Abstract: An optical disc drive (ODD) includes one or more sensors which detect a user placing a disc in the loading path. In response, a process is triggered for sensing the thickness of a protective layer of the disc even while the disc is moving toward a turntable. An initial determination of the type of the disc (e.g. CD, DVD or Blu-ray®) can be determined based on the thickness and reported to a host computing device. The host, in turn, determines an application to load based on the disc type. The loading of the application can begin sooner than if the ODD waited until the disc was seated on the turntable to detect the disc type. A final determination of the disc type can be made while the disc is seated as well. The host is informed if there is a disagreement between the initial determination and the final determination.

Abstract: A tray locking device adapted to an optical disc drive for locking and releasing a tray is provided. The optical disc drive has an optical head connected to a lead screw and driven to move by the lead screw. The tray locking device includes a pushing member driven to move by the lead screw, a latching hook for locking and releasing a protruding pin, and a transmission assembly configured between the pushing member and the latching hook. The transmission assembly includes a first rod and a second rod movably configured in the tray. The first rod has a first driving portion, and the second rod has a second driving portion. When the transmission assembly is located at an initial position, the first driving portion is located on a moving path of the pushing member, while the second driving portion is not located on the moving path of the pushing member.

Abstract: A printed circuit board (PCB) is attached on a surface of a tray that is opposed to a chassis main or a bottom plate of a housing. On the tray and in a vicinity of a position where the PCB is disposed, a first protruding portion is formed to protrude toward the chassis main, on which a second protruding portion is formed at a position to be opposed to the first protruding portion. Between the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion is a clearance while the tray is accommodated in the housing. When the tray deforms, the second protruding portion supports the first protruding portion to prevent further deformation of the tray.

Abstract: An optical disc device comprising a tray (1) for carrying an optical disc, which tray (1) can move between a position inside the device and a position partly outside the device. The device also comprises a structure (13) for holding and driving the optical disc, which structure (13) is provided with a turntable (6) and an optical pickup unit (8) and guiding means for moving the optical pickup unit (8). The structure (13) can tilt around a horizontal tilt axis (14) behind the rotating optical disc. The tray (1) is provided with a catch member (9) and the optical pickup unit (8) is provided with a cooperating catch surface (20), whereby the catch member (9) may hit the catch surface (20) when the tray (1) moves, thereby displacing the optical pickup unit (8) into a save position.

Abstract: An optical disk device (1) includes a feed gear (64) that engages a rack portion (57a) integrally formed with an optical pickup (57), a tray gear (13) used for vertically moving a turntable (52) and moving a disk tray (12), and a motor (62) as a common driving source. The number of teeth of the feed gear (64) is the same as the number of teeth of the tray gear (13), and the rotation is transmitted from the feed gear (64) to the tray gear (13) so that the ratio of the number of rotations of the feed gear (64) to the number of rotations of the tray gear (13) is 1:1. With such an arrangement, it becomes possible to perform a pickup feeding operation, a turntable vertically-moving operation, and a disk carrying operation by one driving source, and it becomes possible to enhance ease of assembly.

Abstract: There are provided a disc tray, a traverse unit, and a main chassis unit. The main chassis unit has a main chassis, which has, as observed when the traverse unit is in a stand-by position, a latch portion that engages with a projection portion of a sub rack and a stopper member that restricts the movement of the cam slider. The stopper member has a rotary shaft in the shape of a circular column, a lever portion which the projection portion makes contact, and a lock portion that makes contact with the cam slider and thereby restricts the sliding movement of the cam slider.

Abstract: A tray mechanism and a disk drive employing the tray mechanism. The tray mechanism includes a driving member rotatably coupled to a spindle motor; a pinion meshed with a rack provided at a surface of a tray to load the tray onto and unload the tray from a main frame; a pivotable plate pivotally provided at a shaft of the driving member, and having a connector which couples the driving member and the rack; and a limiting member provided on the main frame for limiting a pivotal range of the pivotable plate.

Abstract: A disk ejecting unit to manually ejecting a disk and a disk device including the disk ejecting unit are provided. A disk ejecting unit for use in a disk device for recording and/or reproducing data with respect to a disk, includes a driving motor, a slider that moves toward a first position or a second position in response to a driving force of the driving motor, an eject lever to press the disk inserted into the disk device so as to eject the disk where the slider is moved toward the second position, and a gear assembly to transmit the driving force of the driving motor to the slider.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to perform a pickup feed operation and a turntable raising/lowering operation by the use of a rotatable drive source mechanism (54) for rotatably driving an optical disk including, for example, a CD while avoiding interference between an optical pickup (57) and the same drive source (54) in an optical disk device (1) for recording and reproducing a signal on the optical disk. To accomplish the above-mentioned object, a dual-purpose drive source mechanism (62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68) generates a driving force for a pickup drive mechanism (57a) and a turntable raising/lowering mechanism (51c, 15).

Abstract: An optical disk player with improved opening and closing of a door, transport of a tray, and an improved pivoting structure of a chassis to pivot a turntable. The optical disk player includes: a body; a tray to move in and out of the body so as to transport an optical disk; a chassis installed to pivot inside the body; an optical pickup, which is installed to be able to move back and forth in the chassis, to record/reproduce information onto/from the optical disk that is rotatably placed on the turntable; a cover installed on a front of the body, the cover including: a door holder with an aperture through which the tray moves; a door to be able to slide along the door holder so as to open and close the aperture; and a cam driving device to activate the tray, to pivot the chassis, and to open and close the door by sliding.

Abstract: A disc apparatus including: a disc tray on which a disc is mounted; an optical pickup unit which irradiates a light beam on the disc; a traverse assembly unit on which the optical pickup unit is mounted; a driving motor which is a power source for operating the disc tray, the optical pickup unit, and the traverse assembly unit; an inner circumference arrival sensor which detects whether the optical pickup unit arrives at the inner circumference of the disc; and an encoder sensor which detects the number of rotations of the driving motor when the driving motor rotates clockwise or counterclockwise, wherein based on the number of rotations of the driving motor in the clockwise direction, the optical pickup unit is moved to the inner circumference of the disc, and then the traverse assembly unit descends, so that the disc tray is opened.

Abstract: A recording and/or reproducing apparatus has a disk transfer mechanism, a mechanical chassis lifting/lowering mechanism, and a gear switching mechanism. The disk transfer mechanism transfers a disk onto a disk table with a motor. The disk transfer mechanism has a rotation transmitting assembly having a gear train including a swing gear and another gear. The mechanical chassis lifting/lowering mechanism lifts and lowers a mechanical chassis with respect to the disk, which is transferred onto the disk table by the disk transfer mechanism. The gear switching mechanism brings the swing gear out of mesh with the other gear of the gear train after the disk is transferred onto the disk table by the disk transfer mechanism, thereby preventing the disk transfer mechanism from being actuated by the motor, and actuating the mechanical chassis lifting/lowering mechanism with the motor.

Abstract: An optical disk drive comprises a drive body, a spindle motor, an optical pickup device, a sled motor, a tray, a loading motor, and a controller. When the loaded optical disk is ejected, the controller controls the sled motor and the loading motor so that the returning of the optical pickup device and the opening of the tray are performed in non-chronological order. Accordingly, the time for the ejection of the optical disk is reduced.

Abstract: In a disc driving device that performs loading operation to transfer a disc, which is a disc-shaped storage medium, in its radial direction, and chucking operation to transfer the disc substantially in the direction of the thickness, the loading operation and the chucking operation are to be performed by a single driving source, and miniaturization and reduction in thickness or the like of the device are to be realized easily. The disc driving device has roller arm parts that sway parallel to the radial direction of a disc, a chucking arm part that sways substantially in the direction of the thickness of the disc, and a cam. The cam has a cam groove for regulating swaying of the roller arm parts so as to position the disc transferred in the radial direction at a predetermined position, and a cam groove for regulating swaying of the chucking arm part so as to transfer the disc situated at the predetermined position substantially into the direction of the thickness.

Abstract: An optical disk device (1) includes a feed gear (64) that engages a rack portion (57a) integrally formed with an optical pickup (57), a tray gear (13) used for vertically moving a turntable (52) and moving a disk tray (12), and a motor (62) as a common driving source. The number of teeth of the feed gear (64) is the same as the number of teeth of the tray gear (13), and the rotation is transmitted from the feed gear (64) to the tray gear (13) so that the ratio of the number of rotations of the feed gear (64) to the number of rotations of the tray gear (13) is 1:1. With such an arrangement, it becomes possible to perform a pickup feeding operation, a turntable vertically-moving operation, and a disk carrying operation by one driving source, and it becomes possible to enhance ease of assembly.

Abstract: When an action for turning off the power of a host computer is performed, the host computer transmits control information to a disk drive to the effect that chucking should be canceled. Accordingly, the disk drive cancels chucking of a disk and transmits information to the host computer to the effect that cancel has been completed. Receiving the information to the effect that chucking has been canceled, the host computer terminates a disk drive application, confirms that all of the started applications are completed, and then terminates OS (Operating System).

Abstract: A tray drive mechanism has a simple structure, and yet both an optical disc clamping operation and a tray opening and closing operation can be driven by one feed motor. The tray drive mechanism comprises: a feed gear and a tray drive gear that are rotated by a feed motor; a rack member to mesh with the feed gear so as to be driven in direction to inner circumference of the optical disc; a plate trigger driven by the rack member so as to slide; and a cam slider to slide in linkage with the plate trigger. When the cam slider is slided in linkage with plate trigger so as to be driven in direction by the tray drive gear meshing with a rack, a boss of the cam slider pushes a slope portion of each of cam grooves and provided in a tray, so that the tray slides to cause a rack of the tray to mesh with the tray drive gear. Thus, the tray is opened and closed by the feed motor.

Abstract: In a disc driving device that performs loading operation to transfer a disc, which is a disc-shaped storage medium, in its radial direction, and chucking operation to transfer the disc substantially in the direction of the thickness, the loading operation and the chucking operation are to be performed by a single driving source, and miniaturization and reduction in thickness or the like of the device are to be realized easily. The disc driving device has roller arm parts that sway parallel to the radial direction of a disc, a chucking arm part that sways substantially in the direction of the thickness of the disc, and a cam. The cam has a cam groove for regulating swaying of the roller arm parts so as to position the disc transferred in the radial direction at a predetermined position, and a cam groove for regulating swaying of the chucking arm part so as to transfer the disc situated at the predetermined position substantially into the direction of the thickness.

Abstract: To achieve a disc device with a disc changer in which number of motors is reduced, and a quiet and stable switching operation, accurate positioning of a sub-tray, smooth clamp and release of a disc are possible, only a first motor for driving a main tray and a second motor for driving the sub-tray are used as driving sources, and a gear switching mechanism is provided, in which driving channels of the first and second motors can be disconnected.

Abstract: A disk table rotation supporting structure includes a tray having an inner wall surface that stands upward, a bottom surface provided on an inside, a central axis portion that stands upward on a center portion of the bottom surface, and a receiving portion disposed around the central axis portion, and a disk table having a large circular-ring supporting rib provided downward in neighborhood of the inner wall surface, a central through hole portion opened in a center portion and into which the central axis portion of the tray is inserted, and a small circular-ring rib extended downward from a periphery of the central through hole portion. Only the large circular-ring supporting rib is supported rotatably on the bottom surface of the tray via a lubricating member, and the disk table is rotated in this situation.

Abstract: To make the shape of parts simple, the transmission changeover well timed and reliable, and the size reduce, a transmission changeover mechanism in a disc apparatus includes a rotary control piece which is spring-biased to rotate in one direction, and has a transmission switching gear wheel fixed thereto. A retainer post stands on the chassis prevents rotation of the rotary control piece. A catch pin stands the rotary control piece. A cam rib is formed on lower surface of the traverse rack in confronting relation with the rotary control plate which is so configured as to make the rotary control piece release from the retainer post, and at the same time make the catch pin follow the rib contour, thereby allowing the transmission switching gear wheel to couple or decouple from the tray feeding gear wheel.

Abstract: Disclosed is a disk player using a single motor in common for driving a disk tray and optical pickup. A controlled reciprocation of the disk tray and the data-reproducing operation subsequent to withdrawal of the disk tray into the housing can be performed by an “L”-shaped guide slot made in the disk tray, a cam rod operatively connected to the “L”-shaped guide slot, and a drive switching gear assembly operatively connected to the cam rod and a first train of gears for driving the disk tray. All of these parts work together so that the single drive motor may switch and drive the first train of gears for driving the disk tray or a second train of gears for the optical pickup.

Abstract: Disclosed is a disk player using a single motor in common for driving a disk tray and optical pickup. Controlled reciprocation of the disk tray and the data-reproducing operation subsequent to withdrawal of the disk tray into the housing can be performed by the “L”-shaped guide slot made in the disk tray, a cam rod operatively connected to the “L”-shaped guide slot, and the drive switching gear assembly operatively connected to the cam rod and the first train of gears for driving the disk tray. All of these parts work together so that the single drive motor may switch and drive the first train of gears for driving the disk tray or the second train of gears for driving the optical pickup. A cam position-detecting switch is operatively connected to the cam rod for detecting arrival of the cam rod at either terminal of its travel, that is, the gear train connecting or gear train-disconnecting position.

Abstract: An optical disc changer includes a main body, a tray installed in the main body to be capable of sliding, a roulette rotatably installed at the tray and where a plurality of optical discs are accommodated, an optical pickup device to selectively reproduce one of the optical discs accommodated on the roulette, a drive gear member installed at the main body, rotated by being connected to a drive unit, and selectively engaged with a rack gear member formed on the bottom surface of the tray, and a tray gear unit installed adjacent to the drive gear member and having a tray gears selectively engaged with the rack gear member and the drive gear member.