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| United States Patent |
6,662,239 |
| Lee |
December 9, 2003 |
Information processing apparatus with multitasking capability
Abstract
A high-performance optical information processing apparatus having various
hardware for arriving at multitasking function. The optical information
processing apparatus provides disc-loading and unloading flexibility, allows a
user to launch a software program or simultaneously several software programs
directly from an optical disc and/or several optical discs stored therein,
eliminates tedious and time-consuming software installation, affords a kind of
copy-right protection to software, and alleviates the burden of accessing a
hard-disk drive during the process of information reproduction.
| Inventors: |
Lee; Howard Hong-Dough (Bloomfield, MI)
|
| Assignee: |
Intellectual Science and Technology
(Bloomfield, MI)
|
| Appl. No.: |
09/111,824 |
| Filed: |
April 15, 1998 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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613806 |
Mar., 1996 |
5748575 |
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| Current U.S. Class: |
710/7 |
| Field of Search: |
710/1,7 369/30,36,34,32
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References Cited [Referenced
By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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59036338 |
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Feb., 1984 |
|
JP |
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359036338 |
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Feb., 1984 |
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JP |
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63018548 |
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Jan., 1988 |
|
JP |
|
04310682 |
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Nov., 1992 |
|
JP |
|
40310682 |
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Nov., 1992 |
|
JP |
|
Primary Examiner: Gaffin;
Jeffrey
Assistant Examiner: Elamin; Abdelmoniem
Parent Case Text
This is a division of U.S. Ser. No. 08/613,806 filed on Mar. 5, 1996,
which is now U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,575.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An information processing apparatus
comprising: (a) a plurality of turntables each for detachably storing an optical
disc thereon; (b) a plurality of optical units, each comprising a driving means
and an optical read head, wherein said driving means is provided for moving said
optical read head in a radial direction of said optical disc to a predetermined
disc position on one surface of a selected optical disc; (c) means for
simultaneously controlling a plurality of said driving means so as to move a
plurality of said optical read heads in radial directions of said optical discs
to a plurality of predetermined disc tracks for simultaneously retrieving
information stored thereon; (d) a plurality of signal-process systems for
processing a plurality of information sets retrieved by said plurality of
optical read heads; and (e) data transmitting means for transmitting a plurality
of the information sets by said plurality of signal-process systems.
2.
The information processing-apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least two of said
optical read heads are moved by respective driving means for coordinately
proceeding the reproduction of a set of data, one of said at least two optical
read heads is moved to a set of disc tracks consisting of the data that are not
responsive to reproducing the sound effects of said set of data, and another one
of said at least two optical read heads is moved to another set of disc tracks
consisting of the data that are not responsive to reproducing the video images
of said set of data, so that said sound effects and said video images of said
set of data are simultaneously reproduced.
3. An information processing
apparatus comprising: (a) at least one disc-setting table each for bearing an
optical disc thereon, said at least one disc-setting table each comprising
disc-releasing means having an outward-biased tendency for pushing said optical
disc apart from said disc-setting table; and (b) at least one disc-holding and
-releasing means each comprising (i) a hollow member that has an elevated center
portion being sized to fit into the center hole of said optical disc, (ii)
disc-holding means retractable into the inside of said hollow member but
preferably returning to its outward-biased normal position protruding to the
outside of said hollow member for locking said optical disc in place, and (iii)
a releasing button that upon pressing retracts said disc-holding means to the
inside of said hollow member, so as to allow said disc-releasing means to push
said optical disc apart from said disc-setting table.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally
to the field of information processing utilizing optical discs and particularly
to a high-efficient optical-disc-type apparatus allows a host computer to
effectively and/or multitaskingly perform various information processing actions
directly from optical discs so as to alleviate the heavy burden of a hard-disk
drive in the process of information reproducing.
BACKGROUND OF THE
INVENTION
An optical disc or compact disc (CD) is made from a
transparent plastic material with a thickness of about 1.2 mm that contains a
protected thin metal film wherein pits (or depressions) are formed. The pits
have light reflectivities different from the light reflectivity of nonpitted
portions of the metal film, thus forming a series of 0s and 1s for digital
storage of data. In production, a master disc is first developed from a glass
disc coated with a uniform layer of photoresist material that is subjected to a
series of exposures to a high-power energy beam or laser for forming various
pits via the technology of photolithography. The master disc is then used to
develop a nickel mother for use in stamping out multiple copies of the discs in
transparent plastic material. Each of these is then coated with a thin metallic
reflecting layer and then with a protective polymer coating on top of that. When
reproducing the stored information, a low-power laser is used to sense the
presence or absence of pits. Because a laser beam can be so focused, adjacent
tracks of the spiral of pits need be no larger than 1.6 .mu.m. As a result, one
side of a typical 120-mm (4.72-in) CD can have 20,000 tracks for holding a
minimum of 500 megabytes of data which can easily store the text of a 20-volume
encyclopedia, while both surfaces of a typical 133-mm (5.25-in) or a 89-mm
(3.5-in) floppy disk are able to respectively hold only 1.2 or 1.44 megabytes.
Owing to the nature of their high storage capacity, optical discs are
especially suitable for storing information requiring or taking large storage
spaces, such as patent information, video data, and digital audio files. In
addition to the floppy-disk version, software developers have recently produced
the 120-mm read-only-memory CD (CD-ROM) version of executable software programs,
such as IBM.RTM.OS/2 and Microsoft Windows.RTM. 95 for use in personal
information processing apparatuses, such as desktop- or notebook-type computers.
Even though becoming increasingly popularly equipped in computers, a
CD-ROM drive plays a much less significant role in information processing when
compared with a hard-disk drive that utilizes the magnetic recording technology.
This is because the currently available computers are designed to execute a
program or software basically through reproducing the information stored on
hard-disk drives, especially when the size of a program exceeds the storage
capacity of a floppy disk. When sold to an end user, a software program for use
in applications such as disk controlling, word processing, spread sheet,
drawing, and presentation making, is compressedly stored on a plurality of
floppy disks or an optical disc. Regardless of being either stored in floppy
disks or an optical disc, a purchased software program needs to go through a
tedious software installation process through which all program files are
decompressedly copied to a hard-disk drive wherefrom the software program is
then executed. In accordance with this conventional practice, the storage space
of a hard-disk drive is quickly filled up. This not only incurs indirect cost in
the expenditure of the hard-disk drive in addition to the purchased price of a
software program to the end user, but eventually slows down the read-and-write
operation efficiency of the hard-disk drive because any data files created are
constantly rewritten, fragmentally relocated, and; eventually scattered all over
the hard-disk drive. Accordingly, a longer time is needed to find all of the
data of a particular file. The only remedy currently available for this problem
is to routinely run a hard-disk maintenance process in order to remove file
fragmentation. Unfortunately, as more software programs or data files are stored
on the hard-disk drive, the hard-disk maintenance process becomes more and more
time-consuming, because it also involves relocation of the program files that
occupy most of the space of the hard-disk drive but are never changed or altered
throughout the entire life of their usage. Still there is another concern that a
hard-disk drive is subject to nonphysical damages, for instance, such as program
files being truncated or cross-linked due to improper assessing or writing
during information reproducing or being infected by computer virus. As a result,
a software program becomes and, another tedious software installation process is
again needed. All of these point to the fact that the currently available
computers are designed to preform information processing by reproducing the
information stored on hard-disk and, this is not necessarily desirable.
Since a software program is mostly stored on a plurality of floppy disks
for its distribution, an end user is routinely advised to make a set of backup
copies because floppy disks are susceptible to physical and external damages.
Inevitably, another disadvantage is incurred: a time-consuming process for
making backup copies.
The need to install a purchased software to a
hard-disk drive further incurs another problem: it is extremely difficult for
software developers to stop or prevent illegal-copying of software. There are
existing hardware-type protection devices and password-type protection
approaches; but they are affordable only for high-price software programs with
an aim of selling at most a few thousand copies for use in trading stocks or
futures in real time, for instance. In contrast, volume software programs are
sold in sealed envelopes. Once a sealed envelope is opened, an end user is
assumed to accept the software license agreement set by a software and, the
software program is not returnable. Unfortunately, there is no practical way to
prevent an end user from illegally coping such a software program. As the
software developers producing high-volume and low-price software programs suffer
from their products being illegally copied, the consumers lose their opportunity
to try out a software program before purchasing.
In view of the
disadvantages and problems mentioned hereinbefore, it is clear that currently
available computers and optical disc or floppy-disk apparatuses are not designed
to achieve their optimal potential. Owing to the nature of durability and
storage capacity far superior to that of a floppy disk, an optical disc has a
greater potential to become a memory storage medium for constructing a special
type of apparatus to remedy the disadvantages currently encountered in the
available information processing apparatuses. Thus, the main interest of the
present invention is to design a high-efficient optical disc apparatus wherefrom
software programs can be directly launched so as to eliminate tedious,
time-consuming software installation and thus to offer an alternative of
copy-right protection to software developers, as well as to alleviate the heavy
burden of a hard-disk drive in information processing. Also essential for an
information processing apparatus of this type is the feature of disc-loading and
-unloading flexibility that allows a user to easily change or replace desired
discs at will. In order to achieve the highest efficiency in information
reproduction, any discs and thus disc positions should be readily accessible by
at least one optical unit at any time. An optical read head should be able to
travel from one disc to another, and its travelling should be limited to
one-directional movement (either linear or circular) because
multiple-directional or three-dimensional movement greatly slows down
optical-read-head travelling efficiency. It is also highly desirable that an
information processing apparatus of this type in accordance with the present
invention comprises multiple disc sites each able to detachably hold a disc so
that various software programs are readily available because Microsoft.RTM.,
WordPerfect.RTM., or Lotus.RTM. are most likely to produce their own software
discs.
Multitasking or multiprocessing is another highly desirable
feature for an information processing apparatus of this type in accordance with
the present invention. In the context of the present invention, multitasking or
multiprocessing is defined as referring to separate hardware control units that
allow execution of separate or several software programs simultaneously. Because
of containing a plurality of discs wherefrom several programs can be directly
launched, an information processing apparatus of this type needs a safeguard
device to prevent the discs stored therein from being unauthorizedly removed.
Further, this type of information processing apparatus should be compact enough
to be internally installed in a computer, because with the trend towards
miniaturization, no future computers would be spacious enough for internally
storing a bulky CD apparatus holding more than two horizontally spaced 120-mm
discs.
An information processing apparatus of this type with all or a
selected combination of the features mentioned hereinbefore is not yet readily
taught by the prior arts. This is discussed as follows.
U.S. Pat. No.
4,644,515 describes a laser-disc digital data video storage. system in which
multiple discs stacked upon a common rotatable drive shaft are to be read by a
plurality of stationary read head arrays for commercial use. This jukebox-like
system allows multiple users to access its information by employing a huge
number of read heads, for example 55,000 heads (or one head for each track), in
each read head array. One of the main disadvantages of this type of system is
its lacking disc-loading and -unloading flexibility that is a user cannot access
the common drive shaft for changing or replacing a desired disc at will. U.S.
Pat. No. 4,888,751 describes an image information processing system in which (at
least) an optical unit having an optical head arm rotatable through 180 degrees
is used to scan the information stored on either adjacent side of multiple discs
that are stacked at predetermined intervals on a detachable mounting mechanism.
The detachable mounting mechanism provides some improvement in disc-loading and
disc-unloading flexibility over U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,515 mentioned above, but is
still inconvenient for a user to replace or change a desired disc at will due to
the stacking nature of its disc arrangement. This prior apparatus is afforded
with a plurality of optical units such that one of the optical units is most
likely readily available for vertically moving to a next selected disc. In such
a manner, the process of accessing information recorded on a different disc is
speeded up; otherwise, the access time will be unacceptably slow since an
optical unit in such a system has first to retract out of a disc space by
swinging, to move vertically to a new disc space to be entered, and then to seek
a new track by swinging. In this prior art, it is obvious that the presence of
the multiple optical units is intended for speeding up disc-track access time
between discs, but not for achieving any multitasking.
To improve the
access time for reproducing the information stored on different discs, U.S. Pat.
No. 5,189,652 describes a stationary-type optical disc apparatus that is
characterized by a plurality of optical units each slidable into a disc space to
access a predetermined position of a disc. Although it reduces the access time,
this system neither affords disc-loading and -unloading flexibility referred to
above because of its stationary and disc-stacking natures, nor provides any
multitasking capability.
Instead of using the approach of stacking as
used in the above-mentioned prior arts, U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,078 employs a
plurality of horizontally spaced disc compartments (or trays) each holding an
audio disc which, upon selection, can be scanned by a disc playback module that
is capable of being horizontally transported between the disc compartments.
Because each disc compartment has a separate means for independently extending
and retracting out of and into the apparatus, this audio CD player requires
multiple front entrances. In other words, this configuration is too bulky and
cannot be internally installed into the existing drive bays of current
computers, which typically have dimensions of 146-mm (5.75-in) in width, 41-mm
(1.75-in) in height, and up to about 254-mm (10-in) in depth. In addition, it
lacks multitasking capability.
Other examples using the nonstacking
approach are embodied in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,146,451, 5,193,079, and 5,251,192.
However, in accordance with these prior arts, discs are not readily accessible
at any time because their disc-storage sites need to move to a predetermined
position before a selected disc becomes accessible, thus slowing down
information-reproduction efficiency. Similar inefficiency is also seen in U.S.
Pat. 5,119,354 and 5,335,218 that utilize a disc transfer means comprising a
drive roller to deliver a disc selected from a disc container or magazine
(having a plurality of discs in a pile therein) to a disc drive for rotating and
thus reading. Although improving disc-loading and -unloading flexibility
referred to above, all of these prior apparatuses with capability of holding a
plurality of discs require several additional transitional stages before a
selected disc becomes accessible to a singular optical unit. These apparatuses
are best for use in as-intended audio applications, not for use in information
processing that requires high-efficient, high-speed information reproduction.
Providing disc-loading and -unloading flexibility to some extent, U.S.
Pat. No. 5,043,963 provides an information processing apparatus capable of
playing a disc selected from a plurality of sizes such as 80-, 120-, 200- or
300-mm in diameter. These multisized discs are laid on a tray wherein a
circular-like section used to store a plurality of small-sized discs is
rotatable for their selection. Different versions of apparatuses capable of
playing optical discs with different diameters are seen in U.S. Pat. No.
5,119,354 and 5,253,235. The ability of playing the discs with different
diameters is desirable, however, the discs in these prior apparatuses fail to be
readily accessible by their single optical unit at any time.
In the
conventional CD apparatuses, a single clamp device (or press member) capable of
pivoting downwardly or upwardly is often used to pinch a disc mounted to a drive
shaft or turntable for rotating. Clamp devices of this type are embodied in U.S.
Pat. Nos. 4,722,078, 5,146,451, 5,251,192, and 5,253,235. Those are not suitable
for use when a plurality of discs need to be in a readily-accessible state at
any time. U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,113 describes a simple clamping mechanism for each
of a number of turntables, which is desirable. However, it remains to be seen
whether the clamping mechanism can provide necessary clamping force and at the
same time can afford an easy release of a loaded disc. Accordingly, there is a
need to design a simple, yet effective and space-saving disc-clamping device
with disc-loading and -unloading flexibility for use in the information
processing apparatus in accordance with the interest of the present invention.
In order to simultaneously launch several software programs directly
from either an optical disc or multiple optical discs in accordance with the
interest of the present invention, the hardware of an information processing
apparatus must possess multitasking capability. This requires not only having a
plurality of optical units but also a variety of signal process means (such as
decoders), control means (including a plurality of microprocessors or a
microprocessor with multitasking capability) and data transmitting means that
all coordinately work together for, reproducing plural sets of data
simultaneously from various disc positions on a disc or on several discs and at
the same time transmitting them to a host computer. Otherwise, optical units
cannot be instructed to independently and simultaneously move to a plurality of
predetermined disc positions and plural sets of data retrieved from discs cannot
be simultaneously processed for returning back to their original state and then
transmitted to a host computer. Thus, plural discs and optical units will make
an information processing apparatus more efficient in terms of access time, but
will not necessarily arrive at any multitasking nature needed for future
high-speed information processing. One example is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No.
5,375,113 which describes an apparatus that has a plurality of disc storage
sites (in nonstacking form), each having a separate drive means and an optical
disc situated together, for reading data specifically from one single, selected
optical disc. The main object of the prior art is to eliminate much of the
costly and duplicative hardware found in systems utilizing drive cartridges so
that common control means such as latches, demultiplexers, and multiplexers are
used in order to fulfill its main object for delivering a power signal to a
selected single disc storage site for activating its drive means to read
information from its respective disc. Even though various electronic
configurations are given, the prior art utilizes only one single microprocessor
for instructing which drive means should be turned on or which servo control
device should be activated. Under the circumstances, it is not possible to
simultaneously issue multiple commands or control signals to activate and thus
to control a plurality of drive means for performing information reproduction
from plural discs at the same time. In essence, the prior apparatus is
specifically designed for information reproduction to take place one at a time
in a selected disc storage site; thus, it lacks a multitasking capability. This
is further substantiated in the fact that throughout the entire context, this
prior art neither mentions nor even suggests retrieving information
simultaneously from plural discs and sending plural sets of retrieved
information at the same time to its host computer, which are all essential for
multitasking to take place.
It is clear that each of the current CD
apparatuses has its own merit but all suffer from various types of
disadvantages, such as being unable to launch programs directly from optical
discs, lack of multitasking capability, the inability for all discs and thus
disc positions to be readily accessible with respect to at least one optical
unit at any time, lack of disc-loading and -unloading flexibility, lack of
flexibility for optical units to travel between discs, lack of an efficient
means for an optical read head to selectively travel between discs, too bulky to
be installed in a host computer, and/or lack of a device to safeguard optical
discs from being unauthorizedly removed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of the present invention is to provide an information
processing apparatus with multitasking-capability hardware so that a plurality
of optical units are capable of independently and simultaneously moving to a
plurality of disc positions, making it possible to launch one or several
software programs directly from the information processing apparatus, to provide
true multitasking capability, to eliminate tedious and time-consuming software
installation, to offer a kind of copy-right protection, and to alleviate the
burden of a hard-disk drive in information reproduction processing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an information
processing apparatus with turntables having disc-loading and -unloading
flexibility, wherein each turntable comprises a disc-holding and -releasing
means with self-clamping and self-releasing feature for each optical disc.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an information
processing apparatus with turntables and optical units being arranged in a
particular manner, wherein each optical unit comprises an efficient driving
means for moving at least one optical read head selectively between discs so
that several optical read heads are able to independently move to a plurality of
predetermined disc positions on the same disc surface of a selected optical disc
for simultaneously retrieving a plurality of information stored thereon.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an information
processing apparatus with turntables and optical units being arranged in a
particular manner so that the same driving mechanism is used to move the optical
read head of each of said optical units selectively between disc positions and
between discs, for greatly improving information access efficiency when an
optical unit needs to move between discs.
Another object of the present
invention is to provide an information processing apparatus with a variety of
control means (including a plurality of microprocessors or a microprocessor with
multitasking capability) so that at least two of optical units are able to work
coordinately and simultaneously on separate portions of a software program,
greatly improving efficiency in information reproduction.
Another object
of the present invention is to afford an information processing apparatus with a
security means to safeguard the optical discs stored therein from being
unauthorizedly removed.
Another object of the present invention is to
provide an information processing apparatus with a plurality of disc
compartments so that it is possible to replace an optical disc in one disc
compartment while the other optical discs stored in another disc compartment
remain operating.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
an information processing apparatus with a variety of control means (including a
plurality of microprocessors or a microprocessor with multitasking capability)
so that at least two optical units are able to work coordinately and
simultaneously on separate portions of a software program, for greatly improving
efficiency in information reproduction.
The present invention improves
the conventional information reproduction practice by providing an optical
information processing apparatus with multitasking-capability hardware and
disc-loading and -unloading flexibility means, thereby allowing a user to launch
a software program or simultaneously a plurality of software programs directly
from an optical disc or several optical discs stored therein. The
multitasking-capability hardware of the present invention comprises a plurality
of turntables, optical units, control means, signal-process means, and data
transmitting means to coordinately work together for multitaskingly retrieving,
controlling and transmitting a plurality of information simultaneously from
various positions of a disc or several discs to a host computer. Turntables and
optical units are arranged and rendered in a particular manner such that at
least one optical unit can access any positions of at least two discs, a
plurality of optical read heads situated in said optical units can independently
and simultaneously access a plurality of positions of on the same surface of a
disc for high-speed information and/or a plurality of positions of separate disc
surfaces for multitaskingly perform several programs at the same time. In
accordance with the present invention, the number of optical units can be less
as compared with that of turntables, for reducing the production costs of making
an optical information processing apparatus while maintaining high efficiency in
information reproduction.
An optical information processing apparatus of
this type is optionally equipped with a plurality of disc compartments so that
one disc compartment can be independently open for disc exchanging while the
other disc compartment remains closed and active programs remain operating, with
a disc holding means having self-clamping and self-releasing feature to
facilitate disc-loading and -unloading operation, with at least one turntable
capable of accommodating a disc with various disc diameters, with a control
means to allow a disc to be scanned either at a constant angular velocity (CAV)
method or at a constant linear velocity (CLV) method, and/or a safeguard
mechanism.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a
perspective view of a multitasking information processing apparatus in
accordance with the present invention having two optical units capable of being
used to reproduce information simultaneously from two different positions of an
optical disc.
FIG. 2 is a cutaway side view taken along the line 2--2 of
FIG. 1, schematically showing an arrangement of the multitasking information
processing apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a perspective, partial-cutaway view of a
multitasking information processing apparatus of the present invention showing a
plurality of multisized discs set in two disc compartments and a
disc-compartment transporting means for the front disc compartment to be able to
be separately drawn out and into the playhousing.
FIG. 4 is a cutaway
view of the underside of the subchassis traverse driving mechanism taken along
the line 4--4 in FIG. 3 of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an exploded
perspective view of the disc-compartment transporting means seen in FIG. 3 of
the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an illustratine top plan vieww of the
multitasking information processing apparatus seen in FIG. 3 with six optical
unuts and eight optical discs.
FIG. 7 is as block diagram of a
controlsystem of the multitasking information processing apparatus shown in FIG.
6 of the present.
FIG. 8 is an alternative configuration of turntables
and optical units.
FIGS. 9A and 9B are perspective and cutaway side
views, respectively, for the turntable having a disc-holding and -releasing
means with a self-clamping and self-releasing feature in accordance with the
present invention.
FIG. 10 is a perspective top view of an optical unit
as used in FIG. 6 that is able to access any position among three discs by
horizontally swinging in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 11
is a cutaway view of an optical unit with an optical read head and a driving
mechanism, and a turntable with a disc-holding and -releasing means in
accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 12 is an illustrative,
cutaway side view of an optical read head in accordance with the present
invention.
FIG. 13 is an illustrative top view of an optical unit of the
present invention comprising a driving means in a cutaway top view that enables
an optical read head not only to take a predetermined position on a disc but
also to travel between three discs.
FIG. 14 is an illustrative top view
of a single optical unit in accordance with the present invention, having a
driving means for allowing at least one optical read head situated therein to
travel to at least one predetermined position selectively between a plurality of
discs for retrieving information stored thereon.
FIG. 15 is a cutaway
view of an optical unit comprising an upper optical read head and a lower
optical read head for simultaneously reproducing information stored on both
surfaces of a disc.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of the present invention
will be described in detail hereinbelow.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of
an information processing apparatus 1 with multitasking capability in accordance
with the present invention, having two optical units 43 and 44 and one optical
disc 27 in a loaded condition. Apparatus 1 has a structural frame 1002 on which
various mechanism components are mounted. The frame also serves for the
apparatus 1 to be either internally installed as a built-in unit in a computer
or covered by a housing for use as a stand-alone unit to be connected to a
computer. Provided with apparatus 1 is a front panel 3 having a disc-releasing
button 1004 and a disc supplying slot 5 on which there exists a larger opening
6. Disc supplying slot 5 is in a size just allowing an optical disc to be
inserted into or extracted out of the apparatus. Larger opening 6 is provided to
allow a user's finger to push a disc, being inserted through first guide roller
pairs 7 and 8 and then second guide roller pairs 9 and further toward the inside
of the apparatus 1 by moving a disc levelling mechanism 11 backward. Disc
levelling mechanism 11 has a flat area 12 that is in a horizontal position
slightly lower than the disc-setting table 29 (seen in FIG. 2) of a turntable
(or spindle) 13 so that a disc is prevented from being tipped over and thus is
disposed on disc-setting table 29 during loading. Disc levelling mechanism 11 is
slideable along a pair of horizontally disposed guide rails 14 through a pair of
bearings 15. When pushed backward to a predetermined position, disc levelling
mechanism 11 moves the rear-end portion 16 of a disc clamp arm 17 backward so
that a disc clamp head 18 at the distal end of clamp arm 17 is pivoted downward
about a fulcrum 19 by compressing springs 20 mounted on the rear portion of
guide rails 14 so that a rod 21 connecting disc levelling mechanism 11 to a
mechanical holding mechanism 22 is pulled backward. When pulled to a
predetermined position, the top portion of a position holder 23 in mechanical
holding mechanism 22 is pivoted backward about a fulcrum 24 so as to move the
middle portion of position holder 23 over a spring strip 25. The spring strip is
arranged to have one end fixed to a support plate 26 and the other end being
free, thus allowing the move-over action of position holder 23 to take place
whenever there is an external force sufficient to overcome the holding force of
spring strip 25. Position holder 23 is held by spring strip 25 against the force
of compressed springs 20, and disc levelling mechanism 11 is thus not touching
the edge of a disc 27.
During disc loading, disc levelling mechanism 11
is moved backward to a predetermined position so that a microswitch (not shown)
activates a solenoid 28 to pivot disc clamp head 18 downward further so as to
tightly grip optical disc 27 onto turntable 13 for subsequent rotation. As
detailed in FIG. 2, that is a partial cutaway side view taken along the line
2--2 of FIG. 1, on the top of turntable 13 are a disc-setting table 29 for
bearing disc 27 horizontally and a concave portion 30 for accommodating a convex
portion 31 of disc clamp 32. Together with concave portion 30, convex portion 31
horizontally moves disc 27 to a correct position for gripping and thus for
rotation about turntable shaft 33. The top of convex portion 32 is rotatably
connected to disc clamp head 18 by a connecting member 34 and is provided with
bearings 35 for its rotation. While the top portion of turntable 13 is rotatably
stabilized by disc clamp head 18 of clamp arm 17, the middle portion of
turntable shaft 33 is rotatably held by bearings 36 mounted on support frame 37
and the bottom end is supported by a pivot 38. Support frame 37 also holds a
turntable motor 39. Turntable shaft 33 is rotated by turntable motor 39 through
a power transmission system, including a gear 40 mounted on a motor shaft 41 and
a gear 42 mounted on the near-bottom end of turntable shaft 33.
Apparatus 1 has two optical units 43 and 44 horizontally supported by a
common frame 45 that is held by the top portions of the side panels of
structural frame 1002. Optical unit 43 has an optical read head 46 with a lens
system 47 for reading the information stored on the lower surface of disc 27.
Read head 46 is supported by a bearing-type carrier member 48 which is slideable
along a sliding rail 49, and a carrier member 50 having a hole with a female
screw which is en gaged with a screw shaft 51. Screw shaft 51 is rotatably
supported by bearings 52 and 53 mounted on common frame 45 and has a gear 54
engaged with a gear 55 on motor shaft 56 of motor 57, thus forming a driving
mechanism for optical read head 46. Similarly disposed horizontally on the other
end of the same common frame 45 is optical unit 44 that comprises an optical
read head 58 with a lens system 59, support bearings 60 and 61, a bearing-type
carrier member 62, a carrier member 63 with female screw, a gear 64 on a screw
shaft 65, a gear 66 on a motor shaft 67 of a motor 68, thus forming a driving
mechanism for optical read head 58. Optical read heads 46 and 58 are to the best
extent arranged to have travelling paths falling onto the same imaginary
travelling plane (not shown) parallel to the disc surface. Upon receiving power
signals from microprocessors (not shown), motors 57 and 68 independently and
simultaneously move optical read heads 46 and 58 to predetermined positions in a
radial direction of disc 27 for simultaneously reproducing information from
two'separate positions of information-stored area 69 on the same surface of disc
27.
In order to perform the abovementioned multitasking, motor 39 and
thus disc 27 are rotated at a constant angular velocity (CAV). Even though being
reduced to half, the storage capacity of a compact disc employing the CAV method
remains enormous, for instance, an 120-mm optical disc can still hold a minimum
of 250 megabytes of data. Most importantly, the CAV rotation method allows the
apparatus of the present invention to rotate at a constant, higher angular
velocity for multitaskingly performing high-speed information reproduction.
Referring now to FIGS. 3-7, another embodiment of the present invention
will be described in detail hereinbelow.
FIG. 3 is a perspective,
partial-cutaway view of a multitasking information processing apparatus 70 in
accordance with the present invention, showing a front disc compartment 71 and a
rear disc compartment 72 loaded with multisized discs, a pair of
disc-compartment transporting means 73 for compartments 71 and 72 retractable
into and out of a playhousing 74, and various control means on a front panel 75.
Note that for simplification of illustration neither the disc-compartment
transporting means on the other side of multitasking information processing
apparatus 70 nor optical units are shown in FIG. 3. The pair of disc-compartment
transporting means 73 not only allows both disc compartments to extend out of
and retract into playhousing 74 but also enables front disc compartment 71
currently containing a single 120-mm optical disc to be independently extended
to a disc loading/unloading position without disturbing the information
reproduction being performed in rear disc compartment 72. As shown in FIG. 3,
seven smaller optical discs with 45 mm in diameter are horizontally spaced in
rear disc compartment 72. In the front panel 75 of multitasking information
processing apparatus 70, there are a push-type button 77 for the open/close
operation of front disc compartment 71, a turn-type button 78 for the open/close
operation of both compartments 71 and 72, a microphone connector 79 for sound
output to an earphone or speakers (not shown), and a volume controller 80 for
adjustment of sound level. Also equipped in multitasking information processing
apparatus 70 is a lockout device 76 for locking disc compartments 71 and 72 and
thus for safeguarding the optical discs stored therein from being unauthorizedly
removed. In addition to a mechanical key, the lockout device 76 is responsive to
an electrical signal issued by a host computer, so that it allows the open/close
operation of disc compartments controlled from the input of the keyboard of a
host computer (not shown).
A partial cutaway view of the underside of a
subchassis traverse driving mechanism 81 taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3 is
shown in FIG. 4. A servo motor 82 fixed to the subchassis of front disc
compartment 71 has a transverse rubber-roller 83 that tightly contacts the
chassis of playhousing 74. Upon rotating, transverse rubber-roller 83 thus moves
front disc compartment 71 through disc-compartment transporting means 73 to a
disc loading/unloading position or a disc playing position. Rear disc
compartment 72 is similarly moved by a servo motor 84 with a transverse
rubber-roller 85. In order to enable both disc compartments to perform
simultaneous close/open operation, the rear end of front disc compartment 71 is
provided with a protruding part 86 having a center hole and the front end of
rear disc compartment 72 is furnished with a protruding part 87 having also a
center hole. Both center holes are aligned so as to allow the
fastening/unfastening operation of latch 88 controlled by solenoid 89.
The exploded perspective view of disc-compartment transporting means 73
of FIG. 3 is detailed in FIG. 5. Playhousing 74 is made to have narrow openings
90 and 91 that form supporting rails 92 and 93 respectively. Supporting rails 92
and 93 having bearings 94 and 95 respectively support a suspended sliding device
96 that has five guiding rails. The top and the bottom guiding rails 97 and 98
of suspended sliding device 96 have bearings 99 and 100 respectively. All
together, these rails and bearings. allow suspended sliding device 96 to perform
sliding operation inbetween supporting rails 92 and 93. On suspended sliding
device 96, guiding rail 101 has bearings 102 and 103 and guiding rail 104 has
bearings 105 and 106, while guiding rail 107 has no bearing. Guiding rails 101
and 104 and their respective bearings form a gap accommodating a sliding rail
108 that is fastened only to front disc compartment 71. At the distal end of
sliding rail 108, there exists a sliding roller 109 that extends to rear disc
compartment 72. Thus, front disc compartment 71 can individually slide to a disc
loading/unloading position. Fastened to rear disc compartment 72 is a sliding
rail 110 with sliding rollers 111 and 112, which slide along the space formed by
guiding rails 104 and 107. Because of the arrangement of suspended sliding
device 96, rear disc compartment 72 can thus be fully opened into a disc
loading/unloading position.
FIG. 6 is an illustrative top plan view of
the multitasking information processing apparatus 70 seen in FIG. 3 with eight
optical discs and six optical units. Situated in front disc compartment 71 are
an 120-mm disc 113 horizontally disposed on turntable 134 and two optical units
121 and 122 that are able to independently and simultaneously move to any
predetermined positions in radial directions with respect to disc 113 for
multitaskingly reproducing intonation stored on the lower surface of disc 113.
It is also possible that each optical unit 121 or 122 has an additional optical
read head as the configuration to be shown in FIG. 15 for simultaneously
reproducing information, if any, stored on the upper surface of optical disc
113.
In addition to the 120-mm disc, turntable 134 disposed within disc
compartment 71 can be used to hold a disc with a smaller disc diameter.
Turntable 134 is capable of rotating in a CLV or CAV scheme. For a CLV-recorded
disc, only optical unit 121 is in operation; while optical unit 122 will be
additionally in effect if the information of disc 113 is detected to be in a
CAV-recorded scheme. Thus, either CAV-recorded or CLV-recorded discs can be
scanned accordingly for information while a CLV-recorded disc doubles its
storage capacity, a CAV-recorded disc can be scanned in a high-speed,
multitasking way.
Horizontally disposed in rear compartment 72 are seven
45-mm-diameter discs 114-120 respectively mounted on turntables 135-141 and four
optical units 123-126 respectively comprising optical read heads 127-132. The
disc-setting tables of turntables 136-141 are arranged in such a manner that
discs 114-120 are horizontally aligned with each other, thus falling onto an
imaginary disc plane (not shown). Optical read heads 129-132 are also aligned to
the best extent, forming a horizontal travelling plane (consisting of the broken
circular lines) underneath and parallel to the imaginary disc plane for
facilitating their focusing during retrieving the information stored on the
lower surfaces of discs 114-120.
The While FIG. 6 shows a configuration
in which optical read heads 127-132 are all arranged to face the lower surfaces
of discs 113-120, it is possible that some of the optical units 121-126 and thus
their respective optical read heads 127-132 could be arranged to face the upper
surfaces of discs 113-120 so as to provide capability for retrieving information
stored on the lower and the upper surfaces of these discs.
Turntable 137
and disc 116 are normally rotated in the CAV method by a turntable motor 722
that also drives the other six turntables and thus discs to rotate in the CAV
method. As illustrated by the broken circular lines, each of optical units
123-126 is able to travel horizontally to an optical disc selected between discs
114-116, between discs 116-118, between discs 116, 119 and 120, and between
discs 118 and 119, respectively, for information reproduction. Information
stored on the 45-mm discs is preferably in the CAV scheme, in order for optical
units 123-126 to perform high-speed, multitasking information reproduction. A
single side of a 45-mm disc of this type is capable of holding a minimum of 60
megabytes of data, sufficient for storing a package of executable software
programs such as a combination of Microsoft Word.RTM.Version 6.0a (about 17
megabytes), Microsoft Excel.RTM.Version 5.0 (about 17 megabytes), and Microsoft
PowerPoint.RTM.Version 4.0 (about 18 megabytes). Use of a 45-mm disc or other
small-sized discs is also more realistic than that of an 120-mm disc because
software developers such as Microsoft.RTM., WordPerfect, or Lotus.RTM. are most
likely to produce their own software discs but each of their core software
programs is not big enough to even fill up 15% of an 120-mm disc capacity. This
also gives a user flexibility to choose a preferred program, for instance, a
word processing program between WordPerfect.RTM. Version 6.0a (about 28
megabytes) and Microsoft Word.RTM., since both are unlikely to be stored on the
same disc.
As shown in FIG. 6, disc 116 is capable of being
simultaneously scanned by three optical units 123-125. This allows three
executable software programs, for instance, Microsoft Word.RTM., Excel.RTM., and
PowerPoint.RTM., to be simultaneously executed. Disc 118 that can be scanned by
optical units 124 and 126 is an ideal location for storing a Microsoft
Windows.RTM. 95 disc containing a disk operating system (DOS) and other shared
programs. While running executable programs from discs situated in rear disc
compartment 72, a user can enjoy digital music by playing a disc situated in
front disc compartment 71. The individual open/close operation capability of
front disc compartment 71 through disc-compartment transporting means 73 (shown
in FIG. 5) further allows a user to change a music disc, when needed, without
interrupting his/her active programs that are based on the information
reproduction of the discs situated in rear disc compartment 72.
FIG. 7
is a block diagram of a control system of the multitasking information
processing apparatus of FIG. 6. Basically, each of optical units 121-126 seen in
FIG. 6 comprises a respective one of optical read heads (i.e., pickups) 127-132
and a separate driving means 705. Each of optical units 121-126 is interfaced
with a separate signal amplifier 701, a separate servo system 704, and a
separate signal-processing system. Each servo system 704 comprises several servo
controls that separately control a separate driving means 705 for radial
tracking of a respective one of optical read heads 127-132 as well as the
focusing of said respective one of optical read heads 127-132. Each
signal-processing system comprises a separate CIRC (Cross Interleaved
Reed-Solomon Code) decoder 706, a separate CD-ROM decoder 707, and a separate
RAM,(random access memory) 708. In essence, each optical read head is capable of
being independently moved by a separate driving means controlled through a
separate servo system to a predetermined position of an optical disc selected
from discs 113-120 and being independently focused thereat for retrieving
information stored thereon.
Signals sensed by each of optical read heads
127-132 are very weak and thus amplified by their respective signal amplifier
701 to derive usable error signals and high-frequency signals. The derived error
signals interface with respective servo system 704 to control focusing and
radial tracking of the respective one of optical read heads 127-132. CLV/CAV
controls 702 and 703 that also receive the derived error signals through a
high-speed system control bus 716 are used to respectively control the rotation
speeds of turntable motors 721 and 722 at a constant linear velocity (CLV)
scheme when either of optical read heads 127-132 senses CLV-recorded information
from discs 113-120. The high-frequency signals derived from each of optical read
heads 127-132 are in a compact disc format or specifically in the EFM
(eight-to-fourteen modulation) format and thus need to be processed by a
signal-process system comprising CIRC (Cross Interleaved Reed-Solomon Code)
decoder 706, CD-ROM decoder 707, and RAM (random access memory) 708 in order for
the signals to be deinterleaved, demodulated, and decoded for error-correction
process, restoring the original sequence of data symbols, and finally converting
the 14-bit word back to the original 8-bit data symbol. RAMs 708 are. used in
temporarily storing data for reassembling during the signal processing proceeded
in the respective signal-process system. A digital-to-analog converter (D/A C)
710 and audio amplifier 711, which are only necessary when discs have audio
tracks, are shared by optical units 121-126 for discs 113-120.
In order
for multitasking to take place most effectively, disc 116 disposed on turntable
137 is normally rotated in the CAV method by turntable motor 722 that also
provides the same rotation speed for turntables 135, 136, and 138-141. Optical
read heads 129, 130, 131, and 132 are able to travel through controlled swinging
by respective driving means 705 to positions proximate the lower surface of an
optical disc selected between discs 114-116, between discs 116-118, between
discs 116, 119 and 120, and between discs 118 and 119, respectively, for
simultaneously retrieving a plurality of information sets stored thereon. This
allows the total number of optical units and thus optical read heads to be less
than that of turntables, thus not only reducing production costs but still
providing high-efficiency and multitasking capability to the information
retrieving operation performed on the same disc and/or different discs.
Also provided in FIG. 7 are (1) a plurality of control means comprising
microprocessors (MPUS) 712-714, a ROM/RAM (read only memory and random access
memory) 715, and (2) data transmitting means comprising a high-speed system
control bus 716, ITDM (intelligent time-division multiplexer) 717, wide-band
host interface bus 718, and ROM/RAM (read only memory and random access memory)
719. Each of the buses is a collection of multiple lines forming control bus,
address bus, and data bus for carrying module-to-module communications.
Multitasking capability of said control means and said data transmitting means
is necessary in order for a plurality of sets of information to be
simultaneously handled and transmitted to a host computer 720. MPUs 712 and 713
that share ROM/RAM 715 issue commands or control signals to CIRC decoders 706
and CD-ROM decoders 707 in a parallel manner through high-speed system control
bus 716. The read only memory portion of ROM/RAM 715 contains basic instructions
needed for MPUs 712 and 713 to issue a plurality of control signals to a
plurality of servo systems 704 and a plurality of driving means 705 so as to
independently and simultaneously move optical read heads 127-132 to a plurality
of predetermined disc positions located either on the lower surface of one disc
or on the lower surfaces of several discs for multitaskingly reproducing a
plurality of information sets constituting either a program or several programs
stored thereon. The random access memory portion of ROM/RAM 715 is used for
temporarily storing the. instructions issued from host computer 720 served as
the input of MPUs 712 and 713 for controlling the travelling motions of optical
read heads 127-132.
After being deinterleaved, demodulated, and decoded
by CIRC decoders 706 and CD-ROM decoders 707, the plurality of information sets
retrieved from optical read heads 127-132 are converted back to the original
8-bit data symbol. The plurality of converted information sets are multiplexed
by ITDM 717 in order to be simultaneously transferred to host computer 720
through wide-band host interface bus 718 that is interfaced with microprocessor
714, and ROM/RAM 719. Microprocessor 714 with multitasking capability controls
the simultaneous transmitting of the multiplexed information to host computer
720. The read only memory portion of ROM/RAM 719 contains basis instructions
defining how MPUs 712 and 713 should work coordinately and simultaneously
together to issue commands to optical units 121-126 in order for a plurality of
them to efficiently, multitaskingly, and simultaneously retrieve a plurality of
information sets constituting one program or several programs stored on one disc
or separately on plural discs. The random access memory portion of ROM/RAM 719
is used as buffer memory storage for temporarily storing the information to be
transmitted when host computer 720 is tied up with other operations. When ready,
the host computer 720 can accept the information temporarily stored in ROM/RAM
719 in bursts according to the instruction of MPU 714. While three
microprocessors 712-714 are shown in FIG. 7 for controlling the reproducing and
transmitting of information, it is possible that more microprocessors can be
utilized or these microprocessors are replaced by a single high-performance
multitasking microprocessor having a full 32-bit architecture with 32 bit
address and data bus systems or better. Similarly, a less proportion of shared
electronics such as digital-to-analog converter 710 and audio amplifier 711 are
possible, as are other electronic configurations.
Owing to the
high-speed and multitasking nature of the information processing apparatus 1 of
the present invention, it becomes practical to execute programs directly from
optical discs. This eliminates the conventional, tedious and time-consuming
software installation procedure in which a software program stored on a
plurality of floppy disks or an optical disc has to be (decompressedly) copied
to a hard-disk drive of a computer from where the software program is then
executed. This advantage is described in detail using the exemplary
configuration of FIGS. 6 and 7 in which presumedly disc 116 contains a package
of Microsoft.RTM. software programs including Microsoft Word.RTM., Excel.RTM.,
and PowerPoint.RTM. and disc 118 is a Microsoft Windows.RTM. 95 disc containing
a disk operating system (DOS) program and other shared Windows files for the
basic operation of host computer 720. After discs 116 and 118 are properly
loaded, optical read heads 129-132 first recognize the existence-of both discs
and their corresponding programs in order to create a disc directory-structure
file, which is similar to a file allocation table (FAT) created for monitoring
the use of the sectors of a hard-disk drive, for storing the basic information
of both discs such as disc locations and directory structures to the hard-disk
drive of host computer 720. The disc directory-structure file is updated only if
discs 116 and 118 are replaced by other or newer discs are added to other empty
turntables. There is essentially no software installation as manually needed in
the conventional practice. Software programs can be written in such a way as to
automatically create or modify: (1) a user definable boot file (such as autoexec
bat) on a hard-disk drive in order to quickly direct the host computer 720 to
the locations of the software programs contained in discs 116 and 118; and (2) a
working directory on the hard-disk drive of host computer 720 for storing
resulting files that will be created or changed during the execution of the
programs.
Because none of the program files on the optical disc is
copied to the hard-disk drive, the approach of the present invention essentially
eliminates software installation, therefore alleviating the heavy burden of a
hard-disk drive in information reproduction. Note that according to the
conventional practice both software programs and resulting/working files are
mixedly stored on a hard-disk drive during the routine operation of a computer.
Accordingly, the present invention provides two additional advantages: (1)
eliminating the need to demand a high-capacity hard-disk drive for storing
program files that will never be altered throughout the entire life of their
usage, and (2) eliminating time-consuming hard-disk drive maintenance that
involves file defragmentation in order for a hard-disk drive to regain its
performance.
Further, the capability of launching a program directly
from an optical disc loaded in the information processing apparatus 1 of the
present invention eliminates the need for an end user to make a set of backup
copies (on floppy disks) for a purchased software program and thus a software
developer can make its CD-version products not executable from a hard-disk
drive, accordingly minimizing illegal-copying of a software program. This can be
simply based on, for instance, the difference in recording formats between the
optical disc and the hard-disk drive. A software developer can embed a key code
in the EFM format onto an optical disc containing the program to be copy-right
protected. Without detecting the presence of the embedded key code in the EFM
format, a computer will not execute the program. This in effect disables the
program to be executed from a hard-disk drive, and thus completely prevents
spreading of a software program. This type of software program can be considered
to be a hardware type in nature, because its copy-right protection is not relied
on the conventional practice of using a sealed envelope. As software
manufacturers are well protected, consumers can be afforded their opportunity to
really try out a fully-working version of a software program before deciding
whether to keep it or not.
During the process of booting, host computer
720 in accordance with the booting instruction of a user defined boot file
(e.g., autoexec.bat) created on the hard-disk drive interfaces through wide-band
host interface bus 718 with MPU 714 that determines and issues the most
efficient instructions to MPUs 712 and 713 in order for them to provide power
signals to respective servo systems 704 and respective driving means 705 so as
to move optical read heads 130 and 132 to disc 118 for simultaneously
reproducing the disk operating system (DOS) information and Microsoft
Window.RTM. 95 information. It is preferred that ROM/RAM 715 stores a set of
predefined instructions; and, software programs stored on the disc are written
and arranged in a particular manner so that optical read head 130 is controlled
to move specifically to a predetermined position selected from a set of disc
tracks that contain sound information and/or other non-video files while optical
read head 132 is instructed to move specifically to another predetermined
position selected from another set of disc tracks that contain video information
and/or other non-sound files. In other words, optical read head 130 is
controlled for producing sound effects and other non-video files while optical
read head 132 is instructed mainly to produce video images and other non-sound
files. Controlled by data transmitting signals issued by microprocessor 714,
video images can be transmitted in bursts through wide-band host interface bus
718 directly to a video circuit (not shown) of host computer 720. With this
scheme, reproduction of video images and sound effects can be simultaneous, thus
allowing a program to be executed at a-much higher speed and arriving at a
ready-to-run state in no time.
On the contrary, in accordance with the
current conventional practice, the proceeding of a Windows-based software
program is inevitably interrupted constantly, especially when video information
and sound information are too large to be read within a reasonable time period.
Disc 116 loaded on turntable 137 can be simultaneously accessed by three
optical read heads 129-131. Accordingly, an information processing apparatus of
this type will hardwarely allow a user to simultaneously execute three different
programs at the same time. Front disc compartment 71 seen in FIG. 6 has its own
turntable 134, optical. units 121 and 122, CLV/CAV control 702 and turntable
motor 721 (both shown in FIG. 7) for rotating and scanning an 120-mm CD at
either the CLV or the CAV method; thus, an audio CD can be simultaneously played
while a user is executing the software programs stored on the discs disposed in
rear disc compartment 72.
Shown in FIG. 8 is an information processing
apparatus 800 with an alternative configuration of disc-storage locations and
optical units, having a rear disc compartment 801 different from FIG. 6. The
rear disc compartment 801 of FIG. 8 bears six discs 802-807 and six optical
units 808-813. In accordance with this embodiment, at least, discs 802 and 803,
discs 804 and 805, and discs 806 and 807 are respectively aligned with each
other. Further, each of optical units 808-813 is capable of linearly moving
along a screw shaft 814 and a sliding rail 815 by a predetermined distance in a
radial direction of a selected disc so as to allow each of respective optical
read heads 816-821 to be correspondingly positioned on a predetermined disc
position for retrieving information stored thereon. Thus, each of discs 802-807
can be scanned either by one optical read head or by two optical read heads
simultaneously for information reproduction.
FIGS. 9A and 9B are
perspective top and cutaway side (along the line 9B--9B) views respectively of
the turntable showing a disc-setting table and a disc-holding and -releasing
means having a self-clamping and -releasing mechanism for detachably holding an
optical disc thereon in accordance with the present invention. The disc-holding
and -releasing means and thus the self-clamping and -releasing mechanism of the
turntable herein are characterized by miniaturization and are designed to
facilitate disc loading/unloading operation. In the following, exemplary
illustration is given to turntable 135 and disc 114 disposed thereon as seen in
FIG. 6. To facilitate illustration, only FIG. 9B is loaded with disc 114
Turntable 135 basically comprises a disc-setting table 150 for horizontally
bearing a disc thereon and an elevated center portion 151 which is sized to fit
into the center hole of optical disc 114 as shown in FIG. 9B. Elevated center
portion 151 comprises a hollow member 152 being in a cylindrical shape wherein a
spring device having a flat bottom 153 and four strip ends 154 is situated on
the top of spring 155 that provides up-and-down motion through a guiding ring
156. During disc loading, spring strip ends 154 are forced to retract through
four openings 157 to the inside of hollow member 152 and then return to their
outward-biased normal position that also provides a slightly downward force so
as to hold disc 114 in place as shown in FIG. 9B. Also in the elevated center
portion 151 is a release mechanism having a pressing button portion 158 and a
release bottom portion 159. Pressing button portion 158 is confined in the
inside of hollow member 152 by means of the circular edge 160 of hollow member
152. When pressing button portion 158 is pushed by a user's finger for disc
unloading, release bottom portion 159 and thus flat bottom 153 are accordingly
moved downward to cause the retraction of spring strip ends 154 into the inside
of hollow member 152, thus releasing disc 114. To obtain self-releasing
function, disc-setting table 150 is made to comprise disc-releasing springs
having one end held by the rectangular slots 161 and the other end 162 biased
upward but capable of being pushed downward when disc 114 is held in place by
spring strip ends 154.
Hollow member 152 may optionally have a
noncircular outer boundary such as having a locking portion 163 for adapting an
optical disc having a center hole with a complementary boundary or shape so as
to ensure precision griping, thus allowing disc 114 to rotate at a speed much
higher than the conventional practice.
FIG. 10 is an enlarged
perspective top view of optical unit 124 and three adjacent discs 116-118 which
are arranged in the same configuration as seen in FIG. 6, illustrating that a
single driving means (or swing mechanism) is used to horizontally move an
optical read head selectively between disc positions as well as between a
plurality of discs for information reproduction in accordance with the present
invention. Information starting from disc directory structures is stored from
each innermost track 164 to the outermost edge of discs 116-118. Located at the
distal end of optical unit 124 is an optical read head 130 that is currently
positioned at the innermost track 164 of disc 118. Optical read head 130 is able
to swing about axis 166 that is rotatably supported by bearing 191 and
supporting frame 222 attached to driving means 168, in accordance with a broken
circular line or travelling path 167. The swing motion of optical read head 130
is powered by the driving means (or swing mechanism) 168 through a toothed belt
169. Discs 116-118 are horizontally aligned with each other so as to facilitate
the focusing action of optical read head 130 to each of the discs, and are
concentric with respect to axis 166 so that the innermost tracks of the three
discs are reachable as indicated by the broken circular line 167. Thus, by
spinning these discs and by swinging optical read head 130 about axis 166,
information stored on any tracks of discs 116-118 becomes readily reproducible.
FIG. 11 is a cutaway view, showing turntable 139 on which disc 118 is
horizontally disposed and optical unit 124 that comprises optical read head 130
and driving means (or swing mechanism) 168 for providing a necessary force to
horizontally swing optical read head 130 to a preselected position. Turntable
139 has a turntable shaft 213 which is rotatably supported by bearings 214 and
215 that are attached to a supporting frame 216 fastened to the bottom frame 224
of compartment 72. At the bottom portion of turntable shaft 213 are pulleys 217
and 218 that are connected respectively by toothed belts 219 and 220 for
transmitting rotation power from turntable motor 722 seen in FIG. 7 and to other
turntables. Under these circumstances, a plurality of turntables can be driven
by a single turntable motor. This greatly reduces construction costs and space
for commercializing the optical information processing apparatus of the present
invention.
Optical read head 130 situated in an optical-read-head
housing 221 comprises a semiconductor laser diode 170, a lens system 171,
photosensors 172 and 173, and a focusing mechanism 174 situated on the distal
end of optical-read-head housing 221. As detailed in FIG. 12, semiconductor
laser diode 170 is a light source for producing a laser beam. The laser beam
emitted from laser diode 170 is converted by a collimator 175 to a parallel
light beam 176 that is bent at an angle of 90.degree. by means of a mirror 177
and is then focused by a focusing mechanism 174 onto the information-stored
surface layer 178 of disc 118. A beam of light reflected from the
information-stored surface layer 178 is deflected at an angle by mirror 177 and
is then condensed through a quarter-wavelength (.lambda./4) plate 179,
polarizing beam-splitting prisms 180 and 181, the lens 182 to a photosensors 172
that reads the change of the output signals.
Focusing mechanism 174
detailed in FIG. 12 comprises an objective lens 184 attached to a vertically
movable device 185, tension springs 187, and a focus-tracking coil 188 wound
around a stationary bobbin 189. Vertically movable device 185 has a ring-type
magnet 186 fixedly situated therein. Tension springs 187 provide tension and
keep objective lens 184 straight in the focusing mechanism 174 as objective lens
184 vertically moves. Projection lens 183 and photosensor 171 are arranged in a
direction of the beam that is reflected from disc 118, bent by mirror 177, and
condensed through .lambda./4 wave plate 179, polarizing beam-splitting prisms
180 and 181, thereby detecting a focusing error. In the focused condition, a
zero error exists from photosensor 171. When an error signal produced from
either a too-far or a too-close condition is by photosensor 171, the detected
error signal is amplified and fed to focus-tracking coil 188 wound around
stationary bobbin 189 which then produces a magnetic field to cause ring-type
magnet 186 and thus objective lens 184 to move in the relevant direction until
the error signal becomes zero and the beam is in focus.
As shown in FIG.
11, the other distal end of optical-read-head housing 221 is attached to a shaft
190 that is rotatably supported by bearings 191 and 192 and has a pivoted end
193 for its swinging. Bearings 191 and 192 are respectively supported by tope
and bottom supporting frames 222 and 223 fixedly attached to driving means 168.
A stop pin 194 fixedly attached to the bottom frame 224 of rear disc compartment
72 and two helical tension springs 195 and 196 arranged in opposite direction
are provided in order to produce torque restrain for a steady swing of shaft 190
about its axis 166. A stop pin 197 fixedly attached to the bottom portion of
shaft 190 is provided for shaft 190 to rest at a reference position. Toothed
belt 169 connects pulley 198 on shaft 190 and pulley 199 on moving-coil shaft
200 for transmitting rotation power. Pulley 199 has a diameter larger than
pulley 198 so that driving means 168 can provide a maximal swing angle of
300.degree.. Supported by bearings 201, moving-coil shaft 200 has top and bottom
pivots 202 and 203 that are respectively held in place by top and bottom frames
204 and 205 for its swing.
Driving means (or swing mechanism) 168 as
seen in FIG. 11 is further detailed in FIG. 13 in a partial cutaway top view in
which top frame 204 and supporting frame 222 (seen in FIG. 11) are removed. In
accordance with the present invention, driving means 168 is able to provide a
rotating force to horizontally swing optical read head 130 about axis 166 for a
maximal swing angle of 300.degree. as indicated by the broken circular line or
travelling path 167. This allows optical read head 130 to travel between
positions of a selected disc as well as between discs 116-118. Most importantly,
the travelling of optical read head 130 between these discs is as rapid as that
between positions of a selected disc, because the travelling involves neither
multidirectional nor three-dimension maneuver but needs only one
single-directional movement.
In order to provide a rotating force,
driving means 168 is arranged as shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, in which one end of a
moving coil 206 is fixedly attached to moving-coil shaft 200, the other end is
allowed to freely travel in a uniform air gap 207 defined by an outer soft-iron
pole piece 208 and inner pole piece 209. Bonded to outer soft-iron pole piece
208 is a magnet 210. An air gap 211 extending to the inner area of covering
frame 212 is provided in order for moving-coil shaft 200 with attached moving
coil 206 to be assembled into the configuration of FIG. 13 and also allows
moving-coil shaft 200 and the fixedly attached end of moving coil 206 to rotate
about the axis defined by pivots 202 and 203 (FIG. 11). Attached to the outer
circular area of magnet 210 is a laminated steel shell 213 that acts as a
magnetic collector ring and also effectively shields the element from stray
fields.
Illustrated in FIG. 14 is another-preferred embodiment of the
present invention, wherein information processing compartment 300 has an optical
unit 301 comprising an optical read head 302 and a driving means (or swing
mechanism) 303, wherein said driving means 303 enables said optical-read head
302 to travel by swinging about axis 316 to any positions on discs 304-309
respectively mounted on turntables 310-315 for information reproduction. Each of
these discs has a diameter of 45 mm. Within the compartment, these discs are
horizontally and concentrically disposed at predetermined positions such that
the disc centers are at an equal distance from the axis 316 of optical unit 301.
Underneath turntable 310 is a turntable motor (not shown) which is also used to
drive turntables 231-315 simultaneously. Each of turntables 310-315 comprises
its own disc-loading and releasing means with self-clamping and -releasing
feature so that once being loaded onto turntables 310-315, discs 304-309 will
remain being clamped at any time and can be rotated simultaneously. Thus,
without going through other intermediate loading stages (such as internal disc
changing or selecting used in the prior art), information reproduction can be
effectively performed by simply moving optical read head 302 to a disc selected
between discs, 304-309 disposed within the same compartment. This eliminates any
need to equip an information processing apparatus with a disc-turntable rotating
mechanism, a disc transporting means, or other disc changers described in prior
arts such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,354, 5,146,451, 5,193,079, and 5,334,218.
Driving means 303 enables optical unit 301 to perform a maximum of
350.degree. swing about axis 316, starting from position 318, for accessing
selectively between disc tracks and discs 304-309. In essence, optical read head
302 of optical unit 301 travels in accordance with the broken circular line 317;
thus, any information stored on these discs becomes readily accessible. Because
of being designed for discs with smaller sizes and being equipped with a single
turntable motor and a shared optical unit 301, compartment 300 can be
economically produced in a size similar to the commercially available single
120-mm-disc player, for being installed into the interior of a personal
computer.
Apparatus 300 is optionally equipped with a servo control (not
shown), which enables the turntable motor to rotate at a constant linear
velocity (CLV) in addition to at a constant angular velocity (CAV). Use of the
CLV-recording method doubles the storage capacity of the 45-mm disc to 120
megabytes from 60 megabytes compared with use of the CAV-recording method. This
is advantageous for a software developer to fit a lengthy program or several
programs as a package into a single small-sized disc. On the other hand, if
information to be stored in a 45-mm disc is less than 60 megabytes, the CAV
method is preferred in order to allow information reproduction to be performed
at a higher speed.
In a further preferred embodiment of the present
invention, discs 304-309 shown in FIG. 14 are arranged in a manner so that there
is an open space between disc 304 and disc 309 for optical unit 301 to park at
position 318. This open space allows optical unit 301 of apparatus 300 to
further comprise an upper optical read head 320 in addition to lower optical
read head 321 as shown in FIG. 15, without causing any inconvenience to disc
loading/unloading operation. Upper and lower optical read heads 320 and 321 have
configurations similar to the embodiments of optical read head 130 singularly
situated in optical-read-head housing 221 hereinbefore detailed in FIG. 12.
Optical-read-head housing 322 has a horizontal open slot 325 for an optical disc
selected from discs 304-309 to insert therein so that the innermost positions on
both surfaces of the disc become simultaneously accessible to an objective lens
323 of upper optical read head 320 and an objective lens 324 of lower optical
read head 321. Note that objective lens 323 is disposed in a direction facing to
objective lens 324, so as to face the other surface (i.e., the upper surface) of
an optical disc selected from disc 304-309. The use of two optical read heads in
an optical unit provides twofold,advantages: doubling not only the information
storage capacity of a disc but also the speed of information reproducing.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and
described herein, it will be understood that such embodiments are provided by
way of example only. Numerous variations, changes, modification, and
substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the
invention herein. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limited only
by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
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