Abstract: A housing with one or more compartments for storage of discs, and a disc transfer mechanism mounted in each compartment including a mobile disc support mounted for rolling movement between inside and outside the compartment to transfer a disc in a transfer plane extending through the compartment, between a position wherein the disc is located entirely within the compartment and a position wherein a portion of the disc or the entire disc is located outside the compartment in front of a front wall, the mobile disc support including a disc support member which has elements locating or holding the disc relative to the disc support member during disc transfer and a segment presenting a curved outer edge which is maintained in rolling contact with an inner edge of a lateral member carried on a side wall of the compartment as the mobile disc support rolls without sliding to transfer a disc between its positions. The disc transfer mechanism can be combined with a disc player or recorder apparatus.

Abstract: A system includes optical discs of a first type and optical discs of a second type having a transparent substrate with a thickness greater than that of the transparent substrate of the optical discs of the first type. The system further comprises a scanning device which is capable of scanning optical discs of both types and which comprises an actuator and an objective for focusing a radiation beam passing through the substrate of an optical disc so as to form a scanning spot (S) on an information surface. The actuator comprises a first actuator section and a second actuator section including the objective, which second actuator section is movable relative to the first actuator section. The system further comprises compensation means for compensating for the difference in thickness (t.sub.2 -t.sub.

Abstract: A tray conveying apparatus having a pair of guide racks and a pair of auxiliary racks formed on the bottom surface of a tray. A pair of support gear assemblies are engaged with the guide and auxiliary racks, and each support gear assembly has two gears having different pitches, which are engaged with the auxiliary racks when the tray is opened or closed. When the tray moves in the forward or backward direction, the support gears are engaged with the auxiliary racks, and thereby lead and guide the tray so that the tray is easily conveyed.

Abstract: An optical disc cartridge handling apparatus, which has a removable cartridge magazine for loading and unloading groups of cartridges into the apparatus, for storing, handling, reading and writing of the optical discs stored within the cartridges. A flipper mechanism is provided to receive one of the cartridges from either of the magazine or an optical disc drive within the apparatus. Means are included for rotating the flipper mechanism about a common center line for inverting the cartridge within the flipper mechanism. A picker mechanism is included for moving the cartridge into and out of the flipper mechanism from either the magazine or the optical disc drive. A traverse mechanism is provided for supporting and moving the flipper mechanism along an axis of motion to locate the flipper mechanism adjacent either a particular slot of the magazine or the cartridge slot of the optical disc drive.

Abstract: A disk unit includes a tray and a slide-restricting member. The tray conveys a disk between a disk-driving position positioned inside a chassis and a disk-exchanging position positioned outside the chassis. The slide-restricting member is provided between the tray and the chassis in a slidable manner and is engageable with a coupling part formed in at least one of the tray and the chassis to restrict the tray from moving beyond the disk-exchanging position when the tray is extracted and arrives at the disk-exchanging position. Further, the slide-restricting member is movable between a first position positioned in a backward direction from a rear-end part of the tray and a second position positioned in a forward direction from the rear-end part of the tray.

Abstract: An actuator for a digital versatile disc player which includes a lens holder to which object lenses are mounted, a tracking coil which is attached to an outer surface of the lens holder for tracking the lens holder, a focusing coil which is attached to the outer surface of the lens holder for focusing the lens holder, a yoke plate which magnetically interacts with the tracking and focusing coils, and supporting portions which movably support the lens holder, and to which the yoke plates are mounted. The supporting portions include a plurality of magnets and a pair of suspension plates, and the lens holder is floated with respect to the yoke plate by repelling forces between the magnets. The tracking and focusing functions are smoothly accomplished and external impacts are effectively absorbed by the floating of the suspension plates which support the lens holder.

Abstract: A disc cartridge for freely rotatably accommodating a disc-shaped recording medium has a slide shutter assembly for selectively opening and closing the access window through which a recording and/or reproducing head is accessible to the optical disc accommodated within the cartridge. The slide shutter assembly is of a generally U-shaped configuration including top and bottom shutter plates and a bridge plate connecting the top and bottom shutter plates. While the slide shutter assembly is slidably mounted on a front open portion of the cartridge casing, the bridge plate has an inner surface formed integrally with a plurality of catch pieces. At least one guide plate extends along the front open portion of the cartridge casing between side walls and has a slot defined therein so as to extend lengthwise of the guide plate.

Abstract: A reduced size disk changer of the type used with a disk magazine storing multiple disks. The disk changer is structured such that a disk can rotate while partially occupying a region of the disk magazine upon recording/reproducing, to thereby reduce the disk changer's size by an amount equivalent to the occupied region.

Abstract: A disc cartridge of high reliability for protecting an optical disc from a shock generated such as during transport. On the facing inner surfaces of an upper cartridge half 5 and a lower cartridge half 6 is formed an arcuate disc housing wall section 8 in association with the outer periphery of an optical disc 2 for constituting a disc housing section 9. The disc housing wall section 8 is interrupted at four positions 28 on each of which a boss 28 is set upright. A stationary guide having a substantially columnar guide portion and a flange protruded outwardly from upper and lower sides of the guide portion is fitted on the boss to complete a disc guide member. Four such disc guide members 20a, 20b, 20c and 20d are provided for supporting the disc cartridge 1.

Abstract: A player apparatus for compact discs (CD discs) and similar signal carriers, has a playing station designed to hold and rotate CD discs and a pick-up device for detecting signals from the discs and is of the type which has a magazine for two or more discs and a device for selectively bringing any of these discs into and out of operative engagement with the playing station. The player is also provided with a number of stationary disc holder stations arranged in a linear formation on a chassis so as to be operable to hold a linear row of discs side by side in a common plane, while at least the pick-up device of the playing station is provided on a sledge that can be displaced along the chassis so as to be selectively operatively engageable with the individual discs in the row of discs. The entire row of discs is visually exposed except for any station covered by the playing station.

Abstract: A network system temporarily stores all data base access commands transmitted from a test server in a command storage section, is in the stand-by state until a data base access command execution time written in one of the data base access commands comes, and reads out the data base access command from the command storage section, when the data base access command execution time has come, for accessing data base servers 1a to 1n, and also the network system temporarily stores all performance evaluation data for the data base servers 1a to 1n in a performance evaluation data storage section, reads out performance evaluation data from the performance evaluation data storage section when it is determined that execution of all data base access commands has been finished, and transmits the read-out data to the test server.

Abstract: An optical recording and reproducing apparatus includes a deck, a spindle motor supported by the deck, a turntable combined with the shaft of the spindle motor, and a corrector for moving the spindle motor horizontally with respect to the surface of the deck in order to adjust the position of the turntable. Accordingly, the tracking error is easily corrected, thereby improving the performance of the apparatus.

Abstract: A tray for loading and ejecting a disk into and out of a disk drive includes a step wall structure that defines a positioning area for receiving the disk and a clamping arrangement used to hold the disk during loading and unloading when the disk drive is in a vertical position. The clamping arrangement is made up of a clamping device biased by an elastic member so as to apply a radial force to the disk and urge the disk against the step wall. The clamping device includes a flexible mortise slot that engages a pillar extending from the tray to latch the clamping device and thereby disable the clamping device when the disk drive is horizontally positioned.