CN1811949A - Disc changer having disc discharge mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

In a disc changer equipped with a disc ejection mechanism that pushes out a disc from a specific rack in a disc storage rack capable of storing multiple discs to an ejection position in the device by means of an ejection mechanism, and reliably feeds the disc into the disc insertion/ejection port Among them, the disk guide device when ejecting the disk is provided in the area inside the device adjacent to the disk insertion/ejection port, and is guided to the disk insertion/ejection port (82) by the disk (2) that will be pushed out by the ejection mechanism. The upper guide member, the lower guide member, and the drive mechanism for the guide member that opens the lower guide member relative to the upper guide member during the ejection operation of the disc by the ejection mechanism constitute the disc guide device during disc ejection.

Description

Disc changer equipped with a disc ejection mechanism

The basic applications claiming the priority of the present invention are as follows.

(1) Special Request Flat 2005-015158 (applied on January 24, 2005)

(2) Special Request Flat 2005-379233 (applied on December 28, 2005)

technical field

The present invention relates to a disk changer, and more particularly to a disk ejection guide configured to extend inside the apparatus near the disk insertion/ejection port when ejecting a disk from a disk apparatus with a built-in disk changer to the outside of the apparatus. The disc changer of the disc guide device of the opening part of the guide body on the inner side of the device.

Background technique

In the past, cassette tapes were the main medium for listening to music in the interior of a car. However, in recent years, disk media such as CDs (Compact Discs) and MDs (MiniDiscs) have been used instead of such cassettes. mainstream. And, because disc medium is thinner than cassette tape, especially because the disc such as CD is not packed in the case, therefore, a plurality of discs are accommodated in the disc reproducing device and the exchange of reproducing (playing) is performed while changing discs. Discs have become ubiquitous. In addition, disc changers are being developed for DVDs, which are also optical discs.

In such a disc changer for optical discs, there is a disc storage rack capable of accommodating a plurality of discs one by one in its housing, and a desired disc is taken out from the disc storage rack by a rocker arm and optically head to regenerate, and put the disk back into the disk storage rack when regeneration is complete. Typically, at the front end of the swing arm there is a turntable to rotate the disk and a clip to secure the disk to the turntable. Then, with respect to the disc rotating on the turntable, the optical head moves along the radial direction of the disc on the movement path provided on the swing arm to reproduce the information recorded on the disc. In addition, as a structure of the disc changer, the disc storage rack can be raised and lowered within the device in order to take out a desired disc from the disc storage rack.

And, in the disc device of such a disc changer with a built-in CD, although a plurality of discs can be accommodated in the disc changer and reproduced alternately, it is sometimes necessary to separate the discs accommodated in the disc changer from the disc device. The external disk is replaced. For this reason, the disc changer already has a function of exchanging discs stored in the disc storage rack, that is, a disc insertion/ejection mechanism for inserting and ejecting discs into and out of the device.

Disk insertion/ejection mechanism, when the disk is guided onto the roller from the disk insertion/ejection port of the device and inserted into the device, another insertion mechanism is used to send the disk into the disk storage when the disk reaches the designated detection position on the shelf. Conversely, when ejecting a disc from the storage rack to the outside of the disc device, the disc is ejected from the disc insertion/ejection port of the device by the rollers after the disc is pushed out to the ejection position by the rollers by the ejection mechanism.

Among such disc changers for CDs, early disc changers were stored in the luggage compartment of automobiles because of their large size. However, in recent years, as disc changers have been miniaturized, a disc device with a built-in disc changer can be housed in a center console or the like of an instrument panel of an automobile.

However, as a result of progress in the miniaturization of disc changers among disc devices, there is no room for the size of components in the disc changer. Therefore, when the disk is ejected from the device, it must be pushed out to the discharge position using the rollers by the push-out mechanism. When the disk is discharged from the disk insertion/ejection port of the device using the rollers, there is a problem due to the vibration of the side end of the disk. The possibility of the disk colliding with the disk insertion/ejection port of the device.

Contents of the invention

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem of disc ejection in the conventional disc changer, and to provide a disc changer that has no room for internal dimensions due to miniaturization. The disk changer of the disk guide device can smoothly discharge the disk from the device without the possibility of the disk colliding with the disk insertion/ejection port during ejection.

The disk changer of the present invention that achieves the above object is characterized in that it includes: a disk storage rack capable of storing a plurality of disks; a disk reproduction unit for reproducing disks; a disc ejection mechanism for ejecting from the ejection port; a guide member provided near the disc ejection port to guide the disc transported by the transport mechanism to the disc ejection mechanism; The driving mechanism of the guide member that moves the disc transported by the transport mechanism to the guiding position when the disc is ejected.

In this disk changer, the drive mechanism can drive the guide member so as to form a tapered surface from the transport mechanism side toward the disk discharge port when the disk is discharged. In addition, the guide member may be constituted by an upper guide member and a lower guide member, and the upper guide member may be fixed to the device and only the lower guide member may be moved.

In addition, the drive source of the drive mechanism of a conveyance mechanism and a guide member can be made the same. In this case, the drive mechanism of the guide member may drive the guide member in conjunction with the operation of the disk ejection handle of the transport mechanism.

Furthermore, the driving mechanism of the guide member can be configured such that the inclination angle of the tapered surface of the guide member is linked to the operation of the disk ejection handle of the transport mechanism, and the angle becomes larger as the rotation angle of the ejection handle increases. In addition, the opening height of the opening of the guide member at normal time can be set to be the height of the plate thickness of one disk.

According to the disk changer of the present invention, even in a disk changer whose internal size has no room due to miniaturization, there is no possibility of the disk colliding with the disk insertion/ejection port when the disk is ejected from the device. , and the disk can be ejected from the device smoothly.

Description of drawings

The present invention will be understood more clearly from the following description related to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a disc changer to which the present invention is applied.

2A is a view showing the operation of the disc changer to which the present invention is applied during ejection of the disc, and is a plan view of main parts of the disc changer showing the state before the start of the ejection operation.

2B is a diagram showing the operation of the disc changer to which the present invention is applied when the disc is ejected, and is a plan view of main parts of the disc changer showing the operation of the ejection handle.

Fig. 3A is a plan view of main parts showing the ejection operation of the ejection lever when the disc is ejected in the disc changer to which the present invention is applied.

3B is a plan view of main parts of the disc changer to which the present invention is applied, showing a state in which the disc has reached the ejection position by the push-out action of the push-out handle when the disc is ejected.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the operation of the disk ejection in the disk changer to which the present invention is applied, and is a disk changer showing the state in which the disk is ejected by the disk insertion and ejection mechanism after the disk reaches the ejection position by the push-out action of the push-out handle. The plan view of the main part of the device.

5A is a perspective view of a main part of the guide device showing the state of the disk guide member before the disk is ejected by the ejection handle.

FIG. 5B is a view taken along arrow B in FIG. 5A .

FIG. 5C is a view taken along arrow C in FIG. 5A .

6A is a perspective view of main parts of the guide device showing the state of the disk guide member during ejection of the disk by the ejection handle.

FIG. 6B is a view taken along arrow B in FIG. 6A .

FIG. 6C is a view taken along arrow C in FIG. 6A .

7A is a perspective view of main parts of the guide device showing the state of the disc guide member after the disc is ejected by the ejection handle.

FIG. 7B is a view taken along arrow B in FIG. 7A .

FIG. 7C is a view taken along arrow C in FIG. 7A .

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, referring to the accompanying drawings, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail according to specific embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a disk changer 1 to which the present invention is applied, and is a diagram showing a state where a disk is not stored. The disc changer 1 to which the present invention is applied is provided in the device body: a stocker 4 as a disc storage rack capable of accommodating a plurality of discs that can be raised and lowered in the device; The rocker arm 3 for regenerating the disk and returning the disk after regeneration to the storage 4; the drive device 7 for the rocker 3; the linear position sensor (not shown) for detecting the position of the storage 4; and according to the linear The output of the position sensor performs the elevating mechanism 5 that elevates the stocker 4 .

The rocker arm 3 is rotatable by means of a drive device 7 and is substantially composed of a frame 30 and a clamping arm 33 . A turntable 32 for rotating the disk is provided at the front end of the frame 30 , and an optical head 36 and a movement path 35 for moving the optical head 36 are provided at the center of the frame 30 . The clamp arm 33 has a base attached to the frame 30 with a rotating shaft, and a clamp 34 is provided at the front end of the clamp arm 33 so as to be rotatable. The front end portion of the clamp arm 33 rotates on the frame 30 side, and clamps and fixes the disc placed on the turntable 32 with the clamp 34 .

The vertical position of the rocker arm 3 is fixed. Therefore, the stocker 4 is divided and moved in the vertical direction of the device so that the swing arm 3 holds a desired one of the discs stored in the stocker 4 . The stocker 4 includes one stocker base and a plurality of movable stockers mounted thereon, and each of the stocker bases is configured to accommodate one disk. The stocker 4 is raised and lowered in the device by a stocker lifting mechanism. In addition, in order to take out a desired disc held in the stocker 4 by the swing arm 3, the movable stocker that constitutes the stocker 4 can be divided up and down at a desired position by the separation mechanism 6 of the stocker. device.

In addition, a disk ejection mechanism 20 for ejecting one disk stored in the stocker 4 is provided on the housing (casing) of the disc changer 1 on the rear side of the stocker 4 including a plurality of movable stockers. The height of the disk ejection mechanism 20 from the bottom surface of the disc changer 1 is fixed, and it is made to use the storage 4 to move up and down. The disk is pushed out onto the disk eject position. The disk pushed out to the disk ejection position is ejected from the disk insertion/ejection port 21 of the disk changer 1 by the disk insertion/ejection mechanism. The disk guide device used in the present invention is a device that reliably guides the disk to the disk insertion and ejection mechanism when the disk is pushed out to the disk discharge position by the push-out mechanism, and it is arranged in the same position as the disk changer 1. Insertion/ejection port 21 adjacent to the disk.

2A to 4, together with the disk 2 of the disk changer 1, the stocker 4 for storing the disk 2, and the drive mechanism 80 of the operating handle 70, the operation of the disk when the disk is ejected by the disk changer 1 according to the present invention will be described. . FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the state of the disc changer 1 before the ejection operation starts, and the disc ejection mechanism 20 has not yet operated. The disc push-out mechanism 20 of the present embodiment is made up of a first handle 50 and a second handle 60. The first handle 50 is located near the rotation axis of the second handle 60, and is made to utilize the action of the operating handle 70 compared to the second handle. 2 The handle 69 starts to rotate first. The first shank 50 has a tapered wedge-shaped shank 54 . In addition, the disk ejection mechanism 20 does not have to include both the first and second handles 50 , 60 , and only needs to have the second handle 60 .

The actuation lever 70 for actuating the disk ejection mechanism 20 includes a main body 71 , an actuation input portion 72 , a through hole 73 , a guide groove 74 , and an actuation output portion 75 . The action input part 72 of the action handle 70 is connected to the drive mechanism 80, and the action of the drive mechanism 80 makes the action handle 70 stretch in the direction of the arrow A in the figure or return in the direction opposite to the arrow A. In this state, the wedge-shaped handle 54 of the first handle 50 and the push-out handle 64 of the second handle 60 are located outside the storage 4 of the storage tray 2 and will not hinder the lifting action of the storage 4 .

2B is a diagram showing a state in which the actuating handle 70 has moved slightly in the direction of arrow A from the state of FIG. 2A . The disc push-out mechanism 20, in this state, only the wedge-shaped handle 54 of the first handle portion 50 rotates, and the wedge-shaped handle 54 is inserted into the space between the movable stocker holding the disc 2 to be ejected and the movable stocker below it, and the space between the movable stockers is ensured. At this time, because the wedge-shaped handle 54 has a thin head and becomes wedge-shaped, it can be reliably inserted between the movable storage and the movable storage to ensure the holding of the disk to be discharged and the movable storage below it. Interval between storages. The push-out handle 64 of the second handle portion 60 is located outside the stocker 4 of the storage tray 2 in this state.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a state in which the operating handle 70 has been further moved in the direction of arrow A from the state in FIG. 2B . In FIG. 3A , what is shown is the situation after removing the part above the push-out handle 64 of the reservoir 4 shown in FIG. 2B . In this state, the push-out handle 64 of the second handle 60 rotates along with the wedge-shaped handle 54 of the first handle 50, and pushes out the push-out handle inserted into the gap between the above-mentioned movable accumulator secured by the wedge-shaped handle 54 and the movable accumulator. The disk 2 is held in the movable storage on the upper side in the space between. The push-out handle 64 of the second handle portion 60 rotates together with the wedge-shaped handle 54 at the moment when it catches up with the wedge-shaped handle 54 of the first handle portion 50 .

FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a state in which the operating handle 70 has been further moved in the direction of arrow A from the state in FIG. 3A . Figure 3B shows the state after the ejection handle 64 has been fully rotated, in which state the disk 2 held in the movable reservoir is completely ejected from the reservoir 4 to the disk ejection position. Then, the operating lever 70 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow B to return to the state shown in FIG. 2A .

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the disc 2 inserted between the movable stockers is completely pushed out from the stocker 4 and reaches the ejection position of the disc 2 . When the disk 2 reaches the ejection position, the disk 2 is ejected to a position exposed to the disk changer 1 through the disk insertion/ejection port 21 shown in FIG. In this state, the disc 2 can be easily taken out from the outside of the disc changer 1 .

In this way, the disk ejection mechanism 20, as can be seen from the operation of the above-mentioned embodiment, utilizes the operation of the second handle 60 with a large rotation radius to push out the disk 2 held in the stocker 4 to the ejection position. At this discharge position, a part of the disk 2 is locked on the disk insertion mechanism, and then the disk 2 is smoothly discharged to the outside of the device by using the rollers of the disk insertion mechanism.

In such a disc ejection operation, when the disc is ejected from the stocker and pushed out to the eject position, there is a possibility that the front end of the disc may vibrate, and if the front end of the disc vibrates, the disc may be inserted/disconnected with the disc of the device. Collision near the discharge port. Therefore, in the present invention, the guide device 10 is provided as a disk guide device capable of smoothly guiding the disk ejected from the stocker to the disk insertion/ejection port at the preceding stage of the disk insertion/ejection mechanism of the device. Therefore, the structure and operation of the disk guide device of the present invention will be described below using FIGS. 5 to 7 . In addition, in the subsequent description using FIGS. 5 to 7 , only the push-out handle 64 of the second handle portion 60 of the disk push-out mechanism 20 that is directly related to the push-out of the disk 2 is illustrated.

5A is a diagram showing the state of the disk guide 10, the disk ejection mechanism 20, the operating handle 70 and the drive mechanism 80 before the disk 2 is ejected by the ejection handle 64 of the disk ejection mechanism 20. In addition, FIG. 5B is a view taken along arrow B in FIG. 5A , and FIG. 5C is a view taken along arrow C in FIG. 5A . The disc guide device 10 includes an upper guide member 11 and a lower guide member 12 which are driven by a motor 81 included in a drive mechanism 80 located on an extension of the disc discharge path. The inner sides of the upper guide member 11 and the lower guide member 12 of the disc guide device 10 form tapered surfaces. In addition, the motor 81 of the driving mechanism 80 can also drive the push-out handle 64 of the push-out mechanism 20 through the action handle 79 .

In the state before the disk 2 is pushed out, the lower guide member 12 of the disk guide 10 is closed, and as shown in FIG. 5C, the opening 82 for disk ejection is also closed. Thus, the lower guide member 12 is normally closed. This is because, as shown in FIG. 5B , the position indicated by the two-dot dash line below the lower side guide member 12 is the playback position of the disk 2, and in the state where the lower side guide member 12 is always opened, the lower side guide member 12 Make contact with disc 2 that is being regenerated. In this closed state, there is a gap corresponding to one disk between the upper guide member 11 and the lower guide member 12 of the disk guide device 10 . In addition, the push-out handle 64 of the disk push-out mechanism 20 is positioned away from the outer peripheral portion of the disk 2 .

6A is a diagram showing the state of the disk guide 10, the disk ejection mechanism 20, the operating handle 70 and the drive mechanism 80 when the disk 2 is pushed out by the ejection handle 64 of the disk ejection mechanism 20. In addition, FIG. 6B is a view taken along arrow B in FIG. 6A , and FIG. 6C is a view taken along arrow C in FIG. 6A . When the disc 2 is pushed out, the motor 81 of the driving mechanism 80 rotates, and as a result, the lower guide member 12 is opened with respect to the upper guide member 11 of the disc guide 10 through a link mechanism not shown, and the actuating lever 70 is moved toward the disc guide 10. Move in the direction of arrow R to make the ejecting handle 64 of the ejecting mechanism 20 eject the disc 2 . The lower guide member 12 is opened downward beyond the playback position of the disc 2 indicated by the two-dashed line in FIG. 5B.

The movement of the lower guide member 12 of the disc guide device 10 and the ejection operation of the ejection handle 64 of the disc ejection mechanism 20 are simultaneously performed by the motor 81 included in the drive mechanism 80 . That is, the height of the opening between the upper guide member 11 and the lower guide member 12 increases in conjunction with the movement of the push-out handle 64 . Therefore, even if the front end of the disc 2 vibrates as shown by the dotted line during the movement of the disc 2, it can be guided by the lower guide member 11 opened to the lower side, so that it can be accurately guided to the tray for ejecting the disc. Opening 82 (see FIG. 6(C)). The upper guide member 11 and the lower guide member 12 are guide members for bringing the disk 2 onto the rollers of the disk insertion/ejection mechanism.

7A is a diagram showing the state of the disk guide 10, the disk ejection mechanism 20, the actuating handle 70, and the drive mechanism 80 when the disk 2 is pushed out by the ejection handle 64 of the disk ejection mechanism 20 to reach the discharge position. In addition, FIG. 7B is a view taken along arrow B in FIG. 7A , and FIG. 7C is a view taken along arrow C in FIG. 7A . When the disk 2 is pushed out and reaches the discharge position, the link mechanism (not shown) is operated by the rotation of the motor 81 of the drive mechanism 80 to close the lower guide member 12 of the disk guide device 10 relative to the upper guide member 11. .

As a result, when the disc 2 is in its playback position, it does not come into contact with the lower guide member 12 . Afterwards, the actuating handle 70 moves in the direction of the arrow V, so that the ejecting handle 64 of the ejecting mechanism 20 returns to the position shown in FIG. 5 .

When the disk 2 is pushed out by the push-out handle 64 of the disk push-out mechanism 20, and the disk is pushed out to the discharge position by the disk guide 10, the front end of the disk 2 reaches the roller of the disk insertion/ejection mechanism located inside the disk drive mechanism 80. position of the child. Then, the disc 2 is then conveyed by the rollers and discharged to the outside of the apparatus.

Thus, in the disk guide device of the disk changer of the present invention, the disk can be reliably brought onto the rollers of the disk insertion/ejection mechanism when the disk is ejected.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims (12)

1. A disk changer, having: Disk storage rack capable of storing multiple disks; A disc reproduction section for reproducing a disc; a disc ejection mechanism for ejecting the disc transported in the ejection direction by the transport mechanism from the disc ejection port of the device; a guide member provided near the disc discharge port to guide the disc transported by the transport mechanism to the disc discharge mechanism; and A driving mechanism for the guide member that retracts the guide member to a position where it does not come into contact with the disc during disc reproduction, and moves the disc transported by the transport mechanism to a guiding position during disc ejection. 2. The disc changer of claim 1, wherein: The drive mechanism drives the guide member so as to form a tapered surface from the conveyance mechanism side toward the disk discharge port when the disk is discharged. 3. The disc changer of claim 1, wherein: The guide member is composed of an upper guide member and a lower guide member, and the upper guide member is fixed to the device, and only the lower guide member moves. 4. The disc changer of claim 1, wherein: The drive source of the said conveyance mechanism and the drive mechanism of the said guide member is the same. 5. The disc changer of claim 1, wherein: The driving mechanism of the above-mentioned guide member drives the above-mentioned guide member so as to be interlocked with the operation of the disc push-out handle of the above-mentioned conveyance mechanism. 6. The disc changer of claim 5, wherein: The driving mechanism of the guide member links the inclination angle of the tapered surface of the guide member with the operation of the disc push-out handle of the transport mechanism, and the angle becomes larger as the rotation angle of the push-out handle increases. 7. The disc changer of claim 1, wherein: The opening height of the opening of the guide member is usually equal to the plate thickness of the above-mentioned one disk. 8. The disc changer of claim 2, wherein: The guide member is composed of an upper guide member and a lower guide member, and the upper guide member is fixed to the device, and only the lower guide member moves. 9. The disc changer of claim 8, wherein: The drive source of the said conveyance mechanism and the drive mechanism of the said guide member is the same. 10. The disc changer according to claim 9, characterized in that: The driving mechanism of the above-mentioned guide member drives the above-mentioned guide member so as to be interlocked with the operation of the disc push-out handle of the above-mentioned conveyance mechanism. 11. The disc changer of claim 10, wherein: The driving mechanism of the guide member links the inclination angle of the tapered surface of the guide member with the operation of the disc push-out handle of the transport mechanism, and the angle becomes larger as the rotation angle of the push-out handle increases. 12. The disc changer of claim 11, wherein: The opening height of the opening of the guide member is usually equal to the plate thickness of the above-mentioned one disk.

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