Patent ID: 7069565

Claim:
A disk identifying device comprising: a rotary tray having a plurality of disk placing portions on each of which a disk as a recording medium is to be placed and each of which has an assigned number; a belt-like portion concentrically formed on a rear surface of the rotary tray, the belt-like portion having disk detecting holes each corresponding to a position of each of the disk placing portions, and reflecting areas each formed between adjacent disk detecting holes and including slanting reflecting faces and flat reflecting faces which are divisionally arranged so that their arrangement patterns are different for each of the assigned numbers of the disk placing portions; a light emitting element provided behind the rear surface of the rotary tray for emitting light toward the belt-like portion; a light receiving element provided behind the rear surface of the rotary tray for receiving light reflected from the belt-like portion; and a controller; wherein the controller, in accordance with a disk number designating signal, determines whether or not the disk is placed on a pertinent disk placing portion according to whether or not the light receiving element receives light reflected through the disk detecting hole while rotating the rotary tray and emitting light from the light emitting element, identifies the assigned number of the pertinent disk placing portion in such a manner that the light receiving element receives patterned light reflected from the reflecting area and corresponding to the arrangement pattern, and stops rotation of the rotary tray to stop the pertinent disk placing portion at a prescribed position.