CN109313914B

CN109313914B - Disk carrying device and disk carrying method

Info

Publication number: CN109313914B
Application number: CN201680085875.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 星仲英司; 石井克美; 大须贺彰; 伊藤秀夫
Original assignee: Pioneer Digital Design and Manufacturing Corp
Current assignee: Pioneer Digital Design and Manufacturing Corp
Priority date: 2016-05-20
Filing date: 2016-05-20
Publication date: 2021-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 2036-05-20
Also published as: JP6533338B2; WO2017199430A1; JPWO2017199430A1; CN109313914A

Abstract

A disk conveying device (1) is provided with: a plurality of disk drives (30); a storage section (20) for holding a plurality of discs (50) in a stacked state without contacting each other; and a conveying part (10) which takes out the plurality of discs from the accommodating part while maintaining the intervals between the plurality of discs and conveys the plurality of discs taken out to the plurality of disc drives respectively.

Description

Disk carrying device and disk carrying method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the technical field of a disk handling device for handling disks to a plurality of disk drives, a disk storage device for storing a plurality of disks, and a disk handling method.

Background

As such a device, for example, the following devices are proposed: the present invention relates to a disk separation device including a spindle unit in which a plurality of disks are stacked in contact with each other and inserted into a center hole provided in each disk, wherein a first support claw and a second support claw of the spindle unit are moved back and forth between the inside and the outside of the spindle unit, thereby separating one disk from the plurality of disks (see patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2014-13639

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the technique described in patent document 1, since a plurality of disks are stacked in contact with each other, the recording surface of the disk is easily damaged, and the disks are likely to be less likely to be separated due to static electricity. Further, in the technique described in patent document 1, there is a possibility that the operation of separating the disk becomes complicated or the number of elements constituting a mechanism for separating the disk becomes large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a disk conveying device, a disk storage device, and a disk conveying method capable of suppressing damage to a recording surface of a disk and adhesion between disks due to static electricity, and separating the disks with a relatively simple configuration.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, a disk carrying device according to the present invention includes: a plurality of disk drives; a storage section for holding a plurality of disks in a stacked state without contacting each other; and a conveying section for taking out the plurality of disks from the storage section while maintaining the intervals between the plurality of disks, and conveying the plurality of disks taken out to the plurality of disk drives, respectively.

In order to solve the above problem, the disk storage device according to the present invention includes a plurality of guide members each having a spiral groove portion, and the plurality of guide members support respective end portions of the plurality of disks by the groove portions, thereby holding the plurality of disks in a stacked state without contacting each other.

In order to solve the above problem, a disk carrying method according to the present invention is a disk carrying method of a disk carrying device, the disk carrying device including: a plurality of disk drives; and a storage section for holding a plurality of disks in a stacked state without contacting each other, the disk conveying method including the steps of: the plurality of disks are taken out from the storage section while maintaining the intervals between the plurality of disks, and the plurality of disks taken out are conveyed to the plurality of disk drives, respectively.

The action and other advantages of the present invention will be clarified based on the embodiments to be described next.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a disk carrying device of the embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the cartridge of the embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the lifter portion of the embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a threaded guide and a threaded mandrel of the embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view showing a state when the disk is conveyed.

Fig. 6 is a view showing an operation of the screw guide when the disk is separated.

Fig. 7 is a view showing an operation of the screw guide when the disk is collected.

Detailed Description

The respective embodiments of the disk conveying device, the disk storage device, and the disk conveying method of the present invention will be described.

(disk carrying device)

The disk conveying device of the embodiment comprises: a plurality of disk drives; a storage section for holding a plurality of discs (i.e., disc-shaped recording media) in a stacked state without contacting each other; and a conveying part for taking out the plurality of discs from the accommodating part while maintaining the intervals between the plurality of discs, and conveying the taken-out plurality of discs to the plurality of disc drives, respectively.

In this disk transport device, the interval between the plurality of disks is maintained so that the plurality of disks do not contact each other both at the time of storage and at the time of transport. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, damage to the recording surface of the disk can be suppressed. In addition, the disks are not in contact with each other, so that the disks are not attached to each other due to static electricity. In addition, when the disks are arranged on the tray of the disk drive, the disks can be easily separated from each other. In addition, since a plurality of discs can be held and separated with a relatively simple structure, the number of components can be reduced.

In one aspect of the disk conveying device according to the embodiment, the housing portion includes a plurality of guide members each having a spiral groove portion extending in the longitudinal direction. The end portions of the plurality of discs are supported by the groove portions of the plurality of guide members.

According to this aspect, it is possible to relatively easily hold a plurality of disks in a stacked state while preventing the disks from coming into contact with each other.

In an embodiment in which the storage section has a plurality of guide members, the transport section may arrange the plurality of disks on respective trays of the plurality of disk drives by rotating the plurality of guide members about axes extending in the longitudinal direction.

In this aspect, the carrying section may rotate the plurality of guide members in one rotational direction about the axis, thereby disposing the lowermost one of the plurality of disks on the tray of one of the plurality of disk drives.

In this aspect, the carrying section may further collect the disk arranged on the tray of one disk drive by bringing the plurality of guide members into contact with an end portion of the disk arranged on the tray and rotating the plurality of guide members about the shaft in a direction opposite to one rotation direction.

With this configuration, it is possible to relatively easily dispose the disk on the tray of the disk drive and collect the disk disposed on the tray.

In the aspect in which the storage section has a plurality of guide members, the plurality of guide members may each have a through hole extending in the longitudinal direction, and the conveying section may have a fitting section inserted into and fitted to the through hole.

With this configuration, the plurality of disks stored in a stacked state can be taken out of the storage section as they are, which is very advantageous in practical use.

(dish storage device)

The disk conveying device of the embodiment is provided with a plurality of guide members, and each guide member is provided with a spiral groove part extending in the length direction. The plurality of guide members support the respective ends of the plurality of disks by the groove portion, thereby holding the plurality of disks in a stacked state without contacting each other.

According to the disk conveying device of the embodiment, as in the disk conveying device of the above-described embodiment, damage to the recording surface of the disk can be suppressed, and sticking of the disks to each other due to static electricity can be suppressed.

(method of transporting dish)

A disk conveying method according to an embodiment is a disk conveying method of a disk conveying device including a plurality of disk drives and a storage section for holding a plurality of disks in a stacked state without contacting each other. The disk carrying method comprises the following steps: the plurality of discs are taken out from the storage part while maintaining the intervals between the plurality of discs, and the taken-out plurality of discs are respectively conveyed to the plurality of disc drives.

According to the disk conveying method of the embodiment, damage to the recording surface of the disk can be suppressed and sticking of the disks to each other due to static electricity can be suppressed, as in the disk conveying device of the above-described embodiment. In the disk conveying method according to the embodiment, various modes similar to those of the disk conveying device according to the above-described embodiment can be adopted.

Examples

An embodiment of a disk carrying device of the present invention is explained based on the drawings.

(device construction)

In fig. 1, the disk transport apparatus 1 includes a lifter 10, two cassettes 20, twelve disk drives 30, a motherboard 41, a mechanical control board 42, and a carrying unit 43.

As shown in fig. 2, each of the cases 20 includes a case housing 21, a case base 22 that houses a plurality of (twelve in the present embodiment) optical disks 50, and two screw guides 23 that hold the optical disks 50 in a stacked state without contacting each other. The cassette base 22 of each cassette 20 is transported by the carrier section 43 to a position directly below the lifter section 10.

As shown in fig. 3, the lifter portion 10 includes a lifter assembly 10a and a lifter unit portion 10 b. The elevator unit 10b includes a ball screw 14. The lifter assembly 10a moves up and down (i.e., in the z-axis direction in fig. 1) as the ball screw 14 rotates.

The lifter assembly 10a has: a center guide 11 inserted into a center hole of the optical disc 50; two threaded mandrels 12 respectively fitted to the corresponding threaded guides 23; and two cassette guides 13 for aligning the cassette base 22 with the elevator assembly 10 a.

Each optical disc drive 30 is a device that records or plays information on or from an optical disc 50. Each optical disc drive 30 is a tray type optical disc drive that uses a tray to load an optical disc 50. As shown in fig. 1, the optical disc drives 30 are stacked in the z-axis direction. In the present embodiment, six optical disc drives 30 are stacked as one unit, and two units are disposed to face each other. The lifter unit 10 is disposed such that the lifter assembly 10a moves up and down between the two units.

The motherboard 41 and the mechanical control board 42 control the lifter unit 10, the optical disk drive 30, and the carrier unit 43, and manage the cassette 20. In the following description, the motherboard 41 and the machine control board 42 are referred to as "control unit" as appropriate.

The disk transport apparatus 1 always handles twelve optical disks 50 stored in the cassette 20 as one set. By carrying the optical disk 50 to each of the twelve optical disk drives 30 and recording or playing the optical disk 50 by each optical disk drive 30, it is possible to record a large amount of data and to access the recorded data at a high speed.

(device operation)

When the disk carrying device 1 is operated, the control section selects one of the two cassettes 20. Then, the control unit controls the carrying unit 43 to pull out the cassette base 22 from the cassette case 21 of the selected cassette 20 and transport the cassette base 22 to a position directly below the lifter unit 10. The position of the cassette base 22 is detected by a position sensor provided in the carriage unit 43.

After the cassette base 22 is conveyed to a position directly below the lifter unit 10, the controller controls the lifter unit 10 to lower the lifter assembly 10a to the cassette base 22. The positions of the cassette base 22 and the lifter assembly 10a may be detected by, for example, a photo interrupter (not shown) provided in the lifter portion 10.

Next, the control section controls the lifter section 10 so that the screw spindle 12 (see fig. 3) of the lifter assembly 10a is fitted with the screw guide 23 in the cassette base 22.

After the screw spindle 12 is fitted to the screw guide 23 (i.e., after the optical disk 50 can be conveyed by the lifter assembly 10 a), the control unit controls the lifter unit 10 so that the lifter assembly 10a is raised to a predetermined position. Thereafter, the control section controls the optical disk drive 30 to eject the tray of the optical disk drive 30 corresponding to the position of the lifter assembly 10 a.

Thereafter, the controller controls the lifter unit 10 to lower the lifter assembly 10a to the vicinity of the discharged tray (for example, to properly arrange the optical disk 50 at a position on the tray). Next, the control section controls the lifter section 10 to rotate the screw guide 23 in a predetermined direction by 360 degrees. As a result, the optical disk 50 positioned at the lowermost position is separated from the screw guide 23 and is placed on the tray.

After the optical disk 50 is placed on the tray, the control section controls the optical disk drive 30 to pull back the tray. After that, the control unit repeatedly executes the same process to transport the optical disk 50 to the remaining optical disk drives 30.

When the optical disk 50 is collected, the control section first controls the lifter section 10 so that the lifter assembly 10a is located at a position where the screw guide 23 contacts the end of the optical disk 50 on the tray. Next, the control section controls the lifter section 10 to rotate the screw guide 23 by 360 degrees in a direction opposite to the above-described predetermined direction. As a result, the optical disk 50 on the tray is picked up by the screw guide 23.

(thread guide and threaded mandrel)

Next, the screw guide 23 and the threaded mandrel 12 are explained with reference to fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a threaded guide and a threaded mandrel of the embodiment.

As shown in fig. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the screw guide 23 has a spiral rib with a taper. The screw guide 23 is formed with a spiral groove portion extending in the longitudinal direction by the rib. The groove portion supports the end portion of the optical disk 50. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, the optical disks 50 are held in a stacked state by two screw guides 23. The optical disks 50 held by the screw guide 23 are prevented from contacting each other by the ribs of the screw guide 23 (see fig. 5).

The screw guide 23 further has a through hole 23a, and the screw mandrel 12 is inserted into the through hole 23a and extends in the longitudinal direction. A rib 23b is formed inside the through hole 23a, and the rib 23b is fitted into a rib 12a formed at the tip of the screw spindle 12 shown in fig. 4 (c).

Fig. 4 (d) and 4 (e) are developed views of the screw mandrel 12 and the inside of the through hole 23a, respectively. As shown in fig. 4 (d), the

ribs

12a and 23b are formed one at every 120 degrees.

When the screw mandrel 12 is to be fitted to the screw guide 23, the screw mandrel 12 is first inserted into the through hole 23a of the screw guide 23 (see the broken-line arrow (i) in fig. 4 (e)). Next, the threaded mandrel 12 inserted in the through hole 23a is rotated by 60 degrees in a predetermined direction (see a broken-line arrow (ii) of (e) of fig. 4). Finally, the rib 23b is fitted to the rib 12a by slightly pulling up the threaded mandrel 12 (see the broken-line arrow (iii) in fig. 4 (e)).

(transporting of optical disk)

Next, the conveyance of the optical disc 50 will be described with reference to fig. 5 and 6. Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view showing a state when the disk is conveyed. Fig. 6 is a view showing an operation of the screw guide when the disk is separated.

When the optical disk 50 is conveyed, the center guide 11 of the lifter assembly 10a is inserted into the center hole of the optical disk 50, and the screw spindle 12 of the lifter assembly 10a is inserted into the through hole 23a of the screw guide 23.

When the optical disk 50 supported by the screw guide 23 is placed on the tray of the optical disk drive 30, the screw guide 23 is rotated 360 degrees in a predetermined direction (in fig. 6, a direction from left to right in the drawing) as shown in fig. 6. As a result, the optical disk 50 located at the lowermost position is disengaged from the rib of the screw guide 23, and the other optical disks 50 are moved downward by one sheet.

(recovery of optical disk)

Next, the collection of the optical disc 50 will be described with reference to fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a view showing an operation of the screw guide when the disk is collected.

When the optical disk 50 disposed on the tray of the optical disk drive 30 is collected, as shown in fig. 7, the screw guide 23 is rotated 360 degrees in a direction opposite to the above-described predetermined direction (in fig. 7, a direction from right to left in the drawing). As a result, the rib of the screw guide 23 is inserted under the optical disk 50 disposed on the tray, and the optical disk 50 is picked up by the screw guide 23.

(technical Effect)

As shown in fig. 2, the optical disks 50 in a stacked state are stored in the case 20 with their ends supported by the two screw guides 23. Further, as shown in fig. 5, during the transportation of the optical disk 50, the optical disk 50 is also supported by the screw guide 23. Therefore, in the disk carrying device 1, the optical disks 50 do not contact each other. Therefore, damage to the recording surface of the optical disc 50 can be suppressed. In addition, since the optical disks 50 do not contact each other, the optical disks 50 are not attached to each other due to static electricity.

The end of the optical disk 50 is supported by the screw guide 23, and therefore, compared with a case where, for example, the central hole of the optical disk 50 is supported, there is no need to specially manage the shape of the optical disk 50. Therefore, for example, the manufacturing cost of the optical disc 50 can be suppressed. Further, since the contact area between the screw guide 23 and the optical disk 50 is suppressed, damage to the optical disk 50 due to the screw guide 23 can also be suppressed.

The optical disk 50 can be detached or collected only by rotating the screw guide 23. That is, the operation of detaching and collecting the optical disc 50 is relatively simple. Therefore, the time taken for carrying and collecting the optical disk 50 can be shortened. Further, for example, a failure of the lifter assembly 10a can be suppressed.

The screw guide 23 is a component of the cartridge 20, and therefore, the frequency of use thereof can be suppressed. Therefore, for example, wear and dusting of the screw guide 23 can be reduced.

The "lifter portion 10", "box 20", "screw guide 23", and "screw mandrel 12" in the embodiment are examples of the "conveying portion", "storage portion", "guide member", and "fitting portion" of the present invention, respectively. The "case 20" of the embodiment is an example of the "disk storage device" of the present invention.

(modification example)

In the above embodiment, the optical disks 50 in the stacked state are held by the two screw guides 23, but the optical disks 50 in the stacked state may be held by three or more screw guides 23. With this configuration, the posture of the optical disk 50 can be further suppressed from being disturbed during conveyance.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified within a range not departing from the gist or idea of the invention understood from the claims and the entire specification, and a disk conveying device, a disk storage device, and a disk conveying method accompanied by such modification are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Description of the reference numerals

1 … disc handling device, 10 … lifter part, 10a … lifter assembly, 10b … lifter unit part, 11 … central guide, 12 … threaded core shaft, 13 … box guide, 14 … ball screw, 20 … box, 21 … box shell, 22 … box base, 23 … threaded guide, 30 … optical disc drive, 41 … mother board, 42 … mechanical control base board, 43 … carrying part, 50 … optical disc

Claims

1. A disk conveying device is characterized by comprising:

a plurality of disk drives;

a storage section for holding a plurality of disks in a stacked state without contacting each other; and

a carrying section for taking out the plurality of disks from the storage section while maintaining the intervals between the plurality of disks, and carrying the plurality of disks taken out to the plurality of disk drives,

the housing section has a plurality of guide members each having a spiral groove portion extending in a longitudinal direction,

the respective end portions of the plurality of discs are supported by the respective groove portions of the plurality of guide members,

the carrying section brings the plurality of guide members into contact with an end portion of the disk disposed on the tray of one of the plurality of disk drives, and rotates the plurality of guide members in a direction opposite to one rotation direction about an axis extending in the longitudinal direction, thereby collecting the disposed disk.

2. Disk handling device according to claim 1,

the carrying section causes the plurality of guide members to rotate about the shaft, thereby disposing the plurality of disks on the trays of the plurality of disk drives, respectively.

3. Disk handling device according to claim 2,

the carrying section rotates the plurality of guide members in the one rotational direction about the shaft, thereby disposing a lowermost disk of the plurality of disks on the tray of the one disk drive.

4. Disk handling device according to claim 1,

the plurality of guide members each have a through hole extending in the longitudinal direction,

the carrying part has a fitting part which is inserted into the through hole and fitted with the through hole.

5. A disk conveying method of a disk conveying device, the disk conveying device comprising: a plurality of disk drives; and a housing section for holding a plurality of disks in a stacked state without contacting each other, the housing section having a plurality of guide members each having a spiral groove portion extending in a longitudinal direction, end portions of the plurality of disks being supported by the respective groove portions of the plurality of guide members,

the method for transporting the disk is characterized by comprising the following steps:

taking out the plurality of disks from the storage portion while maintaining the intervals between the plurality of disks, and carrying the plurality of disks taken out to the plurality of disk drives, respectively; and

the plurality of guide members are brought into contact with an end portion of a disk arranged on a tray of one of the plurality of disk drives, and the plurality of guide members are rotated in a direction opposite to one rotation direction about an axis extending in the longitudinal direction, thereby recovering the arranged disk.