JPH11185348A - Optical disk device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the reliability of the device by detecting the presence or the absence of cartridges and the number of the cartridges. SOLUTION: A detecting device 10, which detects cartridges 6, is provided on a tray box 13 of a magazine loading section 4. The device 10 consists of a light emitting element 38 and a light receiving element 40, detects the cartridges 6 stored in a magazine 3 and the detected signals are inputted into a CPU. The CPU allows the loading of the cartridges 6 into a drive by a carrier mechanism only when the number of the drives and the number of the cartridges 6 agree with each other and a recording, a reproducing and an erasing are executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an optical disk apparatus using an information recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk or an optical disk.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional optical disk devices using optical disks include a so-called stand-alone type optical disk device,
There are two types of music box types. The former is provided with one optical disk drive (hereinafter, referred to as a drive), mounted with an optical disk cartridge (hereinafter, referred to as a cartridge) having an optical disk therein, and connected to a host computer as computer memory. is there. On the other hand, the latter is mainly used when a large-capacity memory is required, and is equipped with a plurality of drives and simultaneously accommodates a plurality of optical discs. Recording, reproduction or erasure of information is carried out by mounting it in a drive (Japanese Patent Application No. 8-249998).

[0003]

However, in the conventional music box type optical disk apparatus capable of loading a plurality of optical disks as described above, a plurality of cartridges are stored in a magazine, and the magazine is stored in an apparatus having a transport mechanism. At the time of loading, if the required number of cartridges is not stored in the magazine, there is a problem that even if the cartridge is loaded in the drive as it is, information recording, reproduction, and erasing operations cannot be performed and the apparatus stops. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical disk apparatus which can improve the reliability of the apparatus by detecting the presence or absence and the number of cartridges. To provide.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an optical disk drive capable of loading a plurality of optical disk cartridges containing an optical disk, a magazine for storing the optical disk cartridge, and a magazine loaded with the magazine. A magazine loading section, and a transport mechanism for transporting the optical disk cartridge in the magazine loaded in the magazine loading section to the optical disk drive, and a detection device for detecting the presence or absence of the optical disk cartridge is provided in the magazine loading section. It is characterized by having.
In the present invention, before the apparatus stops, the number of cartridges can be measured, and it can be determined whether or not the number of cartridges is appropriate.

Further, the present invention provides an optical disk drive capable of loading a plurality of optical disk cartridges containing an optical disk, a magazine accommodating the optical disk cartridge, a magazine loading section in which the magazine is loaded,
A transport mechanism for transporting the optical disk cartridge in the magazine loaded in the magazine loading section to the optical disk drive; first detecting means for detecting the number of cartridges in the magazine; and detecting the number of cartridges in the optical disk drive A second detecting means, a third detecting means for detecting the number of cartridges in the transport mechanism, and information recording / reproducing when the total number of cartridges obtained by these detecting means coincides with the number of optical disk drives to be used. Or a control unit for switching to a state in which erasing can be performed, and sending a signal for discharging the optical disk cartridge to the outside from the magazine loading unit together with the magazine to the transport mechanism unit when they do not coincide with each other. In the present invention, the number of optical disk cartridges is detected by the first, second, and third detecting means, and the control unit determines whether the number of cartridges matches the number of drives to be used before the apparatus stops. The device does not stop.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an optical disk apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a magazine loading section. In these figures, the optical disk device 1 includes a box-shaped housing 2. Inside the housing 2, a magazine loading unit 4 opened to the front side and loaded with the magazine 3, a plurality of drives 5 arranged below the magazine loading unit 4 and arranged in a stack, and the magazine loading unit A vertically movable transport mechanism 7 for transporting each cartridge 6 in the magazine 3 loaded in the magazine 4 to the drive 5 is provided, and a power supply and a circuit section 8 are provided above the magazine loading section 4. ing.

Here, in the present embodiment, a magazine 3 accommodating six cartridges 6 and six drives 5 are provided, and six cartridges 6 can be loaded at a time. When the magazine 3 is loaded in the magazine loading section 4 as shown in FIG. 2, a detection device 10 described later provided in the magazine loading section 4 detects the cartridges 6 in the magazine 3 and the number of the cartridges 6 If the numbers match, the transport mechanism 7 pulls out all the cartridges 6 from the magazine 3 and transports them to each drive 5, so that recording, reproduction, and erasure of information on the optical disk can be performed. Next, the magazine 3,
The configuration and the like of the magazine loading unit 4 and the detection device 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

The magazine 3 is formed in a box shape having an open front surface and has a size capable of storing six cartridges 6 in a horizontally stacked state, and has six through holes 11 on both side surfaces. 6 is formed. This through hole 1
1 is for optically detecting the presence or absence of the cartridge 6 by the detecting device 10.

[0010] The magazine loading section 4 is provided with the magazine 3
And a tray box 13 in which the magazine 3 is loaded together with the tray 12.
And the detection device 10 for detecting the cartridge 6 in the magazine 3.

The tray 12 comprises a lower tray 12A which is movable forward and backward, and an upper tray 12B which is also provided on the lower tray 12A so as to be movable forward and backward. The lower tray 12A includes a gear 16 disposed on the lower surface side,
A plurality of rollers 17, and two upper tray guide members 18, 18 and the like provided on both sides of the upper surface, respectively.
It is connected to the tray box 13 by a constant load spring 19. The gear 16 is integrally provided with a pin 21 for moving the upper tray 12B forward and backward. This pin 21 projects above the lower tray 12A through an arc-shaped groove 22 formed in the lower tray 12A,
The protruding end is slidably inserted into a groove 23 described later provided in the upper tray 12B. Arc-shaped groove 22
Is set to 220 with the center being coincident with the rotation center of the gear 16.
It is formed over an angle range of about 240 degrees.
A long hole 24 for letting out the constant load spring 19 is formed near one side of the lower tray 12A so as to be longer in the front-rear direction. In addition, 25 is a front lid.

The upper tray 12B includes a plurality of rollers 26 and the grooves 2 into which the pins 21 are slidably inserted.
Three. The groove 23 is formed in a “<” shape so that a straight groove 23 </ b> A extending in a direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of the upper tray 12 </ b> B is formed.
3A, and is formed with an inclined groove 23B inclined at a required angle in the rear end direction of the upper tray 12B, in other words, in the direction of the tray box 13 in FIG. The inclined groove 23B is provided for further moving the lower tray 12A forward even after the upper tray 12B moves forward by a predetermined distance and stops when the magazine 3 is loaded.

On the bottom plate 13a of the tray box 13, a rack 30 with which the gear 16 meshes, a guide groove 31 long in the front-rear direction, and a suitable locking mechanism 32 for locking the magazine 3 at the loading position (see FIG. 2). ) Is provided, and both side plates 1
The detection device 10 is provided in 3b and 13c. The guide groove 31 is provided on the lower surface side of the lower tray 12A to allow a bearing member 33 that rotatably supports the gear 16 to escape. The both side plates 13b, 1
3c, a vertically long opening 35 is formed at the rear end of the left side plate 13b at the mounting portion of the detection device 10, and six small holes 3 are formed in the right side plate 13c corresponding to the opening 35.
6 are arranged side by side at a predetermined pitch in the vertical direction. The pitch of the small holes 36 is equal to the distance between the centers of adjacent cartridges 6 housed in the magazine 3.

The detecting device 10 comprises a substrate 37,
The light-receiving element 40 includes six light-emitting elements 38 arranged side by side at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction and a light-receiving element 40.
Reference numerals 39 are fixed to the outer surfaces of the side plates 13b and 13c, respectively, corresponding to the openings 35 and the small holes 36. The arrangement pitch of the light emitting elements 38 and the light receiving elements 40 is equal to the pitch of the small holes 36. The light emitted from each light emitting element 38 is received by the corresponding light receiving element 40 through the opening 35 and the small hole 36 when the magazine 3 is not loaded. On the other hand, when the magazine 3 is loaded and the cartridge 6 is not stored in the magazine 3,
Light is received through the opening 35-the through hole 11-the small hole 36 of the magazine 3, and it is detected that the cartridge 6 is not housed in the magazine 3. When the cartridge 6 is stored in the magazine 3, no light is received because the cartridge 6 closes the small hole 11, and it is detected that the cartridge 6 is stored. As a result, the presence or absence and the number of the cartridges 6 are optically detected, and the detection signal is input to the control unit (CPU) via the wiring 41.

As the light emitting element 38, one having high directivity is preferable. Further, the periphery of the light emitting element 38 may be covered with a cylindrical body to enhance directivity. In the present embodiment, the light emitting element 38 and the light receiving element 40 are
3 are attached to both side plates 13b and 13c so as to face each other, but a reflection type sensor having a light emitting element 38 and a light receiving element 40 is used, and is arranged on one of the side plates 13b and 13c. You may. Further, the detection device 10 is not limited to a device that detects optically, but may be a device that detects mechanically. In that case, for example, Magazine 3
In the case where the cartridge 6 is stored, the projection may be protruded or retracted from the magazine 3, and the presence or absence of the projection may be mechanically detected by a switch.

An optical disk device 1 having such a configuration
In order to load the magazine 3 into the magazine loading section 4, the magazine 3 accommodating the cartridge 6 is set on the upper tray 12B and inserted into the tray box 13 together with the lower tray 12A. This insertion is performed by the constant load spring 19.
This is done by the spring force of At this time, the lower tray 12
When A is advanced and inserted into the tray box 13, the gear 16 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3 along the rack 30, and the rotation of the gear 16 is transmitted to the upper tray 12B via the pin 21. You. That is, when the gear 16 rotates, the pin 21 also rotates integrally with the gear 16 and moves in the arc-shaped groove 22, and the linear groove 23A of the groove 23 of the upper tray 12B.
Is pressed toward the tray box 13. Therefore, the upper tray 12B moves on the lower tray 12A and is inserted into the tray box 13 together with the lower tray 12A. When the upper tray 12B is completely inserted into the tray box 13, the cartridge 6 is stopped by preventing the further insertion by the protruding end face protruding from the magazine 3 abutting against an appropriate locking member (not shown). . Therefore, the upper tray 12B also stops. At this time, the pin 21 is located at a bent portion of the groove 23, that is, at a connection portion between the straight groove portion 23A and the inclined groove portion 23B. The reason why the cartridge 6 is locked by the locking member is to prevent the cartridge 6 from jumping out of the magazine 3 and being displaced by the moment of inertia, impact or the like when the upper tray 3B stops.

On the other hand, the lower tray 12A is
After B has stopped, it further advances by a certain amount and stops, and is locked by an appropriate lock mechanism (not shown). The forward movement of the lower tray 12A is enabled by the rotation of the gear 16 along the rack 30 and the movement of the pin 21 along the inclined groove 23B. At this time, the upper tray 12
B holds the stopped state irrespective of the forward movement of the lower tray 12A. When the loading of the magazine 3 is completed in this way, each cartridge 6 in the magazine 3 is taken out of the magazine 3 by the transport mechanism 7 shown in FIG. Recording, reproduction, and erasing of the information.

When the magazine 3 is loaded in the magazine loading section 4 in this manner, the detecting device 10 detects the presence or absence of the cartridge 6 in the magazine 3. When six cartridges 6 are stored in the magazine 3, each light receiving element 40
Does not receive the light from the opposing light emitting element 38, and if there is a drop out of the cartridge 6, the light receiving element 4
0 receives light. When a detection signal from the detection device 10 is input to the CPU, the CPU sends a drive signal when the number of drives 5 matches the number of cartridges 6 housed in the magazine 3 to send the drive mechanism 7. , And the transport mechanism 7 transports and mounts each cartridge 6 to each drive 5 to record, reproduce, and erase information on the optical disk. On the other hand, when the number of the drives 5 does not match the number of the cartridges 6 stored in the magazine 3, the magazine 3 is discharged from the magazine loading unit 4 to the outside together with the tray 12.

As described above, the optical disk device 1 according to the present invention
In the above, the cartridge 6 in the magazine 3 is detected by the detecting device 10, and only when the number of the drives 5 matches the number of the cartridges 6 stored in the magazine 3, the cartridge 6 is loaded into the drive 5 and recorded. When the number of drives 5 and the number of cartridges 6 do not match, the apparatus does not stop and the reliability of the apparatus can be improved.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, six drives 5, a CPU 50, a first cartridge detecting circuit (first detecting means) 51 for measuring the number of cartridges in the magazine, and a second cartridge for measuring the number of cartridges in the drive 5 are described. A two-cartridge detection circuit (second detection means) 52;
A third cartridge detection circuit (third detection means) 53 for measuring the number of cartridges in the transport mechanism 54 is provided. The first detection unit 51 may be the detection device 10 described in the above embodiment. The second detecting means 52 is usually built in each drive 5. The transport mechanism unit 54 includes a transport control circuit 55, a transport mechanism 7, first and third detection units 51,
53 and the like. The CPU 50 includes a first, a second, and a third
The total number of cartridges is measured based on the detection signals from the detecting means 51, 52, 53, and each drive 5 and the transport mechanism 7 are measured.
Is issued to the control circuit 55.

Next, the operation of such an optical disk device will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. In FIG. 5, first, the power supply of the apparatus is turned on (step 100). When the power is turned on, the CPU 50 sends an initialization command to the post-initial processing transfer control circuit 55. The transport control circuit 55 initializes the transport mechanism 7 based on a command from the CPU 50. Thereby, the mechanical conditions relating to the transport mechanism 7 are set, and it is confirmed whether or not a cartridge exists inside the transport mechanism 7.
If there is a cartridge, the number of cartridges in the transport mechanism 7 is sent to the CPU 50 (step 101). The detection of the cartridge in the transport mechanism 7 is performed by a third detection unit.

Next, at step 102, the CPU 50 checks whether or not the magazine is in the magazine loading section.
If the magazine has not been loaded in the magazine loading section, a standby state (STATE 0) waits for loading of the magazine (step 103). When the magazine is loaded into the magazine loading section by the tray, the number of cartridges nm in the magazine is determined at step 104 by the first detecting means 5.
1 detects the signal and inputs the signal to the CPU 50. Also,
The second detecting means 52 detects the number nd of cartridges mounted in the drive (step 105).
Input to CPU50. The CPU 50 uses the detection signals from the first, second, and third detection means 51, 52, and 53 to detect nh.
It is checked whether or not the sum N of + nm + nd is 6 (step 106). If N = 6, it is determined that the operating conditions of the present apparatus are satisfied, and the process proceeds to the load sequence for transporting the cartridge from the magazine to the drive (step 106). 107).

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the load sequence. The CPU 50 sends a load command to the transport control circuit 55 (step 108). Specifically, cartridges and drives in the magazine are numbered (eg, cartridges are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and drives are 1, 2, 3, and 3).
No. 4, 5, 6). 1 cartridge N
o. Send a command to transport to drive No. 1 (Step 1)
09). The numbers such as 1 to 6 can be represented by using specific bits in the command bits.

Next, in step 110, the transport mechanism sequentially removes the cartridges from the magazine, transports them, and mounts them in the respective drives in accordance with instructions from the CPU 50. At this time, it is detected in step 111 whether or not the sheet has been conveyed to a predetermined drive within a predetermined time, and if not conveyed, it is processed as an error (step 11).
2). When cartridges are sequentially loaded into the drive within a predetermined time, the drive becomes sequentially ready. When all cartridges have been mounted and it is confirmed in step 113 that they have been mounted normally, information recording, reproduction, and erasing are enabled (STATE 1). If it is not confirmed that all the cartridges have been installed in the drive within the predetermined time, the process returns to step 109 and the CPU 50
The cartridge is mounted again according to the instruction from.

When the cartridge is to be taken out of the apparatus after all cartridges have been properly mounted and after the state of STATE 1 or recording, reproduction or erasure on the optical disk has been performed, the user presses the eject button of the apparatus. Move to the eject sequence shown in (1). In this case, if the state is STATE1 (step 120),
By performing the cartridge ejection sequence 121 and then performing the magazine ejection sequence 122, the ejection is completed (step 123), and the magazine can be taken out from the magazine loading unit. On the other hand, S
If the state is not TATE1, it is detected whether or not the state is STATEO (step 124).
If it is in the state, the magazine is ejected in step 122, and if it is not in the STATEO state, it is ignored as busy (step 125).

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the cartridge ejection sequence. In step 130, C
The PU 50 sends a cartridge eject command to the transport control circuit 55 in the same manner as when loading, and also sends a spindle stop command to all drives. This spindle is a motor for rotating the optical disk inside the cartridge. The motor is stopped, and the cartridge is ready to be ejected. The transport mechanism 7 moves to the drive position in the same manner as in the case of the above-described load, and is in a state of receiving a cartridge (step 131). Next, CPU
When the drive 50 issues a cartridge ejection command to the drive, the drive ejects the cartridge, and the transport mechanism 7 receives and transports the cartridge, and inserts the cartridge into a designated cartridge storage position in the magazine. This operation is performed for all the cartridges. In this case, the total number of cartridges is six. At this time, in step 132, it is detected whether or not the transport mechanism 7 has moved to the designated drive within a predetermined time,
If it does not move, it is determined as an error (step 133),
When moved, the cartridge is ejected from the drive (step 134). In step 135, the transport mechanism 7 detects whether or not the cartridge has been received from the drive. If the cartridge has not been received, it is determined that an error has occurred (step 136). It is inserted into the storage position (step 137). Then, it is detected whether all the cartridges are stored in the magazine (step 138),
When it is confirmed that all the cartridges have been stored in the magazine, the ejection is finished.
The cartridge is ejected based on an instruction from the cartridge 50.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the magazine eject sequence. The CPU 50 sends a magazine eject command to the transport control circuit 55. The transport control circuit 55 moves the transport mechanism 7 to the position of the lock mechanism that locks the tray and unlocks the tray (step 140). When the lock is released, the magazine placed on the tray is discharged to the outside together with the tray (step 141), and the ejection of the magazine ends.

Next, the case where nh + nm + nd ≠ 6 will be described. Even in this case, for example, if a cartridge remains in the drive, it is recognized as an error, and the CPU 50 executes a process of temporarily returning the cartridge to the magazine. In this process, the “total number” in the cartridge ejection sequence in FIG. 8 becomes the number of sheets remaining in the drive. The destination command is in the form of a cartridge remaining position in a magazine from a drive in which a cartridge remains. After all the cartridges have been loaded into the magazine, the CPU 50 sends a magazine eject command to the transport control circuit 55. Subsequent processing is as described above. In this case, no problem is caused.

[0029]

As described above, according to the optical disk apparatus of the present invention, the presence / absence of the optical disk cartridge in the magazine loading section is detected by the detection device.
Before stopping the apparatus, it can be determined whether or not the number of cartridges is an appropriate number, and the reliability of the apparatus can be improved. Further, the present invention detects the number of optical disk cartridges in the magazine, the number of optical disk cartridges in the drive, and the number of cartridges in the transport mechanism when positioning the magazine in the transport mechanism, and uses the sum of the obtained numbers. If the number matches the number of optical disk drives to be recorded, information is recorded, played back, and erased.If not, the magazine is ejected to the outside of the magazine loading unit. Thus, it is possible to determine whether the number of cartridges is appropriate or not, and it is possible to provide a highly reliable optical disk device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical disk device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same device.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a magazine loading unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the optical disc device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the optical disk device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the optical disk device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the optical disc device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the optical disc device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical disk apparatus, 2 ... Case, 3 ... Magazine, 4 ... Magazine loading part, 5 ... Drive, 6 ... Cartridge, 7 ...
Transport mechanism, 10 detection device, 12 tray, 12A upper tray, 12 lower tray, 13 tray box,
19: constant load spring, 50: CPU, 51: first detecting means, 52: second detecting means, 53: third detecting means, 54 ...
Transport mechanism 55, a transport control circuit.

Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Naoki Akiba 1-167, Higashi-Ome, Ome-shi, Tokyo Nippon Chemi-Con Corporation

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An optical disk drive capable of loading a plurality of optical disk cartridges having a built-in optical disk, a magazine accommodating the optical disk cartridge, a magazine loading unit in which the magazine is loaded, and the magazine loaded in the magazine loading unit. An optical disk device comprising: a transport mechanism for transporting an optical disk cartridge in a magazine to the optical disk drive; and a detection device for detecting the presence or absence of the optical disk cartridge in the magazine loading unit. 2. An optical disk drive capable of loading a plurality of optical disk cartridges each containing an optical disk, a magazine for storing the optical disk cartridge, a magazine loading unit in which the magazine is loaded, and the magazine loaded in the magazine loading unit. A transport mechanism for transporting the optical disk cartridge in the magazine to the optical disk drive; a first detector for detecting the number of cartridges in the magazine; a second detector for detecting the number of cartridges in the optical disk drive; A third detecting means for detecting the number of internal cartridges, and when the sum of the number of cartridges obtained by these detecting means matches the number of optical disk drives to be used, switching to a state in which information can be recorded, reproduced or erased, and If not, use the optical disk Optical disk apparatus characterized by comprising a control unit for transmitting the transport mechanism section a signal for a cartridge with the magazine is discharged to the outside from the magazine loading section.