JPS6346657A - Runaway protecting device for automatic disk changer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the damage of a disk carrier and a disk by receiving an external force at a supporting member with the disk carrier, and when the disk carrier is displaced to an abnormal position side against a spring force, generating a signal to a control means and stopping the action of a disk converting means. CONSTITUTION:When a carrier 24 runs away and collides with a rack 1 and other member, the disk carrier 24 receives an external force by this, displaces to an abnormal position side against springs 31, 42 and 43, and therefore, limit switches 44-46 immediately detects this, sends the signal to a control means and stops a disk exchanging means C. For the disk carrier 24, a shock at the time of collision is absorbed by the elastic force of the springs 31, 42 and 43, a damage is prevented and the distortion and damage of a disk D can be prevented by the emergency stop of the disk exchanging means C.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a protection device for a disc autochanger device to prevent damage to the disc or failure of the mechanism due to runaway of the disc changing mechanism. .

(Prior Art) As an autochanger device for automatically changing discs, an automatic performance device for audio discs (record discs) such as jukeboxes or for combo discs (optical discs) is well known.

However, the autochanger device for audio discs built into conventional jukeboxes,
There was a problem that the access time was long and it took too much time to replace the disk.

Therefore, in the field of recent optical discs, a pulse motor or a servo motor is used as a driving means for the disc transport means, and the rotation thereof is controlled by a microcomputer to increase the transport speed to about 70+/win in order to shorten the access time. Various approaches have been proposed.

(See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-90258.) (Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such conventional autochanger devices, for example, when using a pulse motor, the position of the disk carrier is determined by the number of revolutions of the pulse motor or Since the operation is controlled by a microcomputer while detecting with a position detection limit switch or, in the case of a servo motor, with an encoder etc. and giving feedback, for example, errors in terminal equipment operation, errors in control programs, computer noise, etc. If the disk carrier runs out of control due to such reasons, there is a risk that the disk may be damaged or the disk exchange means may malfunction, and there remains room for immediate improvement in this respect.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the problems that such conventional disc autochanger devices had. A stop limit switch is installed to immediately detect when the disk carrier runs out of control and collides with a rack, etc., and stops the operation of the disk exchange means, thereby preventing damage to the disk and failure of the disk exchange means. That is what it is.

(Means for solving the problems) The structure of the present invention for achieving the above object is shown in attached drawing 1.
The figure and FIG. 2 will be explained.

The disc autochanger to which the present invention is applied is a disc storage means that stores one disc (D) such as an optical disc in each rack (1) consisting of a plurality of horizontal shelf boards (3), (3)... (A) and said storage means (A)
The disk (D
), a play means (B) consisting of a deck (5) for recording or reproducing necessary information such as video and audio, and a target disk (D) located between the storage means (A) and the play means (B). The disc exchanging means (C) holds and transfers the disc by a disc carrier (24), and the control means controls the operation of the disc exchanging means (C).

Further, the disk carrier (24) for transporting the disk (D) is connected to the support member (19) of the disk exchange means (C).
) and (21), it is supported so that it can be displaced between the normal position and the abnormal position, and the spring (
31), (42), and (43), and the disk carrier (24) receives external force from the supporting members (19) and (21), and the spring (31)
), (42), (43) and limit switches (44), (45) that stop the movement of the disk changing means (C) when it is displaced toward the abnormal position.

(46) is provided.

The support members (19) and (21) support the disk carrier (24) in the forward and backward directions and in the pushing direction with respect to the rack (1) and deck (5). However, when the disk exchange means (C) transfers the disk (D) three-dimensionally,
If necessary, it may be supported so that it can be displaced laterally or horizontally.

(Function) The runaway protection device of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration, when the disk carrier (24) is inserted into the gap between the horizontal shelf plates (3) of the rack (1) by the disk exchange means (C),
When receiving or passing the disk (D) to the deck (5), or when approaching the rack (1) and the deck (5), the carrier (24) may run out of control for some reason, causing the rack (1) and other objects to be damaged. When the disk carrier (24) collides with the member of the spring (31), the disk carrier (24) receives an external force from the spring (31).
, (42), (43) and are displaced to the abnormal position side, the limit switches (44), (45)
, (46) immediately detects this and sends a signal to the control means to stop the disk exchange means (C). Thus, the disc carrier (24) has a spring (31),
The elasticity of (42) and (43) absorbs the shock at the time of collision and prevents damage, and the emergency stop of the disc changing means (C) prevents distortion and damage to the disc (D). I can do it.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a disc autochanger to which a runaway protection device according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the same disc autochanger.

In these figures, (1) is a rank configured by fixing a large number of horizontal shelf boards (3) in parallel to a support (2), and on the upper surface of the horizontal shelf boards (3), respectively. A positioning boss (4) is provided to protrude and be inserted into the center hole of a donut-shaped disc (D) such as an optical disc.

(5) is a deck for recording and reproducing optical disks, which is installed in a stacked state adjacent to the rack (1) in which a large number of disks (D) are stored;
) The disk tray (6) extending forward from the deck (5) is adapted to be moved in and out while keeping it level by a loading mechanism built into the deck (5).

(7) is a passing mechanism in which the disk holder provided on the front surface of the deck (5) moves up and down along the vertical guide lofts (9) and (9)' attached to the outer surface of the actuator (8). A lift arm (In
) is designed such that the disc (D) can be placed on the positioning boss @ at the upper end of the lift loft αυ installed upright at its tip, and the disc holder of the deck (5) is pushed forward by the disc (6). When the holder moves the positioning boss (rotation) up and down through the bottom hole α in the center of the plate (6), the disc (D) is moved between the set position on the lower limit side and the transfer position on the upper limit side. It is designed to be displaced between the two.

On the other hand, (C) is a storage means (A) including the rack (1).
and a deck (5) and a tray are disk changing means provided opposite to the playing means (B) including a passing mechanism (7), and the disk changing means (C) is vertically fixed. A movable arm αω that moves vertically in a horizontal state along the guide rail α, and a carrier table α supported so as to be horizontally rotatable by an output shaft (16)' of an actuator α0 fixed to the movable arm α. , a rail (18) laid on the upper surface of the carrier table surface, (
18) A carrier saddle A is horizontally reciprocated by a drive mechanism (not shown) along 18)', and a carrier frame is swingably supported by a horizontal support shaft (A) provided on the upper surface of the carrier saddle α. (21), two carrier ronds (23) slidably inserted into horizontal through holes (22) bored in the carrier frame (21), (
23) A horizontal disc carrier (
24).

The disk carrier (24) has a U-shaped frame shape with its free end open to the front, and horizontally inward at the tips and intermediate portions of the parallel support arms (25) and (25)' on both sides. It has four protruding claw members (26). Each claw member (26) has a stepped portion (27) at its tip, as shown in cross section in FIG. Department (
Continuing from the upper end of 27), there is a guide surface (28) that slopes downward toward the center of the disk mounting position of the disk carrier (24).

On the other hand, the carrier iron (23), which is supported by the carrier frame (21) so as to be able to move forward and backward, has an arm portion (29) at its rear end and a spring force adjustment bolt (30) screwed onto the carrier frame (21). It is constantly biased in the direction of the arrow (X) by a tension spring (31) stretched between the two, and is stopped at a position where the rear end collar (32) contacts the carrier frame (21).

In addition, pin insertion holes (35) and (36) are formed in the two front and rear boss portions (33) and (34) provided on the carrier saddle 0ω, respectively, with their axes aligned. positioning pin (37) facing each pin insertion hole (35) and (36) from the outside.
, (38) are slidably inserted into each bottle (38).
The inner ends of the positioning bins (37), (38) are in contact with the front and rear surfaces of the lever (39) hanging downward from the carrier frame (21), and the positioning bins (37), (38)
38) is a spring force adjustment nut (40) screwed onto the tip;
The carrier frame (21) and The disk carrier (24) can normally be held elastically in a horizontal position.

In the figure, (44) indicates that an abnormal external force in the direction of the arrow (X) acts on the disc carrier (24), and the carrier lofts (23), (23)' are moved by the tension springs (31).
), the limit switches (45) and (46) detect this and stop the movement of the carrier saddle 01 when the moving arm 09 moves in the same direction. , an abnormal external force in the vertical direction acts on the disc carrier (24), causing the carrier frame (21) to
rotated in the arrow (Y) direction or (Y)' direction, and the positioning pin (37) or (38) was pushed by the lever (39) and moved against the compression springs (42) and (43) due to external force. This is a limit switch that detects this and makes an emergency stop of the vertical movement of the two movable arms θ.

The storage means (A), the play means (B), and the disc exchange means (C) may be arranged, for example, in an opening/closing m (47) having a transparent glass window on the front as shown in FIG.
) inside the vertically long case body (48),
A rack (1) with 100 shelves (3) each is fixed on both the left and right sides, and 5 to 6 decks + 51. (5) By arranging ... in a stacked state and by arranging a guide rail 0a that guides the movable arm α9 in the vertical direction in front of the rack (1) on the left side, the movable arm 0ω can turn at the free end. The disk carrier (24) supported so as to be movable back and forth allows the disk (D) to be efficiently taken in and out of either the left or right rack (1) with small movements.

The runaway protection device of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, and its operation will be explained step by step next.

First, when a search symbol for the desired information content is entered on the operation panel of the terminal, the microcomputer receives this command and commands the position of the shelf board (3) of the corresponding rank (1), so the movable arm The actuator Oe moves either up or down and stops at a predetermined shelf position.
The carrier table (171) rotates and the disk carrier (24) rotates in the direction of the predetermined rack (1), and the carrier saddle Q9) moves toward the carrier table Q1.
Place the top on the rail (1B) and the rack (18) along the top.
In order to move forward in direction 11, the support arms (25), (25)' of the disc carrier (24) are inserted into the underside of the target disc (D).

Next, the movable arms α are slightly raised, and the claw members (26) of the disc carrier (24) support the disc (D) so as to scrape the periphery from below. When the disc (D) is held in the disc carrier (24) in this way, the carrier saddle moves backward to pull the disc (D) forward through the gap between the shelves (3), and at the same time, the rotating and moving arm of the actuator 00 is activated. The disc carrier (24) moves to the front of the empty deck (5) by the vertical movement of θ5), and the disc carrier (24) is moved to the front of the vacant deck (5) by a slight downward movement of the moving arm or by the rise of the lift arm α of the transfer mechanism (7). (D) is placed on the upper surface of the positioning boss hitter, and then retreated to a position where it does not get in the way. Therefore, when the lift arm α is lowered by the actuator (8) and the disk (D) is placed on the tray (6), if the deck (5) is started, the tray will be placed on the tray. (6) is pulled in and recording or playback is started.

Of course, while one of the decks (5) is recording or reproducing, the disk changing means (C) is activated to transfer the disk (D) to the other deck (5). Input/output operations (random access) can also be performed.

Furthermore, the disk (D) that has finished recording or playing on the deck (5) is returned to the original shelf board (3) in the exact reverse order of the loading operation.
will be returned to.

In addition, during the above-mentioned disk loading/unloading operation, due to a malfunction or operational error in the position detector of the disk carrier (24), the disk carrier (24) may run out of control in an unexpected direction and collide with the shelf board (3), etc. When this occurs, this immediately acts as an external force on the disc carrier (24). For example, when the carrier saddle α moves forward, the disc carrier (24) is
collides with shelf board (3) and receives force from the front,
When the carrier rods (23), (23)' retreat against the tension spring (31), the limit switch (44) detects an abnormality and stops the forward movement of the carrier saddle Ql. Furthermore, with the disk carrier (24) inserted into the gap between the shelf boards (3), the moving arm α9
When stress is applied to the disk carrier (24) in the direction of the arrow (Y) or (Y)' due to excessive rise or fall of the disk carrier (24),
The carrier frame (21) tilts and the positioning pin (3
7) or (38) is pushed in by the lever (39) against the compression springs (42), (43), so when the limit switches (45), (46) are activated, the moving arm a stops.

In addition, since the actuator 00 is designed to operate only when the carrier saddle 09 is in the retracted position far from the rack (1) and the deck (5), the disc carrier (24) is inserted into the shelf board Qc9. In this state, the carrier table αη does not swing, and therefore it can be considered that the disk carrier (24) will not receive any abnormal external force from the side.

Further, in the above embodiment, the disk carrier (24
) and a U-shaped frame without a driving part to simplify the structure and to move the disc (0) as if by scraping it so that no excessive force is applied to the disc (D). In addition to this, the disc carrier (24) has an arm (49) that can be opened and closed, as shown in FIG. 4 (A) and (+7).

(49)' is provided with a gripping member (50) having a V-shaped groove provided on the opposing part, and the gripping member (50) grips the outer periphery of the disk (D) with the required force and transfers it. It is also applicable when

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the runaway protection device of the present invention includes a storage means in which one disk is stored in each rack consisting of a plurality of horizontal shelf boards, and a rack fixed to the storage means. a playing means consisting of a deck installed in the storage area for recording or reproducing necessary information on the brought-in disc; and a disc exchange means located between the storage means and the playing means and holding and transporting the target disc with a disc carrier. and a control means for controlling the operation of the acid disk exchange means, wherein the disk carrier is supported so as to be displaceable between a normal position and an abnormal position by a support member of the disk exchange means. The disk carrier is constantly biased by a spring toward the normal position, and when the disk carrier receives an external force from the support member and is displaced toward the abnormal position against the spring force, a signal is sent to the control means to control the disk exchange means. The controller is equipped with a limit switch that stops the movement of the disc exchanger, and the control means that controls the operation of the disk exchange means may run out of control due to noise, input errors in the control software, or operation errors on the terminal, causing damage to the rank or other components. When a collision occurs, the limit switch immediately detects this and issues a command signal to the control means to stop the disk exchange means, so even if the disk carrier unexpectedly runs out of control as described above, The movement of the carrier is automatically stopped to prevent damage to the disk carrier and disks, and since the disk carrier is always elastically biased toward the normal position by a spring, it is prevented from colliding with racks, etc. Even in such cases, it exhibits an excellent effect of absorbing shock and minimizing the degree of damage.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a disc autochanger to which the runaway protection device of the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a front view 1 of the same disc autochanger, and Fig. 3 is an open view showing the overall configuration of the autochanger to which the invention device is applied. A front view of the door state, and FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the disk carrier applicable to the device of the present invention, (a) is a front view of the disk carrier, and (n) is a plan view of the same carrier. . (1)...Rack, (3)...Horizontal shelf, (5)...Deck, Q9) (21)
...Support member, (24) ...Disk carrier, (31) (42) (43) ...Spring, (44) (45) (46) ... ... Limit switch, (A) ... Disc storage means, (B) ... Playing means, (C) ... Disc exchange means, (D) ...
··disk.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A storage means in which one disk is stored in each rack consisting of a plurality of horizontal shelves, and a disk fixedly provided facing the storage means and carried in. a playing means consisting of a deck for recording or reproducing necessary information;
In a horizontal shelf type disc autochanger device, comprising a disc changing means for holding and transferring a target disc by a disc carrier between the storage means and the playing means, and a control means for controlling the operation of the disc changing means. , the disk carrier is supported movably between a normal position and an abnormal position by a support member of a disk exchange means, and is always biased by a spring toward the normal position;
A limit switch is provided on the support member to issue a signal to the control means to stop the movement of the disk exchange means when the disk carrier receives an external force and is displaced toward an abnormal position against a spring force. Disk autochanger runaway protection device. 2. The runaway protection device according to claim 1, wherein the disk carrier is supported by a support member of the disk exchange means so as to be movable in the forward and backward directions and in the upward and downward directions with respect to the rack and the deck. 3. When the supporting member of the disk exchanging means has a configuration that allows vertical movement up and down, horizontal rotation movement, and movement toward and away from the rack and deck, and is in a retracted position far from the rack and deck. 3. The runaway protection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein only horizontal rotational movement is permitted. 4. The runaway protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the force of the spring that urges the disk carrier toward the normal position is adjustable.