JP2008027555A - Optical disk processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical disk processor facilitating an optical disk producing process including an optical disk disposal process. <P>SOLUTION: A defective disk in a data writing process or a label picture printing process is collected by a carrier arm 38 from a writing drive 28 or a printing unit 30. The carrier arm 38, drops collected defective disk to a shooter 32. Since the shooter 32 is inclined toward a disk inlet of a shredder 26, the dropped defective disk is slipped down toward the shredder 26 and thrown into the shredder 26. The shredder 26, destroys data recorded on the thrown defective disk and ejects it to the outside. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical disk processing apparatus that continuously performs at least one of data recording and label image printing on a plurality of optical disks.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an optical disc apparatus that performs an optical disc generation process by performing predetermined processing such as data recording or label image printing on an optical disc before processing. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an optical disc processing apparatus that automates processing operations such as information recording on a plurality of optical discs and image printing on a label surface and continuously produces recording media products. This optical disc processing apparatus includes a disc stocker that accommodates optical discs that cannot be processed normally (data recording) and is determined to be defective, so that the discs are stored separately from discs that have been successfully processed. It has become. Normally, the user manually collects and discards the defective disk stored in the disk stocker for the defective disk.

JP 2004-273047 A

  Here, when discarding a defective disk, in order to prevent leakage of data written on the defective disk, the data recorded in advance on the defective disk is physically or electrically destroyed (DC (Including erasing data such as erasing). It is troublesome and time-consuming for the user to perform such data destruction work separately from the optical disc generation process. In addition, since the time from when a defective disk is generated by the optical disk processing apparatus to when the data is destroyed by the user becomes longer, there is a problem in information security.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical disc processing apparatus that can simplify optical disc generation processing including optical disc disposal processing.

  An optical disk processing apparatus of the present invention is an optical disk processing apparatus that continuously performs at least one of data recording and label image printing on a plurality of optical disks, and performs at least one of data recording and label image printing on the optical disk. A process execution unit that performs an optical disc generation process, a determination unit that determines at least whether or not the optical disk generation process by the process execution unit is successful, and a disc that is determined to have failed by the determination unit. Data destruction means for destroying existing data, and conveying means for conveying at least a defective disk determined to have failed in the optical disk generation process from the process execution means to the data destruction means.

  In a preferred aspect, the transport means is a main transport mechanism that transports the optical disk by moving while holding the optical disk, and supplies the optical disk to the process execution means and collects the optical disk from the process execution means. A mechanism, and a sub-transport mechanism that includes an inclined surface inclined toward the disk entrance of the data destroying means, and transports the defective disk to the data destroying means by sliding the defective disk along the inclined surface. When it is determined that the optical disc generation process has failed, the main transport mechanism transports the defective disk ejected from the process execution means to the upper side of the inclined surface and drops the defective disk onto the inclined surface. In this case, it is desirable that the inclined surface has a shape that contacts only a part of the bottom surface of the defective disk.

  In another preferred aspect, the determination unit further determines the success / failure of the conveyance of the defective disk by the sub-conveyance mechanism based on the operation status of the data destruction unit after the defective disk is dropped by the main conveyance mechanism.

  According to the present invention, the data destruction means for destroying the data recorded on the defective disk determined to have failed in the optical disk generation process, and the conveyance means for conveying the defective disk to the data destruction means are provided. Data remaining on the defective disk can be destroyed quickly and easily. As a result, the optical disc generation process including the optical disc discard process can be simplified.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an optical disc processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the transport mechanism 18.

  The optical disk processing device 10 is a device that performs data writing processing and label image printing processing on a plurality of optical disks before processing to continuously generate processed disks having the same contents.

  The unprocessed disk storage unit (stacker) 12 is a storage member that stores a large number (for example, several tens to several hundreds) of unprocessed disks, that is, optical disks on which no data is recorded and before label image printing. When executing the optical disc generation process by the optical disc processing apparatus 10, the user replenishes the pre-process stacker 12 with the pre-process disc.

  The processed disk storage unit (stacker) 14 is a storage member that stores a processed optical disk that has been subjected to data writing processing and label image printing processing by the optical disk processing apparatus 10. The number of optical disks that can be stored in the processed stacker 14 is basically the same as the number of sheets that can be stored in the unprocessed stacker 12, but may be different. When the optical disk generation process is completed, the user collects the processed disks stored in the processed stacker 14.

  The processing execution unit 16 that performs a predetermined process on the optical disc includes a writing drive 28 that performs data writing processing, and a printing unit 30 that prints a label image on the label surface. The writing drive 28 is a writing drive that performs a data writing process on the optical disc, and its specific configuration is the same as that of a known writing drive. Therefore, a detailed description of the configuration of the write drive 28 is omitted here.

  The supply of the unrecorded disk to the writing drive 28 is automatically performed by the transport mechanism 18 described later. In addition, recording data to be written on the optical disc is input from an external information processing apparatus (not shown) via a network. When the writing process is completed, the writing drive 28 determines the success or failure and notifies the control unit 20 of the determination result. That is, the data writing process by the writing drive 28 may fail due to problems such as the surrounding environment (for example, the presence or absence of vibration) and the quality of the optical disk to be written. An optical disk in which such data writing processing has failed needs to be handled as a defective disk separately from a normally recorded disk on which data has been normally written. Therefore, the writing drive 28 determines the success or failure of the writing process for each optical disc, and notifies the control unit 20 of it. Collection of a normally recorded disc or a defective disc for which the writing process has been completed is automatically performed by the transport mechanism 18.

  The printing unit 30 prints a label image on the label surface (non-recording surface) of the optical disc. The configuration of the printing unit 30 is the same as that of a known label printing apparatus, and a printing process is realized by, for example, a thermal transfer method. The feeding mechanism 18 automatically supplies the pre-printing disk to the printing unit 30. If the pre-printing disc is supplied, the printing unit 30 executes a label image printing process on the disc. Label image data to be printed is also input from an external information processing apparatus via a network, like the recording data. Here, even if the data writing process is successful, if the label image printing process is unsuccessful, the optical disk needs to be handled as a defective disk separately from a normally processed disk that has been successfully printed. Therefore, as with the writing drive 28, the printing unit 30 also determines success or failure when the printing process is completed, and notifies the control unit 20 of the determination result. Collection of a normally processed disk or a defective disk that has been printed is automatically performed by the transport mechanism 18.

  The transport mechanism 18 is a transport unit that transports the optical disk to each location according to the progress of processing. As shown in FIG. 2, the transport mechanism 18 is roughly divided into a main transport mechanism 31 and a shooter 32. The main transport mechanism 31 is a mechanism for actively transporting an optical disk by driving a transport arm 38 and a clamper 40 constituting the main transport mechanism 31 by a drive source 36 such as a motor. The main transport mechanism 31 includes a guide shaft 34 extending in the vertical direction, a transport arm 38 that can be moved up and down along the guide shaft 34 and rotatable about the guide shaft 34, and a clamper 40 provided at the tip of the transport arm 38. And a drive source 36 composed of a motor or the like. The clamper 40 can appropriately hold and release the optical disc, and the optical disc can be conveyed by moving the conveyance arm 38 while holding the optical disc by the clamper 40.

  As will be described in detail later, the shuter 32 is a guide member that guides the optical disk moving by gravity to the disk inlet 26a of the shredder 26. The main transport mechanism 31 is a mechanism for transporting the optical disk between the stackers 12 and 14 and the processing execution unit 16, whereas the shooter 32 supplies the defective disk ejected from the processing execution unit 16 to the shredder 26. This mechanism is exclusively used when transporting. As will be described in detail later, the shooter 32 is provided with an inclined surface inclined toward the disk inlet 26a of the shredder 26, and the optical disk dropped on the shooter 32 moves along the inclined surface by gravity.

  The operation panel 24 is a user interface that accepts operation instructions from the user and presents information to the user as necessary. The operation panel 24 is provided with, for example, a process execution start button and a button for instructing the number of discs to be generated. The operation panel 24 is also provided with display means for displaying various types of information to the user, for example, disc generation conditions (number of generated sheets, data writing speed, etc.), whether or not an error has occurred, and the content of the error that has occurred. It has been.

  The control unit 20 is a control unit that controls each unit of the optical disc processing apparatus 10 in accordance with an operation instruction from the user input via the operation panel 24. Specifically, the control unit 20 transports the optical disk by the main transport mechanism 31 according to the drive timing of the writing drive 28, the printing unit 30, and the shredder 26 described later, and the success or failure of the data writing process or the printing process. Judge the route and give instructions. Details of various determinations and instructions by the control unit 20 will be described later.

  The shredder 26 is a device that destroys data recorded on a defective disk for which data writing processing or label image printing processing has failed, and functions as data destruction means. Specifically, the shredder 26 destroys data by cutting the inserted optical disk or forming a large number of cracks on the recording surface of the optical disk. Since the specific configuration of such a shredder is almost the same as that of a known shredder for optical discs, a detailed description thereof is omitted here. By the way, the shredder 26 is provided with an operating condition detecting mechanism 27 for detecting the operating condition, as in the case of a normal optical disk shredder. The operating state detection mechanism 27 includes, for example, an optical disk sensor that detects the presence or absence of an optical disk in the shredder 26, a load sensor that detects a load applied to a built-in optical disk conveyance roller, and the like. The shredder 26 appropriately drives or stops driving each part of the shredder 26 according to detection results detected by various sensors constituting the operating state detection mechanism 27. In addition, the detection results of the various sensors constituting the operating state detection mechanism 27 are also output to the control unit 20 of the optical disc processing apparatus 10. The control unit 20 determines the success or failure of the discarding process of the defective disk according to the detection result of the operating state detection mechanism 27.

  Here, the conventional optical disc processing apparatus 10 is not provided with a mechanism dedicated to data destruction such as a shredder, and the processing relating to the data destruction is manually performed by a user using a device separate from the optical disc processing apparatus 10. It was. That is, the conventional optical disk processing apparatus 10 has a configuration in which a defective disk is stored in a specific stacker (defective disk stacker). Then, the user manually collects the optical disk stored in the defective disk stacker, transports and supplies it to a shredder apparatus which is a separate apparatus from the optical disk processing apparatus 10, destroys the remaining data, and discards it. It was. Such manual collection, transport, supply, and disposal are complicated and burdensome to the user. Further, in a configuration in which a defective disk is accommodated in a specific stacker, the time from the generation of the defective disk to the destruction of data tends to be long, which is not desirable in terms of data security. Of course, each time a defective disk is ejected from the optical disk processing apparatus 10, if the user manually collects the defective disk, transports it to a shredder apparatus, supplies it, and discards it, the time until data destruction can be shortened. However, every time a defective disk is ejected, it is very troublesome for the user to perform these processes manually, which is difficult to implement in practice.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the optical disk processing apparatus 10 is provided with a shredder 26 that destroys the remaining data of the defective disk. Further, as will be described in detail later, the optical disk is supplied to the shredder 26 automatically and quickly.

  Next, the physical configuration of the optical disc processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the optical disc processing apparatus 10. In FIG. 3, illustration of some members such as a cover that covers the entire optical disc processing apparatus 10 is omitted for easy viewing.

  On the front side of the optical disc processing apparatus 10, stacker accommodating portions 14a and 14b into which a pre-processing stacker 12 (not shown in FIG. 3) and a processed stacker 14 are inserted are provided. Each of the stackers 12 and 14 can be freely inserted into and removed from the optical disc processing apparatus 10, and the user can remove the stackers 12 and 14 from the optical disc processing apparatus 10 as necessary, and replenish the pre-processing discs or processed discs. To collect. In each of the stackers 12 and 14, the optical disk is accommodated so that the label surface faces upward.

  An operation panel 24 is provided on the upper front side of the optical disc processing apparatus 10. As described above, the operation panel 24 is provided with a plurality of operation buttons and a display panel for receiving instructions from the user.

  Inside the optical disc processing apparatus 10, a writing drive 28 and a printing unit 30 are provided. Both of them are provided at a position at a certain distance from the stackers 12 and 14 described above. This is to secure a space for moving the respective disk trays 28a and 30a back and forth.

  The writing drive 28 is installed in the lower part inside the optical disk processing apparatus 10. The writing drive 28 includes a disc tray 28a that can be moved back and forth. When it is necessary to supply an unrecorded optical disc or to collect a recorded disc or the like, the write tray 28 is advanced. The main transport mechanism 31 places an unrecorded optical disk on the advanced disk tray 28a, or collects a recorded disk placed on the disk tray and a defective disk on which the writing process has failed. If the optical disk has been successfully placed or collected by the main transport mechanism 31, the writing drive 28 pulls the disk tray 28a back into the drive, and executes data writing processing when detecting the mounting of the optical disk.

  The printing unit 30 is installed on the upper part of the writing drive 28. The printing unit 30 also includes a freely movable disk tray 30a, and the disk tray 30a is advanced when the main transport mechanism 31 mounts or collects the optical disk. If the optical disk is successfully placed or collected by the main transport mechanism 31, the printing unit 30 pulls the disk tray 30a back into the unit, and executes label image printing processing when detecting the mounting of the optical disk.

  The main transport mechanism 31 includes a transport arm 38, a guide shaft 34 extending in the vertical direction, and a clamper 40 provided at the tip of the transport arm 38. The transfer arm 38 can be moved up and down along the guide shaft 34 by a drive source such as a motor (not shown) and can be rotated around the guide shaft 34. A clamper 40 provided at the tip of the transport arm 38 is a mechanism for holding the optical disc by engaging with the center hole of the optical disc. The optical disk is transported by moving the transport arm 38 while the optical disk is held by the clamper 40. When the defective disk is collected from the writing drive 28 and the printing unit 30, the disk holding by the clamper 40 is released at a position directly above the shooter 32, and the defective disk is dropped onto the shooter 32.

  A shredder 26 is provided at a lower part and a side of the optical disk processing apparatus 10. The shredder 26 is provided at a position where the disk entrance (not shown in FIG. 3) is lower than the disk trays 28 a and 30 a of the writing drive 28 and the printing unit 30. The disk inlet is arranged to face inward, and a shooter 32 is connected to the disk inlet 26a. The optical disk loaded in the shredder 26 is subjected to data destruction processing and then discharged to the outside from the disk outlet 26b. The user only has to collect and discard the optical disk after the data destruction discharged from the disk outlet 26b.

  The shuter 32 is a plate material that is inclined toward the disk entrance of the shredder 26, and is a guide plate that guides the defective disk that has dropped to the disk entrance of the shredder 26. FIG. 4 is an image diagram schematically showing how the shooter 32 guides a defective disk. The transport arm 38 that has recovered the defective disk 100 from the writing drive 28 and the printing unit 30 releases the disk holding by the clamper 40 at a position directly above the shooter 32 and drops the defective disk 100 onto the shooter 32. The dropped defective disk 100 slides down on the shooter 32 due to gravity, and finally reaches the disk inlet 26a of the shredder 26. The defective disk 100 that has reached the disk entrance 26a is pulled into the shredder 26 by a conveyance roller or the like built in the shredder 26, and subjected to data destruction processing.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the conveyance of the defective disk 100 to the shredder 26 is realized by the dropping operation of the defective disk 100 onto the shooter 32 and the sliding operation along the shooter 32. In other words, conveyance of the defective disk 100 to the shredder 26 uses only gravity as a drive source. Therefore, a complicated mechanism or the like is unnecessary, and the defective disk 100 can be transported to the shredder 26 with an extremely simple configuration.

  When the defective disk 100 falls on the shooter 32, the defective disk 100 may jump up and fall off the shooter 32. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to prevent the defective disk 100 from jumping up as much as possible, a sheet with minute unevenness for absorbing vibration is stuck on the surface of the shooter 32. Moreover, the standing wall 32a (refer FIG. 3) is formed in the width direction of the shooter 32, and both edge part.

  Furthermore, in order to reduce friction when the defective disk 100 slides, the shooter 32 of the present embodiment has a shape that contacts only a part of the bottom surface of the defective disk 100. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a cross section in the width direction of the shooter 32. As shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, tapered portions 32 b that are inclined inward are formed on both sides in the width direction of the shooter 32. For this reason, only the peripheral edge of the defective disk 100 that has fallen from above comes into contact with the tapered portion 32 b, and the contact area between the shooter 32 and the defective disk, and hence the friction that occurs between the shooter 32 and the defective disk 100. Becomes smaller. Further, since the sliding is performed on the uneven sheet affixed to the surface of the shooter 32, the friction is further reduced. As a result, the defective disk 100 tends to slide down toward the shredder 26.

  Here, FIG. 6 is a schematic top view of the optical disc processing apparatus 10 around the shooter 32. As is apparent from FIG. 6, in this embodiment, the writing drive 28 and the printing unit 30 are arranged so that the advance positions of the disk trays 28a, 30a are substantially aligned on the coaxial line. It is arranged to be. In addition, the shooter 32 is provided at a position that passes directly below the two disk trays provided on the coaxial line. This is to reduce the amount of movement (and hence the movement time) of the transport arm 38 from when the defective disk is recovered from the writing drive 28 and the printing unit 30 to when it is dropped. That is, when a defective disk is recovered from the writing drive 28 and the printing unit 30 (hereinafter referred to as “writing drive etc.”), the transport arm 38 moves to a position directly above the disk trays 28a, 30a at the advanced position. The defective disk placed on the disk trays 28a and 30a is clamped by the clamper 40 and held. Subsequently, the transport arm 38 is lifted slightly and the disc trays 28a and 30a are accommodated inside a writing drive or the like. When the disk trays 28 a and 30 a are accommodated, the transport arm 38 drops the collected defective disk onto the shooter 32. At this time, if the shooter 32 is away from the position directly below the disk trays 28a and 30a, the defective disk held by the transport arm 38 is moved once horizontally to the position directly above the shooter 32 after the defective disk is collected. The operation to make is necessary. As a result, the time required for transporting the optical disk increases, resulting in an increase in processing time as a whole and complicated control. On the other hand, if the shooter 32 is directly under the disk trays 28a and 30a as in the present embodiment, the defective disk is recovered as it is after the defective disk is recovered, in other words, without moving the transport arm 38 horizontally. Can be dropped onto the shooter 32. As a result, processing time can be shortened and control can be simplified. However, in this embodiment, the transport arm 38 after collecting the defective disk is not moved in the horizontal direction, but is moved (lowered) in the vertical direction to shorten the falling distance of the defective disk. By shortening the fall distance, the jumping of the defective disk dropped on the shooter 32 is reduced.

  Next, the flow of optical disc generation by the optical disc processing apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of optical disc generation.

  When the optical disk processing apparatus 10 receives an execution instruction of the optical disk generation process from the user (S10), the optical disk processing apparatus 10 first transports the unprocessed disk accommodated in the unprocessed stacker 12 to the writing drive 28 (S12). If the pre-processing disk is conveyed, the writing drive 28 starts a data writing process to the pre-processing disk (S14). At this time, the data to be written may be input from an external information processing device via a network, or an information recording / reproducing apparatus such as a disk drive is separately installed in the optical disk processing apparatus 10, and the data is read therefrom. May be input. When the writing process is completed, the writing drive 28 notifies the control unit 20 of the completion together with the success / failure result of the process.

  Upon receiving this notification, the control unit 20 switches the next processing content in accordance with the success / failure result of this writing processing (S16). That is, when the writing process ends normally and the normally recorded disc is ejected from the writing drive 28, the control unit 20 instructs the transport arm 38 to transport the normally recorded disc to the printing unit 30. To do. Upon receiving this instruction, the transport arm 38 collects the normally recorded disc from the writing drive 28, and transports and supplies it to the printing unit 30 (S18).

  On the other hand, when the writing process fails and the defective disk is ejected from the writing drive 28, the control unit 20 outputs an instruction to each unit to discard the defective disk (S24). The detailed flow of the defective disk discarding process will be described in detail later.

  If the normally recorded disc (optical disc before printing) is conveyed to the printing unit 30, the printing unit 30 prints a label image on the label surface of the normally recorded disc (S20). The label image data to be printed may also be input from an external information processing apparatus via a network, or an information recording / reproducing apparatus such as a disk drive is separately installed in the optical disk processing apparatus 10, and the label image data is generated therefrom. May be read out and input. When the printing process is completed, the printing unit 30 notifies the control unit 20 of the completion together with the success / failure result of the process.

  The control unit 20 that has received the notification from the printing unit 30 switches the next processing according to the success or failure result of the printing process, similarly to the case of receiving the notification of the success or failure result of the writing process (S22). That is, when the printing process ends normally and the normally processed disk is ejected from the printing unit 30, the control unit 20 instructs the transport arm 38 to transport the normally processed disk to the processed stacker 14. To do. Upon receiving this instruction, the transport arm 38 collects the normally processed disk from the printing unit 30 and transports it to the processed stacker 14 (S28).

  On the other hand, when the printing process fails and the defective disk is ejected from the printing unit 30, the control unit 20 outputs an instruction to each unit to discard the defective disk (S24).

  When the transport of the normally processed disk to the processed stacker 14 (S28) or the optical disk discarding process (S24) is completed, the control unit 20 determines whether the number of generated optical disks has reached the target number specified by the user. It is determined whether or not (S29), and if it has been reached, the entire process is terminated. If the target number has not been reached, the processing from step S12 to step S29 is repeated until the target number is reached.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a detailed flow of the optical disc discarding process (S24). When the defective disk is ejected from the writing drive 28 or the printing unit 30, the control unit 20 drives the transport arm 38 and collects the ejected defective disk (S30). That is, the writing drive 28 and the printing unit 30 advance the disk trays 28a and 30a on which the defective disk is placed when the writing process or the printing process is completed. The transport arm 38 moves to the disk trays 28a and 30a, and holds a defective disk placed on the disk trays 28a and 30a by a clamper 40 provided at the tip thereof. If the defective disk is held, the transport arm 38 is slightly raised so as not to interfere with the accommodating operation of the disk trays 28a and 30a. On the other hand, when the defective disk is collected, the writing drive 28 and the printing unit 30 pull back the disk trays 28a and 30a to the inside (S32).

  When the disc trays 28a and 30a are accommodated, the transport arm 38 is lowered to shorten the distance from the shooter 32 (S34). Here, as described above and as illustrated in FIG. 6, the advance positions of the disk trays 28 a and 30 a of the writing drive 28 and the printing unit 30 are located immediately above the shooter 32. Therefore, the transport arm 38 is positioned immediately above the shooter 32 when the defective disk is collected from the disk trays 28a and 30a. As a result, after the defective disk is collected, the transport arm 38 is not required to move in the horizontal direction, and the time required for transporting the defective disk can be shortened.

  If the distance between the shooter 32 and the transport arm 38 can be shortened by lowering the transport arm 38, the control unit 20 confirms the operating status of the shredder 26, specifically, the presence or absence of an optical disk during data destruction processing in the shredder 26. (S36). The confirmation of the operating status is performed based on outputs from various sensors constituting the operating status detection mechanism 27 provided in the shredder 26. As described above, the shredder 26 is provided with the operating condition detection mechanism 27 that includes an optical disk sensor that detects the presence or absence of an inserted optical disk, a load sensor that detects a load applied to a blade, a conveyance roller, and the like. Yes. The detection results of the various sensors constituting the operating status detection mechanism are used for driving control of the shredder 26 and also output to the control unit 20 of the optical disc processing apparatus 10.

  If it can be determined that there is an optical disc that is undergoing data destruction processing based on the detection result from the operating state detection mechanism 27, the control unit 20 instructs the transport arm 38 to wait for a predetermined time (S38). That is, the transfer arm 38 is in a state of being temporarily stopped while holding the defective disk at a position directly above the shooter 32. Here, the predetermined time is desirably set to a time required for the shredder 26 to destroy the data of one optical disk. Here, the reason why the transport arm 38 is temporarily held is to prevent the insertion of a defective disk exceeding the processing capability of the shredder 26. That is, normally, the shredder 26 determines the number of disks that can be subjected to data destruction processing at a time. If an optical disk is inserted beyond this, an error such as a disk jam is likely to occur. In order to prevent an error due to the insertion of the optical disk exceeding the specified number, a new defective disk is not inserted and the transport arm 38 is moved to the shooter 32 while there is an optical disk undergoing data destruction processing in the shredder 26. It is made to wait in the position just above.

  Subsequently, after the transport arm 38 is kept on standby for a predetermined time, the control unit 20 confirms the operating status of the shredder 26 again (S40). At this point, if it is determined that there is an optical disk that is undergoing data destruction processing in the shredder 26, the control unit 20 determines that some error has occurred in the shredder 26 (S52). In this case, the control unit 20 temporarily stops driving the optical disc processing apparatus 10 and notifies the user that an error has occurred (S54).

  On the other hand, in step S36 and step S40, when it is determined that there is no optical disc in the data destruction process in the shredder 26, the control unit 20 instructs the shredder 26 to start the data destruction processing operation ( S42). Further, the transfer arm 38 is instructed to release the holding of the defective disk. In response to this instruction, when the transport arm 38 releases the holding of the defective disk, the defective disk falls to the position directly below, that is, the shooter 32 by gravity (S44). At this time, the transport arm 38 has been lowered in advance (S34), and the distance between the transport arm 38 (that is, the defective disk drop start position) and the shooter 32 (drop end position) has become shorter, so it has dropped. It is possible to prevent a defective disk from jumping up. Needless to say, the lowering operation of the transport arm 38 in step S34 may be omitted if the defective disk does not jump up.

  The defective disk dropped on the shooter 32 slides down on the surface of the shooter 32, which is a slope, due to gravity (S46). As a result, the defective disk is automatically conveyed to the disk inlet 26a of the shredder 26 by gravity. In other words, in the present embodiment, conveyance of the defective disk to the shredder 26 is realized by two operations of dropping and sliding, which use gravity as a driving source. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a complicated transport mechanism or the like, and the defective disk can be transported to the shredder 26 with a very simple configuration.

  The defective disk that has reached the disk inlet 26 a of the shredder 26 is drawn into the shredder 26 by a conveying roller or the like provided in the shredder 26. Then, cutting or crack formation processing is performed to destroy the data.

  That is, according to the present embodiment, the defective disk ejected from the writing drive 28 or the printing unit 30 is automatically conveyed to the shredder 26, and the data remaining on the defective disk is destroyed. As a result, it is possible to greatly reduce the user's labor required for destroying the remaining data. In this embodiment, when a defective disk is ejected, the defective disk is immediately loaded into the shredder 26. As a result, the time from generation of a defective disk to data destruction can be significantly shortened, and the confidentiality of data can be improved.

  By the way, the control unit 20 of the optical disc processing apparatus 10 determines whether or not the data destruction processing by the shredder 26 has been normally completed after instructing the transport arm 38 to drop the optical disc (S48). Here, the predetermined time is a time obtained by adding a slight margin time to the time required for the shredder 26 to process the data destruction of one optical disk. Further, whether or not the data destruction process has been completed is determined based on detection results of various sensors constituting the operating state detection mechanism 27 provided in the shredder 26.

  As a result of the determination, if it can be determined that the data destruction process by the shredder 26 has not ended normally within a predetermined time, the control unit 20 determines that the discard process has failed and stops driving the entire optical disc processing apparatus 10. Then, the user is notified that an error has occurred (S52, S54). On the other hand, when it can be determined that the data destruction process by the shredder 26 is normally completed within the predetermined time, the operation of the shredder 26 is stopped (S50), and the process proceeds to step S29 (see FIG. 7).

  Here, “the data destruction process has not ended normally” includes not only a case where the data destruction process has ended abnormally (for example, occurrence of a disk jam) but also a case where no data destruction process has been started. That is, in this embodiment, the defective disk is transported by sliding the defective disk along the shooter. However, the defective disk may be detached from the shooter in the course of the transportation. When a defective disk falls out of the shooter 32, not only can the data destruction process not be performed by the shredder 26, but it may adversely affect other members constituting the optical disk processing apparatus. For example, there may be a case where a defective disk that has jumped up and dropped from the shooter 32 reaches the operating range of the transport arm 38 and the disk trays 28a and 30a. In this case, not only the operation of the transfer arm 38 and the like is hindered, but there is a possibility that these members are damaged. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the omission of the defective disk as quickly as possible. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the data destruction process by the shredder 26 is normally completed within a predetermined time after the defective disk is dropped. When a defective disk is dropped from the shooter 32, the disk is not inserted into the shredder 26, so the data destruction process is not started. Therefore, in this case, it can be determined that the defective disk has dropped out.

  Here, it is conceivable that some sensor is provided in the shooter 32 in order to detect the dropping of the defective disk. However, the installation of such sensors is not desirable because it increases costs. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the failure of the defective disk is detected by determining whether or not the data destruction process by the shredder 26 has been normally completed, a dedicated sensor is unnecessary, and it is simple and low. It is possible to reliably detect defective disk dropout at a low cost.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the shredder for destroying data recorded on the defective disk and the conveying means for conveying the defective disk to the shredder are provided, so that the trouble of discarding the defective disk is reduced. It can also improve the confidentiality of information. In addition, since the gravity is used for transporting the defective disk to the shredder, the transport mechanism can be extremely simplified. Furthermore, since the removal of the defective disk from the shooter is detected based on the operating condition of the shredder after the defective disk is dropped, the reliability of the optical disk processing apparatus can be further improved.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the optical disk processing apparatus which is embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of a conveyance mechanism. It is a perspective view of an optical disk processing device. It is an image figure which shows the mode of the defective disk conveyance by a shooter. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the width direction of a shooter. It is a schematic top view of a shuta periphery. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a disk production | generation process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a disk discard process.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Optical disk processing apparatus, 12, 14 Stacker, 16 Processing execution part, 18 Conveyance mechanism, 20 Control part, 24 Operation panel, 26 Shredder, 27 Operating condition detection mechanism, 28 Write drive, 30 Printing unit, 31 Main conveyance mechanism, 32 Shutter, 34 Guide shaft, 36 Drive source, 38 Transport arm, 40 Clamper, 100 Defective disk.

Claims (4)

An optical disk processing apparatus for continuously performing at least one of data recording and label image printing on a plurality of optical disks,
Processing execution means for performing optical disc generation processing including at least one of data recording and label image printing on the optical disc;
Determination means for determining for each optical disc at least whether or not the optical disc generation processing by the processing execution means is successful;
Data destruction means for destroying the data recorded on the defective disc determined to be the optical disc generation process failure by the judging means;
Transport means for transporting at least a defective disk determined to have failed in the optical disk generation process from the process execution means to the data destruction means;
An optical disc processing apparatus comprising: The optical disk processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The transport means is
A main transport mechanism for transporting an optical disk by moving while holding the optical disk, the main transport mechanism for supplying the optical disk to the processing execution means and collecting the optical disk from the processing execution means;
A sub-transport mechanism that includes an inclined surface inclined toward the disk entrance of the data destruction means, and conveys the defective disk to the data destruction means by sliding the defective disk along the inclined surface;
With
The main transport mechanism transports the defective disk ejected from the process execution means to the upper side of the inclined surface and drops the defective disk onto the inclined surface when it is determined that the optical disk generation process has failed. An optical disk processing device. The optical disk processing apparatus according to claim 2,
2. The optical disk processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inclined surface has a shape that contacts only a part of the bottom surface of the defective disk. The optical disk processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:
The determination means further determines whether or not the defective disk has been transported by the sub-transport mechanism based on the operating status of the data destruction means after the defective disk has been dropped by the main transport mechanism.

Images