 13, and is arranged so as to be movable along the arrangement direction of each storage unit (arrow A in the drawing). When a desired disc is selected from a plurality of discs and reproduced, the reproducing unit 14 moves to the vicinity of the selected disc, and a transport mechanism 15 provided in the reproducing unit 14 is provided.
The selected disc is taken out from the storage unit 13 and moved to the reproducing unit 14 to reproduce the disc.

[0006]

Further, in FIG. 9, the disk 16 is provided in each storage portion 13
It is a schematic inclination view which showed the mode stored in a, b, c, d. Each storage unit 13 has a disk 16 for each storage unit 13.
A predetermined number of the discs 16 are stored, and the discs 16 are partitioned by a partition plate (not shown) provided in the storage unit 13 and are stored in parallel with each other.

Further, since each storage portion 13 is pivotally attached to each storage portion 13 about the fulcrum 17 so as to be rotatable, when the door 12 is opened, it is indicated by an arrow B in the figure. In the direction
For example, the storage portion 13a rotates to the door 12 side by about 90 degrees, and the disc can be exchanged.

[0008]

[0004]

[0009]

As described above, when a disc is replenished or replaced in the autochanger, the door must be opened and the storage section must be rotated by about 90 degrees. Therefore, the door and the storage portion project in front of the autochanger, resulting in poor space efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic disc changer using a space-efficient storage method.

[0011]

[0005]

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a disk autochanger in which a plurality of disks are arranged and housed, and these disks are selected. In a disc autochanger designed to be played back, a chassis having a substantially rectangular opening formed on a front panel, a disc storage portion rotatably provided with respect to the chassis, and a disc storage portion provided inside the chassis. A disc reproducing unit movable in the disc array direction, the disc storing unit includes a casing having a disc inlet into which the discs are inserted, and a partition plate for partitioning the stored discs one by one. When exchanging the disc to be stored in the disc storage part by configuring the fulcrum of rotation with respect to the chassis near the center of the stored disc, including Align the disc inlet with the opening of the chassis. Make sure that the disc inserted through the opening of the chassis is stored in the storage part. It is characterized in that it can be conveyed to the disc reproducing portion housed toward the side, and that the opening other than the disc entrance of the disc housing portion is aligned with the opening.

[0013]

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic changer for discs according to the first aspect.
A substantially semi-cylindrical casing having a substantially rectangular disc inlet and in which approximately half of the disc accommodated through the disc inlet is accommodated, and the accommodated disc
It is characterized in that it is provided with a partition plate for partitioning each sheet, and a fulcrum of rotation with respect to the chassis is provided so as to coincide with the center of a semicircle of the housing.

[0014]

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic disc changer according to the first or second aspect, in which the disc storage portion accommodates the disc in a state where the disc surface is vertical. When the disc is rotated from the position when the disc is exchanged to the position when the disc is reproduced, the disc is rotated in a direction such that the disc inlet is directed vertically upward during the rotation operation. To do.

[0015]

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic disc changer according to the first to third aspects, wherein the disc storage portion is provided with a locking mechanism for locking the stored disc at the storage position. And

[0016]

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic changer for a disc according to the first to fourth aspects, characterized in that a latch mechanism is provided in the disc storage portion.

[0017]

Further, an automatic disc changer according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first to fifth aspects, an opening is provided in a portion other than a disc entrance in the disc storage portion.

[0018]

[0011]

[0019]

According to the present invention, in an autochanger having a disc storage portion for arranging and storing a plurality of discs rotatably provided on the chassis and a disc reproducing portion movable in the arrangement direction of the stored discs, A rotation fulcrum is provided near the center of the stored disc, and when replacing the disc stored in the disc storage part, the disc inlet on the side where the disc is inserted matches the opening on the front side of the chassis. Then, the disc inserted through the opening is stored in the storage portion.

Further, when reproducing a disc, the disc entrance is directed to the disc reproducing part side so that the disc can be conveyed to the accommodated disc reproducing part, and the part other than the disc inlet of the disc accommodating part is aligned with the opening. As a result, when the disc is exchanged, the disc storage portion does not project to the front surface side as compared with the case of reproducing, and it is possible to provide an autochanger for a disc with good space efficiency.

[0021]

[0012]

[0022]

1 is a schematic structural diagram of an automatic disc changer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 1A is a plan view of a disc autochanger showing a state where a disc can be exchanged from the outside.
(B) is the front view. Further, FIG. 2A is a plan view of the disc autochanger showing a state in which external disc exchange is prohibited and disc reproduction is possible, and FIG. 2B is a front view thereof. In describing the embodiments of the present invention, the same parts as those in the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the disc storage portion 20 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the chassis 11 about a fulcrum 17, and the fulcrum 17 is located near the center of the disc 16a stored. It is provided.
The outer shape of the disc storage portion 20 is a substantially semi-cylindrical shape, and a disc can be stored through a disc inlet 19 provided on one side thereof.

[0023]

The disk storage section 20 is a chassis 11
It also serves as a door for opening and closing the opening 18, and the opening 18 can be closed by the side opposite to the disk inlet 19.

That is, FIGS. 1A and 1B show a state in which the disc can be taken in and out from the disc inlet 19, and when the disc housing portion 20 is rotated 180 degrees from this state, FIG. ) And (b), the opening 18 is closed to prevent the disk from being taken in and out.

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), a plurality of partition plates 30 are stacked at equal intervals inside the disk housing portion 20, and one disk is placed between the adjacent partition plates 30. It is stored. In addition, a latch mechanism is provided inside the disc storage portion 20 to assist the disc pulling operation, whereby the disc projected from the disc storage portion 20 reaches the position indicated by 16b in the figure.
The details of this latch mechanism will be described later.

[0026]

Further, a disk reproducing section 14 and a transport mechanism 15 are provided inside the chassis 11, and they are integrated along a guide rail 22 extending in the arrangement direction of the disks housed in the disk housing section 20. After moving and moving to the vicinity of the disc to be reproduced, the conveying mechanism 15 conveys the disc 16 from the disc inlet 19 to the reproducing unit 14. This pattern is shown in FIG. Since the specific configuration of the transport mechanism 15 is widely known, it is omitted here.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, a window provided with a transparent member such as glass or acrylic for seeing through the storage state of the disk is provided substantially at the center of the disk storage section 20 opposite to the disk inlet 19. Since 21 is provided, the internal storage state can be seen even when the opening 18 is closed.

[0028]

Next, the detailed structure of the disk storage portion 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3A shows a sectional view of the disc storage portion 20, and FIG.
Indicates the partition plate 30. Further, FIG. 4 shows a state where the disc is being stored, and FIG. 5 shows a state where the disc is completely stored. FIG.
As shown in (a), since the partition plate 30 separates the disc from the adjacent disc by a prescribed size in the state where the disc is housed,
The disk storage unit 31 has a concave, substantially semicircular flat plate. In order to avoid contact between the disc surface and the bottom portion 32, the disc storage portion 31 has a gradually lower slope from the inner peripheral edge portion to the central portion. Further, a horseshoe-shaped hole is provided in the center of the disc storage portion 31 to facilitate the transportation of the transportation mechanism.

[0029]

Further, the inner peripheral edge portion 33 of the disk storage portion 31
Put the disc in the specified position (Fig.
The disk is formed wider than the outer dimensions of the disk in the state of being housed in (the state of being arranged at the center point of (a)).
The range of the part is slightly wider than the outer dimension of the disk and is parallel (dimension D in the drawing). The depth dimension of the disc storage portion 31 should be wider than the outer shape of the disc,
It can be inserted deeper than the specified position. Further, a leaf spring 34 is provided near the disc entrance of the partition plate 30,
When the disc is inserted, the inner peripheral edge portion 33 and the leaf spring 34
The outer peripheral edge portion of the disk is in contact with the contact portion 35. The contact portion 35 is provided so as to be located outside the radius of the disc (position E shown in FIG. 5) when the disc is stored at the specified position (disc position shown in FIG. 5). Receives a biasing force in the inner direction of the disc storage portion 31, and is stably held in the storage position.

[0030]

Further, as described above, the partition plate 30 is provided with the latch mechanism for facilitating the pulling out of the disc, and the moving piece 36 having the protrusion 38 is slid on the bottom portion 32 of the disc storing portion 31. It is movably embedded and is biased by a spring 37. Then, when the disc is inserted into the disc storage portion 31, the protrusion 38 provided on the moving piece 36 contacts the outer peripheral edge portion of the disc (the state shown in FIG. 4).

When the disk is further inserted, the moving piece 36 slides by being pressed by the outer peripheral edge portion of the disk, but when the disk is inserted to a substantially specified position, the spring 37 is inserted from the recess 39 provided in the moving piece 36. At the same time as the detachment, the tip of the separately provided delivery spring 40 enters the recess 39. At this time, the urging force of the delivery spring 40 is deenergized by the convex portion (not shown) provided on the bottom portion 32 of the disc storage portion 31.

[0032]

Although the moving piece 36 is not biased by the sending spring 40, the sending spring 40 is inserted into the recess 39 provided in the moving piece 36.
Since the tip of the disc is recessed, it is in close contact with the outer peripheral edge of the disc. Since the disc is biased by the leaf spring 34, it is stored at the specified position in the state of receiving the biasing force in the inner direction of the disc storage portion 31 (this state is shown in FIG. 5). When the disc is taken out, if the outer peripheral edge of the disc is pushed with a finger (in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5), the disc is inserted further together with the moving piece 36 further than the specified position. At this time, the urging force of the delivery spring 40 is released by the protrusion (not shown) of the moving piece 36, and the disc is pushed out together with the moving piece 36. The moving piece 36 is returned to the position (the position shown in FIG. 4) before the disc is inserted, and the spring 37 stops in a state where the spring 37 has re-entered the recess 39 of the moving piece 36.

[0033]

The operation of the autochanger according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6. FIG.
Is a schematic perspective view of the inside of the autochanger in order to facilitate understanding of how the disc inside the autochanger is conveyed.

In the state shown in FIG. 1A, first, when the outer peripheral edge of the replacement disk is pushed with a finger, the disk moves toward the front (disk 16a shown in FIG. 1A).
State of. ) So that the outer peripheral edge of the disk near the radius is pinched with fingers and removed. After inserting another disc into the disc storage portion 31 provided in the partition plate 30, the disc is further pushed in with a finger to store the disc in the specified position. Next, the disc storage portion 20 is rotated by approximately 180 degrees so that the disc can be reproduced as shown in FIG. At this time, the disc inlet 19 is in a state of facing the reproducing unit 14 side.

[0035]

When playing a disc, an operating portion of an autochanger (not shown) or an operating portion such as a remote controller is operated, and the number button and the "play" button of the disc to be selected are pressed. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, in response to a command from a microcomputer (not shown) provided inside the autochanger, the reproducing unit 14 having the transport mechanism 15 is provided on the rail 22 having a spiral groove in the reproducing unit 14. It slowly slides by the rotation of a gear (not shown), moves to the storage position of the selected disc, and stops. Then, the transport mechanism 15
Disk 16 stored in the disk storage portion 20 by
Are conveyed toward the reproducing unit 14 side. At this time, the disc 16 is conveyed to the reproducing unit 14 side by a distance of substantially the radius,
By placing the disc on a rotary table (not shown) provided in the reproducing unit 14, the disc can be reproduced by a reproducing pickup (not shown) provided in the reproducing unit 14.

[0036]

When the reproduction is completed, the transport mechanism 15 is activated again in accordance with the command from the microcomputer to transport the disc into the original disc storage section 20.

With the above, a series of reproducing operations are completed.
If you want to replace the disc again, you can use the disc holder 20
The disk inlet 19 to the chassis 1
1 to match the opening 18 (state shown in FIG. 1A)
Just do it. At this time, since the rotation fulcrum 17 of the disc storage portion 20 is provided near the center of the disc stored inside the disc storage portion 20, the disc storage portion 20 is rotated to 2A, even if the disc can be exchanged as shown in FIG. 1A from the reproducible state shown in FIG.
It is possible to improve the space efficiency in the front of the device as compared with the conventional case without protruding extremely from 1.

[0038]

FIG. 7 shows a schematic oblique view and a plan view of an autochanger according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the disks are housed in a state in which the disk surfaces of the disks are vertical and are arranged horizontally.
FIG. 7A shows a state in which the disc storage portion 20 closes the opening 18 and shows a window 21 provided in the disc storage portion 20.
Configured horizontally. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the rotation direction of the disc storage portion 20 is determined by the disc inlet 1
A feature is that the disk storage portion 20 is provided with a convex portion 25 so that the disk 9 does not face the bottom surface of the chassis 11 but rotates in the direction of the arrow in the drawing. In other words, the disk storage unit 20
During the rotation from the reproducible state shown in FIG. 7A, the disc inlet 19 is turned upward so that the disc can be exchanged. Further, since the disc is accommodated in the vertical direction, it goes without saying that the reproducing unit 14 and the transport mechanism 15 inside the autochanger are also slid horizontally with respect to the chassis 11 to reproduce, carry in, and carry out the disc. .

[0039]

[0023]

[0040]

As described above, in the disc autochanger of the present invention, when the disc is exchanged, the disc storage portion does not project to the front surface side as compared to when the disc is reproduced, and the disc is excellent in space efficiency. Auto changer can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram when an automatic changer door according to a first embodiment of the present invention is opened.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram when the door of the autochanger according to the first embodiment of the present invention is closed.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a partition plate of an autochanger used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram when a disc is inserted into a disc storage portion of a partition plate.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram when a disc is stored in a disc storage portion of a partition plate.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of the autochanger according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of a disc autochanger according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic inclination view of an automatic changer in a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a schematic inclination view of a storage portion 13 of a disc of an automatic changer in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 ... Chassis 14 ... Playback section 15 ... Transport mechanism 16 ... Disk 17 ... Support point 20 ... Disk storage section 21 ... Window 22 ... Rail 25 ... Convex section 30 ... Partition board

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] December 19, 1996

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Detailed description of the invention

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the structure of a disc autochanger.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an automatic changer capable of efficiently storing a large number of discs and continuously selecting and reproducing desired discs. FIG. 8 is a schematic inclined view of an automatic changer 10 for a conventional compact disc (hereinafter referred to as a disc). As shown in FIG. 8, a door 12 that can be opened and closed is provided on the front surface of the chassis 11 of the autochanger 10, and inside the door 12,
A storage unit 13 for storing a plurality of disks is arranged. In addition, the reproducing unit 14 is provided so as to be adjacent to the back of the storage unit 13.
Is provided, and the arrangement direction of each storage unit (arrow A in the figure)
It is arranged so that it can move along. When a desired disc is selected from a plurality of discs and reproduced, the reproducing unit 14 moves to the vicinity of the selected disc, and the transport mechanism 15 provided in the reproducing unit 14 stores the selected disc in the storage unit. The disc is taken out from the disc 13 and moved to the reproducing section 14 to reproduce the disc.

Further, in FIG. 9, the disk 16 is provided in each storage portion 13
It is a schematic inclination view which showed the mode stored in a, b, c, d. Each storage unit 13 has a disk 16 for each storage unit 13.
A predetermined number of the discs 16 are stored, and the discs 16 are partitioned by a partition plate (not shown) provided in the storage unit 13 and are stored in parallel with each other. Further, since each storage portion 13 is pivotally attached to each storage portion 13 about the fulcrum 17 as a shaft, when the door 12 is opened, in the direction indicated by the arrow B in the figure, For example, the storage portion 13a rotates to the door 12 side by about 90 degrees, and the disc can be exchanged.

[0004]

As described above, when a disc is replenished or replaced in the autochanger, the door must be opened and the storage section must be rotated by about 90 degrees. Therefore, the door and the storage portion project in front of the autochanger, resulting in poor space efficiency. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic disc changer using a space-efficient storage method.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a disk autochanger in which a plurality of disks are arranged and housed, and these disks are selected. In a disc autochanger designed to be played back, a chassis having a substantially rectangular opening formed on a front panel, a disc storage portion rotatably provided with respect to the chassis, and a disc storage portion provided inside the chassis. A disc reproducing unit movable in the disc array direction, the disc storing unit includes a casing having a disc inlet into which the discs are inserted, and a partition plate for partitioning the stored discs one by one. When exchanging the disc to be stored in the disc storage part by configuring the fulcrum of rotation with respect to the chassis near the center of the stored disc, including Align the disc inlet with the opening of the chassis. Make sure that the disc inserted through the opening of the chassis is stored in the storage part. It is characterized in that it can be conveyed to the disc reproducing portion housed toward the side, and that the opening other than the disc entrance of the disc housing portion is aligned with the opening.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic changer for discs according to the first aspect.
A substantially semi-cylindrical casing having a substantially rectangular disc inlet and in which approximately half of the disc accommodated through the disc inlet is accommodated, and the accommodated disc
It is characterized in that it is provided with a partition plate for partitioning each sheet, and a fulcrum of rotation with respect to the chassis is provided so as to coincide with the center of a semicircle of the housing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic disc changer according to the first or second aspect, in which the disc storage portion accommodates the disc in a state where the disc surface is vertical. When the disc is rotated from the position when the disc is exchanged to the position when the disc is reproduced, the disc is rotated in a direction such that the disc inlet is directed vertically upward during the rotation operation. To do.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic disc changer according to the first to third aspects, wherein the disc storage portion is provided with a locking mechanism for locking the stored disc at the storage position. And

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic changer for a disc according to the first to fourth aspects, characterized in that a latch mechanism is provided in the disc storage portion.

Further, an automatic disc changer according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first to fifth aspects, an opening is provided in a portion other than a disc entrance in the disc storage portion.

[0011]

According to the present invention, in an autochanger having a disc storage portion for arranging and storing a plurality of discs rotatably provided on the chassis and a disc reproducing portion movable in the arrangement direction of the stored discs, A rotation fulcrum is provided near the center of the stored disc, and when replacing the disc stored in the disc storage part, the disc inlet on the side where the disc is inserted matches the opening on the front side of the chassis. Then, the disc inserted through the opening is stored in the storage portion. Further, when playing a disc, the disc entrance is directed to the disc playing part side so that the disc can be conveyed to the housed disc playing part, and the part other than the disc entrance of the disc housing part is aligned with the opening. Therefore, when the disc is exchanged, the disc storage portion does not project to the front surface side as compared with the case of the reproduction, and it is possible to provide the disc autochanger with a good space efficiency.

[0012]

1 is a schematic structural diagram of an automatic disc changer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 1A is a plan view of a disc autochanger showing a state where a disc can be exchanged from the outside.
(B) is the front view. Further, FIG. 2A is a plan view of the disc autochanger showing a state in which external disc exchange is prohibited and disc reproduction is possible, and FIG. 2B is a front view thereof. In describing the embodiments of the present invention, the same parts as those in the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the disc storage portion 20 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the chassis 11 about a fulcrum 17, and the fulcrum 17 is located near the center of the disc 16a stored. It is provided.
The outer shape of the disc storage portion 20 is a substantially semi-cylindrical shape, and a disc can be stored through a disc inlet 19 provided on one side thereof.

The disk storage section 20 is a chassis 11
It also serves as a door for opening and closing the opening 18, and the opening 18 can be closed by the side opposite to the disk inlet 19.
That is, FIGS. 1A and 1B show a state in which the disc can be taken in and out from the disc inlet 19, and when the disc housing portion 20 is rotated 180 degrees from this state, FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), the opening 18 is closed to prevent the disc from being taken in and out. As shown in FIG. 1B, a plurality of partition plates 3 are provided inside the disc storage portion 20.
Zeros are stacked at equal intervals, and one disc is housed between adjacent partition plates 30. In addition, a latch mechanism is provided inside the disc storage portion 20 to assist the disc pulling operation, whereby the disc projected from the disc storage portion 20 reaches the position indicated by 16b in the figure. The details of this latch mechanism will be described later.

Further, a disk reproducing section 14 and a transport mechanism 15 are provided inside the chassis 11, and they are integrated along a guide rail 22 extending in the arrangement direction of the disks housed in the disk housing section 20. After moving and moving to the vicinity of the disc to be reproduced, the conveying mechanism 15 conveys the disc 16 from the disc inlet 19 to the reproducing unit 14. This pattern is shown in FIG. Since the specific configuration of the transport mechanism 15 is widely known, it is omitted here. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, a window 21 provided with a transparent member such as glass or acrylic is provided at approximately the center of the disk housing portion 20 on the side opposite to the disk inlet 19 so as to see the stored state of the disk. Therefore, even when the opening 18 is closed, the internal storage state can be seen.

Next, the detailed structure of the disk storage portion 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3A shows a sectional view of the disc storage portion 20, and FIG.
Indicates the partition plate 30. Further, FIG. 4 shows a state where the disc is being stored, and FIG. 5 shows a state where the disc is completely stored. FIG.
As shown in (a), since the partition plate 30 separates the disc from the adjacent disc by a prescribed size in the state where the disc is housed,
The disk storage unit 31 has a concave, substantially semicircular flat plate. In order to avoid contact between the disc surface and the bottom portion 32, the disc storage portion 31 has a gradually lower slope from the inner peripheral edge portion to the central portion. Further, a horseshoe-shaped hole is provided in the center of the disc storage portion 31 to facilitate the transportation of the transportation mechanism.

Further, the inner peripheral edge portion 33 of the disk storage portion 31
Put the disc in the specified position (Fig.
The disk is formed wider than the outer dimensions of the disk in the state of being housed in (the state of being arranged at the center point of (a)).
The range of the part is slightly wider than the outer dimension of the disk and is parallel (dimension D in the drawing). The depth dimension of the disc storage portion 31 should be wider than the outer shape of the disc,
It can be inserted deeper than the specified position. Further, a leaf spring 34 is provided near the disc entrance of the partition plate 30,
When the disc is inserted, the inner peripheral edge portion 33 and the leaf spring 34
The outer peripheral edge portion of the disk is in contact with the contact portion 35. The contact portion 35 is provided so as to be located outside the radius of the disc (position E shown in FIG. 5) when the disc is stored at the specified position (disc position shown in FIG. 5). Receives a biasing force in the inner direction of the disc storage portion 31, and is stably held in the storage position.

Further, as described above, the partition plate 30 is provided with the latch mechanism for facilitating the pulling out of the disc, and the moving piece 36 having the protrusion 38 is slid on the bottom portion 32 of the disc storing portion 31. It is movably embedded and is biased by a spring 37. Then, when the disc is inserted into the disc storage portion 31, the protrusion 38 provided on the moving piece 36 contacts the outer peripheral edge portion of the disc (the state shown in FIG. 4). When the disk is further inserted, the moving piece 36 slides by being pressed by the outer peripheral edge portion of the disk. However, when the disk is inserted to a substantially specified position, the spring 37 is removed from the recess 39 provided in the moving piece 36, and The tip of the separately provided delivery spring 40 enters the recess 39. At this time, the urging force of the delivery spring 40 is deenergized by the convex portion (not shown) provided on the bottom portion 32 of the disc storage portion 31.

Although the moving piece 36 is not biased by the sending spring 40, the sending spring 40 is inserted into the recess 39 provided in the moving piece 36.
Since the tip of the disc is recessed, it is in close contact with the outer peripheral edge of the disc. Since the disc is biased by the leaf spring 34, it is stored at the specified position in the state of receiving the biasing force in the inner direction of the disc storage portion 31 (this state is shown in FIG. 5). When the disc is taken out, if the outer peripheral edge of the disc is pushed with a finger (in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5), the disc is inserted further together with the moving piece 36 further than the specified position. At this time, the urging force of the delivery spring 40 is released by the protrusion (not shown) of the moving piece 36, and the disc is pushed out together with the moving piece 36. The moving piece 36 is returned to the position (the position shown in FIG. 4) before the disc is inserted, and the spring 37 stops in a state where the spring 37 has re-entered the recess 39 of the moving piece 36.

The operation of the autochanger according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6. FIG.
Is a schematic perspective view of the inside of the autochanger in order to facilitate understanding of how the disc inside the autochanger is conveyed. In the state shown in FIG. 1A, first, when pushing the outer peripheral edge of the replacement disk with a finger,
Since the disc moves toward you (the state of the disc 16a shown in FIG. 1A), the outer peripheral edge portion near the radius of the disc is pinched with fingers and taken out. Another disk is a partition plate 30
When the disc is further pushed in with a finger after being inserted into the disc storage portion 31 provided in the disc, the disc is stored at the specified position. Next, rotate the disc storage portion 20 by approximately 180 degrees, and
The reproducible state shown in FIG. At this time, the disc inlet 19 is in a state of facing the reproducing unit 14 side.

When playing a disc, an operating portion of an autochanger (not shown) or an operating portion such as a remote controller is operated, and the number button and the "play" button of the disc to be selected are pressed. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, in response to a command from a microcomputer (not shown) provided inside the autochanger, the reproducing unit 14 having the transport mechanism 15 is provided on the rail 22 having a spiral groove in the reproducing unit 14. It slowly slides by the rotation of a gear (not shown), moves to the storage position of the selected disc, and stops. Then, the transport mechanism 15
Disk 16 stored in the disk storage portion 20 by
Are conveyed toward the reproducing unit 14 side. At this time, the disc 16 is conveyed to the reproducing unit 14 side by a distance of substantially the radius,
By placing the disc on a rotary table (not shown) provided in the reproducing unit 14, the disc can be reproduced by a reproducing pickup (not shown) provided in the reproducing unit 14.

When the reproduction is completed, the transport mechanism 15 is activated again in accordance with the command from the microcomputer to transport the disc into the original disc storage section 20. With the above, a series of reproduction operations is completed. If you want to replace the disc again, rotate the disc storage part 20 by about 180 degrees and
9 is aligned with the opening 18 of the chassis 11 (see FIG.
(The state shown in (a)). At this time, the rotation fulcrum 17 of the disc storage portion 20 is not
Since it is provided in the vicinity of the center of the disc stored in the disk 0, the disc storage portion 20 is rotated and the disc shown in FIG. 1 (a) is changed from the reproducible state shown in FIG. 2 (a). Even if the disk can be replaced, the disk storage portion 20 does not project extremely from the chassis 11, and the space efficiency in the front of the device can be improved compared to the conventional case.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic oblique view and a plan view of an autochanger according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the disks are housed in a state in which the disk surfaces of the disks are vertical and are arranged horizontally.
FIG. 7A shows a state in which the disc storage portion 20 closes the opening 18 and shows a window 21 provided in the disc storage portion 20.
Configured horizontally. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the rotation direction of the disc storage portion 20 is determined by the disc inlet 1
A feature is that the disk storage portion 20 is provided with a convex portion 25 so that the disk 9 does not face the bottom surface of the chassis 11 but rotates in the direction of the arrow in the drawing. In other words, the disk storage unit 20
During the rotation from the reproducible state shown in FIG. 7A, the disc inlet 19 is turned upward so that the disc can be exchanged. Further, since the disc is accommodated in the vertical direction, it goes without saying that the reproducing unit 14 and the transport mechanism 15 inside the autochanger are also slid horizontally with respect to the chassis 11 to reproduce, carry in, and carry out the disc. .

[0023]

As described above, in the disc autochanger of the present invention, when the disc is exchanged, the disc storage portion does not project to the front surface side as compared to when the disc is reproduced, and the disc is excellent in space efficiency. Auto changer can be provided.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A chassis in which a substantially rectangular opening is formed in a front panel in an autochanger for a disc in which a plurality of discs are arranged and stored and which are selected and reproduced, and the chassis. And a disc reproducing unit that is provided inside the chassis and is movable in the arrangement direction of the stored discs. The disc storing unit has a disc on one side. A housing having a disc entrance to be inserted and a partition plate for partitioning the stored discs one by one are provided, and a fulcrum of rotation with respect to the previous period chassis is configured near the center of the stored disc. When replacing the disc to be stored in the chassis, insert the disc through the opening in the chassis that aligns the disc inlet with the opening in the chassis. The inserted disc is stored in the storage part, and when the disc stored in the disc storage part is played back, the disc inlet can be conveyed to the disc reproduction part stored toward the disc reproduction part side. In addition, the disc autochanger is characterized in that the opening is made to coincide with a portion other than the disc inlet of the disc storage portion. 2. The disk storage unit has a substantially semi-cylindrical housing which has a substantially rectangular disk inlet and in which approximately half of the disk accommodated through the disk inlet is housed. 2. A disk according to claim 1, further comprising: a partition plate for partitioning each of the disks, the fulcrum of rotation with respect to the previous chassis being aligned with the center of a semicircle of the previous chassis. Auto changer. 3. The disc storage portion stores a disc in a state where the disc surface is vertical, and the disc storage portion is rotated from a position for exchanging the disc to a position for reproducing the disc. 3. The automatic disc changer according to claim 1, wherein, when the disc is moved, the disc inlet is rotated in a direction such that the disc entrance is directed vertically upward during the rotation operation. 4. The automatic disc changer according to claim 1, wherein the disc storage portion is provided with a locking mechanism for locking the stored disc at the storage position. 5. The disc autochanger according to claim 1, wherein the disc storage portion is provided with a latch mechanism. 6. The autochanger for a disc according to claim 1, wherein an opening is provided in the disc storage portion at a portion other than the disc entrance.