Patent ID: 7181752

Claim:
A clamp/alignment mechanism comprising: a turntable on which a recording medium is mounted, the turntable being rotated by a rotation driving device; a holding device for holding the recording medium mounted on the turntable; an aligning device for aligning the recording medium mounted on the turntable; and a driving device for driving both the holding device and the alignment device; wherein the driving device is configured to drive the aligning device in an aligning direction along which the recording medium is subjected to alignment thereof when the holding device is driven by the driving device in a holding direction in which the recording medium is to be held; and wherein the aligning device is made up of an elastic member having two ends, one end of which being fixedly engaged with the turntable, and the driving device is configured to push the other end of the elastic member in an alignment-releasing direction along which the recording medium is subjected to release from an aligned state.