Patent ID: 6968560

Claim:
An optical disc driving apparatus for selectively driving two kinds of optical discs different in diameter from each other to reproduce information recorded in said optical disc while reading out information in said optical disc, comprising: a housing formed with a loading slot having said optical disc pass therethrough; a turntable for retaining said optical disc, said turntable being supported by said housing and having a center axis, said turntable being driven to rotate around said center axis with said optical disc being retained by said turntable to reproduce information recorded in said optical disc while reading out information in said optical disc; a guide plate positioned within said housing in the vicinity of said loading slot and supported by said housing, said guide plate having an inner surface contactable with said optical disc to guide said optical disc toward said turntable until said optical disc is retained by said turntable after being partly passed through said loading slot; a rotation shaft having a center axis and supported by said housing with said center axis being in parallel relationship with said inner surface of said guide plate said guide plate extending toward said turntable, said rotation shaft having three different longitudinal portions including first and second side portions axially spaced apart from each other, and a spacer portion intervening between said first and second side portions, said first and second side portions being tapered toward said spacer portion; and driving means for driving said rotation shaft to have said rotation shaft rotate around said center axis to ensure that said optical disc is conveyed toward said turntable by said rotation shaft while said optical disc is being guided by said guide plate and in which said spacer portion is made of a lubricative synthetic resin, said spacer portion being more lubricative than said first and second side portions to ensure that said optical disc is more smoothly contacted with said spacer portion than said first and second side portions to have said optical disc conveyed toward said turntable by said first and second side portions having a loading force larger than that of said spacer portion.