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EP0330731A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Front loading disk player

Assignee: Pioneer Corp
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Filing: 1988-09-27
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2008-09-27
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Abstract

Abstract A front loading disc player for automatically delivering a disc onto a turntable and playing back the disc includes a disc delivery mechanism for delivering the disc. The disc delivery mechanisms has two trays for carrying respective discs, juxtaposed in a direction substantially normal to the disc carrying surface of the turntable and movable into a projected position out of the player housing and a retracted position in the player housing, and a guide and driver means for guiding and moving the trays into the play­back position, the retracted position, and the projected position. While one of the trays is in the playback position, the other tray is positioned in either the stored position or the projected position. While the disc deliv­ered by one of the trays onto the turntable is being played back, therefore, the disc on the other tray can be replaced with a new disc, so that a number of discs can successively be played back.

Inventors

  • 👤 Yuji Ikedo
  • 👤 Katsumi Sawada
  • 👤 Hitoshi Ueno
  • 👤 Yasuyuki Tashiro
  • 👤 Keiichi Takagi

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-03 19:21
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11B; G11B17/00; G11B17/02; G11B17/04; G11B17/05; G11B17/053; G11B17/056; G11B17/0565; G11B25/00; G11B25/04; G11B25/043

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim 100 words
A front loading disc player having a disc deliv­ery mechanism for carrying and delivering a disc onto a turntable in a player housing, said disc delivery mechanism comprising trays for carrying respective discs, juxtaposed in a direction substantially perpendicular to a disc carrying surface of the turntable, and guide and driver means for guid­ing and moving said trays into a playback position, a retracted position, and a projected position, said guide and driver means including means for positioning one of said trays in either said retracted position or said projected position while the other tray is in said playback position.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 100 words
A front loading disc player having a disc deliv­ery mechanism for carrying and delivering a disc onto a turntable in a player housing, said disc delivery mechanism comprising trays for carrying respective discs, juxtaposed in a direction substantially perpendicular to a disc carrying surface of the turntable, and guide and driver means for guid­ing and moving said trays into a playback position, a retracted position, and a projected position, said guide and driver means including means for positioning one of said trays in either said retracted position or said projected position while the other tray is in said playback position.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 27 words
A front loading disc player according to claim 1, further including detector means for detecting a disc on each of said trays positioned in said retracted position.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 152 words
A front loading disc player having a disc deliv­ery mechanism for carrying a disc supplied through a disc supply slot and delivering the disc onto a turntable in a player housing, said disc delivery mechanism including at least one guide member having upper and lower guides extending in a plane substantially parallel to a cen­tral axis of rotation of said turntable and along a plane crossing said central axis of rotation, upper and lower trays engaging the upper and lower guides, respectively, and driver means for moving said upper and lower trays along said upper and lower guides, said upper and lower guides having respective vertical portions disposed near innermost portions thereof and extending downwardly in a plane cross­ing a disc carrying surface of said turntable, said driver means including means for selectively moving said upper and lower trays toward lower ends of said vertical portions of said upper and lower guides.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 152 words
A front loading disc player having a disc deliv­ery mechanism for carrying a disc supplied through a disc supply slot and delivering the disc onto a turntable in a player housing, said disc delivery mechanism including at least one guide member having upper and lower guides extending in a plane substantially parallel to a cen­tral axis of rotation of said turntable and along a plane crossing said central axis of rotation, upper and lower trays engaging the upper and lower guides, respectively, and driver means for moving said upper and lower trays along said upper and lower guides, said upper and lower guides having respective vertical portions disposed near innermost portions thereof and extending downwardly in a plane cross­ing a disc carrying surface of said turntable, said driver means including means for selectively moving said upper and lower trays toward lower ends of said vertical portions of said upper and lower guides.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 33 words
A front loading disc player according to claim 3, wherein said upper and lower guides include other verti­cal portions disposed outwardly of said innermost portions and extending parallel to said first-mentioned vertical portions.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 59 words
A front loading disc player according to claim 4, wherein said lower end of the first vertical portion of said lower guide is lower than the lower end of said other vertical portion thereof, and said lower end of the first vertical portion of said lower guide is higher than the lower end of said other vertical portion thereof.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 40 words
A front loading disc player according to claim 4 or 5, wherein said upper and lower guides have tray-­projecting flat portions, respectively, extending from the lower ends of said other vertical portions in a direction toward said disc supply slot.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 96 words
A front loading disc player according to claim 3, wherein said driver means comprises a single pinion, a drive source for rotating said pinion, a pair of racks mova­ble in respective directions and capable of differentially meshing with said pinion, said racks having respective tooth-free portions and engaging said trays, respectively, through cam means, and starter means for bringing one of said racks into a position for meshing with said pinion when the other rack has reached a prescribed position, said cam means including means for moving said trays in response to movement of said racks.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 153 words
A front loading disc player according to claim 4, 5, or 6, wherein said driver means comprises a single pinion, a drive source for rotating said pinion, a pair of racks movable in respective directions and capable of diff­erentially meshing with said pinion, said racks having respective tooth-free portions and engaging said trays, respectively, through cam means, starter means for bringing one of said racks into a position for meshing with said pin­ion when the other rack has reached a prescribed position, said cam means including means for moving said trays in response to movement of said racks, said cam means compris­ing inverted V-shaped cams slidably engaging said trays and each composed of a pair of slanted portions continuously defined in said racks and inclined to said first and other vertical portions, and guide means for guiding portions of said trays engaging said inverted V-shaped cams selectively into one of said slanted portions.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 51 words
A front loading disc player according to claim 8, wherein each of said guide means comprises a swingable member swingably disposed adjacent to a junction between said slanted portions and having a free end which can be projected into said junction, and swingable member driver means for swinging said swingable member.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 49 words
A front loading disc player according to claim 9, wherein said swingable member driver means has a cam mem­ber disposed along a direction in which said rack is movable, and held in slidable contact with said rack for swinging said swingable member in response to movement of said racks.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 50 words
A front loading disc player according to claim 8, wherein said guide means comprises slanted portions interposed between said first vertical portions and said other vertical portions and flat portions contiguous to said vertical portions, and inclined to said first vertical portions, said other vertical portions, and said flat portions.

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