DISK PLAYER

Abstract: A disc player of the present invention comprises a turntable and a clamp mechanism for clamping a disk put on the turntable, the clamp mechanism having pushing means for clamping the disk in cooperation with the turntable and moving means for moving said pushing means toward and away from the turntable, the moving means comprising a pair of support members, the pair of support members being swingable in planes nearly perpendicular to the disk bearing side of the turntable and free ends of the pair of support members being capable of contacting with the disk pushing side of the pushing means and the opposite side of the pushing means, respectively, to pinch the pushing means therebetween, and drive means for driving the pair of supporting members.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a disk player, particularly to a disk player of the automatic loading type. A disk put on the turntable of a conventional disk player of the automatic loading type, in which a disk conveyance mechanism for automatically conveying the disk to a play position on the turntable is provided to eliminate the manual operation of loading the disk on the turntable, is automatically clamped thereon by a clamp mechanism shown in FIG. 27. The clamp mechanism comprises a disk-shaped pusher 152, which acts to clamp the disk in cooperation with the turntable 151 which rotates while bearing the disk 150 to be played, and a support 154, which is borne in a swingable manner within a prescribed range by a support shaft 153 extending in parallel with the main surface of the turntable 151 and bears the pusher 152 rotatably by the free end of the support. A helical spring (not shown in the drawing), which urges the support 154 in such a direction as to move the free end thereof toward the turntable 151, or the like is used to apply a pushing force to the disk 150. In this clamp mechanism, since the stroke H of the swing of the support 154, which is necessary to prevent the pusher 152 and the disk 150 from coming into contact with each other when the disk is released from the clamp mechanism, is large, it makes the problem that it is very difficult to reduce the size of the disk player. From GB-A-2 160 349 a disk player fitted for automatic change of disks is known comprising a disk pack receiving table for receiving and holding a disk pack containing a plurality of disks, a disk-rotating device for rotating a disk taken out of the disk pack and loaded thereon and a movable chassis operative to move up and down in relation to the disk-pack receiving table and having a sliding lever for actuating a sliding member provided in the disk pack to take a selected disk out of the disk pack. The disk player comprises a clamp mechanism for clamping a disk put on the turntable, said clamp mechanism having pushing means for clamping the disk in cooperation with the turntable, and moving means for moving said pushing means towards and away from the turntable, said moving means comprising support means swingable in a plane perpendicular to the disk-bearing side of the turntable and drive means for driving said support means. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is made in order to solve the problem explained in the opening portion of the specification. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a disk player, the size, particularly the height, and also cost of which are easy to reduce. This object is attained by a disk player set forth in claim 1. Preferred embodiment of this disk player are the subject matter of the dependent claims. Additional objects and advantages will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of the specification, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and, together with the description, serve to disclose the principles of the invention. Of the drawings: FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a whole disk player provided in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the internal constitution of the disk player of the present invention; FIGS.3 and 4 show view taken along lines VII - VII and VIII- VIII shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 5 shows a partial plan view of the internal constitution of the disk player of the present invention; FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of the disc clamp mechanism of the present invention; FIGS. 7 and 8 show a plan view and a front view illustrating the internal constitution of the disk player of the present invention, respectively; FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b) show views for illustrating the moving lever in the disc player of the present invention; FIGS. 10 and 11 show views for illustrating the moving plates in the disk player of the present invention; FIG. 12 shows a sectional view along a line XVI - XVI shown in FIG. 7; FIGS. 13(a), 13(b) and 13(c) show views for illustrating the moving member in the disk player of the present invention; FIG. 14 shows a partial plan view of the internal constitution of the disk player of the present invention; FIGS. 15(a), 15(b), 16(a) and 16(b) show views for illustrating the first and second levers in the disk player of the present invention; FIGS. 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 show views for illustrating the support plates of the pushing means in the disk player of the present invention; FIGS. 22(a), 22(b), 22(c) and 23 show views for illustrating the clamp cam of the disk player of the present invention; FIGS. 24 and 25 show views for illustrating the pusher of the present invention; FIGS. 26(a), 26(b), 26(c), 26(d) and 26(e) show views for illustrating the disk pusher in the disk player of the present invention; and FIG. 27 shows a view for illustrating a clamping mechanism of a conventional disk player. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A disk player of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The disk player is a multiple disk player (or a multidisk player) in which a plurality of disks can be housed and desired ones of the housed disks can be sequentially selected and played. A reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 denotes the disk player as a whole. The front panel 3 of a player housing 2 has an oblong opening 3a for loading a magazine 5 as a disk holder into the housing. The opening 3a extends rightward and leftward direction. (An arrow Y indicates the forward direction. An arrow X indicates the leftward direction. An arrow Z indicates the upward direction.) A display section 7 and operation buttons 6 for operating the disk player are provided on the front panel 3. As shown in FIG. 1, a chassis 16 is mounted as a support member on a bottom plate 15 secured in the housing 2. The chassis 16 comprises a horizontal surface portion 16a extending forward and backward (in the direction of the arrow Y and the opposite thereof) and right and leftward (in the direction of the arrow X and the opposite thereof), and a pair of vertical surface portions 16b and 16c continuous to the right and left ends of the horizontal surface portion 16a and extending forward and backward (in the direction of the arrow Y and the opposite thereof) and upward and downward (in the direction of the arrow Z and the opposite thereof or in the direction of disposition of the trays). As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, a moving member 18 is provided between the rear ends of the vertical surface portions 16b and 16c of the chassis 16 and attached to the vertical surface portions 16b and 16c so that the moving member can be moved upward and downward. As shown in FIG. 5, a bearing plate 22 as a holding member is attached to the top of the moving member 18. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the turntable 23 is mounted on the bearing plate 22. As shown in FIG. 5, a carriage 24 bearing an optical pickup means is provided on the bearing plate 22 and attached to the bearing plate so that the carriage can be moved along a plane (which contains the disk bearing side 23a (shown in FIG. 6) of the turntable in nearly rightward and leftward directions (in the direction of the arrow x and the opposite thereof). The turntable 23 is directly rotated by a spindle motor 25 shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. A carriage drive means for driving the carriage 24 is provided on the bearing plate 22. The turntable 23, the spindle motor 25, the carriage 24 including the optical pickup means and the carriage drive means constitute a playing means for playing the disk. The playing means is borne on the moving member 18 so that the playing means is moved together with the moving member upward and downward (in the direction of the arrow Z and the opposite thereof). As shown in FIG. 6, the turntable 23 is provided with a magnet 23b. The pusher 80 of the clamping mechanism has a member 84e made of magnetic material at its yoke portion. Therefore, a clamping force to the disk-shaped pusher of the clamp mechanism is produced by the magnet force of the magnet 23b. Furthermore, according to the present invention, the bearing plate 22 for holding the spindle motor 25 and the turntable 23 is made of a magnetic material and emplaced to face the side of the turntable 23 opposite to the disk bearing side thereof so that the turntable is attracted toward the bearing plate 22 by the magnetic force of the magnet 23b. For that reason, the output shaft 25a of the spindle motor 25 and a bearing portion (not shown in the drawings) of the spindle motor for supporting the output shaft are put into tight contact with each other. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a moving lever 33 made of a steel plate is attached to the bottom of the chassis 16 so that the lever can be moved forward and backward (in the directions of loading and unloading of the magazine, which are the direction of the arrow Y and the opposite thereof). FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b) show the details of the moving lever 33. The rear end portion of the moving lever 33 is provided with a projection 33a extending downward so that the rear of the magazine 5 can be engaged with the projection 33a. When the rear of the magazine 5 is engaged with the projection 33a, the moving lever 33 is moved backward. The lever 33 is coupled with a helical spring (not shown in the drawings) for applying a forward (in the direction of the arrow Y) biasing force to the lever. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, a pair of detection switches 34 and 35 are provided at the left side of the moving lever 33 so that the projections 33b and 33c of the moving lever 33 can be engaged with the operating elements of the switches to put the elements into action. The moving lever 33 and the detection switches 34 and 35 constitute a magazine loading detection means for detecting that the magazine 5 is loaded in the magazine loading portion of the player housing 2. A moving means for moving the moving member 18 upward and downward (the direction of the arrow Z and the opposite thereof) is described from now on. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a pair of moving plates 37 and 38 are provided at the outsides of the right and left vertical surface portions 16b and 16c of the chassis 16 so that the moving plates extend forward and backward. FIGS. 10 and 11 show the details of the moving plates 37 and 38. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the moving plates 37 and 38 are provided with guide grooves 37a, 37b, 38a, 38b and 38c extending in the longitudinal directions of the moving plates. The moving plates 37 and 38 are movably fitted at the guide grooves 37a, 37b, 38a, 38b and 38c on pins 16d projecting from the outsides of the vertical surface portions 16b and 16c, so that the moving plates are attached to the chassis 16 which serves as a support member. As a result, the moving plates 37 and 38 can be reciprocated forward and backward. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5, two pins 18a and other two pins 18a project from the left and right sides of the moving member 18, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pins 18a are movably fitted in four guide grooves 16e extending upward and downward in the left and right vertical surface portions 16b and 16c of the chassis 16 which serves as a support member. As a result, the moving member 18 is guided upward and downward. The pins 18a provided on the right and left sides of the moving member 18 project out of the chassis 16 through the guide grooves 16e thereof. The moving plates 37 and 38 are movably engaged with the pins 18a in steplike cam holes 37d and 38d provided in the inside surfaces of the moving plates. The cam hole 37d of the moving plate 37 extends obliquely downward (oppositely to the direction of the arrow Z) and forward (in the direction of the arrow Y) as a whole. The cam hole 38d of the moving plate 38 extends obliquely upward and forward as a whole. The cam holes 37d and 38d are so provided that the moving member 18 is moved vertically when the moving plates 37 and 38 are moved relative to each other. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 10, a rack 37h is provided at the front end of the left moving plate 37 so that the rack extends in the direction of extension of the moving plate 37. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the small gear 40a of a double gear 40 provided on the chassis 16 is engaged with the rack 37h. The moving plate 37 is driven by a motor 45 through a speed reduction gear mechanism 41 including the double gear 40. As shown in FIG. 2, a turning lever 47 is provided between the left and right moving plates 37 and 38 and attached to the chassis 16 by a pair of pins 16g projecting from the chassis, so that the lever can be turned about a virtual center 47a. The lever 47 is pivotally coupled at both ends thereof to the left and right moving plates 37 and 38. The motor 45, the speed reduction gear mechanism 41, the turning lever 47 and ambient small members related to them constitute a driving force application means for applying driving forces to the moving plates 37 and 38. The driving force application means and the moving plates 37 and 38 constitute a moving means for moving the moving member 18 upward and downward (in the direction of the arrow Z and the opposite thereof). As shown in FIG. 2, a detection switch 49 is provided on the upper part of the left vertical surface portion 16b of the chassis 16 to detect that the moving plate 37, which is reciprocated forward and backward, is in the most forwardly moved position (forward movement limit position) thereof. The detection switch 49 is put into action when a part of the moving plate 37 is engaged with the operating portion of the switch. An address place 50 having six slits 50a disposed in the direction of movement of the moving plate 37 is provided at the right of the front end of the moving plate. A photosensor 51 for detecting the slits 50a of the address plate 50 is provided behind the detection switch 49. The detection switch 49 is herein referred to as the first sensor, while the photosensor 51 is herein referred to as the second sensor. A slit detection signal obtained from the second sensor is sent to a counter (not shown in the drawings) which counts the number of the slit detection signals. A controller (not shown in the drawings) for automatically controlling the disk player is provided in a prescribed position inside the player housing 2. The controller finds out the stopped position of the moving plate 37 in terms of the count of the counter. The detection switch 49, which is the first sensor, the address plate 50, the photosensor 51, which is the second sensor, the counter and the controller constitute a positioning mechanism for moving the moving plate 37 to a desired address position and setting the plate in that position. When a movement command is applied as the photosensor 51 is generating the slit detection signal, the positioning mechanism acts to move the moving plate 37 through a distance corresponding to the difference between a present address and a desired address. When a movement command is applied as the photosensor 51 is not generating the slit detection signal, the positioning mechanism acts to move the moving plate 37 backward until the detection switch 49 generates a detection signal, and the positioning mechanism thereafter acts to move the moving plate 37 to a position of desired address. As shown in FIG. 5, a tray protruder 53, which is engaged with one of the trays in the magazine 5 to protrude the tray out of the magazine body 8, is provided at the right front corner of the moving member 18. The tray protruder 53 is shaped nearly as L-shape as a whole. A pin 53a projecting from the tray protruder 53 is slidably engaged in the arc-shaped guide groove 18d of the moving member 18 so as to guide the tray protruder 53. The tray protruder 53 is turned about the center of curvature of the arc-shaped guide groove 18d to push the tray by the turned end 53b of the tray protruder to protrude the tray out of the magazine body. As shown in FIG. 5, the vertical axis (the center of curvature of the arc-shaped guide groove 18d) of turning of the tray protruder 53 and the position of the rotary support shaft 8a for the trays in the magazine 5 are coincident with each other. The tray protruder 53 pushes the tray near the rotary support shaft 8a so that the tray is protruded out of the magazine body 8. Since the tray protruder 53 is provided on the moving member 18, the above-described moving means comprising the moving plates 37 and 38 and so forth to move the moving member 18, and the positioning mechanism comprising the address plate 50 and so forth constitute a tray protruder moving means for moving the tray protruder 53 together with the moving member 18 to put the tray protruder in such a position as to engage the tray protruder with the tray bearing the disk 10 to be played. A tray protruder drive means for turning the tray protruder 53 to protrude a tray out of the magazine body 8 is described from now on. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 12, a moving member 56 is provided at the right side on the under surface of the chassis 16 and extends forward and backward. The moving member 56 is attached to the chassis 16 so that the moving member 56 can be moved in the direction of extension thereof. FIGS. 13(a), 13(b) and 13(c) show the details of the moving member 56. A rack 56a is provided at the right front corner of the moving member 56 and extends in the direction of extension of the moving member. The small gear 57a of a double gear 57 provided on the chassis 16 is engaged with the rack 56a. The moving member 56 is driven by a motor 62 through a speed reduction gear mechanism 58 including the double gear 57. The speed reduction gear mechanism 58 and the motor 62 constitute a driving force application means for applying a driving force to the moving member 56. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 14, a swing lever 63 is provided near the bottom of the magazine loading portion of the player housing 2 and extends nearly rightward and leftward so that the magazine 5 loaded in the magazine loading portion is protruded out of the portion by the swing lever. The swing lever 63 is attached nearly at the central portion thereof by a pin 63a to an auxiliary chassis 64 provided at the bottom of the chassis 16, so that the lever 63 is swingable. The pin 63a extends upward and downward (in the direction of the arrow Z and the opposite thereof). A projection 63b is provided at the right end of the swing lever 63 and extends upward. The projection 63b of the swing lever 63 is brought into contact with the rear of the magazine 5. A gear 63c, the center of curvature of which is on the pin 63a, is provided at the left end of the swing lever 63 and engaged with the brake gear 65a (shown in FIG. 8) of a damper 65, which applies a braking force by the viscous resistance of a viscous substance such as grease held in the damper. A helical spring 63d applies a magazine protruding force to the swing lever 63. The swing lever 63, the damper 65 and the helical spring 63d constitute a protrusion means for protruding the magazine 5 out of the magazine loading portion of the player housing 2. A locking member 67 (not shown in the drawings) is rotatably provided near the moving member 56 so that the turning end of the locking member is engaged in the magazine 5 to lock the magazine in the loaded position thereof in the player housing 2. When the moving member 56 is moved forward, the magazine 5 is unlocked from the locking member 67. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 12, a first lever 71 and a second lever 72 are provided at the right end of the chassis 16 and extend forward and backward (in the direction of the arrow Y and the opposite thereof). The levers 71 and 72 are attached to the chassis 16 so that the levers can be reciprocated in the directions of extension thereof. FIGS. 15 and 16 show the details of the first and the second levers 71 and 72. The first lever 71 is for driving the supports of a clamp mechanism described hereinafter. The second lever 72 is for turning the tray protruder 53 (refer to FIG. 5) through an intermediate lever 73 shown in FIGS. 7 and 12. The intermediate lever 73 is rotatably supported on the chassis 16 by a pin 73a extending upward and downward. A pin 72a projecting from the second lever 72 is engaged in a cam groove 73b (shown in FIG. 7) provided at the turning end of the intermediate lever 73, so that the lever 73 is turned. A rod 73c extending downward is provided at the other turning end of the intermediate lever 73 and fitted in the hole 53d of the tray protruder 53 (shown in FIG. 5) to turn the tray protruder. The first and the second levers 71 and 72 are moved by the moving member 56. As shown in FIGS. 7, 12, 13(a) and 13(c), a first recess 56c is provided in a prescribed position in the moving member 56. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 12, the first lever 71 is provided with a first opening 71c which can face the first recess 56c. A movable member 74, which can be engaged in the first recess 56c, is provided in the first opening 71c. The first recess 56c, the first opening 71c, the movable member 74 and so forth constitute a locking/unlocking means for appropriately locking or unlocking the first lever 71 to or from the moving member 56 depending on the movement thereof. In other words, the first lever 71 is moved or stopped together with the moving member 56 depending on the distance of the movement thereof, to drive the clamp mechanism described hereinafter. As shown in FIGS. 7, 12, 13(a) and 13(c), the moving member 56 is provided with a second and a third recesses 56d and 56e. On the other hand, the second lever 72 is provided with a second and a third openings 72d and 72e which can face the second and the third recesses 56d and 56e. The movable member 75 is provided between the second recess 56d and the second opening 72d. The movable member 76 is provided between the third recess 56e and the third opening 72e. The second and the third recesses 56d and 56e, the second and the third openings 72d and 72e, the movable members 75 and 76 and so forth constitute a locking/unlocking means for appropriately locking or unlocking the second lever 72 to or from the moving member 56 depending on the movement thereof. In other words, the second lever 72 is moved or stopped together with the moving member 56 depending on the distance of the movement thereof, to drive the tray protruder 56 (refer to FIG. 5). As shown in FIGS. 5, 17, 18 and 19, a pair of plate-shaped supports 78 and 79 are provided on the moving member 18 and extending forward and backward (in the direction of the arrow Y and the opposite thereof) and rightward and leftward (in the direction of the arrow X and the opposite thereof). The supports 78 and 79 are attached to the moving member 18 by pins 78a and 79a so that the supports are swung in planes nearly perpendicular to the disk bearing side 23a (shown in FIG. 6) of the turntable 23 (refer to FIGS. 4 and 6). FIGS. 20 and 21 show the details of the supports 78 and 79. A disk-shaped pusher 80 is rotatably attachable to the free ends of the supports 78 and 79 so that the pusher is brought into contact with the side of the disk 10 opposite to the turntable 23 to clamp the disk in cooperation with the turntable. To be more concrete, the free end of the support 78 is located in contact with the side of a flange 81a opposite to the disk pushing side thereof. The flange 81a is provided on the body 81 of the pusher 80. The free end of the other support 79 is located in contact with the disk pushing side of the flange 81a. The pusher 80 is vertically pinched between the free ends of the supports 78 and 79. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 17, a clamp cam 82 shaped as a bow is provided over the supports 78 and 79 and attached to the moving member 18 (refer to FIG. 5) by pins 82a so that the clamp cam 82 is moved about its center of curvature. FIGS. 22(a), 22(b), 22(c) and 23 show the details of the clamp cam 82. As shown in FIG. 22(c) and 23, the nearly central part of the clamp cam 82 is provided with cam portions 82d and 82e, which are engaged with columnar projections 78d and 79d (shown in FIG. 17) provided on the tops of the supports 78 and 79. The clamp cam 82 is reciprocated to drive the supports 78 and 79 to tighten and loosen the pusher 80 to and from the turntable 23. The cam portions 82d and 82e are so shaped that the supports 78 and 79 are separated from the pusher 80 after the pusher is certainly attracted and tightened to the turntable 23 by a magnet force of the magnet 23b when the disc is to be clamped and that the pusher is separated from the turntable after the pinching of the pusher between the supports is completed when the disc is to be released from its clamped state. As shown in FIGS. 17, 22(a) and 22(c), a U-shaped notch 82f is provided at one end of the clamp cam 82 and smoothly engaged with a projection 71e provided on the first lever 71 (shown in FIGS. 7, 12, 15(a) and 15(b)) and extending downward. The first lever 71 is reciprocated to move the clamp cam 82 to swing the supports 78 and 79 upward and downward. The clamp cam 82, the first lever 71, the moving member 56 (shown in FIG. 13, etc.), the locking/unlocking means including the movable member 74 and so forth to appropriately lock or unlock the first lever 71 and the moving member 56 to or from each other depending on the movement of the moving member, and the driving force application means including the motor 62 and so forth to apply the driving force to the moving member 56 constitute a drive means for driving the supports 78 and 79. The drive means and the supports 78 and 79 constitute a pusher moving means for tightening and loosening the pusher 80 to and from the turntable 23. The pusher moving means and the pusher 80 constitute the clamp mechanism for clamping the disk 10. As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, springs 78f and 79f are provided to urge the supports 78 and 79 in such directions as to move the pusher 80 toward the disk bearing side 23a (refer to FIG. 6) of the turntable 23. As shown in FIG. 6 indicating a view taken on line X-X shown in FIG. 17, a slope or tapered portion 78g is provided at the free end of the support 78 so that the slope is engaged with the peripheral portion (of the body 81) of the pusher 80 to position the pusher in a plane parallel with the disk bearing side 23a of the turntable 23. The pusher 80 can thus be accurately aligned to the turntable 23. The forms of the turntable 23 and the pusher 80 are described in detail from now on. As shown in FIG. 19, the pusher 80 is provided with a disk centering projection 84, which is fitted in the center hole of the disk 10 to center the disk. The turntable 23 is provided with a recess 23c, in which the disk centering projection 84 is fitted when the disk 10 is clamped on the turntable. Because of such constitution, the disk 10 is prevented from deviating in the direction parallel with the disk bearing side 23a of the turntable 23. FIG. 24 shows a view taken along line XXVIII-XXVIII shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 25 shows a sectional view along a line XXIX-XXIX shown in FIG. 24. As shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, the disk centering projection 84 of the pusher is movable in a prescribed range along the axis of gyration of the pusher. The disk centering projection 84 is attached to the body 81 of the pusher 80 through a cam means which comprises three cam surfaces 84a provided on the disk centering projection 84 and three spherical guide members 85 provided on the body 81 of the pusher 80 so as to slide in contact with the cam surfaces 84a. When the disk centering projection 84 is moved along the axis of gyration of the pusher 80, the projection is rotated about the axis. As shown in FIG. 24, a spring 84d is provided as an urging means for urging the disk centering projection 84 to rotate it to project upward (in the direction of the arrow Z) from the body 81 of the pusher 80. The three spherical guides 85 are emplaced at equal intervals in the direction of gyration of the pusher 80. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 25, a part of each of the spherical guides 85 project at the disk pushing side of the body 81 of the pusher 80 so that the part is located in contact with the surface of the disk 10. For that reason, the disk 10 is supported at three points by the pusher 80 so that the disk is accurately clamped. The above-described clamp mechanism acts as a disk moving means so that the disk 10 borne on the tray 11 or 12 protruded out of the magazine body 8 by the tray protrusion means is moved in an upward direction (the direction of the arrow Z) perpendicular to the disk bearing side 23a (refer to FIG. 6) of the turntable 23. The disk moving means and the tray protrusion means constitute a disk takeout and conveyance mechanism for sequentially selecting each of the desired disks 10 in the magazine 5 and conveying the selected disk onto the disk bearing side 23a of the turntable 23. As shown in FIG. 5, a disk pusher drive cam 87 shaped nearly as a bow is provided on the moving member 18 and attached to the moving member 18 by a pin 87a so that the cam 87 is moved about its center of curvature. FIGS. 26(a), 26(b) and 26(c) show the details of the disk pusher drive cam 87. As shown in FIGS. 5, 26(a) and 26(c), an opening 87c is provided at one end of the disk pusher drive cam 87. A pin 82h (refer to FIGS. 22(a) and 22(b)) projecting upward from the end of the clamp cam 82 is smoothly fitted in the opening 87c so that the disk pusher drive cam 87 is moved as the clamp cam 82 is moved. The disk pusher drive cam 87 is for driving a disk pusher 88 (shown in FIGS. 5, 26(d) and 26(e)), whose free end 88a is brought into contact with the side (facing the disk bearing side 23a of the turntable 23) of the disk moved by the disk moving means (the clamp mechanism) in a vertical direction perpendicular to the disk bearing side 23a (refer to FIG. 6). As a result, the disk pusher 88 maintains the moved disk 10 to be parallel to the disk bearing side 23a of the turntable 23. The disk pusher 88 is vertically swung about a support pin 88b when the disk pusher drive cam 87 is moved along the curvature thereof. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the chassis 16 is provided with two detection switches 89 and 90 along the detection switches 34 and 35. The detection switches 89 and 90 are for detecting the moved position of the moving member 56 as the switches are engaged with the moving member driven by the motor 62. Detection signals sent from the detection switches 34, 35, 49, 89 and 90 and the photosensor 51 are entered into the above-mentioned controller (not shown in the drawings), which sends out operation signals to operate the motors 45 and 62 and the turntable 23 at prescribed timing described hereinafter. The operation of the multidisk player with the above-described constitution is now briefly described in the sequence of playing steps. When the disk to be played is first appointed by manipulating the operation buttons 6 shown in FIG. 1, a driving voltage is applied to the motor 45 (refer to FIG. 2) to start moving the moving plates 37 and 38 forward (in the direction of the arrow Y) or backward (in the opposite of the direction of the arrow Y). As a results, the pins 18a movably fitted in the steplike cam grooves 37d and 38d of the moving plates 37 and 38 and the guide grooves 16e of the chassis 16 are moved up or down so that the moving member 18 having the pins 18a is moved up or down. For that reason, the tray protruder 53 (shown in FIG. 5) provided on the moving member 18 reaches a position in which the tray protruder is engageable with the tray 11 or 12 bearing the disk to be played. When the tray protruder 53 is thus put in the position in which the tray protruder 53 can be engaged with the tray bearing the disk to be played, the rotation of the motor 62 (refer to FIG. 7) is started to drive the moving member 56 backward (in the direction opposite to that of the arrow Y). At that time, the moving member 56 remains locked to the second lever 72 by the locking/unlocking means including the movable members 75 and 76 (refer to FIGS. 12 etc.), and the first lever 71 is not yet locked to the moving member 56. For that reason, only the second lever 72 is moved backward together with the moving member 56 to turn the tray protruder 53 counterclockwise as to FIG. 5. Consequently, the tray bearing the disk to be played is protruded out of the magazine body 8, so that the disk is moved to a position in which the disk is coaxial with the disk bearing side 23a (refer to FIG. 6) of the turntable 23 or located immediately under the disk bearing side. Then, the moving member 56 is moved backward further oppositely to the direction of the arrow Y, and the second lever 72 is unlocked from the moving member and the first lever 71 is simultaneously locked to the moving member. Therefore, the first lever 71 is moved backward together with the moving member 56 so that the supports 78 and 79 (shown in FIGS. 17 etc.) of the clamp mechanism is swung upward (in the direction of the arrow Z). For that reason, the disk is lifted upward so that it is clamped on the turntable 23. As a result, the disk can be played by operating the turntable 23 and the carriage 24 (refer to FIG. 5). After the disk is played, it is housed back in the magazine body 8. Since the operation of housing the disk back in the magazine body 8 is performed by inversely taking the steps of the above-described operation of loading the disk on the turntable 23, the operation of housing the disk back in the magazine body is not described in detail. Such operations are repeated depending on the number of appointed disks or tunes. In the disk player provided in accordance with the present invention, a clamp mechanism for clamping a disk 10 comprises a pusher 80, which acts to clamp the disk in cooperation with a turntable 23, and a pusher moving means for tightening and loosening the pusher to and from the turntable. The pusher moving means comprises a pair of supports 78 and 79, which are swingable in planes nearly perpendicular to the disk bearing side 23a of the turntable 23 and whose free ends are brought into contact with the disk pushing side of the pusher and the opposite side thereof to pinch the pusher therebetween, and drive means for driving the supports. Because of such constitution, the pusher 80 keeps parallel with the disk bearing side of the turntable whatever position the pusher takes. For that reason, the stroke of the swing of the supports 78 and 79, which are necessary to prevent the pusher and the disk on the turntable from coming into contact with each other when the disk is released from the clamp mechanism, can be decreased to make it easy to reduce the size of the whole disk player, particularly the height thereof. Furthermore, since a mechanism for keeping the pusher parallel with the disk bearing side of the turntable is substantially made of only the pair of supports, the cost of the disk player can be also reduced.

Claims: A disk player, comprising a turntable (23), and a clamp mechanism (78,79,89) for clamping a disk (10) put on said turntable (23), said clamp mechanism having pushing means (80) for clamping the disk (10) in cooperation with said turntable (23) and moving means (78,79,82) for moving said pushing means (80) towards and away from said turntable (23), said moving means comprising a pair of support means (78,79) being swingable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the disk bearing side (23a) of said turntable (23) and free ends of said support means (78,79) being capable of selectively driving pushing faces provided on opposite sides of said pushing means (80), and drive means (56,62,71,74,82) for driving said supporting means (78,79), characterized in that the swinging axes of said support means (78,79), are substantially perpendicular to each other. A disk player according to Claim 1, wherein the free end of at least one (78) of said pair of support members (78,79) is provided with a tapered portion (78g) to be engaged with the peripheral portion of said pushing means (80), to thereby position said pushing means (80) in a plane parallel with the disk bearing side (23a) of said turntable (23). A disk player claimed in Claim 1, wherein said pushing means (80) is tightened to said turntable (23) before said pair of support members (78,79) are separated from said pushing means (80), to thereby complete the clamping of the disc (10), and said pair of support members (78,79) pinch said pushing means (80) therebetween before said pushing means (80) is separated from said turntable (23) to thereby release the clamping of the disc (10). A disk player claimed in Claim 3, wherein said pushing means (80) comprises disc centering projection means (84) for being fitted in the center hole of the disc (10), and said turntable (23) comprises means (23c) for receiving said disc centering projection means (84).

Inventors: IKEDO, YUJI PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION, OKAJIMA, TAKAHIRO PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION, TASHIRO, YASUYUKI PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION
Applicants: PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION
Application year: 1987
Main classification: G11B17
IPC codes: G11B17