Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Takuto Yamazaki

Yukio Morioka

Tatsuro Nishi

Norikatsu Yoshida

Hiroshi Takahashi

Yuji Ariyoshi

Shinichi Maeda

Hitoshi Higaki

Masanori Ohnishi

Yasue Chihara

Osamu Ataguchi

Takahiro Sato

Hirohito Tsuruta

Hirokuni Hagita

Eiji Fujita

Kazuo Ishikawa

The disc device comprises disc selector spindle that hold discs in a stacked state, separate lowermost disc from other discs, and supply separated lowermost disc to drive unit. The disc selector spindle includes first, second, and third support claws that move to storage position at which each support claw is stored inside center hole of disc and protrusion position at which each support claw protrudes in a region located in the vicinity of inner diameter of disc in plan view. First support claw moves to storage position and protrusion position independently of the movements of second support claw and third support claw. Second support claw is disposed so as to be shifted from third support claw in a stacking direction of disc by a thickness of one disc, and to move from storage position to protrusion position at a timing different from a timing of third support claw.

Disc device

The disc device that includes a disc tray which stores a plurality of stacked discs, a tray carrier which transports the disc tray, and a disc selector which supplies one disc of the plurality of discs stacked on the disc tray to a drive unit. The disc selector includes a disc selector spindle that supports the plurality of discs, a disc press on which an upper surface of an uppermost disc of the plurality of discs supported by the disc selector spindle abuts, a displacement amount detection mechanism that detects a displacement amount of the disc press displaced according to thicknesses of the plurality of supported discs, and a thickness detection unit that detects a thickness of each of the plurality of discs based on the detected displacement amount of the disc press.

A conveyance robot apparatus includes modules positioned in a row; a robot for conveying each of the modules and loading and unloading a magazine tray from one of the modules; a pinion mounted on the robot; racks that are slidably supported on the modules and can mesh with the pinion; and a rack connecting mechanism for connecting adjacent racks to each other.

Conveyance robot apparatus

A disk () having a center hole (), the disk () being provided with a support-capable structure for making it possible to support a disk (A) positioned one level above the lowermost part in a stacked state using separation claws (Ac,Bc) protruding radially outward from the center hole ().

Disk

A magazine box is provided for removably storing a plurality of disc-storing magazines used in a disc apparatus for feeding a disc to each of a plurality of disc drives. The magazines each include a tray for storing the disc, a case for removably storing the tray, and a first locking mechanism for releasably locking the tray to the case. The magazine box further includes a second locking mechanism for releasably locking the case of each of the plurality of magazines to the magazine box, and the second locking mechanism maintains the locked state at least during the automatic tray-ejection from the case in the disc apparatus is conducted.

Magazine box

A disc device with which the disc replacing time can further be suppressed includes a picker for conveying a plurality of discs in a stacked state, and a carrier which retains the plurality of discs in a stacked state, which supplies the retained plurality of discs to a respective one of a plurality of disc drives, respectively, and which collects the supplied plurality of discs in a stacked state. The carrier is structured to retain a stacked object made up of a first plurality of discs collected from the plurality of disc drives and a second plurality of discs to be supplied next to the plurality of disc drives.

Disc device having a picker for conveying a pluralty of discs in a stacked state

A disc device supplies a disc to each of a plurality of disc drives. The disc device includes a carrier which retains a plurality of discs being stacked in such a stacked state, which separates one disc from the retained plurality of discs above a tray ejected from an arbitrary one of the disc drives, and which places the separated disc on the tray. The carrier includes a plurality of claw portions holding the inner circumferential portion of the bottommost disc out of the plurality of discs, and a disc press pressing the topmost disc out of the plurality of discs so as to be in parallel to the disc placing face of the tray.

Disc device having a carrier for retaining a plurality of discs in a stacked state

A disc device includes a carrier which retains a plurality of discs in a stacked state so as to separate one disc from the retained plurality of discs above a tray ejected from arbitrary one of the disc drives, and to place the separated disc on the tray. The carrier includes a spindle unit inserted into a center hole formed in each of the discs, a first hold claw portion which holds an inner circumferential portion of the disc, and a second hold claw portion provided at a position higher than the first hold claw portion by a substantially thickness of one disc, the second hold claw portion holding an inner circumferential portion of the disc. One disc from the retained discs is separated by shifting the first and second hold claw portions back and forth between an inner side and an outer side of the spindle unit.

Disc device with carrier for retaining plurality of stacked discs

There is provided a disk device having a buffer portion capable of relatively moving at least a rack at the beginning of meshing with a drive gear in an opposite direction to a moving direction of a slide cam member moved by conveyance of a disk, when the disk is conveyed to a replayable position by a disk conveyance mechanism and the slide cam member moves so that the drive gear and the rack are meshed with each other.

Disk device including disk conveyance mechanism and disk installment mechanism

A disk device is provided with a pair of slide cam members that start movement when a disk is conveyed to a replayable position, and a pair of clamper lifters respectively having clamper support portions supporting a clamper. The clamper lifters are moved in opposite directions to each other in a horizontal direction orthogonal to a thickness direction of the disk device in conjunction with the movement of the pair of slide cam members. They are arranged so that the timings of the start of movement in the opposite directions to each other are different from each other. The clamper support portions have inclined surfaces in contact with an outer peripheral part of the clamper so as to move the clamper in the thickness direction of the disk device in accordance with the movement of the pair of clamper lifters in the opposite directions to each other.

Disk device having clamper lifters with different start of movement timing

A disc changer device, that houses discs, and transports a selected disc to carry out a recording/reproducing operation on the disc, includes a plurality of trays, a first tray driving unit for moving the tray in a reciprocating manner between a stand-by position and a recording/reproducing position, a traverse unit having an optical pickup and a turn table, a clamp unit for moving the traverse unit to a clamp position as well as to a retreat position, a pickup moving unit for moving the optical pickup, a first motor for driving the first tray driving unit, the pickup moving unit and the clamp unit, an elevation unit that raises and lowers the traverse unit, a second tray driving unit for moving the tray in a reciprocating manner between the stand-by position and an exchange position, and a second motor for driving the elevation unit and the second tray driving unit.

Disc changer device

The tray carry-out method for a disc changer device, comprising, while transporting the tray from a recording/reproducing position to a stand-by position by driving the first motor, starting to drive the second motor for bringing a tray driving gear unit into a tray simultaneously transportable state, and upon completion of the transport of the tray to the stand-by position, with the tray driving gear unit being set to the tray simultaneously transportable state, starting to drive the second motor to carry out the tray from the stand-by position to an exchange position.

Tray carry-out method for disc changer device

Two positioning levers for positioning a disk and two detecting levers are provided outside an area in a disk loading device where the disk is to be mounted. A large-diameter disk is positioned when both of the two detecting levers come in contact with the disk. At the time of insertion of a small-diameter disk when one of the detecting levers comes in contact with the disk, the two positioning levers do not move and the small-diameter disk is positioned.

Disk loading device having positioning and detection levers that move entirely outside an outermost circumference of an area occupied by a disk mounted therein

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Nara, Japan

Takuto Yamazaki