Abstract: A system for motoring a gas turbine engine of an aircraft is provided. The system includes an air turbine starter operable to drive rotation of a starting spool of the gas turbine engine and a starter air valve operable to deliver compressed air to the air turbine starter in response to the starter air valve being open. The system also includes a metered orifice coupled in a bypass configuration around the starter air valve to deliver a reduced amount of the compressed air to the air turbine starter while the starter air valve is closed. The reduced amount of the compressed air delivered to the air turbine starter limits a motoring speed of the gas turbine engine below a resonance speed of the starting spool of the gas turbine engine.

Abstract: A tonearm unit includes: an arm member having a tip to which a cartridge is attached; and a raising and lowering mechanism which raises and lowers the arm member with respect to a phonograph record along an axis. The raising and lowering mechanism includes: a cam base supporting the arm member; a ring cam provided to be rotatable about the axis with respect to the cam base; a first guide portion on the cam base, extending at an angle along a rotation direction of the ring cam; and a second guide portion on the ring cam, extending at an angle along the rotation direction so as to face the first guide portion. When the ring cam rotates with respect to the cam base, the cam base is raised and lowered with respect to the ring cam as a result of the second guide portion sliding along the first guide portion.

Abstract: A holding mechanism is operable to hold a top medium from a plurality of plate-shaped media accommodated in a stacker in a stacked manner. A transport arm supports the holding mechanism. The transport arm is provided with a separation mechanism operable to separate a second medium positioned just below the top medium which is held by the holding mechanism.

Abstract: The invention relates to a computer system capable of automatically duplicating data into discs with automatically blank-disc-supplying. The invention can be implemented by software, hardware, or any of the combinations. Since the invention does not utilize a mechanical arm to move the discs, the structure of the invention saves space compared with a traditional disc duplicating machine; moreover, the cost is less than that of the prior art.

Abstract: A disc drive designed to hold a cartridge containing an optical data storage disk is compatible with a memory card slot in a host digital electronics device such as a PDA, for example a slot designed for a Type I CompactFlash card. The disc drive contains a body assembly which is inserted into the memory card slot and which has a compatible connector at one end. The disc drive also includes a drive mechanism which contains the spindle motor and optics systems and which is located outside the memory card slot when the drive is in operation. The drive mechanism is lifted from the body assembly to form an opening to a tray into which a cartridge is loaded. The drive mechanism is then pressed against the body assembly to close the cartridge tray and to cause the spindle motor assembly to engage the optical disc within the cartridge. To minimize the extent to which the disc drive protrudes from the host device, part of the cartridge extends into the memory card slot when the disc drive is connected to the host.

Abstract: An automatic changer for playing digital discs containing music or other digitally encoded information has a loading station, a play station and a discard station. A robot arm individually engages the top disc of a stack of discs stacked at the loading station through the center hole in the disc and lifts and transports the disc to the play station where it lowers the disc over a reading head for play. After play, the robot arm raises the disc from the play station and transports the disc to the discard station and releases it there. In an alternative embodiment, a carousel containing a plurality of discs rotates sequentially to position the discs over the reading head. When changing discs the carousel is lifted to raise a played disc from the reading head, rotated to position the next disc to be played over the reading head and lowered to lower the disc to be played into playing position.

Abstract: A record changer for a record playing apparatus of the type including a center spindle on which records are adapted to be held and then dropped onto a turntable to be played, includes a tone arm for reproducing signals which are recorded on a record, dropped onto the turntable, a detecting device for detecting the position of the tone arm, an operating mechanism for controlling the operation of the record changer when the detecting device detects that the tone arm is in an inoperative position, and a device for stopping the operation of the record changer during operation of the operating means when the detecting device detects that the tone arm is in an operative position.