Abstract: A disk player supports a disk between two opposing longitudinal disk guides, one with a moving belt running along it. The belt frictionally engages an edge of the disk to roll the disk along the opposite guide. A stocker includes supports spaced apart at intervals that allow the disk to be inserted between adjacent supports. The supports are lined with a non-woven cloth to prevent abrasion and to cushion the disk when it is in the stocker. The supports are narrower than the disk so that the disk edge protrudes from the stocker at the sides permitting the guides to engage the disk edge when it is in the stocker. To assemble the lining material to the stocker, a sheet of non-woven cloth is folded, accordion-style, and a comb of projecting elements lined up with and pushed into recesses formed in the sheet. The projecting elements with the sheeting folded about them are then lined up with the spaces between the supports and inserted, forcing the lining material into the spaces.

Abstract: A disc player moves a selected disc between a playback position and a stocker. Carriages, for holding discs, are stacked concentrically and pivotally supported tightly together within the stocker. The carriages are extracted from the stocker by lifting a front end of an adjacent carriage above the selected carriage. A shuttle then moves the selected carriage from the stocker to the playback position. When the disc player is turned on, the device goes through an initialization sequence to determine whether the carriage, aligned with the playback position, is in the store position within the stocker. If not, the shuttle moves the carriage to the store position. If the carriage and shuttle do not return to the store position within a predetermined period of time, then the disc player attempts to re-engage the shuttle with the carriage by shifting the stocker slightly to clear the shuttle path, while attempting to drive the shuttle to its home position.

Abstract: A disk transport mechanism for a disk player employs a fixed disk guide to support one edge of a disk and a drive-side disk guide, with a revolving belt, to support and drive an opposite edge of the disk. The disk is held between the fixed and drive-side disk guides to press the revolving belt against the disk edge causing the disk to roll along the fixed disk guide. The disk is positioned by registering its position using an engaging flap near an insertion aperture. Eject, playback, and storage positions are established by cumulating pulses from an encoder, connected to the belt drive, as the belt moves from a registration position to the target position. The fixed and drive-side disk guides are movably supported on a chassis and urged together by a spring. The guides have sufficient range of movement to accommodate 80 and 120 mm disks. The revolving belt is supported by a wall that prevents the belt from bowing under the force of the disk edge.

Abstract: A disk playback device has at least one endless drive belt stretched along a direction of disk transport between a store position, a playback position and an eject position. The endless drive belt is translated in a direction perpendicular to the direction of disk transport along a plane parallel to said disk, allowing the drive belt to move away from said disk rim without requiring a large space parallel to the disk.

Abstract: A disk playback device has a magazine for storing a plurality of carriages, each capable of carrying a disk. The magazine moves vertically relative to a chassis to align a playback position with a selected one of the carriages. A selected carriage is moved out the magazine and into the playback position for playing. Carriages selected for playback are in contact with adjacent carriages which tend to shift out of the magazine along with selected carriage. To prevent this unwanted shifting and retain a very compact configuration, the present invention provides a pair of parallel restrainers. The restrainers are mounted vertically on the chassis and fit into notches on the carriages stored in the magazine. A gap between the restrainers is positioned so that when the selected carriage is aligned with the playback position, the selected carriage is free to move into the playback position.

Abstract: A disk player has a magazine for storing disks and a disk transport mechanism transporting a selected disk between four positions including an eject position, a load position, a playback position, and a store position which lie in a single plane. The selected disk is carried on a carriage in a tray from the eject position to the load position where the selected disk and carriage are partially removed from the tray to the playback position above a disk reader. The partial removal of the carriage from the tray to the load position provides a required clearance aperture for the disk reader permitting a tray length to be minimized. A first transport mechanism transports the tray and carriage between said eject and load position. A second transport mechanism transports the carriage between the load, playback, and store positions. The first transport mechanism enables the second transport mechanism when transporting the carriage to the load position.

Abstract: A disk playback device precisely positions disks of various sizes at playback, store, and eject positions. A disk is inserted between two longitudinal disk guides, movable in a direction perpendicular to a direction of transport of the disk. An indicator indicates the amount of separation of the two disk guides caused by insertion, thereby indicating the size of the disk. A belt revolves along one of the disk guides frictionally engaging an edge of the disk and rolling the disk along the opposite disk guide. A flap at an insertion aperture is dropped onto the surface of the disk as it is drawn into the disk player until the flap drops off the trailing edge of the disk indicating the disk is at a registration position. A controller which counts pulses from an encoder connected to the drive mechanism to determine the accruing distance of the disk from the registration position. The controller stops the belt after a specified number of pulses to position the disk center at the playback position.

Abstract: A disc player has a magazine for storing discs and a disc transport mechanism transporting a selected disc between a playback position outside the magazine and a store position located within the magazine. The carriages are stacked upon each other and pivotally supported within the magazine. The carriages are extracted from the stack by lifting a front end of a carriage above a selected carriage. Subsequent to the lifting of the carriage, the selected carriage is withdrawn from the magazine to the playback position. When a selected carriage is moved to the playback position, the discs on carriages above and below the selected carriage are prevented from shifting with the removal of the selected carriage by coaxial opposing shafts which extend through spindle holes in the discs on the carriages above and below the selected disc. A closeable gap between the two shafts permits the selected disc to be shifted.

Abstract: A disk transport mechanism for a disk player employs a fixed disk guide to support one edge of a disk and a drive-side disk guide, with a revolving belt, to support and drive an opposite edge of the disk. The revolving belt is supported at two points by pulleys. The disk is held between the fixed and drive-side disk guides to press the revolving belt against the disk edge causing the disk to roll along the fixed disk guide. The fixed and drive-side disk guides are movably supported on a chassis and urged together by a spring. When a disk is transported to a playback position, the disk guides are separated to disengage the disk by a rack and pinion mechanism. The rack and pinion mechanism employs a pinion gear coaxially connected to one of the pulleys supporting the revolving belt. A drive gear, also coaxially connected with the pinion gear and pulley, is driven by a motor on the chassis through an extensible transmission to power the revolving belt.

Abstract: A disk changer employs two disk guides that support a disk by its edge. A first guide has a revolving belt that frictionally engages the disk edge to roll it on a second guide. The edge fits into a channel of the second guide. The channel's access is defined by two opposing guiding surfaces. The channel's blind end has a resilient surface. Disks are inserted between the guides through an aperture guarded by a flap that opens outwardly and closes to prevent improper insertion of disks. The flap, urged by a spring, closes on the disk, riding along the back surface. A controller detects when the flap falls off the trailing portion to register position for position encoding. The shape of the resilient surface of the second disk guide corresponds to the position of the disk along a line of transport. Three transport zones are defined.

Abstract: A compact disk (CD) changer includes a magazine for storing carriages each capable of carrying a CD. The carriages with the corresponding CDs are selectively removed from the magazine when a selection key is pressed. A drive transports carriages and their associated CDs between an eject position where the CD is accessible for changing and a storage position in the magazine. A carriage and CD in the tray when it is in the eject position can be replaced by a selected carriage and CD by pressing a single selection key. The carriage and CD in the tray are transported to the magazine and the selected carriage and CD removed from the magazine. The tray is then automatically transported back to the eject position.

Abstract: Briefly, a compact disk player/changer for compact disks has an insertion aperture through which disks are inserted. Inserted disks are supported, at opposite contact points on their edges, between laterally movable left and right-side disk guides. The disk's left side contacts a belt revolved on the left-side disk guide. The disk's right side contacts a fixed wall on the right-side disk guide. The belt slides along a rigid wall that prevents bowing from pressure exerted by the disk's edge. The left and right-side disk guides move laterally to accommodate the disk as it is inserted. The spacing between the disk guides, once the disk is fully supported between the disk guides, is detected by a controller to determine when a disk has been inserted. Eject/Load keys are provided, one for each of several storage positions within the changer. When an eject/load key is pressed, a corresponding disk is recovered from a storage position and brought to an eject position at the insertion aperture.

Abstract: A disk player has a magazine for storing disks and a disk transport mechanism transporting a selected disk between a playback position outside the magazine and a store position located entirely within the magazine. The carriages are stacked upon each other and pivotally supported within the magazine. The carriages are extracted from the stack by lifting a front end of a carriage above a selected carriage. A transport mechanism moves carriages between the magazine, the playback position and an eject position. A disk sensor senses the presence of a disk in the transport mechanism before the carriage is reinstalled in the magazine and a memory updated to indicate that the selected carriage is occupied by a disk. If an extra disk is inadvertently placed on the selected carriage, after the transport mechanism reinstalls the selected carriage, the sensor indicates that a disk remains on the transport mechanism.

Abstract: A disk playback device has a pair of endless drive belts. A disk is held between the two drive belts. The belts rotate in the same direction to move the disk to different positions within the disk playback device. The belts also rotate in opposite directions to rotate the disk when the disk is in the playback position, thereby eliminating the need for separate disk rotating means and disk transport means.

Abstract: A CD changer system has a CD changer which operates in conjunction with a driver program and a personal computer. The CD changer has a magazine for storing disks at a plurality of disk storage locations and a transport mechanism for individual loading disks in the magazine. The driver program displays storage icons corresponding to the disk storage locations and allows a user to operate the CD changer via input from a mouse. The user check marks, or tags, selected storage icons to control whether the CD changer reads directory data from disks to be stored in corresponding storage locations. Once a storage icon is tagged, a disk associated with the storage icon cannot be ejected from the CD changer until the tagged storage icon is untagged. The driver program allows the user to select a number of disks in the storage locations for a sequential ejecting and loading operation.

Abstract: A disk player has a magazine for storing disks and a disk transport mechanism transporting a selected disk between four positions including an eject position, a load position, a playback position, and a store position which lie in a single plane. The selected disk is carried on a carriage in a tray from the eject position to the load position where the selected disk and carriage are partially removed from the tray to the playback position above a disk reader. The partial removal of the carriage from the tray to the load position provides a required clearance aperture for the disk reader permitting a tray length to be minimized. A first transport mechanism transports the tray and carriage between said eject and load position. A second transport mechanism transports the carriage between the load, playback, and store positions. The first transport mechanism enables the second transport mechanism when transporting the carriage to the load position.

Abstract: A disk player has a magazine for storing disks and a disk transport mechanism transporting a selected disk between a playback position outside the magazine and a store position located entirely within the magazine. The carriages are stacked upon each other and pivotally supported within the magazine. The carriages are extracted from the stack by lifting a front end of a carriage above a selected carriage. A transport mechanism moves carriages between the magazine, the playback position and an eject position. A disk sensor senses the presence of a disk in the transport mechanism before the carriage is reinstalled in the magazine and a memory updated to indicate that the selected carriage is occupied by a disk. If an extra disk is inadvertently placed on the selected carriage, after the transport mechanism reinstalls the selected carriage, the sensor indicates that a disk remains on the transport mechanism.