AUTOMATIC DISC LOADING AND UNLOADING MECHANISM FOR RECORD PLAYER APPARATUS

Abstract: The device comprises at least three conical elements (24A, 24B, 24C) which engage with the disc edge and which are positioned at the vertices of a triangle with mechanically variable geometry whose sole linear displacement provides the horizontal and vertical transfers of the disc (D) from its insertion to its operative position and vice versa.

Description: This invention relates to record disc player apparatus and, more particularly, a loading and an unloading mechanism for such apparatus. Generally, loading and unloading mechanism for record disc player apparatus provides horizontal and vertical displacements of discs to transfer a disc from a loading position to an operating position and for returning the disc from the operating position to the original loading position or position of ejection. To achieve the displacements of the disc, the mechanism typically includes a mechanical and/or electro-mechanical means executing both displacements, which complicates the mechanism because it needs to act in both directions. This complication reduces the reliability of such mechanism and prevents obtaining low manufacturing costs. The main object of this invention is to overcome the above-stated drawbacks by providing a simple and reliable, low cost loading and unloading mechanism for record disc player apparatus. Another object is to provide a loading and unloading mechanism which can operate at any orientation, i.e. horizontal or vertical or at any angle therebetween. In achieving these objects, according to the present invention the automatic loading mechanism is characterized in that it comprises three conical elements mounted in a mechanically variable triangle arrangement in said housing and engaging the edge of a disc at their upper portion in the loading position, means for moving and coordinating said conical elements from a loading triangle arrangement to an intermediate triangle arrangement to move said disc to an intermediate position above a drive hub, and then outwardly relative to the center of the disc while retaining a triangular arrangement to lower said disc onto said drive hub. Accordingly, both horizontal and vertical displacements of the disc are performed by edgewise movements of the conical elements in a single plane. Other advantages and features of the invention will be evident from the detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation view of a record player apparatus having a loading and unloading mechanism according to the invention. Figure 2 is a top view of the apparatus illustrating the mechanism when the disc is partially inserted through an entrance slot at the start of operation or in a position when the disc has been ejected. Figure 3 is a front elevation view of the apparatus illustrating the mechanism in an intermediate position with the disc above the drive hub and in the insertion plane. Figure 4 is a top view of the apparatus illustrating the mechanism in the position shown in Figure 3. Figure 5 is a front elevation view of the apparatus illustrating the mechanism when the disc is in its operating position. Figure 6 is a top view of the apparatus illustrating the mechanism in the position shown in Figure 5. Figure 7 is a side elevation view of another embodiment of record player apparatus according to the present invention. Figure 8 is a top view of the apparatus illustrating the mechanism in the position shown in Figure 7. A record player apparatus is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 having a housing 12 made of two hollow halves 14 and 16 divided substantially along a disc insertion plane and having a front panel 18 with a slot 20 for receiving a disc D inserted edgewise. Driving means for a disc D includes a drive hub 22 located in the lower half of the housing on which a disc D is centered when in operating position. According to the present invention, the mechanism for moving the disc in the loading and unloading directions includes three conical elements 24A, 24B, 24C mounted in a delta arrangement at the vertices of a mechanically variable triangle, the three conical elements 24A, 24B, 24C being engageable with the edge of the disc D and being movable to guide the disc during its loading and unloading movement. Referring to Figure 1, a pair of the conical elements 24A, 24B are visible through the entrance slot 20 and are located opposite one another adjacent the lateral sides of a disc D in the entrance slot. All three conical elements are located on vertical axes with their tapered outer surfaces engaging the edge of a disc D. As seen in Figure 1, the disc D is engaged by the conical elements close to their upper ends when the disc D is in the insertion plane. The third conical element 24C, which is centrally located, appears in the top plan view of Figure 2. The conical elements are suspended beneath the top plate 26 of the upper housing half 14, the pair of oppositely arranged elements 24A, 24B being mounted by means of pins 28A, 28B connected to slide members 30A, 30B located on a pair of levers 32A, 32B which are used for coordinating the movement of the three conical elements 24A, 24B, 24C. The displacement of the slide members 30A, 30B is guided by the engaging of studs 34A, 34B mounted on the coordinating levers 32A, 32B and located in guide slots 36A, 36B in the slide members. The pivotally mounted coordinating levers 32A, 32B pivot around pins 38A, 38B located on the top plate 26 of the upper housing half 14. The mounting pins 28A, 28B pass through slots 40A, 40B in the associated pivotally mounted lever and through curved slots 42A, 42B in the top plate 26 of the upper housing half 14. For guiding the movement of the third central conical element 24C and coordinating the movement of all three conical elements 24A, 24B, 24C oppositely curved slots 44A, 44B in curved ends of the coordinating levers 32A, 32B intersect and a single pin 46, which carries the central conical element 24C, goes through the two intersecting slots 44A, 44B and through a straight slot 48 along the center line of the top plate 26. This mounting pin 46 for the third central conical element 24C is connected to a power unit, herein shown as a rack 50 driven by a pinion 52 from a drive motor 54 shown diagrammatically in Figure 2. When a disc is partially inserted in the entrance slot 20 to the loading position in which it is shown in Figure 2, the edge of the disc is engaged by the tapered surfaces of the three conical elements 24A, 24B, 24C which are supported in their loading triangle arrangement, and the disc is held stably thereby in this loading position. To move the disc in the insertion plane, the drive motor 54 is operated to move the mounting pin 46 carrying the central conical element 24C linearly in the loading direction along the linear slot 48 in the top plate 26 of the housing 12. By interengaging the curved slots 44A, 44B in the coordinating levers 32A, 32B, these levers are caused to pivot about their mounting pins 38A, 38B which causes inward movement of the pair of opposed conical elements 24A, 24B along the curved path defined by the curved slots 42A, 42B. As the pair of opposed conical elements 24A, 24B move inwardly along the curved slots 42A, 42B, they continue to engage the edge of the record disc and are maintained in a delta arrangement, as shown in Figure 4 which illustrates the record disc in an intermediate position above the drive hub. For displacing the record disc perpendicularly relative to the insertion plane from the intermediate position shown in Figure 4 to the operating position shown in Figure 6, all three conical elements 24A, 24B, 24C are moved radially outwardly relative to the center of the disc. The radially outward movement of the conical elements is achieved by further outward movement of the central conical element 24C cuased by the drive motor 54 such that the coordinating levers 32A, 32B are pivoted further inwardly toward the center line CL and the mounting pins 28A, 28B for the pair of opposed conical elements 24A, 24B are caused to enter straight sections 56A, 56B of the curved slots 42A, 42B in the top plate. In the final portion of the radially outward movement of the conical elements 24A, 24B, 24C, they separate from the edge of the disc to release the disc after it has been centered on the drive hub 22 so that they allow the disc to be rotated by the drive means. Means are provided for clamping the disc on the drive hub 22, herein shown as a clamping magnet 58. Means are also provided for raising and lowering the clamping magnet 58 during the course of movement of the disc to and from the operating position. The clamping magnet 58 is provided with a guide member 60 located above the magnet 58 which has an outwardly tapering conical surface 62. This surface 62 is engaged by clamping magnet guide levers 64A, 64B pivotally mounted on pins on the top plate 26. The pivoting of these guide levers 64A, 64B is caused by means of studs 66A, 66B mounted on the coordinating levers 32A, 32B and which pass through slots 70A, 70B in said guide levers. The guide levers 64A, 64B have operative ends 72A, 72B which fit against the conical guiding surface 62 of the guide member 60 for the clamping magnet. As shown in Figure 2, the guide levers 64A, 64B are positioned with their operative ends 72A, 72B inwardly in engagement with the guide member 60 for the clamping magnet so as to hold the clamping magnet in a raised position above the drive means and above the insertion plane of the record disc. The arrangement is such that the clamping magnet 58 is held free and clear of the record disc until the disc approaches the operating position. In the final movement of the coordinating levers 32A, 32B, which moves the pair of opposed conical elements 24A, 24B and the central conical element 24C radially outwardly, allowing the disc to drop onto the drive hub 22, the tabs 74A, 74B on the coordinating levers 32A, 32B swing radially away from the guide member 60 for the clamping magnet 58, thus allowing the clamping magnet 58 to move downwardly and clamp the record disc on the drive hub 22. In the unloading operation, by operation of the drive motor 54, the coordinating levers 32A, 32B are pivoted to return the mounting pins 28A, 28B for the opposed conical elements 24A, 24B along the straight sections 56A, 56B of the guide slots, and all three conical elements are moved radially inwardly relative to the disc. The tabs 74A, 74B also move into engagement with the clamping magnet operating member 60 and raise the clamping magnet above the disc, releasing the disc and causing the edge of the disc to ride upwardly on the tapered outer surfaces of the conical elements 24A, 24B, 24C as these elements move inwardly, raising the disc to the intermediate position in the insertion plane. Completion of the unloading operation is carried out by movement of the conical elements edgewise from the intermediate triangle arrangement of Figure 4 to the loading triangle arrangement of Figure 2 by operation of the motor 54 and movement of the central conical element 24C which, in effect, pushes the edge of the disc and moves the disc in the insertion plane to the original loading position, thereby ejecting the front edge of the disc from the entrance slot 20 so that it projects from the housing 12. Turning now to Figures 7 and 8, means are shown for ensuring that the disc is located in the insertion plane and above the drive hub 22 when it is inserted through the entrance slot 20 so that the disc is kept clear of the dribe hub assembly 22 as it is inserted. For this purpose, a flap 76 pivotally mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis 78 is provided. The flap 76 is mounted, as shown in Figure 7, adjacent the front portion of the housing 12 so that as a disc D is inserted it comes into engagement with a V-shaped edge 80 of the flap, the V-shaped edge 80 with the apex 82 downward being provided so that the disc engages the flap 76 only at the lateral edges of the disc. The flap 76 is pivotally mounted so that it drops downwardly to release the disc for its perpendicular movement from the intermediate position to the operating position. For carrying out the pivoting movement of the flap, two lateral studs 84A, 84B are provided at the laterally opposite edges of the flap which cooperate with inclined slots 86 in downwardly turned sides 88A, 88B of a slidable member 90 mounted on the top of the top plate 26 on the upper housing half of the unit and guided longitudinally of the housing by slots 94A, 94B in the top plate 26 of the housing which cooperate with studs 96A, 96B which extend through the slots from the slidable member 90. A pair of springs 98 are provided which normally urge the slidable member 90 towards the front of the housing, to the right in Figure 7. To lower the flap 76, the slide member 90 is driven toward the back of the housing 12, to the left in Figure 7, against the tension force exerted by the pair of springs 98. Said movement of slide member 90 is obtained during the loading movement of the disc D by the pin 46 of the central conical element 24C which abuts against a rear part 92 of the slidable member 90 and carries said member towards the back of the housing 12.

Claims: 1. An automatic loading and unloading mechanism for a slot-type record disc apparatus comprising a housing (12) for receiving a disc (D) inserted edgewise along an insertion path in said plane and drive means (22) to drive a disc when in an operating plane, characterized in that it comprises three conical elements (24A, 24B, 24C) mounted in a mechanically variable triangle arrangement in said housing (12) and engaging the edge of a disc (D) at their upper portion in the loading position, means (32A, 32B) for moving and coordinating said conical elements (24A, 24B, 24C) from a loading triangle arrangement to an intermediate triangle arrangement to move said disc (D) to an intermediate position above a drive hub (22), and then outwardly relative to the center of the disc while retaining a triangular arrangement to lower said disc onto said drive hub (22). 2. An automatic loading and unloading mechanism according to claim 1 including drive means (54) and coordinating levers (32A, 32B) for moving said conical elements (24A, 24B, 24C) in a variable triangle arrangement dimensioned such that said conical elements remain in contact with the edges of the disc (D) until said disc is lowered onto said drive hub (22) and are released from contact with said disc to allow said disc to be rotated by said drive hub when in its operating plane. 3. An automatic loading and unloading mechanism according to claim 1 or 2 wherein a pair (24A, 24B) of said conical elements are located symmetrically with respect to a center line (CL) bisecting a disc (D) in said partially inserted position in the slot (20) and the third conical element (24C) is centrally located on said center line (CL). 4. A loading and unloading mechanism according to claim 2 including means (38A, 38B) for pivotally mounting said coordinating levers (32A, 32B), said levers having intersecting slots (44A, 44B) shaped as arcs or circles, a pin (46) for mounting one of said conical elements (24C) passing through said intersecting slots of said levers at the point of intersection, said pin (46) being mounted for linear movement, motor driven means (54) for moving said pin linearly and for producing the coordinating movement of said coordinating levers, slide members (30A, 30B) carrying two of said conical elements (24A, 24B) and means connecting said coordinating levers to move said slide members and said two conical elements thereby moving all three conical elements edgewise upon power driven movement of said pin, mounting pin of said first mentioned conical element. 5. A loading and unloading mechanism according to claim 4, including a housing (12) for said mechanism having a top plate (26) with slots (42A, 42B, 48) for guiding the displacement of all three conical elements (24A, 24B, 24C). 6. A loading and unloading mechanism according to any of the preceding claims wherein said apparatus includes a clamping magnet (58) adapted to be raised and lowered relative to said drive hub (22), and means (64A, 64B) operated by said mechanism for raising and lowering said clamping magnet (58) coordinated with the movement of the disc (D). 7. An automatic loading and unloading mechanism according to any preceding claims further including a member (flap 76) mounted for pivotal movement from a position intersecting a disc when inserted in the slot (20) of said apparatus to maintain the disc above said drive hub (22) upon its movement from the loading to the intermediate position, and movable to a lower position to allow the disc to be lowered from the intermediate position to the position on the drive hub (22). 8. An automatic loading and unloading mechanism according to claim 7 further including power driven means (46, 92, 90) for moving said flap (76) coordinated with the movement of said disc.

Inventors: AGOSTINI, LOUIS PIERRE CESAR, Agostini, Louis Pierre César
Applicants: STAAR SOCIETE ANONYME
Application year: 1986
Main classification: G11B17
IPC codes: G11B17