Victor Company of Japan, Limited

Yasuhiro Yusa

Hiroyuki Sugiyama

Masaki Sakurai

Kenji Yoshihara

Ryuzo Abe

Ryozo Abe

Takashi Saito

A rotary recording medium reproducing apparatus comprises a holding mechanism for clamping and holding a lid plate and a rotary recording medium when a case having a jacket accommodating therein the rotary recording medium and the lid plate for closing the jacket is inserted into the reproducing apparatus through an inserting opening, where the lid plate and the rotary recording medium thus clamped and held are recovered within an empty jacket inserted through the inserting opening, a control mechanism for putting the reproducing apparatus in a state possible or not to insert the case or the jacket into the reproducing apparatus through the inserting opening, a detection circuit for detecting whether the rotary recording medium exists within the reproducing apparatus, a single load/eject switch, and a control circuit for controlling the control mechanism by use of a detection output of the detection circuit and an output of the load/eject switch, so that a state possible for inserting the case into the reproducing apparatus is obtained when the rotary recording medium does not exist within the reproducing apparatus, and a state possible for inserting the empty jacket into the reproducing apparatus is obtained when the rotary recording medium does exist within the reproducing apparatus in order to enable recovery of the rotary recording medium.

Rotary recording medium reproducing apparatus

A signal pickup device in a rotary recording medium reproducing apparatus comprises a turntable placed thereon with a rotary recording medium recorded with an information signal as variations in geometrical configuration, for rotating the rotary recording medium, a reproducing stylus provided at a tip end of a cantilever, for making contact with and sliding against a recorded region of the rotary recording medium upon reproduction to reproduce the information signal, a resonator having a resonance frequency which varies in accordance with the above variations in geometrical configuration, and a conductive ribbon having one end connected to the reproducing stylus and the other end connected to the resonator to electrically connect an electrode of the reproducing stylus with the resonator, where the conductive ribbon is in a curved and bent state upon reproduction of the rotary recording medium. The conductive ribbon has a length such that the conductive ribbon is put into an extended state from the above curved and bent state when the reproducing stylus is lowered below the height position of the rotary recording medium, to restrict the lowering of the reproducing stylus at a height position higher than that of the turntable.

Signal pickup device in a rotary recording medium reproducing apparatus

An apparatus for detecting position of a reproducing transducer in a rotary recording medium reproducing apparatus which reproduces an information signal recorded in a rotary recording medium by a reproducing transducer which is transferred towards the radial direction of the rotary recording medium, comprises a single photo-detector having a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element, provided in a manner so as to be transferred unitarily with the reproducing transducer, a light interrupting plate provided at a fixed part of the rotary recording medium reproducing apparatus, for operating together with the photo-detector, and a position detection signal producing circuit for producing a position detection output signal according to an output of said photo-detector, to indicate that the reproducing transducer has passed a position corresponding to the outermost peripheral position and the innermost peripheral position of the recorded region in the rotary recording medium. The light interrupting plate has a configuration so as to change state between a light interrupting state and a non-interrupting state with respect to the photo-detector, as the reproducing transducer passes a position corresponding to an outermost peripheral position and an innermost peripheral position of a recorded region in the rotary recording medium.

Apparatus for detecting position of a reproducing transducer in a rotary

An apparatus for automatically reproducing recorded signals from a rotary recording medium, in accordance with the mode in which signals were recorded. The reproducing apparatus comprises a micro-computer which produces a two-bit mode control signal and a one-bit muting signal. The one-bit muting signal puts one of two processing circuits in a non-operational state, so that the other of the two processing circuits can perform the signal processing in accordance with the mode specified by the two-bit mode control signal. Four codes constituted by the two-bit mode control signal are commonly used to specify four reproducing modes of a video rotary recording medium and four reproducing modes of an audio rotary recording medium.

Apparatus for automatically reproducing signals in accordance with a

A reproducing apparatus is capable of performing special reproduction of information signals recorded on a rotary recording medium. The information signals are recorded in either spiral track turns or concentric tracks. The reproducing apparatus comprises a detector for generating a rotation detection signal having a frequency which varies proportionally to the rotational speed of the rotary recording medium. A special signal generator generates a special reproduction synchronizing signal and a generator generates an external control signal based on a signal which is obtained by variably controlling the frequency of the special reproduction synchronizing signal. A manual switch varies the frequency of the special reproduction synchronizing signal by controlling the control signal generator responsive to an output code signal corresponding to a position of the manual switch. The manual switch is positioned at a predetermined neutral position to produce the external control signal once every one rotation of the rotary recording medium, to repetitively reproduce the same track. The manual switch varies the frequency of the external control signal to vary, with predetermined steps, a speed of picture motion of the reproduced information signal, corresponding to positions of the manual switch.

Rotary recording medium reproducing apparatus capable of performing

A high-speed search system in a rotary recording medium reproducing apparatus having a reproducing transducer including a reproducing element for reproducing recorded signals from a rotary recording medium in which an information signal and a chapter address signal including a program number of the information signal are recorded, and transferring mechanism for transferring the reproducing transducer along the radial direction of the rotary recording medium, comprises a designating circuit for designating a program number of a desired program which is to be reproduced, a reproducing circuit for reproducing a chapter address signal from a signal reproduced by the reproducing transducer; and a control circuit for comparing the designated program number with a program number of the reproduced chapter address signal and transferring the reproducing transducer at a high speed by the transferring mechanism towards a direction where the two program numbers coincide when the two program numbers differ, and controlling so that the reproducing transducer is transferred towards the direction where the two program numbers coincide according to the difference in the position of the reproducing element and a predetermined position within a program of the designated program number.

High-speed search system in a rotary recording medium reproducing

A case for a disc-shaped recording medium is used in a disc-shaped recording medium reproducing apparatus. The reproducing apparatus is provided with a turntable for rotating the disc-shaped recording medium, closing member locking mechanism provided at the innermost part of the disc-shaped recording medium reproducing apparatus, and N detection switches provided at the innermost part of the reproducing apparatus and disposed asymmetrically on the left and right sides with respect to a line which passes through the center of the turntable in the disc insertion direction. The case comprises a jacket for accommodating the disc-shaped recording medium, and a closing member for closing an opening of the jacket and being locked by the locking mechanism and confront the detection switches upon the disc-shaped recording medium being loaded into the reproducing apparatus. The closing member has cutout desired areas symmetrical on the left and right sides each of which consists of N desired sections where cutouts for discrimination are to be formed. The cutout desired sections for discrimination at symmetrical positions on the left and right side are brought into confront the same detection switch out of the N detection switch when the closing member is reversed up and down together with the jacket and the disc-shaped recording medium. One cutout desired section out of the pair of cutout desired sections symmetrical on the left and right sides has a cutout or a non-cutout for discriminating peculiality of a first side of the disc-shaped recording medium, and the other cutout desired section having a cutout or a non-cutout for discriminating peculiality of a second side of the disc-shaped recording medium.

Case for a disc-shaped recording medium

A rotary recording medium reproducing apparatus for reproducing a rotary recording medium in which an information signal consisting of a plurality of program contents and an address signal for discriminating a program number of the information signal are recorded, comprises a reproducing device for reproducing the information signal and the address signal from the rotary recording medium, a detection circuit for detecting the address signal from signals reproduced by the reproducing device, a setting circuit for setting a program number of a program which is to be reproduced after performing an automatic searching operation, a transferring device for transferring the reproducing means towards forward and backward directions on the rotary recording medium, and a comparator for comparing the program number set in the setting circuit with a program number of a program of the information signal being reproduced by the reproducing device, and producing and supplying a search signal to the transferring device so that the reproducing device is transferred towards a direction such that the two program numbers coincide. The comparator produces a signal to initiate reproduction of a predetermined mode from the beginning of the program whose program number is set in the setting circuit when the above two program numbers coincide with each other.

A state indicating device in a reproducing apparatus for reproducing a rotary recording medium recorded with signals which has been accommodated within a case, where the case has a space for accommodating the rotary recording medium, a jacket having an opening through which the rotary recording medium can enter or leave, and a lid plate inserted through the opening of the jacket to close the opening, and the reproducing apparatus has an inserting opening through which the case is inserted, a turntable for rotating the rotary recording medium, a lid plate locking mechanism and a rotary recording medium clamping mechanism respectively provided at the innermost part of the reproducing apparatus opposite to the inserting opening with respect to the turntable, a lowering and raising mechanism for lowering and raising the rotary recording medium between a position clamped by the clamping mechanism and a position on the turntable, reproducing device for reproducing recorded signals from the rotary recording medium, and a transferring mechanism for transferring the reproducing device over the rotary recording medium, the state indicating device comprises a first display for indicating a state possible for inserting the case into the reproducing apparatus, a second display for indicating a reproduction stand-by state in which the rotary recording medium is placed onto the turntable within the reproducing apparatus, a third display for indicating a reproducing state in which the rotary recording medium is being reproduced by the reproducing means, a fourth display for indicating a state possible for recovering the rotary recording medium outside of the reproducing apparatus, by inserting an empty jacket into the reproducing apparatus to accommodate the rotary recording medium within the jacket, and a detecting and driving circuit for detecting states of the reproducing apparatus and selectively driving displays of the first through fourth displays.

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Fujisawa, Japan

Yasuhiro Yusa