Multi-disk player system

Abstract: A multidisk player comprising a player housing, a play back means and a disk holder for holding a plurality of disks comprises a lock mechanism for locking the disk holder to the player housing in a loaded position and a disk conveying mechanism for conveying a selected one of the disks held by the disk holder to a play back position. The lock means are equipped with a lock member (67) mating with the disk conveying mechanism (56) to regulate the movement of said mechanism when the lock member is not positioned to lock the disk holder to the player housing.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a multidisk player as set forth in the preamble of claim 1. A multidisk player of this kind is known from EP-A-148 505. In this document, an autochanger type optical compact disk player is disclosed including a disk magazine for holding a large number of disks in close proximity, a disk playback section and a disk transferring section for transferring the disk between the disk magazine and the disk playback section. The disk magazine is formed with a plurality of disk holding grooves and partition walls for dividing the disk holding grooves from each other. The basic structure of this multidisk player is similar to that of the well known jukeboxes formerly in use, i.e. the disk magazine is a relatively open unit to which a disk conveying mechanism movable perpendicularly to the stack of disks have access. The magazine is equipped with a bracket extending over the stack of disks which is brought by spring means in a position preventing the disks from escaping from their holding grooves when the magazine is removed from the disk player. By inserting the magazine into the disk player, said bracket is mechanically pivoted in a position in which the disks are accessable for transfer into a playback position. The jukebox-like multidisk player is rather voluminous so that it is hardly suitable for use at home. From EP-A-0 212 244, which is prior art within the meaning of Article 53.4 EPC, a multidisk player is known comprising a player housing, playback means provided therein, a exchangable disk magazine for holding a plurality of disks, a disk conveying mechanism for conveying a selected one of said disks held in said magazine to a playback position and a lock mechanism for locking said disk holder in said player housing to prevent the removal of the magazine from the player housing as long as a disk is still loaded to the playback position. Said lock mechanism is equippped with a lock member engaging in a recess formed in the magazine and is controlled by the movement of the disk conveying mechanism. SUMMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the invention to provide a multidisk player as set forth above which is capable of being readily made compact, conveying disks in a playback position with accuracy, i.e. prevents disk conveying operation as long as a magazine is not properly installed in the player housing. This object is attained by the features of the claim. By the invention, the lock mechanism of the type known from the afore-mentioned EP-A-0 212 244 has also the function of controlling movement of the disk conveying mechanism in response to its position in turn influenced by the position of the magazine within the player housing. The lock member there does not prevent the disk-conveying operation when the magazine is not locked. The invention is now further explained with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the whole body of a multidisk player embodying the the present invention. Figure 2 is plan view of the internal constrcution of the multidisk player Figures 3 through 5 are arrow diagrams taken on line VII-VII concerning Figure 2. Fig. 6 is an arrow diagram taken on line X-X concerning Fig. 5. Figs. 7(a) through 18 are partial detailed views of the internal construction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the accompanying drawings, a description will be given of a multidisk player embodying the present invention. In the drawings, numeral 1 indicates the whole body of the multidisk player. As shown in Fig. 1, the front panel 3 of a player housing 2 is provided with a rectangular opening 3a for accommodating a magazine 5 as a disk holder within the housing. The opening 3a extends both rightward and leftward with respect to the forward direction indicated by the arrow Y, and the left-ward direction is indicated by the arrow X. The arrow Z indicates the upward direction. The front panel 3 is also provided with a group of control buttons 6 for manipulating the multi-disk player, and with a display 7. As shown in Fig. 1, a chassis 16 as a support is fixed onto a bottom plate 15 fixedly installed within the housing 2. The chassis 16 consists of a flat side extending in the longitudinal direction (in the directions of the arrow Y and opposite thereto) and the transverse direction (in the directions of the arrow X and opposite thereto) and a pair of upright portions 16b, 16c contiguous to both transversal ends of the flat side and extending in the longitudinal direction and vertical direction (in the directions of the arrow Z and opposite thereto, i.e. the direction in which each tray is arranged). As shown in Figs. 2 to 6, a moving member 18 is disposed between the rear ends of the pair of upright portions 16(b) and 16(c) in such a manner that it is movable in the vertical direction, or in the direction in which the trays in the magazine 5 are stacked. Stated more specifically, the moving member 18 is composed of resin-made movable chassis 19 (see Figs. 7(a) and 7(b) which is connected by, for example, screws to a steel-made tabular movable chassis 20 (see Fig. 8) in such a manner that the movable chassis 19 is fixed to the upper surface of the movable chassis 20. As is evident from Fig. 7(b), the upper surface of the resin-made movable chassis 19 is provided with a carrier plate 22, with an anti-vibration member 21 (typically made of rubber) being inserted between the two members. turntable 23 is mounted on the carrier plate 22. On the carrier plate 22 is also provided a carriage 24 bearing an optical pickup means; this carriage 24 is mounted on the carrier plate 22 such that it is movable within a plane including the disk bearing surface 23 a of the turntable 23 in leftward and rightward directions. The carrier plate 22 is also provided with a means for driving the carriage 24 that is essentially composed of a screw shaft 26 threaded into part of the carriage 24 and a motor 27 for imparting a rotational force to said screw shaft. The turntable 23, the carriage 24 including the optical pickup means, and the carriage drive means combine together to form a means for playing disks. This playing means is carried on the moving member 18 and is caused to move together with said moving member 18 in the vertical direction. As shown in Figs. 7(a) and 7(b), the underside of the movable chassis A 19 is provided with an arched guide face 19(a) which is capable of making sliding contact with the pivoting end of each of the trays that projects from the magazine body 8. As shown in Fig. 8, the upper side of the movable chassis 20 is provided with an arched guide projection 20 a that is in a face-to-face relationship with the arched guide face 19 a and spaced therefrom by a distance far greater than the thickness gauge of each of the trays and which is capable of making sliding contact with the rotating end of each tray. The arched guide face 19 a combines with the arched guide projection 20 a to form a tray guide for guiding a single tray projecting from the magazine body 8. As shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6, a tabular guide/hold member 29 that makes sliding contact with the underside of the magazine 5 for guiding and holding the latter is disposed between the front ends of the upright portions 16b and 16c of the chassis 16. This member 29 is secured to the planar portion 16(a) of the chassis 16. Details of the guide/hold member 29 are shown in Fig. 9. A tray guide member 30 is provided on top of the left end of the guide/hold member 29. The tray guide member 30 is provided with a plurality of arched tray guide grooves 30 a that are positioned between the tray guide (composed of the arched guide face 19 a and the arched guide projection 20 a) and the tray guide channel in the magazine body 8 and which are continuous from each of these members. The trays' projections from the magazine body 8 slide along the tray guide grooves 30a as they are kept in engagement therewith and are thereafter guided into the already described tray guide on the moving member 18. The tray guide channel in the magazine body 8 is provided with a plurality of guide grooves (not shown) similar to the guide grooves 30a. As shown in Figs. 2, 5, and 10, a plastic support 32 is arranged close to the magazine-loading means, i.e., on the right-hand side thereof within the player housing 2 and fixed to the underside of the flat side 16a of the chassis 16 with screw bolts. Figs. 11(a) through (c) show the support 32 in detail. As shown in Fig. 10, a steel moving lever 33 is movably attached to the surface of the support 32 along the magazine-loading direction, i.e., in the longitudinal direction. Figs. 12(a), (b) show the moving lever 33 in detail. As shown in Figs. 11(a) through (c), 12(a) , (b), the moving lever 33 is attached in such a manner that a pair of linear slits 33a extended and formed in the longitudinal direction of the moving lever slidably mate with T-shaped projections 32a of the support 32. As shown in Fig. 13, bosses 32b for smoothly abutting against the underside of the moving lever 33 and supporting the moving lever 33 are provided on the surface of the support. An overhang 33b extended downward is formed at the left rear end of the moving lever 33 and slidably mates with a linear groove 32c extended in the longitudinal direction and formed in the left end surface of the support 32. In this case, a boss 33c is formed on the left side of the overhang 33b and smoothly abuts against the left wall of the linear groove 32c. Moreover, two overhangs 33d, 33e extended downward and also set apart from each other in the longitudinal direction are formed at the right front end of the moving lever 33. The overhangs 33d, 33e slidably mate with two linear openings 32d, 32e extended and fromed in the longitudinal direction at the right front end of the support 32. A boss 33f is formed on the right side of the overhang 33d and smoothly abuts against the right wall of the linear opening 32d. As shown in Figs. 12(a) and 12(b), an overhang 33g protruding downward is provided at the rear end of the moving lever 33 and the rear end of the magazine 5 is allowed to mate therewith. In other words, the moving lever 33 is caused to move rearward by the mating of the rear end of the magazine 5 with the overhang 33g. Moreover, a coil spring 33h for energizing the moving lever 33 forward is coupled to the moving lever 33. As shown in Figs. 10, 12(a), (b), a pair of detecting switches 34, 35 are arranged beneath the moving lever 33, so that the overhangs 33d, 33e of the moving lever operate actuator elements 34a, 35a of said switches. The moving lever 33 and the detecting switches 34, 35 constitute the loaded-magazine detecting means. As shown in Fig. 13, although burrs 33i produced when the linear slits 33a are made by punching are left on the edges of the pair of the linear slits 33a formed on the moving lever 33, the support 32 is prevented from touching the burrs by the above explained means for attaching the moving lever 33 to the support 32. A description will subsequently be given of a moving means for moving the moving member 18 consisting of the moving chassis 19, 20 vertically (in the directions of the arrow Z and opposite thereto). As shown in Figs. 2 through 6, a pair of longitudinally movable plates 37, 38 as moving members longitudinally extended are provided on the outer faces of the left and right upright portions 16b, 16c of the chassis 16. As shown in Figs. 3, 4, guide grooves 37a, 37b and 38a, 38b extending in the longitudinal direction of the moving plates 37, 38 are formed therein, respectively. Each of the moving plates 37, 38 is attached to the chassis 16 as the support when the guide groove externally movably mates with the pin 16d projected from the outer face of each of the elevational sides 16b, 16c. That is, the moving plates 37, 38 are allowed to reciprocate in the longitudinal direction. For the purpose of the following discussion, let the moving member 18 composed of the movable chassis A 19 and the movable chassis B 20 be referred to as the first moving member, and let the combination of the moving plates 37 and 38 be called the second moving member. As is clear from Figs. 3 and 4, the guide grooves 37b and 38b are formed in the moving plates 37 and 38, respectively, at positions closer to one side with respect to the direction in which these plates are moved (i.e., the lower side in the embodiment shown), but the other set of guide grooves 37a and 38a are not positioned so much closer to the lower side of either plate. The movable chassis 20 is provided with three projecting pins 20c, one being on the left side and two on the right side. As is clear from Figs. 3 and 4, one pin 20c is movably fitted through a guide groove 16e formed in the vertical direction in the left-hand upright portion 16b of the supporting chassis 16, while the other two pins 20c are movably fitted through guide grooves 16e formed in the vertical direction in the right-hand upright portion 16c of the chassis 16. By this arrangement, the movable chassis 20 is guided in the vertical direction. For the purpose of the following description, let the guide grooves 16e formed in the chassis 16 be referred to as the first group of guide grooves, and let the guide grooves 37b and 38b formed in the moving plates 37 and 38 (i.e., forming the second moving member) be named the second group of guide grooves. The pins 20c studded on both the right and left sides of the movable chassis 20 project to the outside of the chassis 16 through the guide grooves 16e formed in that chassis, and cam grooves 37d and 38d formed in the inside surfaces of the moving plates 37 and 38 (i.e., forming the second moving member) are in movable engagement with these pins 20c. The overall shape of the cam groove 37d formed in the moving plate 37 is such that it is inclined both in the forward direction and in the downward direction. On the other hand, the overall shape of the cam groove 38d formed in the moving plate 38 is such that it is inclined both in the forward direction and in the upward direction. In other words, the cam grooves 37d and 38d are formed such that when the moving plates 37 and 38 make relative movements, the first moving member 18 will move in the vertical direction. The cam groove 37d (or 38d) is formed between the guide groove 37b (or 38b), which is formed on one side (i.e., lower side) with respect to the direction in which the moving plate 37 (or 38) moves, and the other side (i.e., upper side) of said moving plate. The cam groove 37d (or 38d) is composed of 6 linear portions 37e (or 38e) extending in the direction in which the moving plate 37 (or 38) moves and five bridge portions 37f (or 38f) that connect these linear portions and are inclined with respect thereto; because of this arrangement, the cam groove 37d (or 38d) has an overall configuration resembling a staircase. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, one end of the cam groove 37d (or 38d) is in alignment with one end of the guide groove (second guide groove) 16e formed in the chassis 16. As will be apparent from the foregoing description, the moving member 18 is supported at three points with respect to the supporting chassis 16 by means of the pin 20c and the moving plates 37 and 38. As is clear from Fig. 6, one of these support points (i.e., the position of pin 20c) is disposed in the vicinity of the junction between the tray guide groove 30a in the tray guide member 30 and the tray guide on the moving member 18 (as composed of the arched guide face 19a on the movable chassis 19 and the arched guide projection 20a on the movable chassis 20). As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the left-hand moving plate 37 is provided at the right front end with a rack 37h that extends in the direction in which said moving plate extends. This rack 37h meshes with the small gear wheel 40a on a double gear 40 that is provided on the planar portion 16a of the chassis 16. The large gear wheel 40b on the double gear 40 is coupled to the output shaft of a motor 45 by means of a gear wheel 41, a pulley 42 that is integral with said gear wheel 41, a belt 43 and a small pulley 44. Between the left-hand moving plate 37 and the right-hand moving plate 38 is provided a pivoting lever 47 that is mounted generally in the center of the planar portion 16a of the chassis 16 such that it is pivotable about a support shaft 47a extending in the vertical direction. The opposite ends of the lever 47 are brought into engagement with right and left movable plates 37, 38. The double gear 40 as combined with the gear wheel 41, the pulley 42, the belt 43, the small pulley 44, the motor 45, the pivoting lever 47 and associated minor peripheral members make up a means for imparting a driving force to the moving plates 37 and 38 forming the second moving member. This driving force imparting means as combined with the moving plates 37 and 38 forming the second moving member make up a means for causing the moving member 18 to move in the vertical direction. As shown in Fig. 3, a sensor switch 49 is provided on the inner surface of the left-hand upright portion 16b of the chassis 16. This sensor switch 49 checks to see if the moving plate 37 is at its most retracted limit position (the position for the limit of the forward movement); the switch is actuated when its actuator comes into engagement with a projection 37i studded on the lefthand surface of the moving plate 37. The right-hand surface at the front end of the moving plate 37 is provided with an address plate 50 having six slits 50a aligned in the direction in which said moving plate 37 moves. At the rear of the sensor switch 49 is provided a photosensor 51 for detecting each of the slits 50a in the address plate 50. For the purpose of the following description, let the sensor switch 49 be referred to as the first sensor, and the photosensor 51 as the second sensor. A series of slit detection signals from the second sensor are fed to a counter (not shown) where they are counted, to determine the position where the moving plate 37 has stopped. The first sensor (sensor switch) 49 as combined with the address plate 50, the second sensor (photosensor) 51, the counter and a control unit (not shown) make up a positioning mechanism by which the moving plate 37 is moved to a desired address position. As shown in Figs. 2 and 6, the movable chassis 20 is provided at the upper right-hand front end with a tray projecting member 53 trays to cause the individual trays to be projected to the outside of the magazine body 8. Details of the tray projecting member 53 are shown in Fig. 14. As one can see from Fig. 14, the tray projecting member 53 has a generally L-shaped overall view and is guided by means of a pair of pins 53a that are studded on the tray projecting member and which make movable engagement with two arched guide grooves 20e and 20f (see, for example, Fig. 8) having different radii that are formed in the movable chassis 20. The tray projecting member 53 pivots about the center of curvature of each of the arched guide grooves 20e and 20f so that the pivoting end 53b of the member 53 will push the trays to project from the magazine body 8. The tray projecting member 53 is made of a comparatively soft resin and its pivoting end 53b is made flexible in the vertical direction, or in the direction in which the trays are stacked. In addition, the tray projecting member 53 is provided with a small clearance in the vertical direction. Because of its flexibility, if part of the pivoting end 53b is inserted into the tray guide channel (described hereinbefore) in the magazine body 8, it will move along this tray guide channel. In its inoperative mode, the pivoting end 53b of the tray projecting member 53 engages with a Y-shaped groove 20g in the movable chassis B 20 (Fig. 6) and makes a limited movement in the upward direction. The tray projecting member 53 is provided on the movable chassis 20. Therefore, the moving member moving means (composed of the moving plates 37 and 38, etc.) as combined with the positioning mechanism including the address plate 50 make up a tray projecting member moving means that will cause both the tray projecting member 53 and the moving member 18 to move to the position where said member 53 engages with the tray carrying the disk 10 to be played. The trays are caused to project from the magazine body 8 by pivoting the tray projecting member 53, and the means driving the tray projecting member is described hereinafter. As shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6, a moving body 56 that extends in forward and backward directions is arranged on the right-hand side of the chassis 16 and mounted thereon in such a manner that it is freely movable in the direction in which it extends. Details of the moving body 56 are shown in Figs. 15(a) and 15(b). The moving body 56 is provided at the left-hand front end with a rack 56a that extends in the direction in which said moving body 56 extends. This rack 56a meshes with the small gear wheel 57a on a double gear 57 that is provided on the planar portion 16a of the chassis 16. The large gear wheel 57b on the double gear 57 is coupled with an output shaft of a motor 62 through a gear wheel 58, a pulley 59 that is integral with said gear wheel 58, a belt 60, and a small pulley 61. The combination of the double gears 57, gear 58, pulley 59, belt 60, small pulley 61, motor 62 and associated minor peripheral members make up a means for imparting a driving force to the moving body 56. As shown in Figs. 6 and 9, an oscillating lever 64 for ejecting the magazine 5 loaded on the magazine-loading means outwardly therefrom is extended in a transverse direction, arranged close to the deepest portion of the magazine-loading means in the player housing 2 and furthermore attached to roughly the center of the underside of the guide-holding member 29 through a pin 64a. In this case, the pin 64a is extended vertically. As is clear from Fig. 9, an overhang 64b extending upward is projected from the right end of the oscillating lever 64, which abuts against the rear end of the magazine 5 in the overhang portion. Moreover, a gear 64c with the pin 64a as its curvature radius is formed at the left end of the oscillating lever 64 and a control gear 65a attached to a dumper 65 engages with the gear 64c. The oscillating lever 64 is supplied by the coil spring 64d with the force for ejecting the magazine. As is obvious from Fig. 9, given that an angle formed between a straight line 66a connecting the center (pin 64a) of oscillation of the oscillating lever 64 and the point (overhang 64b) where the oscillating lever mates with the magazine 5, and a straight line 66b passing through the center of a coil spring 64d is ϑ, the coil spring 64d is always overhanged so as to make that ϑ acute, irrespective of the angle of oscillation of the oscillating lever 64. Consequently, the force for ejecting the magazine provided by the coil spring 64d for the oscillating lever 64 is always kept constant, irrespective of the oscillating angle of the oscillating lever 64. As shown in Fig. 15(a), a lock member 67 for locking the magazine to the player housing 2 in the position of installation by engagement of one pivoting end 67a thereof in a mating recess 5g, of the magazine 5 is provided pivotally around a stationary pin 67b close to the moving body 56. The position of the lock member 67 shown in Fig. 15(a), i.e., the position where the lock member 67 locks the magazine 5 is called a first position, whereas the position where the one pivoting end 67a is disengaged from the mating recess 5g of the magazine 5 after it has been pivoted counterclockwise of Fig. 15(a) by a fixed angle, i.e., the position where the locked state is released is called a second position. The lock member 67 is so biased by a spring member (not shown) as to make the one pivoting end 67a fit into the mating recess 5g of the magazine 5. As shown in Fig. 15(b), a pin 56b projects from a fixed position on the surface of the moving body 56, and an inclined edge 67d formed at the other pivoting end of the lock member 67 is allowed to be engaged by the pin 56b. In other words, the above locked state of the magazine 5 is released as the moving body 56 moves forward. A bend 67e extending downwardly is formed at the other pivoting end of the lock member 67 and, when the lock member 67 is brought close to the second position, the bend 67e engages the pin 56b of the moving body 56, whereby the backward movement of the moving body 56 is prevented. As shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6, the underside of the movable chassis B 20 is provided with an intermediate lever 70 that is pivotally mounted on a pin 70a. One pivoting end of the intermediate lever 70 is provided with a U-shaped notch 70b that is capable of smooth engagement with a cylindrical engaging portion 56d formed to extend in the vertical direction through the rear end of the moving member 56. As is also shown in Figs. 16 and 17, the movable chassis B 20 is provided at its lower front end with a first lever member 71 and a second lever member 72 each extending in rightward and leftward directions; these levers 71 and 72 are mounted on the movable chassis B 20 by means of a plurality of pins 73 such that the levers will be capable of reciprocating in the directions in which they extend. Details of the second and first levers 72 and 71 are shown in Figs. 18(a) and 18(b), respectively. As shown, for example in Fig. 6, a pin 70c is studded on the other pivoting end of the intermediate lever 70 and this pin is slidably fitted in a slot 72a formed at the right-hand end of the second lever member 72 to extend in forward and backward directions. Stated more specifically, if the moving body 56 reciprocates in forward and backward directions, the intermediate lever 70 will rotate around the pin 70a, whereby the second lever member 72 is caused to reciprocate in leftward and rightward directions. The above-described moving body 56 as combined with the means (including the motor 62) for imparting a drive force to the moving body 56, the intermediate lever 70 and associated minor peripheral members make up a mechanism for driving the second lever member 72. It is to be mentioned that the first lever member 71 engages with the tray projecting member 53 at its right-hand end and is capable of pivoting said lever member as a result of movement in the advancing direction (or movement to the right). The second lever member 72 serves to move the support (to be described hereinafter) which is one component of the clamping mechanism of the disk. As shown in Figs. 6, 16 and 17, the first lever member 71 is connected to one end of a coil spring 75 that will urge said lever member in the direction of its advancement or in the rightward direction. The coil spring 75 is incorporated in such a manner that it connects the first and second levers 71 and 72, with the other end of the spring 75 being connected to the second lever member 72. As shown in Fig. 16, the underside of the movable chassis B 20 is provided with a first recess 20h extending in leftward and rightward directions, and the upper surface of the second lever member 72 is provided with a second recess 72c that is capable of maintaining a face-to-face relationship with said first recess 20h. The first lever member 71 which is so positioned as to be sandwiched between the movable chassis B 20 and the second lever member 72 is provided with an opening 71a that is capable of maintaining a face-to-face relationship with these first and second recesses 20h and 72c. The opening 71a contains a spherical movable slider 76 that is capable of engaging with the first recess 20h and the second recess 72c. The dimension indicated by da in Fig. 16, or the distance between the opposing faces of the movable chassis B 20 and the second lever member 72 within the limits of their relative movement, is smaller than the outside dimension of the movable slider 76. The dimension indicated by db in Fig. 16, or the distance by which any one of the opposing surfaces of the movable chassis B 20 and the second lever member 72 is spaced from the bottom surface of either one of the first recess 20h and the second recess 72c which is in a face-to-face relationship with any one of said opposing surfaces, is slightly larger than the outside dimension of the movable slider 76. The first and second recesses, 20h and 72c, as combined with the opening 71a, the movable slider 76 and associated minor members make up a lock/unlock means that locks the first and second lever members 71 and 72 and which, when the locked lever members advance in the rightward direction until the first lever member 71 has reached an area in the vicinity of its most advanced position (i.e., the position where the tray projecting member 53 rotatated by the first lever member has caused the trays to project fully from the magazine body 8), unlocks said lever members 71 and 72. After being unlocked from the second lever member 72, the first lever member 71 will make a slight movement toward its most advanced position by means of the urging force exerted by the aforementioned coil spring 75. In addition, while the first lever member 71 is making said slight movement, arched portions of the trays contact an arched contact portion 19c formed on the movable chassis A 19 (see Figs. and 2 and 6), whereby the disk 10 carried on each of these trays is positioned concentrically with, or right under, the disk-carrying surface 23a (see Fig. 7(b)) of the turntable 23. As shown in Fig. 6, the lower left-hand side of the moving member 18 is provided with a support 79 that extends in both leftward and rightward directions and which is mounted on the movable chassis B 20 such that it is capable of swinging about a pin 79a provided at its left end. Since the pin 79a extends in forward and backward directions, the support 79 will swing in a plane perpendicular to the disk-carrying surface 23a of the turntable 23 (see Fig. 7 (b)). The free end of the support 79 is rotatably provided with a disk-shaped depressing member 80 that makes contact with the side of the disk 10 which is opposite the side facing the turntable 23 so as to clamp the disk in cooperation with said turntable. The support 79 is also provided with a coil spring (not shown) that urges said support in such a direction that the depressing member 80 will approach the disk-carrying surface 23a of the turntable 23. The above-described support 79, depressing member 80 and associated members make up a clamp mechanism for clamping the disk. As shown in Fig. 6, a forwardly extending pin 79c is studded on the free end of the support 79 and this pin engages with a planar guide portion 72e at the upper rear edge of the second lever member 72. A tapered portion 72f that is capable of engaging with the pin 79c on the support 79 is formed at a position that is on an extension of the planar guide portion 72e and which is at the left end of the second lever member 72. As is evident from Fig. 16, the tapered portion 72f is inclined both in the left direction and in the upward direction. Because of this arrangement, as the second lever member 72 advances in the rightward direction, the pin 79c on the support 79 slides on the planar guide portion 72e and, at the same time, the depressing member 80 is held in its unclamped position while the pin 79c lowers along the tapered portion 72f so as to cause the depressing member 80 to move to the clamped position. The clamp mechanism, the second lever member 72 and the driving mechanism for driving the second lever member constitute the disk shift means for shifting the disk 10 loaded on the tray ejected by the above tray-ejecting means out of the magaze body 8 in the direction perpendicular to the disk-holding face 23a (see Fig. 7(b)) of the turntable 23, i.e., upward. The disk shift means and the tray-ejecting means constitute the disk-unloading/conveying mechanism for successively selecting any one of the disks 10 in the magazine and conveying the disk onto the disk-holding face 23a of the turntable 23. The second lever member 72 and the above driving mechanism for driving the second lever member are simultaneously used as the tray-ejecting means and the disk shift means, respectively. As shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6, tabular disk holding member 83 is disposed such that it is sandwiched between the movable chassis A 19 and the movable chassis B 20 which are the two components of the moving member 18. This holding member 83 is mounted on the movable chassis A 19 by means of a plurality of pins 83a that are in movable engagement with a cam groove 19e formed in that movable chassis A. As is also shown in Fig. 7(b), the cam groove 19e is typically formed such that it is inclined both in the leftward direction (indicated by the arrow X) and in the upward direction (indicated by the arrow Z). In other words, the cam groove 19e is formed such that when the disk holding member 83 moves leftward (or rightward), it simultaneously moves upward (or downward). As is clear from Figs. 5 and 6, the underside of the right rear end of the disk holding member 83 is provided with a projection 83b that extends downwardly, and if the right edge of this projection 83b is pushed by one end 70e (see Fig. 6) of the pivoting intermediate lever 70, the disk holding member 83 is caused to move leftward. It is to be noted that the disk holding member 83 is biased in the rightward direction typically by means the coil spring 84 shown in Fig. 5. Turning back to Figs. 2 and 4, a pair of sensor switches 86 and 87, the latter being positioned behind the former, are mounted on the inner surface (the left surface) of the right-hand erect portion 16c which is one component of the chassis 16. These switches will detect the position to which the moving body 56 has been driven by the motor 62. As is evident from Fig. 4, the sensor switches 86 and 87 are provided with actuators 86a and 87a, respectively, which project obliquely with respect to the switch bodies and are capable of swinging. A pair of rollers 88 and 89 which are movable only in the vertical direction with respect to the support body 32 fixed to the chassis 16 (i.e., in the direction indicated by the arrow Z and in the opposite direction) are in engagement with these actuators 86a and 87a at their free end. As shown in Fig. 15(b), each of the rollers 88 and 89 is in engagement with a projection 56f that has a trapezoidal cross section and which is formed on the underside of the front end of the moving body 56 in such a manner that it extends in forward and backward directions. If the moving body 56 moves a predetermined distance in either forward or backward direction, each of the rollers 88 and 89 is caused to move either upwardly or downwardly depending on the case by means of the action of the projection 56f, whereupon the corresponding sensor switch 86 or 87 is actuated. It should be mentioned that the rollers 88 and 89 are caused to move upwardly by the biasing force exerted on the respective actuators 86a and 87a by the bias imparting means provided within the sensor switches 86 and 87. Detection signals issued from the sensor switches, 34, 35, 49, 86 and 87, and from the photosensor 51 are transmitted to the control unit (already described but not shown), and in response to the operation signals that are sent from the control unit in response to said detection signals, the motors 27, 45 and 62, and the turntable 23 are operated at the predetermined timings which will be described hereinafter. When in the disk loading operation the tray projecting member 53 is brought to the position where, by the procedures described above, it engages with the tray carrying the disk to be played, the motor then starts to rotate to drive the moving body 56 in the backward direction. As a result, the intermediate lever 70 is caused to pivot in the counterclockwise direction with reference to Fig. 6 and the second lever member 72 connected to said intermediate lever is caused to move rightward. As shown in Fig. 16, the second lever member 72 is locked to the first lever member 71 by means of the lock/unlock mechanism including the movable slider 76. Consequently, both the first lever member 71 and the second lever member 72 are caused to move rightward, causing the tray projecting member 53 to pivot in the clockwise direction with reference to Fig. 6. Therefore, the tray carrying the disk to be played is caused to project from the magazine body 8 and the disk is caused to move to a position which is concentric with, namely, right under, the disk-carrying surface 23a of the turntable 23 ( Fig. 7(b)). It should be noted that immediately before the pivoting of the tray projecting member 53 and, hence, the rightward movement of the first lever member 71, is completed, the first lever member 71 is unlocked from the second lever member 72, and subsequent slight movement of the first lever member 71 in the rightward direction is effected by the urging force of the coil spring 75 (Fig. 16) and the arched portion of the tray that is being pressed by the urging force is brought into contact with the predetermined arched contact portion 19c of the movable chassis A 19. These procedures will complete the positioning of the tray. The fact that the tray has been projected from the magazine body 8 is detected by sensing a detection signal issuing from the sensor switch 87 (see Fig. 4 and other drawings) that is actuated by the movement of the moving body 56. The second lever member 72 that has been unlocked from the first lever member 71 is further driven in the rightward direction, and the support 79 (Fig. 6) that is engagement with the tapered portion 72f (Fig. 16) of the second lever member by means of the pin 79c is caused to swing upwardly. As a result, the disk is lifted and clamped to the turntable 23. Simultaneously with this upward movement of the disk, the intermediate lever 70 pivots to lift the disk holding member 83 together with the disk. The above procedures render the system ready for play and the turntable 23 and the carriage 24 (see Fig. 5 and other drawwings) are operated to start the playing of the desired disk. When the playing of the desired disk ends, the disk is reloaded into the magazine body 8. This may be done by reversing the above-described disk loading sequence and, therefore, it will not be necessary to describe the re-loading sequence in detail. The procedures described in the preceding paragraphs may be repeated as many times as the number of the pieces of music the listener wants to play. The magazine 5 is ejected from the player by depressing the "EJECT" button in the group of control buttons 6. When the "EJECT" button is depressed, the moving body 56 (see, for example, Fig. 15) is caused to move forward by a predetermined distance, whereupon the magazine 5 is released from the state of being locked by the locking member 67. Thereafter, the moving body 56 is caused to move further in the forward direction, whereby the swinging lever 64 shown in Fig. 6 is caused to swing about the pin 64a and the magazine 5 engaged by the free end of the lever 64 is pushed out of the player. As set forth above, the multidisk player according to the present invention comprises a lock mechanism for locking the magazine 5 and the tray-ejecting member driving means. The tray-ejecting member driving means is equipped with the moving body 56 installed movably in a fixed direction and used to drive the tray-ejecting member and the means for providing the moving body with driving force. The lock mechanism is provided with the lock member 67 installed in such a manner as to pivot between the first position where the magazine is locked and the second position where the locked state is released and to lock the magazine by partially mating with the magazine, and a biasing means for so biasing the lock member 67 as to engage the lock member 67 with the magazine. When the lock member 67 is brought close to the second position, the lock member 67 engages the moving body 56 to control the movability of the moving body 56. In other words, the lock member 67 is not allowed to move to the first position when the magazine 5 has not completely been loaded to the loading means of the player, whereby the moving body 56 is so controlled by the bend 67e of the lock member 67 as to prevent the disk loading operation. In case the lock member 67 is not so arranged, the moving body 56 were able to effect the disk-loading operation even if the listener did not load a magazine to the loading means completely. Under such condition, a tray ejected by the tray-ejecting member 53 from the magazine body 8 of the magazine 5, for instance, might be caught by the chassis and the like in the player housing. In the multidisk player according to the present invention, such inconvenience can not occur and disk-loading is always ensured; that is, operability concerning disk-loading has been improved.

Claims: A multidisk player, comprising: a player housing (2); playback means provided in said player housing (2); a disk magazine (5) for holding a plurality of disks (10) and for being inserted and loaded into loading means (7) in said player housing (2) at a loaded position, disk conveying means (56) for conveying a selected one of said disks (10) held by said disk magazine (5) to a playback position, and a lock mechanism (67) for locking said disk magazine (5) to said player housing (2) at said loaded position, said lock mechanism (67) being equipped with a lock member (67a) for locking said disk magazine (5) to said player housing (5), characterized in that said lock member (67) engages said disk conveying mechanism (56) to control the movement of said disk conveying mechanism (56) when said lock member (67) is not positioned to lock said disk magazine (5) to said player housing (2), so as to prevent said disk conveying operation.

Inventors: IKEDO YUJI C O PIONEER ELECTRO, MIYAKAWA TSUTOMU C O PIONEER E, MIYAKE MASAHIKO C O PIONEER EL, OKAJIMA TAKAHIRO C O PIONEER E, IKEDO, YUJI, C/O PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION, MIYAKAWA, TSUTOMU, C/O PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORP., MIYAKE, MASAHIKO, C/O PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORP., OKAJIMA, TAKAHIRO, C/O PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORP.
Applicants: PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORP, PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION
Application year: 1986
Main classification: G11B17
IPC codes: G11B23, G11B17