RECORDING-MEDIUM SCANNING APPARATUS

Abstract: In a recording medium reproduction apparatus having an opening in its apparatus main body through which a tray for carrying a recording medium projects and is contained in the apparatus main body, to reliably block the inside of the apparatus main body from the outside upon operation of the apparatus, and to facilitate design and manufacturing of the apparatus. Lock means is provided between an opening (7) and a cover (4) which closes the opening (7). When the cover (4) closes the opening (7), the lock means maintains the closed state, and when a tray (6) projects from an apparatus main body (2), releases the closed state of the opening (7) by the cover (4). When the tray (6) is contained in the apparatus main body (2), lock means (5) can reliably block the inside of the apparatus main body from the outside while maintaining the state in which the cover (4) closes the opening (7). The closed state by the cover (4) does not depend on a contained and stopped position of the tray (6).

Description: Recording-Medium Scanning Apparatus The present invention relates to a recording medium scanning apparatus having: an apparatus main body having an opening; a tray, on which a recording medium can be placed and which has a projected position from the apparatus main body for placement and discharge of the recording medium via the opening of the apparatus main body and a contained position in the apparatus main body for scanning the recording medium; said apparatus forming comprising: scanning means for scanning the recording medium; and a cover, pivotally supported around the opening of said apparatus main body, for closing the opening. As a recording-medium reproduction apparatus having an opening formed in an apparatus main body, a tray on which a recording medium is placed, inserted via the opening and located in a projected position from the apparatus main body and a contained position in the apparatus main body, and a cover which closes the opening when the tray is located in the contained position in the apparatus main body, conventionally, an apparatus having a cover pivotally supported around the opening and an apparatus having a cover integrally provided with a front part of the tray are known. In the recording-medium reproduction apparatus in which the cover is pivotally supported around the opening, the cover obtains a closed state of the opening by a biasing force of a spring or the like. When the tray projects from the state in which it is contained in the apparatus main body, the cover releases the closed state against the biasing force of the spring or the like by a pressing force by projection of the tray. On the other hand, in the recording-medium reproduction apparatus in which the cover is integrally provided with the front part of the tray, when the tray is located in the contained position in the apparatus main body, the cover is located in a position to close the opening. In the recording-medium recording apparatus, upon recording-medium reproduction, to prevent the space for the reproduction from receiving influence of dust and the like, it is preferable that the inside of the apparatus main body is shielded from the outside of the apparatus main body. Further, in a recording-medium reproduction apparatus having a function to write a record into a recording medium in addition to the function to reproduce a record, i.e., a CD-R or the like, as laser light is used for record-writing operation, it is necessary to shield the inside of the apparatus main body as a space for record- writing from leakage of laser light to the outside. Accordingly, in the recording-medium reproduction apparatus, the opening, through which the tray is inserted to be projected and contained with respect to the apparatus main body, must be reliably closed by the cover. In the recording-medium reproduction apparatus in which the cover is pivotally supported around the opening and the cover closes the opening by a biasing force of a spring or the like, when the biasing force is weakened by degradation of the spring or the like by time change or attachment of dust to around the opening, the cover cannot reliably closes the opening, and the laser light is leaked to the outside the apparatus main body. Further, in the recording-medium reproduction apparatus in which the cover is integrally provided with the front part of the tray, and the cover is positioned to close the opening when the tray is slided and contained inside the apparatus main body, if the tray is contained in the apparatus main body, the cover reliably closes the opening. However, the contained position of the tray and the position of the cover to close the opening must be positioned in correspondence with each other. Thus high precision is required in design and manufacturing of the apparatus, and the manufacturing is complicated. The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation, and has for its object to provide a recording-medium reproduction apparatus in which an opening for a tray is reliably closed by a cover when the tray is contained in the apparatus main body, and which can be easily manufactured. To achieve said object, a recording-medium scanning apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that said apparatus further comprises lock means for, when the cover closes the opening, maintaining closed state, and when the tray projects from the apparatus main body, releasing the closed state of the opening by the cover. The detailed construction is a recording medium reproduction apparatus having: an apparatus main body having an opening; a tray in which a recording medium is placed, located in a projected position from the apparatus main body for placement and discharge of recording medium via the opening of the apparatus main body, and a contained position in the apparatus main body for reproduction with respect to the recording medium, said apparatus comprising: reproduction means for performing reproduction on the recording medium; a cover, pivotally supported around the opening of said apparatus main body, which closes the opening; and lock means for, when the cover closes the opening, maintaining closed state, and when the tray contained in the apparatus main body projects from the apparatus main body, releasing the closed state of the opening by the cover. A particular embodiment of a recording-medium scanning apparatus in accordance with the invention is characterized in that said lock means comprises: an engaging member mounted on the cover, which is movable in an approximately vertical direction relative to a sliding direction of the tray in to a contained position and a projected position with respect to the cover; an elastic member which exerts a biasing force on the engaging member towards the projected position; an engaged member, formed near the opening of the apparatus main body, which engages with said engaging member when the cover is located in a position to close the opening of the apparatus main body; and an engagement release member, provided on the side of the cover, which moves the engaging member from the projected position into the contained position upon reception of pressing force from the tray when the tray projects from the apparatus main body, so as to release engagement with the engaged member. In the recording medium reproduction apparatus of the present invention, when the tray is contained in the apparatus main body and the cover closes the opening, the lock means operates to maintain the closed state of the opening by the cover. Further, as the cover is pivotally supported around the opening of the apparatus main body and not provided on the tray and the closing position does not depend on the contained position of the tray, high precision is not required in designing and manufacturing. Further, the present invention particularly provides a recording medium scanning apparatus, wherein said reproduction means comprises a recorder which writes a record into the recording medium, and wherein said reproduction means has a function to write the record into the recording medium in addition to a recording medium reproduction function. Hereinbelow, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment does not pose any limitation on the present invention. In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a principal-part perspective view showing the structure of the lock means in the recording-medium reproduction apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a principal-part plan view explaining the status of engaging operation of the lock means in the embodiment in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of principal members of the lock means in the embodiment in Fig. 1 ; Fig. 4 is a diagram corresponding to Fig. 2 explaining the status of the engagement release of the lock means in the embodiment in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an entire perspective view showing the structure of the recording- medium reproduction apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figs. 1 to 5, a recording-medium reproduction apparatus 1 has an apparatus main body 2, reproduction means 3, a cover 4 and lock means 5. An opening 7, through which a tray 6 on which a recording medium is placed is inserted, is provided on a front surface of the apparatus main body 2. Further, an operation panel 8 and a display panel 9 are provided on the front surface of the apparatus main body 2. The reproduction means 3 performs reproduction on a recording medium (not shown). The reproduction means 3 has the tray 6, a pickup (not shown), a turn table (not shown), a drive motor (not shown), a recorder (not shown) and the like, and has a recording function to receive an input signal from the outside and write a record into the recording medium, in addition to a reproduction function to read a signal from the recording medium and perform reproduction. The tray 6 is used for placing the recording medium. The tray 6 slides in an arrow A direction to be inserted through the opening 7 of the apparatus main body 2, to be located in a projected position from the apparatus main body 2 for placement and discharge of the recording medium and a contained position in the apparatus main body 2 for recording and reproduction on the recording medium. The cover 4 has a pair of pivotal shafts 10 on horizontal both ends. The pivotal shafts 10 are rotatably (in arrow B direction) pivotally supported by the apparatus main body 2 around the opening 7, thus the cover close the opening 7. The cover 4 is biased in a direction to close the opening 7 by a pair of springs (not shown). In addition, the cover 4 has a box structure in which some of members constituting the lock means 5 are accommodated. Further, a cosmetic panel 11 is attached to a front surface of the cover 4. In the recording-medium reproduction apparatus 1, a pair of lock means 5 are provided between the cover 4 and the opening 7, more specifically, between the horizontal both ends of the cover 4 and portions approximately corresponding to them in the opening 7. The lock means 5 is used for, when the cover 4 closes the opening 7, maintaining the closed state, while when the tray 6 in a contained state in the apparatus main body 2 is to project from the apparatus main body 2, releasing the closed state of the opening 7 by the cover 4. The lock means 5 mainly has an engagement member 12, an elastic member 13, an engaged member 14 and an engagement release member 15. The engagement member 12, held inside the cover 4, slides in a horizontal direction (arrow C direction) to the slide direction (arrow A direction) of the tray 6, to be positioned in a contained position (inside) and a projected position (outside) with respect to the cover 4. In the engagement member 12, an engaging member 16 is formed at one end in a projecting direction, and when the engaging member 16 is located in a projected position from the cover 4 and engages with the engaged member 14 on the apparatus main body 2 side, the cover maintains the closed status of the opening 7 of the apparatus main body. Further, the engaging member 16 of the engagement member 12 is formed to have a tapered shape such that when the cover 4 is to rotate in an arrow B closing direction so as to close the opening 7 from its opened state, a portion of the engaging member opposite to its engaging portion is located in a position where the engaging member 16 engages with the engaged member 14. The elastic member 13 is specifically a coil spring, providing a biasing force in the arrow C direction to the engagement member 12 so as to be located in the projected position from the cover 4. The engaged member 14 is formed to have a step shape in a portion to be opposite to the engagement member 12 when the cover 4 closes the opening 7 of the apparatus main body 2. The engaged member engages with the engaging member 16 of the engagement member 12 when the cover 4 is located in the position to close the opening 7. As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the engagement release member 15, held by the cover 4, is used for, when the tray 6 contained inside the apparatus main body 2 is to project from the apparatus main body, releasing the engagement between the engagement member 12 and the engaged member 14 by receiving a pressing force from the tray 6 and sliding the engagement member 12 from the projected position from the cover 4 to the contained position. Numeral 17 denotes an input member to receive the pressing force from the tray 6 to project from the inside the apparatus main body 2. Further, a continuous projection member 18, to be guided, is formed on an upper surface of the engagement release member 15, and a continuous concave member 19 for guiding, extending in the arrow A direction, to be engaged with the continuous projection member 18, is formed on the cover 4, such that when the engagement release member 15 receives the pressing force in an arrow A frontward direction from the tray 6 and when the pressing force from the tray 6 is released, the engagement release member 15 slides in the arrow A direction. In addition, the engagement release member 15 is provided in a placed state, on the engagement member 12. On surfaces of both members in contact with each other, a continuous projection member 20, extending in a direction at an angle of 60° to the arrow C direction, is formed on the engagement release member 15, and a continuous concave member 21, extending in the same direction, to be engaged with the continuous projection member 20, is formed on the engagement member 12. Accordingly, upon reception of the pressing fore from the tray 6 to be project from the apparatus main body 2, the engagement release member 15 slides in the arrow A frontward direction, while the engagement member 12 engaged with the engagement release member 15 slides in the direction to be contained in the cover 4, i.e., an arrow C inward direction. Further, when the engagement release member 15 is released from the pressing force from the tray 6, the engagement member 12 slides, by a biasing force of the elastic member 13, in a direction to be projected from the cover 4 i.e., an arrow C outward direction, while the engagement release member 15 engaged with the engagement member 12 slides in an arrow A backward direction. The recording-medium reproduction apparatus 1 has the construction as described above. Hereinbelow, the operation of the recording-medium reproduction apparatus 1 will be described. A user operates the operation panel 8 of the recording-medium reproduction apparatus 1 to turn a main power on, then, cause the drive motor (not shown) to start output, to slide-move the tray 6 in the arrow A frontward direction, to be located in the projected position from the apparatus main body 2. Further, the user places a desired CD on the tray 6, and operates the operation panel 8 to start play. Then, in the recording-medium reproduction apparatus 1, the tray 6 starts to slide in the arrow A backward direction and is contained in the apparatus main body 2. At this time, in the lock means, the pressing force from the tray 6 to the engagement release member 15 is released, and the cover 4 accommodating the engagement release member 15 rotates in the arrow B closing direction by the biasing force of the pair of springs. Further, the engagement release member 15 is released from the pressing force from the tray 6, however, as the engagement member 12 slides in the arrow C outward direction by the biasing force of the elastic member 13, the engagement release member 15 engaged with the engagement member 12 slides in the arrow A backward direction. Accordingly, when the cover 4 is located in the position to close the opening 7, the engaging member 16 of the engagement member 12 engages with the engaged member 14, and the cover 4 closes the opening 7 and maintains the closed state. Note that at this time, the engagement release member 15 is located in a withdrawn position in the arrow A direction. When the tray 6 reaches a predetermined position in the apparatus main body, the reproduction means 3 functions. That is, the recording medium placed on the tray 6 is placed on the turn table, then the drive motor starts output to rotate the turn table, and the pickup reproduces the content recorded in the recording medium and outputs it as a signal. Upon recording medium reproduction, the opening 7 of the apparatus main body is closed by the cover 4, and as the closed state is maintained by the lock means 5, the inside of the apparatus main body 2 is shielded from the outside, and there is no possibility that dust attached to the recording medium and the reproduction means 3 causes a trouble. When the function of the reproduction means 3 finishes, i.e., the play ends, then the recording medium is exchanged with a new recording medium and a record is written into the new recording medium, the user operates the operation panel 8 so as to move the tray 6 in a projected state from the apparatus main body 2. The tray 6 starts to slide in the arrow A frontward direction inside the apparatus main body 2, and its front part provides the pressing force to the input member 17 of the engagement release member 15 of the lock means 5. Note that in the lock means 5, the engagement release member 15, that received the pressing force in the arrow A frontward direction from the input member 17, slides in the arrow A frontward direction. By this sliding movement, the engagement member 12 engaged with the engagement release member 15 slides in the arrow C inward direction, and the engaging member 16 as its end portion releases the engagement with the engaged member 14. When the tray 6 further slides in the arrow A frontward direction, the cover 4 is pressed by the tray 6 and rotates in an arrow B opening direction. The tray 6 projects to a predetermined position to the apparatus main body 2 and stops. Then, the user exchanges the recording medium on the tray 6 for a new recording medium, and moves the tray 6 to be contained inside the apparatus main body 2. Next, the user reads a signal from the outside the apparatus 1 , and writes the content of the read signal as a record into the new recording medium. At this time, in the apparatus main body 2, comparatively high-output laser light is used, however, as in the case of recording medium reproduction, the opening 7 is closed by the cover 4, and further, the closed state is maintained by the lock means 5, the inside of the apparatus main body 2 is reliably shielded from the outside. Accordingly, there is no possibility that the laser light is leaked to the outside the apparatus main body 2 to cause a trouble. On the other hand, in the recording-medium reproduction apparatus 1, when the tray 6 is contained in the apparatus main body 2, the cover 4 reliably closes the opening 7. There is no possibility that the closing by the cover 4 is not insufficient depending on the contained position of the tray 6 in the apparatus main body 2. Accordingly, in comparison with opening closing means having a structure where a cover is provided on the front part of the tray 6 to close the opening 7, designing and manufacturing can be easily made without requiring high precision in working. In the recording-medium reproduction apparatus 1, in the lock means 5, the engagement release member 15 automatically slides in the arrow A direction by the pressing force and release of the pressing force from the tray 6, and the sliding movement of the engagement release member 15 further slides the engagement member 12 in the arrow C direction. It may be arranged such that a touch switch is provided in the input member 17 of the engagement release member 15 and a slidac is provided in place of the engagement member 12, and the touch switch turns from OFF to ON by the pressing force from the tray 6 and the slidac releases the engagement with the engaged member 14 on the apparatus main body 2 side. In the recording-medium reproduction apparatus 1, in the lock means 5, when the biasing force of the elastic member 13 acts on the engagement member 12 and the engagement member 12 and the engagement release member 15 are released from the pressing force from the tray 6, they returns to the initial positions. It may be arranged such that the engagement member 12 and the engagement release member 15 return to the initial positions by the biasing force acted on the engagement release member 15. In the recording-medium reproduction apparatus 1, the reproduction means 3 performs both record reproduction and writing, however, the means may perform only the record reproduction. Further, the recording-medium reproduction apparatus 1 has only one recording reproduction means 3 for record reproduction and record writing, however, it may be arranged such that in the apparatus have reproduction means for record reproduction and recording means for record writing independently, and two openings through which trays respectively provided in the reproduction means and the recording means are inserted are closed by covers corresponding to the openings, and that the lock means is provided between the respective openings and the corresponding covers. The present invention provides a recording-medium reproduction apparatus having lock means for, when a tray is contained inside the apparatus main body and a cover closes an opening, maintaining the closed state, and when the tray is to project from the apparatus main body, releasing the closed state of the opening by the cover. Accordingly, the inside of the apparatus main body is reliably shielded from the outside and there is no possibility that a trouble occurs in the recording medium and the reproduction means by influence of dust or the like. In addition, in comparison with the apparatus having the structure in which the cover is provided on the front part of the tray to close the opening, designing and manufacturing can be easily made. Exolanation of Reference Numerals 1 Recording-medium reproduction apparatus 2 Apparatus main body 3 Reproduction means 4 Cover 5 Lock means 6 Tray 7 Opening 1 : Pivotal shaft 1. 2: Engagement member 1 3 : Elastic member I- 4: Engaged member 1 5 : Engagement release member 1 5: Engaging member

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A recording medium scanning apparatus having: an apparatus main body having an opening; a tray, on which a recording medium can be placed and which has a projected position from the apparatus main body for placement and discharge of the recording medium via the opening of the apparatus main body and a contained position in the apparatus main body for scanning the recording medium; said apparatus forming comprising: scanning means for scanning the recording medium; and a cover, pivotally supported around the opening of said apparatus main body, for closing the opening; characterized in that said apparatus further comprises lock means for, when the cover closes the opening, maintaining closed state, and when the tray projects from the apparatus main body, releasing the closed state of the opening by the cover. 2. A recording medium scanning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said lock means comprises: an engaging member mounted on the cover, which is movable in an approximately vertical direction relative to a sliding direction of the tray in to a contained position and a projected position with respect to the cover; an elastic member which exerts a biasing force on the engaging member towards the projected position; an engaged member, formed near the opening of the apparatus main body, which engages with said engaging member when the cover is located in a position to close the opening of the apparatus main body; and an engagement release member, provided on the side of the cover, which moves the engaging member from the projected position into the contained position upon reception of pressing force from the tray when the tray projects from the apparatus main body, so as to release engagement with the engaged member. 3. A recording medium scanning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said reproduction means comprises a recorder which writes a record into the recording medium, and wherein said reproduction means has a function to write the record into the recording medium in addition to a recording medium reproduction function.

Inventors: TAKEDA KUNIO, TOKUOKA SHINJI, TAKEDA, KUNIO, TOKUOKA, SHINJI
Applicants: KONINKL PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NV, KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: G11B17
IPC codes: G11B17, G11B33