Record player having a loading mechanism for loading a disk

In a record player having a loading mechanism for loading a disk (30), a rectilinearly retractable and extensible drawer (6) is provided, which carries a platform (15) and a pivotable pressure lever (24) with a disk loader (29). The drawer (6) has in side walls (9,10) grooves (14), in which the platform (15) is movable between an upper and a lower position in the direction of height with respect to the drawer, whereby the platform (15) in the lower position is located below the upper side of the turn-table (21). The platform (15) is held during a first part of the sliding-in movement by at least one positioning member (17) in the upper position in the grooves and is pressed during a second part of the sliding-in movement against at least one abutment stop (26), as a result of which it performs a substantially vertical movement with respect to the turn-table (21) in the grooves (14) to the lower position. The pressure lever (24) is engaged during the movement in the grooves (14) with the platform (15) and is pivoted in downward direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to a record player having a front loading mechanism 
for loading a disk. Such a player has a housing and a frame fixed within 
the housing in which a turn table is rotatably journalled about a vertical 
axis loading mechanism comprises a drawer which is rectilinearly slidable 
inward and outward through a front opening in the housing, between an 
opened (extended) and a closed (retracted) position. The drawer carries a 
platform for carrying a disk to the turn table. The loading mechanism 
further comprises a pressure lever with a disk loader pivotable in a 
generally vertical direction about a shaft at right angles to the sliding 
direction of the drawer. 
A known record player of this kind is the record player of the Japanese 
firm Sony, type CDP-101. Such a record player is intended to play 
optically readable audio disks of the "Compact Disc" type. In this player, 
a complicated lifting device comprising a plurality of cams is provided in 
the platform, which device causes the disk to be lowered on the turn-table 
after the platform has been moved above the turn-table. For the control of 
the various movements of the drawer, the platform and the lifting device, 
the loading mechanism of the known record player is provided with various 
driving mechanisms, such as electric motors, and with control electronics, 
as a result of which the construction of the loading mechanism of the 
known record player is complicated and voluminous. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention has for its object to provide the record player of this kind 
having a simple, compact mechanically operating loading mechanism. 
According to the invention, a record player has grooves in side walls of 
the drawer, sloping obliquely upward toward the rear of the drawer. The 
platform engages the grooves, and generally vertically is movable in the 
grooves with respect to the drawer between an upper and a lower position 
in a generally vertical direction. In the lower position the platform is 
located below the upper side of the turn-table. During a first part of the 
drawer inward movement the platform is held in the upper position in the 
grooves by at least one positioning member. During a second part of the 
inward movement the platform presses against at least one abutment stop 
and performs a substantially vertical movement with respect to the turn 
table in the grooves to the lower position. During this movement in the 
grooves the pressure lever is engaged by the platform and is pivoted in a 
downward direction. Thus, a purely mechanically operating loading 
mechanism, which comprises a small number of component parts, is obtained, 
in which in a reliable manner a control of the platform and the pressure 
lever with respect to the turn-table is obtained by means of the grooves, 
the positioning member and the abutment stop. Due to the small number of 
component parts, the drawer can be of compact construction and have a 
small width and height. This small frontal area is advantageous with 
respect to the construction of the front part of the housing of the record 
player, because a lot of space becomes available for operating keys and 
other members present on the front part due to the small dimensions of the 
front opening of the drawer. 
A preferred embodiment of a record player according to the invention is 
characterized in that the abutment stop is constituted by a projection 
formed on the pressure lever, and the platform is provided with a hook 
which during the second part of the drawer inward movement engages the 
projection. Thus, two functions are united in the abutment stop: the 
control of the platform in the grooves, and the step of causing the disk 
loader to move downwards. As a result, it can be ensured that the relative 
directions of movement of the platform and the pressure lever match 
accurately. 
In a still further preferred embodiment the positioning member is 
constituted by a spring, whose ends are connected to the platform and the 
drawer, respectively, and which during the first part of the outward 
movement of the drawer causes the platform to move to the upper position 
in the grooves. In this manner, a positioning member is obtained which on 
the one hand holds the platform in the upper position in a reliable manner 
during the first part of the drawer inward movement and which on the other 
hand causes the platform to move in an effective manner from the lower 
position back to the upper position at the end of the first part of the 
outward movement of the drawer. 
Yet another preferred embodiment according to the invention is 
characterized in that, after the pressure lever has been disengaged from 
the platform, it is positioned upwardly against at least one abutment so 
that it can be engaged again by the hook on the platform during the next 
second part of the inward movement of the drawer. Thus, during the first 
part of the inward movement of the drawer the pressure lever with the 
abutment stop is in the correct position to again engage with the 
platform. 
The invention will be described more fully with reference to an embodiment 
of a record player according to the invention, which is shown in the 
drawing, but to which the invention is not limited.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The record player shown in FIG. 1 comprises a housing 1 with upright side 
walls 2 and 3 which are connected near the front to rectangularly bent 
front walls 2a and 3a, respectively. The side walls 2 and 3 are 
interconnected via three connection rods 4a, 4b, and 4c, as a result of 
which the housing has the required rigidity. Between the front walls 2a 
and 3a and the rods 4b and 4c, a front opening 5 is provided in the 
housing 1, through which a drawer 6 can be rectilinearly slid inward and 
outward. 
The drawer 6 has a front flap 7 which, after the drawer has slid to the 
closed position shown in FIG. 4, covers the front opening 5. The sliding 
direction of the drawer is indicated in the Figures by the double arrow 8. 
The front flap 7 is connected to upright slide walls 9 and 10 of the 
drawer 6, which are each provided on the lower side with a rack 11 
engaging a pinion 12 which are coupled to a driving motor in a manner not 
shown. Further, near the front side on the connection rod 4b another pair 
of pinions 13 engage the rack 11 to ensure stable guiding of the drawer. 
Alternatively the sliding of the drawer may also be effected purely 
automatically, in which event the connection rod 4b is enclosed by a 
torsion spring, which is stretched when the drawer is retracted (closed) 
and is relieved when the drawer is extended (opened). In this case, a 
locking mechanism not shown ensures that the drawer is locked in the 
closed position. The pinions 12 may be provided with a damping coupling 
for damping the outward movement of the drawer 6. The side walls 9 and 10 
are provided near the rearmost ends with recesses 9a and 10a, 
respectively, which, as is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, permit movement of the 
walls along the connection rod 4a during the second part of the sliding-in 
movement. 
The facing sides of the side walls 9 and 10 are provided with pairs of 
grooves 14, which are parallel to each other. The grooves 14 each comprise 
a main part 14a extending in the forward or outer direction obliquely 
downwards and continuing on the lower side into an end part 14b extending 
substantially horizontally. An upper end part 14c of each groove extends 
from the main part 14a obliquely downwards in rearward direction. 
The drawer 6 carries a platform 15 which is guided in the grooves 14 by 
means of projections constituted by pins 16. In the extended position 
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pins 16 are positioned in the ends of the end 
parts 14c under the influence of tension springs 17, which are stretched 
between the rear of the platform 15 and supports 17a located near the 
rearmost ends of the side walls 9 and 10. Thus, the springs 17 act as 
positioning means to hold the platform 15 in a stable manner in the upper 
position. At its upper side, the platform 15 has a disc carrying surface 
which, near the sides adjoining the side walls 9 and 10, is limited by 
positioning edges 18 and 19 with conically extending inner walls intended 
for centering a disk 30 while it is on the platform 15. The platform is 
provided with a number of openings, of which an opening 15a has a 
particular function. 
By means of rubber feet 20a, a frame 20 is supported elastically inside the 
housing 1. The frame 20 carries a turn table 21 which is rotatably 
journalled therein and is driven by a driving motor below the frame 20 in 
a manner not shown. The turntable 21 has a disc aligning edge 21a near the 
disc circumference and a centering cone 21b near the upper side. The frame 
20 is further provided with a recess 22 which extends in a radial 
direction with respect to the turn-table 21 and in which a lift-pin unit 
23 is movable in radial direction when playing the record. 
The connection rod 4a at the same time constitutes a pivot shaft for a 
pressure lever 24, which has limbs 24a and 24b. In the position shown in 
FIGS. 1 and 2 these limbs engage abutments constituted by pins 25, which 
are connected to the side walls 2 and 3, respectively, of the housing, as 
a result of which the pressure lever is positioned in the upward 
direction. Further, the limbs 24a and 24b are provided with bent tabs 
which each carry a projection constituted by a pin 26. The pins 26 
constitute abutment stops. After the first part of the inward movement, 
during which the disk 30 moves as far as a position above the turntable 
without hindrance, hooks 27 provided on the upper side of the platform 15 
abut against the pins 26, and these hooks then engage the pins 26. After 
this engagement, the effect of the springs 17 no longer holds the pins 16 
against the rear ends of the groove end part 14c. As a result the pins 16 
move from the upper position through the grooves 14 to the lower position. 
At the instant at which the hooks 27 engage the pins 26, the platform 15 
has arrived at the correct place above the turntable 21. During the second 
part of the inward movement, when the platform 15 is lowered, the pressure 
lever 24 is pivoted by the hooks 27 against the action of leaf springs 28 
in a downward direction about the pivot shaft 4a. The upper side of the 
platform 15 moves to a position below the upper side of the turn table 21. 
During this movement, the disk 30 is centered on the centering cone 21b 
and the disk is disposed on the turn table 21 free from the platform 15. 
During the next part of the movement of the pins 16 in the main parts 14a 
of the grooves 14, the platform is moved to a lower position and the 
pressure lever 24 is pivoted further, after which a disk loader 29 carried 
by the main part 24c of the lever 24 urges the disk against the turn table 
21. At the end of the movement, the platform 15 is positioned with the 
pins 16 in a stable manner on the end of the end parts 14b. 
For opening the drawer, a key (not shown) on the housing 1 is depressed, 
after which the drive operates in the opposite direction and causes the 
drawer 6 to move outwards. First the platform 15 moves upwards 
substantially in a vertical direction with respect to the turn-table 21, 
and the disk loader 29 is pivoted upwards due to the engagement with the 
hooks 27. The platform vertical movement is due to the presence of tension 
springs 17, which urge the platform rearward and cause the pins 16 to move 
upwards again in the grooves 14 under the influence of the leaf-springs 28 
which endeavour to pivot the pressure lever 24 upwards. At the end of the 
pivotal movement, the limbs 24a and 24b of the pressure lever 24 again 
engage the pins 25. As a result, after disengagement from the hooks 27 
during the second part of the outward movement of the drawer 6, the pins 
26 are positioned again for a next inward movement of the drawer so as to 
engage the hooks again. At the end of the first part of the outward 
movement, the platform 15 is again positioned with the pins 16 in a stable 
manner in the end parts 14c of the grooves 14. At the end of the outward 
movement, due to the presence of the aforementioned openings in the 
platform 15 it is easy to pick up the disk with the peripheral edge 
between thumb and forefinger and to remove it and to dispose a new disk on 
the platform, respectively. 
The loading mechanism comprising the drawer 6, the platform 15 and the 
pressure lever 24 ensures that a disk to be loaded is slid in along an 
accurately defined path and moves to the turn-table in the correct 
position in a substantially vertical direction. The described construction 
of a loading mechanism for a record player has the advantage that it can 
be compact and simple, while the various movements are performed purely 
mechanically. The described loading mechanism is particularly suitable for 
the use in record players for reading optical audio-disks of the "compact 
disc" type, which record players are suitable, due to the introduction of 
the disk in horizontal position through a front opening in the housing, to 
be included in a stacked collection of audio apparatus or in a space 
strongly limited in the vertical direction, for example, between two 
book-shelves.