Mechanism for aiding carriage return in video disc player

A player for use with a record caddy;

• said player comprising:
• (A) a housing having an input slot into which a caddy is inserted along a path;
• (B) a turntable mounted in said housing for centering and supporting said record;
• (C) drive means mounted in said housing for rotating said turntable;
• (D) a platform mounted in said housing, and subject to motion between (1) an elevated position, whereat said platform is aligned with said input slot, and (2) a position depressed relative to said turntable;
• (E) a record extracting mechanism for removing said record from said caddy during withdrawal thereof subsequent to an occupied caddy arrival at a fully inserted position in said housing, thereby retaining said record in said housing resting on said platform disposed in said elevated position;
• (F) means for causing motion of said platform between said elevated position and said depressed position;
• wherein motion of said platform, having said retained record resting thereon, to said depressed position effects transfer of said retained record to said turntable;
• wherein subsequent motion of said platform to said elevated position lifts said turntable-supported record to a raised position for retrieval thereof into an empty caddy, when said empty caddy is inserted into said housing while said platform, with said retained record resting thereon, is disposed in said elevated position;
• (G) a signal pickup for recovering prerecorded information from a turntable-supported record during playback;
• (H) a carriage for supporting said signal pickup;
• (I) means mounted on said platform for guiding said carriage in said housing along a second path lying parallel to said path of caddy insertion;
• the location of said carriage path relative to said caddy path being such that said caddy engages said carriage during a caddy insertion into said housing;
• (J) carriage translating means mounted to said platform, and secured to said carriage;
• (K) means for utilizing said carriage translating means during playback for translating said carriage along said guiding means in correlation with the rotation of said turntable and away from a starting position in a direction opposite to the direction of said caddy insertion while said platform is disposed in said depressed position;
• said utilizing means including coupling means interposed between said carriage translating means and a carriage drive means;
• and
• (L) means responsive to motion of said platform to said elevated position for disabling said coupling means, whereby return of said carriage to said starting position can be effected, with freedom from interference by said carriage drive means, when said carriage is at a position other than at said starting position during a caddy insertion.