AUTOMATIC DISC SELECTOR

Abstract: To facilitate disc handling, to make an apparatus compact and to shorten an access time. A plurality of storage cases (11) each containing a disc (10) is disposed movably right and left in front of a main body case. A player (1) is disposed movably both back and forth and right and left at the back of the main body case. One storage case (11) is selected by a disc selector (21) is fixed and the other storage cases are moved to the left and right so as to define a space into which the player (1) is inserted. The player (1) is moved into this space. After the selected disc (10) is clamped, reproduction is carried out.

Description: The invention relates to an automatic disk selecting apparatus comprising: a disk-supporting mechanism arranged in the front portion of a chassis for holding a plurality of storing disks in vertical position and for supporting the storing disks movably in a first lateral direction perpendicular to the surfaces of the disks; a disk-selecting unit drivable in the first lateral direction for selecting one of the plurality of storing disks; a player-moving unit for holding a player, the player-moving unit being adapted to move the player in the first lateral direction and a second lateral direction parallel to the surfaces of the disks; and a disk-returning mechanism for returning the disks to an initial position. Such an automatic disk-selecting apparatus is known for example from US-A-3 130 393. In this conventional apparatus, the disks are mounted on a drum shaft, wherein the disks can be shifted in the axial direction of the drum shaft in order to provide an access gap between the respective disks. This access gap is arranged at a suitable location so that a transducer assembly comprising an arm holding a plurality of transducing heads can be inserted into the access gap for the purpose of reproducing data recorded on the disks. In this conventional apparatus, the disks are mounted directly on the drum shaft without being provided in storage cases. Also, the disks remain on the drum shaft throughout the operation of the apparatus. Whereas the document US-A-3 130 393 relates to magnetic disks, a similar apparatus dealing with optical disks is disclosed in the publication JP-A-61-61262. The principle of the latter is mainly the same wherein an optical head is inserted into a gap between two opposite optical disks of a plurality of optical disks mounted on a common shaft. A conventional automatic disk exchanging apparatus as shown in Fig. 11, is disclosed JP-A-61-156 563 The automatic disk exchanging apparatus has the following structure. Disks 201 are put in a main tray mechanical unit 200. To select a predetermined disk, a disk playing mechanical unit 700 moves to a predetermined position in the Y directions, and a disk carrying mechanism 600 operates to pick out the disk from the tray mechanical unit 200, carry the disk in the X directions, and mounts it on the disk playing mechanical unit 700. Information recorded on the disk is thus reproduced. The above conventional apparatus has the following drawbacks. 1) Precision is required for control of positioning to select a disk. A handling mechanism cannot be quickly moved since it directly handles the disk which is circular. Since the handling mechanism has to perform two operations of clamping and release in order to handle the disk, time (access time) required for removing the disk from the tray mechanical unit and mounting it on the playing mechanical unit is very long, i.e., about 10 seconds. 2) Since a space for carrying the disk is necessary, the apparatus is increased in size. 3) Since the circular disk has to be handled directly, the clamping and holding mechanisms are complicated, with the result that the apparatus is easy to malfunction and expensive. 4) Since the apparatus does not have a mechanism for reversing the disk, information recorded on both sides of the disk cannot be reproduced. The present invention has been developed to resolve the above drawbacks of the conventional apparatus and its object is to provide a small-sized automatic disk selecting apparatus whose access time is short, structure is simple, and reliability is high. According to the invention, this object is solved by an automatic disk-selecting apparatus of the type specified above which is characterized in that the disks are contained in storage cases held in the disk-supporting mechanism and the disk-selecting unit is arranged in an upper rear portion of the chassis and comprises a fixing mechanism for fixing the selected one of the plurality of storage cases and a pair of select levers for moving the storage cases on either side of the selected case in opposite directions away from the selected case in the first lateral direction; in that the player-moving unit is arranged in the lower rear portion of the chassis, the player having a disk clamp mechanism disposed in vertical position; and in that the disk-returning mechanism is arranged above the disk-supporting mechanism and comprises a pair of returning arms for returning the disk-storage cases, having been moved in the first lateral direction by the disk-selecting unit, to their initial positions. According to a further development of the apparatus according to the invention, the disk-supporting mechanism includes slide guides for slidably guiding the storage cases in the first lateral direction. A specific embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention comprises: a pair of pinions arranged at the upper portion of each storage case; a pair of racks arranged in said first lateral direction of the chassis and disposed to engage with the pair of pinions; a further pinion arranged at a bottom portion of each storage case and adapted to reversely rotate in synchronisation with the pair of pinions; and a third rack arranged in said first lateral direction of the chassis and disposed to engage with the further pinion; whereby the storage cases are held in the vertical position when moved by said disk-selecting unit in the first lateral direction. A still further development of the apparatus according to the invention further comprises: a pin fixed to an upper end portion of each of the storage cases; wherein the disk-selecting unit is arranged on a base driven in the first lateral direction and further includes: a forked fixing member as the fixing mechanism for fixing the pin, the forked fixing member being driven in the second lateral direction; and the pair of select levers being arranged symmetrically with respect to a center axis of the forked fixing member and being driven in a manner that the select levers are opened and closed in the first lateral directions opposite to each other; wherein the base is adapted to move laterally to position the forked fixing member opposed to the selected one of the storage cases; the forked fixing member is adapted to be advanced in the second lateral direction and to engage with the fixed pin of the selected case; the pair of select levers is adapted to open and thereby engage at end portions with the pins of the storage cases on either side of the selected storage case; and the storage cases on either side are moved oppositely away from the selected storage case in the first lateral direction, thereby forming a space for inserting in the second lateral direction the player on each side of the selected storage case. According to a further development of the apparatus according to the invention, the player-moving unit incorporates a mechanism for reversely rotating the player. According to a still further development of the apparatus according to the invention, a door adapted to be opened and closed is provided at the front surface of the chassis. In the apparatus according to the invention, the disks are stored in the storage cases one by one and supported by the disk-supporting mechanism so that they can be moved in the right and left directions. Since the storage cases other than the selected storage case are moved in the right and left directions by the select levers of the disk-selecting unit, the supporting mechanism is considerably simpler than that of a conventional apparatus in which a disk is directly handled. In the apparatus according to the invention, the player is moved by the player-moving unit to the selected storage case fixed by the fixing mechanism of the disk-selecting unit, and the selected disk stored in the storage case is clamped by the clamp mechanism so that information can be reproduced from the disk. The apparatus of the invention can thus be made more compact than a conventional apparatus. By virtue of the structure of the disk-selecting unit, the access time can be considerably shortened with respect to a conventional apparatus. Furthermore, information recorded on both sides of the selected disk can be reproduced by reversely rotating the player using the player-moving unit. The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic disk selecting apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figs. 2A and 2B are respectively front and side views of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a disk supporting mechanism; Fig. 4 is a view for explaining a supporting mechanism for supporting disk storage cases in a vertical state; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a player moving unit; Fig. 6 is a view for explaining a player reversing mechanism; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a disk clamp mechanism; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a disk selecting unit; Fig. 8A is a view for explaining an operation of the disk selecting unit; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a disk returning mechanism; Fig. 10 is an operation flowchart; and Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a conventional automatic disk exchanging apparatus. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, an outline of the entire structure of an automatic disk selecting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Disks 10 are stored in a plurality of storage cases 11 one by one. A supporting mechanism 51 for supporting the cases 11 movably in the right and left (Y) directions is provided in front of a body case 50. The disks 10 stored in the storage cases 11 are exchanged with one another by opening a door 14 provided in front of the body case. A disk selecting unit 21 having a fixing mechanism for fixing a selected one of the storage cases 11 and select levers for moving the storage cases 11 other than the selected one of them in the right and left directions, is provided behind the body case 50 so that it can be moved in the right and left (Y) directions. A player-moving unit 2 for moving the player 1 back and forth, right and left in a vertical state and reversely rotating it, is provided behind the body case 50. A disk returning mechanism 27 for returning the disk storage case 11 to the initial position is provided above a disk supporting mechanism 51. A computer 43 for sequentially controlling an operation of each of the above structural elements is arranged in the body case 50, while its operation panel 42 is arranged in front thereof. The respective structural elements of the apparatus will be sequentially described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the disk supporting mechanism 51. The disks 10 are stored in the storage cases 11 one by one. The storage cases 11 are supported movably in the right and left (Y) directions by means of two slide guides 12 passing through the body case 50. The storage cases 11 each have a window 13 for reading a signal when the player 1 is mounted. Further, the automatic disk selecting apparatus comprises a holding mechanism for vertically holding the storage cases 11 to guide them smoothly by the slide guides 12 when the storage cases 11 are moved in the right and left directions by the disk selecting unit 21 (which will be described in detail later). The holding mechanism is constructed as shown in Fig. 4. A shaft 17 having pinions 17a and 17b at its both ends is mounted on the top of the storage case 11. A pinion 17c is mounted on one end of the undersurface of the storage case 11. Three racks 18 pass on the body case 50. The pinions 17a and 17b are directly engaged with the racks 18, and the pinion 17c is engaged with the rack 18 with a pinion 17d interposed therebetween. A timing belt 19 is wound on the pinions 17b and 17c. when the storage case 11 is moved by the slide guides 12, the pinion 17c is rotated in synchronization with rotation of the pinion shaft 17. Since the storage case 11 is thus supported at the upper two points and the lower one point, it can be moved in the vertical state. The player-moving unit 2 will now be described, with reference to Figs. 5 and 6. The player-moving unit 2 includes a moving frame 4 moved in the back and forth (X) directions and a moving table 4a arranged on the moving frame 4 and moved in the right and left (Y) directions. The player 1 is mounted on the moving table 4a with a turn table 3 interposed therebetween so that the player 1 can be reversely rotated. The moving frame 4 is guided by a slide guide 5 passing through the body case and moved in the back and forth (X) directions by means of a timing belt 7 driven by a motor 6. Similarly, the moving table 4a is guided by a slide guide 5a and moved in the right and left (Y) directions by means of a timing belt 7a driven by a motor 6a. The player 1 is reversely rotated by a gear train driven by a motor 8. The player 1 includes a disk clamp mechanism 31 as shown in Fig. 7. The disk 10 is clamped and released by moving a spindle shaft 32 back and forth in the Y directions through a link by means of a rack 34 which is moved up and down by a motor 33. The disk selecting unit 21 will now be described, with reference to Fig. 8. A base 22 is guided by a slide guide 23 and moved in the Y directions by the same mechanism as that for moving the above moving frame 4 in the Y directions. A pole 15 is attached to the upper end of the disk storage case 11 to fix the storage case. A forked fixing mechanism 24 for holding the pole 15 is attached to one end of the base 22 in such a manner that it is moved back and forth in the X directions. A pair of select levers 26a and 26b each having an edge portion which is to be inserted between the poles 15 attached to the upper end of the disk storage case 11 is arranged on the base 22 so that the select levers 26a, 26b can be rotated in directions opposite to each other. The select levers 26a, 26b are rotated by means of a gear train 29 driven by a motor 25 and a belt 28, and the fixing mechanism 24 is moved back and forth by a pinion and a rack mechanism (not shown) driven by the motor 25. The disk returning mechanism 27 will now be described, with reference to Fig. 9. A pair of returning arms 28a and 28b each having an L-shaped end portion, is driven so that the returning arms 28a, 28b are moved in directions opposite to each other by means of a gear train 30 driven by a motor 29a. As one operation of the apparatus of the present invention, reproduction of information recorded on a selected disk stored in a storage case 11a will now be described. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation. If the reproduction is instructed by an operation panel 42, the player moving unit 2 is operated to move the player 1 in the Y directions and stop it at Ya (in Fig. 8) where the player 1 coincides with the storage case 11a to be selected. The returning arms 28a and 28b of the disk returning mechanism 27 are opened to the positions indicated by one-dash-two-dot lines in Fig. 9. The end portions of the returning arms 28a, 28b are fixed to positions Yat and Ybt. The base 22 of the disk selecting unit 21 is then moved in the Y directions to make the position of the fixing mechanism 24 coincident with the storage case lla. The fixing mechanism 24 is moved in the X directions and engaged with the pole 15 of the storage case lla, thereby fixing the storage case 11a. The select levers 26a and 26b are rotated as indicated by one-dash-two-dot lines in Figs. 8 and 8A, and the storage cases other than the storage case 11a are moved in the Y directions by engaging the end portions of the select levers 26a, 26b with the pole 15 to make a space, into which the player 1 is inserted, between the storage cases 11a and 11b and between the storage cases 11a and 11c. The player 1 is moved in the X directions by the player moving unit 2 to make the center of the player 1 coincident with that of the selected disk. The selected disk is clamped by the clamp mechanism 31 and mounted on the player 1. In this state, information recorded on the selected disk is reproduced as a voice by an external speaker, an image by an external TV set, etc. After the reproduction, an operation opposite to the above is performed to return the storage case to the initial position and return the returning arms 28a and 28b to the positions indicated by solid lines in Fig. 9. Setting the end portions of the returning arms 28a, 28b to the positions Yai and Ybi, the space between the storage cases is closed. When the player 1 is designed to reproduce information recorded on one side of a disk, the same operation as above can be performed. However, when the player 1 is designed to reproduce information recorded on both sides of a disk, the above operation has only to be performed after the player 1 is returned to the X directions and reversely rotated. The above operation is automatically performed by the computer 43 if necessary information is input using the operation panel 42. If the disk 10 is exchanged with another disk, the disk exchange door 14 has only to be opened. The present invention can be widely applied to not only a laser disk, a CD, a CD-ROM, and tracking and erasable optical disks, but also a magnetic disk such as a hard disk and a floppy disk. Further, the present invention can be applied to disks having diameters of 30,48 cm (12 inch), 20,32 cm (8 inch), 13,34 cm (5,25 inch) and 8,89 cm (3,5 inch). As described above, since the disks are stored in the storage cases one by one and supported by the supporting mechanism movably in the right and left directions, and the storage cases other than the selected one of them are moved in the right and left directions by the select levers of the disk selecting unit, the automatic disk selecting apparatus of the present invention is considerably simpler than the conventional apparatus in which a circular disk is directly handled. Since the player-moving unit moves the player to the storage case fixed by the fixing mechanism of the disk-selecting unit, and the disk is clamped by the clamp mechanism to reproduce information recorded on the disk, the apparatus can be made smaller than the conventional apparatus. Furthermore, the access time can be decreased to about 5 seconds and is extremely shorter than that of the conventional apparatus. Since the player is reversely rotated by the player moving unit, information recorded on both sides of the disk can be reproduced.

Claims: An automatic disk-selecting apparatus comprising: a disk-supporting mechanism (51) arranged in the front portion of a chassis (50) for holding a plurality of storing disks (10) in vertical position and for supporting the storing disks (10) movably in a first lateral direction (Y) perpendicular to the surfaces of the disks (10); a disk-selecting unit (21) drivable in said first lateral direction (Y) for selecting one of said plurality of storing disks (10); a player-moving unit (2) for holding a player (1), the player-moving unit (2) adapted to move the player in said first lateral direction and a second lateral direction (X) parallel to the surfaces of the disks (10); a disk-returning mechanism (27) for returning the disks (10) to an initial position; characterized in that said disks (10) are contained in storage cases (11) held in said disk-supporting mechanism (51) and said disk-selecting unit (21) is arranged in an upper rear portion of said chassis (50) and comprises a fixing mechanism (24) for fixing said selected one of the plurality of storage cases (11) and a pair of select levers (26a, 26b) for moving the storage cases (11) on either side of the selected case (11a) in opposite directions away from the selected case (11a) in the first lateral direction (Y); said player-moving unit (2) is arranged in the lower rear portion of the chassis (50), said player (1) having a disk clamp mechanism (31) disposed in vertical position; and said disk-returning mechanism (27) is arranged above said disk-supporting mechanism (51) and comprises a pair of returning arms (28a, 28b) for returning the disk-storage cases (11), having been moved in the first lateral direction (Y) by said disk-selecting unit (21), to their initial positions. The automatic disk-selecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said disk-supporting mechanism (51) includes slide guides (12) for slidably guiding the storage cases (11) in said first lateral direction (Y). The automatic disk-selecting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a pair of pinions (17a, 17b) arranged at the upper portion of each storage case (11); a pair of racks (18) arranged in said first lateral direction (Y) of the chassis (50) and disposed to engage with said pair of pinions (17a, 17b); a further pinion (17d) arranged at a bottom portion of each storage case (11) and adapted to reversely rotate in synchronisation with said pair of pinions (17a, 17b); and a third rack (18) arranged in said first lateral direction (Y) of the chassis (50) and disposed to engage with said further pinion (17d); whereby said storage cases (11) are held in said vertical position when moved by said disk-selecting unit (21) in said first lateral direction (Y). The automatic disk-selecting apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a pin (15) fixed to an upper end portion of each of said storage cases (11); wherein said disk-selecting unit (21) is arranged on a base (22) driven in said first lateral direction (Y) and further includes: a) a forked fixing member (24) as said fixing mechanism for fixing said pin (15), the forked fixing member (24) being driven in said second lateral direction (X); and b) the pair of select levers (26a, 26b) being arranged symmetrically with respect to a center axis of said forked fixing member (24) and being driven in a manner that said select levers (26a, 26b) are opened and closed in first lateral directions (Y) opposite to each other; wherein said base (22) is adapted to move laterally to position the forked fixing member (24) opposed to said selected one (lla) of the storage cases (11); said forked fixing member is adapted to be advanced in said second lateral direction (X) and to engage with the fixed pin (15) of said selected case (11a) ; said pair of select levers (26a, 26b) is adapted to open and thereby engage at end portions with the pins (15) of the storage cases (11b, 11c) on either side of said selected storage case (11a) ; and said storage cases on either side are moved oppositely away from the selected storage case (11a) in said first lateral direction (Y), thereby forming a space for inserting in said second lateral direction (X) said player (1) on each side of the selected storage case (11a). The automatic disk-selecting apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein said player-moving unit (2) incorporates a mechanism (3) for reversely rotating the player (1). The automatic disk-selecting apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein a door (14) adapted to be opened and closed is provided at the front surface of the chassis (50).

Inventors: KOBAYASHI TAKASHI, OHASHI YOSHIO, TAMACHI SAKAE, TOBITANI HARUHISA, YOSHINO KOUJI, KOBAYASHI, TAKASHI, OHASHI, YOSHIO, TAMACHI, SAKAE, TOBITANI, HARUHISA, YOSHINO, KOUJI
Applicants: NIKKYO SEISAKUSHO KK, NIPPON KOKAN KK, KABUSHIKI KAISHA NIKKYO SEISAKUSHO, NKK CORPORATION
Application year: 1990
Main classification: G11B17
IPC codes: G11B17