JPH054742B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an automatic disk exchange device that stores a plurality of disks and automatically selects a desired disk for recording or playback based on commands such as external signals. .

Structure and Problems of Conventional Examples As such automatic disk exchange devices, automatic performance devices for joke boxes and compact disks have been known.

However, in both cases, bare disks are directly handled and replaced by a machine, so it is necessary to prevent scratches or deformation of the disks, making it impossible to speed up handling. In the latter case, a disk is selected by moving the playing means, but since the playing means is equipped with a pickup, high-speed movement is not possible due to the need to prevent vibrations. On the other hand, there is also a method of moving the disk storage section, but as the number of disks increases, the weight increases, and it is not suitable for high-speed movement. Therefore, these disk exchange devices are inadequate for the purpose of exchanging disks in a short period of time.

Purpose of the invention The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems.
To provide an automatic disk exchange device that can quickly search for a desired disk from a plurality of disks.

Recently, several types of disk file devices have been proposed that file document information by recording digital signals on disks. In particular, the method using an optical disk focuses the laser beam to about 1 .mu.m and forms a continuous signal on the optical disk with a track pitch of about 2 .mu.m, resulting in a recording density several hundred times higher than that of ordinary magnetic recording. The amount of information recorded can be 10,000 sheets of regular A4 size documents per side of the disk.
Therefore, for example, 500,000 documents can be filed on 50 disks.

By using optical disks in this way, vast amounts of documents do not take up valuable office space.

By using the automatic disk exchange device of the present invention, by operating the keyboard of an external device, etc.
A desired disk can be searched for from a plurality of disks at high speed. Therefore, necessary information can be immediately obtained from a large amount of information, which streamlines work such as document collation, confirmation, and investigation in the office.

Structure of the Invention The automatic disk exchange device of the present invention includes a disk case that rotatably houses disks therein, a disk storage section that stores a plurality of the disk cases arranged and arranged at predetermined intervals, and a disk storage section that stores a plurality of the disk cases arranged and arranged at predetermined intervals; a disk drive shaft fixed to a base and parallel to the direction in which the disk cases are arranged in the disk storage section; A deck unit for recording or reproducing required information and the insertion/removal means are mounted and moved in the disk case arrangement direction, and the disk case is moved to a first position for inserting/removing the disk case from the disk storage unit. a second plate for attaching to the deck part;
and a control section that controls the operations of the insertion/removal means, the transfer means, and the deck section in accordance with commands from external signals, and a It searches disks at high speed.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of an automatic disk exchange device according to the present invention. In the figure, a device body 1 stores a plurality of disks and searches for a desired disk at high speed, and controls the operation of the disk exchange mechanism section 2 according to commands from the disk exchange mechanism section 2 and external signals. It is composed of a control section 3 and is built into a housing 5. The exchange port 4 is used to take in and take out the entire storage section, which will be described later, and has a structure that can be opened and closed. Various commands for disk searching are sent to the device main body 1 by sending signals from means separate from the device main body 1 (not shown). Since the device body has a housing structure, the storage capacity can be expanded by stacking similar devices on a rack or the like. Additionally, the entire disk storage section can be replaced through the replacement port.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a disk case containing a built-in disk applied to this automatic disk exchange device. FIG. 2 shows a plan view, and FIG. 3 shows a side view. In this figure, a disk 7 is rotatably housed in a disk case 8. 6 indicates the central through hole of the disk. The disk 7 is configured so that it does not separate from the disk case due to the side wall 9 of the disk case 8 and the side plate 10 screwed to the disk case 8. The central portion of the disk case 8 is constructed so that both sides of the disk 7 are exposed, as shown in a sectional view in FIG. Further, the disk case 8 includes a circular positioning groove 11 for positionally regulating the position within the storage section, an engaging protrusion 12 for engaging with the insertion/removal means, and a positioning groove for positioning the disk case 7 in the deck section. It is composed of a hole 13 and a reflection plate 14 for detecting the presence or absence of a disk case.

FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 show an outline of the internal structure of the disk exchange mechanism section 2 of the automatic disk exchange apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a front view, FIG. 5 is a side view, and FIG. 6 is a plan view.

In the figure, the disk storage section 15 has an upper rail 17 and a lower rail 18, each having a plurality of grooves 16 formed at a constant pitch, fixed by side plates 19 and 20 at an interval slightly larger than the outer diameter of the disk case 8. It is attached to the board 21. The disk case 8 is housed in a slot that is narrowed by two upper and lower partition plates 22, and the surface of the groove 16 is coated with Teflon in order to reduce friction when inserting and removing the disk case 8. ing. As shown in FIG. 5, positioning rollers 24 supported by plate springs 23 are arranged on the upper rail 17 for each groove 16 of the upper rail 17. As shown in FIG. The positioning roller 24 has a hole 1 passing through the groove 16 of the upper rail 17.
6a and positioning groove 1 of the disk case 8.
1 to restrict the position of the disk case 8 within the disk storage section 15. On the lower rail 18,
There is a detection hole 25 for confirming that the disk case 8 is positioned at a predetermined position in the storage part 15, and the light from a reflection type photosensor 80 disposed on the moving means described later is reflected by the reflection plate 14. The position of the disk case 8 can be confirmed by checking the position of the disk case 8.

An insertion/removal unit 26 serving as an insertion/removal means for inserting/removing the disk case 8 into/from the disk storage portion 15 is mounted on a carrier board 27 . The engaging claw 2 slides over the sliding guide 28 fixed to the carrier board 27.
The movable body 30 to which 9 is connected moves in the direction of arrow A. The engaging claw 29 is connected to the protrusion 12 of the disk case 8.
This is for engaging the disk case 8 and transporting the disk case 8. The engaging pawl 29 is driven by a motor 31 fixed to the carrier substrate 27 via a wire 32. The wire 32 is stretched between a motor pulley 33 connected to the motor and a relay pulley 34 attached to the carrier board 27, and fixed to the engaging claw 29. Upper drawer rail 35 and lower drawer rail 36
are the guides when pulling out the disk case 8 from the disk case storage section 15, and each of the upper rails 17
It is installed at the same height as the lower rail 18 and is fixed to the carrier board 27 and supports 37 and 38.
The upper rail 35 has mounting fittings 41a, 41b,
Side guide 43 via elastic bodies 42a, 42b
However, the lower rail 36 has mounting brackets 41c and 41d.
and the side guide 4 via the elastic bodies 42c and 42d.
4 are installed respectively. here 41
d, 42a, and 42d are not shown because they are in the shadow of others, but each of the four pieces 41a to 41d has the same structure, and each of the four pieces 42a to 42d has the same structure.
The pieces have the same configuration. Further, on the upper drawer rail 35, a positioning roller 45 for positioning the disk case 8 is supported by a leaf spring 46 and intervenes in a hole 47 of the upper drawer rail.

The operation of the insertion/removal section 26 in this configuration will be explained with reference to FIG.
is stored in a predetermined position. In this case, the engaging claw 29' is located at the center of the groove 12a of the protrusion 12 of the disk case 8. In the figure, the engaging claw 29' moves in the direction of arrow A' to transport the disk case 8. At the position where the disk case 8 is detached from the disk case storage section 15, a blocking plate 39 attached to the movable body 30 blocks the photocoupler 40 and stops the motor 31. At the stopped position, the engaging claw 29 and the projection 12' are in contact, but the positioning roller 45 is in the positioning groove 11 of the disk case 8.
, the disk case 8 is moved in the direction of arrow A' and positioned at a predetermined position, and the operation of pulling out the disk case 8 is completed. Furthermore, when storing the pulled out disk case 8 in the disk case storage section 15, the operation is similar to the pulling out operation described above, and the engaging claw 29 is moved in the direction of arrow A'', and the photocoupler 48 is blocked by the blocking plate 39'. By stopping at the position shown in FIG.
In FIGS. 5 and 6, the pillars 37 and 38 have
A clamp part 49 is arranged, and a clamper 50
The disc is fixed to a turntable which will be described later, and a shaft 51 is fixed to the clamper 50. A spring 52 and a thrust bearing 59 are inserted into the shaft 51, and the clamper 50 is negatively biased by the spring 52 in the direction of arrow B'. The shaft 51 passes through a clamp base plate 53, and a stopper 54 is fixed thereto. A release block 55 for releasing the clamp is fitted into the clamp shaft 51, and the release lever 57 engaged with the solenoid 56 and the pin 58 fixed to the release block 55 are engaged, and the solenoid 56 releases the clamp by suction. The lever 57 rotates about the rotation shaft 60 in the direction of arrow C. Therefore, the spring 52 is compressed and the clamper 50 moves in the direction of arrow B''. When the solenoid 56 is turned off, the clamper 50
returns in the direction of arrow B'. The damper 61 is for slowing down the return speed when the solenoid 56 is turned off, and is for preventing impact force from being applied to the disk when the disk is clamped, which will be described later.

The carrier 62 equipped with the above insertion/removal section 26 is
It is driven by a carrier drive motor 63 via a wire 64 in the direction of arrow B, which is the direction in which the disk cases in the disk case storage section 15 are arranged. The sliding guide 65 is fixed to the substrate 21 in parallel to the direction of arrow B, and the movable body 67 has the carrier substrate 27 attached thereto and guides the movement of the carrier 62. The wire 64 connects to a motor pulley 68 coupled to the motor 63, a drive pulley 69 attached to the carrier board 27,
70, 71, 72 and an intermediate pulley 73 attached to the base plate 21, and is fixed to a stopper 74 attached to the base plate 21. The carrier positioning sensor for detecting the moving position of the carrier 62 is attached to the carrier board 27 by sandwiching the positioning plate 76 and the main positioning plate 76, each of which has a slit corresponding to the storage position of the disk case 8 in the disk case storage section 15. It is composed of a photocoupler 77. The carrier 62 is equipped with an insertion/removal section 26, and has a first position, which is the storage position of a required disk case in the disk case storage section 15, and a second position, which is the position of the deck section for recording and playing back the disk. Moving. At the second position, a photocoupler 78 is fixed to the substrate 21 as a carrier stop position detection sensor for detecting the stop position of the carrier 62, and a shielding plate 7 fixed to the carrier substrate 27 is located at the second position.
9 interrupts the photocoupler 78, the motor 63 is stopped and the carrier 62 is positioned at a predetermined position. A reflective photosensor 80 is attached to the carrier board 27 in order to detect the presence or absence of a disk case in the disk case storage section 15. The reflective photo sensor 80 is connected to the reflective plate 1 of the disk case.
The presence or absence of the disk case is detected by the return light of step 4.

In the deck section 81 for recording or reproducing required information on the disk, a disk motor 83 integrated with the turntable 82 and guide shafts 84, 8 are installed.
5 and transported in the direction of arrow C by a linear motor (not shown) or the like, the optical head 86 and the like are guided by the substrate 87.
It is located in A lock part 88 for regulating the movement of the carrier 62 is attached to the base plate 21 at the bottom of the deck part 81. The lock portion 88 includes a lock lever 8 that engages with a pin 93 of the carrier 62.
9, consists of a solenoid 90, a rotation shaft 91, a spring 92, and a mounting bracket, and the carrier 62 is connected to the deck part 8.
1, the lock lever 89 is negatively biased by the spring and engages the pin 93, thereby locking the carrier 6.
2 is restricted to the second position and cannot be moved. When the solenoid 90 is turned on and the plunger is sucked, the lock lever 89 rotates and is disengaged from the pin 93, allowing the carrier 62 to move.

In this configuration, the operation of mounting a disk onto the deck portion 81 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 8.

In FIG. 8, the carrier 62' is shown conveying the disk 7', and in FIG.
2 shows a state in which the disk 7 is mounted on the deck portion 81. In Figure 8, solenoid 56' is ON.
In this state, the clamper 50' and the disk 7' are separated from each other. In this state, the carrier 62' is moved in the direction B' by the motor 63. The movement of the carrier 62' is decelerated as it approaches the deck portion 81.
When the carrier 62 moves to the second position, the shielding plate 79 interrupts the photocoupler 78 to stop the motor 63 and position the carrier 62 at the second position. As shown in FIG. 4, the position of the carrier 62 is as shown in FIG.
are engaged, and the position of the carrier 62 is restricted so that it does not move from the second position. The disc case 8 is fitted into the positioning post 94 and the positioning hole 13 of the disc case, and is positioned coaxially with the turntable 82, and the side guides 43 and 44 are pushed back in the direction of arrow B'' by the disc case 8. The disk case 8 is also positioned and fixed in the direction of arrow B by being biased by the side guides 43 and 44 to the side surface of the positioning post 94.
When the disc 7 is centered by a tapered portion (not shown) of the disc 7, the solenoid 56 is turned off and the clamper 50 urges the disc 7 toward the turntable 82 surface, so that the disc 7 is mounted on the turntable 82 surface. Since the mounted disk 7 is positioned at the center of the disk case 8, it does not come into contact with the side wall 9 and side plate 10 of the disk case 8.

Next, the operation of the automatic disk exchange device with the above configuration will be explained.

First, to store the disks, the exchange port provided on the front side of the mounting device 1 is opened, and the storage section 15 in which the disk cases 8 containing the disks 7 are arranged is installed on the board 21. After installation, the carrier 62 is driven in the direction of arrow B, the presence or absence of a disk case in each slot is detected by the reflective photosensor 80, and this information is input into the memory of the control section 3. Next, pull out the disk case from each slot that stores the disk case 8, attach it to the drawer deck part 81, play it, check the disk number, etc., and check the correspondence data between the disk number and the slot and the data necessary for searching registered on the disk. The information required to search for a disk is input into the memory of an external device that controls the search for the disk exchange device, or the information required for the disk search is processed in another external memory, such as a magnetic disk. With the above steps, the initial setting of the automatic disk exchange device is completed.

In the search, a keyword of information to be searched for is entered from the keyboard of the external device, and then the slot number and track address of the disk to be searched are specified from the external device. In response to commands from this external device, the control section 3 controls the operation of the disk exchange mechanism section 2.

The operation of each mechanism will be explained below based on FIG. 9. FIG. 9 shows the operation of each mechanism when the search for disk 7m pulled out from slot m is completed and is replaced with the disk in slot n. In this figure, the carrier 62 is in the second position, and the disk 7m is mounted on a turntable 82 and rotated by a disk motor 83. In response to a command to start disk replacement from an external device, first the disk motor 83 is stopped, and then the solenoid 56 is
Turn ON to release the clamper 50. Next, the solenoid 90 of the lock portion 88 is turned ON to release the second position restriction of the carrier 62, and then the carrier 62 is moved to the slot m of the storage portion 9. carrier 6
2' is positioned and stopped, the engaging claw 2 of the insertion/removal part
9 moves to the engaging claw 29', is positioned, and stops. Through the above operations, the disk 7m and disk case 8m attached to the deck part 81 are
It is stored in the slot m of the disk storage section 15.
Next, the engaging claw 29' is connected to the protrusion 12 of the disk case.
With the carrier 6 positioned in the center of the groove 12a,
2' moves to slot n in the storage section. After the carrier 62'' is positioned and stopped, the engaging claw 29' engages with the disk case 8n, moves to the engaging claw 29, and stops. Through this operation, the disk 7n and the case 8n are separated from the disk storage portion 15. It is mounted on the carrier 62''. Next, the carrier 62'' moves to the second position, and stops after being positioned by the position detection sensor. At the same time as the carrier 62 stops, the solenoid 56 is turned off, and the disk 7n has been mounted on the turntable 82. Meanwhile, As mentioned above, the disk case 8n is also positioned at the same time as the carrier 62 is stopped.
2 is positioned at the second position by a lock lever 89 of a lock portion 88. With the above steps, the disk exchange operation is completed. In the subsequent operation, the disk motor 83 is activated in the deck section 81, and the optical head 86 is moved by the linear motor to perform recording or reproduction on a desired track.

As described above, in this embodiment, the disk is housed in the disk case and is transported in a protected state, so that there is no restriction on the transfer speed due to damage or deformation to the disk during transfer, unlike in the conventional case. In addition, the deck section on which the optical head, which is slightly affected by vibrations, is mounted, the disk storage section, which carries a large amount of weight to be transported, etc., are fixed, and only the carrier section that handles the disks is moved. The carrier section is only a mechanism section for handling the disk, and since it is easy to reduce the weight and there is no problem with vibration during high-speed transfer, this embodiment is most suitable for high-speed transfer.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the disks are all transferred within the same plane (there is no transfer against gravity),
In addition, since it is configured to be transferred in a straight line, high-speed transfer is easy. Furthermore, since the disk is attached to the deck using the disk transfer operation, the attachment time can be eliminated.

As described above, this embodiment provides an automatic disk exchange device that is excellent in speeding up the transfer of disks during disk exchange in order to quickly search for a desired disk from a plurality of disks.

Effects of the Invention The automatic disk exchange device of the present invention includes a disk case that rotatably houses disks therein, a disk storage section that stores a plurality of disk cases arranged and arranged at predetermined intervals, and a disk storage section that stores a plurality of the disk cases arranged and arranged at predetermined intervals. a disk drive shaft fixed to a base and parallel to the direction in which the disk cases are arranged in the disk storage section; A deck unit for recording or reproducing required information and the insertion/removal means are mounted and moved in the disk case arrangement direction, and the disk case is moved to a first position for inserting/removing the disk case from the disk storage unit. a second plate for attaching to the deck part;
By configuring the structure to include a transfer means that is movable between the positions of It is possible to speed up the search of a large amount of information using the disk, and it is possible to significantly reduce the waiting time in the search.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of an automatic disk exchange device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a disk case used in the device, FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the disk case, and FIG. 4 5 is a front view of the disk exchange mechanism of the same device, FIG. 5 is a side view of the same, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the same, FIG.
The figure is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the clamper, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of each mechanism of the disk exchange mechanism section. 1... device main body, 2... disk exchange mechanism section,
3... Control unit, 7... Disk, 8... Disk case, 9... Side wall, 26... Insertion/removal part, 50...
Clamper, 62...Carrier, 81...Deck section, 82...Turntable, 86...Optical head.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A disk case that rotatably houses disks therein; a disk storage section that stores a plurality of disk cases arranged and arranged at predetermined intervals; and a disk storage section that moves in the storage direction of the disk case; It has an insertion/removal means for inserting and removing the disk case into the disk storage section, and a disk drive shaft fixed to the base and parallel to the disk case arrangement direction of the disk storage section, and records necessary information on the disk. or a deck part to be regenerated, a first position for loading and unloading the disc case from the disc storage part by mounting the insertion/removal means in the disk case arrangement direction, and mounting the disc case on the deck part. A disk comprising: a transfer means that is movable between a second position and a second position for transferring the disk; and a control section that controls operations of the insertion/removal means, the transfer means, and the deck section in accordance with commands from an external signal. Automatic exchange device.