Sony Corporation

Wataru Nonaka

Hideaki Noguchi

Motofumi Itawaki

Osamu Shimizu

Masaharu Suzuki

Takahisa Hakoishi

Masahiko Watanabe

Keiji Sato

Keiji Jitsukawa

Junichi Saiki

Tetsuro Tsubota

Shunji Yamaguchi

Shinji Okuda

Yoshinari Moriya

Akira Iseki

Yoshitaka Otonomiya

Eiichi Hirata

Takashi Ohtsuka

Atsushi Koda

A conveying blockfor conveying recording mediums between slotsand a drive blockis provided with a recording medium delivery blockfor delivering the recording mediums to and from the slotsor the drive blockan extendable and retractable rail portion for moving the recording medium delivery block to a desired slot, and a control blockfor controlling extension and retraction operation of the rail portionThe control blockdetermines whether the slotsare provided in an expansion area provided in an extending direction of the rail portionand when the slotsare provided in the expansion area, the rail portionis extended so that the recording medium delivery blockis moved to the desired slot in the expansion area. The recording mediums are efficiently stored for changer operation.

Recording medium changer and control method

The recording medium delivery mechanism includes a slider, a holding lever, a biasing portion, a lever-opening operation portion, and a housing and discharging drive unit. The slider is supported on a chassis to be movable in housing and discharging directions of a recording medium. The holding lever is rotatably supported by the slider and configured to hold the recording medium. The biasing portion is configured to bias the holding lever toward the recording medium. The lever-opening operation portion is provided to the holding lever, is engaged with a lever engagement portion provided to the chassis by a movement of the slider in the discharging direction of the recording medium, and configured to rotate the holding lever in a direction away from the recording medium. The housing and discharging drive unit is configured to move the chassis and the slider in the housing and discharging directions of the recording medium.

Recording medium delivery mechanism and recording medium changer

A cable processing apparatus includes a first pulley, a second pulley, and a cable. The first pulley is configured to rotate about a rotational axis. The second pulley is configured to rotate about the rotational axis together with the first pulley. The cable includes a fixation region to be fixed to the first pulley and the second pulley. The first pulley is configured to rotate about the rotational axis, to thereby perform one of winding of the cable from the fixation region to one end portion and unwinding of the wound cable. The cable includes a predetermined-length portion from the fixation region to the other end portion, which is wound around the second pulley. The second pulley is configured to rotate about the rotational axis together with the first pulley, to thereby perform one of rewinding and tightening of the wound predetermined-length portion of the cable.

Cable processing apparatus and recording medium changer

A recording medium changer includes a storage block that is movable in a longitudinal direction, a drive block that processes data recorded on a recording medium, a conveying block that is movable in a vertical direction and conveys the recording medium for mounting onto the drive block or for storage into the storage block, and a power supply block that supplies drive power to individual sections. The rear position of the storage block is present above the drive block, the driving delivery position of the conveying block is present forward of the drive block, the conveying block is present in the driving delivery position at the time of movement of the storage block in the longitudinal direction, and the storage block is present in the forward position when storage and ejection of the recording medium into and from the storage block are performed via an opening.

Recording medium changer

A disc changer is provided to support each of a plurality of bare discs for recording and/or regeneration on a separate disc rack board without requiring a cartridge. The disc rack boards are positioned so as to form a vertical stack. A carrier is provided which moves only in the vertical direction along the vertical stack of disc rack boards. Furthermore, a plurality of disc drives is provided in a vertical stack opposing the vertical stack of disc rack boards. A hand is provided which moves only in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the carrier moves, and operates to transfer one of the plurality of bare discs between one of the plurality of disc rack boards and the carrier and between one of the plurality of disc drives and the carrier. Thus, the number of discs which may be loaded is increased while the size of the disc changer is minimized.

Multiple disc changing and playing apparatus having disc rack boards, a carrier and a recorder generator

Multiple disc changing and playing apparatus having disk rack boards, a

An automatic cassette changer wherein a plurality of types of cassettes having different recording formats can be used. The automatic cassette changer comprises a plurality of types of cassettes in which different types of record media having different recording formats are accommodated, a cassette storage rack having a plurality of bins for storing the cassettes therein, a plurality of recording and/or reproducing apparatus each provided for selectively recording and/or reproducing a format signal in accordance with a selected one of the recording formats of the plurality of types of cassettes, and a transport mechanism for selectively transporting the cassettes between the bins and the recording and/or reproducing apparatus.

Automatic cassette changer

An automatic cassette changer includes a large number of cassette storing racks in each of which a cassette is stored, a cassette transporter, and a recording and reproducing device. Automatic selective exchanging of cassettes between the cassette storing racks and the recording and reproducing device is performed by the cassette transporter. The changer has a sliding member that moves from a retracted position to an extended position and thereby moves a cassette pressing member from a retracted position to an extended position against the bias exerted by return springs so that a cassette stored in a cassette storing rack may be pushed out towards the cassette transporter by the cassette pressing member. However, the return springs avoid the possibility that a cassette stored in the cassette storing rack will accidentally jump out toward the cassette transporter and thus prevent accidental collision between the cassette and the cassette transporter.

In a video cassette auto-changer which includes a plurality of reproducing and/or recording devices or VTRs, and a plurality of cassette storage bins arrayed in horizontal and vertical directions and each adapted to store a cassette therein; a cassette transporting apparatus for selectively transporting cassettes between the storage bins and the VTRs comprises fixed horizontal upper and lower guide rails along which upper and lower sliders are movable, a movable guide rail extending vertically between the sliders and pivotally connected to the latter at ends of the movable guide rail, a carriage movable vertically along the movable guide rail, a horizontal drive connected with the sliders for moving the carriage in the direction along the fixed guide rails and a vertical drive for moving the carriage along the movable guide rail. Elongated, flexible electrical connecting members or harnesses are provided for applying electrical control signals to horizontally and vertically movable components of the cassette transporting apparatus and are associated with slack take-up devices so that such electrical connecting members can accommodate and will not interfere with substantially vertical and horizontal movements of the carriage.

Video cassette auto-changer

An automatic tape cassette loading device is composed of a plurality of cassette storage shelf blocks arranged side-by-side and each including plural tiers of cassette storage compartments for containing respective tape cassettes, a cassette transfer device associated with each of the cassette storage shelf blocks and adapted to perform tape cassette inserting and removing operations in respect to each of the cassette storage compartments of the respective cassette storage shelf block and transferring of tape cassettes over the extent of the respective cassette storage shelf block, a video tape recorder housing block mounted adjacent an end of the side-by-side arrangement of the cassette storage shelf blocks and containing at least one video tape recorder adapted to at least reproduce the signals recorded in a tape cassette delivered thereto from one of the cassette storage shelf blocks, and cassette delivery units provided between the adjoining side-by-side cassette storage shelf blocks and between the video tape recorder housing block and the cassette storage shelf block adjacent thereto and adapted to perform delivery operations of the tape cassettes between the respective blocks. Each of the cassette storage shelf blocks is desirably comprised of two storage shelf portions which are spaced apart to define an aisle therebetween in which the respective cassette transfer device is movable for servicing cassette storage compartments in both shelf portions.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Wataru Nonaka