JPH06101178B2 - Cartridge loading mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a disc-shaped recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a disc).
The present invention relates to a cartridge loading mechanism used in an information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording information on a surface or reproducing recorded information.

[Conventional technology]

A disc-shaped medium is widely used as a recording medium for image information, acoustic information, or other information. When recording information on a disc and reproducing information from the medium,
Scanning the disc in a spiral or concentric manner by moving the recording or reproducing head in the radial direction of the disc along the disc surface while rotating the disc about the axis passing through the center of the disc and perpendicular to the disc surface. Is performed.

The disk as described above is often used in a state of being housed in a substantially square cartridge in order to prevent dust from being attached or scratches during handling and storage. The cartridge is fixedly held on the apparatus side while being mounted on the information recording / reproducing apparatus, and only the disc is rotated by the drive means on the apparatus side.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

Thus, there are various sizes (diameters) of the discs as described above, and many types of discs having a diameter of 30 cm, 20 cm, 12 cm, etc. are currently used as an optical information recording medium. These are properly used depending on the purpose of use, and a large size is used when recording a large amount of information, and a small size is used when handling and portability are required. The size of the cartridge generally differs depending on the size of these disks.

In the conventional information recording / reproducing apparatus, the loading mechanism of the disc is configured to be adapted only to a disc of a specific size, that is, a device dedicated to the type of the disc is required for recording or reproducing the disc. There was a problem that was. To solve this problem
No. 1538, a loading mechanism for disks of opposite size was announced.

This mechanism is limited to discs, and as described above, using the discs as they are without causing not only scratches or dust, but also noise of various signals from the discs during playback, Even when a high-quality information recording / reproducing apparatus is used as a cause of noise during recording on a disc, erroneous information is often obtained due to these external factors.

Therefore, there has been a rapid demand for the development of a cartridge loading mechanism capable of effectively loading and unloading cartridges of different sizes according to various disc sizes to and from the information recording / reproducing apparatus.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention relates to an information recording / reproducing apparatus, and an object of the present invention is to provide a loading mechanism for mounting / dismounting a cartridge containing a disk recording medium in / from the information recording / reproducing apparatus so as to be compatible with various different-shaped cartridges. , A tray having a multi-stage cartridge mounting surface provided corresponding to a plurality of cartridge sizes,
Moving means for pulling the tray into the apparatus and lowering the tray at a predetermined position for placing a medium in the cartridge on a turntable; and a plurality of means provided on the lowest cartridge mounting surface of the tray. When the medium is placed on the turntable, the cartridge is regulated to the same height position regardless of the size of the cartridge. When the tray is lowered, the cartridge is inserted into each of the openings of the tray. The present invention provides a loading mechanism including a supporting member that supports the cartridge.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a cartridge loading mechanism according to the present invention. Now, the trays 1 of the information recording / reproducing apparatus 100, which randomly processes information on the disk surface of various sizes of discs, at high speed, are now equipped with different-sized cartridges 12a, 12b.
Among them, a desired cartridge is selected, placed, and attached / removed. The tray 1 for transferring the cartridge to a predetermined information detecting device 111 has a lightweight mold structure as illustrated. Cartridge on the mounting surface on the top
The cartridge-shaped groove portions 10 and 11 matching the respective sizes of the cartridges 12a and 12b are formed in a multi-step concave surface in order of size so that the cartridges 12a and 12b can be fitted properly.
In addition, the cartridge-like groove portion 11 at the lowermost stage is provided with 3 holes.
The holes 14a to 14c each having a predetermined shape (which can be decreased or increased if necessary) are arranged at predetermined positions.
These three holes 14a to 14c are positioned by the vertical feed mechanism shown in FIG. 5 so that all of the odd-sized cartridges are always lowered to the same position and properly positioned by the clamp mechanism shown in FIG. It is formed to be done. The tray 1 illustrated in this embodiment has a structure formed by a two-step concave surface so that two types of large and small cartridges 12a and 12b can be transferred.
It is also easy to form a concave surface having three or more stages so that various types of different-sized cartridges 12a, 12b, ... Can be transferred. In the case of a medium-sized cartridge, it is also easy to mount a medium-sized cartridge by fitting an appropriate member into the inner peripheral surface of the cartridge-shaped groove 10 to fit the area of the groove 10. Further, since the tray 1 is made of synthetic resin and has a removable integral structure, it can be easily washed and fine dust can be removed.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the detailed structure and mounting function of the tray feed mechanism of the cartridge loading mechanism of the present invention. The motor 61 is connected to a gear (pinion) 62, and the gear 62 and the rack 63 fixed to the guide member 57 mesh with each other. Further, in the guide member 57, the guide elongated hole 58 in which the linear direction sliding amount in the mounting direction U and the detaching direction U ′ are determined according to the length of the hole and the fixing pin 59 for fixing the tray 1 with a predetermined sliding amount. Further, it has a structure including a fixing pin 66 for fixing the tray 1 with a predetermined slide amount in the vertical V-V 'direction. The tray 1 has a lightweight mold structure and has an S-shaped elongated hole 68 (four are omitted in the figure) having a step as shown in the figure to ensure stable sliding in the vertical V to V'directions on the horizontal plate. It has a perforated structure. The tray 1 and the guide member 57 are integrally slid in the U-U 'direction. Further, a slide member 64 is provided at a predetermined information detection position of the information recording / reproducing apparatus so that the tray 1 is accurately fixed when it is lowered in the V'direction.
The a ₁ and a ₂ portions are adapted to be engaged with each other and brought into close contact with each other. In the above components, the same number of elements (for example, four in the case of the fixing pin 66) are provided at symmetrical positions in the sliding directions U to U ′, respectively, and the elements are integrated to operate the tray 1 smoothly. It is supposed to be done.

The mounting function of these configurations will be described. The mounting direction is the U direction, and at present, a desired cartridge is placed in the cartridge-shaped groove portion 10 or 11 of the tray 1 and is about to be fed to a predetermined information detection position of the information recording / reproducing apparatus. In such a state, the gear 62 and the rack 63 are rotated and moved in accordance with the rotation of the motor 61 in the W1 direction, and the guide member is rotated.
57 is slid linearly in the mounting direction U to a predetermined position guided by the fixing pin 59. in this case,
The operation of the tray 1 is blocked by the mounting pin 69 which is axially fixed in FIG. 3, and the tray 1 is stopped. on the other hand,
The rotation of the motor 61 causes the slide member 57 to slide to the position of the fixed pin 59.
Is smoothly moved in the downward direction V'along the S-shaped elongated hole 68, and is fixed to the end face a ₁ thereof as shown in FIG.
The end face a _{2 of} 64 is brought into close contact with the end face a ₂ to be fixed, and the mounting operation is completed.

3 and 4 are a perspective view and a side view for explaining the attaching / detaching function of the tray feeding mechanism of the loading mechanism of the cartridge of the present invention. The attaching / detaching direction is the U'direction. At present, the cartridge for which the detection of information is completed is placed in the cartridge-like groove portion 10 or 11 of the tray 1, and the cartridge is returned to the outside of the information recording / reproducing apparatus for the detection of the next information. About to be paid. In this state, as shown in FIG. 4, the tray 1 fixed at a predetermined position by the end surface a ₁ of the slide member 64 and the mounting pin 69 shown in FIG.
With the rotation in the W ₂ direction, the gear 62 and the rack 63 are rotated and moved, and the guide member 57 is linearly guided in the attaching / detaching direction U ′ by the fixing pin 59 and slid by a predetermined amount. Along with this, the fixing pin 66 has an S-shaped slot in the T direction shown in FIG.
Moved along 68. On the other hand, since the tray 1 is prevented from moving in the U ′ direction by the slide member 64,
The fixing pin 66 is smoothly moved in the upward direction V along the end face a ₁ by the moving height H and is slidable in the U ′ direction. After that, the tray 1 and the guide member 57 are integrated. Then, as the motor 62 rotates, it is accurately guided by the fixing pin 59 and linearly slides in the attaching / detaching direction U ′ along the elongated guide hole 58 to complete the attaching / detaching operation.

Incidentally, the loading / unloading mechanism and operation of the above-mentioned one embodiment is a cartridge system using a cartridge, but also in the case of a disk system using a disk directly, the same information recording / reproducing apparatus causes a multi-stepped disk-shaped groove portion. It can be easily done by exchanging with the formed tray. In this case, the cartridge system and the disc system are different only in the moving height H shown in FIG. 4, and therefore, a control mechanism for properly adjusting the moving amount of the fixing pin 59 by both of them is provided inside the device. Is provided through the selection circuit of.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the detailed structure and function of the mounting plate vertical feed mechanism. In order to accurately fix the cartridge 12 (hereinafter collectively referred to as number 12a and 12b, number 12) at a predetermined position, the cartridge 12 in the cartridge-like groove portion of the tray is used.
Need to be pressed from above. Therefore, the disc 2
Inner hole 2aa of (the number 2a and 2b are generically referred to as number 2 below)
A clamp member 44 having an inner diameter capable of closely contacting (having the same inner diameter regardless of the shape of the disc) is connected to a mounting plate 45 via a bearing 48 shown in FIG. Also, the mounting plate
Reference numeral 45 has a structure including drive motors 70a and 70b such as servo motors, a gear (pinion) 71, and a rack 72 so as to slide in the vertical V to V'directions as shown. The function of the above configuration will be described below. Disk 2
When setting the cartridge 12 in which the cartridge is stored, the inner hole 2aa of the disk 2 is fixed to the clamp member 44, and the motor 70a, 7
By rotating 0b in the W direction at the same time, the gear 71 rotates and the rack moves in the V'direction.
It will be clamped and set at the center of 49 via bearing 48. In the case of ejection, the ejection can be easily performed by rotating the motors 70a and 70b in the W'direction contrary to the above.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the structure of the clamp mechanism of the cartridge. It shows a state in which the cartridge is accurately set to the information detection position by the loading mechanism of the cartridge shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 of the present invention. The center of the disc-shaped disk 2 is accurately set to the centers E to E'of the rotary shaft 47 of the drive motor 41 such as a spindle motor, so that there is no rotational deviation. The disc 2 placed on the tray 1 is in close contact with the positioning member 43 so as not to shift in the left-right U-U 'direction. Also, the disk 2 is
Clamping member so that it can cope with vertical V-V 'shake
44 and the turntable 42 are used to make a close contact at points X and Y in the figure, and at the point Z in the figure, a part of the clamp member 44 and the centering member 49 are in close contact with each other in a concave-convex structure so that the axes are centered. The structure is such that no deviation from E to E'is generated and the rotational movement is smoothly transmitted to the clamp member 44. In this case, the disk 2 rotates at high speed around the rotation axes E to E ', but the bearing 48 serves as a shock absorber.
Is press-fitted into the clamp 44, so that the rotational movement is cut by this and is not transmitted to the mechanism above the mounting plate 45. Also, the positioning member 43 is normally kept in a state of being lifted by the spring 46, and the spring 46
The shrinkage of the disc allows absorption of variations in disc inner diameter and various parts.

By the way, this clamp mechanism is formed with three support members 13 (one is omitted) which are provided in a protruding manner as shown in the figure. These supporting members 13 are penetrated through three holes 14a to 14c (one is omitted) formed in the lowermost cartridge-like groove portion 11. And as shown in the figure, while properly supporting the cartridge 12 on the surfaces M and N, regardless of the length of the cartridge 12,
The support member 13 prevents the cartridge 12 from moving, and the cartridge 12 can be lowered only to the bottom surface position P of the cartridge-shaped groove 10 for positioning the uppermost large cartridge 12. In this way, the cartridges 12 of all sizes are properly fixed and clamped at the same position P.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described in detail above, the present invention is configured so that trays are formed in multiple stages and can accommodate different-sized cartridges. The position can be regulated to a constant value, without complicating the device, and yet preventing the recording / reproducing surface of the medium from contacting the upper and lower surfaces of the cartridge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a cartridge loading mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a detailed structure and a mounting function of the tray feeding mechanism of the cartridge loading mechanism of the present invention. 3 and 4 are a perspective view and a side view for explaining the attaching / detaching function of the tray feeding mechanism of the loading mechanism of the cartridge of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the detailed structure and function of the mounting plate vertical feed mechanism. FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the structure of the clamp mechanism of the cartridge. 1: Tray, 2, 2a, 2b: Disc, 10, 11: Cartridge groove part, 12, 12a, 12b: Cartridge, 13: Seat, 14a to 14c: Hole, 6
3,72: Rack, 62,71: Gear (pinion), 41: Drive motor, 42 :: Turntable, 43: Positioning member, 44: Clamp member, 45: Mounting plate, 46: Spring, 47: Rotating shaft, 48: Bearing, 49: Centering member, 61: Motor, 64a, 64b: Slide member, 65a to 65d: Fixed pin, 66a to 66d: Fixed pin, 67a to 67
d, 68a to 68b: elongated holes, 70a, 70: motors.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A loading mechanism for loading and unloading a cartridge containing a disk-shaped recording medium to and from an information recording / reproducing apparatus, the tray having a multi-step cartridge mounting surface provided corresponding to a plurality of cartridge sizes. A moving means for pulling the tray into the apparatus and lowering the tray at a predetermined position for placing a medium in the cartridge on a turntable; and a cartridge mounting surface at the lowermost stage of the tray. A plurality of openings, and when the medium is placed on the turntable,
A loading mechanism, which defines the cartridges at the same height position regardless of the size of the cartridges, and is provided with a supporting member that is inserted into each of the openings of the trays and supports the cartridges as the trays descend. .