The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 24, 2001
Filed:
Mar. 10, 1999
Alps Electric Co., Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
Conventional disc units each involve the problem that a new disc must be inserted into the disc unit after a disc already present in the disc unit is ejected and that therefore it takes time for disc replacement. In the disc unit of the present invention, to solve the above-mentioned problem, a new second disc which has been inserted into the disc unit through an insertion opening is carried from an insertion area to a disc driving section by a conveying means. On the other hand, a first disc already present in the disc unit prior to insertion of the second disc is ejected from an ejection area to the exterior of the disc unit by both first and second ejection members. The time required for disc replacement can be shortened by performing the disc inserting operation by the conveying means and the disc ejecting operation by the first and second ejection members both in a simultaneous manner.