JPH10275405A - Disk detecting device for optical disk device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect erroneous insertion of an optical disk prior to carriage of the disk into a reproducing position by an optical disk carriage mechanism. SOLUTION: This device is equipped with at least one light emitting element 16, a light receiving element 17 for receiving return light of the light emitted from the light emitting element 16 and reflected by the optical disk 1 and a shield object 14 arranged to be adjacent to or in contact with the bottom surface of the disk for the purpose of intercepting the light from the light emitting element not to directly reach the light receiving element. Then, a signal recording surface 6 of the optical disk is irradiated with the light from the light emitting element 16, and the reflected light by the signal recording surface 6 is guided through a gap between the shield object 14 and the signal recording surface 6 to the light receiving element 17, and the front or back surface of the optical disk is detected by whether or not the light is received by the light receiving element 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus, and more particularly to a disk detecting apparatus capable of discriminating the front and back of an optical disk mounted on the apparatus before mounting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional optical disk detecting apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. The optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 includes a disk transport mechanism for transporting the optical disk 1 inserted into the insertion slot 11 to a recording / reproducing position.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show a disk transport mechanism. The roller 14 shown in the figure is urged in the direction of the guide 15 by a holding member (not shown), and is rotationally driven by a driving mechanism. As shown in FIGS. 9, 10, and 12, the light emitting element 12 and the light receiving element 13 are arranged so as to sandwich the transport path of the optical disc 1. When the optical disc 1 is not inserted as shown in FIG.
The light from the light receiving element 2 is received by the light receiving element 13 and is in a standby state.

When the optical disk 1 is inserted as shown in FIG. 10, light from the light emitting element 12 is blocked by the optical disk 1 and cannot be received by the light receiving element 13. Then, the output of the light receiving element 13 is determined by the determination circuit, the disk transport mechanism is started, and the optical disk 1 is transported to the recording / reproducing position.

FIG. 1 shows a partial cross-sectional structure of the optical disc 1. The overall thickness of the optical disc 1 is about 1.2 mm,
The transparent substrate 3 is provided from the bottom surface 2 to the vicinity of the label printing surface 8 on the upper surface. A pit 4 on which information is recorded is formed at the upper end of the transparent substrate 3. The pit 4 is covered with a reflective layer 5 to form a signal recording surface (reflective surface) 6. A protective layer 7 is provided on the reflective layer 5, and the label printing surface 8 is provided on the protective layer 7.

A recording signal on the optical disk 1 is read by a laser beam (see broken line A) irradiated from below the bottom surface 2 of the transparent substrate 3. No protective layer is provided on the bottom surface 2 so as not to hinder the transmission of the laser beam A. Generally, the material of the transparent substrate 3 is polycarbonate, and the hardness is lower than that of the protective layer 7.

By way of example, a conventional optical disk transport mechanism will be described. As shown in FIG.
The paper is nipped by the roller 14 and the guide 15 and fed by the rotation of the roller 14. An inclined portion 15a is provided on the side of the guide 15 that contacts the optical disk, and the circumferential edge of the optical disk contacts the inclined portion 15a. Accordingly, the label printing surface 8 of the optical disc is not damaged during transportation.

[0008]

In the above-mentioned conventional optical disk detecting apparatus, even if the user inserts the optical disk by mistake, the transport mechanism is started to detect the insertion of the optical disk. The optical disk is transported to the reproduction position. Thereafter, a reading error occurs in the optical pickup for reading the signal, and an erroneous insertion of the disk is detected for the first time, and the disk is ejected to notify the user of the erroneous insertion of the disk. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes a long time for the user to notice the erroneous insertion of the disk.

Further, in the case of a transport mechanism for transporting the disc sandwiched between rollers, if hard dirt is attached to the inclined portion 15a of the guide 15, the label printing surface 8 having the protective layer 7 will not be damaged, The bottom surface 2 without the layer may be scratched, and there is a problem that a user mistakenly inserts the disc to scratch the reading side of the optical disc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to detect an erroneous insertion of a disk before a transport mechanism of the optical disk transports the disk to a reproduction position. An object of the present invention is to provide a disk detecting device of an optical disk device.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided an optical disk apparatus for recording / reproducing an optical disk, comprising: at least one light emitting means;
Light receiving means for receiving light emitted from the light emitting means and returning light reflected by the disc, and shielding means for preventing light from the light emitting means from directly reaching the light receiving means,
Light from the light emitting means is irradiated on the signal recording surface of the optical disk, light reflected on the signal recording surface is guided to the light receiving means, and the front and back of the optical disk are detected based on a difference in the amount of light received by the light receiving means.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided an optical disk apparatus for recording / reproducing an optical disk, the optical disk apparatus comprising: at least one light emitting unit; and a light receiving unit which receives light emitted from the light emitting unit and reflected by the disk. Light-receiving means, and shielding means arranged so as to be close to or in contact with the bottom surface of the disc to prevent light from the light-emitting means from directly reaching the light-receiving means, and irradiate the signal recording surface of the optical disc with light from the light-emitting means. A disc detecting device for an optical disc device, wherein light reflected on a signal recording surface is guided to the light receiving unit from a gap between the shielding unit and the signal recording surface, and the front and back of the optical disc are detected based on whether or not the light receiving unit receives light.

Further, in each of the disk detecting devices,
A disk transport roller is used as the shielding unit, and the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged before and after the transport roller in the disk moving direction.

In each of the disk detecting devices, the light emitting means, the light receiving means, and the shielding means are mounted on a tray for carrying the disk.

Further, in each of the disk detecting devices,
The light emitting means, the light receiving means, and the shielding means are mounted on a storage body for storing a disk in advance.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 2 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial front view showing the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIGS. 4 and 5 are enlarged partial side views for explaining the operation of the embodiment. 2 and 3, illustration of the light emitting element 12 and the light receiving element 13 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is omitted.

The optical disk 1 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted from a disk insertion slot 11 of an optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus 10. The optical disk 1 is nipped between the disk transport roller 14 and the disk guide 15, and is transported to a position where the disk can be reproduced by rotating the disk transport roller 14. In this embodiment, the light emitting element 16 and the light receiving element 17
Are disposed before and after the disk transport roller 14 in the disk traveling direction.

FIG. 4 shows a case where the optical disk 1 is inserted in a normal state. The light emitted from the light emitting element 16 passes through the transparent substrate 3 and is reflected by the signal recording surface 6 of the optical disc 1 and received by the light receiving element 17. In the case of a CD, the distance between the bottom surface 2 of the disc and the signal recording surface 6 is about 1.2 mm, and only light that can pass through the gap is received by the light receiving element 17.

On the other hand, FIG. 5 shows a case where the optical disc 1 is inserted with the optical disc 1 turned upside down. In this case, there is no gap through which the light passes between the reflection layer 5 and the roller 14, so that
Light from the light emitting element 16 cannot be received by the light receiving element 17.
Therefore, the disk transport motor does not start. Usually, the user notices the misinsertion here, but when the user further pushes the disc, despite the fact that the light emitting element 12 and the light receiving element 13 arranged so as to sandwich the optical disc 1 detect the insertion of the disc, If the light receiving element 17 does not detect the light from the light emitting element 16, an erroneous insertion of the disk is detected, and the user is notified of the erroneous insertion by rotating the roller 14 in reverse and ejecting the disk.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a light emitting diode is used as a light emitting source. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a laser diode or the like may be used. As the light receiving element, a photodiode or the like may be used instead of the phototransistor. Therefore, both the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element can be configured with inexpensive components, and can be implemented at low cost. In addition, although the conveying roller is used as the shielding means, it may be optically shielded using a prism or the like.

Further, since the disk is not transported by the rollers with the erroneous insertion, the surface on the reading side of the disk is not damaged.

FIGS. 6 to 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a tray 21 for entering and exiting the main body of the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus 20 is provided. Optical disk 1
Is mounted on a disk mounting portion 23 formed on the tray 21 and is housed inside the disk recording / reproducing apparatus 20 together with the tray 21. A signal is reproduced or recorded by an irradiation beam from an optical pickup through an opening 22 provided in the tray 21.

A disk detector 24 including a light emitting element 16, a light receiving element 17, and a shielding plate 18 shown in FIGS. It should be noted that the disk detection device 24 is not drawn at an exact ratio for simplicity. Further, a circuit system for driving the light emitting element 16 and the light receiving element 17 is not shown.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the operation of the disk detecting device 24 in FIG. The disk detecting device 24 includes a light emitting element 16 composed of a light emitting diode and a light receiving element 17 composed of a phototransistor. FIG. 6 shows a case where the optical disc 1 is placed on a tray in a normal state. The light emitted from the light emitting element 16 passes through the transparent substrate 3 and is reflected by the signal recording surface 6 of the optical disc 1 and received by the light receiving element 17. In the case of a CD, the distance between the bottom surface 2 of the disk and the signal recording surface 6 is about 1.2 mm,
Only light that can pass through this interval is received by the light receiving element 17.

On the other hand, FIG. 8 shows a state where the optical disk 1 is placed on a tray with the optical disk 1 turned upside down. In this case, the light from the light emitting element 16 cannot be received by the light receiving element 17 because there is no gap through which the light passes between the reflection layer 5 and the shielding plate 18. In this case, the tray is not pulled into the main body, and the display unit indicates that the optical disk has been turned upside down. In this embodiment, a detecting means (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of a disk may be provided.

In the first and second embodiments, even if a label is not affixed to the disc, the light receiving element does not receive the light from the light emitting element when the disc is turned over because there is no gap through which the light from the light emitting element passes. Front and back detection is possible.

In the embodiment, the shielding object is brought close to the disk. However, the position of the light emitting element may not be directly incident on the light receiving element, and the front and back of the disk may be detected based on the difference in the amount of light received by the light receiving element. Since a label is attached or printed on the back surface of the disc, the amount of reflected light is smaller than that of the front surface (recording surface).

The embodiment is configured as described above.
The present invention is not limited to this. For example, the light-emitting element 16 and the light-receiving element 17 of the second embodiment may be installed in a storage body for storing an optical disk in advance, a cartridge such as a changer magazine.

[0029]

According to the disk detecting apparatus of the present invention, when a user mistakenly inserts a disk or places it on a tray or the like, the time for detecting the disk is greatly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a structure of an optical disk applied to the present invention with a part thereof omitted.

FIG. 2 is a partial front view showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial side view for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial side view for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial side view for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial side view for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the same example.

FIG. 11 is a partial front view showing the same example.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 11;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Optical disk 2 Bottom surface 3 Transparent substrate 4 Pit 5 Reflection layer 6 Signal recording surface 7 Protective layer 8 Label printing surface 10 Optical disk recording / reproducing device 11 Insertion opening 12 Light emitting element 13 Light receiving element 14 Roller 15 Guide, 15a Inclined section 16 Light emitting element 17 Light receiving Element 18 Shielding plate 20 Optical disk recording / reproducing device 21 Tray 22 Opening 23 Disk mounting portion 24 Disk detecting device

Claims (5)

[Claims] In an optical disk apparatus for recording and reproducing an optical disk, at least one light emitting means, a light receiving means for receiving light reflected from the light emitted from the light emitting means, and a light returning from the disk, and a light emitted from the light emitting means. A light shielding means is provided to prevent the light from reaching the light receiving means directly. The light from the light emitting means is irradiated on the signal recording surface of the optical disk, and the light reflected by the signal recording surface is guided to the light receiving means. A disc detecting device for an optical disc device, wherein the front and back sides of the optical disc are detected by the same. 2. An optical disk apparatus for recording / reproducing an optical disk, comprising: at least one light emitting means; a light receiving means for receiving light which is emitted from the light emitting means and reflected by the disk; Shielding means arranged so as to be in contact with each other and preventing light from the light emitting means from directly reaching the light receiving means, irradiating the light from the light emitting means to the signal recording surface of the optical disc, and shielding the light reflected by the signal recording surface A disc detecting device for an optical disc device, wherein the disc guides the light receiving means through a gap between the optical disc and a signal recording surface, and detects front and back of the optical disc based on whether or not light is received by the light receiving means. 3. The disk detecting device according to claim 1, wherein a disk transport roller is used as the shielding unit, and the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged before and after the transport roller in the disk moving direction. 4. The disk detecting device according to claim 1, wherein said light emitting means, light receiving means, and shielding means are mounted on a tray for carrying a disk. 5. The disk detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit, the light receiving unit, and the shielding unit are mounted on a storage unit that stores a disk in advance.