JPH1125564A - Automatic disk changer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the manufacturing cost of an automatic disk changer and also to facilitate the extension of a driving unit. SOLUTION: The putting of the disk D in and out against a housing rack 5 is performed by a 1st transport unit in the state the outer circumference of the disk D is clamped. The loading/unloading of the disk D against the driving unit 6 is performed by a 2nd transport unit 8 which is arranged so as to clamp the part of a center hole of the disk D. Since a CD driver on the market, on which a movable tray is provided so as freely to move for projecting and retreating, is allowed to use in the main body as the driver unit, the manufacturing cost is reduced and also the extension of the driver unit is facilitated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a storage shelf for accommodating a large number of recording disks such as CDs (compact disks) and a drive unit (drive device) for reading and writing records from the disks. Provided in
The present invention relates to a disk auto-changer device capable of automatically taking out an arbitrary disk from a storage shelf and loading it into a drive device, or automatically returning the drive device to the storage shelf.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As recording media for storing various data and information, disks of magnetic type, optical type, and optical / magnetic type are widely used. Electronic file systems using a large number of disks are also available. Widely used. And
In order to effectively operate an electronic file system or a data bank system equipped with a large number of disks, a large number of disks are arranged and stored in a storage shelf, and any disk in the storage shelf is automatically taken out and driven. A disk autochanger device that can be loaded into a disk has been put to practical use.

As an example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-95422 discloses that
While arranging a large number of discs on a storage shelf in a state of being laid horizontally in a multi-stage manner, a drive shaft (an axis fitted into a center hole of the disc) is exposed upward at a position in front of the storage shelf. And further above the drive,
Disclosed is a configuration in which a picking device that can be moved up and down is provided, and a disk is taken out of a storage shelf by the picking device, and then the picking device is moved up and down so that the disk can be inserted into or removed from a drive shaft of a drive unit. Have been.

[0004] Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-107771 discloses that a large number of discs are arranged in a storage shelf in an upright state and stored in a storage shelf. A configuration is disclosed in which a disk is rolled and moved between a storage shelf and a location of a drive device via a guide device.

[0005]

By the way, there are drive units for disks such as CDs which are built in a computer or the like, and drive units which are sold separately for extension. Among them, a drive for expansion (simply "CD driver")
Generally, a movable tray for pulling a disk into the main unit or ejecting a disk from the main unit to the outside can be protruded and retracted on a main unit with a built-in reading unit etc. Attached to the movable tray,
It has a configuration in which a circular recess into which a disk fits is formed. In the center hole of the disc in the tray,
A through hole is provided so that the drive shaft can be fitted into the center hole of the disc.

In the autochanger device, the cost can be reduced by using the above-mentioned commercially available expansion drive device, and the drive device can be easily expanded when the number of disks to be stored increases. become. However, as described in the above publications, in a configuration in which the disk is moved while the outer peripheral surface of the disk is grasped by a picking device, or the disk is rolled and transferred to a storage shelf and a driving device, The drive shaft must be exposed, and a drive device that is commercially available for expansion cannot be used.Therefore, a dedicated drive device must be manufactured, which increases the manufacturing cost and increases the cost of the drive device. There was a problem that expansion was troublesome.

An object of the present invention is to solve this problem.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a disk autochanger comprising: a storage shelf provided with a large number of unit storage portions for storing only one recording disk having a center hole formed therein; A drive unit that reads and writes a record on the drive unit, and a transport mechanism that transfers a disk between an arbitrary unit storage unit and a drive unit in the storage shelf, the drive unit includes: It comprises a main body with a built-in reading unit, and a movable tray mounted on the main body so as to protrude and retract so that the disk can be pulled into the main body or the disk can be taken out of the main body. The movable tray is formed with a recess in which a disk fits, and the transport mechanism is provided with a disk for taking a disk into and out of a unit storage section of a storage shelf. A first picking unit adapted to grip and move the outer peripheral surface of the disk, and a state in which the disk has an inner peripheral edge so that the disk can be taken in and out of the recess of the movable tray in a state where the disk protrudes from the main body. A second picking unit is provided, and a disc can be freely transferred between the first picking unit and the second picking unit.

[0009]

According to this structure, the disk can be taken in and out of the storage shelf by the first picking unit which grips the outer peripheral surface of the disk. The first picking unit does not need to be contaminated or scratched, and the portion of the first picking unit that hits the disk need only be a small width. Therefore, the pitch of the unit storage sections in the storage shelf can be reduced, and the disk storage efficiency can be improved.

In addition, loading of a disk into the drive unit
Since the removal is performed by the second picking unit that moves while holding the inner peripheral portion of the disk, the drive unit is commercially available as an additional drive, and the drive unit can be used as it is. That is, generally, a drive device that is commercially available as a single unit includes a main body having a built-in reading unit and the like, and a protruding / retracting movement of the main body in order to pull a disk into the main body or eject a disk from the main body to the outside. A movable tray which is freely mounted, and has a structure in which a recess is formed in the movable tray so that the disk fits therein. The second picking unit allows loading and unloading of the disk into and from the drive unit having this configuration. Can be.

As described above, according to the present invention, as a means for moving the disk between the storage shelf and the drive unit, the transport mechanism includes a first picking unit for gripping the outer peripheral surface of the disk, and an inner peripheral surface of the disk. By providing the second picking unit having a drive unit, a commercially available drive unit can be used for the drive unit, and as a result, problems such as a decrease in storage efficiency of the disk and damage or dirt can be prevented in the future. In addition, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and an increase in the number of drive units can be easily handled.

According to the structure of the third aspect, there is an advantage that it is easy to use a new disk or to eliminate an unnecessary disk.

[0013]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 19, claim 1 and claim 2
Is shown in the first embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 2 shows the appearance of the disc autochanger device, and FIG. 2 shows the layout of the main components.
As shown in both figures, the disk autochanger device includes a cabinet-like box 1, and a drawer 2 is attached to the lower part of the box 1 so as to be movable back and forth. An operation panel 3 is provided on an upper portion of the box 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, inside the box 1, a pair of front and rear storage shelves 5 comprising a plurality of shelves 4 are provided opposite to each other. So that they can be installed side by side. A space is provided above each of the storage shelves 5, and a plurality of drive units 6 are disposed in the space above the storage shelves 5 located on the back side in a state of being superposed on the left and right. Drive unit 6
Are arranged such that the drive shaft of the disk D (the rotation axis of the disk D) is oriented horizontally and horizontally.

In the space between the front and rear storage shelves 5, a first transfer unit 7 for loading and unloading the disk D from and into the storage shelves 5 is provided as part of the transfer mechanism described in the claims.
Are arranged movably in the vertical and horizontal directions along the front surface of the camera. In addition, the disk D is loaded into the first transport unit 7 as a part of the transport mechanism in a portion in front of the drive unit 6.
A second transport unit 8 for transferring between the drive unit 6 and the second transport unit 6 is disposed so as to be horizontally movable along the front surface of the drive unit 6.

Further, a storage section 9 for the disk D is provided in a portion of the box 1 above the front storage shelf 5. Hereinafter, details of each part will be described. First, the structure of the storage shelf 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows the storage shelf 5
Is a partial perspective view of the shelf unit 4 constituting FIG.
Is a sectional side view of the shelf unit 4, (B) is a sectional view taken along the line BB of (A), and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the side of the storage shelf 5.

The shelf unit 4 includes a metal main body frame 10 formed in a concave shape in a side view so as to surround approximately half of the disk D.
The main frame 10 has a first disk receiver 11 on the bottom surface and a second disk receiver 12
A third disk receiver 13 is mounted on the upper end of the rear surface, and the disk D is stored (stored) in a state of being supported at three points. The disc receivers 11, 12, 13 are preferably made of synthetic resin, but may be made of metal or wood. Also, body frame 10
A reinforcing bar 14 is fitted in the slab.

As one means for embodying the unit storage portion described in claim 1, a plurality of storage grooves 15 into which the outer peripheral edge of the disk D fits are formed in each of the disk receivers 11, 12, and 13 at a constant pitch. As a result, a large number of disks D can be arranged side by side in an upright state. The opening of each storage groove 15 is tapered so that the fitting of the disk D is guided.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the first disk receiver 11
In a state where the disk D is applied to the bottom surface of the storage groove 15 in the second disk receiver 12, the storage groove of the third disk receiver 13 is
15 is set so that the disk D is fitted shallowly. In other words, when the disk D is stored in the shelf unit 4, a gap 16 is set between the bottom surface of the storage groove 15 in the third disk receiver 13 and the outer peripheral surface of the disk D.

Needless to say, the axis of the disk D is located behind the front end of the first disk receiver 11. Although the main body frame 10 of the shelf unit 4 is integrally continuous,
The portion to which each of the disk receivers 11, 12, and 13 is attached may be divided into a crosspiece. Each shelf unit 4 is provided with a safety bar 17 for preventing the disk D from rolling down even if the box 1 shakes due to an earthquake or the like. At both ends of the safety bar 17, an arm 18 extending toward the back of the shelf unit 4 is attached. The rear end of the arm 18 is attached to the upper end of a side plate 19 fixed to the left and right sides of the main body frame 10 of the shelf unit 4. It is rotatably mounted with pins.

Further, a vertically extending interlocking rod 20 is disposed at the end of each safety bar 17 so as to be vertically movable.
The pins 22 projecting outward from both ends of each safety bar 17 are supported by the first brackets 21 provided on the safety brackets 17. Each safety bar 17 is urged downward by a spring 23 (or may be urged downward only by its own weight). The interlocking rod 20 is vertically movably held by a guide member (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 5, a first rack 24 is provided at the lower end of the interlocking rod 20, and a first pinion gear 26 driven by a first motor 25 is meshed with the first rack 24. Therefore, by rotating the first motor 25, the interlocking rod 20 is rotated.
The safety bars 17 can be raised and lowered at the same time via the. Note that the first motor 25 may be provided one by one on one storage shelf 5. Further, the interlocking rod 20 may be driven by another driving means such as an electromagnetic solenoid, and another member such as a wire may be used as the interlocking means.

Next, the structure of the first transport unit 7 is shown in FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the first transport unit 7, FIG. 6B is a BB view of FIG. 6A, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a view schematically showing an elevating mechanism of the transport unit 7, and FIG.
FIG. 8 is a side view of the transfer unit 7, FIG. 8 is a view taken along the line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7, FIGS. 9 (A) and 10 are views showing an operation state of the first transfer unit 7, and FIG. FIG.

The first transport unit 7 includes a first movable body 28 having an open U-shape facing downward when viewed from the side.
Are movably mounted on a horizontally long and upwardly open gutter-like support rail 29 arranged to extend along the front surface of the front and rear storage shelves 5. The first moving body 28 smoothly moves on the support rail 29 by a guide roller or the like (not shown). A vertically extending hollow guide frame 30 is fixed to both ends of the support rail 29, and the guide frame 30 is mounted on a pair of guide columns 31 erected along the inner surface of the box 1 so as to be able to move up and down. doing. Needless to say, the guide frame 30 is smoothly moved up and down by rollers and rollers. A timing belt 32 is fixed to the left and right guide frames 30 or one of the guide frames 30, and a second pinion gear 35 driven by a second motor 33 is meshed with the first timing belt 32. Therefore, the second motor 33
The first transport unit 7 can be moved up and down to an arbitrary height by performing the forward / reverse rotation operation of.

Needless to say, the second motor
Reference numeral 33 is fixed to the inner surface of the box 1 via a bracket or the like. The lifting and lowering of the support rail 29 can use various transmission mechanisms such as a chain, a rack and a pinion. A second extending on the inner surface of the support rail 29 along the longitudinal direction thereof.
While the rack 36 is provided, a pair of second pinion gears 38 driven by a third motor 37 are provided on the lower surface of the first moving body 28, and these third pinion gears 38 are meshed with the second rack 36, respectively. Therefore, the first transport unit 7 can be moved to an arbitrary horizontal position by rotating the third motor 37 forward and backward.

The first moving body 28 may be moved by another transmission means such as a timing belt. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 7, a fixed table 39 having a substantially semicircular shape in plan view and provided with rack teeth on the outer peripheral surface is fixed to the first moving body 28 of the first transport unit 7. Turntable to this fixed table 39,
40 is mounted for horizontal rotation. Reference numeral 41 shown in FIG.
Is a bearing for rotatably supporting the turntable 40.

At the end of the turntable 40, a fourth motor 43 having a downwardly projecting pinion 42 meshing with the rack teeth of the fixed table 39 is fixed. Therefore, the fourth motor
By rotating 43 forward and reverse, turntable 40 is turned 180
Can be rotated horizontally by degrees. The rotating means of the turntable is not limited to the configuration shown in the figure. Instead of cutting the rack teeth on the fixed table 39, a timing belt may be fixed by screws or the like. The provided friction wheel may be brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the fixed table 39 and rotated using friction.

When the storage shelf 5 is located on only one side, the turntable 40 is not required. A first picking unit 45 is mounted on the turntable 40 via a guide rail 44 so as to be able to move forward and backward toward the storage shelf 5. First
The picking unit 45 includes a slide member 46 formed in a substantially U-shape in side view so as to surround the disk D, and a tip end of a lower overhang portion 46 a constituting a lower end of the slide member 46 is attached to the storage shelf 5. A receiving groove 47 is formed on an inclined surface inclined forward toward the lower surface of the disk D.

A clamp arm 48 is mounted on the upper part of the slide 46 so as to be rotatable with a pin 49 so that the tip of the clamp arm 48 moves toward and away from above toward the outer peripheral surface of the disk D. A fitting groove 50 is formed on the lower surface of the downward hook formed at the tip of the clamp arm 48 so as to be fitted obliquely from above on the outer peripheral edge of the disk D. As shown in FIG. 4B, at least the distal end of the lower overhang portion 46a of the slide body 46 and the distal end of the clamp arm 48 do not interfere with the adjacent disk D when the disk D is inserted into or removed from the shelf unit 4. It is formed in such a narrow width. Further, both the receiving groove 47 and the fitting groove 50 are formed in a tapered shape such that the groove width increases toward the opening end so that the fitting of the disk D is guided. Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the tip of the lower overhang portion 46a and the tip of the clamp arm 48 are set so as to be located at substantially symmetrical positions with respect to the axis of the loaded disk D.

The clamp arm 48 is urged in a direction away from the disk D by a spring 51 locked at a rear portion thereof. As shown in FIG. 8, a first electromagnetic solenoid having a movable iron core 52 facing upward is provided at a rear portion of the first moving body 28.
53 is mounted via a second bracket 54, and the movable iron core 52 of the first electromagnetic solenoid 53 is attached to a clamp arm.
It is attached to the rear end of 48 via a third bracket 55. Therefore, when the first electromagnetic solenoid 53 is turned ON / OFF, the clamp arm 48 rotates.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 7, a fifth motor having a rotating shaft directed downward is provided at a rear portion of the turntable 40.
56 is attached via a fourth bracket 57, and the fifth motor
An endless second timing belt 60 is wound around a gear 58 fixed to a rotation shaft 56 and an idle gear 59 rotatably mounted on the front of the turntable 40, and the second tamping belt 60 is slid. It is fixed to the side surface of 46 by appropriate means such as screwing. Therefore, by rotating the fifth motor 56 forward and backward, the slide body 46 can be moved forward or backward toward the shelf unit 4.

The operating state of the first picking unit 45 is shown in FIG.
This is shown in 9 (A). As is clear from this figure, when taking out the disk D from the shelf unit 4, the fifth motor 56 is rotated forward and the first moving body 28 is directed toward the shelf unit 4 with the clamp arm 48 raised. The receiving groove 47 of the lower overhang portion 46a of the slide body 46 is fitted into the lower end edge of the disc D, and then the first
The electromagnetic solenoid 53 is operated to rotate the clamp arm 48 forward.

As a result, the disc D is clamped by the first picking unit 45.
By reversing the motor 56, the disk D can be taken out as shown in FIG. By the reverse procedure, the disc D can be stored in the shelf unit 4 from the first picking unit 45. When taking out disk D,
If the disc D is fitted in each storage groove 15 of the shelf unit 4 exactly, the disc D may be damaged if the lower overhang 46a of the slide body 46 hits the disc D. In response to this, the lower portion 46 of the first moving body 28
It is conceivable that the disc D escapes upward when a hits the disc D. To this end, the third disc receiver 13 is placed at the height of the axis of the disc D (the dashed line in FIG. 9A). In this case, the holding function of the disc D is deteriorated (even in this state, if the depth of the storage groove 15 in each of the disc receivers 11, 12, and 13 is increased, the holding of the disc D is stopped. The function can be improved, but in this case, the recording surface of the disk D may be rubbed and stained or damaged, which is not an advantage.)

On the other hand, if a gap 16 is set between the bottom surface of the storage groove 15 in the third disk receiver 13 and the disk D as in this embodiment, the third disk receiver 13 is Even though the disk D is disposed considerably above the axis of the disk D, the existence of the gap 16 allows the disk D to rise when the lower overhang 46a of the slide body 46 hits the lower end of the disk D. Therefore, the disk D is not damaged or deformed.

Further, when the disk D is taken out by the first picking device 45, the lower part thereof is a slide body 46.
Of the lower overhang portion 46a, and the upper portion is deeply fitted into the storage groove 15 of the third disk receiver 13, so that the disk D is accurately positioned in a stable state in a state where it cannot be removed. In this state, the clamp arm 48 is tilted forward and rotated.
Is fitted into the disk D exactly.

Therefore, if the gap 16 is set to be empty as in the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the disc D from being stained or scratched when the disk D is taken in and out of the shelf unit 4, and to keep the shelf unit in a stable state. There is an advantage that the insertion and removal of the disk D can be performed safely and accurately without impairing the function of accommodating the disk D in the disk 4. Further, since the positioning between the clamp arm 48 and the disk D can be performed accurately, the width of the clamp arm 48 can be reduced accordingly, and as a result, the efficiency of storing the disk D in the shelf unit 4 can be improved.

In a state where the disk D is clamped by the clamp arm 48, the clamp arm 48 is rotated forward by the elastic restoring force of the spring 51. In other words, the clamp arm 48 is returned and rotated in the clamped state. As a result, there is no inconvenience that the disk D is damaged or deformed due to a large impact acting on the disk D by the clamp.

It is needless to say that the safety bar 17 is turned upward when the disk D is taken in and out of the storage shelf 5. The disk D taken into the first transport unit 7 from the storage shelf 5 as described above
As shown conceptually in FIG. 11, is transferred to the second transport unit by the first transport unit 7 and loaded into the drive unit 6 by the second transport unit 8. This will be described below.

FIG. 12 shows the structure of the drive unit 6, in which (A) is a perspective view of the drive unit 6, and (B) is a perspective view.
(A) is a BB view, and (C) is a CC cross-sectional view of (B). The drive unit 6 of this embodiment has been conventionally sold as a single unit for additional use. The drive unit 6 has a rectangular main body 62 having a built-in reading device (not shown) and a square hole 63 formed in the main body 62. It is provided with a movable tray 64 that can be retracted. The movable tray 64 has a circular recess into which the disk D fits.
Form 65. The movable tray 64 is formed with a large through hole 66 so as not to interfere with fitting the drive shaft to the stored disk D.

The drive unit 6 of the present embodiment has a drive shaft of the disk D oriented horizontally and horizontally, and is loaded on the movable tray 64 with the disk D standing. For this reason, the disk D fitted in the recess 65 of the movable tray 64
At the lower end, a pair of fall prevention claws 67
Projecting inward. Therefore, the disk D shown in FIG.
(B) is inserted into the movable tray 64 at a height position indicated by the two-dot chain line, and then dropped in the recess 65 as indicated by the one-dot chain line, so that the movable tray 64 is irremovably loaded. By moving the movable tray 64 back into the main body 62 in this state, the disk D can be driven to perform reading and writing.

In the present embodiment, a number of drive units 6 are arranged in a state of being superimposed in a case 68.
68 is supported by a beam member 69 as shown in FIG. The size of the case can be increased or decreased, so that the number of drive units 6 can be easily increased as needed. Next, the second transport unit 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the second transport unit 8, and FIG.
14, (A) is a side sectional view of the second transport unit 8, (B) is a side view, (A) of FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line XV-XV of FIG. 14 (A),
FIG. 16B is a diagram showing an operation, and FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an operation procedure of the second transport unit 8.

The second transport unit 8 is a box-shaped second moving body 71.
It has. The second moving body 71 is movably attached to a ceiling rail 72 fixed to a ceiling surface or the like of the box 1 via a slider 73 and a fifth bracket 74. The top rail 72 extends in the direction in which the drive units 6 are arranged. A third rack 75 is provided on the side surface of the top rail 72, and a fifth rack 74 meshes with the third rack 75 at the upper end of the fifth bracket 74. A sixth motor 77 having a pinion gear 76 is mounted. Accordingly, by rotating the sixth motor 77 forward and backward, the second moving body 71 can be moved forward and backward toward the movable tray 64 in the protruding state in the drive unit 6.

Needless to say, the second moving body 71 may be reciprocated by another driving means. A second picking unit 78 is mounted inside the second moving body 71. The second picking unit 78 includes an elevating body 79 having a U-shaped cross section.
And a pair of upper and lower blocks arranged inside the elevating body 79
The upper block 80 has an upward hook-shaped upper locking claw 82 at the tip thereof, and the lower block 81 has a lower hook-shaped lower locking claw 82 formed at the tip thereof.

When the upper and lower blocks 81 are close to each other (or are in close contact with each other), the upper and lower locking claws 82 can be fitted into the center holes D1 of the disk D. The pawl 82 contacts the inner peripheral surface of the center hole D1 of the disk D, and the disk D can be clamped. Two front and rear guide shafts 83 penetrate the upper and lower blocks 80 and 81, and these front and rear guide shafts 83 are fixed to the second movable body 71. Therefore, the upper and lower blocks 81 can move up and down while being guided by the guide shaft 83. The elevating body 79 is located between the front and rear guide shafts 83.
Are fixed with pins 84. Therefore, the lower block 81 and the elevating body 79 move up and down integrally. A spring 85 fitted on the guide shaft 83 is interposed between the upper and lower blocks 80 and 81,
The spring 85 urges the upper and lower blocks 80 and 81 in a direction away from each other.

A second electromagnetic solenoid 86 having a movable iron core 87 protruding downward is fixed on the upper surface of the second movable body 71. The movable iron core 87 of the second electromagnetic solenoid 86 is fixed to the elevating body by a pin or the like. It is fixed to 79. Therefore, this second
When the electromagnetic solenoid 86 is turned ON / OFF, the elevating body 79 and the upper and lower blocks 80, 81 move up and down together. On the lower surface of the lower block 81, a third electromagnetic solenoid 88 having a movable iron core 89 protruding upward is fixed, and this third electromagnetic solenoid 88 is fixed.
Is fixed to the upper block 80 with pins 90 or the like. Therefore, by turning ON / OFF the third electromagnetic solenoid 88, the upper block 80 can be moved up and down. In other words, the third electromagnetic solenoid 88 is turned ON / OFF.
By doing so, the locking claws 82 of the upper and lower blocks 80, 81 can be made to approach and separate from each other.

Second drive unit 6 and first drive unit 6
The transfer of the disc D between the second drive unit 6 and the transfer of the disc D between the second drive unit 6 and the drive unit 6 will be described with reference to FIG. Delivery of the disk D from the first drive unit 6 to the second drive unit 6 is performed in the following procedure.

That is,. As shown in (I), the first transport unit 7 was moved so that the disk D was located in front of the second transport unit 8, and the elevating body 79 and the lower block 81 of the second transport unit 8 were raised. In this state, the second transport unit 8 is advanced toward the disk D, so that the upper and lower blocks 8 are moved.
The 0,81 locking claws 82 are inserted into the center hole D1 of the disk D. . Next, with the upper block 80 lowered (with the upper and lower locking claws 82 approached), the elevating body 79 is lowered. In this case, the locking claw 82 of the lower block 81 is set so as not to contact the inner peripheral surface of the disk D. That is, the lifting body 79
The lifting stroke of H1, the inner diameter of the center hole D1 of the disk D is d, and the interval between the grooves of the upper and lower locking claws 82 when unclamped is
Assuming that E1, the relationship is H1 <(E1 / 2−d / 2). . Next, the third electromagnetic solenoid 88 is turned off, and the upper block 80 is raised by the spring 85. This gives (I
As shown in I), the disk D is clamped at the center hole D1 by the locking claws 82 of the upper and lower blocks 80 and 81. In this state, the upper block 80 is clamped by the elastic restoring force of the spring 85, so that the disk D is not damaged or deformed. . Next, the disc D by the first picking unit 45
Is released, and the first transport unit 7 is lowered. The procedure is as follows.

After lowering the elevating body 79, the upper and lower blocks 8
The reason why the clamping by 0,81 is performed is to perform the clamping by the upper and lower blocks 80,81 while holding the clamped state by the first picking unit 45 (the lifting body 79).
If the upper block 80 is raised without lowering the disk D, the disk D is lifted, and the disk D may be damaged. In addition, if the clamp by the first picking unit 45 is released, the disk D may fall off. is there).

The delivery of the disk D from the second transport unit 8 to the first transport unit 7 is performed in the reverse procedure. Delivery of the disk D from the second transport unit 8 to the drive unit 6 is performed in the following procedure. That is,. With the movable tray 64 of the drive unit 6 protruding and the lifting / lowering body 79 being lowered as shown in (II) to clamp the disk D, the second transport unit 8 is moved to the movable tray 64.
Advance towards. Then, as shown in (IV), the disc D enters the recess 65 in a state of being raised from the bottom surface of the recess 65 so as not to interfere with the falling-off preventing claws 67. . Next, the upper block 80 is lowered, and the upper and lower blocks 80, 8
Release the clamp by 1. Thereby, the disk D
Is fitted into the recess 65 of the movable tray 64, and the disc D is loaded into the movable tray 64 by the drop-off preventing claws 67 as shown in FIG. . Next, the second transport unit 8 is retracted to pull out the upper and lower locking claws 82 from the disk D (in this case, the upper block
When the lowering stroke H2 of 80, the dimension H3 at which the disc D falls in the recess 65 of the movable tray 64, and the spacing E2 between the projections of the upper and lower locking claws 82 in the unclamped state are released, the recess is released. The size is set so that the upper and lower locking claws 82 can come out of the center hole D1 of the disc D supported at the bottom of the 65). It is performed in the procedure of saying.

The removal of the disk D from the drive unit 6 to the second transport unit 8 is performed in the reverse procedure.
In addition, the lifting of the lifting body 79 and the lifting and lowering of the blocks 80 and 81 may be performed using a step motor. However, if an electromagnetic solenoid is used as in this embodiment, the structure is simplified.
By using the two electromagnetic solenoids 86 and 88, the disk D can be transferred without causing damage or deformation of the disk D with a simple configuration.

Next, the structure of the loading / unloading section 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 is a side sectional view of the loading / unloading section 9, FIG. 18 (A) is a sectional view taken along the line XVIII-XVIII of FIG. 17, (B) is a partial sectional view of (A), and FIG. (In FIG. 19, the hatching of the sectional view is omitted.) Entry and exit section 9
Is provided at the position of the window hole 92 opened in the box 1.
A cover plate 93 for closing the cover 92 and a main body frame 10 attached to the inner surface of the cover plate 93 are provided. The main body frame 10 has the same structure as that of the shelf unit 4, and the main body frame 10 has three disc receivers 11, 1
2,13 are installed. In each disk receiver 11,12,13,
A large number of storage grooves 15 into which the disk D fits are formed at regular intervals.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 18, the interval between the storage grooves 15 is set to be large enough that a person can easily hold the disk D and store it. Further, as in the case of the shelf unit 4, a gap is set between the bottom surface of the storage groove 15 in the third disk receiver 13 and the outer peripheral surface of the disk D. Further, in the loading / unloading section 9, the stored disk D
A rotatable safety bar 17 is mounted in order to prevent the device from falling off due to vibration. The safety bar 17 is rotated by driving means such as a motor or an electromagnetic solenoid (not shown).

The lower end of the cover plate 93 is rotatably attached to a sixth bracket 94 provided on the inner surface of the box 1 with a pin 95. Further, the outer peripheral surface is provided at one end of the main body frame 10 with the pin 95.
A guide body 96 is formed so as to form an arc centered at the center of the circle, and rack teeth are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the arc-shaped guide body 96, while the rack teeth of the arc-shaped guide body 96 are formed on the inner surface of the box 1. Motor provided with a sixth pinion gear 98 that meshes with the seventh motor
99 is fixed. Therefore, by driving the seventh motor 99 in the forward and reverse directions, the cover plate 93 and the body frame 10 can be freely changed between the closed state shown in FIG. 17 and the open state shown in FIG. Note that the cover plate 93 may be manually opened and closed.

As shown in FIG. 17, the disk D stored in the loading / unloading section 9 is set so as to be located directly above the disk D stored in the storage shelf 5 located at the front, and the second transport unit 8 allows the disk D to be taken in and out of the closed loading / unloading section 9. Next, another embodiment will be described.

FIG. 20A shows a pair of front and rear storage shelves 5.
In the second embodiment, the front storage shelf 5 is unitized and detachably attached to the box body 1 from the front in the case where is provided. Reference numeral 101 denotes a guide member. If the front storage shelf 5 is configured to be detachable in this way, repair and maintenance of the inside are easy. One or both storage shelves 5 may be configured to be pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 20 (B), the front and rear storage shelves 5 are unitized and opened in opposite directions in plan view as means for further facilitating repair and maintenance of the inside. It is configured to rotate. In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 21, the shelf unit 4 is formed so as to extend continuously along the outer periphery of the disk D. Also in this case, as in the first embodiment, the clearance is set so as to leave a gap between the upper portion of the storage groove 15 and the outer peripheral surface of the disk D.

In the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 22, the loading / unloading section 9 is of a horizontal slide type. The loading / unloading unit 9 may be formed so as to be opened upward, and the disk D may be taken in and out from above. In this case, the opening hole on the upper surface may be closed with a cover plate 102 of a shutter type or the like as shown by a two-dot chain line. In the sixth embodiment shown in FIG.
The disc D is set in a lying state. The drive units 6 are vertically stacked. In the case of this embodiment, since the disk D is stored in the storage shelf 5 in an upright state, the second picking unit 78 is stored.
Is configured to be rotatable around an axis extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, so that the disk D can be freely changed between a standing state and a lying state.

In the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 24, only one moving body 103 is provided in the transport unit.
A first picking unit 45 for taking the disk D in and out of the storage shelf 5 and a second picking unit 78 for transferring the disk D between the first picking unit 45 and the drive unit 6 are provided. The second picking unit 78 is configured to move forward and backward toward the movable tray 64 of the drive unit 6 while clamping the center hole D1 of the disk D.

In the eighth embodiment shown in FIG. 25, the second picking unit 78 is provided with only one upwardly hook-shaped engaging claw 82 which fits into the center hole D1 of the disk D so as to be movable back and forth. The disk D can be clamped at the position of the inner peripheral edge by retracting the hook 82 in the hooked state. Reference numeral 104 denotes a soft plate such as rubber. The disk D is not limited to being held tightly by the locking claw 82, but may be moved while being simply hooked on the locking claw 82.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be further embodied in various forms. For example, box 1
May have a heat insulating structure, or the box 1 may be housed in a cabinet having a heat insulating structure. In this case, there is an advantage that the disk D and the drive unit 6 can be protected from fire.
In addition, as a control method, frequently used disks are stored near a drive unit on a storage shelf so that less frequently used disks (or are not used at all) so as to shorten the time required to remove frequently used disks. May be provided with an automatic rearranging function of re-storing it in a part remote from the drive unit. In addition, discs that have not been used for a certain period of time can be controlled to be returned to the loading / unloading unit (in this case, a display unit may be provided on the box, or the screen of the operating personal computer may indicate that). It may be displayed.

Also, once the disk which has been stored in the loading / unloading section is read by the drive unit, it is determined whether or not the loading attitude is appropriate. (Generally, since the recording surface is single-sided, reading or writing cannot be performed if the loading attitude is incorrect.) ), And store the appropriate disk in the storage shelf according to a predetermined storage order, and make sure that the information on the disk (the table of contents of the written contents and the blank state where no information is written) ) And the address of the unit storage unit to be stored are stored in an operation personal computer or the like to prepare for subsequent use.

On the other hand, a disc whose storage posture is wrong or whose structure is defective has an error message to that effect displayed on the screen of an operation personal computer or the like, and is returned to the storage / reception section to determine the content of the error. Instruct the worker accordingly. A display for displaying an error message, a storage completion message, or the like may be provided on the outer surface of the box. Further, a single disk autochanger device may be able to handle a plurality of types of disks having different diameters.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a disk autochanger device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a layout of main components.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a shelf unit.

FIG. 4A is a side sectional view of a shelf unit, and FIG.
FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a side portion of the storage shelf.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a first transport unit, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the first transport unit.
(C) is a diagram schematically showing a lifting mechanism of the first transport unit.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the first transport unit.

8 is a VIII-VIII view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating an operation state of a first transport unit.
FIG. 9 (B) is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 9 (A).

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation state of a first transport unit.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a transfer path of a disk.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a drive unit.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a second transport unit.

14A is a side sectional view of a second transport unit, and FIG. 14B is a side view.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line XV-XV in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the second transport unit.

FIG. 17 is a side sectional view of a loading / unloading unit.

18A is a view from XVIII-XVIII in FIG. 17, and FIG. 18B is a view from FIG.
It is an expanded sectional view of.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a loading / unloading section is opened.

20A is a diagram showing a second embodiment, and FIG. 20B is a diagram showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a seventh embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an eighth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Box 4 Shelf unit 5 Storage shelf 6 Drive unit 7 1st conveyance unit 8 2nd conveyance unit 9 Warehousing part 10 Main unit frame of shelf unit 11,12,13 Disk receptacle 15 Storage groove 17 Safety bar 45 1st picking unit 47 Receiving groove 48 Clamp arm 62 Main body of drive unit 64 Movable tray 65 Recess 71 Second moving body 80,81 Block 82 Locking pawl

Claims (3)

[Claims] A storage shelf provided with a large number of unit storage sections for storing only one recording disk having a center hole formed therein;
A drive unit that loads the disk and reads or writes a record on the disk, and a transport mechanism that transfers the disk between an arbitrary unit storage unit and a drive unit in the storage shelf, wherein the drive unit With a body with a built-in reading unit,
A movable tray protruding from and retracted to the main body so as to pull the disk into the main body and to take the disk out of the main body, and to fit the disk into the movable tray. A first picking unit configured to grab and move the outer peripheral surface of the disk to move the disk into and out of the unit storage section of the storage shelf while forming a round recess; and a main body of the drive unit. A second picking unit that moves with the inner peripheral edge of the disc so that the disc can be taken in and out of the recess of the movable tray in a protruding state; and a first picking unit and a second picking unit. A disc autochanger device, wherein a disc can be freely transferred between the discs. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism comprises:
A first transport unit movable vertically and horizontally along the front surface of the storage shelf; and a second transport unit movable reciprocally toward a drive unit, wherein the first transport unit includes the first transport unit. The picking unit is provided in the second transport unit, and the second picking unit is provided in the second transport unit.
A disk automatic changer device, wherein a disk is transferred to a storage shelf and a drive unit. 3. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the storage shelf, the drive unit, and the transport mechanism are stored in a box body, and a disk is stored in an appropriate portion of the box body inside the box body. An automatic disc changer device comprising: a loading / unloading section for taking out a disk from the inside; and a disk being freely transferred between the loading / unloading section and a storage shelf by the transport mechanism.