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 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 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 Subsequent to the lifting of the carriage, the selected carriage is withdrawn from the magazine to the playback position.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 moving disks into a disk-player transports disks between an eject position and a playback or storage position inside the disk-player. The tray passes through an opening in the disk-player when it moves from the eject position to the playback or storage position. The disk transport mechanism carries the disk on a tray with a circular recess which locates the disk precisely in the tray. A disk improperly placed in the tray, so that it rests on a ridge around the circular recess, could cause damage when the tray passes through the opening. To prevent this, the transport mechanism abruptly accelerates the tray during movement into the disk-player by momentarily halting or reversing a drive motor of the disk transport mechanism. The acceleration of the tray causes any improperly mounted disk to fall into the circular recess before the disk can jam in the opening, thereby preventing injury to the disk or the disk-player.

Abstract: A disc player both translates and rotates a disc using a pair of parallel drive belts contacting opposed edges of a disc. Each drive belt spans a drive pulley and a passive driven pulley. The pulleys are supported on one of two sliding plates. The sliding plates are connected by a pair of pantograph-type rotatable mounting arms such that movement of one drive belt toward the disc forces the other drive belt to move an equal amount toward the disc. Each drive pulley is driven by a motor causing the drive belt to revolve. A spanning portion of each drive belt is urged against the edge of the disc, thereby establishing friction engagement between the belts and the disc such that the disc rotates when the belts rotate. A disc advance control system moves the disc linearly through an optical beam by differing the rotational frequency of one belt relative to the other. Disc advance may be accomplished with, or without, disc rotation.

Abstract: A magazine in a disk player stores disks therein. A transport mechanism transports a selected one of the disks between the magazine and a disk reader. The disk reader is positioned to read a selected disk while a center aperture of the selected disk overlaps disks remaining in the magazine. A first embodiment has three edge rollers which engage an edge of the selected disk to rotatably support the selected disk at the read position. One of the edge rollers which is external to the magazine is driven by a driver mechanism to rotate the selected disk for reading. A second embodiment includes carriages for supporting the disks in the magazine and at the read position. The carriages each have a rotatable shaft for engaging the center apertures of the disks. When a selected disk is moved to the read position, a pair of idler rollers and a driving roller engage top and bottom surfaces of the selected disk. The idler roller is driven by a driver mechanism to rotate the selected disk.

Abstract: A disk player has a magazine for storing disks and a disk transport mechanism transporting a selected disk between four positions including an ejection position, a load position, a playback position, and an initial store position which lie in a single plane. The selected disk is carried upon a tray from the ejection position to the load position where the selected disk is partially removed from the tray to the playback position above a disk reader. The partial removal of the disk from the tray to the load position provides a required clearance for the disk reader permitting a tray length to be minimized. The magazine accepts a plurality of disks. An alignment mechanism provides relative movement between the magazine and a plane of transport of the disk transport mechanism permitting a selected disk to be inserted or removed from the magazine at the initial store position. The disk reader is positioned to read the selected disk overlapping disks stored in the magazine resulting in a smaller disk player size.

Abstract: A disk player has a magazine for holding disks and mechanisms for transporting disks between four positions, an eject position, a load position, a playback position, and a store position. A disk reader is positioned to read a selected disk in the playback position while the selected disk overlaps disks in the magazine. The disks are held on carriages in the magazine and are transported on the carriages to the disk reader. Each carriage has a V-shaped aperture which provides for access by the disk reader to a recording surface of the selected disk. Clearance for playing the selected disk is also provided by the V-shaped apertures of adjacent carriages in the magazine. The selected disk is raised by the disk reader into an area within the V-shaped aperture of the carriage in the magazine which is above the disk being played. A selected carriage is carried by a tray between the eject position and the load position.

Abstract: A disk player with disk changer functions and having a stacker for storing plural disks for playback allows a new disk to be added or disks to be changed without removing the stacker. The disk player is also convenient for playback of single disks not to be stored in the stacker. A single tray carrying one of disk-carriages is transportable between a loaded position inside the player and an ejected position outside the player, by means of a shuttle engageable with the tray. During further movement of the shuttle in the disk-loading direction, it is disengaged from the tray in the loaded position. Instead, the shuttle comes into engagement with the carriage formerly carried by the tray, to separate the carriage from the tray remaining in the loaded position and advance the same toward the stacker. The carriage is at last received fully in the stacker with the help of a spring, which releases engagement between the shuttle and the in-stacker carriage.

Abstract: A disk playback device with disk changer functions and having a stacker for storing two or more disks for playback allows a new disk to be added or disks to be changed without removing the stacker. The disk playback device is also convenient for playback of single disks not to be stored in the stacker. Transport of the disks is accomplished by displacement of holders in which the disks are individually received. When a disk is in the read position, it is clamped in place and the holder is lowered to a nonobstructing position to allow the disk to be read. The number of holders exceeds the number of stored disks, whereby a vacant holder is available for conveniently reading a disk not stored in the magazine.

Abstract: DAT system includes a transportable unit provided with a recording/reproducing magnetic head operatable with respect to a DAT cassette tape loaded thereto. The unit is fittable to a sleeve secured to an opening of a dashboard of an automobile, in which case the system is operatable only to reproduce the digital signal beforehand recorded on the DAT cassette tape. There is also provided a cabinet particularly adapted to be installed in home, having a mechanism cooperated with the transportable unit to perform recording operation as well as reproducing operation, when the unit is fitted to the cabinet.

Abstract: A radiator comprising a radiating block including a hollow air path through which cooling air flows, outer cooling faces on which a plurality of heated bodies to be cooled are mounted, and a plurality of cooling fins disposed within the hollow air path so as to engage inner faces of the radiating block wherein the cross-sectional cooling areas vary along the air flow path.

Abstract: A tape edge detecting device in which a head unit comprising a writing head and two reading heads, arranged in the widthwise direction of a magnetic tape are provided so that they are movable in the widthwise direction of the magnetic tape in order to detect signals recorded on the magnetic tape, and which also includes a comparison means for comparing the outputs of the reading heads. The edge of the magnetic tape is detected using the output of the comparison means.

Abstract: A magnetic tape is withdrawn from a tape cassette, wound partly around a rotatable drum with transducer heads through a predetermined wrap angle, and fed along for recording signals on and reproducing signals from the tape with the transducer heads. A pair of skew blocks is fixedly disposed laterally of and near the rotatable drum. When a pair of vertical guide rollers is moved from within a recess defined in the tape cassette to a position near the skew blocks, the vertical guide rollers withdraw the magnetic tape from the tape cassette and hold the magnetic tape against the rotatable drum and the skew blocks. The magnetic tape extending between the skew blocks is skewed by the skew blocks to allow the transducer heads to scan the magnetic tape at a prescribed skew angle.

Abstract: A magnetic tape is withdrawn from a tape cassette, wound partly around a rotatable drum with transducer heads through a predetermined wrap angle, and fed along for recording signals on and reproducing signals from the tape with the transducer heads. A pair of skew blocks is fixedly disposed laterally of and near the rotatable drum. A pair of vertical guide rollers is movable from a first position in which they are positioned within an opening defined in the tape cassette and behind the tape in the opening to a second position near the skew blocks. When the vertical guide rollers are moved from the first position to the second position, the vertical guide rollers withdraw the magnetic tape from the tape cassette and hold the magnetic tape against the rotatable drum and the skew blocks. The magnetic tape extending between the skew blocks is skewed by the skew blocks to allow the transducer heads to scan the magnetic tape at a prescribed skew angle.

Abstract: A stationary tape guide, for a magnetic tape recorder utilizing helical scanning, having a laterally extending guide path, the generous contour of which is forwardly convexed on a projection on a horizontal reference plane, along which at least two straight guide projections inclined to said reference plane and a single straight guide projection extending orthogonal to said reference plane are serially and integrally provided. Such a guide is secured in close proximity to a cylinder at its opposite sides to thereby guide the tape contacting with the tape surface on which a magnetic material is coated.

Abstract: A magnetic head has a core which has first and second core parts on opposite sides of a vertically extending gap, the core parts each consisting of upper and lower core pieces. The upper core piece of the first core part and the lower core piece of the second core part each have a thickness in a direction extending parallel to the gap which is greater than the thickness of the associated core piece, and each has a portion encircled by a coil. The magnetic head is supported for movement in directions which effect adjustment of the azimuth position thereof, and an arrangement responsive to signals from the two coils automatically effects positional adjustment of the magnetic head so as to effect correct azimuth positioning thereof relative to a recorded audio signal on a single track of a recording tape which is being reproduced by the core of the magnetic head.

Abstract: This invention relates to a control system for a tape recorder wherein a sound signal is recorded on a magnetic tape under one recording operating condition selected among a plurality of recording operating conditions and said sound signal recorded is reproduced from said magnetic tape under a playback operating condition corresponding to said selected recording operating condition, said control system comprising a generator to generate a control signal depending on said recording operating condition selected, a recorder to record said control signal on said magnetic tape prior to recording said sound signal, a reproducer to reproduce said control signal from said magnetic tape prior to reproducing said sound signal recorded, a selector to select one playback operating condition among a plurality of playback operating conditions, and a reproduced signal of said control signal controlling said selector so as to select a playback operating condition whereby said sound signal recorded is reproduced under said pl

Abstract: This invention relates to a magnetic head device. An azimuth position of a gap of a magnetic head is adjusted relative to the position of a signal on a magnetic tape in a playback mode wherein the magnetic head functions as a reproducing head, while the azimuth position of the magnetic head is returned to a predetermined reference position in response to a selection of a record mode wherein the magnetic head functions as a recording head.

Abstract: This invention relates to a mode changing system for a cassette tape recorder in which operating members such as a head base plate and a pinch roller are selectively moved to one of various modes such as stopping, fast forwarding, rewinding, pausing, cueing and playing. This system comprises control means to control the operating members so as to move them to a position corresponding to a selected one of the modes. The control means is actuated by a control electric motor.