# US 2004/0071071 A1 · Car-mounted disc player > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2004/0071071 A1 - Document ID: US20040071071A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 10/619,876 - Filed: 2003-07-15 - Published: 2004-04-15 - Earliest claimed: 2002-07-15 - Assignees: Alpine Electronics, Inc. - Inventors: Kazunari Kato - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20040071071A1 ## CPC - G11B 17/051: Direct insertion, i.e. without external loading means - G11B: INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER (recording measured values in a way that does not require playback through a transducer G01D9/00; recording or playback apparatus using mechanically marked tape, e.g. punched paper tape, or using unit records, e.g. punched or magnetically marked cards G06K; transferring data from one type of record carrier to another G06K1/18; circuits for coupling output of reproducer to radio receiver H04B1/20; gramophone pick-ups or like acoustic electromechanical transducers or circuits therefor H04R) ## Abstract A car-mounted disc player with an elastically supported drive unit including a turntable and a pickup; a clamper-supporting member rotatably supporting a clamper; a clamp mechanism for activating the clamper-supporting member to move toward or away from the drive unit so as to clamp or unclamp a disc between the turntable and the clamper; a lock mechanism for bringing the drive unit in a locked state or an unlocked state with respect to the chassis; and a change-over mechanism for activating the clamp and lock mechanisms. During change-over operations of the change-over mechanism for activating the clamp and lock mechanisms, the change-over mechanism can be halted at a half-locked position where the drive unit is brought in the locked state while the disc is kept in a clamped state by the turntable and the clamper. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A car-mounted disc player comprising: a drive unit elastically supported on a chassis having an elastic member between the drive unit and the chassis, the drive unit including a turntable and a pickup; a clamper-supporting member rotatably supporting a clamper; a clamp mechanism operable to activate the clamper-supporting member to bring a disc in a clamped state or an unclamped state between the turntable and the clamper; a lock mechanism operable to place the drive unit in a locked state or an unlocked state with respect to the chassis; and a change-over mechanism operable to activate the clamp mechanism and the lock mechanism, wherein the change-over mechanism may be halted at a half-locked position where the drive unit is brought in the locked state while the disc is kept in a clamped state by the turntable and the clamper. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The car-mounted disc player of claim 1, wherein the change-over mechanism comprises at least one slide member movably supported on the chassis. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The car-mounted disc player of claim 2, further comprising a connecting member for temporally fixing the slide member to the chassis at the half-locked position. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The car-mounted disc player of claim 2, further comprising a position-detecting means for detecting when the slide member reaches the half-locked position. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The car-mounted disc player of claim 2, further comprising a detecting switch disposed on the chassis side and a drive portion disposed on the slide member side. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The car-mounted disc player of claim 5, wherein the drive portion activates the detecting switch when the slide member reaches to the half-locked position. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The car-mounted disc player of claim 5, further comprising a motor operable to drive the slide member to move back and forth. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The car-mounted disc player of claim 7, wherein the motor stops when the detecting switch is activated by the drive portion. ### Claim 9 (depends on 2) The car-mounted disc player of claim 2, further comprising a first mark disposed on the slide member side and a second mark disposed on the chassis side, wherein the first and second marks mate when the slide member reaches to the half-locked position. ### Claim 10 (depends on 4) The car-mounted disc player according to claim 4, wherein said at least one slide member comprises first and second slide members disposed on both sides of the chassis, wherein said first and second slide members are connected by a link mechanism. ### Claim 11 (depends on 4) The car-mounted disc player according to claim 4, wherein the position-detecting means detects when said at least one slide member reaches the half-locked position. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The car-mounted disc player according to claim 10, wherein the position-detecting means detects when one of said first and second slide members reaches the half-locked position. ### Claim 13 A car-mounted disc player comprising: a drive unit elastically supported on a chassis having an elastic member between the drive unit and the chassis, the drive unit including a turntable and a pickup; a clamper-supporting member rotatably supporting a clamper; a clamp mechanism operable to activate the clamper-supporting member to bring a disc in a clamped state or an unclamped state between the turntable and the clamper; a lock mechanism operable to place the drive unit in a locked state or an unlocked state with respect to the chassis; and at least one slide member movably supported on the chassis and operable to activate the clamp mechanism and the lock mechanism, wherein during a movement of the slide member for activating the clamp mechanism and the lock mechanism, the slide member may stop at a half-locked position. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The car-mounted disc player of claim 13, further comprising a connecting member operable to fix the slide member to the chassis at the half-locked position. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The car-mounted disc player of claim 13, further comprising position-detecting means for detecting when the slide member reaches to the half-locked position. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The car-mounted disc player of claim 13, further comprising a detecting switch disposed on the chassis side and a drive portion disposed on the slide member side, wherein the drive portion activates the detecting switch when the slide member reaches the half-locked position. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The car-mounted disc player of claim 16, further comprising a motor operable to driving the slide member move back and forth. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The car-mounted disc play of claim 17, wherein the motor stops when the detecting switch is activated by the drive portion ### Claim 19 (depends on 13) The car-mounted disc player according to claim 13, further comprising a first mark disposed on the slide member side and a second mark disposed on the chassis side, wherein the first and second marks mate when the slide member reaches to the half-locked position. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The car-mounted disc player according to claim 15, wherein said at least one slide member comprises first and second slide members disposed on both sides of the chassis, wherein the two slide members are connected by a link mechanism. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The car-mounted disc player according to claim 20 wherein the position-detecting means detects if one of the first and second slide members reaches to the half-locked position. ### Claim 22 A car-mounted disc player comprising: a drive unit elastically supported on a chassis having an elastic member between the drive unit and the chassis, the drive unit including a turntable and a pickup; a clamper-supporting member rotatably supporting a clamper; a clamp mechanism operable to activate the clamper-supporting member to place a disc in a clamped state or an unclamped state between the turntable and the clamper; a lock mechanism operable to place the drive unit in a locked state or an unlocked state with respect to the chassis; at least one slide member, movably supported on the chassis, operable to activate the clamp mechanism and the lock mechanism in accordance with its back-and-forth movement; and position-detecting means operable to detect when the slide member reaches to a half-locked position, wherein the position detecting means may stop slide member at the half-locked position. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The car-mounted disc player of claim 22, further comprising a connecting member operable to hold the slide member to the chassis at the half-locked position. ### Claim 24 (depends on 22) The car-mounted disc player of claim 22, wherein the position-detecting means comprises a detecting switch disposed on the chassis side and a drive portion disposed on the slide member side. ### Claim 25 (depends on 23) The car-mounted disc play of claim 23, wherein the drive portion activates the detecting switch the slide member reaches the half-locked position. ### Claim 26 (depends on 24) The car-mounted disc player of claim 24, further comprising a motor operable to drive the slide member move back and forth, wherein the motor stops when the detecting switch is activated by the drive portion. ### Claim 27 (depends on 22) The car-mounted disc player of claim 22, further comprising a first mark disposed on the slide member side and a second mark disposed on the chassis side, wherein the first and second marks mate when the slide member reaches the half-locked position. ### Claim 28 (depends on 22) The car-mounted disc player of claim 22, wherein said at least one slide member comprises first and second slide members disposed on both sides of the chassis, wherein said first and second slide members are connected by a link mechanism.